The World Beyond [Gladis&Hideki](Private)

[Gladis]

(Oops, ignore)

[Gladis]

The bustling streets of Kalua were unlike anything Calum had ever seen before, and in his wide-eyed fascination with his surroundings he nearly managed to forget his dispute with Asher. Never before had he seen so many people in one place! They were everywhere – entering and exiting the shops and taverns, filling the streets with life and chatter. On their way to the pleasure district they passed a smithy from which the sound of metal being pounded into shape could be heard, an apothecary which had put an herbal collection rivaling his grandmothers lining the windows alone, and a bakery from which the mouthwatering scent of freshly baked honey cakes spilled. There was so much to see and so many impressions to take in that he almost felt a little overwhelmed. Yet it also filled him with a sense of excitement and wonder, making him wish several times that he could linger just a little longer. But alas, they had a mission to accomplish, which meant that for now, Calum would have bridle his desire for adventure. However, one thing was for sure – whenever the opportunity presented itself later on, he would definitely come back to explore this section of the city.

 

He felt less inclined to do so with the pleasure district – or, at least the seedier looking first portion of it. Unsure of where to even look as they passed the scantily dressed men and women, who posed for them and beckoned them to enter whichever establishment they belonged to, Calum found himself wondering if they had left the pleasure district when their surroundings seemed to become considerably less… raunchy in nature.

 

This idea of his was quickly disproven when they stopped in front of what appeared to be the crown jewel of the pleasure district; an incredibly fancy looking building with a pair of masterfully crafted statues of a man and a woman in front of it. Jack and Calum both found themselves gazing up at the establishment in awe and fascination. Although Jack had been to Kalua several times before, it was clear that he had never visited this part of the city. Not so surprising perhaps, when you considered the kind of capital a place like this probably would ask of its patrons. Certainly not the sort of money a farm boy and aspiring bard from a small village like the Myre could easily muster up. Besides, a young and charming, good looking bloke like Jack had no need to pay for sex. He could easily find partners through less expensive means. That didn’t mean he’d never been curious about brothels before and this… well, this did not exactly strike him as your run-of-the-mill whorehouse.

 

And it certainly wasn’t. If Jack and Calum had been impressed by the exterior of the building, they were completely blown away by what they found within.

 

”Holy shiiiiite!” Jack exclaimed, expressing both of their feelings in a very nicely put together string of words. ”It’s like a whole fucking different universe in here!”

 

To them, it really almost did feel like entering an entirely different world – a sentiment most of the employees truly seemed to embody. Allowing his gaze to settle on the elf-like young man, Calum could feel his cheeks heat up in embarrassment as he realized the compromising position he and what he assumed to be one of the other employees were in. Almost instinctively, he found himself looking away, his gaze dropping down to the safest thing to look at – the floor. A very nice floor, one might add. As far as he was concerned, sex was a strictly private matter. He’d never actually born witness to other people engaging in it before, and seeing it now made him feel rather uncomfortable. Yet… he couldn’t deny that it too was just a tiny bit exciting, and despite himself he ended up sneaking several more, very brief glances in their direction.

 

Jack was considerably shameless about it, and not entirely unlike Asher he found himself staring at the pair, his expression wrought with a combination of puzzlement and fascination. It was strange, really. He had always thought that this kind of thing would gross him out, but it didn’t. Instead he found himself wondering what it would be like to take another man’s cock into his mouth – a thought he had never really entertained in the past, but that he now began to realize he wouldn’t be entirely averse to trying. In fact, the longer he watched them, the more he felt like he kind of wanted to.

 

Jack’s internal musings were cut short when suddenly a door opened and a very tall man in what somewhat resembled a dress entered the room, his deep voice booming across the hall as he told off his employees, effectively drawing all of the attention in the room to himself.

 

This place is just getting crazier and crazier… Calum thought to himself, only half paying attention to the exchange between the man and Asher when suddenly a woman dressed almost exactly the same as the man joined them. At first he thought that maybe this was the dress code of the non-prostitute staff, but judging by her outrage over her… husband, as it turned out, this was probably not the case.

 

”I don’t see a problem with men wearing women’s clothing either. Jack used to do it all the- ouch!” Calum exclaimed, his input on the situation interrupted by a hard punch to his arm.

 

”I was like five! Geez, Cal, some friend you are!” Jack’s face was blazing red, embarrassment written all over his pretty features.

 

Calum simply folded his arms across his chest and huffed. ”If women can wear trousers, why shouldn’t men wear skirts?”

 

”I never said they couldn't.” Jack retorted in a grumble. ”I just don’t want to.”

 

At that, Calum couldn’t help but snicker, half a mind to point out that ’he did when he was five’, but there was no need to tease him about it further. ”Fair enough.”

 

Other than that small exchange, however, Calum and Jack mostly stayed out of the conversation, though they listened attentively. Calum especially was interested to learn that this man – Nate – was a Xenonian himself, and Asher’s former superior, it seemed. Now will you look at a coincidence like that! Amused by that, and happy that Asher had managed to find more of his own, he followed the small assembly of people into the so called salon, or studio – whichever it was. There they were met by two more strangers; a dolled up woman who, judging by her outlandish looks likely was another prostitute, and a man who appeared to be around Asher’s age – if not a couple of years younger. Although, now that Calum was thinking about it, he realized that he didn’t really know Asher’s exact age, since he’d never actually bothered to ask him about it. He’d always assumed that he was quite a few years older, judging by his higher rank in the military, but under all the scars it became kind of difficult to tell. Whenever they made up – which he was sure they would eventually, couldn’t stay mad at each other forever, could they? – he would have to ask him about it. Not because it mattered much, but simply because he was curious.

 

Throwing another curious glance around the room, Calum’s gaze settled on the woman once more. It did strike him how hairless she was. He’d never seen anyone that hairless – not even women. Most people at the Myre, Calum included, didn’t bother shaving, except for maybe facial hair. It was too time consuming and kind of pointless, since you’d have to do it all over again once it had grown back out. The city folks, however, seemed to be more demanding in terms of beauty standards.

 

It was right about then that the door burst open and another strangely dressed man stormed into the room. Despite their glaringly obvious presence, Asher, Calum and company seemed to go entirely unnoticed as he strode over to the woman, beginning to patch up her costume with the skill and finesse of a professional, while going on about some person named Simon.

 

So this was Hydra, or Charles as Asher had also called him? He looked drastically different than what Calum had imagined. Here he’d been expecting some sterile, grim faced, science obsessed geek in a lab coat – but what he got was an extravagantly flameboyant weirdo in fluttering patchwork attire. And just as Zorya had warned, he (understandably) did not seem to appreciate being conflated with that horrible creation of his. Well, at least it had managed to get his attention.

 

What followed was an onslaught of information, accusations, exclamations and explanations that would likely keep his head spinning for months. The sheer amount of new names and faces to remember, as well the relationships he persistently kept attempting to map out in his mind hardly helped with clearing up any of the confusion. What it essentially seemed to boil down to, however, was: Xenon bad, freedom good, lethal weapons of mass destruction bad, Hydra (metaphorically) dead, Asher’s (now ruined) suit functioned as a tracking device, woman named Raja three months pregnant with Nate’s child (and hysterical due to hormones), Ren and woman named Sara seemed to be a pair, Charlie is bisexual but currently in a relationship taxman named… Miran? Miras? Asher was getting hysterical too, but for entirely different reasons, and the container with a skull everyone thought contained poison was actually just a joke on poor Raja’s expense.

 

As someone who had been ridiculed for most of his life because of his supposedly devastating cooking skills, that last one really got to him. Perhaps in part because it was simple and relatable enough for him to grasp onto while the rest of the world around him seemed to devolving into insufferable madness. People were yelling and crying and actually getting hurt – something that startled both Calum and Jack. Even though he knew perfectly well that Charlie could manage more than well (and probably way better) on his own, he still felt the innate desire to have a closer look at his jaw.

 

But of course, Calum was never given the opportunity to do so.

 

Everything seemed to culminate in the conversation between Asher and Miran, about whether it was ethical to abort a child you knew would be born with a disability. That seemed to be the final drop in the bucket, if the ghostly white shade his face had taken on and the sudden exclamation about his need to get out of there was anything to go by. And Calum? Calum felt so overwhelmed that he could not even begin to process everything he had just been told and witnessed.

 

And Charlie was making a solid point; if all of this had made him feel like this, he could not even begin to imagine how Asher – who’d just had his entire world view ripped to pieces by a man he had once put on a pedestal and admired, must be feeling. Numbly, he nodded his head, giving the only response he could manage at the time.

 

”Y-yessir.”

 

It was with a racing heart and a spinning head that he stepped back out onto the crowded streets of Kalua, desperately scanning his surroundings for any clue that might help him figure out in which direction Asher was heading. Of course, there were none. Calum was left to trusting his gut on this one, turning down the road they had walked before. Even if Asher had no idea where he was going, there was a good chance he would subconsciously have chosen a route a recognized. Walking extra fast to get through the seedier looking part of the pleasure district as quickly as possible, he hurriedly pushed through the heavy crowds on the main street, checking every alleyway he might have disappeared into while calling out his name – hoping that somehow the Xenonian would hear him. He even stopped some people to ask if they’d seen him along the way – after all, a tall man in an otherworldly combat suit was bound to stick out like a sore thumb. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to find him, and as the minutes ticked by, he found himself growing increasingly uneasy. What if he hadn’t gone this way? What if something had happened to him?

 

On several occasions he was sure that he must’ve made a wrong turn and somehow gotten himself lost, until at last he found himself back right where they had started – outside the bakery that smelled of newly baked honey cakes.

 

How long he’d been searching for Asher at that point he wasn’t sure, but by then his face was red from all the shouting and running around, his feat ached and he found himself slightly out of breath. On top of that, his stomach was very audible about reminding him that he hadn’t eaten anything since their measly breakfast that morning. He contemplated for a moment whether he could afford to get something from the bakery, sneaking a glance at the window where some of their finest looking products had been put on display. Then he froze.

 

On the bench right outside the bakery he had spotted a man; the mere sight of whom could nearly have brought him to tears.

 

”Oh, thank gods!” He exclaimed, his voice thick with emotion as relief washed over him. ”Asher, you have no idea – I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I was so worried – Oh gods, you have no idea.”

 

Calum cut himself off. Even just by looking at him, Calum could tell that Asher wasn’t doing well. Of course, everything considered that hardly came as a surprise, but it still pained him to see his lover like this. Shocked and distraught by everything he had just learned. He wanted to do something – anything to comfort him, and yet he felt completely and utterly helpless. Because what could he possibly do to help this man? What could he say to make things better?

 

Nothing. There was nothing he could say that would change anything. And yet he knew he had to do something.

 

They say that actions speak louder than words, and Calum for one sincerely hoped that to be true. Closing the distance between them, he slid his arms around Asher’s shoulders, gently drawing him into his embrace. No words, just actions. If Asher wanted to talk, he would do so out of his own volition. If he didn’t, that was fine too. All Calum wanted to let him know was that he was there, and would remain so for as long as he needed it. That despite what had happened these last couple of days, his feelings for Asher hadn’t changed. That he wasn’t alone, and that perhaps Calum could serve as an anchor, in a world that no longer made sense.

[-Hideki-]

As the muscles in his body were flickering and he felt like he struggled to breath his blue eyes stared into the direction of the city wall and he wished that he could build a wall around himself, a wall that’d keep all of this away from him, that kept everything away from him forever so that he wouldn’t have to face nothing of this anymore. And for a moment he wished that he had never come to Kalua, never searched for Charlie, never had heard all this, never had had everything questioned liked that. Everything would have been fine then. He could have just kept on living like he always had…. No! No, he could not have! He already hadn’t. It had been crumbling since a while now, he had already not lived like before anymore and maybe everything would have crushed down onto him like this in another way soon enough.

 

He felt lost! Lost in absolute nothingness! As if his whole world had been bombed into bits and pieces in the last hours and now nothing was left standing anymore, his world, the only world he had known not existing anymore. And all that was left were the ruins he was wading through nakedly and aimlessly without direction, without a place to return to, without any idea of how it could continue, feeling as though there was no chance to ever rebuilt anything now, feeling helpless as though how and where to even star to built something new. Everything was a mess, all was lost and gone and suddenly nothing was like it seemed to be anymore but the other way around. Had he been, was he, one of the bad guys? If someone were to look at Asher’s life and history would he be condemned and looked at with disgust as if he had been a monster? The same way Charlie’s face had looked when he had spoken about himself. Was he someone who could only be looked at with anger and hate and shame? He had never thought … he had thought he had been doing the right thing! That he had been one of the good guys! He couldn’t have been the bad guy! It made him feel physically ill and dizzy and as if his stomach was turned upside down and something sharp was scratching in his throat.

 

If one had asked him for how long he had been sitting there he would not have been able to answer this. The Colonel of the space force had no idea for how long his thoughts had forced him on a roller coaster ride, for how long he had been staring as the jolly and busy people had been rushing past him and in and out of the bakery he was sitting in front. He had lost track and had he been fascinated by the city before he didn’t pay his surroundings any mind anymore. However he suddenly heard a familiar voice shouting out in relieve, calling his name and it made him turn his head to the side and he was surprised to see Calum approaching him, expressing how worried he had been and how he had searched for him and Asher felt sorry to have burdened him but he didn’t manage to hold the man’s gaze with his pained, slightly apologetic one before he turned his face away to not have the other look at it anymore.

 

He thought the man would just leave again because he didn’t look at him nor brought himself to say anything to him but he didn’t. In the next moment he felt the other’s shadow laying itself over him as he closed the distance between them and then he felt the younger man’s arms wrapping around him, embracing him. Asher’s arms closed around Calum’s body and he pulled the man closer, held ever so tight, his hands clinging onto the brunette’s back like a drowning man, as though his life depended on it and the Xenonian leaned his face against the man’s chest inhaling deeply and he felt how the knot that his intestines had apparently been building before busting, he could breathe again and warmth was floating through him. He had not known that he needed that but he needed that. He needed Calum’s closeness, to touch him, to feel him, to inhale his familiar, nice scent that he loved and that soothed him and Ash clung onto the man with all he got, pressing his body against his, not caring about the people around them, not caring about how they could see a soldier like him sag into the touch of another man, a younger man, needing his comfort.

 

Then finally, after quite some minutes had past like that already his voice was sounding although muffled down because he wasn’t letting go and wasn’t taking his face off of the other man’s chest but left it hidden there. “I don’t know anything anymore! Nothing!” he stated. “I don’t know what to think! What to do! What is right and wrong and who and what the fuck I even am?” he talked a little louder and then he finally took his head away from the man’s chest and looked up at him, his intensely blue eyes peering into green. “Am I a bad person?” he asked.

[Gladis]

Considering where their relationship had been just a couple of hours ago, Calum had half expected Asher to push him away. He was relieved to find that this was not the the case. Feeling the colonel’s strong arms wrap around him, pulling him closer, he gently allowed his fingers to slide through the platinum blonde tresses of Asher’s hair. And for a while, they simply remained like that – Asher clinging onto Calum’s shirt like his life depended on it; his face pressing into his chest. And for a moment, nothing else mattered. It was as though they were in their own little bubble, separate from their surroundings. Even though the world around them continued to go on as usual, the only thing Calum cared to see, hear, feel and think was Asher.

 

When he finally did speak, the words came out muffled and difficult to understand. Except for the last part, which he could hear more than clearly. Gazing into Asher’s pale blue eyes, he shook his head.

 

”No,” He said softly, ”You are not a bad person, Asher. If you were, I doubt you would even be asking yourself that now.” Allowing a brief moment of silence to pass between them, he gently slid his thumb over Asher’s cheek. ”I can tell you who you are, if you like.” He paused for a moment, before he continued to speak.

 

”You are Asher – the man that fell from the sky and took the entire village by storm. You are the person nan’ and I worked our butts off to save. You are Anya’s idol and Jack’s and Elizabeth’s friend. You are Sasha’s rival… and you are the man that stole my heart.” The slight smile that tugged at the corners of his lips was warm, gentle and loving, though it also held a tinge of sadness. ”I know that to you, a life at the Myre is not ideal. Even so I want you to know that no matter what happens, there will always be room for you at our tables and under our roofs. You may not have been with us for long, but during the time you were, you have worked our fields and shared our meals. We’ve laughed together, loved together and had our disagreements, and as insignificant that may seem, it’s not. Whether you like it or not, you’ve become a part of our lives, and I’m sure that I speak for the entire village when I say we’re not ready to let you go anytime soon. With us, you will always have a place to call-”

 

His stomach, it seemed, was out to spite him today, because before he could finish the sentence, it simply had to once more remind him of the fact that he was hungry. Very hungry, it seemed, because it came in the form of an extremely aggressive rumble.

 

”-home.” Calum finished, as a bright red blush flooded his cheeks, spreading all the way from his nose to the tip of his ears. What a way to ruin his speech! Then again, perhaps such a moment of uncontrolled human silliness was exactly what they needed. Unable to withhold the embarrassed laughter that spilled from between his lips, he extended his hand to Asher.

 

”Back when I was but a wee lad, my mum would make a batch of honey cakes whenever Sasha or I felt down. They may not be adequate problem solvers, but they sure as hell make you feel better. So how about it, Asher? Will you let me treat you?”

