(I'll Be) The Only Thing Between You and the Stars at Night 7/9
Σ
Jon tried to have a serious talk with William about how it was entirely inappropriate and irresponsible to let his boyfriend kidnap Brendon, but William had just laughed at the notion that anything he did was supposed to be appropriate or responsible and then went off to basically hump said boyfriend in public.
Of course, Spencer had followed William over and they were far enough away that Jon couldn’t hear what he said, but he saw the way Gabe’s face lost all colour. Spencer poked a finger at Gabe’s chest and threw a thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of Brendon, Jon and Ryan and Gabe nodded his head emphatically. Spencer looked slightly mollified at that and with a last, threatening gesture and a dirty look, he came back over.
“My hero,” Brendon said, voice falsetto, and clasped Spencer’s hands to his chest.
Spencer rolled his eyes. “Shut up,” he muttered, but his cheeks went pink. Spencer, Jon thought, was the most charmingly contradictory person he’d ever met, and he loved it. He loved him. He pressed a little kiss into Spencer’s jaw. He’d only fallen in love once before, and it had taken him a long time to love her and it ended badly. But he didn’t care how sudden it was, to fall in love with three people over the course of little more than a week. They would make it work.
Pete came out on the dock of the lake, and yeah, by the way, this place was pretty damn awesome. He managed to make his voice carry over the large space without a microphone and everyone fell silent as he began to speak.
“Despite Patrick’s limitations on this quarter’s game, you guys managed to bring me some cool shit.” Jon didn’t think it was just his imagination that Pete was looking their way. “It was a close race; if The Academy had got here a little more quickly, they would have taken it by a landslide. And while the Cobra’s capture of The Academy was impressive, I must announce that this quarter’s winner is the Helena, who took the lead by being the only crew who came back with a photo of a Ferengi woman in clothing.”
For a second, Jon was worried that the mere mention of the photograph would lead to a repeat performance of Gerard’s rant about the objectification of women on the Ferengi home world and Jon would never get to have a foursome because he’d die of boredom first. Of course, no matter what, it couldn’t be worse than the lecture Gerard had given everyone when they’d realised Jon was a Risian. No one had given him any shit, but Gerard had gone on for over an hour about making assumptions about someone’s sexuality based on their species, at which point Frank had coughed something in his hand about a threesome, but it was funny and (mostly) true (since Frank didn’t know about Brendon), so Jon didn’t really mind.
Gabe saved everyone from that eventuality when he began bitching almost immediately and Gerard threw back his head and laughed. “What do they win, anyway?” Jon asked of the girl Brendon had introduced as Monika.
“What, you mean besides the opportunity to rub it in Gabe’s face?” Monika asked. “It means next time they’re ‘it.’”
“’It?’” Spencer echoed.
“It. You know. ‘Tag, you’re it.’ This time it was The Academy because they won the last round,” Monika explained.
Brendon’s brow furrowed. “But, the person who’s it chases everyone else.”
Monika shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t think anyone cares what it’s called.”
Jon would have liked to be back in the room with his boys right now, but all things considered, the party was wild and fun. Someone was grilling out and there was ample booze and lots of yummy food. The music varied between recorded, coming from the DJ booth, and live, when Greta or Pete or William or whoever would get up on the dock and use it for a stage. Jon didn’t know where all the musical instruments had come from when he wasn’t looking, but damn Greta could sing, and it was such a powerful voice for such a little body.
Piñatas were dangling from some of the trees, and mostly everyone had already had something to drink so no one was swinging with accuracy, but made up for that fact by swinging really, really hard.
They joined Sisky, the Butcher, Alex and Nate in a few games of cards, but the more freely the alcohol flowed, the more difficult it became to grasp the rules. Brendon tried to teach them how to play Old Maid, because he said it was the easiest card game ever, but Sisky couldn’t seem to comprehend the rules, and no matter how many times he was told not to, always announced it when he got the Old Maid. Eventually, Brendon just gave up and taught them another game called Asshole, at which they were all even worse, but which got them even drunker, so no one really minded.
After food, everything sort of quieted down a bit. The Helena laid themselves out on the shore of the lake, chatting and idly drawing things in the sand. The Cobra + Bill had somehow miraculously managed to fit their entire crew in one giant hammock in one massive cuddle pile. The remainder of The Academy were swimming with the Cab. Pete was on the playground with most of his crew and The Hush, and Patrick had taken over the DJ booth and was playing some funky stuff that was starting to grow on Jon.
Ryan wanted to go on the lake and Brendon thought this was a great idea and said as much to Pete, who shrugged, and when Jon looked back at the lake there was a rowboat that hadn’t been there before.
“Seriously,” Spencer said, reading Jon’s mind, when they crawled into the narrow boat. To Jon’s amazement they managed to get seated without tipping themselves into the lake. Ryan took the seat behind Brendon and Jon sat behind Spencer. “Where the hell did this come from?”
“Pete,” Brendon said with a serene smile.
“Okay, seriously, Pete can barely play bass,” Spencer interjected. Ryan made an indignant sound of protest. “How the hell do you expect me to believe that he heads an armada of ships and makes things appear at a whim?”
“Do you guys know Pete?” Brendon frowned at him and stopped trying to row the boat. Jon was glad, because he was really more of a hindrance than help. Spencer took over the rowing at that point, strong solid strokes that pulled them quickly away from the dock and the sounds of the party.
“Patrick, Pete, Andy and Joe have a band,” Ryan explained. “I hire them for a lot of festivals. They’re really popular with the younger crowds especially, but everyone likes them because, well, Patrick’s voice is amazing and they play songs from everywhere. And Pete does not suck at bass.” He glared at Spencer. “He writes all their original stuff, and it is brilliant.” Jon suspected he was only just barely containing the urge to stick out his tongue at Spencer.
“Well, okay,” Brendon said, “Pete’s a Q.”
“A what?” Spencer asked caustically.
“A Q,” Brendon repeated. “You know?” Jon expected that his own blank look resembled the ones on the faces of Spencer and Ryan. Brendon sighed. “The Q are a race of omnipotent beings. In our class on how to deal with Q, we read these mission debriefings that Captain Picard wrote where he said that their power was limited only by their will.”
“Pete?” Spencer said.
Ryan looked speculative, though. “That explains how he always managed to be on the station in time for the shows, no matter where he was when I contacted him,” he said.
“And their ship,” Spencer said. He’d stopped rowing and set aside the oars. Jon spread his legs and Spencer climbed between them, resting his back against Jon’s chest. Brendon gave them a strange look.
“Guys, what’s going on?” Brendon asked. Ryan sighed. He put his arms around Brendon’s neck and looped his legs around Brendon’s hips. His chin rested on Brendon’s shoulder. They looked so nice together that Jon almost didn’t mind that he wasn’t touching them, too.
Spencer reached out to stroke a finger down Brendon’s cheek. Ryan caught the tip with a kiss, then sucked it between his lips. Jon felt his breathing pick up, saw a flush creep over Brendon’s cheeks.
“Here’s the thing,” Jon said. “There’s no freaking out allowed. At least, not about us.”
“Us,” Brendon said softly. Ryan twisted Brendon’s face enough to kiss him.
“Brendon,” he whispered against his mouth, “I have to tell you.” He started slowly, haltingly, speaking of the early years on the station, after his mother’s death. Brendon probably understood immediately, but he just listened with a solemn expression.
Ryan told the story differently from Spencer. The facts were all the same, but he didn’t use that matter-of-fact tone Spencer had used to hide his feelings behind. Ryan’s feelings were right there for them all to see, raw and honest and so painful it made Jon’s eyes sting. Made him want to draw Ryan to him and hold him tight.
As he spoke he wound himself more tightly around Brendon, clasping his hands together around Brendon’s middle. He mouthed the words into Brendon’s shirt so they came out muffled and hesitant, and when he’d finished, he stared down at his hands and said, “I still hate the Federation. But Brendon, I love you. I love all of you. So you have to help me figure out how this will work, because I don’t want to be the sort of person who would ask you to quit.”
Brendon worked his hand between Ryan’s, lacing their fingers together. He reached for Spencer with his other, who’d already taken Jon’s hand, who’d taken Ryan’s other hand, completing the circle.
“When I was a kid,” Brendon said, his smile wistful, “I wanted to be an archaeologist. And when I got a little older, I wanted to be a dancer. When I became a teenager I wanted to be a fashion designer.” He laughed and shook his head. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much this frustrated my parents, because they wanted me to be Starfleet. And I really didn’t want to be Starfleet.
“I really didn’t like Starfleet at all. I thought they stuck their nose in where it didn’t belong while ignoring people really in need. And I still think that the Prime Directive is ridiculous and cruel. I couldn’t imagine wearing that uniform and following orders and being like my parents.”
He looked thoughtful for a minute, leaning his cheek against Ryan’s. “When I got a little older,” he said slowly, “I began to understand a little more about personal responsibility and duty and I thought about how Earth used to be, after WWIII, and thought if I’d been born before all that had happened, maybe it could have been different. But the Federation had done a lot of good. Besides,” he added ruefully, “I didn’t have much of a choice, because my parents decided to enrol me in Starfleet Academy early, and since my grades were so good I got selected.
“Only, after the first two semesters, I got to start taking elective courses. I took this one science class to fulfil a requirement and it was just…it was amazing.” Brendon’s whole face lit up when he was talking-big smile and red cheeks and eyes sparkling. It was beautiful, different from Spencer’s genuine prettiness and Ryan’s delicate, eerie beauty. Brendon’s beauty came from his happiness.
“I started taking more and more, and by the time my parents found out I’d switched my focus from command to science, they couldn’t do anything to change it. I mean, they were furious, but all my professors supported the choice, and my parents didn’t want them to get the impression that I was fickle or something.
“They still got their way in the end ‘cause they pulled some strings with a friend and had me selected to be a part of the Red Squad and continue on for command school, but by then I didn’t mind so much. By then I really loved what I was learning. But I still wasn’t so sure about all of Starfleet’s policies, which is why I was really picky about choosing my first assignment. I never told my parents, but I got offered some pretty big awesome jobs out of the science field, where I’d be piloting and doing away missions and be in the direct chain of command.
“Bajor is really fascinating to me, and when Dax offered me the position, I didn’t hesitate. I’m sorry, so, so sorry, because I know what Starfleet did was awful and stupid and they used awful, stupid bureaucratic reasons for it, but I believe Commander Sisko really cares for Bajor, even if he isn’t actually the Emissary. And Dax has all these great plans for helping the ecosystem of Bajor and helping the Bajorans become self-sufficient, and, I’m sorry,” he said, and stopped at the way Ryan was going tense.
