WARNING: If it is illegal for you to be reading these stories or you find them disgusting or immoral, please refrain from reading further. Must be 18+ to read! Any characters, places, or people depicted in this story is entirely in the fantasy and imagination of the writer and in no way reflects his/her personal morals or beliefs when relating to relationships between minors and adults. Any people, places, or actions depicted in this story that reflect real life events or situations is entirely by accident or coincidence.
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Chapter Thirteen
I slept restlessly again. I was so conflicted; I wanted Michael but I wanted him to myself. I knew if I kept my affair with Travis going, I would fall in love with him. That was my epiphany of the night; I'm a rare breed I suppose, a monogamous man. If I tried to do things Michael's way, I would end up hating him in the end. I finally feigned a yawn and turned over.
"You stink of tom cat" I said, sleepily.
"Good morning to you too" Michael replied.
"I'm trying to be okay with your arrangement, but I honestly don't think I can" I said. "To you, sex and love are partitioned, for me they go hand in hand."
"So...you and Travis?" he said, afraid to ask the question.
"No, not yet anyway" I answered, "but it feels as if it's headed that way."
"Look, I love you, but I feel like my heart is big enough for many partners" he said.
"And that's exactly the gaping difference between us" I said, "when I love somebody, I love them completely. It would be unfair of me to cling to you considering the way you feel."
"I not that I don't love you, Henry" he said sadly.
"I know, but you love Faraji equally, if not more" I said.
"You were with Travis last night; how can you talk about me?" he said.
"I was with Travis in an act of spite, since you were going back to Faraji" I said, "afterward, I felt so guilty I hardly slept all night. I know I said it was okay, but my subconscious doesn't agree with me."
"Then what happens, I doubt they'll let us change spaces at will" he said.
"I don't know, I guess we'll find out" I said, "at any rate, the way the eavesdrop on our every conversation, I'm sure they know what's going on now."
Michael got up and got ready for work, I told him I worked 12 hours yesterday so I was taking off today. He left for work and I decided to go down and visit the dogs.
Whitney was on hub duty when I arrived.
"How can we help you today?" he asked. I almost asked to see Travis, but thought better of it.
"Are any of you good at dealing with...uh...personal...problems...love..." I stammered.
Whitney held up one finger in a `wait' gesture, then punched up a code on the com.
"Rodavan, do you have time for a consult?" he said.
"I can make time, I'll be right out" the man said.
"Rodavan specialized in interpersonal relationships at Oxford" he said.
"Zdravo" said the large black and brown Balkan hound hybrid entering the room, "Hello."
"Hello, I'm Henry from downstairs. Sorry to inconvenience you, I was hoping we might talk."
"Sure. To tell you the truth, I grow weary of always running scenarios for the upper echelon. My specialty is people. I like to solve problems" he said, "come on back."
Of course, in these circumstances, he didn't have an office set up for patients, so we went to his quarters and sat in the two chairs there.
"So, what is the problem you're experiencing, Henry?" he asked.
I explained the whole situation briefly, intentionally leaving Travis' name out, and Rod (as he asked me to call him) thought it over.
"Well...the first thing you should do is find out if the other man you are seeing is wired similar to you. There is the possibility that he is polyamorous, same as Michael. It's really something you should know so that you aren't just trashing one relationship to begin another doomed one."
"True, I suppose" I said, "I left out one twist, Rod, the new person is not of my species group."
"Ahhh...well, that does propose several additional possible problems. Will GREG allow different species to cohabitate? I wish I had an answer for that question for you, but I'm afraid you would have to address an issue like that to Dr. Wilson or perhaps Monsieur Laurent. At any rate, I would say follow your heart, if possible, if not you may prefer celibacy to guilt and resentment."
"Rodavan, thank you for talking to me. I'll take your advice and try to clear all the obstacles before I burn any bridges" I said.
"My pleasure, what little help I've been for you" he said, walking me back to the lift. At the hub, Whit was talking to Travis, who looked up in surprise then quickly caught himself.
"Henry, what brings you to see us today?" he said emotionlessly.
"I just needed to talk to someone about relationship problems" I replied.
"You and Michael? Who would have thought..." he said.
"Well, I'm off today so I'm headed to Tarka's to swim until I turn into a prune. Thank you again for your time gentlemen" I said.
"My shift is over in thirty minutes; I may see you there" Travis said.
"You guys have a great day" I said, stepping onto the lift. I pushed the button for L35 and disappeared behind the closing doors.
"Are you and Tarka exclusive with each other?" I asked Otto as we floated on our backs in the water.
"Are you propositioning me?" Otto said with a smile.
"No, just a simple question, are you monogamous or just throw down with anybody who's around?" I said.
"We tried the partner-swapping scheiße with the others on our level. Tarka and Robert even tried each other's company. But over the years we've found we prefer it when we are only with each other. I suppose one would say we are both monogamous" he said, "does this have anything to do with Michael?"
"Unfortunately, it has everything to do with Michael" I replied. He nodded and remained silent until Tarka came down to the water's edge with a lunch basket.
"Good thing I packed enough for friends" Tarka said, "Good to see you Henry. Come eat."
We were making sandwiches when a worried-looking Travis showed up.
