Peabody and the Host

Peabody and the Host

By Vic James

vicjames2@hotmail.com

Copyright 2013 by Vic James

http://vicjames.com

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You can see a list of my stories under my name at http://www.nifty.org/nifty/frauthors.html

Fifteen

The door opened and Peabody felt like Dorothy walking out of her house after it landed in Oz. He walked out of a dead, sterile world and into a piece of Earth on Mars.

Unlike the rest of their home, this was not sterile rock and machinery. It was an Earth park. He could hear birds. He saw a group of yellow birds fly by. He looked down and saw a stone path. It was textured like the path in the cavern. On either side of it was grass. He saw a flower bed to his left with yellow and red flowers. The whole place was very brightly lit, as bright as the pool. He looked up and saw a blue sky. When he stared at it, he could see it wasn't sky, obviously. He looked at the light source. It was so bright, he had to look away. He had to wait for eyes to adjust. Ahead of him, he could see trees. They were short, but they had to fit them on the shuttle, so that was understandable. Straight ahead, there was a rock hill in the center of the park. It was the same color rock as the walls in the cavern, a dark reddish-brown. The hill had gently sloping sides on one end which might make it fun to climb. It looked like it was about thirty feet high at its tallest point. There were flowers growing on it in a couple of places. He saw two birds on it. To his right he saw more trees. They looked about ten feet tall.

"How big is this?"

"It is about three hundred meters by two hundred twenty meters," Pon said.

"We just planted everything, so you have to make allowances."

"No I don't, Pon. I really don't. It is absolutely perfect."

"You can let Oscar down, beautiful. The water here is drinkable," Lan told him.

He put Oscar down and he began sniffing. He walked onto the grass and lifted his leg.

"Oscar has christened the park!" Peabody said, laughing.

"How many lights are there?"

"Three, Peabody. That was how many were needed to illuminate the ground in the entire park to the approximate level of sunlight at the longitude of your house in the summer," Ban said. Peabody smiled and shook his head. 'His house', like it was the most important place on Earth.

"Come one, Peabody we want to show you everything," Mun said.

They walked down the path and Peabody saw more birds. Ahead of them, the path forked. There was a bench on the right side of the path. The bench faced a tree on the left side of the path. The tree was about eight feet tall,

"Does the tree look familiar," Lin asked him.

"Is it a pecan tree?"

"Yes, it is a child of your tree in the park across from your old house." Peabody was so overwhelmed, he started crying. Lan walked up to him and held him.

"Sorry about that," he sniffed and said as he looked back up. "Thank you, Lin."

Behind the pecan tree, he could see taller palm trees. One looked especially tropical. "What kind of tree is that?" he asked, pointing.

"That is a coconut tree for your pina coladas." Peabody laughed.

"Peabody, I don't know how some of these plants will respond to the conditions in here. The pecan tree is from cooler climates and palms from warmer. If they don't all grow, we may need to replace some," Pon said.

"I understand."

"I'm sorry, Peabody, but Chester did not want to move to Mars," Lin said.

"I can understand his concerns. It is his loss, however. He would have had a pecan tree to himself. Eventually. I have a feeling he would sneer at these little trees."

The grass was mostly around the sidewalk. Most of the ground looked like dirt or rock. He assumed it would be planted or the grass would spread. They continued walking and passed another tree.

"Are those oranges?"

"Yes. We have several fruit trees. Between the palms we passed, there was an apple tree. If you like bananas, we can plant those."

"Come here, Oscar!" He came running back.

They kept walking and saw some hibiscus planted on the left side of the path.

"Peabody, we are planning to plant flowering vines to grow on some of the walls," Pon said.

"That will be lovely. Not that it isn't lovely now."

They kept walking. The path veered to the right. They passed another tree.

"That is another offspring of your tree." Peabody shook his head.

"When the trees are big, will they block the light?" he asked.

"We can add as many lights as we want, my love," Ban said.

Peabody bent down and touched the grass. He took of his shoes and socks and walked on it. In the lower gravity, he supposed he didn't do the newly-planted grass any harm. He looked at the brothers, who Peabody thought were probably wondering why he took his shoes off.

"The grass feels wonderful. Do I have to mow it?" Peabody chuckled.

"Definitely, absolutely not!" Pon said. "How could you think we would want you to do that?"

"I was kidding, Pon."

"Oh."

Peabody sat on the grass and put his shoes back on.

He got up and they continued walking. Up ahead, on the left side of the path, he saw a log cabin. He grinned. Every park on Mars should have a log cabin, he thought. On the right, they were close to the rock hill. Flowers had been planted at the big rock's base. They passed a lemon tree on the left side of the path. Between the lemon tree and the house were some bushes with big clusters of bright orange flowers and ficus trees. They walked up to the cabin. There was a porch and they stepped up on it.

"The cabin was Fon's idea."

"Thank you, Fon. It was a wonderful idea."

