WARNING:
THERE IS EXPLICIT SEX AND BONDAGE GAMES IN THIS STORY. I marked this clearly in the header. The sex is graphic, but all loving and consensual (and not that much worse than a typical romance novel). If reading sex scenes like that would offend you, please don't read this.

If you want to comment, send email to <luba@lubakmetyk.net>

Part 1

It was a smaller group than usual at the pub that evening. Moira had stayed behind in her lab, awaiting a promised call from Henry McCoy that was already several hours overdue, although she'd encouraged Rahne and Douglock to take a break from assisting her research and go have fun. Peter Rasputin had retired to his room -- to paint, although the others remained unaware of that. Brian had begged off at the last minute also, although Meggan had come. Kitty and Pete were there, of course, as were Kurt and Amanda, Kurt having become a convert to regular pub nights.

Kitty had preset the auto-pilot on the Midnight Runner for their return trip before they'd disembarked, so that Rahne as their designated teetotaler driver would only have to push a button once they were ready to head back. Amanda had offered to teleport them over to the pub and back, but the others hadn't yet forgotten or forgiven their suddenly and unpleasantly sobering dunking in the frigid seawaters off Muir the last time a distinctly tipsy sorceress had tried to teleport them back to the island.

With their safe return arranged, they were merrily on their fourth round of assorted drinks when Jack Crossan came up to their corner table. "Package came in fuir ye, Wisdom -- big bugger, too." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "It's been sittin' there in back, awaitin' yuir convenience."

"Do you know what it is, Pete?" Kitty asked curiously. "And why did it end up here at the pub instead of being delivered straight to you on Muir?"

The Englishman groaned loudly, burying his thin face in his hands for an instant, then looking up to glare at the stout pubkeeper. "It's a surprise fer you, love. And I had it delivered here instead o' to Muir so 's t' give me time t' set it up right, so 's it would *be* a bloody proper surprise, 'cept Mr. bleedin' bigmouth here had t' go flappin' his jaws..."

"It's ok, Pete, really." Kitty tightened the arm she'd had draped over her lover's shoulders, tugging him closer to her so she could lean over and kiss his stubble-shadowed cheek. Then she pushed back her chair and jumped up. "I love surprises, no matter how they come! Can I see it now? Can we open it here, take it with us?"

"Yuir more 'n welcome tae open it here an' now, lassie, but 'tis more 'n a wee bit big an' heavy." Leading the small crowd back toward his storeroom, the grizzled pub owner grinned at Kitty's eagerness, quite unrepentant about letting the cat out of the bag and spoiling Pete's plans. "Might be better tae take it as is, an' open it up back at Lady Moira's. Ye can tell me an' Annie all aboot it t'morrow mornin' -- our treat, ye gloamin' Sassenach, tae make up fuir blowin' yuir surprise."

They crowded together inside the tiny back room next to the equally small kitchen, even more crowded now that the narrow aisle between stock shelves was occupied by a box -- about 4ft square, more than waist high, wrapped in anonymous brown paper, and addressed in big black letters to Pete Wisdom, care of the Chalk and Cheese.

"The one bloody time we could have used our soddin' two musclemen both them wankers decide to stay behind," Pete grumbled audibly, earning himself a frown from Kurt and a jab in the ribs from his girlfriend.

"Brian's been a bit upset about his sister," Meggan commented apologetically, "and he really doesn't think coming to a pub is a good idea when he's feeling a bit low -- and I agree with him. But it's no problem, Pete, really -- I can handle your surprise package just fine."

A shape-shifted Meggan rippling and bulging with muscles that would win her any weight-lifting competition in the world easily carried the enormous, heavy box into the large room Kitty used as her main computer electronics lab, a dithering Kitty dancing ahead along with a smirking Pete Wisdom while Kurt, Amanda, Rahne and Douglock trailed along behind. Smiling, she held it without any apparent effort while Rahne and Amanda joined the young brunette in clearing out a stretch of floorspace, then set it down near Kitty's favorite workstations at the excited giftee's urging.

Kitty immediately began tugging at a taped-down corner of the thick covering paper. Amanda started to ask, "Would you like some help--," then stopped and laughed as Rahne in the meantime swiftly, efficiently, reached over and ran her sharp claws along the tightly-sealed brown paper before the sorceress could even finish her offer, opening several slits Kitty could then dig her fingers into.

The contents were obvious long before they got the actual carton open, from the bold-colored label and illustration uncovered as the packing was ripped off. "Oh, Pete!" Kitty positively squealed in delight, turning to throw her arms around her lover.

