Alternate Tactics

[Existentially Odd]

Matthew should have been tired when he walked through the door of the townhouse that night, but he wasn\'t.  He was running on a flighty, nervous energy that was roiling within him and that had his limbs zinging, his heart permanently skipping beats.  His blue eyes were glinting with the promise of what he knew was to come, the hours of cleaning, shopping and cooking (made all the more enjoyable by the sneaky little comments they would each deliver one another or the sly little brushes against already-sensitive bodies that seemed to arouse shivers all day long) well behind them now.

They\'d served dinner at the manor, managed to maintain quite a civilised - even enthusiastic - conversation with Lam and Kysis (Matthew had been very pleased when she hugged him and whispered to him that she hoped he was happy with Rico but to be careful, but had blushed furiously all the same and excused himself as quickly as he could from the very pleasant greetings that had happened in the dining room\'s doorway up \'til then) and gone into the kitchen to eat themselves.  There was no point wasting time when they got home with food that they could just as easily consume with the guards at the manor and then walk home on empty stomachs.

In the darkened streets on the way home, Matthew had been game enough to follow his instincts and slide his hand into Rico\'s, finding the experience thrilling because he\'d initiated it.  He felt somewhat like a peacock strutting about then, with his feathers on display, proud to have someone so fine that he could hang onto and call... well, not necessarily his but... his lover.  He supposed.  His thoughts confused him, but they cleared up when the townhouse was in sight.

They walked into the kitchen and set about starting and stoking the fire so that the bath water could boil, working together to get buckets on the stove.  They were an efficient team.  Of course, once everything was set up, they were left with nothing to do but wait for the water to heat and stare at each other.  Matthew smiled, feeling sensual and bold, and reached out to pull Rico against him as he leaned against the bench beside the stove.  He\'d thought the move through ten times before he did it, anticipating something different going wrong every time, so was surprised when it went smoothly and the brunette was wrapped in his arms, pressed up against him.

"I\'ve been wanting to do this all day," he said with a very underconfident sigh making the words warble, but it was really just the relief of finally acting on an impulse he\'d been craving.  It may have taken him all day to build up to the act but he did it; he leaned down and kissed Rico.  It wasn\'t nearly as gentle as he\'d expected it to be, either, for he was, by now, virtually starving for some contact with the man.

[Kysis]

It was a good day.  At one point in time Rico had just stopped walking, closing his eyes and inclining his head upward, letting the cool air roll over him.  It felt good.  When he opened the eyes, the world was pulsating with life, vibrant, so much more than he had remembered it being.  Rico had to hop into a jog to catch up to Matthew, but that brief pause had been worth it.

And on the way home, he had been pleasantly startled by his hand getting snatched.  At first Rico just blinked, staring down at their linked hands.  He had never held hands with someone before.  It felt warm yet comfortable, Rico deciding not to let go until he had to.  Drawing water was like a whole new experience.  It wasn’t that ‘damn water pump’ anymore.  It was the gift of water.  Rico smiled as his muscles strained in toting in the buckets.  He liked that strain, working a little harder for what was to come.  Hard work always paid off better than lazy work, that was for sure.

Rico was settling into the comfortable silence, unable to wipe the smile off his lips.  Though it might have looked like he was watching the water intently, he was gazing off into a place known fondly as La-la Land.  The sunny terrain of La-la Land melted away as he was grabbed, pulled into finely muscled arms, spoken to.  Then he was kissed.  Rico’s heart jumped into his throat, fluttering erratically.  The words finally set in, Rico finding the right mental command to get his body to respond, arms wrapping around Matthew’s waist as he returned the kiss.

He did not want to let go of contact, but he could hear the water boiling, and he did not want his jaw and lips to be tired so soon.  There was so much more to do.  The water had not even poured yet!  Rico reluctantly pulled away from the kiss, holding onto Matthew’s lower lip for a bit to extend their lip contact.  They still had body contact.  There was a bright look in Rico’s eyes as he gazed up at Matthew, with that pretty blond hair.

“Me too…” Rico could barely breathe a response.  His brain had been growing more and more distant from the black pit of before the further into the day.  He was a bit lethargic, but not enough so to be alarming.  It was just enough to tell that something was going on in that head of his.  “The water’s ready…”

[Existentially Odd]

Matthew was feeling a rather similar rush of emotions, with an intensity that only a first-timer could truly understand.  Everything was sharper, tastier, had more impact.  Every breath felt a sigh and every touch was an arousal.  He had allowed himself to be completely swallowed by his adoration for Rico since they were alone again and he didn\'t have to worry about people that might walk into the room they were in or behind them if they dallied to talk in a hallway.  It was just them and he ould let every last bit of himself come pouring out.

