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The Finaliser boasts an extensive closed circuit aquaponics system that supports thriving pools of gill-bearing aquatic animals, which, in turn, deposit biowaste into their habitat before that water is pumped directly into the feeding tubes lining the biomes. These plants take their nutrients from that water, cleaning it in the process, before it is pumped back into the pools for the fish and the whole process begins again.
It's an ingenious system, economically confined to the half deck dedicated to its operation, which provides ample fresh daily protein and vegetable fibre for the entire crew, as well as a very appealing and out of the way spot for an overly tall and conspicuous radar technician to tryst with his new love.
This is Techie’s first time meeting Matt away from their workstations, or the crew mess hall, and at first he’s not certain he’s come to the right place. He’s not supposed to be in the gardens, only the appointed gardeners and bioaqua-engineers are allowed into the biomes, and he feels anxious, expecting any moment to be caught and punished for some infraction he does not even know the name of. But that’s just old memories talking, things in his head that used to hurt so badly, a long time ago. And the worst he could expect now would be an irritated dismissal by one of the garden’s attendants.
There is a soft hiss to his right, which makes him jump and a light mist suddenly fills the air, coating the surface of the plants in a sheen of translucent silver. It’s beautiful, hypnotic and Techie forgets his hurriedly beating heart for a moment to trace a finger along a dewy leaf, bringing it to his lips for a curious taste. He makes a face. The liquid is not nearly as pleasant as he imagined and he supposes it’s not yet in that part of the cycle where the cleaning has taken place, that it’s still full of nutrient rich biowaste.
Matt stands still. Captivated. Watching Techie as he wanders the garden walkways. He looks at home here. An Elemental creature in symbiosis with the great green world, his shock of red hair bejeweled with droplets of mist, catching the light and warmth of the artificial humming sun, the soft click of his lenses dilating as he takes in the lush flora about him.
When Techie is close enough for Matt to whisper and not startle him, he steps onto the walkway, hand extended in invitation, mouth curved into a generous grin.
“You’re so beautiful,” he says, “I could stare at you for days.”
He hears himself say it and it sounds trite to his ears, an embarrassing cliché. But Techie’s face lights up and the look he is giving Matt right now says trite and cliché are not what he has heard at all. He takes Matt’s hand, turns it palm up and rubs his thumb along the Mount of Venus. A mystic had once told him that the Mount of Venus represented lust for life or life force and the fleshier and more robust it was indicated the owner’s level of vitality and passion. Matt’s is firm and full, prominent and satin smooth, despite much of his palm being calloused from the nature of his work. Without thinking, Techie brings that palm to his lips and kisses the mount gently, slowly beginning to suck and nibble. Matt can only stare. It’s such a small intimate act but the whole of Matt’s hand, his arm, where his arm joins his chest, where his chest tapers down the length his abdomen, descends towards his groin…it’s all on fire with sudden want and he leans down to gently coax Techie’s mouth away from his palm towards his lips. They’ve stolen kisses before. Brief ones. Shy ones. But never anything like this. Techie’s bold, bolder than Matt and his tongue is licking along the seam of Matt’s lips, asking to be let in. Matt opens for him, hands tilting Techie’s head just so to better angle the kiss, to savour the sensation of tongue against tongue, sliding, exploring, urgent, then back further to bare the long white column of Techie’s throat, flushing pink beneath Matt’s ministrations.
It feels like a good five minutes before they come up for air. And Matt has nearly forgotten the other reason he invited Techie here in the first place. Well actually, it was the main reason, but then he didn’t expect they would be doing this quite so soon, even if Matt had secretly hoped their tryst would head in this direction later on.
Reluctantly he pulls away from Techie’s mouth. “I have something for you. Will you come with me and see?”
Techie’s lips are still slightly parted and Matt realizes he’s softly panting. The striking eyes meet his gaze, irises wide and dark, and Matt wonders if it’s just the lack of light here in the shade or if those eyes can still respond with the dilation of desire.