[-Hideki-]

Asher didn’t know if it was true what the younger man said there, that he wouldn’t be asking himself those questions now if he was a bad person but it made him feel better to hear the man say that he was not a bad person, to feel his thumb caressing his cheeks and to know that Calum was not hating him, not seeing him as garbage or a foul, evil person. Because despite what he had tried to convince himself of he cared what the man thought about him, he cared about how he saw him and his opinion did matter to him. What was odd in itself because other people’s opinions had never mattered to him except if one was a superior or the emperor himself and that had mattered to him in a different way, had held another weight.

 

His eyes looked deeply into the green orbs of the brunette as if he was seeking himself within him when the man told him that he could tell him who he was if he liked and even though Charlie would have probably disapproved vigorously and said that this was why he hated Xenonians and told him he apparently still got everything wrong he badly wanted to be told who he was, what he was, what his purpose was, he wanted the answers. And maybe the brothel owner would have laughed about him when the soldier who had lived under a totalitarian, absolutist system his whole life realised that Calum didn’t tell him what he had expected and hoped for so that he would have been able to follow those words now instead and that the other man couldn’t reinstall a new world for him in the blink of an eye, that Asher had to rebuilt something from the ruins himself after all.

 

But despite that what he heard made him feel less lost regardless and it created a warmth inside of him and his heart was jumping and starting to race like crazy when the other told him that he had stolen his heart. Of course it was rather impossible because without a heart the man wouldn’t be alive anymore but something made him understand exactly what the other meant by that as he was feeling the same way for Calum. He had not gotten him out of his mind, he had kept thinking about him, he had been miserable and unhappy when they had not talked and had fought; he had missed him and longed for him although the other had been around the whole time. And while maybe the Myre wasn’t ideal and Calum couldn’t tell him his purpose and couldn’t determine him what the man said made him realise that he did feel a belonging. A belonging to Calum but also to the people he had left waiting at the Myre he wanted to defend. If he still belonged somewhere he might find it again his purpose and maybe he could determine himself as Charlie had worded it.

 

It was the rumbling of the younger man’s stomach that he heard rather clearly and loudly because his head was lying on his chest still that made the other pause in his speech and broke the Colonel’s thoughts and he saw how his lover flushed beet red, laughing awkwardly and Asher found him incredibly adorable in that moment what made his scarred lips form a slight smile that only grew when the man suggested that they’d buy some honey cakes as they had helped him whenever he had felt down as a boy and Asher rose from the bench and stood in front of the shorter man, grabbing his neck, his thumb caressing the skin as he leaned down and pressed his lips onto Calum’s in an intense kiss, eager to taste and feel those soft, warm lips on his own, to connect with him and show him affection after all those days that had passed without touching each other. When he broke the kiss he smiled widely at him. “You’re incredibly cute did you know?” he told him, pressed his lips against his cheeks and took the man’s hand. “I can use something to lighten up my mood. And as long as it is nothing intoxicating like this mead I see nothing that’d speak against it.”

 

The smell of fresh cake was even more intense inside of the bakery than in front of it and now the Xenonian was actually paying attention to it for the first time. It was a small store and it was warm from the oven inside of it. There was a line in front of the counter as it seemed to be a popular place selling Kalua’s specialities. A small, chubby middle aged woman with a ruche apron was standing behind the counter, smiling at the costumers, talking about the weather and the newest gossip of the city while her husband who was covered in flour and other baking ingredients was bringing the fresh baked goods into the shop from the backroom with the oven. When they got to buy the honey cakes the woman couldn’t be kept from remarking how they both seemed to not be from Kalua and she was curious to learn where they were from, had however never heard from Xenon before.

 

Asher was holding Calum’s hand as they were walking down the road and were back on the way to Charlie’s brothel whilst eating their honey cakes. They were indeed delicious and eaten way too fast. The Colonel felt like he could eat nothing else for the rest of his life but considering how many of the coins the younger man had paid for those two pieces alone that would probably not happen and so he stayed hungry because that was by far not enough to fill a grown man’s stomach. As they walked like that and he could still taste the honey cake on his tongue he was looking up into the foreign sky and then back at Calum. “Maybe the Myre is not ideal. Maybe this city isn’t. But it seems like Xenon wasn’t either.” He said and his voice sounded heavier than he had intended to and he looked ahead again. “What I want to say is that, even though I might not be able to feel that it is my home just yet, I like the Myre and your people. I like to be with you, Calum. You’ve got my heart as well.”

 

And as he was saying that he was feeling a little nervous and his heart was fluttering. It was the truth. He felt strongly for Calum and it was a little scary. When they entered the pleasure district and a ginger haired, attractive man was waving at them a sting of guilt was shaking him though as he felt himself reminded of that day of the feast and Leif. Sure that guy was younger than Leif and didn’t look like him despite both being red heads and attractive but it brought that memory back and he felt regret form within him, silently looking onto his feet for a moment. He really shouldn’t have done that should he? He shouldn’t have had sex with Leif as hot as he was and as great as the sex had been! He shouldn’t have jumped onto that impulse but should have thought this through but he had not. He had done it and he couldn’t make it undone that he had slept with another man while they had broken up and been on bad terms.

 

Asher didn’t really have more time to think about what to do now, if he should apologise, say something about it, don’t say anything about it because it technically had not been cheating as they arrived at the brothel. And upon entering they found a note left for them at the counter that told them that the others were either in the kitchen or already upstairs in the large dining room. Walking upstairs to the highest floor - it had taken quite a while for them to return after all - they were finding the group around a large, white table in a round room with a dome roof and detailed artwork covering the ceiling. It had large windows with wine red long curtains and many of those unrealistically flawless and at the same time highly erotic statues were placed along the walls. The room had a bar and the table was loaded with fancy dishes presented on expensive porcelain.

 

Charlie turned his head towards the door, his demolished face showing different blue and purple colours just like his coat now. “Welcome back you two. You’ve got splendid timing, we have just finished preparing the food.” He told them and pointed at the free chairs. Asher saw his old trainer Nate sitting on the table wearing pants this time but nothing else but the pants. The man was refusing to wear a shirt if he already wore the pants and was sitting in the noble looking room with his strong, bare chest showing off his dark, curly chest hair that was fitting his bearded face well and as Asher looked at him he was mourning his own body hair a little which was now replaced by scarred skin as it had been burned away. His wife Raja sat next to him with red eyes from crying and she clearly disapproved of her husband sitting at the dinner table without a shirt on but then again he was not wearing a dress, he wore the pants she had bought for him and at least he was trying and wanting to make her happy and she too felt too exhausted to make him wear a shirt too.

 

Ren and Sara had joined them to eat and next to Sara with his head on his plate sat a snoring guy none of them had seen so far. The guy was wearing saggy clothing and had black, short uncombed hair and was chuckling in his sleep. Around the group and the table walked two of the prostitutes one of whom was the guy who was dressed like an elf whom they had seen getting his cock sucked by one of his colleagues in the lounge. Charlie had asked the two of them to be their waiters and they happily did so and the elfish looking man had his fun as he couldn’t take his eyes off of Jack, finding his features really appealing, flirting with him at every opportunity he got. “So you are Calum, Jack told me your name, I’m Charlie I run this humble location and I apologise that I hadn’t had the time to introduce myself accordingly to you before. I heard you are from the Myre, I have never been there, is there something interesting to see that’d be worth a travel?” he asked wanting to keep the dinner in good fun and a light hearted mood after what had happened earlier and delaying the conversation about saving the Myre until later.

[Gladis]

Perhaps the gods truly were smiling down on them that day, because for a brief moment, Calum thought he could recognize the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of Asher’s lips. That alone filled him with a great sense of accomplishment and relief. He had missed that smile, and even more so, he had longed for Asher’s touch. Calum hadn’t even realized how horrible it had been to be without until that very moment, when Asher rose from the bench and pulled him into a kiss. It was warm, it was sweet and it set his heart fluttering straight over the rainbow as the tension that once had lingered between them resolved into nothingness. It very nearly brought him to tears. Not because he was sad, but rather because it felt like a heavy weight had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders. And so when they finally broke apart, Calum found himself wrapping his arms around Asher, hugging him tightly as he pushed his flushed face against the taller man’s hard chest.

 

”Calling a man cute.” He grumbled into the fabric of Asher’s shirt, but even then he was struggling to keep up the annoyed pretens. Calum was grinning, which Asher would discover the moment they separated. Giving lover’s hand a tight squeeze, Calum emitted a soft chuckle, shaking his head. ”I have yet to see anyone get drunk on honey cakes, that much I can assure you!”

 

To Calum, entering the bakery almost felt like revisiting his childhood. Though crowded, it was a cosy little place, lit up by the sunshine that filtered through the windows and filled with the buzz of conversation. On one side of the wooden counter more variations of bread than Calum had even known existed had been put on display – on the other a mouthwatering assortment of cakes and pastries of all shapes and sizes could be admired. The main attraction however, was Kalua’s famous specialty honey cakes, which took up most of the space in the middle. Their aroma was even more overwhelming inside, wrapping around them like a loving mothers warm embrace.

 

When it was finally their turn, he ordered two of the round, golden little cakes, before withdrawing the equivalent amount of coins from his small leather pouch. He counted them quickly, just to make sure, and then left them on the counter for the middle aged little woman to double check. After a brief but friendly exchange pertaining to their origins, she handed them the bag containing the honey cakes, thanked them and off they were already. Needless to say, Calum couldn’t help but feel stupidly happy and kind of giddy as he walked alongside Asher, licking the sticky filling off his fingers as he basked in the taste and nostalgia of the honey cake. They were every bit as great as he remembered them to be, and he found himself thinking that it probably was a good thing they were expensive, or he’d find himself revisiting that bakery way too often. Imagine what that would do to his weight!

 

They had been walking for quite some time, simply enjoying the tranquility of the moment and one another’s company when Asher finally broke the silence, spilling the beans on what Calum imagined must have been on his mind for quite some time. If he’d been happy before, he seemed to be outright glowing now, his entire self lit up by the broad smile that spread across his features. ”Geez Asher, I think the sweetness of the honey cakes must’ve rubbed off on you!” And then, because he recognized the significance of Asher’s words, he gently took his hand into his own. ”You can’t even begin to imagine how much it means to me to hear you say that.” He said softly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

 

Yet as their walk wore on and they were getting closer to their destination, Calum couldn’t help but notice how Asher’s mood dampened slightly. The likeliest explanation was that his anxieties from before were beginning to seep back in, although perhaps the weather also played a role in it. Glancing up at the evening sky, he could see that heavy, dark clouds had begun drifting in over the city.

 

”Bet there’ll be rain soon.” He noted, glad that there wasn’t much of a walk left.

 

Upon entering the brothel, they were greeted by a note which guided them up an obscene number of stairs. When they’d finally made it to the top of them, Asher and Calum emerged in a round dining room which was every bit as impressive as the rest of the building. Once again, he found himself awed by his surroundings.

 

The seats around the table were filled by the same colorful lot they’d interacted with before, plus one Calum didn’t recognize, although judging by the fact that he was fast asleep he didn’t doubt that he had to be every bit as eccentric as the rest. Aside from him and Raja’s red eyes, however, the overall atmosphere was warm and welcoming. Especially when Charlie, despite everything that had happened, went out of his way to greet them.

 

”Yes!” Jack agreed as Calum pulled out the chair next to him, ”and you better enjoy it too! I had to work my butt off cutting all of those onions.” He sniffed, before grimly shaking his head. ”I should never have volunteered to do the chopping…” Yet instead of sympathy, all that gained him was a couple of amused laughs and a friendly pat on the back.

 

Upon being addressed by Charlie, Callum glanced up with a smile, nodding his head slightly. ”It’s very nice to make you acquaintance, Charlie. And thank you for having us.” Then he paused, thoughtfully tilting his head a little to the side before snickering slightly. ”I guess there is, if you like fields.”

 

”And sheep.” Jack chimed in with a chuckle.

 

”Oh! Although I suppose there is that giant carcass of the ancient metal beast down by the river creak.” Calum suggested.

 

”Or the haunted hut on the hill.” Added Jack before they both burst into laughter.

 

”The Myre is a very small village with a population of less than 60. We’re all pretty much related in some way or other, and everyone knows everyone. Can’t keep a secret from anyone, and there ain’t much to be found except... people, fields and cattle.” Calum explained.

 

”There’s the forests and rivers too.” Jack pointed out.

 

Calum nodded. ”’Suppose if you like riding around pretty landscapes it’s pretty decent, but unless that’s your thing you’re probably better off staying here. Although, mind you if you do come – the whole village will be all over you. Don’t get a lotta’ travelers ’cept Seekers coming our way, and we’re always starving for interesting stories to tell around the oven. Especially in winter.”

 

”Oh please Calum, don’t remind me of winter.” Jack shuddered. ”One moment you think you’ve still got forever, the next you’re freezing your butt off in a snowdrift somewhere!”

 

”Yeah, winters are rough. Especially when we’ve had a bad year of harvest.” Calum agreed.

 

And as though the reminder that no matter how far off it seemed, winter was always right around the corner had left a lasting impression on the two, the two of them ate with ravenous appetites. But of course, eating was not the only thing they did. They talked, they laughed and they shared an overall good time, keeping the conversation light and cheerful, but interesting nonetheless. However, as the night wore on, Calum couldn’t help but notice that Jack seemed just a tad distracted. His gaze kept averting towards wherever the white haired young man happened to be, following him with keen interest. Like a wolf observing a herd of sheep. Although admittedly, Jack was less like a wolf and more like a hungry puppy trying to figure out how to get that cheese his owners had left on the table. Nevertheless, the guy must have noticed, because he wasn’t exactly being subtle with the flirting. And to Jack’s credit, he was doing a pretty good job of flirting back – although he seemed slightly less confident than how Calum was used to seeing him. Perhaps even a bit nervous.

 

For Calum’s part, there were two things that kept distracting him from the abundance of food and conversations: for one his head was still spinning after that intense afternoon, but above all it was the desire to be alone with Asher that kept lingering in the back of his head. Considering they’d spent more than a week apart, this should hardly have come as a surprise. And so when they finally did get to retire for the night, Calum was quick to make his intentions known.

 

Barely had they made it across the threshold of the room Charlie had been kind enough to let them borrow, when he grabbed onto Asher’s shirt and pulled him down slightly, swiftly wrapping his arms around the taller man’s shoulders as he closed the distance between their lips. Their last kiss may have been intense, but this one was outright ravenous – begging for everything the other had to offer, and his hands already were in the process of eagerly unbuttoning Asher’s shirt. When they finally pulled apart, Calum found himself slightly out of breath, his cheeks dusted by a faint rosy red. Green peered into blue, the corners of his lips curling into a cheeky smile.

 

”Let’s make up for lost time.”

[-Hideki-]

The way Calum and Jack described it to Charlie it made it seem as though there was nothing interesting about the Myre whatsoever and maybe there wasn’t. Maybe it was an unexciting place where not much happened and the only reason that it had seemed interesting and with plenty things to explore to Asher had been because it had been so foreign and different and he had not known any of the things that he had gotten to see there. To him life at the Myre still held new things to explore and to see and he hadn’t once thought about that the place could commonly be considered to be boring aside from the nice landscapes. Apparently it was though and compared to the bustling streets of Kalua he could see how that was the case.

 

“Seems idyllic.” The straw blond man said scratching his three-days-beard. “Too idyllic and quiet for my preferences.” He told them and it wasn’t a surprise to Miran in the slightest because he knew that his boyfriend couldn’t handle the quiet well, couldn’t handle when nothing was happening or being alone with his thoughts for that matter. Charlie always needed to keep himself busy and entertained and in company. And now after years of being a couple and living together he finally understood why his lover was like that. Then again it wasn’t like Miran was fit for a life at the countryside either, he definitely couldn’t do physical labour and he’d be outright useless there because the country-folk certainly didn’t need a book-keeper.

 

Someone else was in absolute love with the Myre though and she totally forgot eating as she listened to Calum and Jack with her chin resting on her hand. “What a lovely place.” She rejoiced dreamily. “Wonderful to raise a child! A lot better than the city! Don’t you think so Nate?” Raja found and Nate looked at her questioningly: “No.” he drily said and the woman opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “But it is! We live in the middle of the city above a brothel, that’s no place for our child!” she made her opinion very clear and Nate raised an eyebrow crossing his muscular arms in front of his chest. “It’s perfectly fine. No clue what your problem is. There are a lot of opportunities in the city, more than at that place wherever the fuck that even is and there is nothing wrong with this house either. If anything that child can learn about how to run a business from the start.” He found and Raja’s dark eyes widened as she yelled:”I don’t want our child to grow up in a brothel and learn anything about that kind of shady business though.”

 

It only amused Charlie who told Sara to wake up the sleeping man whose name was Simon. Simon raised his head and frowned and when the owner of the brothel told him that they were eating now the man complained about how he had had an intense and exhausting work day only to have Charlie express how jerking off all day wasn’t work,, for Simon to say that it was physically exhausting though.

While he ate Asher also noticed how Jack was flirting with the white haired bloke and at first that was weird again as he had only ever seen him flirting and disappearing with women but maybe he was like Charlie, maybe he didn’t care about the gender. Then again, the pretty-boy did seem shyer about this now than usual so maybe he was not like that after all. The ‘elf’ however was everything but shy and he made it very known that he wanted Jack.

