Hi again! Sorry, it's been SO long since I've updated this story. Thanks for your reviews, I really appreciate it! And now Baird and Marcus are back again! I hope you enjoy! :)

~*~*~Chapter 4: A Vicious Spiral~*~*~

Or so he thought.

It hadn't taken him long to realize that, once again, he was wrong.

He had been busy making prosthetic legs for Donneld Mathieson with some of the Gorasni: men that he was forced to become allies with and who he had developed a close friendship. Stepping outside of the small tent, he was breathing in fresh air when he saw both Marcus and Anya walking away from the camp.

The Gorasni camp was a long way to be from the center of Pelruan, and there was no reason why Marcus or Anya would be speaking to the leader of the Indie nation: Miran Trescu. So why were they here? Why did they seem to appear wherever he was when all he wanted to do was avoid them altogether?

It grated his nerves.

Anya was rarely let out of CIC, but due to the constant losses of COG soldiers, she was forced to learn how to become one herself. Any able bodied man and woman who wasn't fertile were now expected to fight for humanity. Something Baird completely disagreed with.

Even though she was let out of CIC now, she was still stationed relatively close to it whenever she was to do her duties. But how she was even allowed off base to traverse the landscape ridden with Stranded gunmen and a new possible threat-the emergence of large tree-like structures that everyone were calling stalks—was beyond him. Didn't they need her to supervise the evacuations of the people still living aboard the ships, food and water rations, bedding and housing—something other than Marcus?

He slowly relaxed his jaw as he realized that it had been clenched. Slowly rubbing it since it was sore, he became wary that someone had come out of the tent behind him.

"Blondie-Baird!" Yanik Laas, a Gorasni friend of Baird's, slapped his shoulder hard while smiling into his face. "What are you doing? We have to finish the legs for your friend, yes?" His brown hair rustled in the wind as he petted his moustache.

Baird scoffed, turning to face Yanik. "I don't know him so you can't call us friends, now can you?" His eyes were still trained in the distance, where Anya and Marcus had disappeared.

"What are you looking at, eh?" Yanik sidestepped him to peer in the direction that he was.

Although Yanik and Baird were friends, they were still enemies by way of the nations that they served. So trust was never truly complete betwixt the two and never would be.

It wasn't as if Baird could allow Yanik to be privy to such sensitive information about him: Yanik was the kind of man that was loyal but would use what you said against you if you turned on him.

Baird just shook his head. "Nothing. I have to go do my rounds anyway, Yanik. I'll catch you later."

"Oh. You must do your COG duties?" Yanik called after Baird as he raised a hand in farewell to his Indie friend while walking away. "Well, let us Gorasni clean up another COG mess."

"Yeah yeah." He called behind him, heading north away from the camp to go to Pelruan.

Alone with his thoughts, Baird was now able to get to the core of what was eating him.

While it was true that the first person that Baird cared about was himself, it was inevitable for him not to develop feelings of attachment and compassion for other people...especially since he was forced to work alongside them.

The situation with Marcus and Anya was none of his business...in most ways. If the both of them were too stupid and stubborn to finally settle down with each other and decided to stick to the rules which wouldn't ever provide them a future, then that was their problem.

But there was something that he couldn't touch upon, he thought, as he entered the simple village of Pelruan where Gears were building hasty temporary shelters. It had nothing—well, almost nothing—to do with the health risks that both were exposing themselves to. It had more to do with the feelings that were creeping up within him as he thought of his Sergeant.

He didn't like what he was feeling lately. Every thought of Marcus used to be a severe distaste for the man. But now….he was becoming more tolerable and the thoughts had a softer tone to them. The lines that he had drawn between the glorified war hero and the man that he was fucking were becoming blurred now, something that he had feared would happen since he had taken the course of action to try and rid Marcus of Anya.

He decided to put aside the troubling feelings that were within him for later as he caught sight of Cole working on a shelter with Sam, the two of them laughing. Putting on his best smirking face, he headed over to his buddy, lightly patting his large shoulder to get his attention.

"Alright, Cole. Let's go. We have our rounds to do and I want to be the first in line for chow."

Baird completely ignored Sam whose countenance had gone from jovial to sour at the sight of him. It made his smirk grow. Cole, though, bared his bright teeth at him in a large smile.

"Baird baby," he said. "I promised to help build homes and they need Cole Train's help. How about you take Sam? She's nearly done helping me."

"Uh, Cole? I said that I needed to do my rounds. Not a suicide mission."

"That's it Baird!" Sam burst out, making a few heads turn in their general direction to see what the commotion was. Baird turned to stare into her angry face, his face not having twitched from his glaring sneer. "I'm sick of you treating me like shit. If you have something that you want to say, you can say it!"

