[Gundam 00] The Subtle Grace of Gravity (Arc 5)
Title: The Subtle Grace of Gravity
→ Arc 1: Waking
→ Arc 2: Return
→ Arc 3: Learning
→ Arc 4: Surprise
→ Arc 5: Intimacy
Fandom: Gundam 00
Characters/Pairing: Lockon (Neil)/Tieria. Regene cameo.
Rating: NC-17.
Wordcount: 6,516 (fifth part)
Notes: Part five of nine, and one of the longest. Posting should be more regular from now on.
Summary: Lockon and Tieria's relationship changes to be compatible with the future...or at least, that's one way to put it.
It was becoming more difficult to contact the Ptolemy immediately. The actual time lag between messages sent by the best technological means at their disposal, Tieria explained, was still only a few minutes, and somehow, he could communicate with Setsuna without any delay at all (Lockon had not asked for details on that). But the technicalities of the orbits of both Earth and Moon, as well as the need to maintain some secrecy, meant that in practice, the only way to contact the crew of the Ptolemy instantly was through Tieria and Setsuna's link. None of them were entirely comfortable using that to transmit routine messages--at least, not yet.
So it was only now, several weeks after the fact, that Lockon was receiving reactions from the Ptolemy to the report he'd sent them on his trip back to Earth. He'd made sure to include what he'd learned for Feldt's sake, and a note on how Allelujah and Marie were faring. Only out of obligation to Setsuna had he said anything about Marina--that even though his time with her had been cut short, he thought she was a very kind woman and Setsuna was lucky to have met her.
Lockon smiled at Setsuna and Feldt's replies, but he stopped, frowning, when he came to the note Lyle had left for him.
I thought running away was my tactic, Neil. Are you taking over for me now that I can't do it anymore?
He didn't entirely get the meaning, but he got enough of it to be uncomfortable. Lockon sent an alert to Tieria about the messages, although surely he'd gotten them himself as well, and moved them off the computer screen. He started to turn to another monitor, but then he stopped, because standing in the doorway of the combination lounge/communications room was Tieria himself.
Tieria had been busy the past week with his work in Veda, and in all honesty, Lockon was still a bit relieved about it. When he thought about Tieria, he could feel a switch trying to turn on somewhere in his mind (or maybe somewhere else). He didn't want to follow that to its logical conclusion. But now he was standing there in the entrance, his shoulders held stiffly, his chin up.
"Lockon Stratos," he said, "remove your pants."
The command was so sincere, and Lockon so glad to hear that kind of confidence in Tieria's voice without any of the contempt that had accompanied it years ago, that he'd undone the first two buttons on his pants before his brain ground to a halt. "What?"
Suddenly Tieria was hesitant again. He was blushing now. "If you wish to," he said in a smaller voice. Whatever effort he'd put into the confidence of his last words, it had been spent now. He was fumbling. "I wouldn't force anything such as this on you, Lockon."
Lockon's brain started working again, but now it had new information that dismayed him. "This isn't necessary," he said. "The kiss was just an accident. You don't have to take it any further if you don't want to."
"Many human things are not, strictly speaking, necessary," Tieria said. "But I do want to."
The thought passed through Lockon's head that he kind of wanted to, too. There it was, what he'd been refusing to face since that kiss. If he let himself, he could find Tieria attractive (and how long had that been the case? Was it just because he'd been here alone with him for so long?). There was a switch threatening to turn itself on in his head, just like he'd feared, and it was getting harder to stop it.
He suppressed it one more time. "This isn't a good idea. I didn't even know you could feel that way, or I wouldn't have led you on."
Tieria flushed. "Lockon, you didn't lead me on. I led myself to this conclusion. You kissed me, and it felt good. I want to go further."
"You don't--" Lockon stopped. "Hey, hey, I didn't kiss you, Tieria. It was the other way around."
Tieria blinked at him. "I wouldn't have initiated such a thing. I recall that you leaned forward and kissed me."
Come to think of it, Lockon recalled that he had leaned forward as Tieria had. "It's like I said, then. We both made a mistake."
"It doesn't have to be a mistake." Tieria hesitated, then reached out to put a hand on Lockon's chest, just below one shoulder. It was, Lockon realized, the first time Tieria had deliberately touched him for anything other than practical reasons: even those grips on his wrist a week ago had been intended to catch his attention and stop him from turning away. Tieria moved a little closer, then laid his head on Lockon's shoulder. "I like this," he murmured.
It was so much harder to say no to Tieria when he was like this than Lockon would have wanted it to be. But then, he wouldn't have thought about this at all until now. Even over the past week, since that kiss, he'd been refusing to think about it. Tieria couldn't have feelings like that, and he definitely couldn't have feelings like that for him.
But he did, and somehow that made him attractive in and of itself. He wanted Lockon, and it wouldn't be difficult for Lockon to want him back.
But it wouldn't be right, either. Lockon couldn't bring himself to push Tieria away entirely, but he tipped Tieria's head back, away from his shoulder. "You should think this over, Tieria. It's not really a good idea."
"I have thought it over," Tieria said. "I'd still like to do this to you."
Lockon paused. "You mean with me," he said.
"That's only one way of looking at it," Tieria said. "We would need to start with me performing the acts on you, rather than the other way around, or a combination of both."
"That's just not right," Lockon said without even thinking. "There's no reason you can't take part too--if we were going to do this, I mean."
"Lockon," Tieria said. "I'm not ready."
"Then you definitely shouldn't be doing this," Lockon said. "Don't feel pressured into it, just because we kissed once."
"That's not what I meant," Tieria said, shaking his head. Lockon could feel Tieria's hair brush against his face. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation. "This is very new to me. The feeling of being kissed alone was intense. Having more sexual actions done to me would be overwhelming. I'd like to take this in steps."
Lockon caught his breath.
"Lockon?" Tieria said tentatively, starting to lift a hand to his face, then pulling it away, obviously unsure of what boundaries he should respect now. "What's wrong?"
He would have to be so gentle with someone like that, Lockon thought. The slightest touch at the wrong time could send him over the edge. What sort of sounds would he make? How would he move?
"Ah," Tieria said, still pressed hesitantly against him. He sounded strangely pleased. "You are interested."
That was when Lockon realized he was getting hard. Tieria was right: Lockon couldn't protest that he wasn't interested, now. Tieria wanted it, and he wanted it, and--and it would change everything, but it was too late to stop that now. Lockon reached up with both hands and cupped Tieria's face. "You're sure?"
"I'm completely certain," Tieria said. "I haven't been able to think of anything else all week. This is what I want to do."
"In that case," Lockon said, "we really should get started." He let go of Tieria's face and took hold of his hands instead, but only to move them to where his pants were still half-open. Those hands trembled a little within his, and Lockon realized he was almost fully erect already. Maybe it really had just been too long. That had been a bad idea--he should have found someone during his vacation on Earth.
Tieria took a deep breath, then pulled down first Lockon's pants, then his underwear in quick succession. Carefully, he lowered himself to his knees.
Lockon stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Hey, Tieria," he said. "First things first." He pulled him back up, then leaned closer to start kissing him.
Tieria broke away after a moment, reluctantly. "We've already done this," he said. "We should move on."
"That's just not true," Lockon said. "There's no such thing as kissing too much before going further. If you like it, we can do more of it. That goes for anything, you know." This wasn't so bad, Lockon realized. In some ways, it made things simpler. He'd wondered what Tieria was to him; now he could think, Tieria is my lover, and leave it at that. He had a role to play now. It would be easier.
(But even though it would change everything, some things it wouldn't change at all. Tieria would still be either transparent or, more rarely, an utter mystery to him--nothing in between.)
Tieria hesitated, his cheek pressed up against Lockon's. "No," he finally said. "I'd like to kiss you in other places too." He was breathing hard, and he trembled with every exhale, but Lockon still couldn't feel if he was hard yet or not. He supposed it was a good thing, if Tieria wasn't ready for more than this.
