Volcano Lover

by Little Owl

Title: Volcano Lover
Author: Little Owl (grinning_little_owl@yahoo.de)
Archive: My LJ, MA
Category: Alternate Reality, Humor, Qui/Dooku
Rating: NC 17
Disclaimer: As always, no copyright-infringement was intended: it was written only for the fun of it.
Waring: Never make jokes about virgin sacrifices in the presence of country yokels.
Summary: On family order, Count Dooku tries to settle into a boring life in the country-side. A volcano eruption changes that by attracting a visitor.
Note: This was written with a rather blurred image of 18th century (fantasy?) Italy with it’s Vesuv outbreaks in mind.
Feedback: always welcome

Count Dooku the Younger squinted his eyes, watching the volcano on the other side of the bay. This was becoming an annoyance. The pillar of smoke was twice as high as yesterday, and another eruption had woken him last night.

Count Dooku the Younger

The first one, three days ago, had already laid waste to two villages and their vineyards. They had been old, shabby villages with houses not much better than pig sties, this had to be said. Unfortunately, they had belonged to him. And more regrettably so: the lava had burnt and covered the vineyards, as if determined to ruin the lord of the manor's income - while it left the peasants' peas and cabbage at the foot of the mountain untouched.

This blasted volcano had started to puff smoke a fortnight ago. At first Count Dooku had been amazed: the majestic mountain had been silent for three generations. His first thought had been that, with an active volcano right on one's doorstep, living in the country-side wasn't that mind-numbingly boring anymore. His friends from the coruscating capital might be tempted to leave the elegant salons, the gambling, and the duels for a while to visit him and admire his volcano.

But the opera season had provided a saucy scandal, there was a war in the north and a rebellion in the south - and thus his letters were ignored. Forgotten and alone, all he could do was stare at that damned mountain.
To further his discontent, the wind blew from the east this morning, carrying the stench of the cattle stables from the adjacent manor. Great! That left him sitting at the end of the world, suffocated by cow farts!

But his uncle, the Cardinal, had recently seen it fit to exercise his authority as the current head of the family. "You will take your great-uncle's second summer castle as he ordered in his will, and don't you dare to stake it on a gamble, you fop! It belongs to the family after all! And while we're at it, prepare to marry. I'll find you a suitable match within the next half year."

The Cardinal

In hindsight, during his speech the Cardinal had held a certain resemblance to the fuming mountain.
After searching the library, which was in the same state of neglect as Castle Serenno as a whole, Count Dooku wished that the real mountain was as far away as the Cardinal was. The oldest and most famous source to describe an eruption was from a nobleman of the old pagan times - one and a half millennia ago.

"The next day from my terrace I saw…" the old pagan had written repeatedly, and when studying the text more carefully, Count Dooku had realized that the said pagan's estate must have been situated right at the same place where his castle stood now. The coastline, the distance: everything matched.

"And when the mountain finally blew, stones rained down on my villa, smashed the roofs, and set all the buildings on fire." This had been the sentence Count Dooku liked the least.

The ground under his feet was trembling again, making the windows of the castle rattle.

On the other hand: if the castle was destroyed by a volcanic eruption, the Cardinal couldn't hold that against him: be it the will of God or the force of nature - it was not his fault. Though the Cardinal would certainly refer to the sinful life his nephew led… Anyway, with the castle gone, he could return to the capital. But as well as he knew the Cardinal, the big man would insist that his nephew rebuild the smouldering ruins, and pronto at that.

Count Dooku wondered why someone wouldn't be so kind as to poison his uncle. Perhaps it was about time to take matters in hand and become a politician himself.

+++

A little rowboat distracted him from this train of thought. He had noticed it for a while, but now it was close enough to discern its passengers. He knew who they were of course: Master Ioda, the old estate manager, and some farm hands who did the rowing.

The old man was a factotum he had inherited together with the castle. Sadly enough, Count Dooku wasn't allowed to fire the geezer due to his late great-uncle's will. Being almost thrice his age and a little odd due to his too many years, Master Ioda didn't hold any respect of rank and title and tried bossing the young Count around like a stable hand.

Right now he waved with his crutch. But he did it in more urgent a manner than Count Dooku had seen it before. Perhaps something really important had happened. He didn't know, however, what that would be: Master Ioda and his men had crossed the bay to have a look at the damage last night's eruption had done. Perhaps another village or two had vanished. To hell with them; they were ugly anyway. As soon as the mountain calmed down again, he would give the order to rebuild them: nicer, more representative - worthy of a Count.

Master Ioda waved again, and called something. But the wind blew from the landside. Well, perhaps it was important. Warily, Count Dooku cast a glance around. No, nobody would notice that he followed a subordinate's orders. He strode down to the seashore.

"Quite a mess you created, young Count!" Master Ioda cawed as soon as he was in hearing range. "How could you tell them those pagan tales about throwing virgins into the volcano to stop the eruption? Now they will do it!"

What? Count Dooku stared at him, dumbfounded. Hell, yes, he had mentioned such a thing to the mayor of one village. But it had been meant as a joke! Obviously such a thing had been done in the very oldest days of the pagans when everybody 'knew' that an ill-tempered underworld deity ran a smithy down in the pit of the volcano. But even his old source with the burnt down villa hadn't believed in such old wives' tales!

"Last night's eruption destroyed the church," Master Ioda called while the rowers closed the distance to the shore. "Now they're desperate enough to try to stop it as the pagans would! Do something!"

"What I am supposed to do?" Count Dooku crossed his arms in front of his chest. "If they want to push one of their pudgy daughters into the volcano they'll do it anyway the moment I turn my back on them."

"Being the Count you have jurisdiction!" Master Ioda spat. "If you can't hinder them, you have to punish them!" The tiny old man stepped awkwardly out of the boat. He looked quite green around the gills. A life on the ocean waves (even the tiniest one) wouldn't suit him well.

He waddled through the water up to his master. "Being a Count in the city might be fun all day long, but here it means re-spon-si-bi-li-ty, young man! Your great-uncle knew this by heart! I will not have innocent blood spilled on our heads due to your witty remarks and lack of action!"

"Lack of action? I'll show you lack of action!" Pointing at one of the farm hands, Count Dooku barked, "Saddle my horse! And bring my bodyguards!"

Fuming, he strode to the castle. He had to change first. Executing authority needed the right dress. The red riding jacket would do. The shiny white breeches he had bought before his departure from the capital, but had not yet worn in the dust of the countryside. The black riding boots of course. Responsibility? He would show Master Ioda responsibility!

If he was honest, he felt a pang of conscience. How could he have known that a quip that would have gained him a laugh at Duchessa Gallia's soirée would cause these country yokels to take action?

+++

About an hour later he was on horseback. A gallop in the crisp morning air was nice. His ten bodyguards followed close in various states of dress and surprise. They had struggled after the alarm was raised, after three months of no incidents at all. Count Dooku decided to surprise them more often. They had become sluggish while 'guarding' the kitchen maids and their cooking pots. He would not show himself to his friends with fat and lazy bodyguards - just in case one of his friends would visit now that he had not only a volcano, but the scandal of an attempted virgin sacrifice to offer.

Hopefully, just an attempted one. He spurred his horse on. Not that he hoped for the everlasting love of a snotty-nosed peasant girl. Or any girl for that matter. But having one cooked alive on his estates would be simply disgusting. Uncivilized. For the first time he wondered how his great-uncle would have handled a situation like this.

