Sorcerer Hunters Fan Fiction ❯ Future Echoes ❯ Marron's Feelings ( Chapter 3 )

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Sorcerer Hunters

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Future Echoes

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~3~

 

 

 

Marron noticed, wryly, that now that Gateau'd admitted his feelings for Marron, and Marron had admitted some kind of feeling back, Gateau seemed to get home from work a lot earlier. He never pressed the subject, but he wondered if he'd been right when he'd thought about it all that time ago... had Gateau really been leading a sexual double-life? Well, probably. It seemed like he'd stopped now, and this made Marron think; if Gateau had stopped having sex with other people... did that perhaps mean... he... expected it from Marron instead? No, not expected... Gateau hadn't said anything about the subject, not really. Gateau still flirted, but Gateau was Gateau, and flirting was just part of him. Once Marron started to think about it, it occupied a good part of his waking thoughts.

 

Gateau obviously wanted him; Gateau was in love with Marron, even their first conversation had contained such hints that Gateau wanted him... Marron supposed that this was another aspect of Gateau not wanting to scare Marron with his feelings, and Marron wasn't quite sure on how to broach the subject without making a direct proposition; it wasn't that he wanted to say "Gateau, have sex with me", but he had a burning curiosity on why Gateau hadn't mentioned it up to that point... it'd been a couple of weeks since Gateau's initial outburst... Marron found himself watching Gateau idly as they went around their day to day business. Standing against the kitchen door with a finger on his lips, feigning attention as Gateau talked about what'd happened to him at work that day while he made coffee, or something. Marron didn't let on that he wasn't really listening, vaguely agreeing with Gateau when he asked for feedback, "What do you think?"... "Oh, I agree..."... Marron wasn't really listening, but his reaction seemed to please Gateau enough, he seemed to be passing it off convincingly enough.

 

Marron just watched Gateau; like Gateau about him, it was the little things that Marron noticed about Gateau. The way his shirt ruffled around his body... the way Gateau walked around with his top button undone, the way he sometimes undid the rest of them... the tightness of Gateau's jeans, the... the tightness of his jeans around his thighs, around his rear, around the front of that... Marron stopped himself one time, amazed at himself. Was he perving on Gateau, imagining what'd happen if...? If he randomly walked up to Gateau and ripped those jeans off, wondering what it'd be like if Gateau suddenly stopped making coffee and just turned around, fixing Marron into silence with a sudden kiss, ripping Marron's clothes from his body, his hands cold yet warm on Marron's suddenly naked chest... Gateau'd cover Marron's skin with trembling kisses, Marron'd gasp, letting him do whatever he wanted... maybe he'd rip Gateau's clothes off and do the same thing.

 

Marron smirked, slightly bemused. Yes, perhaps he was perving on Gateau after all.

 

Marron decided to leave it for a while; he was feeling a bit confused, so... it was hormones. Yes, that was it... hormones. Marron had long since been sixteen, seventeen wasn't too far away on the horizon... did it matter that he wasn't of that age? Did it matter that he wanted hot passionate sudden sex with Gateau Mocha? In some places of the world, Marron'd heard that the age of consent was sixteen... in that case, it'd been for heterosexual relations, but still... Marron wrinkled his nose, lying on his bed, reading a magazine. Such strange rules people had sometimes. If he and Gateau somehow ended up having sex in the next couple of minutes, Marron thought, he wouldn't be stopping Gateau just because he wasn't eighteen yet.

 

Marron put his magazine on his chest for a moment, realising something. He hadn't really thought about it before, but... perhaps Gateau had? Maybe that's why Gateau didn't say anything? Maybe Gateau was waiting until Marron was 'of age' to do that kind of thing?

 

Marron raised an eyebrow, hoping that wasn't the case. If that was the case... that was like... another year and howeversomany months... however, if either Gateau or Marron were a girl, they could be having sex already... Marron growled slightly to his silent room. THAT was just stupid. No, Gateau hadn't said anything just because... he was nervous, perhaps.

 

Marron stared up at the ceiling, confused. Recently, it seemed to be all he could think about. It made sense, him and Gateau were virtually boyfriend and boyfriend already, there was all the being close to each other, there was the touching, non-sexual but still, the kissing, Gateau's ceaseless "You're so beautiful" type comments... Gateau wasn't exactly the type to act sweet, flowers on the doorstep or anything, but Gateau was obviously acting as close as he wanted to. Marron would quietly react as much as he wanted to, soft, knowing smiles, the... well, everything. The touches, the kisses, not everything was spurred on by Gateau, Marron had urges of his own.

 

Urges... that led Marron back to his original thoughts. Gateau was almost certainly not a virgin, but... Marron wasn't sure where Gateau stood where it came to guys. Obviously Gateau was open-minded enough to go after Marron in the first place, but had he been with any guys in the past? Marron mused on the point. He wasn't sure. Did he really want to know? Again, he wasn't sure.

 

Were his thoughts hormonally-driven? Well, undoubtedly so. Whatever the reason, one question burnt stronger in Marron's mind. Sure, there were his thoughts, but... should he act on those thoughts? That was the main issue. Would his thoughts pass? If they passed, what then? Would Gateau mind a non-sexual relationship? Did Marron want a non-sexual relationship?

 

Marron answered his own question when he heard Gateau's knock on the door. "Marron? Can I check out yer chest?"

 

Marron was totally taken by surprise. Gateau wanted to look at his chest? He blinked at the door.

 

"Marron? You awake? I bought some more cotton wool..."

 

It clicked. Oh, of course. The wound.

 

Marron got up, "Coming," and got up to open the door. Gateau smiled, brandishing TCP and a new bag of cotton wool. Marron took his shirt off, sitting back on the bed. He brushed his fingers over his shoulder, looking down at where the wound had been... he looked up at Gateau.

 

"I daresay you don't have to worry anymore, Gateau... I think it's just going to leave a scar, that's all."

 

Gateau sat down on the bed next to Marron, still pressing TCP onto the cotton wool. "Well, hey, gotta look after that scar then, right? Kinda annoying, though. I mean, well, y'know... imagine if he'd got ya somewhere else! Like yer face or something... you'da had a nice scar on your pretty face, how would that've been?"