But whether he was ready or not, Tieria was continuing. He moved away from Lockon's face, hesitantly kissing his collarbone, then finally sinking down until he was on his knees. This time, Lockon tensed a little, but didn't stop him. It might have been a bad idea, but he wanted to feel what Tieria could give him too much now.
Tieria paused for a moment longer, his eyes half-closing, and then Lockon got his wish. Tieria leaned forward to awkwardly touch his tongue to the head of Lockon's cock.
Lockon struggled not to burst out laughing. Tieria felt the way his body trembled with the effort and looked up, flushing darker red. "Lockon, am I doing something wrong?"
Lockon reached down to stroke gloved fingers along the line of Tieria's jaw. "It's all right to go a little faster. You won't hurt me, I promise."
"Understood," Tieria said. He took a deep breath, then leaned forward, mouth open, and took far too much of Lockon's length into his mouth.
Lockon couldn't suppress a short gasp, and he hurriedly pulled back and pushed Tieria away. "Hey! Be careful. You'll hurt yourself."
Tieria blinked up at him. Then he frowned with impatience. "Lockon, I am in enough control of this body to deactivate the gag reflex as necessary. You needn't worry about that."
Still, when he started again, he was more hesitant, and it was plainly evident to Lockon that he'd never done anything like this before. His teeth were out, stroking over him just short of painfully, and he moved his tongue and lips only erratically. For a little while, Lockon couldn't understand why; then he reached down and touched Tieria's cheek, curiously, and felt him trembling still more at the touch. He really was almost overwhelmed just by this.
It would be impossible, of course, to tell Tieria just how attractive his fumbling lack of experience was. So Lockon only shivered a little bit himself and carefully pushed further into Tieria's mouth. Tieria didn't seem fazed by it; in fact, he gave a little sigh of pleasure around Lockon's cock and slowly licked the shaft. There was no rhythm to his motions, only uncertain eagerness, but that just made it better.
Lockon found himself slowly pouring Tieria's hair through his fingers, then resting the back of his hands on Tieria's temples. Even through his gloves, he could feel the way Tieria shook at his touch, and he could definitely feel how Tieria sucked at him harder with every shiver. Lockon suppressed a flicker of irritation--he'd never liked this as much as most men did; he hated feeling like he was the only one getting pleasure. For the first time, that clearly wasn't the case...but he still wished he could be face to face with Tieria, holding him close, kissing the top of his head. That would be much more appropriate.
Except it wouldn't, because it was Tieria, and all of this was inappropriate--but it was too late for that, too late to stop and think, Why am I doing this? He could already feel himself starting to thrust nearly involuntarily into Tieria's mouth, that awkward space between his bared teeth, and oh, the sounds Tieria was making as he did so--
Lockon came almost unexpectedly, although at least it wasn't quite as unexpected as the whole event had been.
He leaned back against the wall, his good eye closing; he was suddenly exhausted, emotionally as well as physically. Somewhere he felt Tieria carefully pulling his pants up again, pausing to lay his head against Lockon's stomach, and then getting to his feet. But for once in his life, Lockon didn't know what he could say to Tieria now if he were to speak. After a long moment of contemplation, he decided on, "That was good, Tieria. You--"
But when he opened his eye, Tieria was already gone. It had been too much for him after all.
* * *
Tieria recovered in fits and starts over the next week, and as he did, he prepared. He still couldn't spend much time accomplishing anything in Veda. This bothered him; hadn't that been the main reason he'd done such a thing with Lockon in the first place? To clear his mind, so that he could return to his work.
No, he couldn't pretend that was the reason anymore. He had approached Lockon in that way because he had wanted him, sexually as well as emotionally and practically. Now that he'd had Lockon, a little bit, as one said of sexual matters, he was happy. The memory of how it had felt to move his mouth over Lockon in such a way still made heat spark in strange places on his body, especially as he prepared to do more.
He attempted to go about his business as much as possible, but Lockon wasn't making it easy to avoid him this time. He'd be right there outside the data storage room as Tieria was emerging to return to the pod where he connected to Veda, and he'd be in the lounge exactly when Tieria needed to pass through it.
Lockon smiled when his presence flustered Tieria--and he offered tips and suggestions.
"The sex isn't really the point of dates," Lockon said. "Most dates, at least. Spending time with someone you like is important too."
"We spent time together--before," Tieria said. "Before we kissed."
"It's different when you call it a date," Lockon said.
"I don't understand," Tieria said. There was so much about this aspect of humanity that he didn't understand.
Lockon hesitated, then reached out to clasp a hand to Tieria's head. He still had his gloves on, but the warmth came through to Tieria anyway, and he felt it spread through his body. "It's okay," he said. "Everyone has trouble understanding this part of life."
"You don't," Tieria said.
Lockon gave him a strange little smile. Tieria could not figure out what it meant.
Later, Tieria asked, "How could we have a date here, Lockon? Even natural meals are difficult to procure."
"Well, we could..." Lockon paused. "Give me a little while to think about it. I'll come up with something."
The next day, Lockon suggested that they watch movies together.
"I fail to see the point," Tieria said, "but if you believe it to be proper, we will do it."
Tieria later learned that the movie Lockon transferred onto the communications screen was known as a "buddy cop film." He found much of the humor incomprehensible and the police force situations presented highly unrealistic even from his limited knowledge of such things. But Lockon laughed at it, and that was more than enough; and as Tieria felt himself nestling against Lockon's shoulder, he didn't care what the movie was.
* * *
It had been a strange couple of weeks.
It was taking Lockon a while to adjust to seeing Tieria like this. It was fun, in a way. There was something satisfying about the way Tieria blushed, and he did it so often now. There was something charming about going through the motions of romance with him--even if Lockon still hadn't figured out what to do about dates. He was sure he was onto something with the movie idea, but Tieria hadn't been interested in any of the movies they'd tried so far. Lockon was doing some research into film history to try to find one that would pique Tieria's interest. There'd been some movies about robots dealing with human emotions back in the early twenty-first century; he thought those might be good.
Tieria hadn't yet suggested anything more sexual to Lockon, and Lockon was grateful for that. If Tieria wanted to try out romance, Lockon would help him, but sex might be taking it too far. Maybe after the last time, he'd decided that it wasn't really to his taste. That seemed likely; Lockon still had trouble conceiving of Tieria as a sexual being.
(But the noises he'd made at the back of his throat as Lockon had pushed into his mouth, trying to stay gentle--)
It had been two weeks since that first time when Lockon heard the door to his quarters chime at him as he was getting ready to sleep. He'd taken his shirt off, but not his pants or his eyepatch; he wondered briefly if he should put the shirt back on before answering the door. It wouldn't have occurred to him to wonder, a few months ago. What state Tieria saw him in didn't matter--except maybe for the eyepatch. Now he wasn't sure.
In the end, he decided not to bother with a shirt, and he went over to open the door for Tieria. "I knew you'd learn to warn me first before--" He cut off, staring at Tieria.
Tieria took a deep breath. "Lockon, I'm ready now. I've taken the necessary steps to prepare myself. I know that we are both free of any sexually communicable diseases, or I would not have done as much as I already have." He held up a packet and looked at Lockon with a very serious face. "I have acquired lubricant."
It looked like Tieria wasn't done with sex after all. "Tieria," Lockon said, "that's not a very romantic date."
Tieria frowned up at him. "I'm still new to the concept of dating and romance, Lockon. Please allow me some margin for error."
It was hard not to let his resolve soften a little at something like that. Lockon felt his mouth tug into a smile. "It's not an error exactly, but I'm not sure this is a good idea."
"We've watched two movies together," Tieria said, "and been taking our meals together for four days." He paused, his eyes drifting down to Lockon's bare chest. His cheeks reddened a little. "I am still interested in you and attracted to you. Is there something more that we should do first?"
"No," Lockon said. "But maybe we should do less. This might not work out too well, Tieria."
