I awoke briefly to turn over in bed but found that something--or more precisely someone--was snuggled up against my side with his arm draped across my chest. Simon had apparently climbed into bed with me at some point during the night. Instantly, I was fully awake, but I didn't dare try to move. I barely even dared to breathe.
Simon was laying on his side with his entire warm body pressed against mine. His head was nestled against my torso, and each of his breaths tickled the few hairs I had on my chest. I could feel one of his legs lying across my own, and as he moved slightly the delicate sole of his foot rubbed along my shin. Although I couldn't quite tell for sure, I expected that his groin was also pressed against my upper thigh. Needless to say, I was about as hard as it was possible to be.
I was also pretty sure that I wasn't still asleep and dreaming, but nonetheless this absolutely was a dream! In my whole life, I had never been so close to a boy. I could even feel the steady beat of his little heart pulsing against my ribs, and he must have been a heavy sleeper because my own heart was hammering against my chest.
As carefully as I could manage I tilted forward just enough to press my nose against the top of his head. The smell of his hair was... well, not quite what I was expecting. It wasn't bad or stinky, but it had a stale scent like plastic or ozone. I inhaled more deeply, and this time I could just make out the scent of boy buried somewhere underneath the other smells. Perhaps having been locked in a stasis pod for so long had caused his skin and hair to absorb the pod's odors. So I added another item to my growing list of things to do today: Have Simon take a shower.
The time strip above the cabin's door pulsed briefly: 05:37. I was normally an early riser, usually a bit earlier than this on most days, and I was surprised that Simon's very welcome intrusion hadn't roused me. I must have really been out of it.
I slowly moved my right arm and lovingly caressed Simon, starting with his hand that was lying on my chest and moving up to his shoulder. I tried to be gentle, but not so much that it would tickle and cause him to wake. I massaged the tender junction between his shoulder and neck, moving my thumb in little circles, while marveling at how pleasantly warm he felt. My thumb brushed over a thin line on his skin near the base of his skull. Maybe it was a scar or a birthmark.
Just then, something jumped up onto the edge of the bed and attacked my hand! I reflexively yanked my arm back and, for the second time in two days, bashed my elbow hard against the wall!
"Fu..." I started to shout, before managing to stifle the sound. However, my attempt was in vain as Simon raised up in mild alarm.
Josie--the hand assassin--leaped off the bed as she retreated into the shadows.
"Good morning," I offered, in a pained whisper.
"Hi," Simon replied, yawning. "What happened?"
"Josie surprised me, and I banged my elbow against the wall. I'm okay." That was a lie. My elbow stung pretty intensely, and with Simon at my side I couldn't move my left arm to help soothe it. Instead, I had to settle for rubbing it clumsily against the bed.
Simon laid his head back down and snuggled his face against my side. Sharing such an intimate moment with a boy was a wonderful new experience for me. Except for the radiating waves of pain, I was in bliss.
He yawned again and stretched. Absentmindedly he extended his hand down onto my stomach, progressively moving to my abdomen, and then lower still. I tried to intercept his hand before it made contact, but with my numbed elbow I wasn't fast enough. His little hand brushed against my boner, then curiously proceeded to squeeze it through my underwear as if he were trying to identify a strange alien artifact.
I pulled his hand away in shock as I quickly sat up. I tried to distract him from what had just happened by feigning a yawn. It was a lame attempt. And it didn't work.
"What was that?" he asked curiously, also sitting up.
Not sure how else to respond I opted for the truth. "Sometimes my penis is hard when I first wake up."
"Mine is too," Simon said, playfully. He reached down to adjust himself, and I briefly felt his penis brush against my my thigh as he moved it.
I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take. You have to realize that my experience in this particular department was exactly zero. I was a boy lover, sure, but in title only. I routinely pleasured myself while enjoying my extensive collection of boy holovids, but I don't think I had actually laid eyes on a real life naked boy in over a decade. So when the hottest boy I've ever seen says he's hard and rubs his boner against my leg, you can understand why I consider that to be a pretty big fucking deal!
"Why was yours wet?" he asked.
