Disclaimer: In case there's anyone who's completely misinformed out there. I don't own Tenchi. Ryoko-Sama and I, however, are collaborating on "Flaming For Shitheads!" Lol. Why? Because laughter IS the best medicine.
Author's Note: Ryoko11 steps out into the front of a movie theater full of readers. "Okay, to comply with ff.net's prohibition of NC-17, this is the EDITED version of Lovers Inside the Melting Dream. If anyone is wondering why the version on my website has a graphic lemon, and this version is several pages shorter and without… Well read your ff.net guidelines."
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Without argument, Hotsuma teleported them back to the safety of Gaiyan. The storms had grown even more brutal. The now relentless lightning strikes started new forest fires, and the air itself seemed to carry an electrical charge. It was definitely time to leave. As soon as they were onboard, Hotsuma ordered Gaiyan to take off on a preprogrammed flight pattern, while he brought Ryoko directly to the infirmary.
Ryoko felt better. Still not good, but her head felt clearer and she no longer felt like she was going to throw up. She knew it was the beginning of her rapid healing process kicking in, but she also knew Hotsuma wouldn't be satisfied without giving her head a good once-over in the medical lab. Ryoko resigned herself to having the injury cleaned and possibly stitched. At the moment, she could understand exactly how he'd felt when she'd first examined his wounded arm after the Galaxy Federal Bank job.
"Ryoko, I want you to just relax against my arm, while I try to clean some of this blood out of your hair," Hotsuma instructed. "I won't be able to see the wound otherwise."
"Sure," Ryoko agreed tiredly. "Let's just get this over with." She watched resentfully as Hotsuma started the tap and adjusted the temperature and pressure of the water flow. She cursed proficiently as he supported her back and neck with one arm and carefully washed the drying blood from her now sticky locks. It wasn't as bad as she'd expected though, and after a few minutes the stinging faded. His gentle touch against her hair began to feel very comfortable.
"It's not that bad," Hotsuma informed her. He turned off the faucet, and applied pressure against the back of her head with a soft cloth. That was less pleasant but she could tolerate it for now. "If you were that afraid of losing our wager, there were easier ways to get out of it than trying to kill yourself with a stone wall," he baited her.
"What did you just accuse me of?!" Ryoko stormed. "I'm no scared little girl who welches on her bets! You! You insufferable, egotistical…" she realized that he was laughing at her again and her sputtering protestations stopped. "You have to be the most arrogant man alive!" Ryoko accused crossly.
"I'm just glad you're alive, Princess," Hotsuma replied smugly. "Otherwise, I'd have to find a partner who actually liked me." He studied her with those strange blue eyes, and a small smile flickered across his lips. He was willing to just let things go back to normal.
Ryoko felt like she needed to say something more, but she wasn't sure she could find the right words. "Thanks for rushing to the rescue down there," Ryoko finally said, as he dabbed antiseptic against her scalp with a cotton ball. "I thought you might leave, after I didn't check in. That you might assume I was dead," she admitted embarrassedly. She felt so stupid after saying it. With all that had passed between them since Kittros, he might take offence at her words. Then she would lose the second man to ever try to help her. She looked up nervously, but his expression was a carefully neutral mask, as though he'd never heard her.
Hotsuma finished with her head and turned to face the nervous space pirate. He looked her in the eyes with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine. "I don't let go of the things I want so easily, Ryoko," he said hoarsely. He placed his hands on either side of her and bent forward to claim her lips with his kiss. His strong lips pressed against hers, as his tongue explored her willing mouth. The sensation sent waves of pleasure through her body, and she could feel a familiar tension knotting itself low in her belly. She craved nothing so much as to feel him invading her senses, invading her heart, her body. Their need and desperation mixed with the adrenaline that was still coursing through their systems, and Ryoko clung to him as she was pushed onto her back by his strong hands.
"You know," she whispered against his sensitive ear. "I hear that this supernova is going to be quite spectacular and rare. Do you have any ideas how we could celebrate something like that?" she asked coyly.
Hotsuma kissed the palm of her hand, gathered her in his arms, and teleported them both into Ryoko's rather Spartan room. The light spilling in through the wall of windows painted the room in reddening hues, as the massive sun began to fill its solar system, burning away anything in its path. The sky outside had become a sea of flames, both frightening and compelling. Ryoko stared at it in awe, until the feel of Hotsuma's hot breath against her skin brought her attention back to him. He lowered her to the bed, pinning her beneath him on the flame-colored silken sheets. "Yes," he sighed against her lips, "I know exactly how I want to celebrate it."
With a wicked smile, Ryoko released his long golden hair from the ponytail, and watched it come spilling down like a curtain of sunlight. She slipped off his glasses and dropped them onto the nightstand, as she covered his eyelids with fleeting kisses making her way down his cheek to his jaw line. In turn, he nibbled on her earlobe and whispered seductions into the receptive hollow of her ear, telling her that she was glorious and painting his need in words as the feel of his body against her affirmed his speech.