"You mean I should tell you that you're a class-less bitch?" He spoke, eyes widening in mock surprise.

Sam let out a cry of frustration as she stepped towards him at which Cole stepped between the two, blocking them from each other with his huge body. He stared down at Baird as a mother would stare at a child sometimes: with disapproval. "Now Baird, that wasn't right-" He began.

"What?" He threw his hands up as if he were surrendering. "She told me to tell her what my problem with her was. Besides, everyone knows that she'd rather go on patrol with Dom. And I'd rather swallow a bottle of pills."

"He's a much better man than you." Sam spat to him.

"All cocks work the same." Baird leered. "You're just pissed that his isn't jumping at you."

"And you would know all about how cocks work, wouldn't you Baird?" she retorted. "And not because you have one."

She then stalked off towards another shelter, one where Dom was working at.

Baird could hear Cole expressing his dismay at his behavior but he wasn't listening. He suddenly felt sick. And it was all because of that bitch Sam.

It wasn't her words that made him feel uncomfortable. But her demeanor, her expression, her body language—it was as if she knew what he and Marcus had been doing.

But that wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible since both of them had taken extreme precautionary measures to not get caught—hadn't they?

They both were secretive. They both only met during late hours at night. They both took routes that were away from the patrol posts. They both continued their normal demeanor during the day. How could they have been seen?

Baird didn't know, but he visually paled. It was enough to make Cole begin to look concerned as his voice continued to try to break through Baird's thoughts.

"Baird?! You okay?" Cole was shaking one of his shoulders, finally succeeding to pull Baird from the contents of his mind.

"Huh? Yeah. I'm fine." He said, his voice low and unfocused as he pushed Cole's arm away. He began to head towards the maintenance bay to grab a vehicle to do their rounds.

He stopped short when Cole blocked his way again, staring down into his face, making Baird feel more than a little uncomfortable.

"What's wrong with you, Baird?" He asked again, his Lancer slung across his shoulder and both large fists settled on his hips.

"What are you, Cole? My mom?" Baird retorted. "I said I was fine!"

He shook his head. "No. You haven't been fine for awhile. And I know this." Cole watched Baird shift uncomfortably and didn't move a muscle. "It's fine by me. I'll wait. We have all day. And Hoffman can have our asses when we don't report back to him in time."

Baird stared at his buddy. This was one of a few times that he wished—sincerely wished—that Cole was as moronic as most of the people residing on Sera. Or at least ignorant to the changing moods of his friends.

What could he say to him? What could he possibly divulge to his friend that wouldn't cause any kind of disruption?

That he was tired of being a mistress for Marcus?

That he was sick of seeing Marcus and Anya together?

That he was in love with Marcus—?

Baird's eyes widened and his mouth slacked open. No.

His skin tone paled even more as his former thoughts came rushing back to him. No. No it can't be. It can't!

He wasn't in love with Marcus. He just loved his cock, that was all. Right? He nodded to himself ferociously as Cole looked on with growing concern.

He couldn't be in love with the Sergeant that he detested when he had once been a Lieutenant, forced to follow orders from someone that wasn't as qualified as he.

It was just sex. Nothing more. Although his time fucking him was beginning to get considerably less due to the stalk invasions and Anya following him around like a puppy dog.

But why, even as he told himself what he believed to be the truth, was his stomach churning in knots? Because it wasn't actually true and he was trying to deny the inevitable feelings hiding within him?

He snapped out of his mild psychosis to face a worried Cole who was calling his name and beckoning to others behind him.

"Baird?! What's wrong, buddy? You as pale as a ghost."

It took a lot of effort for Baird to produce the next words. "I'm fine, Cole."

"I don't think so, Baird." A voice that he wasn't expecting to hear was near him and Anya came into his field of vision. Wherever she was...

Oh. Fuck.

"Cole's right." She continued. "You're very pale."

"Okay!" He finally gave in, feeling sicker than he was. He just wanted to get away from the feral blue eyes that were quietly watching him. "I have an upset stomach or something. I'll go check in with Hayman."

As he stalked off, he grabbed a shoulder of Cole's and led him a bit away from Marcus and Anya, then turned to face him. "Hey. Could you—you know—not invite people to know my private business?"

"Baby," Cole said quietly, a frown apparent on his face. "We're your friends. We're going to look out for you."

"Yeah. Right. A Lieutenant I barely know and a Sergeant that I hate. Friends. Anyway, just—just next time, can you not emasculate me like that?"

Cole gave a loud laugh which definitely caught the attention of Marcus and Anya, who were standing a little away watching the interaction between the two of them.

"Aw, that's cute. Baird baby's pride is a bit hurt." He then nodded with a flash of his big teeth. "I got it. Next time, I won't make such a public fuss."

