Authors Note: Thanks to Gex-1539 for proofing this.

Disclaimer: Halo, Sangheili, Rtas, Thel/Arbiter and other canon characters belong to Bungie Studios/343 Industries. However, Original Characters, like Zeno, belong to me.

Chapter 15: Final Bonding

"Shi-Shipmaster…." Ruro said, backing away a few paces. "Why are you here? I thought…."

"I know what you thought, Ruro," Rtas interrupted. "And I am not done with military service yet. As to why I am here: I am here to take my ship back from an inadequate second-in-command."

"Inadequate!" Ruro cried. "I ran the ship better than you ever did!"

"You ran it like it was a prison," Rtas snapped. "After Zeno told me what happened with Sani, I did a bit of investigating of my own. I found out all I needed to know from the crew to know you let the power of your station go to your head. With the approval of the Imperial Admiral, I decided to take action to knock you down a few pegs."

Ruro's eyes widened in shock. "You mean…"

"Not only am I relieving you of command of the Shadow of Intent, but you are officially stripped of the rank of zealot and are now only a minor. Perhaps spending some time as a minor once more will teach you to be a bit less arrogant and power hungry…."

"No!" Enraged, Ruro leapt at Rtas. Rtas easily lifted his foot and kicked him right in the face with his armored boot and Ruro fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Arrogant fool," Rtas growled, turning off his sword.

Just then Zeno heard the sound of the security team running up to them. "You are late," Zeno said to them, turning his head to look at them. "What were you doing? Eating donuts and playing cards?" One of the team tried to subtlety brush the crumbs off his uniform, only to fail miserably. Zeno shook his head in disbelief. "Well, may as well make yourselves useful," he pointed at the unconscious Ruro and said. "Take him to the brig and strip him of his armor while you are at it."

"I will be sending my own team over to 'retrieve' him soon," Rtas said as the security team got to work.

After Ruro was carried away, Zeno regarded Rtas fully. "Good to see you again, Commander," he said. "Though I must ask…when did you arrive here? It is obvious you did not arrive on the Shadow of Intent, otherwise I suspect Ruro would have known of your presence."

"I arrived here three days ago, by supply ship," Rtas explained. "It was a…challenge…to keep my arrival a secret. Fortunately for me, your AI knows how to keep a secret."

"Really? Now I have to wonder what else she is keeping from me." Zeno glanced at a nearby console.

"Nothing you need to know about, Ambassador." Sesai's voice came from it.

"Bah! Yeah right," Zeno grumbled, both Sani and Rtas chuckling.

"Now I must ask," Rtas said. "How did you know it was me before I acted?"

"I didn't," Zeno confessed. "But considering how pissed you were at Ruro's actions, you were the most likely to want to come down to see if Ruro would try anything when he arrived here."

"And you were correct in that assessment." Rtas' gaze then turned to Sani. "Sani, it is good to see you have improved greatly since I have last seen you."

"Thank you, Shipmaster," Sani said, bowing his head. "I could not have come this far without Zeno's help…."

"Yes, and Ella thinks you two make a cute couple."

Zeno couldn't help but blush a little: he noticed Sani was as well. "Speaking of which, how is she doing and how is Enko?"

"Ella finally has all her energy back, which is why I was able to come to 'deal' with this problem," Rtas replied. "As for Enko…he is growing fast…too fast for my liking. Hard to believe that in a few more months he will be going to the common rooms."

"Kids do grow up fast," Zeno said with smile. "Sounds like he is going to be a big boy when he grows up."

"Yes, he may give you a run for you money. Anyway, I need to go to my ship: from the sound of things, I have a lot of work to do to undo the damage Ruro caused."

"And Runi?" Sani asked.

"I will do my best to keep him confined to the ship," Rtas said. "I will not be able to keep an eye on him all the time however…."

"I will have security keep an eye out for him should he manage to sneak back to the Cairo," Zeno said.

"I know I can win against him now," Sani said. "So even if he did manage to come at me again I should be fine."

"Just do not get over-confident, Sani," Rtas warned. "If he gets desperate enough, he may pull something you are not prepared for."

"Understood, Shipmaster."

Rtas was true to his word: a Sangheili team arrived from the Shadow of Intent to pick up Ruro. Ruro, whom was by now awake, bitched and complained the whole time he was being escorted off the Cairo. Besides that though, the rest of the day was rather quiet. Zeno and Sani both appreciated that fact.

"What a long day," Zeno said with a sigh as they returned home. "Productive, but long."

"Yes," Sani agreed as they both started to strip off their armor. "Very productive. In fact, I think, due to the success of this day, we should celebrate."

