Marriage of Convenience, Part 03
Aug. 7th, 2009 10:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wiseheartMARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE
by Soledad
Disclaimer: The characters and the settings don't belong to me. Just the story idea and a few original characters.
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PART 03
“He wants us to do what?” Sergeant Jamie Markham demanded in open-mouthed astonishment.
Stackhouse grinned. He had to admit that Jamie was damn cute like this. Well, he was cute, period. Lieutenant Ford was often called pretty, and with reason, although he would probably have rammed his biggest explosives up the ass of anyone who would dare to call him that in the face – well any fellow Marine, at least.
But Jamie… Jamie was different. With that sensitive, oval face, those beautiful hazel eyes that sat just a little too close to each other under the long, gently arched eyebrows, that cute, slightly upturned nose and those shy, lopsided grins that brought out his killed dimples to full effect, he could be simply irresistible at times.
When he was wearing his civvies, one would take him for an actor or a poet – never a soldier. There was some elusive softness in him, some odd vulnerability, inherited perhaps from his British father, that made one wish to protect him. Which was ridiculous, considering that he had gotten a Silver Star for their tour of duty in Iraq, just like Stackhouse himself, but it was the truth nonetheless.
He could also be incredibly naïve, a reminder of an overly sheltered childhood that not even the hard Marine training could completely eradicate. That was occasionally maddening, but only made Stackhouse love him the more.
“Halling offers us a way to be together openly, without raising suspicions, without risking our careers… or our safety, in case some of the guys would turn out to be a closet homophobe,” he explained as slowly and calmly as he could. It wasn’t an easy feat. The mere thought of having unlimited access to Jamie – not only to his company but also to his body – without fear was a dizzying perspective. “In exchange, we would have to marry Anais and give the tribe children, helping them to prevent inbreeding.”
“B-but… that would be cheating!” Jamie blurted out.
He was truly adorable, trying to wrap his mind around this radically new concept. Not that he would be stupid – had he not followed Stackhouse to the Corps, he could have gone to college, and he was already half an engineer, learning things about puddle jumper propulsion and maintenance from Dr. Z at an almost alarming rate – but military indoctrination was a hard thing to overcome.
Besides, Stackhouse wasn’t entirely sure just what side of the so-called cheating bothered Jamie most: the fact that they would be lying to their comrades, the fact that they would only accept Anais offer to be together, or the fact that he would have to share Stackhouse with her.
“No, it wouldn’t,” Stackhouse said gently, trying to warm his best friend/lust object/one true love up to the idea. “Anais knows what she’s getting herself into, and seems to think that it’s a good enough bargain for her. I’m afraid the Athosians have already figured us out… but for them, it’s natural.”
“N-natural?” Jamie was deeply shocked by that concept.
Stackhouse nodded. “Yeah. “As Halling explained to me, they need to be sure who the father of each kid is, so that they wouldn’t accidentally bond with half-sibs or close cousins or whatnot. So a woman sleeps with one of her spouses until she catches, and switches to another one in the middle of her fertile cycle if she doesn’t. In the meantime, the men in the family are supposed to… erm… take care of each other’s needs,” he added, blushing involuntarily.
Jamie’s face was already in flame, but fair-skinned as he was, that was to be expected.
“I’m not sure the other grunts will see this the same way,” he murmured.
Stackhouse shrugged. “They won’t know, unless we tell them – and we won’t tell. Isn’t that the official policy of the military? Besides, we won’t be the first ones to marry an Athosian. Dr. Z has done it. Dr. B, too. And Dr. Corrigan is on his way to do the same.”
“Yeah, but they’re all civilians, and Drs Z and B aren’t even American,” Jamie reminded him. “Not to mention that they both live in one-guy-one-chick marriages.”
“Actually, that’s not true,” Stackhouse corrected. “Marta and Dr. Z belong to Halling’s household.”
Jamie’s jaw hit the floor with an almost audible thump.
“Are you telling me that Halling is fucking Dr. Z?” he blurted out, louder than he had originally intended. Fortunately, they were alone in Stackhouse’s quarters. “How are they doing that? I mean, Dr. Z barely reaches to Halling’s chest, and…”
Stackhouse couldn’t help, he had to laugh. Jamie speculating about the possible sexual acrobatics of Dr. Z and the new Athosian leader was just too damned funny… despite the somewhat… disturbing mental images that now would not get out of his head for days.