"That's all I can ask and hope for." He nodded then started to head to the docks in front of the Admiralty House. It housed the ships where many of Jacinto's Remnant still lived and was the primary headquarters of the infamous Doctor Isabel Hayman.

He was turning back to call a farewell to Cole when he saw that he was already engrossed in conversation with Marcus and Anya. Of course, Anya was doing the talking. But Marcus—his eyes were focused completely upon Baird.

And the look he gave him chilled him.

Baird woke up after the sun had set, feeling the gentle waves of the ocean rock him softly. He had entered the make-shift infirmary to meet the disgruntled old surgeon with a made-up list of ailments, never revealing what the true one was. He knew he was in the infirmary due to a lone candle being lit somewhere in the room.

He was about to close his eyes and shift his body on the worn out mattress when he heard voices. He was blocked from view since the sickly green hospital screen was pulled (and he was sure that the sheet didn't help anyone with gastric problems get any healthier). He carefully moved to his side without the bed creaking and strained to hear the voices.

"...extreme dehydration... possible food poisoning...should be better when he awakens...his stubborn ass to drink some fluids." That was Doc Hayman, as blunt and unfriendly as ever.

He tried to hear the other voice, but they spoke so low that he couldn't even determine if it was a man or a woman.

"Oh really?" It seemed that Doc Hayman's interest was piqued. "...blood tests to do...medicinal shortages...see how it progresses..."

What is she talking about? He thought. He could no longer gain any useful snippets of the conversation due to nothing else being said. The door opened once more and closed.

He counted to a hundred before he threw his legs over the bed and drew back the hospital curtain.

Doctor Hayman looked over at him with a scowl. "You're awake." She said, shuffling over to him. "Now, if you're done eavesdropping, get your ass out of here and report back to Hoffman."

Baird didn't even question how she knew that he had been eavesdropping. "Who was that?"

She turned her beady eyes onto him which told him that he was annoying her. "Someone that cares a great deal about you. Isn't that obvious?"

What was obvious to Baird was that she was evading the question. She wasn't going to tell him who it was, perhaps to save Baird the embarrassment of having known who had come to check up on him. Or perhaps to save the person the embarrassment of checking up on him.

"What were you talking about?" He inquired further.

"You."

"You're not supposed to give out my private information unless if it's to family members or people that I authorize."

She stared at him as if he were a buffoon. "Please tell me if you have any relatives still living so I may notify them." She snapped. "But, until then, I would say that your comrades are your family. Now, get out of my sight before I give you a true reason to be here."

Baird couldn't keep from smirking as he exited the infirmary and then the ship. He was wondering who it was that inquired about him. Doctor Hayman had said comrade so that would have meant that it was someone that he worked with.

Was it Hoffman? He wanted to see Baird. Probably to wonder what had happened to him. But would he make a trip for him to see him?

Baird shook his head. More than likely not. He wasn't Marcus, Hoffman's pet.

Was it Sam? The woman would come to gloat at anything that made Baird miserable and this was an opportune chance. Yet, she probably wouldn't pass up drinking and playing "chess" at the bar. Probably not though. The person seemed to be genuinely worried.

Was it Cole? It had to be him. There was no one else that would truly have his back like him. It was odd how Cole's voice hadn't vibrated as it usually did in the tiny room. He didn't know his friend could actually whisper.

Sated at the fact that he knew who the mystery person was who had inquired about him, Baird was heading towards the Admiralty House when he was suddenly washed in light and a loud rumbling filled his ears.

A Packhorse pulled up next to him. He hadn't even noticed a vehicle in the immediate area. But it didn't matter. It would save him a nauseating trip to go see Hoffman. Trying to keep a smile at bay, Baird pulled himself onto the passenger's seat by holding onto the outside rail.

"Right on cue— " Baird began, looking over to the driver's seat. His smirk was replaced with a scowl. "Hey! Where's Cole?"

Marcus was peering at him through the darkness, whatever he was feeling was unreadable. He grunted before he spoke. "He's about to start his rounds. That's where we're going." He started the Packhorse and began to head to the outskirts of Pelruan.

"Well, I need to go see Hoffman. I was told that he wanted to chat about something. Probably about the disc."

"After rounds." Marcus growled. Baird knew that there was some meaning within it, but he couldn't tell what it was. "You have to report to him about them anyway."

Damn. Baird thought, now in a sullen mood. All of his efforts of avoiding Marcus until he sorted out his feelings were put to waste.

They rode in an uncomfortable silence until they reached the corn field that marked the outside of the village. Marcus put a finger to his comm radio and said, "Dom? Cole? Where are you?"

