"So, how's that?"
"Hmmmmmmmmmm?"

"Never mind. I think you just answered my question."

Aeryn smiled into the pillow, even though she knew John couldn't see her from where he sat behind her on the bed. She really didn't want to tell him how good his hands felt rubbing across her shoulders, back and neck. She'd thought he was crazy when he told her he knew how to work out the tension that had been slowly giving her a headache, and she'd made a point of telling him so. Zhaan had already tried to help her but since Aeryn wasn't about to let her use a Delvian technique on her, her only option was a piece of medical equipment that of course Moya didn't have. It was one of those days when she was really regretting the turn her life had taken. At least on a Peacekeeper ship, she could have gotten treatment for a simple stress headache.

John had taken her abuse fairly well, his expression saying he knew that this was the pain talking and not Aeryn. When she'd finally let him speak, he hadn't said much, only that it was a "low-tech solution, no batteries required."

Sometimes it's nice sharing a ship with a "primitive", she thought, a bigger smile sneaking its way across her face. Her smile gave way to a low moan of pleasure as the hands currently at the base of her neck dissolved the largest patch of knotted muscles. Her pain was all but gone now and she sighed regretfully as she started to turn her head to tell him. She was finding that part of her didn't want him to stop while another part felt guilty about letting him do this at all. It had occurred to Aeryn that there might be times when she and the others took advantage of the human's giving nature, and that concerned her. They had already pushed him to running away once before and as annoying as he could be sometimes, she had missed him desperately and had been relieved when they had gotten him back. She didn't want to take the chance it might happen again.

"Crichton, you can stop now," she said, or at least that was what she started to say. All she really managed to get out was a long drawn-out "ohhhhhhhh."

What the Hezmana is he doing? Aeryn felt the lightest of touches, starting at her shoulders, trailing down her back to the edge of her boxers, then coming back up to start again. It felt like the very tips of his fingers running across the material of her gray tank top, but she wasn't sure. No Sebacean male she knew was capable of that kind of delicacy.

He's not Sebacean. He's "Human." When she'd first had that thought almost a cycle ago, all she could see at the time were the limitations that statement implied. Now after arns and weekens of all kinds of "Human nonsense," "Human impulsiveness," and just general "Human bizarreness," she had to admit that she was beginning to see something else.

She was beginning to see possibilities.

She was very aware of the warmth of his body as he leaned down to touch her, this time rubbing his thumbs down the center of her back. His scent, his low even breathing, the spot where his bent knee made contact with the side of her hip, were all very clear to her, in focus, even as she felt her mind floating in the sensations of what he was doing to her.

Her earlier contentment started to fade, replaced by a low ache that started to pulse and pound and scream its need with every touch. Her skin felt like it wanted to surge upward, capture his sweet warmth, and lock it away within her.

Panic filled her mind for a microt. She had never been shy about pursuing any male that she wanted, but John wasn't Sebacean. He'd given her what she thought were fairly blatant signals, even kissed her once in a moment of extreme stress, but what if she'd misunderstood? Humans, or at least this human, were a strange lot and they probably had strange ideas about things like mating and courtship as well.

The panic faded as John leaned in to work out some tightness in her lower back. His closeness made the ache intensify until it was all she could feel again.

Frell it! This isn't enough, she thought. She wanted more. And she wanted it now.

Aeryn turned her face back towards John. His hands stopped as he caught her looking at him and his beautiful mouth flashed her a very satisfied grin. She could almost hear him thinking See, I told you so, but all he said was, "Well, you look very happy."

Aeryn smiled and something in her expression caused John's grin to falter. He licked his lips uncertainly, and his eyes, those clear blue eyes that screamed his thoughts to everyone that passed, locked with hers as if trying to figure out what she was thinking. At that moment, they seemed to say to her that he knew something had changed here and he wasn't sure if it was something he would like. He seemed confused, unsure, possibly even a little scared.

He'd never looked more adorable to her, more heartbreakingly endearing. She pulled her legs underneath her, levered her torso up off the bed, and in one fluid motion, she pounced.

She pinned him on the bed, his arms trapped beneath his body, her legs straddling his hips, before capturing his mouth with her own. His lips were sweet and soft before parting to allow her inside access and she took advantage of that invitation to ravage the interior with her tongue, savoring the taste of him before leaving them both gasping for breath. He tried to say something but she covered his mouth with her hand before reclaiming it for another kiss. She could feel him responding to her, his tongue in her mouth, his quickening pulse beneath her roaming hands, and finally, his hardening erection in the space between her legs.

"Aeryn…" he breathed and then gasped as she ground her crotch against him. "I need to, my hands…"

"Shhhhh." Aeryn brushed her lips lightly across his. "I think we've talked enough, don't you?"

He nodded, then lifted his head to place short light kisses on the side of her face. "Aeryn," he said, still caressing her cheek with his mouth, "I don't want to talk, but I need to free my hands." Slowly, his mouth trailed over to hers, grazing her lips before kissing them lightly, teasingly, his eyes meeting hers before pulling away, his head resting back down onto the mattress.

Aeryn ran her fingers under his shirt, across his abdomen, hoping to imitate the light touch he was using on her earlier. His eyes fluttered closed in pleasure even as his mouth opened to protest. Her thumb trailed along his lower lip before she lowered herself to kiss him again and again and again.

Finally, she pulled back just enough to breathe. "Why?" she asked.

He blinked at her as if he thought he hadn't heard her correctly. "Why? Because I-I can't …do anything for you this way." He flushed and she felt him trying to pull one of his arms free. She knew he wasn't going to be able to. As he'd told her on more than one occasion, Sebaceans were heavier than they looked.

