It was all that happened.

Making out.

It was a fucking huge step in their relationship.

Newton was normally not known for taking it slow, but this was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. This was Hermann. This was the man who had Drifted with him, who had been there for him in a way he had never dared to hope, demand or dream.

But Newton felt the warm echoes between them. He knew there was desire. Hermann might not be the most emotional of men, but he had them, those emotions. And he had gotten something out of the neural connections, too.

Right now his emotionally constipated partner was sorting through it all, tried to analyze and understand it, and Newton was happy with just kissing the analytics right out of him.

And he loved it even more when Hermann took charge and reduced his brain to mush.

Not, as Hermann claimed smugly, that it was all too difficult. Newton's brain was mostly mush anyway.

The owner of the brain in question would have protested in outrage if he hadn't felt so amazing at being kissed.

"Recharging my batteries," he teased.

"I believe it is."

"Seriously?"

"I am very serious."

"Are you proposing an experiment based on kissing me, Dr. Gottlieb?" Newton exclaimed.

The expression turned a little sour, but the brown eyes reflected amusement. As did the hum between them. Newton caught the wide mouth, kissed him deeply, with abandon.

"I'm all for it," he mumbled.

"Of course you would be."

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As experiments went, it was off to a good start. They had a lot of experience in the kissing area of the whole set-up.

They encountered no problem when Herman drew his hands over Newton's naked skin, mapped the tattoos.

Hermann was anal about keeping up with their training, despite the fact that they had taken another step in their developing relationship. Judging by how long they had known each other by now – ten years – they were moving at light speed.

So Newton agreed to spend more nights on his own, though he hated it, but it worked. It worked even better after a very long kissing session.

x X XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX xx X

The scar on his shoulder looked… oddly out of place. It ran through the yellow swirls and distorted some of them. It was thick and red and there was a dent on one side and a raised ridge on the other. Newton could even tell where the stitches had been.

Standing in front of the mirror in his bathroom, Newton traced the still healing skin. It felt oddly numb, but he knew it would take time to mend the nerves. He would most likely get feeling back.

But the skin was marked. Involuntarily. Forever. Not in ink and with images he had chosen. No, it was a scar.

The laceration on his head looked no better. Red and long and showing stitch marks. It would fade, the doctors had assured him. Probably become a pale line and he would have to comb some hair over it.

Or show it off, the dashing hero, though he hadn't been wounded in a fight against the Kaiju. It had been his own, stupid brain, exhausted, yearning for Hermann, being a dick. Newton almost snorted. Yeah. A dick.

"There you are."

He smiled at Hermann, who had appeared behind him. His fingers were still on the scar, covering it.

Hermann frowned a little and limped closer. His hand came to rest against Newton's bare back and it was immediately grounding, calming, taking the whirling thoughts and channeling them.

"Newt?"

The question was soft, using his nick-name, and the hand on his back was distracting. Newton turned away from the mirror, felt Hermann's arm wrap around his waist, pulling him close.

Into a kiss.

Lips brushing over his, his neck, then Hermann bowed his head and kissed the scar.

It was so intimate, so new, Newton froze and gasped involuntarily. There was a surge of emotions rising between them and he closed his eyes, fingers curling around Hermann's upper arms, clinging to him to ground himself. It was incredible, this feeling, this sensation of acceptance and warmth and affection and so many, many soft emotions.

"It's not a disfigurement," Hermann whispered, lips against his ear. "You survived this. I'm very glad you did."

"Oh, so am I. Really. Dying isn't my plan in the near future. Not cool. Really not cool," Newton blurted.

He was still clutching at Hermann, fingers curled into the fabric of the v-neck sweater the other man was wearing.

Hermann let him.

Kissing him.

Newton kissed back.

Half naked in his bathroom, just kissing, enjoying the balancing effect his colleague had on him, enjoying the physical closeness, the warmth.

x X XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX xx X

Q shot him those knowing looks when they were in the lab together. Mostly the Brit was there to go over calculations with Hermann, but he always went over to Newt's side of the still divided lab, and both chatted.

"What?" Newton asked over a half dissected piece of Kaiju tongue.

Q's smile grew.

He refused to blush or give anything away, but damn the pilot, he knew! Curse of being connected to his team mate and co-pilot, Newton guessed. Q was very sharp, picked up on little clues, and since they had become fast friends, it wasn't so hard to spot the difference between a Newton who simply cuddled up to Hermann Gottlieb and a Newton who had gotten more with Hermann Gottlieb.

