by
Fandom: X-Force
Rating: R
Pairing: Shatty/Rictor
Author's Note: The first slash story I ever wrote. Vintage 1995. I wrote this before I had even discovered slash or fandom. I used to be a huge X-books fan. I had really liked the hints that Fabian Nieceza and Jeph Loeb were dropping about Shatterstar's feelings for Rictor in X-Force and Cable. Then one of Marvel's stupid crossovers happened and Bob Harras pissed Loeb and Nieceza off so much that they quit. The new writer just dropped the entire Shatterstar/Rictor plotline -- no tie off -- just dropped it completely. It was if the two had never been friends. Infuriated, I hurled the offending comic across the room and sat down and wrote what I like to think happened between these two... (This story takes place shortly before the events of Cable #22 and explains why Shatterstar was suicidal.)
Special thanks to "Steffi-Jane" for beta reading this and then telling me where to find the HLX, DSX and JADFE lists. I can never fully repay her for introducing me to the wonderful world of slash.
Copyright and Disclaimer: X-Force and the characters of Shatterstar and Rictor are copyright Marvel Comics. I make no claims to ownership or creation. This bit of not for profit modern folklore (thank you Prof. Jenkins) is mine.
"And how the heck did you learn Spanish?"
"By watching television, of course. I thought it would allow us to communicate if necessary, in ways that others would not understand...be it our enemies in the midst of battle — or our friends when the topics of conversation are of a highly — personal — nature."
X-Force #34
Things had always been cramped and crowded for as long as he could remember, so sharing a bathroom was nothing new to Rictor, but still, he longed for some privacy sometimes. It just seemed that every damn day Shatterstar was in the shower when he walked into their shared bathroom, or vice versa; he could never hop in and sluice off without Shatterstar being in there.
Still, he had to admit, as he watched Shatterstar shampoo his hair, that the man could make anything look graceful. Brushing his teeth, Rictor noticed the obvious tactile pleasure that Shatterstar took in soaping and conditioning his long, red-gold masses, as opposed to just squirting shampoo into his hair and just going for it, the way he would've done it. //Shit, even in the shower he has to put on a show.//
At last! Shatterstar had finally finished, but instead of doing the typical just open the door, stick an arm out and snag a towel, the way he would have done it, Shatterstar always made sure the door was fully opened and then he grabbed a towel. As Rictor shucked off his clothing, he couldn't help noticing the water running off of Shatterstar's body. He had to admit, he was jealous of Shatterstar. Rictor knew that his own lean, athletic frame drew admiring glances from the ladies, but Shatterstar had the body of a young god. //Ah, some guys have all the luck,// he thought, swiveling by Shatterstar to get into the shower.
And that was another thing that was the same every day. The, well, not so little freak could never just step out and let him in. Shatterstar seemed to have this fascination with watching him get into or out of the shower. Sigh. //Madre del Dios!//
Rictor took a long, hot shower, letting the fiery needles of water pound into his body. Maybe if he took a long enough one, Shatterstar wouldn't dawdle in the bathroom. Maybe Mr. Short attention span would get bored enough to leave the room and watch TV or something.
It worked.
A hesitant knock came at the door.
"Que?" he replied groggily. Forcing his eyes open Rictor glanced at the clock on the wall. 3:32 am. Whoever it was better have a damn good reason, he and Shatterstar had just put in some serious time dancing at Area 52.
"Ric, it's Shatterstar. I-I..."
"Come in." Of course the naive little asshole would pick now to apologize. Rictor had been all set to go home with a hot babe until Shatterstar had let slip that Rictor was a mutant. After that, the bitch had wanted nothing to do with him. //Figures,// he thought. //I mean I know that 'Star's from another friggin' dimension, and I know he's naive sometimes, but I didn't think he could be an asshole like that. I didn't think he'd be jealous that I was gonna get some and he wasn't — hell, the girls were hanging off of him, can't he figure out that all he has to do is ask?//
The cab ride "home" was silent and strained.
Shatterstar stepped into the room, wearing a short robe. The dim light only highlighted his finely honed body. His muscles rippled in and out of the light as he walked over to the bed. His eyes were uncharacteristically muted, introspective. Clearly, something troubled him. "Rictor, can I talk to you?"
"Sure," Rictor patted the bed. Tucking his legs beneath him, Shatterstar knelt on it, facing Rictor.
"Have you ever—"
"No. No thanks to you."Stung by the vehemence in Rictor's words, Shatterstar paused before continuing, "Don't you want your first time to be with someone who cares about you?"
