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“So, what’s this one called, Mogo?” Balancing his sketch pad on a nearby rock precariously, Kyle Rayner leaned back into a construct climbing harness to support himself on the rocky ledge of mountain, trying to get as close to his subject as he could without disturbing it. The subject being a majestic looking bird- it could’ve been a Phoenix for all he knew. Long, graceful, golden feathers with a proud stance. Kyle’s eyes darted between his sketch pad and the bird in excitement. He wondered why he hadn’t thought of this earlier- making studies of alien landscapes, flora and fauna, while getting used to this huge universe that he was now one of many guardians for. Using his encounter with the Parallax entity as an excuse to get away from Earth for a while was just what he needed. His sleep was finally restful, and there was nothing to remind him of what Parallax was going to take away.
Drawing the local life on Mogo was the obvious choice of locations for his introduction to the wild life. Having the closest thing to a biologist at ring’s distance away was a lot friendlier than the Oan records, even if talking to Mogo was like listening to a weather report. Mogo had picked perfect weather for his weeklong visit. He had had nothing but sunshine, and today was no exception. The light from the hot yellow sun was not only giving Kyle a great tan, but some beautiful, ethereal lighting for his drawing.
“Gwinglia,” Mogo replied as Kyle sketched the form of the bird furiously to paper, fighting to capture it’s flow on the page, “This species of bird was introduced to me around 3468 Earth years ago by a race of refugees. They were a gift to me for caring for their people while their world was at war.”
“Incredible,” Kyle grinned wiping his brow of the sweat from the hot sun, “They’re such beautiful birds. What else do you know about them?”
“They feed on the berries of the Metacartle plant below you. I’d be careful of that plant, Lantern Rayner. I am unsure of its effects on humans. Its thorns are highly poisonous. Be sure to contact me as soon as you can if you come in contact with it.”
“No need to convince me,” Kyle grimaced, glancing down the rock face, spotting a plant with brightly coloured fruit, and dangerous spikes covering it. They were easy enough to avoid on the way up because he was flying so there wasn’t any immediate concern for him. It’d also be easy enough to climb past them too if he navigated the slope of the mountain right. He was glad though that he didn’t need to take any chances with them. He didn’t want to find out how he’d react to being pricked by that Sleeping Beauty special.
Suddenly though, there was a flurry of golden feathers. Nearly losing his footing as he dropped his pad in surprise, he looked up to see a fearsome four legged creature that looked vaguely like a mountain cat, crouched over its prey but a few meters away from where he was drawing. Its glowing eyes looked directly at Kyle, glaring menacingly.
“That creature is…”
“Not a good time, Mogo. I need to get out of here fast,” Kyle replied, lifting his legs onto the rock face, and springing backwards as he dissipated the harness construct. Kyle quickly formed a shield in front of him, taking the full impact as the creature sprang towards him with a deadly swipe.
“ARRrrrr,” Kyle cried out as he was batted into some rocks below, tearing at his skin as he tumbled down the mountain face blindly. Throwing out a construct of a slingshot, Kyle bounced into it, propelling himself back up into the air towards the falling space cat.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Kyle cried out, forming a ring of firemen with a basket to catch the large cat from falling, bringing it back up to the ledge it came from. The cat roared and struggled loudly as it tried to get out.
“Now be a good kitty while I… I…” Pausing, the world around him suddenly shifted strangely, his whole body felt a bolt of numbness shoot right through him. Kyle held his hand to his head, widening his eyes in surprise. The effects amplifyed for a second round, making him fight to stay upright and conscious.
“Ri… ring… What’s happening to me? I… I feel like I’ve just downed half a bottle of tequila.” Stumbling to the ground, it took everything in him to retain the construct around the creature, as the feeling morphed by the second, washing a feeling of euphoria through him. Looking back at his firemen holding onto the raging cat, the men started to devolve into a more… blobby figure. It was still holding the cat, but it wasn’t a work of art. Good enough for now. Kyle could feel his eyes start to glaze over as the ring responded.
“Your right arm has sustained multiple puncture wounds. You are currently experiencing the effect of the poison from the Metacartle thorn. Suggested action: immediate medical attention.”
“Fantastic.” Kyle rubbed his face, a slight smile appearing on his face as the initial waves of numbness seemed to subside to just the happy, euphoric hum in his mind. Grateful that he seemed to have finally metabolized the poison to a degree, Kyle adopted a grin, thinking how great it’d be to go clubbing right about now. “Irony, you’re a bitch with a wicked left hook, but right now, I kinda don’t mind…” Getting up off the ground, Kyle looked up just in time to see two more large mountain cat-like creatures leaping towards him.
“I take it back!” Readying his arms in front of his face and forming a blob in front of him as a shield, Kyle could feel his resolve weakening- he had no idea how he was going to fight off two of these space cats alone. Perhaps irony really was a cold hearted bitch.
