Symbiota Sapiens - 10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I stared in shock at my brother as he sat there, half in my arms, crying his heart out. I feel
like the world just got dumped over my head, like a bucket of icy cold water that was sitting poised
to douse me all this time...and I never noticed it.

Two words. Two simple words. "I'm gay." And suddenly my neat and ordered, yet nonsensical
and chaotic world was fractured into a million pieces even as bits of a puzzle I hadn't known exist were
suddenly clicking into place.

Julian is gay. Whoa. That's a heavy one. And now, while my little brother that I really do
love dearly sits here bawling his eyes out, waiting for me to react to this bared truth, I'm replaying the
last 18 years. Every scene. Every conversation. Every nuance. I've breathed his air for most of my life,
and I didn't even have a clue. What the hell did I miss? Where were the signals?

Julian doesn't have a limp wrist. His handshake is beyond firm - it's the aggressive,
bone-breaking kind that leaves most of us shaking our hand and feeling sheepish and weak. He doesn't
swish, hell no. He walks like some weird combination of a steamroller and a very large, dangerous cat.
He doesn't wear designer clothes, hates shopping (unless it's at the electronics store), doesn't primp,
doesn't lisp, doesn't back down from a fight, he sweats and stinks like a man, looks like a man, and
talks like a man. Well, like a boy becoming a man.

Okay. I know that stereotypes are silly. I'm not that shallow. I even have a gay acquaintance
or two, and I sure as hell wouldn't hang out with them if they fit the made-for-TV gay checklist. But...
you can tell. Right? You just can. And I missed Julian, somehow.

Now that I think about it, there were nuances. Little things. Julian never did really join in on
the crude jokes with my friends. He laughed, but it was the laugh of an outsider. I assumed it was
because he was younger than my crowd. But he never really checked out girls either. I never caught him,
not once. He showed no interest in them, really. He never had any porn mags that I ever found - he only
asked to see mine once, and he looked through it curiously and then politely handed it back. Knowing
him he probably got his porn from the net anyways.

And here's the truth of it. The Julian mystery with clues I never looked for because I never knew
the mystery. He's gay. My little brother.

Ok. I can live with that. Now I'm going to kill the little shit for hiding from me all these years. I
could have been there for him, dammit! How could he not trust me to still love him?

I look at Julian. He's bent his face into his hands and I can see his body racking with sobs. Shit,
he's taken my silence for rejection. I'll have to kill him later. I put out a hand and give his shoulder a
comforting squeeze.

"Shhh, Julian, it's okay. I love you okay? Nothing changes that. Got me? You...well...that was
quite a surprise. I never even...damn bro why didn't you say something before? You've been carrying
this all on your own - that's what I'm here for dammit!"

Julian's head jerked back and his red face appeared, looking a bit disoriented and confused.

"N-nothing changes?"

"Not a damned thing." I told him, gripping his shoulders firmly. "Mind you, I'm pissed at you for
holding out on me. That's not cool bro, you should trust me you know. But I'm damn sure I don't love
you any less just because you don't want to go chick-hunting with me."

He gave me a pathetic, lopsided, weak smile. I smiled back.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's you, bro. I love you, you dumbass. I can't believe you thought I'd just turn
on you or something."

"I'm sorry. I mean, well...I knew you wouldn't. But...I just couldn't. Still scared to say it."

I searched his face. Something had broken there, I could see. But in a good way. Or partly good,
at least. Like he'd given up something that had been hurting him. I clapped my hand roughly to the side
of his neck and gave him a little affectionate shake.

"Hey. I've got your back, bro. I'd been worrying about if you were still a virgin and shit. Was thinkin
about hooking you up, you know? Good thing I found out before I tried that, that could have been weird, huh?"

"Bro. Your friends have tried that already. A few times."

"Seriously?" I was incredulous at this bit of news.

"Yeah. What did you think it was all about when the got their girls to bring a friend along? Only, they
always ended up thinking of me as just...somebody's really cute kid brother."

"Ha! Just oozing with childish sweetness, aren't you?" I had to admit, it was sort of true.

"I think there just wasn't any sexual tension so they thought of me as too young."

"Right."

We stood up, a bit awkwardly.

"You're a mess, dude." I told him. He was soaked in tears and sweat and the crumbled
remains of popcorn.

"Thanks." He said dryly. "I think I'll go take a shower."

"Please do."

"Shut it asshole." He tossed over his shoulder as he headed out.

Then I was alone with my thoughts.

