Winter Solstice Part 1

[anomorph]

[COLOR=white]This series kinda comes with a soundtrack - the song referenced here is 'Gorecki' by Lamb. The entire first album is worth a listen if you can find it. This was something I had started some time ago (in case the title wasn't a clear giveaway) which I am soooooo happy to have the time to contiue it.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=white]Cheers,[/COLOR]
anomorph

[COLOR=paleturquoise]Winter Solstice – Part One[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]Solstice... Full moon... Venus in... Mars in its natural... Nine of Cups....[/COLOR]
[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Good grief,” Mark muttered to himself. “The last thing I need is to be everyone’s faerie godmother. And here I thought I was going to work on realism this year. Hmmm, no point in fighting the obvious though. Now, where did I put my....”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]*******[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]<Knock>[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Dammit, he’s ear- Shit! I’m late!”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]<KNOCK>[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Hang on a sec!”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]<Knock, Knock, KNOCK, KNOCKKNOCKKNOCKNOCK>[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“I said ‘hang on a fucking second,’” Mark flung the door open and eyed Junior up and down, “...you little brat!”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“I know, but this was more fun,” Junior laughed as he stepped inside. “You’re not ready yet, are you?”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“I’m never ready ‘yet.’ You know that. Take your jacket off and come on in. I’m just stepping into the shower.”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“What?!”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“It’s okay; I already know what I’m wearing... seriously.”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Seriously.” Junior mocked. “Is it okay if I start without you?”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Yeah, I’m sure you can find something you’ll like in the kitchen.” Mark took a final sip from a mug and placed it down on his desk.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Oh? Have we started without me?” Junior feigned hurt and then grinned.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“It’s tea, I swear.” Junior gave him a look of disbelief. “Careful you little shit. Or I’ll kick your ass.” Mark teased back.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“You and what army of drag q-“Mark leapt at him mid-sentence. Junior side-stepped and Mark landed with a light thud. Junior feinted a run to the left and Mark wound up to smack him where he stood. Not to be outdone, Junior charged low and hefted Mark over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Mark shook with laughter. “Told you you’d need an army.”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]’Kay jockboy, put me down. Not on my head!”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Jockboy? That’s a new one.” Junior unceremoniously dumped him onto the couch.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“I swear, if you weren’t your sister’s brother I would have slaughtered you and served you to guests at a dinner party years ago.” Mark untangled himself from the furniture and headed back toward the bathroom. He called over his shoulder, “Seriously, there are a couple different things to choose from on the counter. There’s lots of ice.”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]*******[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]Junior waited for the sound of shower starting before making his way to the kitchen to find a drink. He genuinely liked Mark... a lot, and had promised himself that tonight he would tell his friend the depth of his attraction.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]In the kitchen, he found a glass of red wine he didn’t remember Mark pouring for him, already on the counter, in a glass he had never seen before. He looked around for a matching glass to pour some for his host but was unable to find one. He settled on one from a set of glasses he and Mark used often and searched for the bottle. It proved as elusive as the glass had.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“What the hell?” Junior left the empty glass where it was and walked back to the living room, stretching himself out on the floor before searching through music choices.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]In truth, Junior was terrified. He originally met Mark through his sister, Jenn, when the two of them moved in together. That had been five long years ago. Now Jenn was engaged to be married in a few months and Junior was attending university. Mark had purchased a house solo and Junior visited him often, trying to escape from residence as much as possible.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]Junior wasn’t able to recall when he first felt attracted to Mark. It had been the type of thing that snuck up on a person until he found himself thinking about him all the time. “Thinking about doing things with him all the time. Thinking about doing things to him all the time.” Junior muttered lightly and looked over his shoulder as he adjusted the beginning of an erection. Mark carried himself with an androgynous poise that drove Junior to distraction. He was maybe 3 or 4 inches taller but much, much slimmer. His slight frame was held together by a thin, toned layer of muscle that lent his movements an air of gracefulness. Junior often lost himself marvelling at how thin his friend was, how much larger his own anatomy looked next to Mark’s, or imagining what Mark’s body would feel like clasped against his own. His throat suddenly felt very dry.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Damn!” He tilted the wine glass against his mouth but found it empty, “I guess I better find something else.”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]Back in the kitchen, Junior fished out a couple of Keith’s left over from the weekend before. He capped one open and took a swig before grimacing. The ale did not sit well with the wine at all. He took another swig to adjust his pallet and heard the shower stop. He sent out a silent prayer for courage and stepped out of the kitchen.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise][COLOR=#ffffff]"[/COLOR]Here goes nothing...”