A Touch of Lightning

by Kit Fortier

  "Yeah? Let's see how it looks on you," Jake said. Suddenly Fox's pants fell away in the same manner. "Oh yeah. I could tear that up," Jake said, raking a filthy leer over Fox's exposed body.

  "Tell me, papa bear," Fox asked, "Did you leave this here?" He calmly pulled open the nightstand drawer and fished out the lube.

  Jake's eyebrow went up. "No," he said. "Where did that come from?"

  "Uh-oh," Fox teased. "Sarah was right. Ben was in here with his ex," Fox said, waiting.

  "Oh, hell no," Jake said as he reached for the door.

  "You mean to have the sex talk with your son dressed only in your hiking boots?" Fox snickered.

  Jake froze. He had the decency to look embarrassed. He sighed.

  "It's been a day, hon," Jake sighed.

  Fox walked up to his man until their fronts grazed each other. He moved his nose and lips close to Jake's, teasing with light touches. "I know, big guy. I say we end it with a bang, how about you?"

  *** Jake

  Hours passed from the time Fox closed the door to the moment Jake finished Fox off for the last time tonight. Jake lifted Fox off the carpet and set him on the bed. His man snickered, writhing. He was insensate with all the pleasure Jake inflicted upon his body, his psyche, his heart.

  "How was that, baby?"

  "Good, good," Fox flopped an arm around and gave Jake a thumbs up and a goofy grin. "Jake fuck me long good."

  Jake snorted. Indeed, Fox was fingered, fucked, ridden hard and put away wet. Jake was proud of that. His lover was a responsive man. That made every encounter with him an exercise in torturous pleasure. He stood over Fox, slick with sweat.

  "Next house… Need," Fox began, unable to finish due a fit of giggles.

  "What do we need at our next house, honeypot?"

  "Soundproof," Fox snickered, then moaned.

  "I think I broke you," Jake grumbled.

  Fox nodded giddily. "So broken. In half, into, in two… you broked me. I'm broked."

  Jake chuckled and laid down next to his man, on his side. The expanse of Fox's golden skin and burgeoning fuzz across his chest and down his middle. He ran his fingers over it, as through it was still a way to go, but still happy with the touch and feel.

  Fox stretched out his arms in front of him, inhaling deeply and letting the breath go gently. "Oh no," he said.

  "What is it?" Jake asked, scanning the room.

  "It's nothing like that, papa bear, its… Sarah is gonna shit a kitten when she smells this room."

  Jake snickered. "I really hope this room is soundproofed. Otherwise I think I'm gonna actually have to have that sex talk with my boy."

  "She said Taylor soundproofed this room, so he could practice music in here," Fox offered.

  "Baby," Jake said, his forehead creased, "Taylor's tone deaf."

  "What?"

  "Yeah. He's totally tone deaf. He can't tell which notes are which. I tried to teach him the guitar, and he couldn't get it."

  Fox leapt out of the bed and paced frantically, repeatedly repeating "oh shit oh shit oh shit."

  Jake couldn't contain himself.

  "What? We pretty much woke the whole fucking neighborhood! With our sex noises and daddy shit--don't start with me--and, and--" Fox had turned stop-sign red. The blush went from his scalp to his stomach. He was distracted by a flash as he heard a click.

  "I've always wanted to get that blush on camera," Jake said, tucking his tablet away. "And I've even got you naked. Remember that if you go into politics, honeypot," Jake grinned. He gave a little wolf-whistle at his new photo. "Oh yeah, baby. So much blackmail," he smirked.

  Fox looked around. He saw music trophies. Photos of Taylor with several different instruments. Even photos of Sarah playing guitar.

  "You shit," Fox growled.

  "Who do you think told Sarah to put the lube in here?"

  "That was yours?" Fox roared.

  "Shhh, keep it down," Jake snickered. "You'll wake the neighbors!"

  "You jackass!" Fox pounced on the bed and attempted a tickle attack. The bear of a man simply grabbed his wrists and rolled over, pinning Fox to the bed. Fox struggled and wriggled, but he was getting next to nowhere fast. He began to calm down, Jake grinning at him the whole time.