Dom's voice floated over the radio. "Two klicks southwest of you. We see you, so don't run us over."

Marcus turned in the direction and slowed down when he saw the two men come into view. Baird didn't even wait for Marcus to park before he jumped down.

Dom shook his head. "Didn't you learn that you're not supposed to jump from a moving vehicle?"

"Don't do it if some Locust are shooting at it to rupture the gas tank."

"I'd rather have some cover than no-cover."

"I'd rather not be barbecued."

"And I'd rather not be a sitting duck." Marcus headed into the light of the Packhorse where the three of them stood, holding two Lancers. His eyes moved to each of them but he lingered on Baird's for a few seconds. "Let's get moving before that happens by some Stranded gunmen."

Baird sighed before he turned to Cole.

"You feeling better?" His friend asked.

"Much." Baird said sourly. "Now, let's get going. We have a lot of ground to cover in a few hours."

"Actually, Cole and I are going back to base and patrol there." Baird stared at Dom, who was holding his Lancer casually. "I had to take your shift earlier which means you and Marcus are going to patrol out here."

Baird almost let his mouth drop open. He'd be stuck with Marcus for this shift? Like hell!

"Hey! No one asked you to volunteer!"

"Aww. You're going to miss your only friend that much?" Dom cooed as Cole guffawed. "I'll take good care of him."

Cole gave Baird a hard slap on the back which made him stumble a bit. "Don't worry. We'll be back to pick you two up." At that, both Dom and Cole headed to the Packhorse talking.

Baird watched in disbelief as they reversed and drove towards New Jacinto, which was what Pelruan was slowly becoming.

He closed his eyes then, inhaled deeply, and let it go slowly. There was nothing to do but to get it over with. Turning to Marcus, he was about to speak when he saw his eyes in the bright light that the moon shed over them.

They were dark...and somewhat angry. It was nothing new, since that was what Baird expected Marcus to be constantly. But...he sensed that the anger was directed towards him. And for what, Baird didn't know.

The words were out of his mouth before he could reel them in. "What?" His voice was challenging. "What did I do now?"

The frown that Marcus wore deepened and his eyes narrowed. Such was the face of this grub killer: menacing. Baird turned away from them and made a show of nonchalance. "Wait, don't tell me. I don't care."

He turned away from Pelruan and said with a heavy sigh, "Let's just get this over with."

Baird began to walk and it took him a few seconds to realize that he wasn't being followed. He turned back to see Marcus standing very still and watching him.

Shaking his head, Baird bent forward and pointed to his side. "Would you like to go ahead, Madame?"

He watched Marcus not move for a few seconds, then slowly progress towards him as he stood, upright. He then shoved a Lancer into his arms with a glare and baring a bit of teeth, before heading off.

Yeah. He was definitely pissed.

The two of them then began to do the patrol which was painstakingly long. They were forced to take note of any animal or human tracks, new stalks that had erupted and how close they were to the village, any signs of recent Stranded activity such as recent fires and human excrement—anything that could aid the COG.

They were nearing the end of the search when Baird recognized a stalk that hadn't been there an hour before. He walked up to it. It was definitely fairly new, since it didn't look like dead rotting tree bark like the older ones.

Marcus came up behind him as he sat on his haunches, digging at the soil around the stalk with the Lancer's chainsaw.

"You done?" His voice was gruff. There was an emotion within it that Baird couldn't place. But he didn't have time to decipher this asshole.

"What? You have a date to go to?" He scoffed, continuing his digging. "Aren't you the asshole that likes to stick by the rules and all that shit?"

"And since when have you cared?" Baird paused and looked up at Marcus. That question had double meaning: it could have been about the older man personally or it could have been about the rules. Baird decided to play safe and stick with the latter.

"Well, seeing as you're so far up the asses of the Officers, I guess it wouldn't do to give a half-assed report to Hoffman."

Marcus bared his teeth in a foul snarl. It made Baird unsteady, but he was going to stand his ground. "And since when haven't you half-assed your reports?"

That question made Baird slowly stand, leaving his Lancer on the ground. He faced Marcus fully, searching his eyes for some clue at what he meant.

"I've never bullshitted a report, Sergeant." He pronounced every syllable of Marcus' title slowly.

"There are times when you and Cole haven't reported a damn thing."

"That's because there's nothing to report! That happens, you know!"

Baird's eyes widened. He recognized the look in Marcus' eyes now.

He wanted to fight.

He wanted to hit something to let loose his frustration.

He wanted to get rid of whatever was bothering him.

And Baird could guess that it was the guilt of cheating on Anya that was getting to him.

"Oh. I see now. You're pissed." Baird was in his face, a cruel smile growing. He watched Marcus slightly tilt his head, his expression telling Baird to back the fuck off before he couldn't finish what he was about to start. "But whose fault is that, hero?"