"Is that so bad?" she breathed, grazing his brow with the edge of her lips. She chuckled evilly as his mouth twitched, then opened into a moan as she ground herself into him again.

"You" she continued as she started kissing her way down his neck, "are always doing things for me, the others." She eased down his body, lifting his shirt as she went, giving her access to his chest and stomach. The sight gave her pause, derailing her line of thought. She couldn't help thinking how beautiful he was and a very Sebacean need to possess came over her. It was all she could do not to rip the shirt right off of him.

She leaned down and ran her mouth across his tight abdomen. She smiled as she was rewarded with another moan. She then kissed her way back up to his chest, running her tongue over bone and muscle, making small toothless nips along the way. She finally got to her goal and blew on each nipple in turn. The shudder she felt ripple through his body made her look up at his face and she liked what she saw.

Eyes closed, mouth open slightly, he looked as if he was lost in what she was doing to him. That sight, and the open mouth, was too much temptation for her to resist and she moved back up to press a deep long kiss on his responsive lips. His eyes were still closed when she finished, but they opened to look up at her when he realized that she was still staring into his face.

"See how nice it can be to let someone else do something for you?" she said as her hands reached down to the bottom of her tank top, pulled it over her head, and threw it across the room. Ready to feel him skin to skin, she moved back down his body, pressing her breasts against him, reveling in the feel of body against body.

"I …see," she heard him say as she pushed face, breasts, and crotch against him. He sounded somewhat convinced, but she could still hear doubt as well. What is the man's problem with this? A possibility occurred to her and she lifted her head from his chest to ask.

"John, do human males usually control the way human couples have sex?"

He looked up at her, a little shocked she thought, but he answered her question. "Uh, I wouldn't call it 'control', but they usually, um, I guess, take responsibility for whether or not the female, well, ….has a good time, I guess you could say."

So that's it! "And you think you're shirking that responsibility by not being able to touch me with your hands?"

He seemed to consider that for a microt before answering. "Well, yeah, I guess so."

Aeryn had to suppress the urge not to smile so he wouldn't think she was laughing at him. It was so like the human to try to take things on his shoulders, even things that really there was no need for him to do. It was extremely sweet of him, something a Sebacean would probably never see the need for, and it was one of the things that sometimes made her feel like she was dealing with an extremely innocent creature. John sometimes seemed more like a trusting child as a fully-grown adult than she had ever been, even when she was much, much younger.

Then she felt the erection still between her legs, the warm body still pressed beneath, and swallowed. This was most definitely not a child and she found she wanted him in a way that was most definitely not innocent.

She reached down, underneath where she was still straddling his hips, and started undoing his pants, taking time to caress him through the material as she went. Once she had enough room, she slid her hand underneath his erection, bringing it up and rubbing it in-between her hand and her slowly moving crotch. She felt more than heard him gasp as she stroked him, the sensation building as she pulled him free of his clothing, his skin rubbing against the material of the only piece of clothing she still had on.

"Don't worry about me, John," she teased. "I intend to make myself very much at home here."

She locked eyes with him, watching as his breath came in ragged gasps with each new movement. For a microt, he seemed like he was shaking his head at her, but there was no mistaking the lopsided grin he threw her or the affection behind it.

Satisfied, she redirected her attention to her own desire. She could feel herself getting wet, the white boxers she'd stripped down to earlier clinging to her private places. She couldn't wait any longer.

She laid herself back down on top of him, her head coming to his chest, and lifted her pelvis off of him. She pushed the boxers as far down her legs as she could and then pulled her legs up to her to kick them the rest of the way off. Then she pressed her now exposed crotch against his erection and bore down as hard as she could.

"Oh God," he breathed before looking up into her maniacally grinning face. "Woman, what are you doing to me?" The teasing in his voice was unmistakable and so was the ragged desire.

She couldn't resist. "Whatever I want," she only half-teased before coming back up to kiss him breathless again. Feeling her desire flare within her, she moved back down his body to his erection and wasting no time, quickly guided it inside her.

She wasn't sure whether they both moaned at the completeness of it or if it was just her, but she soon found herself moving in a desperately building rhythm. He felt so good inside her, the friction building between them as she moved. She wanted as much of him as she could get and moved her body to take him as deeply as possible. The Sebacean need to possess poured through her again and as she took him within her, she couldn't help thinking, Mine. This man is mine. Anyone else who even thinks about touching him is going to spend cycles trying to have their limbs re-attached.

She felt the wave building inside her start to crest until finally she shook with the power of it. Her muscles contracted around John and she felt his release shooting inside her. Finally the wave broke and she collapsed, spent, onto his welcoming body. Sweating, smiling with the onset of release, she rolled off of him to rest beside him, releasing him from his "imprisonment."

For a long microt, he didn't move and she began to get concerned. I didn't hurt him, did I? She had thought he had enjoyed himself as much as she. Was she wrong?

Finally, he stirred, opening his eyes and pulling his arms out from beneath him. He started rubbing them against his chest, trying to get some kind of circulation back into them. He still hadn't said anything to her.

"John?" she asked. She wondered if the note of urgency in her voice was as evident to him as it was to her.

He looked over at her and smiled what had to be the most wonderful smile she had ever seen. She was struck again by just how beautiful he was.

The need had passed, but she still couldn't help thinking, He is mine, but Hezmana, I think I am his as well.

"John?" she repeated.

He looked at her as a hint of mischief entered his smile. "So," he said, "can I touch you now?"

Fin.