Marron moved quietly through the trees, glancing
around from time to time at the soft green beauty of the foliage around him, his
white-slippered feet silent on the forest floor. He moved in and out of patches of
sunlight, the warm glow gleaming on his glossy black hair and turning his ivory skin to a
faded, washed-out shade of the same liquid amber that colored his eyes. Careful not to
snag his loose clothing on any of the vegetation growing around him, the young Hunter
stepped gingerly over fallen branches and tree roots that jutted out of the soft soil
below him. Life was all around him: The voices of birds chirping merrily floated down from
the leafy green canopy, somewhere in the distance a fox barked, and all around him the
underbrush rustled. A small smile tugged at the corners of the young man's mouth as he
continued to walk forward slowly, seeming to ignore the pale, willowy form that darted in
and out of the trees a short distance from him.
Menkari flitted through the trees like some fey creature, as
graceful as a deer, leaping about in reckless abandon. Marron never knew exactly where the
wild boy was, only able to gauge his location by the sounds in the underbrush . . .
sometimes the leaves rustled on one side, sometimes on the other, then in front of him, or
behind, once even overhead, although he did not know how the boy had found the time to
climb up a tree and back down with all the running about he was doing. It was enough to
make Marron wonder if Menkari really was human after all.
Suddenly the brown-haired slave burst out of the bushes and
charged up to Marron, breathless and giggling, thrusting his hands forward. A wide smile
split the boy's pretty face, and his soft brown eyes sparkled like semiprecious stones,
thin red scratches tracing across the bare skin of his arms and chest from his exertions
in the underbrush. Marron stopped mid-stride and looked down at the small pile of tiny,
wild strawberries cupped in Menkari's thin hands. He looked up at the younger boy
questioningly, and Menkari giggled again, his lips already stained faintly red from the
juice.
"Have some," the younger boy said, lifting his hands
slightly. "They're good."
Marron's white-clad shoulder lifted almost imperceptibly in what
might have been a shrug as he slipped long fingers over the skin of Menkari's palm to
grasp one of the berries delicately. Brown eyes fixed on Marron's mouth as his lips
parted, tongue snaking out to flick over the soft skin of the strawberry before slim
fingers pushed it into his mouth, lips closing around the pale digits and sucking softly
for a moment before he pulled them out of his mouth to reach for another of the small
fruits.
"I love strawberries . . ." Marron said softly,
smiling.
"Me, too." Menkari raised his cupped hands to his
mouth, trying to nose one of the berries out of his palm.
"I can get it for you . . ." Marron murmured, reaching
towards him. The back of his hand slid across Menkari's cheek as he reached past the boy's
face to dip his hand into his cupped palms. Menkari lifted his head slowly, rubbing his
cheek against the smooth white linen covering Marron's forearm like a pampered cat. He
moved away only when the raven-haired boy withdrew his hand from Menkari's cupped palms, a
pair of small, sweet berries caught between his fingers. Marron touched the strawberries
to Menkari's lips and the boy opened his mouth, taking in the fruit and the tips of
Marron's fingers. He flicked the strawberries out of the older boy's grasp with his
tongue, pushing them against his cheek as he sucked softly on Marron's fingers, tracing
the planes of the other boy's fingertips with his tongue, his gaze almost coy as he looked
up at him, doe-brown eyes glittering mutedly. Marron watched him in silence, mesmerized,
his eyes slipping half closed and his breath coming in shallow gasps through his parted
lips.
What am I doing? Marron's mind whimpered, his heart
fluttering in his chest like a caged bird, half in fear and half in heated excitement as
Menkari continued to suckle his fingers. My brother certainly would not approve of
this.....
But Brother is not here, another part of his mind whispered. No
one is here, no one... no one ever has to know about Menkari. No one ever has to know that
you stole a slave from auction, that you kissed him, or the things running through your
head that you would like to do to him, what little you can think of... not Chocolate, not
Tira, and certainly not Carrot or Gateau. No one has to know... not a soul.
Menkari dropped half of the berries onto the ground, cradling the
rest of them against his flat, bare stomach as he moved closer to Marron, running his now
empty hand down the front of the older boy's white robe. Marron sighed and reached out to
trace his fingertips lightly over the smooth, pale skin of Menkari's shoulder, the depths
of his molten amber eyes filled with uncertainty. But once again Menkari made the decision
for him, drawing his mouth away from Marron's fingers and moving closer to him, tilting
his head back and pressing his lips against the older boy's.