  Jake laid out on top of Fox, stretching his toes to touch with Fox's, perched on his man like a mountain lion on a rock. He smiled lazily at Fox, who still looked a little grumpy.

  "Taylor taught me how to play the piano," Jake said. "He's also great at karaoke. I think he taught Ben how to play a thing or two. Except drums."

  "Sarah told me about that, about his legs--that you saved his life."

  "Well, you knew that," Jake said.

  "It's different hearing it from someone else," Fox offered honestly.

  "Well, it's a good thing this room is soundproofed," Jake grinned.

  "One day, I'll get the upper hand on you, Leighton Jacob Hughes," Fox said matter-of-factly. "And it will be epic."

  "One day, Fox Foster, I'll let you," Jake said, planting a tickling kiss on Fox's nose.

  The grumpy Fox became a tame Fox beneath Jake.

  "Fisher," Fox said.

  "What's that?"

  "Fox Fisher Foster. Dad liked the whole triple F thing for some reason. Otherwise, I'd probably have my grandfather's name for a middle name."

  "What would that be, handsome?"

  "Tiberius."

  Jake grinned. "That's pretty incredible."

  "I thought it was," Fox smirked.

  "Are you sure it wasn't James T?"

  Fox narrowed his eyes at Jake.

  "I wasn't born yesterday, hot stuff. I saw the Star Trek reboot."

  "It. Will. Be. Epic," Fox said, tapping Jake's nose at the end of each word.

  Jake sighed. "I guess I'll just have to sleep with one eye open," he grinned, closing his eyes and settling in.

  "Wait, you're sleeping on me?"

  Jake opened one eye.

  "Why? Is there a problem?"

  "Yeah, you big dumb bear! You're like a ton compared to me!"

  Jake pouted. "So, you're saying I'm fat."

  "Yeah! No, you--"

  "So, you're saying you don't want me," Jake exhaled a melodramatic sigh.

  "You're not playing f--" Fox countered.

  "So, you only love me for my dick," Jake grinned.

  Fox hesitated. "It is a nice dick," he said with a hint of lasciviousness in his voice.

  "And the rest of me?"

  Fox's gaze turned soft as he rested his eyes on Jake.

  "You know the answer to that, papa bear."

  "So, if I were to ask you sometime--say, sometime soon, if you would make me the happiest man alive…"

  Fox laughed. "You're doing this? Seriously? Now? This is hardly romantic," he snorted. "Not even a nice dinner, or a campfire on a starry night?"

  Jake took Fox's face between his hands.

  "The romance is you and me, baby."

  "You're being cheesy," Fox grumbled. Jake merely stared, his focus soft but insistent.

  "If I were to ask you to be my husband, would I know the answer to that, too?"

  Fox began to laugh-but noted Jake's solemn expression.

  "Oh god, you really are serious, aren't you?"

  "Baby," Jake began, "would I know the answer?"

  Fox's vision went a touch misty-eyed. He nodded, then whispered, "Yes."

  "Fox Fisher Foster," Jake began, "would you make me the happiest man alive, and agree to be my husband?"

  Fox burst out into laughing tears. "You bastard."

  Jake waited.

  "Yes. Yes, you big hairy horse's ass, I will marry you and be your husband."

  Jake pulled out one of his sheathed silver knives and put it on his hand. He willed two pieces to bleed away from the handle and watched them turn liquid and flow. One drifted across his hand and around his left ring finger. The other flowed down his elbow, across Fox's chest to his left hand and around his ring finger. Jake b
linked, and the two rings of liquid metal became thick bands of matte silver on each hand.

  Jake put the knife away and turned his attention to the man beneath him.

  "I can't wait to make you Fox Fisher Foster-Hughes," Jake said, his eyes a little glassy.

  Fox was looking at his new engagement band. "It has a ring to it. Would you be Leighton Jacob Hughes-Foster?"

  Jake shook his head. "No. I'm putting you first."

  28. Graduation Day

  *** Fox

  Fox stared at the wall from his perch on his man, unable to turn off his brain for the rest he needed. An hour ticked by, and even the comforting sound of Jake's even breathing couldn't lull him to sleep.

