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Hopes had been high among those in attendance at the first rocket launch in the stone world. Ordinarily, Dr. Xeno Wingfield would have said they were a bit too high, given how they had had to start from scratch, and how many errors there had been in early rocket development back in the twentieth century.
But Xeno’s hopes were high, too. How could they not be? Not only was this his first major rocket build that was entirely under his supervision, it was the first one he completed with the assistance of the young man he had mentored from another continent, many years ago… Senku Ishigami.
The pair stood side-by-side to watch the launch, a safe distance away. It took only one subtle, glancing look down at the other’s face to see that Senku’s hopes – and excitement – were just as high as his own.
A small smile played at Xeno’s lips, and he turned his gaze back to the rocket, as the countdown neared its end.
3… 2… 1…
Liftoff.
…CRASH.
There was no need to look at his partner’s face to know that Senku looked just as crestfallen as he himself felt.
Well.
Back to the drawing board.
As it turned out, building a top-grade rocket that could safely carry an astronaut crew to space was more of a challenge in this stone world than even aerospace engineer Xeno himself had anticipated. Materials were unreliable and difficult to obtain, builds were subject to consistency and durability errors, and unexpected factors seemed to pop up with every failure.
Though it had happened before he was born, the images of the Apollo I and Challenger disasters played in his mind’s eye over and over against his will. He had studied those infamous incidents in his college classes, his instructor going over every detail of what had gone wrong, to a horrifying, bone-chilling degree, so that graduates would never go on to make the same mistakes when human lives were on the line. All it could take was one error, one flaw, one mistake, that would escalate and cascade into sheer tragedy.
Sure, those disasters were a product of the newness of spaceflight, and of a greater concern for deadlines and public image than listening to the experts who raised the alarm about safety problems, both of which were no longer in play now. Xeno couldn’t be more thankful that he wouldn’t have to be critiqued by higher-ups or politicians, heavens forbid. With the internet up and running, he could consult with newly-revived experts from across the globe at almost any time. However, those experts were not there, they could not oversee the build, touch it with their hands, or be available at a moment’s notice due to time zone differences and their own busy schedules. When it came right down to the hands-on task of building and testing, he and Senku were flying solo with the fate of human society at stake.
Xeno was stressed to say the least. He was also anxious as the unforgettable memory of archival footage of the Challenger Space Shuttle exploding a mere minute into its flight played on repeat in his mind unwantedly – starting from its right solid rocket booster, the result of the failure of just two O-ring seals, and rapidly spreading to the shuttle itself, leading to its violent destruction and the deaths of the seven astronauts aboard as the remnants rapidly plummeted to the ocean below. As capable of an engineer Senku already was, the young man still relied on him to know what he was doing – something that Xeno felt himself losing confidence in with every failure that piled up. It was not a feeling he was used to.
The fate of humanity, the fate of the astronaut crew, the fate of Senku, all weighed on this. It all weighed on him and his ability to pull this off.
All these thoughts ran through his mind as he stared down at the dismantled rocket before him in silence, waiting for Senku to return with fresh materials from the excavation and crafting teams.
Xeno sighed heavily and covered his face with his palm, before he slid it up to his forehead, his cold metal claws sliding over his scalp and threading through his hair. This was not good. His head ached and his focus on the task at hand was waning, overtaken by his frustration and anxious thoughts. He usually prided himself in his ability to maintain his composure, but this was testing his limits to their breaking point.
He had to solve this. Quickly.
And there was one quick, sure-fire method he knew of rearranging his brain chemicals like shaking a box full of spare parts…
He looked around, checked the open rocket before him to make certain it could be left alone for a moment. Then he turned toward the parts and materials storage room that lay just a few steps away from the workshop floor and briskly walked to it, shutting the door behind him.
He walked to the middle of the room, the open space between the walls bedecked with storage shelves was gracious and forgiving, more than enough for two people to navigate at the same time. Xeno then leaned back against the wall near the door, the only part that didn’t have a shelf, took a few breaths, and readied himself. He checked his pocket for his handkerchief, finding it there and pristine.
Was he in the mood for this? Not quite, but he could get himself there, he was certain. He pivoted to the nearby shelf that contained several types of lubricant, selecting the one he knew was safe for bodily use.
He removed his clawed gloves, placing them on that same shelf. Then he unbuckled his belt, unzipped his fly, and pushed his pants down just enough to be able to free his cock.
Senku wouldn’t be back here for some time, but even so, Xeno didn’t dawdle. Coating his free hand with just enough lubricant, he began to stroke himself. He closed his eyes and his mind recalled the usual images that helped speed his arousal. Soon he was half-hard, and found himself switching his mental images more often than usual, as though looking for something just right.
Don’t force it, Xeno scolded himself and relaxed, letting his mind wander to find whatever had aroused him most recently. Let it come naturally.
He would regret this later, as the first images to flow to his mind’s eye were not of Stanley’s muscles and physical prowess as he hauled wood and heavy equipment with ease, but of someone with a far more slender build…
Senku. Senku’s maturing face, his scarlet eyes, his crooked smile and sly voice… his slender, skilled hands, showing signs of wear and callouses from the hands-on work they were doing together…
Xeno’s heart skipped a beat, he was now fully hard. He kept stroking, beginning to imagine Senku’s hand on his length instead, rubbing him just right and driving his mentor wild.
