~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♥~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It just couldn’t get any worse. They were running out of everything; food, medical necessities, ammo, parts. Things were not looking good for the crew of the Outlaw Star and Gene Starwind, captain, knew something had to be done. He just didn’t like the only option that kept popping up.“But he’s such a perv!” Gene groaned, his head leaning against the back of his pilot’s chair within the cockpit of the Outlaw Star. Jim crossed his arms and glared at his captain.
“Deal with it. We need money, and Fred’s always happy to oblige.” The younger boy said sternly. Gene rolled his eyes.
“Happy to oblige, my ass. He’s only happy to oblige if it deals with doing something painful or humiliating to me.” The redhead grumbled. Jim smacked him upside the back of his head, almost knocking Gene to the floor.
“That’s the sacrifice you’ll just hafta make to keep your crew alive, then!” Jim shouted. Gene grimaced. “Now you will pilot this damn ship to Sentinel 3 and talk to Fred about our predicament. I don’t give a hoot if you’ve gotta get on your knees and beg him for the money.” Jim turned to leave. “I’m gonna tell Melfina where we’re going. If you even think of wussing out on this, I will personally tell Fred that you dream about him.” With that, before Gene could even snort at the threat, Jim left. Gene grumbled, turning in his seat to ready for departure.
“Damn kid just doesn’t understand standards.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♥~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There was nothing different about Sentinel 3 this visit, but then, there usually wasn’t. Melfina and Suzuka were asked to remain with the ship while Jim and Gene sallied forth to go meet with Fred Lou. Gene wasn’t comfortable with the prospect of asking Fred for money, he already knew the weapons dealer would probably suggest all manners of weird things that Gene could do to earn it. The thought made the scarred captain shudder.Upon entering the familiar establishment owned by the crazy weapons dealer, Gene’s stomach flipped over, reminding him he was both very nervous and very hungry. He looked over at Jim who just looked like his normal, calm self. It made Gene a little jealous, but then, the boy never had to worry about being flirted with by a guy.
Fred’s bodyguards scrutinized Gene and Jim carefully, admitting them into Fred’s office. Fred was sitting behind his desk, scribbling furiously on a number of sheets of paper. His brows were knit, giving him a strangely Terran expression, rather than his ridiculous always happy or pouty air. He seemed very busy but, at one look from Jim, who seemed to be shooting daggers with his eyes, Gene sighed and spoke up.
“Uh, hey, Fred,” Gene started, walking forward a step. Fred seemed to jump at hearing Gene’s voice, quickly slipping from his busy face to his familiar happy one.
“Gene!” Fred exclaimed, a little too happily for Gene’s comfort. The weapons dealer jumped from his chair and hurried over to his guests, hugging Gene tightly. Gene rolled his eyes, pushing Fred off of him. Fred, unfazed, turned and hugged Jim, too. Jim took it all in stride.
“What brings the crew of the famous Outlaw Star to my door?” Fred asked cordially, motioning for the two men to sit with him. Gene smirked.
“What else? Money.” Gene answered simply. Fred’s smile tugged into a frown for half a second, but he fixed his mouth back into the shape of a smile, even if the mirth had left his eyes.
“Oh, I see.” Fred sighed, shrugging. “I’m sorry, I just don’t have anything I can have you do for me at the moment. All my shipments were sent out two days ago.” Gene and Jim’s faces fell in unison.
“We really need the money, Mr. Lou!” Jim pleaded. “We are completely and utterly flat broke, we don’t even have enough fuel to leave port.” The boy flushed a little, realizing he was begging, but the circumstance was desperate. Fred gave Jim a sympathetic smile.
“I assume then that neither of you have had anything to eat, hmm?” Fred asked. Gene turned his eyes away; Jim shook his head. Fred stood, clicking a button on his desk. “Yes, can you send up two dinners, please? I’m in a meeting, but my guests are hungry. Please don’t take too long.” Fred said, smiling at Gene and Jim. With a muffled affirmation on the other end of the line, Fred clicked the button again, sitting back with his guests.
“You sure there’s absolutely nothing we can do to make a little quick cash?” Gene asked. Fred sat back in his seat, his expression thoughtful.