"Hang that beast!" was the most cited quote of Count Dooku the Older, and it was said that he had used this sentence quite often. A stern man. Someone who had a finger in every pie ever cooked in the capital. Even the Cardinal used to jump when the old Count clicked his tongue.

Count Dooku the Older

Count Dooku the Younger knew he fell short in comparison with his predecessor. Very short. He prayed to whatever deity might listen that he reached his destination in time.

+++

The horses were panting when they had rounded the bay, and then there was the volcano! From down here he could see the villagers halfway up the majestic mountain. Almost everybody seemed to be on their feet. It looked like a procession, with flags and everything.

Master Ioda had had no idea who the intended victim was. A person called Jocasta had informed the old estate manager when he was about to leave the village. This Jocasta had told him that they would not leave the area of the volcano as Master Ioda had suggested: that their gathering had another reason.

By rowing back, Master Ioda and his men had lost a lot of time. And perhaps he should have forgone changing clothes…

"Go, go, go!" Count Dooku cheered his steed on. It was a good horse, and he had trained it on a regular basis, the only pleasure he had taken out of living in the countryside. Casting a glance back he saw that he had lost already half of his bodyguards.

Halfway up the mountain, the path was erased by a cover of ashes, and his horse had to climb over rocks. The pillar of smoke darkened the sky in the west completely, and it stank of sulphur and fire. From here he had a good look at the still smouldering lava that had crept down the mountain in the west. The villages there were completely covered in black, smoking mud.

I should give the order to evacuate the other villages, Count Dooku thought, urging his horse on.

The villagers had to climb as well. The last few hundred meters to the top of the mountain had belonged only to the goat - and shepherds - so far. Doubtless some adventurous youngsters might have felt the urge to climb up the crater and cast a glance down. There was no path up to the rim. But now everybody was anxious to cross this last distance, some people on hands and feet.

Count Dooku could now discern the mayor he had spoken to.

"Stop!" he called at the top of his lungs - and started to cough. The air was anything but crisp here, but seething and full of smoke.

The people turned, some obviously grateful for the break, some anxious.

He was the Lord of the Estate after all, the one who held jurisdiction over them. And he didn't need the Old Count's sharp eye to see the conscience on many of the faces: they were desperate enough to sacrifice one of them in hopes of saving the three villages that had been spared so far.

But by what power? And whom did they hope to bribe? God? The pagan deities and demons? The mountain itself? Pure chance?

In front of the throng, next to the mayor, was the priest of the village in his most commanding attire. Count Dooku knew that he would have mocked the priest under other circumstances. For now he was preoccupied with urging his horse on. The poor beast was bathed in lather and was wheezing, but staggered on.

The village dignitaries stared at him with open hostility. Then they turned their backs on him and hurried upward.

Now, twenty meters away from the crater, Count Dooku could see who was supposed to be pushed into the lava: not a young girl, but a tall, lanky man. His hands were bound behind his back as he was frogmarched up to the pit by the mayors and their sons.

Baffled, the Count forgot to spur on his horse, and the animal stopped at once, hanging its head and coughing. Had he ruined his best horse just because the villagers were practical enough to push the local troublemaker into the volcano instead of one of their daughters?

Nevertheless, he hated to be ignored. Count Dooku kicked his horse to climb on, but the last meters were too steep. He pulled his pistol from its holster and shot into the air. "Stop right now! Nobody move!"

But he had to move if he wanted to reach the mayors. He saw his guards scrambling to reach him, but he didn't wait for them. He jumped from the horse and climbed up to the dignitaries. His shiny riding dress was dulled by the ash, but for once - now that his authority was at stake - he didn't care for fashion.

"Now, my Lord," the smaller mayor sneered. "Whom will you stop with that empty gun?"

Count Dooku pushed the pistol into his belt and let his hand drop onto the hilt of his rapier. "I will stop anyone who challenges me," he said menacingly. "What the hell are you doing? When I told you about ancient sacrifices, I didn't intend for you to resume them!"

The mayors exchanged a look, and the smaller one said with a shit-eating grin, "Honestly, all we wanted to do was to live up to your expectations."

Count Dooku had the bad feeling that they would have crept up the mountain anyway. Was it the smell of sulphur from the volcano or this realization that make him feel so sick now?

But he was a nobleman, and he wouldn't show weakness when facing peasants. No way!

Looking down his nose at the mayors, he said, "My expectations? Well, I would have expected a beautiful young lady in a white gown, not a… well…" Count Dooku cast a glance at the bound man.

The bloke was gagged and couldn't introduce himself. Blue eyes, a light complexion that was sunburned, Count Dooku noticed: a stranger. The man frantically rubbed his gag against his shoulder to get rid of it. That earned him a hit over the head by the priest.

The taller mayor said: "We asked him. He admitted to being a virgin, and if you insist on white: his shirt was white before we came up here, so what? Do you think we would sacrifice one of our beloved daughters to the devils in that mountain? We're not mad, you know."

The gagged man made some furious objections, muffled by the fabric.

Count Dooku couldn't help but grin. A male virgin? At his age? This bloke was in his thirties!

At first sight, the man looked like a bruiser. Had it been a resolute lady's fist that had smashed his nose and deterred him from any further attempts to lose his innocence? But Count Dooku's gaze was distracted by the full lower lip below the wet fabric of the gag. He had always had a thing for boys with full lips. This one appeared far too common and too old for his taste, but that lower lip had potential…

"Take his gag off!" he ordered.

Grumpily, the taller mayor obeyed.

"Thank God, Sir!" the bound man blurted as soon as the scarf was pulled from his mouth. "Please help me! I'm Qui-Gon Jinn, natural scientist from the University of Aldera! I came here to explore your volcano, but these people…" he coughed hard. "Well, I don't want to explore it that closely!"

"Or the local custom of virgin sacrifices, I presume?"

The scientist blushed. "Oh damn!" he said sheepishly. "I do have quite a problem with this local dialect! I thought they asked for my star sign, which happens to be Virgo - and as soon as I said 'aye' I got hit over the head and was dragged up here."

His own dialect belonged far, far away to the north and was only partly civilized by the capital's inflection.
Count Dooku had never it thought possible that one day he would stand on a seething volcano and laugh whole-heartedly.

The mountain, however, answered with a low rumble and spat another cloud of ash.

"You will let this man go and return home immediately!" Count Dooku ordered and brushed dark ash from his sleeves.

"But the demons in this mountain…" the priest objected.

The local priest

"There are no devils in that mountain, man!" Count Dooku barked. "This is a spectacle of nature. If you think otherwise, I'll gladly give you the opportunity to discuss this matter with my uncle, the Cardinal!"

There was only one Cardinal, whose name didn't need to be mentioned. The priest turned as white as his attire was supposed to be, and hurried down the mountain. That was the signal for the mayors and the villagers to follow him in haste.

"They better leave the villages as well," the scientist said in a concerned voice. "The mountain might blow at any time, like it did in the old times when it destroyed several cities."

"What the heck are we still doing here then?" Capitano Boba, the commander of Count Dooku's bodyguard asked. Finally all ten men had made their way up to the side of the man they were supposed to defend.

"You could lend me a knife," Count Dooku suggested. The hemp rope that bound the scientist's hands was secured with several tight knots that he could not open. But what a pair of hands to behold! They seemed adequate for a blacksmith, but not for a scientist. Truth be told, Count Dooku hadn't met a scientist before who specialized in volcanoes. Maybe he had to be built like a prospector or miner: people who needed shovels for hands, because they worked.

