Title: Long Leggity Beasties

Author/Pseusonym: Tinnean

Fandom: Them!

Pairing: Ben Petersen/Bob Graham

Rating: NC-17

Status: New/Complete

Archive: yes, just let me know

Series/sequel: sequel to A Door Into a New World

Disclaimers: These characters belong to the movie studio that gave birth to them (sorry can't remember which one). They're not mine, but I thought they could use a break after what they've gone through.

Notes: I watched this 1954 movie again after years, and was suddenly struck by the slash potential. This is one of those man screws up the earth type movies.

Summary: The plot thickens, as they say. Ben is trying to get close to Bob, but the danger lurking in the desert keeps interfering, to say nothing of Bob's past life in Washington. (I *told* you not to say anything about that!)

Warning: m/m sex, language, spoilers for the movie

From ghosties, and ghoulies, and long leggity beasties, and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us! --Olde English prayer

A Door Into a New World
Episode 2: Long Leggity Beasties
by Tinnean

My old Ford had tangled with one desert wash too many and was now laid up in Pete Grave's Garage, waiting for me to decide if it was worth coming up with the massive chunk of change it was going to cost to send out for a replacement part. I hated like hell getting rid of the old girl, but those new '54 models sure were looking good.

In the mean time, the department had seen that I was issued a replacement vehicle. The case I was working on was too vital for me not to have reliable wheels.

I was giving my partner in this investigation a lift to the airport. He had a bug up his ass about what was causing the sudden rash of missing persons this relatively small area of New Mexico was being hit with.

And truth to tell, I kind of envied that bug. I'd like nothing better than to be up his ass myself!

****

Bob Graham, discredited FBI agent, had come to town not quite a month before. Oh, he wasn't aware I knew his assignment to this case was a major step down for him, but I'm not stupid. Washington doesn't send its top gun to assist in a local investigation out in the boondocks under ordinary circumstances.

Somehow he had blotted his copy book, but that didn't matter to me. Bob was tall, solidly built, and definitely on the edge, just the way I liked 'em. Joe College, down to the gray fedora on his head that matched the conservative suit he wore like a uniform, and the Chesterfields he smoked liked a chimney.

And that type was always intrigued by me. A little dangerous, a little rough around the edges, I promised a walk on the wild side. I had met a lot of that sort in the Navy, when I served in the Pacific Theater. They were so anxious for me to get in their pants that I was never alone.

That didn't stop me from being lonely, but I quickly shook off that uncomfortable thought.

I had figured some judicious touching, a little innuendo, and I'd be inside his tight ass before the night was over. I didn't even have to use my standard line on him. 'You're very special, you know that? I've *never* felt like this about anyone before!' That always melted them, but he didn't need words: he was ready to fall into my hand like a ripe plum!

And then, don't ask me why, I had to go and ask if he had ever done this before.

He had flushed a painful red, and then turned white. Not white like something brand new that was pristine and untouched, but the dingy color of sheets used too often and indifferently washed. I got a really bad feeling about this.

Something odd happened when he admitted he had been taken after someone had gotten him drunk, and he had been fucked and fucked over, mind as well as body: I felt murderous!

Someone had gotten his rocks off, and it hadn't been him. He hadn't enjoyed it.

That could make all the difference with men like him, who had been indoctrinated since birth to scorn those of us who prefer members of our own sex. I sighed. He wanted me, but he hated himself for that wanting.

Somehow, that night, I managed to get past the first barrier, and I kissed him. I could feel his arousal jutting against my abdomen, and I knew that if I acted on the mixed messages he was sending out, I could have him, but at the risk of screwing up the investigation. And that would put me in deep shit with my captain, who would not be pleased if a top government cop packed up his tent and vanished into the night because I couldn't keep my pants zipped.

I had an arm around him, and I could feel the tremors running through his body, see the hesitancy as well as the desire in his dark eyes. Surprising at it seemed, I was starting to like the big guy. So--- I kept my dick behind my zipper.

"I have a feeling you're going to be in town for a while, Bob. How about we give whatever this is between us some time?" I don't know which of us was more surprised by my unexpected act of chivalry.

The next thing I knew, warm, dry lips were pressing against mine, demanding entrance for an insistent tongue. I nearly came in my pants right then, and I hadn't done anything so juvenile in over twenty years!

