Perfect Control

It was late, the halls of Hunter Tower were dim and quiet on night-setting, and X and Zero were making their way toward their rechargers in no particular hurry. Punch drunk with victory and low energy, they were leaning against each other, Zero's arm draped loosely over X's shoulders. Zero whispered obscene, outrageous things to his partner in sly murmurs. The blue Hunter snickered too, even while he flushed red at his friend's crudeness. They traded small giggly kisses all down the hall. No one was around to stop them.

"Mm," Zero pouted, lips pink from X nibbling on them, "Damn, we're here already... Guess this is where we split up?" X's charger slot was beside them now; Zero's was further down the hall.

X sighed, brushing the back of his hand along Zero's cheek. "Unfortunately. Unless you feel like..." He paused, and then an evil glint came into his green eyes; one that made Zero's brows rise.

Zero leaned forward, a blue eye narrowing. "Unless I feel like...?"

The blue Hunter grinned redly, and mumbled something Zero just barely heard, something that made his face flush even brighter.

"... You're serious?" Zero blinked. "I mean, sure, if you want but... are you sure?"

X's guilty grin turned coy, and he nodded eagerly. "I'm sure."

"Well then..." Zero drawled, lusty malice slowly spreading over his face. "Come here." X obeyed with a nervous chuckle and Zero enveloped him, seizing X's wrists and raising his arms so that they crossed over his chest. "Don't make a sound," the ex-Maverick purred against X's throat, letting his canines brush the Hunter's skin. "If you do, I'll hurt you. Do you understand?"

Shivering, X nodded tightly, eyes sinking closed. His core began to pulse harder, and his lips slid apart.

Zero sank his teeth into X's neck, biting down as he activated his teleporter. X's startled cry was lost as their bodies dissolved together into a narrow needle of light.

~ ~ ~

There was a certain lagoon, a dark and secret pool that they knew, a pristine cave deep inside the heart of the Himalayas that no other eyes had ever seen. The black waters pooled inside the deep stone pocket were utterly pure, and large crystals grew from the walls. Yellow light refracted in the raw stones as Zero and X reformed, Zero's teeth still gripping X's throat. He'd drawn blood, just a tiny tease of it, a thin red line bubbling up beneath his lips as he exhaled savagely along X's skin. X groaned and tipped his head to the side, lost in the sensation of teeth piercing his skin, blood throbbing under Zero's mouth.

But Zero shoved X to the floor and smirked. "Here. Now you can scream all you want. Scream, cry, beg...it's all good to me." His head was spinning with the taste of blood- it'd been a long, long time since he'd allowed himself to have that particular pleasure, and it was shocking to realize how much he'd missed it. He had to be careful, he knew, but X had said this was all right...

X caught himself against the black stone, neck throbbing, hands scraped and stinging. He gasped, and twisted to shoot a defiant glare up at the red terror. "You think you can get away with this?"

"Actually..." Zero took two steps forward until he loomed over X, and in the dark hollow cave his footsteps echoed ominously. "I know I will. You wanted this to happen... you let it happen. So I think I'd like to hear a little begging now." A crackling sphere of dark purple lightning suddenly erupted from his frame, and he disappeared in a surge of terrible power for an instant; when he reappeared, it was in the demonic form of Absolute Zero, black wings lined in hell-light unfolding behind him, razor-sharp claws hooked over his fingers. He hung above the ground majestic in evil, and his hair fluttered around his shoulders.

"Get on your knees and beg me to hurt you, X."

The blue Hunter sucked in his breath, feeling his face burning as Zero's sadistic tone trickled down his spine like ice water and took root somewhere deep, deep inside. "I..." He swallowed hard, eyes jamming shut, and lowered his head while he awkwardly wrenched himself around to kneel. He struggled to force the words out, past his firewalls of guilt and duty, to give voice to dark longings he always, always suppressed normally. He was safe with Zero, he knew, and Zero would never blame him... "... Please, Zero." His voice came out trembling, thin and soft, totally submissive. "Please punish me."

Zero bit back a moan, X's tone stirring predatory instincts, and he swooped down to grab X's chin with his claws and carress X's jaw with the point of one finger. "Tell me how, X," he rasped, struggling to speak through rising lust. "What kind of pain do you deserve?"

"I want..." Bite me, drain me, get inside me... "...your teeth back on my neck..." He threw himself open to Zero, dropping all his defenses, letting Zero feel his surrender on every level.

X, oh god... "Liked that, did you...?" Zero could barely breathe now; he snatched up X and spun him around, placing a shaky kiss over the back of his partner's shoulder, dragging his tongue over the rivulet of blood still on X's throat. He slid an arm across X's collar, planting his hand hard on the blue Hunter's left shoulder; X whimpered and pressed a hand against his gauntlet, and bared his throat again.

Zero's mouth hovered over the tiny, precise fang-marks of his earlier bite for a few moments, tongue flicking them clean before he carefully retook them, his teeth easing back into X; they both groaned together, and Zero tentatively drew a mouthful of blood, nearly fainting with satisfaction at the taste filling his mouth. X was panting savagely, and his fingers pushed into Zero's arm, urgently. "... harder."

