The Hunt for Red Fluffy

by Angel Martinez

  "I would." Julian didn't even hesitate, a tiny smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "If it's what we all want, it's an enthusiastic yes from me."

  "Shax?" Ness stayed leaning forward, the wing stroking far too soothing to interrupt. By his movements, Shax seemed to be stroking Julian's back as well.

  Shax huffed out a breath. "You do know I've been waiting for this, don't you?"

  "No, how would I… Never mind." Ness nudged his knee. "I need you to say it, love."

  "I, Prince Shax of the royal house of Ashtaroth, do consent to this arrangement," Shax said in his most regally snooty tone, somewhat spoiled when Julian snickered. "Will that do?"

  "Yes, thank you." Ness still side-eyed him for not taking it seriously. "I don't know how all this will work yet, but I consent, too."

  "Oh, thank pits." Shax carefully disentangled himself and stood. "My heart was about to explode with the suspense. Julian, you're still exhausted. Why don't you lie down here and rest? Ness, perhaps you should stay to keep an eye on him. There's my lovely angel. Excellent. All settled. I'll be back later."

  At a snort from Julian, Ness turned from gaping at the closing cabin door. "I think I feel manipulated."

  "By one of the best, lovely angel." Julian ran a hand back through his hair. He did look as if a hard breath might knock him over. "I should…you don't mind if I nap here?"

  Please do, so you don't collapse in the corridor. "Not at all. Is it… Do you mind if I lie down with you?"

  "Not at all," Julian said with a smile equal parts shy and ironic.

  They lay on their sides facing each other, with Ness on the outer edge of the bunk. Hands clasped between them, they simply stared at each other for a few breaths. For Ness, it was a chance to let his brains unscramble and his thoughts slow. The ride from harrowing guilt to a quiet, growing joy had been heart-stopping.

  Julian broke the silence. "Ness? I know you're not…that is, that you haven't had many lovers. Just so you know, I'm not constructed quite like you or Shax."

  "But…I know that." Ness blinked in confusion. "You don't have wings or horns."

  "True. I'm only human. But I meant more personally speaking."

  "I don't—oh. Yes, well, you were shirtless at Yule since we all were, so I just assumed." I could have assumed wrong, and I'm about to offend Julian and make a fool of myself. "You are trans…yes?"

  Julian opened his mouth, snapped it shut again, and finally said, "Well, that was the easiest coming out ever. I mean yes. Is it all right to be surprised?"

  "Sexuality and gender were very confusing for me when I left the angelic hosts. I've done quite a lot of research—reading, and, ah, visual."

  "All right. That makes sense. And please don't be shy about asking questions. You won't offend me." Julian stopped to cover a jaw-cracking yawn. "I'd love to watch some visual research with you some time, but right now I can't keep my eyes open."

  Ness leaned in to brush a chaste kiss across Julian's cheek. "Go to sleep. I'll be here."

  Within moments, Julian was out, though he twitched and shivered in his sleep. Ness swept a wing forward to cover him, and the soft sigh Julian let out twinged at Ness's heart. It occurred to him that it was likely Julian rarely slept soundly or felt safe doing so. His heart melted further when Julian rooted closer, snuggling into Ness's arms.

  As he watched over Julian, a realization hit him like a crowbar to the head. The separation, the exclusion, that's what had caused the rage. Possessive. Yes. He wasn't angry about the idea of Shax and Julian together—all right, yes, he had been that first time, since he hadn't known Julian then—but about the thought of sex behind his back.

  Now that he'd taken the ISE agent, quite literally, under his wing? The possessive fire no longer raged over exclusion but had expanded to include Julian.

  Shax swaggered to the galley, sternly squashing the urge to skip instead. He deserved a celebratory drink. Or two. Finally, finally. It took those two long enough. I thought I'd have to bang their heads together. And all it took was venomous buttercopters and shared peril. Ha!

  As long as they'd gotten there and survived the journey—that was what mattered. The anxious pall around Shax's heart had lifted, leaving him lighter, practically transparent. Ms. Ivana could turn up the gravity and he'd still feel like flying.

  Verin was at the table with Corny, heads bent together reading when Shax strode in.