"I\'m so glad you took my virginity," he sighed happily, a dopey smile of worship upon his lips.  The words had been cycling through his mind at odd intervals through the day and he was glad to get them off his chest at last.  Rico was his first and, despite there being some complications the Greek man had to overcome with those in his past, Matthew couldn\'t think of anyone better to whom he could\'ve surrendered himself.  Well, surrender wasn\'t really the right word, for he hadn\'t exactly been hoarding his virginity like a dragon egg found in a deep cave, he\'d been far too oblivious for that to have occurred to him, but he had been completely innocent.  Rico had taken that from him and he couldn\'t have been happier about it.

He released the brunette he was holding reluctantly and headed for the cloths that would allow him to carry the metal container of bioling water into the bathing room next door.

[Kysis]

Rico had been busy just gazing up at Matthew, resisting the urge to play with that hair when the words finally sunk in.  He blinked a few times, watching at Matthew got the cloth.  How would he put this?  Two days ago and he would have said this bluntly, probably a little harshly.  But now... Rico swallowed back the lump in his throat, getting some cloth to help grab the other bucket of water, since it would be easiest if they each grabbed one and tipped one, then added a little more water to get it not boiling in the tub.

"Matthew..." Rico started nervously as he lifted the bucket of water he had chosen to take, standing there by the fire as he formulated the rest of his thoughts. "That wasn\'t quite your virginity, yet." Rico stepped gingerly on this topic, as if he was traversing a sheet of ice with that bucket of boiling water in his hands.  Any miss-step, any leaks and the ice would break.  That was how Rico saw it, at least. "There are more things that... have to be done for that."

Having to pause for a moment, from his quiet, broken speech, Rico took his bucket into the room, tilting it into the bathtub as soon as he had.  That done, Rico put his bucket down, debating whether he should say more.  No.  He should wait a moment, for what Matthew had to say, before elaborating more.  If Matthew sounded interested in knowing, Rico might even make his depiction of it sensual.

[Existentially Odd]

It took Matthew a little while to float back to earth enough to realise that he was being corrected - by the time he\'d finished pouring his bucket of water into the tub, he\'s figured out that he had absolutely no clue what Rico was talking about.  The bucket dropped down to one hand, swinging at his side, and he faced the brunette with a frown.

"I don\'t understand what you mean," he said honestly, a blush creeping onto his cheeks out of nowhere.  It only occurred to him as he spoke how ignorant and innocent he sounded but really... had they not had what was classed as sex?  How else would two men do it?  How did a man and a woman do it, for that matter?  He was really out of his depth.

[Kysis]

Well, his work was definitely cut out for him.  Rico tried thinking of a way to put it, then stopped himself.  If he described it by the dynamics of heterosexual sex, would Matthew even get it?  That was a problem.  A complete and total virgin was definitely hard to deal with.  At least Kysis had heard enough stories from the guards to know how it was done.

That was a thought he pushed aside, deciding he had to make this playful to make it work.  Rico saw the blush and was cautious of it.

"It\'s not too complicated.  It is like what we did but more intimate." Rico moved slowly so he was close to Matthew again, so close they were almost touching, but not quite. "Either you enter me or I do so to you and..." Oh this was hard.  Rico could use so much lewd language and make graphic comments comparing it to the average male/female experience, but he was assuming Matthew would not know about such things and just be embarrassed by such detailed, graphic explanations.  Would he even get it now?

Not that Rico wouldn\'t mind teaching him by having him do it.  Just that thought made his heart flutter a bit faster, breath catching in his lungs.  Rico made sure he was smiling, to put Matthew at ease.  Deciding that vague explanation probably was not enough, he wrapped his arms around Matthew\'s waist, bridging the distance between them and softly rocking his hips into Matthew\'s.  Once he thought about it, that probably did not help any.  Just to add onto the lack of helpfulness, Rico kissed Matthew\'s neck, since it was right there anyway.

[Existentially Odd]

"Enter... " Matthew frowned, picking up on that key word and tasting it, hoping it would leak enlightenment upon his tongue.  Rico was kissing his neck by the time he finally came up with an option, but his eyes widened in disbelief as it occurred to him.  Surely he couldn\'t mean... that!