 

And someone else was whether intentionally or not making it known how much he wanted someone else too and that someone was Calum who was quite obviously horny for Ash and couldn’t wait to get away from the others and the table and feeling his lover’s gazes got the Colonel hot as well and he too got rather impatient to be alone with the brunette. Hence he didn’t at all protest when the younger male was excusing them, grabbing Asher and hurrying him out of the room. And it had not escaped the Xenonian how knowingly Charlie had laughed and grinned at the two of them before he had heard the man who was regarded as a hero on Xenon say to his boyfriend, nudging Miran with his elbow: “Seeing all those youngsters all over each other makes me ask myself how likely I’ll be lucky enough to get a good spanking and have you tear me apart mercilessly tonight?” Hearing Miran bark:”Don’t you think you have had enough of a spanking for today perverted horny old man! Look at what happened to your cute face!” to which Charlie mumbled that he was not that old, although the man knew that he wasn’t much younger than his boyfriend’s noble chevalier parents who both highly disapproved of Charlie due to multiple factors, which were him being a male, nearly their own age and eccentric. To then have his lover gently caress his face saying:”There’d be plenty of nicer things I’d like to do to your handsome body tonight.” What sounded exciting enough to Charlie who beamed at the younger man. But to Ash it was pretty clear and proven now that the guy who had invented Hydra was a pervert who had masochistic tendencies now.

 

Fuck he didn’t waste one thought about Charlie, Hydra, Xenon and the fact that his world had just crumbled and he was without direction when Calum outright attacked and nearly jumped him anymore when they had as much as entered the room Charlie had told them they could call theirs for their stay in the city. He was pulled down on his shirt and kissed wildly and Asher engulfed in it with all he got. His tongue was restlessly dancing around the brunette’s and his strong hand was firmly grabbing the younger man’s crotch, rubbing his hand over his cock in its confinements while they were devouring each other lustily and he felt the other’s fingers undoing his shirt. Shit, was Calum hot when he was that hungry for dick! And Ash felt heat starting to pool in his groin as he got turned on by the heated kissing.

 

The kiss left him somewhat breathless an a string of saliva was connecting them as their lips parted and burning eyes filled with desire were looking into Calum’s green ones when he heard the man say that he wanted to make up for the time they had lost and Ash was already at it, stripping the brunette off of his shirt and pulling down his pants. “Damn you’re so hot!” he exclaimed. “I want to pound you senseless!” his aroused voice sounded before his lips were too busy kissing and sucking on Calum’s neck, his rough, scarred hand taking a grip of the young man’s cock, stroking it, his fingers teasing the veins, his thumb being shoved under the man’s foreskin, going in circles around the glans, rubbing it and pressing onto the slit while his other hand was kneading that sexy arse of his lover.

 

He was too impatient to do that for long though and as soon as he was naked himself he threw Calum onto the bed and followed right away having something of a panther as he was jumping after the man, towering over the shorter body, pinning the other’s arms down, gazing into those green eyes with a horny, animalistic glare in them when he moved his hips and rubbed their throbbing cocks against each other, increasing the friction, making sparks of pleasure setting his blood on fire, making his cock grow even harder as he kissed Calum with raging lust and unrestrained want.

 

When he slightly moaned into the kiss he broke it short after, his eyes falling onto the other man’s armpits that were on display how he pinned him down and he asked himself if Calum might be sensitive there too. Asher had found out that he was. Not only sensitive but that when someone let his hand run down his side from under his armpit or kissed and sucked on the thin skin there he was feeling good, had electric pleasurable sparks running through his body and it got him incredibly hot. It served as an erogenous spot. Leif had done that to his body when he had tackled him down before he had ridden his dick like a maniac and that’s how he had figured that out. It had been awkward at first but then he had been able to fully enjoy having his body touched and stimulated aside from merely his dick.

 

And now he was curious to see whether the nerves reactions would be that pleasurable for the other there too. Asher let his hand run up Calum’s side to his armpit, then from under the armpit down again, all whilst rubbing their erect cocks together, before he licked, kissed and sucked under the man’s armpit trying to mimic what Leif , who had been damn skilful and experienced , had done to him when the realisation of what he was fucking doing right now was hitting him. He was doing to Calum what Leif had been doing to him when he had had sex with Leif when he shouldn’t have had sex with Leif because it had barely been twenty-four hours that Calum and him had fought and broken up. Guilt was mixing within the horniness and the pleasure and the want and although he kept going at first the thoughts of guilt were slowly overtaking until he couldn’t push them aside any longer, couldn’t keep going like this.

 

His raging hard, heated, pulsating cock was cursing him, so did his raging hormones and his lust and horniness but he was letting go, retreating from Calum, sitting down on the bed, his back towards the brunette, sighing, running his hand through his hair mumbling something about:”I can’t…” He badly wanted to just be able to continue, to do the other, to fuck like animals, his cock was standing like a tower and his blood was still boiling but his mind was distracting him and it might have been a mistake to stop because it shouldn’t be relevant, they had been apart after all, he had not cheated, he’d never do that but he still couldn’t keep going. He needed to get this off his chest, now! Not only that, he probably should tell the other. Calum deserved to know. Besides, he remembered what the young man had said on the dinner table about everyone at the Myre knowing about everything, about no one being able to keep a secret. So even if he were to decide to not say anything now, to just forget about it as irrelevant Calum would hear as soon as they’d get back to the Myre even if Ash were to ask Leif to not say anything to the brunette. The whole village probably already knew anyway and someone would tell him. He had seen Leif hanging out with Calum’s brother quite some times before already actually so they certainly talked.

 

Asher was sighing, looking down into his lap where his dick was protesting the disruption and if it could speak it would yell insults at him now and then he looked up and stared at the wall. “You need to know something…” the Xenonian started, finding it difficult to say, difficult to ruin their moment, their make-up sex. Difficult to know how to even best go about this! “I…” he started then tried again. “You remember the feast?” he asked. “I …. I was with Leif at the feast and we kinda…” alright he just needed to get it over with fast and painless. “…kinda had sex that night! Multiple times! And the next morning!” he finally brought himself to say it, his stomach turning upside down from the feeling of guilt and regret that at this point killed the arousal he felt, his fingers digging into his own leg.

[Gladis]

When Asher returned the kiss with equal, if not even greater ferocity, it was becoming abundantly clear that Calum was not the only one who was eager to get down and dirty. Letting out a soft grunt as Asher grabbed his crotch, he pushed forward into his hand, longing for friction even though it was causing his cock to strain uncomfortably against its fabric prison. Not for long, however, as he shortly thereafter found himself being stripped of his travel worn rags.

 

Still, when he heard Asher’s comment about how he wanted to pound him senseless, he couldn’t help but chuckle. Fuck yeah, that was exactly what he wanted. What he yearned for – To be fucked so hard that his mind would go completely blank. He wanted Asher’s cock and he wanted it badly.

 

”You better make good on that.” Calum breathed hotly against Asher’s lips, biting down on the bottom one. Not hard enough to hurt, but definitely hard enough to be felt. ”Fuck you have no idea how much I missed this.” He groaned as he felt his lovers hand on his cock and his lips on his neck. Every kiss left a burning sensation on his skin, every stroke sending an electric pulse of pleasure rippling through him. Perhaps it was strange, but he had always loved the rough texture of Asher’s skin, and the way his hands felt rubbing against even his most sensitive areas. It made him dizzy with arousal and left him yearning for more.

 

Asher seemed more than ready to give him exactly that, because a moment later he found himself being raised off the ground almost as though he weighed nothing at all, before being tossed onto the bed only for Asher to follow a moment later, pinning arms to the mattress. Breathing heavily he gazed into Asher’s lust filled eyes, his lips parting to let out a sharp moan when he began to rub their cocks together. Pushing his head into his pillows he arched his back slightly, his cheeks glowing a delicious rosy red. A good amount of precum had begun to leak onto his stomach, glistening in the dim glow of the electric lights. And he was feeling good. Really good, his heart pounding hard as he moaned into the kiss.

 

Asher was the one to break it, and Calum found that he enjoyed the feeling of his hands sliding up his sides – until he reached his armpits. It wasn’t bad per se, Calum actually liked it, but he was very ticklish. ”A-asher!” He gasped as Asher’s lips assaulted the sensitive skin, and though he found that slightly preferably to merely being touched, it still made him laugh and squirm beneath the other. ”Oh gods, Asher!”

 

His lover stopped almost immediately.

 

At first, Calum figured it had to be because of his reaction, but that very quickly turned out not to be the case. After all, Calum doubted Asher would have withdrawn completely merely because he turned out to be ticklish!

 

”Honey, what’s wrong? What do you mean, ”you can’t”?” He asked softly, drawing himself into a sitting position.

 

There was a very long pause, but finally Calum did get his answer, and for a split second, he kind of wished he hadn’t. It hurt, made him feel angry and frustrated. It all made sense now! The way he’d seen them talk during the feast, the horse, how Asher had seemed kind of off when they passed that redhead earlier. He felt guilty, and so he should!

 

”Let me guess, Luke was Leif’s brilliant idea? Fucking moron. It’s like he wanted you to suffer.” There was an unmistakable note of bitterness in Calum’s voice, his hands forming fists.

 

It felt good. It felt good to have a legitimate reason to be annoyed with Leif, because it wasn’t like he could blame him for sleeping with Asher. It always takes takes two for that kind of thing, and in this case… well, most of the responsibility undeniably lay with Asher. He shouldn’t have. He definitely shouldn’t have done that and yet… how much blame could Calum really put on him? The man had no prior experiences with relationships, and as far as Calum had been concerned they’d never extensively talked about what it meant to be in one. Perhaps he simply hadn’t understood the true implications of his actions. Surely he hadn’t done it with the intentions of hurting Calum, right?

 

At first, that idea seemed reasonable enough, but then the memories of the night at the inn came flooding back into Calum’s mind, and he was no longer too sure. Back then it had certainly felt like Asher was somehow trying to punish him. Like he was hitting on the dude merely to get back at Calum for hurting his feelings. And back then, just like now, it had hurt. It had hurt a lot.

 

He didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to feel that pain again. He’d been so happy, to finally have his Asher back. For things to return to normal, to spend time with the person he had come to care for so deeply… and then he just had to go drop a bomb on him like this, didn’t he? There was a part of Calum that would have preferred not to know, that would have preferred to live in blissful ignorance. Yet now that he did know… he couldn’t just ignore it, could he? And yet he had no idea how he was supposed to react. He’d been through these kinds of confessions so many times already that instead of making him boil with anger, he felt numb to them. Empty. Hollow.

 

For a split second it wasn’t Asher he was seeing, but a young man with longish shoulder length black hair, who’s toned back was not covered in burns, but instead in claw marks and bites. A man who was turned away from him in shame, and whose voice was filled to the brim with regret and self-deprecation.

 

”I’m sorry, Calum. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I won’t do it again. I won’t. I promise. Please forgive me…”

 

Calum didn’t want to hear it. He hadn’t wanted to hear it back then and he didn’t want to hear it now, because he knew that he would be dumb enough to believe it. Every. Single. Fucking. Time. Maybe this time would be different. Maybe this time he meant it. Maybe this truly was the last time he had to suffer through those words. Maybe things really would change…

 

But of course they never changed. The guy could be a literal pile of ashes and still nothing had changed. And just like all those times in the past, Calum knew that he would forgive him in the end. Over and over and over again. Because he knew that they were not bad people. Neither of them were. Asher wasn’t, and Ben hadn’t been either. And so he would desperately cling on to that idea like his life depended on it, until he had been so worn down by it that the things that should be painful no longer were. Until he became numb to the feelings of sadness and disappointment, and all words and actions lost their meaning.

 

No.

 

Calum wasn’t allowed to think like that. Asher was not Benjamin. To him it may have felt the same, but the circumstances were different. He couldn’t conflate them – it wasn’t fair. Asher needed to exist on his own terms. He had nothing to do with Calum’s past history of bad choices. Yet even if he kept trying to tell himself that, it didn’t change the fact that his words had the same effect. That Calum felt too exhausted to retaliate, too afraid to recognize his own pain. It was easier to just do what he always had, and try to shut it all out. To ignore it and to move on and hope that he would never had to think about it again. Perhaps that really did make him a coward.

 

Sighing, he raked a hand through his messy brown hair before sliding off the bed, walking around it so that for the second time that day, he was standing in front of a seated Asher. Grasping his chin between his index finger and thumb, he tilted his head up so that Asher was forced to meet his gaze. And he held it there for a long time, as though he was searching for something in those mesmerizing icy blue eyes.

 

And then he spoke, his voice flat and cold.

 

”Don’t do it again.” He said firmly. ”Not ever, not unless it’s something you and I have both agreed on, or we’ve formally broken up, you hear? Because let me get this straight, Asher. I’ve heard every excuse in the world for what you did, and whichever of them it is, I do not care to hear it. Nor do I want an apology. You don’t have to promise, just… don’t do it.” Despite his best attempts to keep his voice steady, the lump in his throat caused it to waver. He swallowed, letting go of Asher’s chin to curl his hand against his chest. It felt tight, like someone was slowly squeezing the air out of him, and his vision became blurry with tears. ”Please.”

 

Unlike before he was not making demands; this was the desperate plea of a man who could not afford to be let down even one more time.

[-Hideki-]

The silence that fell between them after he had confessed his fucking session with Leif the night of the feast was unbearable to him. He was starting to get extremely nervous about it and so he grabbed a random bottle from the bedside-table that had the word ‘lubricant’ written onto it. He wanted to read the purpose and the ingredients list on the back of it to keep his mind from running amok but he couldn’t focus and only figured out that the stuff apparently served to make sex go smoother and with less pain involved for the bottom and he just wanted Calum to finally speak to him, to finally say something. Yell at him, insult him, kick him if he must but not stay fucking silent, it was torture.

 

When Calum did finally speak it was absolutely not what he had expected because it was outright avoiding the actual issue since the brunette decided to get het up about Leif providing Asher with Luke instead. It made Asher laugh awkwardly, drily and strained before he spoke not less tensely and sheepishly:”He found it hilarious. Said me and Luke would fit together perfect because we had something in common! I don’t think he wanted me to suffer.” The Colonel didn’t know what else to say or how to respond to that or if he rather shouldn’t have responded at all? The man didn’t know. He just knew that he didn’t want to lose the younger man and didn’t want him to call him trash and them breaking up again, he had missed him too much and he probably could fuck Leif as much as he wanted he’d still miss and want Calum in the end.

 

The moment the shorter male sighed, stood up from the bed and walked around was when thousand of thoughts rushed through Asher’s head with force and he had no way to suppress them. He wanted to ask him what he was doing, wanted to get up from the bed and tell him not to go away, to not leave the room,not leave him, to say that he didn’t want him to leave him but the other then stood before him and when he saw the arm move he pressed his eyes shut expecting to get slapped across the face or punched, his hands pressing the bottle of lube to not instinctively lunch a counter attack and mess his lover up like he had done to Charlie to top it all off, he didn’t want to harm and hurt him in any way. There was no hit to his face though. Instead his chin was grabbed and lifted up and Asher slowly opened his blue eyes looking into the other man’s green ones when he saw that he wasn’t met with physical violence.

 

What followed had him blinking his eyes. Calum’s tone was flat and cold when he told him to not do something like that again and Asher nodded his head but Calum didn’t yell at him, wasn’t lashing out and what followed was when he started to get completely confused and to not understand. “Unless we agree on it? What does that mean?” the man asked. “We could agree on something like that? But that’s not how the relationship commitment thing works is it!? Isn’t its ideal goal marriage? And that’s an oath till death? I couldn’t agree on you ever sleeping with another man. And besides how can we agree or disagree on something when we’ve broken up and aren’t in a commitment or agreement anymore?” he asked and the second one got cleared right away when the younger man said ‘or unless they had formally broken up’. Now the Xenonian man looked at him like a pig into the clockwork. “But we broke up! If we had not I’d have never done that. I might have acted on an impulse and have not shown a lot of discipline and self-control that night, I shouldn’t have done this, but I’m not a cheater.” He stated clearly. “There is no way we had not been broken up and had not been done. I thought we’d never be together again ever when you said I was like trash in your eyes. I mean, who is in a relationship with and fucks someone he thinks is on the same level as trash? We have been separated, definitely!” he insisted vigorously because the alternative just couldn’t be, he couldn’t accept the idea to be a cheater, a traitor, he refused that and the implications that came along with it. “And what do you mean by formally? I thought your government didn’t care about its citizens relationships? We never needed to register it? Why do we have to formally unregister and break up then? I don’t understand!” the soldier called out almost desperate because he was not a cheater or a traitor, definitely not. Could one be a cheater without knowing that one was cheating on his partner and that one was still in a relationship? Apparently there had either been miscommunication between them or their interpretation of the situation had been completely different.

 

Upon having his jaw grabbed more strongly and firmly his eyes widened and he stopped blabbering in defence and his eyes widened when the other’s voice had more force now and he informed him that he had heard every excuse in the world for what he had done already and he didn’t care to hear his nor did he want him to apologise– what probably included his defensive reaction too - or promise him anything – promise him what exactly?- that he just should not do it again in a strict way and Asher straightened his back, rose his head, sat like a tin soldier, his blue eyes determinedly and seriously returning Calum’s gaze. “Understood!” he exclaimed, smashing his fist against his heart and it’d fit perfect on parade ground as well.

