First Meeting

by Tanith

Disclaimers – I own no-one, Steve Sommers does

Pairings- Ardeth/Jonathan

Summery – This is a challenge from Jonny Carnahan

First Meeting
by Tanith

The year was 1930, Jonathan had arrived in Cairo to stay with his sister Evy who was librarian at the museum there. He had passed his archeology exams but only just. She said she would help him and try and get him some work on sites near the city.

"One of your old friends Jeff Chambers is at a temple about twenty miles from here. Why don't you go and see him and see if he needs any help" she said one morning.

"Jeff…why not, be nice to see him again" replied Jonathan "I'll ride out there tomorrow, thanks ole mum"

She glared at him, she hated it when he called her that even though she was younger then her by two years. The next day he was ready but Evy gave him a bit of a lecture.

"Be careful, don't do anything you shouldn't do, respect the places you go in, they are temples to the Egyptian Gods and tombs to the dead. Don't take anything for yourself, don't…." said Evy

"Okay okay, I get the message. Sometimes I think you don't trust me" he retorted.

"I don't, you've been here three months and so far I have had the board of antiquities on my neck twice because you have taken something you shouldn't and tried to sell it" she said.

"I promise to show you everything I find okay"

She smiled and kissed him, then he rode off. Going back into the museum, she met the curator.

"What trouble is he getting into this time?" he asked

"None….I hope" she replied.

Later that day Jonathan arrived at the temple and saw his old friend on his knees by one of the pillars.

"Hello Jeff long time no see" he said

The man jumped and turned round.

"Jonathan, what on earth are you doing out here?" he asked

He jumped up but didn't seem too pleased to see the man.

"My sister told me you were out here, I wondered if you needed any help" said Jonathan.

"No I don't go back to Cairo and leave me alone" said Jeff.

Jonathan wasn't expecting that answer and tried to reason with the man but he ignored him and carried on with what he was doing. Jonathan walked back to his horse, he would leave and find something else on his own. Just as he was about to mount up, the man called out to him.

"Hang on Jonathan, look okay you can help me. I'm sorry, I have been here alone for a while now and shouldn't have spoken like that. I could do with some help…please" he said.

Jonathan smiled and walked back to him. Jeff had suddenly thought that if he got the man to help him get into the tomb at the back of the temple, then it wouldn't take him as long. There was treasure in there and he wanted it. Once they were in, he could dispose of his friend and claim it all for him. It had been four years since Jonathan and he had hung around together in London. He had become a ruthless treasure hunter and would kill to get what he wanted, unfortunately his friend was unaware of this. Jeff made the man welcome and for a week they dug their way to the
door of the tomb.

"So what is in here, you never did say?" asked Jonathan.

"I am not sure" lied Jeff "But by tomorrow we should find out. All we have to do is get this door open. It looks like it has been opened before and re-sealed so there might not be much in there but it is worth a look at least" replied Jeff.

That night while Jonathan was asleep, Jeff went down to the door and broke the seal to the door and with a large crow-bar tried to pry the door open. Suddenly it gave way and with a lot of effort, he pulled the door open enough to get inside.

As he shone the torch around, he saw boxes and pots that had been opened, stuff strewn across the floor. Someone had been in here but must have been caught in the act and the stuff never removed. Maybe the people who buried the person did it, who knows.

As he looked in the boxes, he found gold, silver and jewels. Not a great deal but enough to keep him in luxury for a few years. He could get a good price for it on the black market. Suddenly he thought of Jonathan, he would want his share. No way he said to himself, if he loaded it up now, he could be away from the place by dawn and Jonathan would never know. That gave him four hours, plenty of time. Jonathan was woken by the neighing of the horses. Getting up he went
outside the tent to see what had upset them. He saw Jeff loading stuff onto them.

"Jeff what's going on, why are you loading up my horse?" he asked.

"Jonathan…I thought you were asleep. I hoped to be gone before you woke up, now you have made it awkward" he replied.

