Fighting The Tide

Chapter Four: The Idea

Welcome to chapter four!

Peepers does some plotting, and Wander and Hater have some alone time.

Nothin' much to say here, except we're going to get a little spicy. I hope you enjoy!

Commander Peepers had a lot to think about.

Some might say that desperately piloting a huge warship while being chased and shot at by an even larger warship was not the best environment to facilitate thinking, but those people had never been a commander of a galaxy-wide conquering army. Peepers was used to thinking and reacting to a crisis with half his mind, while the other half plotted and planned. It was what made his invasion strategies so effective. He was good at thinking ten steps ahead of what he was currently dealing with.

Peepers' hands worked the controls easily, deftly avoiding the worst of the lasers, and redirecting the ship's shields to compensate for the shots he couldn't dodge. Next to him, on the weapons array, he was grudgingly aware that Sylvia was returning fire with almost as much skill as he was using to avoid it, but he didn't have time to think too much about that.

Most of his brainpower was focused on Lord Hater, and the skeleton's most recent disastrous plan. Peepers had known if Lord Hater was going to be dating Wander that their lives would undoubtably descend into chaos, but he hadn't thought it would be quite so literal.

Yet, here they were.

It would have been nice if this massive debacle would serve as some kind of wake-up call to his boss that, at the very least, asking the annoying furball to marry him wasn't the best idea, but it really didn't seem like it had. The very first thing Hater had done upon returning to the ship was drag the furry freak off somewhere with him, and Peepers was pretty sure it wasn't to lock the beatnik in the dungeon or anything reasonable like that.

And, maybe Hater would reconsider his proposal, at least for the moment, but that wouldn't be solving the main issue, an issue Peepers was becoming more painfully aware of with every day that passed.

Wander was changing Lord Hater.

It wasn't a new conclusion Peepers had drawn. In fact, he'd accused the orange toothpick of that very thing when he'd temporarily quit as the commander of the Lord Hater empire, and Wander hadn't even really denied it.

He'd said he wasn't trying to change Hater, that he liked him no matter what, and that he was just trying to help him be happy. He'd also said Hater changing a little wouldn't change who he was.

Peepers didn't doubt Wander had been telling the truth. No matter what he thought of the hippy, he had to admit Wander wasn't a liar. That would require the pest to have even a thimbleful of guile in that furry toothpick of a body. But, regardless of intention, or what Wander might believe, Hater was changing, and in the worst way possible.

A way that made him less interested in conquering planets and subjugating their inhabitants, a way that pushed him to make 'friends' with the people he should be imprisoning and executing, and a way, most infuriating of all, that made Hater not only come up with these terrible plans, but act on them, without even consulting his commander first.

Hater wasn't listening to him any more, not really. Even though he'd kept his word about paying more attention in the planning meetings and sticking to a conquering schedule, it felt like he was even more disinterested in invading planets than ever. And when Peepers tried to give his boss advice, or discuss long-term plans for the empire, Hater would get uncomfortable; quiet and monosyllabic, and evasive, like it wasn't even something he wanted to think about.

And it was all because of Wander.

It was all because Hater had gone and fallen for his greatest enemy, and all his motivation now seemed devoted to obsessing over Wander, thinking and talking about him constantly and making crazy plans involving him. Really, it wasn't too different from when Hater had been trying to destroy the pest, except now instead of their planetary takeovers being an unintended casualty to the chaos, Hater seemed to actually be uncomfortable doing them. Like he no longer enjoyed the conquering, the gloating, the subjugation of the masses and all the rest.

And that was the sticking point. Hater befriending his prisoners and letting them go was just the beginning, Peepers was certain. It couldn't be allowed to continue, or pretty soon the overlord might as well just disband his army and go wandering across all of known space with Wander and the zbornak, for all the conquering he'd be doing.

He couldn't reason with Hater. The overlord had been pretty clear he didn't want to hear any more arguments about breaking up with his hairy weirdo of a boyfriend.

