Parallels I:
Seeing Double

Orithain

December 1998

Disclaimer: Cory Raines and the concept of immortality belongs Rysher Entertainment, Ryan belongs to whoever owns the rights to Sliders. I'm making no money from this, and suing me would be utterly futile.

Ryan couldn't believe it. He'd thought for sure Wade would stay with him when he asked her, but she'd chosen to leave with her friends instead. Ryan hadn't waited to see her go; he'd left their camp in the national park during the night, not wanting any messy good-byes. He knew he'd never see her again or anyone else he'd ever known. He was looking forward to exploring this new world. From everything Wade and the others had told him, it was likely to be very different from his own. All he really cared about was that there was no Lottery. He could put up with anything for that.

Ryan planned to pretend to have amnesia when he reached civilization. It would be assumed that he'd been in an accident, which would account for not having any identification. He was going to have a whole new life now. Rembrandt had explained that most worlds had agencies to help people without homes or jobs, so Ryan was confident he'd be able to take care of himself shortly. If only Wade had stayed with him... Ryan forced himself to stop thinking about her. She'd saved his life; the rest was up to him.

Ryan walked without any clear goal, his only desire to get far away before the others discovered he was gone. He had no intention of leaving with them, and while he didn't think they'd force him to go, it was easier simply to avoid the issue by not being there. With his climbing and outdoors experience, Ryan had no doubt he could easily make it to the nearest city even if he didn't run into anyone to give him a ride.

But it didn't look that like that would be a problem. Ryan spotted a small campsite up ahead and headed toward it, calling out to alert whoever was there to his approach. He was nearly on top of the small tent before there were any signs of life.

"Whoever you are, you better have a damn good reason for waking me up at this ungodly hour," a voice grumbled from the tent. A moment later a man crawled out, pushing himself to his feet with his back to Ryan.

"Hi, I was hoping you could help me. My name's Ry-" His voice cut off abruptly as the other man finally turned around. The two men stared at each other in total shock. Aside from differences in clothing and length of hair, they could have been identical twins.

"Who the hell are you?!" The other man was suddenly holding a sword at Ryan's throat.

Ryan froze, wondering what kind of lunatic he'd run into. Although he supposed it was possible that everyone carried swords on this world. It was hard to judge without any knowledge of the society. "Ah, take it easy there. I'm unarmed," he tried to calm the other man, without any noticeable success.

"Where did you come from?"

"I don't know." Ryan remembered to stick to the story he planned to use. "The first thing I remember is waking up this morning. I was out in the middle of nowhere, nothing with me, no I.D., nothing. I don't even remember my whole name!" He tried to look harmless and woebegone.

"Try again." The other man prodded him with the point of his sword for encouragement.

"Fine! You want the truth? My name is Ryan Simms, and I'm from an alternate Earth. I came here with some people, they call themselves sliders, who came through my world, and I decided not to continue on with them. Happy now? Now do you believe me?" After everything that had happened to him the last few days, starting with 'winning' the lottery, it was no wonder Ryan snapped.

"Actually," the other man lowered his sword, "that sounds just crazy enough to be true."

Ryan stared in shock.

"But then, I'm kind of used to believing in the impossible. Hi, I'm Cory Raines, and I'm an Immortal."

Now Ryan knew the other man was nuts.

Cory shook his head. The man traveled between universes, and he couldn't believe in immortality. Unbelievable. Why did mortals always have to see proof? "Look," he commanded, drawing his hand along the edge of his sword. Ryan gasped, reaching for his hand only to freeze in shock as he saw the wound heal before his eyes. In seconds, the only sign of the injury was the blood pooled in Cory's hand.

"What...how?" Ryan didn't even know what to ask.

"I told you, I'm immortal."

"This can't be real. None of this is real. That's it. They gave me the injection after the lottery winners' ball, and this is some kind of near death hallucination."

Cory had no idea what Ryan was talking about, but he knew how to convince him that he was real. Without thinking any further, Cory grabbed the other man and kissed him. Ryan stood frozen for a moment before he began to respond to the lips moving over his. Then he realized what he was doing, kissing a stranger, kissing a strange man, and he wrenched away.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Convincing you I'm not a hallucination." Cory was matter-of-fact.

"Do you always go around kissing other men?"

"I kiss anyone I'm attracted to. Why, do you discriminate based on gender?"

Ryan didn't really have the hang-ups about homosexuality Cory suspected after the mortal's reaction to their kiss. After all, his world practiced strict population control and what better control than homosexual relationships? But he had never personally been attracted to another man. It just felt weird. "No, but most people ask before grabbing!"

"I've always believed in taking what I want." That was all the warning Ryan had before Cory grabbed him again, pulling him tightly against his body. He could feel Cory's erection pressing into him, and he felt himself start to get aroused. Cory started to kiss him, running his tongue over his lips until he parted them, letting the other man in.

Cory tasted Ryan deeply, stroking the younger man's tongue with his own. He withdrew, coaxing Ryan into following and tasting him. Their tongues played together for what seemed forever, neither man willing to stop. Cory pulled Ryan's shirt loose, running his hands under it to feel the muscles quiver under his touch. He drew back slightly to look into the other man's eyes, momentarily startled again to find himself staring at a mirror image of himself. Ryan blinked in surprise as well before nodding tentatively.

Cory pulled Ryan's shirt off, caressing him, finding that the same things he liked pleased Ryan too. He wondered if Ryan's nipples were as sensitive as his own and latched onto one with his mouth to find out. The heartfelt groan from the younger man seemed to indicate that they were.

