brothers in arms

The Last Goodbye - Early Monday Morning

2006-01-23T05:25:44Z

[ooc- Preplayed with prof_cregg]

They called her and waited for her to come. Everything was ready, Mother secured to Kadaj's bike and all he had to do was wait on Loz and Yazoo coming back from the mainland with their final thing.

Kadaj paced the floor. He'd watched how hard it was for Yazoo and Loz both to say their goodbyes, to leave behind someone that was important to them

Now it was his turn.

She didn't like the tone in his voice, not at all. When she said 'be right there' she meant it and she nearly ran. They hadn't ever called her...and there was just a feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She took the steps two at a time and knocked, then opened the door.

"I'm here."

Kadaj turned to see her and gave her a wan smile. "Hey."

He beckoned her in toward the sofa to sit down. With no idea how to proceed, now he wished he had waited for one of the others. Yazoo handled the good byes last night so much better than he thought he could at this time.

Too late now, CJ was there and he looked at her with a gaze that was lost.

Looking at his face tells her more than she wanted to know and everything she suspected. She steps forward carefully.

"Kadaj?"

It was so weird to be looking into a face that was younger than he was used to. Kadaj searched for something familiar to latch onto and he hooked onto her subtle familiarity, the undercurrent of what made CJ...CJ, regardless of what she looked like.

"CJ." Kadaj grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the sofa, indicating he wanted her to sit.

Sitting beside him, she's the picture of worry. "Kadaj? What's wrong? You called...you never do that..."

He shifted, wrapping his arms around her waist and bore her back to the sofa. Wiggling around he nestled between her legs and let his head rest on her stomach.

"We can't stay here anymore, CJ."

Laying back, she wriggled her hips and spread her legs until they were both comfortable just to lay there. Looking at the ceiling, she blinks fast to stop the burn of threatening tears.

"Why not?"

"Lots of reasons," he said simply. "We don't belong here."

Kadaj buried his face against her body. "We are trying so hard and it's not working and we are suffocating."

She stroked his hair softly, tears beginning to slip from the corners of her eyes and run into her hair. Wrapping her other arm around his shoulders she takes a shuddering breath, afraid to speak above a whisper.

"I know. And I'm sorry."

"We're not going far. Alexandria," he said softly. His fingers picked up the fabric and played with it. "We'll still be close. Loz said he doesn't know if we will be able to get back onto the island once we 'move' off."

Silent for a long time, Kadaj just lay there and sighed. "You could come see us though, if you wanted."

Her fingers never cease in the silver. She finally finds it in her to look down at him, holding her. Laying like this is so normal now. Knowing how much she'll miss him...even if she can just dart across the causeway…it's just not the same.

"People who leave, really leave, never seem to find their way back." So many gone already...new ones coming in waves. And now...her boys. Just when she'd found them. Just when things were going so well.

"You'd still want me to? Come see you?"

"I will be mad if you don't," Kadaj tightened his arms around her. "You know you can come anytime and we want you. Want to be where you are or as close as we can get."

"Then I will. I'm tired of losing people, Kadaj. Tired of everyone going away."

"You won't lose us, CJ." Lifting his head, he stared up at her, his fingers smoothing over her cheek. "As long as we are here in this...universe, we will always come for you."

She turns her lips to his palm, pressing them to his skin, but not actually kissing. He's like the baby brother she never had...the delinquent son she can't give up on...and a friend who is always there, even if no one else likes them. She presses her face harder into his hand, chin trembling and hot tears running from beneath closed lids.

"I hate goodbyes."

Kadaj was finding he hated them too. This was why he never formed attachments (except for his brothers). It hurt too much...deep in his gut.

He was about to say more when he heard the rumble pull up outside the house. "Yazoo and Loz are back." Righting himself, he pulled on CJ's hand, tugging her toward the front door.

Suddenly colder, she took his hand and wrapped the other around her stomach, trying to keep the last of his warmth with her as long as possible. Walking to the front door with him, she stayed as close as she could...knowing it wouldn't be like this ever again.

He circled around behind her. "Close your eyes," Kadaj whispered in her ear. To punctuate, he placed his hands over her eyes. "I want you to be surprised.

Realizing he couldn't get the door and cover her eyes too, there was a quick dart to open it and he was behind her again, covering her eyes as the door swung open.

Her eyelashes slide down across his palm and she smiles softly, trusting him to guide her out the door.

"I don't know if I can take too many more surprises Kadaj."

"This one is good, I promise," he whispered in her ear.

Guiding her expertly outside to stand on the porch, he waited until Loz was out of the car and smoothing at the new paintjob, while Yazoo joined him on the porch with CJ.

Once Loz gave the thumbs up, Kadaj removed his hands. "There. Just for you."

And there, sitting on their lawn, was CJ's Mach 1, completely rebuilt with a brand knew paint job, done in the same style as her old Mach 1.

Her jaw drops and she catches her breath. Eyes bright, she shrieks and turns to hug him tightly.

"My car!"

