(Dianne) Fox Writes

As the monorail slowed, Elios tilted his head to kiss Sender’s cheek instead. “This is our stop,” he said. “I’m not too far from the station.”

Sender glanced up at the display at the front of the car so he’d know where he was — Southport Station — and let Elios lead him off the car. After a few minutes of walking, it occurred to Sender that it might be okay if he slid his arm around Elios’ shoulders, so he gave it a try. When Elios slid his arm around Sender’s waist and tilted his head back to smile up at him, Sender ducked his head to steal another little kiss. It felt good. Natural. He’d never imagined being with someone like this before.

It was just a few blocks to Elios’ apartment in a small building that had been designed to look like it was from an era hundreds of years before. Elios led the way up three flights of stairs and down a short hall. Even the apartment doors fit the décor, being crafted from wood and opening on hinges with the push of a brass handle.

Sender had never seen real wood outside of rosary beads and religious icons until he’d left Themis. Elios pressed his palm against the lettering that marked his apartment as “3D” and the lock clicked. He touched the handle and swung the door open.

“Home, sweet home.” Elios took Sender’s hand and drew him inside, then closed the door behind him.

The living area was almost the size of the apartment that Sender remembered from his childhood. It was sparsely furnished, as though to emphasize the space, but what furniture there was had elegant, archaic lines and soft, richly colored upholstery. There were even plants flourishing near the windows, tall and green, of a kind Sender had never seen before.

Sender took a moment just to look. He’d seen homes like this in movies, but he’d never been in one. A large screen filled one wall and a long sofa took up space along the opposite wall. Obviously, Elios used the sofa for actual seating. The few chairs placed around the room were otherwise occupied: two of the three had stacks of blankets folded on the seats, and the third was piled high with empty, flattened packing cartons.

A wooden table took up the far corner of the room. There were tiny, hand-carved icons placed along the surface and one larger icon bound in woven ribbons on the shelf above. It took Sender a moment to realize it was an altar. Elios was Roman, of course.

When humans colonized space and established Luna on Earth’s moon, the Romans had been the first to volunteer. Now, they were one of the most populous cultures not just on Luna, but in all the colonies save for Themis. Sender had never been in a Roman home before, either.

There was no time to feel awkward in such a beautiful place, because Elios had tossed his own jacket aside and was leaning up to kiss Sender while he pushed Sender’s jacket off of his shoulders. Sender slid out of the jacket and let Elios throw it aside as well. As soon as it was gone, he cupped Elios’ face in his hands and kissed him hungrily, indulging in how much he wanted this. As soon as his lips touched Elios’, he felt at home.

Elios kissed so fiercely and his hands on Sender’s skin were so possessive, pushing up under Sender’s shirt without hesitation, that it made Sender weak in the knees. Elios made an impatient noise when Sender’s shirt caught around his wrists and Sender, without thinking, pulled away to strip the offending article from his body. He had no idea where it fell, but Elios’ shirt joined it a moment later and then they were skin on skin.

Fumbling sex in the back room of a bar or in someone’s narrow bunk didn’t allow for luxuries like this, for sliding hands over flesh and kissing until they forgot to breathe. There was no going back from this, not just this night, but this experience.

Elios’ body felt so good under Sender’s hands, so good pressed against him. He wanted this: another man’s body, another man’s mouth, another man’s voice saying his name. Somehow, he’d always made excuses for himself, as though it wouldn’t be so bad if there were some reason he was with another man other than that it was what fit his soul.