  Without more than a sideways glance at him, Verin growled, "How many fucking canaries did you eat this time? What's that shit-eating grin for?"

  "Think you might could know that, Ver." Corny did look up, eyes dancing mischief. "You get your boys corralled and sorted, Cap?"

  "I did." Shax sat across from them with a mock-offended sniff. "Not that it's anyone's business."

  "Imp shit," Ver grumbled. "All three of you idiots moping around and snapping each other's stupid heads off? Yeah, it's everybody's fucking business."

  Shax didn't dignify that with an answer beyond an annoyed grunt. "Ms. Ivana? Could I have a scotch, my dear?" After his drink had trundled out, he deigned to turn his attention to them. "What are you two so intent on?"

  "Tryin' to reckon how many cutters Pinochet has," Corny said with a frown. "Ain't an easy thing."

  "Fuckers have the registrations all screwed up, so you can't tell."

  "Mmm." Shax sipped, forehead creasing. "I'm sure that's purposeful. Duomo has at least five remaining, from what I recall from previous visits. The Pinochet has several armed shuttles as well, which they are not required to register separately. Ver?"

  "What?"

  "A single well-piloted cutter with a good gunner would do for us. What would knowing numbers accomplish?"

  "Julian's already taken out one of the fuckers." Ver shrugged. "If he's as hot shit as he says, he can take out more."

  Corny cut in before Shax could say what he thought about sending Julian after a coterie of gunships. "It'd give us just that itty bit of an advantage, Cap. Knowin' how many are left. Does she have guns, too? The Pinochet? You've been aboard a bunch of times."

  "I have no idea." Shax tried to think if he'd ever heard of the wallowing craft firing on anyone. "Perhaps?"

  Ver snorted. "You're a fucking terrible spy, your royal peabrained-ness."

  "Yes, well. My talents in that direction aren't normally engaged except for a specific purpose." Shax tossed back the remainder of his scotch, too deep in thought to enjoy it. The dreadful thing was that Ver was right, damn him. They'd been reacting, waiting for their enemies to move, then acting on far too little intelligence. If they survived this current predicament, that would have to change, especially if they expected to survive in the long run.

  "When we're no longer being tracked, we need to get to Barbary." Shax tapped his glass on the table before he rose. "Back to the beginning, gentlemen. Where we start asking questions at the source."

  If we get out of this. When we get out of this. I have questions for Madame Phoenix. Shax halted in the doorway. "Why aren't you two shagging each other stupid?"

  "Did that," Ver muttered, gaze glued back on the holoscreen.

  Corny leaned back, arms behind his head, with an expression that could only be called smug. "Just restin' up for a spell."

  "Cowboy got the better of you again, did he, Ver?"

  "Shut up, you troll-ass flattened git."

  Shax fled before Verin could start throwing things. Honestly, they were the only couple he knew who made sex a competitive sport.

  Ness hadn't meant to doze off, and he certainly hadn't meant to wake Julian when he withdrew his wing oh so carefully to leave the bunk. He hadn't factored in all of what Julian was.

  His eyes snapped open, though Ness couldn't swear to Julian seeing him or the room. For a handful of moments, Julian lay completely still. If he breathed, Ness neither heard not saw it. With snake-strike speed, he leaped up into a crouch on the bunk, obviously reaching for weapons that weren't there.

  "Julian!" Ness backed up,
giving him space. This was Julian's training in the pilot's chair, the training that kept him alive, not the fully conscious agent. "Julian, you're all right. It's Shax's room. You're safe."

  The reaction was immediate. Ness pinpointed the moment Julian saw him. He sat down hard, running both hands back through his tangled black hair. "Sorry. Ness…I'm sorry."

  "Does that always happen?"

  Julian shook his head, pulling his feet in to sit cross-legged on the bunk. "No. No, I'm sorry. Just when I'm overtired and I wake up not knowing where I am."

  "It's all right. We'll find better ways." Ness patted his shoulder and reached around to open one of the wall drawers. "Would you like me to brush your hair?"

  "Wait, that's it?" Julian stared up at him, anxious shadows clouding his eyes. "You're not…"

  Ness sat beside him with the brush and turned Julian away from him with gentle hands. "I'm not frightened. Or repulsed. Or even very surprised. It's all right, Julian."