"Thought you deserved... somethin' t' celebrate," he managed to get out in between the kisses being showered all over his thin, dark face as it wavered between a self-congratulatory smirk and his habitual cynical scowl.

Amanda and Rahne finished the unpacking, while Meggan -- morphed back to her usual 'seductive fay' form -- read from the advertisement panels scattered around on the carton: "Ergonomically designed seating for comfort, fit and style anywhere in the office... Finely detailed leather upholstery covering deep cushions and padded arms for luxurious comfort... Includes independently adjustable and locable seat with back tilt, pneumatic height adjustment, free float design with sturdy frame and base..."

"Sounds like it has everything." Amanda poked her own boyfriend in the side pointedly. "And you think you're the only romantic around here, fuzzy."

"Not quite," Pete grinned back at the strawberry-blonde sorceress. He might still have a mostly formal relationship with their team leader and some of the others, but he and Amanda had hit it off immediately -- to Kurt's occasional chagrin. "I didn't get the super-deluxe model with built-in heated massagers -- don't want no friggin' chair takin' that particular job from me."

"Mmm... you and me both, love. No chair could possibly match your magic fingers." Kitty glanced around the other females present smugly, "and he's got a built-in heater of his own, you know," which provoked a spate of ribald laughter from her appreciative, even envious, audience.

The blue-furred Nightcrawler had waited patiently for an explanation of Wisdom's earlier comment but, when none seemed forthcoming after a few moments, asked politely "You called this a celebration gift, Herr Wisdom? May we enquire as to the particular special occasion? Perhaps something the entire team should note?"

Wisdom gave his girlfriend another kiss, then pulled her around to stand pressed to his side as he announced gloatingly, "Me own Goddess o' Computin' here got 'erself her very first *official* computer-security consultin' contract. So I figured the chief executive officer--"

"And sole employee," Kitty interjected, snickering.

The wiry Englishman gave her a tight squeeze. "--As I were sayin', I figured the bloody least the cheeky chief executive officer o' Goddess o' Computin' Inc. deserved were a bleedin' executive chair worthy o' her exalted status."

After one last long, wet kiss, Kitty wriggled out of his loose embrace and plopped herself down in the chair, spinning it around a few times, laughing delightedly, then planted her feet to stop. Running her hands sensuously along the buttersoft black leather armrests, she smiled up at her proud boyfriend. "Pete, it feels wonderful! I don't know how to thank you enough..."

"Oh, I got me some ideas on how you can thank me, Pryde, trust me on that..." he leered down at her. Hearing an assortment of snickers and not-so-muttered asides, he turned to scowl at their enthralled audience, "...'s soon 's we get rid o' the bloody cheerin' section."

"Would it be correct to assume your sudden expression of a desire for privacy indicates your anticipated form of gratitude will involve intimate activities of an amorous nature?"

Rahne and Kitty both blushed at that disingenuous comment, while Meggan just giggled. The Scots weregirl reached over to clap a hand over Douglock's mouth. "Hush, ye silly bairn!"

"That's a very good reading of human behavior in general and subtle implications in the spoken word in particular, Douglock," Amanda smiled at the techo-organic boy-entity encouragingly, then grinned widely, "Of course, with these two, that would *always* be a pretty safe guess!"

It took a determined Wisdom only a few minutes to herd the small crowd out the door. It could have taken him a lot longer, but he managed to keep from responding to any of the snide comments, ribald suggestions and curious enquiries his recent pubmates kept coming up with.

By the time Wagner's tail had cleared the door -- which Pete shut firmly behind them -- Kitty was sitting on the floor, leaning down and twisting around to reach up under the wide, thick-cushioned seat and play with the chair's adjustments. Her lover stood there for a few moments, a fond look softening the harsh lines of his habitual dour scowl. Then he cleared his throat, "I'm just goin' t' go fetch somethin', love, ok?"

The slender brunette uncoiled enough from the chair base to glance up at him, smiling archly. "Another surprise?"

"Yeah, sort o'... I'll be back in just a bit, right, then?"

She surged up to her feet gracefully. Pulling the chair up to her workspace, she sat and turned on several machines, swivelling around to face him while they booted up. "Sure, no problem. I need to do some real work here for a while, anyway -- it'll be a lot easier to get this wonderful new chair adjusted just right if I use it while backtracing some of the network glitches I've got piled up."

Continued in Part 2...