Departure by Clonesgirl
Part VII: A Salutary Lesson
Their hearts hammering, their overheated bodies perspiring, the three men in the bed remained still as though time, for them, had ceased to have meaning.
Eventually, Edward felt Archie withdraw, accompanied by the soft touch of lips to the hot skin of his neck. How lovely, he thought, already missing a little the feel of the wonderful full member inside him even while knowing he might be a little sore in the morning from Archie's vigorous thrusts.
Archie remained kneeling to one side, allowing him room to move. As he gently withdrew from Horatio with a small wet, sucking sound his manhood felt sorely exposed and naked. Although he was long used to the sensation, it never the less always left him feeling a little forlorn.
Horatio smiled up at him and stroked his cheek, his sated expression a reflection of his own. He noted the large drops of Horatio's spend decorating his belly and ribcage.
Horatio followed the direction of his gaze and smiled. Where once he would have been embarrassed by the evidence of his own desires, he now felt only pride in the pleasure his own body gave to his beloved companions and the complete bliss of the senses he experienced as he did so.
Archie flopped down beside Horatio and rolled over on top of him to kiss him with a loud smacking sound.
"Mmmmm..." he sighed. "Oh, Horatio, you're all wet!" he promptly complained as he felt the cooling liquid drops on the sensitive skin of his belly. None the less he rubbed his belly all over his companion's, thereby making them both even wetter.
"So would you be if you'd been on the bottom!" Horatio retorted.
"Well now I'm all sticky! So what are you going to do about it?"
"Me? Why should I do anything about your sticky belly?" Horatio shot back. "It's your own fault. If you hadn't rolled onto me you would not have got all soiled."
"No sympathy!" Archie complained. "Not a bit of sympathy do I get around here. Oh, well, I'll just have to clean it myself," he decided, glancing at a smiling Edward who lay close by, enjoying their byplay.
Without warning, he quickly lifted himself off Horatio and rolled onto Edward, rubbing his now-sticky belly on his.
"Archie, you scoundrel!" Edward complained, nonetheless grinning up at him.
"Dearest Edward, Horatio has made me all sticky and now refuses to clean me up. Will you clean me up?"
Edward smiled at him. "My dearest Archie, I believe I have the solution to your problems," he remarked in somewhat sly manner.
"Do tell!", Archie purred.
With one hand Edward pulled him down until their lips met, his other hand straying down Archie's back. Without warning, his hand came down hard with a resounding slap on his lover's firm, rounded buttocks. Horatio, who had been watching and knew full well what to expect, burst out laughing at the expression on Archie's face.
"Ow! Ooh, that was hard, Edward!" Archie complained, rising and reaching behind him to rub the offended part of his anatomy where the imprint of Edward's hand was beginning to show.
Edward now turned his attention to a giggling Horatio who was lying on his side watching them. Sliding closer until their flesh touched and Horatio's lovely naked rear was within easy reach, he allowing his fingers to fondle it lovingly before straying into the slightly oily crack to play there a little.
Horatio smiled at him and kissed him, his huge eyes so soft with affection that Edward was almost distracted from his goal. Almost.
Without warning his hand went from a caress to a smack.
Horatio appeared utterly outraged, and Edward could not help laughing at his chagrined expression as he reached around to rub himself.
"Edward, what was that for?" he demanded, while the bed shook with Archie's giggles.
"Because you're the one responsible for my own soiled state," Edward replied quite matter-of-factly.
"I? I am responsible for your soiled state? Edward, it was not I who lay atop you but Archie."
"And he has been suitably punished for it," Edward agreed.
"But then why punish me?"
"Because you were the one that got all soiled and sticky in the first place," Edward responded.
"And you never get soiled and sticky when you are on the bottom?" Horatio accused.
"Most certainly not," Edward asserted with a straight face.
This was a blatant and outrageous untruth, and they all knew it. Horatio glanced at Archie, who smiled back at him in most guileless fashion.
Together, they pounced, tickling Edward mercilessly around the ribs and belly until he lay writhing and giggling helplessly, totally at the mercy of his vengeful young officers, now determined to retaliate for the assault on their dignity.
"Oh, God, cease and desist!" he gasped, his voice far from his normal bellow. Finally, they took mercy on him and ceased.
He gazed from one to the other as he lay there getting his breath back while they sat on either side of him, grinning at his predicament. He sighed. They had long ceased to be intimidated by him and he knew full well that the blame for his dire predicament lay entirely at his own door. After all, how could they be intimidated when they knew full well that he adored them?
"I swear, what is the use of being promoted when my officers still have no respect for me what so ever!" he muttered, noting their sideways glances.
"Oh, we still respect you, Edward," Archie responded.
"Of course we respect you, Edward, just as we always have," Horatio continued in a voice as smooth as silk.
