15. HYRAN
15
HYRAN
BAI TowerAI
Hello!
I am the building AI for building D-47a. It houses most of Ferrea’s hospitality agents. After the Op-AI’s death, I am concerned about my residents.
One of them, Conduit Lapatea, has left with a bag, and he hasn’t come home. I know he and Toso, a resident who died in the recent attack, took care of the Argentean team staying at the Tower.
Is Lapatea there? Is he safe? I am very concerned and don’t know who to contact if he’s not home soon.
TowerAI BAI
You needn’t worry, he’s here. At this very moment, he and Guardian Karmine are enjoying chien flour bites in the common area on their floor. Both look happy. I’m including five seconds of their interactions so you can verify this for yourself.
I would not normally do this, but he’s a Conduit, and he wears a white scarf of grief. I’ll inform you if and when he leaves, and who with. I think the Op-AI would have approved.
(GroundsChat, bot network of the Grounds)
A lot of the fear and turmoil settled with his Conduit nestled close to his chest, deep asleep and in that state, seeking nearness. Col was buffering as well, channeling off just drops of whatever overload had built in Hyran. That, too, was soothing.
I wish it were real, Hyran thought.
It could be, maybe. If he worked on it and Col did too. It was that hope he clung to, and like an ache, it kept him from passing out.
Hyran’s screen hummed where he’d put it on a small vanity in the corner. It was the alarm he’d set for the next dose of the medication Col needed to take.
Hyran sighed before running a hand along Col’s back, smooth and toned, unusual for a Conduit but maybe not so much so for a team lead who even ventured outside the walls.
At first Col didn’t stir, and Hyran would have let him sleep, but he couldn’t. It would be neglectful, and it might hurt Col.
Hyran whispered into Col’s ear. “Hey, Col. You have to wake up, at least enough to take a few pills. You can go right back to sleep after, hmm? Come on, open those pretty eyes for me.”
Col groaned. His arms came around Hyran to stretch and shake off sleep, and then he was awake, or sort of, still gloriously soft in this nest of a bed, and so warm.
“Did I drift off? What time is it? There’s so much work to do.”
Hyran stroked the back of Col’s head. “It’s fine. You were exhausted. You clearly needed this. But right now, you need those meds, okay?”
The Conduit sighed. “Fine. Lest I turn into one of those Guardians who can’t bear to follow a physician’s orders and thinks they know everything.”
“Those are the worst,” Hyran said.
Col looked up at him. “You’re making fun of me.”
“Maybe I just want to make you smile.”
Col bit his lip. Then he smiled. It was a tired smile, not genuine, but it was him trying, and Hyran appreciated that, the effort he made.
“Thank you for the sex,” Col said. “I really enjoyed that. And I needed it.”
Hyran pressed Col close, as close as he dared. “Anytime. Seeing you like that was a lot though, and if I ever pass out from being overcome by lust, please know that you did it. You’re beautiful.”
This time, the small chuckle was genuine. “That’s terrible, Guardian Hyran. Did you try to charm Conduits with that phrase before?”
“Not really.”
“Good. It’s not the best way to go about it.”
“Then what is? I have urgent cause to learn if you’re available to teach me.”
Col petted Hyran’s shoulder. “You’re actually not doing too badly, and believe me, that comes as a surprise.”
“A lesser Guardian than me would complain about the jibe, but I think I’ll focus on having exceeded your expectations.”
“Good answer. But in addition, I know I haven’t been doing the best to…to make it easy.” Col wiped an errant strand of hair out of his eye. “I can make it easy. Easier. I know the expectation, the way this kind of relationship thrives on exclusivity in all things physical. I can do that. I want you to know I can do that, and that you don’t have to worry about me seeking intimacy elsewhere.”
Hyran caught Col’s hand and tilted it so he could kiss the soft skin on his wrist. “I cannot deny that the thought of—you know. It’s…painful? To think about you being with another, or you and your team being this close. Which is odd. I remember when we were still in school and it came up, and everyone said they’d never give up being with other partners or force their Conduit to give up being with whoever they liked.”
“They told us it was more about the channeling than the intimacy, really, but sometimes, those two lie close together.” Col shrugged and turned on his back. “I don’t want to end up like Linar either. Plus, you’re a good lover. Keep it up, and I will be too exhausted to crave anyone else.”
“If that is a challenge, Col, you might want to reconsider.” Hyran let his hand wander to Col’s abdomen, splayed his fingers possessively. He would make this man want to be his. He’d never wanted anything in his life as much as he wanted Col’s love.
“Not right now. I need to get up and get back to everything. And a shower. Ugh, this hair…” He looked at Hyran. “I can make you cum if you’re interested in showering with me. I wouldn’t want to leave you neglected.”
The offer was casual, but it made Hyran hard immediately. “Yes. Please. I’ll take care of you too. I’ll do whatever you want me to do, Col. I want to learn all the things you like.”
“That’s interesting. And maybe it’s worth exploring.” He sighed. “Not now. You were saying about those meds.”
“I’ll get them.”
Hyran had never once experienced the physical excitement of sex in a way where that excitement mattered less than the person who was causing it.
But it was like that in the shower, which was almost too small for what the two of them were doing, almost. Like the bedroom, the bathroom had been done in dark colors, blues and purples, and seemed to have been built small with intent to make it cozy, relaxing even.
Hyran braced against the warm tiles of the walk-in shower stall, the running water drowning out the thumping of his heart.
“Anything you don’t want me to touch?” Col asked.
He’d fiddled with the water, had adjusted the temperature back and forth a few times, but seemed to have finally found the right setting.
“No. You do what you want. Or I can do what you want me to do.”
“Hmm.” Col turned and ran his fingers down the center of Hyran’s chest, all the way to where the Guardian kept just a well-trimmed patch of hair above his cock. “I think we’ll try that, Hyran. Touch yourself, just with one hand, put the other on my shoulder.”
