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   "Yeah, that's not what I meant." With Jhuun still leaning on him, Gabriel paused, ostensibly to give them both a rest before continuing. "I didn't just leave, I ran away. That could have been the biggest mistake of my life."

   It was easy, with Jhuun already in his arms, to press that long body closer to his, to hoist himself onto his toes to get a little closer to the alien's face. Jhuun understood, leaned down and they kissed, fitting together a little awkwardly at first after so much time apart, but it was the best thing Gabriel had experienced in a long time.

   When they broke apart, Gabriel felt Jhuun's hand, sweet and uncertain, come to rest against his collarbone. For the first time, in the middle of chaos and destruction and death, Gabriel felt alive.

   "I love you," Gabriel murmured. "I could have lost you."

   "You wanted no regrets," Jhuun said quietly. "No fears. No attachments in time of war. Death is still a possibility, you realize."

   "Yeah, I realize that," Gabriel said. He closed his eyes, drawing Jhuun close to him. "And I'm glad I don't have to face it with my arms empty."

   The Idea Room had been damaged in the attack though enough of a clean-up had been done to make it presentable. It was now packed to the brim, to the point that people had brought in chairs from the cafeteria along with anything else that could serve as a seat.

   The broadcast screen was active—the action on the screen, a series of replays of their most recent victories against the Maedrom, was accompanied by happy cries and excited commentary from the gathered Humans and Eunnoians.

   Gabriel sat on the armchair of one of the couches, his hand draped over Jhuun's shoulder. The alien was sitting on the couch with his bandaged leg propped up a chair. Close to them, Kurt sat on a stool he had procured from somewhere, looking exhausted from his long shifts in the medical wing, but happy nonetheless. From across the room, Gabriel could see Bianca, her arm in a sling, accompanied by Xhani, who smiled broadly as both women watched the broadcast screen.

   For the first time in years, the cheerful mood was not a façade. Section 27's victory against the Maedrom a few days prior had been the first ripple in the changing of the tides. The Maedrom, with their prized weapon now useless, were being beaten, destroyed, forced to retreat. Perhaps they were still some time away from the complete end of the war, but the end was visible on the horizon and that alone was enough to bolster spirits.

   Gabriel himself could not have felt more elated. The changing fortunes were one source of his joy and as for the other—he smiled as Jhuun turned to look at him, a smile on his own wide lips. Gabriel could not resist and moved his hand from Jhuun's shoulder to brush his fingertips against the skin of his throat.

   From the corner of his eye, Gabriel noticed a Human man, who had been happily chattering with his friends, cast him and Jhuun as puzzled, but pleased look. Paying the watchers no mind, Gabriel leaned down from his position on the armrest and kissed Jhuun.

   When they broke apart, Gabriel didn't lean away. The Idea Room was awfully crowded and noisy, not the ideal locale for anything more, as much as Gabriel wanted to take this farther.

   Jhuun seemed to read his mind.

   "Perhaps you wish to pursue this further," Jhuun murmured against his lips.

   "Yeah," Gabriel smiled. "I do. Does your room have a lock?"

   He remembered that look in Jhuun's eyes— hunger, passion, lust—and he quickly helped his lover to his feet, limping out of the Idea Room, glancing back at Kurt's smirking face as they left. Together they walked to the lift, to the engineering wing, to Jhuun's quarters.

   In all the time he'd previously spent on the station, he hadn't visited Jhuun's quarters. They were bare and functional, much like his. In contrast, the lighting elements were dimmer and Jhuun had acquired framed art for the walls, Eunnoian pieces that Gabriel would find time to study later. Now, Jhuun quickly latched the door and prowled over to Gabriel until the two fell onto Jhuun's bed.

   The mattress was soft, and instead of blankets, the bed was covered in sheer cloths. They felt cool against his back as Jhuun stretched out on top of him, resting his long, lean body against Gabriel's, and kissing him deeply.