"It's not furnished, yet, Peabody."

"That's OK. Really!"

They walked inside. It was lovely.

"Straight ahead is the bedroom, the kitchen is on the right. The plumbing is not connected yet. We will be doing that next."

Peabody shook his head. It was all so unbelievable!

They walked out of the house and he realized the porch faced a pool of water. "That is Peabody's Pond," Ban said. The path ran along one side of it. They followed the path until they were next to it. The pond looked about thirty feet across. There was another bench facing it.

"It's unbelievable! The only thing I'm worried about is how to thank all of you properly!"

"Don't do it all on the same day," Mun said.

Peabody laughed and said, "Thank you, Mun."

"We were going to wait until it was completed, but we wanted you to be able to enjoy it now," Fon said.

"I agree."

"Mainly what's left, is just planting. More grass, more flowers, more trees, vines. And of course plumbing for the house."

"Peabody, right now, the pond is actually a pool. The water is pure and filtered. There are steps leading into it. I wasn't sure if you would prefer a pool or a pond with fish," Ban said.

"Let's leave it alone for now."

"We also weren't sure about wildlife. The birds are all male. If we get fish, we have to worry about them overbreeding. We were going to get squirrels, but we have the same problem."

"We don't have to decide this now. We can all think about it for a while, after I've thanked you all many, many times."

He looked at them and they looked happy and proud. They should be proud, it was an amazing achievement.

"I absolutely love it! It's fabulous! Thank you so very much! I know you are tired. Please get some rest. I want you to know that I love each of you and I...truly appreciate the hard work you've done," he told them. "I feel terrible now, that I was annoyed by your absence."

"Don't, my love," Ban said.

Peabody watched Oscar drink from the pool. He walked to the bench that faced it and sat down. He watched the brothers leave, one by one. Lan sat on the bench on one side, and Lin on the other. He sat there for several minutes, just enjoying the scenery. The birds really contributed to the character of the place, and he was very happy they thought of them.

As Peabody sat there, he realized that everything he had ever said had been carefully noted by them. He mentioned wanting somewhere to walk, so they recreated a small patch of Earth for him. Lin knew he liked a pecan tree, so they got him two of the very same tree. He missed trees, they got him many. He once said flippantly that he wanted a pina colada, so they gave him a coconut palm. He realized, he needed to watch what he said, at least what he said he wanted.

"It's overwhelming," he said. "It also makes me sad in a way."

"What? Why?" Lin asked.

"How can I ever thank you enough for this?" He waved his arms around.

"You already did," Lan said. "Peabody, you came to a different planet to help aliens have children. You didn't come because of the money and you didn't come because you have always wanted to bear alien children."

Peabody laughed and said, "No. That is true."

"You already gave us two better gifts than this. A future with Alaphin on Mars and your love. There is no amount of money we could give you to show our appreciation. If we gave you twenty billion dollars, you wouldn't care any more about money than you do now. We want to make you as happy as you make us. We know we make you happy, but we wanted to pour our love into something tangible. All we want in return is to know you like it."

Peabody sighed. "I love all of you more and more each day."

"So you won't be sad?" Lin asked.

"No. I promise. I mean, look at Oscar!" He was running from place to place, trying to smell everything.

Peabody watched a little green bird land on the side of the pool and take a drink. He smiled. It was wonderful.

"How do we feed the birds?" he asked.

"There is food in dishes around the base of the walls. We have already seen some eating."

"How will we keep them from flying out into the tunnel?"

"Good question," Lan said. "We will put Ban on it as soon as he is well-rested."

"This will be a good place to bring the kids."

"Do you know, I never thought of that," Lin said. "Did you?" he asked Lan.

"No. But it is true."

"I changed my mind. We do need squirrels. Maybe just males or spayed females. A park named Peabody definitely needs a squirrel."

Just when Peabody thought his life could not get any better, that he could not be any happier, he looked and saw both of his lovers were erect. He sighed, happily.

Part Two

Sixteen

Lan continued, "One nice thing about the cabin, is if you get tired, you can take a nap. We can also have cookouts. I got a gas grill and we have outdoor furniture. Right now, it's all behind the house."

Peabody looked around the beautiful park again. He looked up at the blue sky and smiled.

"I think I want to live here," Peabody told Lin and Lan.

"We thought you might," Lan told him.

"What about the lower gravity, Lin? Will that cause medical problems?"

"You will need to work out in the gym more."

"Could I exercise here?"

"Certainly, but you would need to exercise more in here."

"Please don't mention this to the others. I don't want you to spend two years working on it, just because I mentioned it."

"Very well," Lin said.

"Is it possible to have artificial gravity in the park, even in only one area, like the cabin?"

"It would be very difficult in the park. The equipment would have to be below the rock. I don't think we know how to make it work through rock, but it might be possible. It would be easier in the cabin. The machinery could be under the floor of the cabin."