"Lockon..." Tieria struggled for words. Lockon wanted to help him find them, but for once he had no idea what they were going to be. "It is unusual to 'break up with' me after such a short time. Have I done something wrong?"
Lockon couldn't help it--he reached out to touch Tieria's shoulder, then his neck. Tieria shivered--that was predictable by now. "I'm not breaking up with you," he said. "I wouldn't do that. I just think it might be a good idea to stay where we are for a while, and take this slowly."
"I don't entirely understand," Tieria confessed. "But it doesn't matter so much, what we do when. So long as I am with you."
Lockon seized on the opportunity. "You won't always be."
"I know," Tieria said. There were so many emotions on his face, in his eyes, as he said that. He looked on the verge of stumbling or flinching. They did not fade, but instead of turning away, he smiled tentatively. "So I would like to do what I can, while we are together."
Lockon opened his mouth to refuse him once more--but then he stopped. There was something about that smile that arrested him. The thought came to him: He would never have that expression if not for me. I made that smile. I'm obliged to keep looking after it. It didn't feel like an obligation. It felt like an opportunity. Interest stirred in him, however bad an idea it was.
"Lockon?" Tieria must have seen some change in his expression, because now he was looking at him curiously. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No," Lockon said. He lifted a hand to stroke Tieria's cheek. It was a gesture he'd grown fond of recently. It seemed not so far from the old touches of their relationship--but far enough to satisfy Tieria's new urges, and maybe his own as well. "Tieria, if you need me to stop at any time, just say so."
"Lockon, you're--" Tieria swallowed hard. "I won't want you to stop."
"Just in case," Lockon said. He took both of Tieria's bare hands in his own gloved ones and pulled him into the room. The door closed automatically. It didn't matter, here in the moonbase, but it made it all seem more final. Lockon rested his hands on Tieria's hips and pulled him forward for a kiss.
They hadn't kissed more than a few times, so far. Tieria still shivered every time. This time, with Tieria warm and eager against his bare chest, Lockon felt himself respond. He kissed the crook of his neck, moving slowly, trying to understand why he was doing this, failing. All he knew was that he liked the way Tieria leaned his cheek against the waves of his hair. Tieria was leaning on his right side, so he couldn't see much of him, but he could hear the involuntary little noise of contentment he made.
He wanted to tell himself that he didn't know how to feel about the way Tieria clung to him, his fingers tightening almost painfully on Lockon's bare sides. But it was too obvious, even to himself, that he liked it. Tieria clung. It was proof that Lockon still had someone to take care of.
"This is just the start, Tieria," he said. "Before you get too comfortable, we should get your clothes off." Tieria was in his Celestial Being uniform. Lockon gently pulled Tieria's hands away from him, pushed off his jacket, and took hold of the zipper.
Tieria froze.
"Hey, hey," Lockon said. "You've even got an undershirt on under this, so relax a little." Before Tieria could tense up more, he unzipped the overshirt entirely, slipped it off Tieria's arms, and pulled Tieria tight against him. He stroked Tieria's hair soothingly, trying to relax him, and now for the first time he could feel Tieria going hard against him. Tieria shuddered in his arms, and Lockon kissed him on the mouth, then up his cheek until he reached his ear. He tongued the earlobe curiously, then nibbled at it a little.
Then Tieria pulled back a little. "Lockon," he said, puzzled curiosity in his voice. "Why would you do that?" He lifted a hand to his ear, still wet from Lockon's tongue. "That is not an erogenous zone."
"That doesn't mean I can't kiss it," Lockon said. "If you don't like it, though, I'll stop. That's the important thing."
"I don't know," Tieria said softly. He reached out tentatively to touch Lockon's face, stroking the same places Lockon had kissed on Tieria: his mouth, his cheek, his ear. He took Lockon's hands in his, hesitated, then started to pull off the gloves.
Lockon flinched back a little. He knew, immediately, that it was a silly thing to balk at. Tieria had already touched him in more intimate places. For that matter, Tieria had already touched his bare hands, back when Lockon had first woken up here on the moonbase. But that had been an accident. Somehow, it was different now.
It was too late, anyway. At his flinch, Tieria had backed off, and instead of tugging at Lockon's gloves, he was undoing his own pants. Lockon reached out and touched Tieria's shoulder, studying with a new gaze how he looked. The undershirt of his uniform clung tight to his slender frame, and Lockon felt desire rising in him, too, as he pulled that off over Tieria's head.
"Tieria," he murmured as he braced himself against the wall and kissed a path down Tieria's ribs to his belly. "You really are pretty."
Tieria was shivering. "It never occurred to me before."
Lockon sighed against Tieria's stomach. Ruefully, he admitted, "Me, either. This is the first time."
* * *
It seemed absurd to Tieria that at such a vital time--his first mutual sexual encounter with Lockon--he should be struggling to remember the proper order of events. If anything, his mind and his memory should be clearer and crisper now. But somewhere in between Lockon's mouth resting against the curve of his ribs and the two of them sinking down onto the bed, he'd lost track of it all. It was a blur of warmth and excitement. Lockon's hands were warm even through the gloves. Tieria wanted to know what they'd feel like pressed bare against his body, touching him in places he'd never thought of anyone touching before, but after the way Lockon had reacted to Tieria starting to take the gloves off, he didn't dare ask.
Tieria checked the pillows on the bed. "Lockon, are you certain this will be enough for comfort?"
Lockon patted the bed. "Don't worry. With the pillows and all, this is the most comfortable bed I've ever done it in." He hesitated a moment, then lifted his hands. "It's all right, Tieria, I can take the gloves off--"
"There's no need," Tieria said quickly. He found himself fumbling with the packet of lubricant. "I can apply the lubricant. I've practiced."
"All right," Lockon said. "I'll practice kissing you while you do that." He leaned forward and took hold of Tieria's face in his hands before pulling him close.
In the grip of that, Tieria struggled to remember himself. He'd said that he would apply the lube and ready himself, so haltingly, he did, though it felt almost as strange to touch himself in such a way as it would have to let Lockon do the same. No, that wasn't true. Lockon's fingers making him slick, slipping inside him--that would be natural. It was only being touched that way by anyone else that would be strange and wrong. He didn't know how he knew this, but he did.
"Are you ready?" Lockon murmured against his mouth.
"One moment," Tieria said. He pushed Lockon down against the pillows (pausing first to check that there were enough of them and they would be soft enough) and moved to straddle him. But he moved too fast; his knees bumped against the headboard of the bed. "Lockon--"
"Are you all right?"
"I am fine." But Tieria's face was hot, and he knew it was red. He didn't know how he managed to have enough blood to rush to his face like that when so much of it was poised between his hips, filling his cock. "Lockon, this is absurd. I don't understand."
Lockon propped himself up a little. His breath, as he drew it in, was shallow and quick; he was trying to control himself. Tieria ached at the realization that he'd made Lockon feel that way. "What don't you understand, Tieria? We can stop now, if you want."
"No!" Tieria couldn't quite hold back his alarm at the prospect. "No, I don't wish to stop. But...I don't understand how the survival of the human race can rest upon such a ridiculous activity."
Lockon grinned; Tieria caught his breath at the sight. He didn't have much time to marvel at it, though, because Lockon cupped him from behind and lifted him closer to his mouth, so he could lick Tieria's cock in quick, darting strokes. Tieria couldn't help himself. He cried out.
"I think you'll understand soon," Lockon said. He took Tieria in both hands now and pulled him more open, then guided him slowly down until he was poised, kneeling, over where Lockon's length waited for him.
Tieria wriggled out of his grasp. "I believe I can handle it from here," he said, and closing his eyes, he pressed himself down onto Lockon, slowly and with great determination pushing their bodies together.
It was a terribly alien feeling. Tieria froze with the head of Lockon's cock just slipped into him, trying to sort out the sudden rush of conflicting emotions: the feel of sensitive nerves sending signals of pleasure to his brain, the uncomfortable shock of someone else being inside him where no one else ever should be, the sudden welcome knowledge that he was this close to Lockon, that the two of them were physically connected now. He made an incoherent little noise of surprise, dismay, and desire all rolled up into one tiny moan.
