A/N: errr... I don't have the next chap of play your cards (R section lol) ready yet, so instead, i upload old stuff. You know the routine, uncensored chapter available, just e-mail me or drop a review with your e-mail address if you want it yadda yadda yadda enjoy. ._.;;;
gimperz666@yahoo.ca
p.s- few things XD;
1. Thanks mary (ambiguous wuff) for coming up with the fic's title all
those months ago! XD
2. Despite what some reviewers think, I am a girl. ._. a gimp-femme
3. *Important* No sending death threats to my students!!! death threating
muselet=not good for you XD;;
Where the Red Petals Wander
It was beautiful. The sky bled gently as the sun set. He'd been there since it had risen, nestled against a rock which curved inward, almost like a chair.
A snag. Slowly, Rock began to reel his catch in, sitting up straighter. He had hardly caught a thing, the entire day. Hopefully, this was more than an old boot or a tire. He tugged harshly at it until finally something happened. The line snapped, and he tumbled back, rod in hand.
He sighed slightly, getting up and brushing himself off. So much for that. Oh well, it was time to start heading back anyway. Stretching, he began to make his way down the beach, over the rocks. Squinting slightly, he noticed a dark form further down the rocky beach.
As he neared the figure, he recognized it as a teenage boy, dressed in mostly black and grey, staring out at the water. All he could make out was the back of his head, covered with wild, violet hair, face covered by it. He stopped and stared at him, watching the water which had rose to lap delicately at his feet.
"Umm... Excuse me," he interrupted with, "the tide's coming in. Maybe you should move back a-"
"Rockman..." The boy muttered, and turned sharply, eyes dark.
Rock's eyes widened slightly, as he recognized those purple streaks. "Forte?!"
In less than a second, both had transformed into their armor, and stood unsteadily on the uneven, rock littered ground, busters aimed at each other. Neither made a move, staring each other down silently. Then something flashed through Forte's eyes, just for a second, yet there was no mistaking it.
'He looks lonely.' Slowly, Rock relaxed slightly, buster still trained on him. "Want some company...?" He asked, warily lowering his buster.
Forte gave him a strange look. 'What kind of question is that??' Thinking on it momentarily, he finally nodded, shifting back into his street clothes. "I guess." He sat down again, staring back out into the water, completely ignoring Rock, even when he sat down beside him. Several moments passed this way, Rock watching the setting sun, Forte the water.
"You can see the moon as well... Over there. See?" Rock asked, pointing to his left, where the moon had just begun to rise, casting silver over the shimmering water.
"What do you want?" Was Forte's response.
"Huh?" He asked, confused. "I don't want anything. I just thought you might want some company. You know..." He wound his foot through the sand, weaving it between rocks. "Someone to... hang around with." In truth, Rock was lonely himself, and looking for someone to talk to.
Forte rose his brow slightly. "I've got Gospel.... I am not lonely." He stretched out over the rocks quietly, staring up at the stars in the sky. "I have to go now... Wily might notice I'm missing. He gets nervous when I'm out on my own." A devilish glint danced and laughed in his eyes, although the rest of his face remained stone.
Rock could understand that... Forte was, in himself, a weapon. One with very little sense of right and wrong. Not good to have running around. He set his chin on his knees, staring out quietly. "Do you really need to leave, Forte?" He asked, hearing his footsteps as he began to walk away.
He stopped. "I guess I could stay awhile... If you want." He cocked his head to the side, slightly. 'The hell would he want my company for?' He walked back over to him, slowly, and stood behind him, watching the water more.
Rock chewed his lip slightly, back to Forte. Was it really worth the risk? Should he ask? He licked his lips, thoughtful, then murmured. "Want to come back to my place? I caught some fish, you can have some.."
Forte stood in silent contemplation for what seemed like eternity. "Won't your family-"
"They're in bed." Rock spurted out quickly.
Forte continued to consider the offer, index finger resting on his lips. "Alright." he stated, finally. "I'll go." What harm could an innocent visit do?
Rock's smile widened. "Okay.. Let's get going."
>>>>>
The big, heavy, front door to the Light residence creaked loudly as Rock and Forte entered it cautiously, yet no one stirred. "Blues must have left this morning, he'd never have slept through that."
Rock ushered Forte into the kitchen quickly, to lessen the chances of his being seen, and began to take out the fish, four in total. "I'll keep two for us, okay?" He smiled.
Forte nodded slightly. "Sure." he stated, looking around slowly. 'This isn't right.... I shouldn't be here... If Wily or Light catch me...'
Suddenly a can dropped into his line of vision, interrupting his thoughts. He looked up quickly, brow raised.
"It's an energy drink. Take it. It's okay." Rock answered his unasked question with. "How do you want your fish? I'm not a cook like Roll, but.."
