FicWad

-x-

I coughed roughly again as my deep blue eyes inflated with tears, and I quickly suppressed the reminder that screamed there was a war being fought inside my body. Lying uncomfortably on a sofa, I stared back at the tinted reflection of the vacuous television and a thin, gaunt, pale twenty-three year-old man shared my tight expression, masked with a grimace of wry disgust. Turning my head away with a sigh, I closed my eyes leisurely and unbridled my arms, one slipping off the sofa and hanging loosely against the mocha brown leather. The house was silent and vacant, with my shuffling and fidgeting and groans of agitation emanating the only noises. I flicked my eyes back to the dead TV, and in its thin, prismatic face I could see plants wavering outside, dancing like nimble ballet performers leaping to Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninov. I was ready to doze off, but a sharp, patternless ring that made my head pound reverberated intermittently through the room. Go away, I thought bitterly, but I heard the front door decompress with a metallic popping sound, as if the door itself had welcomed the guest in with against my will. I bit my lower lip, trying to kept calm. I could feel the inside of my ears coagulate mercilessly, but I was still able to discern the familiar sound of footsteps gripping the hardwood floor and the door swinging back into place. My heart pumped wildly, and its unmistakable thumps in time with the adrenaline slicing through my veins were the only sensations I could detect. The footsteps crunched louder now, and the figure who stepped into view was one I was well-acquainted with. Dominic Howard. A lean, tall, and slightly tanned fellow with cropped blond hair. He donned a long-sleeved black shirt, buttoned down to expose the V-shaped sliver of his creamy chest, and blue jeans that fit tightly around the shape of his legs. A lax, silver chain hung unattended around his neck. He flashed a sympathetic smile, eyebrows curved upward in a gesture of solace. But his smile seemed forced, as if he was holding back some unfathomable secret.
"I reckoned you were too exhausted to actually move your ass," he took a few paces toward me, "so I hope I didn't scare you."
He set a white plastic bag on the coffee table and proceeded to sit down nearly on top of me, his tight jeans pressed up against my stomach. I rolled my eyes irritably. Why here? Why now?
"Hello." I answered in a miserable, hoarse voice to Dominic, who was making it clear he wanted me to say something.
"How are you feeling? I brought you some lunch." His grey eyes flickered darkly to the bag on the table, which was still crackling and adjusting its shape around the styrofoam box inside it.
"I'm not hungry." I said dryly, my appetite lost in a void of illness. I managed to notice my unfriendly demeanor was taking Dominic by surprise, so I relaxed my expression.
"But thank you." I beamed awkwardly but he smirked anyways. I sat up nervously and he snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me closer.
"Hmffh." I uttered, his touch sending shockwaves that enveloped my limbs. I shivered, the tingling elation seeping into my body. But the feeling was short-lived, and I pushed him away lightly, the action obviously catching him off guard.
"Matt...?" He murmured, cocking his head to the side, his eyes begging me to take him back.
"I don't want you to get sick, Dom." I asserted firmly with a tinge of embarrassment in my tone.
"I don't care if I get sick. It's just a cold." He retorted seductively, pulling me back toward him. I flashed him a weak grin, then playfully shoved him away with my palm.
"Another time, I promise." I declared before he could recover. I stood, wobbling to gain some kind of balance. Dominic's eyes lifted up at me, his grey irises a swirling pool of nostalgia and intimacy that reminded me of the solemn skies in our seaside hometown, Teignmouth. The only difference was that his eyes were vibrant, alive and very much beautiful. Struggling to resist his silent pleading, I turned my back to him and walked mindlessly to the kitchen. I corked open a bottle of expensive red wine, poured two glasses, and trudged back over to the sofa, watching one glass intently, the maroon liquid try to escape from its chalice. Laying down the alcohol, I sat down next to Dom, being careful not to touch him in a way that would give him whatever virus I had. We sipped our drinks in small intervals, savouring the fruity flavour and giggling between gulps. Before I knew it I had thrown my body onto his, kissing him rapidly along his neck. He laughed manically, groping for my face feverishly, eventually grabbing locks of my electric red hair and tugging gently. I passionately worked my kisses upwards, drilling my tongue between his lips. With our lips sealed, he threw one arm around my back, weighing me down against him, his other hand locked into the curves of my cheek. I ran my tongue across his teeth, trying to wedge it between his incisors. His teeth soon lifted entirely, allowing my tongue to slip into his mouth and intertwine with his. I could taste his hot, moist breath in my own mouth, the same scent I had known for years. Time flew by jealously, and I took Dom's hand in mine, fluttering up the stairs and settling in a bed where the sun unleashed its romantic colours into the sky, a clear mixture of purples and reds and oranges and yellows outside the window. My mouth sketched the diameter of his perfect body with our limbs twisting into a mass of unclothed arms and legs. I unsheathed my tongue again and traced the curves of his flawless frame. He moaned insatiably, clawing his divine hands through my hair and cleaving out minute strings of crimson. To return the favour, he cupped his hand between my legs and massaged me passionately.
"Do you like that?" He asked, seducing me. The action made me dizzy with happiness.
"Yes." I moan, giving him the obvious answer and kissing him again, panting into his mouth. My tongue painted the inside of his mouth. We were unstoppable, amazing, the most important men on the planet, and nobody else mattered.

