The Rebirth of Centauri Prime

by Djap

BETAD Londo/G'Kar Slash, this is my version of how the show should have ended especially for one Narn and one Centauri this is not beta read yet, but will be reposted as soon as that is accomplished.

The Rebirth of Centauri Prime

A Babylon 5 Fanfiction

Author: Djap

Pairing: Londo Mollari x G'kar, also Sheridan x Delenn and two surprise pairings

Rating: R-NC17

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the characters, so I won't make any money with this. Pity.

Genre: Romance, Action, Humor

Beta: Neenabluegirl – as always thanks a lot for your help and your patience

Language: English

…

Prolog: Londo's Secret

"What else do you want from us? We are already your slaves!" Londo yelled, obviously in great pain, clutching that horrible one-eyed something on his shoulder.

"We want everything." The dark voice answered coldly and Vir shuddered. He couldn't believe what he was witnessing unseen by them. This just couldn't be. Still, watching it, as painful as it was, it let everything else fall into place. Suddenly it made sense, why Londo had pulled back from everyone, especially from him. Why it seemed as if he didn't trust Vir anymore, why he didn't get any promotions anymore.

It was even sadder, that Vir had to find this out, because he had become more like his old mentor than he ever was.

Vir had thought he might do better than Londo as Emperor and had searched for evidence to get rid of him, but now he realized that he'd done wrong to his old friend. All this time Londo had protected them. Not only him, who certainly would have gotten his own 'keeper', which was how this foreign creature had called it, if Londo hadn't withdrawn from him completely. Londo was also protecting his whole race with everything he was and with everything he could do.

So Vir made a decision, because his old mentor had trained him well. It was time for action and if he understood all this right, it needed to get done immediately.

…

Chapter One: Loneliness

"For today lessons are over."

Feet scuffled over the floor until none of G'kar's pupils were left. Usually his lessons were longer but today he felt restless. Somehow he has had the feeling that something bad was happening, a feeling he hadn't anticipated for a long time now. It's been three years since he left Londo and with that he also left his old life behind him.

The telepaths loved this planet which had quickly become their new home. They'd arrived here one and a half years ago, relishing the way the natives welcomed them. Most of them are telepaths too, and they consist of only a small population. They had also taken a great interest in G'kar's teaching and although it pained him to say it, they listened a lot more intently than his own race ever did. Still, he was growing tired of this. He has been feeling his age lately, more often than not, which left him in a bad mood most of the time.

This was not how he imagined his sunset years would be. He had wanted to spend the evening of his life with a partner, when he had finally given away all his responsibility and could enjoy himself for once.

Although he has had a few one-night stands since he arrived here he missed the one and only real partner he ever had. It was strange that he should miss the person whom he once hated most in world so much now. Even after all those years it feels strange to think about their relationship and how it turned from archenemies to lovers.

Still, it didn't help G'kar's mood any when he kept thinking about the one thing he couldn't have. He stood with a grunt from his meditation position on the floor and stretched his legs. He walked outside of the cave that served as his classroom, momentarily shielding his eyes against the setting sun. The cave was on the edge of a cliff and G'kar needed only a few steps to reach his favorite lookout.

The earth underneath him was exactly the same color as his home-world, but the color of the sky was wrong, as it has a slight purple tinge to it. G'kar had gotten used to it though over the last months and he didn't miss Narn that much anymore. His planet had changed too much after the bombing through the Centauri anyway, so it would probably only depress him further, when he visited it.

The only thing he really missed was Londo and that left a bad taste in his mouth, because as much as he wanted to be with his partner, he could also clearly remember their last conversation before he left. The words still stung, after all this time.

"You are not needed here anymore." Londo had said. "It is better for you if you leave. For all of you. The Centauri need to be there for each other now." Delenn and Sheridan had been there too. Back then, G'kar hadn't realized yet, that this was the last time he'd speak to Londo, that his lover would refuse to talk to him afterwards. All three of them had tried to talk some sense into him, but he didn't listen.

He hadn't even looked back once.

Of course that left the question, if Londo had ever been honest with his feelings at all. Had he ever really returned G'kar's love? And if yes, what happened to it? G'kar thought that there couldn't be any secrets left between them, after G'kar had been in Londo's head, but he'd obviously been wrong about that too. G'kar's teeth started aching.

"Gods, you are in a bad mood, G'kar."

Lyta said and sat next to him on the edge of the cliff.

"Stay out of my head!" G'kar shot back not looking at her. Lyta surprised him by laughing out loud at that.

"I don't need to read your mind to know you're in a bad mood, G'kar. A look at your face is quite sufficient enough."

G'kar didn't bother to answer that, just sat there still angry.

"Is this still about Londo? After all this time?"

"Why do you care?" G'kar said angry. He knew in the back of his head that he was being mean and unreasonable, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care. He hasn't had a good word fight in years, which only made the loss of his other part worse.

Lyta didn't rise to the bait though "Because you are my friend, G'kar." She retorted patiently. "And because I care for you. And I don't like to see you this miserable."

"There's nothing you can do. There's nothing anybody can do."

"Why didn't you try to talk to him?"

"I did, but he refused to listen."

"Not back then. I meant one or two years later? When things could have proceeded from the rubble it had been. You have no idea what's happening on Centauri Prime. For all you know Londo could be dead."

"No. He's still alive." G'kar sounded scandalized that she even could say something horrible like that.

"How can you be so sure?"

G'kar was silent for a long moment before he finally sighed. "Because he told me, how he will die. He told me, that he will die through my hands one day."

"How can he be so sure then?"

"Because he saw it in his dreams. I saw the truth, when I raped his mind."

"So why didn't you try to contact him? Because you feared you'd kill him? Or because you feared his rejection?"

The fact that G'kar didn't answer told Lyta more about him than he wanted to. But he was so tired of all this.

"And if I tell you, that Vir contacted me?"

"What should I care about Mr. Cotto contacting you? If Londo isn't strong enough to contact me himself and once again needs the help of so many others…"

"What if that really is the truth, G'kar? What if Londo doesn't want anything more than to contact you, but something else is preventing him? Something that he can't control? Somebody that controls him and he couldn't tell you?"

G'kar's head finally whipped around to stare at her in astonishment. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I do not know much more than you, but if you think just one second that this could be possible, we should meet with Mr. Cotto as he has asked us too. He looked pale and shaken and utterly honest and I could sense from him nothing but deep dark fear and desperation. Even if you don't want to help Londo anymore, could you really refuse to help Vir? To help the man who risked everything to save 2.000 Narn back when Londo was anything but our ally?

"Lyta, if this is a trick…" G'kar began, but the soft touch on his shoulder and the stern look in her eyes shut him up. He'd bedded her once (or given Lyta's personality it probably was the other way around) so the easy intimacy between them came as no surprise. He felt the familiar tug of her mind on his own and with a soft sigh allowed the connection to hear and see anything that she had to tell him.

…

Chapter Two: Walking in the Past

"John, we need to talk."

President John Sheridan knew that tone of voice. He also knew better than to hide from his wife, although he felt the sudden urge to run for it. He was getting too old for this and merely due to the fact that their son David wasn't old enough to act as their heir yet, he hadn't stopped working yet.

"Of course, Delenn." He finally said, giving in to his fate. He pointed to the second chair in his office, sitting back on his own chair after lifting his gaze from the papers he'd currently been working on. "What can I do for you?"

Like expected, Delenn was all business and intent on a mission "I need you to tell me everything you remember from your trip through the time."

John also knew better than to ask why. So instead he just nodded and leaned his head against the chair. He closed his eyes and tried to remember those hazy memories "Do you want to know everything, or are you seeking for a specific memory?"

"Tell me everything about Londo."

So John did that. Every detail he could remember everything that seemed important or not important at all. Over the years he had learned that his current wife was best at sorting through data for until then undiscovered news.

"Why do you ask?" He finally concluded.

"Because I just got a message from a very distressed sounding Vir Cotto and I wanted us to rethink our actions before answering."

"What do you mean?"

"Perhaps we should have paid closer attention to Londo. Perhaps he had needed our help and we just didn't listen? Perhaps he didn't actually want to drive us away from Centauri Prime when he became emperor perhaps he just had no other choice?"

Something hard and heavy accumulated in Sheridan's stomach. Suddenly he had a very bad feeling about all this.

"What did Vir say?"

"He told us about a creature on Londo's neck, which was invisible when awake and was controlled by a race from Za'Ha'Dum. Just exactly what you described me from your time with Londo. Vir asked for our help to free Centauri Prime and I think we have kept our eyes closed to their pain long enough. It's time for us to act."

…

Chapter Three: All that's left

Londo was sitting in his quarters. It had been a long day, though he had spent most of it in great pain or passed out from said pain. He was surprised about how much fight was still left in him though. He was growing tired though and thought more and more about taking his own life to flee from all this. The only thing that held him back was the fact that he still felt he deserved all this, as he was the one who brought this pain to his race. Yes, he had tried to make good on the things he did wrong, and he succeeded in some of it.

But it will never be enough. It can never be enough, because he hadn't done wrong only on his own race. There's so much guilt on his shoulders, weighing them down. For him there was no fun left, no freedom, no love, but at least in the few hours he managed to get drunk enough to send his keeper to sleep, he could enjoy the few good memories he still held close at heart.

So currently Londo was sitting propped up against his headboard. He held a bottle of brivari in one hand and while he sipped it repeatedly, he stared down at his free hand and the ring adorning it. Only a few Centauri might ever have cared about the human interpretation of this symbol, but most of them didn't need to wonder about it anyway, because the ring stayed mostly hidden under his white gloves.

He knew the meaning though and so did his other half. He briefly wondered whether G'kar had thrown the ring away. It would serve Londo right, although he never stood a chance. It was either send his lover away or risk him getting killed – or even worse get his own keeper. Londo wouldn't have been able to survive any of it. No, it was better this way, for both of them. At least G'kar had his freedom back, as had his whole race. He will find someone else who will love him as much as he deserved.

But Londo would not waste the few minutes of freedom he had due to the alcohol to depress himself even further. Instead he took another sip and focused on much more pleasant memories. Like everything between him and G'kar, this had started in a fight.

…

Chapter Four: A secret bond

Delenn found Londo sitting in the conference room of the Alliance. The meeting was long over by now, but he was still staring ahead blankly at one of the walls, like he'd been doing the whole meeting. Practically everybody had picked up on both the Centauri and the Narn representatives' preoccupation. It wasn't so much that they didn't listen to the discussions, but the fact that they had completely failed to argue about anything. They hadn't exchanged even one word with each other and that in itself was so strange that nobody could have missed it.

"Prime Minister?" Delenn said as she sat down beside him and Londo started a little.

"Yes?"

"You seemed awfully distracted today." Delenn said, choosing her words very carefully "Is there anything I could…"

Londo was already shaking his head before she could even finish her question.

"Dere is not'ing you could do for me, Delenn."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure. Besides, dis is not of any interest for you. You should not vorry about it."

Londo stood and wanted to leave, but Delenn caught him at his arm and pushed him back into a seating position. Once again Londo was impressed with the sudden strength in her. Perhaps it had to do with the hair, but sometimes he forgot that she was a Minbari and had the full strength of a female of this race. If G'kar could beat him into a pulp, Delenn certainly had the strength to do that too.

"Please Londo, do not do this. We are happy that you finally found your way back to us, now you need to start trusting us."

"There are plenty of people I trust…." Londo defended but Delenn gave him a look that instantly shut him up.

"That is a lie and we both know that, Londo. I don't even know if you trust yourself, but I hoped you could confide in G'kar."

Londo paled a little at the mentioning of the Narn and seemed distressed. The reaction brought a fond smile to Delenn's lips as she continued "Did you really think we would not see what was happening between the two of you?"

"I don't know vat you are talking about, Delenn…" Londo tried, but knew right away that it wouldn't work with that infuriating woman. Damn her and all Narn with her too.

"Did you tell him how you feel? Is this what this fight was about?" Delenn asked, her voice filled with concern and compassion for his benefit. There were so many reasons why Londo shouldn't answer that question, but right now he was feeling so miserable that he could not have cared less.

"No. Ve told each other months ago, Delenn." The Minbari seemed surprised and honored at this honest answer causing him to shrug in indifference. "Look, just as you said, it is probably very obvious for everybody on dis station dat ve are head over heels for each other." Londo said, suddenly sounding annoyed.

"So am I right in my assumption that the discovery of your deep feelings being returned is not what makes you this sad today? You seemed exceedingly happy for those last weeks now that I think more closely about it."

"Well, it was a very lucky day, even if surprisingly so, and some very happy weeks followed after it."

"So you…" Delenn seemed torn between curiosity and modesty as she wondered how she should ask this question "started a relationship?"

Londo chuckled amused "Did you just ask me about my sex life, Entil'Zha Delenn? Since vhen have Minbari started to care for dat matter…"

Her blush was worth the teasing, but it also caused even more determination in her attempt to help.

"If such a question is what you need to tell me about your problem, then so be it."