"It doesn't matter." Forte replied with. "I don't like fish, so any way will do." He continued to sit, stiffly at the table, head lowered slightly.
"Why didn't you tell me you don't like it?" Rock asked, curiously. "I could have offered you something else.." He wrapped up the two fish, stuffing them in the fridge.
"Food consumption is for the sake of being converted to energy. Like and dislike has nothing to do with it. " He ran on with, drinking his
energy drink coolly.
"I guess you can look at it that way... But I much prefer eating things I like." He rummaged through the fridge quietly. "Do you like pizza?" He asked, pulling some out.
Forte simply stared, blankly. "What's pizza? I'll take it." He finally
replied with, dully.
Rock set a plate with some triangle.... things... on it, in front of him, smiling. "This is pizza. I'm sure you'll like it." He sat down across from him and began to eat, contentedly.
Forte watched him momentarily, to see how he ate it, then mimicked Rock's actions, eating the pizza in the same mundane way he ate anything else. Silence fell over them for several moments, until Rock finally spoke up.
"Do you like it?" He asked curiously, leaned on the table.
"Yeah." Forte uttered. Short but to the point. He finished off the last of his pizza, then stood up. "I suppose you'd like me to leave now..." He wrung his hands, trying to think of the nicest way to put what he was about to say. "Thank you.. For having me in your house, Rockman." He stumbled over, awkwardly. Being polite to an enemy was not a strong point of his.
Rock stood as well, scratching his head slightly. "You can call me 'Rock' when we're like this, you know." He shuffled his feet slightly. "You can leave whenever you want, but you can stay overnight if you'd like.." He smiled shyly. With Blues gone, he would be lonely again. Even if it was Forte, it was still company. 'Besides, I like him..' He thought, flustered as a faint pink hue formed on his cheeks.
Forte thought it over, carefully. 'I... Could stay... But I don't want to impose. Not to mention Wily will freak if he finds me missing again. It really would be... Nice.. though. It's so lonely back at the fortress... And Rock is kind of...' He blushed deeply, unable to believe what he had almost said about his rival. ' Well, an invite's an invite...'
"I... Guess so.... 'Rock'." How awkward, he mused.
"There's not a lot of room in here... Sorry for the mess!" Rock whispered, dragging Forte into his room. "You can sleep in my bed, with me. Do you want right or left?" He asked, looking through his drawers for something Forte could wear to bed.
Forte stared around the room, slowly. 'He has a lot of things. It looks so... Lived in. It makes me feel good.' He stood uncomfortably, just inside the room. "It doesn't matter, really. Left is good." He sighed slightly. Left was definitely better. Closest to the window, furthest from the door. Couldn't get much safer than that.
"Okay... Try these." Rock pulled a pair of purple boxers out of his drawer, tossing them at Forte. These might fit." He continued to shuffle through his drawers both to find something to wear, and to give Forte the privacy he needed.
Forte didn't seem to mind, either way, and stripped himself down, pulling the boxers up around his hips. "They're fine." In truth, they were far too small, almost painfully so, but he didn't care. 'No one has ever shown me this much gratitude, and I haven't even done anything...'
"Oh, good." Rock smiled, pulling his shirt off and slipping another one on, to sleep in. He began to pull his pants off, then paused, blushing slightly. Forte was staring at him. He fumbled with his clothes as he changed, unused to undressing under someone's gaze. "Well, you can just hop into bed, and I'll join you in just a moment."
Forte returned Rock's ever friendly smile slightly, unused to such a foreign facial movement. "Okay." He slid into bed and lay flat on his back quietly, watching Rock run back and forth across the room, grabbing random things, a book, a hairbrush he ran through his hair, a small flashlight. "You can the light on, if you want to read." He mumbled.
Rock blinked, hopping onto the right side of the bed. "It's okay, I don't want to keep you up." He curled up in the blankets, turning the flashlight on, and began to read quietly.
"It's okay, it won't keep me up." He lay still, staring at the ceiling, and let Rock read quietly.
Forte lay, still staring at the ceiling. Rock had eventually turned off the flashlight, and settled into his bed. He had been completely still for almost an hour now, he had to be asleep by now. Slowly, Forte began to settle as well, rolling over slightly to face Rock.
Rock lay, completely still, on his side, staring into Forte's face quietly.
Forte started slightly, he hadn't expected Rock to still be awake. "Did I wake you up, Rock?" He asked quietly. Was Rock that light of a sleeper?
Rock shook his head no slightly. "I've been up all this time.." He replied with, lamely. He blushed slightly. "I, uh.. couldn't sleep."
Forte nodded slightly, then lay still, staring silently at him. "Gospel's down for some repairs. He should be up by morning.. I'll be leaving early in the morning, while you're asleep. I hope you don't mind." He muttered, softly.