Turning to Yazoo, she holds him tight and squeals against his neck before bounding down the steps. Dashing over and looking inside, then at the paint, then at the look of pride on Loz's face, she reaches for him and hugs him too, her cheek pressed to his neck. "Thank you. Thank you all so much."

It was sheer torment. Loz hadn't hid the fact that he found CJ a total turn on. Just...one of those things, CJ rang his chimes at just the right way.

Even in this totally different and completely hot body. If this is what she looked like as a young woman, Loz understood why she was so hot, even as an older woman. CJ had spirit, fire, even so much having the hair the color of the flames.

Yazoo was laughing and he wrapped his arms around Kadaj to watch CJ as she received her car.

Apparently, they did good. She seemed to like it.

Gathering his wits about him, Loz grinned. "So I take it you're happy with what we did?"

Arms around his neck, she smiles and meets his eyes. "I'm happy with everything you do...except this leaving thing."

Loz's gaze shifted to Kadaj and Yazoo before he looked at her. Even then he didn't look directly at her.

Damn it, it was hard enough to say goodbye to Geoff and he almost just grabbed the poet to make him come along, and now...CJ.

"I know. It's..." Loz exhaled slowly and wrapped his arms around her body. Her lithe, young...teenage...damn near jailbait...body. "We are suppressing who we are here. It's killing us. Every day, a little more."

"I know. Kadaj told me." Reaching up and holding his face, she ducks her chin and searches for his eyes. "Loz? I'll come to the mainland to see you guys. I'll...I can bring people with me if you want."

"I'd...like that. A lot," he said. Fucking hell, something was in his eyes again and he wiped at them.

He tightened his arms and the muscles in his jaw jumped a few times before he forced a grin. "It's a shame we're leaving you looking like this. This," he said giving her a lascivious look that wasn't quite complete. "This could be fun."

"You're unbelievable, Loz." She smiles as she wriggles out of his arms, turning toward the porch.

Her very real smile fades by fractions as the happy distraction passes.

"When are you going?"

Kadaj looked up at his brother and stroked over some of his long hair that had ended up on his shoulder. "As soon as we wrap up a couple of final loose ends in town this morning, we have a job waiting for us at a junkyard."

He looked at her and smile wanly. "We wanted to make sure you had your car before we left."

She suddenly feels like she can't breathe again. She leans back against Loz, hard.

"Today? You're going today?"

Her hand slips down and catches Loz's, holding on tight.

"I...so soon..."

"We didn't want this to be any more painful than it already is, which kind of surprised us," Loz said, holding her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Like a band aid I guess. But we couldn't leave without saying something."

His arms slip around her waist, hands still clasped together. "You said you'd come see us though. We can even meet you half way somewhere if the island won't let us back on."

She covers his hands with her own, eyes closed and head bowed. Biting back tears, she looks up and holds her arms out to Kadaj and Yazoo.

"Come here?"

Yazoo looked dubious. If this was going to be one of those group hugs well...he didn't think Loz would keep it together. But as soon as Kadaj was off the porch, so was he and they crowded around her.

After all, there was little any of them could deny CJ.

Catching each of their hands, she pulls Kadaj close and kisses him softly, then looks at Yazoo, unsure if she should.

"You're my boys, you know? Just because you won't be right here...I claimed you and I'm not giving you up so easy."

Well, yeah, Yazoo wanted a kiss too and he presented his cheek, waiting patiently, and with a large grin.

"Good," Kadaj whispered.

Kissing his cheek, then pressing her own to his, she leans back against Loz again, pulling them along. She bites her lip for a moment, then finds her voice.

"Kadaj?"

Kadaj smiled. "Yes, CJ?"

"I'll come. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that or I'm going to send Loz after you." Kadaj looked at his brothers, then to CJ. "And we'll add kidnapping to everything else we've done."

He paused and his gaze grew dark. "We won't be sorry about that, either."

Maybe it should scare her. Maybe she should worry. But somehow knowing that nothing would ever stop them is strangely comforting. It's a faith that they'll always be there that stops the tears. SHe pulls him close, dropping his hand and putting her arm around his waist. Whispering in his ear, "I love you, Kadaj."

With a satisfied smile, Kadaj nodded and pulled back. Cupping her face, he pulled her close and placed a kiss on her forehead. That was as close to saying it back as Kadaj would go.

Love was a concept the brothers struggled with, an emotion that was some how twisted and contorted. Perhaps they felt love, perhaps all they felt was obsession...it was hard to separate out.

But they did feel deeply.

He stepped back and nodded to her car. "You should go now and we'll see you soon."

Smile growing wider by the second, she knew just what he meant with that kiss.

She pulled Yazoo closer and held him, then let him go and looked down at the hands still clasped around her waist. Leaning back, she tipped her head back onto his shoulder and looked sideways at Loz.

"You have to let me go."

"No I don't, I just loosen my grip," he whispered in her ear.

Strangely, those words don't comfort him much in regards to Geoff. That will be something that stings for a long time and will leave an indelible mark on him. No regrets save the one. Leaving him behind.

Taking a breath and letting it out slowly, Loz released CJ and stepped back.

