Untouchable (LGBT - SciFi - Romance)

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

Max had seen the slight hesitation before Alan had told him there was no-one else in his life. Had Alan lied to him? He felt instantly ashamed, no, he was sure Alan hadn't lied to him but maybe he hadn't told the whole truth either. There was someone, someone he was interested in. Max spent the next few days carefully studying every man he came in contact with, paying special attention when he saw anyone near Alan. It didn't take him long to realise there was something between Alan and Banner, the cute Medic. He didn't think anyone else had noticed but he was paying extra close attention. 

He found Alan easy to read. He was attracted to Banner. He could tell this just by the way he was so scrupulous in keeping him at arm's length. If there had been no attraction, he would have told Banner flatly that he had nothing to worry about and to get over it. Because he had not done so indicated, to Max at least, that Banner did have something to worry about. Max found the Medic less easy to figure out. He seemed to like Alan, often seeking him out to tell him more about the dragon project he was working on or to sit at his table for dinner, but always when there were other men at the table too. However, it seemed as soon as he became aware of what he was doing, or Alan got too close he would back carefully away. Max began to wonder if he was protecting himself because he really was homophobic or whether in fact it was because he was the opposite.  

He wondered how he could find out for certain.  

Michael Banner finished his research article on the desert dragons and went in search of Alan Stewart to seek his opinion. Although Stewart wasn't a biologist he had a keen mind and Banner respected his advice. He found him on duty on the bridge. "I'll be free in about thirty minutes," the Lieutenant advised. 

"Could you cast your eyes over my article?" Banner asked. "It should only take about ten minutes."  

"Fine, I'll come down and see you shortly." Stewart promised. 

He'd thought nothing of it at the time but when he found himself being invited into Banner's cabin half an hour later, he wondered whether they should have arranged to meet in the common room. Oblivious to his qualms, Banner shut the door and sat down on the edge of the bed, leaving the single chair for the Lieutenant. He turned on his console, angling it so that Stewart could see the screen. The Lieutenant tried to concentrate on the text in front of him, pushing away his awareness of the other man and the fact that they were alone in his cabin. He could hear his breathing, smell the light masculine scent of the soap he had used, see the squashed pillow his head had rested on and the rumpled covers of his bed. His pulse hammered as Banner stood up to lean over and point out something on the screen, resting one hand on his shoulder, he could feel the heat of it through the material of his uniform, the side of his face now only centimetres from his own. 

He said something, it must have made sense because Banner was nodding thoughtfully. He wanted him to stay close like that forever, he wanted to get as far away from him as possible, he needed to leave.  

"We should probably talk about this in the common room. It might give the wrong impression if someone notices we're both in here with the door shut," he gave a light, natural sounding laugh and got carefully to his feet. He turned and found himself face to face with Banner. The other man had flushed red with painful self-consciousness but his eyes were staring at Alan's mouth, so close to his. The only time men ever looked at him like that they'd wanted him to ... Alan leant forward and kissed him, startling them both. So much for his three unbreakable rules, although he had a strong suspicion his first rule no longer applied. 

Banner's lips parted in shock and Alan didn't hesitate. He slipped his tongue in between them, exploring his mouth, going deeper as Michael didn't protest. His hands slid round to cup Michael's bottom, pulling his hips up against him as he sucked hard on his tongue, drawing it into his own hot mouth. God that felt good. But then Banner wrenched his mouth away, his hands coming up between them, pushing Alan back as hard as he could. 

"Don't. Please." The words were hoarse, Banner's eyes wide and panicked. 

Alan stared at him, breathing heavily. "I'm sorry! I thought you wanted ..." He broke off as Michael continued to look at him with the eyes of an animal caught in a trap. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "Tell me I made a mistake and you're not interested and I'll leave right now. I promise I won't bother you again." 

Michael swallowed hard before he could speak, "You made a mistake. I'm not interested." The words were very low. He realized his hands were still resting on Alan's chest and dropped them as if he had been burned. 

"Right then." Alan straightened up and stepped back from him. He didn't believe him but he wasn't going to argue. Maybe he was fooling himself, just wishing for something that he wanted, rather desperately, to be true. "I'm sorry." Alan apologised stiffly for the third time. Maybe he'd just made a total idiot of himself. 

Banner stepped aside rather shakily to let him pass. Just as he was going out the door, Banner spoke again, still in a low voice, his eyes looking at a spot over his shoulder. "If you check the regulations, you'll see that I couldn't possibly be interested." He shut the door behind Alan, and locked it. 

Alan went to his quarters and immediately searched through the regulations on 'medical staff'. Nothing. He drummed his fingers on his wrist com. He tried again under 'homosexuals'. It didn't take him long to find what Banner had been talking about. 

"Exemption Rule 158A: Rule 158 does not apply to any person holding a medical position. Homosexuals are strictly prohibited from holding any medical position on ships of the following types, P108, P112, M394 and M401. Any person holding a medical position who is subsequently found to be homosexual will be dismissed immediately." 

The Lieutenant stared blankly into space for a long time, then he spent an hour hitting everything he could in the gym and took a long cold shower, neither of which really helped. 

He thought maybe Banner had been lying to him when he said he wasn't an om. He thought maybe he'd been lying when he said he wasn't interested in him. It was all he could do to stop himself from running down to his cabin and forcing Banner to tell him the truth, taking him in his arms and kissing him senseless, until his mouth was hot and swollen from his kisses, throwing him down on the bed and ... He took a deep breath and read Exemption Rule 158A again. 

Everyone knew about Rule 158 but he could honestly say he had never paid attention to Exemption Rule 158A until now. Fuck! What a god damn stupid rule. It was like a kilometre high, kilometre wide, stone wall between them. He couldn't approach Banner again. He couldn't be alone with him. He didn't think he could even talk to him. What on Earth was he going to do?