Now I'm seeing red, not thinking straight

[reliantnav]

It was strange, how suddenly the world had changed at the end of the war. The alliance had suddenly unlocked some classified new ability that only certain fighters could wield, and only through the use of navigators, but any navigator would do, and the rumors were that the technique used navigators up and drained them, making them disposable. Interchangeable. Not like the rare and highly-skilled fighters.

With the end of the war, a general--a fighter--had taken over presidency of the alliance with a landslide victory. The surviving fighters were all war heroes, lavishly rewarded.

And Abel, at the top of his class, was still in the academy at the end of the war, and graduated with no war and no purpose. But the alliance was what he wanted, and he'd worked to earn his title as a navigator, so he took it, and the position he was offered. He was to be paired with a fighter, one of the war heroes of the alliance. An honor, they said, that he'd earned, through his hard-work and skill.

But that wasn't quite right, because there wasn't a war anymore. They'd wiped out the Colterons, and they had enough military power to conquer any other races that appeared within reach. Abel didn't know what this position was, with his assignment to a fighter. He was given the code name to match his fighter: Cain.

It occurred to him that some navigator before had been called Abel. Whoever that navigator was, they were probably dead now.

Packing up his little room at the academy, Abel boarded a transport and went to meet his fate.

Comments

[reliantnav]

"You're a jerk," Abel snapped, feeling hurt, skittish, and in shock about everything that had just happened, but still making relatively little objection about it. He was trembling a little, emotions trying to catch up with how he felt about all of this, now that what he'd fantasized and what he'd wanted had blended in a way that he hadn't expected.

[fightflight]

Cain just hums in agreement. He is a jerk, but Abel will get used to that too.

He lets go of Abel's hair and slides his hand down his back until he can grab those hips again, letting out a low moan as he tugs Abel's ass back toward him. In one smooth motion, he rocks his hips up so he can hit the sweet spot that he knows will make Abel keen and jerk under him.

[reliantnav]

Abel gasps as Cain's angle changes, overwhelming the pain with pleasure, and he shudders at it, cheeks flushing as he tries to remember that he was busy being indignant a moment before. "Fuck," he hisses, biting back a groan.

[fightflight]

It's the perfect reaction, Abel's muscles tensing up around his cock and he doesn't even attempt to bite back his groan, his hips pressing against Abel's ass each time he thrusts in.

"Fuck, Abel. You take it so good. Im gonna come. Ahh... fuck" His hips jerk forward a handful of times before his fingers dig deep into Abel's hips and he comes hard, spilling into him.

[reliantnav]

Abel's heart clenches with shame and lust as Cain comes inside of him. As soon as Cain's done, Abel pushes himself up from the counter, shoving away from Cain and shooting him a glare before he turns and heads for the bathroom.

He turns the shower on hot and locks the door, scrubbing himself clean and then just shaking, lingering in the shower for a long time before he finally emerges, clean and wrapped in a towel, glancing around warily for Cain.

[fightflight]

Cain is more amused than annoyed at getting shoved out of Abel and he lets him go, grabbing his beer once again. He takes a few long sips before heading to the bedroom and flopping down on the bed.

Well that was definitely something. Hopefully something he can work with, though he figures it doesn't really matter. Either Abel gets with the damn program, or Cain will just trade him in. They get to have anything they want, after all. They're decorated war heroes with some actual pull now. There's something about Abel that he kinda likes, though, so he hopes with some breaking in, he'll be a keeper.

Cain is about to light a cigarette when he hears Abel leave the bathroom and start creeping around. He tosses the pack aside and stretches out on the bed, tucking the cigarette behind his ear as he waits.

[reliantnav]

Abel stops in the doorway at the sight of Cain on the bed, gloriously naked. It's quite the sight, and Abel can't help but think of some kind of predatory large cat: beautiful, dangerous, and lazy. Cheeks reddening, Abel takes a couple of seconds to look, and then he cuts his eyes away and goes to his suitcase instead, unpacking a couple of things until he gets to his pajamas.

He knows it's inevitable that Cain's going to watch, and he doesn't want to seem prudish by locking himself in the bathroom to change. So he lets the towel drop but keeps his back turned as he dresses in soft white pajamas and then heads for the kitchen again, ignoring Cain.

[fightflight]

Cain glances over at Abel while he stands at the door watching, letting him drink in the glorious sight in front of him. He can't for the life of him figure out what Abel is thinking, though, aside from that blush, which makes him look even more innocent. It's pretty ridiculous.

He does watch as Abel changes, not even bothering to hide it as he takes that time to light up a cigarette as well. "Hey, are..." He starts, but Abel pretty much makes a mad dash out of the room again and Cain sits up quickly, annoyed at being ignored and walked out on. "HEY!"

Grumbling, he gets off the bed and stalks after Abel, taking a long drag of his cigarette. "Hey, what the fuck? What are you doing?"

[reliantnav]

Abel just keeps ignoring him, because it's a safe little act of rebellion, and he doesn't feel that he owes Cain explanation or attention. He gets a yogurt and another beer from the fridge, and then curls up on the couch with his tablet so that he can read.

[fightflight]

Cain just stands there, stark naked as he watches Abel move around his house like he owns the damn place. Then again, Cain did tell him that as long as he didn't touch his personal shit, he could make himself at home. Maybe he should have laid down better rules. Maybe he should just put a goddamn leash on his navigator and tie him to the bed.

"Stop ignoring me, asshole." He's not very good at this. He's better at punching people in the face when he wants attention. "Fine. Do whatever you want. I'm gonna go train." With that, he turns and heads back to the bedroom, tossing some clothes around to find his training gear.