“I’m pretty sure, I don’t even think there are any bounties on the line at the moment you could handle.” Gene bristled at the challenge. Fred giggled. “Oh, you know I don’t mean that! I just assumed that if you don’t have enough fuel to leave port, you wouldn’t have the means to travel halfway across the galaxy to chase after a bounty that someone else has probably already captured.” Gene sighed, realizing Fred was right.
The trio sat for another twenty minutes before the food arrived. Jim dug into his food immediately, but Gene held off a little, more snacking than eating. His stomach was empty, but he was worried about the lack of funds and now the lack of means to acquire any. He noticed Fred watching him the entire time the three of them sat together, but he refused to react to it. It was a little unnerving, but it wasn’t killing him.
After Jim had finished eating, he sat back in his chair, content. Gene’s plate was still half full, but his stomach was too busy practicing acrobatics to cooperate. Fred frowned at Gene’s obvious discomfort and sighed. He turned to Jim.
“Is it all right if I speak with Gene privately, Jim? I would like to discuss some things with him, and I’m pretty sure it would just bore you. If you’d like, you can borrow my private quarters and bathe, if that would please you.” At the prospect of a nice, warm bath, Jim was more than happy to accommodate. Gene blanched at the idea of being left alone with Fred, but before he could argue, Jim had already hurried off to the bathroom. An uncomfortable silence thickened the air in the room.
“Uh…” Gene swallowed, grabbing a bite off his now cold plate and chewing it, giving his mouth something to do. Fred smirked, trying not to laugh.
“I’m not going to gut you and mount you on my wall, Gene. You can relax.” Fred grinned, crossing his legs. Gene snorted, easing a little.
“So…what do you want to talk to me about?” The redheaded space captain asked, picking at his plate again. Fred bit his lip.
“I…might have a way you can earn some money.” Fred said, almost whispering. Gene’s ears perked at that, but his brain reminded him whom he was talking to. He refused to become too happy before hearing what the catch would be.
“Let me guess, either I have to do this in drag or I might die, right?” Gene asked flatly. Fred shook his head, smiling half-heartedly.
“No. It’s, um. A little easier than that.” Gene might have been wrong, but he could have sworn Fred was blushing. That did it.
“Fred, whatever it is, I’m sure it doesn’t pay enough.” Gene said, crossing his arms. Fred sighed.
“I thought you might say that,” Fred frowned. He stood and walked over to his desk. “I’m willing to pay 500,000 wong.” Gene practically choked on his tongue.
“500,000?!?” Gene repeated. Suddenly Gene felt he would be willing to do anything, no matter the risk. That was an awful lot of money to let go for pride. Fred sighed again, nodding.
“I’ll pay 500,000 if you do…if you agree to…” Fred bit his lip. He looked very unsure of himself. Gene jumped up and rushed over to Fred, looking him square in the eyes.
“Fred, for that much, I’d agree to damn near anything you can think of. Do you realize how long that can keep the Star running?” Gene asked excitedly. Fred gave that half smile again, nodding.
“It is a lot of money, isn’t it,” Fred said quietly. He closed his eyes. “You won’t want to do the job, though.” Gene scoffed.
“I already told you, I’d do whatever you want, for that much.” Gene laughed. Fred pursed his lips and glared into Gene’s eyes.
“All right. I want you to sleep with me. Once.” Fred said evenly. Gene’s face fell.
“You want me to do what?” Gene asked incredulously. Fred rolled his eyes.
“You’re ears work fine, Gene. I want to spend one night with you. To be specific, I want you to come to me, tonight if you agree, and make love to me. The 500,000 isn’t a fixed amount, if you do particularly well, I could pay more.” Fred stated casually, as if directing Gene to the nearest florist. Gene scowled.
“Like a whore, right? I’m a fucking captain, Lou, not a prostitute.” Gene sneered, turning towards the door. Fred grabbed Gene’s arm. Gene would have snapped Fred’s arm in half if he hadn’t seen the broken look in the weapon dealer’s eyes.