 

"I think people would still find me beautiful..." Marron spoke with almost a sneaky sound to his voice. Gateau caught this, looked a little surprised, then smiled.

 

"Yeah, yerright. Anyway..." Gateau wiped the damp cotton wool over Marron's skin. "Feel anything? Does it still sting or anything?"

 

Marron shook his head. "Nothing. It feels like it would if you were treating any other part of me, I think..."

 

"Musta closed up totally, then. Even a week or so ago you were saying about how it still stung a bit... well, hey, if that's the case, I don't need to keep buying antiseptic, do I? We've anti'd the septic. Looks like it's pretty much better, huh? Heh, just as I was getting used to you takin' yer shirt off for me every coupla days. Looks like I'll haveta walk in on you in the bath instead."

 

"G-Gateau!"

 

Marron was slightly unsure on how to react; it was the usual flirting, but after what Marron'd been thinking about prior to Gateau walking in, he was unsure in another way. As much as Gateau would miss the opportunity to see Marron's naked chest, Marron realised he might miss Gateau treating his wound too... it was out of context, but it was still a touch... how could he express that to Gateau, though?

 

Gateau was putting the lid back onto the bottle, "Well, at least we don't haveta smell that stuff anymore. Never could stand it."

 

Marron just watched Gateau carefully. Gateau smiled at Marron, "You can put yer shirt back on, Marron."

 

"I don't want to..."

 

"... Huh?"

 

Marron took advantage of Gateau's momentary confusion, sitting up to a kneel and taking Gateau in a sudden kiss, wrapping his arms around Gateau's upper body, pressing his chest against Gateau's shoulder. It was slightly uncomfortable... Marron pushed himself with his legs, he moved round so his chest was against Gateau's, then he fell back onto Gateau's lap.

 

Gateau put the bottle down onto the bed, blinking at Marron. Marron just blushed up at him, some kind of... intense look in his eyes... Gateau coughed, trying to busy himself with mundane things.

 

"W-well, I better go put these away, uh, y'know..."

 

Gateau seemed for a moment as if he was going to stand up, but Marron wouldn't let him. Marron sat up slightly, pushing against Gateau's chest... an idea suddenly came to him, he moved off the bed and more onto Gateau's legs, so he was sitting on Gateau, straddling his legs, hands holding onto Gateau's shoulders.

 

"... Don't do that. Not just yet."

 

"Marron, what... what are you doing?"

 

Marron kissed Gateau again, a soft kiss. He pulled back slightly.

 

"I would have thought that was obvious, Gateau..."

 

"Marron, I... I... no, I mean... I don't know what I mean. How come you're suddenly doing this? You don't normally..."

 

"Gateau, would it surprise you if I told you I'd thought of nothing else for the past couple of weeks? I... I know it sounds strange, perhaps, coming from me, when you were petrified that even letting me know your true feelings would cause some kind of negative reaction... but... I... I want... you, I suppose. I can't stop thinking about it. I don't know if it's just a sudden charge of hormones, or whether it's the time of year, or the fact that it's tuesday, it could be anything. I just... know... that... I want you..."

 

Gateau's eyes widened.

 

"G-God, Marron!"

 

Gateau almost pushed Marron off his legs, being careful not to push him to the floor. Gateau suddenly ran from the room, leaving Marron confused and horny on his bed. Marron frowned, confused, noting the antiseptic and cotton wool still on his bed. He took the items in his hands, and left his room, visiting the bathroom to put them back into the cupboard. He glanced around; Gateau's bedroom door, parallel to his own, was open. Gateau wasn't in there. He wasn't in the bathroom, and glancing into the main room, he wasn't in there either. The whistling of the kettle told Marron what he'd suspected; Gateau was making himself yet another coffee.

 

Marron walked into the kitchen, leaning against the door after he closed it, folding his arms. He had a soft look on his face, not smiling, but not angry.

 

"They should pay you for the amount of coffee you drink."

 

Gateau didn't turn around, or even say anything.

 

"Gateau? Speak to me. What... happened there?"

 

"I should be the one asking you that, Marron." Gateau sounded distanced.

 

"Gateau, I'm... confused. I... I'm sorry, I thought that you'd... I... maybe I... came on too strong. I'm sorry. But you... I thought that you'd want to, I mean, I thought you'd want me... perhaps I was assuming too much?"

 

There was silence as Gateau poured himself coffee; he set the kettle back onto the side, then sighed loudly, his arms leant against the sideboard.

 

"Everything always seems to end up in the kitchen, doesn't it? Look, I... Marron, do you... know what you're saying?"

 

"Yes... yes, I do."

 

"I mean... do you know what you're asking from me?"

 

"Yes!"

 

Gateau glanced over his shoulder, his eyebrow raised.

 

Marron just stared back at him, before Gateau looked away. Marron still stared.

 

"Gateau, what's... what's the problem? I'm not lying. I've... been thinking about it a lot recently... I can't stop thinking about it. Thinking about you. Is that... so wrong? Perhaps I surprised you... I'm sorry. Was... I wrong to expect that you'd want that kind of relationship from me? If not that kind of relationship, then... what is it you want from me? What are we asking of each other if it's not that?"

 

Gateau turned around, strided the four or five steps between him and Marron, and hugged Marron strongly, nestling his chin in Marron's hair, wrapping his strong hands over Marron's shoulders. Marron was surprised, but didn't push Gateau away.

 

"Gateau?"

 

"I don't want to say no, Marron. I'm... it sounds stupid..."

 

"Say it..."

 

"... I don't want to say no, but I'm scared of saying yes..."

 

Marron looked up at Gateau, frowning slightly. "Scared of saying yes?"

 

Gateau looked down at him, nodding slightly, running his hands down Marron's back just a little.

 

"Y-yes... I... I don't know why. You're beautiful, we're... pretty much together, I shouldn't even think about saying no, should I? I mean, even you were thinking of... it all... heh, never thought that you'd be the one to start it off, kinda thought I'd eventually say something..."

 

"I was wondering why you hadn't said anything to this point. Gateau, what's there to be scared of? I'm not going to say no, if you thought I was... I've... not done anything like that before, but... there's a first time for everything, isn't there? Gateau... what's to stop us?"

 

Gateau replaced his head on the top of Marron's.