“I’m not going to try to convince you that Starfleet is good, Ryan, because I don’t always think so, myself,” Brendon said. “But you’re right that I don’t want to give it up, either, because if no one ever tries to change it, it isn’t ever going to get any better. So maybe you can help me be a sort of Starfleet officer that you can love.” He looked up then, eyes mischievous and fixed on Jon. “And the sort of Starfleet officer that you’ll want to party with.”
“Because, guys,” he went on, looking a little frustrated and bewildered, “I will not be one of those weirdoes who wears his uniform, like to bed or whatever, who can’t be bothered to change to go to the bar or the holodeck and stuff. And I never want to be the guy who does what he’s told just because he’s told to do it. I don’t want to do things I don’t believe in.”
Spencer laughed, but it sounded wet, and he leaned forward, pressing his lips to Brendon’s. It looked fervent and maybe a little wild and certainly messy. Jon hadn’t even been the one kissed and he knew what Spencer meant to convey. All the same, Spencer said it when they’d parted. “Brendon, I’m so glad we fell in love with you.”
Brendon laughed, too, and he still looked bewildered. His mouth was red and sore-looking and Jon just wanted to make it redder. “I still don’t understand how this happened,” he said weakly.
They all laughed at that. Ryan nuzzled his throat and said, “Jon says ‘no worries.’” Jon nodded, an expression of faux sternness on his face.
Brendon’s face went from silly to serious in a second, but serious in a sexy way. “I suppose,” he said, voice lower and huskier than usual. He hooked a finger under Jon’s chin and pulled him closer. “That’s an order I don’t mind following.”
Jon’s heart was slamming in his chest, Brendon’s tone gone straight to his groin. Spencer felt it and squirmed his hips back, eliciting a groan just as Brendon sealed their lips together.
It got a little confusing from there, because Jon wasn’t sure entirely who was doing what. There were hands on his knees stroking up the inside of his thighs and someone’s teeth on his jaw and hands sliding around his back, under his shirt. He opened his eyes to see Brendon crawling into Spencer’s lap and there was a tangle of legs-Jon’s over Spencer’s, Brendon’s between them, Ryan’s encircling them and seriously, Ryan had really long legs that Jon wouldn’t mind to see bare. In fact, he was hoping to see a lot of bare skin in the very near future. He closed a hand around one of Ryan’s ankles, pushed up under his pants, feeling Ryan’s calf tense at his touch. Ryan bit down roughly on Spencer’s shoulder and Spencer abandoned Jon’s neck in favour of Ryan’s mouth.
Catcalls drifted across the water from the beach. Jon couldn’t really understand it, but knew it was Pete and Frank and all of The Academy. Spencer jerked back, going bright pink and he knocked into Brendon who flailed around comically, and maybe it was inevitable when the canoe capsized, because it was their own damn fault for thinking they could try to initiate an orgy there.
When Jon resurfaced Brendon was cackling and Spencer was trying to get the canoe right side up again and Ryan, who looked like a drowned cat, was glaring at them. “I hate you all,” he muttered, even as Jon and Spencer managed to get the canoe upright.
It wasn’t like they could get any wetter, but Brendon made a big show of attaching himself to Ryan and dunking him in the process. “You love us,” he sang in Ryan’s ear. Ryan just bit down on his lip against a smile.
By the time they’d reached the shore everyone had gathered to ridicule and make innuendos. Sisky and the Butcher had composed a brief, dirty ditty about alien sex organs and kinky sexual practices and they’d taught it to The Academy and the Cobra who sang it slightly off beat and off key. Spencer made a rude gesture in their direction, smiling blissfully as he did.
Frank said something about them leaving off just when things were getting good and Pete offered to dry them up with a snap of his fingers, but Jon looked at the others and could see in their eyes that they’d rather dry off themselves. In Brendon’s room. By taking off all their clothing.
“They’re really not ones to talk,” Brendon said as they left. “You should have seen them all last night. I would not be surprised to learn that a twenty-person orgy took place on the holodeck last night after I left.
Ryan blushed furiously. “Oh gods. They know exactly what we’re going to do,” he said, wringing his hands.
“Yeah,” Brendon agreed, unrepentant.
“And they just wish they could see it,” Jon said. It was delightful, the way Ryan and Spencer blushed in unison. He wondered how far down those blushes went.
“Or join it,” Brendon mused. He and Jon shared a wicked grin.
They managed to mostly keep their hands to themselves for the five minutes it took them to walk to the turbolift and get to Brendon’s room, but the minute his doors hissed shut behind them, all bets were off.
Τ
If he’d had to say any of them were a virgin, Spencer would have guessed Brendon. He would not have guessed Jon, not in a million years. But once they had managed to tear each other’s clothes off, Jon had gone from easy confidence to slightly awkward embarrassment.
“It’s just,” Jon said, stammering a little, “I’ve told you, as soon as people know I’m Risian…”
“Oh, Jon,” Spencer said lightly, teasing. “You just wanted to be able to show off to all the other Risians when you tell them your first time was with three other people.”
Brendon cosied up to Spencer’s side, regarding Jon with a lazy smile. He took Jon’s hand and led him to the bed, lying down on his back and pulling Jon over him. Spencer let his gaze fall on Ryan who looked eager and nervous, shaking just a little. Spencer had seen Ryan naked plenty of times, but it had never been sexy. Now he couldn’t help himself. He wrapped Ryan in his arms, drew their mouths together. Ryan was all sharp angles where Spencer was soft, and they just fit.
“Come on,” Ryan said and tugged on Spencer’s hand. “Can’t let Brendon have all the fun deflowering our virgin.” Jon’s ‘fuck you’ was muffled against Brendon’s lips as Brendon rolled Jon beneath him.
They climbed on the bed to either side of Brendon and Jon. Spencer let his hands smooth up the inside of Brendon’s knee, up his thigh. Brendon made a low sound and ground his hips into Jon’s. Ryan managed to wriggle a hand between their bodies, fingers toying lightly with Jon’s nipples.
Jon tore his mouth away from Brendon’s, making a faint keening sound. “I didn’t tell you guys I was a virgin so that you’d focus all your attention on me. This is about us.”
“Jon,” Spencer said fondly, “shut up.”
“No worries,” Ryan said.
“Can I fuck him first?” Brendon whispered into Jon’s throat. “Can I fuck you, Jon?”
“Holy shit, yes,” Jon whispered back. “Yes, yes, Brendon.”
“C’mere,” Spencer said. He pushed Brendon aside and hooked his arms under Jon’s knees, pulling him to the edge of the bed. He got on his knees on the floor, nudging Jon’s legs further apart. “Go replicate something, then,” he snapped impatiently at Brendon, who was just watching them with wide eyes. “If you’re going to fuck him.”
Brendon scurried off, barking at the computer about lubrication and Spencer had to laugh, because it was so Pete, when the computer asked which kind and began listing off several different variants and their relative merits.
Spencer couldn’t decide what part of Jon to go for first, with him all lain out bare and pliant before him. Ryan’s fingers twisted Jon’s nipple again and then he replaced his hand with his mouth. Spencer saw a flash of teeth before Ryan closed his mouth and sucked. Jon’s eyes closed and his back arched, and Ryan’s hand skated down his stomach. Ryan didn’t tease; he took Jon’s erection in his hand, squeezing, getting a feel for it. Jon bucked his hips, gritted his teeth and let out a hissing sound.
With Jon spread open like that, Ryan’s mouth getting progressively closer to where his hand was slowly pumping Jon’s dick, Spencer sort of lost the ability to think straight. He put his hands on Jon’s thighs, spread him open wider, and dove between his legs. He mouthed over Jon’s balls, tongued lower ‘til he found an opening. He didn’t know a lot about Risian physiology, but he could guess by looking and feeling and he realised just how lucky the four of them were, that Humans, Bajorans and Risians fit so well together.
Jon made a choked sound when Spencer swirled his tongue around the tense ring. Ryan chuckled and Spencer lifted his eyes to see Ryan already looking at him. He lowered his mouth, sucking just the tip of Jon’s erection between his lips. Jon’s hands flew out, fisting in the blanket.
Brendon returned, spooning up behind Ryan on the bed. His mouth covered Jon’s, swallowing his sounds and he wrapped his arm around Ryan, fingers running teasingly up and down Ryan’s length and yeah, yeah, they were so totally doing this, and Spencer still didn’t entirely believe it. He still expected to wake up in his grey room on the station and realise he’d dreamed Brendon and Jon up entirely. He cupped Ryan’s cheek in his hand and ran his fingers back through Ryan’s hair, urging him to take Jon deeper and he did. Ryan opened his jaw and sank down Jon’s length and Spencer could feel Jon moving inside against his palm.
“Fuck, Brendon, give me something,” Spencer hissed. Feeling Jon in Ryan’s mouth like that, all he could think of was having Jon inside him, but Brendon wanted to fuck Jon and shit, this was going to be over too fast.
Brendon had brought back a plethora of lube. He laughed sheepishly at Spencer’s curse, breaking his kiss to explain. “I had no idea there were so many different flavours.” Jon laughed, low in his throat and Ryan giggled around his mouthful and Spencer felt a rush of warmth because this was so comfortable and so right.
He slicked two fingers in the first bottle he grabbed, which turned out to be peach flavoured. Jon was already loose. Spencer didn’t have an extraordinary amount of experience with this, but from what experience he had, he knew it was strange how utterly relaxed Jon was for a virgin. He didn’t even wince when Spencer pushed both fingers in, right away. He just tilted his hips and pushed down to meet him and grunted, “more.”
Spencer poured more lube into his palm, got another finger slick and pushed it alongside the first two. Jon was panting now, hips moving restlessly between trying to push down onto Spencer’s hand and push up into Ryan’s mouth. Ryan had lost the rhythm he’d built up and let his mouth fall slack, abandoning Jon. His eyes were squeezed shut and his head thrown back against Brendon’s shoulder. Brendon’s strokes on Ryan’s dick were hard and rough.
Jon was watching them, too. His eyes were unfocussed and the soft grunting noise he kept making was the sexiest thing Spencer had ever heard. He bit Jon’s thigh gently. “He’s ready,” he said to Brendon and clambered up onto the bed and rubbed more oil over his fingers before passing it to Ryan. He reached between his own thighs, fingering himself lightly before slipping two in. It burnt; it had been a long time, but he needed to be fucked.
