Today we have a special Wednesday briefs. We revisit Blaze and Herman, from Perils of Forgotten Pain!
A Christmas Decision
The lights were the first thing Herman noticed. They glowed
from the windows of the crumbling castle, and more hung in multi-colored, flashing
drapes across the stone.
“Pretty, right?” Blaze pointed, a cold breeze ruffling his
red hair. “Do you know what its for?”
“Of course not,” Herman said, voice gruff. He hadn’t even
been among the King’s men a year. He had grown up on a space station, and
fought on ships all his life. How was he supposed to know what strings of
lights meant on Earth?
The annoyance faded at the sight of Blaze’s smile. This man,
his lover, was always so positive, so happy, even while the war between the
Distant Rule and those who wanted to make their lives on Earth was fought all
around him.
Herman no longer wanted to fight. It was the first of his
own choices he could remember making. But Blaze hadn’t decided.
“A thousand years ago, or maybe more, before people left the
planet, there were holidays around this time of year.” Blaze swept out an arm,
indicating the trees that dwarfed them. “It would get so cold, it would snow.
And people celebrated the shortest day of the year, putting up lights and
giving each other gifts.”
“Why?” Herman asked. The lights were pretty, he had to
admit, sending a soft yellow radiance into the evening gloom, but he didn’t
understand.
“Lots of reasons,” Blaze said, putting a hand on Herman’s
shoulder. The skin on his neck prickled at his lover’s touch. “To bring hope on
the darkest day of the year. To celebrate the birth of a religious icon. And
there was one ceremony to celebrate a miracle after a war.” Herman sighed. He
wondered if their war would ever end. “But all of it was about togetherness and
bringing hope. Nowadays, the King’s armies do it to honor those lost and left
behind, and to light the way for human’s life on earth again.”
Herman took put his hand on top of Blaze’s, watching the
lights. A bird chittered in the trees above them, impossibly high. They had
walked far from the castle, and from here he could see where half of it had
fallen to the fast growing trees from Overgrowth. He wondered how long the
castle had been here. Long before Overgrowth was used, surely.
Above the castle, the first star came into view. The
station. His old home. His old army, the one he had betrayed for life on Earth.
But because of what they had done to him—what they had turned him into—he
didn’t know if he should be sad or not.
“It’s based on old traditions,” Blaze said. Soft green eyes
met his, Blaze’s smile sad. “Those on the stations don’t have any?”
Herman sighed. “Not that I remember.” He shifted his weight,
wishing he could feel the soft tickle of grass that Blaze liked to talk about.
He stroked his lover’s face, with artificial hands built for strength and
killing. He had no past, no traditions.
“Perhaps we can make our own, then,” Blaze said. He leaned
up, his lips meeting Herman’s. Heat swept up Herman’s body, and he pulled Blaze
closer, careful not to use too much force as he molded the other man’s body
against his own.
Herman loved this, the touch, the closeness, and of course
the lust that flared deep in his core when Blaze deepened the kiss, his tongue
entering Herman’s mouth and winding around the other man’s. Herman gave himself
into the sensations. He had been without this for so long, years, during the
war.
Or maybe he hadn’t, and simply could not remember past
lovers. But either way, the effect was the same.
When Blaze pulled away, their heated breaths mingled in the
air between them, puffs of condensation in the frigid air. “It’s cold,” Blaze
said, pushing himself against Herman, his hands winding around and stroking
Herman’s back. “We should go somewhere warm, but first I want to show you
something.” Herman nodded, mind fuzzy with the familiar rush of blood to his
cock. He wanted Blaze. He always wanted Blaze, the man who had introduced him
to the concept of making his own choices, and leaving the war behind him.
Blaze took his hand, leading him down the path that cut
through the hills toward the castle where they both lived. Herman lived as a
guest, watched carefully considering his background, and Blaze as a spy, who
would be sent away when he was next needed.
Herman sighed, the thought chasing away lust. Blaze paused.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Herman said. He couldn’t voice his worries. Blaze
was a treasure, and all Herman wanted was to stay together with him, far from
the war and the Distant Rule. But Blaze had his duties. Herman knew that well
enough.
“C’mon,” Blaze said. “Whatever it is, what I’m going to show
you will make you feel better.”
His lover took his hand, Herman wishing, not for the first
time, that his metal hands could feel more. They wound their way around the
castle, until lights began to glow through the trees.
Not through the trees. In the trees. Herman paused, his
heart lifting, as a tree wrapped in lights came into view, piercing through the
quickening darkness.
“A Christmas tree,” Blaze said. “One of the most wonderful
old traditions.”
“It’s beautiful,” Herman said, and then closed his mouth,
face reddening. He didn’t like to sound too shocked by what he saw on Earth.
But after a life in space, everything was shocking.
“People used to give each other gifts under trees like
this,” Blaze said. His eyes glowed in the light, his hair illuminated like
flame. “I’ve been studying histories. Old videos, left by the people who were
left behind. People would make promises for the new year, too.”
Herman tilted his head, placing a hand on Blaze’s slight
shoulder.
“So, I figured it would be a good place to tell you. I’m
leaving the King’s army. Well, not leaving,” Herman’s heart began to pound, “But
quitting as a spy. I want to work as an explorer, finding places for people to
live and re-discovering the planet.”
Herman swallowed, the scent of pine all around him. The
world, the Earth, stretched before him. “What about me?”
“You’d come with me,” Blaze said, turning so that his green
eyes bore into Herman’s. “If you want to, of course. It’d be a new adventure,
for both of us.”
A smile broke over Herman’s features, worries about the war
fading into the light of the tree and Blaze’s eyes. Those were the words he had
wanted to hear from Blaze ever since he had woken up in the castle after
leaving his old platoon, and the war, behind him. He leaned down, kissing his
lover.
“Yes,” Herman said. “Yes.”
And don't forget to check out the other Wednesday Briefers!
No comments:
Post a Comment