FicWad

Boys, Interrupted

Taiji thinks of ink and water, like when they do calligraphy in art class, the way, when you dip your brush in the water, the black bleeds out in little dark swirls, and the water's changed into something else. That's how Alex is, in Tai's head and all through his body; a swirl of dark, a taste of smoke.

Alex gives himself out in small pieces - sometimes two, three days will go by and his name won't show on Tai's cell, and then he'll do something like the time they were all in the auditorium watching traffic-safety videos and the redhead slipped into the seat beside him and jerked him off to the sound of breaking glass and squealing tires..../No...oh fuck, Yuuzai.../Tai's learned to take it when it's offered.

He's never been to Alex's house, and Alex has never been to his. He asked once, standing in the school parking-lot, watching the other boy zip his jacket, pull on his riding gauntlets.

I don't live at home any more, Alex had said.

Come over to the apartment, then, Tai had offered. It's ok. My dad's cool, but he likes to know who I'm hanging out with.

Your dad's....cool.

Well, yeah. I guess. What's wrong? Tai had to ask, because for a minute Alex looked like someone else; someone with a cold, edged smile and too much going on in his mind.

I don't think your dad would be cool with me, Kudou. Alex had shifted forward on the BMW's seat, turned the key, kicked downwards. Then he was gone.

And that was all. Tai doesn't really want to risk it again, but he's sitting here in last-period calculus, face attentive, book open in front of him, eyes automatically following Hiraka-sensei's hand as she chalks symbols on the board... so horny he can't even breathe right.

He wonders what Alex is doing right now - he doesn't have to take English, remedial math is in the morning; maybe he's dreaming through history, drawing in his notebook like he does sometimes, or maybe detention's started already - Alex is in semi-permanently since the PE instructor saw the piercings two weeks ago in the locker room.

Tai's sorry anyone saw them; he likes to think of the rings as a secret, stupid as he knows that is, the two small steel circles hidden under Alex's uniform jacket always just a little cooler than the flesh they're passing through. The sounds Alex makes when Taiji rubs his palms over them, trying to make them warm. It's just physics... But Alex is warmer than anything. And he tastes like smoke and cinnamon candy and copper.

Hiraka-sensei announces the homework, and Tai copies it down. Ten more minutes. Tai knows what the firestarter tastes like, the feel of Alex's skin, his mouth, his hands, and the way his pale eyes go dark when Tai touches him just right. What he doesn't know, what he wants to know so bad he hasn't got words for it, is what it would feel like to be inside Alex, to push himself into the hot, narrow core ...

He's never really done it with another boy. Not that he's a virgin; he's had a few girlfriends and they were nice, like pretty cats with their purrs and small scratchings; he's even messed around a little with a guy or two before, just kind of testing...but it's never been like it is with Alex - like playing with fire, and letting the fire win.

"Wake up, Kudou, the bell just rang," Arakawa says, pushing past him, wrestling his satchel down the narrow aisle between the seats, turning his head to say something to the guy behind him. Tai thinks he hears the word Yuuzai and feels his ears going warm. He shoves his books into his backpack and tries to get out of the room as fast as possible. Not that there's any rush - Alex isn't likely to be waiting around for him in the hallway, but maybe outside the main doors, or in the parking-lot...if he's waiting at all.

So it's a surprise when he sees the redhead at the end of the corridor, leaning against the wall in the shadow of a row of lockers. He's got his hands in his pockets and his head down as if he's trying to minimize the difference between himself and the flow of students around him. It's not working; people still slow down to glance at him like he's an accident at the side of the road.

He straightens up as Tai passes and falls in beside him, staying closer than usual, close enough for his hand to brush against Taiji's thigh, for the breeze coming in the open doors to blow a strand of his hair across Tai's cheek.

Where do you want to go, Kudou?

My house. Tai doesn't look at him when he says this, but he can feel a sudden wave of heat as if he's leaned too close to an open flame.

OK. Your house.

Tai doesn't answer, except to nod. He's afraid that if he says anything, it will all fall apart.

::

The early evening sun comes in the window at a slant, falling over Alex's hair and making a gold line around the edge of his body. He pulls his t-shirt over his head. Their uniform jackets had come off somewhere in the living-room, or maybe in the hallway - Tai can't quite remember, because Alex's tongue pushed into his mouth just inside the front door and his brain hasn't been working too well since then.

He's not even sure how they ended up in his bedroom, except that it seemed to happen underwater, slowed time and no air, and now he's on his bed, back against the wall, watching Alex take his clothes off. He wants to close his eyes for a minute, catch his breath, try to pull together some words, but he can't; Alex taking off his clothes is so good that Tai hurts, all the way up to his chest.

Alex lets the t-shirt fall to the floor then stops, fingers on his belt-buckle. Light catches on metal, the small silver rings through his nipples and the bigger, heavier one shaped like a crown that he wears on his left hand, the one that always gets tangled in Tai's hair.

