It was dark when Setsuka stepped back into her apartment. Someone had actually taken the time to turn off the almost constant light in the living area but had left the blinds open so that the lights of the city filtered through. She slipped off her shoes and padded soundlessly over to the windows. The expression on her face was unreadable, the blank mask-like look so familiar for an Agent. Only the glint in her eyes could have indicated something, if it hadn't been hidden by the darkness.
The assignment was going well; with every step Anderson was growing more trusting. Fairly soon the human would be pouring out his secrets to the machines. Not that Smith would be particularly interested when that occurred, after that point the assignment and Anderson would most likely loose interest. A broken human was never very much of a challenge. Though he would enjoy watching Anderson break… Yes, that would be the case, but if that were true then why was he asserting the obvious so incessantly… almost as if he was trying to convince himself of it? Smith brushed the thought aside. Anderson would be crushed, that was all. And then? Perhaps the rebels would fail and the humans left in the real world could be removed… Without their precious One they would falter…
Unbidden came the thought; what will he do once he's knows the truth? What will he do once he knows that it was because of me? And for some reason Smith was suddenly blinking rapidly to clear his vision, the thought of Ne- Anderson broken once and for all strangely unappealing.
Such thoughts were too disturbing, Smith decided. He turned away from the windows only to almost walk straight into Brown, who steadied the slighter female form as she stumbled. Pulling back, angrily, Smith glared when Brown didn't release him.
"Brown…" his normal warning growl seemed somehow diminished in the current situation.
The only response was an assessing look, one that made Smith a great deal uneasier in his female form. "I am beginning to see why they are both reacting the way they do."
"They?" Smith was hesitant.
"Jones… and Anderson." Brown smiled slightly, before pulling Setsuka against him and kissing her forcefully.
The short journey to the bedroom was a blur through which there were other things to concentrate on, than the whereabouts of Jones. The brief sensation of being pushed backwards, followed by the feel of the bedcovers underneath her were the barest distraction in comparison to bruising kisses and strong hands.
Then Brown was on top of her and Setsuka could imagine the trail of bruises that his touch would leave on her pale skin. The rough caresses were hardly a bother to her though, since she would have already most likely drawn blood if he had not still been wearing his suit jacket. Unfortunately Brown appeared to be hampered in his progress by his apparent inability to remove any of her clothing successfully.
"Stop." Setsuka said quietly and immediately he obeyed, sitting back and looking slightly worried. She slid off the bed and stood up facing the other direction, seemingly ignoring him.
Brown opened his mouth to say something before deciding that anything he might say probably wouldn't be a good idea anyway. Instead he stood up, unsure as to what he should do next.
"Take your clothes off." She said without turning.
He blinked, considering running an internal diagnostic on his audio sensors.
"I gave you an order, Brown." There was just a hint of underlying menace in her tone.
A little uneasily he obeyed, slipping of the jacket first and for a moment clutching it as if for some uncertain security before dropping it on a nearby chair. The sunglasses, that he'd somehow managed to keep on earlier followed, next came the standard issue gun and holster. She smirked at his hesitance.
He pulled his tie loose, taking another steadying breath as he began to remove his shirt. Still she remained with her back to him.
Brown removed his earpiece with attached electronics slowly, not quite daring to look up at her, even though he couldn't see her face. He took his time removing shoes and socks, somehow hoping that she's say something or give some indication that she was intending something other than just humiliating him.
He'd always been a little afraid of Smith really, in his normal male form the superior Agent had never been quite predictable, always just verging on instability, enough so that it could be used against him but in this female form… Setsuka was equally unpredictable but somehow in playing this part Smith was exercising far more self-control that he'd exhibited before, making him even more dangerous. An Agent with a vindictive streak was often deadly but one capable of manipulating the emotional response of others…
Brown kept up the mental analysis to keep from focusing on the fact that he was at the point of removing his underwear now. Normally he would have guessed at something physically painful being melted out but now he wasn't so sure. There was no telling what she would do to him. If only some convenient distraction would arise, his gaze flickered over to the discarded hardwire, but he'd managed to contrive to send Jones off on some errand earlier and it was very unlikely, considering the current state of affairs, that the other Agent would come to his rescue anyway.