"So," Q simply said.

Newton glared at him and turned back to his tongue piece. "Nothing happened."

"I believe it did."

"Then you believe wrong."

Q laughed softly, shaking his head. "I didn't say you christened the bed, Newt. I only said you took another step."

The glare intensified, then Newton sighed. "What's it to you? Got a bet going?"

"Oh, there are several going, all around the Shatterdome. Some include you and Dr. Gottlieb. Some Raleigh and Chuck."

Newton snorted.

"Skyfall's test runs have cleared us for an ocean floor Drop," the former quartermaster said, casually switching the topic.

"Really? When?" Newton felt excitement shoot through him.

"Tomorrow morning. Seven a.m. sharp. The Marshall wants us down there and take a first stroll."

Okay, now he was envious. Hermann's eyes were narrowed and he was listening in, even though he pretended not to.

"Epic is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. It'll be Raleigh and Chuck's first Drift under real conditions."

"I wish I could come along," Newton whined.

Q chuckled. "Not yet, but Herc told us there are plans to take scientists down there."

"Not scientists. Me! I'm on top of that list and I'm going to kick anyone's ass out of that Conn-Pod if they take my place!" he declared hotly.

"Good god!" Hermann exclaimed. "You are worse than a child, Dr. Geiszler! You are a reputable scientist, the chief of Kaiju research and renowned in your field! Please show some dignity!"

Newton beamed at his colleague. "Praise from you, Hermann?" he crooned. "I need to get my ears checked."

"I'd rather you have your brain checked," was the growled reply, then Hermann limped over to one of his models.

"He loves me," Newton only said, still smiling.

"I never doubted it," Q replied. "And you already have a ticket to Skyfall, unless you want to switch over to Epic."

"Oh no! I'm fine with Skyfall. Love her. A lot. Are you getting seats installed or how does it work?"

"The engineers are currently tackling that problem."

"A child seat would be fitting," came the snark from across the lab. "With a safety harness and a toy to keep him busy!"

Q laughed softly, shaking his head. "I have a Kwoon date," he told Newton. "I'll drop by tomorrow after the first Drop if I can, let you know how it went."

"I'll be there. For the Drop. And the whole mission. And of course I'll be here, too," Newton said, excitement rattling through him.

Q laughed. "See you then, Newt. Dr. Gottlieb."

With that he was gone.

Newton was grinning like a loon, beaming brightly at Hermann, who simply scowled at him. But there was a tiny little smile twitching at the corners of his lips.

x X XX xx X

Newton was in a bouncy good mood for the rest of the day, much to Hermann's vocal annoyance.

x X XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX xx X

It had taken him this long to finally get Hermann to watch a monster movie with him. A classic. One his uncle had always watched with his nephew when Newt was still a kid.

"You still are a kid."

"Just shut up and enjoy the movie, Herm!"

Of course, halfway through this epic classic – Newton's own words – he had to give in to the overpowering drive to make out with Hermann. And of course Hermann saw it as a good excuse not to watch monsters fight among each other over who got to destroy a human city this week.

It was a relaxed atmosphere, Newton's hands playing over the slender body, slipping underneath the shirt and caressing skin. Hermann didn't protest. Newton's chin rested on the dark hair. He experimentally nuzzled one temple and Hermann moved his head a little, Newt's lips sliding down to nibble at the exposed throat.

Bolder, listening to the sensations wafting between them, he continued his ministrations and he was rewarded with a soft, encouraging noise.

Hermann would probably deny making it to the very end.

It was almost like a dance, their movements slow and sensual. The dance ended with Gottlieb on his back, deep brown eyes looking up at him, the face relaxed, inviting, no visible hesitation. Newton leaned down and caught the lips in an affectionate kiss. When the other answered it, opened up, he deepened it more and more. His tongue slipped into the warmth of Hermann's mouth and he felt arms come up around him. Fingers clenched into his t-shirt, holding on.

He pulled back a little, studying the so well-known features. They had been at this point countless times before, but Hermann had always pulled away after a while. Mentally and physically, as if it had been a little bit too much to process.

Not scared. Hesitant, but not scared of what else might come.

"Herm?" he murmured.

"Don't call me that."

Oh, how he adored that man.

A hand cupped his face, the thumb caressing his skin. Hermann smiled slightly, almost shyly, then drew him down again.

The kiss was long and slow, not leading to a sexual encounter, and finally Newton leaned against the other man, exhaling slowly.

He felt the hum of what was between them. It was never silent, but in the last few hours it had been clamoring at him to be with his Drift partner.