Ryoko unfastened his white jacket and slid it over his shoulders. Her fingers came across a ragged patch of fabric over his left shoulder blade. It was shredded from crashing through that last wall. "You don't seem to have much luck with this jacket," she remarked dryly, as she bit gently into his shoulder and wrapped her leg around his hip. She reveled in the weight of his body, as every muscle and curve of him melded to her small form. She rocked her hips against his, pleasurably.
"A jacket is a small sacrifice, Princess," he replied, as he removed the little black top which she favored when pirating. He'd desired to see her without the barrier of clothing for so long now. He wanted to see her raw, in her purest form—to see her as no one else could. He wanted to caress her and pleasure her, to lose himself in the depths of her soul—but above all he wanted to know her. He would become lost in her pulse and the salt of her skin to know her body, and he would shatter any emotional obstruction that came between them. In the end, he would reach her very soul, and nothing would stop him from swimming in those spiritual depths.
Ryoko's thoughts were more tangible and immediate. Ryoko wanted the silky feel of skin on skin. That supple, alive feeling was more luxurious than any fabric. Flesh. She needed his flesh against hers. She pulled away the soft orange fabric and let it fall to the floor, as she savored the naked contact of his firm abs and chest against her. She stroked his back with her fingernails, caressing a trail down to his buttocks and back up to his shoulder blades. Ryoko was drunk on his passionate kisses and it left her craving more. She wanted more of his mouth devouring hers. She wanted more of his hot skin sliding over hers. She wanted more of that delicious friction between them. She wanted more of everything, so she could ride this feeling of euphoria to its zenith and come crashing back down only to repeat it over and again.
Her fingers went for the fastening of his black trousers, as Hotsuma forged a trail of lingering kisses from her shoulder down to her bosom. As if in silent agreement, his hands matched her desperate actions as he stripped away her low-cut khaki pants. They explored each other tentatively at first, but soon they began try to get beneath eachother's defenses and fill the other's senses.
They were locked together in a maddening embrace, each wanting greater fulfillment but unwilling to be the first to break. Ryoko promised him that before this was over, she would make him beg, and Hotsuma rose to her words of challenge. He teased her unmercifully with his kisses and caresses, pinning her beneath him and capturing her frustrated yells in his kiss, until she had calmed enough for him to do it again. It was not merely a dance of love between them, but also a battle of wills—a conflict between the hard edges that encased both personalities.
"Just tell me what you want, Ryoko," he cooed soothingly, as he held her shaking body against him. He brushed her sweaty bangs out of her eyes. "Tell me, and I'll give it to you," he purred. "Just tell me that you want me…." He said in a low voice. His eyes bored into her with a nearly painful need of his own.
"I… w-want… you…" Ryoko responded with as much breath as she could muster. She kissed him tenderly. "I want you," she repeated simply. He sucked on her neck fiercely, the way that always made Ryoko feel as though her very soul was being drawn outward. Then he made them one, fueled by a desperate need to break the shells that encased their souls. The battle between them continued more intensely than before, and soon the cracks in their armor began to show and weaken under the emotional and physical barrage. Even when the pleasure and joy between them became unbearable, and Ryoko found herself lost in it; Hotsuma did not relent.
"You're truly breathtaking, Ryoko," Hotsuma whispered soothingly. "I want to take you beyond all of this, to steal you away from the rest of the universe, and make you only mine." He buried his cheek against hers, and then kissed her with a mounting passion. He could feel her beginning to respond, and he fueled her rekindled desire with his kisses and caresses. "Oh god, please, Ryoko," he cried against the pulse of her throat as they rocked together.
Ryoko felt the tension building to an unbelievable height again, and she closed her eyes prepared to let it wash through her and leave her destroyed in its wake. Hotsuma's fingers against her cheek surprised her, and she stared at him feeling suddenly lost and helpless against the pull of those pale blue eyes. "Don't look away, Ryoko," he growled softly. Ryoko lost herself in those icy blue depths, as the crest of pleasure washed through her, sweeping away her final restraints.
Her pleasure became too much for her lover, and he realized that he was ready to join her in that euphoric state. He started to close his eyes, until the fluttering of Ryoko's fingertips against his temple roused him. He stared straight into her luminous golden eyes and laced his fingers with hers, pressing her hand. Hotsuma emptied himself emotionally in those large golden eyes, spilling out all of his careful control and revealing the shattered edges just beneath the surface. He screamed her name again, and she kissed his throat and face, holding him in her arms until they collapsed as one on the tousled sheets.
They burrowed together, comforting each other with intimate caresses to calm their shaking bodies and tender words to ease their exposed souls. Their kisses were no longer urgent and demanding, but instead were gentle and giving. Their exhausted bodies were covered in a sheen of sweat, making the hot air cool against their skin. Hotsuma wrapped the sheet around them protectively, as Ryoko snuggled against his chest and twirled his long golden hair around her finger. They savored the contentment of still being clasped together for as long as they could, as the dying sun painted them in its rosy hues.