She turns almost immediately and faces him. Without hesitating, she grabs his shoulders and kisses him softly on the lips. Before he has time to respond...and she knows he would...she breaks off and steps aside, climbing into the car.

"I will see you again."

Backing out, she drives the car down to the lot and parks it. She sits there, alternately crying and laughing for a long time before she gets out and walks to Galactica Point, her eyes trained on the causeway. She just has to watch them go...otherwise it won't be real.

It takes a moment before the boys disburse and they head into town for the last of the things they needed to pick up.

Not long after, with everything they own on their bikes, the equipment rental places knowing to come pick up their equipment, the boys eventually hit the main road out of town and fly across the causeway.

The dust of the island doesn't settle on their backs.

Later that evening...at Chaucers...NSFW

2006-01-22T13:48:57Z

[ooc- Preplayed with geoff_chaucerNSFW Warning]

He would have preferred to have the door open, or be working outside instead, but the weather really wasn't cooperating and so Geoff was sitting at his worktable inside the shop. He had a small stack of papers to be graded sitting on the corner, but for the moment he was writing in his journal, working on the set of tales he'd promised CJ some months ago.

It was possible she didn't remember making the commission, but Geoff was a man of his word if nothing else, and he'd finish them as promised, even if she no longer wanted them.

Loz had split from his brothers. They finished doing what he was standing in front of Geoff's store to do, and had headed home. He stood at the window and watched the other man work, the feeling somehow just not sitting right with him.

Bracing against...what exactly? Would there even be a problem? He shook it off and tapped against the window to get Geoff's attention.

Geoff looked up immediately at the sound, and grinned at Loz through the glass. Waving toward the door with a 'well, what are you doing standing out there?' expression, he pushed his chair back from the table and stood. Walking across the room, he pulled out a mug and poured Loz some coffee.

Taking a breath, Loz went in the door and let it shut behind him. He smiled at Geoff and ran his hand through his hair. He could do this. "Hey," he said, with a grin that he didn't really feel. Not that he wasn't pleased to see Geoff. He was, very much.

He wasn't so sure he was ready for this.

Loz strolled to the desk and sat in the chair next to it, stretching his legs out in front of him. There was a tension he felt in his body and it he exhaled, hoping to relax.

Geoff was good at reading people -- very good, in fact. It was probably the biggest reason he was still alive, considering the trouble he seemed so adept at getting into. And Loz was doing a poor job of hiding his discomfort.

Setting the mug down in front of the man, Geoff walked around to face him, leaning against the table. "Should I have made that whiskey instead of coffee? There's something on your mind."

Surprised at first, Loz's open expression was a dead giveaway if nothing else was. His mouth shut with a click of his teeth.

He took another deep breath and picked up his mug. Making a show of blowing across the liquid to take a small sip of the hot coffee, he was trying to buy himself time. Loz could do this.

The cup was set to the side and he rose to stand, right in front of Geoff. His hand traced softly over Geoff's cheekbone. "Missed you," which wasn't a lie, really. Just not the entire truth.

Smiling, although it's accompanied by raised eyebrows, Geoff replies, "I've missed you too. I stopped by last week to visit Yazoo, but you weren't around. Been meaning to come by the pub, but with classes starting I've been busier than I expected."

He set his hand on Loz's hip and gazed into the man's eyes. "Now tell me what's really bothering you."

He must be the biggest pussy in the world that he couldn't just do this and get it over with. Loz shifted from foot to foot and looked off at the far wall with a laugh. "Nothing's bothering me, Geoff, that being with you can't fix."

Another half truth. It would make him feel better but not enough. He had promised Geoff he'd be more forthcoming with things inside and he wasn't doing that now.

And it bothered him.

"That's a flattering sentiment, Loz, even if it isn't true. Something's going on that you want to tell me about, but don't want to tell me about. So...you can talk, or you can let me start guessing."

Geoff leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Loz's lips. "Do you really want me to start guessing?"

"I don't know...guessing might be fun," he said with a grin. Raising his arms to wrap around Geoff, he pulled the man close.

The floor was interesting, as was the wall again and he sighed. "Can we talk with no interruptions?" he asked, looking finally at the door.

"Let me bolt the door and we can go upstairs."

Geoff returned the embrace for a moment and then moved away toward the door to lock it. The possibilities for what Loz's news might be suddenly seemed ominous, and he frowned.

Once the door was locked and the lights put out, he led Loz upstairs. "Talk to me."

Moving awkwardly, Loz crossed the bedroom floor to sit on the edge of the bed. His arms rested on his knees and he rocked nervously, tapping his fingertips together.

Several times he tried to say something and each time nothing came out when he opened his mouth. Frowning, he got up from the bed and paced to the window to look out, his arm resting on the window frame.

He scrubbed at his forehead and took a breath. "There doesn't seem to be an easy way to say this, Geoff."

Geoff froze in place for a moment, realizing that there weren't many ways to interpret that particular statement. Giving his head a little shake and taking a deep breath, he walked across the room to stand next to Loz.

