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Turned On	By : blackwaltz0 Category: +M through R > Phantasy Star Views: 2172 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Phantasy Star, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 14
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(A/N: Well, here we go. The yaoi chapter. This was such a tribulation for me to write, as I haven't had as much experience with writing yaoi as I have with reading it. Plus, writing yaoi with a robot involved can be a little tricky. Heh heh. This chapter is rated M, as it contains a sex scene. Just a warning. Oh, and you are fortunate enough to have the uncut version of this chapter in your hot little hands. Yes, all the smut has been kept intact! There is also a worksafe cut version floating about on Fanfiction dot net, but who really wants that when you have this? Hope ya enjoy the fic! :D)

Wren didn't talk much for most of the evening. Their little scattered group had bonded together again outside of the inn, knowing that tomorrow morning they would be risking their lives against a foe so dangerous that he had almost balked the indomitable will of the Heroine two thousand years ago. Lassic. It may well have been their very last night alive, warm and breathing under Algo's sun and stars.

Nobody could predict what might happen and everybody had their own guesses. Rune held the most educated and seasoned one, after having fought Lassic already as another man, Noah, the progenitor of the Esper. He didn't want to admit the fact that he was terrified to anyone, let alone himself. He did not think very much of what he had seen that afternoon when he pretended to slumber. Even with Wren and Chaz around most of his mental energy was focussed on preparing for the fight ahead. Everybody counted on him and he had to deliver.

Kyra had returned briefly to meet with the others and Rune was further disappointed to hear that the girl was planning to spend her evening hanging out with Eugene. The whole thing just reeked of a badly-disguised date. Rather than facing the reality of their next suicide mission Kyra was attempting to run away from it in any manner that she could. The esper girl was amazed that her four other friends were able to cope with it so well, but she knew that they were more used to these situations than she was.

As a favor to Kyra Eugene had granted Rika permission to see Raja after visiting hours had ended. She gathered up all the snow blossoms that she had picked upon the mountainside and tied them together with a lovely blue ribbon. It made the flowers look extremely precious and fragile. Rika was not very worried about their next trip to the Air Castle. They had triumphed once before and they would surely do so again. The only real disturbing thoughts in her mind were related to Chaz and the conversation that they would be having soon enough. She had to think of what to say, how to say it, and guess what Chaz's reaction might be.

She already had a few of them played out in her mind, ranging from a happy desirable outcome to the very worst responses possible. Rika wanted to be sufficiently braced and prepared if Chaz haphazardly decided to split her heart in two. For now though she was eager to give her gift to Raja and talk to the old man without the others standing by around her. Originally the girl had planned to have her 'talk' about Chaz with the dezorian priest, but she had found that she couldn't wait that long and had settled for Wren instead. It was probably just as well, for she had come out of it satisfied.

Chaz Ashley seemed vastly healthier as he stepped out of the inn and into the street to meet up with his friends. It was a combination of good bed rest, warmth, sleep, and the medication that he had taken earlier that had nearly cleared up most of the symptoms of his cold. The results of the combination were just as outstanding with Rune as they were with Chaz. He was pretty good, prepared for anything and especially the battle with Lassic. He felt ready.

Both girls had wandered off towards the esper healing house. That left the boys, Rune, Chaz and Wren all alone together. It was a cloudy moonless night on Dezoris. Nearly all the light to see by was cast from bonfires left burning by the townspeople. The three adventurers congregated close to one of the fires for its free heat. "Tomorrow will decide the fate of this planet, whether we live or die. I tell myself that we can win because of how powerful we have become, but then I just remember all that Lassic has done in the past and I just get� uncertain." Rune said, warming his hands on the fire.

"Then just don't think about it." Chaz advised from the other side of the fire. The flickering light from the flames made his bright golden hair appear almost orange. "It's very simple. I've already come this far by not really thinking about things all the way through. It seems to have worked." He reflected on his own words and laughed. "I didn't really intend to make it sound that way, but you ought to get what I mean."

Rune looked sullenly into the pyre. Once he realised that his low mood was perfectly visible to Chaz and Wren he made a disapproving 'tsking' sound with his mouth and glanced to the side. A lot of things bugged him, but what bugged him the most was no longer present in their party. It was so stupid. He was supposed to be worrying, not becoming sidetracked. "What could she be thinking, going off with some guy like that?" Rune said softly, but Chaz could still hear him.

"Are you thinking about Kyra?" The hunter guessed accurately, yet Rune did not give the answer away. He didn't like the answer even if it was true. Come to think of it Rune and Kyra had been spending an awful lot of time together lately. Chaz had hardly even noticed, having his own various problems to contend with. The esper might have been jealous for Kyra's decision to spend precious time away with somebody else. Rune may have been the Lutz, but he was mortal, and palman as well. Chaz smiled reassuringly. "Kyra's smart, she knows what she's doing. I bet she just wants to spend some time away from us before she risks her neck and her life for Algo."

That was a rather astute observation, coming from Chaz. The boy managed to hit a nerve so accurately that Rune actually blushed a little. Haughtily the magician shot down the idea, hmphing. "Shut up. This is all because I� I�" He stopped talking, realizing that he was on the verge of pouring a fraction of his heart out to a stupid boy. "Why the hell do I have to tell any of this to you two, anyway? It's none of your business!"

"Perhaps Eugene is Kyra's relative?" Wren guessed from where he was standing and then fell silent again. It was funny how everybody in their group of five had suddenly and simultaneously began to think with their hearts instead of the rational voices of reason inside their heads. The thought of fighting Lassic was hovering above them as thick black clouds, smothering the sky, but beneath that thoughts of love were the snowy blizzards, complicating things further.

