by T D Cloud
Sorin didn’t let him try for long.
“Let’s go,” he said, jerking his head towards the ocean. “Follow me.”
Khouri let out an annoyed huff when Sorin took off without him, jogging a bit to keep up. He walked close to Sorin’s side, shivering a little in the cool night air. The moon overhead wasn’t quite full. It gave enough light to bathe his dark skin, glinting off his shiny hair. Sorin kept his eyes ahead for the most part. He’d have plenty of time to admire Khouri later, he told himself. Just as soon as he got them where they needed to be.
The soil turned to sand underfoot, the sound of the waves growing louder as they headed towards lower ground. Sorin breathed in the salt-heavy air, feeling like a kid again. Everything felt so familiar, almost as if he were walking in a dream. A beautiful companion at his side simply rounded out the waking memory. Sorin’s lips quirked into a quiet smile. The last time he’d done something like this he’d come here with one of the neighbor girls. It was the eve of him leaving to start his life away from the sea, from his father’s expectations. They’d made it memorable in a way only teenagers could.
He hoped he and Khouri could make tonight memorable too but in a way that would last him more than just a night.
The thought was ruined a moment later when Khouri decided to get finicky.
“There’s sand in my shoes,” Khouri complained, lagging behind to shake his boots as if that might rid him of the persistent sand. “Sorin, it’s dark for you out here. Where are we going?”
Sorin had a feeling he was going to regret this.
“It’s worth the mystery, trust me, so wait here, okay?” he said, holding out a hand to stop Khouri from following him past the craggy rocks. “I want to do something first.”
“Can you even see where you’re going?” Khouri crossed his arms and shivered a little, looking past Sorin to watch the tide dance in the moonlight. “If you break your neck climbing on things, I won’t be able to carry you back to the house.”
Sorin rolled his eyes and took to the rocks just to prove that he could. “I’ll be fine, brat,” he grunted, his feet finding the path through muscle memory alone. “Don’t follow me until I call for you. I don’t want you ruining the surprise.” Khouri shuffled in the sand, the soft sound loud in the quiet of the night. “Another surprise?” he whispered. “For me?”
He spared just a moment to smile over his shoulder. Khouri looked so curious, and Sorin couldn’t wait to see what he thought when he finally saw what he had planned. He turned forward and climbed around the rocks, taking the last jump carefully so as not to twist his ankle in one of the tide pools that lingered below. Once the tide finally washed in, it would leave behind all manner of creatures from the sea, but for now, they sat empty, dried up from the day of sun and waiting for new life to come to them. Sorin didn’t give them much attention. Maybe tomorrow he would show Khouri them in the daylight, but tonight, he had other plans. Plans that involved what lay ahead of him, not behind.
The cove before him looked much the same as it had the last time Sorin had been here, and given that had been over two decades ago, he felt justified in being a little surprised. For a few moments, he stood transfixed in the sand, staring at a scene he swore was straight from his childhood.
There was the rock wall he would lean against when the weather turned too hot to bear, and over there, he could just make out the carefully stacked rocks he had used to build cooking fires for the times when he came out here with friends or dates, catching fish and stuffing their faces until the sun came up.
But as he looked, he began to see a few differences here and there, ruining the illusion. The shape of the secret beach had changed a little, growing here and thinning there. Far across the way lay the body of a tree that had toppled down from the forest above during a storm at some point. Flotsam littered the beach, and after decades of disuse, the place was in dire need of a clean up.
Sorin sighed, looking past it all for what it was— for what it still was. The soft sands past the tide pools gave way to the glass-like surface of the sea. The waters lapped at the shore with a quiet whisper...
Welcome home, it seemed to say. Welcome home.
There were a lot of memories buried in the sands here. Some good, some bad, all of them incredibly personal. Sorin took in a lungful of the salty air, letting it out just as slowly. How many times had he run from his responsibilities back then? More times than he could count. This cove had been the only place he could call his own. He hadn’t shared it with many. He hadn’t wanted to.
