Path: newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!elnk-nf2-pas!newsfeed.earthlink.net!newshub.sdsu.edu!newshosting.com!nx01.iad01.newshosting.com!yellow.newsread.com!news-toy.newsread.com!netaxs.com!newsread.com!POSTED.newshog.newsread.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated Approved: ascem@earthlink.net Organization: Better Living Thru TrekSmut Sender: ascem@earthlink.net Message-ID: From: "Nick" MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEML@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEML-owner@yahoogroups.com Subject: N2U TNG: "The Anthropology of Love" P/Q [NC-17] 3/3 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Lines: 361 Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 15:55:11 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.198.142.218 X-Complaints-To: Abuse Role , We Care X-Trace: newshog.newsread.com 1104422111 209.198.142.218 (Thu, 30 Dec 2004 10:55:11 EST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 10:55:11 EST Xref: news.earthlink.net alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated:86516 X-Received-Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 07:55:13 PST (newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net) See header info, etc in part 1/3. "Q!" Picard snapped, obviously struggling to keep his hips under=20 control. "Are you going to tell me why they=85 celebrate his murder or=20 are you=85 ahh=85 are you going to cheat until I beg you to fuck me?" Q's=20 eyes glittered up at his lover. "Cheat? Mon Capitaine, I would never. I'm sure you'll be=20 begging me to fuck you at some point, but I promise to have the=20 boring stuff completely out of the way by then." In answer to the=20 incredulous grimace on Jean-Luc's face, the entity trailed his=20 fingers higher and once again wrapped them around the solid, living=20 heat of the man's erection. Picard swallowed thickly and nodded his=20 approval. "Better? Good. Where was I? Oh, yes=85 He was Prime Minister=20 of Malon for sixty years, which is a long time for a Malon to be=20 anything other than alive. Their life spans were seventy, eighty=20 years if they were lucky, and by then Tephemus was one hundred=20 three." Q stroked Picard gently as he spoke, and although the man's=20 breathing remained relatively steady, his hips had begun to undulate=20 gently. The entity reveled in the way tight muscles stood out and=20 strained against each other to keep Jean-Luc from surrendering to the=20 pleasure his lover's hand brought him, but he had to withdraw himself=20 from his appreciation quickly, before it distracted him. "He started=20 to waste away. Cruelly, I guess, his mental faculties remained=20 largely intact as his body shriveled, and in spite of his infirmity=20 he showed no signs of actually beginning to die. It was like he was=20 being sucked through a vacuum tube that was far too small to take him=20 all at once, and so he went, little by little, with the end seeming=20 very far off." Panting now, Picard turned his head so that one side=20 of his face pressed into the purple bedding. Q stroked him more=20 firmly, almost losing his composure when the man's cock began to leak=20 a steady, slick stream of precum from its tip. Jean-Luc wanted him=20 and Q could almost taste his hunger, whether he went on trying to=20 rein it in or not.=20 "And=85?" Jean-Luc choked softly, his words muffled by his own=20 tight bicep as his lips pressed against it.=20 "Tephemus was miserable and his people could feel it. It made=20 the whole world sick and sad. His time had arrived and yet somehow=20 refused to come, and they were all wasting away with him. They tried=20 to convince him to take his own life, they told him that he had=20 taught them enough and given them enough history to manage without=20 him, but he refused." Picard arched, moaning softly and clasping his=20 hands above his head as Q dipped a slick hand down to massage his=20 balls gently.=20 "Why?" he gasped, trembling and digging his heels into the=20 bed.=20 "Being a mortal, I'm sure he was arrogant enough to think his=20 children couldn't get along without him, but his excuse was that the=20 gods forbade suicide, which was true." Rolling him tenderly in a long- fingered hand, Q smirked fondly down at the pleasure-filled face that=20 tightened as the man struggled to maintain his focus.=20 "They=85 they all do=85 it's bad for=85 population density=85"=20 "Of course, and the more awkward, primitive beings you have=20 on your favorite little planet, the more awkward, primitive=20 worshippers you have. Well, theoretically." Q went back to stroking=20 Picard's erection, his hand gliding easily over the natural=20 lubrication the man's arousal had provided for him. His gaze blurred=20 and his own body responded achingly as he watched Jean-Luc shudder=20 and widen his eyes. This was it; the man was going to come, finally.