I groaned and feasted on his mouth, threading my fingers through the softness of his hair, running my nails over the hollow at the base of his skull. "Ah, Bobby, I want you so badly! But I don't think you're ready for what I can give you!"

"Ben..." he started to protest as I eased away from him. He shuddered as I stroked a thumb along the line of his jaw, and his eyelids lowered, hiding whatever he was feeling.

"Don't rush it, baby. If it's for real, it won't be going anywhere!"

An involuntary laugh sputtered from him. "That sounds like something a father would be telling his daughter."

I wasn't too thrilled that he could laugh, when all I wanted to do was strip those trousers off his long legs, shove him onto his hands and knees on that couch and show him what life was all about.

Instead I sighed again, kissed him one last time, licking his lips to take the taste of us with me, and left him to sleep alone on the couch in my living room.

****

Now here it was, almost four weeks later, and we were progressing pretty satisfactorily. He'd jerk me off while I went down on him, and sometimes he'd lick my cock like it was a lollipop he had a massive craving for, but I wasn't pushing him past that point.

He was a good man, and I lived in hope that one night soon he'd let me love him the way he deserved.

I let him off by the runway and went to find a parking spot. The Air Force transport that was bringing in the experts was just landing as I joined him.

Two gorgeous, female legs descended the gangway and I not so much heard as felt Bob suck in his breath.

And I became concerned. I was willing to wait as long as it took, but I didn't need any competition, thank you very much. And even less did I want his attention distracted from me.

"Bob!"

"Robert!"

Two voices called his name at the same time, one the owner of those endless legs and the other an older man who was following the woman across the tarmac.

Bob had a broad grin on his face. I scowled, but he wasn't looking at me. "Pat! Dr. Medford! It's great to see you again!"

Drop-dead gorgeous, in a pencil slim skirt and a snug suit jacket that emphasized her small waist and shapely hips, Pat held her hands out to him and Bob took them in a welcoming grip, leaning forward to brush a self-conscious kiss on her cheek, as he shot me an awkward glance which I ignored.

Even the silly little hat on her head looked good. I *was* depressed.

"It's good to see you too, Robert! It's been much too long." Dr. Medford turned to order a disgruntled military type to retrieve their luggage. I couldn't help grinning at his cavalier attitude. That was a full bird colonel he was treating like a bellhop!

The woman turned away to assist her father with some of their more carefully packed instruments and I took the opportunity to whisper in Bob's ear, "Should I be jealous?" I was so close to him I could feel his heat, drown in his scent.

He jumped and nervously touched the tip of his tongue to his upper lip. I could feel my gut tighten in response to his action.

"Do that again, and I'll take you down, right here, right now, in front of God and the Air Force!" I was only half joking, but his eyes darkened and his breath hitched. A quick glance down revealed the sudden tenting of his trousers and I shuddered that my words had gotten that response from him.

"Why don't we discuss your obvious obsession with my mouth over dinner?" Finally! He finally felt comfortable enough with me and with our budding relationship to tease!

I let out a breath I didn't realized I was holding and grinned at him. "Oh yeah, big guy! You can count on it!"

And then the entomologists were back with us and Bob was making the introductions.

"Dr. Medford, Pat, this is Ben Petersen, New Mexico State police. He's the officer who's in charge of this investigation. Ben, this is Dr. Medford, and Dr. Medford!"

Dr. Medford extended his paper-dry hand and greeted me. "How do you do, young man?"

'Young man'? I'm thirty-seven years old! No one has called me 'young man' since before I joined the Navy! "Um, it's nice to meet you, sir. You as well Miss...er Dr. Medford."

She smiled wryly and I found myself liking her in spite of the possible threat she posed. "It's okay, Ben. I'm used to it. And let me introduce you to Colonel Kibby. Before he has a coronary!" she added under her breath, and I liked her even more. I didn't have much use for officers, which is why I never rose above the rank of sergeant although I had the years and the
experience necessary for a promotion.

"Colonel," I acknowledged shortly. I couldn't help but notice that Bob seemed wary around him, and I stepped between them, offering my hand although it went against the grain. "My vehicle is just over there. Why don't you all wait here while Bob and I go and bring it around?"

****

I got what I considered mine away from those people and hustled him over to the car.

"What was that all about, Ben?" he asked, confused by my somewhat proprietary behavior.