 

"N-nothing, but... Marron, you really don't mind? I don't get why you'd want some stupid muscleheaded idiot for yer first time..."

 

"Gateau, where did that come from? You're not a muscleheaded idiot... you're my best friend, remember? You're the person who said they loved me... you're the closest I've ever come to loving someone else. You don't have to say yes, but... I thought you'd want to."

 

"Marron, I do want to... I just... can I have a little time to think about it? I mean, yeah, I'd always thought about doin' it with ya, but... I just need a bit of fresh air."

 

Gateau extracted himself from Marron. Marron sighed, folding his arms again. "Going out?"

 

"Yeah..."

 

"Do you want me to come with you?"

 

"Kinda want some time on my own, wanna think about things and... stuff."

 

Marron followed Gateau through to the front hall, where Gateau pulled his coat on. Gateau smiled at Marron, slightly sheepishly.

 

"I'll be back in a while. Sorry."

 

"No, no, it's alright. If you feel you have to go out, then go out. I'll still be here when you get back."

Gateau closed the door, nodding, mumbling something.

 

Marron watched the door for a moment, wondering... Gateau wanted to go out to think about things. Marron wondered what things Gateau wanted to think about... Marron wondered how long Gateau was going to be out for. An hour? Longer? Not as long as that? A quick walk around the block, or...

 

The sudden irrational thought occurred, "What if he's going out to see a girl?"

 

Marron shook the thought from him. No, Gateau wouldn't... be doing that, would he? No, he was just nervous at Marron almost throwing himself at him, that was it. He wouldn't say "maybe" to Marron, then walk out and find some girl and... no!

 

Marron scowled to himself as he ran to Gateau's bedroom; he felt suddenly jealous. He didn't want Gateau to go off with other people, with girls, he didn't want Gateau to find sudden comfort in someone else's arms... Gateau said he loved Marron! Gateau had said he'd loved Marron, and Marron hadn't been sure how he felt, but... he certainly felt something for Gateau, even if he wasn't sure it was love in itself...

 

Marron jumped onto Gateau's bed, lying on it. He stared up at the ceiling; Gateau's ceiling was much the same as his own. Almost the same, really. Ceilings didn't change too much, and it made sense that they'd be similar... Marron wondered why he was sitting on Gateau's bed, considering ceilings. He felt a kind of pain within him... what was that? Was that jealousy? Was he getting jealous? Marron wondered how different he'd feel if he knew that Gateau was, say, somewhere else in the apartment... would it feel better if he was closer? Marron recalled the feeling of Gateau's arms around him when he'd hugged him just a few minutes ago. That hadn't felt bad. Marron bit his lip, realising something. He wanted Gateau here. He wanted Gateau in the room with him, touching him, hugging him, he wanted that hug to go further... and it frustrated him to no end that he'd suggested it, and Gateau had... Gateau had almost said no, in a way. He hadn't said yes. He'd said something in the middle... Marron thought about when he'd come onto Gateau earlier in his bedroom... when he'd straddled Gateau's legs like that... it would have been so easy for Gateau not to have said anything, just for him to agree with Marron's motions, for him to have pushed Marron to the bed, held him down, kissed him, touched him... Marron sighed in frustration and stretched out on the bed.

 

A sudden idea occurred... if Gateau had gone out to be with a girl... perhaps Marron could give him something irresistible to come back home to. Something that'd make Gateau not want to go out and find comfort in someone else's arms...

 

Marron smirked to himself as he undid his belt and pushed his trousers down, kicking them off to the side.

 

"Oh, Gateau... how I've changed."

 

Marron didn't know that Gateau hadn't actually gone anywhere. Gateau was currently standing on the balcony of the apartment, about a foot or two in front of the apartment's front door. He stood on the balcony, leaning against the rail that ran along the front of the apartment block. The apartment was about four or five floors into the air... Gateau had a decent view of the town ahead of him. It was getting dark, the sky was more dark than it wasn't, the sun long gone; the stars would be visible soon. In front of him, streetlamps dotted the horizon and closer... Gateau could make out car headlights on roads in front of him as they drove to wherever they were going.

 

"Marron is in the apartment behind me... and... earlier on, he wanted me to... he wanted... to have sex... and... I said... no? Did I? What did I say... I said I needed time to think about it. What the hell is there to think about?!"

 

Gateau pictured Marron in his mind.

 

"... Other than... how... that body could be mine... no, not just that... Marron said I was the closest he'd come to ever loving anyone... was that him saying he loved me, in a way? Even if it wasn't, it was... kinda something, wasn't it? I..." Gateau sighed. "... why am I so nervous? It's Marron! He's beautiful! He's the guy you fell in love with! You fell in love with him, and somehow, he might feel the same way. However he feels, he's said that... he wouldn't mind... having sex with you. He even tried to seduce me on his own bed... oh man... I should... what should I do? I want to, but... can I? Marron's different, Marron's not like all those other girls... with those girls, it was always just sex and stuff, but... Marron's... Marron's the person I love, but it feels like more than that... it's not just that I love him, but what more is there than that?"

 

The wind blew; Gateau pulled his coat to him. "It's getting chilly. I should go back inside, whatever's gonna be there when I get back... Marron's probably doing homework or something by now."

 

Gateau was pretty far off the mark.

 

Gateau walked back into the apartment, pulling his coat off again, hanging it on one of the hooks on the rail next to the front door. The front hall was dark... he turned the light on. Walking into the front room, Marron didn't seem to be in there... well, no. He'd probably retreated to his room, to do homework. Gateau glanced at the television magazine on the floor, wondering if anything was on TV... it would have been easier if he'd came in to find Marron watching television, or something.

 

Gateau stood in the middle of the room for a few moments, wondering what he should do. Seemed that Marron wasn't around, so... Gateau shrugged, deciding to go straight to bed. Today had been strange; perhaps things would seem better in the morning, once he'd got some sleep. And maybe Marron'd realise he'd acted rashly, and realise he didn't quite want Gateau like that after all. Gateau wondered if he'd be upset or relieved if that happened... he sighed, deciding to push it to the back of his mind, not wanting to think about it for the moment. It was easier to concentrate on the smaller things, like getting ready to go to bed, things like that.