"Do you want to watch the heavens burn for a few hours?" Hotsuma suggested, whispering it against her hair, as he rubbed her back.
"I thought that's what we just did," she teased, biting his earlobe playfully. She crossed her arms over his chest and rested her chin on them, as she studied the tall blonde space pirate. His long hair was spread across the pillows in swirls and his blue eyes were half-closed and heavy-lidded with contentment. She realized that she was grinning like a fool and he was grinning back the same way. "You know, I could use a little drink right now. And you did tell me that you had something to give me after this little mission! Unless, this is what you meant, but I don't think you'd need a lab to prepare for…"
Hotsuma threw one of the pillows at her. "Alright, Princess! Since I know royalty can't stand to wait, I'll be right back." He'd already put his glasses back on. He teleported out of the room, and Ryoko sprawled out on the bed and waited impatiently for his return.
She'd never experienced anything so passionate with a man before. She was always the one in control, enjoying the sensations but still detached as she found ways to drive him nuts. This was the first time that she'd ever lost that safe-distance. She'd always thought that it would be Tenchi's innocence that finally allowed her to connect with a man emotionally. Instead, it was Hotsuma's stubborn steak! She laughed loudly at the realization until tears formed in the corners of her eyes. In the end, he had begged the way she'd wanted though.
She wondered for the zillionth time why it couldn't have worked out like this for her and Tenchi. She supposed that it didn't really matter anymore, but it did still sting. Tenchi was the innocence she had lost a lifetime ago. Around him, it had seemed she could regain that quality, but that was just another dead dream. It was time to face the fact that life moved on. There was nothing innocent about Hotsuma or her, but he was the one who was faithfully at her side. It was an arrangement that was lately full of new possibilities.
Ryoko looked up to see him teleport back into the room wearing a short white robe and carrying a bottle of wine. "Now I would never have expected that type of modesty from you, partner," she quipped, rising up on her knees and reaching for the bottle.
"Who said it had anything to do with modesty?" Hotsuma responded. He reached into one of the robe's large pockets and produced a large crystal wine glass. "I just needed somewhere to carry the glasses," he said with a wink. He took the bottle from her hands and poured a rich, red wine into the glass. Then he produced another goblet from his second pocket and filled it to the same level. "It's port," he offered as he handed her one of the glasses.
Ryoko took a small sip. It was rich and sweet and very strong. The port slid down her throat, leaving a warm tingling to mark its passing. She smiled appreciatively and carried her glass over to the wall of windows, where she stood sipping it and waiting for Hotsuma to join her. She could tell that the red giant was still expanding, and she studied the pinkish red glow outside her windows. "Almost like being inside a sunrise," she decided. "Well, sunset was probably more correct in this case," she amended.
She could feel Hotsuma standing behind her and she leaned back as he pulled her against him. "Amazing, isn't it, Princess?" he asked softly, and she nodded against his shoulder. He handed her his wine for a moment. He had removed the robe, and he was drawing the sheet around them again, as they stood before the blazing sky. The sheet, the ship, the flaming sky were like a series of cocoons, worlds made just for them. "Close your eyes," Hotsuma whispered when he'd finished with the sheet.
"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten," she told him haughtily. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back slightly. Hotsuma's hands brushed along her shoulders, lifting her thick hair, as he fastened something delicate around her long neck. Her hair fell back into place, as he withdrew his hands and reached for his wine.
At his prompt, Ryoko opened her eyes and looked down. A jeweled locket hung at her throat. It was made of gold, an oval covered in perfect rubies and diamonds. "H-Hotsuma!" she exclaimed quietly. She brushed her fingers over the fine stones, which even graced the chains from which the necklace hung.
"Press that large diamond, right there," Hotsuma instructed, as he pointed to a hefty stone in the center.
Ryoko did so, and the locket projected a hologram of the two pirates celebrating their first heist. Ryoko was holding up the bag of money and making a victory sign, and Hotsuma stood behind her smiling and resting his chin on the top of her head. She noticed that they both looked a little tipsy, each blushing slightly. She pressed the button again and was met with another picture of them from that little victory celebration. Hotsuma had programmed in the best shots of them from the poses they'd struck for Gaiyan's security camera.
"It's a memory locket from the Crown Jewels of Polidis," he began, "I reprogrammed it with the pictures we took after we first became partners. I can add new holograms for you over time, and you've got your own scrapbook of …."
Ryoko cut him off with a kiss. She could feel tears starting. It was a gift to her and her alone! It wasn't a present that was shared with five other girls. She'd forgotten all about their "pictures" in the wake of that terrific hangover. It was something he'd thought to do on his own, and she hadn't even known what he'd planned. "Thank you," she whispered against his lips.