Gold and amber, shining through
Swear by the moon; I'll wait for you
Soft hiss of waves on the man-made beach, the warm salt water curling around their bodies. Pale hair blending in with the sand underneath it, eyes the deep gold color of the false sunset that had faded away hours ago. Those eyes seemed to darken a little, the pupils dilating like opening mouths in pleasure, reflecting the tiny pinpoints of light that now dotted the ceiling of the biodome.
Silent treasures, hidden blushes
Soft surrender...to discover
Eagle's moans were warm honeyed breath on Lantis's bare skin. The tall Cephirean moved deeper into the boy's slender body, and Eagle arched his long neck, his lashes fluttering in pleasure. "Ah, sweet stars...Lantis..."
The only reply Lantis made was to tighten his arms round Eagle and rock more slowly, in and out, his face pressed against the cool hollow where neck met shoulder.
A tiny gasping sob escaped Eagle's throat, and Lantis lifted his head a little to gaze down at him. The boy's face was flushed with desire, his lips slightly bruised with Lantis's kisses. His gold eyes looked huge in the artificial moonlight. After all the things they had done, all the months they had spent together, he still looked like a virgin. Lantis smiled.
Shyly Eagle reached up to stroke Lantis's wet black hair back from his face. "I love you," he whispered.
Strong arms slid around his shoulders, and Lantis kissed him again, deeply.
Feel the wings...we whisper and sigh
As the angels glide on the touch of our skin
Lantis ran his hands slowly down the length of Eagle's body, and the boy responded with a very satisfying groan, pushing his hips upward. Lantis closed his eyes and thrust again.
This was heaven...the wet sand underneath them, the water rising and falling around them in unison with their own languid rhythm. Lantis could almost imagine he was back home, in the warmer regions of the Crescent Bay perhaps, wrapped in nothing but moonlight and seawater and Eagle's delicious embrace.
But that was where he was going tomorrow, wasn't it? Back home...only without Eagle. And without his friend, his lover, was anywhere home any more?
He had forgotten the mind link between the two of them. Eagle opened his lovely eyes and gazed at his friend with concern. One hand reached up and drew Lantis close. Eagle's lips brushed his ear tenderly. "Don't think about it now," he whispered, beginning to nibble a little on Lantis's ear. "In fact," a warm tongue traced the shell-like contours of the ear as Lantis moaned, "don't think at all..."
A fragile voice I hear,that trembles and deceives
The deep blue oceans in your eyes
Desire grows inside
"Ah, gods, Eagle..."
Lovingly the young Flight Commander kissed him again, his hands stroking Lantis's face and the sides of his neck, whispering breathlessly in Lantis's ear as they began to rock just a little faster against the wet sand.
Lantis's vision was beginning to glaze a little at the edges. He could hear the low thick murmur of Eagle's voice blending with the hissing of the waves.
"I've always loved you, Lantis...since I first met you and looked into your eyes...ah, those blue, blue eyes...like the sky of your lovely planet...so...deep...swallowing me...ah, deeper..."
Veils of mist, covered kisses
Swear by the moon: I want you
Eagle's body was beginning to tremble in his arms, and
Lantis himself was beginning to tense as he stroked Eagle more and more inside.
The boy's body was arched against his own, slender hips thrusting against Lantis's.
He shifted his legs a little higher upward so as to sheathe Lantis further
inside himself. The soft skin of his inner thighs slid wetly against Lantis's
sides, making him gasp.
Their breath was coming in pants now, their movements faster and harder with each thrust. Lantis buried himself in his young lover over and over, listening to the beautiful voice plead with him, the resonance of Eagle's voice somehow humming through both their bodies.
"Deeper, Lantis...... mmmm, yes, please, dear friend, devour me... oh, Lantis, Lantiiiiiis... aaaaahhhhnnnnnnn..."
Pearls of steam...and the dance begins
Free the heat, make us stronger still
Eagle's moans were growing into cries, and Lantis flung his head back as he drove into the boy again. His body lying full length on top of Eagle's, he slid a hand down to wrap around Eagle¹s shaft. The boy gasped and took hold of Lantis's shoulders as he reached down with his other hand, deft fingers dancing up and down Eagle¹s slender pale length like an instrument.
"Ah...ah...Lantis--" Eagle thrust helplessly
into his hands, his lashes fluttering blindly, his body surrendering to Lantis's
devotions. Lantis in turn was rocked with pleasure as he felt Eagle's body clench
tightly around his deeply-buried shaft. Each time Eagle pushed himself into
Lantis's hands
he took Lantis deep inside him, to the root, and Lantis shut his eyes and abandoned
himself to the onslaught of sensation and the wonderful sound of Eagle's passionate
cries in his ear.