=20 He had held out longer than Q had expected, but now he was going to=20 shoot all over himself while the entity drank in every detail of his=20 bliss. Suddenly, though, another hand covered Q's and pulled it away,=20 smashing it against the trembling, sweating skin of Picard's chest. "No=85" the man panted, his hazy eyes blinking up at the=20 ceiling as he took a deep breath. "Just=85 just finish the story=85 and=20 then fuck me. Please, Q." Swallowing and allowing his hand to relax=20 where it had been placed, although the man's skin burned him with=20 need, Q groped for a way to maintain control. He pouted.=20 "You just broke my promise, Jean-Luc." Hard eyes, shimmering=20 with unshed tears of frustration, whipped away from the ceiling to=20 bore into him with an exasperated plea. Nodding, the entity gathered=20 himself together and averted his gaze. If he wasn't careful about=20 where he looked he was going to lose it and just take the man right=20 there, without giving him what he wanted first. In fact, he might not=20 even get inside him at all; he might just shudder and come all over=20 Jean-Luc's hip -- an unacceptable and humiliating possibility. "All=20 right," he murmured, shifting higher on the bed so that he could=20 cradle the man's head against his chest as he spoke. Picard encircled=20 him with strong arms and continued to tremble slightly, full of=20 bright, sparking sexual energy.=20 "Thank you."=20 "Of course." Q toyed chastely with Jean-Luc's earlobe and=20 their legs slithered together even as each was careful to keep his=20 erection from coming into more contact than was necessary with the=20 warm, provocative skin of his lover. "Where was I?" "You did get distracted," the man rumbled mirthfully against=20 Q's chest, squeezing his sensitive hipbone for emphasis. Q rolled his=20 eyes out of habit, knowing that Jean-Luc couldn't see him do it.=20 "Not as distracted as you got." "I had a hand around my cock; what's your excuse?" "I had a cock in my hand." They snickered together, caressing=20 each other's skin without realizing what they were doing and gasping=20 as their erections met by chance. "I'd better hurry," Q breathed,=20 clutching at Picard's shoulder and hoping it would anchor=20 him. "Really, where was I?" "He refused to throw himself out of the proverbial airlock." "Yes, right. When everyone who was thought to have any=20 influence over him had come back empty handed, his top attendants got=20 together and tried to decide what to do. The obvious solution was to=20 kill him --" "The obvious solution?" Jean-Luc snorted and, rolling his=20 eyes again, Q pressed a finger to the man's lips. "Hush, this is my story. The obvious solution was to kill him=20 and sacrifice their own places in the afterlife for his. He couldn't=20 off himself without suffering the gods' wrath, but that wasn't his=20 concern, really. His main concern was that it would be a betrayal of=20 their belief system, and since he was an ideological hero, his=20 attendants didn't really want him to do that either. They had only=20 tried to convince him to commit suicide because they couldn't stand=20 to see him, and, by extension, their world in misery. You can=20 understand that, can't you Jean-Luc?" "I suppose so, but=85" "But nothing. Let me finish." Picard grumbled but remained=20 otherwise silent, so Q continued. "They yanked on their little Malon=20 ears and paced on their wide Malon feet trying to come up with an=20 alternative, but there wasn't one. Really, Jean-Luc, it was like a=20 room full of you trying to figure out how to save the universe with a=20 wire and a piece of string." The man snorted against Q's chest, but=20 he ignored it. "Ultimately, they accepted the necessity of killing=20 him, and they went about planning it. They chose their martyrs from=20 among themselves -- " "How?" "Oh, I don't know! They drew lots! I thought you wanted to=20 hear the story. Here, let's give you something to keep your mouth=20 occupied." Grinning crookedly, Q pressed the tips of his first two=20 fingers against Picard's lips and when the man laughed he slipped=20 them inside. Sharp teeth threatened to close around them, and he=20 shifted to give his lover a stern look of warning. Jean-Luc rolled=20 his eyes and relaxed, scrunching his brows in a way that communicated=20 his whole-hearted feeling of absurdity. "Right, then. As I was=20 saying, they chose their martyrs from among themselves and said lots=20 of sing-songy Malon prayers while they tried to go about their normal=20 attendant business. If Tephemus got even the tiniest inkling, he'd=20 have to have them all strung up or risk complicity in his own murder,=20 which would have amounted to assisted suicide." Picard mumbled=20 something from around Q's fingers and the entity tapped his tongue=20 impatiently. "Those two you saw murdering him were called Felor and=20 Pim. Felor was Tephemus' personal assistant, I suppose you could say,=20 and Pim was something like a political analyst. They were chosen, or=20 they volunteered, or they drew the short lots, or whatever you like=20 to imagine, and they were given the privilege of going down in Malon=20 history as the two most appalling villains the world would ever know." "Mmnnlls?" Frowning, Q pulled his fingers out of Jean-Luc's=20 mouth and made a face and as he wiped the man's saliva across a=20 convenient patch of bedspread. "Villains?"