I was about to lose it. Again, I decided on the truth, though I wasn't quite sure how to explain it. "Sometimes, when you're older... if your penis gets really hard, a clear liquid can leak out."
"Why?" His question had a more curious tone rather than of disgust.
And that's when I knew it was time to get up. "We can talk more about this later, okay?" I offered feebly, hoping to change the subject. I wasn't quite prepared to explain the facts of life to Simon, and I was fairly certain that if I didn't calm things down soon I'd be exploding into my underwear.
I carefully disentangled myself from the boy's splayed limbs and scooted past him to sit at the foot of the bed. Simon watched me critically.
"Why don't we go make you some new clothes?" I suggested. "Then we can get cleaned up and have some breakfast. Sound good?"
Simon nodded his approval. While he walked across the room to pee I deftly pulled on some pants to help conceal my boner, which unfortunately refused to deflate. I noted that Simon was again staring at my groin, but there wasn't much else I could do. He grabbed Isaac the otter and we headed to the cargo bay, while I greeted Isaac the AI and discussed the drones' progress. He informed us that the drones only had a few more plates to install and should be finished in a couple more hours. During the conversation, Simon slipped his free hand into mine as we walked. It was a rather sweet gesture.
Our first stop was the fabricator, which resided in the cargo bay. It was a big machine that was essentially a printer for many basic supplies. Raw materials, metals, and scraps were stored in its various compartments, and an army of nanobots could use them to fabricate new items, components, and parts. Clothing and items that were mainly constructed of only one or a couple materials were very easy and fast to fabricate. More complicated items took longer or were impossible to create. It was extremely handy for making common replacement parts for the ship, and even the drones routinely used it to assist with their tasks.
"Simon," I said with a smile. "Come stand right here and hold out your hand."
He looked apprehensive but did as he was told.
"Don't worry. You'll like this." I handed him a small object that looked like a silver coin. "This is a nanodisk. Hold it in the palm of your hand. The nanobots inside are going to take a scan of your body so that we can make you some new clothes."
"Will they hurt?" he asked, slightly worried.
"No," I reassured him. "Not at all. In fact, it will feel like your whole body is tingling all over. You'll like it. I promise. You can even keep holding Isaac."
"Will they go in my mouth?"
I laughed. "No, all of your holes are completely safe. The nanobots are pretty smart, and they know where and where not to go."
Once he was ready I activated the nanodisk. Simon watched his palm intently hoping to see the tiny bots flying out of the disk, but they were far too small to perceive. They were a more basic version of the nanobots used for the nanopacks, but the general idea was the same.
"It kind of tickles," he giggled. "I can feel them everywhere!"
Everywhere? Suddenly, I found myself becoming jealous of the nanobots. "Hold still just a few more seconds. They're almost done."
Once the nanobots were finished I handed my tablet to Simon and had him make a few selections for different styles of clothes and colors. He seemed to prefer lighter clothing options like short-sleeve shirts, shorts, and sandals, which all suited me just fine--the more I could see of him the better. His favorite colors were blue and purple, but I also added a few white, gray, and teal selections for variety.
I fabricated an outfit for him to wear after our showers, then I queued up the rest of the items to print while we headed to the bathroom. I was actually pretty nervous to tell the truth. On one hand, I was was excited about getting to see Simon naked. On the other, I was worried about what he might think about my body's reaction to seeing him naked. I knew I was probably just overthinking things, but I didn't want to freak him out. I wasn't shy about nudity in general. At the aquatic facility I always went swimming naked, as did most of the other species. Seeing naked aliens didn't really do much for me, whereas seeing a naked Simon... for fuck's sake, I already had a boner, and we hadn't even made it to the bathroom.
I still hadn't pissed this morning, so I told Simon to grab us some towels while I ducked into a stall. It took longer than normal for my bladder to cooperate. All the while I was trying to force myself to think of increasingly disgusting things to alleviate my stimulated condition: albino khoroats, ylldroxian anal crevices, human female vaginas! However, nothing really worked. Resigned to my fate, I exited the stall.