Londo wondered how far she would go, so he couldn't quite restrain himself from teasing her a little more. "Ah, you know, sex wit' a Narn was different dan I expected it to be. I thought it must be boring with deir physique but dere is dis one position dat made me see it all in a whole new light…"

"Londo." Delenn huffed, equally parts annoyed and flustered. "Certainly you are not entering this lightly, just out of stress relief, so don't make this about the physical relationship only. What is the problem?"

Londo instantly grew earnest, weary of the whole situation, causing Delenn to startle. She had known the Centauri ambassador had changed a lot lately, but this man had nothing to do with the poor creature she'd met when she came to Babylon 5 to take the assignment of Minbari ambassador there. Londo spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully now, all teasing gone. "Penalty for a relationship between a Narn and a Centauri is death on both our worlds. We are too old and have both seen too much to forget that easily."

Delenn's eyes widened in shock as she obviously wasn't aware of those laws. She regained her composure quickly though "But you knew that already when you started your relationship. What let it turn sour now? Is someone blackmailing you?"

"No, at least not yet. Ve have been very careful, whom we trust wit' dis. Dere are not many people who know about it, including you now. A lot of people might suspect somet'ing, but nobody can actually prove it yet. Right now I am powerful enough to be intimidating and not interesting enough yet to be blackmailed. But…"

"But that will change as soon as you become emperor." Delenn finished for him nodding. She seemed to understand now, where the problem lay. "So what will you do then, when you will be elected to become the next emperor?"

Londo didn't answer just looked away in misery.

Delenn sighed, "Let me guess, you want to break it off then?"

Londo looked angry and if possible hurt. "Of course, because ve have to. It would be too dangerous to continue, for both of us."

"I take it he didn't like the idea."Delenn stated, causing Londo to roll his eyes.

"Of course not. " Londo agreed then added "And I can understand dat, I really do. Neither do I want to break dis up, but it will be necessary. Vhat I don't understand is, vhy he will not enjoy dis as long as ve can have it."

"Because he might want everything or nothing at all." Delenn stated reasonably "Between the two of you, everything is always black or white."

"He can have everything now, Delenn. I vas not holding back anything from him anymore. I thought…"Londo stopped here, obviously not sure if he should proceed but finishing his thought then anyway "I thought he vas happy wit' me. But…"

"But now he makes you chose ahead of time: either you break up now or you continue your liaison after your election to emperor." Delenn said, chasing right down to the core of the problem. "To me this sounds as if he is very happy with you and just doesn't want to be hurt more."

"I cannot change who we are, Delenn. He must see reason…"

"Perhaps he just needs a ritual, to make sure that…"

She was interrupted by Londo's snort. "Figures. Ask a Minbari for help and what will you get? Another boring ritual…"

"Londo!" Delenn said icily, aware that she was slowly losing her patience with the Centauri and that she was still here only because the man still looked so miserable.

"Do not complain about me telling de trut', Delenn." Londo said and this time she rolled her eyes at him. "I don't t'ink G'kar would like to take part in any Centauri ritual and frankly spoken neit'er do I take any interest in Narn rituals."

"It does not have to be either a Narn or a Centauri ritual. As I was saying," she continued ignoring any heavy sighing on Londo's part "I wanted to suggest a ritual to show your commitment to each other."

Londo stared at her astonished, "Delenn, you are not really suggesting a marriage, are you?"

"Actually, I am."

"I vill not, you hear me, I vill NOT put G'kar in the same rank as Famine, Pestilence or Death."

Delenn smiled at the familiar 'nicknames' for Londo's first three wives. "As I said, I do not suggest a Centauri tradition. Not all races marry out of the same reasons as a lot of your people seem to do. Take the Narn for an example. They bond only once in their life, and always out of love. And I happen to know, that G'kar never bonded to anybody."

"You must be gone mad, if you believe he would bond with me."

"Certainly not in the Narn way. You are right with that observation, Londo. But he might appreciate your will to do it anyway."

"But if we can't do it in a Narn fashion or in a Centauri fashion, in what else?"

"As President of the new Alliance John is allowed to wed people by the laws of the Alliance. It would be official in front of that law, but your governments would never hear a word about it. You even could use those human wedding rings. I know rings have no such meanings in both your societies, so nobody would understand the meaning if you wear them."

Londo mulled that suggestion over in his head for a while, staring impressed at Delenn. He finally started to smile appreciatively:

"You are a very vicked voman, Delenn, and you do not play fair."

"I really do not understand why," Delenn retorted, eyes twinkling "but my husband keeps telling me the same words every so often." She stood and briefly touched Londo's arm in a gesture of good bye

"Think about it Londo. You need only very few people to sign the papers, so you could choose thoseyou can trust with your secret. I am also convinced, that G'kar will find the idea appealing."

"I am not so sure about dat, Delenn."

…

Chapter Five: Gathering the Troupes

When Lyta and G'kar reached the Minbari home-world they weren't surprised to see a party already waiting for them. It consisted of Delenn and Sheridan, but also of Garibaldi and Franklin, which both of them hadn't expected.

"Lyta, G'kar, it's good to see you. How have you been?" Delenn greeting them for everybody and a few pleasantries were quickly exchanged.

Neither Lyta nor G'kar had been to the Minbari home-world before so while the other's chatted happily about the past few years on their return to Sheridan's and Delenn's house, they mostly looked out of the windows to appreciate the beauty they found there.

One didn't need to squint to see how old the race of the Minbari was by now and how long their history went back. But one also could see that Sheridan certainly wasn't the only human (or member of any other race) that was living there now. If for nothing else, the war against the Shadows and the Vorlons had been good for inter species relationships. Well, at least for most races.

They finally reached Delenn's and Sheridan's residence and were led into a large dining room area. Food was already awaiting them and although the matters at hand were very pressing, they also were tired and hungry. So they ate first and finally the mindless chatter came to a halt. Every one of them felt the graveness of the message that has brought them there.

"So what do you know about this race, that assumingly has undermined the Centauri Regime?"

Michael finally said, opening the discussion to the real theme that had brought them all there.

"We probably know all the same facts as you Mr. Garibaldi. By now I'm convinced that, to all of us, the same message was sent, of Mr. Cotto desperately asking for our help."

"But how do we know this is no trap?" Franklin asked and this time Sheridan answered.

"Because this is about Vir and we all know and like him, otherwise none of us would be here now. Besides…" he made a pause and looked questionably at Delenn who nodded slightly. "… we have information of our own that seems to acknowledge what Vir told us."

"What information?" Garibaldi asked annoyed as his temper hadn't changed over the years.

"You remember the time when we traveled into the space where Babylon 4 disappeared? I… I know this sounds weird, but I was unstuck in time for a while. I traveled to the future and learned about the Drakh occupation and what Vir refers to as those keepers."

Four unbelieving pairs of eyes looked at them and Sheridan shrugged. "We thought you wouldn't believe us that easily. That is why we asked Vir to send us anything that will make us believe."

Here Delenn took over and called out to the door behind her. "You can come in now."

It opened and revealed to the surprise of everybody none other than Lennier. No one but Sheridan and Delenn knew why he left them all and made sure to lose touch with them, but they knew it was something personal between him and those two.

He seemed very much at unease while he avoided looking directly at Sheridan, whose face showed open astonishment. Obviously, G'kar mused, he had had no idea who their secret visitor was until now.

"Good evening to all of you, my friends. It is good to see you again." Lennier finally said, looking at everybody but Sheridan. A thousand questions were asked at the same time from all sides, but Lennier hushed them by lifting his hand.

"I am sorry, but I can't stay. I am not welcome here anymore, for good reasons…"

Delenn interrupted him, "That is not true, Lennier, we…"

"Delenn, please." He said and sounded so broken and sad that it tore on everybody's heart. Delenn obediently closed her mouth, although it seemed to pain her a great deal.

"I am here because I am trying to pay for my sins. I am here because Vir asked me for help, so I will do as he asked, but leave as soon as my job is finished. I will leave right after this meeting and I beg you, not to contact me or search for me when I'm gone."

Slowly everybody nodded except for Sheridan. He looked tense and attentive, but also sad and troubled by Lennier's sudden appearance.

"Vir is together with Marcus the only non Minbari I ever really accepted as a true friend. When we were living at Babylon 5 he often confided in me as I did in him about my troubles. I have no reason to believe he is telling me anything but the truth now, and I beg you to believe in his words too. I also bring data crystals and other material to confirm my statement."

Again nodding from nearly everyone, so Lennier started his tale about the Drakh and how they found their way into Centauri territory. That they knew, that the Centauri had once collaborated with the Shadows, but how Londo soon learned that what he had done was wrong and would end in self destruction for the Centauri. About how Londo had tried to get rid of Mordon and the Shadows on Centauri Prime by blowing up a whole isle and how he had offered his own life to the Vorlons to ensure his home-planet was safe. Finally Lennier concluded with how the Drakh needed to find a new place to live after Z'Ha'Dum was destroyed and how they undermined Centauri society right after that and how they use the so-named 'keepers' to control most Centauri who have influence.

When he finished and everybody was briefed with everything they needed to know, Lennier made true on his vow and left quickly with only a very short goodbye. After his departure, Delenn called for a break in their briefing, so that anybody could think about the problem at hand.

Most of them scattered on the gardens behind Sheridan's and Delenn's house. It held a very big garden in a lot of different fashions, so it was a good place to think for a while. That was how G'kar finally found himself sitting on a bench and looking out over a small pond.

He felt horrible since he'd heard about that alarming message from Vir and felt even worse now seeing it confirmed through Lennier and Sheridan. He should have known better than to just assume that Londo had gotten tired of him and didn't want to continue being with him. He would have made it worse, had probably brought doom and death over them, but at least he would have trusted Londo. He had felt dead anyway, after Londo sent him away, so what difference did it make now? He should have known something was wrong and now the guilt was practically consuming him alive.

Still, fate gave him a chance to atone for his faults and to rescue his mate. He searched under his tunic for the small ring he wore on a chain around his neck. When he went away with Lyta and the other human telepaths he pulled it off his ring finger, because he didn't want to answer their questions about it. He hadn't been able to throw it away though, just as he had felt himself thrown away by Londo. It had been the only thing that was left to him from his mate and now he stared at it in desperation. Were they really able to free a whole world? Were they able to save Londo in the process? If all the information was correct, than he could die when they actually got close enough to him to remove his keeper.

G'kar would probably die with him, because he wouldn't allow the loss of his mate a second time. He pulled himself together as good as he could and put the ring back on his finger, where it belonged. Satisfied with the familiar weight on his finger G'kar's thoughts wandered back to the events which had brought the wedding band into his possession.

…

Chapter Six: A Narn's love

Garibaldi startled awake as the doorbell to his quarters chimed. He cursed loudly and tried his best to ignore the summons. When the bell rang a fourth time, he finally gave in, hoisted himself up and out of bed. He was pulling on his robe, when he finally called for the door to open. Of all people he expected at the ungodly hour of three in the morning, he was surprised to see is old Narn friend G'kar rushing inside.

"Come in, make yourself at home." Michael murmured sarcastically then he gave the command to close the door and turned to stare at the Narn. G'kar was pacing his quarters furiously just like a caged animal would do. He was also talking loudly while Garibaldi tried to get a grasp of what he was talking about.

"He's gone mad. That idiot Centauri has absolutely lost it. Insane. Delirious."

Garibaldi rolled his eyes. "G'kar." He finally yelled, happy that it was loud enough to stop the Narn dead in his tracks. "Please tell me you are not here, at this hour, in my quarters just to complain about Londo Mollari. Because if that may be the actual case, I assure you that I won't be held responsible for my following actions."

If possible for his race G'kar paled at the words and swallowed hardly. He looked like a deer caught in the lights of a truck and he cringed softly as Michael growled low in his throat. "So?"

"But you are the only one with whom I can talk about this, Mr. Garibaldi. You are my only friend who is not a Narn."

That sentence made Michael feel guilty about his threat after all, because he knew so much about G'kar. He had, after all, been the only one who had kept looking for him when he was abducted by the shadows. Regardless of what G'kar thought of the matter, Michael still felt intensely guilty because G'kar had been captured and tortured because of him even if it wasn't his fault per se and even if it helped in the end to free the entire Narn race.

So Michael sounded a little calmer and tried to pull himself together for this conversation as he responded: "I thought you befriended Londo after all you've been through." It was more a question for affirmation than a real one, so he was surprised to see the mix of emotion crossing G'kar's features.

"I can't talk to him about this, Mr. Garibaldi. He is the center of the whole problem."

"I think that's the truth for both of you in every question." Michael replied sarcastically and earned surprisingly to him a chuckle for that.

"That is certainly true, Mr. Garibaldi. Londo and I have a long history." G'kar sounded odd, even tender and he smiled, obviously lost in long past happenings.

"Londo?" Michal asked eyes so big they might pop out at any moment. "Tell me that you didn't just call Londo by his first name!"

G'kar's red eye twinkled merrily at that. "Why shouldn't I? Did you not do the same only a few of your seconds ago?"

Michal grimaced "Yes, I did. But you never do. What the hell happened to G'kar and where did you hide his body?"