Suddenly, an even larger shield appeared just in front of him. The two cats thumped onto the shield and slid to the ground. Kyle watched dumbly then as two constructed hands picked the cats up by the scruffs of their necks and lifted them off the ground. Silhouetted by the sun, a glowing green figure descended from the sky towards him.
“That’s not right,” Kyle shielded his eyes from the glare, watching the figure come closer. What Green Lantern in their right mind would stand guard in the same sector as Mogo when there was already a second Green Lantern there? It would seem highly excessive, especially considering he was honor guard. A pack of space cats should’ve been no problem for him.
Finally, the figure broke through the light, and landed. His good friend Guy Gardner stepped through the glare, dissipating the shield before him, and adopting a cocky grin. He brushed Kyle’s shield out of the way with a swipe of the back of his hand, before slipping his arm under his armpit. Kyle relaxed into his friend in relief. The paralytic may have subsided, but his coordination was just as muddled as his mind for the moment.
“Hey, Princess,” Guy joked, giving Kyle a light jab in the chest, “You forget how to take care of a couple of overgrown cats? And I thought I got you past the damsel in distress stage.”
Gazing back at Guy, Kyle’s eyes softened back at his friend. He had no idea how Guy got to him so fast, nor did he care right then. All that he knew was that he was so incredibly grateful to see Guy. Him and that self assured grin. The one that gave him confidence that no matter what he faced, he could take it all on. Guy may have seemed a simplistic person on the surface to everyone else, but deep down, Kyle knew he had the most passionate heart he had ever seen, and he had always admired that. It’s what he believed made him such a strong Lantern. That, and that incredible body of his.
Pausing the nattering in his mind, Kyle wondered how the conversation of Guy’s body popped up in his mind. It wasn’t something he had really thought much about until that moment, but now he considered it, he did actually have an incredible body. He was genuinely strong and agile from real combat- not like himself. Kyle knew he wasn’t incapable in a fist fight, but he did fight more with his ring than his body. Guy however, fought with everything he had… he wondered what it’d be like to do etchings of Guy’s body. What those muscles would tell him about the man that wore them.
“Kyle, are you even listening to me?”
Kyle’s eyes widened as Guy grabbed his hand and pulled it off his chest, giving him a strange look, “Kid, I’ve just gone pretty much from Earth to Rann to make sure that you’re OK after this damn Parallax ordeal. The least you could do is pay attention to me when I tell you what a freaking stupid plan running off on your own was.”
Looking at his hand in Guy’s beside them, Kyle hadn’t realized till then, but his ring hand had somehow managed its way onto his friend, and had started making its way into his vest. He had no idea when he put it there. Was that what the poison was doing to him? Lowering his inhibitions? Is this what he wanted? There was so much going on in his head, but perhaps he was finally starting to get a handle on it. Like the Ion power, it took a while to get use to it, but the pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together finally. It was all finally starting to make sense.
Removing his hand from Guy’s grip, Kyle raised his hand to cradle Guy’s jawline. A bar of blush appeared over the red head’s freckled cheeks.
“Hey, kid. Wait a…” He had barely started his sentence before Kyle’s lips pressed to his own. Closing his eyes, Kyle’s lips gently massaged against Guy’s, running his fingers around his head and through his coarse ginger hair, massaging his scalp. It was so different from touching a woman’s hair. No product fighting his fingers, no long hair to get tangled up in, and just enough texture on the hair cuticle to tickle his fingers as he ran his hands through them. Guy for once seemed almost paralyzed with shock at this new development, except for the slight movements he made to better contour to Kyle’s body. Kyle took this as a sign of acceptance.
Tilting his head, Kyle moved in for a deeper kiss, slipping his tongue in between Guy’s lips, tracing around the inside of his lips. Guy hummed agreeably, slipping his fingers into Kyle’s black hair, tilting his head into the kiss, giving the inside of Kyle’s lips a gentle caress with his tongue. Tilting their heads the other way, their tongues touched for a moment, sending a shiver through his body. Feeling Guy lips pull away, Kyle gave his bottom lip a slight tug of protest with his lips, going to open his eyes to see what the matter was.
“Kyle…” Guy moaned, cupping Kyle’s jaw with both hands, giving the younger lantern kisses, one after the other, his desperation for Kyle’s lips getting stronger and stronger, before he suddenly stopped. One of Guy’s strong hands slid firmly down Kyle’s body to his chest, resting on his heart. Kyle looked down, feeling his heart start to skip about at the feeling of Guy’s touch. This was it, surely. Preparing himself for Guy’s complete affection, Kyle was instead gently pushed away.
“Ring,” Guy started, fighting to regain his composure as he covered Kyle’s tempting lips with his ring hand, “What the hell is up with Kyle?”
Kyle was surprised at Guy’s change of humour for a moment, before moving his hands to cradle the hand over his mouth, giving his palm a run of kisses, as if he was still pressed to his lips. Guy returned to his previous shade of red, as he removed the glove from his ring hand, watching Kyle’s actions.