"I could ask you the same thing! What's with the Colonel?" I demanded in response, and he had the grace to look uncomfortable. A sudden thought hit me. "Is he the one who got you drunk?"

"What?" His voice rose sharply and he looked around, distressed. He dropped his tone and fought for calm. "Sorry. No, it wasn't him. The FBI and the Air Force don't mix. I've run across Kibby a few times in D.C., but only in an official capacity. He's an all right guy."

"Then why did you almost shy away from him?"

Bob looked really unhappy. "I don't know who in Washington is aware of what happened. No one was supposed to know about it. But I feel like everyone in D.C. is talking and pointing and snickering behind my back."

"That's really paranoid, you know that, big guy?"

He shrugged. "Doesn't mean it isn't true."

I rubbed his shoulder and opened the driver's door. "Hey, big guy, I still love you!"

He froze, half in and half out of the car. I swallowed hard, wondering where those words had come from. I tried for an innocent look and raised my eyebrows.

I'll never know what he would have said. He probably doesn't know himself what he would have said. The radio squawked and drew my attention.

"Petersen." I was still trying for a suave, insouciant smile when what dispatch was saying got through the fog of lust that constantly surrounded me.

The smile vanished and I felt myself go dead white. I know my eyes took on a haunted look. "Ben?" Bob sounded shaken.

"Get in, get in! The utility company has reported several of their linesmen never came in off the range to clock out after their regular shift and a rancher has notified us that about twenty head of prime cattle on his southwest range have been rustled!"

"But you don't think it was rustlers? Oh shit! Wait, we have to get Dr. Medford and Pat and Colonel Kibby!"

I was frantic. This was my domain, these were my people! I slammed the car to a halt by the Washington contingent and urged them to get in. "Leave the luggage; I'll have someone get it later. We've got big problems!"

Dr. Medford was almost dancing with glee. "Wait, wait, my boy! We have the ability to search the desert right now! Colonel Kibby can have us up in helicopters at a moment's notice! Isn't that right, Colonel?" Whatever information Bob had seen fit to forward to him had tweaked his scientific interest. He had the bit between his teeth and he was raring to go!

It never fails to amaze me what it takes to make some people happy

We were airborne in no time, but I definitely was miserable. True, Bob was with Dr. Medford in one of the two helicopters Kibby had commandeered, but it was the wrong one. I listened sourly as *my* Dr. Medford persisted in mangling the radio communication with the other helicopter. "You need to say 'over and out'," I told him as he ended the conversation with his daughter.

He looked at me in disgust. "Why?"

"So she knows you're finished talking."

"She *knows* I've said everything I needed to say!"

"You have to say 'over and...' Never mind!" I took the headset from him. "Over and out," I said into it.

This time he huffed and glowered at me, as if I was being unreasonable to want him to follow procedure.

We had been flying over the desert for almost an hour, quartering it again and again. Then, "Dad!"

"Yes, Patricia! I see it! There! *There*!"

He pointed to a spot just to our starboard side. Below us on the desert floor was a huge mound of soil piled around an enormous opening. Sagebrush dotted the sides, ripped out and left to die in the hot desert sun.

I taped the pilot on his arm and gave him the signal to bring the chopper down as low as he safely could. We came in from the west and Bob and Pat came in from the opposite direction. The two helicopters hovered about ten feet above the mound that looked like nothing so much as a...huge anthill!

We could see bleached bones tumbling down the side of the mound, tibias, femurs, pelvises, and skulls, human skulls! And a couple of utility belts like those a linesman would wear, and police issue holsters, the pistols missing, the type Blackburn and Newbury carried.

A screeching so shrill we could hear it over the 'whup, whup, whup' of the chopper blades suddenly assaulted our ears.

An immense dark shape appeared shockingly in the mouth of the burrow, yard-long antennae waving as if it sought to discover the source of the vibrations that shook its home. Its wicked-looking mandibles tossed a rib cage out of the way and it emerged further into the heat of the desert afternoon.

I had never seen anything so horrifying, not on those miserable, tiny islands during the war, not when we liberated our guys from Nip death camps. I wanted to crawl into a deep hole and hide. I was so scared the spit in my mouth dried up.

Colonel Kibby was yelling, "Abort! Abort!"

The pilot uttered an obscene curse and pulled back on the joystick, narrowly avoiding a collision with the other helicopter. "Ah shit!" he yelled. "What the fuck is that?"