You really want to fuck me, Kudou? He looks at Tai, something igniting behind the smokescreen of his eyes. Because I'm going to let you. There's a soft jingling sound as his pants join the shirt and he steps away from them.

Do I want....can't you tell?

He might have said more, or something smarter, but Tai's distracted by what's in front of him - he's never seen the redhead completely undressed before; they've never had the time, or been in the right place... he looks smaller, even less human, and maybe that's got something to do with it, as well. Freckled all over, as if he'd gotten caught in a shower of sparks, he's so close to the colour of vanilla ice cream that Tai can almost taste it, and his cock, flushed pink at the tip, is curved up neat and tight between the harsh angles of his hipbones. Tai can almost taste that, too.

Shit, Yuuzai, you're -

The firestarter reaches up to pull the band out of his hair and shakes it so that it slides over his shoulders in fox-coloured licks. There's a bad smile at the corner of his mouth.

Yeah, I know. Weird.

That wasn't what I was going to -

The smile spreads, and Alex drops down on the futon beside Tai, leaning back on the pillow, reaching out to take a fold of Tai's shirt between his fingers.

Shut up, Kudou. Take your clothes off.

Tai nods and swallows, squirming out of what's left of his own clothes, shoving them off the mattress and out of the way. A couple of years on the swim team have left him without a lot of problems about people looking at him when he isn't wearing much, but there's something about the change in Alex's face that makes him want to grab the quilt.

The redhead says something in a language Tai doesn't understand, rising to his knees, one hand splaying out across Tai's chest and pushing him down against the futon until Tai's forced back onto his elbows.

What? Tai manages to get enough air to ask as the other boy slides over him, straddling him, pale thighs pressing against his hips. It's the same move Alex uses getting onto the seat of the motorcycle, almost - it makes Tai crazy the way he does that, and from now on it'll probably make him even crazier.

I said.../Alex leans forward, the fingers of one hand working back through the black of Tai's hair, tilting his chin up... Du./ The firestarter's mouth is so close to Tai's that the green-eyed boy can feel his lips move as they form the foreign words, one after the other, slowly, as if he's teaching a lesson; the red hair ghosts along Tai's cheekbone like another kiss. Bist. So. Now the warm mouth is touching his and the last word is lost, slipped between Tai's lips with Alex's tongue. Sch.....

A million years later, Alex lifts his face away. Separating, their mouths make a soft, wet sound, and small, freckled fingers flick a lock of hair out of Taiji's eyes.

Mmmmmm, yeah. Ever done it with a guy before, Kudou?.

Tai tries to think of a way to say no without sounding lame, can't, and ends up just shaking his head. Picturing it a hundred times doesn't count, he's pretty sure, and that it might all be coming true, here, finally, robs him of the ability to speak anyway.

/It's all right, don't worry about it. /Alex draws little spirals around Tai's left nipple with the tip of a finger, making him shiver. It's going to be good. We've done everything except this anyway -
and we can make it good. The redhead bends down and his tongue retraces the pattern, enlarges it, stopping sometimes to rub harder, and sometimes his lips close over a nipple, and just the sound of it's nearly enough...but then Tai feels Alex's teeth and forgets where he is, electricity dancing along under his skin. You believe that? You want me, Kudou?

Tai hopes that the way his hands are working themselves into the fire of Alex's hair and the way his cock is pushing up along the shallow valley of Alex's ass is enough of an answer. He can feel small bursts of warm breath against his wet skin as the hard little point of Alex's tongue moves across his chest, and down over the muscles of his stomach, writing spells that make Tai squirm and say things he didn't mean to...but he doesn't think Alex is listening to it.

His teeth scraping over Tai's flesh one last time, the firestarter raises his face, takes a breath, tucks his hair behind his ear. It looks casual, but the taken breath catches partway down Alex's throat, and his cock has left its own shining traces where it's slid along Tai's body. He straightens, and Tai has to touch him, run his hands up the pale, starred skin that quivers under his fingers.

Oh, fuck...now? With an effort, Tai manages to get the words out.

Now. A smile curves Alex's mouth up for a second, and then it's gone, but Tai saw it, and his chest feels like it might explode. And just this once, we're going bareback. 'Cause you've never done it - and 'cause I never do. Still need this, though.

Tai doesn't know where Alex got the lube, but the gel is warm-cool on his skin, getting even warmer from Alex's hands as he strokes it slowly along Tai's length, and Tai has to fight to stay still, to keep himself from shoving up into the slick fingers that are closing around him. Alex moves back a little, catching his lower lip between his teeth as finds where he needs to be, knees apart, and Tai feels the head of his cock pressed against tight flesh, soft and a little rough; raw silk. There. Now.

His body curves up off the bed, palms moving along Alex's thighs, and the taut muscle gives, just enough. There...

Tai pushes harder, nails scraping Alex's skin. The other boy's fingers go around Tai's wrists, holding his hands for a moment, then he releases them, head going back, hair a red wash around his shoulders.

Go on, Kudou, take me down. Show me how you want it.

