Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The deal had been straightforward and quite simple.

Todd would spend several weeks in Atlantis together with Colonel Sheppard, and Sheppard's XO Major Lorne was supposed to act as some kind of reinsurance and warranty to grant the Wraith Commander's safety in the City of the Ancients and therefore had to spend those weeks on board Todd's Hive – alone among hundreds of Wraith – in exchange.

Evan sighed and switched off the engine of the Jumper he'd taken to fly to Todd's Hive which was circling in a high orbit over Atlantis, looking through the transparent front to observe the huge Dart bay for a moment. He could still hear the voice of his CO in his ears, Sheppard smiling that trade-mark crooked grin of his when he'd said:

“There won't be any problem, Lorne. Kenny is one of the nicer Wraith, you'll be best buddies in no time.”

Evan snorted to himself. Wraith were never 'nice', not even Todd – who could at best go for the least scary Wraith Evan knew. Todd's second-in-command definitely belonged to the scary type of Wraith, though, and the young major with the deep blue eyes and the trade-mark dimples doubted highly that they would ever be 'best buddies' – whatever this rather ambiguous term implied anyway.

As Sheppard's second-in-command, Evan hadn't had much of a chance to object, as sending Richard Woolsey to spend several weeks on board a Hive was definitely out of the question, and sending anyone else with a lower rank would be a serious offense by Wraith laws.

That was why he was here now, hesitant to leave the questionable safety of the Jumper to face his future 'best buddy'. Evan could imagine countless other places where he would rather be now, and none of them had anything to do with Wraith and their gloomy and spooky Hive ships. Evan had been well aware of what he'd signed up for when he'd decided to return to Pegasus with Atlantis of course, and he wasn't the man to delay the inevitable, but someone who'd rather face the challenge and get it over with as best and quickly as he was able to do.

Evan drew in a deep breath and straightened his shoulders, rising to his feet after another few seconds to leave the Jumper and face whatever would await him here on board Todd's Hive – which was actually Kenny's Hive for the next weeks now.

The rear hatch opened with a quiet noise, and the young major stepped outside, just to find himself standing face to face with four huge masked drones and a hissing Wraith with glowing yellow eyes.

*~*~*

The Wraith looked as displeased about their unwelcome guest as Evan himself felt, and he was definitely not Todd's second-in-command Kenny. Evan had learned to differentiate the few Wraith they were dealing with on a regular basis, all of them high ranking and experienced officers, and he was sure that he'd never seen this one before.

As Todd usually came to the Dart bay himself to welcome Sheppard, Evan had somehow expected that Kenny would show the same courtesy, but he realized quickly how foolish he'd been to nurse this silly hope. He was not a welcome guest, he was an unwanted intruder, a royal hostage so to speak, and Todd's second wouldn't lower himself down like that and come to their fighter bay personally.

'Well, great start. There's no better way to teach me my place, is it?' Evan thought grimly, and he offered his most charming smile to the hissing officer, that one which showed off his dimples in all their glory.

The Wraith narrowed his eyes and took a step back, apparently confused by Evan's behavior. As Evan had hardly ever seen any Wraith smile except for Todd, he realized that he'd probably better not smile too often during his stay.

“Major Lorrrrrne?” The officer asked, rolling the 'r' in his name with his multi-toned voice. “I shall bring you to your quarters. Follow me!”

'Why wasting your precious time with the minimum of politeness when you can just order me around,' Evan shrugged inwardly with a scornful snort, his smile fading, and the Wraith shot him an irritated glance and bared his teeth to another distressed hiss. Evan stared back, unwilling to show his discomfort and back away like the Wraith had done so unexpectedly, and after a moment, the officer just turned around on his heels and strode forward without looking whether or not the human was following him.

Evan took his bag and set off after him, flanked by the drones that were still giving him the creeps.

“It's only for a few weeks, Evan. You've been through worse,” he murmured to himself, even though he couldn't remember where and when that had been.

*~*~*

They had at least shown enough courtesy not to bring him to the prison cells or cocoons.

“Be thankful for small mercies, Evan,” the major with the blue eyes said to himself when he was left to his own devices after a short introduction how the unknown and weirdly looking handles and knobs of the sanitary installations that belonged to his quarters were working. The Wraith's face had been a mask of utter disgust as he'd explained everything to him, and Evan had dutifully nodded his head and not dared to ask any further question about their role.

The next two hours went by with exploring his temporary new home and making himself familiar with everything, and after that he sat down on one of the two chairs that belonged to the table which was placed before the violet wall opposite the bed and waited.

He waited patiently for another hour before he realized that no one would come to pick him up and bring him to the bridge - so he could pay his respects to Todd's second-in-command and maybe even get some answers to his most important questions.

Evan had never been as adventurous and defiant as his CO Sheppard, but he wasn't the one to just ignore such an outright insulting behavior from his hosts either, and so he stood and made his way to the exit to go to the bridge.

“If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.” Evan pressed his hand against the panel beside the door, and to his surprise and relief it whooshed to the side without objection.

“At least I'm not a prisoner yet.” Evan turned his head around a few times to orientate himself and then started walking down the corridor with firm steps and determination written all over his face he didn't really feel at all.

*~*~*

Six silver-haired heads whipped around when Evan entered the bridge twenty minutes and several detours later, six pairs of glittering yellow eyes fixating on his figure and six mouths baring to the well-known hisses Evan really started to hate.

The seventh Wraith on the bridge, the tall and slim one standing before the biggest console in the center, did not turn around.

Kenny stood with his back to Evan when the young major entered the bridge, his hands on the console and ignoring his arrival completely. Evan paused in the doorway and waited, staring at Kenny's back and ignoring the other Wraith on the bridge as best as he could as well.

He would not give any of them the satisfaction to admit defeat and crawl back to his quarters with his tail between his legs, not when his behavior decided how he was treated by Todd's crew during his forced visit. He would stand here and wait for Todd's second to acknowledge him, no matter how long it would take.

It went faster than he'd expected, the tall Wraith refusing to look at him and remaining in his position before the console for what felt like an eternity but wasn't more than five minutes perhaps, but after those very long five minutes, the Wraith's multi-toned voice sounded through the bridge, cold and arrogant, but with the slightest hint of hoarseness that betrayed his irritation about Evan's courage.

“Major Lorne, I see that you have found your way to the bridge. Your human sense of orientation is admirable, but your are not supposed to be here.”

So much to Sheppard's reassurance that he and Kenny would soon be 'best buddies'.

Evan lifted his chin up, he would not back away, no way.

“Thank you for the compliment. As you obviously didn't know the way to my quarters, which is understandable considering how big your Hive is, I'd thought that you would perhaps need some help with that.” The hisses coming from six throats let an icy-cold shiver run down on his back, but Evan gritted his teeth and held his chin up high.

After several long seconds, the tall Wraith slowly turned around to regard him.

Evan met the piercing golden gaze with defiant blue eyes, and Kenny tilted his head ever so slightly. He reminded Evan of a scientist that was observing a skewered butterfly, and his cheeks flushed with a sudden bout of anger. He did understand Kenny's annoyance as he hadn't wanted to come here either, but Todd's second-in-command could at least treat him like the sentient and intelligent being he was, and not like a nasty bug he wanted to catch with the flyswatter.

“We will talk in my office, human.” the Wraith decided after another long pause, leaving his console to cross the bridge and waving at Evan to follow him with an imperious gesture of his right hand. One of the other Wraith took his place at the console, probably at his mental command, and Evan relaxed his jaw and followed him through the misty hallway to another door.

Kenny's office was a small room with another console standing before one of the walls, but there was also a desk with two chairs. He did not invite Evan to sit down on the chair before the desk, though, but left him standing before the closed door like a teacher would do with a student he'd caught without his homework. He walked over to the console silently to let his fingers glide over it with quick motions and ignored Evan for another couple of minutes, probably to teach him another lesson about his supposed role on board the Hive. The tall Wraith stared down at the screen without really reading what was written there, and Evan got the impression that he just did that to avoid looking at him - which was surprising enough as it proved to Evan that the proud Wraith must feel pretty insecure and uncomfortable because of him.

This revelation actually helped him with feeling less insecure and uncomfortable, and Evan waited quietly and curiously for what would come next.

“You know the reason for your stay on board our Hive, human?” Kenny broke the heavy silence between them at last, and Evan nodded his head and leaned against the closed door, hooking his digits into his belt loops in a casual manner. He braced his left foot against the door and smiled. It was a smile that didn't show his dimples, and the expression in his now steely-blue eyes was hard, but he guessed that the countless nuances of human smiles were lost on Wraith, at least on most Wraith except Todd.

“Yes, I know the reason, Kenny,” he said nonchalantly. “I'm your warranty that nothing bad will happen to your Commander as long as he is in Atlantis.” The use of the name Sheppard had 'bestowed' on Todd's second earned him a furious hiss and an irate glare, just like Evan had hoped to evoke any kind of reaction from him with this provocation.

“Do not call me by this name, human!” the Wraith hissed, and a man less foolish and brave than Evan would have shrunk to half of his size right now, but the young major was too angry and worked up to care about the dangerously raised feeding hand of his counterpart.

“How shall I call you then, Wraith?” he growled back, and Todd's second-in-command took a step back, irritated by his dauntless demeanor again. He lifted his chin and rose to his full height as he fought to win his composure back and not disgrace himself in front of an inferior human like that.

“The correct addressing would be Second – or Sub Commander,” he allowed in a calmer voice, and Evan narrowed his eyes and nodded his head.

“I see. Well, Sub Commander, I can assure you that I am as unhappy about my stay on board your Hive as some kind of 'royal hostage' as you are. But as we both didn't have any choice in that matter, we could at least try to make the best out of it. If you had really planned to lock me in my quarters for weeks without giving me something useful to do, then you'll better come up with another plan. I'm a soldier, the sub commander of the City of the Ancients, and I came here with the hope that I could learn more about you and your way of life. That I would be treated with a minimum of respect and good will.”

Evan went silent, and several emotions flickered over the Wraith's face. His gaze was drawn to the tattoo under his right eye, and it reminded him of an old script he'd once seen, or the old Viking runes.

'Kenneth would be a much better name for this proud ancient being.'

The sudden and not really welcome thought made Evan flinch, and his frown deepened. Kenny's expression was a mirror of his own, but then he inclined his head with a small sigh.

“What do you expect from us, human?” he wanted to know, and Evan shrugged his shoulders.

“I'm military, a trained soldier of the US Air Force. Allow me to train each day with one of your Wraith, teach me your language, your script, more about your culture and technology. That's what Colonel Sheppard is doing with Tod... your Commander-in-chief. Let me take the watch together with your guards, I don't know. There must be something I can do... please! You can't really expect me to sit in my quarters for weeks and do nothing.”

Todd's second observed him for a couple of seconds. “Fair enough, human. I will think about your request. Until then, you will stay in your quarters. You will be provided with food and water, and you will wait for my decision. Have I made myself clear? It's for your own safety and protection, not all members of our crew are happy about your stay here on board our Hive.”

“Perfectly clear, Sub Commander. Do I need guards for my way back to my 'prison cell'?”

The Wraith narrowed his yellow eyes in annoyance at the new challenge and insult. They were actually more golden than yellow, and they were surprisingly beautiful as Evan noticed.

“Be grateful that you don't have stay in one of our real prison cells or even in the cocoon, human. And no, you won't need guards, at least not if you obey my orders. Do you still know the way back there?”

“Yes, I do.” Evan turned to the door to hide his anger and frustration, and it opened before he could touch the panel. Kenny was apparently as eager to get rid of him again as Evan was eager to leave him. He took two steps, but the paused and craned his head over his shoulder to look at Todd's second.

“Just for the record, Sub Commander: The correct addressing is Major Lorne or XO, not 'human'.”

The door closed before the Wraith got the chance to react, and Evan grinned on the whole way back to his quarters.

*~*~*

The tall Wraith stayed in his office for some time when he was alone again, taking deep breaths with balled fists to calm himself down again.

The human was infuriating to say the least, and the Second knew that he needed to get his inner turmoil back under control again before he could go back to his crew and work and establish a deeper connection with the Hive mind.

He'd known that the human's – Major Lorne's – visit would only cause serious trouble, and he'd had a rather severe argument with the Commander about that. They had already been friends for millennia before fate had torn them apart, and he'd been overjoyed when their paths had finally crossed each other again and allowed them to renew their strong bond.

But the time which had passed and the experiences they had made had changed both of them, and especially his adored superior. The High Commander – Todd – how the New Lanteans insisted on calling him by this awful and weird human name, was not the same he'd once been anymore, and his faithful friend and right hand still tried to grasp and comprehend the full extent of this change.

It was not only because his superior wanted to build an alliance with the New Lanteans, which was something his Second actually supported because he was reasonable enough to accept that his kin didn't have any other choice if they wanted to survive without killing each other in a terrible civil war.

If building such an alliance was the only thing his Commander wanted to achieve, his Second would gladly work on this goal together with him. But his friend had developed a special liking for one of those humans who'd managed to turn a whole galaxy upside down within a few years, besottedly seeking Colonel Sheppard's presence at each and every opportunity, and this was much harder to accept for his friend than his wish to ally with their human prey.

'Major Lorne is not like Colonel Sheppard, Second. He's quiet and won't give you a hard time, don't worry. He can take orders much better than his CO, and you won't even notice that he's on board!'

The Wraith remembered his Commander's words with a scornful hiss. His friend had repelled all of his arguments and worries and told him that they had to respect the old laws.

The Commander might be right about the need to go by law in this special case, but he had not been right about Major Lorne, the infuriating and irritating human with those deep blue eyes and dimples who'd caught his Second totally off guard with his bold demeanor earlier.

The tall Wraith had encountered Major Lorne several times before when he'd accompanied his superior to the negotiations, and Sheppard's XO had indeed been rather quiet then and done a great job with keeping his underlings from pulling the triggers of their weapons with their nervous fingers whenever one of their new allies merely shifted their weight from one foot to the other.

They had never talked to each other at these times though, and the Second had done his best to stay in the background and away from the humans who were so strange and not the least like humans should actually be and behave in the presence of their Wraith lords.

He'd caught the major looking at him several times with an unreadable and almost appraising expression during the negotiations, though, and these looks had aroused feelings in him he didn't want to feel and which had almost made him feel nervous.

Sheppard's XO might not be like his superior, but he wasn't like any other human from the Pegasus Galaxy the Second had dealt with before either, and he occupied his thoughts far too much. If the Commander would know about the real reason why his right hand didn't want the major to be on board, he would have been surprised.

But maybe he already knew about it and had decided to take matters in his own hands and accelerate things, this was hard to tell and also nothing his second-in-command and friend wanted to take into consideration at all.

*~*~*

The feeling of satisfaction that he'd had the last word didn't last long after his return to his quarters, and Evan found himself pacing back and forth between the slightly pulsing violet walls like a caged panther. He chided himself inwardly for his stupidity as Todd's second-in-command was probably even angrier at him now than he'd already been before he'd challenged him in front of his underlings.

The young major had just resigned himself to his fate that he would be defined to his quarters for the next weeks when the door chime sounded and the officer he'd already met stepped over the threshold after his far too eager “come in!”.

A drone followed him which carried a tray, and Evan thought that they at least didn't want to starve him. “You're the one who drew the short stick, aren't you?” he inquired, not sure what had gotten into him all of a sudden. This was not the way he usually behaved, and certainly not in front of a Wraith who looked as if he would rather feed on him than feed him with food.

“Pardon me... Major Lorne?” the officer said, looking confused, and Evan sighed.

“You are the unlucky one who was ordered to babysit and entertain me, aren't you?” Evan shifted his gaze between the officer and the drone when the latter put down the tray, and his hand felt for the weapon attached to his side, just to find that he'd come without it.

“You still look rather young, major, but you are an adult by your standards, aren't you, Major Lorne?” The Wraith tilted his head in curiosity, and he even forgot to hiss like Wraith loved to do so much to scare their human prey at each and every opportunity.

“I very much hope that I am a reasonable adult, yes – at least under normal circumstances,” Evan countered, and his dimples peeked out of their hiding places for a moment.

“Then you shouldn't be in the need of a caretaker, Major Lorne, right?” the Wraith inquired, continuing to speak before Evan had the chance to reply. “I volunteered to act as your guide on board our Hive. You are not like any other human I know, and your boldness is astonishing. I want to know more about you.”

“Really? Hmm, I'm not sure whether this is supposed to be a compliment or an insult. But we really need to work on your sense of humor, I guess.” Evan walked over to the table when the drone had withdrawn to the door to stand there motionless and wait for his next orders. He regarded the food arranged on a plate and was relieved when he found that his dinner consisted of food he knew, fruits and vegetables that were served in Atlantis as well.

“If you require anything else, then I will get it for you, Major Lorne,” the Wraith hurried to assure, but Even shook his head and smiled at him.

“No, thank you, that's perfectly fine.” He sat down to eat, and he gestured to the other chair when the officer remained standing, looking surprisingly uncertain and shy. “Please, have a seat. I'd be grateful for some company,” he invited him to sit down, and after a moment of hesitation, the Wraith took the offered seat.

“So you really volunteered to be my guide? That's nice of you,” Evan said in the hope that they could have a real conversation. It was always hard to reckon a Wraith's age, but the major guessed that his counterpart was still rather young himself. “How can I address you, by the way? It's easy when we're alone, but difficult for me head-blind human not to get confused when there are more of you around.”

“Yes, the Commander said that this would be a problem we need to solve by accepting names in the future as only he and the Second can be defined and distinguished by their respective titles 'Commander' and 'Second'.” He tilted his head in that 'Wraithy' way again. “Which name would you choose for me, Major Lorne?”

Evan regarded his new Wraith friend for a moment. Time would tell whether or not they would really become friends – and if it was actually possible to become friends with a Wraith in general – but the young officer seemed friendly enough and willing to treat him like a sentient and intelligent being and not just like his next meal.

The young officer had alien, but truly handsome, almost delicate features, and his silver-white hair had the faintest hint of red in the long silken strands that were cascading over his back. Evan pursed his lips thoughtfully, and his dimples made another appearance when he had a sudden idea for a perfect name for the Wraith.

“My name – both actually – are old Gaelic names,” he started to explain, and the Wraith leaned closer with a fascinated expression. Evan smiled to himself and cleared his throat before he spoke up again.

“My first name 'Evan' means either 'young warrior' or 'right-handed'. My surname 'Lorne' comes from a village in the region called Argyll in a beautiful and still wild country that is called Scotland, and it's also the name of a legendary son of the first Celts that came to Scotland millennia ago, only spelled a bit differently. Celts were known to be dauntless warriors, and some of the famous and mysterious Celts we've had in our long history have actually been Ancients – which fled back to Earth when they realized that they couldn't win the war against you.

The old names they answered to are truly honorable names and still used and valued even nowadays. 'Todd' for example, the name which my CO Colonel Sheppard chose for your Commander is such an ancient Celtic name, and a lot of their great warriors have worn this name with pride over the last two hundred millennia. Therefore, I'd like to choose a Celtic name for you as well as it would fit nicely into the tradition. The name I have in mind sounds similar to my first name, but it has a different meaning.”

Evan went silent and waited with bated breath, as he watched several emotions flicker over the alien features of his companion.

“Such a Celtic name would indeed be acceptable,” the Wraith decided after a moment of thinking, and he couldn't really hide his excitement and eagerness about getting such a honorable name himself.

“Great. There are a few names I like, but the one coming into my mind when I look at you is 'Ervin'.” Evan explained, smiling when his new friend repeated the name to taste it on his tongue.

“Errrvin. I like the sound of it. Does this name have a special meaning, too?” he wanted to know, and Evan's smile widened.

“Yes, it has,” he said, and the Wraith looked expectantly at him.

“Will you tell me its meaning, Major Lorne?”

“Yes, of course. And please call me Evan, that's my first name.”

“Evan.” Ervin said, and Evan thought that his first day on board Todd's Hive would end much better than it had begun.

The young officer was still waiting and looking at him with curiosity written all over his features, and Evan leaned back in his chair and smiled again, watching closely the Wraith's reaction when he dropped the bomb and said:

“Beautiful. The meaning of your new name Ervin is 'beautiful'.”

Chapter Text

'Ev... Major Lorne was so kind to explain the meaning of human names to me. I'd always thought that they were just like some kind of empty shells, a simple word with a nice sound perhaps, but without any real meaning behind it – unlike our mental mind prints. But we have... I have been wrong about that.'

The young officer looked nervous but held his head up high as he was standing in front of the Second and giving him a report about the hours he'd spent in the human's – Major Lorne's – quarters to keep him company. His slip of tongue when he'd instinctively wanted to use Major Lorne's first name hadn't been lost on the Sub Commander, and it had angered him more than it actually should. The tall Wraith refused to acknowledge the simple and obvious reason for his anger and give it the right name, though – because admitting that he was jealous of his young officer and the attention he got from the annoying human he couldn't get out of his head was nothing he would do. He hadn't reached that point yet, and he would do his best to never go this far and let his underlings know about his deepest desires and carefully hidden secret feelings.

At first he'd been relieved and had thought it to be a good idea when his officer had volunteered to act as the human's guide and guard, but now he wasn't so sure any longer that this had been a clever move and actually regretted his choice. The younger Wraith wore the same besotted expression on his face as the Commander always did when Colonel Sheppard was around, and the mere thought that Major Lorne could feel attracted to his underling as well made the Second bare his teeth to an angry hiss.

His underling took a step back, but he held his ground and lifted his chin up higher in a sudden bout of defiance and courage. Major Lorne's bold and defiant demeanor had clearly rubbed off on his young officer, because his eyes sparkled with hurt about the Second's disapproval of his attempts to socialize with their human guest and make him feel welcome and not like a hated intruder.

The Second gritted his teeth until his jaw hurt and took a furtive deep breath. It wasn't the officer's fault at all. Trust those humans coming from a galaxy more than two millions of light years away to bring chaos to the established order that had worked out so well for their kin for almost ten thousand years, and this within the ridiculously short time span of barely more than five years – which was not more than the blink of an eye in a Wraith's life.

“I see. And what did Major Lorne tell you about those meanings?” he asked when he had himself under control again enough not to reveal his true feelings. He didn't trust himself to establish a deeper mental connection with the Hive mind and his subordinate though and resorted to using spoken words instead, something that confused the young officer visibly, but which also seemed to help him to relax at least partly, judging by how the tension melted from his shoulders.

“The name Colonel Sheppard chose for the Commander is of the same origin and language as Major Lorne's first and surname,” the officer started to explain, hesitant and still uncertain at first, but when his superior didn't hiss at him again and just stood there with his arms folded across his chest, he became more self-confident.

“The name Todd was a very honorable name the warriors of the ancient tribe called 'Celts' answered to. It's also the name for an animal on Earth which is known to be very clever and adaptable to different surroundings and circumstances, which is a feature the Commander is known for as well. I think that this name still sounds rather weird, but it's not the meaningless insult we've always taken it for.”

The Second had to agree to that, but he highly doubted that Colonel Sheppard had actually given so much thought to the name he'd 'gifted' their admired Commander with a couple of years ago when they had still been more enemies than true allies and brothers in mind. It was probably just a fortunate coincidence that his choice of name actually fitted so well and not the result of careful thinking.

“I see. So Major Lorne belongs to this tribe of 'Celts'? The badge on his uniform gave me the impression that he is 'American' like Colonel Sheppard himself?” the Second dared to ask, hoping that his interest in the handsome young major wasn't showing too much.

“Eva... Major Lorne is indeed American. The origin of his names is Gaelic, the language those Celts spoke, so I assume that his ancestors were of Celtic origin somewhere in the past. He also said that some of the Lanteans which returned to Earth lived in the disguise of several famous and still known Celts in the old home of his own ancestors for centuries before they eventually ascended.”

“I see.” The Second repeated, and he could barely keep himself from growling at his subordinate that he had to literally worm the information he wanted to have out of him, and he took another deep breath, digging his sharp claws into his sensitive palms in the hope that the resulting pain this caused would ground him and help him to not just lose it.

“Lorne is the name of a village or town in Scotland, the former home of his ancestors, and his first name...” the officer's voice trailed off for a moment when he saw how his superior's sensor pits were flaring in annoyance, but he straightened his shoulders and continued to speak when the Second gave him a terse nod.

“...his first name 'Evan' means either right-handed or young warrior, and these are both meanings that are doing Major Lorne real justice, aren't they? He favors his right hand over his left one, and he's clearly a warrior – and must be a skilled and strong one considering that he is Colonel Sheppard's 'right hand'...”

There it was again, the besotted expression on the officer's features, and the Second could all do but scream in anger and frustration.

“The name his parents have chosen for him seems to be suitable,” he forced himself to agree when his underling was looking expectantly at him. “I assume that he suggested a name to you as well, officer?” He was astonished how calm his voice sounded, despite the storm of emotions raging inside him. It wasn't easy to evoke such strong emotions in a Wraith, even more in a Wraith as old and experienced as he was, but when it happened, then it had always serious consequences and led to territorial fights about the object of the Wraith's desire with the potential rival – which usually happened to be another Commander or high ranking officer, but surely not such a young and inexperienced underling.

The Second was well aware that he couldn't challenge the Wraith standing before him for such a fight as it would bring shame and disgrace not only to both of them, but also to the entire Hive and his admired friend and Commander as well. Yet his sense of possessiveness kicked in with full force at the mere thought of having to watch the infatuating human bond with his officer, and everything inside him screamed to teach the younger one his place and make sure that he would never so much as look at Major Lorne – Evan – again.

“Yes, he did. I accepted the name he chose to be suitable for me.” The young officer sounded so proud, unaware of the storm that was raging inside his superior and forming dark and dangerous clouds right over his own head.

The Second wanted to shout at him that it wasn't upon him to accept any human name, and surely not one Major Lorne of all people had chosen for him, but the last shreds of common sense he still possessed kept him from making a complete fool of himself in front of his underling and reveal the actual reason for his aversion and anger. Instead of giving in to his urge he swallowed and dug his nails deeper into his palms until droplets of dark blood were coating his palms.

“So which name did Major Lorne choose for you, officer?” he asked, his voice carefully controlled and impassive. He couldn't hide the slight hoarseness in it, though, and he thought that the blue-eyed major would probably notice it right away – unlike his young officer, who was trained to notice subtle nuances in the flow of thoughts coming from his brethren, but not the different nuances in voices and loudly spoken words.

The Wraith preened at the memory of the moment when their human guest had gifted him with a name and explained its meaning to him, and he sounded far too happy and proud for the Second's already thoroughly disturbed peace of mind when he said:

“Ervin. Major Lorne chose the ancient Gaelic name 'Ervin' for me. He said that it's a honorable and very suitable name for me because it means 'beautiful' in the language of the old Celts. I accepted the name and thanked him for his kindness.”

