by Aiden Bates
His positive frame of mind continued, even as they brought their daughter back up to the condo and tucked her into her crib. She would probably be up again in a few hours, but it had been a long and exciting afternoon.
“Bastian, I think you should do it.”
Bastian paused. He was looking down at the sleeping face of their baby girl. Her cheeks were so chubby, and her little lips formed a perfect “O” as she slept.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Zachary slipped his arms around his husband’s waist. He looked up at him. Bastian wasn’t a lot taller than him, but Zachary liked that he was, just a little bit. It made him feel protected.
“Will it be too hard on you, emotionally, to be alone with the baby all the time?”
“That’s just it. I won’t. We’ve developed such a great support system here. I can afford to hire a sitter. And with my new job being so flexible, I think Stella and I could come out there quite often. Imagine how much the readers would love photos of her, of the three of us, in the rainforest of Hawaii.”
Bastian smiled and pulled Zachary close. “Those would be beautiful photos. The two of you. Mm.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe how lovely they both were.
“Yep. And I could write about the challenges of us each doing jobs that we care about. Where we meet and compromise, where we struggle.”
Bastian nodded. “It could work out very well.”
“Plus you’d be helping us get to Mars. I mean, that’s pretty damn impressive.”
Bastian got that look, that modest yet proud look when he felt good about his research. “Maybe one day there will be families like ours, where one dad works on Mars and the other on Earth. My work will help the Mars dad not get depressed; your work will help the Earth dad not get overwhelmed.”
“Maybe so.”
Later that night, during the baby’s last feeding, Zachary watched Bastian get ready for bed. He watched as his husband took off his watch and put it on table, how he did this set of just three yoga stretches, good for people who work at a desk, pulling each arm across the top of his head in turn, and then pretzeling his arms in front of him. How he leaned down and kissed the baby’s head, just when her eyes were going crisscrossed from trying to stay awake and failing.
Zachary would miss him a great deal. They hadn’t been apart for so long since, well, ever. He would miss his reassuring presence and the way he made Zachary laugh by singing power ballads in that overemotional way. He would certainly miss the help with the baby. But he’d seen how his husband’s eyes lit up at the thought of participating in the Mars simulation. It was his dream come true. Zachary would not pass up the chance to help that happen.
They would be okay. There were many ways to stay in touch these days. Zachary and Stella would visit often. And they would have their “family”—the one they had created for themselves at Stellar Landing.
“Love you,” Bastian whispered from the bathroom door.
Love you, Zachary mouthed.
Chapter Forty
Bastian’s bags were packed. The night before, his buddy James held a little going away party in his condo. Bastian didn’t want the typical Stellar blowout, he just wanted to spend time with a few close friends. He would be back, of course, at the beginning of October, but he was going to miss these guys.
It had almost three years since he first came to Stellar Landing, and since then, he’d grown to appreciate his hardworking, fun-loving neighbors. They appreciated him, too, for all of the ways that he helped the community stay strong and healthy.
He would be missed.
Zachary told him to go without him. “Enjoy a night out with your friends. We’ll be here for you.”
But tonight, his last night in Stellar, tonight was just for Bastian, Zachary, and Stella.
They were simple people, Zachary and Bastian, and that was a good thing, because life in small-town Alaska was necessarily simple. They wouldn’t be going out to dinner, but instead having a picnic at the spot with the most beautiful view—on the floor of their twelfth-story home, right in front of their window. Bastian sat on the blanket with the baby and played with her while the sky outside turned shades of orange, pink, and violet with the sunset.
Zachary brought over their meal on trays.
“Are you trying to seduce me?” Bastian asked his husband with a wink.
“You bet I am.”
There were imported cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables, chocolate covered strawberries, smoked salmon on whole-seed crackers, and quince jam. It was the kind of picnic that one packed when they wanted to impress someone. It reminded Bastian of the picnic he packed last year on that ill-fated trip to the glacier caves, which ended up being one of the best nights of his life.
