by DC Bastien
"Kinky." But he did roll over, and sit up. He felt a bit self-conscious about his obvious erection, but from the tenting in Avery's pants, he wasn't alone. He beckoned the other man closer, and locked his ankles behind his calves.
Ithon draped his arms around Kip's shoulders, humming in obvious pleasure. He never shut up. Ever.
Kip started to tug his shirt free, and dipped his head to kiss at the pale, flat stomach his undressing revealed. Teeth and tongue alternated, as he chased the different noises and reactions - some good, some not - and he tried to memorise the most positively received actions for later.
"Stop fucking teasing, you dick," Ithon growled.
That got him a snort in response, and then he shoved the man's pants down to his ankles, hobbling him. "I'm not a tease."
"How many years have you flirted with me?"
"That doesn't count."
Vadim smirked at the glower, and then bent his head. Ithon was rather well-endowed. Maybe not as long as he was, but fatter. Kip had seen his fair share of bits over the years, though he'd never settled with anyone of either gender for long. Still, there was something different about it being someone you cared about between your thighs, and he'd never been able to deny he cared about Ithon. A huff of warm breath, and he parted his lips around the head, suckling carefully.
"Fuck, but if I knew you were that good, I'd have dragged you off drunk years ago, you swine," Ithon hissed, rocking up just carefully onto the balls of his feet, not wanting to choke him, but not able to hold still, either.
Vadim replied. However, he had a mouth full of dick, and so the response was far from intelligible. At the fingers clawing through his hair and mauling his scalp so nicely, though, he moaned and took him all the way in. Maybe that would shut the fucker up?
No such luck. Ithon howled in bliss, and rode his face harder. He was still holding back, though, not wanting this to end too fast. It had been far too long coming, after all. He threw off his own shirt and jacket, just leaving the pants around his booted feet between him and nature. Fingernails scratched over the Captain's shoulders, encouraging him to suck harder, faster. He moved to kneel astride his lap, and kicked the last of his clothing off.
Eyes dark, Vadim looked up. He let the other man's length slip from his mouth with a wet 'pop', and wiped the strands of saliva from his lips. "You taste good."
Ithon laughed. "Why thank you. But as you've spent a night with the gut-rot, I imagine anything would taste nice."
"How do you want to...?"
Avery grabbed at Vadim's hand, and guided to his own ass, before he ground down harder in his lap. "I'm game if you are."
"God yes."
"Then stop with the talking. Haven't we done enough of that, through the years?"
"Most of it was yelling," Vadim complained, but then Ithon was sucking the Captain's finger very suggestively, and his mouth went dry.
Not one to ignore such a good offer, he moved his hand back behind Ithon's ass, teasing at the crack between his cheeks. He nudged his blunt, spit-slick finger between them, and teased slowly at the tight, warm hole.
"You done this before?"
"A few times," Ithon admitted. "Not in a while."
"Same."
"I am hoping you'll have more suitable things, but we'll start slowly."
"In the dresser, but yes."
Slowly being a sudden breach with that one finger. Slowly being the way Ithon's body suddenly opened up and welcomed him in, the way he half-flinched, half-swallowed the digit inside, or the way his breath caught noisily and then there was silence for a long, long, long moment. Vadim knew how good it felt to be on the receiving end, of course, but no amount of memory prepared him for the way Ithon's eyes fluttered closed, or the way heat spread across his cheeks. He was beautiful. He'd always been beautiful. He was more beautiful, because he... well. He cared for him. He was happy to take his breath away, because Ithon's pleasure meant something. He stroked that finger in and out, in and out, and listened for the harsh sounds of oxygen and carbon monoxide.
Ithon was in heaven. It had really been some time since he'd done anything than commune with his own off-hand, and no amount of toys or one-night-stands could ever feel the same as this. His Kip. His Kip. He'd always been his, the same way Ithon had belonged to the other man. Even if they weren't lovers, they were bound up together with threads that went deeper than their callings, went deeper than just sex. The blunt finger inside of him made a knot coil somewhere deep in his stomach, somewhere behind his balls, made him ache with emptiness and completion at once. He scratched over Vadim's shoulders again, and arched up before sinking down. God, yes.
"Fuck," Ithon said.
"That's the general idea," Kip replied.
All the drunk-feeling had now seeped out, and Vadim knew it had never really been in the equation. Or maybe it was just that last kick he needed to stop feeling sorry for himself, and stop blaming Ithon for things that were never really his fault. He fingered his ass a little longer, before he flickered his eyes to the bedside dresser.
Ithon nodded, and climbed off his lap to reach it. He came back moments later and offered Vadim the lube.
"You still sure about--?"
Ithon put his finger over Kip's lips. "Just fuck me already. You can guilt-trip - or not - in the morning. But if you don't fuck me into screaming oblivion tonight, Captain, then I will make your life a living misery."