Still, there weren\'t any other options for entering on the human body - considering they\'d used the only one he believed viable the night before - so it had to be.  It was such a shocking proposition that he wasn\'t entirely sure how he felt about it.  Things were meant to come out of there, not go in... right?  Was that how men and women did it?  Surely not...

Matthew\'s parents and he had a good relationship, a strong relationship, but they\'d always kept such personal subjects at a polite distance, his father (unbeknownst to him) believing that his son would ask him questions when the time was right or he\'d simply learn it from people he spoke with or women he bedded, as he\'d done.  Of course, that had never happened until now and it was far too late for him to ask questions.  He also didn\'t feel comfortable at the thought of asking his father about being with a man.  Would he approve?

"I\'m so new to this... thank you for being patient," he sighed, tilting his head a little so that Rico could have complete access to his throat.  His eyes fell closed and he pushed his hips forward to meet the brunette\'s rhythm, finding himself growing firm in his pants and a familiar excitement starting up in his belly (well, if two nights in a row could be called familiar, anyway).

"Shoud we do some more water on to boil - so that there\'s plenty of water and we can stay in there longer?" he murmured, not wishing to cut his time in the bath with Rico short - and adding cold water would surely shorten the life of their bath noticeably.

[Kysis]

Rico wanted to be so close to Matthew so he could feel the reaction more than see it.  There was a lot of thinking going on.  For a moment Rico feared he would have to describe it using proper nouns, telling Matthew exactly where he was supposed to stick it and how he was supposed to--- but from the sudden thank you, Rico knew that had been enough.  Good.  Rico was not sure how well Matthew would have taken to the graphic description Rico had been constructed. "Any time."  He commented to the thanks.  Rico was there to teach.

And Matthew was not completely turned off to the idea, as Rico started to feel between them.  The bath... Rico could not wait.  It was so close, so attainable.  Matthew had a damn good idea too.

"Longer... would be nice.  Yes.  More water it is."  Rico disengaged himself from Matthew with a quick nip at his ear, then taking the pail he\'d set down earlier, heading for the water pump.  More hot water meant hotter water, meant warm water for longer, meant longer bath with Matthew.  More hot water was definitely something Rico desired at this point, though not just for the sake of hot water.

[Existentially Odd]

Matthew grinned, feeling ebullient as he set off after Rico and filled his own pail once more.  He estimated that this second lot of water wouldn\'t need to be boiling for them to tip it into the tub, so they would have to wait less time - that also meant paying attention and testing the water, so he decided that the kitchen was where they would have to stay.

Of course, there would be no listless standing around.  When the water was on the stove, Matthew simultaneously pulled his hair loose from its usual tail and grabbed Rico as he tossed the tie onto the table.  He was beginning to love the fact that he could manoeuvre the brunette and he didn\'t mind, so he was growing bolder by the second.  This time, once the Greek was close enough, he began kissing him teasingly - landing light kisses at the corners of his mouth, on his chin, his cheeks, bottom lip, top lip before alighting to a new location.  At the same time, he yanked Rico\'s shirt free of his pants and set about getting it off him, all while pressing him against the kitchen bench.

[Kysis]

Rico was expecting to revel in the tension while they waited expectantly for the water to heat, fidgeting in nervousness and excited-ness for the excruciating eternity a few minutes could become.  It was a pleasant surprise to find himself wrong.  His fellow servant was coming out of his shell, not so slow at crawling out of that sheltered, meek, innocent boy he had seemed just a week or two ago.  Rico was slung around, brain slow to comprehend, until the kisses started, then he knew Matthew just did not feel like dealing with the delicious tension which had been building up, ready to boil over (every pun intended) at any moment into a massive explosion of sexual energy.

He lifted his arm, wanting to get that shirt off himself as much as Matthew seemed to want to get it off him.  There were not many scars on Rico, as they all tended to vanish into his tan a year after being gained, all but one.  There was a rather large one going across his upper arm horizontally.  It had been an ambush on a caravan stupidly delivered after dark.  Many guards had lost their lives that day, and the three who managed to survive were all scarred from it.  Other than that, there were no other visible scars.

As soon as that shirt was free, Rico went to work on Matthew’s.  Soon they would be nude, and in better lighting than last night.  Rico’s eyes would be able to peruse Matthew’s body however he willed, seeing every muscle and hair, which would be nice.  From what Rico had been able to feel the night before, it had been a very nice body and the darkness did not do it justice.

Rico ran a hand up Matthew’s shirt, find the nipple and toying with it.  He did not take the shirt off yet, his own way to teasing Matthew.  The young Retainer was still busy enjoying the feeling of being pressed up against something by a male body, having been forced into that position.  He wanted more but could not find the voice to ask for it, and knew more would be acquired once that damn water had heated up.

