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Chapter-9

Theo felt his annoyance raise. Marcus was back to being distant. Sure, it no longer mattered, he had the sample, and the nanites would be at work, but the mongoose still hadn't said it. Theo had been sure that after the night under the star, Marcus would say it, but the next morning he'd been quiet, pensive.

For one moment, he thought about just dropping it and enjoying the last two weeks of the trip, but the part of him who lived to charm guys didn't want to see this unfinished, so he let Marcus be quiet, while still being with him. After a couple of days of silent meals, going to shows together, but as if they were alone, of no sex, when they were in bed. Marcus had his back to him, and in an attempt at rekindling something he had no idea how had died, Theo kissed the back of the mongoose's neck.

"I'm sorry," Marcus said.

"What's wrong? Did I do something? Was the lounge too much?" Theo couldn't think of anything else he might have done to cause this behavior.

"No. I'm sorry, this isn't about you." Marcus was silent for a moment. "Well, maybe it's about what happened in the lounge. You remember what the guy who watched us have sex said?"

"Not really, other than he enjoyed it." Theo had tracked him down the next day, curious as to who Robert Derosa was. Not just his file, which Cass had given him, but the man himself. He was a hyena who had an easy-going nature. He enjoyed being with others, crew or passengers. Had no reservation about having sex, which was how Theo saw his cock was knotted.

"He said that he didn't get to see lovers often." Marcus fell silent.

Theo didn't say anything. He understood what was going on now, but he couldn't push.

"I hadn't realized that's what we'd become."

"Marcus, I don't-"

"No, this isn't about anything you did." The mongoose chuckled. "That's a lie. It's about everything you did. The way you treat me. The way you respect my decisions." Marcus turned so he faced Theo. His eyes were wet. "I'd promised I wouldn't let this happen, Theo, but I love you. You're not like anyone I've been with before. You let-You're not pushy, you're not needy. I know you don't-"

Theo silenced him with a finger on his lips. "I love you too."

The joy in the mongoose's eyes brought a smile to Theo's lips. There it was. He had him in his power. This had been the moment his teacher had worked so hard to make Theo understand. With those few words, he could do anything to that man. He could crush him, destroy his hopes, his dreams. Turn him against his corporation. Anything. Theo felt himself getting hard.

He wouldn't do any of those things. That wasn't why he'd made Marcus fall in love with him. He had just wanted the challenge, the thrill. Marcus would get his heart broken, there was no avoiding that, but Theo wasn't going to massacre it. Hopefully he'd give him something great before that happened.

Marcus couldn't seem to find his voice, so Theo spoke.

"I wasn't going to say anything, you didn't want a relationship, but I fell for you a while back. You're considerate, you think about me, not just about you. And while you might be reserved outside, you're a beast when we're in private. I was going to be happy enjoying what he have, but I'm glad you feel the same." He leaned in and kissed Marcus.

Marcus was crying when they broke the kiss. "I wish we could change things. I don't want to lose you, but when we reach Mars, you're going to keep going to Earth. I can't go. I'm needed at the conference."

"I know." Theo ran a finger along the mongoose's muzzle. "And I'd never ask you to sacrifice your work. What you do is important. But maybe I can stay."

"No. You can't leave your work, not for me."

Theo laughed. It was a light thing. "Marcus, I'm just an engineer. Anyone of a hundred of people at my company can do my work, they wouldn't even realize if I just vanished." He put a finger on the mongoose's lips to keep him from protesting. "But I wouldn't quit. We have offices on Mars. I just sent a request for a transfer to Mars, for relationship reasons. I should hear back in a day or two at the most."

Marcus' mouth moved for a moment without sounds coming. "You'd do that? For me?"

Theo smiled. "Of course. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Marcus buried his face in the tiger's chest. "I so don't deserve you."

Theo shushed him. He raised his face then kissed him. Marcus wrapped his arms around him tightly, pulling as he turned on his back. Theo followed, and then lay on top of the mongoose.

They were both hard, and began grinding. Theo groped around for the side table, where he'd seen the rag last. His hand fell on it, the lube side was up and he ended up with a coating of lube instead of the rag. This would work too.