 

Gateau walked over to his room; he noticed that Marron's bedroom door was shut... he probably didn't want to be disturbed. Best to leave him alone, then.

 

It wasn't until Gateau put his hand to his own door handle, he heard... the noise.

 

The noise was enough to stop him in his tracks. It was soft to his ears, but... definitely a noise... from the other side of his door? Or was it coming from Marron's room? Gateau wasn't sure. He glanced around.

 

"Uhhhh..... ohhh, Ga.... Gateau....."

 

Gateau froze. "Wait a moment. That was... Marron's voice?!"

 

Gateau's mind had frozen alongside his body. That made no sense...

 

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say 'That's Marron's voice, calling my name out', but... it wouldn't be. Would it?"

Gateau looked at Marron's room again, then back at his own. Well, it was his apartment, if he couldn't even go into his own room, it'd be a bit strange. Besides, why would Marron be in Gateau's room?

 

Gateau was starting to feel quite, quite creeped out. This was getting strange.

 

Gateau opened his bedroom door, switched the light on...

 

"Oh yeah. That's Marron alright. M-M... Marron!!"

 

Marron stopped stock-still in mid-pelvic thrust. He was blushing, he was naked, he was...

 

"Marron, why are you... jerking off on my bed?"

 

Marron smiled, his breath coming in short gasps. "Oh, don't act so happy to see me then, Gateau. That didn't take you too long... she say no, did she?"

 

"Marron, what?"

 

"You don't want me, so... you thought you'd go off to the arms of another one of your girlfriends, right? Am I wrong? It's good that you came home now, though... I... don't know how much longer I can last..."

 

Gateau blinked wordlessly at Marron.

 

He hadn't been expecting that. He wanted to say something in his own defence, he wanted to deny Marron's accusation, he wanted to say that no way had he been going off to see girls, but somehow, all he could make his body do was walk forward, lean over the bed, and kiss Marron suddenly. Marron seemed shocked, but he smiled into the kiss. Gateau pulled away, Marron's head fell back onto the bed.

 

Gateau found his own breath came a bit heavy now; forget what he'd just been thinking about. He couldn't remember what he'd just been thinking about... just that Marron was naked and aroused and on his bed and willing and ready and waiting and... how could Gateau have thought of saying anything other than 'yes'?!

 

"Marron... how... can you say that?"

 

"How can I say what?"

 

"How can you say I'd go off to the arms of someone else? Marron, I didn't get further than the apartment balcony... I just... don't want you hurrying into something you'll end up regretting!"

 

"Gateau, I don't want to regret it... I just want it to happen... I want something to happen..."

 

Gateau stood up, looking Marron over; Marron blushed, but didn't say any of his normal 'Don't perve on me' comments. Gateau's fists clenched, he looked away slightly.

 

"I can't take advantage of you..."

 

"Gateau, you WOULDN'T be taking advantage of me! What do I need to do or say to you... Gateau, how hard is it for me to say 'I want you' and have you say 'I want you too'? Don't you... feel like that?"

 

Gateau walked back to the door, turning the lights off; the room wasn't reduced to total darkness, just a darker shade of blue. Somewhere outside, a streetlamp shone, meaning that the room couldn't be totally dark anyway, not unless Gateau shut the curtains... the way the streetlamp shone meant that Marron, lying on the bed, was swathed in orange light. Marron watched Gateau as he turned back to face Marron. Gateau had a serious look on his face.

 

"Marron... of course I feel like that. Of course I want you... I've always wanted you. I just can't believe that... you want me back..."

 

Gateau was starting to undress.

 

"... looks like nothing'll change your mind... so... don't say I didn't warn ya."

 

"Gateau... just... take me..."

 

Marron's last two words were a whispered request, whispered, breathless...

 

Gateau wouldn't hesitate to comply. Naked, he joined Marron on the bed, covering him with kisses like how Marron had dreamt; Marron called Gateau's name, like how he had dreamt also.

 

At first, Gateau had still seemed a little nervous, despite Marron's express permission. A kiss would be accompanied by a "Do you mind this?", Gateau's hand running down Marron's body would be followed by a "Are you sure you don't mind?"... "Can I do this?"... "Do you like it when I do that?"...

 

In the middle of one of his questions, Marron silenced Gateau with a kiss, wrapping his arms around Gateau's neck, wrapping his legs around Gateau's thighs... Gateau was surprised to see, when Marron pulled back, almost an angry look on Marron's face...

 

"Gateau... I don't want you to say anything else."

"M-Marron?"

 

"For us to come this far... no, I don't mind. I don't want you to say anything else tonight... don't say things, just do things... I don't want to worry about having to give you permission for everything... I just want to feel... have you feel..."

 

Marron reached down, lithe fingers touching around Gateau's arousal; he touched it lightly, almost... teasing Gateau.

 

"Marron..."

 

"After this... the only thing I want us to say... is each other's names... alright?"

 

Gateau's passionate kiss made Marron think that yes, that was alright.

 

And so, on that night, the two of them finally gave up any remaining barrier between them, succumbing to each other. More Marron succumbing to Gateau. Gateau had been nervous about hurting Marron at first, but at starting to speak, Marron had put a finger to his mouth, silencing him, reminding him of earlier. He'd let out a cry when he felt Gateau inside him, but that was to be expected. Marron had almost frozen at that first feeling, movement from Gateau urging him into movement... it was new to Marron, but it was from Gateau; it was something he wanted to get used to.

 

Gateau had held Marron tightly to him, not wanting to hurt him any more than he had to, if he had to at all. His initial thrusts were as gentle as he could make them, but he wasn't totally invincible. Marron looked beautiful like that, in his arms, Gateau himself deep inside him... Gateau held Marron underneath his arms, Marron with his own arms around Gateau's back, holding on... he'd called Gateau's name, wanting Gateau's movements to be more... he wanted to really feel this person's potential passion. So he said so. Gateau smirked, breathless, but still... "I thought you didn't want us to say anything 'cept each other's names?"

 

"Is it wrong to say what I want?"

 

"Not at all, Marron. Not at all."