“No, Gene, please, not like a whore. I don’t want a whore.” Fred leaned his forehead against Gene’s shoulder. “I want…” Fred stopped himself, shaking his head. “Not like a whore. You don’t have to do this, if you don’t want to. I won’t force you.”
“But you’ll pay me.” Gene spat. Fred’s eyes snapped back into Gene’s gaze, that horrible broken look still there. Gene wished Fred would turn his eyes away again, that look was doing something to Gene’s heart and he didn’t like it.
“Fine, I’ll take the job, Fred. I’ll fuck you, but I want 50,000 up front, so my crew can ready the Star and get some food and a hotel. Soon as it’s over, you pay me the rest, all of it, and I get my ass to the farthest star from you. Deal?” Gene offered. Fred blinked, looking down.
“Agreed.” Fred said quietly. With that, Gene nodded, banged on the bathroom door to yell at Jim to hurry it up, they had a job, and left. Fred mechanically clicked the button on his desk again.
“Yes, please tell Mr. Starwind that our meeting will take place tonight, nine. Thank you.” Fred clicked the button off and slumped to the floor of his office, dejected.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♥~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Night approached quickly on Sentinel 3. The blue-black sky almost took Gene by surprise when he left his hotel room at eight forty. It had taken a bit of convincing to keep the crew holed up until morning. None of them really liked the idea of Gene taking a solo mission, but after the hundredth reassurance, they finally let him go.Most of the lights at Fred’s building were still on, and Gene half wondered if Fred’s light was still on. That, of course, lured out other thoughts, such as who would be on top, would the light stay on, and, not to mention, what the hell was he supposed to do anyway? A man was built very differently from a woman. Would he be expected to kiss Fred? Gene shivered, thoroughly weirded out by his wandering mind.
Upon seeing Gene, Fred’s bodyguard allowed him access, though Gene could have sworn it looked like this one was glaring at him from behind his black glasses. Oh well, if this guy didn’t like him, no big deal. He wasn’t the one with the half mil.
Gene knocked loudly on Fred’s office door, waiting for the other man to tell him to come in. When he didn’t hear anything, he tried the handle. The door wasn’t locked, so Gene let himself in.
Fred wasn’t anywhere Gene could see. This made the captain go on alert, wondering if Fred was all right.
“Hey, Fred, you around?” Gene yelled out, scanning the room for any possible evidence of foul play. The place still looked clean enough. His heart leapt into his throat when he heard Fred’s voice call from somewhere.
“I’m just brushing my hair out, make yourself comfortable. There are some drinks on my desk, I’m not sure what you would have preferred.” Fred called out, sounding a little muffled. Gene’s eyes went straight to Fred’s desk, noting the nice little arrangement of wine glasses and four different bottles. He picked one up, tried reading the label and realized it was in some language he wasn’t familiar with. Shrugging, he popped the cap and took a whiff. Smelled pretty strong. Fred walked in, watching Gene.
“That’s a pretty powerful liquor from Heifong 7. Try it if you like, but be careful, it can knock a man twice your size on his ass.” Fred laughed. Gene smirked, and turned to look at Fred. He didn’t expect to be knocked speechless by what he saw.
Fred’s hair was down, no red headband. He wore a soft looking white pullover, and black slacks. His feet were bare, except for a thin gold anklet around his right ankle. The smile he wore was the most sincere Gene had ever seen on Fred, and it was what he would usually label beautiful, at least if it was on a woman.
“You gonna drink that, or just hold it?” Fred asked, tilting his chin to motion at the bottle in Gene’s hand. Gene blinked, looked at the bottle and set it down on the desk. Fred sat on one of his couches, inviting Gene over to sit with him. Gene wasted no time moving to the seat across from Fred.
“So, uh…” Gene started. Fred quirked an eyebrow. Gene heaved a sigh, a little embarrassed. “What the hell do we do now? I hope you know I’ve never done this. You know, with a guy.” Fred nodded.
“I figured. You’re a very straight and narrow kind of man, Gene Starwind. I wouldn’t expect you to know everything about everything.” Fred chuckled. “I’d like it if we went into my room, if you don’t mind. I’d rather not do anything in here. Too impersonal.” It was Gene’s turn to quirk an eyebrow. After all, it wasn’t like this little job was going to be very personal for him. He supposed Fred wanted to look at it differently. Well, that was his choice.