His posture was a mirror of the pride he felt, and all the Second could do was stare at him in utter shock and disbelief as he tried to process what the choice of name Major Lorne had bestowed upon his underling actually implied – and what it meant for himself and his own relationship to this special human - the right-handed young warrior who'd conquered his heart so easily and unexpectedly.

*~*~*

He was too upset to wait for permission to enter Major Lorne's quarters half an hour later and just strode into them, barely taking the time to press the door chime to announce his arrival beforehand.

The human his thoughts were circling around in an endless loop jumped to his feet with a startled noise and pushed something behind himself and under the covers of the bed where he'd sat when the Second had opened the door. The Wraith tried to catch a glimpse of what the blue-eyed major wanted to hide from him, but all he could see was a small piece of white with thin gray lines on it.

The major stiffened when he noticed his interest in his doing and narrowed his blue eyes in annoyance.

“I didn't expect your visit, Sub Commander,” he said, raising his voice to a question at the end, together with one of his elegant wing-like dark eyebrows.

The Second, too worked up to consider any courteous behavior, didn't bother with excusing his impoliteness or answering to the implied question in the major's greeting and came straight to the point of his late visit.

“You've given my officer a human name, Majorrr Lorrrrne.”

The major's blue eyes narrowed further, and he lifted his chin up in the way the Wraith had come to know so well already.

“Yes, I did, Sub Commander.”

The Second must give the human credit for his courage, because the major didn't retreat or shrink under his own irate glare, but met his eyes without blinking.

“Why?” The single word was more a hiss than a real word, but Lorne understood him nonetheless.

“Because I'm head-blind and need names to distinguish your crew-members this way. Plus, he was nice enough and actually treated me like a sentient and intelligent living being, and not just like any of your human prey - and as if all he wants to do is slam his feeding hand into my chest in the very next second to kill me.”

The Wraith gritted his teeth and balled his fists at his sides. His hand mouth was aching, the feeding slit gaping open and moistening his palm with enzyme. Well, he certainly did want to slam his feeding hand into the man's chest, but for totally different reasons than those which the young major suspected him to have, and definitely not to kill him. The urge to lay his claim on the defiant human and make sure that he would never think of anyone else again – whether they were human or Wraith – was overwhelming, but it was nothing he could admit out loud, and also nothing he could ever give in to. Evan Lorne, the infuriating and infatuating beautiful 'right-handed young warrior', didn't feel the same way about him, and judging by the anger and repulsion shining in his fascinating blue eyes, he wouldn't change his mind about this at any time in the foreseeable or faraway future.

“I see. Will you make your interest in my officer public in the foreseeable future, Major Lorne?”

This made the young major take a step back and blink in confusion. “Pardon me? My what?!"

The Second balled his fists tighter. “Your romantic interest in my officer, major. Do you plan to announce it publicly during your stay on board our Hive - so a possible rival for his affection can challenge you to a ritual fight?”

Major Lorne stared at him as if he was seriously contemplating his state of mind and sanity. “I beg your pardon, Sub Commander, but I fear that I'm still not getting what you mean. I don't have any 'romantic interest' in Ervin. I hope that we can be friends one day, but that is all.”

He stared back, not daring to believe his ears. “You don't?” he made sure, allowing his aching shoulders to release some of the tension he'd felt since his officer had stood in his office with so much pride about his new name written all over his features.

“No, certainly not, Sub Commander. Why would you possibly think that I do?!”

“Because of the meaning of the name you chose for my officer. He told me that 'Ervin' is an old Gaelic name and means 'beautiful'.”

“Yes, that's the meaning of the name Ervin. By all means, Sub Commander, your officer is one of the most beautiful beings I've ever seen, but that doesn't mean that I have fallen for him. I have eyes in my head, and I am a painter – I at least try to be a real painter. I am trained to notice beauty when I see it.”

“A painter?”

“Yes, a painter. I see something I like or find beautiful, and then I want to paint it, on canvas or paper, depending on what it is I want to paint, landscapes, things or faces for example.” Major Lorne's gaze flickered to the bed where the small white piece was peeking out from under the cover, and the Second suddenly understood what he was hiding from him.

“I see,” he said, even though he didn't really understand what Major Lorne was trying to tell him. “I'd assumed that your post as Colonel Sheppard's second-in-command does not allow you to have another job next to your duties as his sub commander.”

The young major relaxed a bit, and his sensitive lips curled into a smile that made his eyes sparkle and his dimples appear in his cheeks. The Second felt his gaze glued to the beautiful sight, and something fluttered in his chest he hadn't felt in millennia.

“Oh no, Sub Commander. Painting is not my job, but something I do in my free time and just for pleasure. It helps me to keep a healthy balance between my duties and my private life.” He moved a bit closer and tilted his head in curiosity. “What are you doing in your free time?” he wanted to know, and the Wraith didn't really know how to answer this rather innocent question. The Commander always found something useful to do during the times he wasn't on the bridge or seeing to the young crew-members that still needed guidance, but he himself usually avoided any kind of idleness because his thoughts always chose to take a dangerous path if he had too much time to think about the feeling of emptiness in his heart and his soul, and which could never be filled by the Hive mind he shared with his brethren.

“My duties as the Sub Commander don't allow me any indolence,” he retorted, and the smile vanished from Lorne's face at the strict tone of his voice.

“I see. I apologize for my nosiness,” he said, and the Wraith felt a pang of regret shoot through his stomach.

“There is no need to apologize, Major Lorne. You weren't nosy, you were just trying to learn more about us,” he allowed, and the major bit down on his full bottom lip for a moment and lowered his gaze down, murmuring something to himself that actually sounded like, “about you in special,” but which he must have misheard, because Major Lorne had already made perfectly clear that he didn't like him at all and actually hated him with a passion, right?

“Is there anything else you do when you're not on duty, Major?” he asked, longing to see the young man smile again. Lorne raised his head to gift him with a surprised look out of those beautiful blue eyes.

“Apart from spending time with friends, you mean? Not much, actually. My painting takes up a lot of time, and this is all I have time for as Colonel Sheppard's XO. I studied geology before I joined the US Air Force, and my master in geology is actually what brought me to the Stargate program. I must admit that I miss my job as a geologist sometimes. It's been a long time since I could join an expedition and search for naquadah or examine unique and rare rock formations or paint them.”

A thrill of excitement ran over the Second's back. Now he knew what he would do to change Major Lorne's bad opinion about him. The Commander had given him the order to leave the orbit over Atlantis anyway to make sure that the New Lanteans wouldn't make any attempt to get their second military commander back before he could return to his Hive unharmed, and the preparations to leave the orbit in a few hours were already under way. He knew about several different worlds with such rock formations his young warrior wanted to explore, and some of them were in manageable distance to Atlantis.

He bared his teeth to a contented hiss, and the young major flinched slightly, obviously mistaking his hiss for a sign of displeasure.

“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it. You surely have better things to do than listen to my rambling,” Major Lorne apologized stiffly, and the Second inclined his head with what he hoped to be a friendly expression by human standards.

“You didn't ramble, you simply answered to my questions and gave me some valuable information about yourself, Major Lorne. It was a long day for you, I will leave you now, so you can get the rest you require. Good night, Major.” He turned around to leave, but the young man's voice made him stop and look over his shoulder again.

“Thank you, Sub Commander. I know that you said that you don't want me to use the name Colonel Sheppard chose for you to address you, but I just wanted to let you know that 'Kenny' is the nickname of the ancient and very honorable 'Kenneth' – or Coinneach in the original Gaelic language. Its meaning is efficient/capable, fast – or pretty. Some linguists also say that it comes from the old English words Cyne-ath, which mean 'royal oath'. As Todd's faithful Second, this name actually suits you perfectly, doesn't it?

There is a third possibility for the origin of the name Kenneth as well, namely that it comes from the Pictish name Ciniod, which is Cináed in Gaelic. This name means ' fire head' or 'born from the fire'. You can choose which meaning you prefer, and even though I don't think that my explanation of the name Colonel Sheppard chose for you will change your mind about it, but I at least wanted you to know that it is not disgraceful in any way – and that I have always thought of you as Kenneth and not Kenny since our first encounter. I will of course respect your wish and choose your title as the correct and appropriate addressing, Sub Commander.”

A wave of emotions was surging through the Wraith, and he couldn't breathe for a moment. His hand mouth was still aching with the need to claim the beautiful human as his forever, but Major Lorne had made clear that he wasn't interested in coming closer to any Wraith, and surely not to him of all Wraith. His feelings would never be returned, and the major's words didn't change anything between them.

He forced himself to nod and show that he had listened to him and heard his explanation, but he only repeated his words from a couple of minutes ago.

“Good night, Major Lorne.”

The handsome male features turned into stone, and the young man nodded as well and then turned his back to him.

“Good night, Sub Commander.”

The Second stared at his stiff back for another second before he fled out of the quarters to go back to the bridge and see to his duties as the temporary Commander of the Hive, his heart bleeding, but his face a mask of controlled calm as it had always been over the last centuries and millennia.

Chapter Text

Evan hadn't slept well in his first night on board Todd's Hive despite his exhaustion, and he felt still tired when Ervin rang the door chime hours later to bring him his breakfast.

He was uncertain how to treat the young Wraith officer after the Sub Commander – Evan still couldn't stop thinking of him as Kenneth, no matter how hard he tried – had accused him of having developed a romantic interest Ervin. How Todd's Second could truly think that Evan would be interested in any Wraith other than himself was a mystery to the young major, and he'd suspected at the beginning that Kenneth's hostility came from his knowledge that Evan felt more for him than just the respect for an equal officer and second-in-command, but he'd apparently been wrong with that assumption.

The major with the deep blue eyes and the dimples still remembered their first encounter when Todd had introduced his Second to him, how fascinated he'd been right from the start – and how devastated he'd felt when he'd thought that said Second – Kenneth, how he'd come to think about him so quickly – had been the one betraying Todd in this terrible way to take over the Super-Hive and attack Earth.

How his knees had buckled with relief when he'd learned that he'd been wrong and that Todd had talked about another sub commander, and how he'd been looking forward to their return to Pegasus because he'd hoped to see the fascinating Wraith again and learn more about him. Sheppard's liking for remarkable Wraith had obviously rubbed off on him more than he'd thought, and Evan was not the man to fight this hard against feelings he had no chance switching off like any technological device anyway, unlike his CO who had done this for years and clearly unsuccessfully.

His joy about their next meeting had quickly faded, though, because Kenneth had treated him either as if he was invisible, or as if he were nothing more than just a nasty bug, but never like a person he would ever consider to be more than just one of these annoying humans his superior had chosen to be their new allies.

Evan had found his gaze wandering back to Kenneth's tall and slim figure, to his ageless alien and yet so male features and the tattoo under his right eye again and again when he'd thought that the Wraith wouldn't notice his staring, and the true reason why he had been so reluctant to spend time on board Todd's Hive and see Kenneth on a daily basis was that he feared to make a fool of himself in front of the object of his secret desires.

He'd hoped to find a friend in Ervin, but now he felt uncomfortable when the beautiful young Wraith bared his teeth to something that could go for a real smile, and it was clear to see that he'd been practicing this since he'd left Evan the previous evening.

“Good morning, Evan! I hope that you have slept well,” Ervin greeted him as he came over to the table to put the tray he was carrying onto the table top.

“Good morning, Ervin. You're alone this morning?” Evan replied without answering to Ervin's question about his sleep. “Without the drone,” he clarified when the officer looked at him with a confused look in his yellow-golden eyes, and Ervin nodded eagerly.

“You were clearly feeling uncomfortable with the drone standing by the door, so I thought it better to come alone.” he explained in anticipation of praise, and Evan forced himself to smile back. Ervin was right that the drones were still giving him shudders, but today he'd actually have been glad to have one of them around instead of being alone with the officer who might perhaps see more in Evan than Evan could ever see in him.

“That was considerate of you, thank you,” he murmured, glad that he could avoid Ervin's gaze as he busied himself with his breakfast. There were fruits arranged on a plate again, but there was also a bowl with something that resembled porridge and smelled deliciously. The familiar smell of hot and strong coffee emanated from the pot next to the cup on the tray, and Evan looked up at the young Wraith in surprise, momentarily forgetting his uncertainty and discomfort.

“Coffee?!” he asked happily, and Ervin nodded his head once more, another shark-like smile curling around his dark-gray lips.

“The Commander said that coffee is one the favorite beverages of most of our new allies, and he made sure that we have coffee on board for our human visitors. He left an instruction how to brew it before he left, and I thought that you might perhaps appreciate having coffee to your breakfast.”

“I do, very much, thank you, Ervin.” Evan poured himself a cup of coffee, his eyes falling shut with delight when he sipped from the hot beverage to let it revive his spirits.

“I apologize if my concern is misplaced and nosy, but you smell distressed, Evan. Is something wrong?”

Ervin's question caught him off guard, and the coffee took the wrong pipe. He started to cough until his eyes filled with tears, and it didn't help matters when Ervin started to pat his back clumsily. Evan drew air through his teeth in loud gasps when he was able to breathe again and wiped the tears from his eyes. He'd forgotten that the sense of smell of a Wraith was much more sensitive and that he couldn't hide his instincts reactions from his companion because it wasn't within his capabilities to keep his scent under control.

“I have upset you, I am sorry. That was never my intention.” Ervin looked utterly unhappy when he met his gaze after wiping his eyes one more time, and Evan felt his anger fade away. It wasn't Ervin's fault that the Second hated him, and he could see honest concern about his well-being shining in the yellow-golden eyes looking almost pleadingly at him.

“It's not your fault, and I appreciate your concern. I'd forgotten that your senses are much more sensitive than our human ones and that you can see, smell and hear much better than I do.”

“I see.” Ervin inclined his head thoughtfully. “Your reaction indicated that I should better not confront you with my insight of your state in the future.”

Evan smiled at him. “It's okay to do that with a friend, but only in private like you did now, and you shouldn't do that when it's someone you don't really know.”

“You consider me to be your friend, Evan?” the Wraith asked, astonishment and joy flickering over his delicate features, another proof that he must still be rather young because older and much more experienced Wraith usually had their expressions much better under control and didn't reveal their feelings like that.

“I hope so, Ervin,” Evan replied sincerely, “and to answer your question, the Second was displeased that I'd given you a name – I hope that I didn't get you into too much trouble.”

“The Second summoned you to his office yesterday?” Ervin looked at him worriedly, and Evan snorted, lifting the cup to his mouth again to hide his expression when the memories of the previous evening came back into his mind.

“No, he came to my quarters and interrogated me about the name I'd chosen for you and my real motives behind that choice.”

“He came to you?!” Ervin's cat's eyes went big with surprise. “Well, that is... unusual.”

“He seemed to be annoyed. I hope that he didn't take his anger about me out on you.” Evan waited, watching Ervin's reaction closely.

“No, he didn't.” Ervin hesitated, unsure how much information about his argument with his superior he should pass to his new human friend. “He wanted to know what we'd talked about and said that it is upon the Commander or him as his Second to accept any human names in behalf of the crew. But he didn't punish me and just sent me away to see to my other duties.”

“I'm relieved to hear that.” Evan sighed and started to eat the porridge, and Ervin watched him eat in silence, waiting patiently until he pushed the empty bowl aside. “The humming that is audible all of the time in the background has changed.” Evan said when he'd finished his breakfast and emptied his cup, and Ervin nodded his head.

“Yes, we have left Atlantis and are currently flying through hyper space. You can hear that change?”

“Humans might have duller senses than Wraith, but soldiers like me are checked on a regular basis, and we need excellent senses to be accepted in the Stargate program. My hearing is not as good as yours, but better than the hearing of most humans.”

“I meant no offense, Evan. I was just surprised. Sometimes I forget that I hear the Hive with my ears and not just in the telepathic part of my brain.”

“No offense taken.” Evan swallowed. Trust the Second not to tell him that he'd planned to leave Atlantis but present him with a fait accompli. “So where are we going to?”

Ervin made a vague gesture with his hand. “I don't know. The Second set up the course personally and secured it with a code only he and the Commander know.”

Evan's right eyebrow traveled upwards. “Is that common practice?”

“No, usually, it's not.”

“I see.” Evan pressed his lips to a thin line. So he was truly a royal hostage now. Alone among hundreds of Wraith and traveling through hyper space to a destination no one knew except Todd's Sub Commander and perhaps Todd himself. It remained to be seen whether or not Todd would bother to share this information with Colonel Sheppard – if he actually possessed it, that is.

“The Second gave me order to show you around and bring you to our training arena and the lab where you can learn our script and language, Evan.” Ervin's announcement would have been welcome under different circumstances, but after just learning that he was really trapped on board now and heading to an unknown destination, the Second's display of grudging cooperation and acceptance of his requests from the previous day didn't serve to make him feel less angry and hurt.

The young major suppressed his feelings, though, as it wasn't Ervin's fault that his superior had such problems with Evan being on board, and he smiled at him as he rose to his feet. “I need to brush my teeth, but then I'll be ready.”

Ervin nodded and stood as well. “I'll bring the tray back to the kitchen. I'll pick you up in half an hour, Evan,” he promised, obviously sensing that Even needed a few minutes to himself and sensitive enough to grant him his privacy.

Evan watched him leave before he made his way over the bathroom, the picture of how the Wraith he couldn't stop thinking of had looked at him last night still so vivid before his mind's eye.

*~*~*

The next two days passed by quickly, and Evan was occupied with learning all the new things Ervin was showing him with greatest eagerness. He was allowed to train for two hours each day, and the Master of Practice proved to be familiar with human fighters and made sure that Evan didn't get more than several superficial bruises during their training units. The lessons he got were yet useful and helped Evan to improve his skills in close combat and shorten his reaction time, and he was actually proud of the bruises and marks the Master's sticks left on his skin because they were the visible sign that he wasn't just sitting around lazily.

The Master of Practice was an experienced four-thousand-year-old Wraith with broad shoulders and long white dreadlocks, which he wore tied together at the nape of his neck to a thick ponytail. The name Evan had to think of every time the Master was whirling through the round of the training arena was 'Uilleam'. The name was the Gaelic version of William, its meaning 'determined fighter' suiting the broadly built Wraith so perfectly, but he hesitated to voice his thoughts because he didn't want to annoy Todd's Sub Commander any further. As the Master of Practice could be addressed with and distinguished from others by his title, there was actually no real need to give him a stupid human name either – other than that Evan wanted to give him a name in his stubbornness, at least.

Therefore he was almost shocked when the Wraith regarded him with an appraising look in his eyes during a short break when Evan was wiping the sweat from his face, and asking him more or less out of the blue:

“You have given my assistant a human name, Major Lorne. I require that you choose a name for me, too.”

Evan blinked, his mouth falling open from the shock that such a proud ancient being like the Master of Practice wanted him to choose a human name for him. He hadn't even known that Ervin was the assistant of the other Wraith because Ervin hadn't told him more about his usual duties, and he never stayed when Evan was training with the Master, only coming back to the arena when they were finished.

“Uhm, you do?” he inquired, still not sure that his ears weren't playing tricks on him.

“Yes, Major Lorne. My assistant wears his name with pride and has started to use it for himself even in the Hive mind. I must admit that its sound is acceptable, as is the meaning of the name you chose for him. I require that you will be the one choosing a name for me. The Commander has made clear that we'll have to accept names for the sake of our new allies from Atlantis in the future, and you appear to choose names for my kin with care and thought.”

He didn't say aloud, 'opposed to how your CO Colonel Sheppard is choosing names for my brethren', but the words were hanging in the air, nevertheless.

“You as the Master of Practice actually don't need a name, as your title is as unique and efficient to distinguish you from your Hive brothers as the titles Commander and Second.”

The Wraith's jaw was set in a determined line. “I still want you to give me a name, Major Lorne. I hope that it will make Ervin consider my offer.”

“Your offer?” Evan frowned in confusion, and the Wraith nodded his head, picking up his position again and raising his sticks to let them whirl through the air. Evan hurried to mirror his posture and lift his own sticks as well, knowing quite well what would happen if he didn't.

“Yes, my offer. I desire Ervin as my mate.”

Wow. Well, that was an unexpected turn-out of things, but one Evan actually felt grateful for because he had still worried about Ervin mistaking his friendship for something else over the last two days.

“I see. Has he declined your offer?” Evan jumped to the side when the Master attacked him without warning, whirling around his axis and letting his sticks hail down on him. One of them hit his shoulder, but Evan instinctively bent down and slipped backwards and away from it, landing a blow of his own against the Wraith's right hip in the process.

“Not yet. But he has not accepted it so far, either. I have not given up hope that he will accept it, though, and as he is so fascinated by everything you are teaching him about your own culture, accepting a human name you chose for me might help him make up his mind.”

The Wraith jumped through the air as he spoke in the attempt to knock Evan off of his feet with his sticks. Evan, distracted by their talk and the astonishing revelation that the Master of Practice was in love with Ervin, didn't think about his own moves like he'd always done when he'd trained with the Wraith until now, reacting out of instinct and wielding the sticks as if they were extensions of his arms and hands. The right one hailed down on the right arm of his sparring partner, while the other one landed in his knee pits, and the Wraith stumbled and presented his vulnerable throat to Evan. The opportunity was too good not to use it, and he raised his stick with a shout of triumph to hammer it against the Master's neck.

The Wraith fell down onto his knees with a grunt and braced his clawed hands with the fingerless black leather gloves against the pulsing floor of the arena to catch his fall. He peered up at the young major from under a thick mop of silver-white dreadlocks and regarded him with a look in his glittering yellow eyes that Evan recognized as respect, much to his joy and surprise.

“Well done, Major Lorne. Your kin always tend to think too much during a fight. I distracted you with my words, and you didn't think this time, but just fought like a true warrior. I will report to the Second that you have improved admirably since our first training lesson.”

Evan swallowed as he offered his right hand to the Wraith to help him up, again without thinking that the other male could still turn into a lethal enemy and feed on him in the blink of an eye. “So you only asked me to give you a name because you wanted to distract me?” he wanted to know, and he felt oddly disappointed.

“No, Major Lorne. Everything I told you is true. I desire my assistant Ervin as my mate, and I want you to be the one choosing my name.”

Evan's dimples made a full appearance when he smiled at the tall Wraith with the long dreadlocks.

“With pleasure, Master of Practice, and I don't even need to think about it, because I already know the perfect name for you. As the Master of Practice and the best fighter here on board, my people will know and recognize you as Uilleam in the future. Even kings have answered to this name over the centuries, warrior kings, and it is a very decent and honorable ancient name, suitable for an immortal being like you are.”

Uilleam bared his teeth to the Wraith adaption of a real smile and bent his head in a small bow.

“I accept your choice of name for me, Major Lorne. From now on, I will be Uilleam for our human allies,” he said solemnly, and Evan knew that he'd won another friend on board Todd's Hive.

*~*~*

His blue-eyed young warrior had achieved the true miracle of charming his way into the Master of Practice's stony heart.

The Second received the news through the Hive mind even before the Master came to his office to report to him and inform him that the unthinkable had happened. Major Lorne had not only won himself a new friend in the Master, but also gone so far to bestow a human name on him as well, which the Master had gladly accepted.

Two days had passed since he'd visited the young major in his quarters, and the temptation to pay him another visit grew stronger and stronger with every hour that passed. He was determined not to give in to the temptation, though, knowing that keeping his distance from the object of his most secret desires was the only way for him to remain professional and not make a complete fool of himself.

It was a good thing that he was freshly and very well fed like the rest of the crew, the Commander had made sure of that before he'd accepted Colonel Sheppard's condition that he would stay in Atlantis for several weeks. It allowed him to stay awake and see to the hyper drive and the course he'd set up without needing to grant any of the other officers access to the coordinates. They'd dropped out of hyper space twice since they had departed, and would have to do so for a third time before they would reach the planet he'd chosen as the perfect world for a thorough geological expedition.

The Master's assistant – Ervin – had started with teaching their human guest their language and script, and according to the reports the Second got once every twenty-five hours – which was one full cycle around their sun in Atlantis – Major Lorne was not only an eager, but also a very skilled student and learned the difficult letters and symbols of their script and their language surprisingly fast.

And now the Master of Practice – Uilleam, how he called himself since Major Lorne had gifted him with this admittedly rather appropriate name. His praise about the young man's improving abilities in close combat and stick fighting was as unexpected as it was actually satisfying. His right-handed young warrior proved himself to be a worthy and equal partner more and more, and the Second had to keep the mask of vaguely annoyed indifference firmly in place in order to keep his feelings to himself and not show how pleased he was about the report.

Getting the Master of Practice's approval also meant that the rest of their crew would finally start to accept Major Lorne as Hive and not think of him as 'prey' and 'food' any longer, which still happened now and then when it came to their allies from Atlantis.

There was only the 'minor' problem that Evan Lorne still hated him, and that he had no one else to blame for that other than himself. The Second paced back and forth in his office when the Master had left and he was alone again, contemplating his next moves. It would take them another two cycles of twenty-five hours before they would reach the planet they were heading to, and the Second hoped that he would be able to change Major Lorne's bad opinion about him when they were on the surface and exploring the rock formations.

He'd fought so hard against feelings, but his last radio and video contact with his friend and Commander had confirmed what he'd already suspected, namely that the older one knew about his carefully hidden longing for the young major.

“How are things going on board, Second? Is our crew alright?”

“Yes, Commander. You need not worry about them. The Hive is strong, and the hyper drive is at hundred percent.”

“I'm pleased to hear that.” The Commander had given him a cunning look under heavy lids. “How is Major Lorne doing? Did he already settle in? I hope that none of the crew is treating him disrespectful.”

The Second had swallowed and fought hard not to drop his gaze in guilt. “The Master of Practice's assistant volunteered to act as his guide and guard and keep him company, Commander.”

His friend had hummed thoughtfully to that, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly in annoyance. “I'd actually hoped that you would do that yourself, Second. Richard Woolsey explained the ancient Earthen practice of noble hostages to me. The old Romans practiced that and took the children of the leaders, kings and chiefs from the tribes they had conquered as hostages to make sure that their parents would behave and not rebel against Rome. Those hostages were always treated with greatest care and respect and raised in the noble families of Rome like true Romans to assimilate them and make true Romans out of them as well. I like the idea that Major Lorne fulfills the same role on board my Hive, but to accomplish this task you'll have to see to him personally.”

The Second had found himself staring at his friend in shock and disbelief. “You want Major Lorne to become Wraith, Commander?”

“Not fully Wraith, how should that even work? What a stupid thought, Second, where has your reason and common sense gone? But there are other possibilities to become a real... entity, right?”