   Jhuun had gotten
very good
at kissing. His lips were thin, but they slid with skill against Gabriel's own, and Gabriel savored the familiar, earthy taste of his alien lover. The way Jhuun moved against him as they kissed was positively intoxicating and already he was hard, his erection bumping against Jhuun's pelvis.

   Their first and so far only sexual encounter, in the engineering workshop, had been hurried, tentative and had ended poorly. This time, Gabriel vowed it would be the complete opposite. Tightening his hold around Jhuun, he indicated that the alien should roll over on the bed so that Gabriel could now lie on top.

   Jhuun's body unfurled on the sheer bedclothes as though he were a cat, his green eyes going dark in the dim lights. There was no doubt then in Gabriel's mind that he loved this being and that no matter what came of the future, this was not a love he could ever regret.

   Gabriel bent down, gently scraped his teeth against Jhuun's throat, enjoying the stuttered gasps this drew. His hand wandered down Jhuun's chest, stopping to touch the fluttering vestigial gills—they were not much of an erogenous zone, but they were exotic to him and he enjoyed the feel of them. After running his fingers along the frilled edges, pausing to feel the warm air rushing out, his hand dipped lower, beneath the rim of Jhuun's form-fitting shorts.

   Gabriel quickly slid them down Jhuun's long legs, mindful of the gauze wrapped around the still-healing leg wound. With Jhuun now naked, Gabriel paused only to remove his own shirt and pants, smiling at the way Jhuun's gaze curiously trailed over his chest, his stomach, his hard and ruddy cock. Rising up onto his knees, Gabriel adjusted his position on the bed until he could lean down, and press his mouth to the sensitive slit at Jhuun's lower abdomen.

   The reaction was instant, and as thrilling as the first time. Jhuun gasped loudly, his back arching as Gabriel licked and bit at the tender flesh. It tasted just like Jhuun, cool and earthy, and pulsed under his lips.

   Sensing movement on the bed, Gabriel looked up to see that Jhuun had raised himself onto his elbows. He moaned as he realized Jhuun wanted to watch him, wanted to
see t
he Human who was pleasuring him. He kept his eyes on Jhuun's, incredibly aroused by the way they darkened and narrowed, by the way Jhuun's lips parted as he struggled to draw in breath. He began to whisper a few words in Eunnoian—and damn, but Gabriel was really going to have to make the effort to learn Eunnoian one day—until his breaths grew louder, sharper, and his body tensed as he said, "Gabriel…now…now…I will—"

   Taking the cue, Gabriel removed his mouth from the slit and rubbed his palm over it, excited beyond belief as Jhuun fell back and thrashed around on the bed, moaning and gasping his way through his
before-orgasm
, and as the hard, slick organ slid out into his waiting hand.

   This, Gabriel remembered, was as far as they'd gotten so long ago, before doubts and fears and insecurities had come around to ruin everything. Now there were no such things as Gabriel watched Jhuun collapse back onto the bed, smiling blissfully and trying to get his breathing under control. There were no other emotions but love, and the certainty that he had never done anything that felt as right as this.

   Gabriel laid a kiss on the narrow tip of organ in his hand, delighting at the way it pulsed against his lips, at the way the contact made Jhuun's hips surge up. Not so different at all.

   "Do you need a moment?" Gabriel asked. "Or should I continue?"

   "A moment," Jhuun whispered. He reached out for Gabriel, beckoning him to return to his side. Gabriel did not argue, covering Jhuun's body with his own as they kissed. He barely noticed that Jhuun's hand was gliding between their bodies until he felt long, warm fingers wrap around his cock, giving it a tentative squeeze.

   Gabriel broke the kiss to moan. Back in the workshop so very long ago, he'd gotten the chance to explore Jhuun all he wanted, but that was as far as they'd gotten. Evidently, Jhuun was ready to make up for the lost opportunity. He got onto his knees, giving Jhuun better access, watching his lover as those large green eyes curiously, and hungrily, stared at his cock, pumping it slowly. Curious fingertips grazed the bulbous head, traced veins, delved into the black curls at the base of the cock, touched the supple skin of his balls that must have felt so alien to Jhuun.