Apparently, I needn't have been so worried. What I saw literally made my mouth fall open as I froze in place to stare. Simon was sitting on the bench near the shower with his little feet dangling just slightly above the floor. He had already taken the liberty of removing his underwear, and he was casually poking and prodding his own boner while he waited. Words cannot fully describe how beautiful he looked, so I won't waste time trying. Suffice it to say, I was completely enthralled.
Simon looked up at me with a slight smile on his face, but he didn't speak. He just continued swinging his feet and pinching the tip of his penis. Maybe I returned his smile, maybe I said something, and maybe I magically floated through the air to sit on the bench beside him. I was so entranced that I all I remember is Simon himself.
"Are you ready?" Simon asked, starring at my pants.
"Oh, I'm..." I mumbled, finally coming to my senses. "Almost."
There was nothing else to be done. I stood up and removed my pants. My erection had already been evident, but now it was tenting my underwear nearly straight at Simon's face.
"Kyle, yours is wet again," he said, grinning and pointing at the growing wet spot on my underwear.
And now for the moment of truth. I slid my underwear down, causing my penis to spring back up. A clear strand of pre-cum stretched out and was left dangling from the end of my boner. Before I realized what he was doing, Simon had reached out and touched the strand.
"Whoa..." he said amazed, as he rubbed it between his thumb and finger. "It's all slimy."
"Yeah," I uttered, as my voice cracked slightly.
"What is it?" he asked, returning to the conversation from earlier in the morning.
I sighed, knowing that I might as well get this out of the way now. I sat back down and motioned for him to do the same. I must have been blushing pretty badly, but Simon seemed too preoccupied with my penis and its fluids to notice.
"It's called pre-cum," I said, as I pulled back my foreskin to reveal the head and more of the glistening liquid. "Guys make it when their penises get really hard and excited."
"Why?"
I wasn't quite sure how to respond. Rather than trying to answer his question I asked one of my own: "Simon, have you ever played with your penis by rubbing it up and down?"
He looked confused, so I slowly demonstrated the motion on myself a few times. However, I quickly had to stop. After all of the sexual tension from earlier, along with the fact that I was now sitting beside a beautiful naked boy while stroking my penis, I was dangerously close to shooting my load onto the bathroom ceiling! If I wasn't careful, Simon's crash course in the facts of life was about to skip right to the final exam.
"Sometimes," he said. "Is that when you get the good feeling?"
His question surprised me. "Yes. It's called an orgasm. How do you know about that?"
"My friend Alex told me about it."
"Who is Alex?" I asked, intrigued.
"He was my friend on Olgorren." Simon explained that Alex was twelve and had told him about sex and the good feeling, but Simon had never been able to make it happen. I suspected that Olgorren had been his home. Perhaps it was a colony world.
As Simon was talking I began to sense a subtle shift in his tone. It seemed as if talking about his friend and home might be reminding him of his family. And since I wasn't eager to push him into another meltdown and risk being electrocuted in the shower, I quickly tried to lighten the mood.
"I know another kind of good feeling," I said playfully, as I squeezed Simon's knee with one hand and lightly poked his ribs with my other. Thankfully, it had the desired effect, and he began squirming with laughter. I repositioned and pulled him into a hug so that his back was pressed against my side with my arms draped around his neck. He tilted his head to look up at me. Surrendering to the moment, I leaned my head forward and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead.
I hugged him tightly a few moments longer before finally guiding him into the shower. I demonstrated how the ceiling-mounted nozzles could produce a variety of sprays and effects by using voice commands. After lathering up with the initial spray we experimented with different options. Simon was most fond of the heavy rain setting that produced a downpour of large drops. He stood there with his arms stretched out and his eyes closed, just enjoying the wet and warm sensation.
Simon had his back turned to me, and that's when I first noticed two thin scar lines that ran parallel down along both sides of his spine. They were very faint, perhaps made more visible by the warmth of the water. I could also see the scar on the back of his neck that I had felt earlier this morning. I decided that it was time for some answers. After breakfast, we would need to sit down and figure some things out. I didn't want to upset Simon. I would have much preferred to allow the boy to face his grief on his own terms when he was ready, but the nature of his condition could have very dangerous consequences if ignored.