Tai gives up trying to keep quiet and lets himself go; Alex might have started it, but Tai needs to take over now, hands on Alex's hips, pulling him down onto his cock. He hears himself growl and the sound startles him, but it's so tied up in how he feels, how he hopes he's making Alex feel that it just seems right...
/Like this.../

He lifts Alex up, and the hot, tight place he's found moves too, a wet velvet slide, and when he's almost too far, he pulls Alex down hard and that's so good he has to do it again, letting it get faster, rougher, moving him the way Tai wants him to move until he can tell that Alex wants it, too.

Like this.

Then something shifts. Alex goes still between Tai's hands, head dropping forward, eyes losing focus, and it's as if he's suddenly been taken somewhere else, hearing a wrong message that's still getting through. A drop of sweat slides out of his hair and over the plane of his cheek , and Tai can see blood on his bottom lip.

No. Tai's not sure which one of them said it.

It's like looking through the wrong end of a telescope; tunnel-vision, with the world narrowing to a single point of contact that Tai has to keep. His fingers dig into Alex, bruising the flesh against the bone underneath and making the redhead take a sharp breath. Tai hears him and does it again, pushing himself up into the other boy's body, wanting to force Alex out of that weird, listening silence, to bring him back, and he's got no other way than this. It only lasts a few seconds, but that's too long for Tai.


Damn, Yuuzai - say something...tell me you know it's me...

He must have said it out loud because now Alex's eyes are looking into his, wide and darkened, seeing him. Seeing /him/. Alex raises one hand to Tai's face, fingers following his jaw, the thumb with the crown-ring on it brushing over Tai's lips, and it's almost right again.

You.

Me- He's back, and all Tai can think of to do now is fuck him harder, until they're both deaf, blind, and crazy. Until Alex says his name...that's all he wants to hear.

/Du bist/...Fingers slide into Tai's hair and close there as Alex arches like a cat and makes a sound that goes through Tai like bright, hot metal. He pulls himself up until he's almost sitting, wrapping Alex in his arms, feeling his cock slide a little deeper into the narrow body pressed against him. It's as good as anything he could have imagined, and then it gets even better because Alex is coming and his body is rippling around Taiji's in small pulses that seem to match the heartbeat Tai can feel echoing in his own chest. His skin is warm and slick and sticky and he's got Alex's face against his shoulder, his head filling with the burnt-caramel scent of the firestarter's hair.

So... schön...Taiji... Alex says, a reluctant, guttural surrender, and Tai holds him close, holds him still and thrusts into him until he sees sparks and knows he's gone and doesn't care.

Yuuzai....Alex....

You're mine, Kudou.

::

Tai's sitting on the floor, back against the couch, when Alex comes out of the shower, wet hair painting patterns on the white cotton of his t-shirt. It's gotten dark, but Tai hasn't turned on the lights; the blinds over the big windows are open, and the ambient glow that the city gives off is enough to make shadows in the room. The redhead walks over and lowers himself carefully onto the couch; Tai drops his head to hide the grin he can't help and hands Alex a can of green tea, cold and misted along its sides.

Hurting?

Alex looks like he's going to say one thing but says something else. It'll go away. Next time, take it easy, neh?

Sure. There's going to be a next time. You going to be all right on the bike?

Sure. Alex drinks tea and gets a cigarette lit. When he pushes his hair back away from his face, Tai sees that he's got a mark on his neck, a bitten bruise. He wants to rub it with his thumb, but he's half-afraid to touch the firestarter and wonders what's making him feel that way. After all, this is the person he was fucking an hour ago.

The person he's in love with.

Shit. It's true, though. He is. He knows, because this is what he always expected it would be like. He knows and he can't think about it, not now.

You could stay.

Alex glances at down him almost curiously, as if stay is a word he's never heard before.

I don't think so, Kudou. I might not be what your cool dad wants to see over his coffee tomorrow morning.

Tai chews the corner of his lip - he doesn't really understand what his father's got to do with this, with them. /My dad's doing event security tonight. He won't be back until late, especially if the traffic's bad. You could stay for a while, anyway./ If he says, /Please don't go/, it'll sound like begging, so he doesn't say it.

He lets himself lean against Alex a little, just enough to be able to feel the other boy. That warmth feeds something inside him and he takes a shuddering breath as it grows stronger, brighter, and struggles to get itself free.

Alex strokes Tai's hair, his ring catching in it like it always does. No. I can't. Dumb idea. I'd better -

Tai moves fast, without thinking about it, pulling the redhead down onto the floor and keeping him there with his own body; bigger, heavier than Alex's, after all, and the fear's pushed away by that other thing inside him. Alex stares up like the sky's fallen, but he takes Tai's kiss and Tai watches his eyes close, feels the firestarter's arms go around his shoulders, drawing him closer. He gets one knee between Alex's thighs, pushing them apart; he's already half-hard again, and from the way Alex is moving, he probably is, too.

No...Tai...this is so stupid... says the mouth against his.

This time, he's going to show Yuuzai who he belongs to. This time...

You're mine, Alex.

He tastes heat.