Benediction

People tended to give me a wide berth when I was in a foul mood, and that was just fine with me. I scowled as I strode through the harshly lit corridor, parting a stream of wary-looking humans and junior hunters who drew back against the walls and gawked as I passed. It occurred to me that few of them had seen me out of my red battle armor before, certainly not in civilian clothing. I clawed my badly tangled mane out my eyes and wished I had taken a few minutes to straighten it out after my turbulent mission. I'm such a spectacle, I thought dryly to myself, cursing as I nearly tripped over my borrowed jeans. Wearing clothing was taking a lot longer to get used to than I had anticipated.

So far only a handful of us high-ranking hunters in the base had received the latest hardware upgrade, which helped explain some of the stares I was receiving. Some reploid scientist hoping to make a killing had initially developed the upgrade to allow humans the ability to venture outdoors, where the fallout would eat away at their delicate systems, by replacing their biological components with synthetic ones. He hadn’t anticipated the overwhelming response he’d received from fellow reploids, who wondered if the same procedure could be modified to allow them to live human-like lifestyles. Hundreds flocked to him to have their outer armor removed and their metallic underbodies replaced with synthetic muscular-skeletal systems, nerves, and flesh, making them appear human to all but the most sensitive scan.

We hunters had signed up for the upgrade under the assumption that it would improve relations with our human coworkers. At least, that was how X had justified it on the expense claim form he’d filed with Guardian Arms, our new corporate overlords. Truthfully, we’d all had our own reasons, some less diplomatically minded than others. I sincerely had hoped, though, that it would inspire the managerial types to treat us a little less like mindless, expensive equipment and more like the sentient, rational beings that we were.

The perks of the upgrade continued to impress us with each passing day: the ability to sleep in a real bed, to shower, to feel all kinds of sensation against our synthetic skin, even pleasure and pain. My scowl melted briefly as I recalled the day when X and I had discovered just how thorough the upgrade process had been. It had certainly added a new dimension to our friendship. . .

I entered the turbolift and slapped the controls, leaning wearily against the wall as it rose. My mission had taken me to New Atlantis, one of the areas worst hit by the near-apocalyptic Eurasia crash. We hunters had kept a small dispatch center there that had been destroyed and presumably abandoned with the rest of the city. I was sent in to retrieve whatever records I could from the main computer since it was too badly damaged for a remote recovery. Once inside I’d been ambushed by the surviving staff, who seemed to have all been infected with the Sigma virus before becoming trapped in the ruins. My buster arm was rendered completely useless in the ensuing scuffle, so when I returned to base I’d been forced to leave my armor in Douglas’s workshop and pilfer some clothing for the walk back to my quarters.

Even so, it wasn’t the mission itself that frustrated me, it was the quagmire of meetings and red tape that haunted every operation we undertook these days. Signas had been there to greet me a short while ago as I stepped out of the teleport hub, and had reluctantly informed me that I was to report to a department debriefing session within the hour. Having suffered through several of those already, I knew exactly what kind of circus I was in for this morning: sitting in the hot seat of the boardroom, surrounded by suits and the stifling scent of too many bodies, and being bombarded by mind-numbing questions about the mission until even I began to doubt my own judgment. Then the paperwork would begin, followed by any number of performance reviews and either a slap on the wrist, which I didn’t care for, or a stiff commendation, which I cared for even less. I bit the inside of my cheek in disgust. What the hell do a bunch of suits know about fighting Mavericks, anyway? They would all die of a heart attack if they came face-to-face with Sigma! I knew that after the Nightmare fiasco we’d been too exhausted to refuse the arms conglomerate’s offer to buy us out, our staff and supplies having already been decimated by the colony crash. Still, I couldn’t help longing for the old days, when our teamwork and intuition alone had been enough to keep the Maverick threat at bay.

The turbolift glided to a halt, and I stepped out into base’s residential wing. The thought of spending a few minutes with X before my torture session cheered me up immensely. As I headed down the hallway to our shared quarters I tried raking my fingers through my hair so it looked less like I’d walked through a hurricane to get there, giving up when I realized the magnitude of the task. Maybe I would enlist X’s help later. I reached our door and keyed the unlock code.

The sight of X before the mirror greeted me as I stepped inside, locking the door behind me. He cut a striking figure in his olive grey dress uniform, even if he seemed to be having difficulty buttoning his jacket. He looked up from his task and smiled.

“Hey, you,” he greeted me, his voice filled with a genuine warmth that my ears had been missing for days.

“Morning, sunshine,” I drawled, lazily. He scowled at the inane expression and I chuckled. “What’s the occasion?” I asked, nodding towards his formal attire.

“I just heard from Signas. He wants me to be present at your debriefing, acting as sort of a middleman between you and the executives.” X gave me a wry grin. “I guess he doesn’t want you flying off the handle at them again.”