 

So Marron told Gateau what he wanted; Gateau did his best to give it to him. He seemed to be going in the right direction, because Marron's movements were starting to become a little more harried, his breath that bit more ragged... he was gripping onto Gateau's back with some power now, Marron's hands almost raking their way down... soon, they were. Gateau arched back a little, feeling some kind of stirring within his own body at seeing Marron get closer, feeling his body on him, around him... Marron was gasping now.

 

"Ga-Gateau... I... I'm coming..."

 

Gateau kissed frantically at Marron's neck, nodding, nuzzling, kissing.

 

"I... I know... I wanna make you come... I wanna come with you..."

 

"Come with me, then... come- oh- oh god- GATEAU..."

 

Marron threw his head back as he threw himself into Gateau's arms, holding onto him as tightly as he could manage; Gateau helped him along, pulling his own arms around Marron, hardly being able to concentrate on anything except for the beautiful creature in his arms, that and his own climax... Gateau let out a long, loud cry as he finally came to release, deep inside Marron. Marron's name might have been there somewhere, he was too far gone to know anymore.

 

The two of them fell back on the bed, panting. They lay there for a few moments, before Marron weakly pushed at Gateau.

 

"H-huh?"

 

"Get off me, Gateau... I..."

 

Marron didn't say anything else. Gateau felt a sudden misgiving - was Marron regretting it after all? He pulled out and away from Marron as quickly as he could, shifting to the other side of the bed, giving Marron his space. He listened to Marron's breathing, feeling an aching in his chest. That'd been intense, that'd been good, him and Marron had finally had sex... but was Marron regretting it?

 

He felt Marron reach out for him. He looked across at Marron, and saw, to his relief, a smile.

 

"What're you doing over there? I just needed to catch my breath..."

 

"Oh... god, you're beautiful..."

 

"Gateau, n-not now... I'm tired, I want to sleep..."

 

Gateau nodded slightly, not sure what to say to that. Marron rolled over slightly, tugging on Gateau's arm.

 

"Can't I want to feel close to you or something?" Marron yawned. "Want to have your arms around me..."

 

Gateau sighed, then yawned, triggered by Marron's yawn. "Sure."

 

So Marron eventually managed to fall asleep in Gateau's arms.

 

The night wore on, Marron and Gateau totally oblivious to anything. Even when it was morning, the morning sun streamed into the room and birds sang outside, the two still slept.

 

Gateau eventually woke up around lunchtime, not realising the time. He realised his arms were still around Marron; he took a moment to reflect on what'd happened, or at least on Marron's beauty. The sunlight really, really made Marron look beautiful... he almost looked... innocent, while he slept. Gateau shifted slightly against Marron, enjoying Marron's warm body against his own... Marron made a vague noise in his sleep, but didn't say anything. Gateau worked one arm from underneath Marron, lying him down on the pillow, sighing happily. He just watched Marron as he slept, running his hand through Marron's soft hair. Marron really was the person he loved... Gateau smiled to himself, feeling poetic. Marron had the kind of beauty people wrote poems about, didn't he? His long, soft, beautiful hair... Gateau was sure he could come up with a million words to describe Marron's hair, but the word 'black' was all he could think of at that moment in time. Still, it worked. Long, soft, beautiful, black. What next... Marron's hair framed his face, so... Gateau brushed back Marron's hair, looking at the delicate shell of Marron's ear. Marron had beautiful ears. Had he noticed that before? He wasn't sure, but that didn't matter, he was noticing it now. Marron's ear was near to Marron's eyes, sort of... them next. Marron's eyes were closed... if they were open, then... they'd be golden... golden... Gateau thought about it. Golden... pools of deep eternity he could lose himself in? He almost laughed. He sounded like one of Marron's poetry books. Shining golden pools of deep eternity, indeed. Still, Marron did have pretty eyes... they could be something like that. Currently they were closed, soft eyelashes brushing soft, gentle cheeks... Gateau wondered how cheeks could be 'gentle'... still, Marron was generally gentle, so, yeah, his cheeks could be gentle too. This was fun; Marron was totally lost to the land of the living, and had no idea of the silly thoughts that ran through Gateau's mind. Gateau smiled; they were silly, but they were fun. He loved Marron, he could afford to be a bit silly. So, what came after that? Marron's nose? Gateau thought for a few moments. Marron's nose was... a nose. There wasn't really any way to describe it. But it was on his face, and his face was beautiful, and he'd probably look strange without a nose, so... Marron's nose was beautiful too, Gateau wasn't sure how, it just was, and he decided to leave it at that. Underneath Marron's nose was his mouth. Oh, and his lips. Marron had soft, kissable lips. Lips that looked nice when they were caught on Gateau's name, saying it with passionate abandon... and of course, Marron's mouth was where his voice came from, and Marron's voice was nice to hear. Deep, but not too deep. Generally friendly. Just... a nice voice. That brought Gateau down to Marron's neck - oh yes, his chin too. Marron's chin was delicately pointed, nice to take hold of while kissing. Then his neck. Marron's neck was... well, nice. Marron's hair fell against it... it was pleasantly curved, in a neckish sort of way. Gateau recalled kissing Marron's neck to varying degrees of passionate intensity last night... yes, that was what necks were good for. Necks could be kissed and nipped and nuzzled, and Gateau had enjoyed doing that to Marron's neck last night.

 

Gateau was about to muse on the poetic beauty of Marron's chest when Marron shifted in Gateau's arms; he opened his eyes, blinking himself softly awake. The sunlight in the room was bright, and it was shining directly on Marron... he shielded the light with one hand, then noticed Gateau. Gateau was smiling at him, smiling softly, gently, lovingly... his voice was soft, too.

 

"Mornin', beautiful."

 

"M-morning to you too... so, um..." Marron didn't seem quite sure what to say.

 

Gateau just smiled a little wider. "Heh, I know. Hard to know what to say, isn't it..."

 

Marron smiled, a little nervously. "Y-yes..."

 

Gateau pulled his arms away from Marron, still smiling. "While you're working out what you wanna say, how about I make us some coffee? Coffee's good in any occasion."

 

"A-alright."

 

Gateau chortled to himself as he hopped out of bed, noting Marron's expression as he went out of the room. Marron had seemed so commanding last night, and now, he was... almost confused... confused? Maybe not that. Well, whatever Marron was, he was cute.