“I’m sure they’ll solve the logistic problem somehow,” he said. “Dr. Z is a brilliant engineer, after all. But no, I don’t think that he’s putting it up for Halling… not yet, anyway.”
“Not yet?” Jamie glared at him in exasperation. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that the Athosians are giving him time to get used to his new family status,” Stackhouse explained, sobering quickly. “He’s with Marta now, still digesting the idea of multiple spouses. It is a big step, even for him… for us all. The Athosians know that and allow him to grow into it gradually.”
“And that leaves Halling… where exactly?” Jamie asked with a frown.
Stackhouse shrugged. “Well, he has Ireni; you know, the mom of Wex, Jinto’s friend. She, too, has lost her other spouses, so she and Halling decided to unite their households, so that the boys can grow up as brothers. Which means that Halling and Ireni can afford to let Dr Z getting used to the idea. Or not at all, as they can simply switch partners. Whatever suits them best.”
“And what would suit us best, assuming that we accept Anais’ offer?” Jamie asked. “I need to know the odds, Stacks, if you want me to think about this to begin with!”
He sounded slightly panicked… almost hysterical, in fact. But who could blame him for it? This was a damn big step they had to decide about within a few days. And they had to decide. Anais did not have much time. If they refused, she would have to travel off-world to find a spouse, and that would be even more time-consuming. A six-week fertility period was a damn narrow time window.
Stackhouse sighed. “What do you want me to say, Jamie? You know as well as I do that we won’t be able to keep our hands from each other forever. That puddle jumper accident has changed everything – I don’t know how and why, I only know that it has.”
“I know,” Jamie said glumly. “Believe me, I know. So, tell me: what do you want to do?”
“I want you,” Stackhouse answered slowly. “Sometimes I want you so much that it hurts. Sometimes I get hard from seeing you walk in front of me. And if I keep staring at your ass on off-world missions, it’s gonna get us killed one day – us and everyone else we’re meant to protect.”
“I know,” Jamie replied miserably. “I wouldn’t even dare to go to the shower at the same time as you. Thank God we no longer have communal showers here, or I’d walk around with a permanent woody.” He buried his face into his hands, which, Stackhouse could see it clearly, were trembling. “Shit, I never wanted to feel this way! I mean, you’re my best friend, and I’ve loved you longer than I can remember, but not like this! It was… it was manageable before.”
Stackhouse nodded. “I know; and perhaps it isn’t our fault that it is not manageable any longer. But whatever the reason is, we need to do something about it, or things will get completely out of hand. Now, we can hide and fuck in secret, risking being caught with out pants around our ankles and court-martialled for it… or we can accept the Athosians' proposal and create a legal framework for us and be safe.”
“Safe?” Jamie echoed incredulously. “Everyone would know…”
“Why would they?” Stackhouse interrupted. “They’re used to us doing everything in tandem. Perhaps they’ll think we’re kinky, sharing a wife as well, and there’ll probably be a betting pool about who’s screwing her on which night, but I really don’t think anyone would suspect that on some nights we’ll be screwing each other.”
A quick glance told him that while Jamie was still shocked by the idea, at least certain parts of his anatomy were… rising to the challenge already. He stepped closer and grabbed the bulge in Jamie’s pants through the fabric.
“Do you really find the idea so repulsive?” he murmured, fondling Jamie’s package, and not too gently at that. “Think about it – we could visit Anais on the mainland regularly; and after we’ve done our spousal duties, we could fuck until our backs give out…”
He was deliberately talking dirty – which he usually did not with Jamie – to get over his point. Jamie arched into his touch, moaning softly, his beautiful eyes clouding.
“Damn you, Stacks,” he whimpered, and Stackhouse was a little shocked to see the tears running down his face. “Can’t you just fuck me senseless, here and now, and we’ll discuss the rest afterwards?”
That was an offer no sane man could refuse. Stackhouse the last. He kissed Jamie, slowly, thoroughly, with lots of tongue, and then navigated them both towards the bedroom.