After drying off, Simon dressed in his new outfit: a blue shirt, purple shorts, and a pair of sandals. The colors contrasted beautifully with his skin and pale blond hair, which I helped him to brush at one of the mirrors. Standing there, clad in his new clothes and hugging his stuffed otter in his arms, he was beyond cute. He was a dream come to life.
We went back to my cabin so I could grab an outfit of my own before heading to the galley. Josie met us in the corridor, apparently having been off on her own, probably searching for other hands to kill. She watched us curiously as we ate breakfast. I decided to give her a test by tossing a scrap of food onto the floor. She ran to it, sniffed it a few times, looked back at us as if insulted, then returned to her original spot.
"I really like your cat," I told Simon.
"Thanks," he replied. "How come?"
"Well, she's pretty much the purrfect cat," I said, causing him to giggle at my joke. "She doesn't eat, doesn't poop, and doesn't shed. She's practically immortal since we can just repair her if anything breaks, and we can recharge her if she runs out of power."
"And she's also very cute," I added. "Just like you."
Simon beamed his little boy smile at me in response. Josie just continued to glare.
We sat and talked for a few minutes longer until Simon finished eating. I was also thinking to myself about how best to get information from the boy without causing him too much distress. I tried to imagine what it must be like for Simon and how I would feel in his position. Discussing these sensitive topics was necessary and would undoubtedly hurt, but maybe doing so in a relaxing place would lessen the pain. I thought it was worth a try.
I walked with Simon to the ship's helm. I sat in the pilot's chair, and Simon sat beside me in the copilot's seat. Billions of stars stretched across the cockpit, interspersed throughout the blue and green clouds of the Revlor Nebula. If Olgorren had indeed been Simon's home, then maybe it was somewhere out there.
"Kyle, the drones report that the hull plates have been fully installed," said Isaac. "I have them cleaning up the cargo bay now."
"Thanks buddy. I guess we're all done here. Let's set a course to Grenborne Station. Standard speed."
"Aye aye Captain!" replied Isaac in a mock pirate's voice. It was both cute and a little disturbing. Simon found it funny though.
We watched the stars begin to rotate across our field of view until the clouds of the nebula were no longer visible, but there were equally as many stars in this new direction as well. I reached across and patted Simon's bare leg. "Here we go."
Suddenly the stars all winked out, replaced instantly by what appeared at first to be a black endless void. However, once our eyes had adjusted, we could make out the almost imperceptible shimmer of countless colors. The glass of the cockpit refracted the lights which caused the darkened helm to sparkle faintly with every color in the spectrum. The effect was very mild, and probably wouldn't have been enough to see by without the aid of the various controls and displays scattered around the helm.
Simon gasped and looked around the helm in wonder. "Whoa..."
"Neat huh?" I asked, also in awe.
"Yeah!" he answered. "Is this astral space?"
"It is indeed," said Isaac. His four-year-old voice was back to normal. "Grenborne Station ETA is 3.51 days."
I sat quietly trying to gather my thoughts while Isaac and Simon chatted with each other about astral space and the station. Finally, I took the plunge.
"Simon," I began. "You're nine years old, correct?"
"Yep," he replied.
"Nice! What's your birthday?"
"March third."
"Oh no," said Isaac. "We just missed it. Today is March seventh."
"Well," I said cheerfully. "I'm sure we can make it up to him with a late birthday present once we reach Grenborne."
Simon grinned from ear to ear at those words and performed a little wiggle in his seat.
"Now that you're going to be living with us on the ship," I said gingerly, "it's probably a good idea if we knew more about each other. I'd like for the three of us to be able to talk about anything."
"That sounds good to me," said Isaac. I hadn't spoken to him about my intentions, but I think he understood what I was trying to achieve.
Simon didn't reply and just starred ahead at the instrument panel. Having spent the last day with Simon during some rather stressful moments I was beginning to notice certain cues about his moods. I could tell that he was becoming tense.