Brendon slipped between Jon’s thighs and Ryan coated him in the lube, guided him to Jon’s opening. Jon and Brendon groaned in unison. Jon’s face twisted up in pleasure, Brendon bit his lip hard and with a snap of his hips buried himself all the way inside. “Fuck,” he said. “You’re so tight, fuck.”
“Yes,” Jon panted.
“Yes,” Ryan echoed. “Gods, Brendon…” For someone not directly involved in the act, Ryan sounded pretty damn excited by it. He got down on his elbows, leaning close to Jon’s ear. “My turn next,” he purred.
Before Jon and Brendon had time to develop a rhythm, Spencer threw a thigh over Jon’s waist, facing Brendon, and reached for Jon’s cock. He was wet from Ryan’s mouth, and shit, shit, shit. Spencer was never going to last because he was about to fuck the cock that Ryan had just sucked and it was Jon and Brendon was panting into Spencer’s throat.
“Ryan,” he said and Ryan scrambled to help him line it up. Spencer felt vaguely bad that Ryan was doing all this helping and not really getting anything for himself, but then he sat back on his heels, sinking down Jon’s length and he forgot about everything except the sensation. His mouth fell open on a silent moan.
“You’re gorgeous,” Brendon said, breathing into Spencer’s mouth. Spencer couldn’t answer; he couldn’t find the words. Brendon hands smoothed up Spencer’s back and tangled in his hair. He kissed Spencer again, soft and slow.
For a long minute, Spencer just sat there, getting used to the stretch, being full of Jon. Jon was surprisingly patient for a virgin being fucked two different ways. His hands came up to stroke Spencer’s back, run down his sides. Slowly, Spencer rocked against him and Jon let out a harsh breath. Brendon grabbed Spencer’s hips, squeezed tight and pulled a little out of Jon then slammed back in, hard and fast. It made Jon’s hips buck up and with Brendon holding him in place it was just right to make Spencer cry out with pleasure. Brendon kissed him, all-consuming.
Spencer had been right; it didn’t take long. Brendon kept drawing harsh sounds from Jon with his deep thrusts and Jon kept hitting Spencer right where he needed it. Spencer just went with it, rocking his hips against Jon and Brendon. His cock was trapped between his stomach and Brendon’s and the friction was too much.
Then Ryan wrapped an arm around him from behind. “Come on, Spence.” Ryan’s voice was strained like he was the one being fucked. His fingers teased over the head of Spencer’s cock and he sucked on Spencer’s neck and Spencer came with a surprised cry, arching his back so hard it hurt, but in a good way.
Jon’s hand fisted in Spencer’s hair and he jerked him back until Spencer was laid out on his chest. He turned his head to meet Jon’s kiss and felt Jon come inside him, so hot. Brendon’s thrusts turned shallow and his breathing sped up even more. Ryan slipped off the bed, fitting himself up against Brendon. He peppered kisses over Brendon’s shoulders and up his neck, let his fingers play over Brendon’s chest. Then he sucked one of his fingers into his mouth and pulled it away, spit slick, and shoved it up Brendon’s ass, and that, apparently, was all it took. Brendon’s eyes rolled back in his head and with a last jerk of his hips, he came.
Brendon climbed up on the bed beside them, throwing an arm over Spencer and Jon. Ryan linked fingers with him and they smiled at one another. Spencer watched them, still trying to catch his breath. Ryan was still hard, rubbing himself against Jon’s thigh.
“Greedy,” Brendon chided. “Ryan just wanted all of our attention.”
Ryan arched a brow but didn’t contradict him. “Don’t you want to give me your attention, Brendon?” He rolled onto his back, spreading his arms out. Brendon leapt at the offer, covering Ryan’s body with his own. He pressed wet kisses into Ryan’s throat and down his chest.
It was kind of insanely hot, watching Brendon go down on Ryan, deep-throating him with apparently little effort. Ryan squealed and the sound went straight to Spencer’s dick. “Fucking hell, Brendon,” Ryan gasped. Brendon shoved the heels of his hands to Ryan’s pelvis, holding him down, and hollowed his cheeks. “Shit, Brendon.”
Jon’s dick jerked and Spencer wiggled his hips in encouragement and Jon grew harder. They rolled together onto their sides and Jon gave a little thrust. He slid a hand around Spencer’s waist and stroked him a few times and that was all it took to get him completely hard again too. Spencer wondered wildly if he was going to have the stamina to keep up in this relationship, but he figured as long as the other three kept doing things like this, it would be fine.
“Brendon,” Ryan cried, and began pushing at his shoulders. “Brendon, please, I don’t want…not yet.”
Brendon pulled back so his lips were just brushing Ryan’s dick when he spoke. “Don’t worry babe,” he breathed and Ryan shivered. “I’ll take care of you.” He swallowed Ryan again, all the way down.
Jon gave a particularly hard thrust and groaned in Spencer’s ear. “Shit that’s hot.” And, yeah, Spencer wouldn’t mind Brendon’s mouth on his dick at all.
Ryan came with another sharp cry and he looked beautiful. Spencer let himself admire it without the guilt that usually came with noticing. His lifted slightly off the bed, head thrown back. His neck was a tense, long line, his nipples were hard and red, begging attention; his thighs were locked around Brendon’s neck and he went all still for a minute before collapsing back to the bed, shaking. Brendon just kept working his throat, sucking until Ryan began to make soft sounds of protest and pushed at his shoulders.
“Fuck,” Ryan said shakily. Brendon grabbed his hand and squeezed, cuddling up beside him and Spencer noticed Brendon was already hard again, too, slipping between Ryan’s thighs, getting himself slick. Ryan watched him, breathing rapidly. He grabbed Brendon’s hips and urged him on. When Brendon was seated in him, Ryan hooked his legs over his waist, holding him in place. They rocked together, and Jon matched their pace, rocking his hips into Spencer’s.
They were up all night, and Spencer sort of lost track of what exactly was happening after a while. The tangle of limbs, the press of lips and after Jon finished fucking him for the second time Ryan was eager to take his place and Spencer knew he was never going to be able to walk again when it was over, but it was so good, he just didn’t give a fuck, not even when Brendon demanded his turn and Spencer was on his knees, sucking Jon off, the taste and scent of various fruits in his mouth and all around.
When they finally collapsed in a heap, exhausted and sated, Spencer found himself cocooned in the middle with Brendon. Ryan and Jon, on the outsides, fumbled with the blankets and managed to get them all covered. “We smell gross,” he muttered, but didn’t pull his face away from where it was pressed into Jon’s arm.
“Shower later,” Jon groaned. “Sleep now.” Ryan harrumphed and Brendon made a sound of agreement and Spencer hadn’t wanted to get up anyway, even to wash away the smell because he could barely move, let alone think about trying to stand under the showerhead for any length of time. Besides, they smelled like sex, and he sort of liked it.
“Sometimes,” Brendon said, his voice breaking the stillness and silence that had fallen. Spencer had almost slipped into sleep, but now he rolled to face Brendon and opened his eyes. Brendon’s were already open, staring out the window. Jon shifted a little, resting his head on Spencer’s shoulder and Ryan tightened the arm he had around Brendon. Brendon smiled softly. His face was lit up in starlight and he looked wondering.
“Sometimes, I look at it and I want to be in it. We forget because we have the ship or the station or the atmosphere all around us and there are all those distant stars and planets, but it’s just nothing. Just emptiness. A vacuum.” Brendon’s voice was low and melodic, soothing, somehow. Spencer hugged him close.
“Everything I’ve ever learned tells me I can’t. I’ll asphyxiate, and my blood will boil and my body will freeze. I know that. But Pete took me out there, and I felt was this sort of overwhelming peace, like I was isolated from everything, like I was the only thing in the universe. It was just like I’d always imagined it might be. It was just what I’d always wanted it to be. Only…I don’t want that anymore.”
Ryan sought out Jon and Spencer’s hands. “Love you,” he murmured.
Brendon made a sound suspiciously like crying, but his face was dry. “We do love you,” Jon said and Spencer nodded his head fervently. Brendon still didn’t look directly at him. His eyes fell closed against the stars.
Falling asleep with Ryan and Jon had been good. Really, it had been much better than that. But he knew they’d all felt it, the place that Brendon was supposed to occupy. This was how it was supposed to be, and he pressed as close and as tight to Brendon as he could, they all did, and kept him warm and safe.
Waking this time was even better, too. Brendon and Ryan were already awake, Ryan straddling Brendon. They were moving together, sharing lazy kisses. The sheets had shifted, stopped from falling all the way by the swell of Ryan’s ass, and how had Spencer never realised how nicely curved it was, for as thin and bony as the rest of him was. Every time he rocked back onto Brendon the sheets parted, giving Spencer a glimpse of where their bodies met.
He just watched them for a long time, until the rocking got fast and Ryan tore his mouth away from Brendon, letting out little breathy cries and getting louder and louder. Brendon grabbed his hips, knocking the sheets out of the way and Spencer could see it all then. He got up on his knees, moving behind Ryan to spoon against his back. He cupped Brendon’s balls, squeezed until Brendon moaned. His hips lost their smooth, fluid motions and became jagged, erratic.
Ryan braced himself with one hand on Brendon’s chest and reached behind himself blindly with the other. His hand fisted in Spencer’s hair and jerked til Spencer gave in, kissing him sloppily. Spencer let his fingers find the place where Brendon was fucking Ryan and stroked Brendon’s dick, the stretched skin of Ryan’s ass.
Brendon came with a gasp and Ryan, still hard, growled with frustration, trying to grind down. “Come on, Ry,” Spencer urged. He put his hands on Ryan’s hips and lifted enough to get him off Brendon’s cock. He was still stretched wide and wet from lube and Brendon’s come and it was easy for Spencer to just shift his hips up and bury himself inside.
“Gods, Spencer.” Ryan sat up, letting his legs fall to either side of Spencer’s, spreading wider, letting him in deeper. He would have liked to see Ryan’s face, but there was something strangely exciting about having Ryan like this, like he was at his mercy. His back was arched, leaving his chest open, begging to be touched. Spencer tickled his fingers over the smooth skin and Ryan quivered until Spencer found a nipple, flicking his nail against it. The attention Ryan paid to their chests made it somewhat obvious that it was something Ryan himself liked, and Spencer wasn’t let down. Ryan gasped at the first touch and when Spencer pinched the nub between his fingers and twisted, Ryan just sort of lost it, shoving himself hard on Spencer’s lap.