Then both of Lockon's hands were on his hips, firm within the gloves. "Tieria, relax. We can stop any time you want."
"I've already told you," Tieria said. "I don't wish to stop. I was only--" He shivered a little, and then more as he felt the way Lockon moved inside him at the motion. He pushed down harder. "This is still very new to me. But...it feels good."
"It had better!" Lockon said. "I'm doing my best." He rocked his hips forward a little bit, and Tieria stifled a gasp as he felt Lockon's cock slide a little farther inside him. It was the strangest sensation, this fullness, but far from objectionable. He tipped his head back a little, trying to steady himself, and that was when he felt Lockon's mouth on his throat, Lockon's fingers lightly touching his cock.
Tieria had to remind himself to breathe. He was in mid-breath when Lockon once more moved his hands to Tieria's hips and pushed him down. Tieria found himself crying out again, but this time with words. No, a name. "Lockon! Lockon--"
Lockon kissed his jaw. "Are you all right?" He moved one hand to the small of Tieria's back and stroked him slowly. The other hand he began to wrap around Tieria's cock.
Tieria shivered more. "I'm fine. As it turns out, my research was correct. It is normal to call out your partner's name during intercourse." He hesitated. "Or at least, it is something I do. I don't know if it's normal."
Lockon laughed quietly. Tieria pressed against him and choked back a moan at the sensations from that. "It's normal, Tieria." His voice wavered a little as Tieria leaned up against him, then actually trailed off as Tieria clung tightly to his shoulders (were his fingernails leaving little red marks there? That would be unacceptable; reluctantly, Tieria loosened his grip). "But you shouldn't worry so much about what's normal. Just think about what you like." He leaned down a little (the feeling of his hair brushing against Tieria's face even as he pushed into him below--for a moment Tieria couldn't even think) and nipped at Tieria's ear again. "Decided whether you like that yet?"
"Yes." Tieria was surprised he could still speak. "I like everything you do to me, Lockon."
"Huh?" Lockon frowned a little, and Tieria pulled back a bit in turn, stopping only because the sensation of Lockon moving slowly out of him was too much. "That's not very helpful."
"I'm sorry," Tieria said. "It's all I can think of."
Something shifted in Lockon's expression--gentled, perhaps. "It's all right," he said. "I'll figure it out."
Only a moment later, Tieria realized that Lockon had synchronized his movements perfectly: his hand on Tieria's hip, his hand on Tieria's cock, his own hips rolling forward as he thrust up into Tieria. How was he so good at that? Was this normal for sexual activity? Lockon was so gentle, so considerate and measured in his actions, while Tieria himself was half-mad with desire and halting with inexperience. Would any other sexual partner be so calm and in control? No--it was irrelevant, in any case, because Tieria had no intention of opening himself up like this to anyone else. There was no reason. Lockon was everything he wanted.
Lockon's breath was coming faster now, Tieria noted; he must be close to orgasm. Tieria realized that he was, too, and he began to move in time with Lockon's urgings, struggling to keep up with the rhythm. It wasn't easy--Lockon was so much more adept than he was, so much more sure of himself, and at times Tieria wanted to just give up and let him take control. But he couldn't--he had to make sure he did his part. He moved forward and back, up and down, and he felt something extraordinary building in him.
Tieria drew in a shuddering gasp. "Lockon--Lockon, I--" He couldn't hold on any longer. He grabbed Lockon's shoulders and buried his face in the crook of his neck, finally letting go of himself as he did, and--
His mind went blank.
The digital landscape of Veda assembled itself around him. He was still watching the room his body was in, Lockon's bedroom, but he wasn't there. Whatever had just happened to his body, it had exceeded his solo computing power.
"Of course it was too much for you," Regene said impatiently from somewhere nearby. "This type of biological terminal was never meant for sexual purposes. Ribbons modified his more extensively than you did yours before attempting those activities. But you couldn't wait, could you?"
"Regene," Tieria said. He started to form words to speak to him, but he was distracted. Time was moving so slowly back in the analog world; it had been only fractions of a second, and Lockon hadn't yet noticed Tieria was somehow gone from his body. He was caught in the middle of his climax; his head tipped back, the hand that had been on Tieria's hip moved to the top of his head. Somehow, Lockon looked even more beautiful like that than he normally did.
"You're preoccupied with that man again," Regene said. "This has gone so much farther than I ever expected it to."
"Than you ever expected it to...?" Tieria turned to glare at Regene, forgetting that neither of them were actually there. Regene had not formed himself a visible body; he was simply a glittering collection of data points. For a moment, those points of information seemed somehow exasperated; then they formed into a body, smooth and naked. "Regene Regetta. How long have you been observing us?"
"This whole time, of course," Regene said. "Why do you think I saved your Lockon Stratos in the first place?"
Tieria couldn't speak. He felt his hold on his digital form dissolving, his hands and arms beginning to fade out into pixels. He struggled to keep himself together.
"Why react like that, Tieria?" Regene said. "You didn't really think it was Ribbons, did you?"
Tieria managed to pull himself together enough to speak, although his hands were still only light. "I did. I was under the impression that the people thus contained were to be used to ensure loyalty."
"Ribbons had no need for your loyalty," Regene said. "You weren't even supposed to survive past the transfer of Veda to his control. It took me some time to convince him not to throw this Lockon back into space. Fortunately, I had him put into treatment immediately upon finding him, or he would have been long dead."
Back in Lockon's quarters, Lockon had finally (after a full second) realized that Tieria was not there in his body. He seemed concerned. Tieria could not let himself be distracted by that. He struggled to process the new information from Regene. "Why?"
"I didn't understand why he was so important to you," Regene said. "But I thought it might be amusing to find out by reintroducing the two of you."
Tieria could only repeat his words. "Amusing?"
"Of course," Regene said. "He's been a far better toy than I ever expected."
Tieria realized in a microsecond that he'd reformed his digital form entirely. He knew of only one way to react to that statement, of course. He lifted a hand and slapped Regene, hard.
There was no sound when his hand connected with Regene's face. Regene stared at him unbelievingly for an instant, then quietly exploded into electrons and bits. What was that? he asked from his new lack of presence. Aren't you grateful I brought your Lockon back to you?
"Yes," Tieria admitted. He couldn't lie about such a thing. "But you will never refer to him as a toy again, Regene Regetta. He is a human being, and an important one to me."
I still don't understand why, Regene told him, but Tieria wasn't paying attention to him any longer. Outside of Veda, Lockon had now grown alarmed. He was (from Tieria's perspective, so very slowly) shaking Tieria lightly by the shoulders, speaking to him, trying to wake him up. It was important that Tieria return to him. He searched through his digital proximity and found the connection to his body, then funneled himself back through it--
"--you there? Tieria! Wake up!"
He was back in bed with Lockon, suddenly so close to him again. They were both softening now, no longer fit for sexual activity, but still the closeness made Tieria feel somehow warm. "There was a momentary glitch," Tieria said. "The sensation of orgasm overwhelmed my connection to Veda and separated me from my body."
"Oh," Lockon said. He glanced down at his lap. "Then you did come. I wasn't sure--there wasn't enough..."
"This body lacks some of the sexual function of a normal human body," Tieria said. "However, I still feel the sensations, so it's enough." He paused. "Lockon..."
Lockon had relaxed a little at Tieria's admission. "What is it, Tieria?"
"People actually use that word that way, then," Tieria said. "'Come.'"
"Well, of course," Lockon said. "What did you think we said?"
"It seemed unlikely," Tieria said. "It could be a very confusing usage."
"Don't worry," Lockon said. "You learn to tell whether you're coming or going."
Tieria blinked.
Lockon laughed. "It was a joke," he said. He stroked Tieria's hair. "Are you feeling all right?"