Wren sure as hell knew that he couldn't concentrate right now, and that was because he had practically given Chaz away to Rika, although the boy did not know it yet. It was only a matter of time until he was hers. Wren was sure that it was the best conclusion to a twisted series of events, but he hated it all the same.

"That doesn't sound too damn likely." Rune answered, bitter. He just wanted time to speed forward a little so that he could put certain thoughts out of his mind, thoughts that he could hardly admit to having anyway. He was still kind of sick even though the medicine made him feel perfectly fine, so Rune knew where he had to go, a place of meditation both sacred and welcoming. "I'm going to the pub. See you both in the morning."

Rune, the father of the esper people, more than content to drown his sorrows away. As he turned to leave Chaz called out to him. "Don't you dare drink too much! We won't be able to win against Lassic if you're hung over!"

He stopped walking, glancing back at Chaz and Wren by the bonfire. He remembered well what had happened earlier in the day when he was supposed to be sleeping and Chaz had slept. The hunter seemed to be totally oblivious and unaware to it, and Wren looked just as happy as Rune felt himself. The android was sort of staring at the ground. He had seen Wren smile a couple of times in the past week or so, yet he had never seen him look as depressed as he was now.

He was going to ask about what he had seen but he shut up over the subject instead. The only thing he'd be able to accomplish by asking was to freak out Chaz and probably embarrass Wren. Freaking out the blond hunter would have seemed rather appealing any other time, however at the current moment Rune just didn't feel like it. The esper sighed. "I know. I'll be stone cold sober when we set foot in the Air Castle. I just need some time to myself."

As far as Chaz knew Rune's habit of drinking was not a serious problem in his life, yet it was an emotional crutch to him when nothing else would lend their support. Being the Lutz must be an extremely lonely life. Chaz watched the esper fade away into the darkening town streets until he was gone, then he turned to his friend standing right beside him. "Looks like it's just you and me now, Wren. How come nobody ever invites us out for the evening? What do you wanna do?"

Wren didn't look at him. He didn't appear to want to make eye contact with anybody that night. Even as he spoke the way that he said things made it seem like he had reverted back to the quiet emotionless android he had been weeks ago. It wasn't any kind of hostility, just a faint introversion with no visible cause. "I have no opinion on the subject. I will withdraw to the inn now. You should do the same unless you wish for your illness to worsen. Goodnight, Chaz."

Chaz folded his arms, surprised, as Wren left him at the pyre as well. The android walked up to the entrance of the inn, opened the door and stepped inside, then he closed it a little harder than was necessary. If Chaz hadn't known any better he could have sworn that Wren might be upset over something. For what reason he didn't know, but standing out in the snow all night wasn't a very good idea. "Hey, wait for me!" He cried and walked to the inn himself, brushing unwanted snowflakes away.

The inn was much more modest than the one in Ryuon. Originally the Meese healing house had once been the only luxurious hostel facility within the entire town, but the kind innkeeper had lent it to the victims of the black energy wave and the espers out of the goodness of his heart. The new inn which replaced the old one was none other than the innkeeper's own home, but it was large enough to still be comfortable and warm. The innkeeper's wife was in the sitting room feeding fuel to the fireplace when Chaz came inside. She was a short, plump woman with a calming smile on her face.

"Did you see which way my friend went?" Chaz politely asked of her as she straightened herself up and patted her slightly dirty hands on her orange apron. The wood freshly tossed into the fire gave off a distinctive earthy smell as it burned, like incense.

The woman nodded. "Yes, he just went upstairs to the guest rooms. It's good to hear that you're not sneezing constantly anymore." She smiled prettily. "I was going to make you and your esper friend some chicken soup for tea but it looks like you don't need it now. I'll make it anyway, because a traveler always needs to eat."

Chaz thanked the woman for the information and climbed the staircase himself. He hadn't really needed to ask her in the first place, as right now the lower floor was where the innkeeper's family lived and the upper floor was for the guests. Even upstairs the strange pleasant scent of the wood burning fire permeated through. Only a couple of candles were lit in the hallway. It had been getting pretty dark outside, was it that late already? The hunter knew where he was supposed to go. He already knew where Wren would be.

And he was right. Chaz entered the room belonging to he and Rune and Wren was standing over by the closed windowsill, looking out through the snow-encrusted glass. The twilight shapes of the village houses were visible as ashy monoliths surrounded by white, and yet even more snow was falling all around them. The burning pyres punctuating the town streets lit up the areas like orange motionless fireflies. Like stars. Chaz didn't knock as he stepped inside. "Hey." He greeted awkwardly, closing the door.

Wren turned his head to glance at him. There seemed to be some kind of passive emotion written on his face, but it was not a basic one so Chaz wasn't quite sure if his friend was angry or sad or both. "What is it, Chaz?" Wren asked quietly as he looked back through the window again, his arms folded. He was certain that Chaz was going to ask him a dozen different questions now. Wren wasn't sure if he wanted that, or if his action only minutes earlier was a form of camouflaged attention-seeking. Ever since he had kissed Chaz he could no longer understand what he felt.

"What are you doing in here? This is my room." Chaz pressed as he took an unlit candle from its place on the mantle and walked over to his bedside table where he was certain that he would find some matches. Rune could light a candle with only his fingertips, but Chaz had to settle for something less supernatural. Once the candle was lit he shook out the match flame with one or two shakes of his wrist.

"I spent the last of my meseta today so I could not afford an inn room for myself. I did not want to stand in the snow, so I came here." Wren paused, letting an empty silence hang suspended in the air. It seemed like he was deciding on what he should say next. Chaz cupped a hand loosely around the side of the candle flame so he could experience its warmth, waiting patiently. "I could leave now, if you want me to." Wren added dully. He wouldn't hold it against the boy if he said yes. As it was, he was probably in the way.

