*Things get a little steamy in this chapter. Just a warning. Not anything below the belt. I'm not that crazy…not yet at least. The first draft of this does actually go below the belt, but upon revision, I realized that it's still a little too early for that. They've only just kissed. So, I'm thinking that something even more significant would have to happen before they would actually have sex (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, ZOMG SPOILERZ!!) Please feel free to tell me if you're uncomfortable with sexual content, and I'll see what I can do. True, I am writing this for myself, but everyone's entitled to an opinion, and I'd love to hear yours. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. I'd like to thank my very attractive and talented reviewers (guardyanangel and equestrian247). And since it's Christmas, I'm throwing in an extra-special gift for you guys. An update both today and tomorrow!!! Well, enjoy, kids. God bless us, everyone.
Chapter 3: Up and Down, Back and Forth
Roy's eyes slowly opened as consciousness returned to him in bits and pieces. As time passed, he began to grow increasingly confused. His brow furrowed. He was in bed. How did he get there? Closing his eyes again, he tried to focus: what did he remember? He remembered the kiss (How could he forget? His lips were still tingling). Garth nearly fainted from dehydration. Roy took him to the shower. They had changed. Then, he pulled Garth into his arms. He could still hear that soft, adorable voice:
"Roy?...Thank you."
Still, after that, there was nothing. Roy must have fallen asleep, meaning that someone had carried him to the bed.
If he strained his mind, the redhead could grasp at only a single remnant. He remembered feeling someone curl next to him: Garth. Only the Atlantean could have done so without waking Roy (he was so used to it already, after all).
Still, if Garth had carried Roy to bed and fallen asleep next to him, then where was the purple-eyed boy now? A frightening thought came to Roy as he recalled something darker that the Atlantean had shouted:
"Then, I'll go to the reef they abandoned me at! Who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky and actually die this time!"
That was just something he had said in the heat of the moment, right? He did not actually mean it, right? Oh, God. Did Garth actually do it? Did he return to the ocean to die? No! Roy could not stand it if that happened. In a self-induced panic, Roy jumped out of bed and ran out of the room to find Garth. He could not hear the shower, so Garth had not gone to rehydrate himself. Perhaps the main room, then?
He ran through the halls of Titans' Tower into the room that held virtually everything that the Titans owned. Roy breathed a huge sigh of relief, for there was Garth, in the kitchen, with his back to the archer. The violet-eyed boy appeared to be cooking something.
"Garth?" the redhead called as he approached the other. Garth blinked before turning. He beamed at the sight of Roy.
"Good morning, Roy," he greeted cheerfully. "I was just making some-" He did not get the chance to finish that thought, for Roy dashed over and crashed his lips against the other's. With a soft moan, Garth felt himself become nothing but a pile of nerves. He could feel as Roy's strong arms pulled him so close. Those soft, sensual lips as they pushed against his. And that tongue. Oh that tongue! It glided over and under his own, wrapping around, coaxing, exploring. Hands gripped Garth's ebony tresses, giving Roy more leverage; the tongue penetrated deeper.
Garth's conscious mind was blown to bits, leaving only the most basic of instincts. His body moved of its own volition, gripping Roy as the pleasure coursed through him, making him moan, gasp, whimper. And yet it was not enough, not nearly enough. He wanted to feel more of Roy, taste more of Roy. So much more.
Finally, Garth was left looking dazedly up at the other, lips swollen, cheeks flushed, eyes glazed over, and hair rumpled. Roy grinned boyishly. Garth nearly melted when he saw those green eyes twinkle.
"Funny," murmured the redhead. "I don't think I've ever seen you this disheveled. I like. I like very much." Garth could not control the blush that overtook his face at that comment. If he was not so weak-kneed, he would have smacked Roy for making him so embarrassed. Alas, the redhead appeared to be the only thing keeping him upright.
However, Garth grew confused as Roy's smirk became a frown. He placed a hand on the purple-eyed boy's forehead. After a moment, he sighed. "No good," he mused. "You still have a fever." Garth nodded grimly.
"I don't think it'll go away until this…thing's out of me." Roy stared worriedly for a moment.
"Can I see?" he whispered. Garth reluctantly turned so that his back was facing the archer and took a deep breath.
The redhead gently lifted his shirt to reveal a alarming wound. The skin on Garth's back was raised in certain areas, forming the same shape that Roy had seen on the x-ray. The raised skin was strangely discolored. Most disturbing of all was the way that the mass would pulse every so often. It infuriated the archer. Roy's eyes fell on a particular part of the mass that would pulse so often that it almost looked to be sucking the very life out of his friend. Unable to stop himself, he lightly pushed on it.
And Garth screamed like never before.
Roy nearly fell over backwards at the suddenness. He jumped back, and Garth, now with no support, fell to the floor, writhing in pain. His breath came out in sharp pants when he was not screaming his lungs out. His violet eyes were wide as he frantically clutched at his shoulders, trying to reach to source of his agony.