And it kind of made sense. When Peepers thought about it, this had always been Hater's weak point. As long as Peepers had known him, Hater had been obsessed with wanting a girlfriend, with wanting affection. He'd wanted someone to hang on his arm, to adore him, to say nice things about him and admire him. Now, he had someone who was willing to do that, if not exactly in the way he had always talked about.

It felt like, in whatever strange battle he and Wander were fighting, the annoying pest was winning. He had Hater exactly where he wanted him; wrapped around his furry fingers and hopelessly besotted.

It could have been game over, but instead it had just made Peepers more determined to find a solution; to save his boss and the empire from Wander's influence.

Hater certainly had a crush on Wander, but that didn't mean it was hopeless, or that things necessarily had to end this way.

Peepers had weathered a fair few of Hater's doomed crushes, and had facilitated them when required; coercing attractive ladies into a date with the overlord by means of taking over their planets or threatening their families.

The point was, Peepers knew the signs. He knew when Hater was smitten by a pretty woman, and he'd just so happened to see those signs today.

Hater had been attracted to Dominator.

Yes, it had seemed fairly short-lived. Hater, after all, currently had someone he apparently liked, and someone who was willing to shower him with the attention and affection he craved.

Yet, the reaction had still been there, and it had started Peepers thinking.

The villainess was certainly more Hater's type, from what Peepers had seen; attractive, tall, elegant, all traits Wander was certainly lacking. Moreover, she was evil.

Of course, she was also a threat to the Lord Hater Empire, but she probably wasn't more of a threat than Wander was turning out to be with all his 'peace and love' rhetoric that Hater seemed to be eating up.

Perhaps, if Hater had more opportunities to see her, his attraction to her might grow, and it might be able to finally shake him out the weird love-haze he'd seemed to be in since he and Wander had first gotten…involved.

If Hater was no longer interested in dating Wander, if his attraction could be nudged in the direction of Dominator instead, he would likely start being more interested in evil and villainy again, if only because that was what she was into. It might break him away from this path Wander was leading him down, and back to the evil overlord he should be. It might reinvigorate him; remind him what fun conquering and evil was. Those were things he had always enjoyed, at least until Wander came along as more than an enemy.

Yes, the likelihood that Dominator would return any affection Hater had was low, very low, but that wasn't really important. Hater had been disappointed in his crushes before, and he'd always recovered. He would probably be depressed for a while, blow up a planet or two, maybe eat a pint of ice cream, and then he would move on, and concentrate on ruling the universe once again the way he used to.

Peepers felt a twinge of guilt, Hater had really seemed to like being around Wander, but he ruthlessly squashed it. He wasn't going to force Hater to break up with the pest. He was going to show his boss he wasn't really attracted to the scruffy mop, and just liked the attention he'd been getting. Hater would break up with Wander because he wanted to, because he realized this wasn't who he wanted to be, and things would finally be back to normal.

This would be to Hater's benefit in the long run, as well as helping them stay in contention with the other villains. Hater would be happy once he was enjoying being feared by his subjects once again, and he wouldn't miss the weirdo. He might even go back to hating Wander and trying to destroy him, although it would certainly be better for all concerned if he ended up getting over this silly obsession once and for all.

And once they were back on top, Hater would be much better off than he'd ever been with Wander, Peepers would guarantee it.

Hater was very close. His hands ran through Wander's fur, sending delightful little tingles dancing from his head right down to his toes.

Wander pulled himself closer still, hooking his fingers gently into the spaces between Hater's ribs, feeling the skeleton's cloak slide over the bone.

Hater let out a gasp against Wander's mouth.

"Oh, Grop!" he muttered. Wander could feel the rapid beating of his heart through the ribs. He felt his smile widen.

Hater pulled back for a moment then. Both of them were breathing heavily now.

This wasn't exactly what Wander had expected to happen after the battle. He'd been rather worried to be honest, especially once Hater had claimed the ring and they'd made their escape. He knew it was important to his buddy, and he wasn't sure exactly what to do about it.