Again, the Narn chuckled "I assure you, Mr. Garibaldi, that I am the original you are looking for."

"But you were just cursing Londo's bones into the next week?" Garibaldi tried and was at least a little relieved when G'kar's good eye darkened a little at that.

"That is certainly true, my friend."

"Okay." Garibaldi sat down and took a deep breath "Although I am fairly sure that I will regret this request later but 'G'kar, please tell me what happened.'"

That caused the Narn to sudden pacing again and Michael waited patiently until G'kar finally felt fit enough to answer the question.

"Well, it is very easy, Mr. Garibaldi. Londo Mollari just asked me to marry him."

…

When Michael came back to his senses he found himself lying on the floor and G'kar hovering over him with a very concerned look upon his face. He tried to fan a little fresh air into his direction and when he tried to straighten up, a harsh pain exploded in his head.

"Do not move so quickly. I think you hit your head when you fell."

"What happened to me?" Michael pressed out between his thin lips.

"I think you fainted at hearing the latest news." Was Michael imaging things or sounded G'kar incredibly smug right now.

"And what news would that be?" His head was hurting like hell, but he tried to remember anyway. Then he suddenly started chuckling and interrupted the Narn, before he could answer. "No wait, I have to tell you about this. I just had the strangest dream. In it you just tried to tell me…"

"…that Londo Mollari asked for my hand in marriage." G'kar finished still smiling. He could not help it as again a look of utter horror flashed across Michaels face. Just before he could faint a second time, G'kar shook his shoulder and kept him awake. "None of that anymore, Mr. Garibaldi. I need your help now and your advice."

"B…but….but…" Michael stammered not sure his brain was still working correctly. He must be on serious overload if his brain played this kind of sick prank on him.

"No buts, Mr. Garibaldi. Come on, let me help you sit up and I will get you a coffee, so you can freshen up and be of some help to me." They proceeded to do that and while Michael tried to understand what G'kar was actually telling him he watched the Narn wander about his quarters and prepare some coffee for him.

"Here you go." G'kar finally said presenting him the cup.

Garibaldi took some swigs and waited until the caffeine hit his fried brain cells. He finally locked his gaze with G'kar's and his eyes widened comically again, when he realized his friend had been doing nothing but telling him the truth.

"Did he mean it as a joke of some sorts?" Michael finally inquired, not sure where he even wanted to begin this surreal conversation.

G'kar sounded sad and wistful when he answered. He was back to pacing again. "I am afraid he was deadly serious. He meant every word."

"Does that mean you and he… I mean you two… hell, I can't even picture that."Michael said, a little pale himself. He was not a hundred percent sure that he wasn't going to be violently ill at the thought. This was information he certainly never wanted to have, but right now he had no idea how to have this conversation without all details.

"Yes, we have been together for some time now." G'kar confirmed his question with another amused smile and the Narn equivalent of a lifted eyebrow.

"I'd never thought this was even possible between a Narn and a Centauri."

"Oh I can assure you, it works just fine."

"But he has these six…" Michael started only realizing too late that he should not talk about such things if he really didn't want to know any details. G'kar seemed to realize his little epiphany and obviously wanted to spare him even more embarrassment.

"I can also assure you that he knows perfectly well how to use all six of them. He is quite the skilled lover actually, which came as a surprise to me too. But I am certain, that we should not talk about this any further. I don't want you to faint a second time."

"So if everything's so peachy, why are you so angry about his proposal?" Michael finally grumbled in a desperate attempt to save the piteous remainder of his sanity.

"Because I have no idea what's gotten into him lately. First he tells me we won't be able to perpetuate our relationship once he becomes the next emperor, but when I break up with him because I don't want to be someone he just dates out of boredom he crawls back and proposes to me."

"Crawls back?" Michael inquired incredulously.

"Metaphorically spoken." If Narn could blush, G'kar would have done it right then.

"What did he really do?"

"He came in pompous as ever and informed me that our commitment ceremony would be in three weeks."

Michael actually found the strength in himself to chuckle. "That sounds more like the Londo I know."

"You know how he is. He'd never actually ask for something he wants. He just barges in and takes it." G'kar mumbled, blushing.

"Well, I know a certain Narn ambassador who usually acts exactly the same…" Michael teased slowly feeling ground under his feet again.

"That is none of our concern right now." If possible, G'kar sounded downright pissed right now.

"Okay, so what did you do? Throw him out for even suggesting it?"

G'kar looked everywhere but at him and Michael had the sudden certain knowledge that he didn't want to hear G'kar's next words.

"Not as such. Not right away, anyway. I thought this was his way to apologize and I didn't realize he was deadly serious until later, when we were trying to cool down from our… most recent activities… on my bed."

Despite the unwanted movie that was currently playing in his head Michael developed a sick curiosity for the details.

"What you want to say is that you actually had some make-up sex before he proposed again?"

"As soon as he realized that I had not taken him seriously the first time. So that was when I threw him out of my quarters."

"Please tell me he is not wandering the corridors stark naked right now…" Michael groaned.

Again, if Narn blushes were possible… "He did not lose most of his clothes in the first place anyway. I threw the rest at him once he was outside."

"Okay, I will regret this question later, but 'Why?'"

"But do you not see how outrageous this proposal is? Our races are not even allowed to mate under death penalty and they certainly will not allow any interspecies marriage between the two of us…"

Michael frowned at that. "Okay, first: Londo is many things but not an idiot. If he proposes to you, he certainly knows a way how to make it work or he would not have said anything."

G'kar answered that with an insecure shrug before asking, "And second?"

"Second: G'kar. Usually people do not consider the opinion and reactions of their respective races first when they are asked for marriage."

"No?" G'kar asked haughtily "What else should I consider then?"

"Well, are you happy with him?"

That one single and very easy question caused G'kar de deflate as he let himself drop beside Michael on the couch. "Deliriously so. My feelings regarding Londo have become so ridiculously happy that I actually wondered if I've been brainwashed."

"Are you in love with him?"

G'kar didn't answer at first and after a while Michael wondered if he ever would. When the answer came, Michal felt a pang of misery well up in G'kar for his inner battle.

"He is the only one I would ever consider to mate with. He is the only one who really knows me. Of course I am in love with him, Mr. Garibaldi."

Michael did not know how to react to that confession. He was not good at the emotional stuff and he had never particularly been. So he just awkwardly patted G'kar's shoulder just to be pulled in another strong breathtaking bear-hug by the Narn.

"Thank you, Mr. Garibaldi, for your help. I will leave you to your sleep then. I have a pressing affair to attend to right now."

Garibaldi nodded and stood as G'kar made his way over to the door that opened with a swish.

"Oh and Mr. Garibaldi?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be here in three weeks station time?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because Londo said I would need a best man and although I am not sure what he meant with that, you are the best man for me I could think of right now."

"It will be my pleasure." Michael said feeling honored by the praise and the question.

"Goodnight then, Mr. Garibaldi." G'kar said and was gone. Only then Michael's gaze fell upon the cup of coffee sitting innocently on his table. It was around three on the clock and there was no way he could ever get back to sleep with that much caffeine in his system. He was grumbling all the way to his shower.

"He hates me. They all hate me. That's why they're doing this. To make me crazy…"

…

Chapter 7: On the Way to battle

John Sheridan was happy to be back on board his favorite place: the leader ship of the White Star fleet. The noises on the bridge were as typical as ever and once again he wondered when exactly he had started to feel more comfortable on a ship made of Minbari and Vorlon technologies than on the war-cruisers of his own race.

It was good to be back in space again and also wonderful to be on their way to a fight. He had felt the age tugging at him lately and being on the bridge made him feel young and alive again. He had never been particularly fond of his duties as president of the alliance, but at least it meant he could still command the fleet on rescue missions.

Delenn was standing next to him at her own station and while she looked determined and as beautiful as ever, she also looked strained and exhausted. They needed to talk about this before they reached their goal and the needed to do it quickly.

"Delenn?" he asked timidly and she nodded right away. He smiled softly at her understanding as she gestured for the privacy of a sideroom.

"Did you know it was Lennier waiting for us outside?"

This conversation was overdue, but the preparations after their first meeting had been hasty. They could not be sure that Vir's actions had stayed undiscovered by the Drakh, so all of them had gotten ready as quickly as possible. So the conversation had been delayed until now and just for a second John wished it would have been delayed a little further. Still he was no coward, so he patiently waited for Delenn to answer him.

"No, I didn't. But I have to say I…" she was obviously looking for the right words in English, so John offered the words in adronato, by now very familiar with both languages "…you had a foreboding?"

"Yes. I was not sure it was him, but I had the feeling he would show up sooner or later."

"So, what do you think?" he asked softly, really curious about how she would answer this. They have had this conversation before but neither of them had been particular understanding of the other's opinion so far. It was one of the few real fights they had ever had and John had to say that he was growing weary of it.

"You know exactly what I think, John. You can be very sure about my love, but you also know that I hold no grudge against Lennier. That it came down to this was my fault, not his. I depended too much on him and I was too blind to see how much I was hurting him by giving him only my trust but not my love. What about you?"

John sighed. He knew it would be mean to start this conversation only to pull out of it without trying to finally solve this problem. "I still don't want to accept that you blame yourself for this." Delenn tried to interrupt him but he shushed her with a soft gesture of his hand. "He wanted to let me die. It is not the same as actually wanting to kill me, but it is no decision I want to see you take the responsibility for. It was his final decision, not yours. And still… he is trying to pay his debts. I have to acknowledge that. I believe every word he said about Centauri Prime and I am sure that he wants nothing else but to help Vir. He did not seek our forgiveness and he did not try to find a way to come back to us. If we reach Centauri Prime and find everything just as he told us I will try to do as you bade me years ago. I will try to forgive him."

…

The Drakh on duty couldn't believe his eyes when he found out about the messages. How these could have slipped his attention he has no idea. He was quite certain, that he would be punished heavily for this, but he knew it would only be worse if he didn't react right away. As soon as he told his superior about his discovery, he saw how this Vir Cotto was taken into custody. That stupid Centauri had never known what hit him as they stormed into his room to carry him off into the interrogation room. The last thing the guard saw before he fell to the floor writhing in the pain of his punishment was the look of utter horror on the Centauri's face.

It made him smile despite the pain.

…

"I always knew what a great gift your abilities were and I will forever mourn the fact that there are no Narn telepaths we know of." G'kar whispered into the direction of his companions.

They were all currently sitting between containers of a Centauri cargo ship. His team consisted of Michael, Lyta and himself and they would be responsible for the localization of all bombs placed on the Centauri capital. They had started two days before Sheridan, Delenn and Dr. Franklin who still were on the White Star who was the only ship of his class that had a cloaking system as to make it invisible to Drakh scanners. Their job would be to kidnap Londo and free him of his keeper.

Of course G'kar had wanted to be on that team to be as near to his mate as possible, but then they all had decided against it. G'kar had been to Centauri Prime before and knew enough to localize the bombs. They also didn't want to risk the operation in the face of G'kar's unilateralist leanings regarding the safety of his mate.

Lyta had just managed to save them from early discovery by manipulating the mechanics thoughts and with that so far everything was going accordingly to their plan. They all just hoped they had acted quickly enough to save Vir from any harm.

…

Chapter 8: Into the Fight

"Are you sure, this is the last one of the explosives?" G'kar whispered into the comlink that connected his team with Delenn, who was coordinating the whole ambush from the White Star.

"If Lennier's and Vir's information are correct, then this should be the last bomb under the Capital. The other teams have been successful as well." There existed three other teams who were trying to deactivate the bombs under other important parts of Centauri Prime. "Now there's only the one in the emperor's quarters left."

Lyta looked at G'kar and nodded. "Showtime. So let's go hunting then." Her smile was feral and G'kar couldn't help but smile back in sympathy.

"Okay, Delenn." G'kar spoke into the comlink again. "That means we are off now to find the Drakh leader. How is Sheridan doing?"

"He has been able to localize Londo with the apparatus Vir sent us through Lennier. He is not in his quarters, but we are very sure that the Drakh controlling Londo will be there. When we scanned the area we could find a strange energy signature." Delenn responded.

"Where is Mollari?"

"Do not worry G'kar. He is currently in the throne room and guarded only by four guards. It will be easy for John to reach him. Just tell us when you have gotten a hold on the Drakh."

"We will, G'kar out." G'kar turned back to his companions.

Lyta had been listening intently to his conversation with Delenn while Garibaldi had been busy tying up the few Drakh they had encountered so far. Thankfully they lived only in the capital itself. It had been difficult for Lyta to control their thoughts long enough until they had been knocked unconscious so that they could not warn each other through their telepathic bond. The other teams had only to fight the Centauri guards, while most of them had no such telepathic abilities and certainly did not want to warn any Drakh. Thankfully Dr. Franklin had also provided this team with enough serum that would restrain the Drakh's telepathic abilities for a few days.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Garibaldi?"

"Yes. Those Drakh won't go anywhere in the foreseeable future."

"Will you be alright alone with them? We need you here to watch that nothing goes wrong. It's important that nobody finds out that we are here yet."