 

At the end of the sentence, when the other suddenly let go of his chin, the younger male’s formally strict, cold voice wavered though and he heard it cracking and Ash looked questioningly and surprised, he had expected more anger, a punishment at least. On Xenon, if one did something considered wrong and bad and foul, something that was undesirable and one shouldn’t have done, it always had intense negative consequences and one had to face a punishment to learn to not do it again, they were a law and order state after all, their culture and even their upbringing and education was authoritarian and so he expected Calum to be angry, to be furious, to be merciless with him now due to the mistake he had clearly made even when he had not cheated – or at least not known that he had been cheating because he was a moron apparently – but the other swallowed, his hand was grabbing his scarred chest and it was hurt and sadness and vulnerability he saw when the green eyes filled with tears as Calum pleaded Asher to never do this to him again.

 

Had he been guilty and rueful before, man he would have liked to flog himself for having done this to the other now, for not having thought more, for having been ill disciplined, for being the reason that the brunette man was that clearly hurt and broken now and he felt how his intestines were knotting together and a stone was stuck in his throat, his blue eyes looked at the other shocked and apologetically and overwhelmed for he didn’t know how to fix the mess he had made. “Calum…” he whispered as he threw the lubricant bottle away negligently and hoped it was all right for him to touch the other man and he’d not hate to be touched by him now after he had learned what he had done. He laid one hand onto the other’s on his chest, stroking the back of it with his thumb before he let go, reached out, wrapping his arms around the man, pulling him closer and down into his lap, holding him tightly pressed against his body, taking the man’s face between his scarred hands wiping away the tear. “…. Please don’t cry!” he begged, wrapping his arms around the man another time, embracing him, his hands caressingly roaming over his back.

 

“I never had the intention to hurt you or make you cry! I don’t want to see you hurt! Believe me!” Asher assured him, leaning his forehead against the younger man’s. “I didn’t think. I was an idiot. I just wanted to get over it. To pretend that I was unaffected and didn’t acre. To not admit to myself how fucking devastated and hurt and miserable I was when I thought you found me gross and reprehensible! That you had turned out to never actually have liked me and didn’t even want to look at me anymore, when you said I was like that trash in your eyes. Because it did. It affected me. I was hurt… I didn’t know how to deal with it…. And now I have hurt you and I had sworn to myself that I’d never hurt you, that I’d be the best possible guy for you.” He told him but he made himself stop. The other didn’t want to hear this. He was probably only making it worse. And then there was that statement of the brunette that he had heard all possible excuses for what he had done with Leif already… that he had gotten hurt over and over and over already. It made him want to flog that piece of shit of an ex of the other too. How could he do this repeatedly? Repeating the same mistake? Making a mistake one should learn from it. If one didn’t one was a fool. Especially after seeing Calum like this! How could that arsehole do that to him again afterwards?

 

He took the other’s face between his hands again, brushed the tears away another time and let his fingers run through the brown hair and laid them back onto Calum’s cheeks then as he looked into those hurt, sad green eyes that made his heart crush right now. “You are the one I want alright! You! You! You! You! I disappointed you. It’s unacceptable. I never want to be a disappointment to you no more.” he told him and then he made himself stop. He felt like his talking was useless, that it wasn’t good enough, that he couldn’t convey his feelings with words properly, so he said no more and let actions speak instead and leaning over he kissed him, kissed him deep and passionately and affectionate. Kissed him in a highly emotional, desperate, deep way, tried to kiss the hurt and sadness away from the handsome man he had disappointed. It hurt having disappointed him, it hurt to be the reason he cried.

 

The Colonel’s hands were roaming over the other’s body, strongly squeezing his arse-cheeks, pulling him even closer, pressing him against his body as his tongue was wrapping around Calum’s as to comfort it and he wanted to show him, wanted to show him that he was the man he wanted, that he was the one he cared for, the one he desired. He wanted to sleep with him and take the pain away from him, the nagging sad thoughts, the cold; he wanted to make him feel warm and embraced and admired again. When the kiss broke Ash’s eyes were glowing melancholically and affectionately and he let go of the other’s body for a moment to move more to the middle of the bed and lay himself onto his side. Then he took Calum’s hand gently and pulled the younger male next to himself so that they were looking into each other’s eyes. Asher let his hand run from the side of Calum’s thigh over his hips and then up his side, stopping before the armpit now though because he had figured out that the brunette liked it and responded well when having his side caressed and touched too but that the armpit was not a good spot for him because the man was ticklish as fuck. Asher had never been ticklish and hence not even considered it a possibility. He had not been ticklish before he had been turned into fried chicken and especially not after so this was vaguely different for the two of them it seemed and it was really interesting how those things differed for everyone and making him eager to explore the brunette’s body more to figure out what his spots were, what turned him on, made him crazy and feel good and he hoped the other liked to explore his body too and would even give him the chance to and not throw him away now because of what he had done.

 

Laying body on body on their sides he let his hand run down the other man’s side again lovingly and affectionately, looking him deep into his sad eye warmly the whole time, but his hand took a turn at the hip and went to the man’s cock – that had just like Asher’s gone completely flaccid again as both had lost the eagerness and the heated, horny and lustful mood, the burning atmosphere filled with raging hormones as well as their erections over that awful conversation they had- grabbing both Calum’s and his own dick at once, starting to stroke them both and rub them together at the same time slowly increasing pressure and speed while his lips were caressingly travelling down from the other man’s neck over his collar bones and to the rosy nipples of his lover. His tongue licked over the tempting nipple, went in circles, pressed on it, he felt it getting erect and perky before he slightly blew against the wet skin, pinching and pulling it with his lips, then sucking on the brunette’s nipple vigorously and slightly roughly. As he was starting to thrust his hips, fucking his own hand, to increase the friction whilst rubbing their erections together, from time to time rubbing and stimulating the heads of their dicks which, being held in hand and pressed and rubbed together like that revealed just how significant the difference in sizes was - Asher had figured he really was hung when Leif had gone ‘Holy shit’ at his hard thing too – he was starting to pant, letting out some moans against his lover’s nipple, sending vibration over the other’s skin.

 

When both of their cocks were pulsating heatedly and had gotten hard as rock as well as slippery from pre-cum in his hand again, his body temperature risen all the way up, his heart beating fast and his breath gotten heated and laboured he was urging Calum to turn around with burning blood so that he hadaccess to his arse. His hands were roaming over the arse cheeks, he was squeezing them strongly, licking over and kissing them before he spread them open with his firm grip seeing the rosy anus greeting him temptingly and he felt another swell of blood rushing into his cock at the sight of the twitching entrance, his eyes looking at it hungrily. Ash leaned down and dug right into it. His tongue was eagerly licking over the delicate tight hole, drawing patterns around the hole that was surrounded by some brown hair, using pressure onto it before poking it, using his fingers to spread it to get better access and his slippery muscle was sliding inside of the other’s arse, moving around there as if the man’s arsehole and hot tight insides were an instrument he played. Asher was eating Calum’s arse like there was no tomorrow and while he was doing that he was massaging the man’s balls and stroking his dick from behind, everything he did he did incredibly eagerly and ambitious and devotedly because he wanted to make up for the whole Leif thing, for having hurt him and ruining their moment. He wanted to make it good! Make Calum feel amazing and forget all that, to show him how much he cared and appreciated him, how much he desired him, that he was the guy he wanted in his bed, whose body he was crazy for, whom he’d do everything for!

 

He stopped tongue fucking his boyfriend a while after he felt the relaxation of the muscle and he had already wanted to get to poking the hole with his cock and to finally connect their bodies, to be inside of the other, when he remembered the bottle of that lubricant he had taken from the bedside table and he grabbed that stuff, squeezed the bottle, squeezed it a little heavily and had lube running over his hand. He applied it onto the man’s anus before he let two fingers enter the other, applying the lubricant inside, not being stingy with it at all, making Calum’s hole all slippery and wet inside, moving and stretching his fingers in there, pressing them onto the man’s prostate to tease him, before he pulled them out and then figured it’d not hurt to put that stuff onto his cock as well and so he did, drenching his dick in lube and when he was entering, the large rod was buried into Calum a lot more smoothly than usual indeed. They definitely needed to bring this stuff with them to the Myre.

[Gladis]

This was exactly the kind of excuses Calum hadn’t wanted to hear.

 

Or was it? As Asher continued to speak, it was becoming increasingly clear to Calum that there had been a major misunderstanding between the two. Because whereas it had assumed that their falling out would be temporary, Asher had apparently thought otherwise. And sure, that would have been a perfectly viable excuse – if not for one little detail.

 

”But Asher,” he croaked, his voice coming out as little more than a strained whisper, ”I never thought of you as dirt. Never. You made that assumption, but it wasn't what I said. Not even once did I say anything like that. So as far as I was concerned, nothing had changed. Even if we weren’t getting along right then, I cared for you all the same.” After all, would he have payed for Asher’s meals and stays at the inns if he didn’t care for him at all? Would he have switched horses with him? Would he have searched for him for over an hour if he ever, at any point, had really considered Asher to be less than dirt? ”I’m sorry I didn't make that clear enough to you. I’m sorry you didn’t feel the same. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry.” Taking a moment to inhale deeply, he wiped his eyes with his hands. ”People fight. People argue. That’s perfectly normal – even for couples. Especially for couples, maybe even. That doesn’t… that doesn’t mean friendships, or relationships for that matter, immediately have to end. Do you think couples like… like Nate and Raja could even exist, if people broke up every time they had a disagreement? It doesn’t work like that, Asher. If you’re breaking up with someone you’ve at least got to have the courtesy to tell them as much. You can’t just assume that because of X, Y and Z you’re no longer a couple. You’ve got to tell them.”

 

But of course, Asher couldn’t have known that. Until less than two months ago, he hadn’t even known what relationships were. So could he really be fully blamed for making that mistake? Calum didn’t think so.

 

Perhaps that was part of the reason he chose not to push Asher away. Why he allowed himself to be pulled into the others embrace, and onto his lap. It was so warm. He smelled so good and somehow it made him feel safe. Despite everything, he found Asher’s closeness comforting somehow. ”I’m sorry I hurt you.” He repeated in a sob, pressing his tear stained face against Asher’s shoulder. ”I’m sorry I hurt you.”

 

Feeling the other shift beneath him, he blinked as his face was once again taken between Asher’s large hands, opening his mouth and closing it again as the other began to ramble. At least it was an incredibly sweet ramble, and had not Asher already done so a moment later, Calum would probably have kissed him himself. Because there truly seemed to be no other way to appropriately express what he was feeling for Asher right at that moment, than through this bittersweet waltz of tongues. Splaying his hand on Asher’s neck, he not only allowed the kiss to happen but he returned it too, his heart pounding hard in his chest. And when they finally broke apart and he found himself gasping softly for air, he leaned down to gently nuzzle Asher’s face, pressing his forehead against the others as he gazed into his eyes.

 

”You are the one I want too, Asher.”

 

Well hello there, captain obvious. All of this would never have been such a big deal if you didn’t!

 

Still, it felt good having said it anyway. Knowing you are loved and appreciated is not the same thing as getting it reaffirmed by kind words and gestures. And if Calum, despite everything could feel loved and appreciated, it was only fair that Asher should get to do so too.

 

Allowing himself to be pulled further onto the bed, he placed his hand on Asher’s cheek, gently stroking his thumb over the burnt skin. It was a tender moment – one that allowed for silence and contemplation. Calum sniffed, wiping away the remainder of his with the back of his hand. ”I bet I look awful.” He mumbled hoarsely before leaning in to press his lips against Asher’s in a feather light kiss. Calum enjoyed the feeling of the hand gently caressing his side, although he couldn’t help but let out a subdued laugh when suddenly it took a turn and reached for his cock instead. ”You dirty devil.” He murmured against Asher’s lips and it was not a complaint. This… this was good. ’Laughter is the best cure for sadness’, as his grandmother would often say. Besides, he more than welcomed the distraction.

 

Inhaling sharply as Asher began to stroke their cocks together, he allowed the hand on Asher’s cheek to slide around his head into his hair, emitting a soft moan as he felt the other’s lips brush against his nipple. Blood came rushing into his cock and his grip on Asher’s platinum blonde tresses tightened. He liked that; to have them licked and sucked on and twisted, and he was hardly too shy to express it. His cock was quickly growing harder and his breathing became labored, his mind clouding over with sparking desire.

 

This was nice.

 

Rubbing their cocks together was nice. Asher’s tongue poking around his puckered hole once he’d granted him access by rolling over on his stomach was nice. To feel his huge cock rub between his ass cheeks was nice too, and Calum found himself holding his breath in anticipation when suddenly Asher pulled back. Calum frowned, casting an inquisitive glance over his shoulder.

 

”A-asher?”

 

From the corner of his eyes he could see his lover pour something over his fingers. Calum didn’t need an explanation, because moments later he could feel that same thing being applied to his anus, which was followed by the intrusion of Asher’s fingers. Yet unlike what he had gotten used to, almost completely without any of the usual discomfort. Moaning, he eagerly pushed back against them, reveling in the feeling of how smoothly they seemed to move around inside him. When they pushed against his prostate he gasped, grabbing onto the sheets.

 

”Fuck Asher, I want your cock.” Calum groaned wantonly. He wanted to see Asher’s face, so as soon as he felt his lovers fingers pull out, he used the opportunity to flip onto his back, pulling his legs up slightly while spreading his ass cheeks with his hands.

 

Even if he had kind of expected it, Calum still found himself amazed by how smoothly that slippery stuff made even Asher’s huge cock go in, which was a vast improvement over the last couple of times. The oils he had used in the past, and most certainly spit had nothing on this. Whatever it was, he knew he wanted more of it in the future.

 

”Hey baby,” he purred seductively, reaching up to gently place his hand on Asher’s cheek, ”fuck me good, okay?”

[-Hideki-]

Asher raised his eyebrow when Calum outright denied that he had said what he had said and the Xenonian had just made that assumption. He didn’t like that the other was denying what he had clearly done now and hadn’t he had fault himself for having slept with Leif this would have made him mad. “You might not have used the words dirt or trash but that wasn’t even necessary. You did say that I was trash just in other words by what your words implied.” The soldier stated clearly not yielding one bit in this one. He wasn’t going to sit through the other saying it had all been in his head. “Those religious fanatic savages are scum, they are human garbage and you said that if I were to use Hydra or even really intended to use it on those people that I’d be the same as them in your eyes. And the same as them means scum, trash, the lowest piece of shit one can be.” The soldier explained to the brunette who didn’t even seem to understand what he had said to him. “And I have used Hydra before in battle. Not the legendary defeat of Kriegan, I was too young, but I did. And I definitely intended to throw it onto those savages. I don’t anymore... but I did...” the platinum haired man said, his blue eyes meeting the green sad ones of his lover.

 

And then something happened that he had not seen coming. Calum apologised to him. Apologised for having hurt him and Asher took the man’s hand and squeezed it, a mild expression on his face. “I’m sorry as well. For all of this.” He told him and pressed his scarred lips onto the back of the male’s hand. When the other wiped the tears from his face and spoke further though confusion was crossing the Xenonian man’s expression as he listened to the other explain that couples apparently had such fights like they had had all the time. Being asked if he thought that couples like Raja and Nate could even exist if people broke up over disagreements all the time, he titled his head to the side. “I don’t know. No I guess?” he answered, musing. “But I don’t think we broke up over every disagreement either. We were constantly disagreeing. This however was different. You called me garbage after all...” he said and sighed when he heard that he couldn’t just assume that they had broken up after something like that either, that he would have had to tell Calum that they were done and not just consider them done. “I see....” he said. “I’m not good at this you know. This relationship thing. Feelings. People. I don’t really understand it and it’s all highly complicated for me.” The alien man said scratching the scars on his chin that elongated up his face like trails of ivy.

 

He was just glad that Calum didn’t push him away and was letting him touch and kiss him, not only allowing it but returning his affection, kissing and touching him back, encouraging Asher and making his heart race again. The brunette seemed to indulge in his touch and the Xenonian shook his head when the other man remarked that he must look awful. “No. You are stunningly handsome. You could never look awful to me.” He told him and it was clear by the way he said it that he really thought like this and felt like this and the soldier was happy when the other got a little more light hearted again, calling him a dirty devil when he was grabbing the man’s cock and a cheeky grin was playing around Ash’s lips.

 

And Calum just as Asher was soon on fire again and the younger man seemed almost desperate for his cock after he had eaten the other’s arse as if it had been one of those honey cakes and the teasing fingers. And the Colonel’s blood was seething when he heard the man express how he wanted his cock and saw him turn back onto his back, raising his legs, presenting him his arse and spreading the cheeks with his hands, the twitching hole perfectly on display, laid out like an inviting buffet and it made Ash’s dick throb with anticipation before he buried it into the other man, his hard rod spreading the other out and filling his insides.

 

It felt great. Great and relieving to have the tight walls of Calum’s rectum clenching around his thick cock, being inside of him, their bodies connected and close. And he didn’t have to tell him to fuck him good as he was more than eager to do just that. He wanted to conflate with the other, to not be able to feel where his own body ended and the other man’s started, to make them forget all of that shit, to make it seem like only they existed and none of those other things could ever reach them. And when Ash grabbed the other’s legs, throwing them over his shoulder’s raising Calum’s hips up for his dick to be going in even deeper he was starting to thrust in sync with the younger man’s body, his blue eyes looking right into the other man’s as he was hitting his prostate with the first smooth thrusts.