Brendon pushed himself up on his elbows. He was trapped by them, but didn’t seem to mind. He reached out, jerking Ryan off. He cut a gaze at Spencer and they shared a wicked smile, and timed it, Spencer twisted Ryan’s nipple the same time Brendon flicked his thumb over the head of Ryan’s cock.
“Fuck. You,” Ryan spat, but the sound that followed said it was a good thing.
“Mm,” Spencer agreed, chuckling. He nosed aside Ryan’s hair, pressing open kisses over the back of his neck, his shoulder, ‘til he found a mark on his throat, near his ear and didn’t know which of them had made it, but he sucked it into his mouth, making it bigger. Ryan stiffened, then went boneless, sagging back against Spencer with a ragged sigh. Brendon brought his hand to his mouth, licking Ryan’s come from his fingers. Spencer wasn't far in following him, biting down on the skin in his mouth.
“Nice way to wake up,” Jon said, and of course they had woken him, but Spencer felt a little guilty for not including him. Only when he looked over, Jon was smiling sleepily at them, jerking himself off, and all it took was Ryan’s lips on his throat and Brendon’s fingers closing around Jon’s to get him to come.
Brendon twisted his neck until there was a cracking sound and groaned. “Okay, for this to continue when we get back to DS9, we’ll need a bed at least this big and lots of pillows.”
It was somewhat embarrassing, because Spencer knew that as soon as Brendon ordered a bigger bed, everyone in security would know about it, and then Spencer would never hear the end of it. That was, of course, if he still had a job when he got back. He pushed that thought away fiercely, because whether he had that job or not, he had Brendon and Jon and Ryan, and he could get another job. It didn’t mean that much to him.
Ryan groaned and elbowed Spencer gently in the ribs. “I’m disgusting, get off me,” he said. Spencer let go and leaned back. He could have helped, but he liked the way the muscles in Ryan’s back twisted when he writhed around, finally managing to get off Spencer and Brendon.
“Need any help reaching your back?” Jon offered playfully.
“No,” Ryan said, in that bland way he had, and for a second Jon looked confused. Then Ryan stopped at the doorway and looked over his shoulder. “Though, there’s this spot,” he went on, and traced a finger down the crack of his ass. “You might be able to reach that one.” Ryan laughed at the look on their faces and disappeared into the ‘fresher. Jon scrambled after him, skidding through the door.
“Come on,” Brendon said, tackling Spencer back to the mattress and rolling onto his feet. “That bathroom is huge. Pete doesn’t fuck around with potential sex-having spots.” Spencer grinned and let Brendon jerk him to his feet and resigned himself to a really incredible sex life even if it meant late breakfasts and hurrying to make it to work on time.
By the time they managed to make their way to the dining area, almost everyone was already there. Impressively, the Cab and The Academy were still really drunk, and Spencer wondered if they’d even gone to sleep or if they’d just been drinking the entire evening.
The part of the deck dedicated to the dining area was a big open space with lots comfortable tables and booths, surrounded by various restaurant fronts serving food from all over the galaxy. Pete had a lot of people working there, and everything was free, so for now Spencer was just taking on faith what Brendon had said about Pete being all-powerful. Because how else could he afford to employ all these people, and have a huge fleet, and be in a relatively popular and successful band?
Still, it was weird, because Pete?
And, speak of the devil; Pete appeared at their table, followed shortly by Patrick, Gerard, Frank and Dax. Brendon blushed when he saw Dax, and Spencer realised that she must have seen them go the night before, too. It probably had to be even more awkward for Brendon to know that, with Dax being his superior.
“Sleep well, boys?” Frank asked. He was smirking and Spencer wouldn’t have minded smacking the look off his face. He settled for muttering, “shut up.”
Gerard did his Vulcan eyebrow twitch thing and made a blank face. “It is highly illogical to become embarrassed about sexual intercourse.”
“Don’t try pulling that Vulcan shit on us now,” Ryan said. He gave Gerard a dark look. Gerard shrugged easily and laughed with Frank.
“You boys left too early last night,” Pete said. “I wanted to talk to you about…things.” He made a vague gesture with his hand.
Spencer was remarkably wary of him. He let Ryan take his hand, wrapped an arm around Jon’s back. “What do you want?”
Pete laughed. “Spencer. You paranoid dork. Did Brendon tell you guys about me, is that it?”
“Yes,” Spencer said. “But I have to say that that doesn’t have a lot to do with it.”
Patrick covered his mouth a made a sound suspiciously like laughter, answered by Pete’s scowl in his direction. “Look, you realise I have, like, unlimited powers, right? The ability to bend the cosmos to my will and all that shit? I could make you forget you’d ever met me, make you trust me implicitly; I could snap my fingers and make it so you’d never even existed.” Spencer felt his unease growing. “But I don’t.” His voice went hard.
“I’ve been waiting for you guys, okay, and I’ve been patient. I knew you’d all meet up eventually. I could have fixed it so it happened sooner, or engineered a situation like this, but I didn’t. I had no idea that Gabe would go to DS9. I didn’t even know that Brendon was there yet,” Pete said.
“Waiting for us?” Ryan asked. “What do you mean? Waiting for who? You know me and Spence.”
“Waiting for all of you,” Pete said, grinning again. “Jon and Brendon, too.”
“But why?” Brendon asked. He looked baffled and intrigued. Spencer sort of hated that Pete could say stuff like “I can bend the cosmos to my will” and earn Brendon’s awe, because that was totally cheating.
“There are different worlds, you know,” Pete said. “Universes, timelines.”
“Like the mirror universe,” Brendon guessed. “We talked about that at the Academy. One difference changes the course of events, creating a parallel existence.”
Pete nodded. “Right. And you’re all still there. I mean, sometimes it’s better than others. Like, in the mirror universe you’re talking about? You and Jon are Ryan and Spencer’s slaves.” Spencer tensed, hand fisting in Jon’s shirt. Jon shrugged him off, grabbed his hand instead and gave him a smile that told him not to freak out.
“It’s alright,” Pete assured him. “In a couple years the Terrans will lead a revolt and Jon and Brendon still love you two, even there. They’ll get you out of harm’s way, and when all the dust settles, well, Ryan isn’t going to be happy, but I trust that you’ll work that out.”
“Besides,” he said, “that isn’t the important part. The important part is, that no matter what’s happening differently, you’re still together. We’re all still together.” He waved a hand to encompass all the people in the room.
“Yeah,” Frank said. He bounced in his seat. “In one, we’re all rock stars. Pete’s showed us. We rock so way more hardcore than you guys.”
“Totally different music,” Gerard said, peaceably enough. “Not really comparable.” But he had a smirk like he agreed with what Frank said. Ryan made a face at them.
“You’ve been scientists, artists, prisoners, soldiers. You’ve been born in different corners of the same world, different corners of the universe. You’ve had all sorts of obstacles, but in the end, you always find each other,” Pete said. For someone who could make anything happen, he seemed awed by this.
Ryan had this sweet, hesitant smile though, thinking about it, and maybe Spencer wasn’t so annoyed with Pete. Of course it would appeal to the romantic in Ryan to think that no matter what, they’d all be together.
“So,” Brendon began slowly.
“So,” Pete interrupted, “you all belong together, and you together belong with us. So you’re going to join my armada, yes?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“No,” Ryan said, suddenly loud and indignant and surprised.
“No?” Pete said. His brow frowned. He looked at Patrick a little lost, like people didn’t tell him no.
“No,” Jon agreed. “Not yet.”
“Not yet?” Spencer asked.
“When Brendon gets his own ship,” Ryan said.
“Well, see, I can give you a ship,” Pete said, exasperated. “Any sort of ship you want. Except, not like ours. Ours is special.”
“No,” Jon said. “When he’s a captain in Starfleet.”
“Guys,” Brendon said softly. “You don’t even want me to be in Starfleet.”
Spencer gave him a fierce glare. “Didn’t you just say last night that you didn’t want to be the guy who gave up his career because we asked?” Brendon had the decency to look sheepish.
“Yeah, but…”
“No buts,” Ryan interrupted. “You’re supposed to be the sort of Starfleet officer I can love. And besides, Starfleet needs someone like you to be a captain.”
“And then,” Jon said, talking it out, “then think of it. Pete really could show us new worlds and civilisations. Places other ships couldn’t dream of going.”
Pete looked put out by all this. “Promotions take forever,” he whined.
“Don’t even think about it,” Patrick growled.
“I could step things up a bit,” Pete said, heedless.
“I’m on the command track,” Brendon said.
Pete sighed. “You guys suck.”
“Promise you won’t pull any strings,” Brendon said. “I get enough of that from my parents.”
There was a lot of grumbling from Pete and a lot of threatening looks from Patrick to Pete and finally Pete relented, but he didn’t sound too happy about it. “When you guys change your minds-because you’re going to change your minds-I’m not going to be gracious about it. I’m totally going to say I told you so.”
Jon nodded amicably. “Alright Pete,” he said, and patted Pete’s hand.
“Can we go back to the station now?” Spencer asked. It was fun here, and everything, but he was worried about how long they’d been gone, and the questions that they needed to answer when they got back, and he’d feel better when they were back.
“God, you guys are no fun at all,” Pete exclaimed, but he agreed, nonetheless.
All of the crew of the Cobra had to give Brendon smothering hugs that made Ryan’s eyes narrow, and the Helena shook hands and patted backs and gave ‘live long and prosper’ hand symbols that were somehow ridiculous and sweet at the same time, because even if Mikey did seem kind of emotionless at times, he and Gerard were the worst Vulcans ever.
Then, before they left, Pete gave them each a small pin shaped like a bat. The heart in the centre was a different gemstone for each of them. Spencer’s glinted dark blue. “When you need me, or if you want to hang out or whatever, just press there,” he said, and indicated the stone.
“Or just yell really loudly,” Patrick muttered.
Pete ignored him and went on blithely. “Just so you know, I think you’re all stupid. And you’re still expected to come party with us at least every other week.” He gave them all crushing hugs and then gave one to Dax too, who looked bemused, but hugged him back. “You’re welcome to hang out, too,” he told her, with an eyebrow wiggle that was probably supposed to be sexy. Dax didn’t laugh, at least, which Spencer thought was good of her.
“Just send them home,” Patrick snapped, and Pete pouted and there was a flash of light and suddenly, they were all standing in Operations.
Everyone just stopped, until the only noise was the beeping of instrumentation and the hum of the engines. Sisko’s office door was open and he spied them, pausing in the middle of a conversation he’d been having with his view screen. Odo was standing behind him and Spencer felt his glare like a slap across the face. He was in such deep shit.