He let out another breath and set down the candles, unfurling the blanket atop the cleanest section of sand he could find. The dark fabric looked like a slice of void against the white, glowing sands. He dropped to his knees and began to dig into the sand, burying the candles around the blanket. A flicker of embarrassment tickled the pit of his stomach. He was really doing this, wasn’t he? He was really going to—
“Sorin?”
Sorin jolted a little, whipping around when he heard soft footfalls padded by the even softer terrain. “I thought I told you to wait,” he grumbled, thankful for the dark since he could at least pretend it hid his embarrassment from Khouri’s sight. The distance at least helped his cause more; Khouri stood at the edge of the rocks, partially hiding behind the stone as he peered at Sorin from afar.
“There’s sand in my shoes,” Khouri repeated for the third time, but it was just a whisper now. It was clear that he hadn’t expect this. Any of this. The sand whispered as he moved deeper into the cove, pausing at the edge of the blanket. He bit his lip and watched Sorin sit down on it, eyes wide and just a tad confused. “Are those candles?”
He didn’t look up as he pulled the matches from his pocket and began lighting the wicks. “They are,” he said, slowly illuminating the dim cove with soft golden light. He looked up once he was done. “You want to join me down here?”
Khouri fidgeted. “I don’t know. Do I?”
Sorin let out a long-suffering sigh, giving in to the urge to drag the small Drow onto the blanket. Khouri whined and wiggled, protesting the manhandling, but he was too small to do much about it. Small mercies, Sorin thought, tucking the brat under his chin. If they were of a similar height, Sorin probably would never get his way.
Khouri shoved at Sorin’s arm, but when he failed to free himself, he sagged against his chest with a huff. “There’s sand—”
“In your shoes,” Sorin cut in, rolling his eyes. “I’m aware.”
“Well, there is,” Khouri complained, wiggling until he was splayed out atop Sorin’s chest fully. “But that wasn’t was I was going to say. I was going to say that there’s sand in my shirt now, but I suppose you don’t care very much since you’re the one who got it down there.”
Sorin raised a brow, frowning at the Drow nose-to-nose with him now. Khouri batted his long lashes, his dark eyes all the darker for the wane moonlight filling the beach with its gentle glow. It glistened in every strand of Khouri’s silky hair, reflecting in his large, doe-like eyes with every blink. The effect was entirely too lovely, especially at this close a range. Sorin ran a hand down Khouri’s back, watching him preen like a cat from the attention. When he wasn’t talking, it was easy to imagine staying like this forever.
He cleared his throat when Khouri began to smile. He was staring too much, and Khouri had noticed. “You wouldn’t have to worry about sand at all if you just left your shoes back at the house,” Sorin muttered, frowning when Khouri leaned in to kiss his cheek.
“I might’ve if you bothered to tell me you wanted to come down here,” Khouri murmured against his cheek, his lips as soft as flower petals. “This is awfully romantic, isn’t it? You even brought a blanket.”
It was hard to resist the knee jerk reaction to protest what Khouri was insinuating. He didn’t want to admit that he had planned this, that he had brought Khouri here to watch the moon reflect off the waves. But he had. He had done all of that. Sorin rested his hands on Khouri’s
hips, meeting the Drow’s dark, abyssal eyes. God, they were so deep. Sorin thought back to the nights spent out on the sea with his father, staring into the ink-black waters as they pulled in the nets to get ahead of the other fishermen.
A man could drown in those, a voice on the wind whispered against his ear. The deep was insidious like that. You toppled in and lost sense of which way was up.
“You’re beautiful, Khouri,” Sorin heard himself say, holding tightly to the Drow’s hips when his eyes went wide. Khouri blushed, cheeks tinting a shade darker in the weak light. Sorin tucked a lock of silky black hair behind his pointed ear. “I’m glad you came with me tonight.” He was glad Khouri had come to this place at all, that he wanted to travel with him and see the things he’d never seen before at Sorin’s side.
“Sorin,” Khouri mumbled, clearly embarrassed. He leaned forward, kissing Sorin chastely. It was just a peck, really, a quick little press of their lips that Sorin thought too short by far. “Come on,” Khouri whispered, hiding his face in Sorin’s neck. “Why are you being so embarrassing all of a sudden?”