He reached down between them and grabbed both cocks with his hand, stroking them. Marcus gasped and then groaned, arcing his back. Theo moaned in the kiss before breaking it and straightening.

Marcus was panting, shuddering as Theo stroked his cock.

"Please fuck me," The mongoose pleaded.

Theo grabbed the rag, by the edge this time, then the dry side. He swiped it between Marcus' cheeks, rubbing his hole, teasing it with a finger.

"Oh fuck," Marcus whined, raising his ass. Theo pressed a lube covered finger in. "Give me the real thing. Oh God, I need you so badly."

Theo gave his cock a liberal coating of lube and then positioned it under Marcus' tail. He knew the differences between fucking, sex and making love. He'd been fucking since he was thirteen. Around sixteen he'd realized that it was possible for both guys, or more, to get something out of the act. At nineteen, his teacher had worked hard at making Theo understand what making love was all about.

Theo went slowly as he entered Marcus, making him moan and beg, shudder and shiver. His cock was throbbing and a drop of precum appeared. The mongoose wasn't kidding when he said he needed this, but Theo didn't rush. He forced Marcus to enjoy every thrust and twitch of his cock.

When he finally bottomed out, Theo leaned in and kissed Marcus. He slowly pulled out and pushed back in, enjoying feeling Marcus tremble under him. When he broke the kiss, Theo didn't speed up, he slowed. He wanted to fuck the mongoose hard and fast. Seeing him this needy awakened a predatory part of him Theo kept locked away, but he ignored it, like he did most of the times it showed up. This wasn't about Theo's wants. It was about Marcus' needs. And He was going to make the mongoose need it so much more before this night was done.

He changed his angle on the next thrust, and Marcus gasped as his prostate was hit. Theo kept hold of the mongoose's legs and he thrust slowly, each time hitting the prostate. Marcus groaned and reached for his cock, but Theo grabbed the hand, which let a leg fall.

"Leave it."

"But I need to cum so badly."

Theo smiled. "You saying you don't like what I'm doing?"

"I'm saying I love it."

"Then just let me do my thing. I'll make sure you cum, once the time is right."

Marcus growled. "You just want to use me for your own pleasure."

Theo smiled. "No, this is all about you."

"Then let me cum."

"But that's going to end things too soon." He hadn't stopped thrusting, although the angle no longer let him hit Marcus' prostate. "The climax is going to be so much better for the wait."

Marcus panted. "It fucking well be." He let his hand fall to the bed, and Theo went back to holding the legs up so he could give the mongoose's prostate a thorough massage. He didn't know how long he moved like that until his arms had enough, but by then a small pool of precum had formed between Marcus' pecs.

He lowered the legs, then pulled out. He was so hard it was painful, but he wasn't done. He rolled Marcus on his stomach, then lied on top of him, his cock entering him easily. He went back to slowly thrusting back and forth, and now could feel even better the mongoose's body react. He nibbled on the back of his neck, caressed his arms and sides, licked his ears while he moved, and didn't move.

Theo had to give himself rests, where he just lied on top of Marcus and gave his approaching orgasm time to back away. Then he'd go back to thrusting.

During the fourth rest, he turned to his side, tilting Marcus with him, and when he began thrusting again, he rubbed his hand over his stomach, inside the side of his legs, caressing his balls. Marcus' grunts and groans drowned in need. He was thrusting in the air, not that he could move, and Theo tan a finger along the length of his cock, making the mongoose shiver and beg for release.

Theo made a fist around the head of the cock, but kept it loose, hardly even touching it, and moved his hand up and down. Marcus screamed in protest and thrust harder, to which Theo had to adjust his own motion to keep his cock in.

As hard as the mongoose tried, he couldn't get more than a teasing of sensation from the hand, and Theo moved it slowly, matching his own thrusts. At least until he felt his orgasm approach again.

This time he didn't trust himself to be able to stop. He needed to cum as badly as Marcus, his balls hurt and unlike the mongoose, he was the one who controlled how this went. He tightened his grip around the still slick cock, but didn't stroke it any faster. He didn't have to. Not with how tightly wound the mongoose was.