Zachary poured him a glass of white wine.
“This is supposed to be good stuff. Carl ordered it especially for me.”
Candles were lit, low music played, and the soft, exotic scent of incense filled the room.
“This is perfect, Zach. Thank you.”
Zachary looked down at his plate, but he smiled. He liked to be appreciated.
“I want you to remember this night for a while. For at least three months.”
They ate leisurely, while talking softly and watching the baby do typical baby things. She seemed to be soothed by their conversation and it wasn’t long before she was asleep. Bastian put her to bed.
The sky was inky blue now.
“Dance with me, Bast?”
If it weren’t for Zachary, Bastian would never dance. He was the staid and stoic one, the thinker. Zachary was the one who saw all of life’s colors and felt the beat of the very earth. Bastian took his hand, pulled him close, and began to sway.
Here was the dilemma of marriage: you had to bare your very soul to another person. That person saw all of your best qualities, but also, all of your worst. They saw the secrets that caused you pain, and the tiny successes that built you up. When there was true love, they accepted all of that. There was incredible closeness. But in order for each of you to continue to grow, to be satisfied on your own, sometimes you had to let each other go. Just for a short time.
It was painful. Bastian hadn’t even gotten on the plane yet, but, oh, the ache in his heart. The fraction of his life that he’d known his husband was so small, but his impact was great. He was Bastian’s number one fan, his biggest cheering section, as well as his coach, forcing him to be a better person and a better father.
Bastian’s arms tightened and he kissed the top of Zachary’s head. He felt rather than heard Zachary’s sigh against his body.
“I’ll miss you,” Bastian rasped, and it came out croaky and sad.
Zachary tilted his head up to meet Bastian’s eyes.
“I’ll be there soon. The doctor says she can fly in August. We’ll come out and walk on those black sand beaches with you.”
Their lips met, just softly brushing against each other, the way they had so many times before. But this time, when they separated, the absence felt immense. Bastian pulled Zachary against him again, hard, and pressed his mouth into his husband’s until it hurt.
When they pulled apart this time, Zachary had a wicked grin. He’d felt Bastian’s hardness pressing against him.
“I want to do something for you, something that will remind you of me when you meet those sexy scientists and handsome future astronauts.”
Bastian smirked. “You mean, all those nerds.”
“Hey. Nerds are hot. And I need you to think of me.”
“I do. I will.”
“You better.”
Zachary began to unbutton Bastian’s shirt, slowly. He didn’t take his eyes off Bastian’s, and oh, did Bastian love that. Those sultry eyes.
Zachary’s hands moved inside Bastian’s shirt, felt for his nipples and tweaked them until Bastian gasped. He pulled the shirt aside and found the nipple with his lips and then lapped at it, nibbled at it, while gentling raking his fingers down the flesh of Ba
stian’s chest. When his finger found the waistband of Bastian’s pants, he hooked it and pulled flirtatiously, but didn’t stop trailing a little circle around the nipple with his tongue.
All while looking into his husband’s eyes.
Bastian’s hardness was almost painful. There was no doubt in his mind that he would think of Zachary often while he was in Hawaii. No man had ever turned him on with such frequency or ferocity. He almost laughed thinking about how he had been worried about getting it up for him in the beginning, when so often, just a look from Zachary gave him a raging erection.
“Want more?”
Bastian licked his lip and nodded. Oh yes.
The finger hooked in his belt moved to the buckle, and began to take it off. It was like a striptease, but instead of someone stripping for Bastian, he was being stripped. He felt Zachary’s hand stroke him through his jeans, once, twice, three times, making him harder and harder.
His zipper came down, and then he felt Zachary’s warm hand directly on the sensitive skin of his cock. He gasped as if it were the first time. His hand moved between his legs, to gently caress Bastian’s balls.
“It’s been a while, babe. I think I need to make you cum.”