When the rope came off, the man turned to him with a relieved sigh. He rubbed his wrists and beamed all over his face. "Thank you, Sir. I owe you my life. But you have me at a disadvantage here…"

"Never mind. I'm Count Dooku. Welcome to my volcano."

"And what a fine volcano it is!" the scientist said with enthusiasm. "If you don't mind, Sir, I'd like to have a look." Not waiting for an answer, Jinn climbed up toward the crater's rim.

"Shouldn't he be glad to climb down the mountain?" Capitano Boba groused.

Count Dooku felt surprised himself. But, well, now that they had made it all the way up… "Let's have a look now that we're here."

Seeing the scientist climb over rocks a few meters away was indeed worth a look. The man wore no jacket, but a shirt with rolled-up sleeves and tight-fitting brown breeches. Broad shoulders, narrow hips, and a pert butt: what was not to like about that sight?

The mountain bucked and rocked under their feet. Jinn reached the edge of the crater first and laid down, so as not to fall accidentally into the volcano.

Count Dooku took a moment to admire the sight of the scientist lying prostrate at his feet. He felt very tempted to step between those long legs. But he thought better of it and knelt down next to Jinn. "So, that's what hell's kitchen looks like."

Among the clouds of black smoke he could see the boiling lava: black bubbles burst to reveal the fire inside.
"What is the state of science about this?" he asked Jinn. He had to shout over the roar that rolled up from within the melting pit.

"There are two main theories," Jinn answered, barely able to avert his admiring gaze for a moment from the swamp of hell. "The first one says that our planet is a ball made up of massive stone, but due to fermenting processes within the stone, it heats up and melts in certain spots. These pockets break up, like a bottle of bad quality will break in a rack of Champaign bottles. The second theory says that what we see here is the interior of our planet: that the world is not made of stone, but has a liquid interior with a hard shell, similar to an egg. But this egg has a few cracks, and within the cracks the molten stone gets pressed up and forms volcanoes."

Count Dooku gazed at the bubbling lava. He didn't like the idea of sitting on an eggshell over a sea of fire. Suddenly the ground didn't feel safe anymore. "I opt for the Champaign theory."

"I prefer the other," Jinn objected. "Nobody could explain to my satisfaction what process could start that fermenting of stone. What would initiate that? But heat! Have you ever seen a solar prominence"?"

Count Dooku nodded. The Duchessa Gallia liked to entertain explorers and astronomers, and one of the latter had demonstrated that phenomenon to a rapt audience a few years ago.

"So what if our world was once as hot as the sun, but cooled down enough to get a crust of stone?" Jinn suggested. "Just like the lava over there that is becoming stone."

"Upon my vineyards." Count Dooku couldn't quite comprehend why someone would be excited about the idea of living on an unstable shell. But the scientist resembled a boy who had discovered a treat in the larder.
His ideas might be abstruse, but his grin was nice. How could he get this scientist down from the mountain before it destroyed them? And more so: how could he make a natural scientist interested in not so natural pleasures? Hell and damnation, he wanted to know how those lips felt around his cock!

"Watch out!"

The volcano chose the very same moment to blow boiling gravel into the air. Count Dooku was certain that the Cardinal would refer to the tale of Sodom right now.

He put a hand on Jinn's shoulder. "As the owner of this volcano I insist that we leave right now! Nobody will know about your great findings if you get killed by a flying stone."

The scientist didn't flinch when he touched him. That was good. Instead he looked at the Count with his cheerful grin and said, "I have to retrieve my instruments anyway. Let's just hope the good citizens haven't destroyed them."

+++

Qui-Gon Jinn was lucky. When they made it to the foot of the mountain, many villagers had already left their homes in haste. A donkey was tethered at the well, packed with saddle bags, and a pick-axe on top of them.
The animal screamed miserably with fear when the ground rocked again, wilder than before, and Count Dooku's horse panicked and ran as did most of his bodyguards' horses.

"Sir, it isn't safe here anymore!" Capitano Boba called, pale and sweating. "Let's catch the horses and go home!"

The horses were already well on their way home, but Count Dooku saw the scientist shoulder the saddle bags himself and set the donkey free. "Don't tell me you're going up there again!"

"That's why I came here, Count. I understand that for you as land owner this eruption is a catastrophe, but for me it's a great opportunity to discover the way volcanoes works. And I will do what I must, and that is: go up this mountain again."

+++

In the end, Count Dooku sent his bodyguards home and followed the scientist.

"I must be mad!" he told himself for the umpteenth time. But on the other hand, for the first time in three months in the countryside, he felt excited. Admittedly, a good part of his excitement was the result of running for his life several times.

And yet, this was something completely different from brooding over how to improve an estate he didn't want - or deciding to get out of bed in the morning to face that estate problem again.

Instead, he was carrying a saddle bag up and down the mountain, running from another eruption, and taking notes as Jinn poked several different types of metal pins into the molten lava, excited about the fact that everything melted in no time. The Count had even wielded the pick-axe and picked up twisted pumice stones.
For lunch, Jinn looted peas and cherries in the villagers' gardens as "compensation for hitting me over the head", as he put it.

Late that afternoon, Count Dooku sat on a stone and picked at a burnt hole in his dark grey breeches - the ones that had been white that morning. Now he had blisters on his hands, his fingernails were broken, and he was as dirty as a charcoal burner. He didn't dare take off his wig to examine it: it was most certainly black and ruined. He felt completely exhausted, whereas his natural scientist - Count Dooku liked the idea of thinking of Jinn as "his" court scientist - was after a patch of slithering lava, tackling it with a clock and a measuring rod.

When Jinn returned to write down his findings, Count Dooku called it a day. "Work and science is all very well, but I insist on inviting you for dinner right now."

Jinn swept his forehead with the back of his hand, smearing black dust across his face in doing so. "Another foray into the cherry trees?"

"No. This time, we'll have a table and plates, and at least one fried ox each. Right over there!" He pointed across the bay at his castle. "Tomorrow morning you may return and measure the whole mountain, but for today that's enough."

"An ox or two would be fine." Jinn snapped his notebook shut and patted his stomach.

Thankfully, Master Ioda had sent the boat to retrieve his Lord.

+++

"Ahhh, that's good!" Count Dooku leant back in the bathtub, enjoying the feeling of having his scalp massaged by his valet. Having a bath first, then dinner: civilization demanded its toll.

Xanatos, a beautiful young man of many talents, chuckled and emptied another jar of warm water over his master's head. "I've never seen you so grimy and so at ease with it. Will you tell me more about this scientist?"

He kneaded Count Dooku's shoulders and laughed as his Master picked at a blister on his hand. "Did he bewitch you, Master? You actually worked!"

Count Dooku purred when his young servant bent down and pressed a kiss on his temple. "Science is a pastime for a nobleman, my boy. I admit I could have chosen a more distinguished field of research than dirty volcanoes, but I intend to explore that vulcanist quite thoroughly." He grabbed his servant by the nape of his neck and kissed the young man's lips hard. "And no shows of jealousy or 'accidentally' spilled wine and things like that, understood?" He pinched the boy's ear.

"Of course not. I'll be good." Xanatos promised in his most silken voice, running his hands lower.

"Not now, my own," the Count chuckled. "Get me the towels. I won't let my guest wait."