With only a few strokes, Marcus screamed and his body tensed. Cum spurted forth, and Theo kept jerking him off, now pounding him harder. As Marcus' cock stopped dribbling cum, Theo's exploded, buried deep into the mongoose's ass. Now he stopped stroking it.

He held Marcus tightly against him. "Was this worth the wait?" He whispered.

The mongoose nodded, his panting loud.

Theo smiled. He didn't have the patience to do this often, but he was really happy his teacher had stuck with him on this. He might have said something else. Something sweet about how Marcus was the greatest guy he'd been with, about how he might do this to the mongoose again at a later time, but he didn't have to. Marcus was snoring.

With a satisfied smile Theo closed his eyes and fell asleep too.

* * * * *

Theo came awake when Marcus moved. He was removing his hand off his side, and sliding out of bed. There hadn't been any furtiveness in the motion, it was just Marcus trying not to wake him, so Theo didn't open his eyes. With a quick finger code had asked Cass for the time. Eleven fifteen in the morning. Well, the love making had lasted until late in the night. Figuring Marcus was only going to the bathroom, Theo let himself fall back into sleep.

Something tickled his nose, then Theo sneezed himself awake. He sat up, sniffing that air. There was a chemical smell floating around, that couldn't be good.

"Sorry," Marcus said, "I didn't mean to wake you."

Theo focused the mongoose. He was seated on a low stool, with a board on a stand before him. Marcus was looking around it, at him.

"What's that smell?"

"Paint."

"Paint?" Theo had to be sleep fogged, paint was something Marcus did, not a thing.

Marcus showed him another board, this one he was holding in a hand, much smaller, and it had spots of colors on it. "It's basically color pigments suspended in a chemical mixture."

"What?" Theo moved to stand.

"Stay in bed. Please? Actually, can you lie back down?"

Theo hesitated for a moment, looking around to make sure there wasn't anyone else here. If Marcus had figured out what he was about, he could be preparing something. It was only the two of them, and Cass confirmed it.

Theo stretched on the bed. "What are you doing?"

"I'm painting you. Can you get on your side, like when you were sleeping?"

Theo adjusted his position. "That's a different setup. Looks more complicated. Is there something wrong with your implant?"

Marcus laughed. "No. This isn't digital. I'm painting you on a real canvas, with physical paint."

Theo almost sat up in surprise, but he controlled his reaction. "Physical? As in the real world?"

Marcus looked aside the board, the canvas, seemed to be judging something then went back behind it. "Yes. It's more involved, and less forgiving, but I like putting down important moments using them. It makes them feel more real."

"So you're painting us in bed?"

A chuckle. "No, just you."

"Seems to me the important part happened with both of us in it."

Another chuckle. "I can make you a digital painting of you fucking me senseless later, if you want. This one's for me, and you're what's important here."

"Don't sell yourself short," Theo said. "It takes two to make this thing work."

"True enough, but this painting is to immortalize you."

"What are you going to do with it when you're done? It doesn't seem practical to haul that canvas around."

"When we get to Mars, I'm going to have it shipped back to Luna, to my house there. Next time I'm there I'll hang in with the others."

"How long is this going to take? I need to go to the bathroom."

"It's going to be a while. I'm just halfway done. Go and come back."

Theo hurried to take care of business. Cass offered to give him a view of the canvas from one of the sensors, but he declined. He wanted to see what the finished product would be. He came back to the bed and resumed his position.

He had to remain like that for two hours. It was a good thing Marcus could talk, because Theo got bored really quick. He didn't usually lie in bed, be awake and not move in some fashion. Finally, Marcus said he was done.

Theo jumped out of the bed and joined Marcus. He was immediately disappointed. There was none of the details his other work had had. It did look like him, with the orange, white and black stripes, if he stood a few steps away, but it was more of an impression rather than an exact likeness.

"It's different," he said cautiously.

Marcus laughed. "Yeah. I'm limited in what I can do with physical paint, and I can't erase a mistake, I just have to work with it. I do prefer digital."