He grabbed Edward's arms while Archie held his legs as, together, they rolled him over and pinned him down before simultaneously administering a sharp slap each to his very nice, muscular rear. This elicited a yelp of outrage.
"On our return to 'Indefatigable' I swear I shall have you both up before the gratings!" he muttered, rubbing his rear.
"Dearest Edward," Archie purred, "would it make you happy to have us naked and in chains at the gratings whilst you yourself administered punishment by flogging us with silken cords?"
Their glances travelled lower as a certain part of their commanding officer's anatomy twitched at the mental picture Archie had drawn.
"And I would wager," Horatio continued, "that after administering such punishment your need would be so great that you would immediately have us brought to your quarters merely to satisfy your lust."
"Or would you prefer to take us right there before the assembled ship's company?" Archie queried innocently.
This elicited another twitch of the anatomy in question.
"So, Edward, shall you have us flogged in order that the men might see your true feelings for us?" Horatio murmured seductively in his ear before licking all around the edge.
"And ours for you?" Archie concluded, sucking hard enough to leave a mark on his neck while Horatio's lips wandered across his cheek to press such tender and gentle kisses to his mouth that he sighed with pleasure and gave up the pretence of being angry with them.
"Alas, gentlemen, although flogging you at the gratings is a most attractive proposition, I fear that for the sake of morale we shall once again have to confine our activities to my quarters."
"A shame. But never mind, we shall manage," Archie muttered.
"Just as we have always done," Horatio concluded.
"And we shall come to your quarters and fuck you whenever we can," Archie continued.
"And shall our lusty Captain fuck us whenever the fancy takes him?" Horatio queried, his lips parted in invitation.
Edward grinned at them. He would definitely be sore in the morning - and he did not care in the least. "Indeed he shall, my most loyal and trusted officers. Indeed he shall."
He covered Archie's pliant lips with his own, lingering there as their tongues played, before turning to also kiss Horatio.
Eventually, in a ritual long laced with affection, they bestirred themselves to cleanse each other and take a drink of water. The fire was burning low in the hearth as Edward threw a couple more logs on it and turned out the lamps. They covered themselves up and settled down for the night, Edward now lying in the middle.
For the first time in over two hours they became aware that the weather had grown even worse, the rain continually beating against the room's south-east windows harder than ever, accompanied by the fearsome noise of the gale lashing the nearby trees. They all knew what it would be like to be on the Indy on such a night, with the ship as helpless as a piece of driftwood tossed about in an angry sea and officers and men working literally to save their lives.
It was Edward who suggested that they offer up a prayer for those at sea that night.
"Dear God and the angels," Archie began. "Please look after all those at sea tonight who are caught in this foul weather. Grant them the mercy of your protection, fair breezes and calm waters to carry them on their way. Oh, and please guide and protect the officers and men of 'Renown' both from the elements and from the madness of her captain. Amen."
As Horatio said a heartfelt "Amen" Edward stared at Archie before finally joining in.
"What's this about Captain Sawyer? Madness, you say?" he demanded.
It was Horatio who began. "Edward, we were only on 'Renown' for a short while but it was long enough to know that something was very wrong with her captain. I fear that he is most disturbed."
"Disturbed? In what way?" Edward queried.
"'Tis the officers who fear him, not the men," Archie added.
"Indeed, he seems to treat the men very well and all sing his praises," Horatio continued. "But the officers..." He trailed off uncertainly, knowing how Edward felt about hearsay.
"... they tell of fearsome punishments meted out on the merest whim," Archie continued.
"My dears, do you seriously expect me to believe that there is truth in these outrageous tales?" He gazed from one to the other.
Archie's blue eyes met his. "Edward, when you see officers speaking in furtive whispers and continually looking behind their backs, what do you conclude?"
"Do you both then believe Sawyer to be... addled?" Edward queried in disbelief.
"Yes, Edward, we do," Horatio answered. Archie nodded his agreement.
"My God!" Edward muttered. "And Sawyer has an excellent reputation. Indeed, the only satisfaction I gained from your departure was that at least you would be in good hands; in Sawyer's hands..." he trailed off.
"Captain Sawyer had a good reputation, Edward," Horatio corrected. "However, it is my firm belief that the man is not what he once was."
Edward shook his head, unable to believe that a captain who was a certified naval hero could have somehow gone so wrong. "And his reaction when you informed him of your change of orders?"
"Not pleasant," Archie began. "We were fortunate that the Admiral chose to send a member of his staff, Lieutenant Fairclough, to accompany us back to 'Renown' with our new orders."
"The man bore the full brunt of the Captain's wrath," Horatio continued, "and bore it well."
"What did he say to you, my dears?" Edward queried.
Horatio took up the tale. "He informed us that we were a pair of damn treacherous curs and if we ever set foot on his ship again he would have no hesitation in charging us with desertion and hanging us from the yardarm."