The Commander had gazed at him, and the Second had realized that his friend must have known about his desire for Major Lorne for a rather long time. There was nothing he could have done or said against it, not if he didn't want to outright lie to his Commander, and so he'd only bent his head in submission and said:

“Yes, of course, Commander.”

“I'm pleased to hear that we're on the same page here. I trust you to accomplish that goal to my satisfaction during my absence.”

“Yes, Commander.” The screen had gone dark, and he'd been left alone with his inner turmoil and the question how he should conquer the beautiful young major like the older Wraith had more or less ordered him to do – after he'd really done his best to make the human hate him over the past days and weeks.

He still hadn't found the answer to this question when he left his office to return to his duties, and neither did he know which of the different meanings for the name 'Kenneth' Major Lorne actually preferred. Both answers would probably remain a mystery, and now he also had to think about the best explanation he could give the Commander after his return to the Hive why Major Lorne was still hating him...

*~*~*

Two days after his talk with the Master of Practice Uilleam and his first victory against him Evan had enough of the Second's behavior and decided to take matters in his own hands. He had not even seen the smallest piece of the tall Wraith's black coat again since that fateful late visit in his own quarters, and he still didn't know where they were headed for – and what would await them when they had finally reached their destination.

After another training lesson with Uilleam, the bruises he'd earned himself still fresh and glowing in all shades of deep red, violet, blue and purple, he strode through the gloomy hallways in the direction of the bridge to confront the Wraith he couldn't stop dreaming of with his anger and demand that he didn't ignore him any longer - or treat him like someone who had the plague.

Either one of the crew, or probably Uilleam himself - sensing the rebellious mood Evan was in and wanting to avoid the worst case scenario possible, a confrontation on the bridge and in front of the other senior officers - must have announced his imminent arrival, because Kenneth was already on his way out to head him off before he reached the bridge, pointing at the door leading to his office with an imperious hand.

“We will talk in my office, Major Lorrrne.” the Second hissed, and Evan nodded his head with a defiantly raised chin, his angrily glaring eyes warning the Wraith not to think of trying to just brush him off.

The door had barely closed behind his back when Evan positioned himself before it with slightly spread legs and his arms akimbo as if he wanted to keep the Wraith from leaving the small room. It was a defiant move to bring his point across, as Evan was still reasonable enough to know that he wouldn't stand a chance against his secret crush if Todd's Sub Commander decided that he had enough of this and fought his way outside. The golden cat's eyes staring at him glistened with admiration for the fragile human's braveness, much to Evan's surprise, and the Wraith folded his arms across his chest and inclined his head as he leaned against his desk.

“How can I help you, Major Lorne?” the Second spoke up after a moment, and Evan drew in a deep breath and straightened to look taller than he was.

“You're avoiding me.”

“Excuse me?” The Wraith lifted his chin up, and his gaze darkened with anger.

“You're avoiding me as if I had the Hoffan disease. I don't as I can assure you, and I am tired of that! Yes, you allow me to train with your Master of Practice and learn your language and script, but you keep ignoring me as if I wasn't even on board. Ervin was the one telling me that we have left Atlantis and are heading toward an unknown destination, and where all of your crew members are at least polite if not friendly – but you never come to visit me or summon me to your office to ask how I'm doing. I want to know, Sub Commander – why don't you? What have I done to anger you so much that you can't even stand my mere presence?”

Evan stared the proud ancient being, despair and fury burning hot in his stomach. He'd come to get answers to his questions, and he wouldn't leave this office before he'd gotten what he wanted – needed – to know more than anything.

The Second's reaction came after another long moment of silence, and it wasn't what he'd expected at all. The Wraith's shoulders slumped in defeat, and he unfolded his arms to ball his hands to tight fists at his sides as he averted his gaze to stare at the wall next to Evan's head. He didn't wear gloves like Uilleam as the young major had noticed before, and his sharp nails must dig painfully into his vulnerable palms, but the Second didn't even seem to notice the ache his claws must cause him.

“It's for the best that we don't see each other, Major Lorne. For your own protection.”

“I see,” Evan said, his voice shallow. “Why? Because you want to feed on me? I'd thought that you were all freshly fed.” He doubted that Todd would have insisted on his visit if his life were actually in danger, but this could be the only sensible explanation for Kenneth's weird behavior, right?

The Wraith's fists tightened, and his jaw worked as he struggled to keep his self-control intact.

“No. I do not wish to feed on you.”

“Then why is it necessary for my protection that you stay away from me?”

“I can't tell you, Major Lorne. Please stop that and just leave!”

Evan narrowed his eyes and pushed himself away from the door to take a step in Kenneth's direction. “No. I won't leave before you haven't told me what this is all about, Sub Commander.”

“I can't.” The tall and usually so powerful male looked defeated, almost desperate to keep his secret, and Evan's heart missed a beat. Could it be that Kenneth didn't hate him as much as he'd thought? He took another step closer and the Wraith pressed himself against the desk to avoid his touch.

“You have to. I have a right to know, Sub Commander. Why do you hate me so much? What have I done to make you hate me like this?” he inquired urgently, and the Wraith's gaze flickered from the wall to his face, his eyes fixating on the deep-purple bruise on his cheekbone. An angry hiss fled his throat at the sight of his bruised and marred skin, and Evan's dimples appeared as his lips curled into a smile that made his eyes sparkle in a deep azure color.

“You don't really hate me, Kenneth, do you?” he asked quietly, almost gently, and in the next second he found himself pressed against the pulsing wall beside the door and the Wraith's right hand tearing his jacket open to press itself against his sternum while another loud hiss filled the small office and Kenneth's glowing golden eyes were suddenly very close to his face, staring right into his soul.

*~*~*

His defiant human was glorious in his anger, and the desire washing over him in a huge wave made his mind spin. Evan was pinned against the wall by his feeding hand, immobile and defenseless, and yet he met his heated glance with a defiant glare of his own, not willing to back away or show the mortal fear each human felt when they were trapped under a Wraith's feeding hand like that. His natural and unique scent betrayed his fear, though, the delicious herbal musk the Second could still taste on his tongue heavy with the adrenaline that was running through the young man's veins now, intermingling to an intoxicating mixture the Wraith could not resist. He bared his teeth to another possessive hiss as he leaned in to sniff at the warm flesh of Evan's bare throat, right where his pulse was racing and thumping visibly under his tender skin.

“You should have left when you were still able to do so, human,” the Wraith purred, “now I won't let you go any longer.”

“Yes, I should have. But I didn't.” His brave young warrior snapped defiantly, and the Second raised his head from his neck to stare into those bottomless blue orbs again. They were dark with both fear and arousal, the round pupils dilated and the blue irises hardly visible any longer. He let his gaze travel to the purple bruise on Evan's elegant cheekbone once more, and a low angry growl escaped his throat.

“I will punish him for hurting you,” he growled, and his beautiful human narrowed his eyes in anger.

“No, you won't. We fought a fair fight, I earned those marks.” he objected, and the Wraith felt delighted about the major's behavior. So proud and brave, so defiant and imperious, he was truly a worthy mate, a perfect match after the centuries and millennia he had waited for the right one.

“My marks will be the only marks you're allowed to wear, human!” he hissed, and the stinger of his feeding organ emerged from the gaping and aching slit of his hand mouth to break the warm human skin.

Evan gasped out, but he didn't try to fight or pull away, meeting his eyes with grim determination when he began to feed him with his own life-force to erase the purple marks another Wraith had left on his future mate from his skin. Evan's eyes widened in aroused shock as he experienced for the first time in his life what it meant to receive the Gift of Life, and the musk of the man's strong arousal tickled his palate and his tongue.

“Ahh, human...” he purred, watching hungrily his young warrior's expressive face as his emotions changed from shock to intense pleasure. They stood so close to each other that he could feel Evan's hardness through their clothing, and he snaked his left hand between their bodies to cup the large bulge beneath the BDUs and rub it with his unmarred palm. His blood was boiling in his veins, but he would be patient and wait for the right moment to claim this amazing being as his forever. Evan was still struggling against his lust, not giving him the satisfaction to see him lose his composure as he suppressed his moans and his jaw worked to keep the sounds of pleasure inside, still defiantly meeting his hungry eyes without blinking.

The Wraith sensed him getting close when he pushed more and more delicious strength into him, and he held his breath in the moment when his astonishing human lost his battle against his desire and came in his pants with another strangled gasp, his gaze losing its focus and sharpness as he succumbed to the waves of ecstasy coursing through his body. He squeezed the twitching cock under the soft garment until Evan leaned against the wall with a shaky breath, and he lifted his damp hand to his nose to inhale deeply the faint scent of Evan's satisfaction.

Evan watched him like he had watched his beautiful warrior, and there was still defiance lurking behind the soft expression of slowly fading pleasure in his eyes. His skin was glowing pink with the aftermath of his intense experience, smooth and unmarred now.

“Is this the Wraith way of hitting on somebody?” Evan sounded hoarse and mocking at the same time, “I'll have to teach you the human way of courting your crush properly, then. We usually ask for a date and kiss before we go this far and start to grope them. Guess I should have been warned, though, your Commander did the same with my CO as far as I remember.”

“I'd warned you, human. I told you that it would be better for you to leave.”

“That you did.” The dimples became visible when the young major smiled at him. Before he could utter what he'd wanted to say the screen on the console flared to life, making both of them step away from each other and turn their heads. He'd raised his mental barriers for his talk with Evan, and he didn't wear a radio either, so his crew had only this way to contact him.

“We have reached the edge of a star system, Second,” the voice of his Master of Navigation sounded through the comm-link, and he shot the ruffled figure of his human a regretful look after acknowledging the information and cutting off the connection again.

“We have reached our destination, human. I have to supervise the preparations for the landing. We will take a cruiser to reach the surface of the planet I have chosen for our exploration.”

“Exploration?” Evan raised one of his elegant brows questioningly.

“This planet has rich deposits of naquadah, and you will find some interesting rock formations on the surface, too.”

“Wow.” The young man stared at him, and his dimples showed themselves in all their glory again when he gifted him with another smile. “Can I change into some fresh and dry clothes before we go down to the planet?”

He inclined his head with a cautious smile of his own. “Of course.”

“Great, I'll see you in the cruiser bay, then, Sub Commander.” He turned around and left the office without a glance back, and the Second was left alone with his still lingering scent and the question whether or not his beautiful young warrior returned his feelings and if he would become his mate one day.

Chapter Text

Evan made it back to his quarters without any interference, and he had the suspicion that Kenneth had ordered his underlings to stay out of his way – which would usually have angered him. After what had just happened in Kenneth's office Evan was actually grateful for the Wraith's possessiveness, because he suspected that the order came mostly from Kenneth's wish that none of his crew saw Evan in his ruffled state and realized what their superior had done.

Whatever reason the Second had for keeping his underlings away from Evan for the time being, it gave the young major the privacy he desperately needed right now. He looked down at himself while the water cascaded over his body, the thin white spiderweb-like scars on his sternum the visible proof of the energy that was humming almost violently in every cell of his body. They were also the clear evidence that Wraith and humans could be more to each other than lethal enemies, that humans could be more to Wraith than just food. Evan had of course known that before from Todd's behavior towards Colonel Sheppard, but watching something from the distance and experiencing it first handed were two entirely different kind of things as he had to admit.

His hair was thick and shone in a rich brown color when he dried it with a towel, and the lines life and their daily fights for survival had carved into his face had smoothed out considerably. Evan wasn't sure how many years Kenneth had given him, but it must have been many because he felt as young and strong as he hadn't felt for at least ten years. Hopefully Kenneth had been reasonable enough and not given him too much of his own strength, but he hadn't looked any different than he'd looked before he'd bestowed the Gift of Life upon him, his posture proud and straight and his beautiful alien features of the same ageless delicacy that had made Evan feel drawn to him right from the beginning.

He dressed with a fresh uniform and threw some clothes, his pencils and drawing pads into his bag. He hadn't packed the equipment from his geology missions before he'd left Atlantis as he hadn't been in the need of them for a long time and mostly kept them for some melancholic reasons, which he regretted now. Todd's scientists surely had their own equipment, but it would have been nice to work with what he knew by heart.

Half an hour later he was ready and left his quarters, unsure where to go. He knew the way to the bridge, the Dart bay and the training arena, but the cruisers must be located in another part of the Hive, and he had no clue how to find his way there.

“Major Lorne?”

Evan whirled around his axis at the sound of an unknown voice, finding himself standing eye to eye with a Wraith he'd already seen on the bridge but never talked to. Two masked drones were standing behind him in respectful distance, the muzzles of their stunners pointing at the yielding floor of the corridor.

“Yes?” He regarded the Wraith warily, and even though he had started to feel safe and almost at home on board the Hive since his special fight against Uilleam and didn't really fear for his life now either, but being alone with a Wraith he didn't know and two of the masked drones sent a shiver of fear down on his back nevertheless.

The Wraith inclined his head in a hinted bow, and Evan relaxed a bit. “I am the Master of Security and Guard. The Second sent me to accompany you to the cruiser bay. He is still supervising the preparations for our soon departure and awaits you in the cruiser bay. These two warriors belong to your personal guard from now on. They will protect you with their own lives and they will obey your orders. They can hear you, but they cannot speak. As the trained soldier and commander you are, I believe that you will understand their gestures, Major Lorne.”

Evan blinked. This was unexpected and as weird as it was actually flattering. “I beg your pardon, Master of Security and Guard, but I don't need bodyguards. I can take care of myself, and we're visiting a world where the most exciting things will be some old rocks, why would I possibly need guards there?”

“It is for your own protection and safety, Major Lorne. There has never been any doubt that you are a skilled fighter, but the orders the Second gave me were clear. They will not bother you, and you don't need to fear that they shall try feeding on you. You are their Master now and not food to them.”

“I see.” Evan lifted his chin up. 'For your own protection!' He'd already heard this statement twice coming from his stubborn Wraith, and it had angered him both times as much as it angered him now, but the Master of Security and Guard was the wrong person to take his anger out on. He was only the messenger, not the real target of his annoyance. “Fair enough, lead the way, then, Dorrell,” he said as he took his bag and looked expectantly at the senior officer who belonged to Todd's staff.

“Dorrell?” The Wraith glanced at him with both curiosity and mistrust written all over his features. He'd surely already heard through the Hive mind that Evan had named the Master of Practice and his assistant, but it was clear to see that he hadn't thought that their human guest would dare to give him a name as well without explicitly being asked to do that.

“Dorrell: Gaelic for 'royal gatekeeper', a very fitting name for the Master of Security and Guard, don't you think so? I also like the sound of it.”

The Wraith – Dorrell – stared at him for a moment silently. Then, he tilted his head in another bow, a deeper one this time, and raised his arm to beckon Evan to follow him. “You're not at all like the Commander said that you are, Major Lorne. He'd given us the impression that you are much more servile and subdued than you prove yourself to be.” he stated, and Evan grinned at him as he walked past him to set off in the direction of the cruiser bay.

“I'll take that as a compliment, Dorrell,” he retorted, smiling to himself on the entire way through the gloomy hallways of the large Hive.

*~*~*

Evan had feared that seeing Kenneth for the first time again after their memorable confrontation in his office would make him feel awkward and uncomfortable, but walking in front of Dorrell and his two new bodyguards helped him to keep his head raised and the mask of seeming nonchalance on his face. The news must already have gone through the Hive mind, though, because the other officers and drones seeing to their duties in the cruiser bay and in the cruiser to get ready for their departure actually made room for him with courteous nods of their heads when he strode towards the cruiser ramp like a king with his entourage, earning himself furtive looks of both curiosity and admiration.

“Major Lorne, you're punctual,” Kenneth greeted him, standing before the ramp and awaiting his arrival, and Evan got the impression that his skin color changed to a darker greenish-gray when their eyes met, probably the Wraith equivalent of human blushing.

“Yes, I am, Sub Commander. Dorrell, your Master of Security and Guard, made sure of that,” he replied instead of a greeting with a cheerfully innocent grin and enjoying pretty much how Kenneth went actually green as he was confronted with the fact that his human guest had done it again and given another one of his officers a human name. The beautiful golden eyes sparkled with something that could either be anger or desire, this was hard to tell, but the ancient male had himself under control enough not to start another argument with Evan in front of his underlings.

“I assume that my Master of Security and Guard has accepted the name you've chosen for him,” was all he just said, and Evan's grin deepened.

“Yes, he has, Sub Commander. He can explain its meaning to you if you're interested. It's an appropriate name and chosen with care.”

“I did not doubt that, Major Lorne.” The Second pointed at the dark hole that was the entrance to the cruiser. “We're ready to depart.” He stepped closer and put his hand on the small spot between Evan's shoulder blades, heat spreading from the touch even though Wraith had a lower body temperature than humans.

Evan looked up at him under thick dark lashes, his words so quiet that only Kenneth could hear them despite the much better sense of hearing Wraith had. “We're going to have a talk about my guards, Sub Commander,” he threatened, and the Wraith bared his teeth to a mocking but yet pleased smile of his own.

“Are we, human?” he gave back, his voice sounding like the low purr of a huge tomcat.

“Yes, definitely. Plus, you should already start practicing how Gaelic names are pronounced correctly. I'm not done with naming your crew yet.”

The pressure of Kenneth's hand on his back increased as the Wraith ushered him up the short ramp. “I didn't think that you were, human. I will not make the mistake of underestimating your stubbornness ever again.”

Evan grinned at him, and it was a fond one that showed his dimples. “That's good to know. Are there really rock formations and naquadah deposits waiting for us on this world?” he asked eagerly, the prospect of doing some exploration and being able to work as a geologist again making his heart beat faster as much as their closeness did.

“Plenty of them, human. Now let us depart, the sooner we take off, the sooner you will be able to explore them.”

Evan followed him into the cruiser, and not even the two drones walking behind him like tall dark shadows disturbed when they entered the smaller space ship. Kenneth's hand on his back was both possessive and protective at the same time, and Evan actually felt safe in his presence now, safer than he'd felt in a very long time.

*~*~*

The flight to the planet didn't take long, and Evan was allowed to spend it on the bridge and stand beside Kenneth in the center of the bridge before the navigation console. His two bodyguards were flanking the exit with their arms folded across their broad chests, and Even could feel their eyes on his figure under their masks. Just a day ago, their behavior would have sent cold shivers down on his back, but this had changed thoroughly. Dorrell had said that he was their Master and that they would protect him with their own lives, and Evan actually believed him. Apart from that, he didn't sense any hostility coming from them, and their glances under the masks were observant and attentive but not threatening in any way.

Kenneth landed the cruiser with the experience of thousands of landings he'd already performed in his long life, and the space ship touched down on the rocky ground smoothly.

“Master of Security and Guard, you will check the area before we leave the cruiser. Take two officers and eight warriors with you.”

“Understood, Second.” Dorrell bowed his head in acknowledgment of his orders and left the bridge. Evan suspected that they were talking aloud because of him, and he gave his Wraith a grateful smile.

“Thank you for not leaving me out of your conversation,” he murmured, and Kenneth bent his head and put his hand on his back again.

“You are not trained to connect with the Hive mind, Major Lorne, it would be impolite not to use spoken words in your presence.”

“You're still calling me 'Major Lorne' after what you said and did to me in your office?” Evan gazed up at him, and the heated glance he got in return sent a thrill of desire through him.

“It was you telling me that I shouldn't call you 'human'.” The damn Wraith purred with a toothy smile, and Evan scowled at him.

“I have a first name you can address me with,” he objected, and Kenneth gifted him with another passionate glance.

“And I will do so when we're alone, human. It wouldn't be appropriate to use your birth name in front of my officers before I have officially claimed you as my mate.”

Evan swallowed audibly, and the prospect of being claimed by this powerful and still so dangerous ancient being wasn't the least as scary as it should actually be. “Hmm, if you say so. So it's either Major Lorne or 'human' until then?” he asked back, and Kenneth offered him a very pleased toothy grin.

“Which one do you prefer, my defiant young warrior?”

Evan felt heat creep into his cheeks, but he didn't bat an eye as he looked back at the Wraith. “Ervin has told you the meaning of my name,” he stated, and Kenneth nodded his head.

“Yes, he did. Your parents chose a very suitable name for you, human.”

Evan snorted, his face still glowing red. “Well, thank you. They'll be pleased to hear that you approve of the name they gifted me with. And to answer your question: I think that it makes no real difference whether you call me human or Major Lorne in front of your officers. They already know what's going on between us anyway, don't they?”

The Second's features softened when he saw the discomfort and embarrassment on Evan's features. “None of the crew was a witness of our... conversation in my office or know what happened there between us. As the temporary Commander in charge of the Hive I am always connected with the Hive mind, but I can separate my personal thoughts and feelings from it. You need not worry that our crew will be a part of our personal relationship.”

“What makes you so sure that we will have a 'personal' relationship anyway, Wraith?” the young major couldn't help but tease his Wraith a bit, but he was smiling, and his dimples became visible again.

“Because I will hunt you through the whole Pegasus galaxy, and through the entire one you came from as well, if you so much as merely think of declining my claim, human!” the tall immortal creature growled, and the look Evan got out of glittering golden eyes left no doubts that his Wraith was deadly serious about this.

*~*~*

Kenneth had been right about the rock formations, they were breathtakingly beautiful. Evan had a lump in his throat as he regarded them, his hands itching with the urge to draw them. It had been so long since he'd been more than a soldier and the sub military commander of Atlantis that he'd almost forgotten how it felt to be more than just that.

Todd's Second had landed the cruiser in a distance of about two miles away from the mountains, and the young major enjoyed their walk to the rocks and just being on the surface of a planet again much more than he'd thought.

Dorrell had secured the area with his two subordinated officers and the masked warriors, and Kenneth had introduced the Master of Science to Evan while they'd waited for the Master of Security and Guard to give them his okay that they were alone and the area was secured.

The Master of Science was about the same age as Uilleam, a little more than four thousand years old, a tall and slim Wraith with long white hair which he wore in a thick pigtail. He was accompanied by four younger scientists, and together with Kenneth and six masked warriors which served as the respective personal guards for the Second, the Master of Science and Evan himself, their group consisted of twelve Wraith and one human.

Dorrell and the two officers awaited them at the base of a huge rock formation, and Evan could see the tall figures of the drones patrolling in the distance, black against the bright sunlight that burnt down from the azure blue sky. Evan held his face into the sun with closed eyes for a moment, and Kenneth's willingness to come here just to make him happy formed another lump in his throat. Wraith could adjust to cold and heat rather easily, but the bright sunlight must actually hurt them as their eyes were much more sensitive to it than human eyes were, and the air on this world was dry and not as humid as the air in Hives usually was.

When he opened his eyes again, he found the Master of Science and his four scientists already busied with checking their equipment and talking about where to start with a first examination, while Kenneth and Dorrell were standing close together and discussing something. Evan couldn't detect the words, but he could hear their quiet voices, and it warmed his heart that they were all so considerate of him again and talking aloud instead of using telepathy. He sighed and blinked to clear his mind, the warmth and bright light making him feel dizzy after the days he'd spent in relative darkness and the much cooler Hive.

The two masked warriors who served as his bodyguards followed him with a distance of a few meters when he made his way to the rocks, and Evan didn't find their presence as weird and disturbing as he'd felt about them just an hour ago already. They came to a halt when he did, the shadows their bodies threw on the stony ground shielding him from the sun surprisingly effectively.

“Major Lorne, would you please come over here? I think that you will find this special rock layer interesting.” The Master of Science's voice made him turn his head, and his heart made a small flip in his chest.

It was still such a new and unexpected experience to work together with their Wraith allies and be treated like an equal partner, and he still felt uncertain in the presence of so many Wraith, but the five scientists looked friendly enough, and so he walked over to them and smiled at them.

“I'm not familiar with your equipment, you'll have to explain it to me, please,” he said, and the Master of Science tilted his head in agreement.

“Of course, Major Lorne. Take a look at these readings, they show us how old these rock layers actually are...” the Wraith with the long braid started to explain, and Evan regarded the symbols on the tablet attentively and listened to the Wraith's words with concentration written all over his handsome features.

Maybe spending several weeks on board Todd's Hive wasn't as bad as he'd thought at the beginning, and maybe, just maybe, it would actually become the best thing that had ever happened to him in his whole life.

*~*~*

Time flew by quickly, and five hours later Evan felt as if he already knew his uncommon scientific colleagues for years and not just hours. He'd worked with a lot of people together over the years, and he'd made the experience that even those he'd considered to be real friends turned into rivals quickly when it came to an extraordinary discovery they wanted to claim for themselves.

The five Wraith shared their knowledge with him so naturally like he'd never thought it possible, they helped him climbing the rocks and made sure that he drank enough and took breaks in between without giving him the feeling that he was weak or less capable or worthy than them.

Kenneth didn't join their small group, he seemed to be fine with watching him enjoy himself from the distance, but every time Evan looked up from his task to search for his tall figure, the Wraith would meet his eyes and give him an encouraging nod.

The Master of Science was rather talkative for a Wraith and asked him questions about his former expeditions in his home galaxy and what kind of different technologies he knew to process naquadah and other ores like iron for example. His four assistants listened to their vivid conversation with fascinated expressions and asked curious questions of their own, and it didn't take long until they approached the topic of human names and asked Evan to choose names for them as well.

He was surprised how willing Todd's proud Wraith were to accept human names all of a sudden, but perhaps they just wanted to avoid that his CO Colonel Sheppard would claim that special right for himself because they thought that Sheppard's XO would find better names for them.

“Raghnall is the Gaelic version of the ancient Germanic name Ronald, which means 'royal counselor'. You can wear this name with pride, Master of Science,” Evan said, and he knew that he'd won himself another friend when the Wraith looked actually flattered and bowed his head in acceptance of his new name. His assistants almost looked jealous, and Evan did his best to find suitable names for them as well. It was a good thing that he'd always been interested in ancient names and their meanings because his knowledge and thorough research came in handy now and helped him to become friends with their new allies.

The name for Raghnall's right hand, the oldest one of his assistants and his future successor one day, was found quickly in 'Ronson', son of Ronald. Ronson preened and gracefully inclined his head, and Evan could feel Kenneth's intense gaze on his face when Ronson shared his new name with the Hive mind excitedly.

The Wraith sitting at Ronson's right side - Evan guessed that the two of them were either best friends or perhaps even mates because they were always working together and seeking each other's company - reminded Evan of a small stag because he was the best climber of the group and seemed to be in his element when he could climb the rocks. He suggested 'Ossian' as a good name for him therefore, which meant 'little stag', and after a quick glance at Ronson for approval, his friend voiced his agreement with a toothy smile.