"And you're really good at that." Theo studied the painting. It felt odd calling that a painting. "I guess I just don't have a frame of reference for this kind of art."

"I'm sure you do. Have you ever seen any of the old painting? The classics, from the masters? Vangogh? Warhol? Picaso? How about Boroqh?"

The colony had a full archive of art, his parents had even taken him to see a projection show of it when he had been fourteen, but he had been more interested in making eyes with the usher than looking at them.

"I think I saw a Warhol when I was a kid. Sorry, if my art isn't moving, I'm not really interested in it."

Marcus laughed. "That's okay. Warhol's style was very different from this, but it was done with physical tools. He's from before digital painting was invented."

"Really? I thought he'd just taken the same picture and ran it through different filters."

"No he did all of it with various types of paints and other material. He inspired generations of pop art." Marcus made a motion of the hand and Cass projected a picture in bright yellow, greens and pink.

Theo stepped away, as if he could put some distance between him that. "Warn me before you do that."

Marcus laughed. "Sorry. I'm guessing you didn't have a buffer up?"

"I thought I did," Theo replied. He knew Cass had done this on purpose. Now that he was over the surprised, he looked at it, having Cass move it back so he could get a better view. It was a woman, but he couldn't tell the species. Canine, based on the muzzle. She was naked, but it wasn't provocative, just showing her breasts. Her coloring was made of blocks of those three colors. He ran a hand before his field of vision, as if he was pushing it aside, and a moment later Cass removed it.

As he spoke, Theo watched Marcus for a reaction. "That was kind of ugly."

The mongoose nodded. "It was my wife. I was attempting to recreate Warhol's style." Theo started to say it wasn't that bad, but Marcus stopped him with a raised hand. "I know it's bad. I don't have his eye for arbitrary color matching. That's why most of what I do is reproductions of life. I don't have to worry about if the colors will work, since nature made that decision for me."

Theo smiled. "Well, I can say one thing for sure."

"Which is?"

He pointed to the painting on the stand. "That, is way better than Warhol's stuff."

Marcus forced a smile. "No, it isn't. But thanks for saying so."

"How about we go get lunch? Err, a late lunch," he amended when Cass showed him it was two in the afternoon.

"Sure. Let me clean up." He showed him his hands. The fur had smears of pain all the way to his elbow.

"How tough is it to get out?"

"It isn't. It's formulated to only stick to canvas surfaces."

Theo grinned and ran after the mongoose. "Well in that case, let me help you with that."

By the time they were done, the later lunch turned into an early dinner.

* * * * *

Theo had his bag in hand, all his clothes had been cleaned and neatly packed. His mother would have been proud of him for letting the cabin's packer do the work. He was wearing his polymorphic clothing, in subdued dark blue, gray and black. Not quite as bland as SolGov colors, but he could explain them as coming back from vacation if he had to.

The ship had docked with Mars' Destiny Station an hour ago, and the fifteen-minute disembarking warning had just sounded. And as he'd told the mongoose three days before, his transfer had been approved. Once they crossed the ID scans, he would officially be a Mars resident with Marcus.

As he reached Marcus' door it opened, and the mongoose struggled under his bags and the canvas, which he'd wrapped in a hardened film to protect it, but at almost a meter in length, it wasn't easily carried, not with the two bags he also had.

Theo grabbed the painting. "I have it. Are you ready?"

"Oh yes," Marcus answered. "I can't wait to get off this ship and get someplace where people know how to behave." Two women snorted at him as they walked by. "That's exactly what I mean." Marcus said, just loud enough for them to hear, but not be considered shouting.

"Not yet," Cass said. "I can't reach the station, even if we're docked. There's some sort of shielding. If I want to call the station I still have to go through the ship's internal system."

"I can't wait either," Theo said.

'Problem?' he finger coded.

"Doubtful. As soon as you step out, the station is going to be accessible, but it means you're going to have to delay the mark for a few minutes while I route his new orders through the station's communication network. This would be so much easier to do is I was a Mirror Beta," he grumbled.