Jonathan looked at the bags on his horse and saw the treasure in it and then it suddenly dawned on him what Jeff was doing.

"You were going to run out on me and take all this with you?" he said

"Yes…I never intended for you to have any of it. I just needed you to help me get it"

With that he pulled out his gun and pointed it at Jonathan, who stepped back.

"I'm sorry, I have no choice. Why did you come out here. I don't share anything with anyone" he said.

"Look take it, just don't kill me" pleaded Jonathan.

He was a coward really and had to say something to get himself out of this. Jeff wasn't exactly a cold-blooded killer but he didn't want Jonathan to know where he was going or try to follow him. If he left him in the desert, the sun would finish him off and he wouldn't feel guilty about it.

"Turn around Jonathan" said Jeff.

"But…come on, you can't be serious. I won't say anything to anyone, I promise….what happened to you, you never used to be like this" said Jonathan.

"I can't take that risk, I am not the man you thought I was. I find I can make money this way, all for me. Now turn around"

Jonathan did what he was told, there was nowhere to run, he hoped it would be quick. How the hell did he get into these messes. He swallowed hard, waiting for the pain of the shot. But it never came, instead he felt an excruciating pain in his head as Jeff hit him with the gun. He crumpled to the ground, blood oozing from the wound on the back of his head.

Checking him, Jeff grabbed all the other stuff, took the tent down and packed it into the bags. Then throwing a water bottle down with a bit of water in it, he rode off, leaving Jonathan laying in the sand. It was a few hours later that the man woke up, trying to remember what happened. Looking round he found that everything was gone, including the tent. The wind had blown all trace of footprints and you couldn't see what direction his so-called friend had gone. He was
alone.

Picking up the bottle, he had a drink, his head pounded and dry blood soaked his shirt. Somehow he had to find help and a way back to Cairo. But it was twenty miles away, the equivalent of a hundred in all this sand and heat if you were on foot. He wasn't even sure what direction it was, not properly.

Still he had better start, no good staying there in the hope that someone might come past, so putting his jacket on and his hat, he slowly started out in the direction he thought was Cairo. He still felt a bit dizzy and his head ached but he had no choice. Maybe some Nomad caravan would pass by and he could get a lift but that would be a miracle. Two days later, in the heat of the sun, a mans body could be seen laying in the sand, an empty water bottle beside him, only five miles from where he had started out from.

Two miles east of him, a group of men were patrolling the area. Sort of guards at the ancients. One of the men, on a large camel broke away from the others and set off on his own. It was about 3 pm and a little later the man looked for a place to put his shelter for the night. As he rode over the next sand dune, he saw a dark shape laying in the sand. From where he was it looked like an animal but as he rode closer he could see it was a man.

Hurrying over, he jumped off his camel and ran to the mans side and rolled him over. Feeling for a pulse, he discovered that the man was still alive, just. He looked around, there was no sign of any horse or camel, what on earth was he doing out here he thought.

About five miles to the west of them was an oasis, only a small one but there was a few palm trees and water. If he could get him on his camel, he would take him there. He didn't have enough water for two people and his camp was a days ride away. In the condition this man was in, he wouldn't last that long.

Getting a bit of water into the man, he managed to lift him and carried him to his camel. The only way to keep him on it was to lay him across the saddle and for him to sit behind him. Once this was done, they set off.

A couple of hours later they arrived at the small oasis. The warrior got down and lifted the man off, laying him under one of the palms.

Making sure he was still alive and getting some more water into him, he went and took the bags off the camel. Then he erected a shelter for the night. Once this was done he laid the man under it. He checked the man all over and found that apart from a bump and gash on his head and the sunstroke, he seemed to be in one piece.

Soon a fire was blazing, coffee in the pot and the warrior was sitting close to the man waiting to see if he woke up. He managed to get quite a bit of water into him with patience but he had remained semi-conscious, only opening his eyes briefly for a few seconds.

"Where am I?" said a voice.