Relishing the hot bath a moment longer, he wondered how his scientist was enjoying his own bath. He had given Jinn the best guest room the castle had to offer, and had divided his sadly undermanned staff to heat a bath for his guest as well. Jinn had objected, saying that a wash-basin and a jar of water would do just fine. Count Dooku had countered that he was at a castle now, and he would be treated with the same courtesy that Count Dooku would show to his fellow noblemen. He hoped Jinn would enjoy the bath as much as he did. The very idea of this bloke stripping and relaxing in the hot water made Count Dooku hard.

Xanatos returned with the towels and raised his eyebrows in amusement. "You're really looking forward to dinner, aren't you, Master?"

"You bet."

+++

The awe with which Jinn had looked at the castle and its interior when he was asked inside had shown Count Dooku that his guest was of common origin. No nobleman nor rich citizen would have admired this old-fashioned building and furniture. All the better. Count Dooku, now striding to the dining room, frowned at the darkened, pious paintings, the creaking floor boards, and the odd spider web under the ceiling. It was really time to do something about it: tomorrow morning he would actually order a start to the repairs and improvements that Master Ioda had been pestering him about all the time.

Jinn was already in the dining room, standing next to the windows and talking to - Master Ioda of all people! What was the old dwarf doing here now?

"That would be great!" Jinn was saying, smiling at Master Ioda. Noticing Count Dooku, he turned to his host. "Imagine, Master Ioda told me that the estate's accountancy books mentions all earthquake and volcanic activity since the estate was founded."

Master Ioda puffed himself up. "The mayors have always demanded financial support, even if only one tile fell from their roofs."

"Well, I never thought it possible that accountancy would serve as source of science," Count Dooku said as if he had done the bookkeeping for years. "I'll be glad to provide you with the ledgers."

Master Ioda cackled and bowed his way out. Count Dooku heard him mutter something under his breath. It sounded suspiciously like, "Finally, finally…"

Count Dooku frowned at his retreating estate manager, wondering what that comment was about. Then he smiled at Jinn and gestured at the table. "Now, what about an ox or two?"

+++

There was no ox, but a dinner of five courses. At first they both dug in, not caring for distinguished pace or conversation, and Count Dooku wondered why this was the first day he actually enjoyed the efforts of his rural kitchen staff.

But during the third course - not a whole ox, but beef - he saw Jinn glancing at the window from time to time, obviously checking to see what the volcano was doing. When the plates were removed, Count Dooku deemed it time for some dinner conversation.

"Now, Master Jinn," he asked, "tell me, what makes a man give his heart to volcanoes?"

"It's not only volcanoes, but geology in general I'm interested in," his guest said, leaning back in his chair, sated and satisfied. "Though I have to admit that volcanoes are the most impressive aspect of it."

"Yes, but what I meant was: how does one chose to become a… geologist? When I saw you with your pick-axe, I thought you might be a prospector. But there's hardly coal or gold in my volcano, is there? Any metal you put into the lava burnt away."

"Melted. As for the coal and gold, I hate to disappoint you: the riches of the lava lies in the soil it provides one day. As far as I know, nobody has detected a goldmine in a volcano."

Count Dooku had the distinct feeling that the scientist was avoiding the question on his choice of profession. He raised his glass and said, "Then let's enjoy the wine: this year's vintage is buried under the lava you examined today."

The scientist took a sip. "What a pity. That's a fine wine."

'Not really', Count Dooku thought. True, it was the best his estate had to offer, but average quality in comparison to that which the capital's traders provided.

He let his gaze linger on the scientist, and tried that inquisitive stare of his uncle on him. It seemed to work. Jinn seemed to feel uncomfortable under it.

"And as to how I chose to become a scientist, well…" the scientist frowned and took another sip. "Let's say, working with stone runs in the family. I was working as a stonemason apprentice when we found a layer of sandstone full of fossils. They were beautiful, but very strange. The owner of the quarry cursed them at first for marring the stone, but then told us to make lintels and door steps with them.

One day, when I worked at a fossil that looked like a snail shell, but with a diameter as long as my forearm, curiosity got the better of me and I pocketed some of the smaller fossils to ask our local priest about these shells. This man was said to be a clever clogs, who had his nose in every book but the bible. He became quite excited when he saw what I had found. He told me that he would write a letter to a friend who was an expert in animals which lived before the Flood, and he asked for the fossils. I left them in exchange for absolution for stealing them, and all was well - well, except the fact that he couldn't explain why the snails before the Flood were so much bigger. That, and the completely strange animals and plants we found bothered me a lot. I started to measure and draw them out of pure curiosity, and to tell the priest more about them, hoping he hadn't forgotten my visit already. My father told me to stop my folly, but to work harder.

Two weeks later, our priest's friend arrived, very excited about the fossils. The quarry's owner didn't want him disturbing the work, but I could show the man two building sites where our lintels were delivered. He bought these lintels at once, and two weeks after that, he showed up with some more scientists, and a letter from our Duke telling the quarry owner to let them examine the fossils at their leisure.

You can imagine how furious the quarry owner was. When he found out that I was the source of his trouble, I got fired at once. But the scientists took me under their wing. First as a stonemason to preserve their findings, but I pestered them with so many questions about their collections and findings that they regarded me as a kindred spirit, and accepted me as a student. They taught me Latin and everything. I wish they were here with me, but they got stuck in the south due to that rebellion."

"That's quite a career you made for yourself," Count Dooku said, raising his glass again in a toast. In secret, he thanked the rebels for the fact that Jinn was forced to travel alone.

"Well," Jinn finished with a not-so-happy smile, "My family still hopes that I will come to my senses one day and choose a respectable profession: if not as a stonemason, then at least as a bricklayer." But then he became distracted and stared out of the window.

The volcano had chosen to decrease its output of smoke.

Count Dooku had never thought it possible, but he found that he could become jealous of a mountain. He heaved a sigh. "There will be dessert and mocha, but if you want to retrieve first your telescope or something…"

The scientist beamed at him. "I'll be right back!" He bolted from the room.

The Count heard a titter behind him. Xanatos, now part of the staff who cleared the table, winked at him. "Are you sure you don't need some spilled wine?"

Count Dooku rolled his eyes.

+++

Dessert and mocha was served in the salon. A sofa had been pushed to the window, and Count Dooku could watch both now: the volcano and his scientist. The scientist's back was the more lovely sight by far. The mountain puffed several clouds of black smoke instead of the constant pillar it had produced during the day.

"Looks like old Vulcanus is calling it a day and closing his smithy down," he remarked when Jinn returned to the sofa and wrote down the last interval in minutes.

The scientist chuckled, but it was obvious that he would have a liked an eruption better. Count Dooku resolved to make a sacrifice to the pagan deity, if he granted him an undisturbed night.

"Now, what about a mocha before it gets cold?" Not that it would be: before that he would send Xanatos down to the kitchen to make fresh one.

"Yes, please," Jinn said, putting his notebook next to him on the sofa. Xanatos gave him a cup full of mocha without spilling anything and retreated.

"You must consider me a terrible guest, but it's the first volcanic eruption I've seen with my own eyes, and I don't want to miss any detail." Jinn said a little sheepishly before taking a sip of his coffee.

"I understand your enthusiasm," Count Dooku replied jovially and used the opportunity to put a hand on Jinn's shoulder. "And if your findings on my mountain prove one of these theories about the inner state of our world, I'd be most satisfied." He let his hand slide down the other man's back. Now Jinn tensed and almost spilled the coffee himself when putting his cup down.

'Careful!' Count Dooku admonished himself. "What, by the way, happens to hell when you suppose that our planet is liquid inside?"

