Imposition (8 page)

Meitou stared at him. “This is manual? Wow, I had no idea we were riding something so antiquated."

"What do you expect, this is a back-water route,” Gen said into his palm. He tapped his foot against the table and took a sip of coffee. “It's good enough for Navy."

Meitou smirked, sipping at the brown liquid. He spat it out into the vacuum port and poured the rest of the cup away along with it. “Christ, that tastes like shit."

Gen had to concede he was right, in that respect. He inspected his own cup, then noticed Meitou was leaning back against the side, looking at him. Scrutinizing him in the same way a clever officer might.

"What?” he said, feeling himself straighten for some reason.

"Are you mad?"

"About what?"

"Exactly my point."

A few moments of silence passed, where they simply stared at one another as Gen grew steadily more annoyed. Eventually he looked away.

"He's out for a run, by the way. But you probably already knew that, right? He said he does it every morning."

"Mm."

"Know each other well, then?"

"Sure. Five years.” Gen wasn't sure why, but he was speaking as deep and gravelly as possible.

Meitou pursed his lips and nodded. “Wow, that's quite a while. You can get to know quite a lot about a person in that time. You didn't know he was gay though, did you?"

Gen rubbed at the back of his neck.

"With a reaction like yesterday's, I didn't think so. I can't believe he never told you.” Light laughter that made Gen want to crush the cup in his hand. “Even more surprising you never figured it out on your own. I mean, I've barely been on the ship five minutes and I've already figured it out. So to speak."

"That's different."

"I don't see how.” Meitou's voice was rich and arrogant like it had been just the day before, when Gen had lost his cool.

"Well, I haven't tried
fucking
him before, and I've certainly never asked, so how —"

"'Before'?"

"Don't twist my words!"

"I'm not doing anything. They're your words, Genham."

Gen stood up and tipped the rest of his coffee away.

"Are you jealous?” Meitou asked him.

"Are you fucking kidding me?” he shot back.

The man just laughed. Once, softly. He unfolded his arms and straightened up, waving a hand at Gen and smiling. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Some bad habits I just tend to slip back into. You're just simmering so close to the surface it's difficult not to want to make you boil over. You probably don't even know it...haha, there I go again, just ignore me. Oh, and you might want to be more careful which doors you barge through in future. You never know where they might lead,” he said with a farewell wink, and walked off humming. Gen just stood there and stared after him.

Gen was still in the mess, staring out of the window at nothing in particular, when Therse arrived later.

"Hi,” Therse said, meeting his gaze guiltily. Gen didn't respond, didn't shift position from his spot by the window as Therse fetched himself a drink.

He sat down near where Gen was standing and placed his mug on the table, leaning his mouth against his knuckles and making a noise like a sigh as Gen sat down opposite him. Therse looked like he was trying to find the right place to begin.

Gen made it easier for him. “Are you gay?"

Therse just looked at him for a moment, then nodded.

"When were you going to tell me?"

A guilty look. “Now?"

Gen glared back at him.

Therse adjusted his position and leaned back in his chair, still gripping the mug with both hands on the table. “I don't know. There was never a right time."

"I think any time before now would have been the right time.” Gen stood up and made to leave.

"What did you want me to do? What should I have said? Oh, here's those schematics you wanted to look over, and by the way,
I like to fuck men
?"

"That would have been better than me finding you balls-deep in some guy's ass. A guy who, by the way, we don't even know."

"Oh, who the hell are you, my mother? I bet if he'd been a woman you wouldn't have given two shits. Hell, you'd probably have been jealous I was the one getting laid."

"How long have you known?"

Confusion flickered over Therse's face. “What?"

"Hey, I figure we might as well get it all out in the open now, while you're in the mood for sharing. How long have you known you were gay?"

"I don't know, a long time."

"Before I knew you?"

"Yes."

"Before you enlisted?"

"Yes! Look —"

"Do the others know?” Therse looked away. Gen pressed him. “
Do
they know?"