“Whatever,” Gene shrugged. Fred nodded curtly, trying to hide his frown. He stood and motioned for Gene to follow him. The two made their way through a door that looked like a part of the wall behind Fred’s desk.
Fred’s room was ornate and smelled nice, like sandalwood. The most noticeable piece of furniture was the large wrought-iron four-poster bed in the middle of the room. Banners of silk were wrapped around and across the four bedposts, making an exotic canopy. It was the nicest bedroom Gene had been in for quite a while.
“So, you actually wanna do this on a bed?” Gene laughed, playing with the end of one of the silk banners. Fred giggled.
“Where do you think we’d do this?” He asked. Gene shrugged.
“I dunno, a shower maybe? Isn’t that where most gays do it?” Gene chuckled. Fred frowned.
“I already bathed, thank you.” He said, his tone almost offended. Gene made a face, feeling a little stupid for his insensitivity. He looked down at his feet, biting the inside of his cheek.
“What do we do now?” Gene murmured. Fred rolled his eyes.
“Honestly, Gene, do you not know anything about making love?” Fred asked. Gene’s head snapped up, his eyes wide.
“Of course I do! I’ve had plenty of sex!” Gene shouted. Fred smirked.
“Fine. Pretend I’m a woman, what would you do first?” Fred asked sweetly. Gene thought a moment, shifting his weight to his other foot.
“Strip you.” Gene blurted. Fred sat on his bed, looking up at Gene.
“So…?” Fred offered. Gene grimaced.
“Are you serious?” Gene asked. Fred nodded. Gene sighed and sat next to Fred, his fingers going beneath Fred’s pullover, lifting it over his head. Gene looked curiously at Fred’s unmarred chest, his eyes going farther down to Fred’s smooth stomach. Unwittingly, he reached out a hand, his fingers trailing down Fred’s torso, following the lines of slight muscle there. Fred bit his lip, afraid to moan in pleasure. “You’re so smooth…” Gene murmured under his breath.
“Thank you…” Was the only reply Fred could think to make. He was relishing the feeling of Gene’s hand on him. He knew he was quickly becoming aroused, and the slight worry tugged at the back of his mind of how Gene would react to dealing with him then. He didn’t wait long.
Gene’s fingers slipped from Fred’s stomach to his groin, feeling a very obvious trapped erection there. His fingers froze at that spot and he suddenly forgot exactly what he was doing.
“You’re…hard…” Gene breathed. Fred almost squeaked at how husky Gene’s voice was, almost not even hearing what he’d said.
“Um, y-yes,” Fred stammered. He backed up a little on the bed, letting Gene’s hand slip from his crotch to his mid thigh. Gene blinked, unsure as to what he was supposed to do now. Fred pushed up onto his knees and quickly helped Gene remove his shirt. He winced a little when he saw the many scars adorning Gene’s chest and back, but his thoughts were pushed away when his fingers felt warm skin. Gene jumped at the contact, but it was far from unwanted.
“What are you doing, Fred?” Gene asked quietly, almost amused, as Fred’s fingers played at Gene’s belt buckle. Fred blushed deeply.
“We can’t do this clothed,” Fred replied, finally having figured out how to unclasp the buckle. He wasted no time unzipping Gene’s pants, tugging them as far down as Gene’s position would allow. Gene rose up, helping to remove his pants, letting the dark fabric pool on the floor. Fred’s breath caught in his throat when he noticed Gene had gone sans undergarments this evening. He was quite a bit more than what Fred had always dreamt him to be. Gene felt a little foolish standing at the foot of Fred’s bed, naked, while a still partially clothed Fred Lou drank in the sight of him. Trying to place the attention elsewhere, Gene leaned forward, kneeling on the bed again, tugging at Fred’s slacks.
Fred didn’t put up much of a fight to remove his pants, though he had worn underwear. Gene’s fingers slid over the red silk boxers before tugging those off, too. Fred lay back on the bed, urging Gene to lie next to him.
“What would you do now?” Fred asked breathlessly. Gene thought a moment, his fingers playing at Fred’s navel.
