Chapter 14: "Fire"

Listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYYC8nl2g0I

The morning brought with it another thunderstorm. Deep rumblings shook the house through the wee hours, waking Theodore. He lay on the mattress pad counting the seconds between flashes and thunder until a particularly bright flash lit from both the window and the hall followed by an immediate boom that had Theodore’s heart jumping in his throat.

A squeak escaped from the bed as the deep rumble of lightening rolled over the house. Theodore jumped to his feet and peered out the window. The backyards of the neighboring houses were dark, hinting that the power had been knocked out. In the distance, a neighbor’s tree blazed with fire, lighting the dark yard. Bits of tree branches hung in shatters around the base as it burned.

“Whoa,” Theodore whispered.

Ky stood at his elbow and leaned over the dresser to look. “Whoa,” he echoed. Ky’s arm brushed his as he braced against the dresser for support. That thick sweet smell of Ky filled his nose, waking more of his body.

Theodore leaned closer to the window, using it as an excuse to get closer to Ky. He let his arm rest against Ky’s. Ky’s arm was cold and as he pressed he could feel him shaking.

“Are you okay?” Theodore asked.

Ky wrenched his eyes from the burning tree that was slowly being doused by the battering waves of rain.

“What? Oh, it’s just the adrenaline. I was dead asleep when it hit.”

“But why are you so cold?”

Ky shrugged. “It takes me a while to get warm after being out in the cold all day.”

“Even after a bath?”

Ky’s eyes narrowed. “Is that weird?”

Theodore thought about it a moment. He couldn’t remember a time where he’d spent hours out in the cold. He’d been cold before, but not anything serious. He answered with a shrug. “I guess not.”

Ky’s eyes returned to the burning tree. Another strike of lightening followed by a loud thunder strike made them both jump. Ky was pressing against his arm. Theodore could feel him shake.

When the thunder cleared, Theodore asked, “Was the thunder bad on the way here?”

Ky ducked his head away from Theodore. “It was pretty violent.”

Theodore rested a careful hand on Ky’s shoulder. He could feel Ky’s shiver through his body.

Another flash of lightening followed by a peel of thunder and Ky had practically jumped out of his skin. Theodore’s arm tightened around his shoulders.

The thunder continued rumbling through the house and to Theodore’s surprise Ky leaned into him. Another crack surprised them both which had Ky pressed tightly against Theodore’s chest and he closed his arms around Ky’s small frame. Ky tucked his head into Theodore’s shoulder. Another peel of thunder and Theodore held Ky against him as a shiver ran the length of Ky’s body. He was still impossibly cold.

Theodore sucked in a musky breath of Ky’s scent and felt a shiver of his own run through his body.

Ky lifted his head. “Are you cold, too? You don’t feel cold. Here…” Ky pulled at Theodore’s arm and climbed into the bed.

Another long rumbled of thunder had Ky pulling Theodore next to him. Theodore draped his arms around him as Ky tucked his body firmly against him. The storm raged outside sending waves of rain and broken branches against the side of the house. Theodore found himself nuzzling the top of Ky’s head as Ky tightened his arms around Theodore’s waist.

Slowly the storm passed and Ky’s rhythmic breath pulsed against Theodore’s bare chest. Theodore leaned back deeper in the pillows pulling Ky with him. He tossed the covers back around them and lay quietly in the dark with Ky snuggled in on his shoulder.

Ky was still cold and seemed to be pulling the heat right out of him. Theodore’s hand traced Ky’s side, smoothing the T-shirt down along him. There was a little bit of a curve in Ky’s side before his hand rose to rest on his hip. Again the question of gender flickered through his mind. His body responded and he tilted away from Ky. His hand slid away from his hip quickly back to his shoulder.

Male, female, thirteen, or older. The evidence flashed through his mind. His scent, his movement, and his voice. He looked down at Ky’s sleeping face in the near dark. His fingers trailed from Ky’s shoulder to his cheek, following the edges of his jaw… her jaw.

He very well could be holding a girl in his arms right now. Either way, he was holding Ky. His heart fluttered. He was holding Ky like this, close to him, pressed against him. He was protecting him from the outside world. For a moment he lost himself in the sweet face and before he knew it he was pressing a kiss to Ky’s forehead. He pulled back. What had he just done? What if Ky was a boy?

Theodore brushed a lock of hair from Ky’s face, drawing a sleepy sigh from Ky’s lips. Theodore’s eyes were immediately drawn to them. He wished there was more light so he could see the perfect curve of the cupid’s bow on the pink lips. At that moment, he ached to feel them. His fingers trembled.

His thumb gently brushed the full lips. He stared as they softly caressed his rough thumb pad, shifting as it moved across the bottom one. They were so impossibly soft.

“Theo?” Ky asked, his voice sleepy and barely a whisper. His lips moved just beneath his thumb. His tongue kissed it with the breath of his name.

Theodore’s throat went dry. He’d been caught. He grappled for words and heavy “Yes,” breathed out his own.

“You don’t smell like skunk anymore.” Ky nestled deep in Theodore’s side.

Theodore paused. What? He smelled like skunk? And he didn’t anymore? He took a sniff of his own armpit. He didn’t think it smelled that bad. “Ky?”

Ky slid his fingers across Theodore’s bare chest igniting a fire deep inside him. “Kari, silly.”

“Kari?” Theodore whispered. He liked the way it rolled off his tongue. “Kari.”

Ky, or maybe it was Kari, slid his/her fingers back under her chin, resting it gently on his chest. He, or again maybe she, was fast asleep.

Theodore tucked a lock of hair behind Ky’s ear. “Kari,” he whispered. “Is that who you really are?”

He racked his brain. That name sounded so familiar. Where had he heard it? It was right there in the corner of his mind. Cassie, Carrie? No… Karina. Ky’s older sister and that awkward conversation Master had when Ky first arrived flashed through his mind. Then all the sly smiles Master had given him when it came to Ky. He knew the whole time, that bastard. Ky was Karina, well Kari he guessed. Ky was a girl.

He looked back down at Ky with fresh eyes. Of course she was a girl. We sort of. Well maybe not so obvious he guessed. She wasn’t curvy and had no hips. He wondered how old she was. He blinked. He was holding a girl. He had just kissed a girl on the forehead.

His heart raced. His body heated and it was all he could do to stay still. He’d barely even seen girls his age, let alone talked to one. He was always so busy and they were always into the bigger guys. And yet, here she was, right here in his arms, the perfect girl. Probably. He was ninety percent sure she was a girl now, but there could still be a chance he was wrong.

That sweet musky smell assaulted his nose once again. His insides tightened with desire and despite his doubt, his body knew better. He twisted away from Ky quickly, lest he actually touch her like that.

She mumbled as he turned away and faced the wall. It had suddenly gotten so hot. He pressed his now free hands against the wall to cool off.

Theodore took a few deep breaths. This was what he wanted, right? For Ky to be a girl. But that was only a hope, and now… now it was real. He didn’t know what to do.

A small hand draped over his side and suddenly a small frame pressed into his back. And was that… breasts? They were touching him. Maybe that was his imagination. If they were, then they were small, but… His body grew harder at the thought.

Ky’s hand slid down his chest. Theodore caught it in his own. He wasn’t sure what else to do so he lay still letting the sleeping Ky lean against him and hold him tight. After a time, he laced his fingers with hers and relaxed against her embrace. Slowly, his consciousness faded and he slept soundly.

Copyright 2019 Ava Altair

#freefiction #norwescon