 

Gateau stretched in the hallway. Maybe a shower? He said he'd make coffee, coffee could come first. He wandered into the kitchen, musing on how nice it was to be able to wander around naked. He heard Marron call from the bathroom, "I'm going to take a shower", he called back his own agreement. He could wait until Marron'd finished.

 

The kettle whistled, steaming up the window slightly. Outside was beautiful too. People going around on their day to day business... the sunlight was just nice to see, though. There wasn't a cloud in the sky... Gateau had a slight feeling that perhaps there was something he'd forgotten, but, on thinking of how nice the day was, and how beautiful Marron was, he decided it couldn't be too important.

 

Gateau poured himself coffee, and also poured Marron a cup of tea. Marron liked tea, so... it didn't do any harm to make a little gesture like that. Gateau wandered through to the front room, setting the tea down onto the table in front of the television. Gateau almost laughed; he just felt so much happiness! His unsure feelings from last night seemed so far away.

 

After a couple of minutes, Marron emerged from the bathroom, wearing a towel around his waist.

 

"Bathroom's free."

 

"Oh, yeah. I made'ja a cup of tea. Thought you'd like it."

 

"Thanks, Gateau."

 

Marron sat down in front of the television, taking his tea and blowing on it to cool it down. Gateau wandered over to the bathroom, "Won't be a couple of minutes, I wanna take a shower too."

 

Marron nodded, making an agreeing noise into his tea. He set his tea down on the table again, deciding to let it cool down a little. The television listings magazine sitting at the foot of his chair caught his eye. He heard Gateau running the shower... he decided it wouldn't hurt to see what was on the television.

 

"Let's see... yesterday was tuesday, so today's wednesday..."

 

Marron flipped to the corresponding page in the magazine.

 

"What time is it..."

 

Marron glanced around the room; on seeing a clock, he noticed it was just coming up to one in the afternoon. Marron's eyes glanced down the page before he realised something.

 

Almost one on a wednesday afternoon...

 

He looked up with shock, then got up, rushing into the bathroom. Gateau blinked at him from the shower.

 

"I'd say something about not wanting you to perve on me but I don't wanna. What's up?"

 

"Gateau, it's almost one o' clock!"

 

"Yes?"

 

"On a wednesday!"

 

"And?"

 

"We've missed half a day of college!!"

 

Gateau looked idly thoughtful as he rinsed soap off his arms.

 

"Good point. Could you pass me that blue sponge? Thanks. Heh, thought I was forgetting something, couldn't figure out what, musta been that. You feel up to college, then?"

 

Marron flipped the toilet seat down and sat on the fuzzy cover.

 

"Perhaps not... I feel a bit..."

 

"Sore?"

 

Marron blushed slightly. "A little, yes."

 

"Well, yeah, it was yer first time and all... how about, once I've finished here, I phone up the collage and say we might not be in for the rest of the week? I can say you got ill and that I wanna look after ya or something. I'm sure they'd understand."

 

Marron picked at loose fronds on his towel.

 

"... For the rest of the week?"

 

"Yeah... today's wednesday... maybe you wouldn't wanna go in tomorrow... then it'd be friday, and why bother going in on the last day of the week?"

 

"I don't want to miss too much work, Gateau."

 

"You sure? It's gonna be a bit weird, me saying yer ill then you turning up perfectly fine on friday... well, we could say you had a stomach bug or something. Just tell people all day on friday that you're sure yer gonna throw up everywhere and they might believe you've been ill."

 

Marron looked a little unsure. Gateau rinsed himself down, looking a little sardonic as he switched the shower off and stepped out of it.

 

"Or do you want me to phone the college and tell 'em the truth? That we were up on tuesday night havin' mad sex, that we didn't wake up 'til lunchtime on wednesday, and that my boyfriend's ass might need thursday to recover?"

 

"Okay, okay, I get your point."

 

Marron leant back on the cold surface. He waited until his body was used to it before leaning fully back... he smiled over at Gateau.

 

"I don't regret it, though."

 

Gateau paused while towelling himself off.

 

"No? Neither do I. I was a bit worried you might, but... well, ya know. I'm just nervous like that."

 

Gateau wrapped a towel around his waist, not really seeing reason to, but reckoning that Marron looked good enough like that, so he might as well. Marron just smiled softly back.

 

"I noticed."

 

"Yeah... well, hey, since we've suddenly got the time off... I better phone the college, then... whatcha wanna do? We could go out somewhere or something. Or stay in and watch TV, or..." Gateau smirked.

 

Marron looked up at Gateau's pause. "Or...?"

 

"Oh, come on. We've got the apartment to ourselves, we just had a Sexual Awakening type thing last night, why not spend the day boinkin' all over the apartment? There's nothing to stop us, anyway. Even if the people from downstairs came knockin' on the door, couldn't really stop us, it's our apartment, isn't it?"

 

Marron just blinked at Gateau.

 

"All... over the apartment?"

 

"Yeah! Do you know how irresistible you look when yer leaning over the sideboard in the kitchen? Or, we could test the springs in the sofa..."

 

Marron just blushed. Gateau laughed slightly, leaning against the wall.

 

"Or we could just watch television. You decide."

 

Marron stood up, making sure his towel was still firmly attached around his waist. He walked over to Gateau and leant his head on his elbows on Gateau's chest, looking up at him.

 

"You phone the college... I'll... think about it."

 

Gateau noticed the slightly sneaky look in Marron's eyes, and smiled widely.

 

"Heh, aw-riiight!! Yeah, I'll go do that."

 

So Gateau phoned the college; they seemed, as he thought they would, understanding. Gateau assured them that the two of them would be in on friday to pick up work and such, the people on the other end said they would do their best to gather up that work in the meantime. Gateau thanked them, put the phone down, and rubbed his hands together at the prospect of a day and a half of him and Marron doing whatever they wanted to do. Television was watched, food was eaten, fun was had. Marron wondered if it was an accident when Gateau leant to put his arm around Marron and ended up dropping noodles on him... the fun that Gateau seemed to have manually cleaning them from Marron's chest led Marron to think that it hadn't been an accident after all... but still, it wasn't like Marron didn't enjoy it either. Gateau then suggested icecream, Marron thought 'why not', and several re-enactments of old icecream adverts from the early 90's ensued. Except with towels on instead of jeans. And eventually, with nothing on at all... icecream was cold against a warm body, but both ensured that neither remained cold for long.