“Feel you up, kiss you, and take you.” Gene stated, pursing his lips. “Don’t you know how this goes?” Gene laughed. Fred blushed, turning his head so his hair hid his face.
“I’ve ne-” Fred started, but bit his lip. “I haven’t done this in a very long time. I kinda forgot.” Gene shrugged. Considering it only ever seemed like Fred flirted with him, yeah, it kinda made sense he hadn’t had any in a while. Especially if Fred was set on having him, and only him. Gene shook his head. That was a stupid thought.
“Can you just, um,” Fred began, shaking his head, blushing. “Just take me. I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I know how much you want to get back to your ship.” Fred heaved. Gene nodded half-heartedly.
“Don’t know what to do, though. I mean, you aren’t a woman, you know.” Gene said, smirking. Fred raised an arm, reaching beneath his pillows, pulling out a tube of something.
“Lube yourself up. I’ll do everything else.” Fred rolled over onto his stomach, pushing up onto his knees. Gene popped the cap on the tube, squeezed out a liberal amount of gel and started to lubricate his cock. Fred pushed Gene more into the middle of the bed, leaning him back against the many pillows against the headboard. When he was satisfied with Gene’s handiwork, he stopped him and positioned himself in Gene’s lap.
“Wait, shouldn’t we be using a condom or something?” Gene asked, holding on to one of Fred’s hips. Fred shook his head.
“I don’t care. I’m clean, I can assure you, and I don’t care what you might have. I just want you.” Fred breathed, gripping onto Gene’s shoulders, easing himself onto Gene’s member. Gene hissed at the strange contact, but as soon as he was nearly an inch into Fred, his head rolled back to the headboard. The feeling was exquisite, hot, hard and tight. He wanted nothing more than to sheath himself completely in Fred, but the black haired man was taking his time. Gene half thought he must be doing it just to be frustrating.
“Fuck, Fred, need to move,” Gene groaned. Fred bit his lip, nodding. In one swift movement, he was entirely impaled. Gene practically choked on his gasp, digging his fingers into Fred’s hips, thrusting upwards. Fred breathed loudly and wantonly, gasping and moaning, though Gene couldn’t tell if some of the time his sounds were painful.
“You…okay, Fred?” Gene panted. Fred nodded as best as he could, though his sounds made his affirmation hard to believe. Regardless, Fred began bucking fast, his grip on Gene’s shoulders tightening. Within moments, both men came with a shout, Fred’s sounding strangely like a muffled version of Gene’s name.
It took moments before both men could catch their breath. As soon as Fred felt able to, he lifted himself off of Gene, sliding back on his bed, keeping a good foot or two between him and the redheaded captain. Gene felt a very strong sense of loss when Fred moved away, but he shrugged it off.
“So, we done, then?” Gene asked. Fred winced, nodding, his chin to his chest so his hair covered his face. Fred quickly moved off his bed, grabbing for a sand colored silk robe from off a stuffed ottoman.
“You might have noticed an envelope on my desk in my office when you showed up. There’s a key in it. Go downstairs, there is a double door with a glass frame right across from the elevator. Go in there and tell the man inside about your key, he’ll direct you to your money.” Fred stated, tying the belt around his waist. He didn’t turn to look at Gene. Gene blinked.
“Oh, okay, sure.” Gene said, grabbing for his clothes. Fred inclined his head, still turned from Gene. “Guess I’ll see you around.” Gene said, pulling his pants on, buckling his belt. Fred nodded stiffly. He didn’t watch as Gene finished dressing, or when he left him alone. When Fred was positive he was alone, he crumpled onto his floor and let himself cry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♥~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everything went just as Fred had said. The door was there, and the guy accepted the odd looking metal key. Gene was waiting patiently when the man returned, carrying two large metallic briefcases and another envelope.“These are yours, sir.” The man said, handing over the cases. Gene accepted both and turned to leave. “Wait, sir, this is yours as well.” The man handed Gene the envelope. Gene shrugged and took that, too, stuffing it into his pants pocket.
His curiosity getting to him, Gene waited before exiting the building with his briefcases to open the second envelope. This one contained nothing but a simple hand written note.