"You're leaving, aren't you? Either you're leaving town, or you're leaving me, but either way.... Leaving." He tried to keep the hurt out of his voice, knowing that if it was true, there was probably a good reason for it. And at least Loz was here to tell him about it. He wouldn't have to wake up one day and simply discover that another person he cared about had disappeared.

"We can't stay here anymore, Geoff. It's...killing us...slowly. Every day." he turned to look at Geoff and there is genuine hurt and torment in his gaze. Leaning against the wall, he scrubbed at his face and exhaled. "Like...a heavy blanket, smothering us. We don't fit in and in trying to..." Loz shook his head, feeling quite helpless, a distinctly unpleasant feeling.

Nodding, Geoff ran a hand through his hair. "I understand. You...you've never really been happy here. I know that. Where...I mean, will you be going back where you came from?"

He reached out wrapped his fingers around Loz's wrist, an act of comfort for both Loz and himself.

"No. Actually," he laughed as it sounded so absurd now that he thought of it. "We are heading inland. Kadaj wanted to try Alexandria for a while but...it's not firm. Just wherever the wind takes us."

Twisting his arm, his hand caught Geoff's and he pulled the man close to him and wrapped his arm around Geoff's waist. "I think we both know better and there's no guarantee I can get back here to see you. I can try but..."

He frowned again and gritted his teeth together, his eyes getting watery and he wiped at his face impatiently.

"Who's to know...the island might not even let you back on, once you leave. I get the feeling it controls our comings and goings more than we do."

Geoff's voice was soft, and he didn't bother turning his head to hide the dampness of his own eyes. Reaching up to rest a hand on Loz's shoulder, he leaned his weight into the man a little. "Could you...try and write me now and then?"

"Yeah," Loz laughed weakly. "Write you bad poetry or something."

Taking a deep breath, Loz let his head fall back against the wall. "You could come with me," he said quietly.

He made the offer. It was something Loz wanted but he knew better. Geoff was responsible. That was one of the many things Loz liked about the man. And he had obligations in town.

"I'd like that," Geoff said in response to the offer of poetry. "But a letter would do, if you weren't feeling on speaking terms with the muse." He gave a rueful grin, one that didn't have much feeling behind it, and dropped his head.

"I can't, Loz. I wish I could -- I'll bet it would be quite the experience to travel with the three of you. Like old times, a little. But I can't. I have my students here, and I owe it to them to finish what I've started. I'm sorry."

He closed his eyes then, leaning his head to rest atop his hand on Loz's shoulder.

"I know," Loz said, his voice rough. He did know, but he wanted to make the offer. Truthfully, he wanted Geoff to blow off responsibility and say yes. But that was selfish.

And very much unlike Geoff.

His hand rose to cup at the back of Geoff's head, his fingers combing through the hair at his neck. "I want you," he murmured softly against Geoff's hair.

The part of Geoff that hated being left behind as much as the next person wanted to term it 'one last fuck', but he knew that wasn't what Loz meant, and he scowled at his own pettiness in even thinking that way. Wrapping his arms around the man for a moment, Geoff embraced him tightly and the stepped away.

"I want you too," he replied, a shaky grin touching the edges of his mouth. "And since this may well be the last time we see each other, you better make it memorable."

Loz could have done without being told he might not see Geoff again. It was just easier to pretend, even though he knew it was unrealistic.

He stepped forward and reached out to touch Geoff's cheek, the grin interpreted as hesitation. "If you don't really, I'll understand."

Actually, Loz wouldn't. He wanted to take something away with him. At least one last happy memory of something that was actually good in this hellhole of a town.

"I said I do, Loz. And I meant it. Don't start pulling away now, not when you're about to leave."

Geoff could really have done with something to distract him from the idea as well, and he was a little embarassed to hear his voice tremble when he spoke.

"When do you have to go?"

“Morning,” Loz said quietly and he stepped forward again, putting him right in Geoff’s personal space. “I was…” he laughed and looked down between them, “hoping I could stay the night.”

"Yes. I want you to stay."

Geoff decided that was enough talking for the night. It wasn't going to get any easier with talking, and there really anything left to say. He laid his hands against the sides of Loz's face and kissed him, hard.

When their mouths met, Loz felt the dam within break and his arms wrapped around Geoff, pulling him tight. From the beginning, it had been dangerous to get close to this man. Every step of the way, he knew it was a bad idea, he knew he was getting attached and the leaving would be hard...and he did it anyway, his desire to have Geoff...to be close to him...

Loz had hoped, however, he would have a little more time.

His hands moved down Geoff's back, grabbing at handfuls of his clothing and pulling so he could slip his palms up and touch the heated and naked skin.

Geoff pulled away from the kiss with a ragged breath. His back arched against the touch of Loz's hands, and he rested his forhead against the other man's for a moment.

"Too fast," he whispered. Then he pulled at Loz, moving him away from the wall and leading him toward the bed. Turning the two of them, he pushed at Loz a little, encouraging him to sit, and began working at the fastenings on the man's clothes, slowly and deliberately.

Loz didn't want to slow down. The emotions were coming too strong and he was having problems keeping his head above it all. He just wanted to drown in the very thing that Geoff was.

