In the middle of a hot June night in Piston Peak National Park in Northern California, while the moon overhead shown down onto the glassy surface of Anchor Lake, Blade Ranger gasped and woke in a start, his engine feverish. Eyes wet, mouth dry as sand, plating itching all over, he knew for certain that Dusty Crophopper, his Bonded Companion, had died in his sleep as he lay beside him on the sleeping mat. 
	I know it, he thought, He's gone. Forever.
	Every atom of his rigid body strained to discern if the little red and white plane was still breathing. The AugustaWestland's tears were coming in hot, silent stabs behind his eyes as he fought them back, but he was unable to hear anything over the crazy, fearful pumping of his fluids in their lines. He pressed his nose against the smaller aircraft's left side. When the tears from Blade's eyes finally dropped onto Dusty's plating, he woke up. The first thing he did was scoot over to give Blade a kiss near the corner of his mouth, murmuring something sleepily. Such a sudden sign of life startled the  much larger helicopter, and he actually jumped. 
	“Blade,” Dusty whispered, now fully awake, “what's wrong?”
	The crop duster-turned-racer-turned-firefighter got to his wheels on the sleeping mat and went to turn the lights on before going back to Blade, pressing his frame firmly against the red and white helicopter's side comfortingly. He was clearly very upset, his distress felt keenly through their link as Dusty attempted to sooth him.
	“It's alright, Blade. Everything's fine.”
	The Air Boss let him caress and give him full-bodied nuzzles, but he did not believe that everything was fine. Dusty smiled entreatingly and looked into his eyes, and Blade gazed fretfully into his, noting how they always seemed a bit darker when he first woke up. It took him a little while to regain his composure and speak without the threat of breaking down.
	“I don't think I can bear it.” he finally managed at length.
	“Bear what?”
	“The fact that you are going to die.”
	“I am?”
	“Yes, you are. Eventually. I don't know when but I have a few ideas how and I know it's going to happen. And I don't know if I can bear it. As much as I've tried to tell myself that it just is what it is.” Blade turned away from Dusty then, the little plane tilting in questioning concern before he continued. “You had stopped breathing. Or at least I thought you did.”
	Dusty stared at him. Only those that knew him best, but would never let on that they knew as much, knew that under that cool, measured air that he kept around him, Blade Ranger was quite finely wired. Dusty knew that now, and he thought it rather endearing at times. Of course now he was thinking to himself, with an exasperated smile, What is it with me and head-cases?
	“My god, Blade, I'm in perfect health. I didn't stop breathing, I was sleeping. You should know by now what a deep sleeper I am.”
	Blade turned to look at him again.
	“I woke up and was convinced that you had died.” Dusty moved to try and nuzzle him, but he turned away from him again, brow pulled together. “I cannot bear to feel the way I felt just then ever again. It was too much like...”
	Dusty felt a pang of sadness as his larger Companion trailed off, unable to finish his sentence, before he steadied himself up, mouth set in a line as he moved over to Blade and forced him to look at him. He bowed down somewhat in front of the red and white helicopter, pressing their noses together and making him lift his up level again. 
	“Blade, we've been over this before. It's not news that I'm going to die one of these days.”
	Blade tried to take a deep breath.
	“It feels like news to me.”
	“You're really spooked, aren't you?” Blade nodded softly. “You know,” Dusty continued, “I have to deal with the fact that you're going to kick the bucket one of these days too, Blade. I mean, if it's any consolation, you'll probably end up going long before I do. I could be the one who's left behind.”
	And then Dusty realized that that was the completely wrong thing to say as Blade was now openly but silently crying. It wouldn't matter to him how they were parted. The thought of Dusty left behind with the pain of losing a Bonded Companion that he himself knew all too well was just as upsetting a thought as Dusty meeting a sudden, early demise. 
	It took nearly two years of working together before their Bond had been discovered and Blade deigned to let another aircraft into him in such a way that he hadn't for the last few decades. Aircraft were never meant to be in such emotional and spiritual solitude. It's highly unnatural for them; they need Bonds. But they were still treading lightly and taking things very slow even after having been Bonded Companions for the past year, and it was beginning to become a question whether or not this really was benefiting the helicopter at all. There was always a certain amount of foreboding tenseness in Blade anymore, as if his whole body were keeping some sort of vigil, and it was always worse during racing season, leading the Air Boss to constantly think to himself, what is it with me and adrenaline junkies?
	But Dusty of course had been endlessly patient in this instance, very willing to take things just as slow as Blade needed, but having the peculiar sense of knowing what times were good to press just a little harder, normally with pretty good results. However, despite all the progress they'd made or could make so far, Dusty knew deep down within the heart of him that there was, and always would be, something in Blade beyond the reach of any person, even himself, so deeply cut into his soul was the damage and lingering paranoia of losing Nick, his first and only Bonded Companion before him, so many, many years ago. And in this moment, Dusty could not calm him. 