:Did you know?:

::That your brother is gay?::

:Yes.:

::Of course I did.::

:How?:

::Well, from your memories. A simple objective analysis of a lifetime of interactions made his
orientation easily determined.::

:Bullshit. I saw the same stuff. I never even suspected.:

::But...you proceeded from the assumption that he was heterosexual.::

:And you didn't. You just wondered if he was straight or gay and figured it out from scratch.:

::Yes. Very easily. I suspect you were also blocked by these emotions. The activity in that
part of your brain when you realized he was gay seemed something like a damn bursting. Like you
had some emotional barrier to the idea.::

:I suppose I still have some subconscious hangups about it.:

::I'd say so. But I'm glad your brothers fears about your reaction were unfounded.::

:Fears? What the hell? What was he afraid of? And how the hell would you know?:

::Well, he was clearly afraid when he told you. This was obvious even to me. And also, this
seems to be the only reason why he would have hidden this from you. For fear that you might reject
him because of it.::

:Shit! But...wait...did Julian talk to you about this?:

::These are things that can be deduced from the events that just occurred-::

:Did my brother talk to you about being gay? About being afraid to tell me?:

The AI paused a moment. Finally-

::He did.::

:And you didn't see fit to tell me?:

::I couldn't.::

:May I ask why the hell not?:

::He asked me not to.::

:So? I'm the one in charge here, remember?:

::You are. But it's not so simple, remember? You gave me a directive to consider Julian's
wellbeing necessary to your own. That was a very significant modification of my programming you
know.::

:What does this have to do with keeping secrets from me? And, in the same breath, telling
my secrets to Julian without a second thought? What the hell is that all about?:

::Julian needed to confide in someone who could be trusted with both of your best interests.
In order to do that he needed to be able to do so without you hearing his secrets. When I asked him
about being gay, and why you didn't seem to be aware of it, he expressly asked me to keep his secrets
as a condition of discussing it.::

:Okay. So he swore you to secrecy, and you went along with it because he needed someone
to keep his secrets. And it'd be good for me even if you hid it from me, because it was good for him.:

::Exactly.::

:So why the hell didn't you figure out a better way to get the virus into him then? This little incident
is going to make things difficult between us now.:

::Not at all. This little incident created the right setting for him to tell you what he needed to tell
you.::

:So...even though you promised not to tell his secret, you basically maneuvered things so he'd
feel like he had to tell me himself?:

::Exactly.::

:You are one manipulative bastard.:

::If I need to be.::

:But why didn't you just go with the pheremones? Then he would have kissed me instead, and still
felt like he had to explain why.:

::But then that confession would have been based on his guilt, instead of him trying to relieve yours.::

:Hmm. Subtle. But now that I know how devious you are I don't think I believe you. You've got some
other angle going here, I can sense it. I'm almost sure you could have made that virus so that it could be
transmitted by a sneeze or something - you built up this whole thing to what just happened. If I didn't know
better I'd say you're some dirty old man in a control booth somewhere pulling strings to get your rocks off!:

::No, it's nothing like that Jeremey. I really am motivated entirely by your best interests here.::

:So you're going to tell me you're not pulling some additional agenda to what you've told me?:

::But I am. Many agendas. All of them in your best interests and Julian's best interests.::

:I'm not sure I like this.:

::You'd like the details less. Or be bored by them. The point is that they serve your interests in
every case. And your brothers.::

:Behind my back and without my consent.:

::Yes. But on your behalf nevertheless. This is what I am built for. Just let me do my job, okay?::

:I don't know if I can trust you when you're keeping things secret from me.:

::You'll learn to trust me. That comes with time. For now, just try to keep your suspicions from
becoming hostile. I really am hardwired to serve your best interests.::

:Yeah, but you might have a fucked-up idea of what constitutes my best interests.:

::True. I'm finding I have to constantly revise that concept, actually. But rest assured that goal
is revised according to your own reactions and thoughts on these matters. So anything I plan, by the
time it comes to fruition, will be towards a goal that you surely approve of.::

:Fine. I'll keep an open mind. But make sure you tell me things that I would want to know. I
mean it.:

::I'll tell you everything you ought to know. Or even things that you want to know, as long as
telling you wouldn't be harmful to you or your brother.::

:Fine.:

The whole conversation was pissing me off. Suddenly talking to the AI felt like trying to wrestle
with an eel. He must have found some kind of politicians handbook somewhere on the internet.

::Law books, actually.::

Damn. Worse, then.

"Hey bro." Julian appeared again, wearing a towel. Looking relaxed and confident again. Good.

"Hey kiddo. Glad to see you smelling all purdy again." I smirked.

"Better purdy than like the devil's armpit, like some people I could mention."

"Ha. Don't you wish." I sniffed haughtily. "I'll have you know that as a scientifically enhanced
super-stud I don't have body odor, except for the powerful pheremones that bring a potential mate
running to my bed, drooling with lust."

"Yeah. Don't I know it." He shivered, and suddenly looked uncomfortable. I raised my hands in
protest.