He hadn't expected Hater's declaration that he wasn't going to use the ring to conquer any planets, especially as he could tell the overlord wasn't lying. If that was the case, why had Hater even gone after the ring in the first place?

Needless to say, he was still a little confused, but he still felt relieved by Hater's assurance.

Hater had seemed a little confused as well, from what Wander had noticed. Some of it might be the revelation about Dominator, which had clearly affected his buddy, at least for a little while. Wander wasn't going to think about right now. But Hater seemed to have something on his mind besides that.

Then the overlord had pulled him into this room off of the corridor, all private and dark, and Wander had asked, rather coyly, if he'd been missed.

He'd figured his buddy might not answer. Hater wasn't really comfortable opening up and being vulnerable.

But it seemed like Hater had missed him, or at least was glad to see him again, and he'd seemed pretty happy to show it at least.

Which had brought them to where they were now.

Wander found himself looking up almost dazedly from his position held tight against the broad ribcage. Hater's eyes were so dark and deep, with a spark of passion somewhere far down inside them. It was like looking out at the depths of space, an endless void filled with the sparkle of distant galaxies and the promise of adventure. His cheekbones were tinged green, helping Wander see that his mouth was slightly open as he breathed deeply, and his brows were furrowed slightly.

"You're an awful handsome fella, Hater," Wander murmured without thinking. "Anyone ever tell ya that before?"

Hater didn't answer for a moment. His skull was glowing brighter and Wander watched his jaw wobble as he took a shaky breath.

"O-of course," Hater whispered. He sounded uncertain for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed. "Lots of people, hundreds even. I mean, I am the, um, the universe's awesomest evildoer." It sounded like he was talking through gritted teeth, fighting to get the words out, though he didn't seem angry.

Wander pulled himself closer again, snuggling into Hater's cloak, face inches away from the glowing skull.

"Hater!" he sang softly, finishing the overlord's theme for him.

He might be confused about some things, and hesitant about some others, but right now, he was completely and totally happy.

Wander had a knack, a skill, a natural, undeniable talent for driving Hater absolutely crazy.

It used to lead to sudden rages, futile attempts to destroy the nomad and a constant, all-consuming hatred that meant Wander was never far from his thoughts. Now, Hater could admit to himself, it was causing something quite different.

It was getting awkward to stand, so he sat down on the floor instead, Wander in his lap now with his arms still wrapped around the smaller alien. His lips and tongue still seemed to tingle from their kissing, and his mouth tasted like Wander, earthy and sweet.

His cheekbones were burning from embarrassment mixed with something else, and Wander's words seemed to be cycling continuously around inside his skull.

You're an awful handsome fella, Hater.

He couldn't seem to get those words out of his mind because, despite his declaration to the contrary, it was the first time he'd ever heard them. It made him feel exposed somehow, and he didn't want Wander to know how much his words had affected him, especially because of the way he'd said it; gently, sweetly and honestly.

Hater didn't have to threaten him into it or take over a planet. Wander wasn't frightened of him or trying to trick him into anything. He really thought that. He'd always thought that.

Slowly, Hater moved one hand from around Wander to touch the nomad's cheek, gently stroking the soft fur, feeling the curve of his chin, then running a finger across those smiling lips. Wander leaned into his touch, big eyes fluttering closed. He shifted on Hater's lap slightly, and Hater was suddenly aware of that movement as Wander's bottom nudged along the bone of his thigh. His lower bones seemed hyper-sensitive, and every move Wander made sent sparks of feeling sizzling all through him, feeding the fire deep inside him.

Hater's left hand tightened slightly where it rested at the small of Wander's back, keeping the nomad steady. He slowly trailed the fingers of his right down Wander's neck, tracing his collarbone before continuing down his chest. Wander shivered at the touch, wriggling in Hater's lap and sending a sudden wave of pleasure shooting through the overlord.

Hater felt slightly lightheaded, but he couldn't seem to stop. He brushed his fingers down Wander's chest, stroking them through the fur. His thumb trailed across a small bump under the fur on the left side of Wander's chest, and the nomad shuddered at his touch, biting his lip and letting out a soft surprised sound that seemed to resonate somewhere between Hater's thighs.

