The Blacksmith's Apprentice [M/M] - CLOSED

Lucan moaned softly as Averey pulled him close, the two of them blissfully naked. He could scarcely handle how beautiful it was to feel his entire, bare body snug up against Averey's, with nothing in between, absolutely no barriers.

"Averey, Averey, my very own!" he sighed, still occasionally shuddering with happy little sobs. "Yes, oh yes... forever, my love. Forever and ever. Let's indeed, Averey, please? Never move from this bed, right here--just you and I and no clothes and no jobs and no other people in the wide world. Just close your eyes and pretend with me, my Averey. Nothing has ever existed, or will ever exist, but you and I, just like this, right now. This moment is forever."

He kissed the warm flesh beneath him, kissing anything he could reach--neck, shoulder, chest, stubbled jaw--slowly and warmly, beginning after a little while to add little licks, and even the occasional nip. He clung to Averey like a baby animal, arms and legs clutching him, now and then making little purring noises as Averey's hand stroked his back in delicious circles. He couldn't stop his cock from hardening, and he knew Averey would be able to feel it pressed against his belly.

"Oh, you make me feel so impossibly good--I'll not be good for anything else tonight so long as you touch me like this," he whispered. "My prick loves you so very much--my heart's been whispering to him how lovely you are."

Averey chuckled lightly and gave Lucan’s rump a squeeze. “I have overheard similar conversations between my own as well. Let us lay here quietly and see what they might discuss amongst themselves shall we.” With that Averey reached down between them and took both their pricks in his hand. They both oozed into his hand as he gripped them together, his other hand still firm on Lucan’s surprisingly round backside. He shushed him with a kiss as he slowly began to move his hand up in down, working their shafts together. “I fear they are exchanging ideas,” he said with a smirk as he felt the subtle throb in his fist.

It was not long before he began to pull Lucan gently, causing his hips to writhe against him. Averey’s fingertips grazed along the cleft between his cheeks and he felt Lucan gasp against his chest. It was a wonderful sound and Averey wanted nothing more than to hear it again.

“I remember a promise of anything my Birdie,” Averey asked with his eyes locked with Lucan’s.

Lucan's mouth fell open helplessly as he was gifted the unprecedented sensation of Averey's big, strong hand stroking both their pricks together, the other hand on his backside. Gods, was anything allowed to feel this good?! He might reach his messy conclusion very soon, and possibly a few more conclusions yet if Averey kept touching him in such pleasing ways!

He could not help but suck in a quick breath when Averey's fingers grazed his cleft. His back arched momentarily. Did Averey not realize what he was touching...? Also... why did it feel so wonderfully delectable to be touched there? He was astonished at the various unexpected pleasures Averey was inspiring within his body, and reared back a little, gazing down in him with mixed lust and confusion. What did Averey want?

Lucan felt suddenly that there must be a whole world of adult things he was yet ignorant of, and that somehow Averey must know about them when he did not. He was afraid of appearing a childish dunce, but also did not want to feign confidence. At any rate, whatever there was to discover, Lucan wanted to discover it. He wanted them to discover it, together. When he had promised Averey to do anything for him, he had meant it--nothing inspired him more strongly than the notion of pleasing his magnificent smithy boy, in whatever way he wished.

"Yes, Averey," he breathed, with a tiny quiver. His heart felt like a flutter of bird's wings. "Gods, yes--anything! What can I do to please you, my love?"

"It is more what I would do to please you," Averey said and then quickly flipped them over so that he lay on top of his love. Gently he nudged Lucan's legs apart, all the while his gaze locked on those blue eyes. "Do you trust me my Birdie? Do you trust that I would never do harm to you or force you to do anything that would not bring you satisfaction?" Averey knew well the answer to these but it didn't make the emphatic nod any less pleasing. That was all he needed to bring his fantasy to life.

With one last hungry kiss, Averey made his way down the body he so adored. And he planned to show Luc just how much with every nibble to that soft pale skin. With every caress of his fingertips. He paced himself, ignoring the urge to ravage the young man. Averey read well the look in those eyes. This was all so new to him, it was new to Averey as well but the desires were well ingrained in him. He knew he was more comfortable in his need to touch Lucan, even if the smaller man was more willing to satisfy it. That was the difference in them, and Averey relished in the contrast in their personalities. So far it seemed they brought out the best in each other.

Now Averey wanted to bring something else out of him. He reached down for his shirt and rolled it into a ball. "I do love to make you sing Birdie but I doubt you want the village to hear your song," he said with a smirk as he hovered over the pink arrow that jutted out from Lucan's loins. His first tentative lick was heaven on earth and he very quickly took another, slowly running his tongue over the angry red tip tasting the heady flavors of his manhood. Throwing caution to the wind Averey took him fully into his mouth. Propriety be damned all he wanted was to make his Birdie feel good so he worked his mouth in the same motion as if it were his hand, bobbing back and forth,

Lucan nearly yelped out loud as Averey's warm tongue came in contact with his prick. Quickly he pressed the balled-up shirt firmly against his mouth, even biting down on it as Averey took him in fully. From behind the thick gag of cloth came a ceaseless series of tightly muffled, mewling puppy noises. There was no telling how many individuals around the inn he might have alerted of their libidinous play had he not been muzzled.