The question had the intended effect. At once Jinn was distracted from that intimate touch and started to lecture. If the world was built according to Qui-Gon Jinn, there was no place for the devil, because there were only strata of stone, until these became liquid somewhere deep down: deeper than anybody was likely to dig in these days, but maybe in the future...

Natural scientist Jinn (here with Professor N.N. who didn't want to hear a word of the egg-shell theory)

This was a bold theory. Count Dooku liked the idea that there was neither devil nor hell: he always had sympathized with the ideas of the Enlightenment, to ease that nagging feeling of guilt his uncle had instilled in him; if Jinn could prove that there was no hell he would embrace modern science, even the egg-shell theory.
He resolved, however, never to introduce Jinn to his uncle, the Cardinal, for both their sakes.

Said egg-shell theory might be round the bend, but the scientist had a nice voice, and the longer Count Dooku looked at his guest, the easier to his eyes the man became. Jinn's eyes, for example, were not exactly of the same size - but were a rather innocent blue.

It would have been a crying shame to have lost this bloke to the volcano. Some demons or pagan deities could gnash their teeth in disappointment as they liked. Count Dooku smiled at the idea of Pluto or another prince of darkness looking forward to abducting a beautiful Proserpina into the dank halls of Hades, only to be delivered with a misunderstood virgin sacrifice such as scientist Jinn with his telescope and his theory that the bowels of the Earth were on fire.

And for the sake of his soul - hell or not - he wanted to know how much of a Virgo this man was.

+++

The sunset painted the sky in blazing orange and red that stayed long after the sun had sunk beyond the ocean. No artist except a drunken one would have dared such vivid colours. Count Dooku joined his guest at the window. The birds' calls had died down, and the air became cool and refreshing.

Now Jinn held no telescope, clock, or notepad. With his eyes half closed, he seemed to be enjoying the evening breeze and the colourful sunset, his hands resting on the window sill. Count Dooku felt almost shy to disturb him in his contemplation, and yet he had an aim to obtain.

Pluto help him, but he wanted that man!

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.

"Uhm-hm," was the answer, and Jinn seemed to return from a very distant train of thought. He looked like one waking up when he turned to his host. "Are the sunsets here always as colourful as this one?"

"The last days, yes. Before… Honestly, I didn't notice." Count Dooku shrugged. Master Ioda would know. But the last thing he would do was point Jinn to that old dwarf now. Trust the man to run to Master Ioda at once. Instead he said, "Do you suspect my volcano to be behind this sunset as well?"

"I'm wondering about it. What if all the dust in the sky reflects the sunlight a little longer?"

Count Dooku sighed dramatically. "Master Jinn, there is no place for beauty in your thinking. The old pagans had even a deity for the red sky in the morning! Whether she was also responsible for the evening I don't know, but anyway: what is dust in comparison to a Goddess?"

The scientist shrugged. "The Goddess was only an attempt to explain the phenomenon of the red sky. You could interpret this also as a warning of God or a foreboding of bloodshed, as was done for too many centuries and certainly still is. I want to know what's really behind it. Honestly, all the more so, after the incident with your villagers this morning." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, hugging himself. "When I realized what they were up to, I thought my last hour had come." He turned and looked Count Dooku in the eye, frowning. "You should do something about it before superstition kills someone."

The last sentence hit like a punch in the guts. At first, Count Dooku had been hopeful to steer their conversation to pagans and virgin sacrifices in a light mood. But now?

"I'm sorry," he said, and he actually felt mortified. "I hadn't thought it possible that such primitive beliefs could persist in these days. In the morning I will go with my bodyguards to guarantee that these mad mayors stay away from the crater, and I will have a word with their priest as well." Putting a hand on Jinn's shoulder - he simply couldn't stay away from the man - he added, "And forgive me for laughing about that misunderstanding with your star sign. I really expected a damsel in distress."

Jinn chuckled and turned his face to the volcano. Was it just the red light from the sunset or was the man blushing? "We have already faced a lot of trouble with the church authorities due to our theories, but this pagan stuff… would have been the most stupid reason to die I could imagine."

"Yet I wonder…" Count Dooku took his courage in both hands and ran this thumb over the side of Jinn's neck. Very tenderly.

Jinn stared at him, alarmed.

That didn't bode well. But as a seasoned gambler, Count Dooku knew that he sometimes had to stake everything on one card.

"Yet I wonder if there is some aspect of virginity you might like to lose … or shall we say: explore?"
"Uh," Jinn gaped at him.

"Never thought about it?" Count Dooku asked. "But even as a natural scientist, you certainly have heard about not-so-natural pleasures?"

Now the man was worrying the lip Count Dooku was so enamoured with. Lovely: Count Dooku recognized a pang of conscience when he saw one.

"Don't feel obliged in any way," he said, his voice becoming a husky whisper when he leant in. "It's just an offer. You can say no." And with that he kissed the other man. Careful, just a ghost of a kiss: chaste in style, but not in intention.

"No." Jinn's hand came up, and for a moment Count Dooku was afraid that a heavy fist would crash into his face. But Jinn covered his own lips with his hand, staring at his host for a long time.

"No," he finally said. "What I mean… I don't feel obliged. But I …" He swallowed hard and let his hand drop. "Yes. I think I'd like to explore that as well."

"Good." Count Dooku sighed with relief. He covered the nape of Jinn's neck with his hand and leant in for another kiss. A lingering one this time, though careful still. There was a response, the other man's lips pursed when he was kissing back. Tentatively at first, but suddenly Count Dooku found himself embraced by a pair of very strong arms and kissed quite thoroughly: with tongue and enthusiasm. The devil take him! That was not the way he imagined a blushing virgin would kiss: his scientist showed skill and practise. Though a little overwhelmed, Count Dooku enjoyed it nevertheless. And what a joy it was to smooch someone without having to bow or to bend one's knees!

When they parted, both gasping for breath, Count Dooku couldn't help a broad grin spreading over his face. "That's quite an expert kiss, Master scientist…"

Jinn cast down his eyes, chuckling. "Well, there was a lady…"

"Shh!" Count Dooku put a finger on Jinn's lips. "No talk about ladies in my house." He stroked Jinn's lips, and pressed a finger between them. The man was good and opened his mouth. Very nice. Count Dooku purred with content when stroking Jinn's tongue. Wet, warm and soft, and it stroked back, curling around his finger when Jinn suckled his digit - but just for a moment, and then his eyes grew wide when he realized what sucking a member of another man's body might hint at. Before he could bolt, Count Dooku replaced his finger with another kiss, pushing his tongue deep into the other man's mouth. Jinn gasped with surprise, but yielded into the kiss, moaning a little. Good. Pliable, corruptible. Whoever that "lady" had been, she hadn't spoilt the boy completely.

He used his advantage to run his hands down Jinn's back, pulling the man against himself. Pliable again - Count Dooku wondered how eagerly his scientist had waited for an opportunity for this kind of exploration.
And now that he had his hands right at the waistband of Jinn's trousers, he pulled the shirt free, pushed his hands under the fabric. Smooth, clean skin: soft under his roughened fingers. Jinn moaned into the kiss when the small of his back was stroked. Bolder, Count Dooku pushed a hand deeper, grabbed a buttock. At this, his scientist jumped.

"Good Lord!" he gasped, staring wide-eyed at the Count. Count Dooku raised his hands with the most innocent smile he could muster.

"Forgive me my haste, it was just too tempting."

Jinn laughed aloud, but ran a hand over his mouth then. He could be offended, but Count Dooku remembered that he had seen this gesture during the day. It was Jinn's way to express indecision, a move that accompanied the pondering about what to do next.