Marcus' eyes widened a bit. Baird had hit a nerve that was raw with Marcus. The man hated being called a hero. He didn't believe he deserved the title. Baird wholeheartedly agreed.

He watched the older man's face transform into something mean and ghastly: his scar seeming to come alive with vibrating pulses as his muscles moved beneath his face. His teeth were clenched and his eyes said that Baird was going to be in a world of hurt if he didn't shut the fuck up.

But that was Baird: he loved to push people to the edge. And to make them jump.

Without any explanation, he unclipped his ammo belt and took off his chest armor. "You have a problem with me?" He said quietly, tossing them both to the side. He watched as Marcus began to do the same to his, while he took of his gloves "Let's deal with it then. I'm sick of your passive-aggressive tantrums."

Marcus snorted, throwing his gloves on the ground. He approached Baird until he had him pinned against the stalk. "You're not ready for me, Baird."

Their foreheads were touching as Baird began to speak. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Cold blue eyes were staring at each other. Neither spoke yet their harrowed breathing slowed down to easy breaths. As their bodies began to relax, he began to slip into the state that he tried to resist.

Baird began to see less of the immortal Sergeant with a moral code that would put a woman wearing a chastity belt to shame and more of his lover that had invaded his nether regions as he continued to gaze upon his face. He saw the wild beast in Marcus' eyes begin to tame as well, being replaced with a much softer and sensual look. He didn't want to wonder if he used these same bedroom eyes to woo Anya. All he knew was that he had to look away or he'd be swept away...

As he did, he felt a strong hand force him to turn back. The warmth of Marcus' palm on his cheek made his eyes flutter close.

Fuck...he was losing the battle within himself...it was beginning to be much too hard to resist him…

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that his own hand had went to touch Marcus' face, his thumb slowly going over the deep scar on his right cheek.

Marcus' face was erased of all emotion...except one that seemed to be full of some type of pain and sorrow. Was it a want that he couldn't have?

He couldn't think anymore as he lost himself within his eyes. He waited as Marcus tilted his head slightly, moving closer to him as Baird let his arm drift around his broad shoulders and his other hand slowly remove the bandana, letting it fall to the ground.

He felt Marcus snake an arm around his waist and pull him closer to his body while his free hand firmly held his back.

Baird's cock was hard and pulsing against his uniform-issued pants and he could feel that Marcus was the same way. He was still a bit timid though. He didn't want to lose control with him like he had thought he did before.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off when Marcus closed his mouth over it.

It was the first time he had tasted a man's mouth and it sent shivers throughout his body.

He felt Marcus' mercilessly shove his tongue into his mouth. His tongue…his tongue was so warm and moist. Both twirled about the other, caressing each other in the display of tough affection.

Their hips slowly ground against each other as his five o'clock shadow scraped against Baird's smooth skin.

It danced around Baird's, enthralling him. He pushed against Marcus in an effort to have the older man his tongue even deeper within him. And he obliged.

It was aggressive, rough. It showed Baird that Marcus was in control. It told him that Marcus would be able to force Baird to do what he wanted. All it did was turn Baird on more since he loved to be taken by the larger man, not the Sergeant.

He pulled Marcus closer to him, adding pressure onto his neck, as Marcus slowly backed him into the stalk. He was working at freeing Baird's cock from his boxers as he stuck his other hand within his pants and began to cup and rub his ass.

Baird threw both arms about Marcus' neck, squeezing him to him as he moaned into his mouth. Marcus was now slowly jerking him off, a hand pressed hard against the back of Baird's neck to keep them close.

Baird let a hand drift between them and let his fingers graze Marcus' crotch. The beast was anxiously waiting to be freed. He fumbled with the zipper, too lost in the moment to truly focus but wanting to feel the swollen meat in his hands.

Baird was the first to pull away, completely breathless. He shivered as Marcus moved his mouth to the base of his neck and began to tease him there. He couldn't stifle a groan as he bit him and began to gently suck the skin.

Marcus removed his hand from Baird's ass to help him free his cock from the confines of his pants. He began to lick the nape of Baird's neck to ease the pleasurable pain of where he had been bit, when his cock fell onto Baird's eager palm.

Feeling the cock in his hand excited Baird so much that he began to leak onto Marcus' palm. He blushed ferociously as he heard Marcus grunt in amusement, a hint of a smile on his face as he planted his lips upon Baird's once more. Baird parted his lips slightly to allow Marcus to invade him once more. He began to beat Marcus off slowly at first, then quickened the pace to match Marcus.