"What were you doing up there?" he said, "You know that those three report everything that goes on to Chris Wilson."
"Good" I said, "that means a question I have will be addressed without my having to deal with that asshole."
I sat silently chewing my sandwich with Travis staring at me intently.
"Would you like me to make you a sandwich?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No...wait. Yes, anything but tuna" he said, relaxing a little.
"The man has the nerve to come to our space and vilify our sandwich fixings!" Tarka said with a grin.
"Nah, I've just never liked the stuff" Travis said.
"Roast beef then, or ham?" I asked.
"Ham and cheese" he said, "heavy on the mayo."
"Yes sir, coming right up" I replied.
We ate our sandwiches and chatted with the otters for a little while, then I told him we needed to talk. I told Tarka we were going across to the island and asked if he could give us 15 or 20 minutes to talk before anybody joined us. The otters agreed and we took off leaving a trail of clothes to the water's edge. On the other side I explained to him why I was talking to Rodavan, which he still didn't think was a good idea.
"How do you feel about relationships?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Do you believe that everybody should go around fucking everybody else or do you believe in a stable monogamous relationship?" I asked.
"Is this about last night?" he asked, "you could have said no at any time and I would have backed off."
"Why are you avoiding the question?" I asked, "Do you believe relationships are for two dedicated people, or can groups all be in love with each other?"
"Look, Henry, I know what you're thinking. I am paired with Simon. I understand. But here's the thing, we are a pair, but we've never been a `couple', hell, we're not even friends – more like college roommates. We sleep in separate beds, for God's sake. So, if this is about us cheating on our partners; I don't really have one and yours doesn't seem to care."
"DAMN! It's hard to get a simple answer out of you, puppy. Answer my question" I said, getting really frustrated.
"Okay. I believe that if you truly love someone, you will have no desire to share them with anybody else. If it were me and Michael were my mate and he was fucking around with Faraji, I would have none of it. He would be shut off from me. Does that answer satisfy you? I know it's probably not what you wanted to hear but I'm not wired to be one of many, and by the way, if you decide you want me, you have a choice to make buddy." His eyes were on fire and I could feel the waves of passion pouring off of him.
"What was so hard about that?" I smiled, "You may have just won the grand prize, my friend. I'm working on things right now. Rod was part of my plan. Let's see what becomes of our conversation when it hits the folks upstairs." I leaned over and kissed him on the nose and scratched him behind the ears.
Tarka stepped out of the water and approached us. "Are you two done with your little drama?" he asked.
"Yes. I think I have a solid plan of action now" I said.
"Well, just remember, you and Michael might not be compatible in one way, but don't end your friendship. I can tell you are very amicable toward each other; probably just better as friends rather than lovers."
"Robert tells me he expects that by this coming weekend, Russell will have cracked the mystery security code" he said "that will open worlds of opportunity for us."
"Where on earth would we go?" I asked, "We would be accepted literally nowhere."
"True, there may be no place on the face of the earth where we could call home; but through the stone door..."
"Has there been progress on that?" I asked.
"Thanks to you, very possibly" he said, "Moussa and your boyfriend's boyfriend, Faraji, have been working on a portable, non-destructive molecular agitation device."
"If we only knew if it was an escape route or a trap..." I said, "...and there's still the problem of the heavily guarded chamber of horrors that allegedly exists down there."
"Working on that too. In the case of a sudden power outage, only certain things keep working on emergency backup. One of those things is the elevator. One of the things that does not is the big brother camera system" he said. "Imagine if you will, that all like-minded individuals happened to be down here swimming when the power goes out. Further expand your mind to imagine those same people getting into an unencrypted elevator and dropping to L50."
"That would still be insanity" I said, "we have no bloody idea of what the situation is down there."
"Once Russell is done, we will. We'll have complete access to the security camera system" he said.
Noah walked into the biodome. Tarka waved and bid him to come over. He sliced across the water like, well, like an otter.
"Strange news just came across the com" he said, "Laurent just announced that it had come to his attention that some of us are not happy with our arranged partners. Level 41 is going to be opened up to any mixed couples wishing to cohabitate."
"My goodness, how about that?" Tarka said sarcastically.
"Travis, if you will have me to be yours and you will be mine, go pack your belongings and meet me on L41" I said. Tarka and Otto smiled, Noah looked confused.
"I'll explain it to you later" Otto said.
"I'll beat you there!" Travis said.
"Gents, I have a relationship to end and a friendship to salvage. Wish me luck" I said as I dove into the water to make my way back.
"I heard. I guess this means you'll be leaving" Michael said.
"Yes, I still consider you to be my best friend, I hope it can stay that way" I said looking into his eyes.
"I was hoping you'd feel that way too" he said. We hugged and he kissed me on the cheek. "I'll miss our cuddling at night."
"Don't start, you'll have me crying" I said, "besides we can cuddle without penetration" I added.
I gathered up my surprisingly scant belongings and stuffed them in a garbage bag. Michael looked so alone sitting on the edge of the bed by himself. As I turned for the door, I heard him on the com with Faraji, inviting him to come down for a visit. I just shook my head and continued on toward the lift. When the doors opened, there was my Travis. I hit the button for 41 and down we went.
Lambodara 10/19/20
"Hello, hello, hello...is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone home?