"You don't have to do that. You can stay." Chaz emptied his hands, placing the candlestick on his bedside table, next to the medicine that had successfully suppressed his cold. Laying eyes on the medicine his mind made a connection. Wren had no money left because he had spent it all on Chaz. As sweet as it was, it had still been a little silly of him. The hunter smiled at the thought that Wren was willing to sacrifice his own comfort in order to make him feel better. "Thank you for bringing me that medicine. I knew it was you, even if you didn't sign that note." Chaz said.

"You did not think it was Rika?" Wren said carefully, moving away from the window and sitting down on one of the two armchairs in the room. Resting his elbows on his knees Wren laced his fingers together and peered up at Chaz questioningly. He couldn't figure out why the hunter had followed him here while Rika was obviously in love with him. Now that Wren had been informed of it all the signs seemed glaringly self-evident. Chaz must be blind not to notice them. No, maybe not blind but distracted, by him.

"If Rika wanted to take care of me she'd do it up close, like what she's doing for Raja. Maybe someday she will. That'd be nice." Chaz became dreamy for a second, thinking of just that, but then his feet touched the ground again and he came back down to Dezoris. Taking a seat on his unmade bed Chaz continued, knowingly. "That's the way that Rika does things. You're different, Wren. You do good things for people while trying not to let them know that you're there, being kind to them. Sometimes, though, I think that maybe you want to be seen. Is that why you left that note for me with the medicine?"

"I cannot give you an answer. I do not know why I did that." Wren confessed to Chaz solemnly. He was telling the truth. He had wanted Chaz to get better as quickly as possible and the android didn't care about which means would get to that end. Wren did, however, want Chaz to acknowledge the fact that he cared. It was selfish reasoning, and it was also frightening. He frowned. "This is all wrong."

Chaz watched Wren for awhile, thinking of what to say. The android was intentionally averting his gaze. He looked lost and afraid to ask for help in that quiescent manner he always had. The boy didn't know what to do with him. He seemed cheerful enough this morning, but something or some sort of idea must have gotten to him between the interim of then and now. Chaz got up and stood in front of his friend, holding out a hand as he spoke. "Look, you're definitely upset about something. Why don�t you tell me what it is so we can work it out together?"

The promise he had made to Rika forced him into silence. Wren didn't say anything at all, choosing to ignore Chaz instead. The boy stood there for a minute or two, his hand held out in offering, but when it seemed like Wren wasn't going to respond to him Chaz sighed, feeling defeated. "Alright then, don't worry about it. I'm going to go find Rune and bring him back to the inn. I don't like the idea of him drinking before a dangerous mission. He can do that sort of thing afterwards. I'll be back soon." Chaz turned sharply on his heel, towards the door. He started to leave.

"Stop."

In a comparatively unexpected and brash move Wren suddenly reached out and snatched up Chaz's hand, causing the youth to stop dead in his tracks. He had no special talent in reading people by their emotions and their actions, but this motion by Wren seemed almost desperate to him, as desperate as Chaz had been outside of his inn room back in Ryuon. The candle flame burned distantly in the background. Chaz couldn't see Wren's face but he could imagine it. "Please don't go. We need to talk." The android said at a barely audible level, a mere whisper.

Somehow Chaz had already known from the way that Wren had acted all evening and by the sheer atmosphere in the room that something important was going to happen tonight. A small part of his mind had been expecting it, so he was not at all surprised with himself for patiently waiting instead of going on his way. He had never heard that level of hesitant emotion in Wren's voice before. It was just like the way Chaz himself had sounded when he spoke with fear, regarding Rika. "What is it?" He asked gently, unwilling to raise his voice in the quiet room.

Wren already knew that what he was doing was foolish, yet he no longer held the power to stop himself. He supposed that he felt weak for clinging to a mortal palman and begging him not to go. Weakness and foolishness went hand-in-hand. He was not supposed to be this way. What had changed him so? "Everything that occurs in this world happens for a reason, so there must be an explanation why I feel this way. Chaz, I barely understand the motivations behind half of my actions anymore. What have you done to me?"

This was really strange. Normally Wren was the one with all the answers. Chaz was moderately smart for his age, sixteen years old, but how could he hope to answer a question that a thousand-year android couldn't comprehend? It was obvious Wren knew something that Chaz didn't but that was not important now, making his friend feel better was. He didn't like it when Wren was upset.

"You can't blame me totally for what's happened to you. You're the one who kissed me, not the other way around. A person can't and won't change until they give up their consent to be changed, first. That's why I got so scared during the beginning of our relationship, because I realised that I gave away my consent subconsciously. I didn't know that was possible. When I asked you to kiss me in Ryuon it was just me consciously reaffirming the way that I felt in my heart. If you still don't understand the reason why you kissed me in the first place then why do you care so much if I leave the room now?"

Chaz's words were blunt and matter-of-fact on the surface, but also hiding kindness and understanding within. He could talk confidently because he had experienced the very same emotions only days earlier. It was a series of different yet similar events that had unlocked the same in Wren. He could view it as an emotional growth spurt. It would be painful but he'd be a bigger person for it. Wren shook his head at Chaz's words. "I do not know. I just don't want to be alone tonight, of all nights. I am happier when you are present and anticipate that your absence will leave me distressed. These are simple terms that I am using because I am not that adept at describing my feelings, but do you understand what I am trying to say?"

"I think so, yeah." This was slightly like talking to a child. A child with a large vocabulary, but a child nonetheless. Wren was distinctly clueless in many areas and filling in the blanks might be embarrassing and frightening for him, but his dedication and willingness to do so was humbling. "You're saying that you don't want to be lonely. But Wren," Chaz smiled, "I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be here for a while yet. If we fail and die then it won't matter, but if we defeat Lassic and win I'll still be here."

