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Corax woke to the sound of a softly snoring Robert Harwood. The grizzled mercenary leader was still asleep. Robert's head was buried face down in the plumage of Corax's upper chest. Corax lay in the functional, if comfortable, bed, and took in the sights of the room around him - there had been little time to do so six - neg, eight - hours earlier.
Upon their arrival, it had been two minutes of frantic (and drunken, in Robert's case) undressing, an hour and a half of intense, intimate, and wall-shakingly loud coupling - Robert face down or otherwise receiving for much of it - then thirty minutes of afterglow, a quick fifteen minute shower tandem shower, and finally, sleep for the remainder of the time elapsed.
Corax decided he would allow Robert as much sleep as he desired. So he looked around the room - his genetically-augmented avian night vision allowing him a good view of everything, even in the dark - at the bare metal walls, the holovid player and CD audio system on the far wall, the open door to the surprisingly well appointed bathroom... It was a nice, if functional, room. Not as well-appointed as the Argo's quarters, but better than the barracks and sibko facilities Corax had been raised in.
Idly he ran his taloned hands softly across Robert's still naked back, as his mind began to wander... there are adjustments for hot drop that needed to be made to the Haast Eagle before we drop, and the stravag PPC was still showing a .085% transfer inefficiency with the capacitor off-line - but he shook off those thoughts. He wanted to take Robert there, and show him. Every ‘Mech pilot, and many Aerospace pilots, found LAMs an alluring, fascinating, "dead end" technology, but the Haast Eagle was the first to be built since the Jihad. It was the first of a new generation - especially since the Argo's prodigy of an engineering whiz-cum-electronics sorceress Jaela Virtanen-Murad had cracked the problem of mounting Ferro-Fibrous armor to a LAM.
And so he lay, thinking, stroking his sleeping coupling partner's back, breathing, and feeling very content. After a while, at precisely 5:00 Taurian Standard Time - though Corax had no way of knowing - Robert's eyes opened, quickly snapping around the room, until they settled on Corax. For a moment, his bleary eyes widened, and his jaw went slack with awe, but as the fog of sleep cleared, recognition came over him, and he schooled his expression back to pleased neutrality.
"Mornin', Nevermore," Robert said. "Nice of you to stick around. I'm led to understand that with you Clan folk it can be a bit of a 'Wham, bam, thank you ma'am' type situation." He sits up in bed, joints making all sorts of creaks and cracks from decades of abuse. He leans over the edge of the bed, pulling himself closer to the edge. After a moment’s looking, he turned back to Corax with a slightly annoyed expression.
"Alright, where the hell are my limbs. I'm too hungover to remember taking them off, and I need them if I'm gonna make us coffee and breakfast," he said, gesturing with his remaining flesh arm to the three mounting surfaces adorning his other arm and legs.
Corax pointed silently to the three mechanical limbs, laid out neatly within arm's reach of the bed, before smiling. "As for leaving, why would I do so? I have enjoyed this much too much to walk out on you so quickly," he said, sitting up to kiss Robert. "And what's more, I did not want to move and disturb your sleep. You looked much too handsome laying across me like that."
Robert chuckled, shaking his head softly. "A real charmer," he said, twisting his leg back into place with a slight wince as the artificial nerve feedback hit. "But I'm glad." With a groan, he got up, padding across the floor to the small kitchenette, grabbing things out of the mini-fridge resting on the counter top. For a moment, he hesitated, before turning to Corax. "You eat eggs, right? It's not... I dunno, cannibalism or something?"
Corax chuckled as he walked over to hug Robert from behind. "I am still human, Robert, I just happen to look like a giant, walking, talking, fluffy, irresistibly handsome bird," he said. "Your words, by the way, not mine. Last night. So, aff, eggs will be fine," he finally answered.
Robert scoffs, grabbing the carton of eggs out of the fridge, before leaning back into Corax's hug, resting the back of his head against his fluffy chest. "Would I say something like that? I don't think so," he said with a shit-eating grin, as he cracked four eggs into a bowl.
"You did, but given how drunk you were after 24 shots of pure alcohol, not remembering everything is understandable," Corax said, as he wrapped a thickly-muscled, fluffy arm around Robert’s stomach.
"I still don't know how you convinced me to do that,” Robert grimaced. “Here I am, a grizzled merc with decades of combat experience halfway to alcohol poisoning because I wanted to impress you, like some lovestruck teen. It's ridiculous." As he spoke, he chopped vegetables and tossed them into the small pan, where chunks of an unidentified meat sat sizzling.
"You convinced yourself. And neg, it is not ridiculous; it was endearing, understandable, and very lovely, to be the subject of such affection," Corax says as he watches, knowing well not to interrupt a cook when they're working. He places his snow-feathered head on Robert's shoulder to watch better. Robert reached a hand up, holding Corax's cheek and leaning his head in. As the vegetables and meat sizzled in the pan, Robert began preparing a pot of coffee, measuring out grounds and pouring the water. "How do you take it?" he asked.