Asking Raghnall's third assistant about his preferences and special skills, Evan found out that the Wraith with the stocky build loved to forge iron, bronze and steel into ceremonial weapons like the blacksmiths had done on Earth for centuries. It was easy to find a good name for him after that information, and 'Gowan' – blacksmith in Gaelic - accepted his name with another shark-like smile.

The fourth and last assistant was the tallest and strongest one of them, and Evan had been impressed by how easily he'd carried several large and heavy stones and rocks out of the way during their examination. 'Brian' was a short name and also easy to pronounce, its meaning 'strong'. The broadly built Wraith was clearly pleased with Evan's choice and straightened his back to prove how strong he actually was when he thanked his human colleague for his suitable name.

With his five new friends named and happy, Evan excused himself to see to his bodily needs and rounded the rocks they'd explored to have some privacy for that. Kenneth was checking the area together with Dorrell, and the young major found that he was already missing him and longing to spend some time alone with him later. His two bodyguards followed him like they had done so ever since their first introduction on board the Hive, and Evan sighed and turned around to face them.

“Okay, guys, you cannot answer me verbally, but Dorrell said that you can understand me when I talk to you. I need to relieve myself like humans have to do on a regular basis, and I'd rather not be watched when I have to see to my bodily needs. I know that your sense of hearing is better than mine and that you're faster than humans, and I promise you that I will shout in case that I'll need you, but can you please stay here and wait for me?”

Evan looked back and forth between the two drones, not really expecting them to give him any visible sign that they'd understood him, but to his surprise, the left one tilted his head in some kind of bow and stopped as if he'd run against an invisible wall.

“Uh, thank you.” Evan regarded his bodyguards for a moment before he said: “You look like identical twins to me, but you are a bit taller than your friend.” He looked at the left one, who'd nodded his head to show him that he'd understood him. “Thomas means 'twin', and there are several Gaelic versions for this very honorable ancient name. I hope that you don't mind me giving you names as well, but it's really making things easier for me. So you will be Tavish for me in the future, that's one Gaelic version of Thomas,” he smiled at the taller of the two masked warriors, “... and you will be Tamlane, another version of this name. They are my two favorite ones and as you're supposed to protect me with your own lives, the least I can do is show you the respect you deserve.”

The drones moved and straightened their shoulders, and Evan's smile widened. “You like your names? That's great! Okay, Tavish and Tamlane, please wait here for me. I'll be back right away.”

Tavish and Tamlane remained where they were standing and tilted their heads in perfect unison, and Evan disappeared behind another rock to relieve himself, very pleased with himself and what he'd already achieved within a few days.

*~*~*

“You've named the masked warriors.”

Kenneth said three hours later when the sun was setting and they were gathering their equipment. He came over to Evan and his new friends with his own two personal guards following him in respectful distance, waving at the young major to accompany him for a short walk.

“Yes, I did.” Evan was cautious, giving the Wraith who always made his heart beat so fast in his chest a quick sidelong glance to catch a glimpse of his mood. Kenneth was scanning the landscape with his eyes, his unobtrusive musky scent causing a tingling of desire to flutter in Evan's stomach.

“Why?” Todd's Second turned his head at last to meet Evan's eyes, and there was no anger visible on his face, just curiosity and confusion.

“Well, I can't talk to them mind-to-mind like you do, and as they are supposed to protect me with their own lives and surely value their life as much as any other sentient being, I don't want to treat them like things. Tavish and Tamlane sound much better than 'you left or right one', right? As I have the feeling that you will stubbornly insist on them following me wherever I go, I want to make the best out of it and feel less uncomfortable in their presence. Giving them names and addressing them with their respective names makes me feel less awkward, and it also shows my respect for them and their task.”

“Masked warriors are bred to serve and protect their masters with their lives, my young warrior,” Kenneth said, but Evan was determined to win this fight and get his point across.

“They are still sentient beings and aware of themselves – their reactions when I chose their names proved that to me. You might not agree with me on that, but you have yet to respect my feelings and my view on things even when they are different from yours. If you don't, then we'll have a serious problem with each other – as I'm not one of your underlings, Sub Commander.”

The Wraith stopped and folded his arms across his chest to look down at Evan with narrowed eyes. “You go so far to name the masked warriors, but you still call me Sub Commander, even when we're alone, human. Do you want to annoy me?”

Evan mirrored his posture and glared up at him. “You were the one telling me that I should better not call you by a human name, Second. Have you already forgotten that?”

The Wraith swallowed, and his skin color changed to this darker green shade again. “Kenneth is actually a name I could accept,” he allowed sheepishly, and Evan's lips curled into a mischievous smile.

“Are you jealous, Wraith? Jealous because I call your senior officers and underlings by their names – and even the masked drones – whereas I'm still just using your title like you'd actually ordered me to do?”

“Don't tease me, human!” the Wraith snarled as he stepped closer, and Evan chuckled. He started walking backwards to a large rock, and the snarling male followed him like he'd hoped that he would do. The four drones, Tavish, Tamlane and Kenneth's two guards stayed where they'd come to a halt behind one of the rocks, probably at the mental order of their Commander, and Evan decided that he would just ignore them as best as he could.

He braced his hands against the stone and jumped in the air to seat himself on the rock when he reached it, their faces at a level now. Kenneth stopped in front of him, and the sparks of desire he could see in the golden depths of the Wraith's eyes made him shiver. The alien male inhaled deeply the air when the pheromones of human arousal perfumed the warm evening breeze that was blowing between the rocks and stones, his sensor pits flaring as he took in the scent of his future mate.

Evan knew that his own eyes were dark when he grabbed the Wraith by his heavy coat to pull him closer, the tension between them palpable and making his heart beat hard against his ribcage. “You really want me to call you Kenneth? Are you sure that your reputation won't suffer any serious damage if I do that?”

“Evan!” The proud ancient being almost begged, and the young major pulled him so close that their lips were only a hairsbreadth away from each other.

“I like it when you call me by my first name, Kenneth. Now let me teach you how to court someone the human way of courting,” Evan murmured, and then he pressed his lips onto the Wraith's in a first passionate kiss.

Chapter Text

Kissing someone who possessed razor-sharp shark-like teeth and had no real experience in this regard so obviously, either, proved itself to be a bit tricky; and Evan cut his tongue three times in his eagerness to teach his Wraith the human way of wooing someone with kisses. He wondered briefly how his CO Sheppard solved this apparent problem with Todd, but then again it could as well be that the Commander and the colonel hadn't progressed that far in their own complicated relationship - or that Todd had already known how to kiss before they'd met.

Kenneth proved himself to be a quick learner though, thankfully, picking up on the matter quickly and making sure that his teeth didn't get in the way anymore when he deepened their kiss and started to explore Evan's mouth with his agile tongue on his own. The purring sounds of delight he made vibrated against Evan's chest as close as they were pressed together, and his usually unobtrusive scent grew stronger and heavy with musk, a clear sign that Kenneth enjoyed their kisses as much as Evan began to enjoy them now that he wasn't in danger to literally risk his tongue being cut out of his mouth any longer.

Wraith salvia also had an unexpected but welcome side-effect, healing the cuts almost instantly when Kenneth licked up the red droplets of Evan's blood. Evan only broke their kiss when he started to feel lightheaded because of the lack of oxygen in his lungs, enjoying thoroughly the ruffled appearance of the normally so controlled proud ancient being that was staring at him with wondrous golden cat's eyes.

He'd apparently carded his fingers through the long silken strands of Kenneth's hair without really knowing what he was doing during their rather clumsy but yet sweet and passionate first kiss, and Kenneth's silver-white mane was cascading over his shoulders and back in tousled waves now, his skin glowing in the orange light of the setting sun. Evan's heart clenched with a hot wave of longing and desire at the breathtaking sight of his aroused hopefully-soon-to-be mate, and he pulled him in for another kiss because he had no words to express his feelings and his kisses would tell Kenneth how he felt about him much better than words could ever do anyway.

The tall male was all too happy to kiss him back and improve his skills in this newly learned pleasurable action, and with his teeth not getting in the way any longer, their kisses became deeper and more and more heated with every minute that passed. Their bodies were pressed so close together, and Evan slung his legs around Kenneth's hips to keep him close and enjoy how the palpable proof of the Wraith's desire for him was rubbing against his own crotch under the heavy garments of his coat and his leather-like trousers. New arousal was tingling at the end of his spine, but he was not as desperate as the other male must be after their remarkable encounter in Kenneth's office; and if the way the Wraith's claws dug sharply into his scalp to keep his head in place was anything to go by with, then his ardent paramour was in desperate need for some release of his forceful desire.

It was clear that Kenneth had not only known not really much about kissing so far, but also never experienced how arousing and pleasurable it could be, and his purrs became more and more agitated with every kiss they shared.

“Hmm, you like that, my beautiful panther, don't you?” he chuckled against the passionate gray lips when he drew back to pull some air into his lungs again, and the Wraith growled in annoyance of the interruption and chased after his mouth once more, not willing to end their new pastime any time soon again.

Hidden from any prying eyes by the red-glowing rocks and sure in the knowledge that Tavish, Tamlane and Kenneth's two guards would keep anyone from disturbing them, Evan pushed his right hand between their bodies to fiddle with the belt and the fastenings that kept Kenneth's trousers on his hips. Wraith had developed an amazing technology over the millennia, but the benefit of practical zippers had obviously never occurred to them, and it was tricky to loosen the fastenings with just one hand because his lover was too occupied with kissing him and keeping him close with both of his arms to help him with that.

The young major growled contentedly when he'd finally managed to open the belt and the small clasps and could push his hand inside Kenneth's pants. The Wraith shivered when his warm fingers touched his swollen manhood for the first time and his calloused palm enclosed his bare flesh in a tight grip. Male Wraith were impressively built in this department, and Evan couldn't suppress a heavy shiver on his own at the thought that he would soon lie under his lover and feel his impressive length deep inside his body – as he had no doubt that this would happen and that his purring Wraith panther would claim him in this intimate way when they were back on board the Hive.

“You don't need to do this, Evan,” Kenneth ground out, probably mistaking his shiver for a shiver of fear and disgust, and Evan kissed him on the tip of his nose with a smile as he cupped his face with his left hand and looked deep into the golden eyes, the normally slotted pupils blown to full rounds because of Kenneth's desperate desire for him.

“But I want to, Kenneth. You haven't gotten your fill earlier, and you feel so good in my hand,” he whispered back, sensing that teasing the Wraith would hurt him in the state of painful need he was in. “Just let me, please...”

His hoarse plea earned him another deep and passionate kiss, the caresses of Kenneth's tongue in his mouth fueling his own desire to new and higher levels. But this was not about him right now, and Evan focused on the way how the hard cock in his hand twitched and grew longer and harder when he started to stroke it, moving up and down in a steady rhythm despite the restraints the trousers still were. Hearing his Wraith panther purr and gasp for him while they kissed was worth the discomfort he felt when he had to twist his fingers and his wrist to be able to stroke the other male to completion, and he increased his efforts to make this secret encounter as satisfying for his paramour as possible.

“Your human way of courting is not so different from ours,” Kenneth ground out when they had to break their kiss for another deep and shaky intake of breath, their lips still loosely touching, and Evan chuckled breathlessly and pressed their foreheads together for a moment, instinctively shielding his face from any possible watcher this way.

“We usually take things slower than you do, but as you and I have already progressed this far in your office, I thought that accelerating things a bit wouldn't really hurt, Wraith...” he murmured, his warm breath ghosting over the Wraith's cooler cheeks, and he was delighted at the heavy shudder he could evoke with his caresses. The proud and powerful ancient creature was already so close, panting against his lips and shivering every time Evan moved his hand down on his rock-hard shaft with the bone-ridges at the underside of his manhood, and then back up again to the engorged head with the slippery slit where the evidence of the Wraith's need and lust was coating it in milky droplets.

“I have to agree with you, human,” Kenneth pressed out, poised at the edge of his release for several seconds. Evan opened his eyes to watch his face in the moment of his climax, and the new hot wave washing over him at the beautiful sight felt suspiciously like love and not just physical desire for the amazing being trembling in his arms.

“Come for me, Kenneth,” he demanded hoarsely, “come for me and show me how much you want me, I need you to, please...”

His passionate request had the desired effect and pushed the Wraith over the edge, pleasure erupting from his cock in powerful spurts. Evan caught his release with his fingers, stroking his lover through his height until he relaxed in his arms and leaned heavily against him with a low purr. “I love it when you purr for me so nicely, Wraith. You look and sound like a beautiful black panther like this,” Evan breathed against his mouth, pressing a soft and tender kiss onto his pliant lips.

Kenneth opened his golden eyes to regard him, and his expression was tender and unguarded in the aftermath of his intense release, but still possessive and passionate when he returned the kiss.

“I will soon make you purr for me as well, my young warrior. You will purr for me and I will make sure that every living being in two galaxies will know that you're mine, human!”

Evan grinned at him and pulled his hand out of Kenneth's trousers to clean them with one of the handkerchiefs he always carried in one of his pockets.

“Sounds like a good plan to me, Wraith,” he said, his dimples showing themselves in all their glory when his blue eyes met Kenneth's golden ones. “Can't wait to find out who of the two of us can purr louder.”

“So do I, human.” His Wraith pulled him in for one last fierce kiss, and Evan thought that this day must be one of the best days in his whole life so far – except for the day when his former superior had informed him that he'd been accepted by the secret Stargate program - and which had changed his life so thoroughly and forever in ways Evan had not been able to imagine back then.

*~*~*

They didn't return to the cruiser for the night, and Evan was amazed how naturally and easily the other Wraith accepted the growing relationship between their Sub Commander and himself. He'd thought that they would be much more opposed to the thought that not only their Commander had chosen one of the impudent and proud humans from another galaxy to be his mate, but his Second as well. With two of those humans who were responsible for the awakening of all Wraith in the galaxy at once, and who had been fighting against them for years as fiercely as no other human world had ever dared to do since the Ancients had left Pegasus and scuttled their beloved city.

But as things stood, none of the Wraith he'd gotten to know better so far had given any sign that they didn't accept him as the future mate of their Second, and he spent another two hours in their pleasant company, sitting around the campfire and listening to their explanations about their fascinating technology, which combined organic structures with artificial devices so perfectly.

Dorrell's two officers were patrolling together with their superior and the eight masked warriors, and Raghnall and his four assistants excused themselves at some point to do more research between the rocks as they were all freshly fed and didn't need much sleep, the dark hours of the night not keeping them from their exploration because of their good night vision.

Evan found himself alone with the Wraith he desired so much again, the tall figures of their respective personal guards hovering somewhere in the dark shadows outside of the circle that was lit up by the campfire.

The young major felt pleasantly tired after the long day and all the things that had happened during the last hours. His dinner had consisted of fried vegetables, roasted bread and fresh water from a creek nearby one of the guard officers had brought to their camp earlier.

“Why me?” he asked all of a sudden, and he was surprised at his question himself as he regarded Kenneth's ageless alien features over the fire that bathed the Wraith's face in a red-golden light and accentuated his black tattoo and the dark lines of the veins visible under his pale gray-green skin, boosting the impression of alienness in a very appealing way.

Kenneth met his gaze thoughtfully, and it was clear to see that he knew what Evan meant, but he asked back nonetheless, perhaps to buy himself some time and come up with a good answer.

“Why you? What do you mean, my young warrior?”

“You know what I mean, Kenneth. Why me? Why would you choose me of all people? Yes, you have always been loyal to your Commander and supported his wish to form an alliance with Atlantis and us as far as I know, but you have always been much more reserved and suspicious, and you've never occurred to me as one of your kin who would possibly wish to come closer to humans than strictly necessary for such an alliance.”

Todd's friend and sub Commander hesitated, and Evan suddenly had the impression that he was hiding something from him.

“You're special, Evan,” he said after a rather long pause, and Evan suppressed a disbelieving snort.

“Every living being is special, Kenneth, even identical twins. I am human – food to you under different circumstances, and yet you desire me as your mate, why?”

“Is that really important to you, my young warrior? You are not like any human I've ever known, and you're as dauntless and brave as any Wraith.” Kenneth was clearly uncomfortable, trying to distract him with his choice of addressing and his flattering words.

“Yes, it is important to me. I deserve to know the answer, and if you really want things to work out between us, then you'll have to be honest with me, Kenneth.” the young major insisted, and he wasn't really sure why he'd started this discussion all of a sudden and after their passionate kisses just a few hours ago. He was driven by an urge he couldn't really explain, and he stared into the Wraith's eyes as if he would find the answers in his gaze if he only looked into them long enough.

“Wraith laws and rules are different from what you probably know, Evan,” the Wraith spoke up after another pause, “we have a strict hierarchy – which is crucial for our way of life and because of our telepathic bonds and the Hive mind we share. Even more so as there are only few Queens for too many Wraith.

Queens procreate with different Wraith over the course of time to grant the needed variety of genes and avoid inbreeding, negotiating with other Queens about the exchange of strong and high ranking officers and scientists for such occasions.

But every Queen will usually choose only one true mate at a time, and as she is the Queen and absolutist ruler of her Hive or clan, she will usually choose either her own Commander, or the Commander of a Queen-less Hive as her mate. Sometimes even fight with another Queen about one of her Commanders if he has managed to catch her eye.”

Kenneth went silent, and Evan nodded his head to make him go on with his admittedly interesting explanations. “I see. It sounds plausible, but it still doesn't explain to me why I have caught your eye.”

The Wraith looked at him for a moment and sighed. “Is it not enough for you that I desire you as my true mate, Evan?” he asked in a second attempt to avoid the inevitable and make him backpedal and stop his interrogation.

“No, it isn't.” Evan retorted stubbornly, and Kenneth slumped his shoulders.

“Fair enough. When a Hive has lost its Queen – or when one Queen has several Hives with Commanders for each of them, the Commander is the highest ranking Wraith on board, and he will usually choose his mate – if he is not mated to the Queen and desires one – among the highest ranking senior officers of his Hive, his Second if possible in most cases. This will not only be the most appropriate choice, but also avoid conflicts between the other officers and lower ranking Wraith.”

Evan was reminded of the rules and laws that existed on Earth regarding relationships between soldiers and officers, but he hadn't expected that similar laws would apply to their Wraith allies, and what he'd heard so far disturbed him more than he'd thought. Was Kenneth really trying to tell him this way that he and Todd had been more than just the Commander and his Second and friends in the past?

The Wraith seemed to read his thoughts – not in the real sense of the meaning, but they must show on his face – because he continued to speak with a cautious smile when he noticed the disbelieving expression on Evan's face.

“The Commander and I have never been more than friends, Evan. Close friends, but neither of us has ever had the wish to change our professional and personal relationship to such an intimate level. Queens have the power to order the Wraith they desire to become their mate, perhaps even if the chosen one loves someone else, but it doesn't work this way among male Wraith, and no honorable Queen or Commander will take a mate against their explicit will. Such a strong and powerful bond like the one between true mates must be desired from both parties, not only from one side.

It is easier for the other senior officers or lower ranking officers and scientists to choose a mate among their brethren and bond with them, and I know that the Master of Prac... Uilleam has told you about his wish to claim his assistant Ervin, which would be a fitting match indeed. A lot of couples find each other because of their respective tasks or same ranks, but most Wraith are free to choose the mate they truly want, regardless of appearance, rank or status. It's not that easy for Commanders and Sub Commanders, though.”

Kenneth went silent again, and Evan waited, his heart beating painfully in his chest, because he wasn't so sure whether or not he would like what was about to come next.

“The Commander and I know each other for millennia. We have become friends right at the beginning of our acquaintance when he joined our Hive to serve my Queen as her faithful Commander and become her mate as well. It happened several centuries after the war against the Lanteans, so you'll understand how long we've already been friends up to this day. Our friendship lasted even after the death of our adored Queen, and her loss – his mate and my admired and beloved ruler – forged an even stronger bond between us.

He declined the offer of other Queens after her death because he couldn't even think of replacing his mate with any other Queen less worthy than she had been, and as I knew that I couldn't leave him, I declined the offers for true mateship I got over the course of time as well – as there was never that special someone among them who would have made me think of leaving my friend and Commander.

Even when he was the captive of the Genii and I thought him to be dead, I remained loyal to him and his beliefs and dreams of a peaceful future for Wraith and humans in Pegasus. At some point I had to accept the offer of the former Primary to join her faction with the Hives we had commanded together for thousands of years, and you can perhaps imagine my joy about our unexpected reunion when he reclaimed his Hives and his crews after her death – much to the displeasure of her High Commander and current mate.”

Evan didn't think that he could fully comprehend what it must have meant for these two ancient immortal beings to find each other again after Todd's captivity, but he could see the shadows of grief and pain Kenneth had suffered when he'd believed his friend to be dead flicker over his handsome features, and he nodded his head in encouragement.

“When he returned to his rightful command over our Hives, he'd changed. Not only because of the ten years he'd spent in Kolya's captivity, but also because he'd met a remarkable human, a human so different from any other human who'd ever lived in Pegasus – as remarkable as the first Lanteans had been, and perhaps even more impressive as they had ever been.”

“Colonel Sheppard.” Evan said, and Kenneth nodded his head.

“Yes, your CO. I knew right from the start that he had eventually found his true mate, his real true mate. So different from our Queen, whom he had loved dearly, but even she had not been able to fill the hole the terrible war against the first Lanteans had carved deep into his soul. She had always treated our human worshipers with care and respect, but she had never shared his strong wish to form real alliances with them and live in a galaxy where Wraith and humans would live side by side like he has never stopped dreaming of since he first told me about his dream so long ago.

I could see it in his eyes whenever he spoke of him, the way he looked at him when Colonel Sheppard was around. I didn't understand it because the one he desired was human. Not human like in food, and certainly not weak or inferior, but still human, and even though my kin sometimes take human worshipers as lovers, but as real mates, that is rather unknown and truly rare...”

“Hmm, so you didn't understand why your Commander and friend would want a human as his mate,” Evan summed his words up, and he couldn't really hide the hurt he felt. He'd of course known that before Kenneth had admitted how he thought about Evan's own kin, but listening to him when he spoke that truth out loud was making it much more real.

Kenneth had stared at a point behind Evan's head, but now he searched for his eyes, and what he could see in dark golden depths made him shiver.

“No, I couldn't, Evan. Plus, I couldn't imagine that there were other humans like Colonel Sheppard out there; and even though I shared the Commander's wish to ally with the New Lanteans because we both knew that walking on the same old paths we'd been used to for millennia would destroy us in the end, but I still didn't think that I would ever think of any human as an equal partner in such an alliance. But then I met you for the first time, and you were just as remarkable and impressive as the Commander had told me that Colonel Sheppard was in his opinion, and you were so different from all the other humans I'd ever known, as well.”

Warmth spread out in Evan's stomach, and he smiled at the Wraith sitting on the side of the campfire and regarding him with something akin to awe on his alien male features. Kenny paused to think about his next words, and Evan found himself staring hungrily at his lips, remembering the passionate kisses they had exchanged and how they had aroused him more than any other kisses ever before.

“You were strong and brave, dauntless and defiant, not fearing to stand up for yourself, your people and the things you believe in, showing no fear even when you were standing face to face with a being so much stronger than you. You impressed me so much with your demeanor, and I was fascinated against my will, because I'd been alone for so long and you were human. I avoided you as best as I could, but then the Commander decided to stay in Atlantis and have you stay with us in exchange for weeks. I told him that this was a bad idea and that nothing good would come out of your forced visit, but he had made his decision, and I as his Second and friend had to obey his orders.

You came on board, and you were everything I'd thought you to be, and everything I could possibly wish for to find it in my true mate and even more, not only the Second of your own Commander, but also a true warrior, kind, honorable and beautiful. You made friends among my crew much faster than I could ever have hoped for, let alone expected, and when the Master of Practice's assistant, Ervin, told me that you'd given him a name and what his name actually meant, I could hardly stop myself from challenging him to fight against me about you. Such a fight would have brought shame to the entire Hive because he's just a young officer and not really an equal to me as the Second of the Hive, but in this moment I didn't care about that, because everything inside me screamed that you were mine and no one else was allowed to touch you.”

“I like Ervin, and he was the first of your crew being friendly and treating me like a sentient and intelligent being with the right to live, but that is all, Kenneth.” Evan assured the Wraith gently, longing to cross the distance between them and round the fire. But they weren't official mates yet, and Raghnall and his four younger scientists were still out there and within sight.

The ancient male looked at him with glittering golden eyes, and the desire Evan could see there took his breath away.

“I had lived a life in solitude for so long, for centuries and millennia, and I had never truly desired to accept one of the offers I'd received and become the mate of any of them, whether they were powerful and proud Commanders or even a Queen. I had resigned myself to the fate of living a lonesome life and focus on my duties as the Commander's loyal Second, and I had actually started to make my peace with that. But then you came along all of a sudden, and you were simply...” Kenneth's voice trailed off, and Evan finished his sentence with a smile that showed his dimples and made his own eyes sparkle in a deep blue color.

“The perfect match. You and I are a perfect match, Kenneth, aren't we?” he asked, and the Wraith returned his smile, his voice low and passionate, sounding like the purr of a beautiful black panther again when he said:

“Yes, Evan, we're a perfect match, and I will make you mine as soon as we have returned to our Hive to make sure that every Wraith in the galaxy will know that you're taken.”

This was a promise Evan was very much looking forward to, and the ardent growl coming from his Wraith when he inhaled the night air to take in Evan's scent, already heavy with musk and arousal, proved to the young major that it was the same for Kenneth and that he wished just as much that they would already be back on board the Hive and alone in their quarters with a large bed available...

Chapter Text

The sun was just starting to rise when Evan woke up the next morning after a rather short but refreshing and peaceful night's sleep in Kenneth's strong arms.

Evan had been tired down to his bones after his heart-to-heart talk with his future mate, and as beautiful as this world actually was, but the night had turned out to be pretty cold and made him freeze under his covers. The tall alien male had lain down behind him to shield him from the cold when he'd noticed that Evan had still been freezing despite the Wraith equivalent of a sleeping bag he'd been provided with to keep him warm and purr him to sleep; and for which the young major had been deeply grateful, snuggling back against the broad chest of his beloved Wraith.

The sleeping bag was made of the same leather-like Wraith skin like the black clothes their new allies wore and surprisingly warm and comfortable, but the last days had been emotionally draining, and chills had been wrecking him, no matter how hard he'd tried to suppress them, until Kenneth had lain down beside him to embrace him and shield him from the night air blowing through the rocks.

The warm and very welcome weight of a pair of strong arms wrapping themselves around him from behind and the low and steady purrs of his favorite Wraith panther had eased the chills almost instantly and lulled him into sleep quickly, the knowledge that his new friends were watching over him helping him to relax and finally give in to his exhaustion.