"It's all right, G'kar. You and Lyta go and look for the leader. Without him we won't be able to free him. I will be all right."

For a moment G'kar looked torn, because there were still so many things that could go wrong with this. He had a bad feeling with letting Michael stay here alone, but they really had no choice.

So he smiled at his old friend and saluted Narn style "Thank you, Mr. Garibaldi."

Michael just returned the smile "Now go, your husband needs you now."

G'kar nodded and in the blink of an eye he was gone.

…

"G'kar, I have a bad feeling about this." Lyta finally said when they had found their way into Londo's quarters. They had disabled four Centauri guards and another Drakh but so far they did not see any sign of the leader.

"Can you sense anything?" G'kar asked alarmed but Lyta shook her head in negative.

"No this is just my gut talking not my head. Where is Vir? Why didn't we meet him yet? I know he should not be aware of us coming, but at least he should be expecting us, shouldn't he?"

"Perhaps he is just needed somewhere else right now. If Lennier's information is correct then he has to do a lot of overtime lately despite his still low status."

"Yes I know, it still feels wrong somehow…" Lyta sounded frustrated. "Never mind…"

"No, Lyta. Actually I feel the same about it. I have no good feeling about all of this. It has been too easy until now. But right now, there is nothing we can do about it. We must stick to our plan, we have no other choice."

"Okay, all right. Where should we look for the secret chamber then?"

"Delenn said it should be behind the eastern wall."

"That would be this one, with the bookshelves, right?"

"Yes. " G'kar snorted. "A secret chamber behind a bookshelf, this is almost a classic."

Lyta snickered as she saw the irony too.

"Still, Delenn was pretty sure she was right. She was positive that Sheridan's meddling with the video surveillance of the palest had been a success. She could follow our path from the White Star, but nobody else on this planet should be able to." Lyta said and watched as G'kar started to look for the hidden mechanism of the door.

"Can you feel anything behind the wall?" G'kar asked checking behind the books and the under the shelves.

Lyta concentrated but shook her head in annoyance. "There is a Drakh behind that wall but I am not sure that it is really the leader we are looking for. I can't scan him properly without revealing that we are here and thus alerting him to our unauthorized presence."

"Then the fact that he is a Drakh will have to do. Do you have any idea where the mechanism could be? I'm running out of ideas."

At first Lyta shook her head, then she suddenly saw it and started smiling. She made her way over to the wall beside the shelves, where a picture of Cartagia hung.

G'kar grimaced as he looked at it, but then he realized it too. Cartagia would be the last person Londo would want to see on a regular basis and sure enough, when they lifted the frame they found the button. One of the shelves swooshed open and revealed a very startled Drakh who had been about to eat his lunch.

Lyta instantly launched her attack. It was probably due only to the fact that the Drakh was surprised that saved them all from a gigantic failure, because they had widely underestimated this Drakh's abilities. Lyta soon broke a sweat when she battled the alien creature. It was not so much the strength of his mind, but the fact that he fought very dirty. She could have knocked him out in an instant, but that would have alerted the keeper and Londo's life would have been lost. So most of her energy went into the effort to keep the leader from contacting the keeper.

G'kar reacted instantly and contacted Delenn that Sheridan should instantly make his move.

…

"Now John, Lyta is fighting the leader. G'kar said that they cannot be sure that Lyta will succeed, so you will have to hurry." Delenn's voice sounded very urgent over the comlink and Sheridan nodded even though she couldn't see him.

"Okay, Delenn. We will work as quickly as we can. Sheridan out."

He nodded to the three Rangers escorting him and they all acted as one person. In between those four the guards, who did not expect any ambush in the first place, did not stand a chance.

Londo's face was ashen, when he saw the three barging in and a small glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes, before the keeper took his body over. Thankfully the alien creature did not try to harm Londo as they had expected all along. It wasted precious time in trying to reach its master who was still engaged in his telepathic fight with Lyta. When the first ranger reached him, it tried to defend itself, but it had hesitated too long and did not stand a chance against the advanced attack of four warriors, especially not in a weakened body like this.

Then everything went black for the creature as a hypo spray connected with Londo's arm. Dr. Franklin had put his most recent patient to sleep.

…

"John's mission was a success. The keeper won't be able to hurt Londo consciously." Delenn reported over the comlink and G'kar signaled to Lyta that she could knock the leader out.

Taking a deep breath she did just that, grateful that she did not need to be careful of anything else anymore. She was pretty sure she might have fried something in the Drakh's brain but, actually, she couldn't have cared less.

She was still trying to catch her breath when she felt G'kar touching her arm. A wave of sorrow flooded her mind and she reeled back despite the warmth which spread through her body at the honest concern.

"Sorry. I did not think you could feel me even through the gloves." G'kar apologized being sincere. "I was just concerned about your health."

"Don't worry, G'kar. I'm good. Just a bit sensitive right now. It's not your fault. This was tougher than I thought it would be."

"Thank you for your help. I do not know how we could have accomplished this without your help."

She smiled warmly at that. "It is alright, my friend. It's like I said, I do care for you and I wish you to be happy. I was growing tired of you sulking all the time…" she joked and he responded with his own smile. They both sobered up pretty quickly though, when they looked back to the Drakh.

"Is Londo all right?" Lyta finally asked.

"Delenn said that they had been able to sedate him, but that doesn't mean he can survive the surgery." G'kar looked away, his voice sounding broken, betraying more of his feelings than he actually had wanted to let on.

"He will live." Lyta finally said as convincing as she could. "He is strong and now you will be with him. He will want to live. Come on, we should tie this guy up and bring you down into the medilab.

Just as G'kar sighed and tried to gather his courage, the alarm started ringing.

That was when all hell broke loose.

…

Chapter 9: Here comes the cavalry

Thankfully the Centauri medilab, in which Stephen was frantically working, had a separate energy system. So when the rest of the palace spiraled into darkness he could work undisturbed due to the reimbursement generator. Just once the lights flickered oddly, making Stephen and John wonder what was happening, but they actually had many other problems at hand.

First of it was that they needed to travel alone to the planet, so Stephen now lacked not only most of the medical equipment he was used to, but also several nurses who usually assisted him during such a difficult surgery. To be fair, John was doing his best to help him work and keep Londo alive.

"John, I need a new scalpel and please look out for Londo's heartbeats. Are they still normal?"

John's forehead furrowed, sweat pooling there when he squinted at the readings.

"It's still between the two green lines you pointed out earlier, but it has risen a little."

Stephen cursed softly and started working even quicker.

"Thankfully I've been confronted with those creatures before, when I was on that Mars mission with Marcus. Otherwise we would already have lost him."

When John finally asked the question, Stephen was astonished at John's abilities to restrain himself.

"Will Londo make it?" Only that astonishment made him answer despite the fact that he usually refuses to answer such a question while in surgery.

"He'll better be. Or G'kar will have our heads on plates."

Both knew that Stephen wasn't making fun so they got back to work even more concentrated.

…

"En'Thil'Za, we detect jump points forming right behind of us."

"How many?" Delenn's voice was strong, as it always was when she is in command, but she feared this was anything but good news.

"Three." Reported the minbari ranger, his fingers flying over the navigation consol.

"Scan them as soon as they leave hyperspace."

"Three War Cruisers of the Drakh are leaving hyperspace through the jump points. Their shields are up, their weapons ready to attack. The White star is in the weapon range of all three ships."

"Shields up, weapons ready and fire on my command alone. We will not start this war. Either they do or there will be none."

"The Drakh are hailing us."

"Open a channel."

…

The Drakh on the screen was smirking, which was never a good sign although all people seeing his face tried not to show that. All of them had known something was terribly wrong when the lights turned off in that palace wide power failure.

Now the power only on the communication screens has returned and only to show the face of a very satisfied Drakh.

"Did you really think we knew nothing about your little intervention with inner Centauri politics?" the Drakh finally snarled and everybody on Centauri Prime and on board of the White Star held their breaths.

"We only let you get this far because our previous leader had grown negligent. He had been getting old so it was my place to take his power after you dispose of him for me."

He nodded in the direction slightly aside of the screen and some hustling could be heard.

"I expect you to surrender. You might have been able to disable the bombs under Centauri Prime but there are currently three of our ships stationed in orbit of Centauri Prime and they are equipped with a very Centaurian little treat."

The smirk grew even bigger and everybody who saw the message averted their eyes. A smiling Drakh was… unsettling to say the least.

"We were really happy to learn what kind of people those Centauri are, you know? If you do not surrender immediately, we will give them a treatment of their very own history and bomb them with mass drivers. Soon their planet will look exactly like the home-world of the Narn."

Another Drakh entered the space next to the New Leader and brought a prisoner with him. G'kar and Lyta both gasped in shock, when they recognized him as a bloody and battered looking Vir.

"And for the very unlikely possibility that you think this is a bluff, I'll give you a demonstration of how very serious I am. I think all of you know this special Centauri. After all you followed his summon and it will be a great pleasure for me to let you watch while I kill him for his betrayal."

The Drakh reached for a very long simitar like sword and just when Delenn was ready to break her own vow and attack the ships, something odd happened. Suddenly the look on the Drakh's face changed from superior and gleeful to utterly surprised and pained. Then he looked down, to his own chest and saw the blade of one of his own weapons. It was bloody and had found his way through his body. Seconds after the Drakh sank dead to the floor a face none of them expected appeared on the screen. Lennier was standing right behind them face grim, cheek smeared with blood. But when he saw Vir, he pulled his friend into a bear hug and actually smiled a real smile before he addressed the screen.

"I cannot advice the new Drakh Leader to let the ships attack. I came here to help rescue this world and I came not alone."

…

"N'Thil'Za, four more jump points open up behind us."

"Who is it?" Delenn inquired because she had no idea who this could be. Except for the Rangers her own warrior caste had refused to come and she had also order the rest of the fleet to stay home as to not arouse suspicion. A lot of them were currently fighting 'The Hand' anyway. So who would…

"They are hailing us."

"On the screen."

…

"This is Captain Ivanova of Earth Command. We are here to assist in the fight against the Drakh, who occupy currently Centauri Prime. We request you to leave the home-world of our trading partner, or you will have to deal with 5 heavily armed Earth Force Warcruisers."

"I can't believe this." G'kar murmured overjoyed.

Lyta was equally surprised to see Captain Ivanova on the screen. She had not answered their plea to work with them and had refused to take part in an operation of the rangers.

"What did Lennier do to convince her?"

"I have no idea, but I will make sure to thank them both properly."

Lyta was not sure that was a decision or a threat, which amused her a great deal.

"Come one, we'll bring you to the medilab . We are not needed here anymore for now."

"Yes, Londo will need me more."

…

Chapter 10: Back at his side

The retreat of the Drakh was slower than expected but surprisingly they did not put up much fight. All of them wondered whether they left back another surprise they didn't know anything about yet, but perhaps they had just decided that Centauri Prime just wasn't worth so much trouble. They had also lost their latest three leaders (Lennier had managed to kill another one on his sole raid for Vir) and obviously fighting each other to become the next leader. How such a barbaric race had managed to enslave a whole world was definitely beyond their understanding.

Currently G'kar was sitting guard beside Londo's infirmary bed and annoyed the hell out of Stephen. He repeatedly asked the same questions again and again and Stephen had to quell the sudden wish to strangle him on more than one occasion.

"He will be fine, G'kar. I removed as much of the keeper as I could and the serum in his veins will do the rest."

"So why isn't he waking up yet? He's been passed out for over 20 hours now."

"He is not passed out G'kar, just sleeping deeply. That is good, because the sleep will help him heal. Do not worry so much."

"But all this is my fault!" G'kar finally yelled really angry and desperate.

That was when something touched his fingers and his head whipped around to look. Londo's hand was moving and looking for his, although his eyes were still closed.

Rage completely forgotten G'kar hastily sat down again. He gripped Londo's hand and whispered, "Londo? Londo, can you hear me?"

The Centauri emperor's eyelids finally fluttered open and Londo's eyes focused in obvious wonder on G'kar's face. His features were relaxed and he looked happy, but also incredibly sad.

Londo's voice was raspy from lack of water and not being used for over a day now, but G'kar understood his words anyway.

"G'kar, my love. Just… a dream."

Just like that he went back to sleep and Stephen halted G'kar's tries to wake him again.

"Please G'kar, let him rest some more."

This whole scene oddly reminded him of that other day, when he'd waited for Londo to wake up after his ex-wife had tried to kill him. Only then Londo had been the one apologizing over and over to him about what he'd done to him and to his home-world. This time it would be his place to apologize.

Finally G'kar nodded and assumed the position he's had before. Only now, he closely held on to the Centauri's hand, which still held their wedding band after all those years. When the nurse had taken of the gloves of the emperor, G'kar's eyes had fastened immediately on the ring, pain ripping through him. How could he have been so stupid and believe that Londo didn't want him anymore? He had probably never really believed that Londo had been serious when he answered 'yes' at the wedding.

But the Centauri must have been as serious as himself.