He wasn't the only one moaning now. He could hear Marcus' quiet ones mixed in with his. He opened his eyes a bit to see that he was flushed a pretty pink and looking as if he was extremely enjoying what Baird had to offer.

That made his heart leap and Baird to let out a soft cry that he didn't know he had within him.

He felt the immediate effect that the cry had on Marcus. He seemed to tense and become a bit rigid. Marcus pulled away this time and looked at Baird through eyes that Baird had never seen before placing his cheek against his.

Baird could feel the scar rubbing against him and Marcus' restrained growls of affection. He felt the tips of his lips brush his ear more than a couple of times as he slid his arm around his waist.

He put his arm about Marcus' neck again, letting his fingers run through his hair all the while. Before long, he couldn't take it anymore…

Marcus watched as Baird pushed away from him. A few seconds went by with the two of them breathing heavily, cocks stiff and upright, and eyes lidded with ecstasy before Baird turned around, pushed his pants down to let them fall to his ankles.

He leaned against the tree and gave Marcus a look full of pure lust. "Just...stick it in." was all he said, his body flushed with embarrassment.

Marcus barely hesitated before he approached Baird. Slowly, he spread his round cheeks apart until he was able to see the waiting pink hole, clenching and unclenching.

"What are you doing?" Baird seethed, reaching between his legs and jerking himself off. Although he was eagerly awaiting Marcus to invade him, he didn't like whatever he was doing now. It was quite embarrassing, as if he wasn't clean. What they were doing wasn't clean. "Appreciating the view?"

"You're not ready." He said it so matter-of-factly, as if he were describing the weather. "You'll get hurt if you aren't prepared. And you'll be sore."

"So what?!" He whispered loudly, a bit of fear beginning to grow within him. "And what are you going to do to prepare me?" He shouldn't have asked. At that moment, he felt something wet and warm caressing his hole.

He watched as Marcus let a stream of spit fall from his mouth. It hit Baird just above the crack of his ass before sliding down slowly. Marcus let it reach the open hole before pushing the head of his cock against it.

He was right. It hurt like a motherfucker since his cock wasn't lubed properly. But Baird liked the pain so much that he was already dripping some of his cum onto the stalk. Damn, he was a masochist.

He watched Marcus slather his cock with some white stuff—Baird's pre-cum—before trying to push into him any further.

Baird rested his forehead on the stalk, not able to stop from crying out in a twisted mix of pain and pleasure whenever Marcus moved inside of him.

"Shut the hell up, Baird." Marcus muttered, his lips close to his ear. "Or we're going to get caught."

His eyes widened and Baird snapped back to his old self, the lust gone.

That was it. Baird was nothing more than a pawn used to satisfy Marcus' sexual appetites. And here Baird thought that he was going to be playing mind games on him.

The man was selfish, only caring about himself while stomping on a lot of other people along the way. He and Baird were different in that aspect: Baird made sure that he didn't have any people that cared about him to stomp on.

He suddenly wanted Marcus out of him. He was about to tell Marcus to fuck off when their comm radios crackled to life next to them.

"Yo, Marcus? Baird? Where the hell are y'all?" Cole's voice greeted them just as Baird saw a set of two lights coming across the field towards them at high speed.

"You two haven't checked in. Is anything wrong?" Dom spoke.

"Shit." Marcus said, drawing it out for emphasis, pulling his cock out of Baird.

Baird gritted his teeth from the searing pain that erupted. By the end of their escapades he wasn't going to have an asshole left. Leaning against the stalk, waiting for the pain to ebb before he pulled up his pants, Baird saw that the two only had a few seconds before Cole and Dom found them.

Quickly, Baird pulled up his trousers, stuffing his hard cock in his pants. He could see from the corner of his eyes that Marcus was going at a leisurely pace, having already zipped up his pants and clipped on his ammo belt.

The man could get dressed fast, that's for sure.

Baird fumbled with his ammo belt as the lights of a vehicle began to head towards their position. He heard Marcus through the radio now.

"We're fine. Just head straight. We see you."

Baird looked at him as if he were insane, while trying to put on his chest piece, surprised that he was retying his bandana and nearly finished putting on his gear. At the speed the Packhorse was coming, they would be caught having done something iffy for sure.

"What took you guys so long?" Dom asked as Baird's comm radio slipped from his hand to the ground in his haste to clip it on.

"We found a new stalk." Marcus said, his face clear of any emotion, cool eyes watching Baird. He seemed amused.

That bastard.

The light of the Packhorse showered the two of them with light just as Baird was adjusting the headset to his ear.

That was close. He was glad that no one was able to hear the thundering in his chest as the Packhorse parked. Dom and Cole got off of the vehicle and headed towards Marcus and Baird.

Cole looked between the two of them and then settled on Baird. "You okay, Baird? Don't tell me you're coming down with something else?"

