Chapter 13 - Consummation
Notes/Disclaimer: This fic is based solely on the Dinotopia movie, NOT the series. I apologize for any inconsistencies with the books. I don't apologize for any inconsistencies with the series because it bit. I don't own the movie, or the series, or the books. Thank you.
David sat at the dinner table next to Romana and tried not to stare at Sebastian, who was sitting at a table near the front with the rest of the White Squad.
The Squad Leader. Didn't that just figure.
David put his head in his hands. As if it wasn't bad enough that he had fallen for his teacher. No, Sebastian had to be the White Squad Leader, one of the most powerful men in Dinotopia! Christ. His luck just couldn't get any worse.
He had already finished his food, and it sat like a hard lump at the bottom of his stomach. Even Romana, who had chatted to him at the start of the meal about her experience with Altara Atennon and questioned him relentlessly about his training with Sebastian, had now subsided, and was simply waiting nervously for supper to be over and the announcements to begin. David briefly wished for the support of his family, but they were sitting at the other end of the room, at a table reserved for guests, a table full of relatives that had come to watch the test and hear the assignments.
Finally, after an interminable wait during which David had somehow managed to convince himself that Sebastian had been deliberately withholding his true identity, Oonu stepped up to the front of the room. The entire dining hall quieted in seconds, without any prompting.
Oonu stood for a moment, looking over the assembled crowd. He was smiling.
"I have worked as cadet trainer with the latest batch of new recruits for a long time now, and I have every confidence in all of you. Trainees, you worked hard, and now you shall reap the fruits of your labors. Today you performed a test in front of the leaders of each Squadron-" the leaders stood to be recognized, and David found himself once again staring at Sebastian, "-and myself. You were awarded points based on this performance, and from these points you will be assigned to the Squadron in which you will begin your time as a true member of the Skybax Corps. All of you did your best, and we commend you for your effort. Now, we will begin reading the assignments, starting with the highest score and moving down. Cadets, would you please come stand in the front when your name is called. With the highest score, Cadet Scott, assigned to the White Squad..."
David was unable to stop himself from breaking into a huge grin as the room about him erupted into applause. So they hadn't deducted points for his impromptu rescue, then. And he'd made it. All his training with Sebastian had paid off, and now he was going to be in the White Squad, where he would see Sebastian every day-
He broke off that thought and stepped onto the raised dais at the front of the room, standing to attention next to Oonu. As he reached his position, he saw Sebastian step forward to meet him and hand him something - a bundle of some kind.
For a second their eyes met, and David felt a spark of electricity pass between them. Sebastian's gaze was intense, reminding David of the evening they had spent on the beach, half-submerged in water, fumbling towards something that David had not been ready for. The room seemed to fade around him, all the sounds dimming, as time slowed to a halt. All he was aware of was Sebastian. The look in the white rider's eyes made his knees weak, and he swallowed, struggling to remain standing.
Then Sebastian stepped away, and the real world rushed back. David looked down at the bundle in his arms. It was, he realized, a white riding uniform, the sign that he had graduated into the ranks of the White Squad. Turning his attention back to the room, he saw that Romana was being called as the second highest score, also assigned to the White Squad. She stepped up next to him, her face flushing as it did whenever she received some kind of honor, and was handed another white uniform by Sebastian.
One by one the other cadets were called up, and were handed their new uniform by the leader of the Squadron whose rank they had achieved. David and Romana had been the only two to make White Squad, and so Sebastian went back to his place among the white riders and clapped politely for the rest of the cadets as they received their assignments. He did not meet David's eyes again, and when the ceremony was over, David was too swarmed with congratulations to see him. By the time he found room to breathe, Sebastian had already left.
As soon as he could get away, David ran from the room out into the brisk evening darkness. He knew where the White Squad's barracks were, though he couldn't say what made him start in that direction. There was only an overwhelming need to find Sebastian, to talk to him. His feet fell one in front of the other, leading him inexorably towards the unknown.
When he reached the door to the barracks, he paused. Doubts assailed him. Why had he come here? What was he expecting to do, anyway? What was he going to say to Sebastian when he found him? If he found him.
David took a deep breath and entered the building, not bothering to answer any of his own questions. A corridor stretched out in front of him, with doors lining the walls on either side. Each entrance had a small metal nameplate next to it, bearing the name of the occupant. The two doors closest to the entrance were unmarked, and David realized abruptly that they must be the rooms that were being prepared for him and Romana. They were part of this Squad now.
He realized that he was still clutching the uniform that Sebastian had presented to him at dinner. It was mostly a symbol, he knew, but it still felt somehow very powerful. He held it to his chest, trying to draw some sort of strength or comfort from it.