 

But Asher had not previously said he’d fuck him senseless without a reason, he was not only eager to fuck Calum senseless but to lose his own senses in the other man as well and had he started out slowly, stroking Calum’s cock and kissing him while he was sliding in and out, he was soon hammering into the man intensely, hitting that prostate over and over, the pleasure the tightness and the stimulation of the choking muscle that seemingly wanted to devour him making a fever of pleasure and arousal break out in him as he was penetrating the other, their sweaty skin clashing, his balls hitting against the other’s arse making lewd sounds. Asher was panting, his breath was heated and laboured and his mouth slightly gaping still looking into the pleasured face of his lover that only turned him on more, made him more wild and eager in his thrusts.

 

Ash was burning and on his mind there really was nothing else but Calum, their pleasure and the way their bodies were entangled as the soldier switched his position and ankle quite a few times as he was taking the man, making him his completely, wanting to bathe in pleasure together with him. “Calum!” he moaned out his name. “Fuck, yes!” he growled as his dick was clenched so tight that it felt like that hole wanted to squash him when he was ramming his thick cock into the other, hitting that prostate . It was intense! Really intense and the Xenonian had improved in his movements, the swift switch of ankles and positions, not to forget the lubricant which made it go a lot easier, and one thing the experience with Leif definitely had done, improved Ash’s skills. The man had shown him new stuff and he had not been shy at all to direct Asher and take the lead despite being a total bottom so that Calum now benefitted from it sexually as the soldier was doing that on his own now.

 

The man wanted this to be great, to make Calum think he was floating in a heaven of pleasure and he wanted them to get out of this mess closer and stronger than before even. And although the man who was consumed by lust and the pleasure that was rushing through his body was dangling on the edge of orgasm he suppressed it, tried to hold it back because he wanted to cum together with the other. And despite his muscles constricting visibly and the heavy panting and the moaning, the calling, “Shit!” and “Fuck! Calum!” in deep aroused, growls he managed it. He managed to deny himself to cum until the other did. And then he came immediately, there was no holding it when the other man came, the brunette’s muscles were constricting and his cock was choked and milked so intensely that Ash thought it was melting inside of the man and his hips bucked as his cock was twitching hard and filling his lover up with his sperm to the brim.

 

Panting heavily, all strength seeming to vanish out of his body, his mind and head feeling heavy and dizzy he was hanging over the other man, his cock still buried inside of him and he felt reluctant to pull it out, to disconnect their bodies. Hence despite being completely breathless and his head being mush he kissed the other and it was a mess of kiss, it was lewd, it was wet and sloppy due to the gasps for air. When their lips parted he finally pulled his dick out too and he let himself fall to the side onto the mattress and collapsed onto the bed. His body felt too heavy to move, as if it was to sink through the mattress and when he was shifting a little, pulling the young man over to himself, letting his hand run over his chest, slightly rubbing those sexy nipples he liked to play with and he liked to suck on that much, he felt a massive tiredness and exhaustion come over him. This day had defeated him! It had been way too fucking much.

 

The long wait in the line in front of the city, that meeting with Charlie and what it had done to him, then this confession just now... he was done, done with that day and as soon as his heavy eyes closed he fell asleep deeply.

 

 

But when Asher and Calum slept the brothel just started to get lively and Charlie, Miran, Raja and Nate were nowhere near their bedrooms but working. Hence when Ash awoke in the early morning hours, even earlier than back on Xenon, like it was usual at the Myre, blinking his eyes and smiling at the naked brunette man he was holding in his arms everyone else was still asleep.

And that they figured out after having taken a shower and putting on their clothing, ready for the day like they always were just to find the beautiful house with all its art work silent and in darkness. Not even a single whore was sitting at the lounge. That meant that they’d not get any breakfast right now as well and he also had to wait to finally talk to Charlie again about the attack on the Myre.

 

Hence he decided to take Calum’s hand and go for a walk with the man through the only slowly, really slowly awakening streets of the city. It was no comparison to see it in the early morning hours than on midday or every other time of the day really. At the Myre everyone would be heading out to the fields now and in Kalua the shops were still closed and they could only look through the windows at the interesting things that were offered to buy.

 

After their stroll, some hours had passed, there was still no one in the lounge and the ground floor seemed just as asleep as before but Asher thought that it couldn’t be that still no one was up and decided to go and see whether someone was up in the dining hall or not. And when he opened the door the room was indeed pretty much alive. The smell of breakfast was entering his nostrils and the people where sitting around the large white table. However it was completely different than the breakfast atmosphere at the Myre where everyone was ready to work and just grabbing some food to have enough energy for the labour they’d do soon.

 

Charlie and the guys seemed to be unflappable, without a care in the world, relaxing and although they had showered and taken care of their hygiene looking refreshed they were in no way presentable or making the impression of people who’d go to work soon. Raja was sitting there in a white plush bathrobe and a large towel wrapped around the long arse hair of hers, shaking her head about her husband hissing something about “We have guests today you know” eating cereal. And Nate was not wearing a dress but he was wearing outright nothing! Asher’s former trainer was sitting on a chair with his naked arse and his cock - that was unlike Ash’s of a normal size and surrounded by a bush of curly dark hair - dangling free reading Kalua’s newspaper not seeing what the issue with them having guests and him being in the nudes was, he just didn’t want to wear clothing this early in the morning, too restricting. While Charlie was sitting on his boyfriend’s lap, wearing a white silk bathing robe that was open, revealing the tightest underwear Ash had ever seen in a royal blue colour with a rhinestone crown on the arse and his slender chest with the strongly sticking out collar bones and the straw blond, grey, straight chest hair and the trail of hairs that led from it down to his crotch, disappearing in the boxer briefs like a road. Miran was wearing the same bathing robe but it was closed due to the fact that he was for one naked under it and self-conscious about his body and Asher could see both men not only sitting like that but fondling each other while Charlie was taking a bite from his bread and then a gulp from the coffee in his cup. He could see their legs entangled, Miran’s hand rubbing from Charlie’s knee upward and Charlie’s free hand fooling around at Miran’s thigh. This was as different from the Myre as can be and no comparison to the large galleys he had eaten in on Xenon.

 

Charlie turned around to them after he had heard the door opening but the two were not stopping to fondle each other. “Good morning!” he greeted with a wide smile, one side of his face now showing the colours of the rainbow and still being incredibly swollen. “Raja wanted to wake you up but you were already out and about. Seems like you were looking around in the city.” He said. “Come on now, get seated.” He invited them and when Asher was taking a seat at the table next to Calum he realised that Jack was missing. Not only him but this Ren guy wasn’t there too but he was probably at that council who had invited him. But Jack? He should have been up as early as them shouldn’t he? “You know where Jack is?” he asked and Charlie grinned knowingly. “I think he got really lucky last night. Occupying one of my best employees.” The man grinned and Ash didn’t understand at first but then he remembered the guy dressed like an elf. “How was your night?” Charlie asked, wanting to know if they had slept alright in the room.

[Gladis]

Calum swallowed.

 

Suddenly, everything made a lot more sense to him. It was as though suddenly, all of the missing pieces had fallen into place. Of course. Of course that was what it sounded like to Asher. His world view coupled with his own experiences… of course that was how he was how he took it, even if it was not at all what Calum had meant to say. Had he been foolish and naive not to make the connection between Asher and Hydra earlier? Perhaps. And perhaps he should have thought to choose his words more wisely. Perhaps this was just as much his own fault as it had been Ashers.

 

”I’m sorry, Asher.” He croaked again, ”I didn’t… it wasn’t what I meant… I never realized. Oh gods, I’m stupid. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have…”

 

When Asher confessed that he wasn’t good at relationships, feelings and people, Calum couldn’t help but allow a small, sardonic smile to tug at the corners of his lips. ”I know.” He sniffed. ”And I’m probably the least qualified person to teach anyone about these things, ever. I mean, look at me. The only prior experience I have with relationships was a terrible trainwreck that everyone knew was destined to crash and burn from the beginning. But hey, you know what? At least we’ve got each other, right? So let’s be terrible at it together.”

 

Well, at least it felt nice to know that they’d finally made up. Not that he was particularly concerned with any of that when a just a little while later he was laying on his his back, with Asher’s thick, pulsating cock buried deep inside him. All he could think about right then was how fucking good it felt, moaning against Asher’s lips as his lover began to move – first slowly, but he was quickly gaining speed, throwing Calum’s legs over his shoulder while raising him up slightly to achieve a better angle. After that, it seemed the time for slow and gentle lovemaking had passed.

 

Crying out in pure ecstasy when he felt Asher hit against his prostate, he pushed his head into the pillows, his face flushed and his lips parted as moans continued to spill from between them. Calum felt fucking amazing, and unlike at the Myre where he knew his grandmother was next door, he made no effort to hold back his voice. Asher was fucking him relentlessly into the sheets and he loved every second of it, gasping and groaning liberally as wave upon wave of pleasure rippled through him.

 

”Fuck Asher!” He groaned between laboured breaths, ”I swear you’re getting better and better at this every time.”

 

That was no exaggeration. This was, by far, the best sex they’d had to date. And that wasn’t just because of the lube. Asher had improved significantly, and as loathe as Calum was to admit it, he probably had Leif to thank for that.

 

”A-ah, fuck. Fuck me, Asher! Fuck me harder!” He urged as heat began to pool in his stomach, his muscles tightening around Asher as he wrapping his hand around his cock, rubbing it furiously. He wanted to cum. He badly wanted to cum, and he knew that he was close. ”I-I can’t… not for much longer… I’m gonna-”

 

Calum moaned sharply, shuddering as as a wave of intense pleasure rippled through him. And then he came. He came hard, his cock twitching in his hand as sticky white cum splattered across his stomach. He could feel Asher’s cock twitch inside him, filling him up, and for a couple of seconds he was floating in pure and utter bliss. Right then, it was only the two of them and the pleasure they provided one another that mattered. Nothing else, and that was a great relief.

 

Calum was still recovering from his orgasm, his chest heaving and falling rapidly when Asher claimed his lips in a kiss. It was wet and sloppy yet wonderful all the same, and he found himself beaming up at Asher finally pulled out, causing some of the cum to trickle out along with his dick.

 

”Mmm…” he hummed softly as he was pulled up against Asher, leaning up to softly kiss his jaw, ”if this is the kind of sex I get when we’ve made up, maybe we should fight more often.” This, of course, was a complete joke. Calum hated to fight, so if ever it could be avoided, it definitely should. Still, that was his way of complimenting Asher. He certainly deserved it.

 

”Feels good to have you back…” he mumbled sleepily, snuggling up against Asher as his consciousness slowly drifted into oblivion.

 

***

 

It was early in the morning, and Kalua was still very much in the process of waking up. The streets were mostly empty, barring the busy maid scurrying about here, or the mailman delivering letters and newspapers there. Still, it was nice to take in the city like this, and felt considerably less overwhelming than when the streets had been overflowing with people and activity. Besides, Calum wasn’t exactly difficult to please. Exploring the sunbathed streets of Kalua during the early morning hours with Asher was a perfectly pleasant activity, and he found himself feeling almost as happy and giddy as he had the day before.

 

It was a feeling that lingered even after they had returned to the brothel, though the smell of food and the gazillion other impressions that assaulted him the moment they set foot in the dining hall did a good job of distracting him from it.

 

Clearly Kalua, or at least this little corner of it, was very different from the Myre. Not that the villagers were particularly stressed out or anything, but this was a very different kind of leisurely atmosphere. You wouldn’t see people fondling each other at the breakfast table (at least not around guests), or casually flipping through the newspaper while wearing… absolutely nothing. Although, Calum supposed the latter should probably be ascribed to Nate’s Xenonian upbringing, rather than their current locale. Or perhaps it was a combination of the two. Either way it made him grateful for the fact that Asher at least seemed to possess some degree of common sense. As terrible as he thought he was at reading people and understanding their ways, he certainly seemed to be doing a better job than Nate.

 

A slight yet friendly smile tugged at the corners of Calum’s lips when he pulled out the chair next to Asher’s.

 

”Good morning.” He said, nodding his head. ”We took a wee walk ’round the city centre. It was nice, but a lot quieter than you’d expect. I’m sure that by the time we were out and about, the entire Myre would’ve already been working the fields and tending to the animals. It’s kind of like Kalua has it’s own, entirely different rhythm than the countryside.”

 

Reaching for a slice of bread and some butter, he paused when Asher asked where Jack was. Right. Their womanizing companion wasn’t with them. Calum had been so distracted by everything going on around them that he’d almost failed to notice. It was very much like Asher to have payed attention, however, and no sooner had he asked the question before Charlie gave them the only answer they needed.

 

Unable to suppress a sigh, Calum raked a hand through his hair. That was just typical of him, wasn’t it? Although he had no issues with Jack experimenting around, doing it at a fancy brothel when they were very much on a budget… well… ”Speak of the devil.” He mused, rather sardonically, when right at that moment Jack appeared atop the staircase, wearing a sunny grin and blush dusted across his cheeks. Clearly, someone had been enjoying themselves last night. He looked terribly pleased with himself, like someone who felt like they’d just conquered the world. That was until Calum, suddenly and ruthlessly dropped his realization upon him – like a boulder to the head.

 

”Say Charlie,” he mused, pinning the middle aged brothel owner with his emerald green gaze, ”how much do you charge for a night with one of your best employees?”

 

As though someone had flipped a switch, every ounce of color suddenly seemed to drain from Jack’s features and he froze. When he finally did speak, his voice came out as no more than high pitched squeak.

 

”Charge?!”

[-Hideki-]

Three male voices sounded simultaneously through the large dining hall: “There is no such thing as a devil!” Asher, Nate and Charlie spoke and one could see Raja pressing her fingers against the bridge of her nose when Miran laid his head onto Charlie’s shoulder. “”You’re right, there is not but this is still merely an expression and I know that you know by now.” he reminded his Xenonian lover who nodded. “Maybe but old habits die hard.” He explained before they turned to see ‘the devil’ in the persona of the blond pretty-boy entering the room with a wide smirk on his lips and a body language that exuded self-satisfaction and bliss and everyone around the table knew as to why this was, there had been no client of Louis who’d not have shone as bright as a star walking out of his room.

 

Asher noted that Jack looked a lot more satisfied and like a conqueror compared to when he had slept with those women. The guy must have been a lot better at it apparently. Were women generally not as good at sex? The Xenonian asked himself and he too asked himself if it was fine to ask Jack a few questions about this topic as he was kinda curious where the difference was in sleeping with a chick and with a dude and Jack could now answer this question for him. The soldier never got to decide whether he could ask this without the Earth people being weird about it though since Calum was quicker and he saw his lover turning towards Charlie in a way that was rather smug as the Colonel didn’t fail to notice asking the owner of the brothel how much he charged for a night with one of his best employees.

 

The straw blond man smiled at Calum and in a honey sweet tone of voice said:”600 in gold.” With a wide grin that was not less satisfied than Jack’s had been when he had entered the room, just that Jack’s expression now froze and he went chalk white. “It might sound much considering it’s the monthly rent of a middle class apartment in Kalua but he not only slept with the same man Kalua’s prince regularly cheats on his wife with, he even occupied Aldric’s services the entire evening and night.” The man explained. “Don’t forget the sales taxes hun!” Miran reminded him. “Yes, what did I ever do without you?” Charlie thanked his boyfriend who dryly answered:”Less money!” what was true. Charlie had been a decent businessman before, he had come to wealth and influence but Miran’s talent and knowledge about the financial system of Kalua had benefitted the business greatly and it was flourishing even more. “600 in gold plus taxes!” the former scientist corrected.

 

When they heard Jack stuttering the word charge as if he had just been hit by a car Charlie turned towards him, the sweet cheerful smile still on his lips, as he raised from his lover’s lap, made a step towards Jack and reached out his open hand” Exactly handsome!” he confirmed and repeated “600 in gold plus taxes” another time. Asher was watching the scene curiously, as if it was a theatre play and he wanted to know what was to happen next. That kind of interaction he had never witnessed before after all, so it was exciting. While he was excited to know how this would play out further the door went open another time and in strolled a man in a white silk pyjama with golden letters stitched onto the chest and a sleeping hat on his black hair, everything else but presentable and apparently he had had not even seen the bathroom that morning yet either.

 

“Simon!” Charlie greeted and the man yawned.”You’re awake, that’s a surprise that early in the morning.” The blond remarked and Asher wanted to say something about how this was not early when Simon leaned his head into his neck. “…Ya…Raja hammered against my door and threatened that I’d not get breakfast if I won’t get up today.” The man explained his presence and no one seemed to be surprised about this now. Raja narrowed her eyes and screwed up her nose though crossing her arms in front of her busty chest:” Because you always oversleep, appear some time during midday and demand food. If you want to eat get up like everyone else. And how do you even look. You didn’t even care to shower!” she reprimanded the sleepy head and Simon looked at her unimpressed and tiredly. “How am I supposed to shower and get up to make it before you have finished breakfast at the same time though? It can’t be both.” He stated as though that was a law of nature or something.

 

Then the new arrival noticed Jack standing there in the middle of the room and how the handsome male’s face looked and the Xenonian IT-specialist waved his hand in front of the strange guys face. “What’s with him? Why does he look as though his system went down?” he wanted to know and Miran answered him. “It seems to have slipped his mind that if one makes use of a service one has to pay for said service.” And Simon’s sleepy, tired face turned understanding. “Ahhh, don’t I know it! Don’t know it well! I still forget that sometimes.” The Xenonian admitted as he had, unlike Charlie, never gotten quite used to the whole money thing. Hence he patted Jack’s shoulder collegially and uplifting. “It happens! Not that big of a deal bro!” he found and Miran chuckled before he spoke once more. “He owes Charlie 600 in gold plus taxes.” He informed Simon whose smile died off instantly and he looked at the pretty-boy empathetically. “You’re screwed man! You’re seriously screwed!” he said squeezing his shoulder. “Farewell mate, farewell!” the IT guy told him as if Jack was to be done for and they’d never meet again taking place next to Calum.