[reliantnav]

Training is of interest to Abel, so he finishes the yogurt and then follows after Cain, taking his beer with him. "Where do you train?" he asks, interested in everything about it, and whether Cain's going to be doing fighter training alone or if he wants to do partnered training with Abel.

[fightflight]

Just as he predicted, that gets Abel's attention. He finds what he needs and pulls it on, looking over at Abel. "Oh, so now you're talking to me again. Fucking figures," he snorts, then begins the search for socks, putting his cigarette out before he sits on the bed. "There's a base just off the ramp outside this complex. They made sure to keep us close. They have all kinds of high tech shit there, along with every training simulation you can imagine."

His boots are next, and then he grabs his dog tags off the side table, putting them on. "You better change quick or I'm leaving you here."

[reliantnav]

Abel watches for a minute, considering all of this. He thinks that Cain doesn't like being ignored, and therefore the threat of being left behind is an empty one. Particularly since Abel doesn't think he's going to be locked in, so he can always catch up with Cain in half an hour. Especially since Cain just gave him directions.

But he gets out his gear anyway, setting the beer down on the bedside table as he changes. "Okay," he says, keeping half an eye on Cain as he gets dressed.

[fightflight]

Sure, Abel can take his time and drag this out, frustrating Cain to the point where he leaves, but what would be the point in that? Cain would then ignore Abel in return and their training would go to shit.

He doesn't watch Abel get changed this time because he's too busy looking for his car keys. Another thing he's just not used to anymore and he drops them down randomly like an idiot.

He curses up a storm along the way, then stalks back to Abel. "Have you seen my keys anywhere?"

[reliantnav]

"They were in the kitchen," Abel says, smiling a tiny bit at how frustrated Cain is about his keys. It makes it hard to take him seriously, and he's kind of cute when he's this flustered over something trivial.

Ready to go now, Abel brushes past him, finding the keys pushed into a corner of the kitchen counter. He picks them up and holds them out to Cain, just barely resisting a smile.

[fightflight]

Thank god Abel is an observant one, that's pretty handy as well. Still, he lets out a huff as Abel passes him, then follows to the kitchen scowling at the amused look on the other man's face. "Yeah, yeah. Thanks."

He looks Abel up and down, eyes landing on his face, then he reaches out to cup his face and leans in for a kiss. "We good?"

[reliantnav]

Abel tenses a little at the kiss, but he doesn't resist it. When it turns out to be brief and sweet, he blinks at Cain in confusion, surprised by what seems to be an attempt to reassure. Blushing, he stares at Cain, trying to figure out how to answer that.

He's not sure, really, whether they're okay, but he wants to keep trying his best and he's curious about the little gestures of kindness that Cain has shown, even though he's still very wary of the ways Cain has hurt him. Tentatively, he nods, coming down firmly on the side of cooperation.

[fightflight]

Being wary of Cain is probably the smartest way to go, and Cain himself doesn't exactly try to hide that part of himself either. All he really wants to do is stay in control of any situation, and keep people on their toes.

"Good." The tentative nod is enough, and he grabs his jacket as he heads out, aiming for the stairs that lead them to the parking lot. "I still train at least a couple times a week, even though it's fucking pointless now, but they got us all holed up in those cushy apartments and you kinda start going out of your damn mind after a while." His nightly activities still include the same thing as on the ship as well. Fighting and fucking- though he supposes with Abel around, he doesn't have to waste any time with other people. At least until he gets bored with this one.

"Better keep up, though. We've got a betting pool going and if you fuck up my standings, I'm gonna be real pissed."

[reliantnav]

"I think you should increase the bet," Abel says, following after him and keeping a wary eye on him. Abel knows his own training scores are outstanding, but none of the fighter cadets he'd trained with were an adequate match for him. Cain's supposed to be the best, and Abel wants to know if that's true. "And then try to keep up."

[fightflight]

Oh, well that's something Cain actually likes to hear, if Abel really is as good as he thinks he is. He gives Abel a once over, along with an entirely amused look. His last navigators couldn't quite keep up with him and it frustrated Cain to no end. He really is hoping he gets a better deal with this one. "Well if you fight as good as you fuck..."

[reliantnav]

Abel blushes at that, losing his cockiness and flustering a little. That can't possibly be a compliment. He barely cooperated, and he had no experience to help him. "Is that an insult?" he asks, pride stung and cheeks flaming.

[fightflight]

Cain laughs quietly, shaking his head. It's amazing how Abel's entire confidence can shift with a single sentence. It's just like the way he moans like a whore and then gets indignant about it a second later. Cain wonders if this is how Abel does everything in life and he finds that he wants to know more. "With that sweet ass of yours? Not even a little bit. I'm surprised you've never had a dick in you before. Your body's so good at taking it."

He swings the door open at ground level, holding it open for Abel, smirk still on his face.

[reliantnav]

Abel's too flustered to come up with any kind of retort to that. Blushing deeply, he shoots Cain a nervous, half-hearted little glare as he steps past him. He's not sure how he should react to that, and he's deeply annoyed at the part of himself that is flattered and soothed by it.

[fightflight]

Cain follows after him, pointing to the black car straight ahead while unlocking it with the electronic key. "And now that we'll be fucking on the regular, you'll get even better. So yeah, we'll increase the bet."

Maybe after a trial run. He doesn't put too much trust in these navigators, especially with how things have gone in the past. Cain isn't the one who has to prove himself here. Abel is, and he fully intends on getting him to do that.

[reliantnav]

Abel gets in the passenger side, keeping his mouth shut, though his red cheeks do plenty of talking for him. He squirms in his seat, feeling sore, and looks out the window, stealing only occasional glances at Cain.

His thoughts replay the memory of being bent over the counter, and all the lust and shame of that.