Techie smiles, suddenly coy. “Alright. Show me,” he says.
Matt leads them down the walkway, towards the outer wall of the biome where there’s a trellis of climbing legumes offering a partial view towards one of port tranparisteel windows. He’s placed a blanket there and a tray on the blanket, covered to protect it from the intermittent misting above. He draws Techie down to sit beside him, but Techie has other ideas and crawls into his lap, straddling his thighs.
“Is this alright?” he asks, a cheeky smile already forming at the crook of his mouth.
Matt nods, rendered helpless for all his size by the sylph like creature settling into the cradle of his hips. Thankfully his jumpsuit is fairly loose, but there’s no hiding what’s happening within and as Techie rolls his hips, just enough to bring them flush, Matt breaks, a low moan tumbling from his lips as he buries his face against the tender skin of Techie’s throat. It’s slow and sweet and they don’t even undress. The friction is just this side of maddening and just the right side of perfect. Matt learns Techie has the most delicate, clever and wicked hands and Techie learns that Matt’s core strength is more than enough to hold them up, rutting slowly, then fervently, for almost an hour.
It’s some time afterwards, with Techie curled around him on the blanket, one hand still buried beneath Matt’s open jumpsuit drawing warmth from his chest, that Matt remembers the tray. He leans over to lift the cover as Techie stirs. Matt places one of the offerings beneath Techie’s nose allowing the scent of butter and sugar to pique his interest.
Techie eyes are still closed. “Mmmmm smells delicious. What is that?”
“After I asked you here, I realized that the garden didn’t have any flowers. Well not ornamental ones, just the kind that grows into something we’ll eventually eat. I wanted to bring you some.” Weave them into your hair Matt thinks. “ But I couldn’t get any. No one I knew was going to be off ship anywhere near a suitable planet or back before they would have wilted, so I had these brought back instead.”
Matt swipes his thumb over his offering and paints the mixture across Techie’s lips, captivated as Techie’s tongue instinctively chases it, licking himself clean. His eyes snap open and he stares in awe at what Matt has brought them. - Tiny cakes meticulously decorated to resemble blooming flowers and covered in at least an inch of flavoured nerf butter icing.
“They’re beautiful. We can’t possibly eat them!”
“Are you sure about that?” Matt takes another swipe of icing and prepares to repeat the exercise. This time Techie’s tongue is already lapping at Matt’s thumb before it reaches his mouth, sucking it clean.
Laughing, Matt grabs an entire cake and shoves it whole into his mouth, some of the icing catching at the corners. There’s a small desperate noise from Techie before he launches himself at Matt, swiping at the corners with his tongue then dipping inside for the sweet aftertaste. They share the next six cakes like men starved, biting them between kisses, smearing icing onto heat-flushed skin, laving it clean before it melts, until they’re sated for a second time, blissed out on sugar and sugar-laced come.
The feeding tubes hiss above them and another fine layer of mist deposits it nutrients onto the leaves and stems. At the far end of the biome they can hear the harvesting droid begin its work.
Techie nuzzles into Matt’s chest. “I like it here. Can we come back?”
Matt’s fingers comb through tangled locks, loosening the knots as they go. Techie’s chin is on his stomach, he’s smiling and those incredible eyes are gazing up at Matt in sheer adoration. No one has ever looked at him like this before. Despite everything they’ve done together in the garden these past few hours, it’s that gaze which, makes him blush and kindles his want anew. He moves his hand from Techie’s hair to caress his cheek.
“Of course we can come back.”
Techie slides up to drape himself over Matt’s chest, pushing the opening of his jumpsuit farther apart, allowing his mouth unrestricted access to the sensitive skin around Matt’s nipples. His other hand is unfastening his own uniform trousers so that they’ll be able to rub together again, bare.
“Good,” Techie says as he angles his hips and locks his gaze upon his lover. “Because we’re not done pollinating yet.”