Forces of Nature

Forces of Nature, Chapter 7 by DGB

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Jake flopped onto his back in frustration. He had been in bed for hours and still couldn't fall asleep; his mind was racing and just refused to calm down. All he could think about was Alex. Alex his friend; Alex his gaming buddy; Alex the powerful starmage; Alex the kind hearted soul that took care of him when he was on the verge of a nervous breakdowns; Alex the hot red head that made him tingle every time they touched; Alex the amazingly good kisser that made every fiber of his soul tremble. Alex that was coming over for date night and would soon realize Jake wasn't worth the trouble.

Jake rolled back onto his side as the tears slid down his face. All he really wanted was to be in Alex's arms, to feel the quiet confidence from his friend that everything was going to work out. But it wasn't going to be ok once Alex got tired of dealing with all the bullshit and moved on. After Alex moved on he'd be completely alone, even more than before; a freak without a friend in the world. Maybe his mother had tried to kill them both out of mercy.

The vibrating of his cell phone on the night stand kept his thoughts from spiraling further. Of course it was a massage from Alex; also known as Alex the emotionally connected, "What's wrong?"

Jake was debating how to answer when another message popped up, "And don't you dare try to just break off our connection again because then I'll have to get dressed and bang on your door till you let me in to talk."

He smiled in spite of himself before replying, "Maybe I'd like that." Jake instantly regretted hitting send and quickly followed up "Sorry that came out bad. I'm just having trouble sleeping."

"Bullshit. We both know it's more than that, I could feel you were in pain the instant I woke up."

Jake sighed, "Really I'm fine, just go back to sleep."

"Is it something because of me?" The brief flicker of emotion was unmistakable, and Alex didn't need to wait for a response. "Oh :-("

Jake could feel the sadness of his friend. Being this connected had some down sides apparently. "It's not like that. I'm scared of screwing things up with you." "I mean you are amazing." "Cute." "Smart." "Funny." Now that the floodgate was open Jake couldn't text fast enough, "You have to be one of the kindest people I've ever met, and being with you makes me happier than I've ever been. And I'm terrified I'm going to screw it up and lose you as a friend."

He felt the roller coaster of emotions Alex was going through as each message arrived, finally ending with a warm feeling. "Have I mentioned how cute you are when you freak out?"

Jake smiled in spite of himself, "It's not funny. You're the closest friend I've ever had, and I've never really dated anyone."

"Me neither," Alex replied. "I've got like zero experience, so we can figure it out while we go. Grandpa told me when I was in high school that it was perfectly normal for a manipulator. Since we feel all of our emotions so strongly, we tend to only form relationships with someone we really trust. It's almost impossible for us to separate the physical and emotional sides of sex, so when we do mate it tends to be for life. I mean sure there are some exceptions, but you almost never hear about a divorce in the community. "

"Mate for life. Gee thanks, that doesn't add any pressure," Jake groaned.

"That's not wat I meant and you know it. So yeah, that was my way of saying I'm basically a virgin. I messed around with a guy at school a few times but it never went beyond a few blow jobs."

Jake knew it was his turn to be honest, "I was always afraid of how my dad would react if he found out I was gay, so I was too scared to do anything until I was on my own. I met up with a guy when I first moved to the city, and on the second date he begged me to fuck him. After that he never returned my messages and I just felt dirty. Last night was the first time I even kissed someone since."

The vibration of his phone jolted Jake before he could fall back into his earlier depression. The message from Alex read, "Well at least one of us will have some idea what he's doing then."

Jake smiled and decided to be a bit naughty himself, "Ewwww, does that mean you want to mate with me????"

"That's not exactly what I said," Alex replied.

"I know," Jake sent back. "I guess I don't have to worry about you molesting me when you come over for dinner now."

"I didn't exactly say that either."

Jake was really smiling now, "Fair enough, I do like your hugs, so I guess I can handle you touching me."

"Just hands, or lips too? 0:-)"

Jake yawned, "Access approved, and now I think I should sleep. Thanks for calming me down again."

"Well since you woke me up I kind of had to :-)" Alex teased. "Now get some sleep so you don't fall asleep on me halfway through dinner."