"Well, ideally, yes. But —"
He never got to finish the sentence. Moving with a speed that came from centuries of genetic engineering and selective breeding, Shatterstar pounced on Rictor and kissed him full on the mouth.
Rictor's vibe blast threw him across the room. Shatterstar struck the wall, hard. "What the hell was that for?!" Rictor thundered.
"B-but you said..." the tears in Shatterstar's eyes were not from the impact. Swallowing hard, he continued, "You said you wanted your first time to be with someone who cared about you." He was almost out the door when Rictor heard a very faint, "Well, I care about you."
The pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Shatterstar had always resisted, and in some cases been oblivious to the advances of Feral and Siryn. //Shit, if Siryn invited me to her bed she wouldn't have to ask twice.// Yet, Shatterstar always made his workouts as showy and public as possible. He always had an appreciative audience in Feral, Siryn and Domino. But now Rictor realized that those leaps and spins and flips and balanced power moves were for his benefit. And, all those times that Shatterstar had gone nightclubbing with him were not because Shatterstar enjoyed it — he didn't— it was because Shatterstar wanted to spend every possible minute with him. Rictor came to the realization that: //He's felt this way about me for quite some time. How could I have been so blind? I'm going to be returning to Guadalajara soon. When he finds out, it will devastate him — I'm his only friend...he needs me.//
"Shatterstar, wait."
Shatterstar froze in the doorway but did not turn around.
Crossing to his friend, Rictor placed his hand on Shatterstar's shoulder and spoke, "I'm sorry, Shatterstar. I shouldn't have reacted that way."
Silence.
Rictor reached out and tenderly tucked an errant lock of Shatterstar's disheveled hair behind his ear. Almost faster than Rictor could assimilate the movement, Shatterstar whipped around, visibly trembling. Trembling! His face was a mask of strain and torment. Rictor hooked one arm around Shatterstar and pulled him into the room, shutting the door. Reaching up, Rictor brushed Shatterstar's bangs back into place, and, going up on tip toe, gently kissed his forehead.
Shatterstar pushed back out of Rictor's embrace and looked away, when he looked back, Rictor could see that the pain and abject misery in his face had increased. Gingerly putting his arms around Rictor, and resting his face on Rictor's shoulder, Shatterstar whispered, "I don't know what to do, Rictor, I'm so confused." He looked and sounded like a frightened little boy.
"Well, surely you've seen some of those porno channels — considering the TV watching you do."
Shatterstar nodded his negative reply into Rictor's shoulder.
"You haven't figured your way around Cable's lock out?"
Again, the negative nod.
"Sheesh! Well, you had to have had something in mind whenever you jacked off."
That brought Shatterstar up short. Looking Rictor inquisitively in the eye he said, "Jacked off?"
"Have you ever taken your, you know, in your hand for any reason except to piss?"
"Yes. Occasionally it gets pinched by my clo-"
"That's not what I'm talking about either."
"Rictor, you know that as a part of my training for the games I was taught to ignore these urges. But, I-I can't anymore. I'm losing my control and it frightens me. I don't know anything any more," his voice broke.
Shushing his borderline hysterical friend, Rictor drew Shatterstar's lips to his, kissing him. Shatterstar responded with an enthusiasm that astonished Rictor, who, to his surprise felt the stirrings of actual desire. A few seconds later the two broke apart.
"Better?"
"Uh-huh." Shatterstar nodded.
Push-pulling his friend to stand by the bed, Rictor removed Shatterstar's robe. //Boxers?! Sheesh, I've got to educate this hick from the flicks.// Marveling at the smooth firmness of Shatterstar's godlike body and at his own increasing urges, Rictor's caressing hands ended up at the waist band of Shatterstar's boxers. He wormed them under the elastic and clenched Shatterstar's firm cheeks, gently kneading and massaging them.
Meanwhile, Shatterstar had begun his own exploration of Rictor's finely honed body. Every nerve of his body was tuned to a fever pitch. Rictor felt incredible. Running his fingers over the pectorals and the abdominals and the deltoids and the trapezoids, Shatterstar marveled at the way they felt and fit together, and, well, everything! He understood now why the gamesmasters had taught their charges to ignore or sublimate this. They couldn't control it. The smell that was coming off of Rictor's body was positively the best thing he'd ever smelled. He couldn't put his finger on why, he just knew it was. Unabashedly, Shatterstar sniffed Richter.
So, when Rictor grabbed his ass, for no reason that he could think of, Shatterstar bent his head and licked and nibbled at the juncture of Rictor's neck and shoulder. How could he have not noticed this wonderful spot before? It was just fantastic, the way his lips could feel Rictor's skin sliding over the clavicle, and Richter had a flavor, too. He muttered to Rictor, "You taste salty."