"Yes," Tieria murmured. He nestled against Lockon once more. "Yes, I am."
→ Arc 1: Waking
→ Arc 2: Return
→ Arc 3: Learning
→ Arc 4: Surprise
→ Arc 5: Intimacy
Fandom: Gundam 00
Characters/Pairing: Lockon (Neil)/Tieria. Regene cameo.
Rating: NC-17.
Wordcount: 6,516 (fifth part)
Notes: Part five of nine, and one of the longest. Posting should be more regular from now on.
Summary: Lockon and Tieria's relationship changes to be compatible with the future...or at least, that's one way to put it.
It was becoming more difficult to contact the Ptolemy immediately. The actual time lag between messages sent by the best technological means at their disposal, Tieria explained, was still only a few minutes, and somehow, he could communicate with Setsuna without any delay at all (Lockon had not asked for details on that). But the technicalities of the orbits of both Earth and Moon, as well as the need to maintain some secrecy, meant that in practice, the only way to contact the crew of the Ptolemy instantly was through Tieria and Setsuna's link. None of them were entirely comfortable using that to transmit routine messages--at least, not yet.
So it was only now, several weeks after the fact, that Lockon was receiving reactions from the Ptolemy to the report he'd sent them on his trip back to Earth. He'd made sure to include what he'd learned for Feldt's sake, and a note on how Allelujah and Marie were faring. Only out of obligation to Setsuna had he said anything about Marina--that even though his time with her had been cut short, he thought she was a very kind woman and Setsuna was lucky to have met her.
Lockon smiled at Setsuna and Feldt's replies, but he stopped, frowning, when he came to the note Lyle had left for him.
I thought running away was my tactic, Neil. Are you taking over for me now that I can't do it anymore?
He didn't entirely get the meaning, but he got enough of it to be uncomfortable. Lockon sent an alert to Tieria about the messages, although surely he'd gotten them himself as well, and moved them off the computer screen. He started to turn to another monitor, but then he stopped, because standing in the doorway of the combination lounge/communications room was Tieria himself.
Tieria had been busy the past week with his work in Veda, and in all honesty, Lockon was still a bit relieved about it. When he thought about Tieria, he could feel a switch trying to turn on somewhere in his mind (or maybe somewhere else). He didn't want to follow that to its logical conclusion. But now he was standing there in the entrance, his shoulders held stiffly, his chin up.
"Lockon Stratos," he said, "remove your pants."
The command was so sincere, and Lockon so glad to hear that kind of confidence in Tieria's voice without any of the contempt that had accompanied it years ago, that he'd undone the first two buttons on his pants before his brain ground to a halt. "What?"
Suddenly Tieria was hesitant again. He was blushing now. "If you wish to," he said in a smaller voice. Whatever effort he'd put into the confidence of his last words, it had been spent now. He was fumbling. "I wouldn't force anything such as this on you, Lockon."
Lockon's brain started working again, but now it had new information that dismayed him. "This isn't necessary," he said. "The kiss was just an accident. You don't have to take it any further if you don't want to."
"Many human things are not, strictly speaking, necessary," Tieria said. "But I do want to."
The thought passed through Lockon's head that he kind of wanted to, too. There it was, what he'd been refusing to face since that kiss. If he let himself, he could find Tieria attractive (and how long had that been the case? Was it just because he'd been here alone with him for so long?). There was a switch threatening to turn itself on in his head, just like he'd feared, and it was getting harder to stop it.
He suppressed it one more time. "This isn't a good idea. I didn't even know you could feel that way, or I wouldn't have led you on."
Tieria flushed. "Lockon, you didn't lead me on. I led myself to this conclusion. You kissed me, and it felt good. I want to go further."
"You don't--" Lockon stopped. "Hey, hey, I didn't kiss you, Tieria. It was the other way around."
Tieria blinked at him. "I wouldn't have initiated such a thing. I recall that you leaned forward and kissed me."
Come to think of it, Lockon recalled that he had leaned forward as Tieria had. "It's like I said, then. We both made a mistake."
"It doesn't have to be a mistake." Tieria hesitated, then reached out to put a hand on Lockon's chest, just below one shoulder. It was, Lockon realized, the first time Tieria had deliberately touched him for anything other than practical reasons: even those grips on his wrist a week ago had been intended to catch his attention and stop him from turning away. Tieria moved a little closer, then laid his head on Lockon's shoulder. "I like this," he murmured.
It was so much harder to say no to Tieria when he was like this than Lockon would have wanted it to be. But then, he wouldn't have thought about this at all until now. Even over the past week, since that kiss, he'd been refusing to think about it. Tieria couldn't have feelings like that, and he definitely couldn't have feelings like that for him.
But he did, and somehow that made him attractive in and of itself. He wanted Lockon, and it wouldn't be difficult for Lockon to want him back.
But it wouldn't be right, either. Lockon couldn't bring himself to push Tieria away entirely, but he tipped Tieria's head back, away from his shoulder. "You should think this over, Tieria. It's not really a good idea."
"I have thought it over," Tieria said. "I'd still like to do this to you."
Lockon paused. "You mean with me," he said.
"That's only one way of looking at it," Tieria said. "We would need to start with me performing the acts on you, rather than the other way around, or a combination of both."
"That's just not right," Lockon said without even thinking. "There's no reason you can't take part too--if we were going to do this, I mean."
"Lockon," Tieria said. "I'm not ready."
"Then you definitely shouldn't be doing this," Lockon said. "Don't feel pressured into it, just because we kissed once."
"That's not what I meant," Tieria said, shaking his head. Lockon could feel Tieria's hair brush against his face. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation. "This is very new to me. The feeling of being kissed alone was intense. Having more sexual actions done to me would be overwhelming. I'd like to take this in steps."
Lockon caught his breath.
"Lockon?" Tieria said tentatively, starting to lift a hand to his face, then pulling it away, obviously unsure of what boundaries he should respect now. "What's wrong?"
He would have to be so gentle with someone like that, Lockon thought. The slightest touch at the wrong time could send him over the edge. What sort of sounds would he make? How would he move?
"Ah," Tieria said, still pressed hesitantly against him. He sounded strangely pleased. "You are interested."
That was when Lockon realized he was getting hard. Tieria was right: Lockon couldn't protest that he wasn't interested, now. Tieria wanted it, and he wanted it, and--and it would change everything, but it was too late to stop that now. Lockon reached up with both hands and cupped Tieria's face. "You're sure?"
"I'm completely certain," Tieria said. "I haven't been able to think of anything else all week. This is what I want to do."
"In that case," Lockon said, "we really should get started." He let go of Tieria's face and took hold of his hands instead, but only to move them to where his pants were still half-open. Those hands trembled a little within his, and Lockon realized he was almost fully erect already. Maybe it really had just been too long. That had been a bad idea--he should have found someone during his vacation on Earth.
Tieria took a deep breath, then pulled down first Lockon's pants, then his underwear in quick succession. Carefully, he lowered himself to his knees.
Lockon stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Hey, Tieria," he said. "First things first." He pulled him back up, then leaned closer to start kissing him.
Tieria broke away after a moment, reluctantly. "We've already done this," he said. "We should move on."
"That's just not true," Lockon said. "There's no such thing as kissing too much before going further. If you like it, we can do more of it. That goes for anything, you know." This wasn't so bad, Lockon realized. In some ways, it made things simpler. He'd wondered what Tieria was to him; now he could think, Tieria is my lover, and leave it at that. He had a role to play now. It would be easier.
(But even though it would change everything, some things it wouldn't change at all. Tieria would still be either transparent or, more rarely, an utter mystery to him--nothing in between.)
Tieria hesitated, his cheek pressed up against Lockon's. "No," he finally said. "I'd like to kiss you in other places too." He was breathing hard, and he trembled with every exhale, but Lockon still couldn't feel if he was hard yet or not. He supposed it was a good thing, if Tieria wasn't ready for more than this.