=20 "Oh, yes. The entire world was in on it, in a sense. It had=20 to be a *real* murder or it wouldn't work. Once Felor and Pim were=20 chosen, they planned the event on their own so that none of the other=20 attendants could be faulted for failing to prevent it. The gods would=20 know if they were just going through the motions, you understand, and=20 the whole thing would become a sacrilege. As it was, Felor and Pim=20 were the only ones who would be held accountable in the afterlife."=20 When Picard shifted onto one elbow and furrowed his brow, Q could=20 fairly see the neurons bouncing around inside the man's brain.=20 "What happened to them afterwards?" "They were apprehended and executed publicly. Their faces=20 went into history books and their names became epithets." Jean-Luc's=20 frown deepened, and Q had to keep himself from giggling excitedly.=20 Very little made his Q-heart flutter harder than Picard did when he=20 was puzzling over something. His human heart was making a nuisance of=20 itself as well, but he was largely able to ignore it in favor of=20 watching his lover think.=20 "Let me see if I understand you. The Malons' beloved=20 patriarch and ideological hero became gravely ill, and they hadn't=20 the technology to cure him." "Mmm." "When it became clear that he was in terrible pain and that=20 his pain was affecting the world at large, they tried to convince him=20 to take his own life." "They did." Q smiled sweetly and nodded once. "And he refused." "He did." "On the grounds that to openly defy their gods that way would=20 be an unforgivable betrayal of their belief system." "Right." Brushing a knuckle under his nose, Jean-Luc opened=20 his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again, seeming to have=20 reconsidered his original thought. "So his=85 command staff, as it were, decided to kill him, thus=20 sparing him a harsh judgment in the afterlife and their people a loss=20 of faith in their sort of prophet prince, while still solving the=20 problem of his deterioration and their world's deterioration with=20 him." "Right again. You're good at this game, Jean-Luc." Picard=20 frowned. "Well, that much makes sense to me, I suppose, and perhaps=20 even the fact that they had to carry the charade through to the end,=20 to execute the murderers=85 but I'm not sure I understand why they had=20 to go on demonizing them when it was so obvious that their intentions=20 were honorable and their sacrifices heroic."=20 "If they'd all thrown up their hands in praise the minute=20 heads rolled, the sacrifices wouldn't have meant much, would they?=20 Particularly not to beings who don't see mortal death as the end of=20 existence."=09 "Perhaps not, but they were already giving the murder a wink and a=20 nod by initiating it in the first place. That the other attendants=20 didn't know when or how it was going to happen didn't alter the fact=20 that it'd been their idea, and telling their children that Felor and=20 Pim were terrible villains didn't stop them being heroes. How thick=20 did they imagine their gods to be, to be taken in by such a=20 transparent farce?" "Assume a virtue, if you have it not=85 For use almost can=20 change the stamp of nature," Q purred, grinning serenely. Jean-Luc=20 slapped his forehead and his eyes rolled back in his head. "Really, Q!" "If your beloved Shakespeare says it, you must believe it,=20 mustn't you?" The entity's human eyelashes were batting. He could=20 feel it, but he couldn't stop it. Picard scowled. "Of course not! And anyway, I hardly think this was the=20 situation he had in mind."=20 "Not specifically, no, but isn't that what you adore about=20 him? That his themes could be so universal despite their archaic=20 trappings? Besides, Jean-Luc, who are you to judge their gods or=20 their particular method of devotion to them?" "It is, among other things, and you're right, I'm no one."=20 Exhaling deeply, Jean-Luc laid back into the soft bedding and=20 squinted up at the ceiling. His eyes followed some unseen thought=20 pattern as they wandered, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, always=20 seeing nothing but the inside of his own mind. "But I do want to=20 understand," he murmured, still half engrossed in private thoughts.