Innocent young Lucan had never conceived of the possibility of a man putting a prick in his mouth, but the effect was so overwhelmingly pleasurable that he could not object or even really spare the mental space to wonder what had possessed Averey to take such an action. It was all good, it was simply glorious, divine, and he could focus on nothing else as Averey's mouth closed around his most private and sensitive part... licking, sucking, as if he wanted to eat it up.

Lucan's legs kicked helplessly in the air. His body was unable to contain how good this felt. His feet finally found Averey's back and rubbed up and down a little, showing his affection while his tongue could not. His mewling noises into the bunched shirt turned to muted growls as Averey's oral attentions brought him perilously close to spending. Surely Averey wouldn't want that in his mouth! Even as his legs clamped around the bigger boy's body, Lucan's free hand grabbed at Averey's hair halfheartedly as if to coax him off, but already it was coming, it was coming like the unstoppable force of a hurricane, and at last all he could do was press Averey's shirt tighter against his mouth as his entire body tensed up and he held back as best he could the scream that the force of his climax wanted to summon, and his seed shot forth with tremendous pressure and heat.

Before he began, Averey had his doubts about the possible pleasure this act would bring. He had heard stories from men, lips loosened from Papa's ale, of women who had done such things to them. The things they said of such women were far from complimentary but the act itself always seemed more than appreciated. It seemed simple enough. If Lucan enjoyed Averey's mouth elsewhere, why not here. All his doubts went out the window at that first muffled squeal.

At first he kept his eyes closed, focused on the task at hand. Ensuring that his lips remain over his teeth and he kept his mouth well lubricated so that Lucan glide easily in and out, but when began to flail about beneath him Averey had to look up to be sure it was a pleasurable reaction. When he saw those delicate fists wringing the bed linens and his head thrashing back and forth Averey could not look away. He also could not stop, would not until Lucan exploded beneath. He wanted to taste his everything, to take every bit of his Birdie within himself to be with him always. In truth Averey could never understand how something that gave life could also be considered something dirty, vile. Nothing of Birdie could be such and he would prove it to him. Averey felt the tugs at his hair, the weak thrusts of Lucan's hips but he refused to let up. And eventually his persistence paid him handsomely.

He nearly choked at the shock of the first volley of Lucan's powerful seed. Averey had tasted his own on one occasion or another so the taste wasn't unbearable, it was a better flavor than his. He allowed it pool onto his tongue, filling his mouth before he swallowed but still there was more. He wondered how such a small set of jewels could produce such volume, but he did not waste a drop and when Lucan was finally spent Averey slowly released him from his lips. With his head rested on a slender hip, Averey look up at his Birdie and smile.

"Was that okay...I didn't hurt you did I."

Lucan's breath shivered uncontrollably as he fought to fill his lungs. The balled-up shirt was tossed aside, and the smile on Lucan's face was achingly huge, his eyes glimmering with the threat of tears. He reached out to pet Averey's pretty golden curls clumsily with one quaking hand.

"My love, my love!" he breathed. "More than okay, oh, so much more! No, you didn't hurt me! My Averey, you made me feel so good. I never knew there was so much happiness in the world!"

His fingertips massaged at Averey's scalp a little longer, and then he found Averey's hand and gave it a tug.

"Here, my handsome man, come and embrace your little bird," he whispered, and smiled even wider as Averey crawled up the bed and took him in his strong blacksmith's arms. Lucan pressed his face into Averey's warm neck and sighed, wrapping one leg around him.

"Are we lovers, Averey? Is that what we are? Like a man would be with a lady?"

Averey had never thought of it that way since he had never really thought of loving a woman. "Lover's yes but like a man and another man," Averey said as wrap his arms securely around Luc as he asked. He kissed his head as the smaller man nuzzeled his neck and sighed. "A lady is not what I want and I doubt that is how you wish me treat you Birdie. What we share is nothing like what we know so let us not compare. I am content to know that I make you smile and feel good for the man you are. If you can be content with the same then that alone makes us lovers."

Though he had satisfied Lucan's needs Averey's hardness still persisted against his lover's thigh. The talk of their relation did nothing to soothe it, nor did Lucan's warm breath on his neck. He reached down with a groin and gave his tight sack a tongue in an effort to relieve a bit of pressure but of course it was of little help.

"Would you...if you don't want to...it's just...when you touch me..."

"Oh, Averey, yes, of course I would do anything to make you feel good," Lucan breathed against his hot skin, nudging his thigh against Averey's hardness a little, prolonging the anticipation for both of them before finally reaching a hand down and taking that anxious member snugly in his loving grip.

"Such a cock," he whispered closely in Averey's ear as he slowly and firmly stroked it, keeping their sweating bodies close. "All soft on the outside and so hard, so very hard within. Big and thick and strong, just like you, my love. Sturdy and hard, like a great big hammer. I never could be deft with large tools, Averey Inman, but I think this one was forged just for me. Do I wield it well, my love? I should like to learn to wield it expertly!"

Lucan smiled widely, strongly encouraged by Averey's intense reactions to his touch and his words. He would never have anticipated being able to say such bawdy things to anyone, but with his lover, the words simply flowed past his nimble tongue. There were certain gifts he had only lately discovered within himself, certain gifts he would be happy only sharing privately with Averey for the rest of his life.