Next Chapter:
http://moku-youbi.livejournal.com/3228.html
Jon tried to have a serious talk with William about how it was entirely inappropriate and irresponsible to let his boyfriend kidnap Brendon, but William had just laughed at the notion that anything he did was supposed to be appropriate or responsible and then went off to basically hump said boyfriend in public.
Of course, Spencer had followed William over and they were far enough away that Jon couldn’t hear what he said, but he saw the way Gabe’s face lost all colour. Spencer poked a finger at Gabe’s chest and threw a thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of Brendon, Jon and Ryan and Gabe nodded his head emphatically. Spencer looked slightly mollified at that and with a last, threatening gesture and a dirty look, he came back over.
“My hero,” Brendon said, voice falsetto, and clasped Spencer’s hands to his chest.
Spencer rolled his eyes. “Shut up,” he muttered, but his cheeks went pink. Spencer, Jon thought, was the most charmingly contradictory person he’d ever met, and he loved it. He loved him. He pressed a little kiss into Spencer’s jaw. He’d only fallen in love once before, and it had taken him a long time to love her and it ended badly. But he didn’t care how sudden it was, to fall in love with three people over the course of little more than a week. They would make it work.
Pete came out on the dock of the lake, and yeah, by the way, this place was pretty damn awesome. He managed to make his voice carry over the large space without a microphone and everyone fell silent as he began to speak.
“Despite Patrick’s limitations on this quarter’s game, you guys managed to bring me some cool shit.” Jon didn’t think it was just his imagination that Pete was looking their way. “It was a close race; if The Academy had got here a little more quickly, they would have taken it by a landslide. And while the Cobra’s capture of The Academy was impressive, I must announce that this quarter’s winner is the Helena, who took the lead by being the only crew who came back with a photo of a Ferengi woman in clothing.”
For a second, Jon was worried that the mere mention of the photograph would lead to a repeat performance of Gerard’s rant about the objectification of women on the Ferengi home world and Jon would never get to have a foursome because he’d die of boredom first. Of course, no matter what, it couldn’t be worse than the lecture Gerard had given everyone when they’d realised Jon was a Risian. No one had given him any shit, but Gerard had gone on for over an hour about making assumptions about someone’s sexuality based on their species, at which point Frank had coughed something in his hand about a threesome, but it was funny and (mostly) true (since Frank didn’t know about Brendon), so Jon didn’t really mind.
Gabe saved everyone from that eventuality when he began bitching almost immediately and Gerard threw back his head and laughed. “What do they win, anyway?” Jon asked of the girl Brendon had introduced as Monika.
“What, you mean besides the opportunity to rub it in Gabe’s face?” Monika asked. “It means next time they’re ‘it.’”
“’It?’” Spencer echoed.
“It. You know. ‘Tag, you’re it.’ This time it was The Academy because they won the last round,” Monika explained.
Brendon’s brow furrowed. “But, the person who’s it chases everyone else.”
Monika shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t think anyone cares what it’s called.”
Jon would have liked to be back in the room with his boys right now, but all things considered, the party was wild and fun. Someone was grilling out and there was ample booze and lots of yummy food. The music varied between recorded, coming from the DJ booth, and live, when Greta or Pete or William or whoever would get up on the dock and use it for a stage. Jon didn’t know where all the musical instruments had come from when he wasn’t looking, but damn Greta could sing, and it was such a powerful voice for such a little body.
Piñatas were dangling from some of the trees, and mostly everyone had already had something to drink so no one was swinging with accuracy, but made up for that fact by swinging really, really hard.
They joined Sisky, the Butcher, Alex and Nate in a few games of cards, but the more freely the alcohol flowed, the more difficult it became to grasp the rules. Brendon tried to teach them how to play Old Maid, because he said it was the easiest card game ever, but Sisky couldn’t seem to comprehend the rules, and no matter how many times he was told not to, always announced it when he got the Old Maid. Eventually, Brendon just gave up and taught them another game called Asshole, at which they were all even worse, but which got them even drunker, so no one really minded.
After food, everything sort of quieted down a bit. The Helena laid themselves out on the shore of the lake, chatting and idly drawing things in the sand. The Cobra + Bill had somehow miraculously managed to fit their entire crew in one giant hammock in one massive cuddle pile. The remainder of The Academy were swimming with the Cab. Pete was on the playground with most of his crew and The Hush, and Patrick had taken over the DJ booth and was playing some funky stuff that was starting to grow on Jon.
Ryan wanted to go on the lake and Brendon thought this was a great idea and said as much to Pete, who shrugged, and when Jon looked back at the lake there was a rowboat that hadn’t been there before.
“Seriously,” Spencer said, reading Jon’s mind, when they crawled into the narrow boat. To Jon’s amazement they managed to get seated without tipping themselves into the lake. Ryan took the seat behind Brendon and Jon sat behind Spencer. “Where the hell did this come from?”
“Pete,” Brendon said with a serene smile.
“Okay, seriously, Pete can barely play bass,” Spencer interjected. Ryan made an indignant sound of protest. “How the hell do you expect me to believe that he heads an armada of ships and makes things appear at a whim?”
“Do you guys know Pete?” Brendon frowned at him and stopped trying to row the boat. Jon was glad, because he was really more of a hindrance than help. Spencer took over the rowing at that point, strong solid strokes that pulled them quickly away from the dock and the sounds of the party.
“Patrick, Pete, Andy and Joe have a band,” Ryan explained. “I hire them for a lot of festivals. They’re really popular with the younger crowds especially, but everyone likes them because, well, Patrick’s voice is amazing and they play songs from everywhere. And Pete does not suck at bass.” He glared at Spencer. “He writes all their original stuff, and it is brilliant.” Jon suspected he was only just barely containing the urge to stick out his tongue at Spencer.
“Well, okay,” Brendon said, “Pete’s a Q.”
“A what?” Spencer asked caustically.
“A Q,” Brendon repeated. “You know?” Jon expected that his own blank look resembled the ones on the faces of Spencer and Ryan. Brendon sighed. “The Q are a race of omnipotent beings. In our class on how to deal with Q, we read these mission debriefings that Captain Picard wrote where he said that their power was limited only by their will.”
“Pete?” Spencer said.
Ryan looked speculative, though. “That explains how he always managed to be on the station in time for the shows, no matter where he was when I contacted him,” he said.
“And their ship,” Spencer said. He’d stopped rowing and set aside the oars. Jon spread his legs and Spencer climbed between them, resting his back against Jon’s chest. Brendon gave them a strange look.
“Guys, what’s going on?” Brendon asked. Ryan sighed. He put his arms around Brendon’s neck and looped his legs around Brendon’s hips. His chin rested on Brendon’s shoulder. They looked so nice together that Jon almost didn’t mind that he wasn’t touching them, too.
Spencer reached out to stroke a finger down Brendon’s cheek. Ryan caught the tip with a kiss, then sucked it between his lips. Jon felt his breathing pick up, saw a flush creep over Brendon’s cheeks.
“Here’s the thing,” Jon said. “There’s no freaking out allowed. At least, not about us.”
“Us,” Brendon said softly. Ryan twisted Brendon’s face enough to kiss him.
“Brendon,” he whispered against his mouth, “I have to tell you.” He started slowly, haltingly, speaking of the early years on the station, after his mother’s death. Brendon probably understood immediately, but he just listened with a solemn expression.
Ryan told the story differently from Spencer. The facts were all the same, but he didn’t use that matter-of-fact tone Spencer had used to hide his feelings behind. Ryan’s feelings were right there for them all to see, raw and honest and so painful it made Jon’s eyes sting. Made him want to draw Ryan to him and hold him tight.
As he spoke he wound himself more tightly around Brendon, clasping his hands together around Brendon’s middle. He mouthed the words into Brendon’s shirt so they came out muffled and hesitant, and when he’d finished, he stared down at his hands and said, “I still hate the Federation. But Brendon, I love you. I love all of you. So you have to help me figure out how this will work, because I don’t want to be the sort of person who would ask you to quit.”
Brendon worked his hand between Ryan’s, lacing their fingers together. He reached for Spencer with his other, who’d already taken Jon’s hand, who’d taken Ryan’s other hand, completing the circle.
“When I was a kid,” Brendon said, his smile wistful, “I wanted to be an archaeologist. And when I got a little older, I wanted to be a dancer. When I became a teenager I wanted to be a fashion designer.” He laughed and shook his head. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much this frustrated my parents, because they wanted me to be Starfleet. And I really didn’t want to be Starfleet.
“I really didn’t like Starfleet at all. I thought they stuck their nose in where it didn’t belong while ignoring people really in need. And I still think that the Prime Directive is ridiculous and cruel. I couldn’t imagine wearing that uniform and following orders and being like my parents.”
He looked thoughtful for a minute, leaning his cheek against Ryan’s. “When I got a little older,” he said slowly, “I began to understand a little more about personal responsibility and duty and I thought about how Earth used to be, after WWIII, and thought if I’d been born before all that had happened, maybe it could have been different. But the Federation had done a lot of good. Besides,” he added ruefully, “I didn’t have much of a choice, because my parents decided to enrol me in Starfleet Academy early, and since my grades were so good I got selected.
“Only, after the first two semesters, I got to start taking elective courses. I took this one science class to fulfil a requirement and it was just…it was amazing.” Brendon’s whole face lit up when he was talking-big smile and red cheeks and eyes sparkling. It was beautiful, different from Spencer’s genuine prettiness and Ryan’s delicate, eerie beauty. Brendon’s beauty came from his happiness.
“I started taking more and more, and by the time my parents found out I’d switched my focus from command to science, they couldn’t do anything to change it. I mean, they were furious, but all my professors supported the choice, and my parents didn’t want them to get the impression that I was fickle or something.
“They still got their way in the end ‘cause they pulled some strings with a friend and had me selected to be a part of the Red Squad and continue on for command school, but by then I didn’t mind so much. By then I really loved what I was learning. But I still wasn’t so sure about all of Starfleet’s policies, which is why I was really picky about choosing my first assignment. I never told my parents, but I got offered some pretty big awesome jobs out of the science field, where I’d be piloting and doing away missions and be in the direct chain of command.
“Bajor is really fascinating to me, and when Dax offered me the position, I didn’t hesitate. I’m sorry, so, so sorry, because I know what Starfleet did was awful and stupid and they used awful, stupid bureaucratic reasons for it, but I believe Commander Sisko really cares for Bajor, even if he isn’t actually the Emissary. And Dax has all these great plans for helping the ecosystem of Bajor and helping the Bajorans become self-sufficient, and, I’m sorry,” he said, and stopped at the way Ryan was going tense.