But whether he was ready or not, Tieria was continuing. He moved away from Lockon's face, hesitantly kissing his collarbone, then finally sinking down until he was on his knees. This time, Lockon tensed a little, but didn't stop him. It might have been a bad idea, but he wanted to feel what Tieria could give him too much now.
Tieria paused for a moment longer, his eyes half-closing, and then Lockon got his wish. Tieria leaned forward to awkwardly touch his tongue to the head of Lockon's cock.
Lockon struggled not to burst out laughing. Tieria felt the way his body trembled with the effort and looked up, flushing darker red. "Lockon, am I doing something wrong?"
Lockon reached down to stroke gloved fingers along the line of Tieria's jaw. "It's all right to go a little faster. You won't hurt me, I promise."
"Understood," Tieria said. He took a deep breath, then leaned forward, mouth open, and took far too much of Lockon's length into his mouth.
Lockon couldn't suppress a short gasp, and he hurriedly pulled back and pushed Tieria away. "Hey! Be careful. You'll hurt yourself."
Tieria blinked up at him. Then he frowned with impatience. "Lockon, I am in enough control of this body to deactivate the gag reflex as necessary. You needn't worry about that."
Still, when he started again, he was more hesitant, and it was plainly evident to Lockon that he'd never done anything like this before. His teeth were out, stroking over him just short of painfully, and he moved his tongue and lips only erratically. For a little while, Lockon couldn't understand why; then he reached down and touched Tieria's cheek, curiously, and felt him trembling still more at the touch. He really was almost overwhelmed just by this.
It would be impossible, of course, to tell Tieria just how attractive his fumbling lack of experience was. So Lockon only shivered a little bit himself and carefully pushed further into Tieria's mouth. Tieria didn't seem fazed by it; in fact, he gave a little sigh of pleasure around Lockon's cock and slowly licked the shaft. There was no rhythm to his motions, only uncertain eagerness, but that just made it better.
Lockon found himself slowly pouring Tieria's hair through his fingers, then resting the back of his hands on Tieria's temples. Even through his gloves, he could feel the way Tieria shook at his touch, and he could definitely feel how Tieria sucked at him harder with every shiver. Lockon suppressed a flicker of irritation--he'd never liked this as much as most men did; he hated feeling like he was the only one getting pleasure. For the first time, that clearly wasn't the case...but he still wished he could be face to face with Tieria, holding him close, kissing the top of his head. That would be much more appropriate.
Except it wouldn't, because it was Tieria, and all of this was inappropriate--but it was too late for that, too late to stop and think, Why am I doing this? He could already feel himself starting to thrust nearly involuntarily into Tieria's mouth, that awkward space between his bared teeth, and oh, the sounds Tieria was making as he did so--
Lockon came almost unexpectedly, although at least it wasn't quite as unexpected as the whole event had been.
He leaned back against the wall, his good eye closing; he was suddenly exhausted, emotionally as well as physically. Somewhere he felt Tieria carefully pulling his pants up again, pausing to lay his head against Lockon's stomach, and then getting to his feet. But for once in his life, Lockon didn't know what he could say to Tieria now if he were to speak. After a long moment of contemplation, he decided on, "That was good, Tieria. You--"
But when he opened his eye, Tieria was already gone. It had been too much for him after all.
* * *
Tieria recovered in fits and starts over the next week, and as he did, he prepared. He still couldn't spend much time accomplishing anything in Veda. This bothered him; hadn't that been the main reason he'd done such a thing with Lockon in the first place? To clear his mind, so that he could return to his work.
No, he couldn't pretend that was the reason anymore. He had approached Lockon in that way because he had wanted him, sexually as well as emotionally and practically. Now that he'd had Lockon, a little bit, as one said of sexual matters, he was happy. The memory of how it had felt to move his mouth over Lockon in such a way still made heat spark in strange places on his body, especially as he prepared to do more.
He attempted to go about his business as much as possible, but Lockon wasn't making it easy to avoid him this time. He'd be right there outside the data storage room as Tieria was emerging to return to the pod where he connected to Veda, and he'd be in the lounge exactly when Tieria needed to pass through it.
Lockon smiled when his presence flustered Tieria--and he offered tips and suggestions.
"The sex isn't really the point of dates," Lockon said. "Most dates, at least. Spending time with someone you like is important too."
"We spent time together--before," Tieria said. "Before we kissed."
"It's different when you call it a date," Lockon said.
"I don't understand," Tieria said. There was so much about this aspect of humanity that he didn't understand.
Lockon hesitated, then reached out to clasp a hand to Tieria's head. He still had his gloves on, but the warmth came through to Tieria anyway, and he felt it spread through his body. "It's okay," he said. "Everyone has trouble understanding this part of life."
"You don't," Tieria said.
Lockon gave him a strange little smile. Tieria could not figure out what it meant.
Later, Tieria asked, "How could we have a date here, Lockon? Even natural meals are difficult to procure."
"Well, we could..." Lockon paused. "Give me a little while to think about it. I'll come up with something."
The next day, Lockon suggested that they watch movies together.
"I fail to see the point," Tieria said, "but if you believe it to be proper, we will do it."
Tieria later learned that the movie Lockon transferred onto the communications screen was known as a "buddy cop film." He found much of the humor incomprehensible and the police force situations presented highly unrealistic even from his limited knowledge of such things. But Lockon laughed at it, and that was more than enough; and as Tieria felt himself nestling against Lockon's shoulder, he didn't care what the movie was.
* * *
It had been a strange couple of weeks.
It was taking Lockon a while to adjust to seeing Tieria like this. It was fun, in a way. There was something satisfying about the way Tieria blushed, and he did it so often now. There was something charming about going through the motions of romance with him--even if Lockon still hadn't figured out what to do about dates. He was sure he was onto something with the movie idea, but Tieria hadn't been interested in any of the movies they'd tried so far. Lockon was doing some research into film history to try to find one that would pique Tieria's interest. There'd been some movies about robots dealing with human emotions back in the early twenty-first century; he thought those might be good.
Tieria hadn't yet suggested anything more sexual to Lockon, and Lockon was grateful for that. If Tieria wanted to try out romance, Lockon would help him, but sex might be taking it too far. Maybe after the last time, he'd decided that it wasn't really to his taste. That seemed likely; Lockon still had trouble conceiving of Tieria as a sexual being.
(But the noises he'd made at the back of his throat as Lockon had pushed into his mouth, trying to stay gentle--)
It had been two weeks since that first time when Lockon heard the door to his quarters chime at him as he was getting ready to sleep. He'd taken his shirt off, but not his pants or his eyepatch; he wondered briefly if he should put the shirt back on before answering the door. It wouldn't have occurred to him to wonder, a few months ago. What state Tieria saw him in didn't matter--except maybe for the eyepatch. Now he wasn't sure.
In the end, he decided not to bother with a shirt, and he went over to open the door for Tieria. "I knew you'd learn to warn me first before--" He cut off, staring at Tieria.
Tieria took a deep breath. "Lockon, I'm ready now. I've taken the necessary steps to prepare myself. I know that we are both free of any sexually communicable diseases, or I would not have done as much as I already have." He held up a packet and looked at Lockon with a very serious face. "I have acquired lubricant."
It looked like Tieria wasn't done with sex after all. "Tieria," Lockon said, "that's not a very romantic date."
Tieria frowned up at him. "I'm still new to the concept of dating and romance, Lockon. Please allow me some margin for error."
It was hard not to let his resolve soften a little at something like that. Lockon felt his mouth tug into a smile. "It's not an error exactly, but I'm not sure this is a good idea."
"We've watched two movies together," Tieria said, "and been taking our meals together for four days." He paused, his eyes drifting down to Lockon's bare chest. His cheeks reddened a little. "I am still interested in you and attracted to you. Is there something more that we should do first?"
"No," Lockon said. "But maybe we should do less. This might not work out too well, Tieria."
"Lockon..." Tieria struggled for words. Lockon wanted to help him find them, but for once he had no idea what they were going to be. "It is unusual to 'break up with' me after such a short time. Have I done something wrong?"