"Come and lie out here, my handsome man, and let your birdie love you good and proper," Lucan whispered, coaxing Averey to spread out on his back. Lucan nuzzled his face against Averey's neck, and slowly slid down his body, kissing him, tasting the salty tang of his sweat, pausing to catch a nipple gently between his teeth, giggling at Averey's gasp, and stroking his hardness all the while. He made his way steadily down, loving his skin, and curiously examining the hair on him that was so sparse on Lucan's smooth body. Finally he rested his head against Averey's strong thigh and took a few moments to closely examine his jewels. He combed through the dense thicket of coarse hair, curious and slightly in awe. He gently fondled Averey's heavy balls, like two soft boiled eggs in a velvet pouch. His eyes travelled up, meeting Averey's.

"I think that I should like to kiss you... right here," he breathed, and dipped down to rest his lips upon the loose, soft skin directly between Averey's ballocks. He deeply inhaled the musky scent of Averey's manhood and shuddered. "Mmm, my lovely man, I adore the way you smell. I hope you do not think it strange. I think you smell very tasty. I shall have a taste of you, my love."

He kept his eyes directed up at Averey's as his lips met the hot flesh of his cock, down low near the base where his hand still gripped it. His mouth travelled up the shaft in a slow string of gentle kisses, and then he raised his head to have a close examination of the deep purple, oozing tip. He touched a dribble of clear fluid curiously, rubbed it between his thumb and finger, and then tasted it experimentally, savouring the sweet-and-salty essence of his lover. Then, he leaned down and kissed the tempting slit, wetting his lips.

"Mmm," he sighed, out of words for the time being. He put his tongue to other duties, lapping at Averey's cock until it was wet with his saliva, then finally taking it in, as much as he could, and suckling away like a hungry calf.

When Averey asked Lucan's help, he didn't expect this sort of reciprocity. He assumed he would use those delicate hands on him again so he was shocked when he felt those tender lips trail soft kisses down his chest. Lucan's teeth on his nipple made him gasp and grab for the shirt still in a ball and moist from Lucan's use of it. Averey pressed it to his own mouth, all the while trying to watch his Birdie explore him. But as Lucan made his way down to settle between Averey's muscled thighs, he found it difficult to keep his eyes from rolling into the back of his head.

He gripped the bed linens as Lucan had when he felt the moist heat of his breath on his hardness and his hips thrust upwards on their own accord. Even if he hadn't expected it, now that he knew of the possibility Averey wanted nothing more than to be inside that mouth. To have those soft lips wrapped around his manness, coaxing out his seed. He needn't ask for such service for Lucan was already making his way to that end. Slowly. Teasingly. Averey groaned into the material in his mouth as he felt Lucan's warm tongue lathing at his tip, tasting. And for the first time since their affair began, Averey found himself oblivious to the feelings of his new love. He found his hand in that red hair, gripping it firmly as Lucan took him into his mouth.

Averey had imagined a lot of things that he and Luc might share when they started spending time together. So far everything had been exactly as he had hoped but this, this was beyond the reaches of his inexperienced fantasies. How could he know the heaven that might reside behind those lips, the ecstasy that delicate tongue might bring nor did he imagine the naughty musings of his little songbird. All these things worked Averey into a passion induced frenzy. Both hands locked in that soft hair, he began to thrust against the gentle suction Lucan provided. He found himself babbling nonsensically as his climax approached as his thrusts increased in pace, all the while he held Lucan's head in place. It occurred to him that he might be hurting him but the thought was a brief one as his toes began to curl. His entire body lurched forward with the force of his seed and still his hips moved but the motion was erratic now.

"Oh Birdie...I'm sorry...so sorry...I could not...I did not mean...please forgive me," he mumbled through pants as he pulled him up to lay on his chest. Averey planted soft kisses all along that cherub like face, reddened from exertion. "You made me an animal...I'm so sorry," he whispered softly with his face buried in Luc's hair.

Lucan was particularly pleased by the taste and the feel of Averey's cock in his mouth, especially so as he felt Averey's body beginning to writhe and buck a little beneath him, accompanied by all sorts of desperate noises, partially muted by the bundled shirt. He keenly hoped one day they would be able to do this someplace where they didn't need to worry about muzzling themselves, where they could just scream out their pleasure. The very thought of hearing the full force of this man's bellowing as he pleasured him made Lucan feel aroused all over again.

When Averey's hands clamped down on his hair and he began to thrust into his mouth, Lucan was surprised and nearly gagged, but the force of his lover's lust and passion, his increasing loss of control... it was all intoxicating. Lucan instinctively relaxed his throat and let his eyes roll back, letting himself be used as Averey's plaything. The more he let himself be a helpless toy in his lover's strong hands, and the more he felt this man's carnal need overwhelm both of them, the more excited he felt. He was so excited that even the distant pains of the sharp pulling at his hair and the steady ramming of Averey's abundant flesh against the back of his throat didn't bother him; it was all exciting, it was all beautiful.

Lucan didn't breathe as Averey thrashed beneath him, and released a powerful flood of rich seed down his throat. He swallowed quickly to avoid choking, and then was able to pull back a little, catching the final few gouts of his sweet release on his eager, curious tongue.

Before Lucan could even absorb the full impact of what had just happened, Averey had pulled him up and embraced him, babbling apologies as he kissed his flushed face. Lucan kept his mouth tightly shut, preserving Averey's issue inside. He rolled it over his tongue, tasted it carefully. It was a little like the taste of raw pastry. He smiled to himself, and finally extricated himself from Averey's desperate grip so that he could look him in the eye. Once he had Averey's gaze, he softly opened his mouth for a few moments, showing his lover that he still held onto the milky fluid Averey had flooded his mouth with. He curled his tongue around it and, at last, swallowed the last of it, licking his lips contentedly.