[Gladis]

Sixhundred.

 

Sixhundred in gold.

 

Sixhundred in gold, plus taxes.

 

If Jack hadn’t already looked flabbergasted enough before, he certainly did now. Perhaps not particularly surprising, when you put into perspective that 600 gold was more than the entire Myre made in a year. Most of the villagers, barring perhaps Lydia who hailed from a wealthy noble family, and Louise the merchant, had never even seen that much money in one place. As Calum had explained to Asher before, they weren’t exactly huge on exporting their produce to other parts of the country. If they had something to trade, they would usually do it for the product or service they needed directly. It was a primitive system, but for them at least, it worked. Of course, that didn’t mean they didn’t make any money at all. The fact that Calum carried a purse filled with coins around with him was proof enough of that. It did however mean that most of the Myre’s wealth did not come in the form of shiny metal pieces, but rather the land they lived on.

 

So to someone like Jack, 600 pieces of gold alone sounded like an absolutely impossible sum. Calum too was taken aback by the number. He had expected it to be expensive, but not that expensive. Although his face did not go pale as a sheet like Jack’s had, his mouth fell slightly ajar, and he found himself wondering if he’d misheard. Unfortunately though, that seemed not to be the case.

 

”B-but…” Jack stammered out meekly, not even quite seeming to notice Simon, who’s reaction to finding out their predicament did little to set neither him nor Calum at ease. Beads of sweat were gathering on his forehead as he continued to stare blankly ahead. ”but… I’m completely and utterly broke.”

 

Calum paused, a slight frown creasing his forehead. Something didn’t add up. Even if Jack didn’t have the kind of money Charlie was asking for, he shouldn’t have been broke.

 

”Jack… what happened to your money?”

 

”I-I...uhm...well…remember the lass that stole our travel documents? T-that may not have been the only thing she took.”

 

”By the gods, Jack!” Calum exclaimed, slamming his hand against the table surface as he flew to his feet, causing his chair to topple over in the process. It fell with a bang. ”And you’re telling us this now?!”

 

”W-well…” he started, nervously fidgeting with the sleeve of his shirt as his gaze dropped to the floor in embarrassment and shame. ”You got so angry about the travel documents, so I-”

 

”I can’t believe this.” Groaned Calum, pinching the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut. ”I seriously can’t believe this!”

 

Laughing nervously, Jack rubbed the back of his head, putting on one of his most charming smiles as he turned towards Charlie with a pleading look. ”I… I’m sure we can work this out somehow, right?”

[-Hideki-]

Judging by Simon’s reaction, the sweat that was starting to glister on Jack’s face and his lover’s stare and dropped jaw 600 in gold plus whatever those tax things were had to be a damn lot of this money. And it was pretty clear that Jack would not be able to afford the service he had made use of and it made Ash curious to find out how this would be handled now. What happened if one didn’t have the money one owed to someone else? To him it was interesting and fascinating enough that he was completely unaffected by his companions worry or the whole issue.

 

And while Asher tried to understand what it meant when Jack confessed to the business owner that he was utterly broke Charlie understood immediately and although his smile didn’t change his eyes flashed up sharply. “That is... well... suboptimal my friend.” He stated. “You should have considered that before you have made use of our first class services that usually merely the highest class of nobles book. You have a responsibility for yourself and your finances.” The middle aged man said then turning to Calum when he heard the brunette man second guess the information of the handsome young man being broke.

 

What they all heard then confirmed the impression Charlie had already gotten of Jack as reckless and headless. The man was apparently not thinking things through before he acted. “I see a pattern here.” Miran remarked thinking the same thing his boyfriend did when he heard the story with the woman who stole not only the travel documents but also the money. “

 

“What a hassle.” Simon remarked as he bit into a grotesque sandwich with honey, chicken, cream and cucumber. “With robots and technology you’ll never have such an issue. A robot won’t steal from you nor will it charge you for pleasing you and you can program it just to your liking so it will cater to your individual needs.” The man who had been an IT specialist and programmer of artificial intelligence told them. “If you had consulted me I could have programmed one of my inventions for you for half the price and you’d have had it for eternity.” The man said and Raja snorted something about how Simon was usually just using his inventions on himself more than he was selling the stuff. Granted, this might also have to do with how the Earthlings were a lot more distrusting of robots and technology than Xenonian’s who were born in artificial wombs, had chips implanted into their bodies and were interconnected with robots and technology from their birth on but Simon actually had started all of this when he had been confronted with his sex drive without the device and it had been his first impulse to experiment with technology to satisfy his own needs. The man had never had the urge to sleep with an actual person but he had used all kinds of things on himself and had banged robots and he was wanking with the frequency of a teenager. It wasn’t even possible to tell whether he was into men or women though as he had never desired someone else before.

 

What the IT guy said made Asher wonder what kind of technology this was since the only thing he knew was the device and the device wasn’t exactly pleasurable in the same way stimulating his cock was. His attention was turned back to Jack and Charlie though when the blond man pleaded that there had to be a way to work this out somehow, looking from the younger blond to the older blond.

 

 

Charles grinned, his blue eyes roaming over Jack watching him up and down. “’Work might be the keyword here.” The businessman said. “If you don’t have the money you owe me, you gotta work off your depts.” He told him. And there would be some ways to do just that. However how quickly the depts would be worked off would depend on what work Jack was ready to do.

[Gladis]

Okay, so that could have gone worse. Or better, depending on how one decided to look at it.

 

The good news was that there definitely seemed to be a solution to the problem. The bad news were that Jack wasn’t terrible fond of where Charlie was leading the conversation. The way the older man looked him over kind of made him feel like he was being seized up for dinner. Or worse -- business, which when he thought about it, was probably exactly what he was doing. Jack swallowed. In his head he could already see himself writing a letter addressed at his parents:

 

Dear mum and mother,

 

Unfortunately I will not be able to come home any time soon. I fucked up big-time, and now I owe a crazy man in sparkling speedos a fortune. Until I have worked off my debt, he plans on keeping me hostage.

 

However, there is no need for you to worry. I’m in good hands… I think.

 

Love,

Jack

 

PS. Mother, remember when someone broke your precious vase? That… uh… might have been me. I’m very sorry!

 

PPS. Tell mum not to overfeed the cats.

 

Yeah, no, that wouldn’t go over well with them. Lydia especially would throw a fit when she found out. Well, either that or contact her family for help, which was an equally terrifying thought. Last time they’d talked, they hadn’t exactly parted on good terms, and he had a hard time seeing it end any differently this time either. Sure, Jack may have been an idiot, but when he did mess up (which was fairly often) he preferred not to drag people he cared for into it (unless it was inevitable, like with the travel documents).

 

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Calum pick his chair back up while giving that Simon guy an odd glance. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but that seems kind of gross.” Jack couldn’t be sure whether Calum meant the sexbots or Simon’s monstrosity of a sandwich, or perhaps both. He wasn’t paying attention. All he could see was Charlie’s golden grin, which no longer seemed quite as harmless as it had when they first met. To be fair, all of this was kind of his own fault. And… there were probably worse people you could be indebted to...right? Right?

 

“Uh-uhm… okay...” he said numbly, still looking as pale as a sheet as he ran a nervous hand through his golden locks. Most of them seemed to have come loose from his usual ponytail -- perfectly encapsulating how he was feeling right at that moment. “Work… yeah… I can do that, I think. W-what kind of work are we talking?”

[Gladis]

Okay, so that could have gone worse. Or better, depending on how one decided to look at it.

 

The good news was that there definitely seemed to be a solution to the problem. The bad news were that Jack wasn’t terrible fond of where Charlie was leading the conversation. The way the older man looked him over kind of made him feel like he was being seized up for dinner. Or worse -- business, which when he thought about it, was probably exactly what he was doing. Jack swallowed. In his head he could already see himself writing a letter addressed at his parents:

 

Dear mum and mother,

 

Unfortunately I will not be able to come home any time soon. I fucked up big-time, and now I owe a crazy man in sparkling speedos a fortune. Until I have worked off my debt, he plans on keeping me hostage.

 

However, there is no need for you to worry. I’m in good hands… I think.

 

Love,

Jack

 

PS. Mother, remember when someone broke your precious vase? That… uh… might have been me. I’m very sorry!

 

PPS. Tell mum not to overfeed the cats.

 

Yeah, no, that wouldn’t go over well with them. Lydia especially would throw a fit when she found out. Well, either that or contact her family for help, which was an equally terrifying thought. Last time they’d talked, they hadn’t exactly parted on good terms, and he had a hard time seeing it end any differently this time either. Sure, Jack may have been an idiot, but when he did mess up (which was fairly often) he preferred not to drag people he cared for into it (unless it was inevitable, like with the travel documents).

 

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Calum pick his chair back up while giving that Simon guy an odd glance. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but that seems kind of gross.” Jack couldn’t be sure whether Calum meant the sexbots or Simon’s monstrosity of a sandwich, or perhaps both. He wasn’t paying attention. All he could see was Charlie’s golden grin, which no longer seemed quite as harmless as it had when they first met. To be fair, all of this was kind of his own fault. And… there were probably worse people you could be indebted to...right? Right?

 

“Uh-uhm… okay...” he said numbly, still looking as pale as a sheet as he ran a nervous hand through his golden locks. Most of them seemed to have come loose from his usual ponytail -- perfectly encapsulating how he was feeling right at that moment. “Work… yeah… I can do that, I think. W-what kind of work are we talking?”

 

“Eh guys?” Before Jack could receive the more than obvious answer, Calum decided to step in. After all, as important as Jack’s debt to to Charlie might have seemed to some individuals of the present assembly, they had some considerably more urgent matters to discuss -- such as the growing threat from the south, and how to best deal with it. “Not to be a party pooper and ruin your more than well deserved moment in the spotlight, Jack-”

 

It was a remark that earned Calum a perhaps equally well deserved scathing look from his best friend. It was as though the accusatory gleam in his blue eyes was saying: Thanks man! I really appreciate your obvious sympathy for my plight.

 

Calum flat out ignored him. “-but isn’t there a slightly more pressing issue we should be discussing? Like… I don't know, villages being burned and raided?"

[-Hideki-]

Asher looked at his lover with a questioning look when he said it was disgusting. He had not caught up on the fact there was something odd with Simons combination of food and the using of technology for sexual purposes seemed natural to him. The device had been that. Sex had been deemed something medical and the device a medical technological product that interacted with the brain to make them orgasm. And from that standpoint on the idea of someone having sex with robots or using technology for pleasure was not far away at all. “What do you find gross abou....” he wanted to ask but was cut off by Simon.

 

“Your face is gross dude.” He said to Calum not sounding infantile for a man in his forties at all. “There is nothing gross neither about robots nor about programming them to follow your every wish. They are much more convenient than humans too. They are what you want them to be. They always want what you want. They never complain, they are never too tired and they don’t have any demands themselves.” The man said. “I’d not want to deal with some nagging hag or a pervert like Charlie.” Simon made clear and sideeyed the brothel owner but the man was busy with Jack who wanted to know what kind of work he was speaking about.

 

Charlie made a step to Jack’s side and laid his arm around his shoulders pulling him against his side. “What kind of work depends on how quickly you want to work off your depts pretty.” He answered in a suggestive tone of voice that basically said to earn the money offering the service he had spent it on. Thing was, though Jack was a handsome man no one would pay 600 in gold plus taxes for one night with him but Charlie still saw a certain potential in him.

 

He abruptly let go of the man though and floated over to the table when Calum reminded about the threat to the Myre, his silky bathing robe waving through the air. The man sat down next to his boyfriend Miran pulled his plate over to himself. “Right. That was what we wanted to discuss.” He said and mused but Asher was already speaking. “We need to find a solution for this!” he determinedly stated and he realised that this would be the oddest kinds of conference he had ever taken part in and that it’d be nothing like the dozens of conferences he had attended on Xenon.

 

“True.” Charlie agreed. “But this solution should not include Hydra or any form of the complete extermination of an entire ethnicity.” And that was when Ash saw that it was definitely not going like on Xenon. “Tell me this though, if we won’t kill them all the solution can never be ultimate and the threat can always reappear and the same problem return.” The soldier said because this was one thing he didn’t quite understand about this. He understood that maybe Xenon’s actions had been gruesome to a degree but he couldn’t see what the alternative to this solution was, this solution written in the Hordes of Evil.... and then he remembered what Charlie had said about the emperors books and how they compared to religious scriptures and he didn’t feel confident to find an adequate solution anymore, he felt unequipped for it, like all he had learned his entire life was not what he should use and apply right now.

 

“That is true. Defending the Myre in another way my not be final.” The inventor of Hydra said. “The idea is to defend the Myre and to then change the fundament though. To change the relations, the dynamics and to make something else replace the hostility! Trade! Exchange! Cooperation! To name a few examples.” Charles explained and to Asher it was absurd. It sounded ridiculous. Like a bad joke. “We defeat disgusting savages and are than supposed to work with them? To rebuild them instead of taking what is ours as the victor and giving them the final shot? That’s idiotic!” he found.

 

“It’s smart and actually more beneficial in the long run.” Miran said. “They might become your ally.” He added and Asher looked at the man as if he was idiotic too. “Yeah, right. Enemies become allies. What do you need allies for anyway?” he mumbled into his scars and Miran sighed deeming it hopeless to talk to Asher.

 

Charlie who had taken a bite from his bread and was swallowing waved it off. “Anywayyyyy....” he said. “I personally can’t offer you troops and arms to begin with. Simon might be able to program some robots and machines to assist you, we could raise money to build a defence, a wall or something, and I could offer you sleeping drugs or other such means but that’s it.” The former scientist said. “What I can do...” He started. “Is to offer medical treatment to your people and troops and to use my influence I have on the royal family and some members of the council. However I don’t have any ties to the chevaliers and the troops and their influence on the council is stronger than mine for certain.” He told them. “And they’ll need to be convinced.” Charlie let them know and Asher looked everything but thrilled.

 

“How will talking to that king of yours help then if he basically doesn’t have any power to decide anything without that council anyway? What is he needed for? He’s a joke then isn’t he.” Asher complained looking grumpy , his arms crossed in front of his chest. “He is there to control the council and the council is there to control the king. And he has representative tasks to do...”Charlie explained he wanted to get back on track but Asher was barking:”Bullshit!” between his words what made Charlie roll his eyes in exhaustion.

 

“Thank you for this productive input.” The straw blond remarked sarcastically and then turned to Calum choosing to ignore Asher who reminded him of Nate in his first five or so years on Earth a lot. “Fortunately, I know just someone who has, let’s say ‘familiar’ connection to the head of the armed forces of Kalua and the commander of the city guard. “ he said and his blue eyes looked into Miran’s who defensively fidgeted with his glasses. “NO!” he protested and Charlie leaned over to him, making wide puppy eyes placing his chin of the book-keepers shoulder.

 

“Yes. We need them. This young man’s village is on the line. If they invaded the North it would be much worse than us visiting your parents!” he said and Miran turned his face into the opposite direction. “You’re not cute you just look ridiculous old man and I’m not so sure of it, I think I rather take the savages over my family.” He said and Charlie sighed.

 

Knowing his boyfriend’s parents he knew that they weren’t the most pleasant people. They treated Miran like a failure, one of Miran’s brothers and him didn’t even talk as they hated each other because this ox had said that he was the ultimate disgrace to the family being not only a cripple but also a faggot and that he wished he’d be thrown from a cliff and he’d personally thank the one who did it, while his twin brother was the only one who was remotely nice or rather, not an arsehole, to him.

 

They also were less than fond of Charlie and they showed him how much they disapproved of him and how much they hated him every time they saw him. Sometimes they even pretended that he didn’t exist when they didn’t screw up their noses at him in disgust or called him a perverted freak and a ridiculous excuse for a man. So he wasn’t exactly thrilled to see them either, although he hadn’t given up yet, for Miran’s sake, because he loved him and because he wanted things to get different although Miran himself did not believe in any progress with his family.

 

The scientist gone artist took Miran’s face between his hands and turned it towards himself. “Sweetie! We don’t have to stay long. We just have to convince them that it is necessary to send troops and help building whatever is needed. A visit at your parent’s place might save dozens of lives.” He argued and Miran pulled his face out of Charles’s grip. “Fine. Have it your way.” He reluctantly granted. “But it’s gonna be your fault if I’m gonna be depressed and empty laying around for a month or so. My family destroys all joy, all happiness and all hope one has within oneself.” He said and Charlie smiled. “I’m gonna lighten up your mood if I’m not gonna be depressed too.” He promised.

 

“You know what is great!” the Xenonian said to the other. “I already gave Konrad a letter yesterday night to let them know that we’ll pay them a visit in this afternoon.” He smiled innocently but Miran’s face darkened and he looked as if he wanted to slaughter him and his hands reached out, grabbed Charlie’s nipples and pinched them, pinched them violently. “Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!” the man made but the other wasn’t letting go of him. “You little shit!” Miran hissed. Yes, that was most definitely different than any conference on Xenon had ever been.

[Gladis]

Ouch.

