“I'm watching you...” the voice came from behind him, and the heavier footfall continued, following him into the trees. Callum swallowed. He had to, he decided. He had to jump the gun. He would rather risk death, and try escape, than allow this man to shoot him blindly, ending his life with no hope of escape.
He drew in a breath and pivoted on the front of his feet.
A strangled gasp came from behind him, then a strange noise, like a grunt, and a crash.
The man fell like a tree.
Callum gasped, and threw himself to the ground, sure the gun had gone off and that his last moment had come. As he hit the ground, rolling, he half-sat and looked back.
In the place where his pursuer had been was only emptiness, dusted with reflected light. And a form. A tall, strangely-familiar form.
He breathed out. It was Kai.
Later, in the apartment, the lights were lowered and the kettle on, steam flowing over the closeness of the scene.
“Kai?”
“Uh-huh?”
“How did you find me?” Callum's voice, still frayed, asked.
He and Kai were sitting together at the table, coffee in the flask, their familiar cups on the table between them. The light was low and warming, and the scent of toast and caffeine wreathed the air between them, making the room warm and peaceful.
“Kai?” Callum prompted, gently. He was finally no longer shaking, and his hand reached out across the table, reaching for Kai.
Kai sat silent for a few moments. He looked serene, but inside he was in torment.
How could he even begin to tell Callum how he had found him? If he told him that, he would have to tell him everything, and then...
Kai breathed out. Made a decision. There was no other way out of this but the truth. “I can do these things.” He paused. “In fact...there's no easy way to say this, but I might as well. I can read thoughts. I can transport myself with thought. I can do these things because I'm an alien.”
His voice was hard and wooden. He looked through the window out at the darkness, not at Callum.
“You...” Callum breathed out, “you are?”
“No, I just said it to be funny.” Kai said, sharply. He turned away so that he did not have to look at Callum, did not have to see the dawning revilement on his face. He felt his heart sinking slowly through his chest.
What would Callum think of him now? All the things he had been told flooded into his head. He should have stayed where he was, with his controlling father at home. Here, he would only find hate. Callum would hate him, now, and he would leave remembering contempt in those eyes he loved. How could he? He felt his heart slowly begin to ache.
They were silent for a while, and Kai considered leaving. Just as he was about to, he felt a hand reach out and touch his shoulder, very faintly.
“Kai...” Callum breathed out. “I know you're telling the truth, and it's...it's amazing.”
“What..?” Kai breathed, faintly.
He felt his heart slowly fill, overflow, ache with the depth of his feeling so that it felt as if it would crush his chest. The feeling growing inside him was one of overwhelming wonder, unremitting joy.
“Kai,” Callum gently pressed his hand on Kai's shoulder, turning so that they looked each other in the eye, “I love you.”
Kai reached out a hand. He felt close to tears, unable to say anything. He clasped Callum's hand and they sat in silence for a few moments, utterly overwhelmed by their feelings.
“I love you,” Callum continued, “and I love everything you are. If you're an alien, well...I think that's the coolest thing I ever heard.”
Kai could not help it. A tear rolled down his cheek, and then another. Long, slow, silent tears coursed through him, and his shoulders heaved without making a sound as all the hurt and fear and pain of the past month slowly drained from him, replaced by lightness.
“Really?”
“Really.” Callum stroked his hand, then huffed a laugh of surprise. “Really, how could you think otherwise?” He laughed again. “You're wonderful.”
“I...” Kai breathed out. “No-one has ever said that before.”
“Really?” Callum asked.
“Really.” Kai agreed.
“Now that,” Callum laughed, “is the most surprising thing you've said all day.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
They kissed. They sat together, arms around each other, feeling their closeness and the heavy, slow beating of each others' hearts.
Slowly, Callum stroked a hand down Kai's back. Kai leaned in to his touch. Callum leaned in to kiss his mouth, a long, lingering kiss.
“I have so many things to ask,” Callum began, smiling fondly at Kai, “but I can't think of all of them right now. We're too tired, and right now all I want is you.”