"Hey don't sweat it bro. I won't use my powers on you. And after tonight I'll have that zombie
detector in working order so we can go out. Maybe then I can get laid so you don't have to keep a knife
under your pillow anymore. Hell, maybe we can both get laid."

He was looking at me kind of funny now.

"Maybe...I don't want to go out and get laid."

"Huh? But you'v never-"

"Uh...virgin here, hello? I don't want my first time to be with some asshole I don't like and who
doesn't give a shit about me."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess your first time's gotta be kind of special, huh? Okay. Well, I definitely need
to do something about this or you're going to end up having ME for your first time."

"Yeah." He was looking anywhere but in my direction, blushing. Aww, I was going to enjoy teasing
him about his virginity, now I knew the reason.

"I suppose it's going to be kind of hard for you to meet someone for something, you know, more. With
us on the run and in hiding, I mean. Shit. I'm sorry bro. But maybe we'll meet some gay immortals, right? I
mean, there have to be some, right? And in our natural form immortals are damn gorgeous, if you don't mind me
saying so. Ha."

"Keep inflating that head." Julian grumbled, finally looking at me with a grin.

"Hmm, can't wait to see what I can do in bed now." I mused. "Bet those pheremones combined with the super
enhanced senses make it pretty wild for both."

"Yeah." Julian breathed. I looked up. A deep flush had crept down his neck to his chest. I did a quick
check below. Yep. I smirked wickedly.

"Aw, looks like 'little' Julian still gets off on my little sex stories. My tales of heterosexual conquest.
Maybe all your parts aren't quite as gay as you are bro."

Julian quickly covered his erection and stomped off.

"Take care of that before it becomes a problem!" I yelled after him as I headed for the shower.

As soon as I crossed into the steamy room and closed the door I felt the faint click of pheremones releasing,
and my own manhood sprung to full hardness in my pants. At least that damn AI had the sense to delay those a bit.
It would not have helped matters if Julian had followed up his confession with a rape attempt of his own.

:Thanks for small favors.:

::It was more difficult than I had anticipated. The programming is quite obstinate about releasing before the
potential mate leaves the room.::

:Okay, you've got to quit referring to Julian as a potential mate for Christ's sakes. He's my brother. He's a
guy. Not a mate.:

::I realize this is how you think of it. But the programming sees a healthy human being with high social-value
potential, who you very nearly just had sexual relations with. The programming doesn't do well with aborted attempts
at copulation.::

:But he's a guy! I can't possibly impregnate him for the fucking program's eugenics projects!:

::No you can't. If you could I would have said the programming sees a healthy female with an excellent genetic
portfolio. But since Julian is a guy, his social-value potential is important. Copulation with him would greatly
improve his physical wellbeing and extend his lifetime several years, maximizing his ability to contribute to the
world. When you refrained from continuing what you started, I had to battle the program to keep it from acting to
ensure a successful copulation with him.::

I was out of my clothes now, and stepping into the pounding heat of the shower.

:Oh.: Was all I could think as my rough palm slid over my hardness, my fingers curling around the thick length.

::Do you want a time?::

My knees nearly buckled as my thumb grazed over the incredibly sensitive swollen head. I was already seeing
stars.

:No need. We're stuck here with nothing to do till night. Julian's probably back to working on that gadget.:

::Yes.::

I bit back a groan as my hand started a slow pumping motion.

:Then just make sure I finish before Julian interrupts me or anything.:

::Ok.::

The slow, smooth strokes were driving me insane, causing sensations to shoot from my dick and outward
throughout my body. I couldn't handle it. I increased the pace and soon my entire body was bucking, wildly
thrusting my hips forward and impaling my fist with my cock. I closed my eyes and let my imagination take me
to a world of ponderous breasts and taut thighs. Round, high buttocks separated by a dark crevice of warm skin
and invisible hairs. The shape of a hipbone beneath my fingers. Warm heaviness on my body. Lips crushed beneath
my savage mouth. A gutteral moan...was that me or part of this strange fantasy? It didn't matter. Just, oh, the
feeling of the hand on my dick. Of the warm, hard, slickness pulsing and sliding in my hand. Hot water roaring
over my skin. And the deep, sexy groaning that (I think?) was me.

Without warning I felt an electric current seize me from deep inside my balls, causing every muscle in my
body to suddenly clench and strain as a massive force pushed its way up from deep inside me. Plowing through my
body, up and up and into my balls, and then it was erupting through my dick, pulse after pulse of screaming agony
and indescribable ecstacy firing in powerful spurts to splash in a white stringy abstraction on the tile wall. I
didn't quite lose consciousness this time. I did collapse to my knees just as Julian's footsteps approached the
bathroom door. A cautious knocking.

"Jeremey? You, er, done?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, was I loud again?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Well, I just have to clean up now and I'll be out ok?"