[Existentially Odd]

Matthew pulled back as he was teased, shuddering just lightly at the touch to his chest.  His pectoral muscles were strong but their centres sensitive and he enjoyed the almost dainty feeling of it, in the middle of a heat that was threatening to consume him.  He forced himself to lean back, allowing Rico full access to his chest, watching through heavy lids and smiling a sexy half smile.

The position he was in stirred new thoughts in the blonde\'s mind - even through the lovely haze of arousal surrounding them - and he decided to let Rico do what he wished with his shirt.  He focussed on stepping to the side so that he was leaning back against the bench and pulled Rico into the gap between his feet.  His hands slid around the Greek\'s back and cupped his firm ass, rocking him into the cradle of his hips with a slow, steady rhythm.

Since he was slouched down, with his feet spread, they were rubbing groin on groin, bumping and sliding their clothed hardnesses together thanks to very deliberate moves by Matthew.  In fact, as much as he used Rico\'s ass to push and pull the brunette to where he wanted him, his own hips didn\'t cease following and dragging across his partner\'s at the same time.  The friction was delightful, causing bright pink spots of colour to splash high on the fairer male\'s cheeks, his breath altering at the memory of what they\'d done the night before, speeding up with thoughts of what was yet to come.

His gaze was split between watching Rico\'s face (seeking approval), what his hands were doing and where their lower halves were rubbing.  He also couldn\'t help but admire the sleek lines of the brunette\'s tanned body, thinking his scar looked sexy but scary.  A thin film of sweat glistened on his upper lip as he panted and ground into Rico, the heat of the fire in the kitchen only adding to the steamy effect.  All thoughts of checking the water were certainly forgotten for the time being.

[Kysis]

As much as Rico was disappointed by Matthew no longer pinning him, he could not remain so for long.  The positions were reversed, though Rico did not press him into the bench.  The hands held Rico in place.  A smile could not leave the young Retainer’s lips as the grinding began, mind wandering to what might transpire later.  There were so many possibilities.  It was a just a matter of where Matthew wanted to go, how far he wanted to go.  Just thinking about it had Rico wanted more.

Reaching down, Rico pull up on Matthew’s shirt, reluctant to let those strong hands off his ass, but wanting Matthew naked.  Rico would no relent until Matthew was so.  As soon as the shirt was off, Rico let his hands roam, brushing up Matthew’s muscled back, down along the top rim of Matthew’s pants, up to the front to graze over his abdomen and up to his hardened nipples again.

A little noise of pleasure escaped Rico’s lips, his having to pause for a moment to get his thoughts in reign.  He glanced over his shoulder, at the pot of water.  It was just about boiling now.  Rico did not want to break contact.  He pressed into another kiss with Matthew, tongue teasing, wanting to play.  All the while he grinded back, wanting more but knowing it would have to wait, if just a little while.  His hands moved downwards, playing with the top of Matthew’s pants, threatening to remove them.

Oh, how he wanted Matthew’s pants off.

Rico started loosening the top of those pants as his desire bid him, but did not drop them yet.  Soon.  Rico wanted this tension, so sweet and so arousing, to last just a little longer.  Their nudity and the water in a minute would be all the better if they waited a bit more.

[Existentially Odd]

Matthew\'s gaze followed Rico\'s to the water and he noticed the surface of it being hit with numerous bubbles from the bottom, preluding its boiling.  He opened his mouth to say that they should stop what they were doing and tip that water into the bath before it boiled, so that the water wouldn\'t sear their skins off when they tried to get in and they\'d therefore have to wait longer to have that happen, when he was pulled into a kiss that silenced him completely.

His breath caught as Rico followed that delightful manoeuvre with loosening the top of his pants. Dizzily, he followed suit, fumbling his way around to the front of his partner\'s clothing and doing his best to loosen them.  It was hard to concentrate.  Breathing was something he had to remember to do, his mouth far more occupied with capturing an elusive tongue inside it and sucking much as he\'d sucked other things the night before.  His heart was thudding fast in his chest but of more concern was the damned throbbing through his body, its urgency distracting in its overpowering sensations.  He\'d not felt anything so strong in his life as the sensations rippling through his groin.  It felt like he was on fire and was quivering for release already, even though the teasing was delicious too.