	There was one way, Dusty knew. There had been little indiscretions before. Tiny little breaks in the rules of interaction among Bonded Companions, but Blade would almost always catch himself before things got too inappropriate. Not that Dusty ever got all that upset by this behavior on the rare occurrence that it would happen, but he had always gently discouraged and redirected it, knowing that these feelings and urges of Blade's were misplaced due to the anxiety and stress of re-adapting to being Bonded. But right now, all of Dusty's usual pep talk to try to bring him out of this latest panic attack wasn't working, and the AugustaWestland's torment was so great that it was beginning to creep into Dusty through their link and become his own. The little airplane shook it off and set his expression. What the hell? Anxiety kills. Sex heals. 
	Dusty moved forward, planting another kiss near the corner of Blade's mouth to still the weeping helicopter, then he turned, tilting slightly, giving him a soft, gentle kiss on the lips. Blade made a soft noise against Dusty's mouth as he pressed forward, deepening the kiss. He nibbled on the red and while plane's  bottom lip, running his tongue across it and Dusty almost reflexively opened up for him. Before long he was gasping, panting, and sighing into the larger aircraft's mouth, feeling a sense of contentment starting to blossom from his older Companion at being put back into a more natural place where he could have some dominance and so feel more secure. 
	Meanwhile, Dusty was slowly deconstructing and falling apart. Again with that lip thing! Not that it wasn't nice, but every time Blade did it his thoughts would be scattered to the winds and –  where was he going? Dusty liked it, really, so why was he moving away from – oh. Oh wow. Since when was his chin and the space between his wings this sensitive? And who was making all that noise? Was that him?
	Blade could tell that Dusty was really enjoying himself, if the low keening noise he was producing was anything to judge by. His frame tensed, control surfaces flexing as he tried not to think about anything beyond what Blade was doing with his mouth and how it felt, but very soon he just tried to avoid thinking period. Because if he thought at all about what it was doing to him, then he would start thinking about all the other places that might benefit greatly from the addition of his mouth. When said mouth began to drift further down his white belly, another sensitive part of him started clamoring for attention, and despite whatever thoughts might have been in his head when he instigated this thing, he still wasn't altogether sure how he felt about Blazin' Blade Ranger wreaking havoc down there. Though sources would seem to indicate that that form of devastation would be entirely welcome. 
	But to Dusty's disappointment, Blade had decided that the smaller aircraft's mouth had been idle long enough, even though his vocal cords had been quite busy, and decided to once more occupy it with his. That dazed look that Dusty wore as he moved back up to his face was extremely flattering, and Blade chuckled against his mouth as they settled into a rhythm of slow, languid kisses. But just as soon as he'd started he'd moved away again, this time toward Dusty's tail, and as his nose scraped over his ventral access panel, Dusty shivered as he felt a tetter rove over his frame. With a not-so-dignified squeak he went scooting backwards until he'd backed himself into a wall, blushing like mad.
	“H-hold on!” he stammered, crouching down into his landing gear as if to try to hide himself. “Shouldn't we- I mean... Is this what you really want?”
	“What I want...” Blade said, almost seeming to prowl forward toward him, “...is to see if those rumors that have been going around from a few fans are really true.”
	Dusty gulped.
	“Really?”
	Blade smiled. Somehow Dusty's ability to morph seamlessly between innocent, childlike exuberance, village idiot, and then leveled maturity had never ceased to amaze him yet. How could he be so confident one moment and then be blushing like a virgin the next when he expressed a desire he knew they both wanted? He pressed his nose against Dusty's.
	“You want it too.”
	“Yeah but...” the little plane blushed even harder before pressing a kiss to the corner of Blade's mouth, smiling nervously, “I'd rather you got what you wanted.”
	“This is what I want...”
	Blade made his way back toward his tail, then pressed his tongue against the very center of his ventral access panel and was immediately rewarded with a gasp. It took a lot of effort to keep himself buttoned up when Blade started moving it in slow circles, but Dusty did his best. His concentration was somewhat mitigated as he let out a loud moan he hadn't meant to emit when Blade applied pressure in just the right spot, but the only thing that was important was... that... Dusty had completely forgotten what was important other than the feeling of his warm lips and wet tongue against him. 
	And it was enough to get the plates of his panel to separate and slide back, revealing a dripping and ready slit to Blade. He took a few experimental licks, just feeling at the smooth, firm tissue before gradually pushing in a little further to really get a taste and feel of him. Dusty gasped and jumped at the contact. 
	“Blade! Don't- hah!” Dusty panted in impassioned shock. “Don't stick your tongue inside!”
	Blade continued to slowly lap at him, making him twitch sporadically before lifting his nose away and pressing his body against Dusty's side.	
	“Dusty, you're so wet.” 