 

Wednesday night came and went, thursday slowly dragged by, filled with all kinds of fun and kinky activities, and eventually thursday night came too; Marron had taken to sharing Gateau's bed, Gateau had no argument whatsoever, and the two of them agreed that the last day and a half had been the most fun that the two of them had had for a long time. And Gateau enjoyed sleeping with Marron in his arms... Marron enjoyed sleeping in Gateau's arms. Despite the overhanging threat of college, work, homework and coursework, the two of them couldn't have been happier.

 

The following weeks carried on in much the same style, except with college to contend with too. One time, Gateau had suggested just telling the people at college that yes, the two of them were an item, so what? Marron didn't see anything against this in particular, but he didn't see anything for it either; yes, they were an item, but why did everyone else have to know about it? Gateau said it'd be easier to show affection in public if people just knew, Marron just shrugged, "We show affection anyway, and it always gets their tongues wagging. They like it when they've got something to gossip about, Gateau..."

 

Gateau wondered if Marron was a little nervous about practically coming out to his classmates after previous events... Gateau sighed, decided that perhaps Marron was right, and agreed that they didn't really need to know after all. Whatever they wanted to think, they could.

 

The weeks rolled by, the months rolled by. Eventually, it was december, and festive spirit was in the air; Gateau and Marron had fun decorating the apartment, getting in a tree, throwing tinsel everywhere, even around each other... Gateau wrapped himself in tinsel and hung baubles from his ears, "I'M A CHRISTMAS TREE!!" And with a suggestive air, "Wanna unwrap my present?"... Marron laughed, "Later, Gateau."

 

The two of them decorated the apartment, made it look christmas-y and beautiful, made suggestive comments about the shape of candy canes, and had no idea of the potential threat to their relationship that sat a few days away, or of the fact that neither of them would be around to celebrate the new year...

 

The threat came around a couple of days into december; it was just a usual day at college. It was between lessons, and so the halls were quite crowded. But that was just how college was, sometimes it was hard to even find room to breathe.

 

Marron had just finished getting books from his locker, as he usually did. He had the right books for his next lessons... he noticed, with amusement, how some people seemed to have decorated their lockers for christmas. Tinsel wrapped around the outside, tinsel on the inside, baubles, some even had advent calendars hanging from the backs of the locker doors. Marron made a mental note, him and Gateau needed advent calendars. He'd thought that something was missing from the apartment, yes, they'd need to buy advent calendars. Marron enjoyed the atmosphere around college, though. Girls with tinsel in their hair, people starting to exchange christmas gifts already... college could be tedious, but Marron always enjoyed it when college met head-on with a national holiday. It always brought a different atmosphere to the college, always made it feel a bit special... and when it snowed, that was always nice. Some teachers didn't mind classes getting a little lax towards the end of term, so... Marron enjoyed sitting in a warm classroom watching the snow fall outside while there was chaos around him, people throwing paper airplanes, trying to trip people up with tinsel, asking the teacher who he'd be trying to get under the mistletoe... it was all in good spirit.

 

Still, lessons still had to be attended, despite the good feeling that descended around the college. Marron closed his locker, wryly noticing that some girls had produced some mistletoe from their locker... he wondered just how many girls would try to catch him out this year. He imagined what would happen if someone set him and Gateau up under the mistletoe... he smiled to himself. If someone did that, well, they'd just have to give them something to look at, wouldn't they? Marron smiled deeper as he imagined the shock on the faces of his classmates as he and Gateau kissed passionately in one of the school doorframes... yes, quite an amusing thought indeed.

 

Marron glanced at his timetable; one more lesson to go before the end of school. Gateau hadn't been around much at lunch, it was the final sports meet of the year; well, more like the basketball team's christmas bash. No-one wanted to play basketball in those skimpy outfits while it snowed, not even Gateau. Snow was pretty to look at, snow was nice to walk in, "Snow isn't nice when yer freezing yer bollocks off chasing around after a ball when everyone else is inside in the warm watchin' ya", so said Gateau. Marron saw Gateau's reasoning.

 

Marron awaited the end of school so he could walk home with Gateau; yes, it'd been snowing near-constantly for the last week or so, but most of the time it'd snow during the day and ease off towards the end of the day, leaving snow on the ground but none in the air... Marron mentioned one time to Gateau that it might be a bit romantic to walk in the softly falling snow, Gateau decided that the two of them would have to find each other after school one time and do that. Marron glanced out of a window as he walked through the crowded corridor; it was coming up to the end of the day, but it was already getting a little dark outside, and it still seemed to be snowing... Marron silently smiled to himself, if the snow just kept up for another hour or so, he and Gateau would be able to have that little romantic ideal he'd occasionally dreamt about...

 

Suddenly, something compelled Marron to turn his head away from the window, and to look at the nearby crowd of people; Marron wasn't sure what, there hadn't been anything untoward happen, no-one had cried or yelled or screamed, no-one'd said anything, just... Marron felt like looking at the crowd of people, just for the sake of it. A strange kind of craving, but one that Marron didn't think twice about obeying; perhaps he wanted to see if any of the girls had strange and amazing tinsel structures in their hair, some of them went quite over the top when it came to personal decoration... perhaps he was looking out for Gateau, perhaps... perhaps... Marron didn't know, he suddenly couldn't concentrate on anything; all he knew was that he'd suddenly had perhaps the most powerful feeling in his life, and as he reached his classroom, he wasn't entirely sure why.

 

He felt quite shaken as he sat down in his seat and got his books out. One of the girls in the class even seemed to notice his mood, asking him if he was alright... Marron said that he was, but he sounded harried, even to his own ears.

 

The lesson itself was one of those that, due to the time of year, wasn't really taking itself seriously. Marron would have usually spent a lesson like this staring outside at the snow and thinking about how nice it was that christmas was approaching and that everyone felt excited, or perhaps he would have been thinking about Gateau and what they might do once they got home, or if they'd maybe go out somewhere, but today, all Marron could think about was... that feeling. That feeling... when he'd seen that crowd of people? Was there someone he'd seen that had caused such a reaction within him?