  There was always going to be a day like the one they had just been through, but Fox hadn't imagined it for himself. He could never in his wildest dreams have imagined anything like the ride he was on now to dream it to life. He'd been on an endless high since Jake walked through his door. From one place to the next, had witnessed some incredible things. And now this, this ring on his finger?

  Fox wanted to sigh, but he didn't want to wake the poor guy.

  Today was an emotional train wreck for Jake. Fox could only be a bystander to most of it. But it balanced out, in a weird cosmic-

  "Jake, baby are you awake?"

  "I am now," Jake said, voice gruff with sleep.

  Fox sat up from his place on Jake's chest. "Balance," Fox offered.

  "Balance. You say this like it means everything," Jake grumbled. "You pulled me out of a nice dream of having a threesome with you and you, for that?"

  "You so weren't dreaming about that," Fox smirked, shaking his head.

  "The fact that my penis isn't just flapping around should tell you..." Fox stuck his hand over Jake's mouth before he really built up steam.

  "No need to be a dirty bear," Fox whispered. Jake playfully snapped at Fox's hand, gripping it gently between his teeth. He kissed it lightly as Fox pulled away.

  "You're rubbing off on me," Jake rumbled.

  Fox grinned, but quickly sobered.

  "The Consciousness told both you and I pretty much the same information. But for me, they mentioned balance, through what you said."

  "Okay…?" Jake looked unsure of what was to come.

  "I think we're meant to balance each other out," Fox said.

  Jake's eyebrows pushed together. "Okay…"

  "Think about this: Before we went to Devils Tower, you said you found it easier to work with earth and such, right?"

  Jake nodded.

  "And we both know that electricity or transferring energy is my thing. I think."

  "I'm trying to follow, honeypot. I really am," Jake said earnestly.

  "Okay. What are the main components of a basic lightning rod?"

  "Well, they're usually metals that conduct electricity. You'd need metals like aluminum and copper."

  "Right. Where do you draw those from?"

  Jake blinked. Fox hoped he saw the connections.

  "You're telling me that you're the lightning, and I'm the conductor?"

  "Yes!"

  Jake scrubbed his face with his hands.

  "This is good, Fox. It's a start, but I'm not sure yet what it all means." Jake paused, then let out a huff. "I might need to sleep on this."

  "Yeah, that might help."

  Jake lay back down. Instead of curling into him as usual, Fox climbed on top of him. His legs twined against Jake's, and much of his torso against his man. His head was near Jake's shoulder.

  "You okay, hon?" Jake asked, holding Fox close with one hand.

  "Yeah. I just… I want to be closer."

  Jake looked at Fox, reached up for a kiss, then gently ran his fingers over Fox's face, causing him to close his eyes.

  "I'm right here, handsome. You sleep how you need."

  *** Jake

  What was the Consciousness, as Fox put it, trying to tell them? Or Fox, specifically, since at a certain point, the voice in the void told his man more than it told him?

  Jake fretted. He woke up before Fox, as usual. With a thought, he repaired their clothes after last night's escapades. He tugged the fabrics closer and bonded them back together. The clock on the wall read it was six o'clock, and the light peering in from behind the curtains spoke of early morning.

  Other thoughts drifted into his head. He thought back to Fox's favorite campsite, back to the little fox-man who warned him.

  It was a pair, he remembered Hamish say. A witch and a wizard. Which meant the wizard was still out there. Whether he was looking for Jake, and by extension, Fox, he was uncertain. It was not a time to let his guard down.

  On top of that, the other elephant in the room. The eighteen-year-old elephant that Sarah mentioned before she set in motion the emotional tidal wave that was his poor son's understandable fury. Fox told him he carried an inordinately bright spark. It was the same as he had-that they both had-before the solar eclipse. Jake saw it himself, and it scared him.

  Should he draw his son in? Should he tell him about the duality of the world they live in?

  His heart hurt with the possibilities. But something had to be done, and he couldn't let his boy go unprepared.

  "Fox," Jake said softly, running his fingers through thick, deep red hair.

  "Mm?" Fox replied.

  "I think we should tell Ben, and the others."

  "Whaabout," the sleepy man said, unintelligibly.

  "Us."

  "That we're engaged? You woke me from my four-way with you and you and you for that?" Fox shuddered with a light chuckle.

  "About alchemy. About the Pale."