When Geoff pulled back, Loz took a breath and followed him. He watched as Geoff patiently undressed him the deliberate slowness of his motions just fueled Loz's ardor higher. He would let Geoff lead for a while, felt like it was important to let it happen. A memorable night. Loz wasn't sure how to do that but he was going to try.

Geoff leaned in close for another kiss, this one slow and thorough, his hands moving to cup Loz's head, then drifting back down over his shoulders. He pushed Loz back onto the bed, pulling away from the kiss to move his lips along the line of the man's jaw, down his neck, across his collarbone.

If this was going to be the last time Geoff saw the man, he was going to make damn sure he had a good thorough memory of Loz to keep.

His eyes drifted closed, body aching already just to have Geoff. Each heartbeat saw Loz getting harder, straining in his pants. Geoff's scent, by now recognizable in an instant and addicting with every breath, filled his head and he groaned.

This felt good. It was clean, sexy, and God did Geoff have him by the balls, leading him wherever the poet needed, or wanted, to go. Loz just wanted to be with Geoff, with him and no distractions, not thoughts of possibly never seeing him again, for the night and he'd do whatever Geoff wanted to do just so Loz could touch him one last time.

Geoff's attempts at undressing Loz were punctuated with frequent pauses as he kissed and licked his way across the man's chest and stomach. Slowly at first, as he'd planned, but with increasing intensity, until he gave up altogether and crawled back up Loz's body to take his mouth in a hungry kiss.

His arms rose and wrapped around Geoff. The hungry kiss was returned, Loz meeting him with as much energy as he received. He pulled on Geoff, tugged on his legs and wanted him close, to feel Geoff pressed against him.

He had no problem complying. Geoff stretched out on the bed, halfway on top of Loz, running one hand along the man's shoulder as they kissed. Slow was being quickly forgotten -- was leaving too much time in Geoff's mind for thinking about after, and he was trying very hard not to think.

Deftly rolling them, Loz ended up on top. He realized there was no stopping or slowing and that suited him. Tonight...tonight they had all night. His brothers knew not to expect him till morning. Geoff was his until then. And he had full intention of making good use of that time.

One hand cupped the back of Geoff's head, their kiss heated and demanding. The other sought to disabuse Geoff of his clothing, buttons and zippers, cloth pushed to the side and one hand stripping barriers away until there was nothing but skin.

Geoff reached up the pull Loz to him, pushing at the other man's clothes as well, muttering into the kiss, until both were naked. His hands roamed across the body on top of him, and when he had to break the kiss to breathe, his mouth slid across Loz's jaw to suck at his throat.

Geoff's mouth sent a shiver up his spine and Loz groaned throatily. Just the feel of Geoff pressed against him stirred his body to full erection and he rocked his hips gently.

Licking at his lips, Loz closed his eyes and just felt Geoff, committing his touch, his scent, the feel of his touch ... all to memory, to take with him when he left.

Returning the movement of Loz's hips, Geoff exhaled softly in his ear, the breath carrying whispered words. He realized what it took for Loz to come see him, to want to come see him, before the brothers left town, and he wanted to show the man how much it meant...how much he'd be missed.

The whispers became stronger, spoken in a low murmur now, as Geoff remembered what Loz had said about his voice. Soft snatches of poems he'd heard, or written himself, sometimes of them words that simply came to him at the moment.

There it was, the one thing guaranteed to rip Loz's control from him so easily. Geoff's voice, in his ear and talking to him.

His response was automatic, a tightening of his arms, the rubbing of their bodies against each other, if Geoff kept it up, he would come right there.

Running his hand down Geoff's chest, he wrapped around the thick cock, stroking down in slow movements.

Moaning again, Geoff arched upwards at the touch. His hand slid up into Loz's hair, pulling him back into another hungry kiss, and he shifted underneath the man, wrapping one leg around Loz's hip.

The kiss was punctuated by more words, whispered and moaned against Loz's lips.

Loz shifted on the bed, taking Geoff with him and he reached for the drawer that held the familiar and well loved tube.

Geoff was always able to drive Loz to this, to such desires he felt it pull in his body, a physical tug, almost that ached down through to his toes.

Slick fingers wasted no time or movement to ready Geoff, or himself and pulling more on Geoff's leg, he slid into the tight body with a low moan.

Geoff gasped as Loz entered him, arching up again with a jerk of his hips that brought them even more tightly together. His hands gripped at Loz's back, short nails digging into the skin. Moaning the man's name, he shifted beneath him, body moving to match the rhythm of the other man's movements.

"Geoff," he whispered. Slow. Geoff's admonishment echoed in his mind and now he wanted to see that it happened. His hips moved with slow deliberation, his strokes into Geoff smoothed over him, a grip that was tight and felt just like heaven.

He caught what Loz wasn't saying, and took a deep breath. Relaxing a little, Geoff smiled against Loz's neck and lightly kissed his skin, moving along the man's throat in a series of soft kisses. His movements calmed a little, although his hips still kept rhythm with Loz's even thrusts.