Baird's skin was flushed red as he regulated his breathing, focusing on Cole. He hoped that no one would see his large hard-on pushing against his pants or the fact that he was walking a bit stiffly. "I'm fine." He said grouchily. "It's just so damn hot. We should report back though."

Cole narrowed his eyes. "That bruise on your neck, were you bit by something?"

Fuck.

Baird rolled his eyes, glad that Dom was focused on the stalk. "No. It happened during the visit to Doc Hayman. And I don't want to talk about it. Now, we should really be going— "

"No, Baird. That bruise wasn't there before—" Cole began.

"—And this definitely wasn't here before." Dom interrupted, lifting his head to the sky as he neared the stalk. He reached it and then bent down to get a closer look. "Hey? Is it oozing white pus or something?"

Baird tried not to get his eyes to widen as he realized what Dom was pointing at. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand and was attentive to the fact that Marcus had come closer to see what was interesting, but said nothing.

He gave Marcus a quick sideways glance to see that he was also looking at him. His face was odd though. He didn't look angry or exasperated. He looked...as if he didn't care. And that he wasn't going to help Baird with the mess that he obviously made.

Yeah, I get it, asshole! He sent the message through his eyes. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have to be dealing with this!

"Don't touch it!" Baird said, stretching out his hand as Dom moved a bit closer. "You don't know what it is. It could be anything. And it was there when we found it."

"Should we take a sample?" Dom said, picking up Baird's Lancer to hand it to him. Baird could see that Marcus had his Lancer cradled in his arms. When had he picked it up? "You know that Prescott wants them and there's a lot of it. Is that what you were going to do?" He motioned to the stalk.

Baird gave an annoyed look, raising his Lancer so that it blocked the view of Marcus' kiss mark. "Yeah, I was. Then again, it wouldn't be smart to chainsaw a stalk in the middle of the night in Stranded territory, now would it?"

"Then why did you take so long to report in, asswipe? Besides, you could scrape some off."

"Into what, genius?"

"Aren't you the self-proclaimed one? Figure it out. We should get a sample back to CIC though."

Baird gritted his teeth. He didn't have an answer for that one, although he was a genius.

Marcus sighed which would mean nothing to Dom or Cole, but meant something to Baird: He was calling him a dumbass.

"Does it matter, Dom?" Marcus said. "We're wasting time reporting back to Hoffman and can easily be picked off since the two of you left the goddamn lights on. We can get a sample later. The damn thing's not going anywhere."

"Sorry!" Dom said as he headed towards the Packhorse. "I just don't know why Baird is so pissy."

"I'm not pissy!" Baird retorted as he watched Cole head towards the passenger's seat.

"Cool it." Marcus growled lowly as he passed him. Reluctantly, Baird made his feet move to follow him.

But not before he quickly scraped off the cum on the stalk with the sole of his boot.

Stepping out of the shower, Baird felt refreshed. He reeked of carbolic soap but he was relaxed and ready to sleep. It took awhile for his cock to settle whenever they had arrived in Pelruan, but Hoffman's bitching had tamed him.

Towel around his waist, he was about to head towards his dresser when he heard a knock on his door. Annoyed at the fact that someone was bothering him so late at night, he placed a scowl on his face and quickly opened the door.

He was expecting the person to do a double-take on his appearance and leave him alone. But he ended up being the one self-conscious of how he looked when he recognized who the visitor was.

Marcus stood before him, slowly unclenching and clenching his fists, since he was lost with what to do with his hands without his Lancer. His eyes told a different story though. They weren't lost at all. In fact, they knew exactly what they wanted. And as they traveled slowly down Baird's body then up to meet his eyes, Baird knew what it was.

Baird thought he knew what he wanted, but he just wasn't sure anymore. He knew that he wanted Marcus to freely fuck him whenever they wanted to. Yet with so many complications, he wasn't sure if the trouble was worth it.

He didn't know what he was going to do if he let Marcus go though. Masturbating wouldn't be enough and he'd get himself into a hell of a lot of trouble if he went soliciting his ass everywhere, which he didn't want to do anyway.

And this had nothing to do with fucking someone anymore. It had all to do with being fucked. That's what Baird truly wanted: someone aggressive that would make him do things and make him feel good instead of the other way around. Now that he's found it, would he really give it up? He was sure he wouldn't, which would mean that he would have to continue giving up his remaining self-respect to please Marcus and wait until the end of it that was sure to come.

No other person would do even if the two parted ways. Marcus was the toughest guy about and Baird was sure that he would never be sexually satisfied anymore if Marcus called it quits.

No doubt about it. He was in deep shit.