Kenneth was still sound asleep, probably due to the emotional roller coaster he'd gone through over the last days and weeks as well, and Evan disentangled himself from the alien male very carefully because he didn't want to disturb him. Wraith didn't need much sleep when they were freshly fed, but Kenneth had fed him with a large dose of his own life-force the previous day, and that he didn't wake up from Evan's motions was a clear sign that he needed his sleep to recover and restore his own energy supplies.

The young major felt wide awake, though, and nature was calling like always after waking up in the morning. Apart from that, the sun rising over the mountains and rocks and bathing them in its red and orange light was a breathtaking sight, and Evan's fingers itched to paint the scenery and have a visible reminder of these memorable days.

After seeing to his bodily needs, nibbling on one of his energy bars and drinking some water, Evan took his drawing pad and his pencils, making his way over to the rocks he wanted to paint. They were perhaps half a mile away from their temporary camp, and they looked like sleeping giants from long gone ancient times, their grayish peaks glowing red-golden in the light of the slowly climbing sun.

Raghnall and Evan's new friends were nowhere in sight, which was a surprise, but he guessed that they had perhaps returned to the cruiser to gather more equipment and would return to the camp soon again. He could see several tall and dark figures patrol in the distance, probably Dorrell and his guards, and he smiled briefly, feeling much safer than he'd ever felt in the presence of any Wraith. They were 'his' Wraith now, just like Kenneth, and he trusted them with his life like he'd learned to trust his own men with his life so long ago.

His obedient and always silent 'shadows' Tavish and Tamlane had stayed behind as he'd asked them to do when he'd rounded one of the rocks to relieve himself, but now they followed him to the distant rock formation he wanted to paint, their quiet permanent presence already familiar to him after just one day they served as his bodyguards.

The rocks were farther away than Evan had anticipated as he soon realized, but he didn't want to turn around now and go back to the camp as close as he already was to his destination, and he accelerated his steps, thinking that Tavish and Tamlane would surely inform Kenneth about their location instantly when he woke up and found out that Evan wasn't lying next to him any longer.

He started to climb the rocks to find the perfect spot for a first few sketches, and Tavish and Tamlane climbed after him as obediently as always, coming to a halt when he'd found a rock where he could sit upon and start to draw.

“Oh yes, stay where you are, that's perfect!” Evan decided, “Don't move, my friends, I want to draw you! You look like two warriors of an ancient tribe guarding the hidden entrance to a mysterious shrine like this, and I want to have a reminder of my special vacations!”

Tavish and Tamlane straightened at his words, flanking the small hole opening in the rock where they'd stopped and taken up position, and Evan took his pad and his pencil, eager to catch this special moment cast in orange-golden sunlight. The black shadows Tavish and Tamlane threw onto the tall highly weathered rock behind them looked indeed like two giant ancient warriors guarding a secret sanctuary, and Evan was soon totally immersed in his task, forgetting everything else and becoming blind and deaf to his surroundings as he focused on his sketches, feeling safe in the knowledge that his two guards possessed superior senses and would alert him in any case of danger right in time.

His head bent over his drawing pad he didn't even look up when his two bodyguards suddenly started to move and grab their stunners, frowning in annoyance to himself that they didn't keep still and motionless like he'd ordered them to do.

The shrill hissing noise of an approaching Wraith Fighter became audible all of a sudden, and Evan jerked his head up, but there was nothing. The noise grew louder, and the bright white flash of a Dart beam blinded him for a few seconds. Tavish and Tamlane disappeared into the beam, and Evan wanted to jump to his feet and run, but it was already too late. The beam was too fast, and before he knew what was happening to him, the blinding beam was right above him and everything went dark.

*~*~*

He came back to his senses again abruptly and with a pained gasp.

He was lying on something hard and unyielding, and Evan groaned, fighting against a sudden bout of dizziness and nausea as he struggled into a sitting position with effort. His surroundings were rather dark, except for the flickering yellow glow in front of him, which proved to be some kind of energy shield when his vision had cleared and adjusted to the gloom of his current location.

The young major had found himself in similar circumstances often enough to realize that he was the prisoner of a so far still unknown captor, and that his prison cell was actually a stony cave, so he assumed that he was still on the same planet as he'd been before his abduction. The last thing he remembered was that he'd been sitting on a rock to draw, and when he turned his head he could see his drawing pad lying next to him, the sheets of paper crumbled but otherwise undamaged.

A motion beside him made him look up, and he felt a wave of relief washing over him when he saw Tamlane and Tavish standing near the energy field - unfortunately without their stunners - but upright and seemingly unharmed, as far as Evan could tell.

“Tavish, Tamlane, are you okay?” he croaked out, wishing desperately for some water to ease the sore feeling in his throat. He struggled up onto his feet on wobbly legs after several fruitless attempts to rise when Tavish reached out with his off hand to steady him.

“Thank you, Tavish, I'm fine, just a bit dizzy,” he murmured, looking around with narrowed eyes to scan the cave when the masked warrior let go of his arm again. It was just a small hole, and there was apparently only one way out of it, unfortunately blocked by the green-yellow energy shield. Evan knew better than to touch it, and he enclosed Tamlane's wrist in a hard grip when the smaller of his two guards moved and reached out with his left hand, catching the masked warrior before his fingers made contact with the shimmering energy.

“No, don't touch it, Tamlane. It could kill you!” he cried out, and after a moment of hesitation, the Wraith dropped his hand down again and took a step back.

“Please, don't do anything stupid and foolhardy. I really don't want to see you guys getting hurt because of me,” Evan said, and the hoarse laughter coming from the other side of the force field made all the three of them freeze in place and stare through the energy barrier.

Sunlight was falling into the corridor that led to the cave how Evan could see, now that his eyes had fully adjusted to his surroundings, but it was diminished by the glimmering energy field. The tunnel before the force field was still pretty dark, and all Evan could make out in the dark shadows on the other side of the barrier was a tall figure clad in a long coat, coming to a halt a few meters away from the shield. Evan could see a pair of clawed hands, but the Wraith's face was still hidden in the dark grayish gloom of the rocky tunnel. The seemingly male figure didn't look familiar in any way, of rather stocky build under the armor-like coat and with long and ugly spider-like fingers that actually resembled more the claws of any animal or predator than real humanoid digits.

Evan was a brave soldier, had always been, but he took an instinctive step back at the overwhelming hateful hostility emanating from the unknown Wraith. Tavish and Tamlane either felt the same way – or they simply sensed his instinctive fear and wariness - because they stepped in front of him to protect him, their hands clenching and flexing on their sides at the lack of their missing weapons.

“You're talking to the drones as if they could really understand you, Majorrrrr Lorrrrne. How stupid inferior humans like you are – you even went so far in your misplaced wish to humanize them to 'gift' them with such ridiculous names! Drones are actually not much more than weak humans, meant to serve their Wraith Masters and follow orders – or be food if our usual food source is not available and we're hungry...” The hoarse laughter echoed in the cave again, and Evan's fear was replaced by hot white anger.

“I don't know you, Wraith,” he snarled, “but Tavish and Tamlane are as valuable as any other sentient living being! They do understand me, and they are much worthier than you'll ever be!” He knew that he was behaving stupidly, but his sense of protectiveness rose to the surface with full force, and he wouldn't let his captor drive a wedge between him and his new friends.

The Wraith stepped before the energy barrier at last, so Evan was finally able to see his face despite the poor light. He seemed to be a Commander, but Evan was pretty sure that he'd never met him beforehand - and that he didn't belong to Todd's crew or alliance of Hives, either. The alien male's head was shaven, and he wore his goatee tied into a thin braid. He reminded Evan of Teyla's description of the Primary's First Commander, but that couldn't be as Todd had killed both – the Primary and her Commander - more than two years ago.

“Don't strain yourself, human, you don't know me,” the strange Commander hissed when he noticed the confusion on Evan's face, “we never met before today, and if we had, I'd have drained you of every ounce of your life right away anyway. But the one who brought you here knows me, and he will hurry to come here when he learns that I have captured you – as besotted as he is with you.” The Wraith's face twisted into a disgusted grimace, and his yellow eyes glittered with pure hate as he regarded Evan through the barrier.

“His Commander has already brought shame on our kin when he fell for the human soldier you call Sheppard, going so far to bestow the Gift of Life upon him and call him his 'brother' – as if any human could ever be a true Hive brother to a Wraith! I'd actually thought his Second to be wiser and not make the same mistake and fall for a weak and inferior human himself, and he really disappointed me that he followed his Commander's bad example and fell for you, a small and weak human – only useful to be fed upon and add to our strength and power. That he of all of my true Wraith brothers would be so impudent and stupid to decline the honorable offer I made to him - and this despite the fact that his Commander had killed my Hive brother – is an offense I will not leave unpunished, and he will regret for the rest of his unworthy and miserable life that he chose you over me when I'm done with both of you!”

His last words were barely intelligible as he hissed them out more than actually speaking, and Evan realized with dismay what this was all about. Kenneth had rebuked his captor and hurt his pride with his denial to become his mate pretty badly, and to make things even worse, the Wraith thirsting for revenge was obviously the brother of the former Primary's dead Commander, like in a real brother of the same bloodline - and not just his Wraith brother of the same Hive or faction. So Wraith did know such blood bonds as well, and judging by the similar look of them, they must have been very close to each other.

Evan swallowed when the realization of what this actually meant for him as the Commander's prisoner.

The hostile Wraith apparently wanted to use him as his helpless tool to take revenge on Kenneth, and there was nothing he could do to avoid that, not with the deadly energy shield between him and his captor and without any weapons. Not even his two faithful companions could do anything as they were trapped behind the energy field like Evan, and he wouldn't risk their lives and order them to try and break through the deadly barrier of the force field.

Tamlane and Tavish hadn't moved since the other Wraith had come into sight and they'd stepped in front of him to protect him, resembling lifeless marble statues more than living beings, and Evan's blood froze in his veins as the Commander now bared his teeth to a wolfish grin, regarding his two fellow prisoners with glowing eyes and a look of anticipation on his alien features.

“I will take revenge on him and make him regret the day he declined my generous offer, human. I will even make him curse the day he was born, and I will use his own weapons against him and make the drones he chose to be your bodyguards as my tools. I have already taken control over their minds, and I will order them to feed on you. When the Second comes to your rescue, he will find nothing more than your lifeless wrinkled shell lying on the floor.”

Evan stared at the Wraith in shock and horror, but he wasn't willing to give in like that, hoping that Kenneth and his officers would find him before it was too late if he found a way to distract the obviously gone mad Wraith from his intentions and make him talk for a while longer.

The young major drew in a shaky breath, adopting a seemingly casual and nonchalant posture and tilting his head curiously.

“Sounds like an interesting plan, but Kenneth is not the only Wraith on this planet. You might perhaps influence the masked warriors, but Tamlane and Tavish are my friends, and they will not hurt me!” he stated, even though he really couldn't be sure of that. “Only Queens can control high ranking officers, and Kenneth, Dorell and Raghnall will fight against you!”

“DON'T USE THESE DISGUSTING NAMES, HUMAN! NO REAL WRAITH WILL EVER ACCEPT SUCH A POOR AND DISGUSTING SUBSTITUTE FOR OUR TRUE MIND PRINTS!” the Commander roared in blind fury, and Evan willed himself not to step back and show any sign of fear.

“You might be able to kill me, Seumas,” he gave back quietly, using the Gaelic name for subversive, wrecker for the furious Wraith and taking secret pleasure in how the Wraith's sensor pits and nostrils flared at the new provocation. He knew that he was playing a dangerous game, but he was willing to take the risk. If he was going to die, than with his head held up high.

“But you're not able to control me and decide which names I use, and which not – nor what I say or don't say aloud. My Wraith brothers accepted the names I've chosen for them with greatest care with pride, and they know that I mean no disrespect in any way when I address them with the names many proud, brave and strong warriors have answered to for centuries because I don't possess their mental abilities.”

“I will wipe that smug smile from your face, human!” Seumas growled, actually forgetting that Evan had just dared to 'bestow' a 'disgraceful human name' upon him as well in his wish to silence the dauntless human and see him dead.

“Just go ahead. My friends will soon be here to teach you a lesson and wipe that grin from your face, Seumas!”

The use of a human name didn't evoke the furious reaction Evan had awaited to come, though. The Commander just threw his head back and laughed, and Tavish and Tamlane moved restlessly, their sharp nails digging into their palms.

“No one will come to your rescue, human! They're all immobile and helpless because of the weapon I used on them. On all of them except for my future mate, that is. He was the first one I stunned, and I gave him only a mild dose. He will wake up soon, but his officers and the other drones are all unconscious and will remain like this for several more hours. I could have killed them, but that would have been a waste of valuable resources, so I let them live to include them into my Hive – later, when I'm done with him.”

Seumas started to pace back and forth before the force field. “Do you want to know how I did that without any of them noticing me before it was too late, human? Not that it will matter whether or not I'll tell you about that, you will soon die a painful death under the hands of your 'guards' anyway. But I'm in a good mood, so I'm inclined to tell you how I was able to deceive the one you call 'Todd' and his Second so thoroughly. Such proud and experienced Commanders, and neither of them had any clue that I was watching them the whole time.”

Evan pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulder. “Oh yes, please do that. I'm really curious.” he encouraged Seumas to go on with his story, and the Wraith lifted his chin up as he preened himself.

“It took me months to prepare everything for my revenge, but I always knew that my patience would be rewarded in the end. I have my contacts and spies everywhere, and I got my hands on some Ancient technology through a human smuggler who was stupid enough to think that he could save his unworthy existence by getting the technology for me, so I would let him live. The energy field that keeps you trapped in this cave is of such nature, and the device creating it is small enough and portable, but also flexible so I can use it for various cells, rooms and caves like this one. The weapon I used to stun the cruiser crew and the patrols was built by the Lanteans during the war ten thousand years ago as well. It doesn't affect humans, and I modified it to reduce its range and make sure that I can use it pinpointed. I also got my hands on an Ancient cloaking device that allows me to cloak the Fighter I used to approach unnoticed and attach the Fighter on the Hive's hull.

I've been watching Atlantis and the Commander's command Hive for several weeks without any of you realizing that I was there, and imagine my joy and surprise when the Commander decided to stay in Atlantis for several weeks and the Second left the orbit to come here. It was the opportunity I'd just awaited patiently for so long, and his inappropriate affection for you distracted him enough not to notice my presence.

The former Primary had trained not only my poor deceased brother to mask his mental mind print and presence effectively even in close range to other Queens and experienced officers, but she'd bestowed this honor on me as her faithful sub Commander as well, so I know how to disguise my presence and not alert the Hive mind of their Hives. The crew was just a minor problem, and the traitor who calls himself High Commander so proudly and his Second were both too busied with building an alliance with Atlantis to detect me while I was sitting in my Fighter and waiting for the perfect opportunity to take revenge, glued to the Hive's hull like an ulcer that will slowly poison it.”

Seumas sounded smug and angry at the same time, and Evan had a hard time with keeping the mask of nonchalant curiosity on his face and not just retch onto the stony cave floor to get rid of the sick feeling in his stomach.

“I see, really very clever, Seumas,” he forced himself to say, watching the Commander with one eye and Tamlane with the other one, who was still moving restlessly. Tavish was still like a marble statue, and Evan wasn't sure whether this was a good sign or a bad one.

“Last night,” Seumas' voice pulled his attention back to himself, “I followed your cruiser down to the surface of the planet and found this cave quickly, perfect for my plans. I can already sense him waking up, and I will tell him to come here - alone – if he wants to save you.” The Commander with the bald head laughed this ugly laughter again.

“Not that he will actually be able to save you, now that I can make him come to me you are not of any use for me any longer. You will already be dead when he arrives, killed by the drones he trusted to protect you!” Seumas jerked his head at Tamlane and Tavish.

“Finish him! I'm your new Master, and you will drain him dry while I'll await the arrival of your former Master and my future mate!” the Wraith hissed, and Evan watched with horror how Tavish and Tamlane turned to face him with awkward and edgy motions, slowly crossing the distance to him. Tavish seemed to be hesitant, but Tamlane moved like a puppet pulled on its strings, raising his right hand, even when Evan stumbled backwards and away from them until the wall of the cave finally stopped his fruitless retreat.

“He will never become your mate, Seumas!” Evan shouted desperately, trapped between the two tall warriors and without any chance to escape them. “He has already declined your oh so 'generous' offer, and he will never accept it when he sees that you killed me!”

“But it won't be me who killed you, human. He will soon realize that he is responsible for your death all alone because he was so foolish to trust some mindless drones with your precious life, Major Lorne from Atlantis! This undeniable truth will break him, and if he will really be so stupid to resist me and decline my offer again, then I will let his drones drain him dry as well. What an unworthy and shameful death for such a proud Commander!”

Seumas literally purred delightedly as he watched the scene with glittering eyes before he eventually let out a contented hiss and turned around with his coat billowing around his legs to leave the cave and wait for Kenneth to come to him and see what he'd done to Evan.

The Wraith's roaring laughter was still echoing between the dark gray stone walls of the tunnel when he was gone and the smaller drone finally reached him and Tamlane's clawed feeding hand slammed itself into Evan's chest.

Chapter Text

Kenneth woke up with a gasp and the feeling that something was amiss and utterly wrong.

Todd's faithful Second struggled to clear his vision as he fought against a strange bout of dizziness and disorientation that was clouding his mind and slowing down his motions, and which he would usually only experience in a state of serious starvation.

He'd gifted his young warrior with a generous dose of his own life-force the previous day, but as he'd been freshly and well fed, he yet shouldn't feel this weak after a rather long and undisturbed night's sleep, so there was only one other logical explanation for his state.

He'd been stunned.

The realization of what had happened to him had him awake and on high alert instantly, and he jumped onto his feet within the blink of an eye, ignoring the still lingering aftermath of the stunner dose that was making it hard for him to keep his balance and stay upright for a few seconds. Now he also knew what he'd been missing right after waking up – the warmth of a human body nestled against his chest.

Evan was gone and nowhere in sight, and neither were his two guards, Tavish and Tamlane how his defiant human had named them. Kenneth let out a distressed hiss as he looked around and reached out with his mind for his officers and crew members to connect with them and feel for the familiar Hive mind, but he found himself unable to touch the familiar threads and patterns of their mental traces, no matter how hard he tried to focus and concentrate. An icy-cold feeling shot through him at the possibility that they were not just still unconscious like he must have been for hours, but that all of them were perhaps already dead, and he rounded the next rock in search for his beloved human and his Wraith crew with another angry hiss.

His own two guards were lying on the small path that led to the cruiser, partly hidden behind a large stone, and the Wraith knelt down beside their bodies to feel for their pulse, fear tightening his throat until he could feel the slow but steady throbbing under his fingertips. So the unknown attacker apparently didn't want to see them dead, just out of the way for what he'd planned, and Kenneth heaved a sigh of relief. Whether it was a coincidence or carefully planned intention that their mysterious enemy had stunned him with a minor dose was a question Kenneth would try to solve later, for now his most pressing concern was to find Evan and the rest of his crew. His personal guards still had their weapons lying beside them where they had fallen down, and he took one of the stunners before he rose to his feet again and continued on his way in search for his beloved human.

The Second headed alongside of the rocks and found the Master of Security and Guard – Dorrell - lying spread across a large stone a few minutes later with one of the eight masked warriors lying on his front right at his Master's feet. They were both alive but still unconscious like his own personal guards, and it gave Kenneth new hop that the rest of his crew weren't dead either, but stunned like Dorrell and the three masked warriors.

The officers he'd left in the cruiser yesterday still didn't respond to his attempts to establish a mental connection, and the tall Wraith assumed that they had been stunned as well. He could see the cruiser in the near distance, dark against the light of the still rising sun, and he regretted now that he'd given order to the Hive to leave the orbit over the planet and mask their presence in this system by choosing the closest possible orbit around the sun of this star system.

Planets that had such rich naquadah deposits as this one happened to attract attention on a regular basis, and after checking that no other Wraith or human expedition teams were currently visiting this planet, he'd thought it wiser not to give their presence away to any other space ship that might cross this special star system on their journey to another destination and make the crew change their course for further investigation.

The close orbit around the sun made it impossible for him to contact the Hive mind and call for help, and him using the communication device of the cruiser would surely alert the unknown aggressor and perhaps even make them kill Evan, so this was not an option either until Kenneth knew more about them and their intentions. His crew would realize that something was wrong when they had to leave the orbit around the sun for a certain amount of time because of the strong radiation, but it could take hours for that to happen, and Kenneth sensed that he didn't have time left to wait for any help from his crew.

Evan was in acute danger, he could feel that in his bones, and he needed to find him before it would be too late. The sensors of the cruiser were his best choice to find Evan's current location, as they would hopefully not attract as much attention as the communication device would certainly do, and the Wraith accelerated his steps, driven by his fear that he would lose his mate before he'd even gotten the chance to make his beautiful young warrior his.

Kenneth knew that it was a futile attempt, and that it could as well be that Evan's captor had already left the planet with the young major, but he reached out with his thoughts in the desperate try to find the human his heart and soul were yearning for nonetheless, hissing in frustration when his efforts were met with deadly silence again. The emptiness in his mind was causing a bad headache to throb behind his temples, and he wondered again how his friend and Commander had been able to endure this terrible emptiness in his head for so many years without going insane. He was so occupied with trying to find Evan – or at least another one of his crew who might already have woken up by now – that he barely paid attention to where he was going, his hurting eyes fixated on the dark hull of the cruiser that became bigger and bigger with every meter he ran over stony ground.

'Ahhh, Second, you're awake.'

The sudden and unexpected voice purring so smugly in his head made him stumble, and it sent another icy-cold shiver down on his spine. He had thought that he would never hear this voice again, and he'd done his best to erase any memory of the hated voice and its owner from his mind and his consciousness since their last encounter so many months ago.

'YOU!!!!!' he hissed back, and the mental laughter echoing in his brain made him groan in pain.

'Did you really believe that I would let you go just like that, Second? I offered you a place at my side as my Second and faithful Sub Commander of a powerful alliance, I offered you honor, fame and true mateship, but you were so impudent and stupid to reject me and chose to collaborate with this traitor once again after his return! You helped him regain control over my Hives when he came back, and you even helped him when he made me be an outcast among my former crews, leaving me with nothing more than one Hive with one single diminished and weak crew! Did you really think that I would let you do that to me without taking revenge? How foolish of you to believe that, Second!!

I was forced to watch you leave me and conspire with those impudent New Lanteans instead - who think that they own the galaxy as the rightful heirs of the true owners of the city - and I waited for the right moment to teach you your place and make you see your terrible mistake. I could have killed you while you were asleep, but I am generous, and I am willing to give you one last chance to yet become my cherished mate and let your crew swear loyalty to me to save their lives.' the other Wraith which Kenneth had wanted to forget so badly purred smugly in his head, and he found himself unable to shut him out, no matter how hard he tried to throw him out of his head.

'Never, I will never be yours! I have found my true mate, and he is so much worthier than you'll ever be!' Kenneth roared through their forced telepathic link, trying not to show his growing despair. He didn't doubt that the other Commander was responsible for the state of his crew and Evan's disappearance, and he tried to locate the direction from where the voice in his mind was coming while reaching out for his crew again, but yet again to no avail. There was a strange dullness clouding his brain, making it hard for him to concentrate, and to his utter dismay he felt the strong urge to give in to the other male's proposal and become his mate growing inside him, unable to fight against it as it took over control of his thoughts more and more.

'You're talking about this human – a weak human that is only good to serve as food! How dare you choosing him over me! But I'll give you the chance to save his unworthy and unimportant life, Second. Come here and swear that you will accept my claim and become my devoted mate, and then I will prove my generosity to you and let him live. Ah, and you will come here without any weapon, of course. I will kill him instantly if you dare disobeying me!' The other Commander purred in his head with another scornful chuckle, and Kenneth threw his head back and screamed in pain.

'I will kill you!' he shouted furiously, heaving for breath as he finally reached the cruiser and headed for the Fighter bay.

The laughter in his head made him dizzy and stars explode before his eyes, but Kenneth just gritted his teeth as he climbed into the Fighter, the magnetic pull of the other Wraith's mind guiding him like a bright white beacon as he started the small vessel to fly to the mountains visible in the distance and save his beloved young warrior, forgetting everything else in his fear that his adversary would kill Evan before he could rescue him.

The Fighter howled as it took off and sped up, leaving the cruiser with Kenneth's helpless crew behind until it was nothing more than just a tiny dark spot in the endless vast of yellow sand and reddish-gray rocks.

*~*~*

Kenneth landed the Fighter at the base of the mountain where the Commander was awaiting him on a large naturally grown mountain ledge, and he started to climb the rocks until he reached the flat plateau, instantly, the pull in his mind too strong to ignore and fight against it.

He pulled himself over the edge of the plateau and rose to his feet as he tried to catch his breath. The other Wraith was standing before a dark hole that must be the entrance to a cave or something like that, and Kenneth instinctively reached out with his mental feelers again, but something threw him back right into his own head again. He gasped out in pain, his eyes flickering back and forth between the cave and the bulky figure blocking his way as he measured his chances to get past the other Wraith and enter the cavern to save Evan.

The Commander was watching him with glittering eyes and his arms folded across his chest, and he bared his thin lips to a wolfish grin when he saw the grim despair on Kenneth's face.

'Hello, my mate,' he purred in Kenneth's mind, and he seemed to be everywhere inside his head, filling his brain with his words and his presence until Todd's Second feared that his brain would implode because of the unbearable pressure against his scull.

'Stop fighting against me, and I will ease your pain,' the other Wraith continued to talk telepathically to him, 'kneel down before me and declare your unwavering love and loyalty to me, and then I might be generous enough to spare this unworthy human you're still so crazy about.'

“No, I won't!” Kenneth gritted out loud, not willing to grace his adversary with a mind-to-mind talk because it felt too intimate to him. “I'll rather die before I'll ever think of accepting your claim!”

“Still so stubborn and defiant!” the Commander observed, chuckling again, “but these features have actually been what has drawn me to you right at first sight. I have desired you right from the moment when we first met, and your fight against the inevitable is pointless. It won't take long until you will kneel before me and beg me to take you as my mate, though, this nice bracelet around your wrist will make sure of that. No, don't even try to take it off, you won't succeed and only cause yourself more pain. I'm wearing the same bracelet around my wrist, it allows me to control your mind and make you obey my every order.”