“Doesn’t he, now,” I snorted, recalling the incident in question. “Well, that’s handy. After last night I’m going to need all the help I can get against those vultures.” And maybe X and I’ll get to spend a bit more time together, I thought eagerly.

“How’d that go, by the way?” he asked. “I know I’ll hear the whole story in painful detail soon enough, but it’d be good to hear the condensed version from you first.” He watched my progress in the mirror as I picked my way across the room and sank into his desk chair.

I kicked off my borrowed sneakers and chuckled darkly. “Wouldn’t have been so bad if the welcome wagon hadn’t been rolled out for me.”

X furrowed his brow at his reflection. “What do you mean? I thought the base was supposed to be deserted.”

“ So did I. Turns out most of the hunters there survived the collision, they’d just been trapped in a bunker when the power failed – ”

X spun around, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “Survivors! After all this time? That’s incredible!”

“ – all of them berserk and infected as hell,” I finished.

His face fell abruptly. “Go on,” he urged, after he’d had a moment to digest the bleak news.

“They must have received a massive dose of the Sigma virus. I’ve never seen it so bad. Some of them were screaming,” I recalled, shivering a little. “Anyway, they put up pretty heavy resistance, but I managed to take them all down.”

X recoiled as if struck. “You did what?”

“I retired them, X,” I repeated, raising an eyebrow at his outburst.

“Our guys, Zero!”

“Not anymore, they weren’t,” I retorted, finding myself growing defensive even though we’d been arguing along these lines a good deal lately. Stop torturing yourself, X.

“You could’ve brought them back. We could have done something to – ”

“No, I couldn’t have,” I countered. “X, they were so far gone, they didn’t even know who they were anymore. Sooner or later they would have figured a way out of the ruins, and then what?” He still looked doubtful, so I pushed a bit harder. “I had to take care of them, X. I’m sure that’s what they would have wanted.”

He flinched and looked away, his hands balling into fists at his sides, and for a moment a tense silence hovered between us. I chewed my lip worriedly, immediately regretting my choice of words. Deep down I knew I wasn’t the intended target of his frustration. X must be under even more stress than I am, I thought, my earlier huff melting away with a twinge of guilt.

I tried to lighten the mood. “I made it back in one piece, thanks for asking,” I teased.

He immediately looked back at me, his eyes filling with remorse. “I’m sorry, Zero,” he sighed. “You’re right, you’re absolutely right. It’s just that all we’ve done, what little good we’ve managed to secure. . . sometimes it doesn’t seem worth all the wasted lives.”

“I know,” I replied, softly, catching the veiled reference to his own life. I knew X often mulled over what might have transpired had he done things differently. More and more often he seemed to be reaching the conclusion that it would have been better for everyone involved had he not bothered to take up arms in the name of peace. The contradiction had always placed a strain on his conscience.

He blew out his breath and managed a weak smile, which indicated to me his willingness to move away from the subject. The chair creaked as I stood, succumbing to a sudden urge to take him into my arms. He chuckled as I enveloped him from behind, nipping playfully at his ear. Retaliation came swiftly, as he twisted in my grip and commandeered my lips with his own. Surprised, I closed my eyes and let him have his way for a moment while his hands reached up to grab handfuls of my hair. Before long I was inspired to deepen the kiss, parting his lips with my tongue. He sighed softly against me and I felt the heat blossom in my core. The sounds I managed to draw out of him when we were together always awoke something fierce inside me. I could hardly resist pulling him closer so that his inviting hips brushed satisfyingly against mine, where they fit so perfectly well. The sensation proved a bit much for X as he broke the kiss with a gasp, panting slightly. My own breath was a little ragged as I stared down at him hungrily, a smirk tugging at my lips. He colored beneath my gaze, and I thought I could detect a bit of longing behind his own eyes, but nevertheless he opened his mouth to chide us both.

“Aren’t we going to be late for your – ”

“We have time,” I cut in, dismissively. X raised a dubious eyebrow. “Hey, it’s not like they can start without me,” I retorted.

He shook his head and chuckled at my logic. There was no way in hell that I’d win him over with words – that was his talent – so I elected to take a more hands-on approach. X’s laughter died with a muffled yelp as I snatched up his lips in a devouring kiss, sliding one hand surreptitiously under his half-buttoned jacket. He resisted virtuously once his initial shock had passed, but I knew better, rolling my thumb over one ersatz nipple until it became hard as candy. The instant I felt his resolve begin to waver I decided to press my advantage. I let up on his lips for a moment and began kissing a fierce path along his neck, pausing every so often to nip at his tender earlobe. He shifted his hips slightly and moaned before he could stop himself, making me shiver with sudden surge of lust. I sank my teeth into the shell of his ear before running my tongue over the reddening flesh. X inhaled sharply then, his fingernails tracing restless patterns along either side of my spine. He craned his neck to look at the wall chronometer over my head, and I pictured a squabble taking place between his nagging conscience and his largely untapped rebellious streak. Finally he tugged on my hair to make me stop tormenting the sensitive area behind his ear. I leaned back to meet his gaze and nearly lost control when I saw the sensual resolve there. X favored me with a wry smile, and then rocked up on his tiptoes to whisper in my ear.