"No you won't�" Wren uttered as a person completely and unshakably certain of the truth. He sighed and pulled Chaz backwards, towards him with a carefully measured gentleness. Chaz felt a thrill of adrenaline weave through him in a bright ribbon as he couldn't quite see where he was being pulled to, but he trusted Wren enough not to fear. The android snaked one arm around the hunter's middle and managed to slip his hand beneath Chaz's bodysuit and his black undershirt. Chaz flinched instinctively as he had expected the touch to be as cold as ice, but his anticipation was misplaced. Wren must have learnt from previous experience what the hunter preferred instead.

He was coerced into sitting on Wren's knee, and seeing as he had spoken practically under his breath Chaz had not heard the android's words. The boy was a little confused. Although Wren had been the one to start their relationship he had been pretty submissive so far. This was a bit of a change. Chaz coyly admitted to himself that he kind of liked it, but he also reminded himself that his friend seemed to be upset. "Alright. I won't go until you say I am allowed to go. Is that better?" He asked.

"That is not what I want." The dark-haired machine stated unhappily. He didn't want Chaz to stay because he felt that that he needed to, or had no choice but to stay. Wren wanted Chaz here with him, now, purely because that was what the hunter wanted for himself. For Chaz to pick Wren, not Rika. He was jealous of her, he was able to admit this now, and Wren was so doubtful and frustrated over what he should do next. It seemed like there was nothing else that he could do. He had already selected Chaz's destiny for him. "Oh, why did I encourage Rika?" He wondered to himself out loud.

"Rika? What happened between you and-" Ironically, the same method that Chaz had used to taunt Wren in the snowy ravine was effectively used to shut Chaz up now. Wren was indeed a fast learner. He took Chaz's hand and squeezed it lightly, reassuringly as he pulled away. His grey eyes looked extremely thoughtful, and any kind of expression within them was rare. The boy remembered that Rika and Wren had spent the afternoon together while he had been sick in bed. Chaz blushed, concerned. "You shouldn't kiss me. I'm still contagious." He admitted bashfully.

"It does not really worry me." Wren said simply. He was not a palman, so he was immune to just about every pathogen that existed. It was just one more kind of barrier that separated him from Chaz. They were far enough apart already, even as the youth was practically sitting in his lap patiently, desiring to know what was wrong. Wren was intelligent enough to take his own advice that he had given to Chaz and Rika and just openly admit what was bothering his mind. Nothing positive would ever happen if he kept it to himself.

"I thought that I would be able to accept the fact that you are in love with Rika and would choose her over me if given the choice. What we have is something that was never meant to happen. I am aware that you were infatuated with Rika long before you became infatuated with me, but I can no longer tolerate being a stand-in for somebody else. It is just too cruel to allow me to develop an attachment to you. If you believe that in the future you and Rika will be together then we should end this relationship right now, because I cannot care for somebody who will soon disappear."

He managed to say all of this rather impartially, detaching himself from his confession. Chaz took in the information as well as he could. He hadn't known just how much his feelings for Rika had bothered his friend. Wren had been fine with it earlier but at some point in time a line must have been crossed to make him change his mind. Chaz had never anticipated hearing Wren saying such heartfelt things, perhaps he had taken for granted the idea that Wren was only mimicking the affection that Chaz had given to him. It was easier to accept the idea of liking an android that way. But Wren was certainly not copying an emotion that he was seeing all around him, as sappy as it sounded Chaz could tell from his kisses alone that Wren's affection was genuine.

Chaz didn't want to end their relationship. As strangely unorthodox as it was he was beginning to like where it was going. In the simplest sense Wren was making him happy, something that the unrequited love of Rika had not been able to do. In the midst of this horrible war Chaz just wanted to find happiness wherever he could. "I don't know what�s going to happen in the future. Nobody does. But if you want to end this thing we have just because of what might happen then you're just as much of a coward as I was when I wondered if Rika would ever want me." Chaz leaned closer to his friend. "I honestly don't know if I love you or not, but I do want to stay with you. Is that enough, for now?"

"I suppose." Wren accepted reluctantly. This didn't resolve what would inevitably happen after the Air Castle, but by virtue of the promise he had made to Rika he could say no more about it. He had said too much already. The only thing that he could do now was enjoy the time he had left with Chaz as well as he was able. They might die tomorrow. Nobody knew the future. "I am sorry for being so selfish." He said.

"That's alright. We all deserve to be a little selfish sometimes. It's just our nature�" Chaz started to say earnestly, but his words began to dwindle away when he realised how Wren was looking at him. For the very first time, instead of Wren kissing Chaz or Chaz kissing Wren, this time they did it together. There wasn't any clear way for the hunter to describe how it felt. He just put his hand on Wren's shoulder plate and felt him touch gently the side of his neck, then their lips locked as one.

He gave in to the wonderful sinking sensation and forgot about the fact that he was still a little ill. Within only a couple of seconds it was completely gone from his mind. Chaz grabbed a tighter hold of whatever he could and practically forced himself onto Wren, turning the kiss into a passionate struggle. The android was not the selfish one, Chaz was. He was the one that would use Wren like an object until somebody better came along, somebody real. But for what it was worth the hunter could also forget about that too and focus solely on his friend. He owed him that much.

Eventually Chaz became desperate for air and had to disentangle his tongue from Wren's in order to breathe. He felt hot and flushed but not from his cold, and he was smiling a little anxiously after he had pulled away. "We should stop this. What if somebody comes in and catches us?" It was only a cautious half-hearted afterthought to how he felt. The last thing Chaz wanted to do was stop, but the prudish little voice in his head was offering up its last line of defense before it decided to give up and go away.

Wren wasn't very convinced that Chaz meant what he said. His heart rate was quickening very fast and he wasn't breathing like somebody who wanted to be calmed down. Wren smiled softly for the first time that evening. "I am listening for them. You don't have to worry." That was sort of a lie. He hadn't really been paying much attention to his surroundings but he would do so now. He couldn't help it, Chaz had been distracting him.

