The tall blond man jogged with heavy steps on the spongy
earth, his breathing quick and his gaze focused. Drizzling rain mingled with
fog in a fine mist that surrounded him, reminding him of the first time he had
entered the city. Away from the steady glow of the lights of neon signs,
darkness marked the presence of enormous trees, ones that would overtake them
all in mere decades.
But for now, life remained. Aldric kept jogging, turning
away from the bright white neon lights and following the perimeter of the city,
the trees to his left. Roots and hardy saplings jutted from the ground under
his feet.
Daniel would have to hear about those, as would the city’s
new mayor, Trinia. The saplings would have to be cut quickly before the city
shrank even more.
Aldric shook his head as he headed back toward the pitted
roads that would take him to the house he and his lover Daniel shared. He had
been here for only half a year, and already he was beginning to fall into
routine.
Of course, it was better than his old life of wandering.
Memories of his time alone, and his time before that, during
the war, flowed into his mind. Rather than fight it, as he always had before,
he let it happen, the quiet decay of the city and the sound of his jogging feet
dulling in the remembrance of his time as a soldier, and the faces of his old
comrades and friends from the war. Dino had always been the only one who could run
faster than Aldric when they all jogged, the taller man’s longer legs giving
him an advantage. He had always called back to the others, urging them on.
All of them were gone now, Aldric the only one left. The
sound of a mortar whistled in his mind.
Aldric sighed, his breath puffing in the night air. The
memories still hurt, but not as much as they once had.
And now, he had Daniel.
The house they shared emerged from the misty gloom as he
drew closer, and with it a strange red and green glow. Aldric slowed, his heart
beating hard, and anxiety tensed his muscles. The glow undulated with the
roiling mist, like lights from ambulances or headlights, which he hadn’t seen
in over a decade.
“Aldric?” Daniel’s voice came through the gloom, with no
trace of fear or pain. Aldric took a deep breath. Calm down. “Aldric, is that you?” Daniel called out again. “Come help
me with these!”
The mists parted when Aldric approached, and his eyes
widened.
“What’s the matter?” Daniel asked from his place on the
deck. He held a string of multicolored lights up over his head. The rest of the
string decorated the front of his house and the door to the room where he kept
his computer, the lights forming giant loops. “Not a fan of Christmas lights?”
he grinned.
“Its…it’s Christmas?” Aldric asked, his voice raspy and
quiet. Daniel blinked, silent for a moment, and Aldric wondered if he had heard
him.
“You haven’t celebrated Christmas in a long time, have you?”
he asked, setting down the portion of the lights that weren’t yet hung onto the
deck. His feet sent ringing thuds out into the silence of the nearby forest as
he came to stand by Aldric. He took his hand, squeezing it lightly through the
gloves Aldric wore. “It’s the solstice tonight. Christmas is in two days.”
Aldric peered at the lights, blues and purples and greens
and reds swirling in the mist. The last time he had celebrated the holidays, it
had been during the early part of the war. During the years he had wandered,
the seasons had ceased to matter, the warm stickiness of post nuclear earth all
anyone ever felt.
“I didn’t know people still bothered,” he said. Daniel
frowned.
“Many don’t. But I do.” He touched Aldric’s shoulder,
lightly massaging the muscle there. Tension melted away. “I’ve always liked
Christmas. I’m not really religious, and my family never was either, but…I
don’t know. The togetherness always made me happy.”
Aldric just nodded, his throat tight. The lights flickered
in the evening dark, dredging up ancient memories of his family, distant hazy
images of a shimmering tree and his smiling mother and father. It felt like…no,
it was. It was a completely different lifetime. A time before the anarchists
had killed his parents, before he had fought in the war that ended the world.
He wasn’t even angry about their deaths anymore.
“Aldric?”
Aldric cleared his throat. “Who…who do you celebrate with?”
“In the past, before, it was my family of course. Then…Blake.”
Daniel’s voice dropped on the man’s name. “But the past year, I went into town,
and asked others how they used to spend their holidays. They liked to talk
about it.” He smiled. “Now, though…” he turned, facing Aldric, and kissed him
lightly. “I have you.”