A moan slipped out before he could think to hold it back. The human imagination was a powerful thing, a mere fantasy having a real impact on his physical state. His troubles felt far away now, dissolving in a pool of heat and pleasure as his mind lingered in this blissful moment.
He continued to imagine Senku stroking him, Senku’s molten eyes meeting his own in a silent question accompanied by a devilish smile. “Like this?” they seemed to say teasingly.
“Sen… ku…” Xeno uttered to the empty room, caught up in his fantasy.
“...Xeno?”
Shit. A jolt ran through him; that was Senku’s voice! Xeno was frozen in place. He looked down at himself. Shit!
Evidently, Senku’s voice had been just the thing that made Xeno hit his peak, and an unmistakable sticky fluid now coated his hand.
He heard footsteps, but he was as helpless as a lamb, trembling and near-boneless in the aftermath of his orgasm. Before he could think of what to do, the door swung open-
Senku’s eyes went wide as they met Xeno’s. Xeno could only imagine what a sight he was right then, dark eyes even inkier from blown pupils, face flushed red, his hair surely mussed, and his cock still out and in his dominant hand, coated in cum. Xeno stayed frozen and helplessly stared back like a deer in headlights, hoping that his subconscious message of please pretend you saw nothing would be received.
Senku’s eyes took in the sight of Xeno for a moment… then he silently backed out of the room, shutting the door just as quietly.
When he heard Senku step away, Xeno let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. A tsunami of embarrassment and shame washed over him at once, and his face felt as though it was on fire. In an impulsive desire not to look at his own mess, he tossed his head backward, the back of it hitting the wall audibly. He covered his eyes and let out a low, mortified groan. How could he have been this stupid, this disgusting? He wanted nothing more than to simply disappear for at least the rest of the day. But since temporarily vanishing from physical existence was not (yet) physically possible, he had to face reality. He straightened then, pulling out his handkerchief and hurriedly wiping his hand, his cock, and anything else that had caught the mess, then rolled the handkerchief into a neat wad and tucked it away until it could be laundered. That would do until he reached running water, at least.
He tucked away his cock and straightened his clothes, smoothing them flat with his hands before he tucked in his shirt again. He then checked his appearance in the reflection of one of the shining metallic parts in the storage room, fixing his hair, though he knew it was of little point. He sighed, resigned to his fate. He couldn’t put it off any longer. He had to face Senku.
It was mortifying. But he tried to reassure himself, as he reached for the door. Senku never seemed to be offended by sexual activities or what types of them that people around him got up to doing, as long as they still did their needed work (and it didn’t result in unplanned pregnancy). Perhaps he won’t ask about it at all?
Xeno opened the door, shutting it behind him. His eyes scanned the room, finding Senku in the small break area they had made for themselves, a sitting area with a nearby coffee station and small kitchen. Xeno sighed inaudibly, then casually strode over to the sink to wash his hands and splash cool water on his warm face; after they were dry, he slipped his gloves back on, and then moved to the coffee maker, pouring himself a cup before he moved to sit down across from Senku, who was sipping from his own coffee cup.
It only took three thousand seven hundred years, but I finally got him to like coffee, Xeno thought, taking a sip of his own coffee with a private smile.
Senku was quiet, so Xeno decided to break the silence before it got any thicker. “That didn’t take very long.”
Senku raised a brow at him.
“Your trip,” Xeno elaborated quickly. “Usually it takes at least an hour to bring the new materials here.”
“Ahh,” Senku said, after a swallow of his drink. “Chrome was around, and he decided to meet me halfway with everything to save me the trip. He got everything we needed, and a little extra too.”
“Wonderful,” Xeno said sincerely. “We can get back to work without delay, then.”
Senku didn’t reply, and Xeno peered at him, finding him still sipping his coffee. Xeno turned his attention to his own cup then, hoping to remain in this comfortable silence until they could get back to work again.
“...So do you always masturbate in the storage room when I’m away?”
Senku’s blunt, matter-of-fact question made Xeno choke on his sip of coffee immediately. He coughed for a moment, while Senku patiently waited for his reply.
Xeno recomposed himself. “No,” he replied firmly.
“Alright, I was just curious,” Senku said, in a tone that said I’m not mad, I just wanna know. “Why, then? Couldn’t it wait?”
Xeno cleared his throat. He had prepared himself mentally for this much, at least. He certainly wasn’t going to tell Senku what had ultimately made him come, but he could tell him why.
Especially since Senku, the ever-busy scientist that he was, generally didn’t concern himself with sexual activity, at least from what Xeno had witnessed. Xeno certainly understood that – he had been much the same way himself, growing up. Entering college at such a young age, by the time he had reached sexual maturity, there was no one left in his peer group who was even close to his age… except for Stanley. Stanley had helped him figure out a lot of things. Xeno would always be grateful to him for that.
“Well, this wasn’t a matter of sexual arousal, but of wanting to shift my neurochemistry in a more favorable direction.”
Senku raised a brow. “Oh?”
“Masturbation releases neurochemicals that not only induce pleasure, but ease stress and tension,” Xeno elaborated. “I was feeling stressed and unfocused, so I took advantage of that quick fix so that I could calm down and refocus on my work.”
Senku still looked skeptical, but not overly so. “Huh… So, it works?”