  With a slow breath out, Julian nodded, relaxing bit by bit under Ness's slow brushstrokes. Partly, Ness felt as if he calmed a half-feral cat. The larger part of him simply reveled in the silken slide of Julian's hair through his fingers. He refused to feel bad about that.

  The tangles had vanished under his careful ministrations when the cabin door opened and Shax poked his head into the room. "Is this a bad time, cupcake? Should I go?"

  They both turned to face him, with Julian scooting away toward the foot of the bunk. Not quite guilty, Ness thought. Still uncomfortable, though.

  "No, love. Your timing's perfect." Ness replaced the brush and closed the drawer. "I'd rather you didn't go."

  "Ah. Well, then." Shax flopped down on the bed with his head in Julian's lap and his feet in Ness's. "I'm more than happy to stay, of course. Always glad to be of service."

  Julian managed a real laugh, soft and purring. "Are we shocked, Ness?"

  "Not at all." Ness found a smile as his concerns melted into the background with Shax there. "Though I don't think I appreciate boots in my lap."

  Without waiting for permission or invitation—Ness certainly wasn't that naïve; still, he knew Shax's not subtle hinting—he started on the buckles of Shax's deck boots with shaking hands. Is this…all three of us…happening? Is this not as strange as it feels to me? While he felt more unsure than afraid, he did wish he'd done some more research on the subject. He couldn't for the life of him puzzle through the mechanics. Or would one person always watch? Ness believed he wouldn't mind watching if he was invited to, though two or three other solutions did finally come to mind when he put some effort in.

  He swallowed against a suddenly dry throat and told himself sternly not to adjust his painful erection until he could do it discreetly.

  "Ness?" Julian stilled the hand raking through Shax's hair. "All right there?"

  "I…" Ness put the second boot down beside the first and tugged off Shax's socks. "You know, I think I'm more all right than I have been in some time."

  Julian leaned over to take Ness's face between his hands and brush a hesitant thumb over Ness's lips. The touch sent shivering electric sparks chasing down Ness's spine. Eyes half lidded, Julian shifted closer and pressed his mouth to Ness's in gentle exploration, the kiss brief but with an unmistakable whisper of heat.

  "I've wanted to do that for months," Julian whispered against Ness's cheek.

  Ness had to remember to breathe. "Have you?"

  Still stretched out between them, Shax let out a whimper only partially muffled by the knuckle he'd bitten down on. "You two are so delicious together. I might just expire quietly while I watch."

  "Drama demon." Julian snickered.

  "I'm not convinced quietly would work for you," Ness said with a fond smile.

  Shax shoved them apart and popped to his feet as he clawed his sweater off over his head. "What should we indulge in? We have absolutely hours before we come out of Copernicus."

  Sitting cross-legged on the bunk, Julian gave him an odd look. "I thought you were orchestrating this, maestro?"

  Shax's bright grin faded to something softer, almost shy. "Ness generally takes charge. Quite sternly sometimes."

  "Well, well, Prince Shax." Julian arched one perfect eyebrow. "Just when you think you know a demon."

  The breath caught in Ness's chest, and he waved his hands in desperate negation. "I don't think that I'm, ah, ready for all of that. Just…" Boundaries. "What would you like, Julian?"

  Julian stared at his hands. We're all being shy now. For a long moment, Ness thought he might not answer. "Penetration is a no-go, and pain isn't something I seek out during sex, though a partner who needs it is another matter." He glanced through his lashes over at Shax.

  "No one said anything about needing pain." Shax crossed his arms with a little harrumph. "It's simply fun sometimes."

  "Could you give me a minute?" Julian slipped off the bed, kissed Ness atop his head, and hurried out of the cabin.

  "Of course," Ness said to the cabin door as it closed. "Huh."

  Shax returned to the bunk and nestled close as if he were cold. Perhaps he was without his sweater. "Julian… Blast. I suppose it's not my place to tell you things about Julian now."

  "It's not? You've told me plenty of Julian-related things before."

  "Yes, but they weren't personal. Now we have a trust issue involved, since we're involved."