It made the warrior jump, he had dozed off but on hearing this, grabbed a cup of coffee and knelt beside the man.

"Take it easy my friend, please drink this"

Jonathan drank it and then looked at the man who was helping him.

"Who are you and where am I?" he asked again.

"My name is Ardeth Bay and you are at a small oasis. I found you laying in the desert. You are lucky to be alive. So who are you?"

"Jonathan, I was left out here by a friend. I thought I could make it to Cairo" said Jonathan.

"Well you might have done but you were heading in the wrong direction. What friend could have done this to you?" asked Ardeth.

Jonathan sat up although he still felt very weak. He told the man who had saved his life, all that had happened.

"We know of this man but have never been able to catch him. You were very lucky my friend, to our knowledge he has killed several people who got in his way" said Ardeth.

"I sure know how to pick my friends. Please tell me about yourself"

"Later, you must drink, eat and rest then we will talk" said Ardeth.

Jonathan had to agree, he felt tired and after eating some stew that the man gave him, laid down and fell asleep. Ardeth sat by the fire and watched the man as he slept. He was quite attractive, mousey hair, quite strong features, not that tall but he seemed to have a nice personality. He shook the thoughts from his mind, he was here to help this man not for any other purpose….and yet. A little later he was sharpening his knife with a stone, unaware that he was being watched by Jonathan.

Who was this man, dressed in strange robes, carrying more weapons than he had seen on a person. And yet he wasn't scared of him, he thought he should be. There were stories about tribes in the desert and what they could do to strangers and he was not a Nomad. Yet there was something quite sexy about him, perhaps it was his long hair and tattoos or maybe it was something else. Jonathan was sure however that he wouldn't be interested in a foolish Englishman. That was the bottom line…he was a man….not everyone had the same tendencies as
Jonathan, even his sister didn't know he preferred men.

"Ardeth could I have a drink please?" he said trying to change his thoughts.

Ardeth picked up a cup and took it to the man, who drank it all. He was still very thirsty.

"How are you feeling?" Ardeth asked.

"Better, a lot better thank you" replied Jonathan "Now will you tell me about yourself"

Ardeth told him that he belonged to a group of men called the Med- jai, it was their place to patrol the deserts, guard the ancient tombs from robbers and protect people from ruthless nomads of which there were quite a few.

"And save idiot Englishmen" said Jonathan with a smile.

"Perhaps but it wasn't your fault. Now tell me more of yourself."

Jonathan told him about Evy and what he had been doing with his life. Normally he would have lied but he didn't want to with this man for some reason. It seemed boring really but Ardeth listened.

"It seems your sister could one day cause problems if she persists in raiding tombs" said Ardeth "No offence of course"

"None taken, she has a dangerous curiosity and doesn't think before she acts. So far, there has been no problems but you never know with Evy. It seems I am making up for it at the moment"

"You should be well enough to travel in a couple of days, then I will take you to the outskirts of Cairo, if that is okay with you?" said Ardeth.

Jonathan said it was and tried to get Ardeth to come to the museum but he refused saying he was too busy but one day he would. Later that day, Jonathan decided to have a swim in the small lake
that made up the oasis. Ardeth had gone off to look around as his duty commanded and told the man he would only be gone a couple of hours.

Jonathan couldn't get the man out of his mind and wondered if he would ever see him again, once he returned to Cairo.

The water was lovely, clear and quite cold, considering where they were. As he was alone, he decided to swim in the nude and was miles away when a voice made him jump.

"If you stay in there too long, you'll freeze" said Ardeth "You should be resting"

Jonathan looked up and saw the man standing by the tree watching him.

"No I won't, it's lovely and I don't feel like resting. Why don't you come in too" he said.

He had no idea why he said that, it just came out. Ardeth had been thinking about Jonathan and decided to return earlier than he had said. He hesitated as he watched the man swim out to the middle of the water.

"Come on, it's great, gets the sand out of your hair" said Jonathan.