"If it is not too difficult, mention it to the others, but only after everyone is well rested. If it will take weeks, forget about it. I have a car, after all. I can drive to the gym, and isn't that odd?" Lan and Lin laughed.

"Yes, my love. We will mention it to the others after they are rested. If it will take days, we will do it. If longer, we will check with you first."

"That's great."

"Peabody, do you think you will ever want to go back to Earth? To live?" Lin asked.

"No. I don't think so. My life is here. I have nothing on Earth. No home, no family, no friends. If you ever found a way to go home, I probably would go with you, if you let me." Lan and Lin closed their eyes. They were both incredibly happy. Peabody was theirs forever.

Peabody looked at Lin's erection and wrapped his hand around it. "I suppose you are too tired." Lan wasn't erect, but they had fucked earlier.

"I feel more energetic by the moment."

Peabody knelt in front of him. He undid his own pants and pushed them and his underwear down. He took Lin in his mouth and began sucking while he stroked himself. Lan squatted behind him. He pushed a finger into Peabody. Then he took over the stroking of Peabody's cock with one hand, while he pulled on a nipple, and tugged on his balls with a third had. Peabody used his free hand to rub Lin's balls. Peabody stopped sucking and pressed his face into Lin's groin. He breathed in. Lin took his head in his hands and pressed him tightly against him. He absolutely loved the way Lin smelled. He began lapping at Lin's balls.

"I need to fuck you. May I?"

Peabody got up and turned around. Lin pulled him down onto his cock. He began bouncing on Lin's cock while Lan stroked him. They kept it up for a couple of minutes and then Lin came. He grabbed Peabody and held him still as he ejaculated into him. Lan stroked Peabody's cock and licked the head until Peabody spurted onto his tongue. When Lin slipped out of Peabody, Peabody stood up. He pulled his pants up. He checked and Lan still wasn't erect.

"Are you ready to head back? I want you to get some sleep," he said to them.

"We can sleep here. There is a bed in the house."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Lan said, "Lin, will you go on in the house? I want to speak privately to Peabody for a minute."

"OK."

"Peabody, you told me a few days ago that you liked me best. I know I haven't been around as much, and I...I want to know if it is still true."

"Yes, Lan. There is an old saying. 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'. It's true in my case. I love you at least as much as before."

"Thank you, my love. My next question is harder, but necessary. Do you want to spend time alone with me?"

Peabody did, but he didn't want to hurt anyone, especially not Lin. He sighed.

"Yes. I would love that. I want to spend time alone with all the brothers, but I love you most and want to spend the most time with you."

Lan took him in his arms and they kissed. Afterwards, Peabody rested his cheek against Lan's chest. Lan slid a hand inside Peabody's pants and pushed a finger into him. Peabody sighed and hugged Lan tightly.

"Lan, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. I feel guilty about that. Why didn't I love Robert as much? Why don't I love Lin as much?"

"Peabody, you are so hard on yourself I don't think it is possible to love two different people equally. Certainly Alaphin hosts never manage it. They never even try. Just because you love me more, doesn't mean you don't love them enough."

"That makes sense, Lan."

"Tomorrow, I want to take you on a date."

Peabody smiled and asked, "Really?"

"Yes."

"Can we go the following day?"

"Of course. Any reason?"

"I want to spend time in here before I'm overwhelmed again. I have a feeling you are going to try to overwhelm me."

"Impress, yes. Overwhelm...I see your point."

"You must be tired, Lan. Please get some rest."

"OK."

They walked back to the cabin. Lin was inside.

"Now, I would like to speak to Peabody alone."

"I will go in the bedroom."

"Let's go to the porch." they walked outside.

"Peabody, I couldn't help overhearing, especially since I was trying so hard to hear." Peabody laughed. "But Lan is right. You don't have to love us all equally. I am afraid you are putting stress on yourself for no reason. If I am your number two lover, it still means you love me. I was number four with Aracatal, so it's a promotion. I know you aren't used to all this, but we are. You need to take our advice about it. You make every one of us feel loved. Even number six, whoever he is. Will you stop worrying about who you love the most?"

"I will. I hate to think any of you feel left out."

"None of us do. You have gone out of your way to make sure we don't feel it. Even to the point of making yourself sick. The first thing I thought of when I saw what they'd accomplished in here was that you were going to make yourself sick again trying to show your appreciation."

"That's true," Lan called from the bedroom. Peabody laughed.

"I figured as soon as everyone was rested you were going to spend as long as it took to make them feel appreciated, wearing yourself out and putting stress on your system. Was I wrong?"

"No. I was wondering how on Earth (or Mars) I was going to thank Ban for the park and the car!"

Lan came out of the bedroom.

"Peabody, the car was a thank you gift. If you give an elaborate thank you for a thank you gift, it just keeps growing and growing. He will want to give you a better gift to show his appreciation for your thank you. The better you thank him, the more he has to do. Do you understand?"