"Isaac already knows this about me," I said, "but I sometimes have dreams that come true."
Simon turned to look at me. "Really?"
"Yes. I even had a dream about you, Simon, the night before we found your pod. I dreamed you were floating in space. Then the very next day we found you."
There was a long awkward silence. Damn. Maybe a more direct approach was necessary after all.
"What can you tell us about your implants, Simon?" I asked, hopefully. "Isaac and I probably should know more about them in case we ever need to help you."
Simon hesitated, as if he was struggling with a decision. Finally, he spoke: "My body makes lots of electricity sometimes. My implants help me keep from making too much."
"Do you know how or why your body creates the electricity?" I asked, amazed.
"When I was seven I was exploring with Alex. We found a cave, and inside there was this weird metal liquid. I slipped and fell into it, but Alex pulled me out. I swallowed a bunch of it though, and it made me really sick. My mom and dad had to put me in a pod for almost three years to save me while they tried to figure out what was wrong. They were scientists. Most of the people in my colony were scientists. They said the liquid was an electrical magnet fluid..."
"Electromagnetic fluid," Isaac corrected.
I wished I could have given Isaac an evil stare. He should have known better than to interrupt the kid when he was on a roll.
Simon Continued: "Yeah, that. They tested the electro magnet fluid and said it got into my body. Then they made my implants and put one in my back and one in my head."
Wow, I had so many questions. "That's incredible Simon. Do the implants ever need maintenance, and when you get older will you need replacements?"
"No," he said, sounding a bit unsure. "I don't think so. The one in my back grows with me I think."
"Are you able to make the electricity whenever you want? I asked. "Can you control it?"
Simon seemed to be thinking about the question. "A little bit. If I try real hard I can make little shocks, but the big ones happen when I feel bad, sometimes. My mom said I might be able to one day."
As he mentioned his mom I could hear in his voice that he was about to cry. I reached across and took hold of his hand. Even though I was expecting it, the shock still caused my arm to convulse, but I didn't pull away.
"I'm sorry!" he whimpered. "I'm not trying to hurt you Kyle. I can't help it."
"It's okay Simon." I said soothingly. "I still love you no matter what."
It just came out.
"I love you too, Isaac," I added, somewhat panicked.
Isaac responded in kind, and I wondered if it was sincere or just a programmed response. Simon remained quiet but he didn't cry. Even so, I knew his grief was weighing heavily on him, and it was something that only time could begin to heal. There were still more questions that I wanted to ask, but they could wait. Simon would tell me when he was ready.
We spent the rest of the day playing games in the lounge, flying around in the antigravity room, and just enjoying each other's company. When it was time for bed Isaac ignored his mattress on the floor and climbed into mine instead. I didn't object.
Rather than dimming the lights, I left the door to the corridor partially open so that Josie could come and go as she pleased. The corridor lights were themselves dimmed, so there was still enough light that we could see a little bit within the cabin.
We laid snuggled together for a long while, not really saying anything of much importance. We both had some pretty weighty issues on our minds, but we were content to keep them to ourselves. Or so I thought.
"What happens when we die?" Simon asked, nonchalantly.
Wow.
"Well..." I said, buying for time. "Different people believe different things."
It was a generic copout response. I know that. But I wasn't used to answering such poignant questions, especially from a little boy who was grieving the death of his parents and everyone else he had ever known. That kind of thing puts a lot of pressure on a person.
"What do you believe?" he asked.
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Then I took another. "Honestly, Simon, I'm not sure what I believe. I don't think anyone really knows."
Suddenly, I grasped what he was really asking. Simon wasn't being curious. He was trying to find solace.
"I don't think this life is all there is. I think our lives are like stories, and the people we love are the characters in our stories. Sometimes characters leave your story, and sometimes new characters are introduced. But even if someone you love leaves your story, I think... I believe that characters never really die. You'll see each other again in the next story."
I didn't know if Simon understood what I had said. I didn't even know if I had understood it. However, it was a comforting thought, so maybe it was something that was worth believing in.
Neither of us spoke. We just held each other, exploring our own thoughts, until sleep overtook us.