"Nnnnn, H-Hater?" Wander ventured, and Hater's eyes rose again to meet his, finding them wide and deep, glinting green in the faint light from Hater's skull. Wander visibly swallowed, he was breathing rapidly and seemed somewhat flustered, fur sticking up slightly in places, and there was something in his voice, an almost helpless fluttering that pulled at Hater's insides with desire.

Hater found a smirk slipping across his face. He had never seen Wander like this, and it almost felt like his old daydreams when he was chasing after the nomad, thoughts of finally having Wander helpless and at his mercy, only with none of the want to harm that he used to be stuck on. All he knew was that he wanted to keep going, to entice that reaction again.

"Yeeeess, Wander?" he whispered back, and at the same time, he stroked Wander's nipple again with his finger, feeling it harden at his touch.

Wander's whole body jolted slightly, hands tightening where they were gripping the front of Hater's cloak. He giggled slightly breathlessly. He seemed to be trying to gather himself, but Hater didn't let him. His fingers trailed through the fur to the other side of Wander's chest, finding his other nipple and brushing across it as well. Wander's belly seemed to jump and Hater could feel a shudder pass through him as he gasped again. His furry knees trembled and he pressed them together tightly.

It was intoxicating, addictive. Hater felt incredibly powerful that his touching could make Wander react this way. He didn't really know what he was doing, but he must have been doing it pretty well to have Wander so breathless, shuddering in his arms this way. His head spun with pleasure. He felt like he didn't ever want to stop. If they stayed here until all the suns in the universe burnt out, that would be fine with Hater.

"Hater," Wander tried again, and there was a moan in his voice that stoked the fire in Hater's gut and made it roar to life. The nomad shifted again on his lap, brushing against a part of his anatomy he hadn't realized was starting to manifest itself.

Hater felt his skull heating again with sudden embarrassment, nervousness sparking through him at what Wander would think if he noticed. It cut through the pleasurable haze in his head, poking at him with worry. Should he call a halt? Move the nomad off of his lap? His fingers paused in their stroking, which seemed to give Wander a moment to collect himself.

Wander swiped a hand across his brow.

"Whew! Ya sure know how ta get a feller goin'." He was still smiling, so at least Hater hadn't screwed up anything yet. The nomad knelt, raising himself up with his arms where they gripped the skeleton's cloak, bringing his face closer to Hater's. Hater tried to will away the feeling of Wander shifting against him, though he could feel himself twitch at the movement. Stupid body. Wander reached up now, taking Hater's face in both of his hands. He brought his smile closer, giving Hater a small, soft kiss before pulling back slightly.

"I'm havin' an awful nice time with you, Hatey," he said softly, and Hater blinked, feeling somewhat flustered himself all at once. "But I feel like we might be goin' a little fast here. I don't want you ta feel uncomfortable. An' I am a little worried about how Syl an' Mr. Peepers are doin'. We left 'em alone ta get us away from Dominator. Maybe we should take a break for now."

Maybe that was a good thing.

Hater didn't want to stop. He wanted Wander to keep making those little desperate noises, he wanted to keep exploring Wander's body, to find out what else was hiding under all that fur, and he wanted Wander to keep touching him as well, to keep feeling that heady pleasure that was almost dizzying.

But at the same time, he was now very aware of the growing problem between his legs. He didn't want to scare Wander off, and he knew Wander had never been scared of him, but this was, well, different. Taking a break might be a good thing, at least until he figured out what to do about that.

"Y-yeah," he managed. "That's fine, or whatever." He wasn't sure whether he felt relieved or disappointed. Maybe a little of both.

Wander's smile widened, then he snuggled himself closer again, brushing his cheek against Hater's.

"Let's go make sure our friends'r alright," he whispered. "An' I can make us all some supper. An' then afterward, if ya want to, we can do this again."