"Night."

"Goodnight."

Jake settled back into his bed and let the warmth from Alex's connection lull him into a deep sleep.

===============================================

Alex was already working Friday morning by the time Jake woke up. A gentle pulse each direction through their connection was an effective good morning. Jake spent the day paying bills and taking care of all the little chores he had put off during his unexpected `vacation' from work. His last stop was at the grocery store to pick up some steaks for dinner.-

Ralph buzzed Alex's desk phone just as he was closing down for the weekend. "Hey grandpa," he answered.

"Do you have Jake's email address? I have something I want to send him but I realized I don't even have his phone number."

"I can text you his number now but I'll have to check on his email. Can it wait until I see him tonight?"

"That's fine," Ralph smiled to himself. "Jake is a good man, and you two would have my blessings if you asked. I know you're too old for this, but it's a grandfather's prerogative that I get to tell you to have fun tonight and be safe."

Alex blushed, thankful none of his coworkers were around. "Thanks grandpa, I love you."

"I love you too."

Alex rushed home to get a shower and put on fresh clothes, deciding on jeans and a t-shirt. Jake had already seen him so much that what he wore wasn't going to make much of a difference. A light rain had started to fall when he pulled into his parking spot behind the loft. Well, not his spot, but maybe one day he thought. As expected the rain quickly parted to give him a dry walk to the building door.

The loft door was propped open with a shoe so Alex went right in and shut the door. He sat the six pack of beer on the counter, "Hey, I had beer in my fridge so figured I'd bring it over."

Jake looked a bit frazzled standing in front of the open oven, his t-shirt speckled with flour. "Cool. Give me a minute and I'll be done. Just finishing off the biscuits"

"Looks like you've been doing a lot of baking," Alex commented.

"Well you kind of set the bar high with lasagna and cookies," Jake said as he closed the oven. "So I made some cupcakes I'll have to ice after dinner. I figured steak and baked potatoes with garlic butter biscuits would be good for dinner." He wiped his hands on a towel and moved to hug his guest.

Alex enthusiastically returned the hug, and they held tight for much longer than socially acceptable. Jake made the tentative first move, slowly tilting his head sideways, till Alex caught on and moved into position. There was nothing tentative about the kiss, both feeling the need and pleasure of the other. They would have been happy standing there all night but the oven timer started to loudly beep.

ake groaned, and reluctantly broke the hug. "I better get that if you don't want burned biscuits."

"I could deal with it," Alex teased back. "So does that mean I get full access for touching and kissing? I wasn't entirely clear last night."

Jake blushed before answering, "Well I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to full access, but I'll let you know if you get out of bounds."

"Deal," Alex replied.

With the biscuits on the counter to cool and the oven set to keep the potatoes hot, Jake grabbed a bag of marinating steaks out of the fridge and a pair of tongs. "Grab us some beer and let's head up to the grill."

"It's still raining."

"So?" Jake snickered, "Don't tell me the big bad starmage is worried about a little water."

Before Alex could answer he was startled by a drop of water hitting his forehead. He instinctively looked to the ceiling before he heard Jake laughing over his prank. "Smart ass."

Jake couldn't help tossing one last comment over his shoulder as he headed up the stairs to the rooftop deck, "Do you think so? I never thought my butt was very impressive."

Alex grabbed two beers and stashed the rest in the fridge before hurrying up the stairs. He stopped and watched in amazement as the rain was still parting in front of his friend, forming a clear walkway to the pergola over the grill. Beneath the pergola the rain parted down the middle, slowly growing to clear the area from side to side, a perfectly rectangular area free of rain. As Jake led the way to the grill Alex noticed that all the water from the patio furniture was draining down the table and chair legs, joining together in a little rivulet and flowing out of the way.

"Dude seriously. This is impressive I can't believe you can control all the raindrops like this."

"I'm not," Jake replied. "I mean, I'm not manipulating thousands of raindrops, I'm just repelling them. You taught me originally how to focus energy and pull it towards me, so I wondered what would happen if I tried it in reverse."

Alex stood silent for a moment before wrapping his arms around the other mage, "I never thought of that, so you still count as amazing in my book."