'Give him no time to think!' the Count admonished himself. Casting down his eyes he stepped close to his scientist, put his hands onto Jinn's shoulders. That he accepted easily. Nuzzling the man's neck: also fine. Kissing his jaw line, nibbling his earlobe. Ah, yes: now he was in Jinn's arms again and heard his scientist sigh when the man offered his throat in surrender. That's how it should be. He pressed closer against Jinn's crotch, felt the man shudder. Good boy. He made sure to leave a love bite on Jinn's neck before he kissed him on the mouth again.

Jinn's hands moved under his jacket now, rubbed his back, pulled him closer, and Count Dooku used the opportunity to press a knee between Jinn's legs. Pliant also in this, but hard against his thigh. His scientist moved his hips, rubbing himself against the pressure. Perfect response. This was going to be really good.

He broke the kiss and whispered in Jinn's ear: "What about the sofa? That would make things easier."

"What things?" Jinn raised a hand to stroke the Count's face.

Count Dooku chuckled. When Jinn's thumb ran across his lips, he swallowed it and sucked hard, looking Jinn into the eye. Letting go, he grazed the skin with his teeth. Smiling at his slightly panting lover he said, "Do you think you could stay on your feet if I did this to your cock?"

Jinn shook his head, swallowing hard.

"I thought not." He ushered Jinn the few steps to the couch, and pushed him down none too gently. What a sight: his scientist already looked debauched - and devoted. Pleading, actually. And that bulge in his trousers wasn't to be missed either.

"Take off your shirt," Count Dooku ordered.

Jinn cast him a puzzled look, but hurried to oblige. Nice. Lean, but with well-shaped muscles, almost no chest hair: as close as a man in his thirties could come to his much younger lovers. And looking at this feast closely, he should perhaps reconsider his lover's age.

"Open your trousers. Come on: let me see what you have to offer!"

He loved these bewildered looks of Jinn when he had to take an order. This man had been so at ease with his instruments and the lava, but now he was fumbling nervously with the buttons: it was adorable. Count Dooku sighed with need. He was so hard himself that he was about to soil his breeches.

"No, let me," he said when there was only one button left, and he knelt between Jinn's legs. His scientist jumped a little at the mere touch against his thighs and panted. Count Dooku put his hand on the strained fabric and rubbed the hard flesh below it. The groan he triggered was worth it.

"Please!" Jinn's hips bucked.

"Yes, my boy." This was not how he had planned it. But he liked seeing his scientist like this: half naked, pleading, shivering with need. He would give the boy what he was begging for. And much more.

He pushed the fabric down a good deal, exposing a patch of curly hair and the root of a straining cock. Jinn gasped aloud when Count Dooku ran a finger over the hot flesh.

And he called out loud when Count Dooku pressed a kiss on it. "Oh God!" The Count chuckled. Funny how pious they all got when it came to fucking.

"Come on!" he ordered. "Up with your ass!" He pinched Jinn hard on the buttock. The result was good enough to pull the breeches from Jinn's hips together with the underpants. And what a sight it was! A big cock curved up against Jinn's belly, tight balls…

"Don't you touch yourself, boy!" Count Dooku pulled the fabric down to Jinn's ankles.

"That's all mine to explore," he told his scientist, pushing Jinn's thighs apart and settling between them.
"Yes, please," was the rough answer, and Jinn's hand cupped his cheek.

Count Dooku allowed himself to be guided to the erection. What a treat. He closed his hand around it. He had seen quite a number of cocks, but this was one of the biggest so far. Feeling the other man's heartbeat in his fist, he breathed in the exciting mix of male arousal and the expensive bath soap of his guest room. He wished he had seen Jinn washing himself: enjoying himself, oblivious to what would follow later in the evening. Purring, he bent down, gave the erection a lick from root to tip.

Jinn tensed under him with a strangled shout, and his hand grabbed the back of the Count's head. But he stroked the nape of his neck instead of forcing him down. Good boy. Obviously that "lady" had taught him manners.

This deserved rewarding.

"Look at me!" he told Jinn, and when he did, Count Dooku swallowed the tip of the big cock and sucked it hard.

"Oh God! Yes!"

So much for looking at him: Jinn's head lolled back, and his hips bucked hard. Count Dooku chuckled about Jinn's enthusiasm in all things, making his scientist writhe with lust by that. Count Dooku saw so need to prolong this - and no way if he wanted to have a chance not to come in his trousers.

Jinn's balls were already drawn up, his thrusts became faster and faster, and Count Dooku simply trusted in his experience and ran a hand over the balls and below them, pressing two fingers between Jinn's buttocks. There.

Swallowing Jinn's penis as deeply as he could, he pressed a finger against his anus, breaching the muscle, and the very next moment his lover tensed and exploded into his mouth.

Very eruptive indeed. Count Dooku enjoyed making this as enjoyable as he could, swallowing and waiting the last shivers out before he let go of Jinn's cock.

"Look at me," he said. But it needed a snap of his fingers right in front of Jinn's nose to get his attention.
With a moan, Jinn opened his eyes. That sight of utmost debauchery was heart-wrenching: his darkened, sleepy eyes, the swollen lips and slack features, bathed in sweat. Count Dooku felt a strange wave of sympathy for his guest. Instead of insisting that Jinn return the favour right now, he pushed himself up, knelt over his scientist's hips and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "What a good boy."

Jinn chuckled at this, licked his lips, frowning at the taste of his own semen. Then he ran a hand down Count Dooku's belly.

"No," the Count said, pushing Jinn's hand away. "Not here. I want you in my bed." He leant in and whispered in Jinn's ear. "You, outstretched on my sheets, arse in the air, and me ploughing into you, would you like that?"
He felt Jinn shiver. It took a moment before he got a reluctant nod, then the man answered with a kiss. Sweet. He could really get used to this one. Count Dooku ran his hand trough Jinn's hair. Finger-long, soft strands, wet with sweat now; he nuzzled into them. "You'll enjoy it. I promise."

+++

Walking proved to be as difficult as pulling Jinn from the sofa had been. The scientist hadn't bothered to put on his shirt, had just pulled up his trousers, moaning and yawning, but when he finally rose, joking about shaky knees, he had not forgotten to pick up his notebook and telescope.

A diligent man.

Count Dooku ushered him into his bedroom, enjoying the feel of his hand on the other man's lower back. Sweat and goose bumps all over.

"Ah, Xanatos…"

The valet winked and bowed out of the room. Count Dooku saw fresh sheets, lit candles, a jar of wine and glasses, and another jar as well: sometimes Xanatos was really worth the obscene amount of money the Count had paid to bail him out.

Jinn cast a concerned look after the servant.

"Don't you worry." Count Dooku took the telescope and notebook and put them onto a table. "He shares my secret, and my passion as well."

"Oh."

"Yes." The shirt had to go too. He threw it onto the next chair. With empty hands, Jinn seemed to lose courage and hugged himself. Let's see what he says to that…

Count Dooku crouched in front of his guest and unlaced his shoes. Jinn's eyes got wide when he saw a nobleman kneeling at his feet. Not that he hadn't just done it, Count Dooku realized with a merry grin, but now Jinn hurried to pull him to his feet. "I can do this myself." He was out of his shoes in no time, shaky knees or not.

Count Dooku went to fetch them wine. Filling the glasses, he watched his lover cast nervous glances at the darkness of the wide room and the candle-lit bed.