 

Okay, so maybe Calum deserved that burn. He had no right to comment on other people’s preferences. Even if said preferences were inanimate objects that people like Calum mostly associated with the hulking, terribly destructive killing machines of times past. The Myre’s knowledge on high tech appliances wasn’t exactly well rounded, as Asher had already been subject to finding out. Simon’s elaboration on the matter hardly contributed to making him any wiser.

 

Sure, he understood the sentiment, but as far as Calum was concerned that kind of seemed to defeat the point of sex. Then again, he supposed that depended entirely on what one wanted out of it. If all he cared for was to indulge in his carnal desires, then a machine the way Simon had described it would do just fine. To Calum, it was more than that. Without the emotional connection he had to Asher, for example, he just didn’t think it would be the same.

 

“You know,” he told Simon, “the way you’re putting it kind of reminds me of this old story nan’ used to tell me. It’s about a man who wasn’t attracted to real people, so he fashioned his perfect partner out of clay.” Calum paused, a slight frown creasing his forehead as he rubbed the back of his head. “Although maybe that’s a bad comparison. If I’m not terribly mistaken, things ended kind of badly for him.”

 

Meanwhile Jack was trying very hard not to panic. On the one hand, the thought of getting paid for having sex sounded awesome. On the other, the prospect kind of terrified him, because he was pretty sure it’d be rather different from what he was used to. Stumbling backwards, he found himself dramatically slumping into a chair, resting the back of his hand against his forehead.

 

“The gods have forsaken me!” he cried at the ceiling. If ever he did manage to pay off his debt, maybe Jack should consider going into acting. He sure seemed to have a talent for it.

 

Calum arched an eyebrow, folding his arms across his chest and huffed. “Jack, don’t blame the gods for your mistakes. Besides, it… it’s not that bad, is it? You get to indulge in your favourite activity, and people will even pay you for it.” Of course, Jack wouldn’t get the money, Charlie would. However, Calum didn’t think reminding him of that would help cheer him up. Suppressing a soft sigh, he rose from his seat and headed over to Jack, laying a gentle hand on his friends shoulder. His friend blinked up at him.

 

“Well… when you put it like that…” Jack said, begrudgingly.

 

“Besides,” continued Calum, cutting him off, “You’re an excellent fiddler, and one of the absolutely best storytellers I know. You’re so much more than just a pretty face, Jack. You’re a bona fide entertainer. I’m sure that has to count for something… right, Charlie?” He glanced up to catch the gaze of their host, as if telling him that this wasn’t just any idiot he had in his debt. It was an idiot with many talents. Talents that could prove to be useful -- especially if Jack ended up deciding that he really hated the idea of working as a prostitute.

 

“My mother will kill me when she finds out.” Jack sniffed in exasperation and defeat, only confirming what Calum had already suspected. Jack’s fear of letting down his mothers, and Lydia especially, was the real issue here -- not a fear of losing his dignity. Perhaps because he had a fairly small sense of dignity to begin with.

 

Calum opened his mouth, as though he wanted to say something, but then closed it again. He couldn’t exactly contest Jack’s statement, knowing Lydia as well as he did. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad…” he tried, although he wasn’t sure whom he was trying to convince.

 

“No, she will kill me.” Jack repeated firmly, rising from his seat as he turned towards Charlie. For once he wasn’t smiling, or grinning, or even looking particularly nervous. His expression was serious, his voice steady and business-like. “But if there is one thing she has taught me, it’s that every debt must be repaid. I will work for you, Charlie, lest the honor of my family will suffer. However, I demand that terms of our contract be clear and precise. I want to know exactly what I’m getting myself into.”

 

It was unusual to see Jack this serious. Even more so to see him maintain that calm and professional demeanor throughout their next conversation. Then again, this hardly seemed like the time for sillness and jokes. The future of the Myre was on the line, and Jack better than anyone knew how it felt to lose one's home.

 

Once more they gathered around the breakfast table, listening to Charlie, Miran and Asher’s back and forth. It was a relief that for once, Calum didn’t have to do the explaining. Especially considering he was pretty terrible at it. He and Asher both had such a predisposition to get hung up on details and make things sound infinitely more complicated than they really are. If they had been expected to handle this on their own, chances were they’d never have come to a solution.

 

“Okay, so the council will need convincing.” This much Calum had already figured out before they’d made it to Kalua. Sure, he didn’t completely understand how the system worked, but he knew that the council held a lot of power and influence. If there was a problem, usually they were the ones to talk to. Since, like most of the surrounding towns and villages the Myre was also paying taxes to Kalua, he knew that city had a certain responsibility to protect their community. He just didn’t know to what extent that was supposed to be. Suddenly… Calum felt very disqualified to be having this conversation. He wasn’t even on the village council. It would have been good to have someone who was with them. Like Sasha… or Lydia.

 

“I think, one of our biggest problem is that we don’t really understand the threat we’re dealing with. Yes, we know that recently a couple of villages have been burned down and raided by invaders from the south. I’m sure the high council will already be aware of this. What we don’t know is who they are, where they’re from and… even why they’re here. For all we know they could just be bandits acting on their own, or they could be part of a larger operation. Or… we just don’t know. Then again, it’s entirely possible that the Kaluan council already knows more about all of this than we do.” sighing, he raked his hand through his messy brown hair. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that it seems difficult to construct a convincing argument around an enemy that’s just a bunch of question marks. All we have to work with right now is rumors, which frankly… isn’t great.”

 

“Well,” said Jack, folding his arms across his chest as he pondered their situation, “maybe our best course of action would be to seek out witnesses and survivors who can vouch for our cause? It ain’t perfect but it’d give us somethin’ at least.” He nodded to himself in such a self-gratulatory manner, that Calum almost felt like punching him.

 

“Hmm…” he hummed, every inch of his expression lined with obvious skepticism, “your idea ain’t terrible per se, but how do you suppose we’d manage to round up witnesses in the span of just a few hours?” Calum nodded in the direction of Miran and Charlie, who was just in the process of getting his nipples violently pinched, “our appointment is apparently right this afternoon.”

 

Jack’s expression went blank in an instant. “Oh right. I forget about that.”

 

Suppressing a sigh, Calum turned his attention back to the owner of this establishment. “Charlie, Miran… clearly you know the people we’ll be seeing. What do you reckon we’d have to do to convince them?”

[-Hideki-]

Simon narrowed his eyebrows when he heard Calum say something about a story containing a man who had not been attracted to real people, had made his ‘perfect partner’ out of clay what apparently hadn’t ended well for the man. The Xenonian IT-specialist took off his sleeping hat and leaned over a little to get his face closer to Calum his expression not lighting up one bit. “That’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard someone say.” He stated. “Clay! Perfect partner! It’s not comparable in the slightest.” The man said. “A piece of clay doesn’t possess artificial intelligence, it can’t interact with you according to how you have programmed it’s personality to be, it doesn’t have personality, nor will it be able to give you sexual pleasure.” Simon stated. “Robotic and items that are used to precisely stimulate you the way you like aren’t just a piece of clay, nor are simple gadgets designed for pleasure that can also be used by couples a means to create a perfect partner or any partner at all. Maybe an android comes close to a designed partner but I don’t see why this is supposedly bad. Artificial intelligence, robots and machines assist humans in almost every field everyday constantly, we better ourselves with technology. They do jobs, they in some cases make decisions or help with the decision making process, technology can be integrated into our bodies, save our lives or put us on a higher level of evolution, even your primitive society uses primitive technology and tools in your everyday life, why should using them for sex and pleasure be gross or any different than using them as a means of transportation or in combat or for cooking dinner? There is no difference. Sex and sexual pleasure is an essential part of most people’s lives too.” He explained, leaned back against the rest of his chair and took a bite from his sandwich before the man from a society that however totalitarian and authoritarian it was, was also transhumanistic and incredibly progressive in a sense, where artificial didn’t mean worse than biological or fake but was often seen as an improvement to biology and nature, spoke again, a grin forming on his pale face with the dark circles around his eyes.

 

“What you just said or compared it to shows me that you judged without having any idea of what it is you’re judging as gross though, that you have no understanding and knowledge about it whatsoever. And you know what judging something without understanding it, without being informed about it is? Stupidity and ignorance!” Simon pointed out. “I hope you’ll never get to work where elaborate thinking and researching is required. In my field, in science, and it doesn’t even matter if it’s technology, physics, biology or medicine, stupidity, close mindedness and ignorance are the worst enemy. No one who judges without knowledge and understanding, someone ignorant with predefined gut based and emotional impulse based opinions on subjects will ever be a decent scientist.” The man with the short, pressed flat from the sleeping hat, hair said the grin now getting slightly smug. “That’s why I am the scientist, a specialist for information technology and artificial intelligence who worked in the tower of technology for the longest part of my life before I stranded here and you are….well, let’s put it that way, I could put together machines that’d replace your whole work field in no time if I had the resources to build them.”

 

“Enough.” Asher interfered, slamming his fist onto the table but Simon didn’t even blink. “Have you become sensitive to the truth soldier? Do you want to shield that ignorant youth from it?” he asked provokingly. “I’ve got news for you: You hold no authority here! I don’t fear you, muscle head!” the man said and right now he seemed to be truly awake and not half asleep anymore while Asher was taken aback. “What did you… You just called me …. Muscle head….?” He stuttered and slowly the confusion was overtaken by anger what was to see on the Colonel’s face.

 

Charlie’s blue eyes that shone like the raw material used for hydra, well, maybe not that intensely and glowingly, saw how defeated Jack apparently was when he cried out that the gods had forsaken him. Well, the debts had to be paid off but that didn’t mean that he was happy about the pretty-boy’s desperation, hence he laid his hand onto the man’s arm and patted it. “There are no gods, so no one has forsaken you.” He said in a means to cheer the other up but it didn’t seem to work so he decided to leave that part to the man’s friend instead since the brunette was apparently better at it than he was. The businessman only spoke again when he was addressed by Calum who had previously listed what kind of entertaining qualities the blond man had and that this had to count for something. “An entertainer I can make use of, yes. There are feasts, orgies and galas I organise and entertainers such as musicians are requested and needed there. But their wages are lower than those of the brothel staff and there isn’t such an event every day. Taking this into account it will probably take a long time to pay off the debts by working as an entertainer and years if playing the fiddle and telling stories is all you’ve got. My clients expect more from the performers at their feasts, they are men with rather highbrow tastes if you understand.” He replied honestly.

 

What followed was Jack and Calum rambling about the man’s mother who would apparently kill him and that family stuff didn’t exactly interest Charlie so he looked towards Asher who looked at Simon as if he wanted to stuff the IT-guys head into the toilet or pull his boxers up and throw him into the rubbish bin. The father of the disgraceful child Hydra shook his head and turned back around just in the moment Jack was turning to him in a serious but considerably less self-pitying and nervous manner, saying that he’d work for him although the honour of his family would get stained but that he demanded a precise contract where they’d work out what exactly he’d do and get himself into and what not. “Of course.” Charlie nodded. “We will sit down together and work it out in detail. I’m not a slave owner. You decide what you’re ready to do and what not. But that also determines how much you’ll be paid and hence how quickly you’ll be free of debt of course.” The brothel owner explained neutrally and clearly before his expression turned serious and maybe a little like an old wise man who had seen a lot already in his life despite the fact that he was not a senior but a middle aged man.

 

“One thing though, forget whatever you’ve heard about honour and how what you’re doing will interfere with said honour.” He started. “The concept of honour is overrated and useless in itself. Let me tell you, as a man from a society where concepts like honour and pride, living to honour the nation, honour the emperor, was considered one of the most vital parts of life, that it holds no worth at all. What is considered to stain the honour of the nation or a family is highly subjective and random, so is what is considered honourable to begin with. My contribution, Hydra, it was considered honourable by my nation. Questioning, going against the will of Eugene Rochfort was considered dishonourable. Honour, dignity, it doesn’t actually exist factually. It’s made up by rulers, cultures, ideologies and societies to judge people based on its determined standards, to keep them from breaking out of line, from making themselves free from it, to shame them if they dare to do.” He paused. “Who says what kind of work is dishonourable? Those people working for me, Aldric, Louis, Sara, they do honest work; they offer a service like any other service. They contribute to society, their contribution and acknowledging and allowing this business, it helps to reduce crime for instance. Why would anyone say they have no honour or dignity? People say my business is shady, that it is not honourable and disgraceful...” he told him. “But I don’t see how it would be. I’m not doing anything that would violate my own ethos, my understanding of morale, of right and wrong and as long as you do nothing that you violates your own ethics, your own understanding of what is right and what is wrong you have not lost your honour or dignity, nor put a stain on your families name because you did nothing wrong or shameful, your honour, pretending for a moment that there is such a thing, and dignity will stay intact.” Charlie said. “I on the other hand have lost my dignity; I have none of it left. Not because I run a brothel, or because I get off on being manhandled and spanked, what I do, but because I went against my own nature and ethics as I worked for the Xenonian weapon industry and government. I did many things that were undignified, but were considered honourable on my planet and many Xenonian scientists and doctors, especially doctors have lost their dignity in that way too, by going against their natural inclination and ethos.” The blond man ended with a sigh.

 

As they were discussing what to do to help the Myre Asher listened; he didn’t say anything though, feeling as though anything he’d contribute would be met with outrage again. Especially considering that his initially idea of getting more information on those invader’s plan was to capture one of their leading figures and torture the guy physically and psychologically like the phantoms of the inner division did on Xenon until he’d sing them a song about all of their plans. Or to send drones to observe them, which was not practical because they didn’t have drones. He got distracted anyway by Charlie crying out in pain as he shook his head still unbelieving that this was supposedly the same man who had invented Hydra. The same man as the young man with the strict, slick back undercut, the stoic, cold eyes and the blank expression on the photo of the entry about Hydra in the database.

 

When Charlie’s nipples were released his face was red and he had to take a breather before he got back to the topic but not without making sure that the bathing robe now covered his lower half because the boner he had gotten in the process of having his nipples abused was clearly showing through the tight briefs and despite the fact that the silky fabric of the robe was not exactly helpful in covering his hard on either. He coughed slightly. “Spies.” He said, his voice a little husky. “We need to convince the head of the troops to send spies and scouts to gather more information about the problem we’re dealing with. Maybe we too need to infiltrate them.” Charles said the colour of his face calming back down to white again and he couldn’t say anymore because Asher was barking in. “They have an inner division? And a secret service like the phantoms? I wouldn’t have….” He was cut off by Charlie. “No! Their scouts are nothing like the inner division! No citizen has to fear that they’ll appear on their door steps, search their homes and take them because their neighbour has reported that they said something unfavourable about the king or voiced something the government disagrees with. They also aren’t executioners and torturers. Nor are they their own organisation that holds massive power in government and infiltrates all fields of society. They aren’t like the inner division.” He made that clear to the Colonel of the space force.

 

Upon being asked by Calum what they’d suggest them to do and say to convince Miran’s parents who led the city guard and the armed forces of Kalua as they knew them well the light blond man with the glasses remarked: “Oh I know them, I know them too damn well and I wish I wouldn’t.” before he snorted disdainfully.”You want to convince them, well, don’t be gay or differ in any possible way from the norm.” the man said cynically. “If you fit those requirements, don’t you think you can appeal to or hope for any compassion or empathy. To convince them, don’t focus on the Myre, they won’t give a shit about you or your people, tell them how defending the Myre is vital for Kalua and how it’ll benefit them and their city.” The bookkeeper informed Calum. “Important, don’t appear as a pleader, as someone who needs them. Be unyielding, authoritative in your demeanour but polite and respect the etiquette and hierarchy while being strong…. physically strong.” Miran added knowing full well that neither Calum nor Jack appeared to be the kind of people his parents were fond of. He then turned to his older lover whom Miran’s parents loathed and he nudged his elbow into his side. “And you, since you got us into this disaster, I expect you to dress down! Dress down considerably!” he ordered and Charlie nodded. “Will do.” He assured him but the man who worked for the taxation office would only believe that when he saw it with his own eyes.

[Gladis]

If there was a single word that could be used to accurately describe how Calum felt about Simon’s little rant, nonplussed would probably be it. He didn’t really understand most of the scientists explanation. What he could in fact understand was that the other was clearly talking down to him in the same superior and self-important manner Asher had back when he’d called Calum stupid for talking about the gods, only a million times more condescending. With every word that Simon spoke, his cheeks turned a deeper shade of red, his hands forming fists on his lap beneath the table.

 

“Well!” He snapped, “I never said it was bad, and if you’d know that if you’d actually listened instead of instantly going off going off into a rant!” There was a brief moment of awkward silence, during which he shot Simon a fierce glare. But then his expression softened, sighing as he picked up a slice of bread. “Look, I’m sorry if I offended you. I did jump to conclusions without a complete understanding of what we’re talkin’ about, and that was wrong. What you like ain’t any of my business. But that doesn’t mean I have to be into it personally, does it? Asher thinks the idea of sleeping with women is gross, and that’s fine. It’s his right to feel that way. Clearly sex means different things to you than it does to me. You haven’t the right to tell me how I should think or feel about it. You haven’t!” It was only then that he realized he’d shredded the bread into little pieces that now were scattered all across his plate. Dropping the remaining crumbs, he added in a sulky, but rather quiet grumble. “All I did was tryin’ to understand it by relatin’ it to somethin’ I know. Never meant to get under yer skin, chap.”