The other Wraith pointed at a small band around Kenneth's wrist, partly hidden under the sleeve of his coat. The Second stared at it dumbfounded and with narrowed eyes, wondering briefly why he hadn't noticed the strange piece of technology earlier, but his fear for Evan's life had obviously made him blind for anything else. The bracelet also explained why he couldn't throw the other Wraith out of his head – and why he felt this strange and disturbing unwelcome urge to kneel down before him and beg him to take him as his mate, and this even though he still hated him so much.

The Commander bared his teeth to an ugly grin when he saw the look of disgust and fear on Kenneth's face. “My brother and I found several of these bracelets years ago. The Ancients created them to communicate telepathically over long distances with each other during the war, and I found a way to adapt it to our own technology. My Queen, the Primary – the one the unworthy Queen of your traitorous friend killed – thanked me generously for my services as these bracelets allowed her to control her not so loyal and brave Sub Commanders even when they were light years away and make sure that they would obey her orders.”

Kenneth stared at him, disgust twisting in his stomach and making him feel sick. He knew that Evan was trapped in the dark cave behind the Commander and that he needed his help, yet he couldn't move and attack the other male like his instincts told him to do. Something kept his feet glued to the ground, and the pressure on his brain became stronger with every second that passed, urging him to give in to his counterpart's orders and kneel down before him to accept his claim.

“True mateship can never be forced, not even with a piece of technology that actually allows you to control me to some point. But I am stronger than you think me to be, and I will be the one killing you, Wraith!” he hissed, and for the first time in his life he really understood how a human standing before a hungry Wraith felt, their fear and hate towards him and his brethren. It made him feel humble and honored that Evan had overcome his natural fear and hate towards his kin and welcomed him in his arms, and it strengthened his resolve that he would defeat the other Wraith and save his amazing human no matter the cost.

The Commander narrowed his eyes in displeasure and let out a growl of annoyance when he found his prey still fighting against his iron-like mental grip, and just when the Wraith unfolded his arms and stepped forward, a strangled cry from somewhere inside the cavern reached Kenneth's ears – a cry of terrible pain torn from a human's throat.

Evan.

Evan was in pain and greatest danger, crying for help, and his scream distracted not only Kenneth, but his adversary, as well. The tight pressure on his brain eased for a split second, and Kenneth used the sudden clarity to jump forward and attack Evan's captor with his bare fists. His battle cry echoed between the rocks as the impact of their crush pressed the air out of his lungs for a heartbeat, but Kenneth ignored the pain, his hate for the other Wraith and the fear for Evan's life doubling his strength when he started to fight against the bald-headed Commander with teeth and claws and the courage of despair.

*~*~*

Evan found himself pinned against a wall by a Wraith's feeding hand for a second time within two days, but this time he knew that it was not because Tamlane wanted to give him the Gift of Life like Kenneth had done it less than twenty-four hours ago. The hostile Commander had gained control over his two bodyguards, and the young major wondered why Tamlane hadn't already begun to feed on him yet. He stared at the mask that was covering the warrior's face, trying to detect the yellow eyes behind the thick leather with the pattern of black tattoo-like lines.

“You don't need to do that, Tamlane, you don't need to obey him,” he said urgently, hoping that his voice didn't betray his fear too much as he assumed that his fear would just trigger Tamlane's hunting instincts. He hardly dared to breathe under the claws pinning him against the hard stone, and his words were choked when he continued to talk to delay the inevitable.

“He's not your master, he's our enemy. The Second is your rightful Commander, and I am your rightful Master now, remember? We're actually much more than that, we're friends now. You care for my well-being, and I care for your just as much. Don't do that, Tamlane, you don't have to, he's nothing to you, he's not your Commander! You're strong enough to fight against him, I know that you can do that! He's a traitor, unworthy and evil, and you're stronger than he is, fight against him. Don't let him use you like this and make you betray your rightful Commander!”

Tamlane was still hesitating, torn between his loyalty towards Evan and his adored Commander and the powerful voice in his head which ordered him to feed on the human and kill him. His fingers were flexing on his sternum and his sharp nails dug into Evan's skin through his shirt, leaving red scratches on his flesh as the warrior fought an inner battle.

The young major risked a quick glance at Tavish's tall and still immobile figure, and he would have mused about the strange fact that Tamlane's brother didn't make any attempt to feed on him or kill him, but the sudden excruciating pain capturing his whole body forced his attention back to the warrior right in front of him when the stinger of Tamlane's feeding organ pierced his skin and the Wraith started to feed on him at last, unable to resist Seumas' mental command for much longer.

*~*~*

It was worse than anything Evan had ever experienced, and much worse than anything he could ever have imagined even in his worst nightmares, and yet the young major sensed that Tamlane held himself back and didn't tear as forcefully and mercilessly at his life-force as he would do under different circumstances. The warrior was clearly still struggling against the violent pressure on his brain that held him in its relentless tight grasp, and Evan's life was flowing out of him at a steady but still rather slow pace.

Evan wanted to scream, but no sound came out of his mouth when he opened it, his vision becoming white with the unbearable pain shooting through his body. He was actually grateful for the wall behind his back, the only thing that kept him upright when he felt himself getting weaker and weaker with every new pull at his precious strength.

“Tav...ish... hel...p me!” Evan gasped, “help Tamlane fight against Seumas, don't let him kill me! We're friends, and you promised to protect me! Fight against him, I know that you're strong enough! I have faith in you, my friend, please fight against him and stop!! Tamlane, stop that!!”

His vision blurred, and his own voice was distant to him as he kept talking, telling Tamlane to fight against Seumas and his mental grip, addressing him with his name and calling him his friend as he asked him to stop the feeding again and again. He wondered briefly where he took the strength from to do when he even reached out blindly and desperately with his thoughts, hoping that Kenneth would 'hear' him in his mind and come to his help – or that his weak attempt to reach for Tamlane's mind would perhaps severe Seumas' mental control of the warrior's actions and make Tamlane stop. His own mental screams echoed painfully in his brain, but he kept on fighting, talking and screaming, not willing to let the evil Commander win and die here in this dark cave under the Wraith's hand like the ugly Wraith wanted him to die, drained of every ounce of his precious life.

The warrior was still feeding on him, but the agonizing pull at his life had slowed down to an almost soft trickling while he'd been talking and begging Tamlane not to kill him, and Evan blinked in surprise that he was still alive when Tavish's clawed fingers snapped forward to tear Tamlane's hand away from his chest all of a sudden – right in the same moment when the terrible pulling at his very essence stopped and the agony of having his life torn from him faded a bit, leaving him weak and exhausted like he'd never felt before. The pain was still there, throbbing in every cell of his body as an insistent reminder of the countless years he'd lost, but he was still alive, still conscious.

Evan sank down, and it was Tavish again, who reached out to catch him before he hit the hard cave floor, leaning him upright against the wall with something akin to tenderness as he brushed over his sweaty face with a surprisingly gentle hand before he turned around to his Hive brother to tear him away from their human master.

“Thank you, Tavish,” he croaked out, hardly able to keep his eyes open as weak as he was. Tavish and Tamlane were only dark figures against the dim glow of the force-field, the latter now pinned against the wall by Tavish's hand wrapped around his throat. Noise was coming from the entrance to the cavern on the other side of the energy shield, multi-toned voices that were hissing and snarling as Evan realized when he used what little strength was left inside his body to concentrate on the sounds he could make out.

'Kenneth!' It must be Kenneth who'd come to his rescue and fight against Seumas, and Evan drew in a shaky breath and opened his mouth to the desperate scream that wanted to escape his hurting throat. Evan dug his nails into his palms and screamed, and then everything went black around him as the pain became too much, pulling him into the darkness of an unconsciousness that erased any coherent thought.

*~*~*

The Commander stumbled back in the direction of the cave, clearly surprised by Kenneth's attack.

Kenneth took advantage of the other Wraith's short moment of distraction, his fists hammering down on his enemy so fast that any pair of human eyes watching them wouldn't have been able to detect and differentiate his motions from each other as he moved so fast that they all blurred together to one single fast and gracious movement.

The bald-headed Wraith roared in anger when he was driven back against the rocks by Kenneth's merciless hailing fists and kicking legs. His coat was billowing around his tall figure and his long white hair was flying around his shoulders as Kenneth attacked the other male again and again, shouting Evan's name. He barely registered the hits he got himself when the Commander fought back, and his fear for Evan's life and his fury helped him to fight against the next mental attack when it came, the voice in his head snarling and hissing now instead of purring.

'You're mine! Stop fighting against me! You cannot save him, he's already dead, drained by the mindless drones you ordered to protect him!' The Commander's crazy laughter echoed in Kenneth's head, and he screamed out in agony as he realized what the other Wraith had done and that Evan's pained cry was the last sound he'd made, the desperate cry of a dying man whose life had been ripped out of him by the creatures which had been supposed to protect him with their own lives instead of killing him.

“NO!!!” he screamed, “you killed him!!!”

“It was actually you killing him, my dear mate. It was your warriors who drained him. You should actually know how easy it is to control the warriors, shouldn't you? You are the only one to blame for his death, and you'll have to live with this knowledge for the rest of your miserable life, Second! I used your own drones against you and as my obedient tools to kill this worthless and impudent human who thought that he could compete with a Wraith Commander for your love!” He threw his head back and laughed again, parring Kenneth's attacks with ease now and landing hard blows on his own.

They were circling each other and whirling over the plateau, and Kenneth ducked away under the other one's next hit, jumping to the side to make him follow him. He needed to reach the cave, he needed to save Evan's life and stop his warriors from killing his beautiful human. Maybe, it wasn't too late and he could yet restore Evan's life, but the Commander realized what he was trying to do and did his best to keep him away from the dark hole that was gaping in the huge stone wall right in front of them.

Kenneth didn't see the next blow coming, and his head banged against the hard wall, pain exploding in his skull. He kicked out with his left boot in growing despair while his vision was still blurred from the sharp ache, and the side of his left hand made a painful acquaintance with the other Wraith's chin when he snapped it forward. His opponent hissed in pain, and Kenneth growled triumphantly when he yanked his elbow up and the sickening noise of cracking cheekbones made its way to his ears.

“I. Am. Not. Your. Mate!” Kenneth snarled, having won the upper hand over their fight again at least for the time being, and he ignored the pain in his hands and his skull and drove the other Wraith backwards until the dark gloom of the cave swallowed them. It was a good thing that the Commander needed longer to adjust to the sudden darkness than Kenneth himself did, and he jumped into the air and managed another hard kick of his right leg against the Wraith's back. The bulky male stumbled and fell onto his knees, but he turned around quickly during his fall and raised his right arm in the very same moment.

“Kenneth, watch out, he has a knife!”

Something shimmered in a dark silver color in the Commander's stretched out feeding hand all of a sudden, and it was only thanks to the weak cry pulled from a human's throat and sounding through the dark-gray shadows of the cavern that Kenneth escaped the shimmering steely blade before it could stab him right into his heart.

Chapter Text

Evan was pulled back to awareness again by another sharp pain shooting through his tortured and abused body, and he groaned and blinked his eyes open with effort right in time to see two figures appear before the shimmering force field with whirling motions.

Kenneth had come to rescue him, and he was fighting against Seumas, the movements of the two Wraith so fast that his hurting eyes had problems with telling them apart and keeping track on Kenneth's tall figure and his long white hair flying around his shoulders as he watched the fight anxiously. The cave was filled with the sounds of gasps and growls, and Evan gritted his teeth so hard that he could taste blood on his tongue when he straightened to a more upright position and then gingerly stood, his legs hardly supporting his weight when he'd finally managed to pull himself up onto his feet and lean heavily against the wall behind his back. The glimmering energy shield blocked his view to some extent, and it was sheer luck that he saw the dark silver blade shimmer in the yellow glow of the field when Seumas fell onto his knees and turned around with the knife in his hand to stab Kenneth with the weapon which he must have hidden in his sleeve until now.

“Kenneth, watch out, he has a knife!” he cried out, his voice barely obeying his orders and sounding husky and unfamiliar to his own ears. How had Sheppard survived being fed upon several times by Todd and yet managed to escape Kolya in this state of terrible weakness? Evan was wondering that he was still standing upright with the wall at his back as his only support, and he couldn't help but flinch away when Tavish moved closer to him, his feeding hand still wrapped around Tamlane's throat.

“I'm okay, Tavish,” he ground out, cold sweat breaking out on his skin because of the pain that was still capturing his body. He forced himself to stare at the two Wraith on the other side of the energy barrier again, and he almost sobbed with relief when he found Kenneth thwarting Seumas' attempt to kill him with a stab right into his heart in the very last second. His beloved Wraith roared furiously, bending to the side and kicking against Seumas' knee-pits in one single fluent motion. The bald-headed Commander lost his knife when he was knocked off of his feet like that, and the weapon flew through the air and right into the energy field where it disappeared in an explosion of light. Seumas crashed against the stony cave floor with Kenneth's next furious hit that landed on his already broken nose, and in the next second Kenneth was all over him, pinning him down onto the ground with his knees and his left hand tightening around his throat – while tearing the heavy black coat open with the right one at the same time to press it against the other Wraith's chest and drain him dry.

Seumas opened his mouth to a startled cry as he tried to shake his counterpart off, but nothing more than a choked hiss came out when Kenneth started to feed on him with a low dangerous growl, staring down into the yellow eyes of his adversary with pure hate written all over his ageless alien features.

“I told you that I would kill you, Commander!” he snarled scornfully, “you should have known better than to touch what's mine, and I will make you pay a hundred times for what you did to my mate! He's mine, and I will kill each and everyone who's trying to hurt him in any way!”

Kenneth looked like a fierce ancient warrior as he was kneeling on the other Wraith and ripping his life out of him without any sign of mercy, Seumas' body jerking helplessly under Evan's avenger in death throes. His usually handsome male features were twisted into a grimace of utter fury and hate, and the young major forgot his pain as he stared at the powerful creature he'd fallen in love with, unable to avert his eyes from the gruesome sight in front of him as the other Wraith Commander aged rapidly under Kenneth's hand. The hissing turned into gargling sounds and then stopped all together, as the awkwardly floundering motions of his legs and arms did at last when Todd's Second was finally done with him and he rose to his feet in a slow and almost tired motion to turn around and look at Evan through the yellow barrier that was separating them.

Evan met his golden gaze through the energy shield, and he couldn't hide his sudden instinct fear from the Wraith who'd just taken revenge on his captor in such a cruel way. It was just for a split second before his fear subsided again, but Kenneth noticed it nevertheless, and his expression softened when he raised his hand in a helpless and apologetic gesture – just as if he wanted to touch him through the shield.

“Evan,” the Wraith whispered almost brokenly, and Evan drew in a shaky breath and swallowed against the lump in his throat, pushing himself away from the wall with a groan and shuffling to the force field on unsteady feet. He could feel Tamlane and Tavish's eyes on his back through the masks, but he didn't think that they would try to attack him again, not now that Seumas was dead and didn't have control of them any longer, and he came to a halt before the field to smile weakly at his mate, hoping that his appearance was not too ugly after the feeding. He felt like an old man, and he probably looked like one, too, but there was only love and devotion visible in Kenneth's golden cat's eyes when their eyes met through the shield.

“Kenneth. You came to save me,” Evan said, and his Wraith smiled back with a tender expression, his voice sounding like the low purr of a beautiful and dangerous big cat again when he promised:

“I will always come to save you, my brave young warrior. You're mine, and nothing and no one shall ever come between us again.”

*~*~*

Evan's cry warned Kenneth in the very last second, and he instinctively bent to the side to avoid being stabbed with the knife which his enemy had apparently pulled out of his sleeve during his fall, kicking against the other male's knee-pits at the same time to bring him down onto the ground. The Commander lost his grip of the small but lethal weapon, and Kenneth watched from the corner of his eye how the dagger flew through the stale cave air until it exploded in a burst of light when it touched the energy field that trapped his young warrior on the other end of the cavern.

His counterpart lost his balance once more and hit the floor when Kenneth let his hand hail down on his already broken nose, and his fear for Evan's life combined with the ire he felt boosted his strength to unknown higher levels. He was kneeling on the other Wraith's body and pinning him down with his weight before his opponent had the slightest chance to react and throw him off again, and he closed his fingers around his throat to keep him down as he ripped the coat open with his right hand to feast on his life-force and make sure that the Wraith he hated more than he'd ever hated anyone in his long life would never be able to harm his beloved human again.

The Commander was still struggling, and Kenneth took advantage of the opportunity he got when his counterpart tried to regain control of his mind through the forced mental link the manipulated ancient bracelets still created between them. The mind of his enemy lay bare right within his reach, offering him the information he needed to know, and Kenneth stared down at him with utter disgust and a feeling of self-loathing as he roamed through the other one's thoughts, watching how his life poured out of his enemy and into his own hand with glowing eyes.

“I told you that I would kill you, Commander!” he hissed, hate dripping from his icy-cold voice, “you should have known better than to touch what's mine, and I will make you pay a hundred times for what you did to my mate! He's mine, and I will kill each and everyone who's trying to hurt him in any way!” He tore at his enemy's precious life-force with violent force and hot red fury, draining him in huge gulps, the heavy weight of Evan's blue eyes on his back spurring him on to end this fight and rescue his brave human from the torture he'd gone through. His young warrior needed him, and Kenneth swallowed his disgust down as he forced himself to search his way through the weakening and fading thoughts of his adversary because he needed to find the information how to switch the energy barrier off that kept him apart from the amazing human being he loved with every fiber of his heart.

He pulled away from the other Wraith's mind when the steady stream of life subsided to a stuttering trickle before it finally stopped completely, and Kenneth drew his hand back from the wrinkled body to rise to his feet after one last disgusted glance at the drained hull of the Commander.

He turned around to search for Evan's gaze through the flickering yellow glow of the shield that was still separating them, finding his brave human's blue eyes dark and wide with creatural fear when their gazes locked. The look of utter horror in those beautiful blue depths was gone within the blink of an eye again, but Kenneth recoiled from it inwardly nonetheless, and he smoothed his expression into something he hoped that it would soothe his distressed young warrior and prove to him that he had nothing to fear.

Evan didn't look like a young man any longer, his hair had turned gray and deep lines were carved into his face because of what the guards Kenneth had entrusted with his precious life and safety had done to him, but he would always be Kenneth's beautiful young warrior, nothing would ever change that. Evan was standing on his own two feet, weak and obviously in greatest pain, but yet so proud and undefeated, and the hot wave of desire and love shooting through Kenneth's body made his breath falter for a moment.

“Evan,” he whispered hoarsely, his longing to touch the one which fate had chosen to be his true mate pooling like a sharp pain in his stomach and tightening his throat. He raised his hand, but there was still the barrier made of pure energy separating them, and it felt as if an entire endless mountain was between them, even though they were standing just a few meters away from each other.

Evan hesitated for a moment or two, but then he pushed himself away from the wall that supported him, pain flickering over his aged features and a small groan escaping his bitten lips when he slowly shuffled forward, his blue eyes dull with the terrible weakness and pain he experienced, but fixed firmly on Kenneth's face with grim determination. The Wraith had never been prouder in his whole life than he felt right now, and he hoped that his brave young warrior could see the love he felt for him on his face.

Evan stopped before the energy field, pale from the effort the few steps had caused. “Kenneth. You came to save me,” he said, and Kenneth smiled at him, his voice tender as he responded to the simple statement.

“I will always come to save you, my brave young warrior. You're mine, and nothing and no one shall ever come between us again.”

*~*~*

Evan watched how Kenneth stalked over to the cave wall at his left side to crouch down there and fiddle with a small device, and he realized that this must be the device that created the energy field that kept him trapped on his side of the barrier. It was likely that Kenneth had gotten the information from Seumas' thoughts when he'd fed on him, and he took a step back when the force field lit up for a second before it finally broke down to grant him free access to the exit.

The impressive Wraith who'd won his heart so easily whirled around his axis and strode forward with fast motions, and it took Evan almost too long to realize what he was about to do when he aimed his steps at the two masked warriors with his right hand raised in a threatening gesture instead of making his way to where Evan was still standing.

“NO! Don't kill him!” Evan shouted, throwing himself between Tamlane and Kenneth to shield the warrior from Kenneth's wrath with his own body. His abused limbs screamed in pain and protest, but Evan ignored the sharp ache and the dizziness his fast movement caused him, determined to save Tamlane's life as he spread his arms protectively to block the way and deny his mate access to Tamlane's chest. He stared at Kenneth with grim despair, not willing to let his Wraith punish Tamlane for what Seumas had done to both of them.

“Step aside, my brave young warrior. They hurt you, and they will be punished for what they did to you!” Kenneth snarled angrily, not his caring and loving future mate any longer as he switched into the role of the powerful and proud Wraith Commander within one heartbeat and the next, his only goal to punish the underlings which had disobeyed his orders and failed him so badly.

Tavish moved restlessly, his hand still around Tamlane's throat, and Evan lifted his chin up in defiance and anger, even though his vision grayed at the edges and he feared that he would fall unconscious again.

“Tavish didn't hurt me! He didn't even touch me!” he shouted desperately, keeping his ground despite Kenneth's glowing eyes and his angry hisses.

“He didn't protect you like he was ordered to do, either. He failed you, but most of all he failed the Hive and his two Commanders. I told you that the masked warriors are bred to serve their Queens and Wraith Masters. Their death is inevitable when they fail in their duties. It has always been like that.”

“I don't care about that! You have to leave those old paths then and find new, better ones! Tavish and Tamlane didn't have any choice when they were ordered to guard me, and when I accepted their services and gave them their names, I knew that it could only work when it would go both ways – me protecting them in return, as well. I gave them my word that I will protect them as much as they will protect me, and I won't let them down!

They are my friends, and I won't let you punish them for something Seumas did! He forced them to turn against me, and according to what you say they didn't have any chance to object and fight against him because they are mindless drones in your opinion, supposed to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their Hive and their Masters – and yet they did resist his orders and didn't kill me like he told them to do. It is not their fault at all, and I will never forgive you if you kill them, Kenneth!”

Evan's voice trailed off as he gasped for breath after his long speech, totally exhausted. Kenneth stared at him in stunned silence after his outburst, and his surprisingly quiet and calm voice had a disbelieving undertone when he inquired:

“Seumas? You've given him a name?”

Evan shrugged sheepishly. “Gaelic for subversive, renegade. I thought it to be very fitting for him, and I had to distract him to buy myself – and you – more time...”

“I see.” Kenneth reached out to stroke over his wrinkled cheeks with tender claws. “You never cease to amaze me, my beautiful young warrior.”

Evan leaned into the touch, cupping Kenneth's fingers with his own hand, which was as wrinkled as his face now. “You will not kill them, my mate. Tamlane and Tavish are my friends, and I trust them.”

“How can you say that after what the drone... Tamlane did to you?” Kenneth pulled Evan into his arms, and Evan rested his head on his shoulder and allowed his Wraith to hold him.

“He didn't want to hurt me. He hesitated and struggled, but Seumas is... was a trained and powerful Commander, and they couldn't stand any real chance against him. And yet they fought against his mental control. Tamlane didn't want to feed on me, I could feel that. He fought for as long as he could, and he was... gentle... if feeding can ever be gentle, that is. I talked to him and told him that he was stronger than Seumas and that he could fight against him, and he stopped before Tavish pulled him away from me. Maybe it was because the energy field dampened Seumas' mental control of him – or because I talked to him, we'll probably never know that. But he did stop on his own and didn't kill me, and that is all that matters to me. You and Todd should really train them to resist the control of any hostile Wraith in the future - if that is even possible, I mean - but I won't let you punish Tamlane and Tavish for something that was beyond their control, and which they hated to do to me so clearly.”

He lifted his head from Kenneth's shoulder with a sound of protest when the Wraith gently pushed against him after a moment or two of heavy silence, looking pleadingly at him. “Don't do that, Kenneth, please, don't!”

The tall Wraith smiled at him, stroking his face again. “Step aside, Evan. I won't kill him, I promise you.”

Evan wanted to protest, but he stepped to the side with a sigh when Tavish put his clawed hand onto his shoulder and bent his head before him in a gesture of utter devotion, and he leaned against the wall in search of support and watched Tamlane sink down onto his knees before his Commander, his masked face turned upwards to await his Commander's judgment and decision. Tavish stood behind his brother, his hands resting on Tamlane's shoulders to support and comfort him, and Evan thought again that they were so much more than just drones and servants.

Kenneth looked down at Tamlane for a long time, still like a marble statue, and Evan realized that he must be deeply connected with the warrior's mind to seek the truth of Evan's words in Tamlane's thoughts. Time stood still, and Evan felt like waking up from a dream when Kenneth finally turned his head to regard him with deep golden eyes.

“I don't know how you did that, my astonishing brave mate, but you actually touched Tamlane's mind with yours and helped him to fight against... Seumas' mental oppression. This together with your words that he was strong enough to fight against him and the fact that Seumas tried to control me through this bracelet at the same time - combined with the dampening effect of the force field - made the impossible become possible and actually severed the link between Seumas and Tamlane.

Plus, Seumas made the huge mistake to think that controlling Tavish as well to the same extent wasn't necessary because he thought that Tavish was still nothing more than just a mindless drone. They actually were, both of them – until you gave them names and treated them like individuals and even friends. I would never have thought it possible, but they have gone through a remarkable transformation since yesterday, and that you stood up for them and protected them against Seumas and now against me as well accelerated this transformation. They have developed a real conscience and awareness of themselves, it's really astonishing!”

Kenneth sounded truly amazed and even excited, and Evan swallowed hardly able to believe what he'd just heard. He smiled at Tavish and Tamlane, a shaky and pained but honest smile. “I had faith in you, and you didn't disappoint my trust, my friends. We're a good team, aren't we?” he croaked out, and Tavish and Tamlane both bent their heads in agreement and devotion.

“Stop, what are you doing? You promised me not to kill him!” he shouted in alert when Kenneth lowered himself down onto one knee now and put his feeding hand onto Tamlane's bare chest under the sleeveless vest. Kenneth didn't look at him, his golden eyes fixed on Tamlane's face-mask, but his voice was gentle when he said:

“I won't kill him. I only demand back what he has taken from you, my young warrior. No lasting harm will come to him, I promise you, but I have to do this – and Tamlane also wants me to do that and give you back what he has taken.”

“Then why don't you let him give it back to me himself?”

Kenneth averted his eyes from the stylized mask for a moment to gaze up at the young major. “You are my mate, Evan, and I will be the one restoring your life. This is not debatable.”

Evan hated the thought, but when he opened his mouth to protest, Tamlane reached for his hand to squeeze his fingers, and the young major realized that there were things he would have to accept as the mate of a Wraith Commander – just like Kenneth had to accept certain things in the future and make compromises. He sighed and nodded his head, too exhausted to do more than lean against the wall and rest his hand between Tamlane's shoulder blades in a gesture of reassurance and comfort.

