RIDERS ON THE STORM

by Dawn Underwood (Thunderbird)-Nighthawk Commando

        Face paced dejectedly in front of the lone window of the motel room he and
Murdock were sharing, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain drops as they
gently hit the window.  Finally stopping, he turned, his back to the world
outside.  "Murdock?"
        The lanky pilot looked up from the television, meeting his friend’s gaze as
he laid on his stomach on one bed.  "Yeah, Faceman?"
        "Murdock, have you ever…been in love?"
        Murdock sighed.  He should have known this conversation was coming.  Ever
since Father McGill had shown up at Peck’s door with his fraternity pin, Face
just hadn’t been himself.  The captain watched him as his friend studied him,
waiting for his response.  After a moment more of watching the lieutenant,
Murdock replied, "Yes, Face, I have."
        "You have?"  Murdock nodded.  "Did that person return your love?"
        The captain thought for a second.  "No, I don’t think so.  Not the way I
needed.  You’re thinking about Leslie again, aren’t you?"
        Murdock saw the loneliness in the other’s eyes as he nodded.  He walked away
from the window, plopping down on the other bed in the room.
        "You still love her, don’t you?"  There was a flash of lightening in the
distance, outside the window.
        "I don’t know," Face whispered, his head in his hands, elbows resting on his
knees.
        "What do you mean, you 'don’t know?'  You either do, or you don’t."  Murdock
sat up, swinging his legs down off the side of the bed and faced his
companion.
        Face frowned, looking up.  "It’s not that easy, Murdock."  He sighed.  "I do
love her – I think I always will.  But I also know that nothing will ever come
of it.  She won’t break her vows, and I wouldn’t ask her to."
        Murdock cocked his head slightly to one side.  "So what’s the problem?"  He
watched as Face got up from the bed and began to pace around the room, one
hand in his pants pocket, the other running through his sandy-blond hair.
        "How’d you get over her?" Peck suddenly asked.
        "I didn’t."  Thunder rolled outside, building in intensity as the storm moved
closer to the city.
        Face quickly crossed the room, sitting on the bed by Murdock.  "You didn’t?"
        Murdock looked down at his hands, now held awkwardly in his lap.  "No."
        Face leaned forward again, covering his face.  "Oh, Murdock, what am I gonna
do?"
        Murdock reached out and drew his friend to his chest, holding him close for a
few moments.  Finally, Murdock pulled away slightly, looking down at his
friend.  "You’ll go on with your life, just like you’ve always done.  Nothin’
can keep you down for long, Faceman."
        Face got up, walking back over to the room window.  He stared outside,
watching the light rain run down the glass panes.  He stayed there for several
minutes, silent, just watching the lightening as it danced across the
darkening sky.
        "I’ve got to find a way to forget her, Murdock," he whispered.  Face suddenly
felt Murdock standing behind him.  Close.  Turning slightly he looked up into
warm brown eyes.  "Maybe we can do it together.  Help each other along."
        Murdock smiled sadly and shook his slowly.  "I don’t want to forget you."
        Face looked at Murdock, uncomprehending.  A sudden bolt of lightening lit the
dim interior of the motel room, and Peck saw the look in his friend’s eyes as
he gazed down at the younger man.  He’d never seen such a lusty look in the
captain’s expression.  "Murdock, I –"
        "Shhh."  Murdock placed his fingers under Face’s chin and gently traced the
curve of his cheekbone with one thumb, looking down into dark, mesmerizing
blue eyes.  Before the other could speak again, Murdock leaned down and
lightly brushed his lips against Face’s.
        After the captain pulled back, Face stood with his eyes closed for a moment,
leaning into Murdock.  Slowly opening his eyes, he looked up at Murdock, who
was watching him with those same intense, beautiful brown eyes.
        "God, Face.  You don’t know how long –"  He was cut off as Face reached up,
placing one hand behind his head, and pulled him down, capturing his mouth in
a deep, passionate kiss.  Instinctively, Murdock placed his arms around Face
and pulled him tight against his body.  He felt the con man do the same as
Murdock’s searching tongue gently, but insistently plunged into his mouth,
exploring the moist warmth.  Somewhere in the distance, the thunder rolled
steadily louder as the rain continued to harden.
        One of the pilot’s hands slid down from Face’s back and onto his rear,
squeezing gently, pulling him ever closer.  Face moaned appreciatively against
Murdock’s mouth as his own hands moved from behind Murdock to between them,
where he began to nimbly unfasten the buttons on the front of the pilot’s
shirt.  When the shirt was open, he began running searching fingers through
the mat of thick, dark hair on Murdock’s chest.  He leaned down to tenderly
tease the sensitive nipples, causing Murdock to jump slightly at the first
nip.
        A low moan escaped from Murdock’s throat before he took both of Face’s hands
in his own.  When the lieutenant looked up at him curiously, he spoke, his
voice husky.  "Are you sure you wanna do this, Faceman?  I don’t want to force
you into anything."
        In response, Face kissed him again and, never breaking their passionate
contact, led Murdock over to the bed, playfully pushing him backward onto the
mattress.  He allowed Murdock to finish removing his shirt, while extracting
himself from his own, allowing them both to lay in a pile on the plush carpet
beneath his feet.