"I understand what you are saying, but this means I don't really know how to behave. What comes naturally, doesn't work."

"We are a different species."

Peabody sighed. "I know. I just usually overlook that. I think of you as humans with black eyes. I don't really know how to relate to you as Alaphin."

"Yes, you do. You just try too hard and you try to treat each of us as your spouse," Lin said.

"Aren't you?"

"You try to treat us as human spouses."

"I'm still confused."

"May I make a suggestion," Lin asked.

"Absolutely."

"Ask Lan. He is your number one lover. He can give you advice. If he isn't around, ask number two or number three."

"Well, I can do that."

"My love. I know you love me. Please don't feel guilty about loving Lan more. It's normal. Loving everyone equally is abnormal as well as difficult. And if who you love most changes, don't try to pretend you don't feel that way. That may not ever happen, but it could, and you shouldn't feel guilty about it if it does."

"I don't know why, but I feel like you are telling me to be mean to people."

"I'm not. I'm telling you to be glad you are in love with Lan. He's glad. By not being glad, you take some of the joy out of it for both of you."

"OK." Peabody sighed again.

"Lin, will you head back? I want to spend time here alone with Lan."

"Yes, my love. Would you like me to take Oscar?"

"He's probably hungry."

"His food is in the cabin," Lan said.

"You can leave him with us." Peabody thought about asking him if he was hurt, but he knew they didn't want him to do that.

"I still want you to sleep with us, Lin."

Lin smiled and said, "Thank you, my love. I will see you later." Lin walked away. Peabody felt terrible. He was supposed to be glad he was alone with Lan. He hoped it would become easier.

Lan stood next to him.

"I love you, Peabody."

"I love you, too.

"Do you want to lie down?"

"Why don't we lie on the grass?" They walked outside. Peabody took his clothes off and Lan smiled.

Peabody lay down and Lan lay beside him. Lan pulled him into his arms and they kissed. Lan reached his fifth hand between their legs and pushed two fingers into his love.

"Oh, Lan."

"Do you like that, baby?"

"Yes." Lan finger-fucked him as they kissed.

After several minutes, Peabody pulled away and said, "This is like a dream, being here on the grass with you, a wonderful dream. It seems so very unlikely. We are on Mars, underground. But there are birds and grass. I have to admit, grass was never this comfortable on Earth."

Peabody closed his eyes and fell asleep. Lan studied his love's face. He wanted to memorize every bit of it.

Oscar ran up and started licking Peabody's face. That woke Peabody up.

"Do you want some attention, buddy?" Peabody sat up and pulled Oscar to him. Peabody leaned against Lan and Lan put his arm around him. A bird flew by and Oscar wanted to chase him.

"No. Oscar. No catching birds!" Once the bird was out of sight, Peabody let him loose and he wandered off.

"You said you have a gas grill. Does it work? Could you cook burgers here for us?"

"Absolutely. I will have to go get the food, though."

"Oh, wait. There is no plumbing."

"That isn't a problem. I will get everything ready in your quarters and then we will bring it here to cook it. We will bring drinks, too."

"Let's go get the food."

Peabody got dressed and they headed for the park entrance. He saw Oscar and called out, "Come on, Oscar!" He came running as fast as he could.

"This is going to be great for getting him exercise."

"What do you think of the walls in here? We were never sure what to do with them."

"I like the idea of having vines growing on them."

"Would you like to go to Earth with me tomorrow to pick up more plants?"

"Sure. With my space dog, Oscar.

"I guess there are bugs on Mars now. I'm sure some hitchhiked on the plants."

"I suppose. If they leave, they die."

"Not necessarily. They could make it to our quarters."

"Another thing to mention to Ban and Pon."

As they walked past the pond, he saw a group of ficus trees, another bed of flowers, and more hibiscus.

They opened the door to get out and then closed it again. Peabody got in the driver's seat and Lan squeezed into the passenger seat.

"I'm glad this doesn't have a roof. You wouldn't be able to get in the car at all."

Lan held Oscar and Peabody turned the car around. They headed back.

"I wouldn't advise going over thirty miles per hour. The car could leave the ground. We found out with the motorcycles."

"Oh, no! Was anyone hurt?"

"No, but it's possible. Remember how hard you hit the wall? That was under your own power."

"And there's no body shop on Mars."

"I like your body. Please don't buy a different one."

"Thank you, honey. I love your body, too!"

"Peabody, do you know whether you want to live in the park."

"Alone?"

"No! I meant..."

"I know what you mean. I think so, but to be honest, I would miss having the brothers close by. If they moved, I would definitely move."

"I'll mention it."

"If you mention it, will they take it as a command from me? I don't want them to live there if that's not what they want."

"I think they would be happy to live there."

"OK. Now when is that thing going to wake up?" Peabody asked, looking at his crotch.

"Maybe after dinner."

They reached the end of the tunnel and got out of the car. They walked down the connecting tunnel until they reached the ladder.