Xeno eased his posture to emphasize his point, relaxing in his seat. Despite the intrusion, he still felt the physical effects of his orgasm, his previous stress and tension greatly reduced by his release. “It does, indeed. It’s like a soft reset.” Xeno wondered what the human equivalent of a hard reset would be. Sleep? Coming back from near-death? Being depetrified from stone? He would have to think on it.
A wry smirk emerged on Senku’s face. “Guess I’ll have to try it sometime,” he said, his voice taking on a husky, teasing edge.
Xeno swallowed, hard and dry, at the mental image that Senku’s words had conjured in his mind – the younger man, alone, standing where Xeno had been in the storage room, dick in hand as he methodically jerked himself off, his hand covering his mouth to preemptively stifle any stray moans…
…And Xeno was getting hard again.
He shifted in his seat, remembering that he needed to respond. “Certainly. Just… don’t get anything on the materials that shouldn’t be there.”
Senku chuckled. “Got it.”
The subject died there, and they fell into a comfortable silence, which Xeno was grateful for. Senku hadn’t questioned him further, nor had given him any grief for his actions – which was not unexpected, but a relief nonetheless. They finished their coffee, Xeno’s member having calmed down by his own sheer force of will, and they both returned to their work on the next version of their rocket to the moon.
All the while though, Xeno found himself stealing glances at Senku’s face, staring at the other’s hands for too long, feeling sparks when their fingers grazed each other, and all too aware of the beating of his own heart.
While the pair reconstructed a rocket, Xeno deconstructed the tangled emotions he felt, following them to their root. When he parsed them out, applied reasoning and logic, he came to one startling conclusion:
He was starting to find Senku physically attractive. Increasingly so.
He hadn’t quite expected it. He recalled the moment when they met for the first time in this stone world, the stir of emotions he felt then he could only describe at the time as joy and delight, at Senku’s survival and the elegance of science itself that had spared him from death. But, when he reflected on it, he began to suspect that something else had begun then as well, something that had grown ever so slowly since…
He knew he was fond of Senku. Every moment that he spent with the young man was a moment he didn’t take for granted, for it was a moment that would not have happened at all, if Senku hadn’t thwarted Stanley’s bullet. Even so, there was little room for regret, Senku’s presence and all-but-implied forgiveness pushing it to a tiny corner where it could be forgotten for a little while. But the warmth that had begun to bloom in his chest had started to take up room in his consciousness as well, and he began to wonder if that fondness was growing into something more, something beyond mere mentorship.
Exploring his feelings was one thing, doing something about them was another problem entirely. His occasional masturbation sessions hadn’t ceased, though he tried to keep them to the bathroom or his sleeping quarters whenever possible. Thoughts of Senku were all he needed to get to climax now, which saved him time, but only further complicated his problem.
He couldn’t help but wonder: Had Senku taken his advice? Xeno hadn’t caught him in the act or overheard him, but that didn’t rule it out. Perhaps he was quieter, more subtle… or simply had more tact and self-control than to do it near their place of work. Either way, both men had been working efficiently lately and Xeno had a potent go-to fantasy for his nights alone.
Soon, their improved rocket was completed. But then…
…CRASH.
Another crushing failure, followed by an autopsy-like examination of the remains to find out what had gone wrong. Xeno gently and patiently guided Senku through the process, but he could sense the younger’s frustration. When they had finished going over the wreckage, the two parted, with Senku to fetch parts that he had requested and Xeno making notes and new sketches on their diagram.
He had made several notes and new sketches before he realized that Senku had not yet returned. He raised his head. There shouldn’t have been a problem finding what they needed, so… what was keeping him?
He couldn’t say he was worried, the storage room was well-built and shielded against any encroaching predatory animals or humans, but Xeno found his legs moving regardless, tentatively taking him to the storage room door.
He was nearly there when he heard a loud metallic clattering. Xeno quickly strode the rest of the way, opening the door without hesitation.
Xeno’s eyes wandered to where the noise had come from, and found scattered parts on the floor, as though they had been shoved there.
A noise from Senku’s throat brought Xeno’s gaze upward, and the older man swallowed. Senku’s fiery red eyes met his own, ash-blond eyebrows furrowed over a heated stare. His deerskin coat was hiked up, and his hand held his half-hard cock in a loose grip.
Xeno impulsively stepped backward to leave, feeling heat rising to his face. If Senku had actually taken his advice, he owed him privacy at the very least. Senku had done the same for him in this situation, after all.
He was about to shut the door, when he heard a low “Matte," from the wall.
Did he just tell me to wait? Xeno thought, unsure if he heard Senku correctly. They used a mix of English and Japanese to communicate with one another, often when they slipped into their mother tongues on impulse. So, then…
Xeno took a tentative step forward, not directly looking at Senku. “Yes? What is it?”
He heard a sigh from Senku then. “This. It’s not working.”
Xeno processed this. Of course his mentee would experiment, would test the hypothesis that Xeno had proposed to him. Now he realized that that proposal may have been a mistake. Senku didn’t have the years of adult experience to draw from that he himself did – of course it wouldn’t be the same. Especially not the way that he was trying to do it. “Don’t force it,” Xeno said as evenly as he could manage, pushing the image of Senku’s cock out of his mind. “You could hurt yourself. Perhaps now isn’t the time to-”
“You.”
Xeno’s head raised. “Hm?”