…

The next time Londo became aware of his surroundings, he awoke to the familiar sounding snoring. He smiled before trying to open his eyes. His whole body still felt weak and very old. This last punishment must have been a hell of a party if he couldn't even remember what he had been punished for. But his dreams at least had been quite entertaining. He was probably still half asleep because he certainly hasn't heard that particular snore in years.

He finally pried his eyes open and blinked in the harsh light of the medilab. This explained why he couldn't remember anything from his punishment. It must have been really harsh if the Drakh even allowed him some time in the medilab to heal.

He moved his hand and instantly stopped every movement, even breathing. He knows the feel of that skin by heart. Usually it was cool to his touch because its owner featured a slower body temperature than himself. It was smooth and leathery, brown on the inside and freckled with dark green dots on the outside. It also had a ring on the finger that felt awfully familiar.

He tried to move his head in the direction of the sound and only then realized that he could move freely. The by now familiar weight on his shoulder was gone and his thoughts were free from any interruption or censor. Could this really be? Could it be that this had been no dream at all? Could it be…

"G'kar?" he finally rasped, still trying to find the source of the snoring. The annoying but also most beloved sound stopped and a blurry shadow quickly appeared in Londo's vision.

"Londo?"

"I love it vhen you call me dat." Londo said and forced a smile as he blinked at a very familiar red eye. G'kar had long ago stopped wearing the artificial eye Dr. Franklin had provided for him, and instead wore a traditional Narn leather eye patch.

G'kar harrumphed at that and gave him a look. "You still think this is a dream, right? Otherwise you'd never say such romantic rubbish…"

The chuckle hurt, but it was a real one and probably the first real one since he had become emperor.

G'kar, although smiling was up in an instant and brought a glass of water. He placed the accompanying straw in Londo's mouth and the Centauri actually managed to swallow some of the water before coughing.

"It is your assignment to convince me ot'ervise." Londo finally said when the coughing died down again. He felt G'kar's touch on his face and on his hand, but he was too tired to do much about that right now although he would have loved to answer the soft caress.

"I can do that." G'kar said earnestly and to Londo's surprise, he leaned in and placed the softest kiss on Londo's lips which he had ever gotten.

He smiled dumbfounded, not sure what to say when the connection broke. Happiness was bubbling inside of him which he couldn't quite name yet. It made him giddy with joy and sheepishly he added, "You do dat a lot in my dreams G'kar. How should dis convince me of you being real?"

G'kar rolled his eyes, overjoyed with the easy banter. Even this weak and after such a long time of absence they easily fell back into their most appreciated pattern. The quarrel of lovers is indeed the renewal of love.

"Could you two please stop your banter for a moment, so that I can check on my patient?"

Stephen hated to break the happy reunion up, but the checks on Londo were overdue, especially with him being wake now.

G'kar settled back on his chair and watched as Dr. Franklin worked with Londo. He released his lover's hand only once though, very shortly, when Dr. Franklin checked his patient's physical abilities after the surgery.

"Can you still feel the keeper's control of you?"

"No. It's gone. Not even de remnants of it, vhich stayed back every time it was hurt and before it had grown back. Not'ing. My t'oughts are free."

Londo said in wonder and Stephen smiled.

"We must keep you in the infirmary a little longer though. This is the first time a keeper has been successfully removed and we can't be too cautious in this. There could be long term effects, we don't know about yet."

"Of course, vhatever you vish, Doctor."

"Good. You can stay up a little longer, but please go back to sleep immediately when you are tired. What your body needs most is rest, understood?" Stephen tried to look as stern as possible but confronted with a man that looked like he has just discovered the thirteenth wonder in universe, it was hard to be all business instead of happy.

"I will make sure that he rests. You have my word." G'kar finally said, looking equally happy.

"I'll count on you." Stephen replied and left the two lovers alone again. Right before he was out of hearing range he heard them get back to their usual banter.

"So you lied to me, you insufferable Centauri. You knew I was real right away." Despite the words there was no malice to find and Stephen grinned.

"Oh shut up you big dumb Narn and kiss me again."

"As you wish."

…

Chapter 11: A Centauri on a mission

Thankfully Vir didn't need to stay too long in the infirmary. He still featured some terribly colored stains all over his body and the healers had needed to stitch him up on quite a few wounds, but their nation needed him now, especially with Londo still in the infirmary. Dr. Franklin had told Vir that Londo would need to stay in the infirmary for at least another week, so Vir had to take care of business that long.

Still, there was another pressing matter on his mind and it allowed no postponement. He had only one more day left and he needed Londo's advice in this matter, now that he could freely give it. He was the only one who could understand his current situation and Vir just hoped his mentor was strong enough yet to help him.

He was hurrying down the corridors to the infirmary when he heard a loud laugh, which warmed his heart immediately. He had never been that fond of the former Narn ambassador, especially not after he broke his arm and raped Londo's mind, but when Londo and G'kar had married, Vir had started to like G'kar. He had made Londo happy, who had felt so alone all those years. His only other real love, Adira had been taken away from him by none other than fate and he wanted his mentor to be happy.

Aside of all that romantic crap, Vir also liked the deep, heartwarming laugh the Narn had. If G'kar was really amused and happy it was terribly hard to not reach the same stage.

"I wonder why I bother with you, you arrogant idiot." G'kar's voice hollered then and Vir suddenly wasn't sure if he should interrupt those two. They had been apart from so long… but then, if Vir didn't take his chance right now, he would never be able to.

"G'kar, do not get on my nerves! I do not want to eat any more. Not all of us have such a big stomach like you Narn. I am full. Now get away with this awful food. I t'ought I was supposed to get healt'y in here not even sicker t'rough dis shameful excuse of food."

"I promised Dr. Franklin to…"

"I do not care vhat you promised. I am old enough to…"

"But not intelligent enough to…"

"G'kar!"

"Mollari!"

Vir decided to enter on that note before that mock fight turned into a serious food fight. It would not be the first one and he really had no time to clean the mess up this time.

"Londo." He said and barged into the room, happy to see that Londo was already sitting up again. That meant he was healing much quicker than expected, which was good, as Londo wasn't young as he used to be.

"Vir!" Londo exclaimed laughing happily. G'kar also looked pleased to see him and bowed to him Narn way.

"I am very happy to see you already on your legs again." The Narn said and added "I was afraid they had hurt you lethally. You did after all inform us about the state of things here."

"I wish I could have acted earlier, but I was as much in the dark as all of you. I acted as quickly as I could."

"I could not say anything and endanger your life, Vir." Londo said and sounded apologetic.

Vir plastered a smile on his face although he didn't feel like it yet. "I know that you had no choice as to leave me in the dark, Londo. I am not mad at you. Not anymore."

"Good, so tell me, how are things going out there?"

Here Vir launched into a detailed description of how their nation was trying to rebuild their home world. The last Drakh was finally gone and they had removed all traces of the bombs. Now they were trying to organize help for those of their nation who had suffered most under the occupation. There were thousands of their people who had been forced to work in labor camps and others had been exploited in their usual work. Nearly all of the workers suffered severe hunger and they've had only minimal medical care. A plague had broken out on one of their bigger islands and the Drakh had prevented them from providing any help for their dying people.

But all this had changed now and for once all Centauri worked for the same goal: to help each other to survive this, now that the Drakh had gone. Vir had made sure they knew this had not been the Governments fault. They had broadcasted evidence of the Drakh on every available channel so that their nation understood why they hadn't gotten any help before. Their world was finally changing and perhaps the Centauri had learned their lesson once and for all.

Londo and Vir certainly had done that.

Vir finally ended with his report and saw, that Londo was getting tired. He knew his window of opportunity was closing fast, so he approached G'kar with an apologetic look.

"Could I please talk to Londo privately for a moment?"

He sensed that G'kar was very reluctant to do that, so Vir added, "I need his advice on a very private matter."

Finally G'kar nodded his understanding and added, "I could use some time to refresh myself anyway or your people will start to comment on my natural musk again." He smiled reassuringly at Vir. "Please keep an eye on him for me until I'm back?"

"Of course, G'kar. No harm will come upon him under my surveillance."

"I'll take your word for it."

G'kar turned to leave, then thought better of it and went back to Londo's side. Londo looked as surprised as Vir felt when G'kar actually leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Londo's lips. Vir knew this wasn't easy for G'kar because he was a very private man and hated public displays of affection, especially when they could cost him his head. He had seen them kiss only once before, which had been on their wedding day.

But perhaps, through all this, the Centauri were not the only ones who had learned a most important lesson.

…

"Okay Vir, tell me de problem." Londo said when G'kar was finally gone. He seemed eager to help Vir and for a moment Vir felt as if nothing had changed between them. Then again, he would have some news for his old mentor which he didn't know yet.

"This is a delicate matter, I am afraid, but I do not know where to start." Vir finally said and felt silly.

Londo dismissed that with a gesture of his hand and smiled at him. "I am married to a Narn, I can take it."

Vir chuckled at that and then sighed before finally asking his question.

"How do I court a man properly?"

To say Londo looked dumbfounded would be an understatement, but Vir's brain wasn't working properly at the moment to find a better suited expression. This would have to do.

"I did not know you were also inclined dat way." Londo finally said and seemed just curious but also apprehensive. Vir released a breath he had not known he was holding.

"I did not know that about my own desires until lately. I always thought I would find a Centauri woman who might actually like me back and everything would be okay. But now I find that there seems to be a man who could feel like this for me and I discover that I might not mind the gender as much as I did before."

"I know that feeling." Londo chuckled obviously thinking back on his own dealings with those new and unexpected feelings. "Just go for his brachiarti. Men like the direct approach to things."

Vir blushed a little at this blunt response and shivered when he looked for the right words to explain his dilemma.

"And if he does not have any brachiarti?"

That pseudo-dumbfounded look was back for a second then Londo suddenly burst out laughing. Vir would have felt affronted by this behavior had he not had years to learn how to deal with the man. Instead he patiently waited until Londo had calmed down again and was swiping his eyes clean from the tears of happiness.

"I'm sorry Vir, you really should not follow my footsteps. It is a lot of trouble…"

"If I look at you and your husband – he stressed the last word for emphasis – it seems very much worth every effort. Your relationship not only freed Narn but also Centauri Prime."

Londo grew a little more earnest again at that and nodded in approval.

"You are right wit' dat, my friend. So which race are we talking here? Narn? Human? Drazi? Please don't tell me it's a Pak'Ma'Ra. You can't be dat desperate…"

Vir shook his head. "Do you promise me to help me plan to conquer his heart, when I tell you who it is?"

"Of course Vir, you have my word."

"Good, it's…" and they started scheming.

…

Delenn and John walked hand in hand as they tried to find their way into the infirmary. They had been here before, but only to make sure Londo would be all right. Now official matters was bringing them there before they would go back to assist Vir in helping his nation. As many rangers as could be pulled away from their current fight against 'The Hand' had been ordered to help in rebuilding the planet who had suffered so much.

The low murmur of voiced led them into the right direction and they found Londo and G'kar currently engrossed in a game of chess. John had the suspicion this had been Stephens idea to help pass the time and Delenn had to admit, it was a great idea.

Both former ambassadors were known for their abilities in tactical maneuvers and it gave them an opportunity to quarrel in a more civilized manner than they usually did. Although Delenn knew that they did not mean what they said, on occasion it still sounded offending to her Minbari ears.

"Ah, President Sheridan and N'Thil'Zha Delenn. How have you been?" G'kar addressed them when they entered. Then he looked back on the chess board and grunted, "You just cheated!"

"I did no such thing." Londo defended himself but all other people in the room were pretty sure he was lying.

"This tower did not stand there when I pulled my gaze away. You moved it!" G'kar insisted and Londo's smile grew even more.

"Welcome to my current humble quarters, my friends." Londo said then added in G'kar's direction, "You are imaging things again. My hands did not touch the tower at all."

"Do not tell me what certain body parts of your body can and cannot do." G'kar growled and only the sharp clearing of John's throat reminded him that there were still guest in their near vicinity. "But we will talk later about this. What can we do for you both?"

"We are here on official business." John started and took a seat on one of the chairs for visitors. "Now, that we know you did not look for separation from the Alliance for your own reasons, we spoke to their governments again. All of them, even the Narn" Sheridan added with a fond smile in the direction of G'kar who was surprised to hear that his people might have learned something from his book after all "have agreed to this proposal."

Here Delenn took over and spoke with her usual flair for official matters. "The Alliance repeats its question for you to join us."

Londo for once was rendered utterly speechless as he stared first at Delenn, then at Sheridan and finally at his husband.

"What will you say?" G'kar finally asked and sat down beside his lover, grasping his hand.

"Of course ve vant dat." Londo finally said. "I'd never thought you would…" his voice broke and again he was at a loss for words.

"Good," Delenn said rubbing her hands. "If this is the case, the help convoys will soon be on their way and this is the right time for a Nafak'Cha (Rebirth) Ceremony."

Everybody in the room, including her husband, groaned loudly at that and rolled their eyes.

"What?" Delenn was the innocence in person, but the twinkle in her eyes spoke of things differently.