The blonde gave up on undoing Rico\'s pants with any sort of sophistication about then.  He was pretty sure he\'d loosened them though, for he tested that theory by sliding his hands around the Greek\'s waist once more.  Now, he was able to slip his hands in between flesh and pants material and drag his thumbs across taut buttocks, tracing ever-decreasing circles with the short-nailed tip before gripping and squeezing.  He was pretty sure he\'d never held anything in his hands that was as beautiful as the light brown ass he held now; he couldn\'t get enough of kneading and tickling and squeezing it while his front ground more slowly and far more deliberately against the other\'s.

It escalated with slow deliberation, leaving him ragged and wanting so badly that he tore his lips away from Rico\'s and more or less begged for an injection of rationality from the more experienced one of them.  "I think... the water... it\'ll be... too hot... if we don\'t... uh," he stuttered unintelligently, a tiny, coherent globule of his brain knowing exactly what he wanted to say but the majority of his body overriding that sensible part.  He was pounding blood and quivering muscle and aching, aching desire and that was all of him that mattered.

[Kysis]

Rico glanced nonchalantly over his shoulder at the incoherent mumblings, a mean twinkle in his eyes as he pulled Matthew\'s hands out of his pants, disengaging from the delicious rolling grind they had been in.  Acting as though it was nothing (though one quick glance at his front would tell otherwise), Rico walked for the bucket of water.  He grabbed the cloth with one hand, using it to safely lift the water away from the fire.

His pants slipped lower because of the looseness, barely hanging on his hips.  The top of his pubic thatch was visible over the rim of his pants, as well as the chiseled line of muscle from his hips leading downward, to his manhood.  Rico walked gracefully, allowing his hips to swing tauntingly in the motion as he carried the water.

Not waiting for Matthew, only giving him a devilish, daring glance, Rico went into the other room, quickly tipping the water into the hot bath.  That done, he quickly set the bucket aside, undoing the laces at the top of his pants completely and letting them fall off him.  His socks came next.

Knowing just how Matthew would see him when he entered the room, Rico purposefully bent over the large tub, letting his fingertips run over the top of the water, testing the warmth.  His back, including his muscular ass (which was dying for those lovely hands of Matthew\'s again), was facing the door to the room, on display even for his fellow servant.

Rico loved this game.  It was fun, pleasing to the senses.  Rico only hoped it would last.

[Existentially Odd]

As Rico walked away, Matthew fell forward, leaning on his hands on the kitchen bench, head hanging as he tried to even out his breathing and get some control over his rampant body.  Still, his eyes slid to the side so that he could watch his partner\'s movements and he couldn\'t shift his focus away from that sexy wiggle set around the most enticing glimpse of hair he\'d ever seen.  Glancing lower, at the bulge beneath it, just made his mouth water and he was almost glad when Rico passed beyond his sight and into the bathing room to his right.  He could\'ve turned his head to look straight in there, but he needed a few more moments to try and calm down and the respite was welcome.

Finally straightening, the blonde took another steadying breath and squared his shoulders.  His first step towards the stove to collect his second bucket of water had his pants dropping to the floor, so he took a few moments to dump everything he was still wearing with the rest of the clothes and then walk into his old bedroom naked and proud.  The bronze-coloured ass facing him caused a twitch that raised the erection he\'d almost convinced to slacken another notch.  So much for control.

Playing it as offhanded as Rico seemed able to do, Matthew warned the Greek that he was pouring his bucket in before he did just that, doing it carefully so that it didn\'t splash up.  The bathing tub was extravagant in its size, for Lam had had it made that way to accommodate her great height.  She could sit in it and straighten her long legs before her and the sides were higher than most tubs because she liked to be able to soak up to her chin when she returned from work covered in bruises and aching so much that only immersion in hot water would offer some relief.  The four buckets of water the men had tipped in weren\'t enough to raise the level to an excessive amount but once the two of them got in, it should get to their chests and be very pleasant indeed.

Once his bucket was empty, Matthew put it down a few steps away from the tub and grabbed the bar of soap that was set in a dish on what used to be his washstand.  Since the room had been converted to a bathing room, there was only the tub, washstand, a set of drawers with fresh towels and a free-standing rack for five wet ones to dry upon in it.  Matthew gripped the large cake of frangranced (with lavender) lard and walked around the tub to where Rico stood.  He embraced him from behind, experiencing strange pulses of awareness as his hardness pressed against the cleft between the muscular cheeks before him, his open hand trailing across an equally-firm chest as he kissed Rico\'s left shoulder.

"Do you think the temperature\'s good enough to get in?" he murmured, lips moving, teeth grazing and tongue tasting warm, tantalising flesh the whole time.