“...I want you,” Senku forced out.
Xeno’s heart skipped a beat, as he slowly turned his head to look at Senku, wondering if he had heard him correctly. “Me?”
Senku gave him a deadpan look that said ‘are you stupid?’ “Help. Me.”
Xeno swallowed. What did Senku just say? Was he dreaming? Wasn’t this a porno plot?! Regardless of whether this was real or even a good idea, he was helpless to resist. “If that’s what you want…” he muttered with uncertainty. He stepped closer, putting himself in front of Senku. “What do you want me to do?” he asked in a low, controlled voice.
Senku let out a hot breath that Xeno could feel ghosting across his face. “Hold it. Rub it. It… might be different if it’s you.”
Xeno’s heart flopped again. That was as close to an admission as he could expect from Senku. But he couldn’t relish it just yet. “...Alright,” Xeno breathed. He remembered to remove his gloves, doing so slowly and carefully, and placing them on a nearby shelf. Senku watched him, and Xeno thought he saw his length twitch at the sight, but he couldn’t be sure.
“Hold on,” Xeno said, and reached for the lubricant on the shelf that he himself had used before. “This helps.” He deposited some onto his hand as Senku mutely nodded.
Whether this was a dream or not, Xeno accepted it, and, his hand coated in oil and his own cock beginning to harden at the sight, he grasped Senku’s cock. He was speechless for a moment, his heart pounding rapidly as this dreamlike moment suddenly became all too real – Senku’s cock was in his hands.
He took a deep breath and refocused; he was still Senku’s mentor, so this should be a lesson, right? With that thought in mind, he began to stroke him. “Start slow, and gradually build up speed… Faster isn’t always better.”
Xeno half-expected a sarcastic retort in the vein of, ‘you don’t need to teach me how to jerk off,’ but none came. Little noises came from Senku’s throat instead, urging him onward. Xeno watched his eyes fall shut, focusing on and reacting to the stimulation; it sent a shiver of arousal through Xeno as well. He rubbed Senku in the way that he himself liked, allowing for the presence of foreskin, which he himself lacked. Its presence didn’t detract from the experience, but seemed to add to it, Senku reacting favorably to its stimulation, letting out small grunts and moans.
Senku was fully hard now. Xeno could continue just like this and he would probably come… But, what if he could make him feel even better?
Xeno followed his desire, and his free hand slipped under Senku’s coat, his fingertips grazing his skin with a feather-light touch until they found one of Senku’s nipples. He felt a shiver go through Senku, right before he began to lightly stroke the mound, timed with his movements on Senku’s length, before pinching it.
“Ah-!” Senku let out, arching his back in reflex. “Wha-?”
“This helps, too,” Xeno said to him in a heated whisper. “Have you never touched yourself like this before?”
“Nnn,” Senku moaned lightly. “No… time…”
Xeno wondered then, if this was the first time Senku had been given a hand job by someone. If he had even touched himself this way before… No, surely he had, he had been a teenage boy like any other. Except… not really. A dedicated amateur scientist in the twenty-first century and the hero of the stone world in the fifty-eighth century, he had been preoccupied with concerns greater than most other young men even considered. Sex had always been a low priority for Senku, surely saving the world had flung it even further down his list. Perhaps a quick jerk off session was all he had allowed himself, and only when needed.
The thought of taking some of Senku’s firsts inspired a new, greedy emotion in Xeno. He dropped his hand from where it had been stimulating Senku’s chest, then raised it to Senku’s jawline, gently lifting his face. His heart pounding in want, in need, Xeno stared at those smooth lips and dove in, kissing Senku like a man starved. He didn’t know if this was Senku’s first, but Xeno would ensure it would be one he remembered.
Senku hesitated for a brief, harrowing moment, then he kissed Xeno back, mimicking his movements. His arm snaked around Xeno's back, loosely holding him in place, grounding himself.
Xeno pulled back first, allowing Senku to catch his breath. Senku gasped softly, and spoke with a light pant. “What was that for?” He didn’t sound angry or offended, only somewhat bewildered – to Xeno’s relief.
Xeno smiled. “The more stimulation, the better. Arousal is elegant in that way.”
“Mmn…” Senku seemed at a loss for words, his face flushed red and his lips wet and rosy. He was beautiful. “Keep going…”
Happy to have Senku’s consent, Xeno’s smile remained, as he considered his options. He still could simply jerk Senku off and they could go right back to work – that was what Senku had wanted, after all. But something primal and hungry stirred in Xeno, at the sight of how Senku was like putty in his hands…
“Hey…”
Xeno flinched, as Senku’s free hand lightly poked, then cupped the older man’s crotch. He had been ignoring it, despite being nearly as hard as Senku was now.
“...Looks like you’ve got the same problem,” Senku observed huskily.
Heat rising in his face, Xeno attempted to explain himself. “Well, you see… arousal can work both ways… on the one receiving, and the one giving…”
“Mmm,” Senku murmured, in a way that made Xeno feel like he could see right through his flimsy excuses. Then he looked up at Xeno with a sultry smirk. “We should solve this together. Two clear heads are better than one, right?” He briefly pressed Xeno’s bulge with the base of his hand to emphasize his point.
Xeno’s thoughts dissolved for a moment. Afterward, he looked at Senku in shock, before a smile broke out on his face. “Yes, that’s brilliant."