Heat began to curl like flame in Aldric’s body, and he
pulled Daniel closer. His lover molded against him, his body firm. Daniel’s
arms snaked around Aldric’s waist.
“You aren’t…” Aldric’s gaze traveled to the house, to the
door that led to Daniel’s machine. The array of electrodes that would record
memories, and ultimately send those memories to the rest of humanity that now
lived in the stars. “Do you want me to record my memories of Christmas?”
Daniel laughed, shaking his head. “No, Aldric. Those
memories are important, of course. And if it’s alright with you, I will ask you
later. But…” he kissed Aldric again, deeper and slower this time, his lips soft
and wet. His tongue flicked against Aldric’s lips when he pulled away. “How
about for now, we focus on making new ones?”
The heat in his body sharpened into desire at Daniel’s
words. “I’d like that.”
“Come on then,” Daniel said with a wry smile. “To start,
help me hang these up.”
Swallowing against his rising lust for the other man, Aldric
nodded.
With Aldric’s help, the lights were hung in no time at all.
Aldric had no eye for it, but Daniel told him how to make pleasing patterns.
Soon, festive loops of color decorated the normally bland house and sent cheery
beams into the misty darkness.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Daniel asked. He sighed, leaning
against the porch railing. “And it doesn’t take long at all. It feels like a
lifetime ago when my dad and I…” he tapped his fingers against the wood, a
light staccato that reminded Aldric suddenly of a woodpecker. He hadn’t heard
one of those in years. “It always took us forever. I guess because I was so
young. And not as tall as you.” He reached
out and squeezed Aldric’s bicep.
Aldric moved closer, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Did
you hang these last year?”
“No. This was the first year I bothered, since....” He
trailed off and stood up straighter, meeting Aldric’s eyes. “A new experience
for both of us, eh?”
Aldric nodded. For him, this year was incredibly different,
and it was more than just because of hanging lights. “I’m glad to be here,” he
said, his throat tight on the words. He wished his horrible rasping voice could
be normal, like it had been before the mortar, before his injury. Daniel would never
hear his real voice. “I’m glad to be with you.”
Daniel smiled, a warm breeze blowing over them both as he
put his arms around Aldric and pulled him into a kiss. The gust sent some of
the lights shuddering against the house, lights dancing around them both.
“Come on inside,” Daniel said, his breath hot on Aldric’s
neck. “Let’s celebrate.”
Aldric blinked in the dim interior, and a smile crept over
his face when Daniel turned on the lights. A small pine tree sat in a pot of
water in the center of the room, and more lights like the ones outside
festooned the dark green boughs.
“I know,” Daniel said with a rueful smile. “I’ll have to get
rid of it soon. But I like to pretend some traditions will last.” The tiny tree
didn’t even reach Aldric’s knee, but knowing the fast growing trees of the area
that had taken to Overgrowth, it would double in size in mere weeks. “Tabitha
over on the other side of the city sells them every year. Nothing bad has
happened yet.”
“Its nice,” Aldric said, taking Daniel’s hand.
“Did you have Christmas trees, before?” Daniel asked.
Aldric nodded after a pause. “We had a large pine on our
property, about a quarter mile away.” His gaze lost focus as he remembered.
“Every year we would walk outside and decorate it. On Christmas mornings, we
would walk out to it, first thing. My father always left one present—something
the animals wouldn’t get.” He smiled, and Daniel tightened his hand around his.
“The last year before the war, there were no gifts, but we decorated it anyway.”
He could still remember the still, bitter cold, but also the clean, sharp scent
of winter and pine. “Tradition, I guess.”
“That sounds rough, making your kid walk a quarter mile in
the snow for his presents.” Daniel laughed. “Fun, though. Maybe we should do
that next year.”
Aldric nodded, facing Daniel. “That would be nice.” He
reached out, stroking Daniel’s face lightly with his gloved hand before leaning
down for a deep kiss. “But this is nice too.”
“Mm.” Daniel deepened it, and heat flashed through Aldric. He
moved his hands over Daniel, his firm body and shoulders, and he shuddered when
Daniel’s soft hands moved under his shirt.
“C’mon,” Daniel said, breaking the kiss with a gasp. He took
Aldric’s hand, pulling him toward the bedroom.