Ardeth went back to the shelter and Jonathan sighed as he thought that the man was upset with what he had said. A few minutes later he heard a splash and turning round, he saw Ardeth enter the water. So he had changed his mind. The man came up quite close to Jonathan.

"I went back to remove my robes, it would have taken too long otherwise" he said.

"I thought I had upset you" said Jonathan.

"No not at all…you are right, the water is lovely" replied Ardeth.

He dived down and when he came up, he threw water over the other man from behind. They mucked about for a while, splashing, chasing and diving through the water. Suddenly Ardeth felt two hands round his waist as Jonathan came up behind him and steadied himself.

"Sorry, lost my footing" he lied.

He wanted to touch the man before him. He couldn't resist anymore. If Ardeth didn't like it, then no doubt he would tell him.

"That's alright, I think we had better get out anyway, I am getting cold and it is getting dark" said Ardeth trying to avoid the situation that was evolving.

"No….not yet, just a while longer" said Jonathan

Ardeth looked at him in the twilight and followed, diving down and grabbing Jonathan in the clear water. Jonathan turned and was pulled into two strong arms and kissed. He had never been kissed under water before and never like this man was kissing him. As they kissed, they turned round in the water and then came up for air.

"God…Ardeth you certainly know how to surprise someone" said Jonathan.

"Do I? I didn't think it was much of a surprise, did you?"

Jonathan pulled the man closer and shook his head as he took the mans lips in his and deepened the kiss when Ardeth parted his lips slightly. As the kiss deepened even more, Ardeth brought his knee up between the mans legs and gently pushed against his hardening cock.

The man shuddered.

"Let's get out of here" whispered Jonathan.

He wanted this man on dry land, he was getting a burning in his gut, he wanted this man so badly. They walked out of the water and over to the shelter. Before Ardeth could do much, he found himself being pushed down onto the blanket.

"You er…don't waste much time" he said.

"Why should I? You look as if you need me as much as I need you" replied Jonathan.

He partially laid across Ardeth and kissed him. It was like tasting sweet wine mixed with the smell of the desert, the water and the man.

It was intoxicating. Then he moved down and clasped one of the mans nipples between his teeth, gently biting it, making it go hard.

Ardeth gasped and grabbed the mans hair. It had been a long time since he had had a man do this and even longer since instigating it.

Moving lower, Jonathan kissed a trail down to the edge of his pubic hair, from which the hard, steel rod of his manhood emerged. Fondling his balls with one hand, he wasted no time and his mouth descended on his hot, weeping member.

Ardeth cried out from the pleasure, his hips arching forward.

Jonathan glanced up and saw the mans head arched back, his eyes closed, a film of sweat was beginning to appear on the mans forehead. Jonathans head bobbed up and down, the man under him moaning with every thrust.

"Ahhh….don't stop….please don't stop…gonna cum" he gasped.

Jonathan went a bit faster and within seconds Ardeth screamed the man name as his orgasm hit, his seed shooting down the mans throat. Once there was no more, Jonathan removed his mouth and moved up to kiss the man. Ardeth could taste Jonathan and himself and it drove him wild.

"Jonathan want you…inside" he gasped between kisses.

Jonathan hadn't cum yet and wasn't going to disappoint this man, he clearly needed him, he was getting hard again. So he slid down, turned Ardeth over and put a pillow under his hips. Then licking his fingers, he inserted two of them inside the mans opening, while kissing his spine.

Ardeth felt them go in and he felt an incredible fullness that stoked the fire inside him. As Jonathan inserted his other two fingers, Ardeth pushed back, moaning in Arabic, gripping the blanket. Once he knew the man was ready, Jonathan pushed his now, weeping cock inside till he was fully sheathed in the hot cavern. It wouldn't take him long to cum, he knew that but he wanted to last longer enough to give the man pleasure and himself. Ardeth was losing it totally and Jonathan loved it. He had never had a man totally under his control before and it was turning him on.