Hyran complied immediately, his eyes fixed on the way Col looked under the spray, his hair slick with water and matted almost to the tip of his nose, his brown eye standing out brighter in the steam that was beginning to steal sight from them.
Col smiled before looking down. “Oh, that’s pretty basic. Just a nice firm grip and repeated movement for you?”
Hyran’s cock twitched. “Yes.”
“Stop that and play with your balls for a little bit.”
Hyran pressed his lips together and did so. It didn’t escape him that this was having an effect on Col also, and he wanted to pause, drop to his knees, take care of Col before anything else.
“Thing with showers, it’s difficult to tell whether this makes you dripping wet with precum or whether it’s just water and soap,” the Conduit mused. Droplets of water had collected on his long lashes.
“It’s not. I can show you. No. I’d rather suck you down my throat. Can I? Please, Col. I want to taste you.”
Col blinked water out of his eyes. “Such a giving Guardian. I meant to do this for you.”
“Tasting you is going to be for me. Please. Let me? Let me have you, let me…let me. Please.”
Let me love you, he wanted to say, let me love you in all the ways I can. It was too much too soon, too demanding and self-centered in the way Hyran didn’t want to be. Col needed time, Hyran knew, but it was difficult to act accordingly in this small space, this space that could become nothing between them if only they closed the distance that kept them apart.
Something he saw on Hyran’s face broke Col’s resolve. Hyran could tell by the softening lines around the Conduit’s mouth, the way his pectoralis tensed.
“Fine. Are you sure though? It’s already cramped in here, and you’re pretty tall for a Guardian.”
“I’m sure. Hold on to my hair.”
Col tilted his head which made more water run into his eyes and induced more blinking. Makes him look like a creature not from this world.
Hyran went into a half crouch and hoisted Col up by his thighs. The Conduit yelped, and water splashed, but then his hands went into Hyran’s hair, and his feet came to rest on Hyran’s knees before Hyran finally sank to his knees in the small space. Col stilled, letting Hyran take his weight.
“This works I suppose,” Col said, looking down at Hyran. Water broke the light around him, wrapping him in an ephemeral glow.
Hyran looked at Col’s building erection. Even his cock is beautiful. I cannot wait to taste him. “Will you tell me what you like? What you don’t like?”
“I’m always happy to play, but when it comes down to it, I’m very straightforward. Boring even. I just like the release, the rush of it. You like the way to get there, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“And being told how to get there.”
“Yes. Most of the time. I think with you, I like making you feel good. Do you even know how you look when you cum? It’s hypnotic.”
The falling water made the silence between them loud, and the way Col stared at Hyran could have been made into a poem, at least that’s what Hyran imagined. He couldn’t read the expression fully though, not yet, not quite.
One day I will know you well enough to know what you are thinking from the way you set your mouth or wrinkle your nose.
“Such a charmer. Open your mouth,” Col said, his fingers tensing around Hyran’s hair. “Any limitations?”
Hyran was quick to shake his head.
“All right. I can work with that.”
Col tilted Hyran’s head, and Hyran followed, allowing himself to be manipulated until the water fell directly in his eyes and mouth. He closed his eyes but left his mouth open, not wanting to disappoint or seem uninviting when he was craving this, was craving the opportunity to give to his Conduit in order to get his reward.
He felt Col move, made sure to hold him tightly even if the Conduit was half pressed against the wall of the shower stall. When Col fed him his cock, it was a precursor to bliss, and Hyran swallowed to get the water down, but also for his Conduit’s benefit.
It had the desired effect, a gasp the water couldn’t quite drown out. Hyran tilted his head slightly and dared open his eyes, but the water was splashing into them so that he couldn’t really see. It was a torture, both sweet and cruel. Hyran decided he would reciprocate in the only way he could.
There was work that went into mastering the art of making one’s throat available, in suppressing the gag reflex, but once that work was done, it became almost too easy. Hyran knew his skill, knew how to constrict and how to move his head and tense his throat to get the reaction he desired.
Col was delicious. Salty and sweet, the intensity dimmed by the spray. It didn’t hold Hyran back from enjoying every moment.
As Hyran licked and swallowed, Col wound the wet strands of hair he was holding on to around his fingers, telling Hyran something about what pace might work best to get his Conduit to plunge over the edge.
“Fuck, you are—this is good. This is good, Hyran. Yes.”
Col mumbled more, but the water washed the words away. It doesn’t matter. He likes it.
Hyran gave himself over to the mechanics of it and to the taste on his tongue, hating that he couldn’t watch Col lose himself.
Before too long, Col came down Hyran’s throat. Hyran could feel the buildup, welcomed it, then moaned with pleasure when he got to taste the salty cum, not enough of it, not if he had any say.
He made sure Col would let him savor everything, not that the Conduit had much control of himself just before or during. His thighs trembled under Hyran’s palms, and all the words had been replaced by watery moans and the sweetest whimpers echoing in the shower stall.
“Hyran,” Col said when he was done, pulling out before Hyran was quite done with him.
“So good.”
Hyran helped his boneless Conduit to stand, sort of, and because it was almost too much, seeing Col’s tawny skin flushed all over, Hyran took himself in hand again. It didn’t take much, not when Col looked up at him, mouth open and lips slick with water and lust.
Hyran’s release patterned Col’s stomach for moments before the water washed it away. Neither of them cared much. They looked into each other’s eyes until Hyran bent down and took Col’s lips in a punishing kiss that was need made bare, hunger, and the foundations of love, at least in Hyran’s heart.
I will share this heart with you, my Conduit, if you’ll let me, he thought but didn’t speak. Not yet, but eventually. For now, to taste you is enough of joy.