Lockon couldn't help it--he reached out to touch Tieria's shoulder, then his neck. Tieria shivered--that was predictable by now. "I'm not breaking up with you," he said. "I wouldn't do that. I just think it might be a good idea to stay where we are for a while, and take this slowly."
"I don't entirely understand," Tieria confessed. "But it doesn't matter so much, what we do when. So long as I am with you."
Lockon seized on the opportunity. "You won't always be."
"I know," Tieria said. There were so many emotions on his face, in his eyes, as he said that. He looked on the verge of stumbling or flinching. They did not fade, but instead of turning away, he smiled tentatively. "So I would like to do what I can, while we are together."
Lockon opened his mouth to refuse him once more--but then he stopped. There was something about that smile that arrested him. The thought came to him: He would never have that expression if not for me. I made that smile. I'm obliged to keep looking after it. It didn't feel like an obligation. It felt like an opportunity. Interest stirred in him, however bad an idea it was.
"Lockon?" Tieria must have seen some change in his expression, because now he was looking at him curiously. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No," Lockon said. He lifted a hand to stroke Tieria's cheek. It was a gesture he'd grown fond of recently. It seemed not so far from the old touches of their relationship--but far enough to satisfy Tieria's new urges, and maybe his own as well. "Tieria, if you need me to stop at any time, just say so."
"Lockon, you're--" Tieria swallowed hard. "I won't want you to stop."
"Just in case," Lockon said. He took both of Tieria's bare hands in his own gloved ones and pulled him into the room. The door closed automatically. It didn't matter, here in the moonbase, but it made it all seem more final. Lockon rested his hands on Tieria's hips and pulled him forward for a kiss.
They hadn't kissed more than a few times, so far. Tieria still shivered every time. This time, with Tieria warm and eager against his bare chest, Lockon felt himself respond. He kissed the crook of his neck, moving slowly, trying to understand why he was doing this, failing. All he knew was that he liked the way Tieria leaned his cheek against the waves of his hair. Tieria was leaning on his right side, so he couldn't see much of him, but he could hear the involuntary little noise of contentment he made.
He wanted to tell himself that he didn't know how to feel about the way Tieria clung to him, his fingers tightening almost painfully on Lockon's bare sides. But it was too obvious, even to himself, that he liked it. Tieria clung. It was proof that Lockon still had someone to take care of.
"This is just the start, Tieria," he said. "Before you get too comfortable, we should get your clothes off." Tieria was in his Celestial Being uniform. Lockon gently pulled Tieria's hands away from him, pushed off his jacket, and took hold of the zipper.
Tieria froze.
"Hey, hey," Lockon said. "You've even got an undershirt on under this, so relax a little." Before Tieria could tense up more, he unzipped the overshirt entirely, slipped it off Tieria's arms, and pulled Tieria tight against him. He stroked Tieria's hair soothingly, trying to relax him, and now for the first time he could feel Tieria going hard against him. Tieria shuddered in his arms, and Lockon kissed him on the mouth, then up his cheek until he reached his ear. He tongued the earlobe curiously, then nibbled at it a little.
Then Tieria pulled back a little. "Lockon," he said, puzzled curiosity in his voice. "Why would you do that?" He lifted a hand to his ear, still wet from Lockon's tongue. "That is not an erogenous zone."
"That doesn't mean I can't kiss it," Lockon said. "If you don't like it, though, I'll stop. That's the important thing."
"I don't know," Tieria said softly. He reached out tentatively to touch Lockon's face, stroking the same places Lockon had kissed on Tieria: his mouth, his cheek, his ear. He took Lockon's hands in his, hesitated, then started to pull off the gloves.
Lockon flinched back a little. He knew, immediately, that it was a silly thing to balk at. Tieria had already touched him in more intimate places. For that matter, Tieria had already touched his bare hands, back when Lockon had first woken up here on the moonbase. But that had been an accident. Somehow, it was different now.
It was too late, anyway. At his flinch, Tieria had backed off, and instead of tugging at Lockon's gloves, he was undoing his own pants. Lockon reached out and touched Tieria's shoulder, studying with a new gaze how he looked. The undershirt of his uniform clung tight to his slender frame, and Lockon felt desire rising in him, too, as he pulled that off over Tieria's head.
"Tieria," he murmured as he braced himself against the wall and kissed a path down Tieria's ribs to his belly. "You really are pretty."
Tieria was shivering. "It never occurred to me before."
Lockon sighed against Tieria's stomach. Ruefully, he admitted, "Me, either. This is the first time."
* * *
It seemed absurd to Tieria that at such a vital time--his first mutual sexual encounter with Lockon--he should be struggling to remember the proper order of events. If anything, his mind and his memory should be clearer and crisper now. But somewhere in between Lockon's mouth resting against the curve of his ribs and the two of them sinking down onto the bed, he'd lost track of it all. It was a blur of warmth and excitement. Lockon's hands were warm even through the gloves. Tieria wanted to know what they'd feel like pressed bare against his body, touching him in places he'd never thought of anyone touching before, but after the way Lockon had reacted to Tieria starting to take the gloves off, he didn't dare ask.
Tieria checked the pillows on the bed. "Lockon, are you certain this will be enough for comfort?"
Lockon patted the bed. "Don't worry. With the pillows and all, this is the most comfortable bed I've ever done it in." He hesitated a moment, then lifted his hands. "It's all right, Tieria, I can take the gloves off--"
"There's no need," Tieria said quickly. He found himself fumbling with the packet of lubricant. "I can apply the lubricant. I've practiced."
"All right," Lockon said. "I'll practice kissing you while you do that." He leaned forward and took hold of Tieria's face in his hands before pulling him close.
In the grip of that, Tieria struggled to remember himself. He'd said that he would apply the lube and ready himself, so haltingly, he did, though it felt almost as strange to touch himself in such a way as it would have to let Lockon do the same. No, that wasn't true. Lockon's fingers making him slick, slipping inside him--that would be natural. It was only being touched that way by anyone else that would be strange and wrong. He didn't know how he knew this, but he did.
"Are you ready?" Lockon murmured against his mouth.
"One moment," Tieria said. He pushed Lockon down against the pillows (pausing first to check that there were enough of them and they would be soft enough) and moved to straddle him. But he moved too fast; his knees bumped against the headboard of the bed. "Lockon--"
"Are you all right?"
"I am fine." But Tieria's face was hot, and he knew it was red. He didn't know how he managed to have enough blood to rush to his face like that when so much of it was poised between his hips, filling his cock. "Lockon, this is absurd. I don't understand."
Lockon propped himself up a little. His breath, as he drew it in, was shallow and quick; he was trying to control himself. Tieria ached at the realization that he'd made Lockon feel that way. "What don't you understand, Tieria? We can stop now, if you want."
"No!" Tieria couldn't quite hold back his alarm at the prospect. "No, I don't wish to stop. But...I don't understand how the survival of the human race can rest upon such a ridiculous activity."
Lockon grinned; Tieria caught his breath at the sight. He didn't have much time to marvel at it, though, because Lockon cupped him from behind and lifted him closer to his mouth, so he could lick Tieria's cock in quick, darting strokes. Tieria couldn't help himself. He cried out.
"I think you'll understand soon," Lockon said. He took Tieria in both hands now and pulled him more open, then guided him slowly down until he was poised, kneeling, over where Lockon's length waited for him.
Tieria wriggled out of his grasp. "I believe I can handle it from here," he said, and closing his eyes, he pressed himself down onto Lockon, slowly and with great determination pushing their bodies together.
It was a terribly alien feeling. Tieria froze with the head of Lockon's cock just slipped into him, trying to sort out the sudden rush of conflicting emotions: the feel of sensitive nerves sending signals of pleasure to his brain, the uncomfortable shock of someone else being inside him where no one else ever should be, the sudden welcome knowledge that he was this close to Lockon, that the two of them were physically connected now. He made an incoherent little noise of surprise, dismay, and desire all rolled up into one tiny moan.