        Murdock reached up for Face at the same moment that Face put one hand on the
captain’s chest, pushing him all the way back onto the bed.  Knocked off
balance by Murdock’s hold, Face fell forward, landing on the bed next to the
pilot, who took advantage of the situation by rolling over, placing himself on
top of his friend.  He shifted positions slightly to the side, pressing his
eager body against that of his lover.
        Murdock began kissing Face’s chest, feeling the muscles there respond to his
light touch.  Reaching down, Murdock quickly unfastened the top of Face’s
pants, sliding the zipper down with one hand.  In one smooth motion, he slid
his hand inside both pants and underwear, causing Face to gasp as Murdock
gently petted his stiffening cock.
        Face pressed himself closer to Murdock as the hand inside his pants became
more insistent, able to feel the captain’s own erection through his pants.
"Murdock," Face groaned, reaching for the other’s waistband, but Murdock
grabbed Face’s hand in his own.
        "No, Face," Murdock whispered, looking down into darkening, mesmerizing blue
eyes.  "Let me show you how to forget her."  He again claimed Face’s mouth in
an almost brutally passionate, yet somehow tender kiss.  The lieutenant closed
his eyes, memorizing the scents and  tastes that were uniquely Murdock.
        Suddenly, the loving hand was no longer rhythmically stroking his growing
erection, but instead was working to remove both underwear and pants from
Face, who lifted his hips to help.
        Leaving Face laying, naked, on the bed, Murdock stood and removed the last
vestiges of his own clothing.
        Pushing himself up on his elbows, Face looked Murdock over.  He let his
wander from the dazzling smile down over the hairy, muscular chest and broad
shoulders, down over his flat belly, his gaze finally settling on his long,
powerful shaft, already standing proudly erect.  How come he’d never noticed
before just how sexy his best friend was?  He watched as Murdock straddled his
thighs, rubbing his hips against Face’s as he leaned forward for another kiss.
This time Face allowed his tongue to do it’s own exploration of his lover’s
sensuous mouth.
        Face moaned softly as Murdock pulled away, sucking gently on the con man’s
lower lip for an instant before trailing warm kisses down his neck and across
his chest, paying particular attention to the sensitive nipples.  He ran his
tongue teasingly over each until they stood firm and erect before moving on
down his body.
        Murdock’s quick tongue darted in and out of Face’s small bellybutton, causing
him to moan in pleasure as Murdock’s  hands, warm against his skin, caressed
first chest, then belly, and finally the soft skin on his inner thighs.
        Murdock’s lips moved down, playfully kissing the insides of Face’s thighs,
sucking gently on the bare skin, while his hands moved to Face’s hips, putting
every curve to memory.
        Still leaning on his elbows, Face could only watch and moan as Murdock placed
one last kiss on his thigh before reaching with one hand and squeezing his
lover’s aching balls at the same moment as he took almost his entire throbbing
cock into his warm, moist mouth.  The double sensation was enough to cause
Face to throw his head back with a loud groan and buck wildly, almost
dislodging Murdock’s loving mouth.
        Bringing his right hand to the base of Face’s engorged cock, his left still
messaging the perfectly round spheres, he began to slid his hand up and down
around Face’s shaft, working up a steady rhythm that he matched with his lips.
He alternately sucked then licked at Face’s cock, now pulled entirely in his
mouth, drawing out the first drops of precum from it’s rosy tip.  The slightly
salty taste caused Murdock to increase his rhythm in anticipation.
        Insistently running his hands through Murdock’s thinning brown hair and
pushing his head closer to his body, Face’s only coherent thought was that he
couldn’t believe that his best friend was providing him this kind of pleasure.
He raised his hips to meet Murdock’s hungry mouth in time with the captain’s
maddening cadence, moaning loudly.
        Murdock’s hands slid under Face’s hips, grasping his ass cheeks and squeezing
firmly.  Suddenly, he forcefully pushed two fingers through the tight ring of
muscle into the smooth channel that led deep inside Face’s body.  At the
erotic intrusion, Face came explosively, emptying himself down Murdock’s eager
throat, crying out his lover’s name repeatedly while spasming uncontrollably.
Murdock, never releasing his hold on Face, came with him, his own erection
pressed against the bed.
        When Face’s orgasm was finally over and Murdock had sucked the last of the
semen from his swelled, spent cock, he moved up the bed and laid next to Face,
drawing him to his chest.  Feeling the lieutenant tremble in his arms, he held
him until finally Face looked up, heavy lids half covering satisfied blue
eyes.
        "Murdock?"
        "Yeah, Faceman?"
        "Kiss me."  Murdock lovingly complied, one hand idly running through sandy-
blonde hair.
        When the kiss broke, Face smiled up at Murdock.  "You are unbelievable.  That
was…unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before."  His right hand lightly
stroked Murdock’s chest as he spoke.
        Murdock kissed him softly on the forehead.  "That’s because no one else has
really loved you for you, Faceguy."
        Sighing contentedly, Face snuggled closer into Murdock’s arms, pressing
himself against his chest, and quickly fell into a peaceful sleep.
        Murdock yawned, looking down a the man he’d loved for years, vaguely
wondering if this would be a one night stand, or if Face could handle a
meaningful relationship.  He mentally shrugged, feeling himself becoming
increasingly tired.  Things would happen as they happened – he and Face would
deal with it as it came along.  The last thing he heard before drifting off to
sleep was the soft rumble of thunder in the distance and the gentle, soothing
tapping of rain drops against the window.