Last Chance by Victoria Zagar Read Free Book Online Page A

eternity.
    Their breaths became more husky and uncontrolled as Anton’s hand slipped between them, feeling the shape of Julian’s desire through his uniform pants.
    “Ah.” Julian’s breathless gasp spoke a million volumes as Anton unzipped his pants. Julian bit his lip as he felt Anton’s warm hand encircle his cock, taking it in experienced hands and stroking it with husky, labored breaths. He knew he would come if he just let Anton continue, yet he put his hand on Anton’s wrist, a silent plea to stop for a moment.  
    Anton froze, uncertain for a second and Julian smiled, feeling the transfer of power. He reached for Anton’s pants and unzipped them, pulling them down with awkward motions and then pulling Anton’s hips towards him. Flesh met flesh and they both gasped, grinding together, their hips and mouths locked in a dance, a battle for love and control.
    It was almost accidental as Julian slipped over the edge, his head thrown back against the wall, Anton’s lips on his neck as he came with a cry. Anton followed, his head resting on Julian’s shoulder as pleasure coursed through him and his seed spilled on Julian’s chest.
    Julian had those sparkling tears in his eyes again and Anton leaned in for a tender kiss. “Don’t look so sad,” he whispered.
    “There was so much more that I--”
    “We’ll do it when we get back.” Anton’s words were spoken with so much authority that Julian let himself believe them for a moment before once again understanding the predicament that they were in. The odds of both of us surviving a mission that even the crew officer calls “suicide” are... He let his thoughts slip away as Anton kissed him again.
    “Come on.” Anton smiled and rifled through the shelves of supplies until he found a box of kitchen towels. They cleaned up wordlessly and made themselves presentable before Anton unlocked the door. They slipped out into the hallway and back to their dorm, where pilots were hastily scrawling their final letters and recording video logs in case they didn’t make it back.
    “I don’t want to watch this,” Julian said.  
    Anton grabbed a fresh uniform. “Come on, let’s go shower,” he said. Julian found his uniform and they left. The showers were empty and they stripped down. The warm water seemed to soothe Julian and he wrapped his arms around Anton, rubbing the soap down his body.
    “Thank you for today,” Julian whispered. “I don’t think I ever would have worked up the courage to tell you how I felt.”
    “Some day you would have,” Anton said, touching Julian’s hand and holding it on his chest. He held it there for a good minute before letting go. He stepped out of the shower, grabbing his towel and drying off. He leaned back to kiss Julian before dressing and they walked out together, hands finding one another and clasping together, fingers entwined in a way that told the world that they were one.

    * * *

    Julian paced the hangar bay. Anton was talking to the engineer about his fighter. He spotted Julian’s nervous wandering and walked over to him, putting his hands on his shoulders.
    “You’re going to be fine,” Anton said. “I’ll keep you safe. I promise.” He leaned in to kiss Julian, not giving a damn about the other pilots on the deck.
    “See you later,” he said, walking away.
    “Anton, wait!” Julian said. Anton turned to see Julian taking off his dog tags.
    “A lot of pilots swap their dog tags when they go on dangerous missions,” Julian said. “I mean, it’s not like they matter. If we go down, we’ll just be space dust anyway.”
    “Okay,” Anton said, taking the tags. He took his own off and handed them to Julian, then put Julian’s on. “I want those back, though. They’re my good luck charm.” He smiled, breaking the seriousness of the moment before walking away.
    Julian felt Anton’s dog tags over his heart as he climbed into the cockpit of his fighter. Here goes, he thought. See you on the other