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]*******[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]Mark stepped out of the shower and quickly towelled off. He should have set an alarm or something earlier. He had not intended to have Junior waiting at all. Who knew what mischief Junior would have concocted while Mark was scrubbing furiously in the shower? Maybe he’d emerge to find Junior had spilled something and needed to change his shirt or something. “Dream on, Marky...” he berated himself as he started to slip into some clothes.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]The thing was, that Junior was visually fucking stunning - there were no if, ands, or buts about it. The kid knew he was gorgeous but had developed a strangely shy cockiness in the past couple of years. Mark supposed a more measured definition would be ‘aloof.’ Yes, Junior had certainly developed an intriguing aloofness to his character.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Aloofness...is that even a word?” Mark laughed at himself and started to fight with a pair of cufflinks.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]True, Mark did have a certain long-legged slimness that many envied, but few, if anyone, who met Junior for the first time, could keep their mouth from gaping open. He was only average height but filled that frame with 185 pounds of athletic perfection; tight, streamlined lines of muscle tone on dusky skin, dusted with a sculpted trail of hair that led into his boxers. Boxers which, Mark had noticed on more than one occasion, were full enough that his guest should have absolutely noooo worries at all. And eyes! Oversized slate orbs vaguely reminiscent of an anime character gazed out at the world with a fierce luminosity. It was almost as if Junior kept trying to perfect x-ray vision or something. Mark found himself breathing heavy as he finished his outfit.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“What am I, a Petrarchan sonnet writer?” He gave a pointed glance to a statue set up the southern corner of his room. “Someone has been working overtime, hasn’t she, Aphrodite?” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I am not a fangirl, I am not a fangirl, I am not a fangirl....”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]Lately Junior had been looking at him funny; staring at him and then looking away when Mark tried to catch his eye. He had also started blushing when compliments were made or if they accidentally touched at all. Mark had decided to tell Junior about his more than platonic attraction tonight. He paused to appraise himself in the mirror before exiting his bedroom.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Jenn is going to kill you.”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]*******[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]Mark emerged from his bedroom to see Junior standing at the end of the hallway, head cocked to one side, fingers wrapped around his bottle of Keith’s.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Hey stranger.” Mark took a deep breath and started forward.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Hey yourself. Anyone tell you you’re kinda cute?” Junior stretched his arms out, trying to nonchalantly block the hallway[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Just my mother before I was two.” Mark grinned, head tilted forward slightly to lock onto Junior’s gaze.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Yeah, well maybe....” Junior broke eye contact and looked down to the left. “Dammit! Why can’t you just look him in the eye and tell him?!” He thought to himself.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Maybe what?” Mark was standing right in front of him, right palm reaching out for Junior’s shoulder. “She’s my mother, she has to say that.”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]Junior didn’t respond and turned around, leading them into the living room. He paused to put his drink down and point a remote at the stereo. Mark made note of the music and continued through to the kitchen to make a drink.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Interesting choice of music. What put you in the mood for Lamb?” Mark called from the kitchen. When Junior didn’t respond he started back toward the living room, tripping into Junior standing directly behind him.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Nice.” Junior laughed as he caught Mark and stood him back up.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Sorry, didn’t see you before I turned around.” Mark grinned sheepishly.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Didn’t see me? I can make you see me.” Junior growled out the last, his gaze rising to meet Mark’s slowly as they stared at each other evenly. This time Mark broke contact.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Junior, there’s something I should have-“[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Mark, I really need to say something-“[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]They both stopped speaking and looked at each other again, neither looking up or down. They both opened their mouths again and chuckled. Junior recovered first.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Okay, you first. Age before beauty.” Junior’s grin widened as Mark scoffed in response.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“You are THE most... incredibly... infuriating... intoxicating brat!” Mark gripped Junior’s shirt and tugged him in close, their lips brushing, breath hot against each other. Mark started to back away but Junior wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled the two of them together.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Brat or not, just shut up and kiss me.”[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Uh-“[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]“Now.” Junior commanded with a whisper. He pressed his lips against Mark, whose slightly open mouth was more than accommodating. Junior hefted Mark off the ground, spreading the lighter man’s legs around his own torso. Their torrid moment stretched out beyond minutes to undulating strains of music; their torrid moment finished awakening something within Junior, its presence coiling up and down his spine.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=paleturquoise]Darkest night of the year; night for rebirth; night for change.[/COLOR]

[a_lost_prophet]

Would it be too picky for me to request a repost?

[anomorph]

not picky at all. saw the formatting thing and edited it....i'm not too tech-savvy.

[a_lost_prophet]

Cheers dude

[nj.]

Thanks for giving a music choice; I always like to complete the mood of the story. Off to read the next two chapters!