doggone

[repeatedprayer]

[In the time following his departure from Tabito and Manabu's company, the alias "Grey" has wound up sticking.

Not that everyone calls him that, he's used a few other aliases since then, but it's what he's wound up thinking of himself as. If Grey had taken the time to think about it a bit more he might have picked something with a little less connection to Rezo's name, but it's still leagues better than thinking of himself as "Rez- wait, no, just a copy." And maybe that's why he's felt significantly calmer since he left Sairaag.

By his own standards, Grey has been laudably well-behaved; sure, he's been mostly doing under-the-table psychic work, often on behalf of criminals, but! He's been trying to keep a low profile so it's usually things like clairvoyant spying rather than anything violent, and he's been making a point of not doing anything that directly impacts the galaxy railways.

It would be extremely awkward if Manabu Yuuki had to try and arrest him, after all.

He's found himself frequently thinking about Manabu, much to his annoyance. He has no serious expectations of ever seeing Manabu again, so it's simply a waste of mental bandwidth to find himself wondering what Manabu is doing right now or where he is, or to reminisince over their incredibly brief acquaintanceship. Grey can only suppose that because Manabu was the first reasonably normal person he got to know after leaving Sairaag that Manabu is going to stick out in his mind for a while.

And it's probably because of the real estate that Manabu is hogging in Grey's mind that he's been very aware of every mention of the SDF that crosses his path. He hasn't exactly been tracking the SDF's activities deliberately, but he does pay attention to the news and the SDF frequently winds up in there, even if Manabu's name in particular isn't normally dropped.

Until the day it does.

SDF Officer Taken Hostage By Pirates]

* * *

[It's taken several weeks of investigating, but Grey has been able to track down The Huntress's client, a Dr. Parish and associates. It must be a small galaxy, because Dr. Parish is someone Grey knows. Sort of.

Rather, Dr. Parish was a colleague of Rezo's who collaborated with the man on chimera research (and other unsavory things) in the past. Not only that, the man was an ardent admirer of Rezo's superior psychic prowess, and desperate to improve his own meager abilities.

He'd had quite a shock when Grey approached him in town, but after the initial surprise it had been sickeningly easy to convince Dr. Parish that he was the real Rezo. Grey can only surmise that the man wants to believe too badly to let himself be properly suspicious. It had only taken a day for Grey to be invited to tour Parish's laboratory.

The lab's located on the grounds of a former Marquess's estate, a ways out of town and secluded by trees, a high wall, and a long drive. Grey's done a little recon before, but actually being here is different, especially since he has to navigate by cane at the moment. Grey is doing his best to politely nod and smile as Parish guides him from room to room, explaining their work and occasionally handing him things to examine himself.

But evidently Parish realizes that "Rezo" isn't entirely interested, because he stops partway through an explanation of some stem cell experiments he and a few others have been working on to say "Of course, the really interesting specimens are kept in the basement floor."

Grey already knows this. He hopes his expression seems the right sort of eager.]

Interesting?

["Something along the lines of what we did in the past. Would you like to see them?"]

Nothing would please me more.

[Grey can practically hear Parish's delighted grin. To soothe the surge of irritation, Grey reminds himself that he's going to kill this man before the end of the day and allows Parish to guide him out into the hall and to the basement entrance at the back of the building.]

Comments

[siriusly]

[weakly:] I, I don't know if my backside can take that a second time right away...

[repeatedprayer]

[Pause.]

Oh, is that it?

[And now Grey smirks, amused at poor Manabu's expense.]

Then we can leave it untouched until another time.

[Because Grey definitely wants a second time, even if it can't be right now. Hopefully that's not too alarming a proposition for Manabu.]

[siriusly]

[his ears go flat. is that it? come on, man!!!] I-I'd appreciate that...

[repeatedprayer]

[The matter seemingly settled, Grey sets a hand on Manabu's.]

What else would you appreciate?

[Y'know, because Manabu's always has an easy time articulating his sexual preferences.]

[siriusly]

Well, uh... [he's still bashful, peeking briefly at him, but unable to hold eye contact.] I'm, uh. Gonna...need some help here.

[he glances down at himself, feeling an extra shade embarrassed of getting hard again - as though that weren't a feature.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey's brain briefly stutters for a moment because this is almost exactly a scenario he's fantasized about before.]

...I think we can manage that.

[His hand curls around Manabu's; with the other he reaches out and touches Manabu's stomach. His fingers are still a bit wet from all the lube he'd been handling, and he shifts his touch down until his palm bumps against the head of Manabu's cock.]

[siriusly]

[his mouth twitches a bit, out of words and never equipped with wit, especially when he feels that jolting sensation against his sensitive cock. he presses his lips together to stifle the groan, dipping his head briefly before deciding to scoot himself a bit closer.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Despite attempts to stifle himself, Manabu's responsiveness always has the effect of brushing aside any uncertainty that Grey may have. He lifts Manabu's hand to his lips, and wraps his other properly around Manabu's cock. His fingers circle around the head and the upper part of the shaft, while he brushes the pad of his thumb lightly over the slit at the top.]

[siriusly]

Mmh... [he bites his lip, shuddering in anticipation.] D-don't take your time, okay?

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey kisses Manabu's fingertips, playing with them using a little bit of teeth and the tip of his tongue.] You're always so impatient. [He gives Manabu's cock another light, teasing stroke with his thumb, before moving the rest of his hand up and down the shaft.]

[siriusly]

[Manabu would argue, but best he can do is a soft sound in whimpered protest, trying in some way to move up against Grey's hand while his own captive hand's fingers twitch and curl against the attention.]