Snapping himself out of his shock, Roy rushed over to the Atlantean. He knelt beside Garth, pulling him into his arms. "Oh, God. Oh God! It's-it's gonna be okay! God, Garth. Garth! Please be okay…" After a few minutes, Garth finally managed to catch his breath, calming himself.
For a while, the violet-eyed boy just basked in Roy's presence, trying to recover. He briefly glanced up at the other. "Hey," Roy greeted softly.
The Atlantean merely moaned out, "Never do that again," in response.
"Never," agreed the archer as he absentmindedly wiped the pain-induced tears from Garth's face. "Sorry." The purple-eyed boy just smiled.
He placed a warm kiss on Roy's cheek. "You're forgiven." There was a comfortable silence. "Hey, Roy," the Atlantean began again. The redhead nodded to show that he was listening. "You need to let go of me; breakfast isn't going to make itself." Roy was about to make a witty retort (something along the lines of, "But if I let you go, then I may never get a second chance to do you on the kitchen floor."), when an evil plan made its way into his head. He released the Atlantean without much of a fight.
Garth returned to his cooking, and for a few moments, Roy just watched as the other poured pancake batter into the pan. However, just before Garth could flip the first pancake, Roy struck. He roughly pulled the Atlantean against his body and began kissing and nipping up and down his neck. Garth gasped, jumping enough for the half-cooked pancake to fly into the air and land nearly ten feet away.
Garth's eyes narrowed; he opened his mouth to reprimand the archer for ruining his breakfast, but Roy was quicker. He pinned the Atlantean to the kitchen counter and continued where he left off on his companion's neck. He trailed kisses all over that luscious expanse of flawless pale skin, stopping only to nip at a particularly sensitive area that made Garth release a moan so delicious that it almost made the redhead hard just hearing it. Roy brushed back silky black hair to reveal something that the archer never expected. It was something like a meeting-point of several veins.
Unsure of what to do with the spot, Roy tested it with a soft kiss. Eyes widening, Garth whimpered. The redhead smirked. "Mnnn," was all that the Atlantean could manage as Roy began lavishing the area with attention.
"What was that?" he teased. He bit particularly hard, earning him a whine. "Oh come on; I know you're dying to say it." He tantalizingly ran his tongue over the area; Garth moaned deep. Roy began using his tongue expertly to stimulate the spot.
Garth gasped as he came back to reality. He panicked, violently pushing Roy off of him. He clutched at the spot on his neck, eyes so very wide. He stared at Roy in disbelief.
The redhead pulled himself off the ground. He was about to voice his irritation at being thrown to the ground in the middle of a make-out session, but that was until he took one look at Garth. He had never seen the Atlantean look so frightened. "Garth," he murmured as not to startle the other. "What's wrong?"
"I-I can't—you just—why-" he stammered out. Roy came closer. Garth backed away. "No, stay away!" He backed into the counter. Roy moved to touch the other. Garth was shaking.
He tried to lay a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but Garth misread the action for him reaching for his neck again. He slapped the redhead hard across the face. "Don't touch me," he growled, "you—you—you, beast!" Garth ran out of the room as fast as he could, leaving a very baffled Roy in his wake.
Roy once again pulled himself up, cradling his aching jaw. The archer did not think that he had ever felt a slap quite as painful as that. "Damn Atlantean strength," he muttered indignantly, but somewhere in his mind, he knew that the fact that mild-mannered Garth slapped him was what hurt so much. He followed after.
He found Garth in their bedroom, lying with his face buried in a pillow. Roy's heart ached at the sight of the scene. He approached with caution. Normally, Roy would have taken a seat on the bed and soothingly rubbed circles on Garth's back, but he knew that that was probably not the best idea considering what just happened. He sat beside the bed, leaning against the frame.
"I can't believe you did that," Garth murmured, briefly looking up from the pillow. Roy raised an eyebrow.
"Did what?" he asked, honestly confused. Garth could not possibly be this wound up from simple necking. Garth snapped up from the bed, grasping Roy's collar.
" 'Did what?' 'Did what?'! You know very well what…you…did…" Garth trailed off as he took one look at Roy's face. Roy seemed genuinely bewildered at the whole situation. At this, the Atlantean cooled off. "You really have no idea what you did, do you?" he inquired softly.
"No," the redhead responded. With a sigh, Garth crawled off the bed and took a seat on the ground next to Roy. He pulled Roy closer and closely inspected his neck. Suddenly, everything clicked.
"…Humans don't have the stigma, do they?"
"No," repeated Roy. There was a silence.
But then, Roy could not stop his smile as Garth rested his head on his shoulder. The Atlantean was comfortable around him again, always a good sign.
"So," began Roy quietly, "what's the stigma?"
Garth closed his eyes, and began the rather long, tedious explanation of Atlantean anatomy. "It's something an Atlantean has in his or her neck (I thought humans had it too, but I thought wrong). It's a coalescence of nerves that when struck in battle, is so painful that it can easily disable even the strongest warrior. That's why most Atlantean's cover theirs with their hair or jewelry or something of the like." Roy nodded. "But, it also has a different sort of use. When…touched…the right way, it causes incredible pleasure. When stimulated enough it causes…I believe you humans call it an…'orgasm'?" Roy nearly choked.