Gene,As promised, your money. However, it isn’t 500,000. Instead, I decided to give you a full million. After all, what you’ve done for me is priceless, and it’s just money to me.
I know you don’t really want to know this, but I think you should. Before tonight, I was a virgin. I’d known about myself for quite some time, being gay, I mean. I never had the choices most people have. You know, finding that certain someone, marriage, children. I want those, but I know there’s only one person in this endless universe that I want and I can’t have him. He doesn’t want me. He doesn’t even like me.
I’d known since the first time I met you that I wanted my first time to be with you. I also know that you would never do that with me unless you were paid. I’m sorry if I made you feel like a whore, but you won’t do anything for me without getting something in return. My love isn’t worth it, so I hope the money can, at least, make you happy.
There should be enough in your two cases to retire on, I’m sure. You can keep your ship and crew fueled, and zoom off to the other side of the galaxy. I won’t bother you again, I promise.
I suppose it’s kind of funny. No one really has the first time they want, but I got mine. I had to pay dearly for it. I’m not talking the money here. By now you’re probably in your ship, gloating over your newfound wealth, halfway across the universe. I, however, am probably still in my room, crying my gay eyes out. Oh well, no matter to you now. Or ever was, for that matter.
Enjoy your money and your life. Goodbye, Gene.
Fred L.Gene’s hands dropped to his sides, the note fluttering to his feet. He was flabbergasted. Why the hell did Fred want his first time with him, of all people? And the way he treated him, it was enough to make him want to kick himself. Shaking his head, Gene grabbed his two cases and ran to the bodyguard still standing watch at the elevator.
“Hold onto these for me, will ya?” Gene asked. The bodyguard scowled at Gene but nodded. “Thanks, big guy.” Gene said, and mashed the up button on the elevator. It came quickly and Gene rushed inside.
As soon as he made it back up to Fred’s floor, Gene pushed open the door. He could hear crying coming from the other room and he wasted no time busting down the fake wall. Fred was sitting on the floor, his robe askew, his body shaking with sobs. Gene glowered at the vision in front of him and sank to the floor.
Gently, Gene grabbed Fred, taking the weeping man by surprise into his arms. Fred tried to fight, but Gene kept his arms pinned to his sides.
“You stupid, moronic, idiotic…” Gene muttered into Fred’s hair, fighting with him to keep him still. Fred gasped, coughing. Gene shook his head, pushing Fred far enough out of his embrace so he could look at him in the eyes. “What did you think you were doing, Fred? You thought we could do that, and then nothing? You send me off with a million wong and a pathetic note? What am I supposed to do with that, huh?” Fred sniffled and looked up at Gene.
“I’m sorry, Gene, it wasn’t supposed to go like this,” Fred said and hiccupped. “You weren’t supposed to know anything until you were gone. You weren’t supposed to read that note ‘til later.” Fred sniffled again, and looked like he was going to start up again. Gene smirked, hugging Fred to him again.
“Idiot. You really need to learn more about me, like the fact I have this insatiable streak of curiosity in me.” Gene said. He stroked Fred’s hair, slightly surprised to find it felt more like silk than the bedding had. Fred hiccupped again. “I gotta ask, though. Were you really a virgin before tonight?” Gene asked. Fred buried his face in Gene’s chest, giving one short nod. “It’s nothing bad, Fred, just surprising. Hey, you’re the first guy I’ve been with, too.” Fred laughed. Gene smiled. Fred pushed off from Gene, sitting back on his heels.
“You came back to me.” Fred smiled, wiping his eyes. Gene smirked, nodding. He noticed Fred’s now practically open robe. He was still very naked underneath. His eyes flicked from Fred’s smooth, nude form to his face and back again.
“Uh, Fred,” Gene started. On second thought, he shifted to his knees, standing, pulling Fred up with him.
“Gene?” Fred asked uncertainly. Gene smiled, wrapping his fingers in Fred’s hair. Fred blinked. Gene pulled him closer and kissed him. It didn’t feel weird, or gross, but soft and more than a little pleasant. Pulling back, Gene grinned at a very shocked Fred.
~The End