They followed the other passengers. Not everyone had Mars as a destination, but the ship would remain here for a week, before continuing to Earth. Almost everyone had enough of being inside a metal box. A big and luxurious box, but still a box. Mars cities weren't more than bottles themselves, but at least there, you were on a planet.

As they approached the large airlock, Theo saw someone in bright pink with black spots and squares in his fur wishing a good sojourn to those leaving. It took him a moment to realize it was the ship's captain. He'd redone his fur since the one time they met. The mule stood next to him, eying everyone severely.

Theo wondered how the other mule was faring. He hadn't gone back to visit him, and he'd hoped that his mental issues had prevented him from being hurt by his lie. He couldn't risk breaking into the apartment a second time. And because he hadn't been supposed to be there the first time, he couldn't ask about his health. Not that he thought he could regardless, Brick wasn't listed on the crew or passenger manifest. That meant the captain might not even know about his presence.

"Thank you for traveling aboard the Mercury," the captain said. "I hope you'll have a good time on Mars, but remember, this is SolGov territory. Please behave accordingly." He noticed Theo and Marcus and beamed. "Mister Laramy, Mister Bowfinger, I hope your trip was acceptable, in spite of this not being your first choice of travel."

Before Theo could say anything, Marcus spoke. "I have to say it was surprisingly acceptable.

The colorful tiger raised an eyebrow, and Theo had to hide his surprise as well.

"There was an adjustment period, which I have to admit was as much my fault as your crew, but once we found a common point, I have to say they were surprisingly well behaved. Well, most of them."

The captain nodded. "I heard about my son coming on to you. You have my sincere regret for that."

"Well, yes. I understand Orr corporation considers that sort of behavior acceptable, but still, on a ship taking passengers everywhere, you can't count on everyone being Orr."

"I don't. Unfortunately Tucker very much feels it's better to ask forgiveness than permission."

Marcus nodded. "Still, it was only one such incident, the rest of my trip was quite enjoyable."

The tiger smiled. "So I've heard."

Marcus' ears turned bright red.

"I hope your stay on Mars is as enjoyable as it was on my ship, Mister Bowfinger."

Theo extended his hand. "It was a good trip, captain. I don't think I'll ever get to travel like this again, but I will remember it fondly."

The tiger shook it. "Thank you Mister Laramy. I hope the rest of your trip to Earth is uneventful."

Theo smiled. "Actually, there's been a change of plans. I'm staying on Mars."

The captain's smile became knowing and he looked in Marcus' direction. "Congratulation."

"Thank you." He hurried after Marcus.

"I can't believe he heard about it," the mongoose grumbled.

Theo suppressed a smile. "You can't be surprised. If his son learned of it, the captain had to also."

"But did he have to bring it up?"

Theo almost placed an arm around the mongoose's shoulders, but they weren't on an Orr ship anymore, this was SolGov, even if the mix of travelers didn't make it feel like it was. Marcus would be on his toes about behaving properly.

"He didn't bring anything up. He just said he'd heard you had a good time. It could mean anything."

"Not on that ship it couldn't. Everyone around us knew exactly what he meant."

'Cass?'

"I'm in contact with the station, but things aren't setup yet. I need five minutes to get cozy with the system so I can get the provenance to show correctly."

Theo looked around for anything he could use to delay Marcus. He couldn't let him pass the ID station. Only one Marcus Bowfinger could go through, and it had to be Theo. The answer presented itself by the glut of people massed at the stations.

"How about we give them time to thin the mass?" Theo said. "We can grab a drink over there."

Marcus looked at the Station. "I don't know, I really need to get to Mars as soon as possible, they are going to be expecting me."

"Sure, but do you really think you'll get through that all that fast?"

Marcus still looked like he would prefer to get in line.

"Please?" Theo pleaded, "For me? I really don't want to be on my feet all that time. Let's just relax for a bit longer. You'll be Marcus the official SolGov representative soon enough."

Marcus smiled. "Alright, I guess we're allowed a bit of quiet celebrating now that we're here."

The chose a table near the door, and a well-dressed sever delivered their drinks, a glass of the local cognac for each.

