♥ Act 2 Epilogue - Peer Observation ♥

The Rabyth fast cruiser slid smoothly through space like a knife. Dustin sat staring out of the window of the cabin he was sharing with Rye, while the distant lights of Rabythion faded behind them en-route to the jump point. By the time they returned to Earth, it would have been a week and a half since the battle; in which time the bunny girl had gotten teams organized to repair the Solar Ascent before both she and Dustin got marched into a room by Meli. The Velca had grown impatient with Rye postponing her own happiness repeatedly, and told the two of them in no uncertain terms to take a flight on one of the transport craft that were rapidly ferrying engineers in and out of the Sol system, so that they could finish up the parts of their pairing that the Rabyth wanted to do in the light of her home star.

That’d been days prior - now, with the mystical side of pairing well and truly completed Dustin glanced down at his finger. The intricate loops and whirls of his pairing tattoo were complete - Rye’s as well, and all that remained was one last act. At that point, the markings that had slowly darkened over the duration of their pairing would flash to silver once more - and they’d be fully and officially paired. Turning away from the window, he glanced lovingly at Rye, her hair messy and the cover on their bed pooled around her bare waist. “Do you want another round before we skip the system?” He asked, grinning, before stepping closer at her answering nod.

Dustin stepped out of the shuttle a day’s travel later and almost stumbled under the impact of Emely’s leap into his arms. The redhead’s legs locked behind his back, and he found himself smothered in kisses as she whimpered about how much she’d missed him before turning her head and making grabbing motions with a hand towards Rye, dragging the golden-haired Rabyth into the hug as well.

Behind where Emely had launched herself from, the others waited their turn with only marginally less obvious delight at being reunited. “You are nearly done then, husband, Rye?” Meli said softly, taking the lead and stepping forward for her own hug.

The bunny girl extracted herself from Emely’s arms and nodded. “Just the one more thing to do and our bond is as official as yours or Emmz’s is, nerd. Gonna need all of ya to help… well, watch, for that one.”

Meli smiled, her ears flickering between mild arousal and amusement. “I’m sure, my dear bunny. You’ve only been plotting that particular part of your pairing since before my wedding… rest assured that we are all ready to properly break in the bathroom - although I hope you won’t mind the fact that we did a little work in there while you were away.”

Rye’s eyes widened. “You… what?” She said, then bolted. Dustin glanced at the others apologetically then followed - Rye had been so determined to ensure the baths were perfect for the final part of her pairing she’d barely even let Dustin help. Hurrying to catch up, he was out of breath by the time he arrived to find her stood at the top of the steps, tears glistening in her eyes.

In the time they’d been gone, the others had been busy. Where before the room had been bare tiles save for the handcart, with only an open archway leading through to the showers after Rye had finished construction, now the space was full of life. The archway itself was delicately decorated with a curtain of woven silk and beads that separated the two rooms without sealing the gap, while the places Rye had left for plants to be grown were now thick with greenery and flowers, the scent of rainforest sweetness filling the air. What had been empty racks for towels were filled with ones that had clearly been hand-chosen by their lovers, and the small trolley containing the shampoo and other cleaning products was neatly stocked and full.

The bunny girl turned to Dustin, falling into his arms as she sobbed. “It’s… perfect…” she whimpered, overwhelmed with the care and thought that the others had clearly put into every action they’d made to finish the room off for her. Wrapping Rye in a hug, Dustin glanced over his shoulder as the door slid open behind them, Meli and the others peering in with worried expressions on their faces.

“Is… is it ok, Rye?” Naera said, glancing around the room nervously. “We spent so long planning the plants to move up here from the botany bays… and everyone helped with the curtain…”

Rye lifted her tear-streaked face from Dustin’s shoulder. “It’s… it’s amazing.” She sniffed, then straightened, some of her usual bluster returning. “It’s absolutely perfect. Thank you all so much! Umm… we need to figure out when we’re gonna do this, but then if ya don’t mind joining me and Dusty I’d like to finish our pairing soon.”

Dustin grinned and pulled Rye back into a hug. “We’re going to take tonight to settle back in, but then tomorrow evening Miss Steamtender and I would appreciate it if you’d join us in the baths for a little light voyeurism.” He said with a grin, wincing only slightly when Rye slapped his chest in embarrassment.

—

The following evening, Dustin shifted slightly in the ceremonial robe Rye had given him. It was made of a soft, light fabric, cut to expose his chest while drawing tight at the waist, and left him feeling severely overdressed compared to the loose piece of gauze that comprised Rye’s outfit. The pair of them stood facing each other in the shower room, incense burning in a set of pots nearby. The room was filled with the heady scent of incense mixed with the aroma of the flowers drifting through from the baths where the gentle sound of chatter and splashing indicated that their lovers were already waiting.

“This is ya last chance to back out, Dusty. Once we do this… we’re bound for life.” Rye said, holding his hands and staring sincerely into his eyes. “I never thought I’d find anyone that I’d want to pair with… or that’d want to pair with me, but if you’re even the slightest bit unsure…”

Dustin silenced her with a gentle finger to her lips. He desperately wanted to kiss her - but she’d been clear. Ritually, once they donned their outfits they could only be intimate in view of their witnesses, who themselves would focus on the pair until they were bonded. “Rye Steamtender, I have rarely been this sure of anything before - and only ever in occasions of similar import with our lovers. Shall stop keeping them waiting?”