Sorin laughed a little, running his hand down Khouri’s lithe back. He weighed nothing atop Sorin’s chest. Nothing at all, despite the weight his presence held in Sorin’s life. Tugging on Khouri’s hair, Sorin nudged and coaxed Khouri to lift his head. Seeking out his mouth for a deeper kiss was easy. Surrendering to the give and take less so, but Sorin was learning. It would get easier. He knew it would.
The soft little moan tingled his lips as Khouri broke the kiss, his eyes opening slowly to stare into Sorin’s. Khouri chased the taste of the kiss with his tongue, letting out a soft sigh that chilled the phantom warmth on Sorin’s lips. “Is this what you had in mind?” he breathed, cupping Sorin’s face between his hands. “Being coy doesn’t suit you, Sorin.”
“But it suits you,” Sorin sighed, inhaling in preparation for the next kiss he saw coming. Warm lips, soft hands, and eyes as black as the abyss. Sorin welcomed the water as it rushed into his lungs. There were worse ways to die than drowning. Far worse.
Sorin rolled them over, depositing Khouri onto the blanket with a needy little huff. “Take off your shoes already,” he said, his voice a laugh as he kicked off his own. Khouri muttered something under his breath but did as he was told, yanking the boots from his bare feet as quickly as he could manage.
“Feels like I haven’t touched you in years,” the Drow whispered, dragging Sorin on top of him the moment the boots hit the sand. Khouri knotted his hands in Sorin’s shirt, yanking on it until Sorin shucked it completely. His fingers dug into Sorin’s bare skin, and Sorin drew his own under Khouri’s top, hitching it under his arms until he could run his fingers along every inch of Khouri’s stomach and chest.
“It’s been maybe two weeks,” Sorin teased even though he felt the same. Those damned piercings of his twinkled in the moonlight, the silver catching and drawing the eye to Khouri’s nipples. Sorin lowered his head to take one into his mouth. He sucked harshly, loving the reaction it earned him.
“Mmm, Sorin,” Khouri purred. “Should’ve brought me here sooner.” He wrapped his thighs around Sorin’s legs, seeking out even more contact.
“The last time I came here, it was for something a lot like this,” Sorin admitted, kissing Khouri’s chest slowly, savoring the taste of sea salt lingering on his soft skin. He made sure to drag his beard against him as he went, sending shiver after shiver tearing down the Drow’s spine. “I lost my virginity in this place. Feels like a lifetime ago.”
Khouri smothered a whine with his hand, the other threading through Sorin’s hair to hold him in place. “Lucky them,” he giggled, wriggling on the blanket until Sorin pinned him down with an arm. “Seeing that side of you. I’m jealous.”
Sorin quirked a smile and gave him a quick kiss before pulling away to remove Khouri’s clothes. “What about you?” he asked, figuring he knew the answer already but wanting to hear it anyway. “How was your first time?”
Stretching enticingly, Khouri made a show of letting Sorin tug his bloomers down his legs. All moisture in Sorin’s mouth dried up once they were gone; Khouri’s dark, muted skin was gorgeous in the moonlight, bathed in the silver glow until it faintly glistened like something precious. While the moon made everything cool, the candles warmed, coaxing the shadows to play along every inch of Khouri’s delicate body.
“It was good,” he said quietly, laying his hands above his head, spreading his thighs invitingly. Shadows pooled in the crook of his thighs, the night conspiring to hide him from sight. “Navi had me bound for most of it. Pierced me and opened me with a toy before he finally made me his.”
He blinked lethargically, smiling a sharp smile. “I wouldn’t call it romantic like a beach tryst, but I couldn't complain about it.”
Sorin could see it behind his eyes every time he blinked. He began to sweat, and he reached for the oil buried in his pocket and quickly opened it, coating his fingers in the pale, glowing pink. “Were you scared?” he wondered, rolling the pads of his fingers against Khouri’s entrance. Khouri’s toes curled in the blanket, the enchanted oil doing what it did best as Khouri lost the ability to speak for a few moments as he adjusted to the sensation.