	And then Dusty died because since when did Blade say such things? His general personality and default demeanor just didn't translate to him whispering such un-Blade-like things, especially with his nose under his tail. Just replaying the words in his head was enough to have him reacting and before he knew it his dick had slid free of it's compartment, proving to Blade that those rumors he'd heard about were indeed true. Blade looked back at him with a smirk, which was met with a nearly mute chuckle and a sheepish grin from Dusty. Those fans had not been exaggerating, and it was impossible to ignore just how turned on Dusty was in the moment. 
	And Blade wanted to make his eyelids flutter and hear the pitch in his voice and his gasps when he found a spot he liked. He wanted to feel him pulsing on his tongue, struggling to survive the sheer amounts of ecstasy as he called his name. With those thoughts in mind and a quick motion he eagerly sucked as much of Dusty's length into his mouth as he could.  
	“Nngha...” was about all Dusty could manage to say, not that he even knew what he had been trying to say in the first place. 
	He was dead. He was dead and – no, he was comatose. He'd gotten himself stupidly injured in another race and now he was having a dream. An extremely vivid dream where Blade was taking him into his mouth and- Chrysler, just the thought was enough to finish him, much less the actual sensation. Dusty had never had a dream as realistic as this one. The sound alone was making him struggle for breath, and that's when he realized it wasn't a dream. Dreams had never sounded like anything before. It was real. 
	Blade started off slow, flattening out the sides of his muscular, dexterous tongue and then curling and hugging it around Dusty's shaft, but as he began to work faster, he could feel the strain that was quickly spreading through Dusty's body. Blade drew back, almost letting Dusty fall from him except for the tip, feeling some of the tension start to leave the little plane only have him hike back up with a gasp on his landing gear when he took him back into his mouth with more force than he'd used the last time. 
	Dusty let out a sobbing moan. His phallus was throbbing terribly in Blade's mouth, and there was a delicious exhilaration spreading throughout his frame. Everything felt so good and he could hardly bear it when the larger aircraft flicked his tongue a certain way or stroked it over a particularly good spot, sending fresh waves of pleasure washing over him. He had already been so slick from arousal, and Blade wasn't helping matters as his tongue slid back and forth along his cock, squeezing and massaging and driving the little plane crazy. And yet as his body quivered uncontrollably as he struggled for air through his gasping pants, teetering right on the edge, it just wasn't enough somehow. 
	“B-Blade... You- I...”
	He couldn't find the words to tell him, but that's when being Bonded with someone came in handy; Blade knew and understood well enough what he needed. He slowly drew his mouth away, kissing the tip before backing up to face Dusty. Still quite out of it from before, the sensations not having left him yet, he hadn't realized Blade's intentions before he shoveled his nose underneath him and practically swallowed him up to the hilt due to the better angle he could get from such a position. 
	Dusty's flaps rose up, tense, as involuntary shivers tore through his frame, heat moving all throughout him leaving alternating waves of cold and hot. Dusty fought fiercely for control, even as he instinctively began thrusting against Blade's face, the helicopter grunting a bit in surprised discomfort. Everything was too hot. He was so close already and now being fully encased in the wet, humid heat of Blade's mouth was overwhelming. Maybe if he'd had more endurance... No. There was no way he could have lasted.
	Dusty jerked, gasping and crying out Blade's name in an embarrassingly high-pitched voice, his body shuddering and hunkering into the helicopter's face as he came. Reality seemed to crumble somewhere beneath him, and blackness and an all-encompassing warmth settled in all around him, until he was quite convinced that he was dying. Time ceased to exist and he forgot such trivial worries such as breathing and being able to see, his world narrowed down into the intense euphoria sweeping through his entire frame, the directions it moved in, and how it pooled and eddied within him in a way that was impossible to follow.
	The little red and white plane slowly began to slide off of Blade's face, and he smirked at Dusty's spent, somewhat delirious expression as his dick slid from his mouth, lips and tongue closed around it to clean off every last bit of the smaller aircraft's seed. He kissed Dusty's panting mouth, the smaller aircraft tasting what Blade hadn't yet swallowed. He groaned into the AugustaWestland's mouth, eyes rolling back at the rather bland, slightly bittersweet metallic tang of his cum and the jolt of arousal that sparked up in the heart of him and traveled down toward his tail in spite of himself. He might have acted on it if it weren't for his landing gear having turned to jelly. Blade chuckled softly, nuzzling his younger Companion. 
	“Ha... Holy...” was about the most intelligent thing that Dusty could get out in the moment. 
	“Feeling better?” the smug helicopter asked, looking entirely pleased with the results his handiwork.
	“Am I feeling better?” Dusty asked breathlessly, “What about you?”
	“What's better?” was Blade's cryptic response as he gently nudged and guided the exhausted plane back over to the sleeping mat.
	They cuddled closely together, enveloped in an overwhelming sense of calm and contentment now, a new level of trust established and their Bond just that much more solidified and secure after such vulnerable, intimate contact.