"I'll have no sorries from you, Averey Inman," he stated in a low, rich, almost purring voice. It was clear from his expression and tone that he was possessed with a deep pleasure and satisfaction from what Averey had done to him. He stroked Averey's stubbled face slowly, lovingly. "I adored every moment. Yes, you were an animal. I love animals."

He made a growling noise and sank down, nipping playfully at Averey's cheek, and then raking his fingernails down his chest. He heaved himself forward and sat down across Averey's belly, his little pink cock now almost all the way hard again, even so soon after his own release. It sat warmly against Averey's chest.

"You were ferocious like a great big bear, my love," he whispered heatedly. "I would be mauled by you any day!"

"You naughty little thing," Averey groaned at the sight of his seed in Lucan's mouth. He watched in lusty awe as he worked it around his mouth before he eventually swallowed it all down. He found himself blushing as Luc spoke of him, stroked his face lovingly. It was good to know he had not scared him with his passion, now he knew he would not need to hold back in his affections for him. He should have known, Averey himself had told Luc of his hidden strength. He should have known he would not break him so easily.

"You know there are bears who eat cute little songbirds," Averey said as he sat up and wrapped his arms tightly around Lucan, trapping his arms at his sides before he threw him down on the bed. "Be mindful of what you wish Birdie," he growled as he nibbled at every bit of flesh his mouth could reach. At times he let his teeth sink in and applied gentle pressure, others they remain hidden behind his lips. The sounds of Lucan's giggles, the feeling of him squirming beneath him was almost a pleasurable as what they just shared. Almost, for nothing could be better than the feeling of Lucan's mouth on him.

"Though you are a most delicious treat a man of my stature requires a proper meal after such...exertion," Averey said as he released him. Another kiss, then he rolled away to sit up on the edge of the bed. "Come my Birdie get dressed before my Da comes looking for us."

At the sight of the expression on Averey's face as he teased with his tongue, and ribald words he hadn't known he had in him, Lucan discovered a sense of confidence and power, and even a feeling of manliness he had never known before. Despite the full experience of this and the deep delight and satisfaction it brought him, he was no less thrilled to be pushed down on the bed, utterly subject to Averey's overwhelming physical power, and hungrily devoured.

It seemed to him a dizzying paradox, to feel empowered even as he was physically overtaken by the overpowering tempest of Averey's lust, and yet, it was beautifully logical. Lucan realized that it was he himself who inspired that ravenous desire, like a god who calls forth an awesome tidal wave, but instead of watching from afar, stands openly on the shore, bracing to be swept off his feet and carried away, elated to experience all about his vulnerable form the full brunt of the force he himself inspired.

Lucan writhed on the bed, helpless with giggles and gasps as his lover's mouth nipped and nibbled at him all over, helpless as a little bird beneath a bear's heavy paw, happily helpless. He wanted to drown in Averey's love, to be totally consumed by it. His giggles turned to squeals and sometimes growls as Averey's teeth sank deeper into his flesh, his lust-flooded body taking every pain as a greater pleasure.

"Owww, my beastly bear!" he cooed in fondness and awe. "Eat me all up, oh yes indeed!"

When at last Averey withdrew, he mewled in melodramatic disappointment. He sat up and clung to Averey's back like a little monkey. "Mmm, let me be your shirt, my love, and be wrapped all about your handsome body wherever you go," he teased. "Even better, I shall be your trousers, and contain these lovely jewels for you."

He slid down and cupped Averey's heavy genitals with both hands. Before long, though, he put an end to his fond sporting and scrambled into his clothes, allowing Averey to do the same. He'd nearly forgotten it would be suppertime, and they would be playing a very dangerous game indeed should someone come looking for them.

Before they left Averey's bedroom, Lucan seized hold of his hand, not being playful now but fond and sincere. He leaned his head against Averey's chest and gazed up at him with doe-eyed adoration. "I love you desperately much, Averey Inman," he whispered. "I never knew there was so much happiness in the world as there is at your lips and the tips of your fingers."

"You really know how to make a man feel appreciated Birdie," Averey said just as quietly as he slip his hand behind Luc's head and pulled him into a soft kiss. His lust sated for the moment it was as gentle as the first kiss they shared at the shop only a couple days before. At the thought of the shop, Averey remembered Ivor, and the message he was to deliver his son. Averey gave his forehead as slap and groaned before he said, "The sight of you jumbles my thoughts. I spoke to your Da today and before you say anything it was he who broached the topic of you and I was quite civil in my response. He wishes to have an ale with you at Respite and beg you see him. Show him the strong man I know you are," Averey said and kissed him again, this time on the forehead and pulled him in for a hug. "If you show him you aren't a little boy anymore, he can't treat you as such. Now come let us eat like men."

With that Averey shouldered the door open and gave a peek into the kitchen before he pulled Lucan out the back door by his shirt front. He wasn't sure what anyone in the front at heard so he thought it best they not be seen leaving his bedroom. Averey threw his arm around Luc's slender shoulders in a friendly show of affection as they made their way into the inn. Again his mother was singing but this time Cecily was leading a round that the villagers sung to celebrate Respite. It would be sung over and over again as the night progressed, the lyrics becoming more bawdy as the ale took hold of revelers. There were no musicians at the Inn this evening but Henry Millner had brought along his fiddle as he usually did on his weekly visit. His wife, on of the few women who did not disown Cecily Inman, moved about the bar with Averey's mother helping her in her duties. Even Isabelle was there, on the bench beside her father making eyes at the tanners boy. He was a little older than them and a bit dim but he had always been sweet on her, only now did she realize it. Averey led Lucan over to the tap and poured them both an ale before they went to sit with Isabelle. Averey blocked her view of Jacob Payne and she narrowed her jade green eyes at him.