"Hmmm?" Zeno smiled at him. "Yes that is a good idea, though what did you have in…" He was interrupted when Sani suddenly pressed up against him, a soft purr in his throat as his hands roamed rather low on his body. "Oooh…I see." Zeno chuckled softly. "Let us wash up first, sweet, then we can have some fun."

"But what if I do not want to wait that long?" Sani's eyes were full of mischief.

"Have patience, my love," Zeno cooed, stroking his face. "It will be worth it, I promise you."

"Aww, alright."

Zeno finished stripping off his armor and bodysuit and stepped into the shower. He adjusted the temperature and turned on the water: he stood there for a moment savoring the warmth. But this pales in comparison to how Sani feels, he thought with a smile, his mind already turning to dirty thoughts. Calm down now, you do not want to start without him now would you? Zeno chuckled to himself as he reached for the soap.

Just as he grabbed it though, he became aware of another presence in the shower stall. Turning around, he saw Sani had stepped in with him, stripped bare. "Sani…what are you…" His question died on his mandibles as Sani kissed him.

"I decided I could not wait," Sani said coyly. "Besides…I always wanted to shower with you…."

"But you know my thing with wet skin…."

"Ah, but that is what I want." Zeno felt Sani trace a finger down his chest, over his belly and around his already emerging shaft. "I want…to bond with you fully, Zeno."

"You mean…."

"Yes…I want to mate with you."

Zeno's hearts leapt up onto his throat. At long last, Sani was ready for the ultimate step, something Zeno had been eagerly waiting for. "Well then…I would be happy to oblige…once we wash up: I do not like doing the deed while filthy from a day's work."

"Let me wash you then and you can do the same with me."

Zeno saw no problem with that. Only problem was, midway through they started doing more foreplay then actual washing. At one point, Zeno got so excited that he nearly took Sani in the shower, before he checked himself.

"Why did you stop?" Sani asked, clearly disappointed.

"I…," Zeno panted as he tried to calm himself down a bit. "I want to do this properly, for your first time. Your real first time."

"Oooh…," Sani said softly. "But…what could be considered proper?"

"You will see," Zeno said with a smile.

They finished washing up and, without bothering to dry off, moved on to the bed room. There, they engaged in more foreplay before Zeno finally stopped long enough to grab an essential item. "What is that?" Sani asked, eyeing the small jar in Zeno's hand.

"Lubricant," Zeno replied as he applied some to his shaft. "It will help things go more smoothly and, hopefully, less painfully."

"I see…is there…anything I should do?" There was a hint of nervousness in Sani's voice.

Zeno smiled as he said. "Just lay down on the bed, sweet, but on your back."

"My back?" Sani said as he complied. "But isn't…the other way…."

"This way is more intimate, in my opinion," Zeno explained as he knelt down in front of him. He coaxed Sani to lift his legs up and started applying the lubricant to his vent.

"Tha-that feels weird…but good…," Sani confessed as Zeno worked in the lubricant.

"It will get even better, I promise you."

After applying a bit more lube, Zeno stood up and leaned over Sani, planting his hands on either side of the paler Sangheili. He stayed like this for several minutes, gently kissing Sani while his shaft occasionally rubbed against Sani's. Finally, unable to wait himself anymore, he repositioned himself for entry….

Sani gasped faintly as Zeno slipped in. This felt similar to the times when Runi forced himself upon him to 'punish' him, but different. Gloriously different. There was little to no pain and no humiliation; only passion and pleasure. He could also see several reasons why Zeno chose this position for this as well.

For one, there was much more he could do during this than just laying there taking it: he could actively participate! He could kiss Zeno, or stroke his back and even, in a limited fashion, do some thrusting of his own. The best part though, was that all he had to do was to open his eyes whenever he had doubts that it was Zeno doing this to him.

It was wonderful.

All good things had to come to an end though, but what a glorious end it was. They released almost at the same time and they held each other close, supporting each other as the ecstasy came to an end. Panting, they curled up together and cuddled for a while, catching their breaths.

Zeno broke away from this embrace only long enough to order dinner. While they waited for dinner to arrive, they continued to cuddle, stroking each other lightly. Not to arouse, but to simply enjoy each other in a non-sexual way. When dinner arrived, they didn't bother to even put on a robe, instead eating their meal in the buff. After dinner was finished and they allowed it time to digest, they started on round two….

The last few days had been bliss. Not only had there been no sign, or word, of Runi trying anything, but Sani's relationship with Zeno had risen to a whole new level. They had been having sex at least once a day and Zeno wasn't shy about experimenting with different positions either. So it only made sense to him that he should finally move in officially with Zeno. Within a day, he had transferred his belongings and cleaned out his old place, happy to leave that stage of his life behind.

"Hmm, odd," Sani muttered as he checked his messages. Ever since he and Zeno became a couple, he had been sending letters back to his keep, his sister Yura specifically, so he had made it a habit to check for responses first thing in the morning. He wasn't, however, expecting this message.