Kai closed his eyes before fresh tears could come. Of all the responses he had expected, and had been led to expect, this was the craziest, most unlikely and wonderful he could possibly have imagined.
“Well, good.” he smiled, when he could find a voice again. “Because, right now, all I want is you.”
Callum sighed, then, a small sound full of care. His head rested on Kai, leaning against his firm shoulder. His arms tightened around him and he held him close. Kai, deeply moved, leaned into his embrace. They sat like that, enjoying the sensation of closeness.
Callum slowly stroked Kai's back, and Kai closed his eyes, leaning in to the sensation. His hand ran slowly down Callum's leg, stroking the inside of his thigh.
Callum closed his eyes and drew Kai closer, so that his back pressed against his hips, his arms wrapped around his shoulders.
Kai, breath catching in his throat, leaned back and kissed Callum once again, and then slowly drew him to his feet.
“Come.”
Callum stood, and they embraced again. Their steps took them slowly across the sitting-room and to the hall. They crossed it, and collapsed together onto the bed.
Callum gently unbuttoned Kai's shirt, and Kai, kissing his forehead, leaned down and began to work on his buttons, before sliding his shirt gently back over his shoulders and kissing the skin revealed there.
They collapsed onto the pillows, arms entwined and lips caressing one another.
Kai's knee slid between Callum's thighs, and their bodies pressed close, rocking back and forth, enjoying the feeling of the hardness of each other.
They undressed, slowly, and Kai's strong hands gently turned Callum in his arms. He entered him, slowly, and with restraint and passion that made Callum shiver. He cried out and reached back, stroking his lover, his loved one.
When they were both sated, exhausted with their passions, they fell asleep in one another’s' arms.
“And so, it's really like Earth there? Only...not?”
It was breakfast, and the scents of coffee and jam mingled with the mellow burning smell of toast and the wreaths of steam from the kettle on the hob.
Kai chuckled, and blew steam off the surface of his cup. “Yes, well, sort of.” he smiled. Callum had not stopped asking him questions about his home since they woke that morning. He was so full of excitement about it, he wanted to know everything. Kai was delighted, but his head was starting to whirl. He grinned to himself, and cleared his throat to answer.
“It's like Earth, in that we have plants and animals and human-like life-forms, and everything looks pretty much the same...optimal is optimal, after all.” He smiled and nodded.
“Science.” Callum smiled. They both laughed.
“Exactly,” Kai continued, noting Callum's observation with pride. “There are differences, though...fundamentally, though, they are cultural.” He finished “Mm..?” Callum asked, reaching for a second piece of toast. He was fascinated, hanging on Kai's every word, but he was also ravenously hungry.
“Well,” Kai paused, looking out of the window, waiting for inspiration, “we used to do things a lot like you do here. Exploiting the earth, using other creatures, abusi
ng the planet.”
Callum looked down, feeling suddenly shamed. “Yes.” he said, quietly.
“Well,” Kai continued, “we had an Enlightenment, then, and things started being done differently. We live sustainably now, in harmony with the planet. In peaceful communities.” He was still looking away, and now, instead of merriment, he wore a haunted expression.
“And..?” Callum prompted. He saw the sadness in Kai's face, and wanted to know what caused it. What had happened there, to make Kai so overwhelmed.
“But it was too late.” Kai felt his throat closing up again, and waited for a moment.
“Late?” Callum asked, his voice gentle.
“The planet is dying.” Kai said, looking through the window at the last rays of the sunrise, lighting up the mist and making it golden. “The damage we inflicted on Her was too great. We have perhaps a hundred years before we face an extinction. Time enough to make some preparation.”
“Preparation?” Callum asked, confused.
They were silent for a while, each lost in thought, before Kai began.
“Yes.” Kai said, “preparation for our extinction. Plans to move to other planets: more like this one, maybe. Or like the other neighboring life-bearing planets in the galaxy.”