The cheery light of the tree cast a colorful beam into the
bedroom through the doorway, and Daniel didn’t bother to turn on the lights. Aldric’s
old case lay in the corner, dust gathering on top of it. He didn’t need to
travel, not anymore.
Aldric let Daniel maneuver him into a sitting position on
the bed, tilting his head up to kiss the other man when he stood over him. A
bottle of lube sat on the nightstand. Daniel really had prepared.
Daniel pulled off his glove, and Aldric tensed before
telling himself to relax.
“It’s okay,” Daniel said, pulling off the other glove. He
took Aldric’s good hand, the other metal one clutching the bedsheets. Daniel grinned. “I don’t mind it, I promise.”
Aldric nodded. Six months, and he still felt a flash of
anxiety when Daniel uncovered his arm.
“Now, the shirt.” Daniel kissed his neck, and Aldric pulled
away for a moment to take it off. Daniel stroked his body, avoiding the metal
arm that was bolted to his shoulder. An eternal reminder of the war, of the
mortar that had nearly killed him. It had taken him a long time to get used to
Daniel seeing it when they were intimate. Aldric still would never touch Daniel
with it.
But that didn’t matter. The past, at least the painful parts
of it, didn’t matter now.
Daniel removed his shirt also, the light casting shadows on
the planes of his flat stomach. Aldric’s erection surged at the sight, and
Daniel laughed, moving his hands down to stroke the growing bulge. Aldric
gasped, leaning forward into the touch, pleasure surging down his body and
tightening his muscles.
“Do you want me?”
Daniel asked, kneeling down further and kissing Aldric’s neck. Heat built
between their bodies as Aldric nodded, their mingled breathing rushing over
them both.
“Tell me,” Daniel said, taking Aldric’s good hand and
placing it over the bulge in Daniel’s pants. The cock was firm and twitched
under his stroking fingers, Daniel letting out a hissing gasp. “Tell me you
want me.”
Aldric gripped him tighter. “Yes, I want you.” Daniel
unbuttoned his fly, his cock springing free, and Aldric continued stroking it
with one hand, trailing his fingers over the other man’s heavy balls.
Daniel groaned, then returned the favor, cool air rushing
over Aldric’s dripping cock. Aldric gasped, hips bucking, when Daniel smeared
the leaking precum over the head. The bed creaked when both men moved onto it,
Daniel supporting himself as he loomed over Aldric.
“Will you take me?” he asked, the words sending a spike of
heat through Aldric’s core. Precum dribbled from Aldric’s cock onto his
stomach. “I want you inside me this time.”
Aldric nodded, and
then spoke aloud “Yes.”
“Good.” Daniel’s smile sent a warm comfort bubbling in
Aldric’s chest, and then the other man was lying beside him, his mouth on his,
his body close. Aldric tensed when Daniel brushed his bad shoulder, but the
dark haired man quickly moved his hand away, down to his abdomen to stroke both
their erections at once. Aldric did the same, taking turns, their hands
brushing together along with their cocks.
“Mmm.” Daniel hummed into the kiss, his tongue curling
around Aldric’s, gasping every so often to say his name. “Aldric, yes…Aldric,
so good.” His hips bucked, and pleasure curled in Aldric’s loins, tight heat
and pressure building. He wanted to come, always, so quickly.
But tonight it was his turn to take Daniel.
He pulled away from the kiss, swiping his tongue over
Daniel’s neck, savoring the mixed flavors of sweat and the scent of his lover.
He put both arms by Daniel’s head, supporting himself on the pillows, on hands
and knees above the dark haired man spread beneath him.
Pleasure surged again at the sight. Daniel was so beautiful.
Shadows and the faint colored lights from the tree in the other room played
over his pale skin, accentuating the strength of his muscles and the red flush
on his face and neck.
Daniel laughed. “Aldric, you’re dripping on me,” he said,
taking hold of Aldric’s hardened cock and giving it a light stroke. Aldric bit
back a groan as more precum dribbled down onto his lover’s thighs. He needed
Daniel, he wanted to come with Daniel, so badly. He reached for the lube,
popping the cap open with a metal thumb and smearing it on his good hand before
slicking his cock.