"My God!" Edward muttered, shaking his head. His officers had had the narrowest of escapes. If it was true that Sawyer was indeed touched by madness God only knew what might have happened had they stayed on 'Renown', and he did not care to speculate.
Leaning over, he kissed each of them in turn with all the love, gratitude and affection in his heart.
"My treasures, I thank God for your safe return, and for your perspicacity and utter damn audaciousness in effecting your change of orders. Begging an audience with an Admiral indeed. I have never heard the like!" he muttered, burying his face in Archie's warm and fragrant neck and squeezing his eyes shut against the onslaught of feelings that carried him along on a tidal swell. From his left, Horatio, too, embraced him, rubbing his back in soothing circles. All Edward could think was that, had they stayed on 'Renown', it might have spelt disaster for their young lives.
"Do not think about it, Edward," Horatio soothed while Archie kissed Edward's cheeks.
"Beloved Edward, do not upset yourself," Archie whispered in his ear. "We are with you, and we will stay with you."
Horatio was hugging them both. "Yes, Edward. You are a commodore now, so this need never happen again."
"And will not if I have anything to do with it!" Edward growled. "Believe me, my dears, when 'Renown' returns, discreet investigations will commence and, if things are as you say, then I will see to it that Sawyer is given a shore posting."
They agreed that in the circumstances this was the only course of action available.
They lay quietly for a while listening to the howl of the wind, none of them feeling particularly sleepy. Archie was stroking Edward's now-clean, flat stomach.
"Edward?"
"Hm?"
"Remember earlier Horatio asked you if you remembered certain words you had once imparted to him?"
"Yes?"
"Do you remember what you said to me the first time?"
Edward tried to remember. He remembered their initial exchange of words for he would never forget that. But after that? Shaking his head, he gave up.
"I remember," Archie continued thoughtfully. "It was as I was leaving and you petted my arse and told me how nice it was."
"I did no such thing!" Edward protested. "It is completely against regulations for a captain to go around fondling his officers."
Archie giggled. "You did a lot more than fondle that night, Edward!" he contradicted, grinning.
"That certainly sounds like you, Edward," Horatio chimed in. "Besides, I had sent Archie in my stead as you recall..."
"How could I ever forget!" Edward protested.
"... and I therefore requested and required him to inform me of his time spent in your quarters."
"Inform you? Outrageous! A gentleman would not make such a request!" He glared at Horatio.
"Every detail," Archie confirmed.
"And a gentleman does not kiss and tell!" Edward accused, now glaring at Archie.
"...and it was certainly a lot more than a fondle!" Horatio concluded, reaching around Edward to fondle the nice arse in question.
"More like a damn vigorous fuck, as I recall," Archie remarked.
"My past sins are catching up with me!" Edward muttered, resigned, at which Horatio burst out laughing, his mirth shaking all three of them.
The tension broken, their giggles reduced to smiles of affection and Edward leant forward to kiss Archie's soft pink lips, lingering there in gratitude for his young lover's understanding.
"I did not know you well then," he began. "It was only later as I got to know you better that..."
"Shh, Edward, I know: You fell in love with me," Archie finished for him, grinning, the mirth twinkling in his large blue eyes.
"Damn conceited imp!" Edward muttered. "However, it happens to be true. I had not even considered the possibility that there might be room in my heart - or my bunk - for another, but..."
"... but there I was," Archie interrupted, stroking Edward's cheeks, "and there I stayed."
Edward smiled at him. "Yes, and there you stayed, and I came to understand how much my dear Horatio cared for you. Indeed I soon discovered that, much to my surprise, I did too, and I realised that my heart was divided equally between you both."
He gazed from one to the other. "Sometimes... Sometimes I think I just need to be reminded of how much you both love me, and so I tell you now that today you have given me a most salutary lesson in love and loyalty." He swallowed before he could continue. "I am not ashamed to admit that what started out as the blackest day of my life has turned into the most joyful, but only because of your sacrifice."
"And you, dearest Edward, are our anchor," Horatio murmured, touching his lips to Edward's, "without whom we would be adrift."
"On bloody 'Renown'!" Archie added, kissing Edward's cheek before resting his head on his shoulder. "Our beloved Edward," he murmured, closing his eyes as Edward's gentle fingers ran though his soft hair, smoothing it back from his forehead so he could press tender lips to it, only to have the unruly locks fall down once more the moment he let them go.
"Our sweet Edward," Horatio whispered, his hand coveting Edward's groin even as he dozed off.
*
In his sleep, Archie Kennedy gave a prolonged shiver, his flesh breaking out in goose bumps, his face contorted as though in the depths of some terrible nightmare. In his sleep, Edward held him closer, cradling him to his breast.