Hater's cheekbones burned brighter as Wander lifted himself off of him and stood, slightly shakily. He found himself adjusting his cloak as he followed the nomad's example, and he had to take a deep breath to steady himself. Making out on a hard, metal floor was also probably not the best idea; his legs felt slightly numb.

Wander waited for him while he gathered himself, smoothing down his fur, which was still sticking up a little, and chattering softly about this and that. Hater only partially listened, but he found the noise itself helped to ground him. He kept what Wander had said before in the back of his mind, and didn't think about it for the moment.

His mind was finally starting to clear, and he slipped one had into the pocket of his cloak and felt the ring there.

His plan hadn't worked, but that didn't mean it had been a bad plan. There had just been a few more distractions than he'd anticipated. He still wanted Wander to marry him, both to head off all the competition there seemed to be, and because of all of this. He wanted to make sure Wander was his, that he wasn't going anywhere. He was going to make sure of it.

There must be something else he could do to show Wander how impressive he was, some big show he could put on or a daring stunt of some kind. It was going to take some thought.

Until then, supper, and other things sounded nice.

He followed Wander out of the door. Hopefully Dominator hadn't left too many holes in his ship, and hopefully Peepers and Sylvia hadn't tried to kill each other or anything while they'd been gone, though they had seemed to be getting along better lately. He couldn't feel the ship shaking anymore, so that was a good sign.

And despite everything, he felt confidence seep through him as he headed down the corridor. He could handle it; he was the Greatest in the Galaxy, after all, and he was going to prove it.

Finally, they were out of range.

Sylvia relaxed her hands on the controls, noticing Peepers slumping slightly in his chair beside her.

Dominator really must have been seething over getting knocked off the platform. Well, good! Sylvia would be lying if she said she wasn't glad to have finally done something to break through that invincible seeming façade.

Even if it had been Hater who'd done it. Who knew old bonehead had it in him?

Speaking of…

She felt a little anxiety trickle through her. Wander and Hater had been alone together for quite a while now. At least she was pretty sure there hadn't been a proposal, since Hater probably would have announced it throughout the whole ship if it had been successful. Maybe the skeleton lord had backed off for now. That would be good. Sylvia would rather not have any more drama for the moment.

She stood, pulling herself free of the seat which was five times too small for her, and stretched her stiff muscles. Peepers stood as well, though Sylvia noticed he seemed a little distracted, as though he was thinking about something.

Sylvia snapped her fingers, getting Peepers to look over at her again.

"Come on, optic nerd," she instructed. "We've got some intruding to do. Where would they have gone?"

"Oh, right." Peepers didn't seem to hear the usual insult. He rubbed his lower eyelid, thoughtfully. "I'm really not sure. It's not like Lord Hater planned for this to happen. But I did figure out how to locate them with the scanner, provided you're not planning to break it with your tail this time," he added dryly. He turned and headed for the door. "This way, miscreant; I'll show you how it's done."

"Just as long as we're not too late." Sylvia followed the watchdog. All she knew was they'd better not be walking into a wedding setup, or there was going to be some very violent objecting on her part.

Other than that, she wasn't too worried. They'd gotten away with their skins intact, and Wander could probably handle himself. As long as there were no more wrenches thrown into the works for a while they'd be fine.

Though that was certainly always a possibility when she was dealing with this particular group. She shouldn't get too comfortable, in any case.

Hope you enjoyed!

So, Peepers has a plan. Sorry if anyone is angry at him, or me lol. I do hope the scene with him makes sense. It was very difficult to write.

I also hope you liked the, ahem, other scene. I felt like I wanted Hater and Wander to go a little farther this chapter. I hope it didn't seem too fast. And I think to be safe, I'm going to change this story to be an M rating. I hope nobody minds. We got a little spicier this chapter than I planned on. Those two crazy kids went a little farther than I thought they would.

This was actually the spiciest I've ever gotten in a story, so I really hope I did it well and didn't make it too much. Let me know what you think if you can. I know I'm a little nervous about this one.

We will see what story makes me update it next.

See you all soon!