“I’m not going to try to convince you that Starfleet is good, Ryan, because I don’t always think so, myself,” Brendon said. “But you’re right that I don’t want to give it up, either, because if no one ever tries to change it, it isn’t ever going to get any better. So maybe you can help me be a sort of Starfleet officer that you can love.” He looked up then, eyes mischievous and fixed on Jon. “And the sort of Starfleet officer that you’ll want to party with.”
“Because, guys,” he went on, looking a little frustrated and bewildered, “I will not be one of those weirdoes who wears his uniform, like to bed or whatever, who can’t be bothered to change to go to the bar or the holodeck and stuff. And I never want to be the guy who does what he’s told just because he’s told to do it. I don’t want to do things I don’t believe in.”
Spencer laughed, but it sounded wet, and he leaned forward, pressing his lips to Brendon’s. It looked fervent and maybe a little wild and certainly messy. Jon hadn’t even been the one kissed and he knew what Spencer meant to convey. All the same, Spencer said it when they’d parted. “Brendon, I’m so glad we fell in love with you.”
Brendon laughed, too, and he still looked bewildered. His mouth was red and sore-looking and Jon just wanted to make it redder. “I still don’t understand how this happened,” he said weakly.
They all laughed at that. Ryan nuzzled his throat and said, “Jon says ‘no worries.’” Jon nodded, an expression of faux sternness on his face.
Brendon’s face went from silly to serious in a second, but serious in a sexy way. “I suppose,” he said, voice lower and huskier than usual. He hooked a finger under Jon’s chin and pulled him closer. “That’s an order I don’t mind following.”
Jon’s heart was slamming in his chest, Brendon’s tone gone straight to his groin. Spencer felt it and squirmed his hips back, eliciting a groan just as Brendon sealed their lips together.
It got a little confusing from there, because Jon wasn’t sure entirely who was doing what. There were hands on his knees stroking up the inside of his thighs and someone’s teeth on his jaw and hands sliding around his back, under his shirt. He opened his eyes to see Brendon crawling into Spencer’s lap and there was a tangle of legs-Jon’s over Spencer’s, Brendon’s between them, Ryan’s encircling them and seriously, Ryan had really long legs that Jon wouldn’t mind to see bare. In fact, he was hoping to see a lot of bare skin in the very near future. He closed a hand around one of Ryan’s ankles, pushed up under his pants, feeling Ryan’s calf tense at his touch. Ryan bit down roughly on Spencer’s shoulder and Spencer abandoned Jon’s neck in favour of Ryan’s mouth.
Catcalls drifted across the water from the beach. Jon couldn’t really understand it, but knew it was Pete and Frank and all of The Academy. Spencer jerked back, going bright pink and he knocked into Brendon who flailed around comically, and maybe it was inevitable when the canoe capsized, because it was their own damn fault for thinking they could try to initiate an orgy there.
When Jon resurfaced Brendon was cackling and Spencer was trying to get the canoe right side up again and Ryan, who looked like a drowned cat, was glaring at them. “I hate you all,” he muttered, even as Jon and Spencer managed to get the canoe upright.
It wasn’t like they could get any wetter, but Brendon made a big show of attaching himself to Ryan and dunking him in the process. “You love us,” he sang in Ryan’s ear. Ryan just bit down on his lip against a smile.
By the time they’d reached the shore everyone had gathered to ridicule and make innuendos. Sisky and the Butcher had composed a brief, dirty ditty about alien sex organs and kinky sexual practices and they’d taught it to The Academy and the Cobra who sang it slightly off beat and off key. Spencer made a rude gesture in their direction, smiling blissfully as he did.
Frank said something about them leaving off just when things were getting good and Pete offered to dry them up with a snap of his fingers, but Jon looked at the others and could see in their eyes that they’d rather dry off themselves. In Brendon’s room. By taking off all their clothing.
“They’re really not ones to talk,” Brendon said as they left. “You should have seen them all last night. I would not be surprised to learn that a twenty-person orgy took place on the holodeck last night after I left.
Ryan blushed furiously. “Oh gods. They know exactly what we’re going to do,” he said, wringing his hands.
“Yeah,” Brendon agreed, unrepentant.
“And they just wish they could see it,” Jon said. It was delightful, the way Ryan and Spencer blushed in unison. He wondered how far down those blushes went.
“Or join it,” Brendon mused. He and Jon shared a wicked grin.
They managed to mostly keep their hands to themselves for the five minutes it took them to walk to the turbolift and get to Brendon’s room, but the minute his doors hissed shut behind them, all bets were off.
Τ
If he’d had to say any of them were a virgin, Spencer would have guessed Brendon. He would not have guessed Jon, not in a million years. But once they had managed to tear each other’s clothes off, Jon had gone from easy confidence to slightly awkward embarrassment.
“It’s just,” Jon said, stammering a little, “I’ve told you, as soon as people know I’m Risian…”
“Oh, Jon,” Spencer said lightly, teasing. “You just wanted to be able to show off to all the other Risians when you tell them your first time was with three other people.”
Brendon cosied up to Spencer’s side, regarding Jon with a lazy smile. He took Jon’s hand and led him to the bed, lying down on his back and pulling Jon over him. Spencer let his gaze fall on Ryan who looked eager and nervous, shaking just a little. Spencer had seen Ryan naked plenty of times, but it had never been sexy. Now he couldn’t help himself. He wrapped Ryan in his arms, drew their mouths together. Ryan was all sharp angles where Spencer was soft, and they just fit.
“Come on,” Ryan said and tugged on Spencer’s hand. “Can’t let Brendon have all the fun deflowering our virgin.” Jon’s ‘fuck you’ was muffled against Brendon’s lips as Brendon rolled Jon beneath him.
They climbed on the bed to either side of Brendon and Jon. Spencer let his hands smooth up the inside of Brendon’s knee, up his thigh. Brendon made a low sound and ground his hips into Jon’s. Ryan managed to wriggle a hand between their bodies, fingers toying lightly with Jon’s nipples.
Jon tore his mouth away from Brendon’s, making a faint keening sound. “I didn’t tell you guys I was a virgin so that you’d focus all your attention on me. This is about us.”
“Jon,” Spencer said fondly, “shut up.”
“No worries,” Ryan said.
“Can I fuck him first?” Brendon whispered into Jon’s throat. “Can I fuck you, Jon?”
“Holy shit, yes,” Jon whispered back. “Yes, yes, Brendon.”
“C’mere,” Spencer said. He pushed Brendon aside and hooked his arms under Jon’s knees, pulling him to the edge of the bed. He got on his knees on the floor, nudging Jon’s legs further apart. “Go replicate something, then,” he snapped impatiently at Brendon, who was just watching them with wide eyes. “If you’re going to fuck him.”
Brendon scurried off, barking at the computer about lubrication and Spencer had to laugh, because it was so Pete, when the computer asked which kind and began listing off several different variants and their relative merits.
Spencer couldn’t decide what part of Jon to go for first, with him all lain out bare and pliant before him. Ryan’s fingers twisted Jon’s nipple again and then he replaced his hand with his mouth. Spencer saw a flash of teeth before Ryan closed his mouth and sucked. Jon’s eyes closed and his back arched, and Ryan’s hand skated down his stomach. Ryan didn’t tease; he took Jon’s erection in his hand, squeezing, getting a feel for it. Jon bucked his hips, gritted his teeth and let out a hissing sound.
With Jon spread open like that, Ryan’s mouth getting progressively closer to where his hand was slowly pumping Jon’s dick, Spencer sort of lost the ability to think straight. He put his hands on Jon’s thighs, spread him open wider, and dove between his legs. He mouthed over Jon’s balls, tongued lower ‘til he found an opening. He didn’t know a lot about Risian physiology, but he could guess by looking and feeling and he realised just how lucky the four of them were, that Humans, Bajorans and Risians fit so well together.
Jon made a choked sound when Spencer swirled his tongue around the tense ring. Ryan chuckled and Spencer lifted his eyes to see Ryan already looking at him. He lowered his mouth, sucking just the tip of Jon’s erection between his lips. Jon’s hands flew out, fisting in the blanket.
Brendon returned, spooning up behind Ryan on the bed. His mouth covered Jon’s, swallowing his sounds and he wrapped his arm around Ryan, fingers running teasingly up and down Ryan’s length and yeah, yeah, they were so totally doing this, and Spencer still didn’t entirely believe it. He still expected to wake up in his grey room on the station and realise he’d dreamed Brendon and Jon up entirely. He cupped Ryan’s cheek in his hand and ran his fingers back through Ryan’s hair, urging him to take Jon deeper and he did. Ryan opened his jaw and sank down Jon’s length and Spencer could feel Jon moving inside against his palm.
“Fuck, Brendon, give me something,” Spencer hissed. Feeling Jon in Ryan’s mouth like that, all he could think of was having Jon inside him, but Brendon wanted to fuck Jon and shit, this was going to be over too fast.
Brendon had brought back a plethora of lube. He laughed sheepishly at Spencer’s curse, breaking his kiss to explain. “I had no idea there were so many different flavours.” Jon laughed, low in his throat and Ryan giggled around his mouthful and Spencer felt a rush of warmth because this was so comfortable and so right.
He slicked two fingers in the first bottle he grabbed, which turned out to be peach flavoured. Jon was already loose. Spencer didn’t have an extraordinary amount of experience with this, but from what experience he had, he knew it was strange how utterly relaxed Jon was for a virgin. He didn’t even wince when Spencer pushed both fingers in, right away. He just tilted his hips and pushed down to meet him and grunted, “more.”
Spencer poured more lube into his palm, got another finger slick and pushed it alongside the first two. Jon was panting now, hips moving restlessly between trying to push down onto Spencer’s hand and push up into Ryan’s mouth. Ryan had lost the rhythm he’d built up and let his mouth fall slack, abandoning Jon. His eyes were squeezed shut and his head thrown back against Brendon’s shoulder. Brendon’s strokes on Ryan’s dick were hard and rough.
Jon was watching them, too. His eyes were unfocussed and the soft grunting noise he kept making was the sexiest thing Spencer had ever heard. He bit Jon’s thigh gently. “He’s ready,” he said to Brendon and clambered up onto the bed and rubbed more oil over his fingers before passing it to Ryan. He reached between his own thighs, fingering himself lightly before slipping two in. It burnt; it had been a long time, but he needed to be fucked.