 

Still, it felt good to know that Asher was sticking up for him, even if he was shot down by Simon almost as quickly as he had chosen to act. What horribly arrogant and stuck up prick! Calum wasn’t sure how the people at the brothel could stand seeing a person like that every day without wanting to punch him. Still feeling flustered and annoyed, he reached under the table to giver Asher’s hand a gentle squeeze. It was his way of letting him know that the gesture was appreciated, even if it had practically fallen on deaf ears. Shaking his head slightly, he turned his attention to Jack, who was wearing an awkward smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

 

“It ain’t my honour that worries me, really. To claim that this sorta’ work is beneath me would be an insult to the good folk under your jurisdiction. It is more that my mother...well...she is very set in her ways. She was raised in a noble house, you see, and even though she has long since left that life behind to be with the woman she loves… well… I suppose some habits and ways of seeing things don’t die easily. Although... “ he paused for a moment, his smile gaining a somewhat wry twist to it, “knowing her as I do, it’s not the work itself that’d make her mad. It’s more how I got into this situation in the first place.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Mother always tells me to think before I act. I’m not very good at that!”

 

As the conversation moved on to more pressing matters, Calum found himself nodding along with Miran’s advice, carefully hanging on to every sentence he uttered. Then he paused, as though suddenly struck by a thought.

 

"The Myre is a stopping point for seekers heading into the waste from all around -- Kalua included, so I believe that could be used as an argument. As for physical strength…” he glanced down at himself sceptically. Although he wasn’t skinny exactly -- farmwork involves plenty of hard physical labour to keep you in shape, it was fairly obvious that a trained warrior… he was not. His crippling height certainly didn’t help in that regard, either. Glancing up at Asher, he gave his lovers bicep a tentative poke.

 

“Asher, I think you ought to be our muscle.”

 

Again he paused, thoughtfully scratching his chin, which then he realized was beginning to show a slight stubble. He turned to Charlie.

 

“Going in these old farmers rags of ours ain’t gonna make a good impression, is it? Do you think there’s somethin’ we lot could borrow to make us look a little more presentable?”

[-Hideki-]

Asher examined his lover whose head looked as though it was about to explode like a grenade and in a sense the man did when he actually snapped and the Colonel was quite glad that it wasn’t the two of them fighting in such a manner for a change. He had had enough arguments with Calum already and he just wanted to be with him in peace. In peace, it was a little ironic. Peace had never been anything Asher would have desired in any shape or form before. There weren’t any war heroes without wars, were there? Peace would have left him unemployed.

 

While the brunette was clearly angered, with his red face, yelling at Simon the IT-specialist was losing interest already, yawning heartedly before taking another bite of what he called a sandwich. It was with an annoyed sigh and with his mouth still half full of food that he actually showed any sign of response and recognition for the angry younger male. “Asher knows what a woman is though. He understands the meaning of the idea and implication to have sex with a woman. Hence if he says that he finds sex with women to be something gross he judges something that he knows about and understands the concept of.” The black haired said. “That is the difference.” He pointed at Calum’s face with his finger, before licking some honey from it that had gotten onto it. “And relating something that is not relatable to something you know just to relate it to something for the purpose of relating it makes zero sense and just furthers your own misinformation and ignorance. Clay and robots aren’t comparable.” The man added.

 

“You judged something you have no idea about and said it was gross, without knowing what you were even calling gross. And that’s the action of an ignorant idiot.” The technology geek responded. “But apparently you didn’t even gasp what I was calling you out on. Not on finding something gross but on judging without knowledge and understanding.” Simon let him know. “I frankly don’t give a rat’s ass about what you have sex with and what you don’t have sex with and what you find gross to have sex with. That’s your problem. No clue why you even bothered to announce that you found it gross and annoy others with that shit just to tell that you find something gross. What purpose did it serve anyway? So don’t get your knickers in a twist and leave bread crumps everywhere, Raja will have to clean all of this up later.”

 

After that Asher hoped that this didn’t fuel the fire of enmity that had arisen between the two of them that quickly even further. Was that how everyone around him and Sasha had felt when they had fought at the dinner table? The feeling of Calum’s hand on his own and having it squeezed brought him out of his thoughts though and he turned his head towards the other, his intense blue gaze resting on him before he leaned his head over to him and slightly nibbled on Calum’s jaw.

 

In the following moments all ears were on Jack as a slightly awkward silence had settled in and Charlie listened to the man’s explanation and a smile was tugging at his lips. “The nobles.” He chuckled. “You should know one thing about the nobility, their ‘honour’, strict etiquette and morale code is more illusion than it is reality.” He let him know. “My clients, they are nobles from the most influential families. Powerful and rich men! And then we have the upper class folks too.” The straw blond let him know. “Who do you think participates in orgies with prostitutes and amongst each other whilst hiding their identity behind masks? The working folks after a long, exhausting day or the families with the old and ‘honourable’ names?” he asked rhetorically as everyone should know the answer.

 

At the serious discussion that was relevant to their future had been going on for a while Miran pursed his lips when the brunette suggested that the Myre being a stopping point for seekers, including those from Kalua, would make a decent argument to present his parents. “Well, it could… for anyone but my parents.” He had to disappoint him. “My parents aren’t fond of the seekers. They think they are anarchists, scavengers and undisciplined. They tried to establish a seeking unit, to turn the seekers into a troop with ranks and formations and a hierarchy but it didn’t work and ever since then they’ve seen them as a stain on their polished armours.” The bookkeeper explained.

 

From what he had heard so far Asher could at least partially relate to Miran’s parents. He had found the concept of the seekers and that they had no ranks and hierarchy rather dubious and questionable as well. Not only that, he too could understand how the parents of the man with the glasses disapproved of Charlie. Surely Asher would disapprove of that Charlie too… that guy had become a perverted masochist after all. The brunette demanded his attention again though when he felt the green eyes on his biceps only to hear him say that he ought to be their muscles. And normally he would have nodded and said that he had been the whole time already but after what Simon had called him… muscle head… was he really only muscle? Did Xenonian scientists think he was dumb? Had his scientist found him stupid too? No, no, his scientist had been proud of him. Had said he had turned out to be great…

 

Being buried in his thought he was glad that Calum turned back towards Charlie and he didn’t listen anymore. “Of course!” Charlie rejoiced and beamed at Calum, loving the prospect of making both of them presentable. “You’ll look absolutely handsome afterwards. No one will be able to resist you. I’ll make art out of you two!” he was excited but Miran was spitting his tea all over the place. “NO!” he protested. “No you won’t! I’ll give them clothing.” The light blond man demanded. “Forget it. He asked me. And I’ll make a swan out of that duckling.” Charlie announced and scratched his beard as he was already musing as to how he’d style them. Miran was looking into Calum’s green eyes. “Why? How could you do that?” he asked desperately.

[Gladis]

”I admitted I was wrong already, didn’t I?” Calum demanded in an irritated scuff. ”There ain’t no reason to rub it in further. ’Sides, how can you say it’s not at all related when you don’t even know the story? You’re every bit as bad when it comes to jumping to conclusions!”

 

It was stark enough a realization that he momentarily found himself stunned into silence. Exactly. Simon may have been acting all high and mighty, but really, the difference to how they had chosen to approach this matter was minuscule. Really, Calum was getting himself riled up for nothing. The disinterested look on Simon’s face was proof enough of that. Sure, there were many things Calum didn’t understand, but at least he wasn’t an infuriating, condescending asshole!

 

This may indeed have been a petty way of thinking, but at least it made him feel slightly better about the situation. Good enough to actually let it go. Allowing his lips to curl into a smile so sweet it should almost have been considered diabetics inducing, and simultaneously as cold as an arctic storm – he pinned Simon with his intensely green gaze. ”You made a descent argument, Simon. In the future I’ll make sure I’m sufficiently informed about something, before I making the mistake of dropping a thoughtless comment.” Especially around you. Calum added in his mind, though his bitter thoughts were disrupted by the feeling of Asher playfully nibbling his jaw. He smiled, and this time it was actually genuine, as he affectionately leaned against his lover.

 

Meanwhile Jack was having to deal with an onslaught of left field curve-balls he didn’t seem entirely sure how to handle.

 

”Well… you ain’t gotta tell me that. I don’t disagree, really.” And then, because he felt he needed to clarify Jack added. ”But I will have you know that my mother is a very honourable woman, and that ain’t got nothing to do with her background. That is why she, even if my actions are sure to frustrate her, would be the last person to stop me working for you. There is no honour in running away from a debt.” He said it very seriously, as this was his true and firm belief.

 

As the conversation progressed, Calum found himself sighing softly as it seemed that he would have to rethink his argument.

 

”It ain’t just about the Myre though, is it? It’s all the towns and villages that are under threat. And we all pay our tens in taxes to Kalua, so if we were to disappear the city would lose a lot of its external income, right?” He cast Miran a tentative glance, as though he were searching for any hint, any clue that he might be headed in the right direction. ”And that’s bound to have a bunch of negative consequences for the city as a whole.” He concluded.

 

Calum knew he’d messed up the moment he saw that look of horror flicker across Miran’s features. Okay, so maybe asking Charlie hadn’t been the smartest thing to do, considering Miran had just explicitly told his boyfriend that he would need to dress down. But… at the same time Charlie seemed to be the one in charge so at the time it made sense to ask him.

 

”Well...” He hesitated, deciding that the best way to go about this was to try and be diplomatic. ”Since we want to make a good impression on Miran’s parents, maybe we should let him decide just this once, and then afterwards you can have as much fun as you like styling us… right Jack?” He looked at his friend expectantly.

 

Jack blinked, before slowly nodding his head. ”Uh… Of course!” and then he added with a somewhat cheeky grin, ”And if Asher’s up for it, you can dress him up too!”

[-Hideki-]

There was a snorting laugh to hear from Simon and the milk the chubby man had drunken a moment before was running out of his nose so he had to grab a tissue to wipe it away and one could hear Raja hiss :“Yikes! Simon!” but the pregnant woman was ignored . “When you think you have already heard the dumbest shit ever you get taught better.” The black haired man remarked. “What a cheap attempt to drag me onto your level to make yourself feel better and invalidate what I said.” Simon remarked. “I don’t need to know your story to know that clay, a figure made out of clay and artificial intelligence, robotics are not remotely relatable and comparable. That’s a fact farm boy!” he explained. “If your story were to contain that the piece of clay gained intelligence and interacted with the protagonist your story was scientifically impossible, wrong and simply unrealistic and hence not only incomparable but also irrelevant, just as retarded as to believe that there is an almighty invisible daddy up in the skies caring about what you do and don’t do.” The black haired spoke.

 

Regardless of the sarcasm in Calum’s voice when he said that he’d make sure to be informed next time before he made a thoughtless comment Simon grinned, grinned widely and provokingly when he looked into the green eyes of the younger man. “You should! Maybe refrain from thoughtless comments to begin with. It’d make you look much less like a fucking moron.” He suggested in a self-satisfied tone of voice when an annoyed sigh was to hear from the end of the table opposite to Charlie and a newspaper was put down. “Shut up! Both! You bicker like snot-nosed brats.” Nate said. “I want to read my newspaper here!” the naked man added. “You’re being obnoxious and annoying, like trousers!” the man with the long, wavy brown hair and the thick beard found.

 

Asher, who had been displaying his affection to Calum, turned his head around to his former instructor and trainer and he thought if anyone knew how to discipline snot-nosed brats, or people who acted as such, it was him. “This whole argument won’t lead to anything. You focussed on the wrong points from the beginning really.” Nate stated. “The most important thing to point out, so that there could even be some form of understanding would be that Simon doesn’t experience what you’re experiencing. He doesn’t feel sexual attraction and desire towards other people, nor to the robots and gadgets. He simply has a libido that he wants to satisfy, so what he is doing is really extended masturbation. That’s not to say that there aren’t people who buy his products who feel attracted to those robots and use them as a replacement for a partner for whatever reason they need to do so but those people are usually capable of being attracted to real people as well and experience sexual attraction like you do and would be much closer to your view of sex than him because Simon does not desire partnered sex.” The brunette man who had taught Xenon’s warrior types for a long time explained to Calum.

 

“On Xenon, it is the most desirable outcome to create humans who are asexual and have no libido. Our scientists have great success in breeding women like that, the percentage is at 20 or were it 25 …. 30… heck something in that range. And Simon is basically a half success for he still has a libido. Before you can relate this to anything, or attempt to even understand this you need to know that about him and Xenon or you won’t be able to. And without anyone explaining it to you,” He now turned to Simon, „You can’t possibly know and only judge from what you do know. Lashing out instead of educating won’t change no one’s mind or help them understand nor is it constructive or productive.” The former soldier told them and then took back up his newspaper while Simon’s, who had never been a teacher and hadn’t even had to work in a team for the most part, pale cheeks were blushing a slight shade of pink. “And now tame it down; I need to know what’s going on in Kalua. Apparently a new schnitzel restaurant has opened.” He said, clicking his tongue.

 

As they were discussing as to how to persuade Miran’s parent’s to be in favour of rescuing the Myre the blond man who was only a few years older than Calum himself listened to the next argument the man presented and a small smile was playing around the thin lips of the light blond man as he rearranged his glasses. “Yes, that goes into the right direction. Continue.” He encouraged him but Asher was stepping in to help out some. “If the Myre and the other villages get overrun it’s only a matter of time until the savages stand in front of the city walls of Kalua and try to invade it too. Cooperation is needed in order to stop them from getting further up North. Like the savages were stopped in Vienna by an alliance of different European nations that helped out the Austrians to prevent the disgusting pieces of shit to get further into Europe and to force them back into the shithole they crawled out of.” Asher fiercely stated slamming his fist onto the table. “Brilliant! That’s the tune!” the bookkeeper said ignoring that Ash wasn’t acting but that he actually was like that.

 

The horror was gradually fading from Miran’s expression when Calum rowed back and suggested that since it were his parents that they should let the man with the glasses pick the clothing for them but while the bookkeeper nodded in agreement Charlie’s face was getting disappointed and his expression darker. “He will pick something boring.” The artist protested but Miran sighed. “Yes. My parents are boring.” The man argued but his older boyfriend wasn’t really listening. Nate was peering over his newspaper again the first time since he had last spoken. “Who needs clothing anyway? They are just restricting! I think society should get just rid of them altogether!” but no one was paying his nudist ideas any mind other than his wife who was desperately burying her face in her hands. Charlie was sighing and being cooperative again when he heard that he’d be able to design something for Calum and Jack after the meeting. “I will create something great and you’ll wear it at my birthday party.” The straw blond man with the grey strands decided. “And you too.” He pointed at his lover. “Yes.” Miran agreed not exactly excited in the slightest.

 

However when Jack suggested that Charlie could dress Asher up too there was vigorous protest ahead. “No fucking way!” the Xenonian soldier protested. “I’m not gonna put on something as impractical, useless, decadent and opulent. This is ridiculous. Clothing has to be utilitarian and practical; otherwise it’s a burden and doesn’t serve the purpose it was designed for.” The Colonel crossed his arms in front of his chest in a final manner and Charlie turned to Miran, grabbed him by the collar of the bathing robe and shook him, saying, in an almost pleading way:“That’s why I hate Xenonians! I hate them so much! I really do hate them!” And Miran patted his middle aged Xenonian boyfriend’s shoulder.

[Gladis]

It was a good thing that Nate decided to step in and defuse their argument. Not least because the atmosphere around the table had become almost unbearably tense. Calum himself was becoming increasingly frustrated, and not just with Simon. It was, above all his own inability to clearly and precisely express thoughts and feelings as he meant them that got to him, really. Often he would have a clear enough idea of what he wanted to say, but then when he actually tried to put it into words it would come out all pear-shaped and wrong. The fact that he got easily sidetracked by minor details in long-winded explanations such as Simon’s. Riled up by the tone of arrogance behind it, he had lashed out instead of attempting to clarify what he meant, thus feeding Simon with further ammunition to wear him down. In a way he had been lead a dance without even noticing, and that alone was enough to fill him with shame.

 

Still blushing, he stared down at his plate as he absentmindedly plucked at his sleeve.

 

“I… well, I think I do understand that,” he said vaguely as Nate went on to explain Simon’s preferences, “And it ain’t what I meant when I brought up the story, really. It must be a bit of a stretch, I realize, but when Simon implied that he couldn’t understand why anyone would want a partner that possesses a will of their own, it reminded me of the protagonist in that story. That was all. I never meant to compare clay to AI, or anything like that. I just… I got riled up, and then I ended up confusing things, I suppose.”

 

Chuckling softly in embarrassment, he rubbed the back of his head as he turned towards Simon once more. “Again, I’m sorry for offending you. You’re right -- I should have thought twice before dropping that comment. It was unnecessary.”

 

As the conversation moved on to the more pressing matters at hand, Calum opened his mouth to elaborate on his argument. Unfortunately for him, he never got the opportunity to share is thoughts. Beside him Asher had risen to his feet, towering over the table as his voice boomed across the hall. He was radiating such an air authority and confidence that it threw even Calum off guard, making him awestruck and proud all the same. He threw Jack a rather smug look, like ’Yes, that’s my boyfriend. Ain’t he just the coolest?’ when Charlie suggested that they should wear his designs for his birthday party. Calum smiled at him.

 

“That sounds like a splendid idea!” he agreed, before gently nudging his lovers side. “Oh, come now honey, don’t be like that. Maybe you can’t appreciate smart designs, but I certainly can, and I’d love to see what he does with you. So won’t you at least give it a chance? For me?” He gazed up at Asher imploringly, his green eyes wide with beguiling innocence. “It’ll be fun!” he added with what could only be described as genuine enthusiasm.