"Mmm... I tend to prefer tea... Hang on," Corax said, and hesitantly pulled away from Robert, turning and squatting to root about in the many pockets of his G-suit/cooling suit, which lay on the floor at the foot of the bed. Heh, at least I get a nice view, thought Robert. "Where is the stravag- ah, here," Corax said after a brief search, pulling out a smallish bag of curious looking tea, made of dried purple, blue, and cyan flowers.
Robert wrinkled his nose, clicking the button to begin brewing the coffee. "Ugh. Leaf water. Can't stand the stuff," he said, half-joking, though he still put a jug of water on the hotplate next to the pan. As the meat browned and the veggies became slightly translucent, Robert poured in the egg.
"Yours is bean water," Corax chuckled in response. "And besides, this is flower water, true tea. Not leaf water. Though I have found a fondness for Taurian iced tea, particularly when spiked."
"You sound like my mother," Robert said. "I never saw the woman without iced tea, liquor, or both. Hand me the spice blend from that cabinet there?" he asked, pointing at a small wall cabinet to his right.
Corax went and retrieved the spices as instructed, and returned with them, handing them to Robert before beginning to make his tea, adding a packet of some manner of reddish powdery substance to the heating water.
After a few minutes, Robert finished the cooking, plating two servings of the dish and offering one to Corax, before indicating the small, wooden table and two chairs that sit against one wall. "Bone apple teeth, Nevermore. Figure your tea ought to be ready any second now."
"Aff, it will be done soon," Corax said, taking the plate, and placing it on the table, before going to check on his tea. As he poured it into the clear thermoplastic cup, it swirled with color, red particles swimming in a sea of purple, teal, and blue. To Robert, it smelled amazing; sweet, floral, and inviting.
"I know you have coffee, and a preference for it, but would you like to try some?" Corax asked, holding a second clear cup.
After a moment, Robert took the cup, holding it gently as he brought it up to his face. He sniffs at the vapor before his brow creases and, eyes fixed on Corax, asked, "What's it supposed to taste like?"
"Try it, you will see."
Keeping his eyes locked with Corax's, watching closely for any sign of a trick, Robert took a long, deep sip. The flavor hit him like a revelation. Not overly sweet, barely bitter, notes of vanilla, caramel, citrus, floral, almost hibiscus like notes, and a soothing feeling of opening up his throat and nose. It was warm, inviting, delicious, and he soon realized, packed energy drink levels of caffeine, taurine, or something like them.
"Oh," Robert said, smiling involuntarily, taking another sip. "That's good." He hums contentedly, taking a bite of his breakfast. "That's really good." Over by his bedside, his phone let out a bleep, but he either did not notice, or intentionally ignored it.
"Shall I make you some more?" Corax asked. "I have more of the blend and spices aboard the Argo. I grow and make it myself."
Robert thought for a moment before answering. "If you've got some to spare, I wouldn't mind, " he smiled, an unguarded, happy smile, just basking in the fact that he wasn’t waking up alone.
"I have quite a bit. Not much is needed to make a full pot of tea. I can have a crate or two sent over. And if you like, a few of the plants themselves, and I can show you how to care for them. They are actually rather easy to grow,” Corax explained, as he walked over and sat down at the table across from Robert, smiling.
Robert hummed for a moment, before shaking his head. "No room to grow it on board, just no space. But if you could bear to part with a crate or two, that can be stowed in plenty of places." Behind him, the phone pinged again, and still went ignored.
"For you, Robert, I could part with several crates," Corax said, smiling, and began to eat.
Robert attacked his food as well, digging into the plate of eggs with gusto, sporadically flicking his eyes to Corax, as if to make sure that he wouldn't disappear in a flurry of feathers the moment he looked away. However, before long, the moment was disrupted by a knock at Robert's door.
"Expecting visitors? Should I hide?" Corax asked, smiling playfully.
"Shouldn't have to," said Robert. "I own the damn ship, I can fuck whoever I want on it."
Robert, slightly annoyed, walked to the door. He leaned in close to it. “Who is it?”
"Sir," came Chang's voice. "They need you in the war room."
Robert looked exasperatedly at Corax. "Sorry, but it looks like our morning has been cut short. I'd offer to bring you, but I doubt you want to see me dealing with logistical issues of the deployment for three hours. Kinda ruins my rugged appeal," he chuckled as he opened the door to allow Chang inside.
"Lucky for you, I find a man skilled at logistics to be quite attractive on his own, much less when he is also as ruggedly handsome and good in bed as you..." Corax said, sultry and flirty, only now pulling on a tight pair of red underwear - that still left little to the imagination. "That said, I must go prepare my 'Mech for the drop. I am told I am taking part in some devious scheme of yours or other, and that you will need a wingman for it."
Corax walked over to Robert, making a clear show of making out with the mercenary leader in front of Chang, and then squeezed Robert's hand, which Robert held with his own. They held each other's gaze, for long enough to be sure.
And then, agonizingly for both of them, they looked away, to begin dressing. Soon they would return to their work. But both of them knew they would be back at the end of the day. In each other’s arms.
Together.