“I just can’t say no to you,” he murmured, mischievously, before shoving me without ceremony onto the twin cots we’d pushed together to make our bed, the fall and the erotic turn of events knocking me speechless. Pushing the hair from my eyes, I watched him fumble briefly with his jacket buttons before tugging the whole thing over his head and letting it fall to the floor. I followed his lead, barely managing to shrug out of my sweater before X leaned over me, his fingers having better luck with my belt buckle. I growled eagerly in anticipation as he planted blazing kisses above the waist of my jeans before removing them and my underwear in one practiced motion.

He stretched out beside me and leaned over for a kiss, one hand cradling my neck while the other slid in maddeningly light patterns over my torso, venturing ever lower until my hips jerked in impatience. Still, I wasn’t quite prepared for when he suddenly seized my aching arousal and gave it one firm, forceful stroke, eliciting a cry from me that I knew the entire residential wing had overheard. I started to chide him but the words dissolved into hitching moans as he took up a slower, though hardly less deliberate, rhythm. I clutched the sheets around me and writhed under his touch, forcing my eyes open so I could look up at my tormenting lover. He had let up on kissing me, like he always did, so he could watch my reactions, his eyes wide with wonder. I bit my lip and reached for the waist of his uniform pants, watching breathlessly how he shivered when my fingers brushed his erection. He quickly understood my intent and released me so I could remove the last remaining barriers to his naked skin. No sooner were the offending garments around his ankles than I positioned myself between his legs, swirling my tongue around the tip of his length before taking him into my mouth fully. He gasped and hummed contentedly, raking his restless fingers through my hair as I moved up and down with gusto. Soon enough I sensed by his breathing and the way his muscles tensed that he was nearing release, so I slowed immediately, smirking at his ensuing grunt of frustration. Emboldened, I reached underneath him with two fingers and began gently teasing his opening, still running my lips along his shaft. He shivered and murmured something I couldn’t quite understand, though it sounded like a plea, so I left off my oral ministrations for a moment and pulled myself up to lie down next to him.

“What’d you say?” I asked, continuing to work him with my fingers. X blushed endearingly and averted his gaze. I smiled and leaned in closer to listen as he whispered something in my ear. I nearly bit through my lip to keep my desire in check, so fired was I by his request and the sweetly plaintive manner with which he had voiced it. I was only too happy to comply, scrambling to position myself over him so that our hips were almost touching. He reached up with one hand to stroke my cheek and I kissed it affectionately.

“I love you,” came his voice then, dreamlike, breathless with anticipation. My heart panged at those words. A surge of emotion rendered speech impossible, so instead I took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly before moving forward to claim him. He flinched and sucked in his breath between clenched teeth as I worked my way inside of him. Wanting to help him fight through the pain, I rocked him gently until his breathing grew more even, and he began to relax a little around me. I angled my hips in search of the deep pleasure point the upgrade procedure had supplied us with beyond all belief. X bit his hand to stave off a moan of delight, his emerald eyes pleading and wide with profound devotion. I was so overcome by the sheer seductive sight of him beneath me that I buried my face in his neck and thrust harder, dimly aware that I was sobbing his name. We clutched each other desperately, locked in a rhythm and dimension of our own creation and fighting toward release. Suddenly X gave a cry of relief and shivered, his nails digging deeply into my shoulders. The pain was enough to jolt me into my own shuddering climax, and my vision dissolved into static as I rode wave after wave of pure electric pleasure.

Soon, far too soon for my liking, reality came crashing back over us. At some point we stared at each other with the wide-eyed realization that if we didn’t move now we’d be hopelessly late for the damned debriefing. I quickly kissed him, moaning a little against his lips as one last shudder wracked my sated body. We unhooked ourselves and immediately set to the task of making ourselves decent. I scooped up X’s jacket from where he’d let it drop and tossed it in his direction. Groping blindly under the bed I found where I had stashed my own uniform. As we dressed I couldn’t help but chuckle softly at X’s expense. His neck was covered with suspicious red welts that his collar just wouldn’t hide. He glared at me, but there was mirth behind his eyes.

“Might give them something to think about,” he observed sagely. “And so might this,” he added, tugging on my mane, which was much the worse for wear from our roll in the hay.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Let’s get this charade over with.”

“Agreed.”

Before we turned to go I pulled him in for one last kiss. Fate had been pretty sadistic to us both, I realized, not least of all by sticking our beloved organization in the hands of grasping pencil pushers. Worse, X seemed to be on the verge of losing faith in himself and all that he’d accomplished through agony and tears. I held him tightly, hoping that would never happen. X was the source of all my faith, and so long as he and I fought side by side, I knew I could never do wrong.