"There's nothing to worry about, believe me," he told Jinn, giving him the glass of wine. "I'll be good, you'll be good, and this sin is as old as mankind."

Jinn chuckled and gulped down the wine. "One plea," he said. "No, one condition."

"And what would that be?" Count Dooku found it hard not to frown. He hated to haggle, and Jinn was no whore, so how dare he?

"This has to go!" Jinn pointed at the Count's head.

"This?" For a moment Count Dooku didn't realize what he meant. Then he touched his head. "Oh, the wig?" He was so used to the thing he hadn't noticed it at all.

Jinn nodded.

"What's wrong with wigs?"

"Don't like them." Jinn went to the nightstand and put down his glass. "This thing makes you look like the one who'll condemn me to death for what I'm going to do."

Count Dooku rolled his eyes. "Nobody will condemn you! But well…" He took off the wig. Self-consciously he ran a hand over his short-cropped hair. "Don't tell me you like me better this way!"

"But I do." At least a ghost of a smile was back in Jinn's face now.

"Well, away with it then." He threw the wig onto the table where it sat like a stuffed white rabbit. A damned expensive rabbit at that. Interesting, that it hadn't disturbed Jinn when he had sucked him off. Had that been a matter of focus? Or was the outlook of getting fucked the problem? Jinn didn't look forward to it, this much was clear.

Yet the man came to him, gave him a smile and started to unbutton the Count's jacket and vest. "Don't you worry," the Count promised and pulled him close for a kiss. "You'll like it, I promise."

"Uhm-hm." Jinn took off the Count's jacket and vest like a valet. Unbuttoning his shirt, Count Dooku watched him hanging the clothes onto the back of a chair. Now it was his turn to feel reluctant to undress. His frame could be described as wiry at best. But Jinn was behind him, pulled the shirt from his shoulders and kissed his neck, his shoulder then.

Good. Count Dooku leant into his embrace as Jinn put his arms around him, and stroked down his chest and belly. His erection had lessened during all the talking, and feelings of inferiority whilst watching Jinn's muscles didn't help either. The man's hand groping his crotch, however, did help.

With a groan he let his head roll back, rested it against Jinn's shoulder, and again he thought how nice it was to finally have a lover who matched his height.

Jinn knew well how to stroke him. But which man did not from this position? He turned his head, hoping for a kiss and got one. Twining his fingers with Jinn's he pulled his lover's hand up to his waistband and shoved it inside. "Yesss…" Feeling Jinn's fingers around his cock made it harden at once. He slid his free hand behind him, groped for Jinn's loins. With a moan, Jinn pressed against his hand. Getting hard again. Admirable stamina, this one.

"Please." Now he needed both hands to unbutton his trousers. They simply had to go. He felt Jinn fumble behind him, single-handed, and involuntarily Jinn's other hand around his cock tightened as well. To an amount that hurt - very good.

He bucked into Jinn's hand, and when Jinn's other hand came around and covered his belly, Count Dooku was pulled back against naked skin, some of it very hot and hardening against the cleft of his buttocks.

"What about it?" he asked and had to clear his throat for his voice was becoming too rough. "What about me lying outstretched on the bed, arse in the air, and you fucking me senseless?"

Jinn's arms tightened around him. To the Count's surprise the answer was, "No. You offered to make me 'lose my virginity'. I said I would explore that. How fucking feels I know. How to get fucked by a man, I have no idea. Now do it."

With that, he let go of Count Dooku and stepped out of his trousers. To the Count, he looked almost stubborn. His stance showed fierce determination when he walked naked to the bed, crawled onto it and laid down on his belly. Count Dooku wondered if his generous offer had been offensive in any way. Such determination was hardly the right mindset for sex. Wasn't it done for joy? For a fight for dominance? Certainly for both. But to "explore that"?

In his mind's eye, he saw Jinn writing down notes later. Would he become a footnote in a report on volcanoes? He sighed and wondered if he would have been better off leaving his hands off a scientist and bedding his valet instead.

But well…

He went to the bed, filled a glass of wine and joined Jinn on the sheets. "Exploration, huh? For your notes, dear Master Jinn: you may explore my volcano, but in my bed you are for joy!" and with that he gave the scientist's buttocks a sharp slap.

"Hey!" Jinn bucked and turned to him, looking both puzzled and outraged.

"So getting spanked is not to your liking?" Count Dooku took a sip of his wine.

"Where's the joy in being beaten?"
"Oh, you have no idea how many people enjoy it. Thoroughly." Count Dooku winked at him. "What about this?" He pushed against Jinn's shoulder to turn the man onto his back and emptied his glass over Jinn's chest and belly.

"What…!"

The very next moment he was on Jinn and started to lick him all over.

"Oh!"

Count Dooku chuckled. That sounded suspiciously like, "Oh, good!"

He licked a nipple, and the sound that followed was even more excited. He nipped at it, and Jinn bucked under him. "Oh, damn, yes!" The man's big hands grabbed his head, and his legs came up, clutching the Count close.
That's the spirit! Count Dooku ran a hand down the backside of Jinn's thigh. Yes, my boy, you have no idea how close we are…

He changed to the other nipple, pinching the first one with his free hand. Jinn writhed below him making mewling sounds and his cock was poking the Count's belly again. Count Dooku chuckled and sucked the little nub once more. "Enjoyable, eh?"

"Very much so," was the gasped answer.

"Then how about this?" He pinched the nipple with his teeth, and when Jinn bucked again, he pressed his hand between his buttocks, searching for that ring of muscle. Don't you tell me you didn't like it before!

A low groan was his reward, when he found the right place and massaged it with a finger.

"Now, tell me, what's not to like about it, hm?"

"Oh, it's… ah, good." Jinn had his eyes closed and flung a forearm over his face. Hiding from sin? Count Dooku wondered. What else instead of fossils had this boy's priest told him? But, hell, with an uncle like the Cardinal he knew what shite these birds could tell you…

"Allow me to make it even better." He leant over to the nightstand and dipped his fingers into the little jar with the oil. Olive oil from his estate, also said to be virgin. Jinn risked a look and made a perplexed face when he saw Count Dooku lick at his slicked fingers. Sheer precaution: Xanatos was good for mischief like stirring pepper into it. But this was clean.

"You'll like it, I promise." And yet Jinn hid again. But his legs fell open. Very well.

He slickened the cleft, massaged the puckered muscle inside. And because Jinn's legs were so easy to grab, he took the left one and pressed a kiss on the inner side of the knee, stroking the long limb. The muscles trembled, and Count Dooku enjoyed the feeling of smooth skin and soft hair on his cheek. Jinn writhed closer to him, obviously enjoying the feel of stubble. A deep breath drawn in was all Count Dooku needed to push his oil-slicked finger into Jinn's body.

His scientist tensed around it, gasping out loud. When he drew the next breath, and he did it like he was drowning, Count Dooku pushed further.

"Good?"

Actually, he didn't need to ask. The arching back, the hitching breath: oh yes, this was welcome. Jinn's hand grabbed his own cock, started to stroke it.

Count Dooku grinned with satisfaction. "Sorry to disturb you, love, but would you please give me the oil?"
"Huh?" Another glance came out of Jinn's hiding place.

"The little jar over there. As you see, I've my hands full at the moment."

And Jinn laughed. It started with a chuckle, but then he burst into a full-fledged laugh. "Oh, God, that's…!"
Count Dooku had to laugh as well. But he couldn't resist the temptation to add a second finger.

"Ow!" But even that was followed by laughter.