It had been maybe four nights. Not an excruciating amount of time.
“Yes, it’s been so long, my love.”
“I need to make you cum.”
“Yes.”
“In my mouth.”
Bastian inhaled through his teeth. “Yes, oh, yes. I need to cum in your mouth.” His arms had been loose around Zachary’s waist, but he moved them to his lover’s shoulders, and gently pushed.
He should have known better.
“Uh, uh, uh,” Zachary scolded him. He pulled back, and as he did so, he tugged Bastian’s belt through its loops. “You shouldn’t rush a master.”
“A master?”
“Mmhm. A master cocksucker. A master at sucking my husband’s cock.” He pulled the belt all the way out with a whipping noise. “Put your hands behind your back.”
This was new. They’d occasionally played a little bit of domination and submission roleplay, but as the alpha, Bastian was the naturally dominant one. But he put his hands behind his back, and he felt his wrists being bound loosely with the leather of his belt.
“That’s better,” Zachary said from behind him. He pulled Bastian’s pants down to his knees, and suddenly Bastian felt like he wasn’t in control. It was delicious.
Zachary came back into sight, then got on his knees in front of his alpha. Without breaking eye contact, he put his hand around Bastian’s erection and started to lap at it.
He knew what he was doing, oh yes. Zachary had a magic tongue. As he licked, the tip of his tongue touched at the sensitive underside, then flicked over the top, all with maddening slowness.
Every nerve in Bastian’s body screamed, Grab him and fuck him, fuck that pretty mouth, but he bit his lip and held his breath. It was worth the wait.
The omega’s hot tongue swirled one more time around the top of Bastian’s dick, and then Zachary took it in his mouth, sucking on just the head for a moment like a lollipop.
Bastian groaned and yanked against the belt, forgetting that he was bound. He wanted to run his fingers through Zachary’s hair, pull on it, impale his mouth on his cock, but he could not.
Zachary’s brow arched devilishly, but he didn’t take his mouth off of Bastian’s dick. Instead, he slid it deeper down, centimeter by centimeter, slowly enveloping Bastian in pleasure. As he did so, he moaned seductively, as if indulging in a decadent dessert.
“Oh, Zachary, fuck, it’s good,” Bastian hissed. “Don’t make me wait, please.”
The omega began to move faster, his mouth brushing against the hair at the base of Bastian’s cock before coming back up and caressing the head, then back down again and again.
Bastian could tell Zachary was getting more aroused as he began to move faster and his eyes were hooded with lust. His lips began to hit Bastian’s groin with more force, and he gagged a little before pulling back. His lips were deep red and coated with saliva.
“I want to cum inside you,” the alpha said. “But not in your mouth. Please. Let me fuck you.”
Zachary shook his head no, just slightly, and forced his mouth down on Bastian’s dick a few more times. His grin could just be made out.
Bastian recognized that look. He liked to be in charge for once.
“Fuck me, Zachary. Use my cock. Make me cum inside you, please. Use me for your pleasure.” Bastian was saying whatever came to mind. His brain was buzzing with endorphins and all he knew was that he wanted them both to feel delirious with pleasure.
Those were the magic words, apparently, and Zachary got up off his knees. Without taking the belt off Bastian’s hands, he carefully walked him backwards until his ass was against the glass window.
Bastian knew they were on the twelfth floor, knew that no one could see them, but he felt a rush at the exposure.
His cock was glistening in the candlelight.
“I’m going to fuck myself on your cock, Bastian,” Zachary told him. He looked almost drunk with desire. He turned his back to Bastian, held Bastian’s cock to his ass, and then sunk down onto him.
Oh, the exquisite tightness of that wonderful place, his favorite place. He loved his husband’s mind and he lusted after his husband’s body.
“Yes, fuck me, you naughty little beast,” he said, and he didn’t know where those words came from, but they had good effect.