It was a joke, of course. He knew that. They always knew... and he nodded.
The lube was cold, and that was good. It meant when he rubbed some over his aching dick that it helped to temper his ardour a little, but not much. There was still plenty left, so he grabbed Ithon's spit-slick cock and gave it a few tugs, too. There was a yelp, and his hands were shoved off.
"No! In me, then you can stroke me. Did no one teach you manners?"
The Captain laughed. "You're such a demanding little diva."
"Shut the fuck up, Kip."
He grabbed Ithon's hip with his dry hand, and held his dick still with the other. Ithon's lips were thin with concentration as he lowered himself gradually down, a hiss escaping as he took over half in one go.
"Jesus, you asshole, could you be any bigger?"
"Well, thanks."
"It wasn't a compliment."
"I know."
As Ithon started the slow up-down, up-down of riding him, Vadim grabbed for his cock again to take his mind off the intrusion. Well. Or make it worse. He started to pump over his shaft in time to the man's movements, smirking as they got more and more erratic. Further and further down Ithon's body went, taking him all the way to the root. It was hot, and tight, and... him. That was the important part. Him.
Why the fuck had they waited this long?
"Saidhe's going to be smug," Kip pointed out, with a laugh.
"Why the fuck are you talking about them right now?"
"Because they were running a book on us. She thought we'd already fucked."
"Well, she was wrong."
"Closest, though."
"I don't even want to know, do I?"
"Come here and kiss me, you dick."
Vadim put one hand low on Ithon's back, pressing him down on each fall, savouring the little clenches, the way he held him tightly. He loved the hand at the back of his own neck, keeping him at just the right angle for more biting kisses. But more than that he liked the way Avery's free hand stroked over his face, into his hair, down his arm... it was as loving as he was fierce. But he was inebriated, and it had been a while, so he wasn't at his full strength... and when Ithon started to lose his focus, he could tell. He jerked him faster, harder, mercilessly towards his completion, biting at Ith's throat as he took to throwing his head back and screaming Kip's name. Hot, wet spurts that splashed between them, and when he'd finally done convulsing, Vadim flipped him over and grabbed at his hands.
Sticky with cum, they stared at one another for the three sharp, rough shunts that were all he needed to follow him
over the edge. He held himself up for just a few more heartbeats before he rolled them to their sides.
"...fuck."
"Yep," Ithon breathed, noisily.
"I fucking... yes."
"Me too." Avery pushed sweat-slick hair back from Vadim's face.
A pause, and then they wrapped into the tightest bear-hug ever known.
***
[Ashroe: Fuck me, but I need a lie down.]
[Sianor: You and me both.]
[Ashroe: I didn't - I mean - I wasn't going to...]
[Sianor: It... it was right. I loved it. I know it's going to up our rating though.]
[Ashroe: That's all you're worried about?]
[Sianor: Well, people will already have plenty of plot. If they don't like the pairing, they can choose to stop reading. It's not like it's gratuitous.]
[Ashroe: Fuck no.]
[Sianor: Or... a one-off. I mean. We don't have to write more, but...]
[Ashroe: Ithon won't want a one-night stand if that's what you mean.]
[Sianor: Neither will Kip :)]
[Ashroe: He's not going to shut up all night, now, you know?]
[Sianor: GOOD.]
[Ashroe: Now we get to write the awkward morning-after.]
[Sianor: Oh god yes. Ahahaha.]
[Ashroe: Don't pull your punches. My muse did kind of take advantage of yours.]
[Sianor: Uhm, I think it was pretty much mutual!]
[Ashroe: Well, yes, but even so...]
***
Chapter Twenty - Mission: Recuperation
The next morning Vadim woke to a bit of a sore head. It was understandable, really, because his home-brew was not the healthiest of things to consume. His stomach felt fine, though, and his dreams had been intense, but not unpleasant, and they faded from his memory as he surfaced back into the world.
Feeling slowly crept back in, and the slight twinge that said his stomach needed feeding. That and his bladder emptying. There was also a lingering warmth between his legs, and a familiar smell of... well. Ithon.
Ithon. Who... and then... and...
"Morning, sleepy," Ithon said, fighting a smirk. He was tangled up with him, head dropped onto the pillow beside him. His blue eyes were laughing.
"Did I sleep in?"
"You've got time to get up and washed before we hit Raboros. But if you think I'm making you breakfast, you've got another think coming."
As Ithon hadn't left the bed, yet, and was apparently still comfortable in his presence, Kip took that as a good sign. He certainly didn't regret last night - well... maybe that it had taken him so long - so he reached up to pull him in for a quick kiss. It was slow and lingering, and it sent a kindling heat low between his legs... yep. Still a good reaction. He let go and looked up.