"Bob?" I shouted over the radio. "Bob, you okay over there, big guy? Over."

Dr. Medford was disappointed that even in the stress of the moment I hadn't forgotten to say the magic word.

"We're fine here, Ben." Amazingly, his voice was steady. In the face of actual danger, he was like the Rock of Gibraltar. "We've got to get back to headquarters and call in the military! This is..." He was at a loss for a term to describe the surrealistic dreamscape that we had stumbled upon. "We don't have enough manpower to handle this!"

"Right!" I pounded on the pilot's shoulder. "Get us back to the airport. Colonel Kibby, who needs to be notified about this?"

Kibby was looking green, and for once I could sympathize with him. What we had just seen was mankind's worst nightmare. "General O'Brien," he said shakily. "It's General O'Brien. He's my C.O. Dr. Medford, I have to ask you, what will be the best way to deal with those things?"

"I'll have to give that considerable thought, Colonel, and discuss it with Patricia as well," the old man said calmly.

"What I want to know is how the fuck they got there? That was a giant ant, wasn't it?" I was about ready to piss my pants, and I hated feeling that out of control.

"Yes, it was, Sergeant Petersen. How astute of you to notice."

I curled my lip at him, but his gaze had become unfocused. "How close are we to Los Alamos?" he asked suddenly, and his eyes lit up when he learned of its proximity to the area where we spotted the giant ants. "Ah, that might very well explain it!"

"Explain what?" Colonel Kibby demanded, and I was glad the scientist's obscure remarks weren't getting to me alone.

****

While Colonel Kibby was setting up a command post at police headquarters, and bringing his superior officer up to speed, I was doing the same with my captain. He frowned at me when I finished, as if I had cooked up the whole thing to ruin his weekend.

"Get the fuck out of here, Petersen! I think you've caused enough trouble for one day!"

"Sorry, sir." And I swallowed an evil grin. I lived for seeing my captain sweat. He was the reason Newbury had been out on patrol with Blackburn instead of me. "I'll just let myself out!"

As I gently closed his door, I could hear him requesting a call be put through to the governor.

****

Dinner was long past. Dr. Medford and his daughter were examining all the reports that had been compiled since before we knew we had an official crisis. They were being put up at the mayor's house, and had ruthlessly appropriated his telephone, exhausting the operator, making calls to all parts of the country, contacting colleagues in Great Britain and in the Far East.

"C'mon, Bob, there's nothing we can do right now. Tomorrow is going to be a bitch on wheels. Let's get some rest."

The two Drs. Medford absently waved us away, and I got him out of there before he feel asleep on his feet.

"Why'd you do that, Ben? They need us!"

"They don't need anybody: they have each other and science. *I*, on the other hand, desperately need *you*!"

We walked through the cool night air to my house. It never failed to amaze Bob that the nights could grow so cold here, in sharp contrast to the stifling heat of the day. I relished it, and let my thoughts dwell on my partner's powerful body.

I had caught him coming out of the shower, just that morning, a towel draped low over his hip. It was all I could do not to strip it off and back him up against the wall, trapping his hands by his head, letting my lips wander over his flat nipples, biting and suckling.

We arrived at the house before I knew it, and Bob opened the door, then stood aside for me to enter before him. I was halfway through when I froze. His hands were caressing my ass, sliding into my back pockets and squeezing my buttocks. A soft, needy moan whispered past my lips.

He pushed me forward and kicked the door shut. When I turned to face him, he had tossed his jacket aside, his hands already on his belt, undoing the buckle. "Tonight, Ben! I need you to fuck me tonight!"

Without any instruction from my brain, my hands began tearing at my tie, and I flung it aside with abandon. "Why, Bob?" I took his lips with hot, openmouthed kisses, exploring the uneven edges of his teeth, the roughness of his tongue, the hot interior that was begging to be licked.

I couldn't close my eyes; there was too much to see, too much I didn't want to miss, and I became more and more frantic to get into him. And my fly was still buttoned. Desperately I rocked my hips forward, needing relief, on the verge of exploding as I hadn't since I was a boy.

He still hadn't answered my question, but now I didn't care. It wasn't my birthday, but I felt as if I had been given the best present in the world.

Somehow we got into the bedroom and I was naked and Bob was there with me, moaning and writhing as if he wanted to get inside my skin. "Now, Ben!" he demanded gutturally.