"We are going to replace this ladder with an elevator."

"That will be nice."

"I will carry Oscar," Lan told him.

They climbed down to their level and got off. They walked to Peabody's quarters.

Peabody used the bathroom and put Oscar in front of his food. Oscar didn't eat. He figured he was too excited.

"What would you like with the burgers, baby?"

Peabody smiled. He liked being the baby of a seven foot tall muscle man.

"Something easy. How about chips?"

He walked into the kitchen to watch Lan. He was cutting tomatoes. He decided to get a chair from the kitchen table. He pulled it over and sat.

Lan bent over to rub his cheek against his

"What kind of cheese would you like?"

"Do you have blue cheese?"

"Yes."

"Will the smoke from the grill be a problem in the park?"

"No, the air filter should remove it."

"Do you know how watering works?"

"It sprays from the roof."

"Is it automatic?"

"It will be. Pon will tie it into moisture sensors in the soil. Right now, it's manual."

"I love the idea of having animals in there. The birds make it seem so much more alive."

"I know. The first time I saw one fly by, I knew it was a very special place."

Lan laughed and said, "You should have heard all the birds in the cages on Earth. They were in a lawyer's office."

"I bet that was noisy."

"It was."

"We should take paper plates, if we have any."

"We do."

Peabody thought about what kinds of animals that could live in the park. Maybe he could look in a pet store and get ideas.

"When we go to Earth tomorrow, I would like to go to a pet store."

"OK. Anything in particular you want?"

"No. Something with a big selection of different kinds of animals. I also want to pick up some things for Oscar."

"Absolutely."

"Comm. Get Abbott Mills. It will be a few minutes, baby."

"That reminds me, Lan. I know you have faster than light communications. Why don't you have it with your building on Earth?"

"We were afraid the device would be stolen. Then we couldn't sell the technology."

"Could you put it in orbit around Earth or even on the moon?"

"Comm. Get Ban."

Peabody realized he had done it again. They were going to rewire the solar system for him.

"Never mind, Lan."

"It's a good idea. We can bury it on the moon. The delay to Earth is only about a second. We would have nearly instantaneous communication. Maybe even connect to the Internet through it."

"Ban, here."

"Ban, Peabody had an idea. Can we plant an FTL communicator on Earth's moon? We could hide it in a cave or bury it. There is no chance they will find it. It would be useful to have access to the Internet, as well."

"Excellent idea, Peabody!"

"I didn't mean to give you more work."

"It isn't much work. That's the beauty of it. We just drop it off on the moon. The signal from our existing communication system on Earth will be picked up from the device on the moon and transmitted to us."

"Good night, Ban," Peabody said.

"Good night, my love."

"End comm."

"This is Abbott Mills."

"Abbott, this is Lan. Will you get with John Drake and find a pet shop with a wide selection of animals for us..."

"And a nursery," Peabody said.

"And a nursery with a wide selection of..."

"Tropical plants," Peabody said.

"You heard the human. We will be there tomorrow. End comm."

"I'm so excited. I finally get to spend some money!"

"We are paying for it!"

"Can I buy Oscar's things?"

"I suppose."

"What good is the money if I can't spend it?"

"I suppose," Lan said again. Peabody laughed.

"The moon transmitter is a great idea, Peabody. Right now, the lag to Earth is not too bad, but when the Earth is on the opposite side of the sun from us, it is twenty minutes between messages."

"Oh. OK. Internet access would be nice, too."

"I agree. We occasionally travel to Earth to use the Internet."

Peabody laughed and said, "Yes. This is definitely better."

"Well, everything is ready."

"How will we carry the food and drinks."

"We will use this high tech method." He pulled a box out from a cabinet.

"Oh. You aliens are so clever."

"Yes. And sexy."

"Definitely sexy."

Lan put the food and a couple of bottles of water in the box. He pulled some paper plates from a cabinet. Peabody grabbed some napkins.

"Do you want anything else to drink?"

"No. Just water. I am carrying alien children, you know."

"Yes. I believe I was there."

"That's right!"

"Come on, Oscar!"

They drove to the park and then went inside. Lan carried the food to the house. Peabody took Oscar's leash off and he went exploring.

There was a parrot sitting on the roof of the cabin. "I love this place!"

"Good!"

Lan pulled the outdoor furniture from behind the house to the front and then he moved the gas grill.

"Why don't you take a walk, baby?"

"OK." Peabody wanted to do a little exploring. He walked over to the orange bushes. They had shiny leaves. He kept walking. He noticed the lemon tree had flower buds on it. He looked forward to them opening; they would smell great. He called Oscar and kept walking. He saw Oscar running towards him. He squatted and Oscar came up to him, panting.

"Fun, huh?"

