This story is based on the 'Gunsmith Cats' manga by Kenichi Sonoda, with a few elements from the 'Riding Bean' OAV (1989). It is set after the last published manga in English as of March 2005.

Tell me what you thought of it, no matter what you have to say. I'm a big girl. :) I always welcome reader reactions, especially ones that go into detail. Please email me at MmeManga "at" aol dot com (address spelled out because this site strips all email addys and URLS) or leave your comments here.

NOTE: The complete version of this story is housed at my Livejournal, which is linked on my main page on this site. I have removed large sections of chapters Two, Eight and Thirty from the postings here because of the current site rules, although this story existed on the site long before those rules went into effect. I am sorry for any inconvenience to readers; this factor is unfortunately not under my control. The complete version will also be posted at Mediaminer. My former dedicated Gunsmith Cats site no longer exists.

DISCLAIMER: Characters of RALLY VINCENT, BEAN BANDIT, MAY HOPKINS, ROY COLEMAN, KEN TAKI copyright Kenichi Sonoda. All other characters, and story, copyright 2000--2005 by Madame Manga. Contact by email at MmeManga Do not sell or print for sale without the express written permission of the author. Do not archive. Permission is granted to circulate this text in electronic form, free of charge and with this disclaimer and the author's name attached. Do not plagiarize, alter, or appropriate this text in any way. This story is intended for personal entertainment purposes only. No infringement of any copyrights or other rights is intended.

ADULT CONTENT WARNING IN BOLD CAPS!

This story is not for kids or the easily offended. It contains explicit violence and extreme profanity. If you object to reading such things, do not read this story.

Chasing the Dragon
by Madame Manga
Chapter Thirty, Part One

She'd expected somehow that she would end up flat on her back in ten seconds or less. Or for a variation, get half-stripped and taken up against the wall if they didn't quite make it to the bed. Not that she would have objected to either plan of action, exactly. She didn't intend to limit Bean's range of options in the least. But when he embraced her, for perhaps five minutes he only held her close and cradled her head against his chest.

Quiet, a sweet silence enveloping them both. Rally slipped her arms around Bean's waist and closed her eyes. Gradually they relaxed into each other, fitting the angles and curves of their bodies ever closer together, ever more at ease. Somehow they were making friends again: not as a dam against emotions that overtopped any such mild sentiment, but by exploring a new direction they had always steered away from until now.

The beat of Bean's heart throbbed in Rally's skull and his breath made a warm spot on her crown. Purely by contact, each of them felt out some deep inner rhythm in the other. With each pulse of that rhythm they let themselves synchronize further and reach towards some kind of harmony. The energy that had always been generated between them needed control and timing to reach its maximum power. Otherwise its explosions could only cause destruction and chaos. She didn't know what sort of engine could withstand such high-octane fuel and still move smoothly forward. Maybe they'd have to invent a new kind for their use alone...

A new vista opened out in Rally's mind, and she knew that Bean was in some sense seeing the same road before him. They might halt on the way, they might backtrack, but once having made the turn, that road would always be graven on the map never to be erased.

Her mind and body felt more and more awake with each passing moment, as if some part of her had been choked down for years. She would never be able to put it to sleep again.

Bean finally stirred and stood up straight, though he kept her in his embrace. "Lemme get this off."

He shrugged his coat down his arms, taking each one in turn so he didn't have to let go of her. It fell to the floor with a thump and a metallic clank of concealed knives. Rally liked that sound. She tilted her chin up and smiled at him.

"Would you like me to take anything off, Bean?"

He looked a little startled. "Hey, I'm not rushing you." His hands cupped her shoulders. "Nope. I said I wanted to do it right, and that's the way I'm gonna do it." The temperature of his smile went up. "So nothing's comin' off until you just can't keep it on any more."

With a warm quiver in her middle, she reached up and drew his head down. Bean closed his eyes just before their lips met.

Rally had a strange sensation when she kissed him; his mouth softened and gave, and she felt his teeth for a moment before he responded. She pulled back and looked at his face. Lids hiding his eyes, a quiet blank expression: he let out a sigh heart-deep. As if something had just come back to life in him, something that had almost bled to death. She pulled him closer and kissed him with tears stinging her eyes.

Their mouths parted, met again, pressing soft kisses on each other's mouths and faces. Bean seemed reluctant to do anything else for a while. He kept his lips demurely closed, though he held her against his lower body and rotated his pelvis into her abdomen. His hands smoothed her hair back from her face; he kissed her ears and cheekbones, then returned to her mouth. Always light and gentle, covering her face in a veil of kisses.

Rally sighed with growing delight; it seemed as if he meant to cherish every moment with her, draw this out as long as he could. Surprisingly, she felt a resonance of Larry Sam's loving touch; to find this sweet emotion in the arms of Bean Bandit was strange but wonderful. Raw passion they already had. Tenderness supercharged it with even greater power. Her head began to spin. She wished Bean would exhaust himself, fall asleep with her, wake up and kiss her again, just like this. Again and again, a wheel turning endlessly on an infinite road. Never any shorter, never reaching the finish, no matter how far they traveled together…

"Kiss me, baby," he whispered against her cheek. "God, I could kiss you forever." His arms tightened around her and something changed; his mouth took hers and demanded more. Rally hesitated only a moment, then ventured her tongue between his lips. He grabbed her so hard that she heard little cracking noises in her spine.

Bean eased off a little way, paused for breath and dove in again. No more soft, no more slow. He let out the brakes all the way and took her along for the ride. Intense, wet kisses now, his tongue plunging into her mouth. Rally's bruised lips felt exquisitely sensitive; they throbbed under Bean's while she returned every kiss from the depths of her body. Something vibrated deep in her pelvis. She gasped when he suddenly pulled back and licked her throat, then ran a sharp, light series of nips along the dampened swatch of skin and licked it again.

Even dizzier now: her knees buckled so that Bean's arms were a welcome support. With one hand he cupped and rubbed a breast through her top, thumb brushing over her twinging nipple. Moisture sprang between her thighs; she could feel her underwear cling in her groin.

While their tongues tangled and their lips slid in every direction, Rally went for the buttons of Bean's shirt and pulled them open. One popped off and shot across the room; she looked around to spot where it had gone, but Bean grabbed her chin and kept kissing her. Rally moved her hands around his waist, to the small of his back and downwards. She gave his butt a good firm grab just to make him wheeze.

Both of them panted hard now, heaved against each other, clutched at various parts of the other's anatomy just to keep standing. Kissing all the while, until Rally could barely breathe. No wonder he had started in a leisurely fashion—there was no way to slow down now. Her back bumped against the wall, which wasn't surprising when someone twice her weight pushed her in that direction. Bean's shirt fell open and she yanked it out of his pants so she could get her hands on his chest. The groan he let out when she touched him shook her to the marrow.

THE REMAINDER OF THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN CENSORED FOR THIS SITE. Please look at my Livejournal to read the entire story. My username is madame(underscore)manga. Sorry.