…

Lennier was standing at the Window in his current rooms and enjoying the view. The burning of the main city had finally stopped and everywhere on Centauri Prime people were celebrating their freedom and working on building their future. All in all he did a good job here and he was very glad that he could have helped Vir to accomplish all this.

He was also a little sad though, because that meant his time here would be soon over. Sheridan and Delenn would stay a few weeks longer to ensure their help for the Centauri and it had been difficult enough to avoid them so far. He needed to leave as soon as possible.

Still, he didn't want to leave. He was tired from always leaving the places he had grown fond of. He had been doing this for years now and felt no nearer to righting his failure than he had been the day he committed his crime.

"Lennier, are you in?"

"Yes Vir, please come in." Lennier called, happy that his friend had found the time to talk to him before he left.

"I heard you are packing?" Vir asked, uncharacteristically blunt for him.

"Yes, it is time for me to go, my friend. My work is done."

"But you are needed here, Lennier."

"I can't stay here at the same time as they are here. The piteous rest of my honor forbids it, Vir."

"So you still believe you have not done enough compensation for your sin?"

Lennier sighed. "I doubt I ever will, Vir. I cannot forgive myself for what I have done."

"But you need to forgive yourself, Lennier. Everybody makes mistakes. You are no exception."

Lennier was not hearing this for the first time, so there was anger when he answered, "But you do not understand, Vir!"

This time, he would not elicit the usual reaction though. He was taken aback at the level of Vir's annoyance when the Centauri answered, "Right. Because I have no idea what it means to kill somebody. Only you know how this feels, especially as you have not even succeeded in your endeavor.

Lennier paled and instantly apologized for his harsh answer, "I am sorry Vir. I did not think. Their close proximity has me on edge. I do not want to make the same fault twice. I am sorry to have reminded you of your own past."

"Apology accepted." Vir sighed as the usual clumsiness was gone from his voice.

"Look Lennier, they won't stay here for too much longer. You are welcome here and you know that I do not condemn you for what you did. You were in love and you were lonely. I should have been there for you, but I was too caught up in my own problems. And now this: when I needed you most, you were there for me without a second thought. You even faced your greatest fear for me. I want to give you something in return. I want to give you your happiness back. Please do not leave. I know how much you like it here."

"But I must try to pay for my sin." Lennier said desperately, the mantra in his head so old now that he did not how else to react.

Vir looked at his friend with an unreadable look on his face. Then he sighed deeply and visibly straightened his posture.

"Lennier ra Chu'Domo, I formally ask you for your permission to court you."

For a small eternity Lennier just stared at Vir in shock. Then he exploded into anger.

"Vir if this is some sick form of joke…"

Vir sounded small but defiant when he answered, "You've known me long enough, Lennier, to know that I would never make fun of something like this."

"But how could you say something like that to a monster like me?"

Lennier was still enraged and paced the room like a caged animal would. In combination with Lennier's words it made Vir angry too. "Because you are no monster, Lennier! If only you could see yourself as I see you. Everybody makes mistakes. That's because we live. Now deal with it!"

"I deal with it! Every day I deal with it!" Lennier yelled.

"No, you don't!" Vir yelled right back, then took a deep breath and tried to calm himself before repeating "No you don't, Lennier. You keep punishing yourself for this one failure and are constantly on the run. You use it as an excuse not to have to look for your own happiness in another place."

"And you think living here with you would make me happy?"

As soon as the words had left his mouth, Lennier wanted to take them back. But the damage was already done. He could see it in the painful way Vir's face contorted. His voice was cold and defeated when he answered.

"No, of course not. How foolish of me. Nobody would want someone like me. I should have known better."

"Vir, I…" Lennier tried to interrupt but his voice trailed off as Vir lifted his head and looked directly into his eyes.

"Have it your way then, Lennier. Again, I thank you what you have done for me and my people. If you'll excuse me now, I have other matters to attend to. My people need me, until Londo is back on his feet. I wish you luck for the future."

"Vir, please, I…"

But Vir didn't listen. He left the room without looking back because Lennier certainly did not deserve to see his tears right now.

…

Chapter 12: Forgiving

Sheridan saw the man he had been looking for and briefly wondered if he should let him go. The Minbari was obviously in a hurry to leave this planet and John could not blame him for that. It must be unsettling for Lennier to be so close to Delenn and him. Still if he pretended he had not found him, Delenn would see right through the farce and be really angry with him. He did not want that to happen, even if he dreaded this conversation.

He was many things but not a coward, so he finally called after Lennier, before the Minbari could reach the docking bay.

Lennier stopped dead in his tracks and at first did not turn around. He looked to the floor when he answered, "President Sheridan?"

"There was a time I was just John for you." John said and waited, if Lennier would find the courage to turn around to face him. To his surprise, he did.

"I am not worthy of that privilege and obviously never was." Lennier said when their gazes locked.

They stared at each other for a long while, both men not knowing how to proceed. It was again John who spoke first.

"Did you ever consider apologizing?"

Lennier's eyes widened in shock. Of all things Sheridan could have said to him, this obviously wasn't on his mental list of accusations and hate "That would mean I would ask forgiveness and I don't deserve that for what I did."

"Maybe, but that is not how the universe works." John answered cryptically. "For a long time I was not sure whether you really wanted to right the wrong you did on me, but after a while even I had to see the truth. You do regret what you did in that moment and not only for selfish reasons or because you were wallowing in self-pity."

"But regret is not enough. I should have never done such an atrocity."

"Again, this is not how the universe works. It is not important whether you deserve forgiveness or if your regret changes anything about the atrocity you did, but sometimes you receive the forgiveness anyway and sometimes regret is the only thing that can right your wrongs."

"So you say if I apology now to you, everything will be all right again? That seems very unlikely." Lennier said, voice hard, not sure what the other man was trying to do.

"It certainly will never be all right between us two. You lost my trust and I don't think you will ever be able to gain it again. I am also certainly not very relaxed with you around, but I do forgive you, for what you did as much as Delenn forgave herself for relying too much on you when she should have come to me with her problems. Although I don't want to see you ever again near our home, for whatever reason, you don't need to leave here just because of us. Vir must be very important to you to go to such lengths and it must pain you to leave. As far as I am concerned you can stop seeking for redemption."

Lennier was speechless and had no idea what to say. Should this really be the end of his pain? Should he really be able to start anew? There was one question left, which he needed to ask, but he feared Sheridan's reaction. He had to ask it anyway.

"Did she…?"

He did not actually expect an answer and was very surprised that he got one willingly.

"She never needed too. She knew this had been as much her fault as it had been yours and… she misses you. If you feel up to it, she would be delighted to be a part of your life again – even if I demand physical distance between you two."

"Would you not mind…"

"No." Sheridan shook his head. "You have always been there for her and you would never hurt her. I might not trust you with my life or that of our son, but I know that she is safe with you. This is her decision to make, not mine and it never was. If you want to come in contact with her, feel free to call her."

With that, Sheridan turned and wanted to leave.

"President Sheridan?" Lennier called after him and he turned around again, surprised.

"Yes?"

"I apologize for my actions towards you."

John nodded. "Apology accepted."

"Thank you."

John nodded again and went away, leaving behind a very confused but also relieved Lennier who had no idea what to do with the rest of his life, now that what kept him going was lost to him.

…

"Emperor Mollari? Citizen G'kar? May I speak to you both for a moment?"

It was already getting late and Lennier had decided against leaving Centauri Prime. He might leave later on, but first he needed to sort out things with Vir. He had tried to do so in meditation, but after a while he realized that he would achieve nothing in that fashion. He needed to talk to somebody and his possibilities were very limited.

He certainly would not call Delenn right away, although he was tempted to. Marcus had been gone for so long and Vir, the only other real friend left, refused to talk to him.

"Of course, come in Lennier!" Londo beamed as he saw the young Minbari. "You are de hero of de day, no? I wondered vhy you had not come earlier to visit me."

"I thought it was not my place." Lennier answered truthfully with a slight bow.

"My dear Lennier, you have saved my life now twice, it will always be your place to speak to me or ask for help."

"Thank you, Emperor."

"Bah, quit with those silly formalities. Ve've known each other long enough."

That actually brought a smile to Lennier's lips. The first one in a long time, but some things just never changed. "Very well, Londo, how do you feel?"

"I feel fine. T'anks to you and your rescue plan. If you know anyt'ing dat I could do to pay you back…"

Lennier shook his head. "Only your advice perhaps, on a matter of importance. I don't know who else to ask. Both of you, actually, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Lennier. Ask away. You seem very troubled, young one." G'kar said, sounding concerned.

Lennier sat into the visitor chair and looked for the right words, which would not come for a long time. Finally he sighed, looked up and asked the first thing that came to his mind.

"How did you two overcome the differences between your species?"

That made the couple exchange a surprised but knowing look. By now Londo had G'kar filled in on Vir's proposition and both were eager to learn how this story would develop.

Londo chuckled and looked amused when he answered "Well, I am not sure I should tell you dat, young Lennier. Minbari are kind of sensitive in dat area of expertise, if I remember correctly."

Now G'kar chuckled too and added, "But it had to do with a lot of insufferable sexual tension, too much alcohol and a broken bed."

If Minbari could blush, Lennier would have been beet-red by now.

"Uhm… That is not exactly what I wanted to know."

"Well you need to be a little more specific then, Lennier." G'kar answered, red eye twinkling with amusement.

Lennier swallowed, this was exceptionally hard, but he was determined, because he knew nobody else to ask.

"How did you know that you were attracted to someone else from another gender and on top of that from another species?"

The amusement was still there in the couples' eyes, but they suddenly grew more earnest and Lennier thanked Valen for that.

"We apologize, Lennier. We should not have deliberately made you uncomfortable. That was very inappropriate." G'kar finally said taking pity on him.

"Apology accepted." Lennier mumbled, fidgeting in his seat.

"But this question is not easy to answer. But I will try to answer your question as honestly as I can." G'kar offered and Londo added "And so vill I."

"I have always had interest in the physical nature of other races. As you are probably already aware, I achieved a reputation as someone who beds anybody remotely interesting. I have been ridiculed for that on many occasions, but I was strong enough and actually mean enough to still ensure my rise to power. This – let's call it fetish of mine - led me to Babylon 5. I chose this post, because it gave me the possibility to indulge in my preferences, without having to deal with the teasing of fellow Narn."

"But we never heard any rumors about male partners…" Lennier finally offered with his voice unsure although steady.

G'kar grinned "That's because I made sure those were not spread around. I became aware of my attraction to Londo very early, earlier as one should think. Of course I fought it as hard as I could and him starting a war with my people and helping to kill my race helped with that. I think a lot of our fights only escalated like this because of my attraction whether I wanted to accept that at the time or not. In the end it was just a matter of time. Either we'd kill each other one day… or…"

"Dat's my cue, I would say. Vor me, it was de exact opposite. I t'ink de attraction was dere, but I was not aware of it until it was much too late. In dat moment I already had to deal wit' an amorous Narn who had been denied for quite a vhile and vas seriously drunk. Let's just say it vas a very short revelation, but I never regretted giving in."

Lennier was nearly dying from embarrassment there, but he still had to ask.

"So it is easy to overcome the differences between the species?"

Again, the couple shared a look, smiles of reminiscence playing on their lips.

"No, easy it is certainly not." G'kar finally said.

"You need a lot of practice." Londo added and smirked.

"But it IS fun to make the discovery together, that much I can assure you."

Lennier was not sure that he could handle much more of this so he stood to leave.

"Thank you Londo and G'kar, for you honesty in this. I think I need to go now though." Lennier bowed deeply to both of them in the usual Minbari fashion.

"I vish you a peaceful rest, young Lennier." Londo said before G'kar added, "and sleep tight."

Lennier was nearly out of the infirmary, when Londo's voice called him back for a last sentence, "Oh and Lennier? Please be gentle with my aide, will you? He is very valuable to me and I do not appreciate to see him getting hurt. I might want to take revenge on those who hurt him."

Lennier practically fled from the room after that.

…

Chapter 13: Fighting the Demons of the Past

G'kar chuckled as he addressed his lover, "That was mean of you, Mollari. The poor child was already terrified and embarrassed enough."

Londo snorted, "Maybe. But I vas serious."

"I know." G'kar smiled fondly at Londo and lifted his hand to touch Londo's cheek in a tender gesture.

"G'kar?" Londo finally asked his voice husky.

"Yes?"

"Make love to me?"

G'kar looked regretful. "You know we can't, Londo. Not here, where anybody could catch us. It is too dangerous and you are not fully healed yet."

Londo snorted. "I sent all my guards away and you do not leave my side longer than 5 minutes. I think my race might be starting to realize the nature of our relationship by now anyway."

"It would not be appropriate for the Emperor of Centauri Prime though, to do it in the infirmary." G'kar lectured and Londo just shot him an annoyed look.

"You skipped your school lessons in appropriate behavior at royal court of the Centauri Republic, didn't you?"

G'kar smirked. "How did you guess?"

"Because none of our teachers could have taught you such rubbish. For Centauri Emperors it's practically a duty to do it in all possible rooms and situations at the manor. Now come here and make love to me, G'kar."