"I hope you do a better job than last time. Aah!" Chaz said smartly then jumped a bit as Wren slid his hand up from the boy's waist and across his pale, nearly hairless front. It felt so strange, different, perhaps, as not many people had ever had their hands on him in that way save for himself. The faint jolt of sensation came from when Wren's fingertips brushed over one of the sensitive buds on Chaz's chest, startling him.

As Chaz recoiled from the motion Wren paused. "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" He asked, and the innocent seriousness that he was displaying actually made Chaz laugh a little, albeit nervously.

"No, it doesn't hurt. I'll tell you if something hurts." A couple of seconds after he had already said it Chaz realise the implications of his own words. The hunter turned bright red. Was he giving his consent away subconsciously once more? It was scary. He remembered Wren saying that he wouldn't do anything to Chaz unless the boy specifically asked for it, and he was very glad that such a choice had been left to him. But what if he made the wrong decision? What if he did something that he would regret later, be it a day, a month or a year from now?

But as mentioned before, nobody knew the future, especially Chaz. If Lassic killed them all tomorrow then at least he could be grateful that he hadn't spent his last night alive all alone. Wren was here because he didn't want to be alone either. Everything fit together so easily, but it was hard for Chaz to believe that this might be it. It. Whatever it was. Nothing that Alys had told him would ever fit into an equation like this. "Do you think this is right?" Chaz said to Wren, but also to himself as well.

"Does it really matter?" Wren replied gently and took his hands away from Chaz only to reach up and grasp the zipper to the front of his red bodysuit, drawing it down easily and then pulling the garment from the blond palman's shoulders. Chaz wriggled out of the sleeves himself but the process was slowed down a little as Wren kissed him again, quickly and sweetly. "Lift your arms." He said after the kiss and Chaz did so willingly, allowing the android to remove his dark undershirt, pulling it up over his head.

Chaz instinctively folded his arms across his front to keep anybody from looking, an undeniably feminine gesture. Wren took his wrists and pinned them to the boy's legs before looking at him very seriously. He was unnerved by that look. It reminded him of that night during the machine center right before they had done something incredibly stupid. "Um� do you have any idea of what you're doing?" He asked, certain that Wren could go no further than where they had gotten in Ryuon. They were picking up from where they had left off, but nobody had asked Chaz if that was what he really wanted.

"I thought about it for a while and now I believe that I have a general idea, based on logic and anatomy." The dark-haired machine studiously slipped an arm around the boy's back and held him carefully, the tips of his fingers touching the soft sensitive hairs on the back of Chaz's neck. He found it hard to focus on Wren's words anymore, the more complicated they became the harder it was to pin them down in his mind and understand them. They tended to turn to mush, or just the nice pleasant murmur of the android's voice.

"You thought about things like these?" Chaz smiled, fidgeting in his spot as much as restriction would allow. There was a perverse sense of triumph in seeing a normally innocent person stumbling down into something more mortal than they were accustomed to, something devious and dirty. To know that he was the one able to control Wren as easily as this and to coax him into doing anything that he wanted. It was a sort of power he hadn't asked for but still found delightfully interesting. It was better than being typical old Chaz, always afraid and unable to understand anything. At least with Wren he never felt bad about himself, not anymore.

"It is your fault, Chaz. You should accept the consequences of your actions." Wren intoned defensively, yet he didn't seem very ruffled by Chaz's accusation. He pointed at Chaz, or in particular a certain part of Chaz, letting go of the boy's wrist. "Is that what I think it is?" He asked.

It was like there was a faint dotted line starting from the tip of Wren's finger to the tip of, well� to the pretty noticeable bulge in Chaz Ashley's pants. The hunter broke out in a prickly sweat when he realised that his friend could see it, for he was as sober as a priest on Sunday and all of his inhibitions were in place. They were loose, but still there. "I can't help it," Chaz pleaded self-consciously, "you just turn me on. I'm sorry, but that stuff you said yesterday morning, do you still mean it? All of it?"

He knew what Chaz was referring to. "Yes." He said.

Leaning closer to the object of his desire, the blond palman's volume dropped down a notch, to a low whisper. "If I asked you to finish what you started, would you do it?"

There was no way that he could let Chaz get the better of him, give the youth any idea that he was just a puppet that could be controlled. There was electricity, sheer chemistry in the air. Wren looked deeply into Chaz's dangerously green eyes and understood just how badly the boy wanted to be needed by somebody, by anybody, before it drove him insane. He couldn't lead his small band of warriors into the den of evil without coming to terms with himself, first. Wren also could not leave Chaz hanging in limbo any longer. If that was what he wanted, then that was what he would get.

Real anticipation, real acceptance, and real devotion. Wren parodied his own manner of speaking.

"Affirmative. Order received. Come here Chaz, and don't be afraid�"

Wren stood and slid the boy out of his lap, trading places with him and guiding Chaz with one gentle press of the shoulder to sit down in the armchair in front of him. Chaz didn't know what was going to happen, he was exhilarated and terrified at the same time. He looked away to curb his sense of anticipation and examined the small pile of books that Rune lugged about with him and would allow nobody to read. He felt a tugging at and the removal of his belt. How come Rune never let anybody look at his books? As much as he knew they were not even written in common english. Chaz flinched as Wren's hand slipped into his pants after getting past the zipper. Maybe one of those books was his diary? Boy, would that make for an interesting read!