"To our lives together," Theo said, clinking his glass with Marcus'

The mongoose's smile spread from ear to ear. "Together."

They slowly sipped their glass, talking about what they'd do. They'd have to rearrange their living quarters. Theo's was in the lower district, as that was all he could afford, and Marcus had single's lodging in one of the government towers. He would have to get permits to allow Theo to move in with him. His work credential would have to be verified, which could take weeks, if not months. Theo patted his hand once then removed his hand, and reminded him that he'd be on the planet for as long as it took.

Marcus opened his mouth to reply, and his face became a mask of shock. "No."

"What wrong?"

"No, no. They can't do that."

"Marcus, Hun, what's wrong?"

The mongoose looked him in the eyes in fear. "I'm being recalled to Luna, right now."

Theo's jaw dropped. "Now? Do you at least have time to get down planet side and let your coworkers know?" he swallowed. "Wait. What about us?"

Marcus was reading something. "Curse them. They've booked my passage on the Highlander, it's leaving in ten minutes." He put his face in his hands. "Fuck."

"M...Marcus. I can't go with you. They'll never accept another relocation request so soon."

"Fuck this. I'm not going." Marcus downed the rest of his drink.

Horror took over Theo's face. "No, you can't do that."

"I'm not losing you. I don't care if it cost me my career, I am not losing you."

This time he did take the mongoose's hand in his. "Marcus, honey. Please think about this. You can't sacrifice your career for me. It's too important. They wouldn't recall you if it wasn't important, would they?"

"I don't care."

"What are you going to do if you stay? They're not going to give you other work, just because you didn't want this, will they?"

Marcus shook his head.

'Wrap this up,' Cass wrote. 'The ship is going to leave soon.'

"Look. It's going to be hard, I know. But you're not losing me. In a couple of months, I'll be able to be rotated to earth, from there it should be easy for me to get work at one of our offices on Luna, or maybe we can get a place together on the station and commute." Theo stood. "Please, don't throw away your life over this. What we have will survive the distance, you'll see."

"Are you sure?" Marcus sounded uncertain. "Won't you be tempted to find someone else?"

"Hun, we survived being on an Orr ship for four months. We can survive a few more apart."

Marcus gave him a timid smile. "I so don't deserve you."

"Of course, you do. Now, come on, you can't miss your ship." Theo grabbed the painting and his travel case. Marcus picked up his and they hurried through the docks. When they reached the one for the Highlander, Marcus hugged him. A tight and totally inappropriate, for a SolGov representative, full body hug. When the mongoose boarded the ship, he stayed by the airlock until it closed, repeating 'I love you' over and over. Theo didn't move and waved to him the entire time. When the airlock clanked shut Theo gave them a full minute, then a feral grin spread on his face.

"That, Cass, is how you know you've won. When the guy's willing to throw his entire life away to stay with you."

"Very impressive," Cass responded dryly. "Of course, with the amount of work it took to convince him not to do it, he almost missed his ship. What would you have done if he'd decided not to go?"

Theo turned and headed to the ID station. "It was never going to happen. The moment I told him I was okay with it, he knew he was allowed."

"You do realize that he sent you a dozen messages already?"

"Reply to them with something sweet and encouraging."

"And how long do you expect me to do that?"

"Until the ship's undocked. After that there's nothing he's going to be able to do to come back, so it won't matter if I reply to him or not."

"At least that's only twenty minutes. I should be able to get everything else I need to do before that."

"Did you switch my information for that of Marcus?"

"Yes, Marcus is now a tiger. It won't survive any deep studies, but it isn't like they even look at the ID information at the stations."

"Unless one of them decides to probe."

"That wasn't my fault. Titan's ID stations are old. Outdated programs caused the slow reaction time. That isn't going to happen here."

Theo smiled. "I trust you Cass, you're the best with those system."

Cass snorted. "No, I'm a pale imitation of Casanova, but I do get the job done."

"And that's all that matters." Theo got in line for the closest ID station and made his face a mask of bored neutrality moments before he crossed the line and then he, Marcus Bowfinger, was officially a Mars citizen.