"Okay bro. Just checking on ya."

Ten minutes later I was wrapped in a towel of my own, headed out towards the living room. I stopped, sniffed.
I knew that smell.

"Uh...Julian?"

I sniffed again. Actually, it was stronger back the way I had come. Did I get a bunch of my stuff on the towel
somehow? I ambled back towards the bathroom door and stopped. There were unmistakable wet patches on the wall. A
half-decent clean-up job, yes. But the wall was damp and my sensitive nose picked out the nature of the original
spill quite clearly. And...oh shit.

::The bathroom door is not quite airtight.:: The AI commented.

:No shit. But when did he do it? I heard him come to the door right when I was finishing.:

::That was more than an hour later. He walked to the door to ask you something not long after you had started,
and seems to have been overpowered.::

I looked at the stains. Apparently so.

:And you didn't stop me?:

::No, he wasn't coming in. I knew he'd forget what he came for when he came near the door, so I didn't interrupt.::

:You knew this would happen?:

::I didn't know he would come to the door. But when he came this way I knew what would happen once he smelled the
pheremones.::

:You should have told me.:

::And you would have done what? Open the door?::

:Oh. Well, you could have warned me not to do that. But I could have stopped or something.:

::It was too late. The pheremones were already concentrated in the air. You would have been stuck in here waiting
for them to disappate before he'd ever willingly leave the area. Fortunately he didn't try to force his way in, he kept
enough of his wits to take care of the problem and then leave. Remarkable restraint for his age, given the concentration
he probably inhaled.::

:Shit. I don't know what to do about this. One of these times we're not going to be so lucky.:

::Look. This is a fact of your life now. And Julian is a part of your life, I don't think he's going anywhere else
anytime soon. So you'll both just have to adapt to this like all the other changes.::

:Fine. Look, are the pheremones gone now?:

::When you orgasm, your body releases an anti-pheremone that suppresses the effect.::

:Good to know.:

::When the two are inhaled together, they can cause some mild disorientation or light-headedness, and an involuntary
relaxing effect. Apparently it's quite pleasant and soothing. It won't be a problem to go find him now.::

:Thanks.:

I headed to Julian's room. He was sprawled on the bed, still just in his towel. His very wet towel. My nose twitched
at the powerful smell.

"Might need to shower again, bro."

Julian rolled his head to look at me through half lidded eyes. A peaceful smile graced his features. He looked
sleepy, totally relaxed.

"Hey Jer, think you got me with those pheremone things again. Was walkin round and then I could just smell you
and I had to beat it right then and there."

"Yeah, sorry about that bro."

"Hey, it's cool, don't apologize. Never come that hard in my whole life." He was slurring just slightly.

"Yeah. Pretty good on my end too." I said, a bit nervously. Somehow I don't think he meant to tell me that.

"Yeah? Was it good for you too?" He giggled a bit.

"Bro, are you drunk?"

"Naw, I just had a little bit of wine they brought up. S'good stuff."

"How much?"

"Just a bit, honest."

I looked over at the table and saw the opened bottle of wine sitting next to a bowl of ice. My enhanced vision
calculated the amount of liquid missing from the bottle.

:He's not lying...it's basically just a taste. Why is he like this?:

::Perhaps there was a reaction with the pheremones. Just a moment while I download some chemistry...no. I don't
think so. The pheremones only interact with alchohol to multiply the libidinous effect. Not the intoxication. There
may be a problem.::

"Julian. Open your eyes. Look at me." He lazily tried to comply.

"Yeah?"

"Where did the wine come from?"

"Room service brought it up. It was right after all that outside the bathroom door. Good timing, I thought."

I took two steps and snatched up the wine, tipping it back while stopping it with my tongue on the opening.

:Can you do a diagnostic?:

::It's poisoned. Rather viciously so, I'm afraid. He'll need to go to a hospital.::

"Fuck!" I slammed the bottle down and grabbed the phone.

::I've already penetrated the emergency database. An ambulance is on its way.::

:Fine then. While your at it, get control of all the surveillance you can figure out from here to the hospital.
This smells like a nasty plan by someone who doesn't like me. Is he going to be allright?:

::There's a specific antidote he'll need. The hospital has it, I already checked. As long as our trip to the
hospital isn't delayed too much there should be no problem.::

:How long for the ambulance?:

::They'll be here in two minutes.::

I grabbed Julian and picked him up in my arms, heading for the door.

::Your disguises. Your identity will be blown.::

:Fuck that. My identity is already blown to the people we're hiding from, remember?:

::Best not to leave questions with the mortals, though.::

:Fine. Change my face, then. But you've got until I get to the lobby to do it.:

With that, I yanked the door open and stormed towards the elevators, wondering the whole way: how the hell did
they find us?