This kiss was far more tender than the one before, their souls happy to just savor the moment. Alex was stroking his friend's back, slowly moving lower until he grabbed ahold of both butt cheeks. "And for the record, I definitely think your butt is cute."

Jake made quick work of cleaning the grill and lighting the fire. By silent agreement the guys both sat on the patio bench, the storm mage leaning into his friend. Alex's arm settled around his friend, pulling him in close as they talked about their day apart. The conversation flowed effortlessly, and they had both drained their beer within minutes. "Oops," Alex said. "I guess I should drink the next one slower. I'll get us another round while you start the steaks."

The red head was pleased to see his date make room on the bench when he arrived with the fresh beers. With Jake in his arms everything just sort of made sense, like he was where he belonged in the world. There was no other explanation for it.

After Jake flipped the steaks he surprised Alex by sticking out his hand to help him stand up. After a quick kiss the storm mage positioned his friends legs apart with one arm extended, the other at his side. Jake took up a position behind him, slowly running his hand down the outstretched arm and finishing with a quick flick of his wrist. An orb of water hung suspended in the air a few inches from their fingertips.

"Ok now focus heat energy at the water, just try to summon a big spike of power," Jake instructed.

Alex barely twitched and the water erupted into a wisp of steam.

"Show off," Jake teased as he leaned in to kiss the other mage's neck. Deciding he liked the contact, he took a half step forward and wrapped his arm about his friends waist before resetting the orb of water.

"You can't possibly expect me to concentrate like this," Alex whined.

"I don't see a problem with it taking you a while," he nipped at the ear before him. "Now this time, do the opposite of what you did before. Take a deep breath and then, just slowly force all the heat energy away from the water."

This time it took several seconds before anything noticeable happened, and even Alex almost missed it. The surface of the water slowly started to ripple before solidifying into little peaks. That was all it took for him to juice the new technique with more power.

The frozen orb fell to the deck and shattered into several pieces. "Holy crap I never knew I could do that," Alex beamed as he spun in his date's arm, taking a deep kiss as a reward.

One kiss turned into several as they stood on the deck, rain falling around them. Nothing mattered but the warmth of their flesh pressed together. It took rolling thunder in the distance to break the spell, and remind them of where they were.

They moved inside once the steaks were done, the grill violently hissing as the rain returned to falling in its natural place. The pair worked together to get out some plates and finish off dinner. Alex took care of the mood lighting, summoning pillars of pure light on the table between them. While Jake had his head in the fridge Alex quickly killed all the overhead lights, replacing it with countless orbs of lights suspended throughout the loft like stars in the sky.

"It's beautiful," Jake gasped. "I think I could get addicted to dinner by starlight."

Alex put his hand to his heart. "I pledge my services to you, my lord," the effect ruined by a giggle at the end.

The meal was reduced to scraps as they guys enjoyed a leisurely meal. While they cleared away the dishes Jake finally figured out how to ask what had been on his mind all day. "So," he started, "I can ice the cupcakes now if you want one, or we could just watch TV or something if you want to hang out for a while."

Alex took the bait, but had no intention of making this too easy on his friend. "That sounds good, I was kind of hoping to stick around for a while tonight."

Jake dared not look at the other while this little scene played out, "Good. How long?"

"As long as you want me to," Alex replied as nonchalantly as possible.

"All night?" Jake thought, wanting to scream the question out loud.

"Invitation or question?" Alex asked as if in response.

Jake finally looked over at the other mage, "What?"

"Well, you asked all night," Alex said looking him directly into the eyes, "So I was asking if that was an invitation, or just a question to clarify how long."

Jake just stared in disbelief. How could Alex have heard his thoughts? "Can you hear me?" He tentatively thought.

Alex swallowed hard when he realized the implications of what was happening. The lips he craved had remained closed, but he heard the words clearly. Before he could wrap his head around the situation he heard Jake's voice continue in his head, "Just think the words you want to say to me."

"Yeah I can hear you, can you hear me?" Alex focused on the words in his mind. Seeing Jake smile he continued, "Dude, this is crazy."