He tried to make his footfalls as quiet as possible as he crept down the hallway. Through the dim light of the rising moon he could just make out the names beside the doors. Finally, at the very end of the hall, he found the name he was looking for. Wondering once again what the hell he thought he was doing, David knocked on the door.
"Come in," came the soft reply. David took another fortifying breath and opened the door, stepping in and shutting it softly behind him.
Sebastian's room, while similar in design to those of the cadets, was much better furnished. The entire space was done in shades of dark emerald and a deep mahogany wood, from the heavy curtains framing the open window through which a soft breeze blew from the canyon, to the large dark dresser against the left wall, to the chest at the foot of the bed, to the large, queen-size bed itself, upon which Sebastian was currently sitting. The older man looked up at David's entrance, his expression one of surprise.
"David?" he asked softly.
David, for his part, couldn't think of anything to say, so he said the first thing that came to mind. "Did you rig the test?"
Sebastian looked incredulous. "What? Of course not! Why would I do something like that?"
David couldn't bring himself to look at Sebastian, and so kept his eyes firmly trained on the foot of the bed. "It's just... it was so easy!" he blurted. "I mean, any one of the exercises you had me do was harder than that test. And you must have known what the test would be like, so why...?"
He heard Sebastian sigh and the next thing he knew, felt the man's hands come to rest on his shoulders. It startled him enough into looking up and meeting Sebastian's eyes. What he saw there was faith. Faith tinged with sadness, and perhaps a small amount of hope as well, but faith and pride in him.
"I wasn't training you to take that test, David," Sebastian said softly. "I was training you to be the best flyer you could possibly be. And I think, perhaps, that I achieved that."
Unable to come up with a reply to that, David switched topics. "Why didn't you tell me you were the leader of the White Squad?" he asked.
Sebastian removed his hands from David's shoulders, again looking genuinely surprised. "You mean you didn't know? I would have thought that someone would have told you. But maybe that was for the best, anyway. Would you have reacted differently to me if you had known who I was?"
"Maybe," David admitted, though he was unsure what difference, exactly, it would have made. Would he have been more receptive to Sebastian's advances? Or less? Would he have been more willing to learn from this man, or more intimidated by his status? Obviously there was no way that he would ever know.
Sebastian moved back to the bed and sat down once again. "Is that why you came here?" he asked. "To ask me these questions?"
David shook his head, staring at the floor, suddenly as nervous as he had been before the test. "I don't know why I came here. I just... needed to see you."
Sebastian said nothing, and so David hazarded a glance up at him and found that he was smiling, and looking curiously at David. David felt trapped, but why that should be when he still had his hand on the doorknob, he couldn't fathom.
"Do you want to leave?" Sebastian asked. It wasn't a suggestion, merely a question of intent.
Again, David shook his head.
A slow smile spread across Sebastian's face, and he held out his hand. He did not move forward, nor say anything, simply sat with his arm extended, waiting. David felt himself drawn inexorably forward, unable to resist. With a slow inevitability, he took the final few steps towards Sebastian, placing his own hand into his mentor's. The uniform, which he had still clutched in one hand until this point, fell forgotten to the floor.
This is real, David thought to himself, but the words didn't sink in. Even as Sebastian drew him forward, pulling him down to capture his lips in a sweet kiss, the words still did not make sense.
David found himself sitting beside Sebastian on the bed, felt Sebastian's hand against his neck, cupping his jaw as the older man gently and expertly kissed him.
This is real.
Sebastian seemed in no hurry, moving tentatively as though asking permission before he made each new move. Slowly the hand on David's neck moved lower, caressing his body as it moved downwards, coming to rest on David's thigh and kneading the taut muscle there.
As though it was moving of its own volition, David was dimly aware of his own hand coming up to tangle in Sebastian's hair, feeling that - yes - the blond locks were indeed as soft as he'd imagined them in his dreams. He gulped, feeling Sebastian's tongue teasing at his lips, begging entry.
This is real.
Even as Sebastian's tongue entered his mouth, David felt himself falling backwards, his back hitting the heavy emerald comforter. Sebastian's hands began to roam more freely, finding their way under the hem of his shirt and moving over his body with a familiar heat that David still remembered vividly from his dreams. But this was different. This was far, far better.
Sebastian pulled back very slightly, and David looked up at him, unable to do anything but stare. Intense brown eyes, hazy with passion, pierced David from the face of the man that lay on top him. The smoldering gaze was unlike anything he had ever seen before, and finally, finally, it sank in.
This is real.
Oh.
But by this point it was far too late to do anything about it, even if David had wanted to.
Oh God, that was hideous. Take me back.
or
Oh God, that was hideous. Let me complain to the author.