Right now it was good to feel this, to feel this man with him, kissing and being kissed.

Brown eyes displayed more than he wanted to read in them and he dared Hermann to speak, but the other man was silent. He wrapped a hand around Newton's neck, cupping his head, and pulled him into a new kiss, this one almost chaste.

Newton felt it. It was clear to him. There was no hiding what came across the permanent connection.

Hermann was in a cuddly mood and sought closeness, either by sliding a hand under Newton's shirt or nuzzling a path down his neck.

There was a surge of outrage at the comparison. Gottlieb hated to be called cuddly or adorable or handsome. Especially handsome.

Right now his eyes were closed, his face was half hidden in Newton's chest, and his hand was still resting comfortably underneath the black t-shirt with the garish Kaiju print.

On bare skin.

Newton wanted physical touch and Hermann was very willing to give it.

Not in the lab. Never anywhere in public. It was all in the privacy of their shared quarters. Newton knew that the suggestion to lock up the lab and make out had fallen on deaf ears. Actually, the death glare had been… ridiculously amusing.

The whole thing went seriously FUBAR, for lack of a better word, when the touch became a lot more intimate. Like down south intimate. Like Hermann brushing over this sensitive area Newton had been hoping for to get touched.

He felt something race across him, hot and heavy, taking out every thought, whiting out his brain, his whole body locking up in a surge so powerful, he barely even managed to gasp.

Well, maybe it was a little cry or a sob or a mixture of both. He didn't know. All he knew was that he flailed for his safety net, needed that cool, calming touch, and when he found it, he clung to Hermann like a drowning man.

Gasping like he had run a marathon.

And…

Embarrassment flooded through him.

"Newton."

He was trembling, the touch wanted, needed, but the shame…

"Newt."

He almost laughed. Hermann was using his preferred nick-name.

The fingers were in his hair, scratching lightly, running over his neck, the soothing caress Newton reacted almost automatically to by now.

"I expected it."

That had his head shoot up. He stared at Hermann bug-eyed, mouth opening and closing.

"You… you what?"

"You are touch-sensitive, Newton. My touch. Your brain translates it into surges. This was more… intense than just kissing or running my hands through your hair, or your arms and back."

"Uh. Yeah. Kinda."

Because he had come. He had come from a few caresses, kisses and touches, because his brain had chosen to fling itself full force into a feedback loop.

Hermann's smile was almost… lop-sided. Newton's eyes narrowed.

"You! You…!"

It got him a chuckle. It was a noise that was as enjoyable as the idea that Hermann Gottlieb had experimented with sex was.

"I hate you!" Newton groaned, feeling sticky, embarrassed and also a bit lethargic at the moment.

"You don't," was the calm reply. "We also know now that you are very much receptive to feedback."

"Hate you," Newton repeated, voice muffled against Hermann's shoulder. "So much."

The kiss against his head had him shiver. Damn echoes. Damn feedback. Just damn.

"If this happens because of a simple touch," he finally grumbled into the pajama-clad shoulder, "this will be very embarrassing every single time."

"It always takes two, Dr. Geiszler."

He raised his head and looked into the clear brown eyes. "Huh?"

"Your brain is the more receptive." Long fingers stroked over one temple. "It's as tactile as you. It feeds off our encounters. I counter-balance it. That is my role. So it's a matter of balancing the input you feel, sharing the load."

"Are you using Drift analogies for sex?! What did we do? Have a neural handshake with our dicks? You got me off with one touch, Herm!"

"As I just said, we have to work on that. Our brains have been rewired. The damage you did to yourself is more extensive, so we need to adjust."

"Oh gawd, I really, really hate you," Newton whined and closed his eyes. "I need to relearn sex."

"Yes, Dr. Geiszler, you do."

The kiss was unexpectedly soft, a brushing of lips against lips, a gentle coaxing of a tongue asking him to open up, which he did.

x X XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX x XX xx X

He wasn't actually depressed or moping over the fact that Hermann could get him off with a few strokes. Not even half a dozen. Less than that.

Fuck.

Newton was a scientist, a biologist with several degrees and then some, and he knew about nerve cells and skin reaction and hypersensitivity, which he didn't have! He wasn't hypersensitive! He had a brain that was all screwed up and had probably rewired itself in very strange new ways after two Drifts, but he wasn't sensitive!

Q's opinion was clearly in his eyes. The pilot was openly amused, not even trying to hide it, and Newton hated him. He hated Bond even more, who was laughing into his coffee.

