A/N: My first published M/M lemony two-shots (nothing too graphic), inspired by the friendship of Blaise and Theo in my other AU story "Embers & Ashes" which is still in progress. Whereas their friendship stays platonic in the latter, I've changed its nature for this one.
I like to think both Slytherin boys are rather open-minded regarding sexuality and sexual partners, but I also want to bypass any stereotypical assumptions of them being these 'prejudiced, self-important, unfeeling Sex Gods of Slytherin'. Also, I like to imagine they've been friends for a long time and know each other well; that they care for each other in a very Slytherin, subtle manner and have been silently watching the effects of their dramatic family life going on behind the scenes and been reluctant witnesses to each other's extracurricular activities from afar and even up-close.
However, I wonder what happened if they suddenly felt something more than friendship for each other? How would they go about it if they're both Slytherin and (sexually/romantically) open-minded, both taciturn and hesitant? Two complex young men who know each other this well, yet not able to name these new feelings formed between them; nor sure how to cross this particular barrier in order to discover more?
Hm, I think the wonderful "Call Me by Your Name" has something to do with this sudden stroke of inspiration ;)
PS. Their ages remain unspecified and somewhat up to the reader, but I personally imagine them to be at least sixteen years old here.
"Theo?"
At first, Blaise hadn't heard him from the changing room; he had gone in thinking he had the Prefects' Bathroom to himself this day, looking forward to some undisturbed privacy.
He had just finished undressing, throwing a towel around his waist, when he heard the first echo of a sniff from somewhere behind the shower stalls.
That was how he found him; naked and alone in the showers, crying his heart out, wretched sobs ricocheting through his wet, pale figure, arms curled protectively around his long, bony legs with his back against the tiles.
Blaise drew closer with a worried frown as he took in his oldest friend sitting so helplessly on the ground.
Theo didn't react immediately, his sobs still overtaking his body.
Blaise croached before him, reaching out to lay a hand on his shaking arm. Theo hardly flinched, and Blaise wondered if the other boy had known he was no longer alone or if he somehow registered his touch and trusted it?
The thought startled him, a wave of emotions flooding him; some known and some unknown, accumulating over the years; small flutters from his stomach and within his chest. Forbearance, pity, understanding, loyalty.
Fondness.
And somewhere beneath... Attraction. An attraction he couldn't place. Couldn't pinpoint or explain.
Blaise's eyes widened as he became painfully aware of Theo's trembling, soft skin under his hand; skin he had unconsciously and all too innocently stroked in comfort until then. His hand twitched and his heart went skywards, warmth entering his cheeks and stomach as he recognized the immediate feeling of desire, followed by a jumble of contradicting thoughts when his brain belatedly registered the subject of his desire: Theo. His friend.
Miraculously, Theo still hadn't lifted his head from his crossed arms. He hadn't observed the realization hitting Blaise and noticed all the various emotions crossing his face like a wildfire as he stared down at his crying friend.
Blaise took in the slender, white line of his friend's neck, from his shoulders and up, ending in the beginning of the sparse trickle of short, dark hair which became longer and curlier as his eyes continued to drink in the shaggy mane of his beloved friend.
Beloved?
Ah, there it was. Blaise had to acknowledge that that was exactly how he felt about his friend. Always had. Unsentimentally. Taken for granted. Perhaps even taken Theo for granted.
Theo.
He felt it selfishly growing within his chest now that he had acknowledged it. And he hated it. And feared it. And he was comforted by it. He...
He glanced down at Theo, taking in his shaking form again, eyes turning soft on their own as the feeling overtook him against his will and he went to sit down closely beside him, against the wall, and threw an arm around the trembling shoulders, drawing his friend against him. Again, the shift in Theo happened marginally, but it was there, Blaise felt it, something in his breathing, his countenance, his fear relaxed infinitesimally, though his sorrow didn't seem to pass quite so easily.
He leaned ever so slightly into Blaise's touch.
Blaise's heart soared. He sat back, his head resting against the cold, wet tiles, blinking in his stupor, heart palpitating.
So... this is it?
A new feeling forming for his friend. His beloved, old friend. Theo.
Theo.
He stroked the skin of Theo's upper arm and, again, he turned the slightest into his embrace, still not lifting his head. Blaise felt the warmth of his body rising, seeping into his.
Ah. He felt the unmistaken stirrings in his groin and bit his lip, snapped his eyes shut at the sheer, impossible timing of it all!
After a while, trying to come up with all sorts of images to make it go away, Blaise let out a frustrated huff, his chest heaving slightly and his cheeks aflame with lust and shame and nerves.