"Y-y-you mean I almost—!" Garth nodded, unable to hide his blush. Roy's eyes widened. "Oh my God…no wonder you were so…oh God, Garth, I violated you. If I'd known I never would have—!" Garth just nodded again.
"I know, Roy; I know. You see…in Atlantis, we only let a very intimate lover touch the stigma…" Roy closed his eyes in shame.
"I never should have gone near it."
Garth gazed up at Roy sadly. "That's just the thing, Roy" he thought, "I don't even know what I wanted you to do anymore."
"God, you must loathe me now. I'm so-"
"Roy," he cut in softly, "I wouldn't be resting my head on your shoulder if I hated you." They were silent for a moment more.
"So, this thingy causes pleasure whenever someone touches it?" asked Roy. Garth shook his head.
"No, only when you touch it a certain way. If you used your mouth, yes. But if you were to just stroke it with your fingers or something, it'd probably just calm me dow—oh…" Roy began stroking the "stigma." He smiled as Garth slid into his lap, purring like a kitten. He watched, amazed, as the tension just seemed to melt off the other. He was about to end his gentle ministrations to let Garth rest, but the Atlantean just shook his head.
"Mm…don't…stop…" he managed sleepily. Roy chuckled, continuing where he left off. He watched the other with a pleased smile.
It was insane how many emotions Garth could bring out in him, from content to anxious to playful to angry to anxious again and back to content in the space of only minutes. He had never experienced anything quite like it.
Who was he kidding? How could he and Garth possibly just be friends? When had this happened? When had everything changed? Was it when Garth had cried himself to sleep in Roy's arms all those nights ago? Or perhaps it was that horrible night when he had carried the Atlantean all the way from Steel City, when he had realized that Garth was all that he had left? Maybe he did not have feelings for Garth after all. Maybe he was just clinging to the last remnant of his family, his home.
But family members didn't make out.
It was all so confusing, leading Roy in so many different directions. All that he could be sure of was that he needed this, and that was all that mattered.
Garth shifted in his arms. The redhead looked down only to be met with a pair of violet eyes so bright that they appeared to be glowing. Roy had never seen the other's eyes do this before. It unnerved him.
"Garth?" he called uncertainly. "What's wr-" Garth sat up and flung himself into Roy's arms, burying his face in the archer's chest. He was trembling. "Hey, calm down. Why the sudden clinginess?" he joked in an attempt to hide his anxiety. Garth just shook his head as he murmured something unintelligible. "What?"
"D-don't go…" the Atlantean uttered, looking up at Roy with mad eyes. "Don't go." Roy was beyond concerned at this point.
"Hey," he attempted to reason, "I'm not going anywhere. Who said I was?" Again Garth shook his head.
"Something's going to happen to you," he continued, sounding truly afraid, which only managed to scare Roy in turn. Garth's eyes were frantic and tearful. "Something's going to happen; you can't go." Roy was too shocked to respond. "Something's going to happen to you," he repeated. "You can't go! Don't go!" He sobbed, clutching onto the redhead. "I can feel it; something bad's going to happen to you! Don't go, Roy! Please!" This only succeeded in frightening the archer further. Garth was not dreaming or hallucinating; he knew exactly who was in front of him, and that made the state seem all the worse.
Finally, Roy snapped himself out of his shock-induced trance. He grabbed Garth by the shoulders. "Garth," he called sternly. "Look at me." He cupped Garth's cheek, coaxing the other to meet his eye. "Garth, nothing's going to happen. I'm not going anywhere." He pulled the Atlantean close. "It's going to be okay." Garth seemed to calm.
For a few moments, there was silence, before a soft moan escaped the purple-eyed boy. "Oh," he shifted in Roy's arms. "W-what…happened?" he managed dreamily. "Roy?" The archer was not sure how to respond to this sudden change in his companion. "Roy…" he dabbed at his cheeks, "why am I crying? What—oh…my head—" Before he could continue questioning, Roy pulled him close, so very close, cradling him. Finally, the pent up emotions from the past week caught up to him, and for the first time in months, Roy began to cry. He sobbed, burying his face in Garth's hair. And the latter just let him, knowing that the redhead needed this. He smiled sympathetically, gently rubbing soothing circles on his back. "Hey, it's okay," he comforted softly. "Everything's going to be just fine. Shhh…" And Roy cried harder. He cried for himself, for his fallen comrades, and most of all, for Garth.
*Was that not the trippiest thing you've ever read? I hope so because with Kaiser fanfics, you get what you pay for…absolutely nothing! Jk, jk, don't worry, the next few chapters will be back to normal. So feel free to wipe that craziness from your mind. ;) Well, I was pretty exhausted when I proofread, so sorry about the mistakes. Merry Christmas all! I love ya!!
P.S. I just added a bit, when I looked through it again this morning. Hope it didn't bother you.