Brendon slipped between Jon’s thighs and Ryan coated him in the lube, guided him to Jon’s opening. Jon and Brendon groaned in unison. Jon’s face twisted up in pleasure, Brendon bit his lip hard and with a snap of his hips buried himself all the way inside. “Fuck,” he said. “You’re so tight, fuck.”
“Yes,” Jon panted.
“Yes,” Ryan echoed. “Gods, Brendon…” For someone not directly involved in the act, Ryan sounded pretty damn excited by it. He got down on his elbows, leaning close to Jon’s ear. “My turn next,” he purred.
Before Jon and Brendon had time to develop a rhythm, Spencer threw a thigh over Jon’s waist, facing Brendon, and reached for Jon’s cock. He was wet from Ryan’s mouth, and shit, shit, shit. Spencer was never going to last because he was about to fuck the cock that Ryan had just sucked and it was Jon and Brendon was panting into Spencer’s throat.
“Ryan,” he said and Ryan scrambled to help him line it up. Spencer felt vaguely bad that Ryan was doing all this helping and not really getting anything for himself, but then he sat back on his heels, sinking down Jon’s length and he forgot about everything except the sensation. His mouth fell open on a silent moan.
“You’re gorgeous,” Brendon said, breathing into Spencer’s mouth. Spencer couldn’t answer; he couldn’t find the words. Brendon hands smoothed up Spencer’s back and tangled in his hair. He kissed Spencer again, soft and slow.
For a long minute, Spencer just sat there, getting used to the stretch, being full of Jon. Jon was surprisingly patient for a virgin being fucked two different ways. His hands came up to stroke Spencer’s back, run down his sides. Slowly, Spencer rocked against him and Jon let out a harsh breath. Brendon grabbed Spencer’s hips, squeezed tight and pulled a little out of Jon then slammed back in, hard and fast. It made Jon’s hips buck up and with Brendon holding him in place it was just right to make Spencer cry out with pleasure. Brendon kissed him, all-consuming.
Spencer had been right; it didn’t take long. Brendon kept drawing harsh sounds from Jon with his deep thrusts and Jon kept hitting Spencer right where he needed it. Spencer just went with it, rocking his hips against Jon and Brendon. His cock was trapped between his stomach and Brendon’s and the friction was too much.
Then Ryan wrapped an arm around him from behind. “Come on, Spence.” Ryan’s voice was strained like he was the one being fucked. His fingers teased over the head of Spencer’s cock and he sucked on Spencer’s neck and Spencer came with a surprised cry, arching his back so hard it hurt, but in a good way.
Jon’s hand fisted in Spencer’s hair and he jerked him back until Spencer was laid out on his chest. He turned his head to meet Jon’s kiss and felt Jon come inside him, so hot. Brendon’s thrusts turned shallow and his breathing sped up even more. Ryan slipped off the bed, fitting himself up against Brendon. He peppered kisses over Brendon’s shoulders and up his neck, let his fingers play over Brendon’s chest. Then he sucked one of his fingers into his mouth and pulled it away, spit slick, and shoved it up Brendon’s ass, and that, apparently, was all it took. Brendon’s eyes rolled back in his head and with a last jerk of his hips, he came.
Brendon climbed up on the bed beside them, throwing an arm over Spencer and Jon. Ryan linked fingers with him and they smiled at one another. Spencer watched them, still trying to catch his breath. Ryan was still hard, rubbing himself against Jon’s thigh.
“Greedy,” Brendon chided. “Ryan just wanted all of our attention.”
Ryan arched a brow but didn’t contradict him. “Don’t you want to give me your attention, Brendon?” He rolled onto his back, spreading his arms out. Brendon leapt at the offer, covering Ryan’s body with his own. He pressed wet kisses into Ryan’s throat and down his chest.
It was kind of insanely hot, watching Brendon go down on Ryan, deep-throating him with apparently little effort. Ryan squealed and the sound went straight to Spencer’s dick. “Fucking hell, Brendon,” Ryan gasped. Brendon shoved the heels of his hands to Ryan’s pelvis, holding him down, and hollowed his cheeks. “Shit, Brendon.”
Jon’s dick jerked and Spencer wiggled his hips in encouragement and Jon grew harder. They rolled together onto their sides and Jon gave a little thrust. He slid a hand around Spencer’s waist and stroked him a few times and that was all it took to get him completely hard again too. Spencer wondered wildly if he was going to have the stamina to keep up in this relationship, but he figured as long as the other three kept doing things like this, it would be fine.
“Brendon,” Ryan cried, and began pushing at his shoulders. “Brendon, please, I don’t want…not yet.”
Brendon pulled back so his lips were just brushing Ryan’s dick when he spoke. “Don’t worry babe,” he breathed and Ryan shivered. “I’ll take care of you.” He swallowed Ryan again, all the way down.
Jon gave a particularly hard thrust and groaned in Spencer’s ear. “Shit that’s hot.” And, yeah, Spencer wouldn’t mind Brendon’s mouth on his dick at all.
Ryan came with another sharp cry and he looked beautiful. Spencer let himself admire it without the guilt that usually came with noticing. His lifted slightly off the bed, head thrown back. His neck was a tense, long line, his nipples were hard and red, begging attention; his thighs were locked around Brendon’s neck and he went all still for a minute before collapsing back to the bed, shaking. Brendon just kept working his throat, sucking until Ryan began to make soft sounds of protest and pushed at his shoulders.
“Fuck,” Ryan said shakily. Brendon grabbed his hand and squeezed, cuddling up beside him and Spencer noticed Brendon was already hard again, too, slipping between Ryan’s thighs, getting himself slick. Ryan watched him, breathing rapidly. He grabbed Brendon’s hips and urged him on. When Brendon was seated in him, Ryan hooked his legs over his waist, holding him in place. They rocked together, and Jon matched their pace, rocking his hips into Spencer’s.
They were up all night, and Spencer sort of lost track of what exactly was happening after a while. The tangle of limbs, the press of lips and after Jon finished fucking him for the second time Ryan was eager to take his place and Spencer knew he was never going to be able to walk again when it was over, but it was so good, he just didn’t give a fuck, not even when Brendon demanded his turn and Spencer was on his knees, sucking Jon off, the taste and scent of various fruits in his mouth and all around.
When they finally collapsed in a heap, exhausted and sated, Spencer found himself cocooned in the middle with Brendon. Ryan and Jon, on the outsides, fumbled with the blankets and managed to get them all covered. “We smell gross,” he muttered, but didn’t pull his face away from where it was pressed into Jon’s arm.
“Shower later,” Jon groaned. “Sleep now.” Ryan harrumphed and Brendon made a sound of agreement and Spencer hadn’t wanted to get up anyway, even to wash away the smell because he could barely move, let alone think about trying to stand under the showerhead for any length of time. Besides, they smelled like sex, and he sort of liked it.
“Sometimes,” Brendon said, his voice breaking the stillness and silence that had fallen. Spencer had almost slipped into sleep, but now he rolled to face Brendon and opened his eyes. Brendon’s were already open, staring out the window. Jon shifted a little, resting his head on Spencer’s shoulder and Ryan tightened the arm he had around Brendon. Brendon smiled softly. His face was lit up in starlight and he looked wondering.
“Sometimes, I look at it and I want to be in it. We forget because we have the ship or the station or the atmosphere all around us and there are all those distant stars and planets, but it’s just nothing. Just emptiness. A vacuum.” Brendon’s voice was low and melodic, soothing, somehow. Spencer hugged him close.
“Everything I’ve ever learned tells me I can’t. I’ll asphyxiate, and my blood will boil and my body will freeze. I know that. But Pete took me out there, and I felt was this sort of overwhelming peace, like I was isolated from everything, like I was the only thing in the universe. It was just like I’d always imagined it might be. It was just what I’d always wanted it to be. Only…I don’t want that anymore.”
Ryan sought out Jon and Spencer’s hands. “Love you,” he murmured.
Brendon made a sound suspiciously like crying, but his face was dry. “We do love you,” Jon said and Spencer nodded his head fervently. Brendon still didn’t look directly at him. His eyes fell closed against the stars.
Falling asleep with Ryan and Jon had been good. Really, it had been much better than that. But he knew they’d all felt it, the place that Brendon was supposed to occupy. This was how it was supposed to be, and he pressed as close and as tight to Brendon as he could, they all did, and kept him warm and safe.
Waking this time was even better, too. Brendon and Ryan were already awake, Ryan straddling Brendon. They were moving together, sharing lazy kisses. The sheets had shifted, stopped from falling all the way by the swell of Ryan’s ass, and how had Spencer never realised how nicely curved it was, for as thin and bony as the rest of him was. Every time he rocked back onto Brendon the sheets parted, giving Spencer a glimpse of where their bodies met.
He just watched them for a long time, until the rocking got fast and Ryan tore his mouth away from Brendon, letting out little breathy cries and getting louder and louder. Brendon grabbed his hips, knocking the sheets out of the way and Spencer could see it all then. He got up on his knees, moving behind Ryan to spoon against his back. He cupped Brendon’s balls, squeezed until Brendon moaned. His hips lost their smooth, fluid motions and became jagged, erratic.
Ryan braced himself with one hand on Brendon’s chest and reached behind himself blindly with the other. His hand fisted in Spencer’s hair and jerked til Spencer gave in, kissing him sloppily. Spencer let his fingers find the place where Brendon was fucking Ryan and stroked Brendon’s dick, the stretched skin of Ryan’s ass.
Brendon came with a gasp and Ryan, still hard, growled with frustration, trying to grind down. “Come on, Ry,” Spencer urged. He put his hands on Ryan’s hips and lifted enough to get him off Brendon’s cock. He was still stretched wide and wet from lube and Brendon’s come and it was easy for Spencer to just shift his hips up and bury himself inside.
“Gods, Spencer.” Ryan sat up, letting his legs fall to either side of Spencer’s, spreading wider, letting him in deeper. He would have liked to see Ryan’s face, but there was something strangely exciting about having Ryan like this, like he was at his mercy. His back was arched, leaving his chest open, begging to be touched. Spencer tickled his fingers over the smooth skin and Ryan quivered until Spencer found a nipple, flicking his nail against it. The attention Ryan paid to their chests made it somewhat obvious that it was something Ryan himself liked, and Spencer wasn’t let down. Ryan gasped at the first touch and when Spencer pinched the nub between his fingers and twisted, Ryan just sort of lost it, shoving himself hard on Spencer’s lap.