And then a shout when the Count curled his fingers and nudged the spot he was searching for. Jinn bucked so hard that he impaled himself even more on the fingers. "Oh, God! What's…"

"Anatomy for sinners," Count Dooku smiled at him, and massaged the spot again. "Did you miss something in your education, dear scientist?"

The dear scientist just gasped with pleasure. When Count Dooku stilled his hand, he looked up, disappointed. With a groan he rolled to his side and reached for the nightstand. His hand trembled when he picked up the little jar with the oil and held it to Count Dooku. "Please?"

"With pleasure!" the Count beamed. He let go of Jinn's leg, took the oil and poured it over Jinn's belly. The scientist's face was priceless. Especially when he anointed his fingers with the oil that pooled in the other man's navel.

Three fingers. The muscle's resistance, but a greedy push against and around his intruding fingers. Pliable again. Jinn's erection had wilted, but there was liquid on his belly that was not oil.

Count Dooku shivered with lust when he saw Jinn slicken his own hands on his belly and grab his cock and balls, stroking himself.

That's it, love! That's it! He pulled his hand free, ran it over Jinn's side to catch the oil trickling down there.

Jinn looked up. "Please keep going!"

Count Dooku grabbed one of the big wrists. "I can give you something better - if you want it." And he pulled Jinn's hand against his own cock.

"Oh!" Blunt fingers, wet with oil, squeezed it just right.

Count Dooku gasped. "No, just make it slick!" He stretched out over Jinn, kissed his lips. "Now, love, how do you want it? Legs up or arse up?"

"Don't care! Just do it!"

"Thank you." Another kiss, and then he grabbed one of the pillows and pushed it under Jinn's hips. Legs up, then. He wanted to see his boy's face drawn in pleasure. At the moment it was just pleading.

Jinn stared at him, watched himself be arranged, his legs lifted on his lover's shoulders, spread. He hid under his arm again, however, when he saw the Count touching himself. Not that the Count cared at the moment. No, this was too exciting, too sweet: positioning himself against his lover's opening, pressing slowly inside.
He heard Jinn gasp, felt the resistance of the muscle, and felt it yield, allowing him into the heat inside. Yes! That's it! He pressed further, dared a push - and heard Jinn shout. A strangled mix of pain and need. Carefully, then. He grabbed Jinn's hips, pulled him closer while he pressed deeper into the tight heat of the other man's body. So very, very good! He shuddered as he made it all the way in, and rubbed Jinn's thighs. Relax, love. But he felt too good for words.

From his lover, there was only a constant moaning, little gasps. He couldn't tell if they were of pain or pleasure, and honestly, he didn't want to know. All he wanted was to fuck his lad until he screamed.

Scream he didn't, but his groans were excited enough. Count Dooku didn't care for slow and gentle anymore, but fucked his lover hard - he had waited too long for his own pleasure. A few thrusts, and he came quickly, the world fading away in his lust as he pumped into his boy. Jinn tensed below him, went rigid and then became lax, shivering from time to time. When Count Dooku was coherent enough to open his eyes again, he saw his boy stroking himself lazily, smearing the white semen through the oil on his belly.

"Good?" He pressed a kiss against Jinn's knee, let his legs down and slid out of his lover's body. Exhausted and satisfied, he gazed lovingly at his doing. So much for virgin sacrifices. Jinn smiled back at him. With a groan he stretched out a hand, stroked the count's cheek.

"Very good."

"You're so welcome." Count Dooku pressed a kiss into his palm. 'You have no idea how much.' He stretched out over his lover, claimed another kiss. "I hope that there will be many more nights of exploration, my dear scientist."

"Qui-Gon is the name." And he was kissed back.

Count Dooku didn't care to clean them up, though he was sure that Xanatos had deposited a washcloth somewhere. Dirty and happy, he snuggled against Qui-Gon and drifted off to sleep.

+++

He woke up, when the mattress dipped, and a few seconds later a curtain was pulled back. Blazing sunlight burst into the room.

Groaning, Count Dooku covered his eyes, about to snarl, "Xanatos, what the heck are you doing!" But then he noticed the much taller frame at the window: his scientist, naked as the day he was born, but armed with a telescope, aiming at the volcano.

Count Dooku had to smile. If that was no urge for the beauty of research what else would qualify as such? He crawled out of the bed, bemoaning the soreness of his muscles. Now he felt the payback for running up and down a volcano all day long.

Jinn turned, looking none too happy, but he started to smile when he saw his lover approach.

Count Dooku put his arm around Jinn's hips and cast a look at the volcano: Jinn's true love. No smoke at all. No wonder his boy was sad. He hugged Jinn and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't begrudge old Volcanus a day off, love. Come to bed."

Jinn shook his head. He ran a hand down the Count's back. "No. Daytime belongs to the mountain, the night belongs to you." His hand squeezed a buttock and made Count Dooku jump. "But I'm really looking forward to doing tonight's research."

Count Dooku frowned at him. "Are you really forgoing the joy of early-morning love-making for such a blasted mountain?" 'Is that thing better company than me?' he wanted to add, but was afraid to hear a 'yes'.

The scientist was a man of principle. He found the wash-basin and started to clean up and dress.

"The mountain isn't blasted, but has reduced its activity," Jinn said. "This could mean two things: it might stop all activity - or gather power for the next outburst. I have to go there to see if the lava rises in the crater." The tone of his voice was not pliable at all.

"Well", Count Dooku said, realizing that he was defeated. By a mountain. Shaking his head he went to the bell to call a servant. It took a few moments, then Xanatos pushed his head into the room. He was bleary-eyed and his black hair was tousled by sleep.

"Tell the kitchen to make breakfast and to provide enough food for us and the bodyguards to stay another day on the mountain," Count Dooku ordered.

"Now?" Xanatos blurted. "It's just past sunrise!"

"Yes, now!" Count Dooku said, making his servant stare at him in shock.

+++

"It's sunk." Jinn looked from the lava into his notebook and back, getting a bearing on the distance between the rim of the crater and the lava swamp again.

Count Dooku felt a certain sympathy with Jinn's disappointment, and yet he was relieved that the lava didn't bubble as eagerly as it had done yesterday. He put a hand on Jinn's shoulder, squeezed it. "What are we going to do now?"

"Observe the changes in the level, measure the cooling of the lava streams we checked yesterday…" Jinn took a note about the lava level and looked at the ugly, black streams then, which marred the west side of the mountain. His mood seemed to rise. "Wonder how much they have cooled since yesterday…"

Count Dooku wondered as well. "It might take them weeks to become stone finally."

"So I would have to measure their temperature for weeks," Jinn said, getting the hint and winking at the Count. "Would you mind?"

"Not in the least." Count Dooku beamed. "But don't expect me to climb up here with you every day. These villages have to be rebuilt elsewhere, and while they're at it, we could reopen the tile-making works that Master Ioda pesters me about and do some repairs at the castle and its farm."

"Well, what we're waiting for then?" Jinn shouldered his saddlebag and went down the mountain to visit the lava fields.

Count Dooku took the time to watch him, indulging in the memory of last night.

Before he hurried to join his beloved natural scientist, Count Dooku cast another glance into the crater. Honestly, he didn't mind if that sulphurous stuff came up, either due to fermentation or cracks in the crust - as long as he could imagine he had kept it at bay by sacrificing a certain Virgo's virginity. He sketched a bow to Pluto and Vulcanus, and followed in good spirits his bringer of Enlightenment.

--- the end ---