G'kar sighed, amusement forgotten. "So let me rephrase this then. It would not be appropriate behavior for a Narn to…" He could never finish his explanation as Londo interrupted him.

"But all dis talk about how ve got toget'er… I vant to feel dat again. I am tired of waiting. Ve have already lost so much time."

G'kar now smiled, still stroking his lovers face gently. "We will make up for it, just as we did that first time around. If I remember correctly, we did not leave my room for three days."

"Actually four, if you count the day spent at my quarters too. I am not sure just walking from your quarter to mine qualifies as proper disruption."

"See, so we will do just fine."

"I am not dat young anymore." Londo contradicted looking sour.

"We were both not young anymore back then. We still managed." G'kar smirked.

"G'kar?"

"Hm?"

"Make love to me?"

G'kar sighed. "You sure have a one track mind. This is not solely about our past, is it? What really brought this on?"

Londo bit his lip and pulled away from the soothing touch. He had not expected G'kar to see through it, but he should have known better. He was desperate for it right now and the truth might be the best way to accomplish his goal after all.

"The keeper…" Londo started and took a deep breath. He felt G'kar taking hold of his hand for support. They had not talked much about recent events but he really felt compelled to do so now.

"The keeper did not only control my body or my mind. It… could even control my desires. I…" This was terribly hard, but he needed to tell this to someone and G'kar was right there. Finally he wasn't alone in this anymore. "…I could not get aroused anymore. It could even control that. I know it was its doing, because, when I dreamt of you, of our past, my body was aroused, but when I woke, it also woke and instantly dampened it. I could only make it sleep when I drank too much, but…"

"But when you drink too much you can't get properly aroused either. Do not say more, love. I understand. Shove over, will you?"

While Londo followed the command G'kar went to the door of the infirmary and locked it. It could be overridden by the medical stuff but at least no guards or unexpected visitors would be able to interrupt them.

"So vill ve…?" Londo hated the desperation in his voice but he couldn't help it.

"Not the full deal," G'kar said and lifted his hand to prevent Londo from interrupting, "that will have to wait until you are healed properly, but I am sure we will find a way to release some stress." G'kar stopped in front of the bed and stripped as quickly and efficiently as he could.

Londo's eyes were hungrily watching his every move and G'kar could feel his body respond easily to the attention. Londo should have said something before. G'kar could not even begin to understand how desperate he must be after this ordeal. Londo was such a sensual creature, just like himself and being denied even that most basic relief must have been torture.

But no more. They were together now and G'kar would not leave his side. Not again. Not ever. He finally pulled the sheets off Londo's body and kneeled on the infirmary bed. He lost no time to crouch over his beloved and connect their mouths in the most intimate way possible. Londo moaned softly at the intimate touch and shivered as G'kar's hands expertly travelled over his body. The touch started at Londo's neck and ended, after having traveled over already excitedly moving brachiarti at the hem of his nightgown.

"Sit up, so that we can get rid of these clothes." G'kar murmured against Londo's lips and the emperor complied with a soft groan. His muscles still felt sore when he had to move quickly, but he ignored the pain for now.

With an expert move which showed that he had done this countless times before, G'kar pulled the nightshirt up and over his lover's head, freeing the six sexual organs already moving restless under it. Right when he tossed the shirt to the side of the bed the first two already circled his waist and tried to pull him in for another kiss.

G'kar was happy that Londo's brachiarti were already that active, although he could see that although the Centauri desperately wanted to indulge in sexual pleasures with him, there was no sign of actual sexual reaction to see on the appendages yet. Knowing what he did now, he did not commented on the lack of it, but instead bent on the task to slowly drive his lover insane with want. Surely the brachiarti would follow Londo's head soon enough in his excitement.

"Do you have any special wish for this right now?" G'kar finally asked, breaking the kiss to push Londo back into the covers.

"Except for the one thing you don't want to give me right now?" Londo growled, looking sour.

G'kar rolled his eyes. "You have my oath as Narn and as warrior, even as priest, if it helps matters, that I will fulfill this wish as soon as you are fully healed and released into your quarters. You will even have trouble walking, if you wish so. But for now, you will have to come up with something else." Then the Narn saw the look on his lover's face and he added a little less harshly "I really don't want to hurt you right now. I don't want to see you in pain, so please don't make me do this."

Londo's eyes shut against the soft plea and he nodded once, abruptly. "Forgive me, love. Just let us do dis somehow, I do not seem to be able to think past it right now."

"Alright." G'kar nodded and dived in for another hungry kiss. "Shut your eyes then, and let me give you pleasure."

Londo nodded and let his head fall back. He folded his arms around the Narn's upper body to hold his lover close and his brachiarti all traced loving lines on the Narn's body, but other than that the Centauri just laid there, bathing in any touches and caresses his lover wanted to give him.

Although he probably should, given their position, G'kar loathed to rush this. He had waited so long to touch Londo again and at the end he had nearly lost all hope that they ever would make love again. But now he was here and he was hungry for his beloved.

He started his journey soft, with nips and wet licks at Londo's mouth. From there he travelled over his chin to his neck, then the collar bone. His hands managed to blindly grab the two upper brachiarti and proceeded to squeeze them in a gentle and expert move, while his mouth was otherwise occupied. Centauri were especially sensitive on their upper body and G'kar knew how to prolong the pleasure there.

Londo's moans were soft, but constant and his hands twitched and scratched softly over the leathery skin of the Narn as they looked for a proper grip. He kept rolling his head as if in fever, completely messing with his usually impeccable hair. It had gone gray by now, and it reminded G'kar how much time they had left. He doubled his ministrations, returning to Londo's mouth for another one of those deep, soul searching kisses, while he felt a familiar swelling in the brachiarti in his hands. He smiled into the kiss and chuckled as Londo purred into his mouth as he strengthened his grip on the tips of the brachiarti.

When G'kar finally released the upper two brachiarti for those two in the middle his mouth wandered again, back to Londo's neck. He felt the Centauri shiver with obvious pleasure and chuckled again as he heard the soft please from a mouth that wasn't used to asking for anything. Londo bared his throat even further and G'kar happily obliged as he leaned in to suckle on the fair skin.

Due to the physiology of Narns the concept of a hikey had been foreign to him. Narn skin doesn't react like that, but he had quickly learned, dealing with other species how it happened. He had also learned that this usually was something only the pouchlings of a species indulged in, with the exception of a few individuals. Londo certainly was such an individual. For all his whining about them having to be cautious, Londo craved being marked in many ways by G'kar. So when he finished his handiwork on the neck he did not pause in also assaulting Londo's collarbone. He placed a very deliberate bite there, and although he made sure not to puncture the skin, there would be a second mark.

That second move had Londo howling in a mix of pleasure and pain, but from experience G'kar knew it was a very positive sound. They probably should be a lot quieter if they wanted to prevent being caught, but he felt his control slowly slipping.

G'kar actually hissed and buckled as the lower pair of the brachiarti slip between his legs and start massaging the hidden opening there. A warning growl is ripped from his throat and Londo actually smirked at him, as he opened his eyes and locked gazes with him.

"Do not vorry, G'kar. I vill hold you to your promise soon enough. We have not'ing to ease it anyvay."

G'kar nods his acceptance sharply, trusting his lover not to take things too far. If properly lubed he can take up to three, but that needs proper preparation and a lot of patience on both sides. Contrary to Centauri bodies Narn male cannot easily take intruders of any kind in this fashion although they do find it quite pleasurable if the connection succeeds. But they also like it when…

G'kar grunts and shivers in pleasure, as one brachiarti delicately rolls around the base of his erection. He practically feels his inner animalistic side trying to take over and in a desperate attempt to hold back, he surprises his lover by quickly rolling them around, so that their roles were reversed.

Londo blinks surprised and G'kar has to take two deep breath to calm himself before he can speak.

"Can we do it like this? Do you have enough strength for that?" He pants and Londo nods, understanding what must be bothering his lover.

"You have not been with someone in a while." Londo finally said and sounded surprised. It was the only reason why G'kar would need to pass him the active role, to keep things low.

"I did not feel like it." G'kar admitted grunting. "Now, will you proceed, or…"

The 'c' of 'proceed' developed into another long hiss and Londo instantly started moving, knowing that G'kar's patience was already wearing thin. G'kar had opened his legs for him a little, so that he could lay there in comfort, pressing his lover's body into the bed and with that control any possible outburst of his more animalistic side. He also braced himself with his arms to the side of the Narn and stole another sloppy kiss from his partner, before he made himself ready for his move.

As much as they had been attracted to each other, they had needed a little practice before they could really enjoy their coupling to the fullest possible way. They had needed to find ways how to occupy Londo's brachiarti, because G'kar lacked the usually needed counterparts. They certainly did enjoy practicing though.

Londo concentrated and curled the second one of the lower brachiarti around G'kar's cock. The two in the middle sneaked around G'kar's body to pull their bodies flush against each other. G'kar, knowing this position nodded and linked his hands together, forming a welcoming 'V' with his palms. Soon enough the upper two brachiarti, which were the only ones who actually delivered the procreation fluid, sneaked between the so formed, tight channel and practically at once Londo leaned in, so that G'kar could suckle again on his throat.

Just when they actually started moving against each other, finding that old familiar rhythm, Londo suddenly snapped back from G'kar's touch and tried to gather his control. It was too late though, as he already spilled his release against G'kar's chest in one tense moment.

He flushed a little, as he let himself fall against his surprised lover's chest and muttered: "Well, that vas graceless." He felt G'kar chuckle under him and although he felt terribly embarrassed for his lack of control, he knew G'kar was not being mean, just amused.

"Look, we both know it has been a while for you." G'kar offered and stroked softly over Londo's back. Londo hummed, then, when G'kar tried to entangle from him muttered "Stay put."

"What?" G'kar asked surprised.

"Ve are not finished yet." Londo said and loosened the grip of his brachiarti on his lover's still rock hard erection. Soon enough, when Londo started to glide lower on his body, G'kar realized what his lover wanted to do and tensed.

"Don't." he said and Londo looked up surprised.

"But you love it." Londo retorted obviously puzzled by his lover's reluctance.

"Yes." G'kar admitted smiling softly, but still frowning. "Especially when you do it to me."

"But?"

"But I don't want you to do it where another Centauri could see you doing it."

Londo sighed. "I thought ve have been past dis discussion." This topic was an old one between the lovers. "You are a Narn, so if it is possible and pleasurable to me, I will give you pleasure how a Narn would like it most."

"I do not doubt that you enjoy it too, Londo, but I also do not want you to lose face in front of your people. I accept that they should learn that we are lovers, but…"

But this time Londo was determined. He had accepted that they more strenuous activities would have to wait for later, but he would not yield in this.

"Are you really going to fight me in this, G'kar? Just because my people are usually too ignorant to see how pleasing it can be to pleasure another with their mouth, I don't have to do what they think is right."

He felt another protest forming on G'kar's lips, but the annoyed look he shot his lover finally shut G'kar efficiently up.

Londo looked smug and got back to the task ahead. Great Maker, he had dreamed of doing this to his husband, sometimes every night for weeks. At first he had been very reluctant to even try it out, as his society had strict regulations against such behavior. G'kar had only asked him once, but when he realized that it was no common practice for a Centauri he had never asked again. Londo had wondered though and when he found out that it was a very common practice for Narn, while on Centauri Prime only whores practiced it, he started wondering. He also knew that G'kar was really going out of his way to pleasure him, so finally he offered himself.

He never regretted it. In fact he loved reducing G'kar to an incoherent, trembling mass just by the touch of his tongue. He even found in himself a taste for the bitter, orange fluid, which Narn released at their orgasm. Sometimes it felt as if he had waited his whole life for G'kar to be his lover.

His movement finally stopped and directly in front of him stood proudly and weeping the ochre and dark green freckled organ, with the mushroom tip. It was practically begging him to be worshipped and Londo hungrily leaned in to swipe his tongue against the sensitive head. G'kar above him choked out a surprised cry and his fist clenched into the bedclothing. The Narn had only once made the mistake to grab for the Centauri's head and with doing so had destroyed Londo's hairstyle completely. Needless to say he'd slept on the couch that night.

Do never mess with the hair of a Centauri if you can avoid it even in the highest ranks of passion. If G'kar ever wrote a second book - G'Quan may detain him from such stupidity – it would be a guide for Narn: "How to have proper intercourse with a Centauri" and this would be rule number one.

He might be killed for that one though. By several races.

His musings were brought short by Londo though, as he finally leaned down to suck G'kar's erection into his mouth. A Narn curse escaped his lips and Londo hummed again, very satisfied with the result. The vibrations shot through G'kar like a lightning bolt and he moaned again, helplessly. He was trying to keep his hips still, let Londo's lips do their usual magic on him, but Londo seemed to sense his need and encouraged him to thrust.

That would bring him very quickly to the edge, but he could not help it, as he followed the invitation, soon lost in the passion it evoked in him. He came with another cry, purring through his orgasm, feeling himself getting licked clean soon after.

