Chapter Text
Aboard Titania, Maximus’s Personal Quarters, October 20th 2142, 11:58 PM
Maximus was in excellent physical condition for a human male in his late 40s, but McSweeny outpaced him spite of her age. She led them up and down exterior and interior hallways, plus trips on all six elevators and the anti-grav stairwells, before finally walking them to the very end of a long, deserted, and windowless hallway on Deck 7.
“We’re going topside,” she warned him as she pushed through into another anonymous spiral stairwell. “Hope you’re not afraid of heights or big open spaces.”
Maximus chose not to respond. He simply followed, his wide shoulders almost brushing the walls. He hated to admit it even just to himself, but he was coming (hopefully) to the end of an exceptionally long and stressful day, and all he really wanted to do was lie down and close his eyes for a few minutes.
The antigrav boosters built into the stairwell helped, at least. He took the stairs two at a time, pausing only when McSweeny stopped at the top and leaned forward to submit her eyes to a retinal scan.
When the last door opened, Maximus found himself a small vestibule painted a muted olive green. The wall on his right featured a large painting of the English countryside, complete (for some reason) with sheep. After the relentless whites and greys of the rest of the airship’s public areas, he found the change deeply refreshing.
“Titania will log your retinals the first time you leave the suite,” McSweeny said. A tall door, elegant in paler green, silently slid open in front of her. She stepped aside and made a sweeping gesture toward it, her ironic smile a shade less hostile. “Owners first!”
Maximus dug deep into his energy reserves to step through that door — and found himself momentarily speechless.
He was a multi-millionaire even now, and accustomed to tasteful opulence. He just hadn’t expected to find it on a cargo airship.
His suite was situated along the upper spine of Titania’s reinforced envelope, and the ceiling was composed of ten huge, slightly curved rectangles of crystal clear dura-glass. Uncountable stars shone and twinkled above an open-concept layout in shades of green with silver accents. The carpet underfoot felt deep and luxurious, pure mercy to his tired feet, and subtle lighting fixtures called attention to the starboard cluster of one couch and two armchairs in front of a long, low fireplace’s glowing embers.
Tucked into starboard corner on the forward end was a square of composite flooring, equipped with a basic set of work-out machines. It included a water cooler and a rack full of towels, and two sleek doors close beside it hinted at a bathroom, at least.
But the most impressive feature by far was the elevated bed. It was situated against the port windows which angled down to meet it: an ultra-king with white and scarlet bedding, surrounded by an artful wooden railing and reached by eight vertical feet of wide ivory-hued stairs.
McSweeny chuckled wryly behind him: “Don’t have a financial heart attack! You authorized a budget of ten thousand newbucks, and TEM already had pre-cast parts in their inventory. The whole thing clocks in at a hair under eight point five K.”
Joe stepped up beside him, then one step further into the room. With both hands in his pockets, he executed a slow graceful two-part dancer’s spin to take it all in, his slightly parted lips and wider-than-usual eyes telling a tale of wonder — and wholehearted approval for what he was seeing.
Maximus had to admit: “It’s most impressive. Please convey my compliments to the designers.”
“I’ll leave you to get acquainted with your new digs,” McSweeny replied wryly. “Remember, breakfast’s at 0700 — Titania will send a service mech if you need it brought up for you. There’s a kitchen beside the weights there — not much, but it’ll make coffee and warm up MREs. Which are already equipped, by the way.”
She left without further pleasantries. Joe was still looking around, taking everything in.
As for Maximus, his internal battery crashed as soon as the outer door closed behind her. For one of the few times in his adventurous life, he was truly and completely exhausted. To climb the stairs to the bed wasn’t to be thought of. Instead he headed straight for the couch and dropped his ass onto it, relaxing against the buttery-smooth upholstery and tipping his head back to close his eyes. The room was very slightly chilly, an effect alleviated by the warmth radiating from the artificial coals in the fireplace.
We’re safe — or as safe as we can be, under the circumstances. And not only us: everybody made it across to the airships. We’ve gained eighteen new ubermecha since leaving Rouge, and lost not a one.
He smiled widely and permitted himself a moment of unqualified self-satisfaction.
No matter what challenges lie ahead, I’ve brought them this far.
Finally... I can afford to rest...
“Poor darling!” Joe’s voice murmured from somewhere above him. Long fingers were carding slowly through his forelock, relaxing him even more.
When had he lain down on his right side? His head was in Joe’s lap and the warmth of the fireplace felt more intense on his face. His shoes had been taken off and his legs were curled up on the couch’s broad cushions, his bent knees just over the edge. He had no idea how long he’d been sleeping, but the space overhead was still dark.
“Time?” His precisely modulated voice was slurred. He honestly couldn’t bring himself to care.
“1:01 AM.”
The industrial hum that had been obvious in all other parts of Titania was here a blessed silence. Not the slightest trace of physical vibration reached them.
Safe.
The mecha’s voice conveyed his indulgent smile. “No coffee for you, I think... shall we retire to the bed? It can’t be comfortable for you, lying on such a narrow couch.”
“Your lap is the most comfortable thing I can imagine right now.” He cleared his throat and spoke with slightly better vocal control: “There’s only one thing in the world that could make this better.”
In Joe’s skeptical silence he clearly heard the robot’s raised eyebow.
“Come here,” Maximus rumbled.
The couch turned out to be wide enough for two humanoids after all, with Joe pushed all the way back against the vertical cushions and Maximus pressed against his willowy body from shoes to chest.