"Look, I don't know! I think Mal probably suspects, but I haven't
told
anyone else, if that's what you're asking."

"All this fucking time and you never said anything. To any of us."

Therse looked away and rubbed his fingers over his mouth. Then he glanced back. “Are you
actually
mad at me?"

"Yes, I'm fucking mad at you."

"Why the fuck does it even matter?"

"This is a huge thing, and you never told me. Every fucking time we were out together and I tried to get you hooked up with some girl, every double date I took you on, every woman I pointed out to you, this whole time it was all fucking pointless and
you knew
but said nothing. At any point you could have turned around and said, ‘actually I'm gay'. Any time. I just don't fucking get why you never said anything."

"Look, there was...there was just never the right time —"

"Yeah, you said that already."

Therse rubbed his forehead.

A thought occurred to Gen. “Wait. Did you think that I'd react to it or something? Did you think I'd take it badly?"

"No! It was nothing like that."

"Fuck you. If you'd think that for even a moment, then fuck you."

Therse stood, his expression darkening. “It wasn't that at all."

"Then what?” Gen yelled, holding his arms out wide. “What stopped you telling me for
four fucking years
if it wasn't that?"

"What the fuck difference does it make anyway?” Therse shouted back. “So I like to screw men! So what? So
fucking what
?"

The words bounced off Gen's back as he stormed out of the mess.

He was still astonished by Gen's reaction. Of all the ways to take it, Therse had never imagined he'd be pissed. Sure, he didn't find out in the best way, but Therse was more mortified about it than he imagined Gen could ever be.

Therse had lost track of how long he'd been wandering around the corridors of the ship, trying to get his head around what to do next.

He felt like he should apologize for not telling Gen sooner, but it would be difficult to explain why exactly he'd held out for so long. And anyway, he was damned if he would be the one to apologize first after Gen's idiotic overreaction. And it was an overreaction. He was only secretly gay, not secretly planning to commit genocide.

He looked up and noticed Meitou coming towards him. Seeing him again made Therse's stomach do somersaults.

"Hey."

"You look troubled.” Meitou's lips pulled up at one corner as Therse watched them.

"Yeah, well,"

"Lovers’ tiff?"

"...No...He just didn't take it too well that I've been lying to him for years."

"Lying?"

"Technically, I guess, I never made it clear..."

"Why lie about it?"

"I don't know...” he shrugged. “Look, it really has nothing to do with you,"

"Right, right.” Meitou waved a hand. “Just give him some time to cool off."

"I think it's going to take a little more than that. There was yelling on both parts."

"He'll come around. You're his closest friend, right? He's got no choice. Wounds like this always seem deeper when they're fresh.” Meitou's hand rested on Therse's shoulder. “Once you've let the dust settle, things won't seem so bad."

Therse could feel the intensity of Meitou's gaze. The effects of that look went straight to his groin.

He sloped his shoulder so Meitou's hand slipped off. “He's right you know. I don't know

anything about you."

Meitou's gaze was cool, determined. “All you need to know you already do."

"I've never fucked a guy without even knowing his name before."

"You know my name."

"Your full name. Or anything else about you."

"Why, need something more to shout out next time?"

Therse raised an eyebrow. “'Next time'?"

Meitou just smiled at him, a self-assured, intoxicating sideways grin that set something alight in Therse's gut. He felt himself beginning to give in already, before a proposal had even been made. Meitou stepped closer.

Therse decided to put a stop to it before it started. Doing it the first time had really been bad enough.

He put his hands out as Meitou was leaning in, his palms meeting the soft material covering the man's chest. He could feel the stiff, taut muscle beneath, and the night before came flooding back. “Look, I don't know."

"Yes, you do,” Meitou said, voice low and close to a whisper. He leaned in and pressed against Therse's outstretched hands, tilting his head to speak into Therse's ear. “You're already hard just from thinking about it."

Therse wanted to push him away, wanted to deny it and stalk off down the corridor hoping never to see him again.