"Touch yourself babe…make yourself cum" Jonathan told him.

Ardeth managed to get his hand under himself and grasping his own hard member, he pumped himself in time with the man inside him. Jonathan couldn't hold back any longer and shouted Ardeths name as he filled him with his juices. Ardeth came a few seconds later, gasping for air. Sweat clung to both men as Jonathan collapsed beside the man. It was a few minutes before either of them spoke.

"Ardeth…are you okay?"

The man turned over, his eyes still glazed and a lot darker. He smiled at the man.

"Give me a moment, I think so" he replied. "That was so good…so fantastic"

Jonathan pulled the man into his arms and kissed his hair.

"Same here, you are some lover Ardeth. Jeff didn't kill me but you might if we carry on like this" said Jonathan.

Ardeth chuckled as the man kissed his nose. He saw him looking at him closely.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, just thinking how beautiful you are…in all ways"

"Me, I am nothing special" replied Ardeth "Just a man who has just had wonderful sex with you"

Jonathan got up and went to pour them both a coffee, all that exertion had made him thirsty. As he sat down again and handed Ardeth a cup, he held his head.

"Jonathan…are you alright?" asked Ardeth concerned.

"Mmm, just a headache, it'll pass" the man replied laying down.

"Let me"

Ardeth moved Jonathan round so his head was across the mans stomach, then with small circular motions, he massaged his temples.

"Mmmm that feels good" replied Jonathan.

Within a few minutes, the man was asleep and Ardeth pulled a blanket over them both and laid back, closing his eyes. Jonathan was woken by exquisite lips kissing him. As he focused he found two beautiful brown eyes gazing at him.

"Morning, do you know we have slept for nine hours. How is your headache" asked Ardeth.

"What a way to be woken up. The headache is gone and I feel brilliant, come here" he said.

With that he pulled Ardeth down and deepened the kiss, not quite getting enough of the man. It was a few hours later when they emerged to wash and dress. Ardeth seemed a bit distant and Jonathan wondered why.

"You seem well enough to travel , we will leave for Cairo today" the man said as they ate.

"Today…right…Ardeth will I ever see you again?" Jonathan asked.

"If you wish to, I will be in Cairo from time to time" replied the other man.

"Ardeth you seem…I don't know, different since we got up. You don't seem keen about seeing me again"

Ardeth got up and sat beside Jonathan and took his hand.

"I don't mean to be. I find I have feelings for you, strong feelings that I haven't had for many years. But if I let them take over, I will never let you go" he replied.

"I feel the same but is that such a bad thing?"

"I am not just a Med-jai, I am their commander, I have a duty to my people. Do not worry Jonathan, I will never forget you or these hours we have spent together. Do you understand?" he asked.

Jonathan nodded and kissed him.

"I understand, I don't like it but I do understand. I will agree if you promise me one thing, that we will see each other soon, somehow" said Jonathan.

"I swear, one day there will be a knock on your door and I will be standing there"

With that they started to pack up their things and within a couple of hours they were on their way to Cairo. It was almost dark when they reached the outskirts of the city. They both dismounted from the camel and looked at each other.

"Thank you for saving my life Ardeth and for a wonderful time" said Jonathan.

"No thank you, never forget me my friend, I will see you soon I promise" replied Ardeth.

They kissed for the last time and Ardeth remounted his camel and turned to leave. Jonathan watched as he went and then without looking back, walked to where he could get a lift back to the museum. He missed Ardeth already but it wouldn't be long he hoped before he saw him again. Now he had to go and tell Evy what had happened with Jeff and how Ardeth how saved him but any other details he would keep to himself.

Ardeth rode away, leaving the man he found he was falling in love with behind, he blinked back tears. He wished he could have taken him back to his camp but it was too soon, one day he would. There was no way he could go long without this man, not now that he had found someone so special. He made a vow that he would be back in Cairo within a few weeks, he had too.



Sequel soon, feedback please