Violets

Written for Accidentally The Whole Fanfic's Bumblebee Equinox Prompt. Because nothing says springtime like sex and whatnot! Er, I guess. It happens in spring. That's good enough, right? :I Rated M for descriptions of stuff.

When it came to sex, Celia had a sense of…adventure.

Marlin couldn't quite decide on whether or not this was a good thing.

On one hand, it was absolutely lovely when he woke up in the attic room of the farmhouse to find his wife doing positively wicked things with her hand down the front of his trousers and an equally wicked gleam in her eyes. She was a complete minx when they made love. They couldn't get enough of each other. He loved the way her lilac-scented hair fell around his face and the way her skin flushed with a delicious warmth afterwards, which made their bed almost impossible to get out of in the morning.

On the other hand, it was absolutely mortifying how many near misses they had had because Celia hardly ever wanted to keep their bedroom shenanigans in the bedroom. Vesta herself had caught them in the middle of the act in the root cellar, the greenhouse, and the stairs (that happened twice, mind you) and then roared with laughter at having done so instead of blushing and quickly leaving like any other normal human being would. Marlin had confronted his sister about it after the second stairs incident and she merely dealt him a congratulatory blow across his shoulders that had nearly snapped his spine. "Lock the door next time," she had suggested, and then turned to Celia. "Have you tried doing it in front of an open window?"

Celia shrieked laughter. Marlin had almost passed out. But that was Vesta. Vesta wouldn't be fazed if either of them chose to walk around the farm naked. (Coincidentally, Celia had already proposed that idea.) It was a lot less funny, however, when their neighbors came across their trysts on the beach or by the river or, once, in Jack's pasture, by the tree. By some miracle, they had been able to cover up the act each time, but Marlin had seen the suspicious glances already. He wasn't the most well-liked character in Forget-Me-Not Valley, and he didn't need the townsfolk spreading the rumor that he was in the habit defiling the sweet, innocent Celia in public. There was no way any of them would think that it was all Celia's idea—a bias that he actually preferred. Notwithstanding wanting to protect Celia's reputation, Marlin wouldn't be able to show his face in public if any of the guys caught wind that Celia was the dominant partner in their marriage.

"We can't keep doing this," he hissed at her one night as Celia dragged him outside by the hand. She was barefoot and already her free hand was unbuttoning her blouse. The springtime air was balmy, and a gentle breeze stirred the growing buds of their tomato plants and watermelon vines. Since the turn of the season, they hadn't used their bed for anything but sleeping. Celia had said the weather was too nice to waste, "If you know what I mean."

"Of course we can," Celia said sweetly, dragging him by the hand to the open field next to their property. They stopped in a patch of new violet blooms, their purple heads barely opening. "I plan on doing this for the rest of our lives."

"Babe, come on, is it really too much to ask to ensure a little privacy before—"

"Before what?" she asked, before shucking off her shirt. Her skin glowed faintly in the starlight.

"Before—this," Marlin argued weakly, gesturing to her breasts, because that's where his eyes were now glued. Celia grabbed his wrists and pressed his hands against her. Marlin's fingers automatically molded to their soft curves, and his pants grew that much tighter. He cursed mentally.

Celia's voice was a sultry whisper. "You promised that you'd love and honor and protect me all the days of your life, didn't you?"

"Yeah, of course. That's what I'm trying to do. You're just making it really hard for me to do the honoring and protecting when you want me to go at you in the middle of the road."

"I only asked that once," she said, pouting a little. "Besides, Marlin, it's so beautiful out here!"

She spun around with her arms out, her skirt flaring from her hips and sending loose flower petals whirling up from the ground. Their sweet, heady scent made his nose itch.

"Yeah, it is," he said begrudgingly, his eyes never leaving her form. She saw his dark gaze and suddenly grabbed him by the shirt collar and practically threw him into the grass. He landed on his back with an, "Oof!"

"I've lived in that attic for all my life, Marlin. I'm not about to make it the only place I love in, too."

"I get it, Celia, really, but do we have to do it so…publicly? Couldn't we rent a room at the Mitemi Inn sometimes?"

"The thrill of getting caught is part of the fun."

Marlin, thinking of the baleful looks his neighbors had been giving him nowadays, said nothing. Celia noticed his silence. "Does it really bother you that much?" she asked.

He propped himself up with his elbows. Celia stood above him, the stars twinkling far above her in the indigo sky. Her hair was a smooth waterfall over her shoulder and her face was alight with love and damn it if she wasn't more beautiful than the Harvest Goddess herself. "I don't want people to think that that's how you deserve to be treated," he finally said. "You need someone to love you on satin sheets with rose petals or some crap like that scattered all around. You shouldn't have to settle for rutting in the dirt like some…some animal."

Her brown eyes widened, and then a slow smile spread across her face. "But I don't want satin and rose petals," she argued gently.

"Yeah, probably because you don't think you're worth the effort. You're more than just a farmhand, Celia."

"I know," she said. "I'm your wife."

"That's right. And—"

"And I know that you'll do your best to give me everything I could ever want, because you want to love me and provide for me."

"Exactly, so—"

"So you don't need to worry about rutting me in the dirt like some animal, because that is exactly what I want you to do."

"Ye—wait—what?" Before he could argue, she had playfully put one of her small feet on his chest.

"Besides, you call yourself a farmer, don't you?" she asked with a mock frown.

"Yes," he answered, with a little wheeze.

"What better place to plant your seed than under the open sky?" she whispered, grinning, as she untied her skirt. It puddled at the ground.

Of course she wouldn't be wearing panties.

Afterwards, they sprawled side by side on the grass, staring up at the sky. The breeze cooled their sweat-slicked skin. Marlin was having a little trouble catching his breath, which tended to happen a lot when Celia was involved.

"Shit," he said, when he could speak again.

"Did you like it?" came the sweet voice in the grass beside him.

"That thing you did…with the hands…and the—"

"Muffy taught me that. She says that Griffin loves it when—"

He threw his hand over her mouth. "Stop! Stop! I don't want to hear it!"

Celia kissed his fingers, pulled his hand away, and laughed and laughed. "Do you still want to rent a room at the Mitemi Inn?" she asked, giggling.

He glanced over at her hopeful face. The wind was stirring her hair over her naked shoulders, and she had picked a violet blossom and tucked it behind her ear. There goes my reputation, he thought, only half-miserably.

"Maybe in the winter," he said gruffly. Her expression transformed into one of pure joy.

"We're going to get caught one day, you know that, right?" he asked.

She nodded sleepily. "And everyone will be so scandalized. It will be wonderful."

He heaved a sigh.

"You know why I love spring so much?" she murmured presently.

He grunted.

Celia skimmed one hand over the toy flower blooms between them, her fingers gentle on the unopened buds. Her voice was a sigh. "Everything comes to life. The forest, the river. The sky. And all the flowers. Even the little shy ones that you don't notice in the summer—the little ones that nobody cares about because there are always roses to look at, or toy flowers, or the blossoms on the trees. But the little ones, like the violets and the forget-me-nots, are especially beautiful in the spring. They get to bloom and grow just the same as everything else."

Marlin raked his fingers through his wet hair. "Believe me, babe, you're anything but shy."

Celia laughed again, sounding just like the innocent maiden he had always thought her to be. Watching her giggling in the springtime grass, her skin glowing with starlight, he felt his heavy mood from earlier blow away like a flower petal in the breeze. If anyone had told him that a married Celia would turn into a happy nympho with a fetish for exhibitionism, he never would have believed it.

But if it made her this smiling and happy, then it was definitely, definitely a good thing.