"Uhh�" That was it. He couldn't focus on other things anymore. That would be running away from his feelings and Chaz had sworn that he would never do such a thing ever again. He turned back to his friend and saw that Wren was kneeling between his legs, his pants pushed down to his knees. Chaz made a small frightened whimper. He wanted this, but he wasn't drunk like last time and he was oh so scared. What if it really hurt? What if it made him scream and he woke up Rika? And, Great Light forbid, what if they could never go back to who they were afterwards?

Wren noticed the soft whine that Chaz had made and halted what he was doing, looking up at him in case of further instruction, his hand on the waistband of the boy's underwear. "I'm� embarrassed�" Chaz said, feeling pitiful.

The android smiled with as much understanding as he was capable. "You don't have to be." He whispered back to him and it was the soft accepting tone of voice that calmed Chaz's nerves rather than what he had actually said. The youth relaxed and closed his eyes, leaning back in the chair. He was never critical of him, never judged him at all. The last person in the world he would ever be embarrassed to do this with would be his friend.

With his eyes closed he hadn't expected Wren to straighten up and kiss him deeply, stealthily, catching the hunter completely off-guard. Chaz knew exactly what he wanted to do and wrapped his arms about Wren, clinging as tightly as he could, forcing his tongue into the android's mouth and feeling him do the same. Chaz arched his back from the sheer intensity of the kiss and barely even comprehended it when Wren sneaked his hand into his underwear and slowly slid them down to his ankles along with his pants.

Chaz hiccuped into the kiss, thoroughly surprised as Wren touched him in a place where nobody had ever touched him before. He broke away and blinked a bit, then frowned cutely at the way that Wren seemed to be so in control of the situation. The damned dark-haired machine looked like he was on the verge of actual smugness! Chaz kicked off his boots, toed away his socks and lay there completely naked, completely bare. "I don't know what it is you're going to do� but, mmm� do it�" He pleaded as firmly as he could, shivering as Wren lightly walked his fingers down Chaz's spine.

He knew that all the things he could do to Chaz were limited because of what he was, but that didn't leave Wren totally out of options. He thought about it for a moment, a look of consideration taking him over. Chaz couldn't help but chuckle a little despite how aroused and wretchedly nervous he felt. Wren looked like he was trying to solve a math equation rather than figuring out how he was going to make Chaz feel good. He had no useful information on the subject in his databanks so he would just have to make it up as he went along. He was entirely on his own about this, but at least now he had an idea.

For the first time in what felt like an age Wren hesitated solely from fear. He always had the option to back out of anything he decided to do with Chaz, but once he crossed this barrier there was no going back. Just like when he had kissed Chaz for the very first time, if he made a mistake he would never be able to correct it. Both his design and his programming spoke out against acts like this, but Wren decided that these things ceased to have real meaning to him now that he had a basic identity to himself. Chaz had given him much of it, and for that he was grateful. Grateful enough to give Chaz whatever he could, while he still could.

Wren settled himself down on the floor, positioning himself correctly, then he closed his eyes and cautiously licked the tip of Chaz's cock. Nothing horrible or gruesome happened to him a second later, so he relaxed. It wasn't so bad, it was only soft, warm skin. The chair creaked slightly as Chaz leant back, letting Wren spread his thighs a little further with one hand while the other experimentally kneaded the base of the hunter's manhood. Chaz didn't know how to describe what he felt. It was really strange, but it wasn't bad. It sure as hell wasn't bad.

Feeling more confident that he wasn't doing the wrong thing Wren kept his mouth busy by gently laving the surface of Chaz's penis from top to bottom, meeting the smooth metal surface of his own right hand, and then back up to the tip again. He paid particular attention to the sensitive ridge as Chaz's breath seemed to hitch when he caressed that, like a startled gasp. The boy wasn't making much noise, just the creaking of the chair as he shifted about at times and his heavy breathing that was just a step or two away from panting.

When Wren put his lips to the head and sucked softly he began to taste something alkaline, something decidedly bitter. It wasn't that he didn't like it, he just wasn't expecting it. Well, as long as it wasn't acidic it wouldn't damage his insides, so it was okay. Wren pulled away and licked the clear stuff off his lips, looking up at Chaz with his cool grey eyes. He didn't stop panting even though Wren had stopped sucking him, the android continuing the complementary hand-job as he thought. "Chaz?" He asked softly, seeking a reply.

Chaz was gripping the armrests tightly. "Mmm?"

"Do you want me to keep going? I'll stop if you want me to."

The breakdown of Wren's sophisticated speech patterns were concurrent with Chaz's near-inability to say anything coherent at all. It had felt really good, so he had sort of stopped paying much attention to the world around him. He was just so hard that he couldn't think, couldn't focus on Wren properly but he answered anyway, if only to get those soft ministrations back where he wanted them to be. "Don't stop," Chaz said firmly as he glanced down at his friend kneeling between his spread legs, "it's perfectly fine if you go ahead. Don't mind."

In for a penny, in for a pound. Wren considered. "Understood." He said and leant back down again, kissing the tip of Chaz's cock before opening his mouth and sliding about an inch or two of it inside. The hunter flinched, obviously surprised despite the faint knowledge that this was the second step in whatever obscene act they were committing. A little moan slipped out from between Chaz's lips. What the hell, what was Wren doing? But Great Light, he had better not stop�

It was the only logical way for him to do this. When he opened his mouth wide enough it wasn't that uncomfortable, but because Wren had never put anything this big into his mouth before he didn't know what to expect. The next closest thing had been screws and other small instruments when he had run out of hands to hold things with during mechanical repairs, he guessed, like a seamstress with drawing pins. Chaz's prick was so velvety soft but it was also so big and hard that Wren probably would have choked instinctively if he were palman, working another inch of it in. He was mindful of his teeth, assuming that he'd cause discomfort to Chaz if he didn't.