 

Marron thought about the crowd of people. He thought hard; who had been there? Just the usual college students, no-one really out of the ordinary... not that he could remember, anyway. He felt like there was something out of the ordinary, though... he felt like... he'd seen someone he almost... remembered, or something... but since he couldn't even remember who it was he'd seen, or recall if he'd seen anyone special at all, how could that have been? The feeling still remained within him, though. His heart beat fast, he... he almost felt like he was blushing. Another girl asked him if he felt alright, he looked a bit ill. The teacher overheard, and agreed that Marron didn't look quite chipper. Marron just glared at them, "I'm alright, really"... they seemed to insist that he wasn't, and at his slight emotional outburst, "There's NOTHING WRONG!! Stop hassling me!!", the class had fallen into silence, and the teacher had delicately asked one of the girls to take Marron to the medical room. Marron argued that there wasn't anything wrong with him and that he didn't need to be taken to the medical room, but the teacher argued back that Marron was obviously feeling a bit under the weather, and perhaps needed a little time to calm down. Marron realised he couldn't exactly argue with a teacher, and besides, nothing was really happening in the lesson... maybe he'd be able to consider his thoughts deeper in the medical room, where it was quiet, less distractions...

 

Perhaps he'd see that person again... the person who spurred that thought, that feeling... that is, if there was a person after all... Marron let himself be led to the medical room, the girl told the staff member there what was wrong with Marron, then left to go back to the lesson. The staff member asked Marron if he wanted anything, a headache pill or anything, but Marron said he'd be alright, he just needed some time to lie down. The staff member nodded, and left Marron to his own devices.

 

Marron laid back on the couch-like bed they kept in the medical room. The room wasn't a large one, large enough for the bed and two chairs and little else. There was the door across from the bed, and a window above the bed, half-covered by some blinds. Marron sat up and tugged the blindpull, being careful not to let it snap upwards and get caught... he let the blind go up as far as it would, and lay back on the bed, watching the window. Only blue could be seen out of the window; the darkening blue of the sky and the snow as it fell outside.

 

Marron sighed loudly. What had... that feeling been? Marron let himself be lulled by the silence in the room, he shut his eyes, falling into a comfortable state of thinking. That feeling seemed to have hit in when he'd seen that group of people, but... would he have had the same feeling if he hadn't have turned round at that moment to look at those people? Was it an atmospheric feeling as opposed to a feeling that was triggered by something? Would he have felt that feeling if he'd been somewhere else in school, maybe sitting in lessons? Marron opened his eyes slightly, feeling confused and unsure.

 

He was distracted slightly by some voices outside. A girl's voice, asking if the medical room was free... he heard the voice of the staffmember he'd spoken to before saying that no, the medical room wasn't free, there was already someone in there. She then asked if 'you' would like a headache pill; Marron supposed that the staffmember was talking to the girl, but a male voice replied, "... That might help. If it's not any trouble."

 

Marron sat up suddenly, feeling a feeling he hadn't felt since that fight all those months ago; it was almost exactly the same feeling. A name on his lips that he just couldn't place... a name he couldn't remember... a name that seemed so familiar, but... he just couldn't say the name, the name felt like it was on the tip of his tongue, a name, a title, something familiar, something he remembered... something that he couldn't quite bring himself to say...

 

Feeling dazed, Marron stood up and walked to the door; it wasn't entirely closed, there was a crack of light that streamed into the otherwise dark room...

 

Outside, Marron saw the girl first. No-one that Marron recognized. A girl perhaps a little older than Marron himself, brown hair down to below her waist... she seemed fairly ordinary. Marron turned his head a little, the girl was standing next to a boy who leant against the wall outside of the medical room. He seemed the same age as the girl... he had slightly tanned skin, wore a slightly worn looking jacket, jeans... black short hair that fell slightly over brown, innocent-looking eyes... the boy wasn't particularly special in looks, but there was something about him that made Marron step backwards, falling to the bed, hand to his heart, a sudden raging headache ripping throughout him... memories of something seemed to be occurring to him... he curled up on the bed, feeling as if there was something trying to descend around him that was more powerful than he could ever be... a strange power, a concentration of the feeling he'd felt earlier... a remembrance... a recollection... a feeling that... this was someone he KNEW... scenes and images flashed through his mind, forgotten as soon as they finished...

 

"Sometimes I wish he'd hurry up and be a grown-up..." something... someone else's voice... his voice? That boy's voice? ... "He's clumsy, lazy, a mess, and he doesn't like girls, but he's still my little..." something again, something that Marron's mind wouldn't let him hear, almost... he could almost see them in his mind, them, someone and someone else, someone... him? Him and... this other person? The feeling he had most was... a feeling of protecting, of wanting to protect... a feeling of wanting to be near to someone no matter what... images, sounds, they ripped through his mind like the headache that made him want to curl up and sleep and never wake... a pain in his heart, in his mind... a pain throughout his body... a memory that... was a memory? That wasn't him, surely? If that was him, then... who was that other person? That word... that word seemed blanked out to Marron's mind, but everything else seemed painfully vivid.... "... hang in there!! ... please, answer me... ... everybody, please look after him... ... it's okay now...! ... there's nothing to be afraid of anymore... your fear... I will..."

 

Marron tried to curl up further within himself, these sudden thoughts, memories if that was what they were, being too painful for him... the feelings within him were almost as if they weren't just memories of a time he couldn't remember... he almost felt like... he was reliving them, even though that was impossible... but he felt like something was leaving him, some power from his body that he wished to go to another, the feeling, the need to protect, the want to protect, the raging pain, that one need and want that shone brighter than any other feeling possible, brighter than his own pain, brighter than his own feelings, all he could feel was the feeling that this person needed to live, even if it cost him his own life, then they had to live - why? Why did they have to live? Who was this person that was so important to Marron that he felt these overwhelming thoughts for?

 

The thoughts were too intense; the headache was too powerful... Marron felt light-headed, like he was going to pass out... Marron had no reason not to, so, closing his eyes, tears shed from them, he did. He didn't realise the word on his lips as he lost consciousness, he didn't realise the final missing part of his mental puzzle... he didn't realise the implication that word had.

 

"Nii... niisan..."