  "Oh." Ness stroked one of Shax's horns. "I see. No, Julian and I already talked about that."

  "Did you? Well done, cupcake. Well done, indeed." Shax gave a contented sigh. "No, no, don't stop. A little lower. Mmmmm."

  Good as his word, Julian returned in under a minute carrying a black case the size of a portable comm station. He set it on the bed, unzipped it, and stood back. The contents were definitely not comm equipment. Ness perused the selection of cocks carefully rather than opening his mouth and saying stupid things as his thoughts spun things this way and that. Some of them had straps—of course. He did understand variations in male anatomy. Research, as he'd said. Despite their earlier conversation, Julian's smile had gone a little crooked, and sadly, Ness understood that as well. Humans routinely made him feel unwelcome for being different.

  "What a lovely selection." Ness leaned over the case, his breathing harder and harder to control. He finally reached down and adjusted his cock, simply no other option at that point. "May I?"

  Julian waved a hand at the case. "Be my guest."

  In a stage whisper, Shax offered, "Ness does like choices."

  "So do you, love. You're always happier with more." Ness managed a dry tone, though his face was hot enough to power the ship. He picked up a royal-blue one with a hefty circumference and black leather straps. "This one's especially nice."

  "That one it is." Julian tipped his head in a nod and shut the case.

  "Could I put it on you?" To Ness's horror, his voice cracked and squeaked.

  A desperate sound came from Shax, currently on the floor in the middle of the room fighting to get out of his clothes in record speed. "You two are trying to kill me."

  His demon's impatience steadied Ness somehow. "Not at all, love. We'll need you in a moment. Julian?"

  Julian—was he blushing? He stripped off his shirt, holding it in front of him like a shield. "I think I'd like that."

  "Come here, then." The heat pouring up from Ness's core colored his words.

  Julian's brilliant smile flashed before he buried it in mock seriousness. "You are bossy."

  "I did tell you," said a now stark-naked Shax.

  "Hush, love. Not another word." Ness kept his attention on Julian, hooking fingers in his belt loops to pull him close. "Up on the mattress, highness, on all fours."

  Out of the corner of his eye, Ness made sure Shax did as he was told. Not only did he comply, but he did it with eager speed, ending up with his beautiful ass facing them. He did, because he was Shax, break one point of the instructions and whispered, "Will there be a gag?"

  "No, n
ot this time." Ness tried out his commanding voice and found it nearly worked properly. "We'll need that mouth."

  A visible shiver ran through Shax, one Ness knew from experience was of anticipation rather than nervousness. He stayed quiet, apparently resolving to be a good demon prince. Ness shifted his attention to Julian, who was just turning back to Ness, and they shared a chuckle over being caught in mutual admiration of Shax's assets.

  "Are you truly sure you're all right with this?" Ness sat on the edge of the bed so he wasn't looming over Julian.

  "I'm fine. Really. As long as you're not planning a three-hour marathon here."

  "Good to hear." Ness tried again. "But I mean about all of this. You're not doing it just because…" He couldn't quite finish the sentence or stop the sideways glance at Shax.

  Julian moved between Ness's knees, sliding both hands back into Ness's hair. "I wanted Shax from the first time he brazenly propositioned me. And it was brazen. I also want you. Really want you. I wouldn't have been here if I didn't."

  "All right, good," Ness murmured, his thumbs caressing along Julian's waistband.

  "Gah!" Shax buried his head on his forearms, which only served to display his rounded ass to better advantage. "Julian's fine, you're fine, I'm fine. We're all fine! Can we please, please, I'm begging, get on with it?"

  Without turning, Ness reached out an arm and smacked Shax across both cheeks, eliciting a delicious moan from his favorite demon. "That's for speaking."

  "Yes, sir," Shax whispered and received a second spank for it, which was exactly what he wanted.

  Consent received, and in one case nearly pummeled to death, Ness worked open the fastenings on Julian's leathers while Julian simply dropped his shirt. Given his profession, Ness knew there were scars. He hadn't expected so many, new and old, the long one running from right knee to hip the pinkest. None of them detracted from the lean, whipcord strength of his body, but they represented so much pain it made the backs of Ness's eyes sting.