"Close your eyes." She whispered and he obeyed. What ever she had planned was most likely already to late to avert. The sound of her footsteps muffled by the carpet sounded loudly as she approached, stopping mere inches from him. He could feel the warmth of her body, her the sound of her breathing or was that his? Yet she did nothing, standing there watching him in the darkness. He bit his lip, trying to control the rising tide of unease, desperate not to show any weakness that she might use against him. It was the anticipation that was doing the damage, Brown realised, the very fact of standing there waiting that was tearing at his sanity. She moved round to stand behind him and he felt her warm breath ghost across his skin as she let out a low chuckle. The touch of her cool hands sliding up his back was a shock. She slid her hands over his skin, reaching round to cover his eyes. He exhaled sharply as she pressed up behind him, brushing her lips against his ear before she spoke again in those same low tones "Do you like this? Is this what you wanted?"
Brown made no reply, guessing that anything he did say might easily be used against him. Setsuka only laughed softly at his silence. The quite suddenly, out of nowhere she was pressing a strip of cloth against his closed eyes, effectively blindfolding him.
She moved round to stand in front of him, trailing a proprietary hand over his almost hairless chest. Her lips pressed gently against his, for a moment before she began to trail soft, lingering kisses downwards, long-nailed hands moving down a separate path, scratching lightly against his skin. He didn't move, instinctively knowing that these were the rules of her game. She paused, resting her cheek against his smooth stomach as she idly trailed the tip of a sharp nail over his hip. He felt the expulsion of her breath in a sharp gust of laughter. Brown clenched his hands into fists, rapidly loosing the battle with his self-control. And then her soft lips were surrounding him, moist and warm, teasing expertly.
It was programming, just programming or so Brown told himself. Setsuka was exquisitely female down to the last calculated detail. None of this really meant anything; Smith was probably regarding this as a field-test of subroutines required for this assignment.
Quite suddenly Brown felt cool air against his now damp skin. He heard the sound of Setsuka getting to her feet; she backed off a little and stood facing him.
"Brown?"
"Yes?" he managed to reply.
"Why are you resisting?"
Brown didn't say anything, surprised into silence. He wasn't meant to resist? This wasn't meant to be just some test? The idea hadn't occurred to him until now that this might be anything other than the usual power games that they always seemed to end up playing.
Setsuka took hold of Brown's hands, pulling him towards the bed, seeing as he seemed incapable of any response of his own volition. He hesitated and biting her lip to conceal her growing frustration Setsuka shoved him down onto the bed. A startled expression crossed his face.
"Stay there." She snapped and predictably Brown ceased to fidget.
Blue eyes fixed on the supine Agent, Setsuka began to remove her clothing with quick, efficient movement. And as the last article of clothing was discarded she let a predatory smile creep over her features.
She straddled him, letting out a low moan as she seated herself. Intertwining her fingers with his, pressing their joined hands down against the pillows above his head, she bent over him, letting the weigh of her hair rest against his skin.
Brown gasped as she began to move, slowly at first, as if savouring the perfect melding of their bodies. Now he almost wished that he wasn't blindfolded; wanting to see her outlined by the synthetic lights slanting in through the windows, the gleaming sheen of sweat on her skin, her lips parted with audible cries of pleasure. Wanting to see her loose control…
It was morning, or so Brown's internal sensors told him. This fact was corroborated by the sunlight that had increased to room temperature slightly since last night. He considered lifting his head to observe his surroundings but a long-nailed hand that ran fingers through his short hair aborted that action. Engaging proximity sensors revealed what Brown had initially suspected; that he indeed had his head pillowed in Setsuka's rather accommodating cleavage. He turned his head slightly, placing a light kiss against one breast and was rewarded with a light chuckle.
"You are displaying an overt fondness for female anatomy, Brown."
"I do not agree, Smith. What is the basis for your conclusion?"
"You have not done that before." Setsuka said, referring to Brown's recent action.
"I have not been top before." Brown replied, with a hint of a wiry smile.
That took a while! Actually this would have been finished sooner but I was interrupted the first time I sat down to write it and had some difficulty in coming back to it since I've started a new job, etc…
To answer the comment about Smith's male form being out of commission even though his main program i.e. his mind is intact, you have to assume that the code that generates his male form is being defragged etc and so in the same way that you can't use your hard drive while you're defragging, he can't access the code that generates his male form. Of course, that's just artistic conjecture on my part for the sake of the story, but that's my attempt at an explanation.
Also extra thanks to Cattleya and the Hyper Angel for poking me about getting on with this fic.
21:49, 18/07/02