Diell Breaker (LGBT- Sci-Fi - Romance)

Chapter 19

Chapter 19 

Petrov stood there, letting Rhys cry onto his shoulder. He held him tight, so glad and relieved he was alive, that they had been in time.  

He looked up as Shehu lowered a primitive wooden ladder over the side. Thank god Shehu had been with him. He smiled, trying to catch his eye but the other man was looking down, concentrating on lowering the ladder without hitting them. Gently Petrov let Rhys go, "Can you climb up by yourself?" he asked. 

Rhys wiped his eyes and nodded. He hugged Petrov again and gave him a quick kiss before turning to climb up the ladder. Shehu realised his teeth were grinding together. He really hoped he wasn't growling as he made himself offer Rhys a hand to climb out the last few steps, the other man was eying him rather warily. Petrov swarmed easily up the ladder and out of the hole, not needing assistance, and stepped forward to give Shehu a brief hug, the sort he would have offered any friend who happened to be there Shehu thought, depressed. 

"I'd better let Lieutenant Cheung know what's happened," announced Petrov, as a voice called from outside.  

"Patrol here, come out with your hands on your heads!" The backup had arrived. 

Shehu went to the door, "Harrison? Is that you? We've got things under control here, Peterson is contained. Oh, and we have Owen here too, alive." 

"That's good news sir!" Harrison came to the front of the cabin. "Medic Zimmer is with us, she'd like to check Owen out."  

The young woman medic went up to Rhys and took him aside to ask a few pertinent questions. "I don't think there is anything food and rest won't cure, but I'd like you to come to the clinic for a proper check up," she decided after a brief examination.  

Petrov finished reporting to Cheung and watched as Shehu talked to Harrison. Shehu was acting oddly, almost as if he was avoiding him. He sighed, he supposed this is what happened when you had to pretend you weren't an om, he would just have to wait until he could get him alone. In the meantime, he'd better keep his distance, make sure he didn't give anything away to the other men. 

A flyer was parked outside in the clearing, and Medic Zimmer commandeered it to take her and Rhys back to the clinic in town. Harrison called for another flyer to transport Peterson to the civic centre. He wondered if they had a secure unit there, he couldn't remember seeing one, in fact he wouldn't be at all surprised to learn Peterson was the first person in the colony to be arrested. 

"Aren't you coming with me Alexei?' protested Rhys as Medic Zimmer ushered him into the flyer. He looked as if he was about to cry again. Shehu could have cheerfully strangled him, couldn't Petrov see how manipulative he was? 

"We've got room," Medic Zimmer announced cheerfully, and almost before he knew it Petrov was drawn into the flyer and they took off, leaving the rest behind. Oh well, he thought to himself, it was a small enough price to pay. He could see Rhys settled and then go and look for Shehu.  

When he came out about thirty minutes later, Shehu had already taken the shuttle back up to the Diell. That was odd, he had been certain he was going to wait for him. 

XXX 

Shehu was attempting to work out his tension when Petrov flashed his ID at his door, running through a series of exercises and stretches that he used in his favourite form of kickboxing called Muay. He was one of the few men on board with noticeable body hair and he felt self conscious stripping down in public. Ever since he was promoted to First Lieutenant some years ago, he rarely practised in the gym, preferring the privacy of his own quarters. 

When he saw who was outside, he rubbed the frown between his eyes. He really didn't want to do this but it wasn't going to get any better through putting it off. He grabbed a wrap around shirt, pulled it on and tied it about his waist then opened the door, trying to smile. 

"So, it ended well then," he said rather inanely as he ushered Petrov inside. "Is Owen okay?"  

The other man came in eagerly, still buoyed up by the successful outcome. "Rhys is fine. He's shaken up of course but physically, just a bit of dehydration and a few scrapes. Medic Zimmer wants to keep him overnight for observation but she's not expecting anything to go wrong."  

The First Lieutenant was standing there uncomfortably, his face closed, keeping his distance. Petrov began to pick up on Shehu's coolness. What was going on? Wasn't he going to offer him a drink, or ask him to sit down? Or even better, take him in his arms and kiss him? Nobody was watching them in here. 

"What's the matter?" he asked in a different tone. "Have you changed your mind? Did I do something wrong?" 

"I haven't changed my mind," Shehu couldn't help the words coming out. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at Petrov. Damn, he honestly hadn't meant to give himself away like that. 

For a moment Petrov couldn't think what he was talking about. Then he considered how his relief at finding Rhys unharmed might have looked to the other man, and yes, that's right, he remembered Rhys had kissed him on the mouth. It hadn't bothered Petrov, accustomed as he was to Rhys' extravagant gestures, but, maybe Shehu hadn't noticed that he hadn't kissed Rhys back. Could Shehu possibly be jealous? 

Shehu was finding this even more difficult than he had expected. "I think you should go," he turned away. "Just go, please." 

Instead, Petrov came up behind him, daring to put a hand on his arm. "Leo, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm really glad Rhys is safe, that's all. I'm not in love with him anymore, I'm not going back to him." Shehu closed his eyes. He didn't know if he could believe Petrov or not, it certainly hadn't seemed like that to him. Petrov brought both hands up to his shoulders and began kneading them, they felt like stone, rigid with tension. 

Shehu cleared his throat, fighting against being soothed. "Just ... please don't play games with me. I'm not very good with those kind of games." 

Petrov considered carefully, his hands still kneading, trying to get the other man to relax a fraction, "Well, I won't promise never to tease you, because I think I'd like teasing you, very much," he dropped his voice. "But I will promise never to lie to you. I'll either tell you the truth or I'll tell you I can't answer. Will that do?" 

Shehu turned around, he needed to look into Petrov's face. They were standing only centimetres apart, he could feel his breath on his mouth. Alexei met his fierce gaze without flinching, bronze eyes looking into dark brown. Shehu desperately wanted to believe him, "Yes."