"You smell of alcohol," Ithon snarked.
"Nice to see you, too."
"Brush your teeth before you do that again. I'll put the coffee on."
Definitely positive. Vadim watched appreciatively as the naked Enforcer strode out cheerily to the kitchen.
God, the crew would kill him if they found out he'd been wandering around nude in shared areas, if they ever all got through this alive.
***
[Sianor: Those two! They will be the death of me!]
[Ashroe: I know, I know.]
[Sianor: I just... I want to squish them together. Is that weird?]
[Ashroe: 'Squish' them? Hehehe.]
[Sianor: Shut it! Don't hurt my woobie!]
[Ashroe: Damnit, I like to cause pain to those I love.]
***
"I'm going to kill him," Saidhe snarled. "I'm going to make bow-strings out of his vocal cords. I'm going to smash his face until it's the same colour as Loap's. I'm going to--"
"Sai, please!" Biann reached out a hand to place between Saidhe's shoulder blades. "You know he will send for us."
"It's not the point!"
"He thought he was keeping us safe."
"Safe? When Kre and Loap have got themselves into trouble, and he runs off with his Enforcer buddy, and leaves us in a retirement home? Are we defenceless babies? No! We should have just as much right to save our friends as he does. The selfish little--"
"Saidhe, please. We're not completely abandoned."
"They took the last ship!"
"They did, but we have things here, and we have me."
"So what, you're going to build a ship out of the waste reclamation unit?"
"If it comes to it, yes."
"And if you do, I will compact that so-called Captain's ass with the ship."
"Let's see what we've got to make do with," Biann said, tugging on her sister's sleeve.
***
Raboros was a large, dense planet with very harsh gravity and thin air. Humans rarely visited the Sianar home-world because of the relative difficulties on the surface, so they were greeted with some confusion when they hailed the capital. Even more confusion when they confirmed they would be landing without an AI assistance, and outright suspicion when Avery asked for an audience with Ail-Tho-Gameth, the Sianar's leader.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to end poorly?" Vadim grumbled, as they stepped from their mostly-Earthlike ship onto Raboros.
"Because you are naturally a pessimist, and you enjoy entertaining thoughts of oncoming doom," Avery replied.
The capital city of Raboros, Ghaba, was in an arid part of the planet with dusky red sandstone buildings. The air was hot and biting, and every breath in felt too empty. They would not be able to last here long without assistance, nor do anything too strenuous.
Avery landed the Messenger in the private dock within the palace walls, and Vadim was impressed. The buildings were simply shaped, but the very tops of every wall were painted in vibrant friezes. They were too high up for him to make out the patterns, just the colours, and he doubted even the taller Sianar would be able to see the designs without using binoculars.
Avery caught him looking.
"The idea is not for the decoration to be visible, just there. It reaches upwards as a message to the stars. If everyone could see them, then it would lessen the meaning for them."
"Interesting."
"You should see what they do when there's double-walls."
"Why isn't anyone escorting us?"
"Kip, I don't know what you were expecting, but some of us make friends, not enemies."
They walked towards the main building, where deep, high steps led to two wide-open doors. There were Sianar posted here, standing proudly at the top of the stairs.
"Really?" Vadim sighed. "The steps are going to be hard."
"Getting flabby in your old age."
Which was a red flag to a bull, making Vadim take the first step a little faster than was wise.
When they had managed half the steps, the Sianar at the top approached. Vadim was sweating, his legs cramped and tense. He was trying not to look exhausted, but it was tough because Human legs were much shorter than Sianar, and the bastard Avery had to be taller, didn't he?
"Would you allow us to help you?" one of the Sianar asked.
"It would honour us," Ithon answered, before Vadim could pick apart if it would be politic or not.
Vadim nodded and barked a rough thanks, before heavy jaws closed around the back of his neck. It was an instinctive Human reaction to wince at the threat, rather than interpret it as a friendly gesture. It would take just a few pounds of pressure to crush his spine, but instead the Sianar sprinted up the remaining steps and dropped him down.
"Thanks," Vadim told him, his hands itching to go up and wipe his neck clean.
The Sianar bowed, and went back to their vigil.
As they went further into the building, when they were out of earshot, Avery spoke low under his voice. "Showing a willingness to mount the steps indicates your honourable nature. Accepting assistance for the rest of the journey shows you are humble and ready to work as part of a group."
"And you couldn't warn me beforehand?"
"Genuine reactions are more believable than tutored ones."
"...where did you learn all this? I don't remember it being part of our basic training."
"It isn't, because it's not widely known. I've been busy in your absence."
"As I'm beginning to see."
Avery nodded to a few people as they went on, and before long they were in the antechamber of what had to be an important room.
"His Eminence Ail-Tho-Gameth will see you shortly," a young Sianar told them.
"Thank you."