"Ah...Lantis...oh, my beautiful dark knight...Lantis...harder ...oh, *harder*... Lantis!!! Aaaaahhhhhhhhuuuuunnnn ...ahh ...GODS ...! LAAAAAAAANNNTIIIISSS..."
The moonlight and the water rose in one great wave, drowning him in the brilliant gold of Eagle's eyes.
No more promises; we are here tonight
Come together in sweet firelight
They lay still afterwards, basking in the gentle glow of the moon and of their pleasure, Lantis's head tucked comfortably under Eagle's chin. He closed his eyes, savoring the slow rise and fall of Eagle's chest, and nuzzled a little at the soft hollow of the boy's throat.
"Do you think we'll catch a cold if we stay in the water tonight?" asked Eagle softly, after a while.
Lantis chuckled a little. "Maybe. I tried it in this beach back home with my brother. We were too tired to change..we'd been swimming all day... so we slept in the water. The next day we were sneezing like crazy, and Clef and the Princess had to take turns scolding us."
The thought hurt. He remembered: My brother is dead. The Princess is dead.
Eagle slid a hand under his chin and tilted it up to kiss him softly.
Lantis let him.
"I guess we won't spend the night, then," whispered Eagle. His lashes pressed against Lantis's cheek, and trembled. Lantis felt a hot tear slide down into his mouth.
"Eagle?"
Here until dawn sets us both apart
A love that's true...swear by the moon
I live for you, for you
For you, for you, forever for you
"I'll miss you," whispered the boy, hiding his face in Lantis's shoulder. "You--you're the only one I ever...I..."
"I loved you first, too, Eagle," murmured Lantis, trying to comfort the weeping boy with gentle kisses along his cheek and jaw. "But I have to go back, you know why."
"I know." Eagle turned to meet Lantis's mouth with his own. "I'm sorry. It's selfish of me, but I was sort of hoping you would stay...give up on the Pillar system. But I suppose...you have to go. Let's just not discuss that any more...I want to savor this last night..."
"So do I," agreed Lantis quietly.
Precious hours, fires dying down
While the night gives way to clear morning light
Perfumes gracing the senses of our souls
Eagle's arms wrapped round him again. He drew the boy closer and they lay for a while longer, the waves rising and falling round their naked bodies, before reluctantly drawing away from each other and standing up.
They dressed each other slowly and tenderly, trying to brush the sand from each other's damp skin with their towels. Then they left the biodome and went back to Eagle's home on his hoverbike, never saying a word. Even in the shower the both of them were too tired to do more than gently clean sand and salt off each other's skin. Wearily Lantis climbed into bed with his lover for the last time, and Eagle sleepily held out cool arms for him. He sank into the welcoming embrace and was asleep almost immediately.
A love that's true...swear by the moon
I'll be here for you, for you
"Take the hoverbike," said Eagle the next day.
Lantis gazed at the boy he loved, resplendent in the green,
gold and white of his dress uniform. Eagle's pleasant, polite mask was in place
again, and only the fact that he wouldn't quite meet Lantis's eyes gave any
evidence of his true feelings.
"I would have lent you FTO," he said lightly, "but Zazu would
have been rather annoyed with me." He chuckled a little as he lifted the
clear green-tinted plate of crystal: the key to the hoverbike. "Besides,
I think this is faster than that creature of yours." It was another sign
of his distress that he referred to Lantis's horse that way; normally he was
fascinated by it.
"Eagle..." Lantis's throat seemed to have closed; he couldn't say another word.
Eagle lowered his gaze. Lantis watched his lashes tremble a little on his cheeks as he said softly, "It was your decision. I know that neither I nor anything else can change your mind."
Then he smiled a little, and remarked almost dreamily, "I've decided something too."
"Decided what?" asked Lantis.
Eagle smiled again, that sunny, impenetrable smile of his, and said: "A little secret."
Lantis wasn't to know what he meant until months later, when Cephiro was embroiled in battle... and him, Eagle and a mysterious carnelian-eyed beauty from another world right in the middle of it.
But now Eagle had come close for one last kiss, and Lantis was not even going to try to fathom that last comment, or wonder any more about the future.
I love you, Eagle...
I know. I love you, too.
Goodbye.
Take care, Lantis.
For you, for you, forever for you...