Moving as one, Loz kept his pace even and full, his mouth tasting at every bare inch of skin he could find. He buried his face in Geoff's neck and inhaled again. "Say more, Geoff," he said softly. "Talk to me."

Tilting his head back slightly, Geoff gave a breathy moan, and then a soft laugh. "You know how to stroke a man's ego," he said, his voice rough.

Bending his head again to whisper into Loz's ear, he did as the man asked. Soft words, most of them not in English, the rhythm of his speech playing counterpoint to their movements.

Loz hoped he was stroking more than Geoff's ego and from the noises that were coming from his own mouth were a good indication Geoff had hit his mark.

Liquid and soft, Geoff's voice melted over Loz's ear in warmth. It spiked through his body and the lyrical words washed over him. His hips worked faster, plunging in hard and strokes coming less deep to compensate for speed.

He was pulled, the energy building and swirling in his stomach, Loz felt it in every fiber of his being, the closeness with Geoff that he'd build up over the past few months tugged at him far deeper than any simple bed partner could.

Groaning, Loz rested his head on Geoff's shoulder and lifted his hips in a pounding rhythm that was a tell tale indication he was fast climbing the pinnacle.

"God!" Geoff's whispered words were punctuated with cries as the pace increased, and he moved his hands to grasp hard at Loz's hips. The fevered movements, and the intensity of emotions, had him nearly to the edge.

The part of his mind that hadn't managed to lose itself in the sensations of the moment carefully took stock of every touch, every movement and sound, hoarding them to be remembered later.

Another shift and Loz reached between them, his hand wrapping around Geoff's cock. He stroked, keeping pace as best he could with the rock of his hips but it was sporadic at best as he was far gone in the sensations that buoyed him up as he could go and still be cogent in thought. And that was fast slipping away as well.

Leaving the only thing in its wake was Geoff, here and now.

That did it. It only took a few strokes of Loz's hand on his cock and Geoff found himself crying out the man's name, then gasping for breath as he rode out his orgasm. His hands tightened, digging into Loz's hips, leaving marks that would bruise.

The pain was sweet and the tightness that squeezed around him sweeter. The sweetest of all was hearing Geoff shout his name.

A combination of all and Loz was pulled in after Geoff. His hips slammed into Geoff with abandon and when his release hit him, he felt it draw from the soles of his feet, pulsing out in almost pain.

Growling softly, Loz felt his body lock and still, throbbing hard into Geoff and with one final explosive exhale, relaxed on top of Geoff.

Panting, Geoff slid his hands from Loz's hips to wrap his arms around the man's waist instead. He lay still, eyes closed and head thrown back, listening to Loz's breathing.

He wondered if Loz was going to want to talk more about his leaving, or about anything at all for that matter. He wondered if the man would be staying the night, or if it would be easier for him to leave now. And he wondered what he say.

Because for once he was at a loss for words.

For the longest time, as their bodies cooled, Loz didn't move. He simply enjoyed the press of their bodies until the sweat started to chill them and Loz took a deep breath before moving. "I think now is a good time to get under the covers?" he said with a grin.

He pushed up from the bed and padded into Geoff's bathroom, getting a cloth and towel for clean up and he slowly, one could almost say reverently if they were watching, wiped at Geoff's stomach.

"You don't have to do that, Loz," Geoff said softly, although he didn't really put up much protest. Instead, he watched the man intently, the frown line between his brows belying the smile on his lips.

"Come on, you know I'm a snuggler. Get up here." He laughed, a little ruefully, and tugged gently at Loz's arm.

Dumping the towel and cloth over into the floor, Loz wiggled under the covers and wrapped around Geoff, pulling him close. "You know, this all feels a bit surreal to me and while a weight has lifted off my shoulders," he sighed, "I still feel this heaviness in my chest."

There was a short pause. "It...sort of hurts."

"Yeah, it does," Geoff sighed, wrapping his arms around Loz and resting his head on the man's chest.

"Loz, do you mind if I write about you?"

The request took a moment for Loz to process and he pulled his head to look at Geoff. "You...really?" He was trying not to grin but he really did think that was a neat idea.

Geoff chuckled. "Yeah, really. That's what I do. I write about things -- people -- that I encounter. You're 'people', and you're interesting besides. So, if you don't mind it, I'd like to write about you."

He grinned up at Loz. "Usually I don't bother asking, you know."

Laughing, Loz relaxed against the bed. "I'm interesting. Who'd have thought that? I'm going to feel weird, writing to you, you know. You are all smart with words and all my stuff will seem so...dumb," he shrugged and tightened his arms around Geoff. He was smiling still. "I'll write because I said I would. Maybe, I'll get one of those quill pen things, just to do it right."

"You don't have to write more than you want to, just enough to let me know you're all right. And maybe what you're up to." He grinned at the idea of the quill. "Get some good heavy paper, too. That's important, so that it holds the ink."

It felt strange, discussing something as mundane as paper, when Loz was going to be gone -- and most like for good -- in the morning.