He didn't want to let Chaz in too deeply. This was Wren's first time at doing anything like this and he was afraid that he might make a mistake if he tried to deep-throat him too soon. Wren didn't think that precisely, because he didn't have any solid idea of what he was doing. He was making it up as he went along. It seemed to match palman anatomy and reproduction well enough, and the hunter was not complaining. Wren felt Chaz tug on his hair softly as the boy wound his fingers through a fistful of it, groaning audibly from the enveloping wet pleasure that he was experiencing.

Wren's free hand crept up from Chaz's inner thigh and braced against the boy's hip, holding him steady. Chaz did not register or stop him as his friend established a cautious rhythm, moving his head up and down to create a friction that made Chaz whimper. The hunter wanted to cover his mouth with his hand to keep himself from making too much noise, in case somebody else came along the hallway connecting to his room. His fingers were too busy clinging to the arm of the chair and Wren's hair however, offering him a little extra direction to help him hit the mark. "Wren�" Chaz said weakly, between breaths.

He, of course, could not respond to Chaz. It became a bit easier for him to swallow just a little more of Chaz's cock each time he bobbed his head down, temporarily stretching his synthetic throat. At first he had felt the slight impulse to gag or to cough, which was there to prevent his systems from flooding should he ever find himself drowning in the water, but that was gone now. Chaz's hips would jerk forward a bit whenever he sucked hard enough or put his tongue into it, the android trying to keep him from moving around too much as well as he could.

As Chaz was young and it was his first time he couldn't take much more of this. "Stop�" He said quietly, his legs quivering and his toes curling, but he had spoken in an inaudible whisper. He bit his lip for another half-minute then uttered it again; "Please stop�" in a louder sighing voice. He'd embarrass himself if he kept going. He'd-

"Stop!" Chaz cried and yanked hard on Wren's hair, pulling him away from his dick just seconds before he came. Wren made a bit of an 'Ah!' sound and averted his eyes just in time, but he still wound up splattered with the hunter's seed. The blond palman just sat there, eyes wide with shock, as Wren leaned back and coughed several times, then began to rub a sticky string of the stuff off his face with the back of his wrist. "I, uh�" Chaz stammered, not knowing what to say, blushing more deeply than he ever had before. Oh gods, had that really just happened?

"Um, here. Let me help you there." He said meekly, fumbling around for some clean tissues. Fortunately he and Rune had been sick earlier, so there was enough of them within arm's reach. Chaz grabbed a couple, and while still flushing red, took Wren by the chin and helped to clean him off. Wren didn't offer any resistance and even closed his eyes when Chaz told him to. The hunter didn't know what to say. It was like he had entered a surreal world that was even more bizarre than the last. "I'm sorry." Chaz apologized uselessly, wiping some of the gunk out of his friend's hair. "I� I'm really sorry."

Wren looked up at him and smiled, seeming oddly innocent for somebody with come dribbling down the side of his nose. Chaz hurriedly cleaned it away as the android remarked; "What for? That was a very interesting experience." The palman's jaw practically dropped as Wren rested his head gently against the inside of Chaz's leg. "You are very kind. However," he added as a musing afterthought, "that� was not what I was expecting."

Chaz stared at the wren-type using his thigh for a pillow in utter incomprehension. He was just so handsome when he smiled. Some kind of new feeling welled up from deep within him, something that could only properly manifest as laughter. The hunter started to giggle, nervously, but after a moment it turned into genuine laughter. "I can't believe we just did that. We just did it, didn't we?"

"A form of it, I suppose." Wren replied absently from where he was sitting. They might have gotten a little carried away with each other, but neither of them seemed to be upset or mortified. Chaz was honestly laughing, of all things. The hunter had a nice-sounding laugh. Wren seemed to question him with just a single glance, a single smirk. The words came only seconds after. "What else could you call it? We certainly were not playing chess."

That sounded a bit like a Raja joke, but Chaz's fit of giggles grew louder anyway. He couldn't believe that he had been so afraid of something as harmless as sex. It had not been a monster lurking sinisterly in the closet, it had been good. Incredible, in fact, and it had been with Wren, somebody that he cared deeply for. Chaz felt emotionally exhausted as well as physically. From out of nowhere he sneezed, surprising himself. That was right, he had a cold. The effects of his medicine must be wearing out. Sitting about naked probably wasn't helping matters either.

Standing, Wren gathered up all of Chaz's discarded clothing and tossed them to the boy. He dressed himself as the android did an about-face and gave him some privacy, something that Chaz thought was weird considering Wren had seen him completely naked before. "What's wrong?" The youth asked, fitting his arms through the sleeves of his dark undershirt. "Don't you like looking at me or something?"

"Very much on the contrary, but it is only common courtesy." Wren explained calmly. "Rika and Demi prefer it when I do not look, too."

He heard the rustling of clothing abruptly stop. Chaz didn't care about Demi but the mention of Rika snagged in his ear like a fish hook. "You're serious? Rika actually got undressed near you once? Did you get to see anything? Anything at all?" Chaz himself wasn't being very serious, but he was enjoying the newfound sense of relief he held in his possession right now. It was just the best thing in the world to have, especially when faced with a challenge like Lassic in the morning.

Wren turned to look at Chaz who was grinning like a buffoon. He couldn't help but smile too. Chaz's cold wasn't contagious but his cheerfulness was, and Wren was not immune. "What kind of person do you think I am? I will be going to the washroom now. I shall return in a few minutes." He really needed to wash his face properly before the others returned, so that he wouldn't wind up smelling like some sort of harlot. Chaz nodded his acknowledgement but Wren stayed a moment longer to ask just one more question. "Chaz? Would you and Rune mind if I stay here tonight? I do not have anywhere else to go."

Did Wren actually think that he might decide to say no? Chaz did up the zipper to his shirt and then ran a hand through his short hair. It was getting late and he was becoming very tired. "Sure, you can stay anywhere you want in here�" The youth stretched his sentence out like a piece of taffy, sensually. "As long as it's close to me."