But it was true. He couldn't stop thinking about last night. It had been a long time since he'd felt that good, since anyone had made him feel so alive, and he wanted more even if he knew it was a bad idea. Perhaps that was what made it so thrilling. He looked down, fingertips clenching slowly into Meitou's perfect black uniform.

Meitou's lips grazed his cheek.

Therse pushed him away, just far enough that they were no longer touching, and looked Meitou straight in the eye. “It's not right,” he said. “After what happened earlier..."

Meitou chuckled. His lips were so close Therse could almost taste them. “Don't be such a prude,” he was told. “You have an opportunity to fuck, just take it."

"That's all this is, just an opportunity."

"Yeah,” Meitou said. “That a problem?"

Therse considered this, then reluctantly shook his head. Meitou leaned in closer again, smoothly so Therse didn't startle. So close. His lips were so close. Therse could feel the warm breath from Meitou's nostrils tickling his cheek. He realized his eyes were closed. There was no doubt left in his mind that this was absolutely what he wanted. Excitement took hold in the pit of his stomach as he felt Meitou cross the gulf between them and kiss him softly.

The Imperial's tongue slid against his bottom lip and Therse opened his mouth, allowing the man's tongue to enter him, slick and warm and wet over his own. Meitou's kiss was much like the man himself—patient, determined, and effortlessly persuasive.

Therse's whole body was hot, in a way he'd never experienced any of the times he'd been with other men. This man, the idea of him electrified Therse in a way he'd not thought possible. He clenched his fingers into the fabric of Meitou's jacket and broke free of his lips.

"Not here,” he managed, lips brushing against Meitou's as he spoke. “Somewhere more...private."

Meitou's tongue slipped up under his top lip, and Therse felt his own cock twitch beneath his fatigues. “Where someone can't walk in on us, you mean. Didn't work out so well yesterday."

"So I'll remember to lock the door this time."

The man's hand slipped down against his groin, and Therse had to stop himself from pressing against that caress. “Fuck, you're hard,” Meitou told him, licking his earlobe.

Therse brushed him off.

"There's a room just here,” he said, trying to steady the waver in his voice with a coarse cough.

Meitou followed him down the corridor a little way until they came to a door, conveniently close but still far too great a distance away for Therse's liking. He wanted to do this and enjoy it before he had time to think about anything again. To lose himself in pleasure for an hour or so sounded just perfect right about now.

The door hissed open and they walked in.

It was just like any other of the thousand-odd smaller crew member's quarters on the ship—a large bed and some concealed storage, lit by the low orange light from the bathroom. It was more than enough for what they intended.

Meitou grabbed Therse by his shirt and kissed him hard. Therse's fingers fumbled beneath Meitou's jacket, eagerly seeking the clasps that held it together, undoing them quickly and pushing the garment from his shoulders. Meitou lifted the shirt from Therse's back, breaking the kiss momentarily as it was tugged over his head. Hands traveled over Therse's body, fingertips pressing down his back and riding over his torso to his erect nipples, rubbing over them until he moaned openly in frustration against Meitou's mouth as they kissed.

Meitou performed some trick with the buttons on his own shirt and discarded that too. Therse slung his arms around the man's hot shoulders, fighting a losing battle against arousal as their half-naked forms pressed together, as Meitou's firm, commanding hands drifted down to his trouser zip. The zip was undone, but those hands wandered away to Therse's buttocks, grabbing and bringing their hips together.

The feeling of Meitou's tight, rock-hard cock rubbing up against his own through what little clothing remained set fire coursing through Therse's veins. Meitou himself was looking far less composed, mouth open and strands of fine blond hair falling across his face. He smiled.

His hands pushed up into Therse's hair and pulled back sharply, exposing his neck. “If I was ever conceited enough to have a type, you'd certainly be it."

"What are you talking about,” Therse said, voice strained as he gripped Meitou's shoulders in an attempt to support himself.

Meitou watched Therse's lithe body move as he tried to escape the position. “You know, a certain type of person you're bound to fall for."

Therse's eyes flicked to his, smiling. “Are you saying you could fall for me?