   "Have you ever seen a naked Human before?" Gabriel asked on the cusp of a moan as Jhuun grew a little bolder, pumping a little faster.

   "Only in the downloadable encyclopedia,"

Jhuun said, raising his other hand to stroke Gabriel's throat.

   "I hope you like the live version," Gabriel gasped. He covered Jhuun's pumping hand with his own to stop the action. "Y-you might want to slow down there. I'll need more than a
moment
if you make me come."

   Jhuun laughed his stuttered laugh. "We have time. We have the entire night. And many more after that."

   The thought nearly made Gabriel blush. He was right, they
would
have a whole lot of nights, and days, and hopefully years ahead of them. It was amazing to think so. He would one day be able to bring Jhuun to Earth for a visit and would one day share a chicken shawarma with him.

   It was suddenly a lot harder to think and plan as Jhuun shimmied down the bed, still grasping Gabriel's cock, and slowly lowered his mouth onto it. With a gasp, Gabriel fell back onto the cool sheer bedclothes. It seemed the Eunnoians favored using their mouths for a reason—they were bloody
good
at it.

   In a reverse of their earlier position, Gabriel now lifted himself up a bit onto his elbows, wanting to see Jhuun, and the sight did not disappoint. Jhuun effortlessly swallowed his cock, working his lips and his tongue and his throat, parts of him that were unlike anything Human, exotic enough to be thrilling. He reached down to lay his hand against the back of Jhuun's bare head, not pushing, just wanting to touch his lover during this act.

   Jhuun's long-fingered hands were all over him, squeezing, stroking, rubbing his sweaty, sticky skin while his tongue, surprisingly supple and agile to the point of being nearly prehensile, worked wonders around Gabriel's cock. When he looked up, meeting Gabriel's eyes with his own hungry green ones, that was
it.

   "Jhuun…watch it, I'm com—"

   Orgasm struck him almost by surprise. Gabriel grunted and moaned and shook all over as he came inside Jhuun's mouth. Too much, too good, and he fell back against the bed, struggling to breathe as he felt Jhuun move against him, hoping he hadn't breached some manner of Eunnoian blowjob etiquette by coming inside his mouth.

   But then his worries dissipated as he felt Jhuun's lips on his throat, sucking on the skin there. Surely Jhuun would be able to feel the wild hammering of his pulse.

   Jhuun whispered something in Eunnoian, then murmured, "You are beautiful to watch."

   "Thanks," Gabriel said. He threw his arm over his sweaty forehead. "I hope none of that freaked you out."

   Jhuun laughed, his lips still pressed to Gabriel's skin. "No. I enjoyed tasting you."

   Gabriel damn near blushed at that, at the casual, pleased honesty. Any exhaustion he may have felt immediately dissipated. He rose up onto his elbow and reached for Jhuun, kissing him deeply, savoring the taste of Jhuun mixed with that of his own come.

   Now, he wanted to watch Jhuun come. He wanted to
make
him come. Breaking the kiss, Gabriel went for Jhuun's throat, putting pressure there with his tongue, his teeth, pushing Jhuun until he lay on his back. Gabriel went from throat, to collarbone, to chest, laying kisses and teeth marks all the way down, taking the time to feel the unique texture of Jhuun's skin.

   When he reached Jhuun's pelvis, he wrapped his hand around the gracefully-curved organ. It was hard, two shades darker than Jhuun's skin and thick enough that he could barely wrap his fingers all the way around it. He gave it a tentative stroke. The entire shaft seemed equally sensitive. There was a pulse that fluttered strongly against his palm, and Jhuun responded with a long sigh, his body quaking with pleasure. Emboldened, Gabriel stroked again, his fingers sliding easily on the warm slick skin from root to tip, gaining momentum as Jhuun's vocalizations became more urgent.