=20 "I know. It's a contradiction, like everything else that's=20 interesting in the universe. And that's not a coincidence, either;=20 contradiction is what *makes* things interesting," Q breathed,=20 lowering his lips to kiss that beloved chest, smiling as the gray- black hairs tickled his nose. Picard arched languidly against him,=20 sighing. "So I'm just supposed to accept that it's a contradiction?=20 That there is no answer other than that it worked for them?" Licking=20 a slow path through the recess between the man's pectoral muscles, Q=20 made his way toward Jean-Luc's neck. The man's skin was almost as=20 delicious as his thirst for understanding, and the entity shivered=20 slightly under the dual onslaught.=20 "What more do you want?" Picard tangled his hands in the Q's=20 soft, dark hair and tilted his head back, exposing his throat to=20 warm, wet kisses.=20 "I suppose=85 I want to understand, from their perspective, why=20 it was the only solution." When Q raised himself on his arms to look=20 down at his lover, Jean-Luc made a rumbling, inarticulate noise of=20 disappointment and slid his fingertips down to press imploringly=20 against the small of the entity's back. Q shivered again and licked=20 his lips playfully. "That doesn't seem to be the only thing you want. Anyway,=20 Jean-Luc, assuming we can manage to tear ourselves away from this bed=20 at any point in the next week, I'd planned to show you around. You=20 might find that it all makes more sense in context." Light flashed in=20 those impossibly shrewd hazel eyes and dark brows shot up for a=20 second before crinkling down again. "You planned all of this=85 this place, this=85 puzzle. For me."=20 Clearing his throat innocently, Q leaned down to press his mouth to=20 Picard's neck again. "I may have," he breathed against the sensitive, exposed=20 skin, reveling in the way the man squirmed beneath him. The entity=20 was tugged gently but firmly away from his prize, though, by a hand=20 in his hair that drew his gaze up until it met Jean-Luc's. Looking so=20 earnest that Q had to bite his tongue to keep from giggling, the man=20 caressed his cheekbone with a tender thumb.=20 "It is quite possibly the finest gift anyone's ever given me.=20 Thank you, Q." The entity felt his human face flush and his Q-self=20 tremble and sparkle with energy so warm and intimate it was almost=20 painful. He wanted to tell Jean-Luc that he was able to give such a=20 thoughtful gift because he knew the man so well, and that he knew him=20 so well because he loved him more than he'd ever loved anything.=20 Despite his vast intellect and his nearly infinite vocabulary,=20 though, Q couldn't think of anything to say that didn't sound trite,=20 fall agonizingly short of the mark, or lose its meaning in a swirl of=20 melodramatic hyperbole. Actions, then, would have to suffice.=20 With the immeasurable grace of familiarity and sincerity, Q eased=20 himself between Picard's loosely parted thighs and kissed his lover=20 in one smooth motion. The man's mouth opened almost instantly, and=20 Q's tongue filled him full of gratitude and pride and adoration and=20 everything else he felt for the strange mortal who had somehow=20 managed, through his own quest for personal improvement, to alter the=20 entity's exceedingly jaded and self-centered view of the Universe.=20 Jean-Luc's legs twined around his waist as easily as he had=20 positioned himself between them and soon the lovers were so lost in=20 each other that it was difficult to tell exactly how Q managed to=20 enter him. Q himself was not aware of making the attempt to do so,=20 only of the fact that, at some point, he found himself surrounded by=20 slick, welcoming heat. Picard was moaning softly into his mouth and=20 pressing him closer, and they moved together dreamily, feeling=20 nothing so specific as love or lust, but simply enjoying their=20 intimacy and the soft, fuzzy pleasure that enveloped them. When Jean- Luc's sleepy eyes flew open, wide and staring, Q was jarred into=20 realizing consciously that they were making love. They were here, on=20 an alien planet, long ago, pressed into alien sheets already once=20 anointed with their passion, and his beloved starship captain was=20 about to lose his mind with bliss. The thought of what was going to=20 happen to the awkward, mortal body he worshipped rolled Q's human=20 eyes back into his human head, wracked his human body with a deep,=20 convulsive shudder, sent his human seed rushing out of him and into=20 the man groaning and coming beneath him. That man, with his=20 curiosity, his need to understand, his integrity and everything else=20 that made him Jean-Luc Picard, was, Q knew, the finest gift anyone=20 had ever given him.=20 [The End] ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ASCEM messages are copied to a mailing list. Most recent messages can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEML. 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