He was a finger deep before Khouri mustered up the energy to shake his head. He bit at his full bottom lip, releasing it to moan softly. “No,” he said, his voice breathy, his body trembling as Sorin gave in to the urge to kiss his crooked knee. “But I was nervous. I… I think everyone’s nervous the first time. Were you?”
“Yeah.” Sorin pressed in a second finger, working them in tandem as Khouri’s spine arched. He twisted his hands in the blanket, beautiful beyond measure. “I was scared of hurting her. Or fucking up.” He’d been a virgin, but she hadn’t. She guided him along and told him what to do, and it had helped a bit.
She’d taught him to read his partner’s body, every sound a signal of how to proceed...
A glance at Khouri’s face told him he was ready for more; he worked in a third finger, giving Khouri extra time to adjust after going without it for so long.
Khouri lifted a hand, reaching for him. Sorin lowered himself over the Drow, kissing him like he wanted. He rocked his fingers in and out, pulling moan after moan from Khouri until the night was filled with his gentle voice. Khouri gripped him by the shoulder, holding tightly to him as he shook.
“I bet you were the best she’s ever had,” he breathed, kissing the words against Sorin’s ear. “I’d remember you for a lifetime.”
Sorin removed his fingers and held tightly to Khouri’s thigh, hooking it over his hip as he quickly pulled himself from his trousers and coated himself in the residual oil. He stared into eyes so dark that they devoured like the sea. He ran a hand down Khouri’s thigh, along his slender arm, fingers trailing over the shells encircling his wrists. He’d made so many more bracelets. They suited him. This suited him.
Sorin’s lips traced Khouri’s, sharing the breath he breathed. “Do you promise?” he whispered.
“Please,” Khouri mouthed, his eyes closing as Sorin lined himself up. “Sorin, please.”
He loved this. Sorin loved everything about this. The moonlight, the candles, the scent of Khouri’s sweet, salt-kissed skin as he buried his face in the crook of the Drow’s neck. Sorin rocked his hips and buried himself inside that familiar, comforting warmth, groaning when Khouri held him back. He loved it, and it felt like a realization long coming when he stared into Khouri’s eyes and felt something warm constrict around his heart.
Khouri trembled from head to toe, scratching at Sorin’s shoulders as he let out a broken mewl. “Is this going to be more of your not-really-love love-making?” the Drow choked, arching against the weight holding him to the blanket as if he’d die if he wasn’t touched this instant. He looked at Sorin and promptly stilled. Sorin resisted the urge to look away, knowing he’d let something show. He tried to move his hips only for Khouri to sink his nails into his arm.
“Wait,” Kh
ouri rushed, shaking his head hard enough to send his bangs flying. “Sorin, wait. What is it? What’s that face for?”
Sorin bit the inside of his cheek, his mind moving too quick to give him much help. His palms sweated. His heart pounded. “It… It hasn’t been… that for awhile now,” he said slowly, chewing on the words before he said them. When Khouri just looked at him confused, Sorin swore and hid his face in Khouri’s shoulder.
“What do you mean?” Khouri breathed, letting go of Sorin’s arm to comb his fingers through his hair instead. Despite being buried inside of him, Khouri seemed perfectly willing to have this conversation like this. “Hasn’t been what for awhile now?” “You’re really going to make me say it.” Khouri tugged on his hair rudely. “Say what?”
Sorin lifted his head and met Khouri’s gaze, frowning as he let it out. “That I love you, you brat,” he said plainly. “It’s not fake love-making. It’s the real thing. Because I love you.”
There were no words to describe the look of utter bewilderment that passed over Khouri’s face. He clenched instinctively, making Sorin’s eyes cross as he struggled to keep from moving. Khouri shuddered and whined, letting go of Sorin’s hair to cover his face from sight. Sorin panted and fought to calm his racing pulse.
“I fucked up, didn’t I?” he asked, kicking himself for even trying. He began to pull out, but he barely managed to move an inch before Khouri’s thighs tightened around his hips and drew him right back in. Sorin grunted, staring into Khouri’s damp eyes. “It’s fine, Khouri. I’m not going to cry if you don’t say it back.” He should have expected it, after all. He shouldn’t have tried taking more than what he had already been given.