That's right. This was just about relieving tension. What was he having all of those unnecessary thoughts for… ?
“...We should lock the door, though,” Xeno added, to which Senku chuckled.
“Fair enough,” he said, as Xeno walked back to the door, belatedly realizing that it locked from the other side. Instead, he shoved a box of weighty parts in front of it with his foot, to keep it from swinging open so easily.
Xeno walked back to Senku, still not quite believing his luck. “Are you sure about this?” He said, pausing before he reached for his fly.
“Yeah,” Senku replied. “I’d like to see it again.”
Xeno’s stomach did a little flip at that. “Has it been on your mind?”
“I can’t get it out of my head.” Senku chuckled. “Maybe this will make the nightmares stop.”
Xeno laughed at that. “I hope you’re joking about the nightmares.”
“C’mon, Doc,” Senku whined, “get on with it.”
Xeno complied, pulling down his fly and loosening his pants, and gently tugging his length free. He looked back up at Senku and found his crimson eyes staring right down at his mentor’s cock.
Xeno swallowed, feeling all too seen. “If we stroke at the same time, one of us may finish first, and stop stroking the other. Is that fine?”
“Yeah. It’ll be a race, then,” Senku said slyly, with a devious look on his face that Xeno had grown to love.
Xeno chuckled. “So be it.”
Xeno took hold of Senku’s length once again, only to gasp and shiver at the feeling of Senku’s hand on his own. It was everything he had imagined it would be and more – warm and slightly clammy, slender but strong, old and new calluses and blisters adding a variation in texture and sensation. The sound of blood rushed in his ears, already overwhelmed by just this part of his fantasy coming true. He allowed himself to bask in it for a moment, before speaking. “R…Ready?”
“Wanna do a countdown?”
Xeno nearly beamed. How perfect. “Alright. On the count of 3.”
He stroked Senku’s cock head lightly with his thumb, making Senku shiver. Senku did the same to him, Xeno letting out a small ‘ah’ before he began counting down. “3… 2… 1…”
They started slowly, Xeno belatedly realizing that he hadn't told Senku to oil his hand, before discovering that he did not care; the varying textures of his skin rubbing against Xeno's length made his thoughts melt into a puddle. He tried and failed to hold back a small moan, as he lost momentum with his hand on Senku's length. Xeno let out a curse under his breath, before speeding up his hand again.
“Mmmh… hey,” Senku muttered, bringing Xeno’s movements to a stop. “This isn’t working right.”
Xeno swallowed, catching his breath. He licked his lips; he could still taste Senku on them. “You’re right. Shall I… do this for the both of us… ? I may be able to fit-”
“Mmm,” Senku interrupted with a thoughtful hum. “...Nah. I just figured out something that would be a lot more fun.” His smirk turned devilish again, sending a new shiver of arousal through Xeno.
It was getting harder and harder for Xeno to maintain his composure. “Wh...what?”
Senku leaned in close, to whisper into Xeno’s ear. Xeno’s skin tingled as Senku spoke. “I’m not that naive, you know. I heard you saying my name, before I found you with your dick out. I don’t need to do a physics equation to figure that out.”
Xeno felt a sinking feeling of shame, tangled with twisted arousal.
Senku’s lips grazed Xeno’s ear. “You’re into me, aren’t you, old man?”
Xeno could only let out a low whimper from his throat. There was no hiding it, not while Senku’s hand still held his cock.
Senku pulled away, chuckling. “I guess I should’ve expected it, what with your boyfriend getting shelved and all.”
“He’s not my-”
“Still,” Senku continued, “it’s a little gross, huh? How quickly you decided to ‘help me out’... What am I going to do?”
Xeno swallowed, feeling like a specimen under Senku’s examination, fully exposed. He couldn’t fight it. Nor did he want to.
Senku smiled again. “Lean against the wall,” he said, letting go of Xeno and side-stepping away. “You’re going to need it.”
Xeno wordlessly complied, taking Senku’s place at the storage room wall. Senku then stepped in front of him. “Ah, almost forgot.” Senku took the lubricant bottle and dispensed some onto his hand. “Never would’ve thought we’d use this for something like this…” He stared at the bottle, before placing it back onto its shelf. “Now,” he said, facing Xeno, “let’s make that fantasy come true.”
“Ah-!” Xeno exclaimed, as Senku’s hand returned to his cock and stroked it with the intent of driving him wild. Now lubricated, his hand moved more easily over him, but Xeno could still feel the varying textures of his roughened hands, stimulating his most sensitive parts almost at random. “Sen… ku…”
Senku adjusted his position to get just the right angle, Xeno letting out an approving moan. With his free hand, he wrapped his arm around Xeno and pushed his hand under his mentor’s shirt, his touch making Xeno’s skin tingle as his hand moved upward, finding one of Xeno’s nipples, rubbing it with a roughened thumb, then pinching it.
“Ah!” Xeno’s back arched in response, his nerve endings sparking. He leaned into Senku, lolling his head backward. “Senku…”
Senku’s head turned, and he pressed kisses to Xeno’s neck, moving upward until he was tracing Xeno’s jawline. Xeno moved his head, and after a moment of aligning, their lips met in a kiss, then another one.