"It's not funny!" he snapped.

"No, it isn't. But it's amusing," James told him, the glacially blue eyes warm and alight with humor. "I'll leave you two to discussing our sex life. I have a meeting with Herc."

And with that he was gone.

"I'm not discussing anyone's sex life!" Newton growled.

"Neither am I."

Q's mug was filled with Earl Grey and he was eating a scone – wherever he had gotten that from. Newton had opted for a caffeinated cold drink. Caffeine was good. Caffeine was your friend.

"Why me?" he sighed theatrically. "I mean, nothing against a good orgasm, but not like that!"

"I thought we weren't going to discuss anyone's sex life," Q pointed out mildly.

"I like Hermann. I really do. And he's done a lot for me already. And I know he likes me too," Newton rambled on. "Maybe even loves me. I know I do. A lot. Who wouldn't be in love with that brain? And once you get past the prickly, stuffy, my-grandfather-dressed-more-modern exterior, he's adorable. Okay, so he's always adorable."

He stopped the rambling when he caught Q's laughing eyes and groaned.

"You have it bad, Newt."

"I got it bad," he agreed.

"All you have to do is work out how to desensitize your brain. I believe it will in time."

"Hermann said the same."

"He is a very wise man," Q agreed.

He was trying for sage and failing since he was still laughing. His eyes anyway. He was laughing with his eyes.

"Good plan. And might I point out that it involves a very good time for both of you."

Q raised his eyebrows over his mug, then took a sip.

"Yeah, well, there's that."

Q smirked.

"You two don't have that problem, huh?" Newton asked.

"Very good times?" the pilot teased.

Newton groaned. "You're bad."

"I know. I also know what you are asking, Newton. No, James and I never had a feedback loop or any kind of touch-related incidents that come close to what you experience. It's the hive mind. James and I Ghost together. It makes for interesting encounters…"

Newton held up a hand, stopping him. "Nope, not interested. Then again, maybe, if I was a pervert, which I'm not. Anyway, I'm not. I don't want to know. You're not a freak like me, so happy you." He morosely poked at a packet of sugar.

"You are not a freak, Newt. You do the crazy scientist well. You are an eccentric. You have a reputation. But you're not a freak."

Newton just gave him a frown.

"You Drifted with a Kaiju brain. You saved the world, risking your own life, like we all did. We went out in a giant exoskeleton, hitting stuff and shooting Kaijus to pieces. We all have aftereffects to deal with. James and I still Ghost, stronger after a Drop and a few hours on the bottom of the ocean. But it never goes away completely."

"I'm not exactly Ghosting when it comes to Hermann. It's more like… an awareness. And sometimes these weird… flashes… Like I know what he's saying but he isn't. And the touch is…" Newton stopped, then said softly, "grounding. Like he is grounding. When everything goes off on a wild tangent, when the chaos in my brain is overwhelming… he's there. No idea how he does it. I just feel so useless in it all because I do nothing but take."

"Are you sure?"

Newton frowned.

"Dr. Gottlieb has changed with you, Newt. I should know. We work together regularly, either on the Breach model, his theorems, or the Jaeger programming. He has grown a little less stiff. He hasn't really softened, but he seems to allow for a more unorthodox approach to some of his equations. Like you have structured your work a little. You're still you, Newt, but his influence over the hive bond is visible. And vice versa."

"Oh." Newton fidgeted a little. "Yeah."

He had noticed how he calmed down around Hermann when the connection between them flared to life with Hermann's presence. It was an uncanny way to soothe his wildly firing thoughts, channel them, guide them. And yes, Hermann was… more open. To anyone who didn't know him it wasn't obvious how relaxed the mathematician suddenly was. How he reacted toward others invading his work space.

Yeah, sure, he glared them into submission, bit their heads off if they gave him crappy equations or hadn't listened to him before, bringing back the wrong results. But he was… huh, people person might be taking it a bit far, but he did people interaction now. He talked to other human beings. It was a big thing. A really big thing.

"I'm just the more affected," Newton murmured.

"And Dr. Gottlieb buffers, is something like your conduit. Think about it, Newt: if the two of you had been affected the same, if Dr. Gottlieb was as sensitive to the effects as you are."

"We'd implode."

"Exactly."

"So… everything's worked out fine."

"It will in the end. You just have to work with what you have and make the best of it for now," Q said, smiling. "And training this kind of touch sensitivity sounds like fun." He winked.

Newton groaned and shot him an evil look.

tbc...