Both felt boneless and tired after that, but when Londo finally flopped down next to him on the bed, G'kar saw that something was seriously wrong with his lover. He had expected something like this though, had on fact expected it for several days now, so he just pulled Londo into his lap and started to stroke him soothingly.

…

Dr. Franklin was seriously pissed, when he overrode the lock on the door to the infirmary. He had warned G'kar about this; actually even more than once, knowing the passionate nature of both Narn and Centauri. Both races tend to push themselves too fast while healing, when it comes to matters of the flesh. So he forbade any sexual activities until his patient was fully healed. Now his instruments had shown him that this must be exactly what was happening down in the infirmary. The locked door was proof for it and he practically growled as he trudged into the room.

He stopped short though as he saw the sight both lovers made. G'kar looked up at his entrance, but did not react in any way to him and Stephen realized that was because Londo was not aware yet, that someone else had entered the room. G'kar just shot him a warning look and then ignored him, as he continued to hold his shaking lover. Londo Mollari was crying like a child and the sight tore at Stephen.

Like G'kar, he had been waiting for this to happen and had been worried when Londo showed no sign of that much needed relief for his psyche. The intimacy must have triggered the emotions to flow and although he does not like the physical exertion, Londo had needed to talk about this ordeal. So far he had refused but finally he was talking about it, whispering his pain in small sobs. G'kar was lying there, arms wrapped tightly around his lover, listening intently. He was stroking Londo's back soothingly, mumbled words of affection and love.

Stephen decided that the lecture could wait until the next day. For now, Londo needed to finally let go of all his emotional pain, so that he could heal and move on. He did not doubt for one second that G'kar would help his lover through all of it.

…

Chapter 14: Proposals over Proposals

Currently, Lennier was sitting at the computer console that were supposed to be Vir's quarters, and stared dumbfounded at the screen. Of course he had learned about the history and the political background of many other species they had to deal with on Babylon 5, but as Minbari usually waited for intercourse until their wedding, he had not learned much about their respective biology. Well, he regretted that now.

Since he had talked to Sheridan and had the more than embarrassing conversation with Londo and G'kar, his thoughts had been racing. He had wanted to immediately talk to Vir about it, suddenly very restless and intent on figuring out if there really could be something between them, but his friend was not there yet.

That struck Lennier as odd, due to the already late hour of the night, but then again, Vir probably was still angry about his rejection and perhaps could not sleep yet. So knowing the lively young man, he probably was out trying to help other Centauri and doing something useful to ease his mind.

Lennier knew his door code though, so when he entered he was fully prepared to meditate until his friend came back. Needless to say he could not concentrate properly for even one second though. So he had started pacing the room when a thought had struck. He remembered the conversation he has had with Londo once, about their… physical appearance. He could not recall much of it though, so he had wondered, if there was anything to find on Centauri biology and… the more physical side of their relationships.

As visitor on the Minbari home-world he would have never gotten access to any of those files, especially not over Minbari, but Centauri obviously had no qualms about that. They were quite forthcoming with information about that matter, some of them even in form of video threads. If Minbari possessed the ability to blush, he probably would have been beet-red by now, but so, only the dark blue color of his cerulean patch on his head and the very tight feeling of his trousers bespoke his arousal.

And this was exactly the state Vir found him, when he entered his quarters. The young Centauri stopped dead in his tracks and stared not comprehending at his late night visitor.

"I thought you were long gone by now."

"I…" 'wanted to, but could not' he wanted to say, but instead settled for "…talked to Sheridan. There is no need to me to leave anymore."

"He forgave you." Vir hazarded and Lennier nodded slowly, acknowledging the truth.

They lapsed into silence, not looking at each other, until Vir grew weary.

"What do you want from me, Lennier? Why are you here?"

Lennier could see how tired his friend was and regretted having disturbed him at this hour.

"It is not so important, we can talk about it tomorrow, when we both have slept and…"

"Lennier…" Vir practically growled and Lennier was taken aback by the intensity of it. He knew that even such a sweet creature like Vir could snap when properly motivated and had heard from his outburst on the market. "… stop running away and tell me what is happening here."

Lennier frowned. "I am not running away. In fact I am here to inform you, that I will stay here as long as you will allow it and…" he took a deep breath and closed his eyes when he added in a rush "… I also wanted to inform you that I accept your offer to court me."

Vir stared at him unblinking. "You what?" He sounded perplexed.

Lennier found it in himself to smile despite his nervousness and the arousal still cursing through his veins.

"I accept you offer to court me. If you wish, we may proceed with the rituals tomorrow."

"But… why?"

"Because you were right, Vir. "

"I was?" Vir screeched and made a proper imitation of a fish out of water.

"Yes. I cannot promise you that it will be easy with me, Vir. My guilt is still sitting deep and I cannot let it go yet completely. Not now, perhaps never. But you do understand me. Actually, sometimes I wonder if you are the only one who ever understood me at all despite all our differences. I always thought she understood me, but…" Lennier fell silent, looking away, shoulders sinking.

Vir nodded his understanding, even unseen by the Minbari. "But if she really would have understood what you were going through, she would have seen it coming. And she did not."

"You know what you are getting yourself into, right?" Lennier's voice was harsh, rough with emotion.

"I still love her, Vir, despite everything. I cannot stop loving her. I don't know who I am, when I am not in love with her."

Vir nodded again. "Centauri do not have a problem with that."

Lennier looked at that and frowned. "What do you mean?"

Vir actually smiled at him, suddenly looking older and different from the young man he had once been. "Centauri law allows multiple marriages. With that they acknowledge that feelings might change over time, that you can possibly love two persons at the same time for different reasons. They do not always use it like that, especially not for the nobility, but it is the initial reason behind it."

"So will you want to marry other partners too?" Lennier asked, not sure how he felt about that prospect, if he could get through that.

"Actually I am already married, Lennier. It was an arranged marriage and we never actually… erhm… consummated the marriage. She lives her life and I live mine and I can assure you, that I will never desire her in any possible way. She is quite sick in her head, if you ask me… but this is a story for another time and place. I always just wanted one person to love, who could possibly love me back in time. I know that Minbari marry for life and I learned also about your other customs and rituals, regarding the courtship." At this Vir blushed around his nose but ploughed on "I am aware that it might be considered very rude to sleep with anybody else except your mala. I would not wish to disturb your feelings by it, so I want to tell you in the light of the marriage I already have, that as to this day I have remained chaste."

Lennier stared surprised as he was not used to talk about such things so openly. "Thank you for confiding in me. If we are really going to do this, we should honor the traditions of both our races anyway. But we can sort this out later on, that's what the courtship rituals are made for. You do realize they will probably persist over one of your cycles, do you not?"

Vir nodded. "Yes, I was hoping…" the blush deepened, but again Vir found the strength to continue bravely "…that until then you actually might desire someone like me…"

Vir had not been looking at Lennier when he spoke and he was not aware that he had moved until he stood directly in front of him and forced him to lock their eyes.

"I will say this only once, Vir Coto, so listen closely. If you ever dare to insult the appearance of my betrothed again, I might leave instantly and never come back. You are the kindest, sweetest creature, I have ever met and your appearance is very pleasing to me."

Vir was surprised, but by the end of it he snorted. "And here I thought Minbari do not lie."

Lennier was still very earnest when he answered, "That is correct."

Vir's look was unbelieving "Have you even considered dating a man before I proposed?"

"No." Lennier told him truthfully. "But beside her I never thought about any other person. But I took the liberty of…" the reminder of it caused his cerulean patch to darken again "accessing your computer for information about your physiology and…" he had to swallow here "I happened to found the provided information quite interesting."

Vir's gaze fastened on the darkened patch and secretly checked the state of Lennier's neither regions. He slowly started to smile as he realized what he was seeing.

"It turned you on." Vir finally said excitement obvious in his voice and Lennier forced himself to acknowledge the truth with a nod.

"So, what did you read?" Vir asked amused.

Lennier made a small embarrassed sound but bravely pointed to the computer terminal. Vir grabbed Lennier's hand and pulled him over to the screen.

"Let's have a look. Oh yes, I see…"

…

Finally the day arrived in which Londo would be freed from the clutches of one still annoyed Doctor Franklin. For their impromptu lovemaking session he had grounded Londo for two more days than initially thought, but Londo and his lover took it with the usual grace.

They ranted, fought with him and whined. To no avail of course.

But finally the long expected day was there and they made their way over to Londo's quarters. The Centauri Emperor would be in for another surprise though. He saw the changes right away, when he entered, his partner at his side but carefully not touching.

The room had undertaken an obvious changing and Londo had lived long enough on other places with other races to see that it was now half as much a Narn quarter, than it was a Centauri quarter. Londo turned and stared at G'kar, but his lover only smiled mischievously and gestured to the other four persons in the room.

"Vir?" Londo finally said flabbergasted.

"Emperor Mollari. As your substitute while you were in recovery I made it my duty to change a few errors, previously made by your ancestors. When we will become part of the Alliance, we will have to part with some of our laws anyway. From this day on, relationships between Centauri and any other race are not only allowed, but also to be encouraged."

Londo looked torn, when he heard that. "You should not have done that for me, my friend." He said and looked away "our race won't accept…"

Vir actually had the snide to interrupt the emperor, which caused some eyebrows to rise.

"That is where you are wrong, Londo. Like you already know, this is your Prime Minister Rufalo and these are two of your inner guards." When introduced, the mentioned party bowed in honor to the Emperor. They are representatives of your staff and although there are some people who do not understand your choice of partner, most of them accept it anyway."

"Is that true?" Londo said looking austerely at the three.

Rufalo actually smiled warmly, inclining his head, when he offered, "I even helped to decorate your new chambers, Emperor."

Londo nodded at his old acquaintance then looked at the guards. They seemed surprised of getting asked to voice their opinion, but finally one of them bowed and explained, "It was your friends who helped us free Centauri Prime. How could we not welcome them with open arms?"

To his surprise Londo saw only the truth in his guard's words and for once, he was speechless. It was exactly that moment when G'kar chose to bow in a very traditional manner, which only a Centauri would understand right away. His mouth went dry and he had had to steady himself on a nearby drawer when G'kar spoke in perfect, flawless Centauri, "Will you do me the honor and go under the swords with me?"

For a painfully long minute neither of them breathed or thought anything at all.

Then Londo slowly started to smile as he nodded.

"It vould be my pleasure."

…

Epilog: Happily Ever After

"Former An'La'Shok Cole, are you finished watching your friends fighting their latest war?"

Marcus, sitting on a cloud, eyes still fixed on the happy couples down below, looked baffled. He put his bowl of popcorn aside and stood.

"Why do you go all formal on me, former Shai Alyt Neroon?"

"Because my parents are waiting for us on cloud 732 for our dinner to finally meet you. They arrived a few hours ago and are now ready for your announcement."

"Wait, what do you mean, 'my announcement'? Wasn't it you who wanted to court me?"

"Do not let us get all pedantic about the details…" If possible the Shai Alyt looked a little flushed for a usually so proud Minbari of the warrior caste.

"'Pedantic'? I don't need the proper courting rituals Neroon. I know that I love you and I don't need someone else's permission to court you."

Neroon rolled his eyes. "Yes, but that is not how my parents will look at this matter. You do not know them yet, Zha'aia (One-heart) like I do. It will be less exhausting if we just follow the rules."

Marcus sighed. "I know, I know. Do you know when my family will arrive?"

"The last I heard was that they had flown directly to the motel next to our cloud and are also expecting us to return this evening."

Marcus sighed again, heavily. "I love them, really, but explaining them why I want to marry a Minbari will take some time. Only William will understand. At least I hope so."

Neroon came down to the edge of the cloud Marcus had been sitting on and looked down, when he answered.

"Do not despair, Zha'aia. We will make them see that we are made for each other… in Valen's name."

"What is it?" Marcus stood beside his future husband and looked down at Centauri Prime, trying to figure out what he had seen to startle him like that.

"I did not know that Narn were this loose jointed."

Marcus flushed a little around his nose. "Yeah and quite imaginative too but Londo certainly does not rank behind."

Neroon's eyes boggled as something else caught his attention. "Oh my, I certainly did not know that Centauri knew that move on my race. Lennier sure looks happy over there."

"Where are you… oh… ew… I really do not need to see those two doing that." Marcus said flushed deeply red.

Neroon chuckled, "What is your problem, AnlaShok? Do you have no interest in knowing how the N'Thil'Zha does it?"

"Oh shut it. As if you would want to watch that…"

"No." Neroon admitted and finally turned away from their personal porn. "I'd rather start my own show, Zha'aia."

"Not until we have met our parents, I am afraid." Marcus said and looked really contrite.

Neroon sighed and pulled his lover into a hug. Marcus went willingly and angled his head so that he could receive the kiss. It was chaste and sweet and suddenly both of them were very eager to be done with the formalities, so that they finally could start their afterlife together.

They broke the kiss and Neroon extended his hand, smiling, "Shall we?"

Marcus nodded, took the offered hand and off they were.

…

Endless End

Finished 5th March 2011

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