At a nod from Rye, the pair turned and lifted the beaded curtain, stepping through into a world of laughter and steam. All around the baths, their lovers turned to watch them enter. The assembled group were, to a woman, naked. Some lounged in the pools, some sat on the edge, their feet trailing in the warm water. Others, like Naera leaned into the thick vegetation, the plant girl trailing her hand into one of the streams that fed the array of baths. Stepping forward, Rye cleared her throat. “I, Rye Steamtender, intend to pair with my mate Dustin Smith. In accordance with ancient tradition, I request that you observe our mutual claim be sated.”

Dustin stepped alongside her. She’d coached him on the words most of the way back from Rabythion, and now they rolled off his tongue with practiced ease. “I, Dustin Smith intend to pair with my mate Rye Steamtender. In accordance with ancient tradition, I request you abstain from intimacy to give us your full attention.” The Rabyth vow was odd, even compared to some of the other things they’d said in the various rituals they’d undertaken - but the import of it, of asking their friends and lovers to not engage in anything other than observation made him shiver despite the heat. Sure, he’d had his lovers watch him fuck one of their number in the past - but that’d always been mid-orgy, and the voyeurs would normally have been involved in a tryst themselves.

With their vows said, Rye led him across the floor to a spot in the midst of the baths she’d clearly chosen carefully. A soft towel lay on the tiles, and onto this she lowered herself, slowly unwrapping her gauze ribbon as she went. Dustin stood, watching with loving eyes as Rye stripped, before undoing the ties on his own robe and shrugging it to the floor. Kneeling between spread legs, he leaned forward and kissed her softly on the forehead.

Carefully, delicately, he traced a hand down her cheek, Rye staring up at him adoringly as he moved his lips to capture hers. His hand continued to trail down her body, brushing the swell of her breast, then the curve of her powerful hips before ghosting over her sex to take hold of his cock and line them up. Breaking the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers - and slowly, agonizingly slowly pushed inside.

Rye’s gasp at the sensation was muffled by the sound of running water and the humid air; Dustin doubted any of their lovers would have heard her as his hips pushed him ever deeper - but that didn’t matter. In that moment, despite knowing they were being observed, the pair had eyes only for each other.

Powerful legs locked behind his back, pulling him in harder with every thrust. Arms tangled around his neck, dragging him down for another kiss as the bunny girl’s inner heat rippled around his length. Rye’s moans filled his ears as he pressed deeper into her, the sensations washing over them like the ripples in the water all around.

One hand slid to cup the back of her head, his forearm pressing against her shoulder to pin her in place as his thrusts increased in speed. His other hand snaked under her backside as she flexed up into him, her moans growing louder as the pair rushed towards their first climax. For once, Dustin wasn’t concerned with overstimulating Rye or getting her off as fast as possible - while her body was growing ever closer to release, it was from the natural friction of his shaft sliding in to her rather than his hands adding to her pleasure by teasing the Rabyth woman’s dual clits.

Gasping into her kiss, his hips pumped rapidly, the towel shifting alarmingly beneath them as his impending orgasm caused him to throw caution to the winds. Rye’s eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open as she panted beneath him, her hands never leaving his sides as the pair coupled feverishly, her hips rising up to meet every powerful down-stroke.

It felt like an eternity and equally just seconds from when they had first lain on their mat - but it happened. Rye suddenly blinked, managed to squeak out something that sounded like “Oh fuck…” and then her cunt clamped down on Dustin’s so hard it practically milked his orgasm from him. The pair’s cries of mutual release echoed around the humid chamber, accompanied by a flash of light so bright that for a moment Dustin thought his orgasm had been so strong that it had perhaps caused him some kind of visual disturbance.

When the light faded away however, he found himself still able to see - and in particular, to see the well-fucked and deliriously happy expression on the face of Rye Steamten… he caught himself, glancing at his fingers to see the delicate silver-white lines of his pairing tattoo, then looked back into the adoring eyes of Rye Smith. “Well…” he said, before cheers erupted all around them, echoing round the room from their assorted lovers.

A moment later, a brunette head rose out of the water next to where they were lying still entwined, and regarded them with ears flickering into hopeful optimism. “In theory, husband,” Meli began “pairing between Rabyth and non-Rabyth shouldn’t trigger monosexualization on the part of the Rabyth partner. Rye, love, how do you feel about the rest of us currently?”

Dustin’s cock was still buried in Rye’s tight heat and despite his stamina after the time spent with all his women it had been softening in the immediate afterglow of his release. The sight of his spouse… spouses, he corrected himself, making out as Rye propped herself up on one arm and dragged Meli into a sloppy kiss with the other did a great deal to restore his flagging erection.

Breaking the kiss and rocking her hips experimentally on Dustin’s renewed thickness, Rye grinned down at Meli’s flustered expression. “That answer ya question, nerd? And now, since me and Dusty are officially paired, we can move from just you all watching to a proper orgy to break the baths in if ya’d like. Either way, Dusty, mind going another round since we’re already kinda intertwined?” In reply, Dustin rocked his hips slowly forward as Meli dragged Rye back into another kiss. As his first wife’s lips muffled Rye’s renewed moans, all around them the sounds of their lovers taking advantage of the freedom to once more be intimate with each other filled the room.