Zachary went wild, slamming himself against Bastian over and over, his hand on his own cock, bringing himself to orgasm.
Bastian felt his muscles tighten on his dick, and he held his breath again. He wanted to wait until the perfect moment.
“Now, do it now,” commanded Zachary, finally, and Bastian felt the contractions of his husband’s body. As soon as he saw the seed spilling out of Zachary, all over his hand, and onto the floor, Bastian allowed himself his own release, slamming into Zachary with a howl and cumming hard.
They crumbled together to the floor, separating as they did so, and caught their breath together.
“We’ll need to wash the carpet,” Zachary finally said.
“You mean you’ll need to wash the carpet,” Bastian responded. “I’ll be gone tomorrow.”
They laughed together, but then got silent.
Bastian would be long gone by this time tomorrow night.
Chapter Forty-One
Another beautiful sunset.
Pink, gold, and lilac, this time. Zachary cherished the time he could relax in front of the window and appreciate the beauty.
The baby was in her electric swing, snoring in that adorable way that she did, her lips plush and pink like her alpha-daddy’s. Bless whoever was the genius that invented the baby swing because it was one of the few things that soothed her so well. Zachary didn’t want to wake her, so he tip-toed around to find the point-and-shoot camera that he kept on the sofa table for just such occasions, then tip-toed back to take a picture.
He winced as the camera made its unnecessary shutter noise, but he got a beautiful shot without waking her. He leaned down and touched her soft forehead with his lips. Always a worthwhile risk.
Looking at the photo on the display, he knew his readers would love it. His blog “Omega Father and Child” was wildly popular now, not only with alpha/omega parents but with the world at large. It was a fun gig, he had to admit.
“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!”
The baby jumped, opened her eyes wide, then her mouth, and her healthy wail soon filled the room.
“Oh, Stella. Your sister was asleep!”
Zachary put down the camera and picked up the baby, swinging her gently in his arms. Little Annie Alika was only three months old, and while she was sleeping pretty well through the night, Zachary was still grateful for daytime naps.
“Sorry, Dad.”
Stella did look apologetic. She was three now, and such a wonderful big sis
ter and a huge help, particularly when Bastian was away.
“Don’t worry, precious. What’s up?”
“We got an email from Papa!”
Kids these days and their technology. Zachary was amazed as his toddler flipped through to the email program on her iPad, and found the message. There were photos of the new apartment Bastian had rented for them, as well as pictures of him learning how to surf.
It had been three years since Bastian’s first trip to Hawaii, and so much had changed. As planned, he spent three months there, and three months in Stellar. Until the second pregnancy, Zachary and Stella were going to Hawaii for two weeks at a time, so that they were only separated from each other for about five weeks at a time. While they missed each other, it wasn’t as bad as they’d anticipated. There was also Skype, FaceTime, texting and emails.
And as petty as it sounded, the extra income was very, very nice.
As beautiful as Hawaii was, both Bastian and Zachary preferred Alaska. It was home.
They were a two-state family for now, though, and the original one-bedroom apartment in Hawaii that they made work when Stella was a baby wasn’t big enough. Not with another little one who would be ready to fly in about three more months. They couldn’t afford any of the fancier apartments out there, but Bastian found an older home with a screened-in porch, a washer and dryer, and a very nice kitchen. And the view almost matched that of the one from their Alaskan home.
“Look at that, Annie!” Stella said softly to her baby sister. “That’s our room. When you’re bigger, we can share a bed, right, Dad?”
“You sure can.”
When both of the girls were asleep, Bastian and Zachary had their nightly Skype session. They had a pattern: they’d each pour themselves a drink—wine or hot tea or a finger of scotch—at seven p.m. Hawaii time, nine p.m. Alaska time, and then Bastian would place the call.
“Hey, Daddy.”
“Hey, Papa.”
“Did you get the pics?”
“I did. First of all, you look really hot as a surfer. And I know surfers.”