“Okay. Please be gentle and don't hurt him more than necessary. He was gentle with me.”

“Wraith experience the feeding differently than humans do because of their healing powers, Evan,” Kenneth said, his eyes still on Tamlane's face as he began to feed on him, “You need not worry about him, but I promise you that I will be gentle, and I won't take more than what he has stolen from you.”

Tamlane remained perfectly still under his Commander's hand, but Evan could feel a light trembling running through him, and he was grateful when Kenneth stopped and rose to his feet in a single elegant motion and a hungry look on his face as he turned around to Evan, leaving Tamlane in Tavish's care who supported his brother when Tamlane stood up again as well.

“Don't look at me like this,” Evan whispered when Kenneth gently pushed him against the wall, their faces only inches apart from each other. “I must be such an ugly sight to you right now.” He felt weak like a newborn baby, but there was a soft tingling of arousal in his belly when the tall creature put his hand onto his naked skin under his torn jacket and shirt with greatest tenderness, his eyes glowing in a dark golden color and with barely restrained passion and desire.

“You're the most beautiful being I have ever laid my eyes upon, my brave human. And right now, you're even more beautiful to me,” Kenneth whispered, swallowing Evan's protest with hungry lips as he started to restore his life and feed back to him what Tamlane had taken under Seumas' oppression.

Evan forgot that Tavish and Tamlane were still there and probably watching them, he just gave in to the breathtaking sensations coursing through him once more, pure energy and hot white pleasure flooding his body and flowing through his veins. Kenneth's deep and hungry kiss drank the sounds of ecstasy he couldn't hold inside from his lips, and Evan arched into the touch of his hand and the delicious stream of new strength and power with a soft moan, wishing that it would never stop again.

It did stop eventually. Far too soon for his liking, and Evan found himself pressed close to Kenneth's strong body, trapped between the Wraith and the wall and painfully aroused, gasping for air as he struggled to win back his composure and not make a complete fool of himself. His Wraith held him close and carded through his short hair with his clawed fingers in a tender and steady rhythm, humming soothingly into his ear.

“Can you please take me back to your Hive, Kenneth?” Evan whispered against the heavy black coat, “I need to be yours. Please...”

“Soon I will take you back to our Hive, my brave young warrior, and then I will make you all mine,” the tall alien male promised him, and Evan smiled happily against his neck, thinking that he must be the luckiest guy in two galaxies.

*~*~*

Kenneth knelt down beside the dead Commander to take the bracelet from his wrist, suppressing vigorously the disgust he felt. His own bracelet had been easy to open after Seumas' death, and the dying mind of the other Wraith had provided him with the information about the Ancient technology and the cloaked Fighter when he'd fed on him. Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay would surely want to examine this technology, and so would his own Commander and best friend. Todd - how Kenneth slowly started to think of his friend as well now - had always been as much a scientist as he'd been a warrior, and these bracelets could be useful for their alliance one day.

His crew had woken up shortly after his fight against Seumas, and Dorrell had come to the plateau together with four masked warriors to escort them back to their camp and fly the two Fighters to the cruiser. Kenneth found the remote control for the cloaking device in the pocket of Seumas' coat, and he handed it over to the Master of Security and Guard to let him uncloak the Fighter and take care of it.

Evan was waiting for him on the plateau when he left the cave without a second glance, his face turned upwards to the sun to let the warm air caress his now youthful and ceaseless face. His hair showed the rich dark-brown color which Kenneth had come to love so much again, and his body was brimming with life and new energy, his scent the delicious and irresistible musky scent of a healthy and virile young man.

Tamlane and Tavish were standing a few steps behind their adored human Master, and Kenneth could feel their unquestioning devotion for the young man who'd defended them so bravely flowing through the Hive mind that was well re-established after the awakening of his crew. His beautiful young warrior had won himself two faithful friends who would give their lives for him without thinking, and Kenneth realized that Evan had been right with what he'd said about the mental training for not only Tamlane and Tavish, but all of their masked warriors.

If they wanted to avoid something like what Seumas had done to ever happen again, then they had to find a way to train the drones and the younger and inexperienced officers and scientists against such attacks in the future, especially when they were protecting their human allies from Atlantis.

The mental touch of the Master of Navigation distracted him from his thoughts, and he hissed in contentment at the perfect timing of the appearance of their Hive. He kept the contact brief and only informed the commanding officer about his imminent return to the Hive with their human guest, and the Master of Navigation acknowledged his orders before Kenneth withdrew from the personal contact and stepped beside Evan.

“Our Hive is back in orbit over the planet, my beautiful young warrior. Are you ready to return to it and become my true mate, Evan?” His voice was husky with his deep feelings for the young man who'd changed his life forever, and Evan smiled at him and took his feeding hand to entangle their fingers without showing the usual signs of fear or disgust like humans had always looked at a Wraith's feeding hand for thousands of years until this day.

“More than ready, my proud Wraith. I can't wait to become all yours,” he murmured, his cheeks coloring in an adorable pink color and his dimples showing themselves in all their glory. Evan's blue eyes sparkled with love and desire for him, and Kenneth smiled back at him, thinking that he must for sure be the happiest Wraith in the whole Pegasus galaxy.

Chapter Text

Evan regretted it a bit that he had to leave the planet with the fascinating rocks and the rich naquadah deposits so soon again, but he really needed to be alone with Kenneth and complete their already so strong bond at last. His Wraith had also promised him that they would return to the surface and do some more explorations before their return to Atlantis, so he was all too happy to enter the cruiser the temporary commanding officer of the Hive had sent to the planet to pick them up and bring them back to the Hive.

He still remembered so well his arrival on board the huge spaceship a few days ago, and it felt as if an entire lifetime had passed by in between now and then. He was walking through the misty and gloomy hallways side by side with Todd's Second like true equals this time. Tavish, Tamlane and Kenneth's two guards were marching behind them like a king's entourage, and this time there was actually a real sense of coming home filling him instead of feeling so terribly out of place like he'd felt when he'd walked through the corridors for the first time not long ago.

Kenneth led him straight to his own quarters, his hand pressed possessively against the small valley between Evan's shoulder blades. Evan suspected that he would only return to his own quarters to pack the few things he'd left there before their trip to the planet, and Kenneth's heated glances left no doubts about his intentions when the door to his personal quarters whooshed to the side and he turned to the four masked warriors to give them their orders.

“We are not to be disturbed. You will wait here and make sure of that.” the Wraith said with an imperious gesture, and Evan felt a shiver run down on his spine. Kenneth was such a dangerous being, but he'd never felt as safe and cherished as he felt now, and he smiled at his new friends Tavish and Tamlane before the door closed again, knowing that they wouldn't allow any of the crew to enter this corridor and disturb them when Tavish and Tamlane both inclined their heads and proudly took up position at each side of the entrance to protect their privacy.

Then he was finally alone with Kenneth, standing face to face with him and feeling incredibly nervous all of a sudden. Evan was a brave and experienced soldier, having been Sheppard's XO in a dangerous and mostly unknown galaxy for several years – trapped, wounded and in acute danger to die more often than he could actually count, but he'd never become a Wraith's beloved mate until now, and he didn't know what the ancient male expected him to say or do during the act of their mating.

“Are you afraid of me, my beautiful young warrior?” Kenneth asked him when he saw his insecurity showing so clearly on his face, taking him by his shoulders to regard him. “You have nothing to fear, no harm shall ever come to you from my hand.”

Evan shook his head with a smile that was bright and sheepish at the same time. “I'm not afraid of you, my Wraith. I'm just nervous and fear that I will disappoint you...”

The tall creature cocked his head to the side, reaching out with his clawed off hand to stroke Evan's warm cheeks reverently. “You could never disappoint me, Evan. I will guide you through the ritual that will bind us together, and you can't do anything wrong. Just be your true self, and everything will be perfect.”

“But I'm human, not Wraith. There are surely some things I can't do because of my different nature?” Evan observed, and Kenneth pulled him into a tender embrace with a soothing noise. Evan rested his head on his shoulder, grateful that his beloved Wraith was willing to answer his questions and take things slowly

“This is as new for me as it is for you, Evan,” Kenneth admitted, his multi-toned voice vibrating deep in his throat and against Evan's chest. “There have been a few human-Wraith couples in our long history which were true mates and not just engaged in a much simpler relationship between a Wraith and a human worshiper. It hasn't happened in a long time, though, and talking about those couples has been forbidden for centuries, so going through our sacred mating ritual with a human partner with the necessary alternations of it is not common knowledge among my species.

The Commander might perhaps know more about it considering how old he is, but if he does, then he never attempted to share his insight with me. You must understand that the act of mating is a very private matter in our culture, and even though the Commander and I have been close friends for a very long time, but talking about these intimate things and feelings is nothing we ever did because respecting our privacy and boundaries is crucial for a telepathic species and violating them considered a rather serious crime.

Some Queens have been abusing their crews and violated their right of privacy in the past, and the Commander would not allow that to happen on board his Hives – or ever try to do that himself.”

Kenneth went silent, waiting for Evan to react with visible tension stiffening his shoulders.

“That's understandable, and it's the same on Earth, at least for those of us who belong to military. Our privacy is very important to us, as well.” Evan said after thinking about what he'd just learned for a moment, and he was actually grateful that Kenneth and Todd hadn't talked about him in this truly intimate way as Kenneth possible future mate. He trusted his Wraith to do this right and help him through the ritual without hurting him, and he lifted his head from the taller male's shoulder to offer him his lips for a tender kiss. Kenneth was all too happy to obey and kiss him, and for a while they were silent except for the purring noises and small gasps their passionate kiss elicited from both of them.

“So how do we do this?” he wanted to know when they had to part for air again, his blue eyes sparkling with eagerness and his desire for his beloved space vampire.

Kenneth looked down at him with the same longing Evan felt to complete their bond, and his voice was hoarse when he started to explain:

“At first we have to undress each other, I will undress you, and you will undress me.” He hesitated for a moment, and Evan waited patiently, sensing that it was hard for the Wraith to talk about it. With another Wraith he could use telepathy – if he had to explain this ritual to another Wraith at all, because all higher ranking Wraith surely knew what was expected from them anyway – and he realized that this was as hard for Kenneth as it was for him. He'd already suspected that mating a Wraith was about more than just having sex with them, and Kenneth's next words confirmed his suspicion.

“If you were Wraith, we would also bare our minds to each other like our bodies are bared to one another after the act of undressing, our thoughts becoming one before we will unite our bodies, so there will be no lies or secrets between us.”

Kenneth's skin color had changed to a deeper shade, and Evan's cheeks were equally dark and burning hot, but he met the Wraith's uncomfortable gaze openly. “Is this going to be a problem? Is it not possible for us to connect mentally in such a deep way?” he inquired, and Kenneth hesitated again before a sigh slipped from his lips.

“Yes, it is possible. It requires more effort from my side to establish such a deep mental link, but I can do that if you don't fight against it. It's just that humans are not a telepathic species by nature and usually deny the deeper mental bond. The only occasions when they cannot deny it is usually when a Queen forces herself into their minds to oppress them and bring them down to their knees, and I would never mind-rape you, Evan. Some trained and experienced Commanders can do that as well, but you don't need to fear that I will ever do this to you.” Kenneth stroked his hot cheek tenderly, and Evan leaned into his touch as he looked up at him.

“I know that you wouldn't do that, my mate,” he assured the ancient male with a gentle smile before he became serious again, regarding the tall being attentively.

“He did that to you, didn't he? Seumas forced himself into your mind to oppress you and force himself upon you.”

Kenneth's jaw worked and his right hand clenched into a tight fist at the memory of Evan's dead tormentor – and his own. His sharp nails dug into his sensitive palm with the feeding organ, and it must hurt him because he hissed, but he didn't uncurl his fingers, and Evan reached out to lift the Wraith's right hand to his own mouth, pressing a soft kiss to it and gently stretching Kenneth's balled fingers before he could do more damage to himself. His eyes never left Kenneth's usually so stoic and yet so expressive features as he pressed his lips onto his palm again, kissing the feeding slit with rapt devotion. The Wraith swallowed thickly, the fingers Evan was holding trembling in his tender grip.

“The Commander – Todd – trained me to withstand mental attacks from other Wraith, and from Queens at least partly, but... Seumas had those bracelets which increased his mental abilities and weakened mine considerably at the same time, and I couldn't keep him out of my head, no matter how hard I fought against him.”

The proud ancient being sounded ashamed of himself, his self-loathing and despair clear to hear in his voice, and the level of trust he put in Evan as he bared himself to him without trying to hide his feelings made the young major feel humble and blessed. Kenneth's trust in him was the most precious gift he could imagine, and he knew enough about Wraith and their society that was based on such strict military structures to sense how hard it was for this proud warrior to show his feelings, his shame and his fears so openly. Others would take this trust as a sign of weakness, but for Evan it was a treasure he would hoard in his heart and cherish. The young major had already known before Kenneth's confession that he didn't need to fear anything like this coming from his beloved Wraith, and he kept caressing the feeding slit with his lips when he said:

“You fought bravely against him and you defeated him, my mate. You were always stronger than he ever was, and without these devices, he wouldn't have stood a chance against you. What he did to you can't be undone, but will you let me replace the memories you have of him with memories of our love and our deep bond, my beloved Fireborn? Because that's what you are for me, Kenneth. You were born from the fire, and creatures like Seumas can't defeat you, because you will always come out of the fire of their hate and rage stronger than before. I want to bond with you, I want us to become one in every sense of the meaning, and I have nothing to hide from you, my mate.”

Kenneth pulled him into his arms with a growl to kiss him passionately, and Evan melted against, returning the kiss with all the passion and love he felt for his Wraith.

*~*~*

They had made their way to his bedroom without breaking their urgent kisses, and Kenneth couldn't get enough of Evan's taste and how perfect he felt in his arms. His human was so eager and willing to complete their bond, and it still amazed the proud Wraith Commander how much trust his beautiful young major put in him after what Seumas had done to him.

Not long ago, Wraith and the New Lanteans had been lethal enemies, and trust still didn't come easily to most humans living in Atlantis when they found themselves standing face to face with a Wraith. Even John Sheppard, who was so experienced and had a years-long lasting relationship with his Commander – Todd – hadn't reached the same level of trust and comfort among Wraith as Evan.

Kenneth drew back from Evan's swollen lips to look at him, and the young major returned his gaze with red cheeks, but openly and without hesitating. “I'll need your help with the fastenings when we undress each other,” he said with a sheepish smile, and Kenneth inclined his head.

“Of course, Evan.” He lifted his clawed hand to his cheek to stroke the warm skin, warmer than his own and tickling his sensitive palm where fresh stubble had started to grow. Evan pressed into his touch for a moment before he took a step back and reached for Kenneth's heavy coat to remove it from his shoulders. Todd's Second was all too happy to help him with the fastenings, but his clever human didn't need much aid to figure out how the clasps worked, and soon he found himself liberated from his coat and the black shirt he wore beneath, shivering under the touch of Evan's rapturous fingers caressing his torso and trailing along the dark lines of his tattoos.

“You're beautiful, so beautiful, Fireborn,” Evan whispered, his deep blue eyes roaming over the chiseled landscape of maleness revealed to his hungry stare. Kenneth ached to undress him, too, but he sensed that Evan needed this to bond with him and prepare himself for the next step. Apart from that, Evan's open admiration and his tender ministration were balm for his wounded soul and his touch-starved body.

The ancient Commander had never been conceited or cared much about his looks, but he wanted to be beautiful for the amazing being regarding him with so much longing in his sparkling blue eyes, wanted to be special and desirable for him. No one had ever called him beautiful in his long life, no one had ever loved him the way Evan did. Seumas had been obsessed with him, treating him like his toy and possession, and the love his Commander showed him was that of a friend and Hive brother, not the passionate love of a real lover and mate.

Evan finished his exploration of the delights Kenneth had to offer with a soft hum and one last caress before he searched for his heated golden gaze and smiled at him. He opened his arms invitingly, and the proud warrior didn't need any other encouragement to remove the jacket Evan was wearing and pull the olive-green t-shirt he wore out of his BDUs. He would have liked to just tear it from his body, but that would have to wait for another time. His young warrior trusted him, and Kenneth was determined to do this right and follow the ancient ritual in the right way and step by step.

Judging by the look on Evan's flushed face, he was as impatient as Kenneth felt and wouldn't mind to have his shirt ripped from his body, but he kept perfectly still and didn't say anything, just drew in a shaky breath when Kenneth returned the favor and mapped the skin he bared to his hungry eyes with his hands in the same rapturous ministration. Humans and Wraith were very much alike regarding their physiques, but Wraith possessed ridges humans didn't have, whereas humans had mammalian features like nipples male Wraith lacked.

The two tiny pink knobs crowning Evan's well-shaped breast-muscles fascinated Kenneth, and he teased them with his claws until they hardened under his eager and curious ministration and a small moan slipped from Evan's lips. It was clear that he was pretty sensitive there, and Kenneth would keep that in mind for later actions, hoping to pull more sounds and noises from his beautiful young warrior this way.

Evan didn't have any tattoos on his body, but his chest was covered with dark hair which tapered off to a small line on his stomach and disappeared under the waistband of Evan's BDUs. Kenneth brushed over the tiny dark hairs with his sensitive palms, low purrs of desire echoing in the quiet bedroom and soft shivers of arousal wrecking his broad torso. Evan's breath quickened and his gaze darkened with his own forceful desire for his Wraith mate. He lifted his chin up in the same moment Kenneth bent down to him, and they lost themselves in another passionate and deep kiss, only parting again when the need for air forced them to pull back again.

Their respective footwear and pants were the next layers of clothing to be removed, and Kenneth knelt down before his mate to open the laces and help Evan step out of his military boots, fumbling with the zipper of his pants for a moment. Evan had a shy look in his eyes when he regarded him, and Kenneth growled lowly in approval at the sight of narrow hips and strong legs, Evan's worked out six-pack halfway visible over the waistband of his black briefs. His own boots and trousers made of Wraithskin shared the same fate as Evan's clothes, placed beside Evan's smaller boots and his pants folded carefully, and Kenneth guided his mate to his bed when they both wore nothing more than their underwear, sensing that it would be easier for his brave young warrior to bond mentally when he still had his private parts covered.

“You're beautiful, my mate,” he whispered into Evan's ear when they sat down on the bed with crossed legs and facing each other, taking the young man's hands to press their palms against each other. “I will not hurt you, my brave young warrior. I will stop immediately if you tell me so.”

“I know, Kenneth.” Evan nodded as he met his gaze, the moment too serious to smile, but his shoulders and his features were relaxed, filled with anticipation, but without any sign of fear or discomfort. “Please tell me what I need to do to make it easier for you to bond with my mind.”

“Look at me and relax. Think of me and how you are opening your mind for me – like you would open a door,” Kenneth explained, and Evan nodded again, worrying his swollen bottom lip in concentration.

“Or like a wormhole?” he asked, and Kenneth inclined his head. Evan's palms were warm against his own, calloused from holding his gun and working hard each day, and Kenneth reveled in it, his desire for his human mate shooting through him in another forceful wave of longing and want.

Evan drew in a deep breath as he locked eyes with him, and Kenneth finally dared to reach out with his mental feelers for the young man's unique mind-print, human and so different from the mind-print of any Wraith, and yet somehow already so familiar and lovable. He'd felt it brush against his own mind before, when Evan had cried out for him mentally in mortal fear and lethal danger. Now there was not the sharp edge and coldness of all-consuming fear he'd sensed back then, though, only warmth and a sense of welcome and happiness that drew Kenneth to him like a moth was drawn to the flame. It was overwhelming and so different from the strong and solid web of the Hivemind, but not less soothing and wonderful, and Kenneth opened his own mind widely and let Evan's love wash over him until their minds were so deeply connected that there was no telling any longer where his thoughts ended and Evan's began.

*~*~*

Nothing had prepared Evan for this experience, and he knew that nothing could ever have prepared him for it – just like no ever so detailed description could ever prepare one for how it truly felt to be fed upon by a Wraith – or receive the Gift of Life.

Sensing Kenneth in his mind, how their thoughts interwove and finally became truly one with each other was scaring at first, and Evan had to keep himself from fighting and trying to push his beloved Wraith out of his head for a few seconds, but there was only warmth and love, tenderness and passion, and Evan held tightly onto the clawed hands as he relaxed gradually, inch by inch, his breathing slowing and calming more and more with each in- and exhale. The touch of the clawed fingers against his own was gentle and yet strong, grounding him and reassuring him that he had nothing to fear from the usually so dangerous being that offered him a whole new world. Evan could feel his mate in his mind and his heart, and soon he would feel him in his body as well when they would complete their bond and come together in body and mind without anything separating them any longer.

The young major was wrapped in the loving embrace of Kenneth's mind, and it was easy to give himself to him and open his heart and his thoughts for him without holding anything back. Evan let his own love flow through their connection like a boat would flow on a steady river, wanting to heal the wounds Seumas had torn with his terrible deeds. The Wraith let out a sound that resembled the purr of a cat, and he pulled him closer to his body until their lips touched. Evan moaned into the ardent mouth claiming his own so passionately, their need for each other growing stronger with each touch of their tongues and every beat of their hearts.

They were still deeply connected when Kenneth lowered Evan down onto the mattress and started to caress him after tearing impatiently at the last layer of clothing to remove them, drawing back from his swollen lips to worship him with his hands and his mouth when they were fully naked at last.

The right hand of a Wraith could bring agonizing pain or unbearable pleasure, death or life, but Evan knew deep in his heart that his mate would never hurt him and that he would never have to fear the touch of his hand. He arched his back with the waves of desire and lust Kenneth's caresses aroused in him, pulling him close to return the favor and stroke and kiss him as well. The Wraith's emotions rushed through their bond as if they were Evan's own feelings, and they probably were as they shared their desire and love for each other as if they were truly just one single being, and feeling Kenneth's pleasure flowing through his own veins boosted his own need for his mate to unknown heights.

'Need you, my mate! Need to be close to you and feel you!'

Evan couldn't tell who of them had thought this, but it didn't matter anymore, and he was swept away by the warmth of Kenneth's love, opening his legs for the Wraith when he pushed his hand between his thighs to prepare him for the final act of their mating. Cool fingers probed at his entrance, slicked up to ease the way, and without their deep mental bonding Evan would have been afraid of the rather long and sharp nails every Wraith possessed, but but he found only eagerness and deep trust in his heart, relaxing and moaning softly into their deep kiss.

He'd done it before, but it had been a long time ago when he'd still been on Earth and known nothing about Wraith, and it felt like the very first time when the tender fingers finally entered him to massage his walls and stretch him for what they both craved so much. Evan focused on the emotions that were flowing through their bond, sometimes slow and gentle, sometimes like a huge and strong wave, and it felt so natural to send his own feelings back to his beloved mate as if he'd done that a thousand times already. Time went by and soon a second and third finger followed the first one, preparing him and making sure that pleasure would be all Evan felt when Kenneth took him.

'I'm ready, please take me!' he moaned into Kenneth's mind when he couldn't stand all the sensations washing and crushing over him anymore, lying trembling in the Wraith's arms, hard and aroused and desperate to feel him as close as two beings could physically be. Kenneth growled against his swollen lips, the low and fierce sound of the dangerous predator, but Evan felt safe and protected in his embrace, and there was only deep unquestioning love and devotion palpable in his touches when he made himself comfortable between Evan's legs.

'I won't hurt you, my beautiful young warrior,' his Wraith promised him, and Evan smiled into their kiss, glad that he could show the real depths of his love for Kenneth without needing to speak.

'I know that, Fireborn. You will never hurt me with your love.' He relaxed as best as he could when his mate started to push into him and he was spread open wide, but Evan welcomed the burn of the first intrusion and moved his hips to feel the other male deeper inside his body. He could sense the pleasure their closeness aroused in Kenneth, and he knew that his mate could feel his own pleasure, mixed with the slight pain of the stretching, and their emotions and thoughts whirled together again, until Evan thought that he could actually feel the Wraith in his veins and every cell of his body and the deepest parts of his entire being.

The young major hadn't been able to fully imagine and understand what it meant to become the true mate of a Wraith, and it was even more overwhelming than the Gift of Life had already been. Kenneth paused when he was finally fully sheathed inside Evan's body, kissing him tenderly to apologize for the ache he'd caused and waiting patiently as Evan focused on his breathing to adjust to his size. His own neglected cock was trapped between their bodies and rubbing against the hard abs of Kenneth's perfectly sculpted torso, slender and yet much stronger and heavier than a human's body would be. He was leaking milky droplets of lust against the smooth and still cooler skin of his Wraith mate, and he arched his back in the search for more friction, desperate for contact and touch.

'You're mine, human, mine forever!' Kenneth growled in their mental bond, and Evan moaned and pulled his head down for another kiss.

'Yes, I am, my mate. Show me how much you want me!' he demanded with a breathless chuckle, and the Wraith was happy to obey and started to move, slowly pulling out and pushing back in, setting up a torturingly slow pace to draw their first time out and savor it to the fullest. Evan tried to urge him on to go faster, but his mate didn't let himself be rushed and pinned him down on the mattress with his weight easily, his golden eyes watching Evan's features hungrily. Evan looked up at him, his pupils so dilated that his eyes were almost black instead of the usual sky-blue color.

It didn't take long until they found a good rhythm as they moved together, their deep connection making it easy and pushing them towards the edge quickly. Evan was burning with love and desire, and he tried to free his hands from the grip where Kenneth pressed his wrists down onto the pillow over his head to stroke himself.

'Oh no, human. You will come from my thrusts alone!' Kenneth's eyes were glowing with passion, and he shifted the angle of his thrusts until he found the small spot inside Evan's quivering passage that made pleasure explode inside his groin when he pushed against it with the head of his large cock. Evan cried out and arched his back, and the ancient male snarled contentedly and repeated his motions all over again, his eyes never leaving Evan's face. He wanted to scream, but only strangled moans escaped his throat, swallowed by Kenneth's ardent lips. The Wraith had never kissed before the previous day, but he'd been an eager student and obviously wanted to make up for his lack of knowledge, because his mouth only drew back from Evan's bruised lips when the need for air became too much; and he used those moments to watch his beloved human mate better than he could do when their faces were so close together.

Evan felt himself approach his climax, his hips stuttering in their movements when the pleasure became too much, and the world stopped spinning when he was poised on the edge for one or two seconds before he fell over it with Kenneth's next deep push in. He came untouched like the Wraith had wanted him to do, his cock exploding between their bodies and shooting his release against their stomachs. The Wraith roared triumphantly as he followed him with the next thrust, the ecstasy they shared through their bond boosting their satisfaction to even higher levels. Kenneth rode them through the waves of lust and only stopped when his own over-sensitivity made him falter in his steady motions.

