Zephyr's Roots (Early Access) (Patreon)

The days passed without incident on Leif and Zephyr's big floating rock. Maybe a scientist in some space hub somewhere would call it a planet, but if Leif could walk the circumference of a rock in one day, it was just that - a rock. At least it made patrolling easy, not that anyone else ever crashed here. There weren't even animals, just bugs and fish. Give it a few thousand years, she mused, they'd evolve into something. Hopefully not as devastating as the human race, but it wouldn't be hers or Zephy's problem by then anyway.

Speaking of the love of her suddenly very uninteresting life, Zephyr was snoozing in the hammock after a long half-hour gathering twigs to fill their new fire pit. Designed by Leif. Dug by Leif. Built by Leif. Under the careful supervision of Zephyr.

Somehow, with thanks to The Wayward Wheeze's shitty escape pod calibration, Leif's entire life had changed in a matter of minutes. From the galaxy's most infamous G.R.U.N.T member, to a homesteader on an empty planet with the woman she had been obsessed with for just short of three years. A woman, it turned out, with zero survival skills but half-decent pussy eating skills. The bumps and bruises gained in the crash landing were almost worth it.

The new life took some getting used to. No more glancing over her shoulder, no more expectation of attack in her sleep, no more missions and the displacement that came with them. Everything was slow and quiet on Leif and Zephy's rock. Leif deconstructed and reconstructed their home over and over, finding better uses for the parts leftover from their escape pods - The Wayward Wheeze's pod was a rust bucket barely worth preserving. And Zephyr spent her time... collecting things that aren't too heavy, napping, and being a juicy-assed distraction.

Who was Leif kidding? Her new life was perfect.

The tiny band of metal she was trying to coerce into something pretty was not co-operating. It wasn't anything serious, just a silly little gift. But Leif was going to get seriously frustrated if she fucked up a third piece of their precious resources in the name of a silly surprise. She paused from twisting copper under the mild sun, her mother’s advice halting her as it echoed in her mind. She had always told Leif she needed to marry a doctor, settle down, let them take care of her. Whether Zephyr was fully qualified, Leif had never cared to check in all of her personal profile rifling, but she was good at fussing and cleaning cuts. That's all Leif needed.

Within a minute of further manipulation, the makeshift ring snapped, and so did Leif's patience. She felt her body balloon up with her anger, muscles bunching and knotting, skin reddening under her natural bronze hue. And then, because Zephyr was asleep under a Leif-produced canopy a few metres away, Leif squeezed her lips into her mouth and ranted and raved her profanities into what became a muffled, "Mmmmmh! Mu-ha ha-hing mmh mmh!" She stomped about her workstation, the dry, sandy earth muting her steps, and waved her fists. Silently fighting earth, sky and any ghost that dared step between. It had been a long time since she'd had the opportunity to punch someone. Hunting was zero-action on the rock, all trap setting and collecting; she couldn't even fight a bear or something.

"Did you hurt yourself?"

Leif froze, mid-furious-flail, and her lips popped back out with an awkward noise. "No! Just... project not working out." She lowered her arms and took a deep breath before she could face her little lover. Zephyr was too sweet to have to see her as she really was. The reputation had done enough, Zephyr had confessed as much. And Leif knew she was worse than anything anyone said about her.

When she turned, Zephyr was dangling half-out of her hammock, still shaded by the canopy. Her hair had grown out from its cute bubble bob and now hung long and sleek, almost reaching the dirt where she hung out of the hammock. She was freckled now, all over, Leif had counted every one. They didn't have sewing materials, but very careful cutting had been used to turn her ship-issued jumpsuit into a crop top, shorts, a skirt with open sides and a reed belt threaded through the waist, and a tube top. On cloudy days, Zephy stripped naked and washed all of their items with the nearby river water, those were Leif's favourite days.

"You put too much pressure on yourself, babe," Zephy called. The endearment burned Leif's ears - their weak little sun couldn't compare. She hadn't adjusted to open displays of affection, even on their own private planet. She was more of a 'pine from a distance until you make them uncomfortable' or 'be mean to them to keep them away so you don't have to admit anything' type of romantic. "We have all our basics, everything else is a bonus." Zephyr's voice had become a pretty coo. "You've done an amazing job already."

The burn spread to her face and Leif stomped back to her workstation, grumbling about nothing. Pretending to return to her work, she swished her hand around in her spare parts crate, filled with crap she hadn't found a use for yet. The tips of her fingers grazed something... rubbery. Leif froze, snatching the item and pulling it out. A silicone lever cover. Probably intended for a control deck in a cockpit... The Wayward Wheeze had crammed plenty of crap into their escape pods, using them like damn storage units, and finally, it had offered something better than rust and dust.

All she’d have to do was melt some scrap… let it cool a little and shape it… fit the silicone… give everything an intense cleaning… Leif smirked down at her workbench, her day had finally turned around.

Leif spent the rest of the morning sneaking around like the kid that stole the last cookie. Zephyr didn't seem to notice except to comment that she was in a much better mood by lunchtime, Leif could only agree, scarfing down her fish soup, desperate to finish and get back to her new surprise. Who needs a stupid sappy ring?

