"Well, here we are at Labrys City," said Jillian Grey, the prickly and unpleasant captain of The Steel Hummingbird. "Engineer Volkova and I will make the delivery. Since it's already late, we'll stay overnight in the domed lesbian city. Sorry Malcolm and Bishop, you will have to stay in the ship here in the landing bay if you don't want to be tossed out into the toxic atmosphere."
With that, the captain and her absurdly muscular female engineer headed off into restricted Sapphic territory, leaving the two men behind to face a very boring night on the small courier ship.
"Wow, this is annoying," said Bishop, the ship's handsome eighteen-year-old medic. "I hate coming here," he added passionately.
"Me too," said Malcolm, the ship's dour yet attractive blond pilot, emphatically. "Every time we come here it's the same thing. Jillian and Volkova get to wander around the city having fun, while we're stuck here in the ship with nothing to do but play cards and clean our guns."
"Would you like to play cards?" suggested the dark, handsome medic, hopefully.
"No," said the incredibly talented pilot, listlessly. "You don't have any money. You already owe me 300 blaughs for that suit you're wearing."
"Well," said the younger man, teasingly, "we could play strip poker. Just for fun."
The older pilot looked into the young medic's chocolate-brown eyes. Malcolm seemed to hesitate for a moment, searching deep within the depths of his own soul, before he said "Yes, all right. Just for fun."
***
"Hey Emily, what are you writing?" John asked, walking into the kitchen.
Emily, startled, slammed her notebook shut. "Nothing," she said, blushing slightly.
John gave her a brief, puzzled look, but didn't call her on it. "I was just about to make coffee," he said. "Want some?"
"Sure!" she said, a bit too brightly. "Thanks! That's very nice of you! Umm .... I'll be in my room."
***
After a few hands of poker, both men were down to their underwear. Malcolm's chest was pale like alabaster and rippled with barely-contained strength, the legacy of his fierce military combat training. Bishop's skin was ebony, and gleamed with sleek muscle and the power of youth.
"I fold," said the young, beautiful medic resignedly, conceding defeat and in one graceful movement, throwing down his cards and stripping off his last remaining piece of clothing.
"Actually," said the older man gruffly, "I think you stand." He nodded towards the younger man's manly member, which stood at attention like a soldier at inspection.
"Well," said Bishop bashfully, blushing prettily beneath his dusky complexion, "I can't help but think of the many, many women surrounding us."
"None of them are interested in you," said the older pilot, gruffly.
"I know," said the heroic young medic, sadly. "I guess I'll go to my bunk now." Privately, he thought in his loneliness of a beautiful girl he had once had the chance to marry, but who he had turned down out of a youthful and masculine fear of commitment. If only she were here, then he would not feel so alone.
When he reached the door of his small quarters, Bishop stopped for a moment and felt someone breathing on his neck. Startled, he turned around and found himself nose-to-nose with the blond pilot.
"Neither of us has to be alone tonight," said Malcolm, breathlessly, and suddenly he grabbed Bishop with his strong, rough hands and pulled him towards his own strong body. Bishop quickly realized the older man was naked, as he felt the pilot's smooth, hot erection pressing against his hip. Malcolm crammed his tongue into the young medic's mouth and soon was backing him towards the very bunk where Bishop had once made sweet love to a beautiful girl from Providence.
Bishop was surprised but desperately excited. Never had he imagined that the surly stunt pilot harboured such feelings for him! The long days and nights in the black of space would never be the same after this!
The two couriers tumbled lustfully onto Bishop's narrow bed. The creaking of the springs was almost drowned out by their panting breaths.
"I want to be inside of you," the older pilot said possessively to the young medic.
"All right," said the younger man meekly. "There is a bottle of lube in my locker under the bed."
The young Ubuntan watched, fascinated, as the older Picadillian prepared himself. "You really know what you're doing, don't you?" he said questioningly.
Malcolm let out a hearty laugh. "Well, you know what they say about the Picadillian navy -- it's nothing but tea, sodomy, and the lash." With that, he entered the slender teenager from behind. They both cried out in mutual pleasure. Bishop gripped the rails of his bed and hung on with white knuckles as the blond pilot drove into him like a pile driver.
After several grunting, sweating, utterly delicious minutes, Malcolm came inside Bishop with a hearty yell. This sent the young Ubuntan over the edge himself, and soon they were tangled limply on the bed, breathing hard, ebony and ivory limbs all tangled together and slick with sweat.
"I think I love you, Malcolm," said the younger man, sweetly.
"I love you too, Bishop," said the pilot, gruffly. "From now on, you're mine."
"There's just one more thing I have to do," said the skinny yet well-muscled medic. He peeled himself away from his older lover and went digging around in his locker until he found his folding knife.
The Picadillian looked concerned for a moment, and then his ice-blue eyes flashed with understanding. "Allow me," he said, taking the knife. Grinning widely, he pressed its cutting edge against the bedpost, adding one fresh notch.
***
"Wow," said Gabi, behind Emily.
"Gah!" Emily yelped, nearly knocking over her chair as she spun around. "What-- how-- don't sneak up on me like that, damn it!"
"Cat burglar," Gabi reminded her with a smirk. "I can't even help myself. Here, I brought you your coffee."
Emily took the mug with both hands and sipped it, hoping Gabi would ignore her flushed cheeks and just go away.
No such luck.
"That's some pretty steamy material you've got there," Gabi commented, nodding at the notebook. Emily realized that Gabi must have been standing behind her long enough to read over her shoulder and get the gist of what she was writing.
"It was meant to be private," Emily said, glaring at her roommate.
"Sorry," Gabi said, not sounding particularly contrite. "May I?" Without waiting for actual permission, she took the notebook and flipped back a few pages.
Emily watched Gabi's expression change as she read, becoming more and more amused. Emily felt defensive but also a little anxious -- she realized she was hoping Gabi would like it.
"Wow," Gabi said again, snapping the notebook shut. "Actually that was pretty hot. I mean, maybe next time you could go a bit easier on the adverbs and the epithets? But seriously, I think you've got real talent."
Flooded with relief, Emily smiled. "You think so? I was considering writing a sequel, where they crash on this deserted moon and Jillian and Volkova are killed and Malcolm's gravely injured, and Bishop has to nurse him back to health, and they realize the incredible depths of their love for each other."
Gabi handed Emily's notebook back to her and patted her shoulder. "Go wild, girl," she said. "Follow your dreams."