I flipped him onto his stomach and spread his legs, kneeling between his thighs. He was beautiful. The long, elegant muscles of his back flowed into tight buttocks that were clenching with tension and mounting passion. I leaned forward and ran my tongue from that sensitive spot just above his tail bone to the small of his back.

He whimpered.

I had been praying nightly for this, and I wasn't unprepared. A tube of lubricant sat ready on the night table and I reached for it with a hand that shook. The cool gel was slick on my fingers and I gently spread it between Bob's cheeks, finding the puckered opening and teasing it with light strokes.

Before he could stop himself, Bob was thrusting back onto my finger, and I was able to slip another one into him. I found the spot that electrified him with unexpected pleasure, and I knew he was mine. Quickly I coated my cock and positioned myself for entry. Distracting him with nips and bites on his shoulders and neck, and lightly pinching his nipples, I nudged my way in,
pausing whenever he stiffened. As his muscles relaxed and loosened around me, I pressed forward another inch, and then another, until I was balls-deep in him and he could feel my hair-roughened thighs against his ass.

He backed up onto his knees, squeezing my cock, caressing me with his inner muscles. I thrust forward and then pulled back until only the head of my cock was still imbedded in him. He groaned. "Fuck me, Ben! Please fuck me!"

It had been too long, I wanted him too much, and the horror out in the desert was still waiting for us. We were alive, unlike Blackburn and Newbury, and we celebrated that fact the way mankind has done through the ages. We fucked each other senseless.

"I'm going to come, baby!" I whispered in his ear, my tongue running along the edge of it, while I reached for his cock and jerked him off with long strokes. "I'm going to come so deep inside you you'll never be free of me!" I bit down on his neck, and hit the perfect spot at the same time and he began to shout. His semen spurted all over my hand and his chest and the bed, while I was pouring myself into him.

His knees were trembling too much to support us and he collapsed onto the bed, struggling to bring his breathing under control. He was wheezing like a bellows and I was beginning to get concerned, when I realized that my full weight was pressing down on him. With a satisfied groan, I eased myself out of him and rolled over.

"Are you okay, Bobby?" I asked as I gathered him against me.

"No wonder all those guys wanted you to fuck them!" His shoulders were shaking.

I stiffened. Talking about past conquests was the last thing I wanted to do. "You're not a notch on my bedpost you know."

He laughed mirthlessly. "Even if I was, you're worth it! I've *never* been fucked like that! I don't know why I fought against it for so long! It was...Ben, where are you going?"

I got to my feet and staggered until I could get my bearings again. "I'm going to take a shower. I ...*feel dirty,* but I didn't say that aloud.

Go figure. I had fucked more guys than I could remember. And I wanted Bob as I hadn't wanted anyone in years ... since the captain broke up my partnership with Blackburn. There was no reason for me to feel anything except sated.

So why did I feel so used?

I stood under the shower and let the tepid water pelt down on me. I thought I was the hottest thing since ginger ale, ole love 'em and leave 'em Ben, and here I was, ready to weep because I had finally given my heart away. And it didn't matter; he didn't care, he didn't want it.

And then the shower curtain was pushed aside and he stepped into the tub. I didn't want him to see me like this. I turned away.

His arms went around me and turned me back toward him, and his hand tipped my chin up. He looked into my eyes and my breath caught in my throat. "If you say, 'Here's looking at you, Kid!', I'm going to stake you out in the desert for those ants to find!"

He laughed gently and hugged me tight against his body. "Tonight meant a lot to me, Ben. I needed what you gave me; I had no idea how much I needed it. You've made me complete again."

Oh shit. Here's where I get left for the girl!

"Okay, Bob, I can take it. Just drop the other shoe and let me finish my fucking shower in peace."

He rubbed his cheek against my hair. "I used to date Pat. I even slept with her. But it never felt right. And I could never understand why. Then that thing in Washington happened and I felt adrift. Until I met you. But I was still confused and I wasn't sure what path to take. When I saw Pat again this afternoon, it began to make sense. And then those things in the desert... I don't know how much time I have left here, how much time *we* have left...But this is where I want to be. In this town. In this house. If you'll have me...with you."

I couldn't believe a classy guy like Bob would want someone like me for anything more than the sex. And I did something I had never done, much less in the arms of a man I had taken to my bed.

I cried.


End