Loz's hand stroked up Geoff's chest to cup at his face and slide into his hair. "I'm...sorry, Geoff. I really wanted it to work for us. Sounds funny I guess, but I did. I would have worked hard for it, you know."

"I wanted it to work too, Loz. But...I don't regret it. I don't want you to leave thinking about how it didn't work. It has, just not for as long as I would have liked."

He looked up at Loz. "You never know how things work. We might run into each other again. After all, who would have thought that we'd meet here?"

"Yeah, you're right," Loz smiled then sighed.

Fate had a funny way of things and while Loz didn't really believe in Fate, he believed in destiny to a certain extent. While he and his brothers had to carve out their life, wherever they were, sometimes he felt like there was something larger out there, guiding them along. It just didn't make it easy on them.

Maybe this was one of them.

At any rate, Loz didn't want to talk any more about leaving. Sunrise would come too soon as it was and he didn't want those jumpy, jangly emotions to color his time left with Geoff. "So tell me how classes are going for you..."

FTB until morning

Sunday Evening at Aziraphale's Rare Books

2006-01-22T13:46:39Z

[ooc- Preplayed with a_phale and dr_jwilsonmd]

It was evening, and the shop had been closed for a while. Aziraphale and Wilson had enjoyed a quiet supper in the kitchen, discussing the week's events -- including some fussing by the angel over his friend's recent illness. Once the dishes were cleared, Aziraphale put on a soft jazz CD and settled onto the couch in the lounge, his arms around the young doctor who was leaning against his chest.

"I'm quite certain fourteen down is proselyte, James love."

Wilson was still feeling a bit fatigued, especially when he had a busy day and at the moment curling up against the solid warmth of the angel's chest, listening to the fire crackle in the hearth and working the crossword was a little slice of heaven for him.

"Really? But then that would mean that 12 across would have to be...oh...yeah, you're right." Turning the pencil about he erased what he'd originally filled in and began replacing the two words.

After they had done what they wanted to do, the brothers converged in front of the pub to meet up. As they headed for their bikes, Yazoo stopped and shook his head. "Wait. Another stop. Come on."

Whirling on his heel, he headed down the street.

Loz looked at Kadaj and raised an eyebrow. With a shrug, both of them followed their brother.

Outside Aziraphale's shop, Yazoo peered in the window, his hand shielding against the glare as he looked specifically for the bright man and saw Dr. Wilson as well, within the depths of the store. This was perfect. Two with one visit and he knocked on the glass.

Aziraphale looked up at the sound of knocking, frowning a little with concern. After all, he rarely had after-hours callers unless someone needed something -- and it wasn't usually books they needed. With a quick look at Wilson, the angel slipped off the couch and headed for the front of the shop.

Seeing the brothers standing outside, his frown deepened, and he quickly opened the door. "Come in, please. Is everything all right, Yazoo?"

He turned his head over his shoulder and called back into the lounge. "James love, it's Yazoo and his brothers."

Well aware of what after hour knocks usually meant, Wilson sat up and then when Phale called back he stood and walked up towards the front of the shop.

"Good evening, gentlemen." The young doctor smiled warmly at the three, stepping up beside Phale and wrapping an arm around the angel's waist as he watched the quiet trio with a curious expression.

"Is everything all right?"

"Fine," Yazoo said softly. He stood to the side and waited for Loz and Kadaj to come into the shop. "I know it's late and this won't take long but," he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot and looked at his brothers. Suddenly, he felt very self conscious about this. "I'm glad you're both here," he finished his earlier thought.

"I think you should all come in and sit down. There's cocoa in the lounge."

Squeezing Wilson's hand, he led them all to the back of the shop, going immediately to the coffee table to pour three mugs of the cocoa that was now there.

"Tell what's wrong, my dear. And don't try to say there isn't anything wrong, because it's quite plain that's not true."

Wilson followed but remained quiet, letting Phale take the lead since he knew the angel's association with the three brothers went back further than his own.

Something was up, that was obvious and so he sat down and picked up his own tea, watching them curiously.

The brothers went into the lounge and sprawled out in the chairs. Yazoo grinned at the mention of cocoa. Of all the things he would miss, this just might be it. Not just the cocoa but…yeah.

He sat on the sofa and sipped thoughtfully at the cocoa. “See,” Yazoo began, taking a breath. Why wasn’t this getting easier? Why was this so hard for them? They hated the town and most of the people in it, only a few that had made an attempt to befriend them…and yet, the talking was just as hard as the staying.

“We have to go. Like…really go. And I didn’t want to leave without saying…we’re going.”

Sitting down with a surprised flump, Aziraphale stared at Yazoo for a moment.

"You're...leaving Fandom, you mean. Are you...going home, then?"

Because if they were going home, it wouldn't be so bad. They'd be returning to a place they knew, that was comfortable for them. But something told him it wasn't likely, and he gave Yazoo a sad smile.

"I'll miss you."

Wilson looked over at the angel and he shifted a little, moving to sit beside the other man, a hand reaching to rest on his lover's shoulder.

Dark eyes looked at the faces of each of the three and he smiled gently.