Brendon pushed himself up on his elbows. He was trapped by them, but didn’t seem to mind. He reached out, jerking Ryan off. He cut a gaze at Spencer and they shared a wicked smile, and timed it, Spencer twisted Ryan’s nipple the same time Brendon flicked his thumb over the head of Ryan’s cock.
“Fuck. You,” Ryan spat, but the sound that followed said it was a good thing.
“Mm,” Spencer agreed, chuckling. He nosed aside Ryan’s hair, pressing open kisses over the back of his neck, his shoulder, ‘til he found a mark on his throat, near his ear and didn’t know which of them had made it, but he sucked it into his mouth, making it bigger. Ryan stiffened, then went boneless, sagging back against Spencer with a ragged sigh. Brendon brought his hand to his mouth, licking Ryan’s come from his fingers. Spencer wasn't far in following him, biting down on the skin in his mouth.
“Nice way to wake up,” Jon said, and of course they had woken him, but Spencer felt a little guilty for not including him. Only when he looked over, Jon was smiling sleepily at them, jerking himself off, and all it took was Ryan’s lips on his throat and Brendon’s fingers closing around Jon’s to get him to come.
Brendon twisted his neck until there was a cracking sound and groaned. “Okay, for this to continue when we get back to DS9, we’ll need a bed at least this big and lots of pillows.”
It was somewhat embarrassing, because Spencer knew that as soon as Brendon ordered a bigger bed, everyone in security would know about it, and then Spencer would never hear the end of it. That was, of course, if he still had a job when he got back. He pushed that thought away fiercely, because whether he had that job or not, he had Brendon and Jon and Ryan, and he could get another job. It didn’t mean that much to him.
Ryan groaned and elbowed Spencer gently in the ribs. “I’m disgusting, get off me,” he said. Spencer let go and leaned back. He could have helped, but he liked the way the muscles in Ryan’s back twisted when he writhed around, finally managing to get off Spencer and Brendon.
“Need any help reaching your back?” Jon offered playfully.
“No,” Ryan said, in that bland way he had, and for a second Jon looked confused. Then Ryan stopped at the doorway and looked over his shoulder. “Though, there’s this spot,” he went on, and traced a finger down the crack of his ass. “You might be able to reach that one.” Ryan laughed at the look on their faces and disappeared into the ‘fresher. Jon scrambled after him, skidding through the door.
“Come on,” Brendon said, tackling Spencer back to the mattress and rolling onto his feet. “That bathroom is huge. Pete doesn’t fuck around with potential sex-having spots.” Spencer grinned and let Brendon jerk him to his feet and resigned himself to a really incredible sex life even if it meant late breakfasts and hurrying to make it to work on time.
By the time they managed to make their way to the dining area, almost everyone was already there. Impressively, the Cab and The Academy were still really drunk, and Spencer wondered if they’d even gone to sleep or if they’d just been drinking the entire evening.
The part of the deck dedicated to the dining area was a big open space with lots comfortable tables and booths, surrounded by various restaurant fronts serving food from all over the galaxy. Pete had a lot of people working there, and everything was free, so for now Spencer was just taking on faith what Brendon had said about Pete being all-powerful. Because how else could he afford to employ all these people, and have a huge fleet, and be in a relatively popular and successful band?
Still, it was weird, because Pete?
And, speak of the devil; Pete appeared at their table, followed shortly by Patrick, Gerard, Frank and Dax. Brendon blushed when he saw Dax, and Spencer realised that she must have seen them go the night before, too. It probably had to be even more awkward for Brendon to know that, with Dax being his superior.
“Sleep well, boys?” Frank asked. He was smirking and Spencer wouldn’t have minded smacking the look off his face. He settled for muttering, “shut up.”
Gerard did his Vulcan eyebrow twitch thing and made a blank face. “It is highly illogical to become embarrassed about sexual intercourse.”
“Don’t try pulling that Vulcan shit on us now,” Ryan said. He gave Gerard a dark look. Gerard shrugged easily and laughed with Frank.
“You boys left too early last night,” Pete said. “I wanted to talk to you about…things.” He made a vague gesture with his hand.
Spencer was remarkably wary of him. He let Ryan take his hand, wrapped an arm around Jon’s back. “What do you want?”
Pete laughed. “Spencer. You paranoid dork. Did Brendon tell you guys about me, is that it?”
“Yes,” Spencer said. “But I have to say that that doesn’t have a lot to do with it.”
Patrick covered his mouth a made a sound suspiciously like laughter, answered by Pete’s scowl in his direction. “Look, you realise I have, like, unlimited powers, right? The ability to bend the cosmos to my will and all that shit? I could make you forget you’d ever met me, make you trust me implicitly; I could snap my fingers and make it so you’d never even existed.” Spencer felt his unease growing. “But I don’t.” His voice went hard.
“I’ve been waiting for you guys, okay, and I’ve been patient. I knew you’d all meet up eventually. I could have fixed it so it happened sooner, or engineered a situation like this, but I didn’t. I had no idea that Gabe would go to DS9. I didn’t even know that Brendon was there yet,” Pete said.
“Waiting for us?” Ryan asked. “What do you mean? Waiting for who? You know me and Spence.”
“Waiting for all of you,” Pete said, grinning again. “Jon and Brendon, too.”
“But why?” Brendon asked. He looked baffled and intrigued. Spencer sort of hated that Pete could say stuff like “I can bend the cosmos to my will” and earn Brendon’s awe, because that was totally cheating.
“There are different worlds, you know,” Pete said. “Universes, timelines.”
“Like the mirror universe,” Brendon guessed. “We talked about that at the Academy. One difference changes the course of events, creating a parallel existence.”
Pete nodded. “Right. And you’re all still there. I mean, sometimes it’s better than others. Like, in the mirror universe you’re talking about? You and Jon are Ryan and Spencer’s slaves.” Spencer tensed, hand fisting in Jon’s shirt. Jon shrugged him off, grabbed his hand instead and gave him a smile that told him not to freak out.
“It’s alright,” Pete assured him. “In a couple years the Terrans will lead a revolt and Jon and Brendon still love you two, even there. They’ll get you out of harm’s way, and when all the dust settles, well, Ryan isn’t going to be happy, but I trust that you’ll work that out.”
“Besides,” he said, “that isn’t the important part. The important part is, that no matter what’s happening differently, you’re still together. We’re all still together.” He waved a hand to encompass all the people in the room.
“Yeah,” Frank said. He bounced in his seat. “In one, we’re all rock stars. Pete’s showed us. We rock so way more hardcore than you guys.”
“Totally different music,” Gerard said, peaceably enough. “Not really comparable.” But he had a smirk like he agreed with what Frank said. Ryan made a face at them.
“You’ve been scientists, artists, prisoners, soldiers. You’ve been born in different corners of the same world, different corners of the universe. You’ve had all sorts of obstacles, but in the end, you always find each other,” Pete said. For someone who could make anything happen, he seemed awed by this.
Ryan had this sweet, hesitant smile though, thinking about it, and maybe Spencer wasn’t so annoyed with Pete. Of course it would appeal to the romantic in Ryan to think that no matter what, they’d all be together.
“So,” Brendon began slowly.
“So,” Pete interrupted, “you all belong together, and you together belong with us. So you’re going to join my armada, yes?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“No,” Ryan said, suddenly loud and indignant and surprised.
“No?” Pete said. His brow frowned. He looked at Patrick a little lost, like people didn’t tell him no.
“No,” Jon agreed. “Not yet.”
“Not yet?” Spencer asked.
“When Brendon gets his own ship,” Ryan said.
“Well, see, I can give you a ship,” Pete said, exasperated. “Any sort of ship you want. Except, not like ours. Ours is special.”
“No,” Jon said. “When he’s a captain in Starfleet.”
“Guys,” Brendon said softly. “You don’t even want me to be in Starfleet.”
Spencer gave him a fierce glare. “Didn’t you just say last night that you didn’t want to be the guy who gave up his career because we asked?” Brendon had the decency to look sheepish.
“Yeah, but…”
“No buts,” Ryan interrupted. “You’re supposed to be the sort of Starfleet officer I can love. And besides, Starfleet needs someone like you to be a captain.”
“And then,” Jon said, talking it out, “then think of it. Pete really could show us new worlds and civilisations. Places other ships couldn’t dream of going.”
Pete looked put out by all this. “Promotions take forever,” he whined.
“Don’t even think about it,” Patrick growled.
“I could step things up a bit,” Pete said, heedless.
“I’m on the command track,” Brendon said.
Pete sighed. “You guys suck.”
“Promise you won’t pull any strings,” Brendon said. “I get enough of that from my parents.”
There was a lot of grumbling from Pete and a lot of threatening looks from Patrick to Pete and finally Pete relented, but he didn’t sound too happy about it. “When you guys change your minds-because you’re going to change your minds-I’m not going to be gracious about it. I’m totally going to say I told you so.”
Jon nodded amicably. “Alright Pete,” he said, and patted Pete’s hand.
“Can we go back to the station now?” Spencer asked. It was fun here, and everything, but he was worried about how long they’d been gone, and the questions that they needed to answer when they got back, and he’d feel better when they were back.
“God, you guys are no fun at all,” Pete exclaimed, but he agreed, nonetheless.
All of the crew of the Cobra had to give Brendon smothering hugs that made Ryan’s eyes narrow, and the Helena shook hands and patted backs and gave ‘live long and prosper’ hand symbols that were somehow ridiculous and sweet at the same time, because even if Mikey did seem kind of emotionless at times, he and Gerard were the worst Vulcans ever.
Then, before they left, Pete gave them each a small pin shaped like a bat. The heart in the centre was a different gemstone for each of them. Spencer’s glinted dark blue. “When you need me, or if you want to hang out or whatever, just press there,” he said, and indicated the stone.
“Or just yell really loudly,” Patrick muttered.
Pete ignored him and went on blithely. “Just so you know, I think you’re all stupid. And you’re still expected to come party with us at least every other week.” He gave them all crushing hugs and then gave one to Dax too, who looked bemused, but hugged him back. “You’re welcome to hang out, too,” he told her, with an eyebrow wiggle that was probably supposed to be sexy. Dax didn’t laugh, at least, which Spencer thought was good of her.
“Just send them home,” Patrick snapped, and Pete pouted and there was a flash of light and suddenly, they were all standing in Operations.
Everyone just stopped, until the only noise was the beeping of instrumentation and the hum of the engines. Sisko’s office door was open and he spied them, pausing in the middle of a conversation he’d been having with his view screen. Odo was standing behind him and Spencer felt his glare like a slap across the face. He was in such deep shit.
Next Chapter:
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