Velveteen
"THE INTERNET IS REALLY, REALLY GREAT! (FOR PORN!) I'VE GOT A FAST CONNECTION SO I DON'T HAVE TO WAIT! (FOR PORN)—"
Kid Blink grabbed his cell phone and hit the green "answer" button after glancing at the caller ID screen, cutting off the tinny rendition of "The Internet Is For Porn."
"Hiya, Mush. What's up?"
The voice on the other end was quieter than usual, and slightly breathy. "I'm coming over."
Blink opened his mouth to answer when he noticed that the line had gone dead. What the fuck? he wondered. Flipping shut his phone, he shrugged. Whatever. Without a further thought about it, Kid Blink walked to the door of his house. It was locked, which was an odd occurance, because his parents were away for the weekend. He turned the lock until he heard the click that told him it was no longer locked. Then, settling back on his couch, he went back to chewing on a pen and putting off doing his math homework.
Five minutes later, Mush breezed in. His hair was wet, his face slightly wild, and his t-shirt on inside out and backwards. Not to mention it was the same one he'd been wearing yesterday. Blink got up, letting his math book and notebook fall to the floor. He had bit hard into the plastic end of his pen, wedging it onto his teeth, so it stuck out from his mouth and wiggled when he spoke.
"Mush! What's wrong?"
Mush didn't answer, just walked past Blink into the kitchen, got a Fanta from the refrigerator, and plopped down on the couch in the spot Kid Blink had vacated. Blink noticed that his feet were bare. He glanced down at the floor, expecting to see Mush's trademark ratty brown hiking boots, but they weren't there. What the hell is going on?
"Mush, come on! What's wrong? What's going on?"
Mush was still silent, but he patted the couch next to him, indicating that Blink should sit down. With a sigh, Blink walked over and fell onto the couch next to Mush.
"Mushy..." he murmured. "Come on. I can tell something's wrong. I haven't been your best friend since forever for nothing. Tell me."
Mush took another swig of his Fanta.
"MUSHERS. You wouldn't have come over if you didn't want to tell me about it."
Mush finally spoke, his voice still quiet and airy. "I don't have any Fanta at my house."
It took Blink a minute to figure out what he'd said, but when he did, he grabbed the bottle of orange soda from Mush's limp hand. "Well, then, I'm taking the Fanta hostage until you answer."
Mush stared at his empty hand for a moment, eyes slightly unfocused, face screwed up as if he was struggling to figure out what had just happened. Then his lips formed an "o" and he sighed a little.
Blink tried to rip his eyes away from Mush's lips. I never noticed how soft they look... his fingers fluttered to his own lips. He felt the slightly chapped surface of his lips. They look so... warm. Then he realized what he was thinking. No, Blink, he chastised himself. He felt like a dog. A strong urge to slap his hand washed over him.
Mush glanced over at his friend. "Um..."
Blink subconciously held his breath.
"I'm..." Mush paused. "Not going home."
What? Blink opened his mouth to speak, then realized he was holding his breath. Slightly embarrassed, he let it out, then said, "What? Why?"
Mush gasped quietly. So quietly, in fact, that Kid Blink barely heard it. "Umm, can I have my Fanta back?"
Blink started, then handed the drink back to his friend. Mush took it and drank deeply, as if it were hard liquor and he could drown his troubles in it.
"Listen, Blink, I... um..." Mush's voice trailed off. His gaze went out of focus again. He paused with the bottle nearly up to his lips again, his body rigid. Blink stared at him, entranced. What scared Blink was not so much Mush's behaviour as the fact that he was... a little bit turned on.
Blink shook his head slightly. "Yeah, Mush?"
"I'm... My mom died."
Shit... what am I supposed to say? "Um... my fish died in third grade, remember?"
Mush looked vacantly at Blink. His eyes, normally bright and expressive, were dull. The gold lights that normally penetrated the umber background were muted today, and his eyes slightly glazed over. "What?"
"Remember? My fishy Aaron? When he died?"
Mush looked away, thinking. "Yeah."
"Mushers... I really don't know how to make you feel better. I'm sorry."
"It's okay... c'mere."
Blink paused, looking at Mush. He was holding out one arm against the back of the couch, beckoning to Kid Blink. He had finished the Fanta and dropped the bottle to the floor.
"Seriously, Blink, come here."
Without thinking, Blink crawled over to the boy. Mush hugged him close, forcing him to bury his face in the t-shirt pulled tight over his pecs. Behind the smell of the dirty t-shirt, Blink could smell Mush's scent—musky, masculine, and wonderful. He breathed deep, letting the scent fill his nose.
In the silence of the moment between the two boys curled up in the corner of Blink's dark blue gingham couch, Blink heard their hearbeats mesh together. Their breath alternated, so Blink breathed out when Mush breathed in. Kid Blink noticed that Mush's breathing was slightly ragged.
"Mushers... is this okay? I mean..." Blink blushed. Nothing had even been happening, but he was most definitely aroused.
"Blink, just let this be. Just..." his voice trailed off and he gazed down at Blink. One hand reached out and gently guided Blink's face up to his own. His lips pressed softly down on Kid Blink's.
The kiss seemed to last forever, but Blink knew it could only have been a minute or so. His entire body felt on fire, and all his nerve endings seemed to be in his lips. He let out a quiet moan as his entire body curved into Mush's.
The two pulled away slowly. Blink could feel his face flushing. This time he initiated the kiss.
When Blink pulled away twenty minutes later, Mush's face was flushed as well. Both boys were breathless and their lips were bright red.
---
Two hours later, Blink's breathing slowed as the two pulled away for the final time. At some point after their first kiss and before they had given their virginities to each other, they had migrated from the couch onto Kid Blink's king size bed. The sheets were strewn about their entwined bodies.
"Blink..." Mush reached over and ran a hand through Kid Blink's mussed hair. "You know, I'm glad we did that."
Blink curled back into Mush, breathing onto his smooth, flawless chest. "Your skin is really soft," he said. His head was filled with a layer of euphoric fog, which may have contributed to the comment. "Like... like velveteen."