He walked over to the stone hill and sat on it. He closed his eyes, and listened to the birds. He opened his eyes and realized they didn't have any pollinators for the lemon and orange trees. He wasn't sure having a bee hive was a good idea in a confined space. Well, they could worry about that later. And it wasn't as if they needed fruit They could still get it from Earth.

He could smell the food, so he headed back to the cabin.

They sat and ate the food.

"These are great, Lan! You are such a wonderful cook."

"I'm glad you like them."

When they were finishing up, the lights began to dim.

"I suppose the three fake suns are setting."

Peabody noticed the ceiling taking on a reddish tint.

"Oh my!"

"That was Mun's idea. There are sunsets." Peabody shook his head. It was so unbelievable. Everything that had happened to him since he got that call from Eastside Clinic had been.

They watched the rosy glow intensify.

"How dark will it get?"

"Not too dark."

Lan watched the expression on Peabody's face. He was so happy. It was just a red light hidden behind some rocks, but it was perfect to Peabody, his love. And he had to admit that it really was beautiful.

Finally, the 'sun' set and the place was dimly lit. You could still see the path and that was the important thing.

"Lan, let's wait until there is plumbing to spend the night. I want to get in the Jacuzzi with you."

"That sounds nice."

Oscar decided to stay close to Peabody.

"Let's go back."

"Let me get the trash."

Lan put everything in the box they had brought, Peabody picked up Oscar, and they headed for the door. There was enough light to see the path, but it was dark, so they walked slowly.

"How does the door work from the inside?" Peabody asked.

"You touch it on the left side. We can put a panel in the wall, if you like."

"No need. That's simpler than a panel."

The door opened and Peabody put Oscar into the car. Then he took the box from Lan so he could get in. He gave him the box, and then he got in, with Oscar on his lap. They turned around and headed back.

When they got to his quarters, they immediately went to the tub. Lan pulled Peabody's shirt off and then pulled his pants down. He was stiff again. Peabody smiled at him and stepped out of his shorts. Lan bent over and kissed him.

"I love you, baby."

"I love you, big daddy." Lan chuckled. Peabody had been thinking about him that way and he finally said it out loud. "Do you like being my big daddy?"

"I love it."

Lan turned on the water while Peabody reached around him for his candy bar. He stroked it a couple of times before they got in the tub. They got in as it was filling Lan sat down and Peabody stood between his legs. Peabody stroked Lan's cheek while he looked into his eyes. They were solid black, but he knew by this time that they were full of love. He couldn't see it you can't really see it in human eyes, either, he thought. He knew Lan loved him and that was enough.

Lan pulled him forward and rubbed his cheek against his. Then they kissed while Peabody held Lan's erection. Every time he held it, he was thrilled by its size (and the size of his big daddy). He had never thought of himself as a size queen, but he loved it.

Lan turned Peabody around and he nuzzled him behind his ear while he ran his hands over him. He wrapped one hand around his prick, making Peabody sigh. He began licking behind Peabody's ear. He wanted to lick Peabody all over, slowly. Without Lin. Now he could. He could make Peabody come all by himself instead of sharing Peabody's moans of pleasure with Lin.

Lan had a secret fantasy that he would never tell anyone. He and Peabody would move to Earth and live there. Maybe get married. He would share him with no one except maybe Oscar. They would have each other and that would be enough. It would be a normal human monogamous relationship. Of course, he would never do that to his brothers, but it was a nice fantasy.

"What do you want, my love?" Lan asked him.

Peabody took his cock and guided it to his hole. He pushed back, taking Lan inside him. Lan put his hands on Peabody's hips and moved him on his cock. Peabody moaned and said, "Lan...Lan...Lan," softly. Lan wrapped his arms around him and pulled him against him.

Then Lan said, "Let's try something. Lean with your back against the side of the tub." Peabody did it. "I'm going to lift your legs up."

"Good. Get that beautiful cock of yours back inside me."

Lan smiled and said, "That's my plan." He lifted Peabody's legs and spread them. Peabody held himself out of the water with his elbow on the outside of the tub. Lan moved forward until he was at Peabody's hole."

"How is that?" he asked his love.

"Nice. Could be better?"

"Any suggestions?"

"Yes. Don't be a tease. Fuck me."

Lan smiled and pushed into him. Peabody closed his eyes and sighed as Lan entered him. As soon as he was inside him, Lan stopped and enjoyed their union.

"Do you know that when I came this morning, my orgasm seemed to go on forever?"

"No. Give me one of those!" Peabody chuckled.

"I have never experienced that before."

"Do you know why?"

"I've been wondering. I think it is either because I slept inside you and my body responded by producing even more eggs, or because I am just so happy when we join that everything seems better."

Peabody looked at his lover. "Lan, I love you so much. I...I guess because of Robert, I'm starting to worry that something will happen to you. I couldn't bear to lose you. I couldn't handle Robert's death. Yours would destroy me. Please stay close to me. If you die, I want to die with you."

"My love. Please do not think of death. Focus on how happy we are. Worrying about things that may never happen is no way to live your life."