Marron's eyes slipped closed completely as he returned Menkari's
kiss, the younger boy tilting his head slightly to the side and shaping his mouth to fit
perfectly against the Hunter's. Marron's tongue probed shyly into the warm cavern of
Menkari's mouth, the tip tracing slowly over the boy's lips and teeth. Menkari shivered,
slipping his arm around Marron's waist and pulling him closer, his own tongue brushing
against Marron's softly. A faint moan slipped from the raven-haired boy's throat and was
lost in the press of Menkari's lips as Marron's arms snaked around the slave's slim waist,
pulling the young boy tight against his slender frame and trapping Menkari's hand between
them. Menkari jumped at the sudden feel of warm, oozy wetness against his stomach.
Marron pulled away from him and looked down at him, golden eyes
bright with concern. Menkari looked down at himself, drawing his hand away from his
stomach, a mess of slimy red berries and juice staining the pale flesh like a wound.
"Oops..." Menkari giggled.
"I can get it for you," murmured Marron, placing a
warm, lingering kiss on Menkari's temple. The young slave-boy's eyes widened slightly as
Marron dropped to his knees in front of him. And then he closed his eyes and moaned as the
long haired boy began to lazily lap up the squished strawberries.
"Ohh, Marron..." Menkari reached towards the older boy,
and Marron grabbed his wrist before Menkari could smear berries throughout his glossy
black hair. His tongue swiped slowly over the pale flesh of Menkari's stomach until all
the crushed strawberries and juice had been removed, and then he licked the mess off of
the slave boy's hand. Menkari looked down at him, thick, dark eyelashes lowered over his
gaze, a fire burning in the depths of his doe-brown eyes as he slowly tangled his fingers
in Marron's silky black hair, mussing the neat plait. Marron looked up at him, smiling
softly as his tongue darted in between Menkari's slender fingers, licking up the last
traces of strawberry left on the boy's palm.
"There. All better," Marron said quietly.
Menkari grinned. "Um... thanks."
Marron smiled up at him and then he shook his head slightly,
feeling the unfamiliar weight of the plait against his back. "Menkari? Could you...
ah... undo this for me? I fear that I may look rather silly."
"You don't look silly at all, Marron. You look
beautiful," Menkari reassured him, stepping around behind him and dropping to his
knees. He unbraided the end of the plait deftly, and then worked his way up Marron's
glossy ravenblack hair, running his fingers through the silky ebon locks and humming once
again. Marron sighed softly and smiled, enjoying the attention. Menkari tugged at the
interwoven strands and ran his fingers over Marron's scalp, unbraiding the other boy's
hair completely, and then he pushed the wealth of it over Marron's white-clad shoulders
and kissed the back of the young Sorcerer Hunter's long, pale neck. Marron shivered.
Menkari smiled a bit to himself and then began to trace designs on the back of the other's
neck with the tip of his tongue. Marron exhaled softly, twisting his elegant hands around
the soft crimson fabric of his sash.
"Menkari...?"
"Yes..."
"Um... have you ever been with a man before?"
Menkari nuzzled the back of Marron's neck, pressing his face
against it. "Yes."
"Have you been with a woman?"
"No."
"No? Really?"
"Yes..." Menkari sighed softly, wrapping his arms
around Marron's shoulders. "Men would buy me for pleasure. Women would buy me to
watch their children, wash their laundry and do household chores, and to fix their hair,
just as you did. I am very good at it, my fingers are so thin..."
Marron placed his hands lightly upon Menkari's forearms, noting
to himself that Menkari's fingers were just as thin and elegantly tapered as his own. He
winced slightly at the younger boy's words, having forgotten for a time that Menkari was a
slave. "The men who bought you... were they like me?"
"Oh no, they were nothing like you..." Menkari winced
slightly, burying his face against the back of Marron's neck. "They were
cruel..."
"Cruel?" Marron twisted around within the circle of
Menkari's arms, cupping the slave-boy's chin in his hand and lifting his head so that he
could look into his eyes. "They hurt you?"
Menkari remained still for a moment, and then he nodded slowly.
Marron made a soft noise in his throat and slipped his arms around Menkari's waist,
pulling the boy tightly against him. Menkari sighed softly and pressed his cheek against
Marron's shoulder, his breath warm on Marron's pale throat.