“Others?” Callum swallowed, surprised despite himself.
“You didn't think there were only two?” Kai asked, surprised.
“No.” Callum admitted, feeling a little silly. The Universe was inconceivably large, there must be others, he reminded himself. He had just never heard it said so comfortably before.
“Well, we are preparing to move some of our population to some other planets.” Kai continued. “And to do that, we need optimum characteristics for survival on these planets.”
“Optimal?”
“Well, like the right blood system, the ability to utilize the gases in the atmosphere, ability to process the foodstuffs...”
“Wow.” Callum breathed. “But that would mean interbreeding, right..?” His scientific mind was filling in the details at once, leaving no stone unturned.
“Quite.”
Kai and Callum looked at each other. Neither of them said anything for a long moment.
“Um..?” Callum asked, knowing what the answer would be before he said it. “You said there were only men on your planet, right? It's more optimal, to only have one gender?”
“Yes.” Kai nodded.
“Oh.” Callum said, voice small. “Right.”
They caught each other's gaze then, and the look they exchanged was one of shyness, sweetness, and humor, all at once.
“When were you going to tell me..?” Callum asked.
“I wasn't sure.” Kai admitted. “I had been told you would hate me if I told you, that your kind would hate our kind.”
“How could you think that?” Callum said, grinning incredulity at Kai.
“I...that's what everyone said.”
“I could never, ever hate you.” Callum said, fixing Kai with his green eyes. They were clear, level and direct. Kai felt warmth flow through him. He reached out to Callum and they sat a while, hands held together firmly.
“So...” Callum ventured after a moment. He looked almost shy, Kai realized. He smiled.
“Yes.” He confirmed, knowing what Callum was trying to ask, reading it in his thoughts before he had to verbalize. Am I pregnant? Is what he was asking almost as if he had said it aloud.
Callum smiled, a look of absolute sweetness filling his face.
Kai smiled too, and their hands met. They both felt a sense of being overwhelmed, as well as everything being just right.
After a minute, Callum laughed. “Well, you've given me a lot to consider,” he began, chuckling, “but I would not hate you. I could not hate you. How could I even begin doing that?”
He leaned forward and kissed Kai. Their hands met. They sat for a while, after, just looking at each other. Callum smiled.
“Well,” he said, voice hesitant, “if we're going to have babies, there's a lot we need to talk about, to plan.” He laughed, a little wildly.
Kai smiled, serene. “I was hoping you would say that. You see, I have a suggestion...”
They did not stop discussing it until much later, when the sun was again sliding below the horizon and the shadows were lengthening, everything bathed in lines of deep navy-blue and golden light.
Weekend, and Kai and Callum slept in late.
The light filtered through the curtains onto their relaxed bodies, lying tangled together in the bed, heads close on the pillow. Callum opened his eyes, slowly.
“Kai...”
“Uh-huh?”
“So. Just to get this sorted out in my mind,” Callum began, slowly, “you want to take me back? To your planet? Tomorrow?”
“Uh huh.” Kai leaned in and kissed Callum's hair.
“Heck.” Callum breathed out. His face, lean and strong in the morning' filtered sunlight, looked part awed, part afraid.
“That is okay, right?” Kai asked, anxiously. His pale violet eyes met Callum's, a worried frown above them.
“It's okay, sure.” Callum blinked. “Just...scary.”
Kai breathed out softly. “I promise it won't be.”
“I don't know...” Callum sounded unconvinced. “I know I'll be with you, and that's great, the best, but...another planet?”
“It's not that different.” Kai smiled. “it's like this one in all the best ways. But...maybe better? You'll have to see what you think.” He laughed, softly. “I am biased.”
Callum laughed. “If you like it, I guess it can't be that bad...”
“Good.” Kai chuckled.
“I dunno, actually...” Callum leaned back, thinking. His hand stroked Kai's hair, teasingly. “I mean, you like vinegar on potatoes...”
“So?” Kai laughed, voice warm.