“Lantern Rayner is feeling the effects of the Metacartle thorn’s poison,” His ring responded, “Suggested action, immediate medi…”
“Don’t be stupid,” Guy growled at the ring, “Kyle didn’t roll around in the damn bush. It’s only a few nicks. Metacartle thorns are only poisonous to you friggin’ aliens that don’t have a dedicated friggin’ liver like we do!” Feeling Kyle’s tongue lick up his ring finger, and give the tip a kiss, Guy’s attention refocused back to the black haired lantern, watching his lips slide down around the finger. Guy and Kyle’s eyes met for a moment as he looked up, his green eyes gazing sultrily back at him as if to beckon him to join in. Guy slowly removed his finger from Kyle’s mouth, his lips tingling at the feel of Kyle’s tongue slipping down his finger one last time. Finally breaking his finger past the threshold of Kyle’s lips, Guy looked down at his ring finger tenderly, and how it glistened slightly in the light. Sighing, Guy placed his hands on either side of Kyle’s jaw once more, giving his forehead a kiss. “Not like this, Kiddo,” Guy said softly, before a whimper sound came to his attention.
Glancing toward the noise, he noticed that he was still holding the alien mountain cats by the scruff of their necks, and Kyle was somehow managing to sustain the third in his… well, he couldn’t tell what it should’ve been. It was all simplified to a blob of a sack. It somehow managed to do the job though. That was more than he could say about what most Lanterns could do. That kid was amazing what he could do with that ring of his. He had to be off his face on alien hooch, yet he still maintained a construct that did its job, even if the constructs were far too fragile for combat. Laughing to himself, Guy grabbed Kyle, lifting the two of them off the rocks as he lowered the two cats. They scattered quickly, followed by the third as Guy constructed a bat, dissipating Kyle’s final construct with it. Wrapping his arms and legs around Guy, Kyle grinned, giving his neck a few kisses. Guy looked down at Kyle’s happy face and sighed.
“Fuck,” Guy grumbled, holding onto Kyle tightly as he scanned the scenery for somewhere that Mogo could give him first aid, “This better not be something I’m going to live to regret…”
Epilogue
Kyle bolted to an upright, gasping for air, and coughing out water as he realized that he had somehow managed to end up in some. Feeling his body get tilted back to an upright, a strong, supportive set of arms drew him closer to a warm chest, holding him tight. Kyle let out a sigh of relief, resting his head onto his rescuer. His clothes looked like he had seen better days, but his body at least didn’t feel like it had gone through the same punishment, even though it was exhausted from being underwater. Mogo must’ve flushed out the poison from his system. It was the only explanation of how he managed to get there. He couldn’t remember much after he saved that cat from falling. Just fleeting moments of happiness with… Oh no…
Pulling back, Kyle’s eyes looked back at Guy cradling him in his arms in the water. Giving Kyle an amused smirk, Guy chuckled, “That’s two times I’ve saved ya today, Princess. It’s a good thing you have me watching over ya.”
“My knight in shining green armour, huh?” Kyle grinned, “Not that I like playing the part of the Princess, but the local flora around here are a wild ride. I appreciate the assist.”
“I bet,” Guy replied, lowering Kyle’s legs so he could stand on his own, “I know a few planets that still use it as a party drug even though it’s poisonous to most of the E.T.s. Do you remember anything about the poison’s effect?”
“Not alot,” Kyle replied, stroking his stubbled chin thoughtfully, “I remember you putting up a shield in front of me. You spit out some junk about me being a princess then too.” Guy crossed his arms, giving Kyle a doubtful smirk,
“And that’s it?”
“Not if you don’t count that cocky little smirk on your face that you had as you practically feather dusted my construct away,” He continued, giving Guy a raised brow, “If a picture could speak a thousand words, your expression would’ve written a novel.”
“My dazzling smile made you star struck, Kid?”
“One of the many things about you that do,”
Guy instantly dropped his attitude, looking blankly back at Kyle. Kyle smiled back, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets and tilting his head to the side cutely. Guy took a few moments to gather his senses back again as the dark haired lantern switched on his full blown charm like a light bulb. That kid was amazing. How the hell did he get away with doing something like that?
Grinning, Guy’s arms wrapped around Kyle tightly, making him let out a yelp as he drew him in for a hug. Holding his iron grip for a minute, Guy buried his face into Kyle’s shoulder before he finally relaxed his hold, raising a hand to slip into Kyle’s soft dark hair.
“Let’s make this work, Kyle,” Guy said, feeling Kyle’s arms wrap around him, “I know this Parallax thing has hit you hard, and I want to be there for you when you’re ready to talk about it. Not hanging around in space like a glowing green pimple on Mogo’s face.”
“I wouldn’t mind having you hang off my face,” Kyle grinned, tilting Guy’s head back up right, giving his lips a light kiss, “Mogo doesn’t know what it’s missing,” Guy grinned, closing his eyes as he drew closer to return the kiss.
“You crazy kid…”