"I've not seen you for days and now you use your big body to block the only good view I've had in weeks," she said sharply though the slight curl in her lips brought a smile to Averey's.

"I've been busy with my apprenticeship. And beside you have your suitors," Averey said with a raised eyebrow of his own. He had hoped to get the attention of her father but he was too busy trailing her mother with his eyes to notice their conversation. "You know Lucan Brecker."

"Unfortunately," she said, though she offered her hand to him. "Never thought I'd see the day when you deemed us lowly commoners worthy your presence."

"Stop it Izzy be nice."

"I will do as I please Averey Inman, you know that just as well as any."

Lucan cringed inwardly at the suggestion of sharing an ale with his father. After the way things had gone, he felt like he needed a lot more than a mere couple of days before seeing either of his parents and demonstrating his newfound manliness. Even so, if Averey thought it was a good idea, he would do it. At least, seeing his father would be less upsetting than seeing his mother.

He was quiet and easygoing as Averey pulled him along, taking him into the inn where the crowds gathered to celebrate the eve of Respite. Lucan still felt awkward and out of place here, but it helped to be at Averey's side. Averey was his safe place, his reminder that he was, after all, a man. As a man, he had the same rights and privileges as any other working man here, and told himself he needn't feel like he didn't belong.

As Averey poured them each an ale, Lucan briefly met eyes with Averey's mother and smiled brightly, giving her a small wave. He'd become quite fond of Cecily Inman, seeing as she'd been more than hospitable, as well as having raised such an uncommonly fine son. However, he quickly blushed and ducked his head down as his mind flipped back to what he had just been up to with that son. He felt a bolt of fear, as if she might see the truth in his eyes. Was it written all over his face, that he'd been up to dickens with his 'friend'? Might anyone in here suspect?

He quickly followed after Averey once a mug had been placed in his hand, not realizing who they were approaching until they had already sat down near Isabelle Millner. Lucan felt his insides squeeze up into uncomfortable knots. Averey's well-known closeness with Isabelle made Lucan feel immediately threatened, even though he knew logically he had no reason to be. There was no need for jealousy here--certainly Averey had never done anything with Isabelle that they had done together. At least... as far as Lucan knew....

His jaw clenched tightly as Isabelle acknowledged his presence with a snide remark. As a youngster Lucan had always been ready with a sharp tongue and plenty of snide witticisms of his own, and he'd used them regularly around other children. It was his only defence--he wasn't big, he wasn't strong, he wasn't popular, he wasn't handsome. But he was good with words when he set his mind to it. He could have shot back something scathing at Isabelle, denouncing her as a miserable shrew, but he found he had little desire to do so, despite his strong dislike of the girl. She was Averey's friend, and thus it seemed doubly wrong to be cruel toward her.

Lucan found that he had begun to feel softer and more even-tempered in a general sense since he and Averey had grown close. No longer plagued by as many insecurities, more aware of his strengths than his weaknesses, and knowing that there was someone in this world who not only loved but truly desired him, Lucan felt much less of a need to lash out at others in order to protect himself. It was as if he'd grown up with a shell of carefully maintained ice all around him, and Averey Inman had shattered it apart.

"Hullo," he said softly to the girl, in a perfectly neutral tone. While he did not feel inclined to be cruel, he also did not feel inclined to be friendly, though he did raise his mug slightly. "I'm here for an ale, like any other working man."

“Really? That’s it?” Isabelle said with a raised eyebrow and looked from Averey to Lucan and back again. “Surely you must be ill if that is the best you can come up with Lucan Brecker.” The last she said with a coy smirk, feeling triumphant, but Averey would have none of that.

“Think nothing of her teasing,” Averey said to Lucan with hard eyes on Isabelle. “She’s not used to needing to share my attention with another. And you need not refrain from your witty comebacks on account of me Birdie. I’ll not think less of you for defending yourself against this shrew.” There was a smirk to match hers on his lips as he spoke the last and Isabelle set her face in mock disgust, but just for a moment before she burst into laughter.

“Scathing words from a boy who barely speaks,” she said with a smirk and reached across to pat Lucan’s hand. “Done some rubbing off on him have you?”

Averey immediately averted his eyes at that last comment. He knew she meant nothing by it but it was too close to the truth to comment further. Lucan’s body tensed beside him and Averey knocked his knee under the table. Isabelle watched them closely now, formulating her own conclusion of the nature of their relationship and her eyes grew wide. But she knew better than to say anything of it in mixed company.

“It’s awful crowded in here don’t you think,” she said to Averey with a knowing look and he read her meaning well enough. They had been friends since before they could speak, their mothers giving birth only weeks apart, so communicating without words was like second nature to them.

“Shall I invite Jacob,” Averey asked in conspiratory tones and Isabella blushed a little. “I imagine he can keep a secret.” He took her silence as affirmation and swung himself around on the bench to give Jacob’s shoulder a tap. As he expected he needed only whisper Izzy’s name to stir the tanner’s boy into motion and together they went to his Papa to get a jug of ale and headed to the door. Averey acknowledged the other two with a nod and headed out into the night air.