“Well? Yuck!”
They both chuckled. Callum pushed Kai lovingly, and Kai ran a hand through his hair. They lay back, enjoying the warmth and the silence of Saturday.
“You really will fit in there.” Kai smiled.
“You think so?”
“Yeah.” Kai paused. “I mean, everyone is really handsome, and no-one stresses about anything, so...”
Callum chuckled. “That's nice of you.” He kissed Kai on the side of the face. “To say I'm handsome, I mean.”
“You are.”
Kai and Callum looked into each other's eyes. They kissed.
“You too.” Callum smiled.
“Thank you.” Kai said, sounding haughty. They both laughed.
“So...” Callum smiled. “Tell me about your home. Is it like something on Earth? What are the houses like?”
Kai smiled. How can one begin describing something normal to oneself? A house on Cyanos – a castle stronghold – was the only house he knew before coming here. But Callum, he knew, would have trouble imagining it.
“You'll see.” He said, smiling. “Bigger than here. With lots of divisions. Up to three-hundred people live in just one central building.”
“Three hundred? Heck.” Callum whistled. He paused. “But...isn't it crowded?” He ventured. “I mean...will we have space to ourselves?” He sounded so concerned that Kai had to laugh.
“We'll have plenty of space. I promise.” He kissed Callum again, slowly. When he had leaned back, he added, “my father is a lord in Council, you know.”
“What?”
“A lord.” Kai swallowed. “You've got them here, surely?”
“On earth?” Callum said, surprised. “Sure, we've got lords. But it's not like they actually do stuff. I mean, it's all honorific nowadays, isn't it? Largely?”
“Here? Yes.” Kai smiled. “There, it's certainly an honor, but they do stuff too. Like, running the whole complex, for example. And together the Council administers to the needs of the whole planet.”
They were silent.
“Wow.” Callum breathed out. “Like, an oligarchy?”
Kai chuckled
. “Probably. But not corrupt. You'll see it before you believe it, I think.”
“It does stretch my belief a bit far,” Callum nodded, and they both laughed.
“You believe quite happily that I am an alien life-form,” Kai smiled, “but you don't believe in a governance that is non-corrupt?” He laughed. “That's remarkable.”
“Try living here.” Callum chuckled, and they both laughed.
“Seriously, though,” Kai said, “losing your planet kind of unites people. Like, who cares about embezzling a few million, if in fifty years' time, you might not have a place to live?”
“I never thought about it like that.” Callum replied, thinking.
“I think that's why we all tend to get on better than you on Earth.” Kai agreed. “That, and the fact that, if you can read thoughts, there's no point in being duplicit. Or in hating someone else. You get to see what's really going on in his head, and it's always a lot more understandable than you would think. We identify with each other more. It helps.”
“Oh.” Callum paused. “Wait. You can read minds?”
Kai laughed. “Not like you might think.” He paused. “It's just...when you approach someone with compassion, you get a feeling of what they're feeling. I guess you people call it empathy.” He paused, thinking. “It's close enough, anyway. A deep understanding and resonance with someone, that allows you to feel their feelings and really understand them.”
“Wow.” Callum said again. “I guess; I do understand that.” He thought about it a while, considering. “I mean, when you're sad, it feels like my world has ended. Everything is grey and depressing.”
“See?” Kai smiled. “You can do it too.”
“Hey!” Callum smiled. “I can!”
“I think it's an ability all living organisms share, or shared.” Kai continued. “You've seen them – birds have got to be communicating in some deep, largely-silent way, or how do they get into formation to fly South?”
“True.” Callum agreed, and they were silent for a while, while his mind grasped it.
“I looked that up, by the way.” Kai smiled. “About the birds, I mean. On Cyanos, the birds stay put. The planet doesn't have so much of a tilt on its axis. The bottom part stays cold all year, more or less, and the top part, where we all live, stays warm.”
Celestial Seductions: The Complete Series: An MM Gay Paranormal Mpreg Romance Collection Page 19