Xeno’s head was floating in neurochemical bliss. This was better than he could have ever imagined. He never wanted it to end. But, there was only so much he could take…
“Senku,” he breathed, barely an inch away from Senku’s lips, “I’m close. I’m going to-”
“Yeah,” Senku replied; he knew, too. Of course he did. He quickened his movements, letting loose more moans from Xeno’s lips, startling for a moment when the older man impulsively thrusted his hips. He kissed Xeno’s neck again, giving it a brief, teasing nip – and just like that, Xeno’s peak hit, Senku’s hand catching some of the mess, the rest falling to the floor.
Xeno caught his breath, feeling blissed out and floaty. Senku paused for a moment, then began to pull away. “That was fun,” he chuckled.
Xeno had the presence of mind to reach out for Senku’s member; Senku froze. It was still fully hard, possibly even more so now. “What,” he panted, “...about this?”
“I-I’m good,” Senku said, his face reddening. “I can take care of this myself now. Thanks.”
Xeno frowned. “Senku… let me take responsibility for this. Mmm…” He slowly sank to his knees. “My legs are tired…”
“Wait, what-” Senku started, watching Xeno move closer, then he softly gasped when he felt something very warm enveloping his dick. “F… fuck…”
Xeno had done it on impulse, of just wanting Senku in him, wanting to taste more of him, but now that he was there, his head swam in a new way, with more of his senses engaged. He wasn’t new to giving in this way though, and he relied on muscle memory, swirling his tongue around the sensitive parts that he had only touched with his hand until now, bobbing his head and swallowing around him. His knees ached a little, and the oil tasted strange on his tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.
“Xeno…” Senku let out with effort, and his hand reached out to clasp Xeno’s shoulder as though to ground himself, Xeno feeling his fingernails pressing into him as he squeezed tighter. It didn’t take much time for Senku to come as well, having been pent-up for this long, and Xeno responded immediately, not by pulling away but by swallowing every drop. He didn’t pull back until Senku had rode out his orgasm, when he did, he looked up at Senku, and he swore he would never forget the look in his eyes, hazy and warm like a distant sunset in his afterglow.
“Gross,” Senku let out, with a playful smirk on his lips.
Xeno chuckled, and slowly rose from the floor, his knees cracking slightly as he did so. “Feeling better?” he said once he straightened, playfully smirking back at him.
Senku scoffed. “Yeah. How about you?”
“...Yes,” Xeno said with some reluctance. “Let me… clean this up,” he said then, moving to retrieve a cloth to wipe up the mess they had made.
“Sure,” Senku said. “...I’ll help.”
There was an awkward air between them, evident in the fact that Senku didn’t need to help in the cleanup, since they hadn’t made too large a mess. He ended up simply picking up the spare parts that had been spilled onto the floor and moving the other box of parts away from the door.
As his afterglow faded, some part of Xeno's thinking brain came back online, as he thought over Senku’s actions. What was really going on here? “So… were you really feeling stressed, or was this all a ploy to push me to admit my feelings?” Xeno finished wiping the floor, and straightened up to look at Senku.
Senku paused, began to pick at his ear, and looked away. “...A little of both, I guess. I couldn’t forget what I saw that day, but your hypothesis intrigued me too. When the crash happened, well… I got the opportunity to test both theories.”
“So, you’re feeling stressed, too…” Xeno said, putting the other matter aside for now. “Why? Failure is a part of the scientific process as well, you know – especially with rocket science.” And you have me to rely on, he wanted to add, but didn’t.
Senku sighed, long and low. “I know, I know. There's… just so much at stake. And we don't know how much time we have.”
Xeno stepped closer to Senku. “This cannot be rushed, no matter how urgently we need it. In the twentieth century, it took a lot of time to get this right. Many errors were made; astronauts died as a result of some of them. But, humanity ultimately made it to the Moon. We just have to keep at it, and I know we'll get it someday. Humans have done it before with less technical knowledge than you and I possess now.”
Senku paused, then nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I know you are. It’s just…” He bit his lip, frustration evident in his furrowed brows.
“Just?”
“It’s you,” Senku spat, then quickly collected himself. “It’s… it’s my fault the rocket crashed this time. I screwed up the wiring. I figured it out, but I didn’t want to admit it… to you.”
Xeno blinked for a moment, stunned. “Senku… why not? I’ve made just as many mistakes. We’re only human-”
“Aren’t you disappointed?!” Senku blurted, silencing Xeno.
Xeno was wordless for a moment, the bird calls of late afternoon from outside the storage room filling the void. Senku… was feeling even more pressure than he knew. The boy’s words created a pang in Xeno’s heart at the thought that they could ever be true. Before he knew it, his lips were grazing Senku’s forehead, and placing a kiss there. His next words came out in a deeper, more primal voice than he had intended. “You, are by far, my proudest achievement. I could never, ever, be disappointed in you.” Xeno drew a shuddering breath, collecting himself. “The twenty-first century disappointed me in more ways than you could ever manage. But this century, with you in it, will be better than we can even imagine – whether we accomplish this feat or not. You hear me?”
There was a pause, as Senku processed his words; Xeno watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, and his watering eyes flashed briefly in the dim light of the room as he looked away and blinked. “...Yeah,” he replied at last, his voice thick with unshed tears. He nodded. “Yeah.”