He thought solemnly on those words. "I can live with that." Wren stated at last, accepting the answer for all his troubles that night. Even if Rika came between them, he could still be close to Chaz.

In the end, really, that was enough.

��

"Hey, are you still awake? Do you know what the time is?" Chaz Ashley was curled up in bed, buried in blankets, and the wax candle he had brought into the room with him earlier had long since extinguished itself. His night vision had improved significantly since the lights had gone out yet it was impossible for the boy to read the numbers of the analog clock hanging upon the wall. It was too dark. His bed was warm and cozy, just so damn comfortable, but aside from dozing he had yet to fall asleep.

"It is several minutes past midnight." Wren answered from where he was sitting down on the floor, leaning slightly against Chaz's bed. He could be comfortable practically anywhere so he didn't mind sitting on the floor, where he could be significantly closer to Chaz. It had been a few hours since they had both settled down over there, and every so often the blond palman would creep an arm out of his blankets just to check that his android friend was still there. It was endearing. Wren liked it.

Two hours earlier Rika alone had climbed up the stairs to the second floor and went to her room, not bothering to check on Chaz, Wren, or the currently missing-in-action Rune. They had listened to her moving about through the door silently, but that was pretty hard not to do as she was making so much noise when compared to the total silence of the world around them. Rika could make herself as soundless as the wind whenever she wanted, but at this time of night when she was obviously tired what was the point?

So Rune and Kyra had yet to show themselves. "I'm getting worried." Chaz admitted quietly and Wren needed no explanation as to what he meant. To defeat a magic-user they would need healthy, focussed magic-users of their own. Chaz's offensive techniques were impressive but they didn't hold a candle to real, true esper magic. He scooted closer to his friend and wrapped an arm about the android's front, tenderly. "Tell me that they're okay."

"They are okay."

Chaz snorted a little, amused. Wren was too literal sometimes, but the extra bit of assurance actually made the boy feel better. It seemed like here, in this quiet room with the sunrise so far away and his friend so close beside him nothing bad would ever happen again. Tomorrow was coming eventually, but not right now. "I'm sleepy. I don't think I can wait up for much longer." Chaz urged away a yawn by the power of his own will. "Are you going to go to sleep or whatever it is that you do tonight, Wren?"

"Probably not. I will wait up for them for you, so try to get some rest." Wren advised and Chaz nodded a little, relaxing himself enough to drop off to sleep. He would have done this in just under a couple of minutes had Wren not spoken again, thoughtfully. Something pretty trivial had been on his mind for a few weeks and now was as good a time as any for him to get it off his chest. Now that they were lovers he should be able to tell the boy anything. "Chaz, the title Wren isn't really my name. It is incorrect."

That came as a bit of a shock to Chaz, but the hunter made a soft noise beside him to tell the android that he was listening. "The word wren is just my series name, which would be equivalent to your racial name. When I first met Rika, Rune and yourself I did not expect anything other than a casual acquaintance, so I did not want to complicate matters with unnecessary details. Long ago in the Motavian military, we all carried the same name. I am still fighting in this millennium not because others bade me to, but because I, myself, wish to. I want to continue fighting as an individual, if I can."

Why was it that the android only ever wanted to talk about himself when they were locked into a hopeless situation, or when Chaz was too tired to pay attention properly? It was like he wasn't certain that he should talk about himself at all, so he hoped that his words would soon be forgotten. Chaz tightened his hold on his friend and sighed. Wren would always be Wren to him now, he couldn't change himself solely by admitting his true name. Actually it was sort of exciting, like something out of one of the secret agent novels that Alys had used to read. "So what's your real name? Tell me. You can trust me." Chaz cooed, pressing his cheek gently against the side of Wren's neck.

It really wasn't that big of a deal, but the way that Chaz asked for the information made it sound like it was. He might as well play along with the fantasy, and Chaz seemed to enjoy keeping secrets. "It is Forren, a truncation of Fortress Wren. That is my technical name." Not that it made much difference in the overall scheme of things. Chaz didn't reply to him for a minute or two, he hadn't fallen asleep because his breathing pattern had not changed, but he had gone totally silent. Wren tried to stimulate the conversation again, turning it in a different direction if he needed to. "�Do you think that we will survive the Air Castle?" He asked.

Chaz retracted his arm from his charmingly cute lover, his smile hidden within the darkness. "I think we can, especially if we have a fortress on our side. I won't tell anybody about your real name. It can be our little secret, just between the two of us, okay?" He sensed Wren nod beside him. Chaz felt completely in control of the situation for once and that that went for both his role as leader and the mischievous leanings of his heart. "As for the Air Castle I think we can win, provided we trust each other and work as a team. I have faith in everyone."

"I will protect everybody as well as I am able." Wren vowed with the quiet yet iron-willed determination that he always held. This was what he said, though what he truly wished to say was; 'I will protect you as well as I am able'.

Regardless of what he had said the blond palman easily picked up on Wren's underlying meaning. He understood. "Come here." Chaz ordered warmly and Wren obeyed him, knowing what he wanted already, the two travelers from distant worlds easily finding each other in the dark. Their lips met after a second and it was good, sweet, timeless. Chaz tasted salt, a faint bitterness in Wren's mouth that emphasized the soft sweetness of the experience. It baffled him for a moment before he realized what it was. He was tasting himself on Wren's tongue, vague traces from their experiences before.

It did not bother him nearly as much as he thought it would. Chaz pulled away and settled himself down again for the night. He was happy. He hoped that it would last. "Goodnight Forren." He whispered, laying his head down against the pillow.

"Goodnight Chaz." Came the echoing reply, and for the next six quiet uneventful hours, all was right with the world.
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