  Fox stilled. "It's going to be hard to take," he said.

  "We'll just have to show them. There's a wizard out there missing a partner, and I doubt he'll just let it slide that we killed her."

  Jake waited. Fox put his chin on his hands, like he had done so many times before, and focused on the man under him.

  "I'm with you, Jake. Wherever you go, I go too."

  Jake sighed. "Alright, baby. Let's get cleaned up. We can tell them after."

  *** Jake

  Fox and Jake showered. They shared gentle kisses and light touches between soaping each other up and rinsing down. They wrapped towels around themselves and padded into the hall. A wolf-whistle caught them by surprise.

  Sarah was fixing Ben's tie. Taylor had a camera ready-which he quickly employed, catching Fox and Jake in an almost full body blush.

  "Nothing happened!" Fox blurted out. "We didn't do anything in the shower," he cried.

  "So, then it's the spare room I'm smelling from out here," Sarah smirked. Taylor laughed as he looked at his camera's screen.

  "Not a bad shot of you two, either," he said. "I'm gonna save it for later," Taylor grinned.

  "Not on your life, sweetcakes," Sarah retorted. "You got eyes for one gal and one gal only, y'hear?"

  Taylor laughed. "I hear you, baby. Loud and clear. I'll just email it to you, Jake. A little keepsake."

  Ben had looked away early on. Fox saw the poor guy blushing.

  "We'll just, ah, get dressed now," Fox stammered.

  "Mm-hm," Sarah replied, still working on Ben's tie. "Damnit, I can't get this thing through the hole!"

  "That's what he--Ow," Taylor cried, rubbing the center of his chest. "You need to file down your elbows, missy!"

  Fox grabbed Jake's hand and darted into the spare room. They dressed in record time as not to raise suspicions, though he pretty much guessed they knew. How could they not, when Sarah left that hefty bottle in their room?

  The two stepped out, both wearing button down shirts and a newer pair of jeans for the occasion. It was the nicest they could come up with, considering where they had been over the past week. Jake stepped forward, his tablet in hand.

  "Sarah, Taylor, and you, too, Ben-can we talk?"

  "Sure, buddy. What's on your mind?" Taylor asked.

  "Let's… Let's sit down."

  Sarah offered t
he living room. She and Taylor took the love seat, and Fox and Jake sat down on the couch. Fox thought Ben would take the solo arm chair at the head of the coffee table between everyone. He shifted over when Jake moved over, and Ben sat next to his father, instead.

  "Should I move?" Fox asked Jake quietly. "I don't want to be a bother--"

  Jake silenced Fox by intertwining his fingers with Fox's, resting their hands on Jake's lap. Fox nodded.

  Jake took a deep shuddering breath.

  "I want to tell you all where I've been for the last seven years."

  Over the next couple of hours, Jake went into specifics about the places he'd been, how he hiked to each of them. He showed them on his tablet what he had been doing-the great circle, the squares between. He explained, roughly, the purpose--a massive transmutation circle, used in Alchemy. Sarah asked for an explanation. Jake spoke about Khaled, his murder by altered beasts and magic. He explained the first time he ran after the raven warned him at his college of what was to come. He explained what happened in San Diego after he sent Ben to live with them. He then explained that to better fight what was to come, he needed to be prepared.

  That was when the demonstration was in order.

  Jake asked Taylor to bring him something, anything in the house of substantial size. Taylor nodded, bringing back a guitar. Jake asked if it had been autographed. Taylor turned it around, and on the back in silver marker was the scrawl of someone's name Jake didn't know. He asked Taylor to use his camera, to take a picture of the autograph. He did.

  They turned the guitar over, and Taylor sat down. Jake instructed them to watch the guitar.

  Sarah gasped as the guitar collapsed into pieces. And then into pieces again, and again, and again, until, like Jake's silver ingots, the thing was reduced to powder. Ben slapped his hand on Jake's knee. Taylor's eyes bugged out. Jake told them to go ahead and touch it. Everyone did. They brushed all residual powder from their fingers back onto the mess on the coffee table. Then Jake reconstituted the guitar, signature and all.

  The Samuelses stared at the guitar. Ben turned his head to Jake.

  Why was written all over his face.