Without much thought, Xeno immediately wrapped his arms around Senku and pulled him into a firm embrace. He could tell himself, as he rubbed Senku’s back between his shoulders, that he was merely stimulating the nerve endings there that made physical contact both pleasurable and calming, but above all, it came down to pure human instinct.
“I’m not a pervert, you know,” Xeno said, filling the silence. “You can disagree with me about that,” he relented, Senku giving a small muffled grunt in response. “I wasn’t lying before. I’m… not always as confident as you think I am.” He didn’t want to admit it, but if it could help take some of the weight off of Senku’s shoulders, he would. Senku had allowed himself to be vulnerable around him… he owed Senku the same in return. “This is a challenge unlike any other I’ve faced. There’s so much more at stake.” Xeno swallowed heavily. “Your life is at stake. If my mistake costs you your life, then…”
Senku interrupted his trailed sentence with a chuckle. He lifted his head from Xeno’s chest. “You asshole,” he said with no venom. “You’re the one who wanted to kill me before.”
“That was-” Xeno paused, feeling his throat tighten. What was that? It all seemed so absurd now, in retrospect. It didn’t matter anymore. “That was…” Xeno held him tighter, and buried his face in Senku’s hair. “...before I fell for you.”
His words were as quiet as a whispered prayer, and hung in the stillness between them.
“Ahh,” Senku let out, in his signature lilting way. “That’s not the first time I’ve been told that…”
Of course. Of course that would be true. Few were immune to Senku’s charms, his charisma. “Anyone would be lucky to have you,” he found himself saying. Could he really stake a claim to this incredible man, given everything that he had done to him?
Senku chuckled then. “I’ve always hated it. Until now.”
Xeno lifted his head. Did he hear that right? “Huh?”
Senku looked up at him and smiled. “I’ve never felt like this before. You being crazy for me… gets me excited.”
Xeno couldn’t help but smile back, relief washing over him. He impulsively kissed Senku’s forehead. “So you wouldn’t mind… exploring this feeling further?” he said, his hands rubbing Senku’s body in teasing strokes.
Senku gave him a wild grin. “Hell yeah.” He paused then, his eyes wandering to the nearby box of parts. “...Maybe later. We should get back to work.”
Xeno stepped back, giving a sheepish chuckle. “Right. We’re running out of daylight. I’ll go wash up.” He stepped toward the storage room door, and was about to open it when Senku spoke up.
“Hey.” Xeno looked back at him. Senku fidgeted a little, and picked at his ear again. “Thanks… for worrying about me. Don’t hide crap like this though. It’s stupid.”
Xeno smiled, amused by his wording. “You, too. I should have caught that mistake.”
Senku sighed, lowering his hand and giving his mentor a mischievous look. “I guess we’ll be working even closer together now.”
Xeno returned his look in kind, his smirk feeling slightly wicked. “I suppose we will.”
The two got back to work, and from then on, they were more efficient than ever before. Now that there was nothing hidden between them, their connection was intuitive, one automatically making up for what the other lacked. And when the pressure of their work inevitably wore them down… they knew just how to relieve it.
Senku wasn’t satisfied with mere jerk-off sessions to let off steam, and neither was Xeno. Senku had found a new curiosity to explore, and wouldn’t let his fascination wane so easily. He knew he had Xeno wrapped around his finger like the proverbial red string of fate that had bound them together over millennia, and he was more than willing to put his new theories to the test.
“Ah- Senku, yes… right there, ah-”
On their bed, as the bright rays of morning sunlight peered through their window, Senku moved rhythmically on top of his mentor, Xeno letting out approving moans and goading him onward. Senku was panting, but he pushed himself, delighting in watching Xeno writhe helplessly in pleasure because of him.
“Senku,” Xeno keened, wrapping his legs around Senku’s waist and pulling him in close until he was fully rooted, letting out a choked cry as his release came in a rush. Soon after, Senku’s did as well.
Senku collapsed atop Xeno’s torso, both catching their breath and waiting for their racing hearts to slow. Xeno leaned up and kissed Senku’s forehead that was within reach, Senku uttering a small grunt of complaint in response, but didn’t protest any further. Xeno took advantage of this, kissing him again and wrapping his arms around the young man, holding him close.
Senku tolerated roughly a minute of this before he summoned the strength to wriggle out of Xeno’s caging arms, grumbling something along the lines of ‘clingy oji ’, before he pulled out of his mentor. He sat up, promptly removing and disposing of his condom. Oh, the wonders that rubber made possible.
Xeno removed his own – easy cleanup was hard to refuse – and tossed it into the nearby trash can before giving Senku a longing stare. Senku gave a soft groan before returning to the bed, lying down next to Xeno and covering them both with the bedsheet and blanket. He lay against Xeno, his head resting on Xeno’s chest like it belonged there.
Xeno chuckled softly. “Who’s being clingy now?” he whispered teasingly, while stroking Senku’s back.
“Nnn,” Senku responded. “Just making sure you don’t croak on me, old man…”
Xeno chuckled again. “I’m not that old…” He switched to stroking Senku’s hair. The small, disguised ways that Senku expressed his feelings… Xeno loved every one of them. His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden loud noise.
“Taiju,” Senku muttered, lifting his head before Xeno could even register what was going on. A moment later, the door to their room burst open.
“Senku! The delivery’s here earl-” Taiju paused. “Where are you?”
Senku raised his mussed head from the covers.