Then both of Lockon's hands were on his hips, firm within the gloves. "Tieria, relax. We can stop any time you want."
"I've already told you," Tieria said. "I don't wish to stop. I was only--" He shivered a little, and then more as he felt the way Lockon moved inside him at the motion. He pushed down harder. "This is still very new to me. But...it feels good."
"It had better!" Lockon said. "I'm doing my best." He rocked his hips forward a little bit, and Tieria stifled a gasp as he felt Lockon's cock slide a little farther inside him. It was the strangest sensation, this fullness, but far from objectionable. He tipped his head back a little, trying to steady himself, and that was when he felt Lockon's mouth on his throat, Lockon's fingers lightly touching his cock.
Tieria had to remind himself to breathe. He was in mid-breath when Lockon once more moved his hands to Tieria's hips and pushed him down. Tieria found himself crying out again, but this time with words. No, a name. "Lockon! Lockon--"
Lockon kissed his jaw. "Are you all right?" He moved one hand to the small of Tieria's back and stroked him slowly. The other hand he began to wrap around Tieria's cock.
Tieria shivered more. "I'm fine. As it turns out, my research was correct. It is normal to call out your partner's name during intercourse." He hesitated. "Or at least, it is something I do. I don't know if it's normal."
Lockon laughed quietly. Tieria pressed against him and choked back a moan at the sensations from that. "It's normal, Tieria." His voice wavered a little as Tieria leaned up against him, then actually trailed off as Tieria clung tightly to his shoulders (were his fingernails leaving little red marks there? That would be unacceptable; reluctantly, Tieria loosened his grip). "But you shouldn't worry so much about what's normal. Just think about what you like." He leaned down a little (the feeling of his hair brushing against Tieria's face even as he pushed into him below--for a moment Tieria couldn't even think) and nipped at Tieria's ear again. "Decided whether you like that yet?"
"Yes." Tieria was surprised he could still speak. "I like everything you do to me, Lockon."
"Huh?" Lockon frowned a little, and Tieria pulled back a bit in turn, stopping only because the sensation of Lockon moving slowly out of him was too much. "That's not very helpful."
"I'm sorry," Tieria said. "It's all I can think of."
Something shifted in Lockon's expression--gentled, perhaps. "It's all right," he said. "I'll figure it out."
Only a moment later, Tieria realized that Lockon had synchronized his movements perfectly: his hand on Tieria's hip, his hand on Tieria's cock, his own hips rolling forward as he thrust up into Tieria. How was he so good at that? Was this normal for sexual activity? Lockon was so gentle, so considerate and measured in his actions, while Tieria himself was half-mad with desire and halting with inexperience. Would any other sexual partner be so calm and in control? No--it was irrelevant, in any case, because Tieria had no intention of opening himself up like this to anyone else. There was no reason. Lockon was everything he wanted.
Lockon's breath was coming faster now, Tieria noted; he must be close to orgasm. Tieria realized that he was, too, and he began to move in time with Lockon's urgings, struggling to keep up with the rhythm. It wasn't easy--Lockon was so much more adept than he was, so much more sure of himself, and at times Tieria wanted to just give up and let him take control. But he couldn't--he had to make sure he did his part. He moved forward and back, up and down, and he felt something extraordinary building in him.
Tieria drew in a shuddering gasp. "Lockon--Lockon, I--" He couldn't hold on any longer. He grabbed Lockon's shoulders and buried his face in the crook of his neck, finally letting go of himself as he did, and--
His mind went blank.
The digital landscape of Veda assembled itself around him. He was still watching the room his body was in, Lockon's bedroom, but he wasn't there. Whatever had just happened to his body, it had exceeded his solo computing power.
"Of course it was too much for you," Regene said impatiently from somewhere nearby. "This type of biological terminal was never meant for sexual purposes. Ribbons modified his more extensively than you did yours before attempting those activities. But you couldn't wait, could you?"
"Regene," Tieria said. He started to form words to speak to him, but he was distracted. Time was moving so slowly back in the analog world; it had been only fractions of a second, and Lockon hadn't yet noticed Tieria was somehow gone from his body. He was caught in the middle of his climax; his head tipped back, the hand that had been on Tieria's hip moved to the top of his head. Somehow, Lockon looked even more beautiful like that than he normally did.
"You're preoccupied with that man again," Regene said. "This has gone so much farther than I ever expected it to."
"Than you ever expected it to...?" Tieria turned to glare at Regene, forgetting that neither of them were actually there. Regene had not formed himself a visible body; he was simply a glittering collection of data points. For a moment, those points of information seemed somehow exasperated; then they formed into a body, smooth and naked. "Regene Regetta. How long have you been observing us?"
"This whole time, of course," Regene said. "Why do you think I saved your Lockon Stratos in the first place?"
Tieria couldn't speak. He felt his hold on his digital form dissolving, his hands and arms beginning to fade out into pixels. He struggled to keep himself together.
"Why react like that, Tieria?" Regene said. "You didn't really think it was Ribbons, did you?"
Tieria managed to pull himself together enough to speak, although his hands were still only light. "I did. I was under the impression that the people thus contained were to be used to ensure loyalty."
"Ribbons had no need for your loyalty," Regene said. "You weren't even supposed to survive past the transfer of Veda to his control. It took me some time to convince him not to throw this Lockon back into space. Fortunately, I had him put into treatment immediately upon finding him, or he would have been long dead."
Back in Lockon's quarters, Lockon had finally (after a full second) realized that Tieria was not there in his body. He seemed concerned. Tieria could not let himself be distracted by that. He struggled to process the new information from Regene. "Why?"
"I didn't understand why he was so important to you," Regene said. "But I thought it might be amusing to find out by reintroducing the two of you."
Tieria could only repeat his words. "Amusing?"
"Of course," Regene said. "He's been a far better toy than I ever expected."
Tieria realized in a microsecond that he'd reformed his digital form entirely. He knew of only one way to react to that statement, of course. He lifted a hand and slapped Regene, hard.
There was no sound when his hand connected with Regene's face. Regene stared at him unbelievingly for an instant, then quietly exploded into electrons and bits. What was that? he asked from his new lack of presence. Aren't you grateful I brought your Lockon back to you?
"Yes," Tieria admitted. He couldn't lie about such a thing. "But you will never refer to him as a toy again, Regene Regetta. He is a human being, and an important one to me."
I still don't understand why, Regene told him, but Tieria wasn't paying attention to him any longer. Outside of Veda, Lockon had now grown alarmed. He was (from Tieria's perspective, so very slowly) shaking Tieria lightly by the shoulders, speaking to him, trying to wake him up. It was important that Tieria return to him. He searched through his digital proximity and found the connection to his body, then funneled himself back through it--
"--you there? Tieria! Wake up!"
He was back in bed with Lockon, suddenly so close to him again. They were both softening now, no longer fit for sexual activity, but still the closeness made Tieria feel somehow warm. "There was a momentary glitch," Tieria said. "The sensation of orgasm overwhelmed my connection to Veda and separated me from my body."
"Oh," Lockon said. He glanced down at his lap. "Then you did come. I wasn't sure--there wasn't enough..."
"This body lacks some of the sexual function of a normal human body," Tieria said. "However, I still feel the sensations, so it's enough." He paused. "Lockon..."
Lockon had relaxed a little at Tieria's admission. "What is it, Tieria?"
"People actually use that word that way, then," Tieria said. "'Come.'"
"Well, of course," Lockon said. "What did you think we said?"
"It seemed unlikely," Tieria said. "It could be a very confusing usage."
"Don't worry," Lockon said. "You learn to tell whether you're coming or going."
Tieria blinked.
Lockon laughed. "It was a joke," he said. He stroked Tieria's hair. "Are you feeling all right?"
"Yes," Tieria murmured. He nestled against Lockon once more. "Yes, I am."