Unwittingly, Shatterstar had hit one of Rictor's prime erogenous zones. Fully aroused, Rictor crushed Shatterstar to him and kissed him urgently. Breaking off, Rictor began inching Shatterstar's boxers down. Shatterstar began to reciprocate, but a swift shake of the head no stopped him. Rictor followed the boxers down, not looking, until the they pooled around Shatterstar's ankles and he knelt before Shatterstar's erection.
//Aye Carrumba!// He had felt something big when he'd crushed Shatterstar to him, and a few weeks ago after a previous nightclub fiasco Shatterstar told Rictor that he was completely anatomically human and fully functional, but Rictor wasn't expecting something like this. //Jesus, Mary and Joseph! I know I'm larger than the average joe, but he's hung like a bull!// And with that thought he tenderly took Shatterstar's cock into his mouth and began to stroke it with his tongue and teeth. He needed no instruction.
The second he felt himself enclosed by the warm wetness of Rictor's mouth, Shatterstar went absolutely rigid with pleasure. Nothing in his short life had prepared him for sensation like this. Without realizing it, he reached up and clenched a double handful of Rictor's hair. He wanted to cry out but couldn't; wanting to contain every morsel of sensation, he bit his lip to hold it all in. His jaw clenched tighter and tighter, a dribble of blood trickled down his chin. His whole world became his rigid sex in Rictor's mouth. The pleasure, the pleasure, it was increasing and he felt this incredible rushing surging and it was too much, all too much. A strangled moan escaped his lips. His world dissolved in a cascade of pleasure.
As for Rictor, it didn't seem possible but Shatterstar was swelling even more and suddenly Rictor's mouth filled with hot jets as Shatterstar came and it was thick and creamy and deliciously salty. He gulped it down. A split second later Shatterstar fell over like a sack of potatoes, and a very bewildered Rictor caught him just before he smacked the floor.
//My God,// Rictor thought, //it was so good for him he passed out.// A small half smile played about his lips as he lifted Shatterstar onto the bed. Grabbing a handful of the Kleenex (kept at the bedside for a "runny nose") Rictor carefully wiped the blood from Shatterstar's chin.
"Shatterstar! Psst! Shatterstar! C'mon 'Star, wake up!" He slapped Shatterstar rapidly but gently on the face. Gradually, Shatterstar came round.
"Ooooh, Rictor...what happened? I had no idea that sex was so...intense. Is it always like that?" Shatterstar's voice was dreamy.
"Well, no, mi amigo. Most people usually don't pass out. I'm glad I could make your first time this good."
The two cuddled and caressed for awhile, and soon Rictor could no longer stand the tight confines of his jockeys. He was well used to the feel of his dick in his hand, but Shatterstar's grip was alien, exotic. Rictor closed his eyes and drifted in pleasure as Shatterstar stroked and caressed him. The sensation of Shatterstar's mouth closing around his rigid manhood brought him to, however.
"No, Shatterstar—"
"But you did this for me..."
"Yes, but there's another way for you to return the favor." Reaching into the nightstand, Rictor brought out a bottle of hand lotion and indicated that Shatterstar should rub some on the both of them. He then positioned Shatterstar on the bed, face up. Carefully he lowered himself until their rigid erections touched. The sensation was exquisite.
Rictor began to slowly thrust back and forth. He hadn't imagined the heat and the friction could be like this. As Shatterstar began to arch to meet his thrusts, Rictor increased the tempo and force. Waves of increasing ecstasy coursing though every live wire nerve in his body, Rictor feverishly sought out Shatterstar's lips, wanting, needing more. The tempo increased, and within minutes, Rictor reached the pinnacle. Groaning in primal pleasure, he shot hard against Shatterstar. Rictor's climax triggered Shatterstar's, and he shot three great jets onto their bodies. Exhausted and emotionally drained, the two of them collapsed onto the bed and slept in each other's arms.
Four hours later, the alarm woke them. Shit! Not that Cable would disapprove of them having sex with each other, he'd just made it very clear that team members should scratch each other's itches outside of the compound. Getting caught would mean, at the very least, a three hour lecture and months of snide remarks. That's if they didn't die of embarrassment first. As the two of them hurriedly stripped the bed and struggled into pj's, disgusted with the sticky gluey mess on their bodies, Rictor glanced at Shatterstar and asked, "Was it everything you hoped it would be?"
"No," replied Shatterstar, "It was more. It was much, much more."
Last Updated: 3/11/2004