"What is it, love?" Zeno said, looking up from dressing, a hint of concern on his face.

"I got a message from Quartermaster Brown that there is an issue with my old apartment he needs to talk to me about, first thing in the morning at the apartment in fact," Sani replied as he got dressed. "I would have sworn I had done everything needed to be cleared."

"Quartermasters can be very picky about what is considered 'done'," Zeno told him. "Best go talk to him and find out what is up. Just let me know if you need me to lean on him a bit." There was slight mischievous smirk on his face.

Sani laughed and nuzzled his mate. "Now, now, my love. You cannot fix all my problems: I need to take care of some things on my own."

"Mmm, true, but my offer still stands."

"I will let you know how it went regardless, love."

"I would go with you, but I have one of those long boring meetings this morning," Zeno muttered. "You lucky bastard, you get to miss it because of this."

"I am sure I will be fine," Sani said with a laugh. "I best get going, I will see you later." He gave Zeno a quick kiss before heading out the door.

His old apartment was on the other side of the station, so it took a good ten minutes to walk there. On the way there though, something kept nagging at him, like there was something he should be remembering. Plus, he kept getting the feeling he was being followed, though every time he looked back he saw nothing. That feeling was even stronger by the time he reached his apartment, though he still didn't see anyone.

The door was unlocked, but as he stepped in, turning on the lights as he did so, he remembered what he had forgotten. The Quartermaster had specifically told him that if he needed to talk to him about anything he would call him to his office. Immediately his mind started to scream danger! So he turned around to head back out again, only to see the door shut and lock right in front of him.

Unlocking the door would have been easy enough, but something was in the way, something he could not see. As his eyes adjusted to the different light level, he started to see a faint shimmering shape and he caught a whiff of a familiar scent….

"No…," Sani uttered, his eyes wide as he started to take a step back, to put distance between them. "How did you…" His question went unfinished, for the next thing he felt was pain on the side of this head.

Then darkness.

Zeno tried to stifle a yawn, but was not completely successful, earning some glares from a few other attendees. He couldn't help it: the current speaker had one of those annoying, monotone like voices that just puts him to sleep. Besides, a quick glance around the room told him there were at least two others starting to nod off here, so why was he the only one getting the disapproving glares?

Ugh, Zeno thought as he shifted positions in the attempt to stay awake. This is going to be a very long meeting indeed. I hope Sani is having better luck than me….

There was a dull throb in his head as he returned to consciousness. At first he wasn't sure where he was, or what happened, but as his mind started to sort things out, he recognized that he was in a very bad situation. He was on his belly on the naked mattress of what was once his bed, his hands handcuffed to the metal headrest. Sani felt the cool air of the apartment's AC unit directly on his back, which meant he had been stripped completely naked.

"Ah, you are awake," a voice said. "I was starting to wonder if I hit you too hard."

Sani turned his head to see Runi just finish stripping himself. A quick glance on the floor revealed an stealth harness, complete with an air tight helmet. This explained everything: how Runi slipped out of the Shadow of Intent, sent the false message and trap him like this. "And you cared about how hard you hit me before?" Sani growled as he tested the restraints. "Let me go!"

"I think not," Runi said as he approached. "There are things I need to do with you, Sani…things to correct…."

"Zeno knows where I went!" Sani snapped. "He will come here looking for me!"

Pain erupted on his face as Runi slapped him. "First off, no mentioning that man's horrid name," Runi hissed. "Ugh…it disgusts me that I can smell him all over you."

"Tough, Zeno and I are one and when he finds out about this he'll…." Another slap, harder this time, stuck him.

"Tsk, you are being more stubborn than before. That man really has changed you for the worse. Speaking of which, how can you be sure he will find you before I break you?"

Runi had a point there: Zeno would be stuck in that meeting for hours and Sani was certain he had been gone not even an hour yet. Unless…, Sani thought has he scanned the room for the apartment's control console, which he knew he could use to contact Sesai. However, the console was dark, meaning it had no power running to it, which meant Sesai did not have access to it: Runi must have turned it off, or otherwise sabotaged it.

"You are mine and mine only," Runi told him as he climbed into the bed. "And you will realize that quickly, for your sake."

"I will never submit to you," Sani growled, realizing he was on his own: the chances of someone hearing him scream at this time of day were quite low. "Never! My heart is for Zeno and Zeno only!"

Two blows to the face this time, one with a closed fist: that one nearly caused him to black out. "You have much to learn…," Runi growled, Sani feeling his claws dug painfully into his shoulders. "But by the time I am done with you, you will call me your one and only!"

Sani wished he had blacked out with the last blow now. Anything to spare him, albeit temporarily, from the pain that was going to come next….