Don't stop. [not that he is! just! you know! not until he's done here! it's not that long a wait.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey hums a noncommittal sound, but his hand does indeed stay on Manabu's cock, steadily stroking and squeezing. At the same time he continues to kiss Manabu's fingers, eventually capturing one fingertip lightly between his teeth. He tugs on Manabu's hand, gently drawing that fingertip deeper into the wet heat of his mouth and sucks on it while he also tightens his grip on Manabu's cock. Go ahead, Manabu...]

[siriusly]

[Manabu crumbles in short order, leaving a mess between them and, honestly, mostly on Grey; he exhales in a moan, sagging against him with shoulders slumping while his toes curl with the tingling.]

Hhh...mmh. Th-thanks...

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey lets Manabu's hand and dick go and adjust his position to allow for Manabu to properly sag against him. They're both hot and sticky, and Grey's heart is still beating a touch faster than normal. But right now, all of that feels rather nice.]

You're welcome, Manabu.

[His hand is soaked; Grey absently wipes some of it off on Manabu's thigh (it isn't as if Manabu wouldn't need to wash up otherwise) and slides his other arm around Manabu's shoulders.]

[siriusly]

[with pleasure senses flooded, it's all Manabu can do to not completely zone out of all awareness of place and time; the weight of Grey's arm helps keep him from completely floating out of body (which is fine, given that being in-body is where the cozy feelings are).

distantly, he's once again aware of sore legs.]

I'm...gonna have to move again, aren't I.

[repeatedprayer]

Mm. Perhaps.

[Eventually, certainly. But the weight of Manabu is pleasant, a more mellow bit of intimacy after the vigorous fucking they'd been doing. Grey's more than content to stay like this for a little while.]

[siriusly]

[eventually. though...Grey's not bothering to goad him into said moving, so Manabu lets himself linger, even doze a little while easing out of afterglow. his forehead rests on Grey's shoulder, his own shoulders slumped with the weight of Grey's arm; there's some notion in his head of cozying up properly, but that'd require too much moving.

ergonomics be damned, he's just going to linger there like some awkwardly positioned statue figure.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey continues to sit and quietly observe Manabu slumped against him in an almost bemused manner. It turns out that the optimum method for making Manabu actually get some damn rest is to just fuck him into submission. And Grey is going to be mentally replaying said fucking for a while, even as he tries not to get himself worked up again. Manabu had said he couldn't take a second round right away, after all.

After a while his body's starting to grumble about their current position. Since he can't pet Manabu right now, at least not without getting his hair dirty, Grey goes ahead and leans in to press a kiss against the top of Manabu's head.]

...Alright, we should probably get cleaned up. Shall I fetch you a towel?

[siriusly]

[one of the ears twitches slightly.]

Hmh-? [wait, huh? do what,now? where--

oh, right.

Manabu grunts faintly through his nose, lifting his head and blinking slowly, eyes coming back into focus on Grey's jaw and chin before he looks about. his thigh...]

Yeah. Yeah, thanks...

[he sighs, making a face when he hears his back crack in sitting up straighter while Gery's on mission to get towels. gradually, the world starts to come back to him - time and place, things he should or could be doing...

it ought to bother him more, shouldn't it? being selfish and idle. maybe it would, were he by himself. but watching Grey - also a part of time and place - seems to keep much of that sense at bay.

gosh, it's like he enjoys and wants to be around this guy or something!

while taking the towel offered:] What time is it...?

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey waits for a few moments so that Manabu can adjust his position and support himself before he gets off the bed and starts puttering about the apartment. There's still a bag of groceries left on the counter, from before Grey got distracted, and he belatedly remembers they were planning on eating.

Well. This was a more pleasant diversion, and the groceries can wait for a little longer. Without closing the door he heads into the bathroom to wash his hands and dick, emerging shortly afterwards with a lightly moistened towel for Manabu.

He kind of wants to groom Manabu himself, in a bit of a possessive, caretaking urge, but he allows Manabu the dignity of cleaning himself this time.]

...I'd wager it's some time in the afternoon. [Grey cocks his head slightly and adds:] It sounds busy out. That's probably the civilians commuting home from work.

[It's still light outside, so Grey didn't let Manabu nap for that long.]

[siriusly]

Which means...I have time to get some work done. [he smiles crookedly. besides the workout! and the...the workout.]

You went to the trouble of getting me that data, so...

[repeatedprayer]

[Ah. Naturally, that's Manabu's concern. Grey nods, approving, since this doesn't involve Manabu karate chopping bad guys or whatever.]

Right. I didn't have time to properly comb through it while I was there.

[What with trying not to get caught by any of the staff or students and all.]

[siriusly]

Because you'd have gotten caught. [that was risky! reckless! something Manabu would do! stop stealing his schtick!

sigh.]

...Where'd my clothes go...

[repeatedprayer]

[Clearly Manabu's been a bad influence on poor, innocent Grey!

Grey glances around the bed and surrounding floor. Most of the clothes are his; he'd been wearing more layers than Manabu had when they'd gotten distracted.

Manabu's boxers are pretty easy to spot, at least, crumpled in a heap on the floor at the edge of the bed. Those stripes are distinctive. Grey crouches and scoops them up for Manabu.

...Seems familiar. As he's handing them over:]

This is like the morning after we first met, isn't it?

[Except Grey had handled Manabu's underthings rather more gingerly at the time.]

[siriusly]

N-no it's not... [his mouth twitches, grabbing them and scooting himself to swing his legs over the edge of the bed and finagle things on.]

You didn't hit me out of the blue.