“Ah! There you are!” Taiju laughed. “C’mon sleepyhead, let’s- WHOA!”
He jumped back when the covers slid away with Senku’s movement, revealing Xeno’s head of absolutely wrecked hair. Xeno knew he’d been caught; he opted to stay silent.
Taiju collected himself. “Wh-whoa, you trust him enough to sleep in the same bed as him?!” he said, in complete innocent shock.
Senku sat up fully. “Of course I do. We both have the same goal. He has nothing to gain from strangling me in my sleep.”
“O-of course! I trust you, Senku.” Taiju looked at Xeno then. “Don’t try anything funny! Or else!”
Xeno didn’t respond, giving Taiju his most deadpan look. Senku spoke up then. “We’ll catch up with ya later, big oaf. Let us wake up first.”
“A-alright!” Taiju stood awkwardly for a moment, looking at the two, before simply deciding to leave. “S-see you later!”
Xeno watched him go. “Do you think he caught on?”
“Nah,” Senku said. “He’s too straight-laced. He’s probably the best one who could’ve caught us in bed together.”
“Mm.” Xeno shifted to sit up. “You plan on keeping this a secret from the others, then.”
“Just so it won’t be a distraction. You know how they overreact to things.”
“Certainly some do…” Xeno relented with a sigh. “We can’t sneak around forever, though. Someone wiser will catch on. Or Ukyo will overhear us. We should be prepared for that day, if you want to continue… this.” However we’re defining this, Xeno thought.
“Mmm.” Senku looked up at the ceiling in thought. “It’ll be a shock regardless. I mean… they’ll have to accept it. But I can’t say that everyone will like it. Especially not those who know what death feels like now.”
Senku was as blunt as always, yet that statement landed as hard as a rock from outer space. It sat between them, hard and unyielding – undeniable. Though it had not been Xeno who had fired the guns, it was under his direction and leadership. He could have stopped the assault at Araxá anytime, yet he chose to continue it, after reuniting with Stanley. He thought he knew what he wanted. But, he ended up being blinded by the same presumptions that had hindered the twenty-first century’s progress. Senku helped him see that.
“...Right,” Xeno said at last. “I wouldn’t expect their acceptance. I don’t know how that feels.”
“I do,” Senku said flippantly.
Xeno nearly did a double take. “What? When?”
“A long time ago now. Tsukasa wanted to overthrow me, so he snapped my neck. Luckily, I had a bit of stone left on my neck, and the depetrification process healed it. Taiju and Yuzuriha figured it out.”
“I should give Taiju more credit, then,” Xeno replied. “So… what did it feel like?”
Senku paused, thinking. “Well, it’s probably different depending on what you’re dying of. Gunshots hurt like hell, so that probably isn’t a fun way to go. Me, it was kind of numb. Naturally, since my cervical nerve was severed. Not being able to move or talk was the worst, though. My consciousness wasn’t really gone yet; I didn’t go anywhere – I expected I’d come right back anyway. So it was a weird numbness. With an annoying undercurrent of instinctual fear.”
Xeno nodded wordlessly. The scientist in him had wanted to know the answer to that question, but the human part of him now felt chilled, on an existential level. He didn’t know if he would want to carry out such an experiment on himself, if he had the choice. Also… he had nearly lost Senku once before, before he had even known about his revival in the stone world. And again, science had saved him. It… was truly elegant. “You’ve had a remarkable life.”
“I’ve done the best I can with the hands I’ve been dealt.” Senku shrugged. “I never did like probability.”
“Me neither,” Xeno smiled. “So… you’ve forgiven Tsukasa, for that.”
“Well, I killed him too, so now we’re even,” Senku smirked, leaning back.
“...I don’t think I’ve heard that story.”
Senku recounted the long, twisting saga of the war between the Kingdom of Science and the Tsukasa Empire as briefly as he could, and Xeno’s respect for him grew; Senku had lived out Xeno’s theoretical worst-case scenario – of a strongman being revived and seeking power over others – yet prevailed and lived to tell the tale.
“No wonder I lost to you,” Xeno said. “I had it easy, in comparison. My team only had nature itself to fight against, before you all came along.”
“Yep. You guys brought your own bootstraps to the stone world,” Senku quipped, Xeno giving a little amused scoff in reply.
A lull in the conversation gave Xeno the space to think. “Senku… I’m fine with doing what we do away from prying eyes and ears. But, if we’re found out… I’m not going to deny it. I’m not ashamed of it.”
“Neither am I,” Senku replied. “The others’ reactions and questions would be annoying as hell, that’s the only reason I want to avoid it.”
“It’s only a matter of time. Some are already wondering how we’re keeping up this work ethic. Someone’s going to snoop around eventually.”
Senku leaned over to face Xeno. “Should we go out there right now and tell them I just fucked your brains out?” he said in a low, almost sultry tone.
Xeno cleared his throat, his face reddening as he looked away. “N-not… right now…”
Senku leaned back, chuckling. “We’ll just roll with it then. If they find out, they find out. If not, no big deal. They’re depending on us to get this rocket build right; whatever we’ve gotta do to get there, I don’t think they’re in a position to complain about it.”
Xeno smiled a bit wickedly, and leaned over to wrap Senku in a hug. The smaller let out a wordless squawk, but didn’t struggle. Xeno sighed contentedly. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”