-x-

I woke to the sound of Dominic's heavy breaths on my shoulder. I turned to him, smiling with satisfaction and watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. Smoothing his hair, I carelessly threw my legs over the side of the bed and quietly scampered down the hall. I stopped by the bathroom and peered at my exasperated reflection. Still scrawny. Short. Ethereal. Not even Dominic could change that. Sighing, I ran a hand through my messy hair, which was still as red as lava. Exiting the bathroom, I dressed without thinking, my thoughts trained on last night's activities. I needed some kind of positive catharsis, so I dallied around, seeking something I wanted to do besides Dominic. I focused my gaze on the piano against a wall in the living room downstairs, so I scuttled toward the gorgeous instrument and slid briskly onto the bench, eager to begin playing. My lithe fingers glided over the keys with elegant precision and my torso rolled like a serpent, entranced by the melody. Intentionally imprisoning myself in the music, I drifted away into my own world. A forest, this time. I was in a forest of dead trees, the tips of their branches left shivering from powdery white snow. I couldn't see myself, for every time my eyes wandered down there was nothing but nature's winter breath beneath my absent feet. I could feel myself there. I had to exist. But it's like I never did. My warm presence was there without a doubt, but the snow-capped, towering mountains in the near distance disagreed. They seemed to be alive, yet deprived of life. They savagely loomed over, but they retracted at the same time, as if they feared whatever foreign being I was to them. I trod heavily, and a concise, piercing whisper that came from everywhere seemed to cut my mind with a blade.
"Your golden lies feed my role." It mumbled coarsely, sending needles into my brain.
"In this forgotten space race under my control." It seemed smug now, almost bragging sadistically.
"Who's returned from the dead?" It taunted mockingly.
"Who remains?" It dug into the back of my mind, imprinting its voice with a burning sensation that felt like molten iron. But it didn't stop.
"You wanted more than I was worth." This time the indefinite voice sounded angry, burrowing itself deeper into my unformulated thoughts.
"You think I was scared? But you needed proof." It howled scoffingly, making me want to scream.
"Who really cares anymore? Who restrains?" It shrieked like a banshee, obviously infuriated. I tried to run from it, but the unknown force dogged my every step. A sting dug into my shoulders, and the world spun into nothingness. In the void, I heard it speak concisely now, with a slight lag in its voice. Without infliction or emotion, it hushed,
"Go to sleep."

-x-

Two hands grappled into my shoulders like hooks, and colour returned to my eyes as the piercing holler of the piano erupted below.
"Matt! Snap out of it!" A male voice came, sending chills down my spine. The hands shook me hard, sending nonexistent whirlpools cascading into my sight. Still dazed, my head hung back and the reversed view of Dominic's face circulated into my vision.
"Jesus, Matt, you had me worried." His breaths alleviated with relief and he smiled solemnly.
"You get so caught up in your own little dreams, sometimes it's hard to take you back to reality." I returned his glance.
"Y'know, I think you've just saved me from a nightmare."
"Think we should call for help? I thought you were going to faint."
"No, no, not necessary. Just zoned out, s'all." The last thing I wanted was for people to take me away from Dom. He narrowed his gaze and glared.
"You're stupid." He barely managed to choke the words out before a thin smirk unzipped his lips. Lashing out, his arms bulldozed into my neck, before fastening his lips with mine. I cried out with pleasure, lapping up the sweet and sour taste of his lips. I pushed his body into mine, feeling him harden with delight. My stomach quaked, so I pulled away from him and stood up, padding along the floor to the kitchen and throwing a banana at Dominic, who had followed me like a mischievous puppy, a grin still tugging at the corners of his mouth. My mouth curled into a laugh I knew Dom was used to by now.
"Go get dressed you lazy fuck." I drawled with a scoff.

-x-

I wasn't sure what to think when I saw the article online. I didn't think about Dom in the shower. I didn't think about music, or art, or anything remotely important to me. It was hard to conjure a defined thought. It was a big deal, I supposed. I was definitely interested, for one. My heart seemed to scream at me in a feeling of anticipation stirred up with loads of excitement. The headline read, "Rogue Planet Discovered On Edge of Solar System". I was extremely intrigued. Rogue planet? When I did my separate research, I discovered that rogue planets were planets that weren't gravitational bound to stars, so they sauntered around aimlessly. They could also have been ejected from their own solar systems. Interesting. I read up more on the article. Apparently the planet that had entered our system was blue-violet in colour, terrestrial, a bit larger than Earth, and uninhibited. Local astronomers had dubbed the wanderer "Ardour". After reading the story, music immediately came to mind. This planet could be an inspirational subject to use to write music. Although, I'm never running out of ideas.