“Come we have much to discuss,” Isabelle said as she reached across the table and grabbed Lucan’s hand in hers.

Lucan's feet tapped anxiously beneath the table. He didn't know what to make of the Millner girl or her relationship with Averey, but he wasn't entirely sure anymore if he was being mocked or if the girl's sharp tongue indicated a form of social acceptance.

He blushed deeply and nearly slid beneath the table when Averey called him "Birdie" right in front of Isabelle. What was he thinking?!

Lucan was disoriented at the sudden shift, unable to pick up on the tacit communication between Averey and his friend. Abruptly he found himself left behind with the girl and nearly panicked. He furrowed his brow at her.

"What, what do you want?" he huffed indignantly, trying to pull his hand away from hers.

"Come on we're going for a stroll," Isabelle said and rose up from the table with an expectant look on her face. She was a beautiful girl by village standards. Tall and curved in all the right places and used to getting her way because of it. But one look at Lucan Brecker she knew her feminine charms would be wasted on him. She came around to his side of the table with a smile and sat close to him, put her head on his shoulder. "I hope you do not think me competition for his affections," she said quietly, barely a whisper. "I heve been trying to bed him since I knew what our parts were for and to no avail. I gave up on him years ago, Averey is as much my brother as the ones my mother birthed. I'm glad he found you but know that I will skin you alive if you hurt him." With that Isabell gave his shoulder a pat before she grabbed his hand and dragged him from the bench.

Outside, Averey leaned on the rail with Jacob Payne waiting for their sweethearts to emerge from the inn. He took note of Jacob's shaky hands with a smirk but thought it best not to mention it. Though he did wish to calm his nerves a bit.

"She has all the boys in the village sniffing around her, yet she chooses to steal away with you," he said with a clap to the man's back. The Payne boy was just as big and brawny as him though he was of darker features and his beard grew thick around his jaw. He wasn't exactly handsome but Averey could see why Isabelle was so taken by him.

They both turned at the sound of the door and Averey smiled to see Lucan being dragged along by Isabelle. He could not hold the chuckle that came at the sight of his obvious displeasure and went to him, threw an arm around his neck to pull him roughly away from her. "Let us enjoy this beautiful night. We have ale and good friends. Let's find a quiet spot."

"I know just the place," Jacob said with a smile at Isabelle and she blushed. Averey gave a silent prayer that it wasn't his place. He held his breath until Jacob lead them to the woods on the other side of the village. With them out in front he saw no reason not to take Lucan's hand in his, lacing their fingers together. He kissed his knuckles and whispered that he loved him. Before long they came to a three walled shack in a small clearing and Jacob raised his arms in the center. "This is it. Might do well to make a fire to keep the critters away," he said with a sideways smile.

Lucan held his breath as Isabelle squeezed close and whispered to him. He didn't like how knowing she seemed to be, how she insinuated that she knew everything. It made him feel vulnerable. He especially didn't like knowing that she'd tried to "bed" Averey--if she wanted to in the past, there was no guarantee she would not try again, and he wanted to kick her in the shins like a little boy in the throes of a temper tantrum. He ignored her threat entirely, not believing for a moment she would try to harm him. But it was no matter, as he believed even less that he'd ever hurt his Averey.

He despised her hand around his, the way she dragged him along. Was this how she'd treated Averey his entire life? How terribly vulgar and shrewish! It was a mystery to Lucan why the boys around the village all seemed to like her so much.

Lucan was relieved to be back at Averey's side, though his stomach churned with nervousness. Good friends? These people weren't Lucan's friends. He barely knew Jacob, and so far he had only had reason to firmly dislike Isabelle. He would love to have found a quiet spot with Averey to enjoy the mild night, but with the other two around, he felt like he could not relax or be himself.

Lucan had not exactly had friends before--he had always been a lone wolf. He didn't know how to behave around them, accustomed only to having to defend himself around his peers. It was especially confusing and awkward now, being with Averey and having a secret to keep, a secret that he had every reason to suspect Isabelle knew, and he had no idea how trustworthy she might be, regardless of the sisterly feelings she claimed to have toward him. If she had wanted Averey so badly, it stood to reason she might be jealous and scheme against them. Maybe not against Averey, but against Lucan. She could be trouble for him, big trouble. His heart pounded, and he almost pulled away when Averey grasped his hand. It felt too good though, especially with the little kisses and whispered reminder of his love.

"Love you," Lucan returned back to him, though it was more mouthed than whispered. He gazed at Averey in the moonlight, feeling comforted by his closeness, even though he had an uncomfortable sense of foreboding.

The three-walled shack gave Lucan a chill--it looked like a place where terrible, scary things might happen. He knew people his age who were normal probably wandered out to places like this for all sorts of fun and mischief regularly, but Lucan had never been terribly close to normal. He'd led a sheltered life above the smithy, thinking more about books than people, chasing birds when other boys chased girls. He wanted to cling closer to Averey, but didn't want to give their relationship away, or appear like a weakling child. He was supposed to be a man now--why couldn't he just relax and have a little sport with people his own age? Briefly Lucan met Averey's eyes, and then looked down at the ground, feeling ashamed and nervous.

