~~~one month later~~~
Henri lay awake in the pre-dawn morning stillness absorbing the wonderful sensation of having a sleeping Brian Rafe in his arms. Brian's head was pillowed on his shoulder and the softly snoring hermaphrodite was draped half-on and half-off of him.
Henri adored the feel of his best friend's warm skin pressed against his own. He cherished the heavy weight of Brian's thigh tucked between his knees, and the firm globes of his breasts squashed against Henri's ribs were contact points of lovely heat. Soft wuffs of breath tickled across his neck.
Henri was amazed at the depths of his feelings for the shy and sexually timid hermaphrodite sleeping gently in his arms. He was in love, felt total devotion, and he freely admitted it. While he wanted to take this relationship as far as he possibly could, he was privately amazed that it had gone as far as if had.
It was now two months since Brian had returned from the deep-space station where he had been subjected to the forced gender reassignment surgery. Two months since he had publicly announced to the slave compound that Brian was *his* mate and thus strictly off limits. It had only been three weeks since he had privately confronted Brian with his changing feelings and growing love for the man.
Henri had been very nervous broaching the subject with his best friend. Brian, like a lot of the hermaphrodites, was not comfortable with what had been done to him against his will. Due to this, Henri had expected Brian to be upset by his declaration of love and to reject him outright. Instead, he had admitted to having feelings for Henri as well.
Even so, they had both agreed to go slow and to give themselves time to adjust to their changing relationship. They were both becoming better at giving and receiving public displays of affection. As for private affection, well, they were slowly but surely exploring more ways to enjoy each others bodies.
So far, they had shared soul searing kisses and had tasted the salt of each others sweat and tears. Heavy petting and fondling had evolved into humping and rubbing against each other as well as mutual hand-jobs. Brian said he wasn't ready for oral sex, but Henri knew his lover well enough to know that he would soon change his mind on that.
However, Brian was still adamant that his female genitalia was off limits. Henri didn't push that point at all. There was time for that later. He didn't want to do anything that would destroy the trust and love between them or ruin the small, but growing, confidence and enjoyment Brian was learning to have with his altered body.
No. Henri vowed to himself that he wouldn't pressure Brian about that unless they got too close to the Prantellian imposed deadline for pregnancy. They had ten months until a forced breeding program would be implemented, and even then they would give them another six months to try it as a couple. Plenty of time yet to let this part of their growing relationship progress at a more natural and gentle pace. Brian needed it to be that way and Henri wanted Brian to be happy and secure.
Carefully pulling his love into a tighter embrace, Henri closed his eyes and sighed peacefully. Snuggling into the warmth of the blankets and Brian's love, he dosed off once again, a sweet smile on his lips.
~~~
Simon Banks couldn't help but smile across the table at the older man across from him. Chin Lee was a good man, with strong morals and a strangely gentle heart. His nephew, Kevin, was like him in many ways. Younger. More energetic. And hopelessly smitten with Daryl.
The two boys, Kevin and Daryl, had been fast friends ever since the Prantellians had dumped them on Farming Planet J2X83 and assigned them to the same slave compound and then again to the same duties in the orchard. Daryl had always suspected Kevin of having a bit of a crush on him, but he had figured it was just because Daryl was one of the few Terrans close to his age, and out of all of them, he was the strongest and best educated. A new best friend who was afflicted with a bit of hero-worship had done wonders for Daryl's self-confidence after they had settled into their new lives as property of the Empire.
Now, the two boys were planning to become mates in fulfillment of the Prantellian demand that all hermaphrodites become pregnant with offspring within one Earth year. Daryl had been one of the `chosen' ones, and as such, he needed a sire for his children. He had decided that the only one he wanted to do this with was Kevin.
Daryl had confided to Simon that he was frightened of the whole idea of being the receptive partner in a sexual relationship. Simon could easily understand that. He knew that in Daryl's place, he would be frightened and off-balance as well. When Simon had stopped to think about it, really think about it, he decided that it was an act that would require extreme trust and faith that your partner would not hurt you. Physically or emotionally. It was a form of surrender, of acceptance. Simon didn't know if he could have done it.
With Kevin, however, it was different. Daryl trusted his friend and knew that Kevin would never do anything to hurt or alienate him. It was a combination of things really. First of all, Daryl was larger, taller, and stronger than Kevin, so he could not be easily overpowered. Secondly, Kevin was a gentle person at heart. There wasn't a need for violence or inflicting harm within him. Mostly, it was the fact that Kevin *loved* Daryl. It was like a light shinning in his eyes whenever he saw the older boy.
It was obvious to anyone who saw the two together. Kevin hung on Daryl's every word as if it were the most important thing anyone had ever uttered. He went out of his way to do nice and romantic things for Daryl and always treated him with the utmost respect. Everyone that saw them couldn't help but smile at the picture they made.
And that is what led Simon to be sitting here with Chin Lee, Kevin's uncle. The older man had no objection to the match, in fact, he seemed quite pleased with it. He did, however, insist that they be given a ceremony. He didn't want his nephew in a relationship that had not been blessed. So, Simon Banks was trying to help put together the first marriage ceremony held on Farming Planet J2X83 for two Terrans.
~~~
Blair knelt down in the dirt between two rows of pale yellow Crant'su plants that produced an edible root that was quite tasty. A woven grass hat that Jim had made him was perched on his head and a basket half-full of weeds sat before him. Being careful not to damage the delicate plant, Blair dug at the weed growing next to it. Bantho vines had to be removed as soon as they were spotted or they would eventually strangle the roots of the nearest plants. Crant'su roots were far too valuable to lose them to Bantho vines.
Slowly, steadily, Blair worked his way up and down the rows, gathering vines and weeds for the compost heap. His fellow Terran workers often stopped to talk to him when their duties brought them within speaking distance. Blair had to grin. He had always been popular because of his 'storytelling' abilities as well as the vast number of stories about the various peoples of Earth and how they had lived, but now his popularity was at it's all time high.
Blair was one of only nine pregnant hermaphrodites on the compound. That number was steadily growing, but for now it was still a miracle of modern science and a thrill to know that the Terran race would *not* die out. Everyone went out of their way to keep check on the 'pregnant ones' to be sure that they did nor overwork themselves into a bout of sunstroke or something equally detrimental to the unborn child's health.
At one month pregnant, Blair still couldn't feel the baby growing within him, but his lover could. Jim was fascinated by it. And truth be known, so was Blair. He loved to watch the absolute look of delight settle on his Sentinel's face as he held his palm over Blair's stomach. Jim's eyes would close at first, his concentration evident, and then he would find their child with his sensitive touch and those bright blue eyes would pop open in surprised joy. His features would soften into a look of awe and reverence, and then he would look up into Blair's eyes and Blair would find himself falling in love all over again.
With a soft sigh of happiness, Blair picked up his basket of weeds and moved on to the next row of Crant'su plants. Kneeling down in the dirt once more, Blair shielded his eyes from the harsh sun by shifting his hand woven grass hat lower on his head. Peering through squinted eyes, he could just make out the vague outline of the Maintenance Center. Imagining his lovers strong muscled body gleaming with sweat and streaked with Kloxton Grease 10w, Blair grinned.
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