Joe’s lips opened against his, inviting him to indulge in a lover-robot’s superlative skills. But Maximus shook his head slightly. He rested his left cheek on top of Joe’s right to whisper hoarsely in his ear:
“Jasmine... Tendril... Equinox...”
The way that Joe shivered awake against him was far more arousing than any drug. Maximus did not seize what lay before him: he was still too exhausted for that, and besides, instinct was guiding him down a different path where every kiss was slow and thorough and unhurried — tasting each other, not devouring. Their hands were likewise leisurely: fingertips trailing, palms warm, gently grasping shoulder and nape of neck, petting down arms and resting a moment on waists before exploring again.
The silence of the room was now full, full, full: shared breath both organic and mechanical, the softest humming when lips met lips and lingered, set to the back-beat of a human heart.
Did Allen Hobby ever kiss you like this? The question was on the tip of Maximus’s tongue, but he bit it back and instead employed his tongue to lick slightly between Joe’s parted lips. Joe’s body reacted instantly: arching slightly against him, twining his left leg with Maximus’s right to pull him even closer. Close enough to feel more plainly the full erection inside his dove-grey suit pants. Beautiful heat pressed against Maximus’s lower belly, right above his own three-quarter full cock.
Most of Joe’s clients would be half-mad with lust by now. It was, after all, what he had been created to do: a skill set that thousands of expert man hours had been poured into making absolutely perfect.
Physical pleasure is one thing, Maximus reflected. But this... what could possibly be more exquisite than this balanced fusion between mind and body and heart?
At last he drew back just enough to whisper: “I could kiss you forever.”
Joe smiled and opened his tinted eyelids, gazing into Maximus’s eyes with a teasing twinkle. “I take it you’ve forgiven me for interrupting your shower?”
Maximus’s answering smile was evil. “I suppose I have.”
“Mmm!” Joe had long since pulled off Maximus’s tie and dropped it on the floor. He ducked his sculpted chin and nuzzled into the gap in the human’s white shirt, pressing three teasing kisses up the line of his throat. “A wise decision, my friend!”
He chuckled and tightened his left arm around Joe’s slim waist. “You said it yourself: Why should I leave you, to wound myself upon the sharp edges of the night?”
This time Joe’s sigh sounded like one of pure contentment. He raised his head and glanced over his own shoulder in the direction of the totally extra bed.
Maximus shook his head. He curved his right forefinger against Joe’s cheek, guiding that sleek head to face him. “Will you let me pleasure you tonight? I already have everything I need,” he added when Joe’s fine black eyebrows tightened anxiously.
“Would you deprive me of the task I adore so much?” Joe protested.
He let his essential wickedness purr through every word: “Oh, I think I’m capable of making you forget a little thing like duty.” His right hand had already stroked down Joe’s side — and lower, savoring the electric shiver that coursed through a delicious body created to be the banquet, never the diner. “Now stop arguing, little mecha — am I your master, or am I not?”
The softest exhalation breathed warmth and perfume against Maximus’s lips: “Yes, of course — you, and only you...”
Maximus closed in for the kill. He shifted even closer, trapping Joe tight against the couch, rolling his partner in crime slightly underneath him and getting a good solid grip. When he rubbed the ball of his thumb over the plump head of Joe’s erection through two layers of cloth, Joe uttered a beautiful moan, as if no barriers at all lay between them.
That yearning cry surged through Maximus’s body like a jolt of electicity, pushing his own cock closer to full hardness. He fumbled Joe’s button and fly open then slipped his hand boldly all the way inside to deliver slow firm strokes, gradually increasing the pace. Joe wrapped his left hand around the nape of Maximus’s neck and clung, resting his right cheek against the human’s left shoulder. His artificial breath came in gasps that communicated the succulent essence of willing submission.
“Tell me what you want,” Maximus ordered against the curve of Joe’s artificial hair.
A musical murmur: “You know what I need...”
“I want to hear it.” He paused and squeezed harder. “In fact, I demand it.”
Joe entwined their legs even more tightly. “Let me spend my passion in your hand, my darling,” he softly cried, “and then let me pleasure you with my mouth! You know what I’m capable of, I’ll make it so very, very good...”
A lively duel of wills with a lustful drumbeat was energizing, but symphonies of more sublime composition lay above and beyond. Joe’s plea transmuted Maximus’s studied march of brutality into a flood of mercy that nearly cracked his armoured heart wide open. He began to stroke again, leaning in to speak quietly in Joe’s ear:
“Solstice... Astral... Eclipse...”
And if there was a more beautiful sound than Joe’s uninhibited moan when his wet warmth started coating his orga’s fingers, Maximus had no earthly idea what it might be.
His own climax a few minutes later was almost an afterthought: exhaustion had crept back in and he was half-floating as he sat back on the couch while Joe ministered to his needs. The spectacle of this proud, unique being kneeling before him to worship him drummed tonight’s keyword deeper into his brain: Safe. Safe. Safe.
When at last he found himself in the elevated bed with Joe carefully pulling the covers over his naked body, he knew what was about to happen: the lover-mecha-turned-spy was going to prowl the airship in the wee hours, his unblinking eyes open for any useful intel.
Sharp! Bright! Cunning!
My unsleeping guardian.
Safe.
Maximus granted Joe one last drowsy smile before closing his eyes and surrendering to deep, dark sleep without any dreams to remember.