“That,” he murmured, coming up for air for a moment, “can be arranged.”
by Soledad
Disclaimer: The characters and the settings don't belong to me. Just the story idea and a few original characters.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
PART 03
“He wants us to do what?” Sergeant Jamie Markham demanded in open-mouthed astonishment.
Stackhouse grinned. He had to admit that Jamie was damn cute like this. Well, he was cute, period. Lieutenant Ford was often called pretty, and with reason, although he would probably have rammed his biggest explosives up the ass of anyone who would dare to call him that in the face – well any fellow Marine, at least.
But Jamie… Jamie was different. With that sensitive, oval face, those beautiful hazel eyes that sat just a little too close to each other under the long, gently arched eyebrows, that cute, slightly upturned nose and those shy, lopsided grins that brought out his killed dimples to full effect, he could be simply irresistible at times.
When he was wearing his civvies, one would take him for an actor or a poet – never a soldier. There was some elusive softness in him, some odd vulnerability, inherited perhaps from his British father, that made one wish to protect him. Which was ridiculous, considering that he had gotten a Silver Star for their tour of duty in Iraq, just like Stackhouse himself, but it was the truth nonetheless.
He could also be incredibly naïve, a reminder of an overly sheltered childhood that not even the hard Marine training could completely eradicate. That was occasionally maddening, but only made Stackhouse love him the more.
“Halling offers us a way to be together openly, without raising suspicions, without risking our careers… or our safety, in case some of the guys would turn out to be a closet homophobe,” he explained as slowly and calmly as he could. It wasn’t an easy feat. The mere thought of having unlimited access to Jamie – not only to his company but also to his body – without fear was a dizzying perspective. “In exchange, we would have to marry Anais and give the tribe children, helping them to prevent inbreeding.”
“B-but… that would be cheating!” Jamie blurted out.
He was truly adorable, trying to wrap his mind around this radically new concept. Not that he would be stupid – had he not followed Stackhouse to the Corps, he could have gone to college, and he was already half an engineer, learning things about puddle jumper propulsion and maintenance from Dr. Z at an almost alarming rate – but military indoctrination was a hard thing to overcome.
Besides, Stackhouse wasn’t entirely sure just what side of the so-called cheating bothered Jamie most: the fact that they would be lying to their comrades, the fact that they would only accept Anais offer to be together, or the fact that he would have to share Stackhouse with her.
“No, it wouldn’t,” Stackhouse said gently, trying to warm his best friend/lust object/one true love up to the idea. “Anais knows what she’s getting herself into, and seems to think that it’s a good enough bargain for her. I’m afraid the Athosians have already figured us out… but for them, it’s natural.”
“N-natural?” Jamie was deeply shocked by that concept.
Stackhouse nodded. “Yeah. “As Halling explained to me, they need to be sure who the father of each kid is, so that they wouldn’t accidentally bond with half-sibs or close cousins or whatnot. So a woman sleeps with one of her spouses until she catches, and switches to another one in the middle of her fertile cycle if she doesn’t. In the meantime, the men in the family are supposed to… erm… take care of each other’s needs,” he added, blushing involuntarily.
Jamie’s face was already in flame, but fair-skinned as he was, that was to be expected.
“I’m not sure the other grunts will see this the same way,” he murmured.
Stackhouse shrugged. “They won’t know, unless we tell them – and we won’t tell. Isn’t that the official policy of the military? Besides, we won’t be the first ones to marry an Athosian. Dr. Z has done it. Dr. B, too. And Dr. Corrigan is on his way to do the same.”
“Yeah, but they’re all civilians, and Drs Z and B aren’t even American,” Jamie reminded him. “Not to mention that they both live in one-guy-one-chick marriages.”
“Actually, that’s not true,” Stackhouse corrected. “Marta and Dr. Z belong to Halling’s household.”
Jamie’s jaw hit the floor with an almost audible thump.
“Are you telling me that Halling is fucking Dr. Z?” he blurted out, louder than he had originally intended. Fortunately, they were alone in Stackhouse’s quarters. “How are they doing that? I mean, Dr. Z barely reaches to Halling’s chest, and…”
Stackhouse couldn’t help, he had to laugh. Jamie speculating about the possible sexual acrobatics of Dr. Z and the new Athosian leader was just too damned funny… despite the somewhat… disturbing mental images that now would not get out of his head for days.