"I will not allow anyone to hurt you ever again, Menkari...
as long as you are with me, I will not let anyone hurt you."
Menkari nodded, kissing the side of Marron's neck softly.
"Thank you, Marron."
"What else could I do?" Marron asked softly. He slowly
stood, his lean body unfolding as gracefully as the branch of a weeping willow, gently
drawing Menkari to his feet as well. He looked down at the top of the younger boy's wild,
dark hair as Menkari continued to nuzzle his shoulder, wondering how he had become
attached to the slave so quickly. Perhaps it was the way his eyes sparkled, the sweet
innocence of his features or the laughter that almost always seemed present in his voice.
Or perhaps it was the way Menkari looked at him... the way those soft brown eyes seemed
capable of melting his insides and gave him strange, tingly feelings across his skin.
Desire was in the boy's gaze, that much he recognized from looking into Gateau's eyes, and
the eyes of others, but there was something else there as well. Marron was startled to
find himself musing whether or not there was such a thing as love at first sight... and
then all thoughts flew from his mind completely as the tip of Menkari's warm tongue
flicked against his throat.
"Menkari..." he murmured, his eyes automatically
drifting closed.
"Marron," Menkari whispered in reply, pressing himself
against Marron's slender frame, his hands sliding up the other's back and caressing the
planes of lean muscle through the layers of fabric that separated skin from skin.
Marron squeezed his eyes tightly shut, a brief tremor passing
through him at the feel of Menkari's breath on his throat, and then thin, pale fingers
were at his collar, tugging it open, the young slave nosing past his own hand and the
gold-trimmed linen to delve the warm tip of his tongue into the hollow of Marron's throat.
A long, slow sigh escaping from between his parted lips, Marron tilted his head back,
pale, elegant hands rising automatically to rest against Menkari's sides as the boy
continued to trace designs on his throat with the tip of his tongue, the golden clasps of
Marron's robe slipping open one by one beneath Menkari's nimble fingers. Unfastening the
front of the robe completely, Menkari pushed the fabric slightly aside and ran his hands
over the crisp fabric of the shirt Marron wore underneath, tipping his head upward to
catch Marron's lips in a passionate kiss. Marron responded hungrily, his grip on Menkari's
waist tightening as he drew the young slave more tightly against him, intoxicated by the
sweetness of Menkari's mouth. The boy made a soft, desperate noise deep in his throat, a
shiver passing down his spine as he fumbled with the buttons of the shirt Marron wore
under his robe, almost frantic with his desire to touch the golden-eyed youth's skin.
Menkari popped off the last few buttons in his haste, the small bits of mother of pearl
trapped between their warm, entangled bodies for a moment before escaping to drop,
forgotten, onto the forest floor, as the boy ran light fingertips over the newly revealed
ribbon of flesh running from Marron's collarbones to his well-muscled stomach. Marron tore
his lips away from Menkari, throwing his head back with a gasp as the slave boy ran his
hands up and over his chest and shoulders, pushing aside the cloth and baring his torso
before pressing himself against him once again, flesh to warm, pale flesh. Menkari
promptly began to lap at the other's pale throat once again, snaking his arms around him
to thread his fingers through the ebon silk of Marron's hair, the tight, supersensitive
buds of his nipples hard enough to dig slightly into the other boy's flesh.
Nipping lightly at the young Hunter's flesh, Menkari pressed
against him firmly, forcing him to lean back until his back rested against the soft moss
that covered the ground, his silky black hair fanning out around his head. Then the slave
boy moved up to kiss Marron again, gently, his soft, slender hands moving over the other's
pale flesh in light, skin-shivering caresses. Marron twisted out of his garments
completely, wrapping his arms around Menkari's shoulders as he unconsciously arched his
body toward those warm, exploring hands, a small, almost pleading sound bubbling from his
throat to be muffled against the press of rosepetal-soft lips. Lean-muscled white-clad
thighs slid apart unconsciously, and Menkari insinuated his narrow hips between them,
causing Marron to gasp against his mouth at the sudden warm pressure. Menkari tilted his
head to the side to trace a line of warm kisses up the delicate curve of Marron's jaw,
leaving the golden-eyed boy to stare up at the sunlit canopy with eyes half-lidded and
hazy, liquid amber orbs darkened in color to a brass bordering on bronze and burning with
desire.
Marron's mind was a riot of confusion. He was drowning....