Rock nodded slightly. "Okay." Several moments passed. "Hey, Forte... Do you want to meet out by the rocks again tomorrow night?" He asked, finally.
Forte thought on this awhile. "Maybe." He finally answered.
More silence. They lay quietly, taking in every detail of each other, neither speaking a word. The tension was thick, almost unbearable.
Rock clenched and unclenched his hands gently. Forte looked so different, illuminated by the moon. So beautiful, it almost hurt to stare. He wanted to grab hold of him, but he looked so untouchable... So damned beautiful. He balled his hand into a fist, and simply stared, frightened to take his gaze off him.
Forte let his gaze wander over Rock, slowly. What was that look in his eyes? It was so warm, so different from anything he'd ever seen before. A special look, he was saving for him. The childish spark was gone from his eyes, replaced with something he had never seen on Rock before. It was demanding, and pleading at the same time.
Slowly, before he even realized what he was doing, he slid an arm over to Rock, resting his hand on his back. He was so warm, breathing so hard. He seemed panicked, scared. 'You don't know what comes now, do you? Don't worry, I'll show you...' He smiled lightly, an almost comforting hint in his eyes, and began to pull the smaller boy toward him. 'I'll give you what you're too frightened to ask for..'
Rock's eyes widened as Forte leaned into him, brushing his lips on his. He shivered slightly, as Forte's tongue slid across his lower lip gently, then began to investigate his partially open mouth. His lips sealed his tongue within Rock's warm mouth, and he was pulled ever closer into Forte's hold. Slowly, Rock let his eyes close, taking in the delicious feeling of Forte's delicate kiss, sliding his own tongue forth, to meet with Forte's and his mouth.
After a few minutes, Forte pulled back slightly, kissing his way along Rock's neck and chest. "Are you scared?" He asked quietly, running his hands up and down Rock's back gently. With expert ease, he pulled Rock's shirt off gently.
Rock thought momentarily. "A little, maybe.. Why, should I be?" He asked, pulling at Forte's boxers softly.
"I don't think so..I have no reason to harm you, right now." He slid his hands down to Rock's shorts, then pulled them down to his knees quickly, before moving his hands up to Rock's reddened hips, gripping him gently.
Something about that phrase made Rock somewhat nervous, but that was very quickly forgotten...
The moments seemed to last forever. Finally Rock buried his hands in Forte's hair, pressing as closely to him as possible, and let out a low moan, spilling over.
Forte gasped loudly, Rock's finish bringing on his own. He lay, staring up at Rock silently, and something passed between them. Rock looked so ... Heavenly. His damp hair, the sweat that glistened on his body, the rosy colour of his cheeks all served to accentuate that beauty. He found himself almost shaking. Rock had a power to him he knew not how to fight, or avoid. "Rock..." He felt himself whisper, shakily. "I.... I..." He forced himself to get a grip on reality, and fight those three words he dare not utter, back. "It's my turn." He whispered.
Rock rolled over, slowly, arms cradling his chin, stomach brushing against the bedspread, knees bent slightly, lost in thought. Why had Forte been staring at him that way? He had never seen Forte look quite that way before. He looked... Frightened. Whatever it had been, however, it had obviously passed. Smiling slightly, he returned his thoughts to where they should be.
It didn't last long after that. Both were tired, and decided to recharge for a few hours. When Rock woke up, hours later, he found Forte perched on the side of his bed, quietly, staring out the window. He sat up, quickly. "Are you leaving?" He asked solemnly, taking a place beside Forte and staring out the window at the sun, which had just begun to rise.
"In a few minutes, yes." Came the distant reply. He sat that way, still as stone for what seemed an eternity. Finally.. "You know this doesn't change anything... Between us. I will still fight you to the death, if I feel the need."
Rock sighed slightly. "I'd figured as much." Hanging his head slightly, he leaned against Forte gently. "Why does it always have to be this way? Every time I find someone.. A friend.. anything.." He gripped Forte's shoulder slightly. "Can't we just.... See each other sometimes?" He asked softly.
Forte stared off into the distance saying nothing.
Rock felt his eyes begin to burn with tears, but fought back the urge to cry. Not now. It wasn't fair to guilt him into it.
"Tomorrow night. Is the beach good?"
He shot a glance upward, quickly, at Forte. "O-okay..." He nodded, numbly. "Tomorrow night.. The beach." Stretching upward, he sealed his lips over Forte's in a slow, relaxed kiss.
Forte pushed Rock's bangs back, slightly. "And wipe your eyes." he added, an ever so faint smile marking his lips. He got up, stretching, and began to dress. "What were you fishing for anyway?"
"Wide mouth bass." Rock grinned slightly, ducking the purple pair of boxers aimed at his head.
Forte sighed slightly. "Did you find any?" He asked, crouched in the window frame.
"Something even better.."
~Fin.