Evan lay beneath him gasping and panting, totally boneless and unable to move anything but his little finger. He let his mate turn him on his side until he was curled up against him and his head pillowed on Kenneth's chest, long clawed fingers stroking through his tousled and damp dark hair. The Wraith purred in his ear like a sated big cat again, and Evan pushed his nose deep into the crook between Kenneth's shoulder and neck to inhale his beloved scent and let himself be stroked and caressed.

'I'm sorry that I couldn't give you the Gift of Life again, but it would have been too much with the addicting effect of the enzyme, my beloved mate.'

Kenneth's voice was still perfectly audible in his head, even though Evan could feel him withdraw from their bond now until he was alone in his head again. He was sad about the loss and relieved at the same time as he was still human and not made to have someone in his head all of the time, not even when it was his beloved mate. Once in a while, they would bond again, and Evan was looking forward to it, but his mind needed time to rest like his body did. Kenneth was respecting his different human nature and his need for privacy without feeling rejected or offended, his tender kiss on his hair telling Evan that he didn't need to worry about that.

“You don't need to apologize, my mate. It was perfect.” he murmured against his skin, tired and barely able to keep his eyes open.

“Yes, it was, my beautiful young warrior. You are perfect,” Kenneth whispered into his ear, “you're all I ever wished for and so much more.”

“A perfect match.” Evan chuckled, his words ending in a heartfelt yawn, and the Wraith purred happily at his statement.

“We're indeed a perfect match, aren't we? Sleep well, my mate, you need it. I shall watch over you,” Kenneth promised him, and Evan smiled and allowed his eyes to fall close and his body to succumb to the slumber of exhaustion to the sounds of Kenneth's steady purrs and the tender strokes of his fingers.

Chapter Text

Kenneth kept his promise and returned to the planet with Evan the next day.

Evan had never been happier in his whole life, the future lying bright and promising before him with his beloved mate by his side, and he knew that his happiness and satisfaction was showing on his face when he joined his new friends on one of the large rocks for further exploration. They were obviously happy to see him and have him in their midst again as well, greeting him with smiles and apparent joy.

The young major could hardly believe how much things had changed within just a few days, and how natural it was for him to sit in the middle between five Wraith who could easily tear him into pieces if they put their minds to that. But he knew that he was safe with them, and he could sense their deep care for him, even though he wasn't telepathically connected with them. Tamlane and Tavish were never far away, watching over him like two silent shadows, their presence welcome and reassuring now instead of scaring and dangerous.

Evan hoped that all of Atlantis' residents would soon feel the same comfort and trust among their new Wraith allies like he felt it, and he expressed his hope out loud when they were taking a break from their work under the protrusion of a large rock to avoid the bright and hot midday sun.

“We're sharing the same hope, Major Lorne,” Raghnall, the Master of Science, said, and his assistants nodded their heads in unison. “It will take time until all New Lanteans will stop fearing us, but a start for a peaceful future is made.”

“Yes, it is, thank God.” Evan nibbled on a slice of cheese and leaned back against the warm stone. “I must admit that I have never given much thought to how you must feel among so many humans when you visit Atlantis.” He hesitated and paused for a moment, and Gowan – apparently reading his thoughts showing so clearly on his face – cocked his head to the side.

“You mean because humans are usually food to us,” he said, his words more of a statement and not a real question, and Evan nodded.

“Yes. Isn't it hard for you with your superior sense of smell and vision? You're actually amazing predators, aren't you triggered by the fear most of us still show when you come too close us? Are really all of you okay with building an alliance with what would have been your source of food not so long ago? I really mean no offense, and I don't want to upset you, but it's important for me to understand you and your feelings better – so I can help my people understand and trust you better in return, as well.”

Evan felt bad that he'd approached this more than delicate topic, but it was important to talk about it sooner rather than later anyway, and although he didn't fear his new friends any longer, but he couldn't speak for all New Lanteans, and the thought of anyone harming Ervin, Tamlane and Tavish, Raghnall and all the others when they came to Atlantis was as scaring as the thought of standing face to face with a hungry Wraith had once been.

It was Brian who answered his question this time. “That is something we have always admired about you and Colonel Sheppard, Major Lorne. You both have always showed an astonishing amount of courage and self-control, and neither you, nor the colonel have ever really triggered our hunting instinct like most humans usually do with their fear and their behavior – you're right with that.”

Evan felt his cheeks warm up at the praise, and he offered his new friend a smile that showed his dimples in all their glory. “So I don't smell like 'food' to you any longer?” he wanted to know, earning himself five wolfish grins in return, but the expression in the five pairs of eyes that belonged to those predatory smiles were warm and gentle as they looked at him.

“The Commander made perfectly clear that none of our human allies from the Ancient City are food, Major Lorne, and we all agreed with him about this. We weren't here if we hadn't. We're not just mindless killing machines and monsters that are always hungry, and we have lived in a symbiosis with our worshipers for millennia without regarding them as food. How about you, Major Lorne? Do you always think of a steak first and before anything else when you look at your domestic livestock, especially at those you have raised personally and built a relationship with?” Ossian explained, and Evan smiled apologetically at him.

“No, of course not, you're right. And you have never been monsters to me, not even before we became allies,” he said. “Most of your kin were lethal enemies I was wary of, but I never thought of you as mindless killing machines.”

“Yes, we know that, Major Lorne. No offense taken,” Ronson assured him, “it is important to talk about these things, so please don't think that you're not allowed to ask questions to get to know us better. And to answer the one question you asked at the beginning: yes, sometimes it's difficult for us to endure the bright light and all those smells, especially when it's tinged with fear or hate, but we have learned to control our instincts, and only those of us who can do that without a doubt are allowed to visit Atlantis.

Both the Commander and the sub Commander always make sure that none of the younger and inexperienced crew members will come too close to our human allies until they have learned to control themselves, just like you and Colonel Sheppard always make sure that none of your people will come too close to us if they can't control themselves. Even the former Runner Ronon Dex has learned not to shoot the moment he sees one of us coming around the corner, which is actually quite astonishing given his history.” Ronson grinned at Evan, and the young major smiled back at him.

“I see. Thank you, that is reassuring.” Evan relaxed the tension he'd been feeling in his back when he'd started this conversation, glad that he'd been brave enough to do so. “So it's not as hard for you as I feared that it still were.”

“No, it isn't.” Raghnall smiled at him. “You are very special, though, Major Lorne. Just like Brian said, you in special have never been 'food' to us in the first place, but since you came on board in exchange for the Commander your status has changed completely. You are the chosen mate of the sub Commander now, but even before you accepted his proposal you'd already started to become our cherished and valued brother because of your behavior and your obvious will to really get to know us and our way of life. It started with Ervin, and went deeper from that day on, and you're truly one of us now. You're Hive, and each member of the crew will protect and defend you with their own life.”

“Oh, wow.” Evan swallowed, the blush in his cheeks increasing. “But how so? I'm not a telepath, and I'm human and much weaker than all of you, how could I be a true member of your Hive mind?” he asked, and he actually wasn't that much surprised that he found himself longing to be real part of Kenneth's Hive and belong to their Wraith in every sense of the meaning.

“You don't have to be a telepath or physically strong to be a true part of the Hive, Major Lorne,” Gowan said. “We have impaired Hive brothers we care about as much as we care about everyone else. You are trustworthy and loyal, brave and respectful towards us, you're honest and you treated us like sentient beings with the same right to live when only few others of your people did the same. There is not one of us who doesn't admire you after what you did for Tamlane and Tavish when you stood up for them right after what Seumas made Tamlane do to you, so you're Hive to all of us now. Apart from that, your scent has changed as well, you smell much more like Wraith than you did before you came aboard, which comes naturally with being the chosen mate of a high ranking Commander. Even foreign Wraith from another clan which are not at war with us will respect your bond and treat you as an equal and not as food if you meet them from now on.”

“Oh, that's a good thing, I think. Thank you.” Evan felt close to tears with emotion all of a sudden, and he was grateful when his new friends gave him the time he needed to regain his composure and busied themselves with the results of their examination until the mask of calm was back in place on his face.

“This naquadah deposit looks promising, doesn't it?” Raghnall asked him when he had finished his lunch, and Evan went back to working with his Wraith colleagues, even happier than he'd been when he'd woken up this morning in Kenneth's arms.

*~*~*

They stayed on the planet for three more days before Kenneth decided to fly back to Atlantis to let Dr. McKay check the bracelets and the other devices Seumas had used to take him as his mate by force. The naquadah deposit was worth further exploring, and Evan was looking forward to coming back to this beautiful world and work together with his new friends and Hive brothers. He was allowed to explore the Hive on his own when his beloved mate was busied with his duties as Todd's sub Commander on the bridge, always accompanied by Tavish and Tamlane who hardly ever let him out of sight when Kenneth wasn't around. Not because they wanted to restrict their human master or keep him from exploring the Hive and learning more about their technology, but only because the huge spaceship was still a dangerous place for a human in certain places, and Evan didn't mind their silent and soothing presence but actually welcomed it.

Ervin kept him company as often as his own duties allowed him to do so as well, and Evan was glad that Kenneth wasn't jealous of the beautiful young Wraith any longer. Ervin had become a real good friend since their first meeting, and the young Wraith was curious about Evan's former life on Earth and in Atlantis and taught him some of the board games Wraith liked to play when Kenneth was still too busied to do that himself.

“I want you to be the first one to hear the good news,” Ervin said a couple of days before they would reach Atlantis again. They were taking a detour on their way back to the Ancient City because Kenneth wanted to show Evan a special and beautiful nebula, and the young major was looking forward to spending the evening with his beloved mate and let Kenneth show and explain the beauty of the small galaxy to him that had become his beloved home he never wanted to leave again.

“Good news?” Evan asked curiously as he leaned back in his chair and sipped from his coffee. It had become a nice habit to share his meals with the young Wraith when his mate was busy, and he had the feeling that he already knew what the good news was about when he looked at Ervin and saw the sparks of happiness dancing in his eyes.

“Yes, I have accepted Uilleam's offer. I will soon become his chosen mate,” Ervin announced happily, and a huge genuine smile spread on Evan's handsome features.

“That is indeed good news, Ervin. He will be a wonderful mate for you, I know that. He truly adores you with all his heart,” he assured his friend gently, and Ervin inclined his head in gratitude. His pale skin had darkened a bit, and his smile was sheepish, but he looked happy.

“I have to thank you for that, Evan. So many things have changed since you came on board, and actually for the better, which I wouldn't have thought possible, but they did. Plus, when you started to choose names for us with so much care, our view on each other within the Hive mind has started to change, too. It's hard to explain. We're still one Hive mind, but we've never dared to explore our individuality as much as we're doing it now before you came on board, and this although the Commander never forbade us to have our own minds and beliefs like some Queens did in the past.

After the Great War we were taught that our Hive mind and being like one giant entity was what saved us and made us defeat the Lanteans, and that their individuality was what led to their defeat in the end. As long as I still believed that my own wishes didn't matter as much as the greater goal of the Hive, I never really thought of what I truly wanted. But then I met you, and you were so different from all the other humans and treated me like a friend. You gave me a name and asked me what I wanted and liked, and it made me really think about that for the first time. You changed the view I had on myself - and my view on Uilleam as well.”

“Uh, I actually don't know what to say to that,” Evan murmured, stunned and astonished that his presence on board the Hive should have changed so much. “Other that I'm happy for you and that you're my friend, Ervin.”

“You're my friend, too, Evan,” Ervin smiled at him, and then they sat there in companionable silence sipping from their coffee and thinking of the future, a future in which humans Wraith were united in peace and friendship.

*~*~*

The nebula was as beautiful as Kenneth had promised him that it was.

They'd taken the Jumper to watch the nebula and have some quality time together, but the Hive was not far away, hovering in the darkness of outer space somewhere behind them, ready to defend them in case that another spaceship would attack them. Which wasn't likely to happen as neither the long distance sensors, nor the normal sensors had read any suspicious signs of other ships within the last days and hours, but better be safe than sorry, and Evan was grateful that he wasn't alone in the black vastness.

As small as Pegasus was, but it was still a galaxy that stretched several thousand light years in each direction, and there were still so many unknown places and worlds to explore, still so much they didn't know about their home. Not even Wraith with their immortality knew everything about the galaxy that circled around the much bigger sister galaxy of Evan's former home galaxy Milky Way, and which Evan had often watched through a telescope when he'd been a young boy with a strange sense of longing for it.

Now he knew that his longing had actually never been about the huge island of stars called Andromeda itself, but about a much smaller one that had been just a small milky spot compared to its bigger mother galaxy. But Andromeda was still a beautiful sight, even more so now that it was much closer than it had used to be, sparkling like a cloud of millions of diamonds in the huge gap between the islands of stars. Evan let out a small sigh as he averted his eyes from the huge galaxy that was visible at the right side of the front screen of the Jumper to regard the colorful nebula in the center of it instead.

“Thank you for taking me here and showing me the beauty of our home, my mate,” he said as turned his head and reached across the small gap between their seats to enclose Kenneth's fingers with his own.

The Wraith smiled at him, his expression surprisingly tender for such a fearsome predator. “You're welcome, my beautiful young warrior. This place is very special to me, and I really longed to come here with you.” He stroked over the back of Evan's hand with a tender claw.

“This nebula is where the Commander – Todd – and I first met millennia ago. The Great War was still so fresh in our memory, and my Queen chose this place to negotiate with the Queen of another clan about our territories which bordered each other here right in front of the nebula. I had just become her Master of Navigation and was proud that she had chosen me as the youngest one among all her senior officers. I still remember well how proud I was standing behind my console when the screen flared to life and the throne hall of the other Hive became visible for the first time. The other Queen was an impressive sight, even though she couldn't really compete with the one I'd sworn my life to in my opinion, but her young Commander was who really impressed me right at first sight, the lines of his unique tattoo still so fresh and dark.”

Kenneth went silent for a moment, and Evan held his breath as he waited for the rest of the story how his beloved mate and Todd had become friends.

“It was the same for my adored Queen apparently. He'd already earned himself his reputation during the war, and she fell in love with him right at first sight when she saw him standing tall and proud beside his ruler. The negotiations were difficult and went on for days without any result, and the threat that it would end in a battle became bigger with each hour that passed. It was him who came on board our Hive alone and unarmed to talk to my Queen in private, and I was the one who led him to her quarters. I never knew what happened between them, but after his return to his own Hive the negotiations came to a compromise that was accepted by both parties, and shortly after he came on board our Hive as my Queen's new Commander while our old one left to become the High Commander of the Hives of Todd's former Queen. We have been friends ever since then, and I was devastated when he went missing and I thought him to be dead during his long captivity.”

Evan gently squeezed his fingers as he tried to imagine how he would feel losing Sheppard as his friend and CO, but he pushed the thought side again quickly – as it was too terrible to even think it til the end.

“You probably don't know, but the planet where Colonel Sheppard set him free after their escape from Kolya's dungeon is not so far away from here, and the Hive I commanded back then happened to be near to it. This nebula was where we were reunited after more than a decade, and it makes this place all the more special to me.” Kenneth sounded hoarse, and Evan smiled tenderly at him.

“Thank you for bringing me here, my mate. This place will always be close to my heart from now on as well,” he said, lifting the Wraith's fingers to his lips to kiss them. “There is a bright and peaceful future possible for all of us now, and I will do my best to help making your and Todd's dream about a true alliance between our people come true, my mate.”

The Wraith returned his smile with sparkling eyes, pulling his human into his loving embrace. “I know that you will, my brave young warrior. I have been lonely for most of my life, but with you by my side I will never be lonely again, and I am looking forward to showing you all the other beautiful places I have discovered in our home over the centuries.”

“I am looking forward to that, too, my mate,” Evan whispered, sealing Kenneth's promise with a deep and passionate kiss.

*~*~*

They reached Atlantis two days later.

Evan was already missing 'his' Hive, even though he hadn't set foot into the city yet, but the thought of leaving his new friends and most of all, his beloved mate, formed a huge lump in his throat.

“I will miss you, Evan,” Ervin said as they were watching the Sub Commander maneuvering the huge spaceship into an orbit over the planet so expertly. They were standing on the bridge side by side, and the young major swallowed and nodded his head.

“I will miss you, too, Ervin, but I'll visit you as often as I can do,” he promised, and the beautiful young Wraith looked at him with a hopeful smile.

“I hope that Colonel Sheppard will allow that,” he murmured, and Evan hoped for the same. He took the Jumper to fly back to the city while Kenneth did the same with one of the cruisers, landing it on the largest piers of the city. Colonel Sheppard and Todd were already awaiting them with Richard Woolsey and Sheppard's team, and Evan noticed how close his CO and Todd were standing side by side, their hands not quite but almost touching. This had to be a good sign he thought as he stepped beside his beloved Wraith now, his eyes meeting Sheppard for a second as the colonel's hazel-green eyes flashed with a brief knowing smile. He returned it and relaxed, and he could feel Kenneth relaxing beside him, as well, obviously reassured by what Todd must have told him mind-to-mind about his own progressing relationship with Atlantis' military commander.

It was Richard Woolsey who took the lead and asked them to follow them to the conference room, and Evan was proud and happy to sit beside Kenneth for once instead of having to secure the room and be left out of the talk like it had always been in the past.

The civilian leader of the City of the Ancients took a moment to observe the room, and Evan and Kenneth in special, before he cleared his throat and stated with a small smile curling at his lips:

“I can see that you have come to a special... understanding with Major Lorne during his visit, Second. I must admit that I did not expect this, but I am pleased that the ground our alliance will be build upon is already so solid and strong.”

Kenneth shifted in his chair, but his multi-toned voice was firm and didn't waver when he inclined his head in acknowledgment of Woolsey's words.

“Major Lorne has bestowed greatest honor on me when he accepted my wish and became my chosen mate, Mr. Woolsey. Your hopes regarding our alliance are not misplaced, and your willingness to welcome us at your table as equal partners proves your trust in building a peaceful future together with us. A new era has begun for all Wraith and humans who are willing to leave the past behind and choose a new path that will bring a new way of life for all beings living in Pegasus. This wouldn't have been possible without Colonel Sheppard and our High Commander, though - who have both proven right from the start of their remarkable acquaintance that working together and building an alliance based on mutual respect is possible between Wraith and humans. The High Commander and I have shared the same dream about such a future for a very long time, and that our dream is finally coming true is the greatest gift you and all New Lanteans could give us, Mr. Woolsey.”

Richard looked flustered and flattered at the same time, at a loss of words for a moment, and Evan saw how his CO reached for Todd's hand under the table to entangle their fingers as he tried to keep his own face straight. It seemed that he and Kenneth weren't the only ones who'd come to a 'special understanding' over the last days, and Evan was truly happy for his admired superior.

“Thank you for your kind words, Second,” Richard finally managed to say when he'd found his composure again, “and please call me Richard,” he added, which earned him a genuine smile from the tall and usually stoic Wraith.

“You honor me, Richard,” he said with a bow of his head, and Evan grinned to himself when he saw the look Kenneth shot in Sheppard's direction before he turned back to Richard Woolsey once more.

“I would be pleased if you called me Kenneth in the future, then. Major Lorne explained the origin of the name Colonel Sheppard 'gifted' me with to me, and although I still don't appreciate the short version of the name, but the real one and its meanings is honorable and a name I have actually grown fond of.”

“Of course, Kenneth, it will be my pleasure,” Richard said, and Todd let out a laugh.

“Seems like you have gotten yourself a rival here, Sheppard. Our crew seems to be pretty happy with the names Major Lorne chose for them so far, so you should leave it up to him to find suitable names for us in the future and focus on the things you're better at than he is.”

Now it was Evan's turn to blush at the praise, Sheppard grumbling something but grinning at him with a wink and a shrug of his shoulders. “If it's for the benefit of our alliance,” he drawled, regarding Evan with a regretful but understanding smile. “What bothers me much more is that I'll have to find me another XO soon. Which will be an almost impossible task.” John didn't really sound reproachful, and Evan's heart missed a beat when he realized what his words actually meant. He'd thought that he would have to stay in Atlantis and only allowed to visit Kenneth and the Hive now and then, and the prospect to live where he truly belonged now made his heart swell with gratitude and happiness.

“I will gladly still write your reports for you, sir,” he promised, which pulled a disapproving noise from both their superior Richard.

“Oh no, Major Lorne. Colonel Sheppard will finally learn to write his reports himself,” he said with a meaningfully raised eyebrow and a strict look at Sheppard, who rolled his eyes but ducked his head between his shoulders.

“That's what I wanted to talk about with you, Major Lorne,” Richard continued to talk, then, “if you would be willing to take the role as our official ambassador on board our allied Hives in the future. As Commander Kenneth's chosen mate and Colonel Sheppard's XO with a high military rank you would represent Atlantis during future negotiations especially with other Wraith clans if you agree. Your diplomatic skills, your great insight of the needs of our friends and the acceptance you have gained among our new allies make you be the best choice for this important post, and I assume that you don't wish to be separated from your mate for too long on a regular basis, so what do you say? Can you imagine living among our Wraith allies in the future and represent our beloved city? With the necessary precautions for your health, of course. Humans are not able to live without daylight for too long, and your new task would require that you come to Atlantis on a regular schedule anyway, so you wouldn't lose your friends and always have a real home here, as well.”

Richard's proposal was all Evan had secretly wished for and even more, and he had to blink against the tears of joy and emotion that moistened his eyes all of a sudden. “It would be my honor and pleasure to become Atlantis' ambassador, and you're right that I would prefer living where my mate is,” he said, his voice a bit hoarse but filled with joy and relief about the unexpected turnout.

John gifted him with another understanding smile, and Richard rubbed his hands in contentment. “It's fixed, then. We will talk about your new post and what it actually implies over the next couple of days. Commander Kenneth, you are our most valued and appreciated guest until your return to your Hive. Please make sure that Major Lorne will spend enough time outside and under the sun as real sunlight is better than any pills he could take to avoid serious damage because of the lack of vitamin D.”

Kenneth cocked his head in agreement, and he didn't look angry that Richard reminded him of something he already knew from the human worshipers his kin had taken care of for millennia.

“Of course, Richard,” he said, “please be assured that Major Lorne's well-being will always come first to me, and that the High Commander, I myself and our crew will always take his human needs into account and be considerate of them before anything else.”

Kenneth squeezed his fingers, and Evan looked at him with a smile, remembering the first moment he'd seen him and how much had changed ever since then and how much he'd come to love his beautiful Wraith.

Evan promised himself that he would spend every day proving his mate how much he loved him, no matter what the future would bring, and when he looked into those beautiful golden cat's eyes of his Wraith, he could see that Kenneth would do the same.

“I love you, Fireborn,” he whispered later when they were alone in his quarters making love, and Kenneth kissed him with passion and tenderness as they came down from their high in each other's arms, his arms holding him close and warm.

“I love you, too, Evan,” he purred into his ear, and this was all Evan needed to know.

*~*~*

Epilogue:

The two proud ancient beings on the pier looked up at the dark night sky, their silvery manes falling untamed over their shoulders and black coats. Night had fallen over the Ancient City some time ago, and Kenneth had left his beautiful young warrior in the care of Colonel Sheppard and his friends to give him some time to rebond with them before he would return to the Hive with him to live there in the future. He already missed his mate, but he knew how important it was for Evan to talk to Sheppard as the only other human with a Wraith mate – just like he needed this time alone with his own friend and superior.

It was a truly astonishing experience to be allowed to walk through Atlantis without any guards following them around, and Kenneth knew that this was an accomplishment they all had to thank Evan for – the beautiful young man he'd fallen in love with so hopelessly and helplessly after just one single look into his deep-blue eyes. Without Evan's wish to live on board their Hive and his report about his new friends this wouldn't have happened so quickly, not even with the relationship blossoming between Evan's CO and his own Commander.

'You did not disappoint my faith in you, my friend. You never have, in fact, not in all those years, not throughout the millennia we spent together hoping for a peaceful future, and not when fate tore us apart and I thought that I'd lost you forever.'

His Commander's voice in his head was welcome as always, and still such a miracle after the terribly long decade he'd missed it so badly. Without Todd's unwavering friendship and trust in him, his loneliness would eventually have eaten him alive and cost him his sanity, Kenneth knew that all too well.

'True friendship can never be broken, Commander,' he sent back, and he didn't hold his own emotions back like he'd done so often in the past. Evan had taught him that showing feelings was not a weakness or shame, and he'd realized with shame that his own incapability to share his deepest feelings with his oldest friend had made it hard for Todd to do the same and let their friendship heal the wounds his long captivity had carved into his soul. He was the only one except for Sheppard his adored Commander could open up to, and he'd promised himself to be a better friend for him in the future and to not let his insecurities get in the way any longer.

'That is true.' The Commander looked at him, and Kenneth felt a sense of peace flowing through their mental bond.

'You know that I didn't understand the special bond between Colonel Sheppard and you. How you could possibly think of any human as your mate. Evan showed me how wrong I have been. There is so much our human friends can teach us, and I have the suspicion that many more of us will find their true mates among the New Lanteans in the future.' he mused, and Todd chuckled at that.

'You might be right with that, Second,' his amused thought came through their link, 'I shall hope that more humans will be brave enough to conquer the heart of a proud Wraith, so our dream of a bright and peaceful future will finally come true.'

Kenneth craned his head to look up at the stars twinkling in the dark sky. Somewhere out there, not visible for the limited vision of a human or even a Wraith, was the colorful nebula where everything had begun. It had already been there long before the first Wraith, and it would still be there when they all would only be a distant memory in the eternity of the universe. The thought was comforting instead of scaring to the Wraith who'd lived a life in solitude among his brethren for so long, and he smiled and reached for the familiar Hive mind of their crew in the orbit above the Ancient City.

The soft humming of their Wraith filled his mind, welcoming him in their midst like always, and when he reached out farther, searching for the unique mind-print of his beloved mate, he could feel Evan touching his mind for a moment, as well.

“The future is already here, the one we have always dreamed of. It is here in Atlantis and in our Hives, and I am sure that it will come to the rest of Pegasus one day, as well,” he said.

Todd nodded his head as he followed his gaze to where they could sense their Hive, hidden in the dark sky and yet so close.

“Yes, it is, and we will make the best out of it. A new era, Wraith and humans united in friendship. The Old Lanteans have been wrong. It is possible for Wraith and humans to live together in peace side by side.”

Kenneth smiled as he thought about the truth of it, and he couldn't wait to live this future with his mate by his side, his beautiful young warrior who'd taught him true love. With Evan he would never be lonely again, and the Wraith knew that Evan had been right about them from the very beginning:

They were truly a perfect match.