Averey noticed Lucan's change in demeanor almost immediately. As much as he wanted to blame Isabelle, he could not place fault on his closest friend. The blame was his and he knew it. Thrusting a boy as shy as Lucan, even more unsure of himself than Averey, into a such an open situation was perhaps premature. Even so, despite Lucan's musings, they could not exist in a world with just them in it. It was a whimsical thought but the practical Averey knew it could not be that. They would need allies and Averey could think of no better place to begin than with his oldest friend.

With Jacob busy building the fire and Isabelle working just as hard to distract him, Averey took the moment of relative solitude to have a quiet reassuring talk with his birdie. He pulled Lucan down to sit beside him and with their hands still laced together worked looped his arm around his shoulders to pull him closer. "You don't like Izzy very much do you," he whispered with a smirk. "She is forward, demanding, and has not known a quiet moment since birth. But she is also sweet and kind, and would do anything for a friend in need without being asked. She is fiercely protective of those she loves. She's like my mother that way, a bit more crass but the same none the less. Perhaps is why we get on so well. She would never do anything to hurt me Luc, you have to trust me when I tell you that now that courtesy extends to you. Izzy would never plot against you, in less she sniffed some impropriety on your part in which case I would not protect you from her wrath." The last he added with a wink and leaned in to kiss his head softly, hoping to further convey his jest.

With that he uncorked the ale and took a long draught before he passed it to Lucan who took an almost danty sip, and watched as Jacob finally got the fire lit. Isabelle cheered as if she'd never seen such a feat and took the young man's hand to bring him over to where Averey sat with Lucan securely tucked under his arm. Isabelle offered them both a smile but Jacob's eyes bulged ever so slightly as Isabelle pulled him down to sit beside her. She took the jug from Averey's lap and took a impressive tug before she handed it over to Jacob.

They sat that way for a time, enjoying the ale and relative silence. The only sounds were that of the crackling fire and the crickets chirping around them. As far as moments go, Averey counted it as one of the best he'd ever had.

"My brother's a dandy," Jacob said, seemingly out of the blue and Isabelle gave him a hard smack to the chest but he took her hand to kiss her palm, fixing her with a smile before he lean a little to look at Averey and Lucan. "I love him no less. I mean no offense," he said with a nod that Averey returned by raising the jug to him. "I kept his secret until he was ready to tell our father. Ma always knew he was different and made no fuss about it, I guess I took after her in that. I only wish he didn't have to run away to live his life instead of staying among his loved ones. Worry not of me telling of your...courtship. Even if I did squeal people around here think I'm too dull to know my arse from my elbow," he added with a smirk and Isabelle laughed outright.

"See I knew there was more to my interest in you than your capable frame," Isabelle swooned and threw her arms around his neck. She leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek but Jacob turned his face in time to catch her lips on his. "Awfully presumptuous of you sir," she said in mock indignation and Jacob laughed.

"I do believe I presumed correctly my dear Lady," he said with a cool smirk as he slipped his arm around her hips and planted another kiss on her lips. Isabelle swooned again and curl herself around him, her head on his shoulder and he looked to her with a triumphant grin. "I imagine your presence would allow old Millner turn a blind eye to the time I'm spending with his daughter."

"Secrets all around," Averey said with a laugh as he raised the near empty jug of ale. "In the spirit of brotherhood I shall offer my services of chaperon so long as my Birdie may tag along."

"What fun would it be if he not," Isabelle said with a giggle. "I'll not have you be a third wheel when there is one so deserving of your attention."

"What do you say Birdie? Shall we celebrate Respite eve with our friends?"

Dandy? Courtship?

These were words that had not crossed Lucan's mind, and a deep blush spread across his cheeks as Jacob spoke. He hadn't even been aware there were terms people used to describe such a thing as whatever he and Averey were, or what they were doing. Lucan thought a dandy was just a man who liked to paint himself up and wear ostentatious clothing, and that certainly described neither of them. And how could they be courting if they could not be wed?

Lucan still found it difficult to relax around Jacob and Isabelle, and was almost tempted to be upset with Averey for sharing a secret that was theirs with people he didn't yet know if he could trust, but that wouldn't have been exactly fair. Averey hadn't told anyone, as far as Lucan knew. Isabelle seemed to somehow just know, as if she had some inexplicable twinlike bond with Averey. Maybe this was why Lucan was so ill-disposed toward her. He wasn't jealous of Isabelle for having Averey's trust so much as he was jealous of Averey for having such a close friend and confidant. Lucan had only ever had the solitude of his own head, the cathartic release of writing during the exceedingly rare times he'd had anything to write on, and the company of whatever wild creatures happened to linger in his own backyard.

So why shouldn't he be happy now that Averey was sharing his friends with him? Shouldn't he want what he'd always felt deprived of--the acceptance of peers? Maybe it was simply the newness of it that made him feel mistrustful and awkward, the newness of having friends, combined with the equal newness of having a lover. Everything in his life was changing with such dizzying speed, he was bound to feel disoriented.

Or perhaps it was that, the more camaraderie they created here, the less likely Averey might be to want to run away with him like they had spoken of in that beautiful secret place Averey had shown him. He was afraid now that their fantasizing had been only fantasy, and that the initial draw of their burgeoning passion would wear off for Averey. What if Averey came to the full realization of just how maladjusted and chaotic his Birdie was, and regretted what he'd gotten himself into? What if it came to having to choose between Lucan and everyone else in his life--his mother, his grandfather, his friends? Lucan couldn't truly expect Averey to choose him, could he?

