Night Traveller (Gay Romantic Sci-Fi)

Chapter Three

Chapter Three 

Ryan Callan hadn't deliberately set out to avoid the new Patrol man, but he hadn't made any effort to seek him out either. An unexpected trip to Capella to check out a new piece of surveillance technology had taken a couple of days and then things had just seemed to crop up that required his personal attention. And today was his birthday. He wasn't doing any business on his birthday, at least nothing that required him to dress in a singlesuit and look serious and official. 

Tonight Dane had organised a 'surprise' party for him at the Rising Sun. He fully intended to wear his most flamboyant outfit, purple shimmersilk pants with a shocking pink sleeveless vest to be precise, and drink a lot of very expensive brandy. And if the oh so straight Patrol officer happened to turn up and didn't like it, well that would be just too damn bad.  

He had heard from Serra Yoshida that the Lieutenant had agreed with the council's choice of building for the Patrol Station. Why wouldn't he? It was pretty much perfect, located in the centre of the commercial sector, only a block away in fact from the Rising Sun. As an added bonus, it had a small apartment attached to one side which could serve as accommodation for the officer in charge. Already most of the modifications required had been completed, including a couple of cells in the basement. He wondered how long it would be before the Lieutenant had his first prisoner. Probably some poor bastard caught without a licence for something or other, he sneered to himself. 

He hoped Lieutenant whatever-his-name-was had already moved out of the Rising Sun. The last thing he wanted was for him to crash his party, try and introduce himself, talk business even. He pulled a face. Admittedly it would be, possibly, his own fault if he did, he should really have made an effort to see him before now, gotten the whole annoying business over and done with. Oh well, he thought optimistically, it was unlikely he'd run into him at a social event, he was probably waiting for him to set up a formal meeting. In any event it was time to stop worrying and get dressed or he'd be late for his own party. 

XXX 

Dane Trenwith watched Ryan enter the room, instantly becoming the centre of attention of the small crowd of friends and well wishers. He looked hot tonight, he thought with a wry grin. He'd tried to convince him the purple shimmersilk was over the top but Ryan had ignored him for once and he'd been right. It was a dark purple, almost black and the slippery material showed the shape of his strong thighs only too well.

He had changed the colour of his hair to match his trousers and it hung thick and glossy to his shoulders.  Dane sighed unconsciously. There were still times, like now for instance, when he wished they were still lovers as well as business partners. 

But he also knew it wouldn't last, he simply wasn't a one man man. Well, not for long anyway. He liked variety, and freedom, freedom to pick up a cute boy for a night, or more, without feeling guilty about it. He couldn't understand how Ryan could be happy limiting himself to just one man for a whole year, or even longer, the very idea made him feel claustrophobic. He knew they were better off as friends, not lovers but ... he sighed again. Time for another drink. He turned and signalled to the bartender. 

XXX 

Mike Oliver paused on the edge of the party, a little hesitant. Serra Yoshida had practically insisted that he attend, assuring him several times that it would be the perfect opportunity to meet the rest of the council informally. He had put his uniform aside for the night, wanting to keep this a social occasion, and had dressed in his favourite black. Black pants and black shirt, matching his night dark hair, his light brown skin the only touch of colour about him.  

Dane stared open mouthed. Luckily he took a second look before allowing himself to drool openly. Damn. Who would ever have dreamt Oliver would scrub up like that? It wasn't fair. He'd met him briefly a day or two ago when Serra Yoshida had grabbed him by the arm and introduced them. Except then the other man had been in his uniform, just another Patrol officer that he wanted to avoid. Everyone knew the Patrol had a thing against oms, they weren't even allowed to join the sacred ranks, not unless they lied about their sexuality. It gave him the creeps just thinking about it. 

He wondered if Ryan had met the Patrol officer yet. He didn't think so, he hadn't said anything to him about it. He looked around for his partner and was just in time to see him slip out of the room. Sneaking off for a smoke he guessed. Smoking didn't kill people any more like it had in the past, but it was considered an unpleasant habit, something to be done in the privacy of your own home and not in public.  

A wicked thought popped into his head. He strolled casually over to Oliver. "Have you met our illustrious governor yet?" he asked with a lazy smile. 

"No. So far we've managed to miss each other," the Lieutenant's voice was dry. 

"He's just stepped outside for a minute if you want to catch him alone," Trenwith offered guilelessly.  

"Thanks," Oliver nodded, suddenly determined to confront Callan. He wove around the edge of the crowd and left the room. He looked around but here was no one in the reception area. The governor must have gone up to the roof garden for a breath of air. Oliver stepped on the yellow disk and slowly ascended. The only man he could see was wearing a bright pink vest and purple pants, watching a curl of smoke drift up from a small pipe in his hand. Damn. He must have missed the Governor after all. Most likely he had just popped into the restroom downstairs.  

He must have made a small sound of frustration because the other man turned towards him. His face was rugged rather than handsome, but his full lips curled into a warm smile at the sight of him. The smile lit up his whole face.  

Callan couldn't believe his luck. The hottest man he had seen in years was right in front of him. Dane had promised him something 'special' for his birthday, could he possibly be that lucky?  

"Aren't you adorable?" he murmured, stepping closer. "Were you looking for me?" 

"No. Not unless you're the governor," Oliver smiled back despite himself. He had been so focussed on keeping celibate to protect his career he couldn't remember the last time he had flirted with a stranger, even mildly. 

"Don't I look like the governor?" replied the other man, still smiling, as if inviting Oliver to share in the joke. "Did Dane send you up here?" 

"You could say that." 

"Oh good. I don't think I've ever had a gift like you!" Before he could move the stranger had his strong arms around him, pulling him firmly against his body. The kiss was hard and completely unexpected. What the-! Was the man mad? He wasn't a damn gift!  

Oliver wrenched his mouth away. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? I'm a patrol officer! Let go of me!" 

For a moment the other man appeared to freeze. Then he laughed, a trifle thickly. "Of course you are! God you're so hot. I don't know where Dane found you and to be honest I don't really care." He tried to capture Oliver's lips again with his own. 

The next thing he knew he was flat on his back, winded. Well that was a surprise, he thought, trying to catch his breath, he couldn't remember the last time someone had got the better of him like that. He blinked up at the man in black standing over him. He looked furious. A cold tendril of unease wove through the happy anticipation caused by lust and brandy. Oh no! He couldn't really be ... could he? 

"I see you've met our governor then, Lieutenant," Serra Yoshida's amused tones floated from the garden behind them.