“I’m sure they’ll solve the logistic problem somehow,” he said. “Dr. Z is a brilliant engineer, after all. But no, I don’t think that he’s putting it up for Halling… not yet, anyway.”
“Not yet?” Jamie glared at him in exasperation. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that the Athosians are giving him time to get used to his new family status,” Stackhouse explained, sobering quickly. “He’s with Marta now, still digesting the idea of multiple spouses. It is a big step, even for him… for us all. The Athosians know that and allow him to grow into it gradually.”
“And that leaves Halling… where exactly?” Jamie asked with a frown.
Stackhouse shrugged. “Well, he has Ireni; you know, the mom of Wex, Jinto’s friend. She, too, has lost her other spouses, so she and Halling decided to unite their households, so that the boys can grow up as brothers. Which means that Halling and Ireni can afford to let Dr Z getting used to the idea. Or not at all, as they can simply switch partners. Whatever suits them best.”
“And what would suit us best, assuming that we accept Anais’ offer?” Jamie asked. “I need to know the odds, Stacks, if you want me to think about this to begin with!”
He sounded slightly panicked… almost hysterical, in fact. But who could blame him for it? This was a damn big step they had to decide about within a few days. And they had to decide. Anais did not have much time. If they refused, she would have to travel off-world to find a spouse, and that would be even more time-consuming. A six-week fertility period was a damn narrow time window.
Stackhouse sighed. “What do you want me to say, Jamie? You know as well as I do that we won’t be able to keep our hands from each other forever. That puddle jumper accident has changed everything – I don’t know how and why, I only know that it has.”
“I know,” Jamie said glumly. “Believe me, I know. So, tell me: what do you want to do?”
“I want you,” Stackhouse answered slowly. “Sometimes I want you so much that it hurts. Sometimes I get hard from seeing you walk in front of me. And if I keep staring at your ass on off-world missions, it’s gonna get us killed one day – us and everyone else we’re meant to protect.”
“I know,” Jamie replied miserably. “I wouldn’t even dare to go to the shower at the same time as you. Thank God we no longer have communal showers here, or I’d walk around with a permanent woody.” He buried his face into his hands, which, Stackhouse could see it clearly, were trembling. “Shit, I never wanted to feel this way! I mean, you’re my best friend, and I’ve loved you longer than I can remember, but not like this! It was… it was manageable before.”
Stackhouse nodded. “I know; and perhaps it isn’t our fault that it is not manageable any longer. But whatever the reason is, we need to do something about it, or things will get completely out of hand. Now, we can hide and fuck in secret, risking being caught with out pants around our ankles and court-martialled for it… or we can accept the Athosians' proposal and create a legal framework for us and be safe.”
“Safe?” Jamie echoed incredulously. “Everyone would know…”
“Why would they?” Stackhouse interrupted. “They’re used to us doing everything in tandem. Perhaps they’ll think we’re kinky, sharing a wife as well, and there’ll probably be a betting pool about who’s screwing her on which night, but I really don’t think anyone would suspect that on some nights we’ll be screwing each other.”
A quick glance told him that while Jamie was still shocked by the idea, at least certain parts of his anatomy were… rising to the challenge already. He stepped closer and grabbed the bulge in Jamie’s pants through the fabric.
“Do you really find the idea so repulsive?” he murmured, fondling Jamie’s package, and not too gently at that. “Think about it – we could visit Anais on the mainland regularly; and after we’ve done our spousal duties, we could fuck until our backs give out…”
He was deliberately talking dirty – which he usually did not with Jamie – to get over his point. Jamie arched into his touch, moaning softly, his beautiful eyes clouding.
“Damn you, Stacks,” he whimpered, and Stackhouse was a little shocked to see the tears running down his face. “Can’t you just fuck me senseless, here and now, and we’ll discuss the rest afterwards?”
That was an offer no sane man could refuse. Stackhouse the last. He kissed Jamie, slowly, thoroughly, with lots of tongue, and then navigated them both towards the bedroom.
“That,” he murmured, coming up for air for a moment, “can be arranged.”