There was more to it as well, but what, he didn't know. His plan was no longer about getting in between Anya and Marcus. That wouldn't ever happen as it was painfully obvious. But what was also clear was the fact that Marcus was still active in their secret relationship, that he hadn't tired of Baird yet, even after nearly a year of messing around. It wasn't indefinite, but Marcus would have shown signs that he was tiring of Baird if he wanted to get out of it. Which meant—what exactly?

And what did Baird want? What he had with Marcus wasn't enough.

It wasn't that he wanted to be known. He didn't want people to recognize the two of them as anything more than what they were: mutual male lovers.

He also didn't want to be doted over. That was what Anya wanted and it would rub him raw if it ever happened to him.

But he also didn't want to look as if he was the other person. He was tired of being second to Anya's wants and needs. Marcus seemed to cater to all of her whims and she to his except for the physical part: so he comes to Baird to get his fucking fill.

Baird hated feeling used and that was the issue. But what he wanted wasn't clear at all.

He came out of his thoughts to see Marcus still staring at him, patiently. That virtue rarely wavered within that man. His expression was as it always was: expressionless. But Baird could tell that something had changed within him.

The kiss that they had shared had come to a surprise to them both. It was an extremely intimate act that broke another rule that they had both agreed not to do. Did it mean that they were getting closer? Or was Marcus just confusing Baird's weak emotions to get what he wanted: sexual relief?

What was even odder was that Marcus had initiated it. When Anya spoke of the two, it was always the fact that she had began the caressing and touching—Marcus was too embarrassed to express his emotions due to it never being done at home. So why wasn't it the same when Marcus kissed Baird? It had to be because Marcus was using him.

And this thought process was a vicious cycle. Baird would be influenced by Marcus' pheromones with the thoughts that perhaps Marcus gave a shit about him a little—just a little—since it was apparent that Baird did for him, at least concerning the sex. Then when they finished doing the deed, Baird would feel like a cheap whore due to Marcus' cold and unnatural indifference towards him when they had just finished another of their passionate trysts. He was the one that made people feel that way, not vice versa.

Yet there was nothing that Baird could do to resist the man at this point though. He had already fallen from his height of self-respect when he had gotten involved with him in the beginning, placating his fears by finding a number of excuses that he accepted. It wasn't as if he ever truly believed the excuses, but they made him feel better.

Now, they were doing nothing but making him feel worse about his feelings with Marcus. And try as he might, he couldn't deny Marcus his body to keep whatever little self-respect he still had. His defenses were weakening, he was becoming distraught, and when they finally did the irreversible action which Baird secretly wanted to do, he would have none left.

This was how Baird had treated women before and it was coming back to bite him in the ass.

He began to get angry at the thought when his mind suddenly became a blank. All thoughts had flooded away, as they always did, when Marcus touched him at all lately. At that moment, he had placed a firm hand on Baird's left thigh.

Fuck. Baird wished he hadn't shivered at his touch. It gave away to Marcus how much he enjoyed it. He avoided his eyes and wished that when he blushed, his whole body didn't as well.

He was frozen when Marcus untied the towel from his waist and let it slip off from his body. They were on base and Marcus wasn't worried about someone passing by to see him doing what he was doing?

Baird quickly cast a glance at the older man and realized that Marcus' body blocked the whole entrance. That's why he wasn't worried.

"I didn't say you could come in." Baird tried to save face as he looked into Marcus' face, pinkened cheeks, painfully excited eyes, and stiff cock.

All Marcus did was let out a small huff of air—it could have been a laugh—before he gently touched his lips against Baird.

Try as hard as he did to resist, Baird fell again.

Note: Wow. So much detail about the conflicting feelings going on within Baird. It's tough not knowing what you want.

*Donneld Mathieson was a Lieutenant who, during active duty, had to have his legs amputated and now works for CIC.

*Miran Trescu leads the Gorasni nation.

*Baird has some traditional ideals, one being that women shouldn't be allowed in the infantry.

*Yanik Laas became a dear friend of Baird's for the time that they had spent together.

*Baird used to be a Lieutenant but had been demoted due to "treason"...Gears of War Judgment.

*Doctor Isabel Hayman is an older physician that is known for her surliness and medical expertise.

*The "chess" that Sam plays is actually checkers using shot glasses. They call it "chess" but, due to the fact that the game pieces are virtually unknown, Baird realizes how stupid the game is.

*Prescott wanted samples so that he could have the scientists that lived on Azura (including Adam Fenix) test it. Another tidbit that people may not know: Bardry Salaman, the man who committed suicide 190 days after the Hammer of Dawn Counterattack was alive during the time (until the Locust overran Azura in GOW3).

I believe that these should be the only "new" things that have come up in this chapter. I hope you'll read the next one! ^_^