“Here.” Daniel took the rest, dipping his fingers in before
moving them underneath himself. Aldric stopped, his cock throbbing. He was
transfixed by the sight of his lover penetrating himself, preparing for him.
“I’m ready,” Daniel said, his face red and voice breathy.
“Please, Aldric.” The need in his voice, in the way he said his name, sent a
shudder through Aldric’s body. He leaned his weight on his metal hand, holding
himself with the other, aching to enter his lover and bring them both ecstasy.
He moved his hips, his cockhead pressing Daniel’s entrance.
With a sharp thrust, tight heat enveloped him, and Daniel
bellowed his name. “Aldric, yes, AH!” Daniel threw his head back as Aldric
shook from the effort of not thrusting more, not fighting for his climax right
then and there. He panted, sweat beading on his brow, and below him Daniel
gasped.
“Ngh, Aldric…you feel so big.” Daniel moved underneath him,
making Aldric grit his teeth. “Yes, there, now, please!”
Aldric thrust again, Daniel’s walls tight around his cock,
every movement sending pleasure and heat through his entire body. The fingers
of his metal hand dug into the covers below him while he gripped Daniel’s hips
with the other, helping the other man arch his back. Aldric’s thighs shuddered
with every thrust.
“Mmm, harder, Aldric, there, yes, please…!” Daniel was
always loud, and Aldric loved it.
The bed began to creak, in a way it usually didn’t when
Daniel thrust inside him. The creak of the springs was a counterpoint to
Aldric’s restrained gasps and Daniel’s loud moans, his babbles of pleasure. Aldric
watched as Daniel’s tight cock bobbed in time with this thrusts, and he moved
his good hand off of the other man’s hips to grasp it.
“Aldric, yes, yes, please, more!” Daniel’s legs wrapped
around Aldric’s back, forcing him in deeper. Aldric thrust harder, the scent of
sweat and sex filling the room. Pleasure coiled in ever tightening springs in
Aldric’s body, his balls full and heavy, his cock throbbing in time with
thrusts and the beat of his heart. In his hand, Daniel’s cock twitched, and he
pulled on it with hard, smooth strokes, the sensation traveling through to him
by virtue of watching it.
“Aldric…Aldric…” Daniel’s babbling grew breathier, turning
into long gasps. Aldric’s vision glazed, his eyes focused on Daniel, his blush
even redder in the Christmas lights, the scent of his sex and the sensation of
him around his cock maddening.
Aldric couldn’t hold on any longer. He thrust deeply, as
deep as he could go, and then his climax overtook him, his body shuddering and
his cock pulsing deep inside his lover. His vision fuzzed.
“Ah, YES! Aldric!” Daniel’s words met his ears as Daniel’s
erection pulsed, and hot white cum pumped onto Daniel’s neck through Aldric’s
fingers. The two men shuddered together, their breathing paused in a mutual
instant of pleasurable silence as they rode their orgasm.
Together they exhaled, Daniel relaxing under his hand as
tension left Aldric’s body. His balls ached, and he gasped as he withdrew his
softening penis.
“Come here,” Daniel said, and Aldric lay down in Daniel’s
arms. Their breathing slowed as one, contentment and fatigue stealing over
Aldric all at once.
“You were wonderful,” Daniel said, kissing Aldric lightly.
“That was…well, that was a damn good Christmas memory.”
Aldric nodded, his throat suddenly tight.
“You’ve changed a lot since staying here,” Daniel said with
another kiss. “But you’re still so quiet.”
Aldric mulled over the words. He knew Daniel meant more than
just his voice. He had spent more than a few days of his years of wandering
wishing for something like this, desperate for companionship, for someone to
celebrate small things with. Small things like Christmas, a holiday, a time to
relax and be together…he had never had it before meeting Daniel. He had been
too afraid.
“I’m happy to be here,” he said finally. “And…” he swallowed
against rising emotion. “I’m so glad to be with you.”
Daniel pulled him closer into a tight hug, his body warm.
The cheery lights played over his smiling face, and Aldric felt more at home
than he had in a long time. His bad memories were just that—memories. Now, he
had his fantasy.
“Merry Christmas, Aldric.”