Drowning in red, searing, pulsating heat, muscles involuntarily twitching beneath
satin-smooth skin as the slave boy's fingertips continued to play across his flesh,
drowning in the chocolate velvet of Menkari's eyes. He was helpless, each nerve ending
sparking and raw beneath his skin, shivering violently as Menkari's tongue made paths of
warm wetness across his ivory skin, dropping his hands to claw at the mossy earth as he
arched almost wantonly toward the other, his breath coming in ragged, panting gasps. A
soft, involuntary cry was torn from his lips as Menkari flickered his tongue over his
nipple, blunt nails raking lightly over the small of his back. No longer aware of himself,
Marron whimpered helplessly, trapped in the tide of heat that flowed throughout his body.
He was barely aware of the slave boy's thin fingers curled about the waist of his
trousers, and offered no resistance as the fabric was drawn downward over his narrow hips,
only whimpering again as the cloth scraped over his turgid need and opening his mouth
willingly to the tender violation of Menkari's tongue as the younger boy slid up his body
to kiss him feverishly.
Then his new lover touched him, and Marron thought he would die.
His body arched up off of the ground, trembling, moaning into Menkari's mouth as skilled
fingers moved feather-light over his sex, sending waves of redflash heat spiraling out
from his groin to every cell in his body and making him feel lightheaded and dizzy. More
warm kisses pressed to his feverish skin, a soft, sweet line traced down the smooth ivory
column of his neck, meandering over his chest, kisses touching each rib as it briefly
showed with his heaving, shuddering breath, making the skin of his stomach twitch beneath
those sweet lips, that warm mouth pausing for just a moment to make love to his navel, the
quick wetness of Menkari's tongue making Marron rock his head back and forth in some
unconscious denial. He lifted his hips up off of the ground as nails raked harshly over
his skin, down his spine and over his rear and across the backs of his thighs, and then
Menkari slid lower and-
"Unnnnhhhh!!!!"
Long, tapered fingers ripped furrows in the soft, mossy earth on
either side of Marron's torso as wet heat closed around his sex, his body trembling and
taut as a bowstring as he arched from the ground so that none of him touched it, save for
his head, shoulders, and feet. His body moved on its own, bucking toward Menkari's mouth,
he was drowning, drowning, he was no longer aware of the world around him, of the
involuntary cries that rung out crystal pure in the warm afternoon air with each lash of
his lover's tongue, of the smell of the loamy earth or his own sweat and desire, he was
awash in sensation, lost, he felt as if he had swallowed the sun and it threatened to
burst through his skin and shatter him into a million pieces. Copper flowed into his mouth
as serpents crawled beneath his skin, his teeth piercing his lip as he bit it, so sweetly
and completely out of control, surrendering himself to this gentle, pale fey boy, to the
promises whispered in the depths of those chocolate brown eyes. And surrender he did, his
body growing rigid once more, every muscle tensed and quivering as, with a soft gasp, he
gave to Menkari what he had never given to anyone ever before. Closing his softly
glittering eyes, Menkari took everything he was into himself.
Slowly, as limp and shaky as a newborn child, Marron sank to the
ground, Menkari's hands sliding up to his back to support him. Marron's eyes were closed,
the dark fringe of his eyelashes making numerous, perfect crescents against his pale skin.
The slave boy kissed the young Hunter hesitantly, sucking upon the soft curve of his
bottom lip, the taste of blood mingling with the taste of his desire in his mouth. Marron
groaned softly, stirring just slightly as he extracted his fingers from the torn earth,
dirt clinging to his fingertips. Errant wisps of ravenblack hair clung to his slightly
damp skin, and Menkari brushed it out of his face tenderly, the boy's smooth brow
furrowing slightly with worry.
"Marron?"
"Mmmmmmmm?" Marron turned his face toward him, golden
eyes glazed over and hazy as they cracked open to mere glimmering slits, the tip of his
tongue snaking over his injured lip and delicately tracing the wound there.
"Are you all right?"
"Mmmm-hmmm...." Marron's eyes slipped closed once
again. Menkari smiled softly, kissing him on his cheek, stretching his lean frame over the
other's and nuzzling the side of his neck as he snuggled against him. Marron sighed,
already beginning to slip into the suede darkness of sleep.
"I love you, Marron," Menkari breathed against his
skin.
The golden-eyed boy made a small noise in his throat, draping one
arm over Menkari's back before the blackness and silence claimed him.