"I suppose you are right. I am happy. I do love you. I want you every single second."

"I do plan to stay as close to you as possible. I know you may want privacy when you entertain the other brothers, but other than that I will want to be at your side."

Peabody thought about that, Did he want to be alone with Fon, for instance? Or should he invite him to his bed to spend the night with him? Lin and Lan would be there which would make four in the bed. Time during the day might work better.

"What do Alaphin hosts do? I mean when they entertain."

"Whatever they want."

Peabody laughed and said, "That's not a lot of help."

"Well, I will tell you about Aracatal. Every three or four days, he would sit in his fucking chair and let all his mates fuck him one-by-one. A fucking chair is a chair that you lie back on. There are places to put your feet that support your legs and get them out of the way. It exposes your hole and allows each brother to stand between your legs and fuck you. Aracatal would usually have his favorite, Ban, fuck him first and then pleasure him while the rest of us fucked him. He would sometimes allow prospective mates to fuck him then, too. That is common among hosts. In fact there is a saying 'you know you are the favorite when you fuck a dry hole'. Less favored mates fuck a hole full of other parents' come."

"That is the sleaziest, nastiest thing I've ever heard. I want one of those chairs!"

Lan laughed and said, "One fucking chair coming up."

"I don't think it is very romantic, but it would be fun to use occasionally. But how did the brothers, how did you feel about it?"

"It was the only sex that some of us had, so we loved it."

"But didn't you feel completely ignored by him?"

"There was much more to living with him than just the sex act. We were a family."

"Did he love you?" Peabody asked.

"Not the way you love me. But, in his way, he did."

"He never told you?"

Lan thought about how to explain it.

"It is so very different from human life and relationships. The host that gave birth to us, gave birth to Aracatal. We grew up together. When Aracatal bought a home of his own, he picked those of us he liked the most to live with him, to be his new family. He wouldn't pick you to share the rest of his life if he didn't love you."

"So he was a sibling of yours?" Yuck! Peabody thought.

"We don't have siblings like humans. He was not related to us."

Yes, it was very different, Peabody thought.

"There's something I've been wondering: how do hosts give birth to hosts if they don't produce eggs? You told me they only produce sperm."

"Periodically in a host, a sperm with double the normal chromosome count will begin to divide and form a child. Host sperm are different, more complex than sperm of parents or humans."

"It sounds to me like hosts are almost a different species."

"That is a common saying among exasperated Alaphin parents. However, if you saw a host and a parent side by side, you would not be able to tell them apart. We cannot reproduce without them." But they could live without you, Peabody thought. It was a strange biology.

"You know, I just discovered one more thing to love about you, Lan."

"What is that, baby?"

"While giving me a biology and sociology lesson, you stay hard. I wish you had been my teacher in high school. I wouldn't have fallen asleep nearly as often."

He thrust into him a couple of times before saying, "We don't allow educators to fuck their students."

"It's definitely frowned on by us, as well.

"Let's get out, Lan. The bed will be more comfortable."

They got out and dried themselves. Then Peabody wrapped his arms tightly around Lan and pressed his face against Lan's chest. He sighed.

"Are you happy, baby?"

"I have never been happier. We will have a wonderful life, with love and kids and laughter."

"For so long, we thought of being here on Mars as a bane, a curse. Now it is a joy, my love, for all of us."

Lan took his hand and they got in bed. Oscar was asleep on his blanket on the floor. Peabody smiled. The little fellow had had an exciting day. So had he!

"How do you want me, baby?"

Peabody got on his hands and knees and pushed his butt out. Lan got between his legs on his knees and slid home. He started fucking him slowly, holding on to his hips. After a few minutes, Lan put his hands on the bed and began fucking him with his chest against Peabody's back. Peabody loved the feel of his big daddy's fur against his back. He was close to his orgasm, so Lan got upright again and pulled out of Peabody. He watched Peabody's gaping hole. He had done that. He watched it slowly close and then he pushed hard into it. Peabody moaned. Lan didn't want to wear Peabody out, he had a busy day, so he decided to finish. He fucked him while stroking Peabody's cock. After a couple of minutes, he was close, but Peabody beat him. Peabody grunted and Lan caught his come in his other hand. Peabody's spasming hole made him come and he pushed deeply into him as he filled his love. As he softened, he brought his hand with Peabody's come to his face and smelled it. Then he licked it off his hand.

Peabody pulled forward and rolled over onto his back. He looked at his lover with sated, happy eyes, and a smile.

Peabody looked at the clock. It was 9:45. Not bad, he thought. Someday, he might be able to stay awake until midnight! But then he realized the time didn't really matter unless they were going to Earth. Would staying up until midnight make him happier? No, he decided. Although...it would mean he was physically stronger. Don't forget you are pregnant, he told himself. More sleep is probably necessary. Eventually those kids will stress your body.

"Comm. Get Lin," Peabody said.