"Yeah but it's so cool," Jake replied in thought alone. Suddenly opening his mouth just seemed like a waste of energy. "So telepathy is not a common power I take it?"

"I didn't even know it was possible. We'll have to talk to grandpa and see if he has ever heard of this." Alex crossed the kitchen to wrap his arms around his silent chat partner, "Now answer me; invitation, or question?"

"Both."

"Then I'm yours." Alex's smile outshined all the stars in the loft before he closed the distance for a tender kiss.

Jake decided to ice the cupcakes first anyway to avoid making the kitchen a mess again later. Continuing to talk by thought alone had the effect of making them feel even closer to one another. Whether they were across the kitchen or in another room they could continue an intimate conversation as if they were snuggled together on the couch. The conversation only paused when Alex declared he couldn't pee with Jake talking in his head.

Jake gasped when Alex returned to the living room; the first audible noise either had made in half an hour. The star mage had left his pants in the bedroom, and now stood wearing nothing but his t-shirt and a black pair of tight boxer briefs. "Dude there is no way I'm sleeping in jeans again tonight, so you'll just have to deal with it."

Too embarrassed to admit the gasp was more than just shock, Jake made a dramatic shrug and joined his date lying on the couch. Alex's arms instinctively pulled the other man into a spoon position as their bodies melded together.

The conversation naturally started to slow down after some time, but neither one cared or felt the need to fill the silence.

During one such lull Jake glanced at the clock and realized two hours had slipped by, bringing a simmering thought to the forefront. "Alex?"

"Hmm?"

"We need to talk," Jake thought the words clearly. "I mean, this isn't normal; we're not normal. We aren't just some guys enjoying date night." The man behind him remained silent, slowing rocking them together.

"You know what I mean," Jake continued. "We're two powerful mages that have become connected in a way you didn't even know was possible. And... And last night you said mages tend to mate for life, and in less than a week we've gone from just barely being friends to... well to this. I feel like tonight has turned into more of a mating ritual than a date."

The words just hung there in his mind, waiting for some reply. Alex just pulled him tighter.

"Well? Aren't you going to say something?" Jake implored.

Alex finally replied, "I'm not sure what you want me to say."

"I'm not either," Jake admitted. "Usually you know how to calm me down when I'm freaking out."

"You don't really sound like you are freaking out."

Alex had a point. "I guess you're right; maybe just slightly overwhelmed."

"All I could think about today from the moment I woke up this morning was how much I wanted to hold you," Alex began. "Just before I left work, Grandpa told me he approved of us and we had his blessings. That is when I realized I didn't just want to hold you, I needed to hold you." Alex let the words sink in a moment while he thought of how to continue, "There are many things in this world we'll never be able to understand, like where our powers come from, or love."

Alex commanded the artificial stars illuminating the loft to drift to the space above the couch, clustering in the shape of a heart. "When I told you `I'm yours' earlier I meant it in every way imaginable. Our hearts and souls have already claimed one another; whether it was a conscious choice or not we are forever linked." Alex kissed his mate's neck, "And when you are ready to claim me physically, I give you my body willingly, and I will claim you."

Jake shook gently as a shiver travelled down his spine, the words penetrating him to the core. The pressure on his butt left no doubt as to Alex's meaning. That was the moment Jake knew it was time to physically bond with mate.

Their love making started out clumsy like all new lovers, but it was filled with a tenderness most can only dream about. It made no difference who took the other first; by the time they passed out in bed that night, limbs entwined, each carried the other's essence. By the time Sunday dawned they knew every inch of their mate; how to make them moan, how to make them beg for more, and how to give them sweet release. They were claimed; Mind, body, and soul.

Author's note: I do appreciate any thoughts/comments/questions at donbon@gmail.com. I try to answer everyone. To those that wanted more graphic sex, it just didn't feel right to me, but you are welcome to send me fanfiction suggestions ;) And of course they made love in the shower, bent over the couch, on the deck with rain falling around them... No promises/predictions on when I'll get the next chapter(s) written – I have good ideas about where the story is headed next, but I find the words just don't look right on the screen until my brain has had time to fantasize and massage a scene for a bit. /nifty/gay/sf-fantasy/forces-of-nature/