He arched into Cory's touch, moaning with pleasure. For a moment he felt like the world was spinning, then he realized it was. Cory had taken advantage of his distraction to lower him to the ground and was now lying on top of him, suckling at one nipple, lightly pinching the other and grinding their erections together. Ryan couldn't believe how fast this was moving, but he didn't really want to stop it either. He reached tentatively for his soon-to-be lover, running his hands over Cory's naked back. It was the immortal's turn to arch into his touch, and the sound he made could only be described as a purr. Ryan grinned. He had a feeling that sex with Cory was going to be fun.

"What's so funny?"

Ryan glanced down at the words, seeing Cory looking back up at him with a half smile. "Not funny, fun."

Cory grinned, understanding exactly what Ryan meant. "That's okay then. We're supposed to be having fun." He punctuated the statement with a long lick down Ryan's torso, ending at his navel. Ryan couldn't help laughing at the ticklish sensation. He squirmed wildly under Cory's ministrations.

Cory pushed himself to his knees, sitting back on his haunches and straddling Ryan, watching his face while he unfastened his jeans, freeing his hard cock. Ryan stared, biting his lip, then sat up and reached for him. He stroked Cory's erection, relishing the feel of the silky skin in his hand, slowly sliding down to cup his balls before moving back up to rub his thumb over the head. Cory's hands clenched into fists as he pushed forward into Ryan's grasp. It felt so good. But it wasn't enough.

The immortal was suddenly stripping the rest of Ryan's clothes from his body, desperate to have him naked. His fingers fumbled at the button fly on the other man's jeans, his dexterity not aided by Ryan's continued petting of him. Finally, they were both naked, and Cory launched himself at the younger man with a growl. He knocked him flat on the ground, writhing wantonly over him as he kissed him.

Cory worked his way down Ryan's body, bestowing random licks and nips as he went until the other man was whimpering continuously. He approached the weeping cock but bypassed it to nuzzle into Ryan's inner thigh, grasping the muscle lightly between his teeth for a moment. Then he moved back up to the sensitive crease where thigh met groin and licked along it, inhaling the essence of his lover.

By now Ryan was begging him to touch him. His hands moved frantically over Cory, desperate for more. He couldn't keep still under the immortal's knowing touch; he wanted the other man to fuck him.

"Shit!" Cory suddenly yelled.

Ryan's eyes shot open. "What? What's wrong?"

"I don't have any lube with me. I wasn't expecting company."

Ryan groaned. "Suntan lotion? Something in the first aid kit?"

"I'm immortal, Ryan. I don't need any of that stuff! Okay, plan B."

"Say abstinence and I'll find out just how immortal you really are!"

Cory laughed. "No way! No, you are going to fuck me, Ryan my boy." As soon as he finished speaking, before Ryan had a chance to say a word, Cory sucked his erection into his mouth. Whatever Ryan had been going to say came out as a wordless scream of pleasure. Cory took the time to caress him, fluttering his tongue along the length and briefly milking him with talented throat muscles, but his main goal was to get Ryan wet. Between that and immortal healing, they'd be fine without the lube.

Cory slowly released Ryan with a last lick at the head of his cock. He slid up his lover's body to kiss him, letting the younger man get a brief taste of himself. Then he sat up, straddling Ryan, staring into identical green eyes. He prepared himself, stretching the muscle for Ryan's entry. Soon he was writhing on his own fingers, staring into Ryan's heated gaze. He reached behind himself, holding Ryan's cock steady as he rose up and slowly eased himself down on it. He gasped at the entry and froze for a minute, accustoming himself to the fullness.

Ryan reached up to pinch his nipples, causing Cory to arch over him. This pushed Ryan's cock against his prostate, and Cory screamed in pleasure. He began to move up and down on Ryan, faster and harder, the pleasure and pain blending together into pure ecstasy. He reached for his own cock, pumping it in time with the stroking into his ass. He moaned when he felt Ryan's hand close over his, both of them stroking his cock. He couldn't hold on much longer. He forced his eyes open to see Ryan. Their eyes met, and a convulsive shudder ran through Cory.

That was enough for Ryan. He'd been fighting to maintain some semblance of control, but he'd never felt anything as tight and hot as the other man. That shudder rippling along his length broke him, and he cried out wordlessly as he exploded into Cory's depths.

Seeing Ryan's pleasure, Cory let go and came shuddering. He slumped down on top of Ryan, not wanting to separate from him yet. But soon he had to, and he climbed off him carefully, nestling against him, his head pillowed on his shoulder and one arm and a leg thrown over him.

Ryan snuggled into Cory's embrace. He'd always enjoyed holding his lovers close after making love, and it seemed to be one more thing they had in common. At least with Cory over him, he wouldn't need to worry about sunburn.

After a few minutes of blissful relaxation and contented petting and nuzzling, Cory bestirred himself enough to ask Ryan what his plans were. The younger man explained what he intended to do once reaching a city, and the immortal murmured noncommittally. "You know, Ryan, I could use a partner," he said hesitantly.

"What exactly do you do?"

"Most of the time I rob banks."

"Huh?"

"But that's just for fun. I don't need to do that if you don't want to. I invested a lot of the money from some early jobs, and I'm rich as Midas now. But don't tell my friends that if you meet them. I wouldn't want to ruin my image, especially not with MacLeod." He grinned. "So what do you say? Want to experience the lifestyle of the idle rich for a while?" He waited anxiously for Ryan's response. It mattered surprisingly much to him that the other man stay.

"I'd like that." Ryan smiled into Cory's eyes just before the other man kissed him.

Cory grinned. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

Ryan only groaned.

END

Back to Orithain's page    Back to the Crossover fiction page

  Back to the Fiction page

Tell me about any broken links

Home