"Lin, here."

"Ready for bed?"

"I'm on my way!"

"I love you, big daddy."

"I love you, baby."

Peabody and Lan laid down. Lan wrapped his arms possessively around Peabody. Lin came in the room and got into bed, pressing his back against Peabody. Peabody kissed the back of his fifth hand on his neck.

"Good night, Lin."

"Good night, my love."

Peabody wrapped one of his hands around Lan's and quickly fell asleep.

Pon got several hours of sleep and decided he needed to hook up the plumbing in the house.

"Comm. Get Fon."

A sleepy Fon answered. "Fon, here."

"Fon, I am going to start hooking up the house to the water and sewage system. Do you want to work on it?"

"Yes. I feel pretty rested."

Pon headed for the park, thinking of his love, Peabody. He got erect and smiled. It won't be long, he thought, until I bury this in my love. Pon remembered giving Peabody two erections in only a few minutes the day he had shown him the cavern. He remembered Peabody's look of complete satisfaction when Pon held his cock and his balls. Lan might be Peabody's favorite, but he made Lan and the other brothers feel loved and wanted. All the brothers had, of course, shared every detail of the encounters with their lover. Mun, he knew was madly in love with Peabody. And who could blame him? Even when he felt ill, he had tried hard to make Mun's first time memorable. I love you, Peabody, he thought. And I will tell you every time I see you.

Pon got on a bike and drove to the park. He entered it and found Ban already there.

He waved. "I'm going to hook up the house."

"What else needs doing?"

"We need moisture sensors to automate the watering."

"I will build them," Ban said and left for his workshop.

Pon walked to the house and laid directional beacons on the toilet and each sink. Then he entered the park's service area that was hidden behind some ficus trees. He grabbed a rock cutter and entered the service tunnel underneath the park that was closest to the house. Reading the location of the beacons in the house, first he cut another service tunnel to connect to the underside of the house. The enormous amount of rock dust travelled through a tube to cavern seventeen below the park. Then he cut holes for the sewage and then water lines. The rock cutter read the location of each sensor and cut until it hit air. Then it came back to him to drill the next hole.

After the holes were all cut, he sprayed liquid pipe into the holes. It crawled up each hole until it hit air. He grabbed the end of each liquid pipe and pulled it to the nearest sewage feed or water feed. As soon as it touched a feed end, it attached itself and sealed itself to it. A couple of minutes later, each pipe dried and hardened. It was flexible enough to withstand some movement in a quake, however. He left the service tunnel and connected the liquid pipe ends under the house to the house's lines. The liquid pipe didn't seal automatically to Earth fittings, so he wrapped sealers around the liquid pipe to house pipe connections.

He climbed out from under the house and saw Fon.

"What is left to do?" he asked Pon.

"Turn on the sinks and flush the toilet."

"You left all the hard work for me!' Fon said, laughing.

"You took too long!"

Fon looked sheepish. "I fell asleep after I talked to you."

"It's OK. We were all exhausted."

They stood on the house's porch. "It is beautiful here."

"Yes, it is. It will be much more beautiful once it has more plants and flowers."

"Have you decided whether you want to live here?" Fon asked.

"Peabody hasn't said he wants to live here," Pon said.

"Lan is certain he will. It is much more like Earth in here. I'm not an Earthling and I like it better. Anyway, it was Ban who couldn't decide, not me. If Peabody wants me here, here is where I will be. I certainly have no sentimental attachment to my room. Ban just needs to move his workshop here. "

"He has all that equipment."

"We can help move it. It isn't impossible, just more work. He's exhausted now and the idea of another major project does not appeal to him. Once we are here, he will be joining us. There is no chance he will allow all of us to live right next to Peabody while he is living by himself."

They looked around.

"I think we should enlarge the park for our quarters, rather than using some of the existing space," Fon said.

"That's an idea. Let's look at the seismic scans and see where would be safest."

Fon had a display with him and they looked.

"Here or here, I think." Pon said, pointing to two spots. One was to the left of the park entrance. The other was close to the house.

"I think by the entrance. It will give Peabody and Lan a little more privacy," Fon said.

"I agree. Let's get started."

They used a rock cutter to cut a corridor first. Fon entered the dimensions of the corridor they wanted and started the cutter. Once again, the rock was crushed and flowed into the cavern below the park. The noise made the birds screech. Once the corridor was cut, he entered the dimensions of the rooms they would need and their locations on the cutter. It cut two rooms before they took a break for water and something to eat. Mun came by to offer his assistance. Pon had him work on enlarging the service tunnel to run under their new quarters. While he did that, Fon and Pon cut the other rooms. Pon decided to cut a larger room for Ban's workshop as well.

Fon tossed a ball of sealer into the new corridor. It burst when it hit the ground and it expanded to cover all the surfaces in the corridor and the rooms. When the new sealer reached the sealer on the walls of the park, it bonded to it.