Lucan released a long sigh, pressing his face against Averey's shoulder for a few moments. Go along, his head urged him. Just go along, damn you. Averey is everything good that's ever happened to you. You cannot lose him.

He raised his face at last with a brave little smile. "As you please," he whispered. "I just want to be by your side."

Averey smiled at that and lean to rest his head atop Lucan's. A soft kiss and then, "It would please me greatly if you might give us a little song." It was barely a whisper, his lips pressed to Lucan's ear so that Isabelle could not hear. Averey didn't want him to be goaded into doing things he didn't want to, or to feel obligated simply because she pressured him. The fact that Lucan did not turn and run at the idea of showing their affections in front of others was enough growth for one evening. The last thing he wanted was to shock his Birdie back into his shell. "You don't have to if you don't want to...I know how shy you are about your singing but you have a beautiful voice Birdie and I figure you might take the word of someone who is not madly in love with you over mine."

Averey move then to put his head in Lucan's lap so he may look up into that sweet face before the backdrop of the starry night sky. The full moon and the fire light cast a ethereal glow to his delicate features and red hair seemed a glowing halo. Averey worked hard to comment this moment to memory for he had never seen such a fine sight. So used to seeing Lucan dusted with coal, and now flour, he had never imagined he could be so lovely.

Lucan closed his eyes as Averey whispered into his ear. His heart thudded rapidly against his ribs. Sing--here, now? With Jacob and Isabelle sitting right there? How could he possibly?

A long sigh passed between Lucan's lips as Averey settled down with his lovely golden head in his lap. Averey had been so sweet, so good to him, never letting go of him for a moment. He was sure Averey knew how frightened he was, how vulnerable. The look of utter love his darling gave as he gazed up at him, those deep, soulful grey eyes now burning with fire and starlight, gradually soothed Lucan, reminded him that no matter what, Averey was his safe place, and would not let him come to harm. He was his defender, his gallant knight, though Lucan knew he would not want to be called such. No armoured knight with sword and shield could ever outshine the gallantry and pure goodness of his sweet smithy boy.

Lucan wanted to sing to him, to sing for his lover the prettiest song he'd ever heard. His eyes did not leave Averey's. The warmth from the fire seemed to form a cosy bastion around the pair, and in this moment Lucan could truly feel that they were alone in the world.

He moistened his lips and took a few deep breaths before beginning to sing, softly, for Averey alone regardless of their companions. As he did so, he stroked Averey's cheeks and soft curls with fingertips as light as the wings of a bird.

"Come with me, under my coat,
and we will drink our fill
of the milk of the white goat,
or wine if it be thy will.
And we will talk,
until talk is a trouble, too,
out on the side of the hill;
And nothing is left to do,
but an eye to look into an eye,
and a hand in a hand to slip;
and a sigh to answer a sigh;
And a lip to find out a lip.
What if the night be black,
And the air on the mountain chill;
Where the goat lies down in her track,
And all but the fern is still.
Stay with me, under my coat,
and we will drink our fill
of the milk of the white goat,
out on the side of the hill..."

Averey could not help but blush at Lucan's song. He felt swept away, as if the world dissolved around them and it was just the two of them. The fire. The moonlight in the star filled sky. Averey could say with certainty that he knew what heaven was like as he lay in the lap of his love singing so sweetly for only him. There were tears in his eyes and he let them fall, too consumed with the melody emitting from those soft lips. He did not want him to stop. If Lucan decided to sing his every word from now until forever Averey would count himself lucky to hear it. But he knew that could not be.

"Oh Lucan that was lovely," Isabelle said quietly, interrupting their private moment but Averey could not be angry when he saw tears to match his own. "If I had a voice as sweet as yours I'd sing all day long."

Averey laughed at that and reached up to rub his hand softly over Lucan's face. "I had just the same thought." He looked up at him and was lost in those eyes, his thumb ran gently over his bottom lip before he gave up fighting and pulled the young man down for a kiss. What was meant to chaste and respectful turned very quickly into lustful and passionate. His tongue pushed forcefully into Lucan's receptive mouth and it was not long before there was a stirring in his trousers. But he would not have pulled away if not for the catcalls and whistles from Isabelle and Jacob.

"I would be yours forever if you kissed me like that," she whispered to Jacob and then there was the unmistakable sound of lips locked together.

The look on Averey's face, and, amazingly, the tears from the broadly built young smith, were everything beautiful in the world to Lucan. He wanted to grow old with this man, and sing to him every day of his life, to call forth that heart-melting look of love.

Isabelle's voice cut through the magic of the moment, and Lucan looked embarrassed, blushing deeply. It was awkward having this sort of attention for his singing, being such a personal thing to him, and especially private now that he had someone to sing love songs to. Still, nothing could entirely spoil the sweet connection he felt with Averey tonight, especially when Averey reached up to pull him into a kiss.

For a period of less than a second, Lucan wanted to pull away, feeling frightened at the prospect of letting anyone see them showing each other such affection... but Averey. Oh gods, Averey. The kiss, his aggressive tongue, his suddenly harsh and rapid breaths. Lucan melted into him. If Averey were to return to his lap, he'd find out in a hurry just what effect this kiss had had on him. His eyes flicked over to the other couple for the briefest of moments, and then returned to Averey with a shy but satisfied smile.

"My hungry bear," he whispered softly. "Love you so."