Then Theo moved again, not out of his embrace (thank Merlin!) but turned to the opposite side, leaning against the wall, his back to Blaise as he stayed within the crook of his left arm, and started to talk quietly:
"I- I thought I could handle it; that I could move on. B-but," he sniffled and Blaise's heart ached quietly along with Theo's choked words, "he's still... there. He's still toying with me! I c-can't escape him. I- I can't escape myself."
Blaise gazed down on Theo's turned back, once again unable to stray away from the line of his elegant neck and the small, curly hairs at the base of his neck and he turned towards him. "You are not at fault, Theo. And you are not alone."
Theo squirmed, whether out of discomfort from the soft words or the closeness or not, he couldn't tell, but Blaise stayed there, leaning over the back of his bent head, hoping to install some reassurance into him, hoping Theo placed enough trust in him.
Theo shivered and squirmed again and this time he arched ever so slightly against Blaise.
Blaise's eyes widened and he licked his lips, breathing becoming harder, heavier. He wanted his comfort? His touch? Like...this?
Trusting him.
Before he was able to stop it from happening, his mouth had made the lightest of touches against the base of Theo's neck, barely tasting the skin along his hairline. Again, Theo shivered and arched more ardently at the contact, both to their surprise. Blaise hovered an inch above his neck, painstakingly holding his breath, awaiting the next reaction, trying to convince himself this was really happening and yet still believing it was some kind of dream.
They hadn't even made eye contact yet. Until then, it might as well be a dream.
Then Theo did the wonderful thing and pressed himself, in the sweetest, most hesitant and curious way, against Blaise's chest, tilting his neck to the side invitingly.
Blaise looked down in shock at the blatant and yet innocent invitation to explore what – whatever they had found. Blaise expelled the breath he had been holding, feeling his desire flare into reinvigorated life and angled his hips slightly away while letting Theo press into his side, not wanting to scare him away. Gingerly, he lifted arms and wound them along Theo's changed form, still folded against the wall, but no longer self-protectively and in quiet pain. He let his fingers run along his limbs, his touch exploring and timid; that of a friend-turned-lover. Theo too expelled a breath of relief he seemed to have been holding and once again arched into his embrace, trying to install himself more firmly into Blaise's arms.
Bending his head, Blaise took advantage of the presented neck and shoulders and started pressing open-mouthed kisses along the lines of naked skin and twitching, delicate bone and muscle underneath. A tremor ran through the boy beneath him.
"Blaise..." he sighed, and Blaise thought he might have died happily then and there. To have been given this precious chance; to explore his friend like this; to see their long-time friendship grow into something new... It was almost too much!
His touch turned more insistent, more eager then, running along the lines of Theo's slim legs; the softly muscled, white flesh.
"Yes..." he mumbled into his neck, nuzzling the sensitive part of his ear and drawing in the soft, familiar and all too close scent of... Theo. His hands crawled lower, along his thighs. "Theo... I-"
"Yes," came the breathy reply. "Yes," he repeated and, for the first time, turned his head, looking over his shoulder, dark-green eyes meeting Blaise's. "We are friends. Aren't we?" It was stated so simply, so tentatively that any other answer than, "Yes. Yes, we are, Theo. We always will be", caught in Blaise's throat.
Theo spread his legs, allowing Blaise's hands to travel along his inner thighs towards their goal, finally, finally engulfing Theo's hard desire in both hands, licking his ear and hearing the answering gasp and feeling the shudder of his lithe body against him. Blaise had now turned himself fully around, fusing himself along Theo's back, his own desire laying hard and throbbing against him. Theo whimpered and pushed himself against it, mumbling wanton phrases Blaise couldn't understand as he was too caught up in the sensation of having Theo in his hands, having him writhing so invitingly, so willingly against him. He continued his tender strokes, changing them from languid to quick and back again, twisting and stalling, making Theo whine and cry as he chased his peak. All the while, Blaise ground himself shamelessly against Theo's lower back, and when he felt Theo draw close, in one last aching cry arching against Blaise's body, it set off his own completion.
They groaned and trembled and then huddled together, naked and unwashed, against the tiled wall, still panting slightly.
Theo's head lulled back into the crook of Blaise's neck, and Blaise took him in from above with a slight smile playing on his lips, feeling the afterglow vibrate from his most beloved friend, leaning back into his arms.
Could it still be a dream? he wondered, somewhere in the back of his mind. But he shook it off. Dream or no dream, this – this right here – was worth it.
It felt...
Blissful.
"Blaise?" Theo's content voice came.
"Hmm?"
"Do you... mind this?" It was timid, hopeful now.
Mind? This? Blaise thought. No. How could I?
"No."
"Good." He snuggled closer and Blaise let him.