With a quick push of his wings Zero lifted them both off the ground, setting them drifting over the black waters below. X's moans were egging him on; he drank again, shivering with terror and joy as his Maverick side slipped its chains- he was going to devour X- he put his arm around that thin perfect waist and covered that gasping mouth with his palm and bit in deeper, X's stifled mewling driving him mad... It was perfection, utter fulfillment, peace beyond understanding, X's breathing was slowing and his blood was magnificent and somewhere deep in Zero's mind an ancient straw man cackled a dry and eager laugh...

... and Zero stopped himself, somehow, tore his bloody lips away from X's skin and gasped aloud, giving a soft cry. "No!"

X stirred against him, dazed and riding the pain; Zero hugged him that much harder, kissing his neck and uncovering his mouth. "... I can't," he whispered. "X...It'd be easy for me to kill you like that. Too damn easy." Guilt twisted across his face and Zero let them drop until their feet were just above the motionless lake, and X let out a deep long breath.

"Zero, it's all right..."

"No, it's not! It's not okay!" Zero pressed his face into X's shoulder, shivering. "That's the endorphins talking."

"Zero," X whispered, his voice shaking but lucid, "Please. Just this once... just this one time. Let me feel what it's like to surrender completely, not taken in pain but out of love... I want it."

Aching, Zero felt his gut twist, his voice lock in his throat. "I can't lose you..."

"You won't. I trust you... you won't let me go that far." X glanced over his shoulder, touching his nose to Zero's brow, breathing hot and eager. "And you want this too... you need it...it's okay. Maybe this can finally put that ghost of yours to rest."

Zero took a deep breath, licked his lips clean. The taste sent him spiraling again... "I do want it," he murmured, "... it felt so good, X..."

X raised a hand and pulled Zero's head back to his throat with a smile. Unable to bear the longing, Zero gasped and bit down once more, the secret circuit completing as he sent a savage pulse into X along with his teeth, and X cried his name. Zero's body throbbed as he slowly lowered them both into the center of the dark water; steam hissed up from the Absolute armor. They sank in to their hips, and X's eyes slid closed as he sighed a contented, fading breath in Zero's arms.

But this time Zero was in perfect control. He knew exactly the moment to let up, and he breathed out tenderly along X's skin, initiating Cooldown, holding the blue Hunter close. No ghosts cackled in Zero's mind, and his Maverick cravings seemed minute and far away; his mind was utterly clear and calm.

X made a soft noise after a few moments and lifted his head, blinking fuzzily in the dark. "Mmmh... Zero." He sounded weary but pleased, and rubbed at his green eyes, chuckling as things came back into focus. He brought his hands up and swaying lightly against his partner. "Thank you... that was amazing," he said simply. He turned to face Zero, disturbing the dark waters surrounding them into long ripples, and draped his arms over Zero's shoulders.

"Amazingly stupid," Zero touched one of the marks torn in X's synthskin with a fingertip, shakily. "You know that was stupid, right?" He frowned, looking hard into X's bright eyes.

X nodded, biting his lip. "...I know." He linked his fingers along the back of Zero's neck, "But you kept control. I knew you would."

"X... What if I hadn't?" Zero lowered his head.

"Zero." Guilt crept into X at the obvious distress his partner was radiating. He pulled Zero closer and brushed his hand down the back of the former Maverick's helmet. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Zero," he whispered, paling at the thought of having hurt his friend. "I just..."

"I know." Zero murmured back, slipping his arms around X's waist and hooking his chin over the blue Hunter's shoulder. He drew a long breath, willing himself to relax. X was fine, he hadn't done anything they hadn't both wanted - he told himself that repeatedly. "I know. It'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" X nudged his temple against Zero's. "Because if it isn't... tell me now so we never do this again. I won't let you be hurt by my ..." He looked aside. "It's supposed to be fun for both of us."

Zero's lips rolled into a downward slant, disappointed. "Don't want to cut us off like that. I just..." He breathed in hard. "... I didn't know how strongly it was going to make me feel... I wasn't prepared. That's all. Next time..." His blue eyes regained much of their poise, "Next time, I'll know better."

X brought his eyes back to Zero's, shyly. "Next time?"

"If you're very good." Zero leaned back and ran his fingertip down X's nose with a slight smile. "And don't scare the shit out of me like that again for a while. I'll do damn near anything you want most of the time- I'm your slave- but I won't be your killer. And I won't let you use me to punish yourself, either."

The blue Hunter blushed fiercely at the last, and nodded. "Okay."

"That all said," Zero murmured, brushing his tongue over his lips to catch the last faded hints of X's blood, "...feel up to switching? Since you were kinda topping from the bottom there anyway." He smirked. "And boy, I've been bad today."

X blinked for a moment, and then threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Zero, you hypocrite!" Tugging the blond close, X let his blush melt into a coy grin, "As a matter of fact..."