When the sun set and she was still working, Zephyr tiptoed out to her workstation and dropped her weight against Leif's side. It didn't disrupt anything, Zephy was all curve and no stock. If Zephyr didn't scream bloody murder every time she attempted it, Leif would carry her around one-handed. Her appearance also didn't ruin the surprise, since Leif had reached the final parts, weaving together some scraps from her clothes that had also been chopped into more revealing outfits to make the most of the materials. The main component of the surprise was hidden in her toolbox.

Zephyr snorted and Leif's hands stilled.

"Are you making a thong?" She curled her hands around the crease of Leif's elbow and gave her a sultry eyebrow raise. "How romantic."

You have no idea, Leif thought. Instead, she shook her head.

"A hanging fruit basket?"

Leif shook her head.

"Fish net for really big fish?"

Leif shook her head.

"What's the big secret?"

"Go inside," Leif murmured, hearing her voice drop to a husky drawl at just the thought of revealing her newest project. "Get naked, and wait for me. Face down, ass up."

A beat of hesitation passed, and Leif glanced down at the woman hanging off her arm. She was weighing up her options, thinking she had options. Leif raised a brow, a silent order of 'now.' A grin bunched Zephy's pink cheeks and she relented, falling back and sauntering away. Swinging her hips as she did since she knew Leif would watch, fighting off drool like the rabid dog the universe knew her to be. She left the pod door open.

It was a task in itself to keep from rushing. The woman she loved was butt naked in their hand-made house, a sentence Leif could never have formed in her own mind until the crashes. She wanted her gift to be perfect, though, and for that to happen it needed careful finishing. Just a few more minute adjustments…

The tiniest shiver ran over Zephy's peachy behind when Leif stepped over the threshold. She was bent in half over their bed, facing the metal plates that made up the back wall. Her ankles were crossed innocently. Her hair was loose and ready to be tugged.

Leif reached her, bent down, gripped her hips in both hands and yanked her up to her toes, just barely high enough to meet Leif's own hips. The length of metal that hung from her crotch, coated in silicone, bobbed between Zephy's thighs. Leif pried them open and felt herself throb at the sticky sight.

"You're already soaked," Leif groaned. As if on command, a dribble of slick spilled free. Leif caught it on the silicone tip of her new toy and dragged it through Zephy's dark pink folds.

Zephyr gasped. "What-"

Half an inch, just to test, and Zephyr squealed, feet kicking and palms slapping the wall and sending a reverberation around the pod. Leif laughed.

"Like my new invention?"

Zephyr was already breathless when she answered, "If there's more of it, yes."

"There is…” Leif paused, purely to tease. “But I figured we could up the amount an inch a day, like an advent calendar for your cunt."

"Leif!" But she laughed. "Please, just a little more, please."

"A little," Leif repeated with a sly grin. She gave her half, all in one thrust, ignoring the mild resistance from Zephy's insides.

"Fuck!"

"More?"

"Yes!"

75% in and Zephy was throwing her ass back like a dancer in a moon bar. Leif grabbed her hips again to still her, squeezing a little harder than necessary to get her lover's attention. Zephy whimpered.

"There's a little left, want it?"

Her answer was a squeak. Close enough.

Leif cleared the gap between her thighs and Zephy's, pressing in until her home-made harness was digging into Zephyr's ass cheeks. If it left marks, she would behave herself for the rest of her life, promise, amen. The wet sound that came from Zephy's hungry cunt pared perfectly with its owner's high moan. It was a miracle this woman had the ability to speak with what her vocal cords were put through every night.

Finally, Leif began to thrust, and her day’s long fantasy became a reality. Just watching the grey silicone drag in and out of her lover’s body, pulling at the delicate pink parts of her, Leif had to bite her lip against a pathetic moan.

"Don't stop," Zephyr sobbed, clawing at the wall, pushing back desperately. "I swear to God, Leif, I'll-"

"You'll what?" Leif laughed.

"I'll-" she broke off to scream into their sheets when Leif slammed into her, deep. What a lucky coincidence one of them was medically trained, since someone would be needing urgent gut rearrangement in the morning.

When she was done convulsing, Leif slowed the pace, only offering half the length she wielded. "Tell me what you'll do to me if I stop," she drawled.

"I-I don't know!"

"Come on, Zephy, threaten me again, see how it works out." Being the strongest person in the room never got old, and Leif always loved to be reminded. Overhearing one of Zephy's dumbass crew mates warning her about Leif had gotten her off for a week. That's right, puny man, I'd beat your ass unarmed. She’d only let him go alive that time because Zephy was there… Leif blinked, her hips had been rolling on muscle memory while she reminisced. Zephy was crying under her, babbling her pleas and giving puppy-eyes over her speckled shoulder.

Leif sighed, as though being put through major inconvenience. "Fine, I'll add it to your tab."

The pace picked back up and Leif finally got to prove she could lift Zephy off the ground with one hand when she used the other to flick the very tip of her clit until her tiny Zephy soaked both their feet with a broken scream.

"You've been hiding that special skill," Leif mumbled, mildly impressed. It didn't stop her, not until Zephy was completely and totally incomprehensible. Leif rode her to that point with one hand keeping her upright and the other dug into her hair, pulling her head back and letting every dirty noise fill their home. When she was completely fucked out of her mind, she wouldn't remember all the stupid sappy shit Leif was going to grunt at her while they cuddled in bed, one hand between her legs and the other clutching Zephy's swooping waist as though she might crawl away in the middle of the night.