"I...it's been a pleasure to get to know you, Yazoo...Loz... Kadaj. I'm sorry to see you leave."

“Not home, don’t know how,” Yazoo said, looking into his cup. He leveled a gaze at his brothers before looking back at Aziraphale. “But we can’t stay here anymore. We don’t belong here and…” he shrugged and leaned back against the sofa. “We don’t belong here.”

He sighed and let his head roll along the sofa back to look at Wilson and to Aziraphale. “We wanted to come by and say good bye. It was…important. You’ve both been nice to us. You know…when you didn’t have to.” He laughed. “I'll miss the blow job shots. Isn't that funny?”

Laughing softly, Aziraphale nodded. "I suppose it is funny. But it was a good time. And perhaps the three of you haven't had as many of those here as you should have."

He bowed his head for a moment, and when he looked up his expression was serious. "You'll be careful, I hope. Not get into...too much trouble. And...perhaps we'll see one another again. There's no saying where I might end up next, you know."

"There's no saying where I might end up next..."

Wilson blinked as for some reason the angel's words caught him off guard for a moment but he quickly shook it off and focused his attention back on Yazoo and his brothers.

"I can only echo what he says. Be careful...be happy." Wilson paused and then he chuckled softly. "And if those two seem to be mutually exclusive...then I hope you find the balance that's right for you."

Yazoo laughed at the doctor's comment and nodded. "It's...you've both been very nice." He'd said that before but he felt like it bore repeating.

"Wish you luck with the clinic, doctor. I'm not sure if saying I hope it's successful is a good thing, if you think about it," Yazoo said, rising to stand. He put the cup on the coffee table and brushed his hands down his thighs.

This was the hard part in more way than one. "Thank you. Both." A simple comment that was far deeper than they appeared considering the difficulty the brothers had in ever saying them.

But it was that both these men had been far superior adults to three boys who had little to no respect for authority. The brothers' gratefulness wasn't extended easily or lightly.

Aziraphale stood as well, setting down his own cup and then taking a few steps to stand near the young man. He knew well how hard it was for these three to open up to others, to trust, to form friendships. And maybe they feel quite the same about the angel as he felt about them.

But to him, they were his friends, and he was going to miss them.

So Aziraphale took one more step, and took a chance as well, wrapping his arms around Yazoo's shoulders in a warm embrace.

It caught him off guard and Yazoo spent a moment trying to figure out what to do. As it seemed natural to do so, his arms wrapped around Aziraphale and he felt himself relax into the man's hug.

Aziraphale smelled of spicey cookies and hot chocolate, all the comforts Yazoo had grown to know of the shop. He really...really would miss this place.

When the moment was right, Yazoo broke the embrace and stepped back. By this time, his brothers were standing, ready to go.

Not inclined to let Yazoo's brothers off so easily, Aziraphale moved around the young man to give Kadaj and Loz each a brief embrace as well.

Then he stepped away, removing himself from their space again, and gave them all a warm smile.

Wilson watched Phale with the three rather startled looking young men and rather than more hugs, he held his hand out to each, giving them a firm grasp and a warm smile.

"Good luck and if you ever need me, you have my card. Don't hesitate to use it."

Hugs and handshakes, new concepts for the brothers, although, not so much the handshake thing. However, they did only reserve that for people they trusted.

Kadaj nodded to the doctor. "Yes, we do. We'll call. At the moment, we're only going into Alexandria but may try to head north eventually," he said so they would have an idea of where they were calling from, if they ever did have a need.

Opening the door, the brothers went through, Yazoo bringing up the rear. He gave the shop one final glance and waved to Aziraphale and Wilson, shutting the door behind him as they stepped into the street.

Loz let his brothers to go back to the house and he headed in another direction. He had one final stop to make.

Yazoo is bored

2006-01-06T15:25:45Z

Yazoo was bored.

He was bored bored bored.

Looking at the clock it was only still morning. Early morning.

And he was bored.

Loz and Kadaj were in the shop working on CJ's car and he wanted to work too. Twice now, he'd been run out to go sit on the sofa.

And be bored.

Finally convincing Loz to bring him something to do, he worked on the starter and distributor for the Mach 1.

With the TV on, blaring out from some music video station, which he was really starting to like this disk TV system thing, Yazoo sat on the sofa with the coffee table pulled up close and he finally, finally had something to do when he got tired of sitting still.

[ooc- For geoff_chaucer and/or Hunter, anyone else is certainly welcome. Slow play until evening, but if you're out on the edge of town, stop by and see the boys!]

finally at home

2006-01-06T00:02:26Z

Yazoo sat propped up on the sofa next to Loz and they were watching TV. Dr. Wilson let him finally come home. He was feeling much better than he supposed would have in other circumstances, his healing coming at an accelerated rate. Still, the painkillers the doctor gave him were incredible and while he hated to take them, they made his head so fuzzy.

With a heavy sigh, he relaxed against his brother and just fire watched, drifting in and out of sleep.

[ooc- prof_cregg, this is for you, specifically. Anyone else walking by the house on the outskirts of town is certainly welcome to stop by.]

On the outskirts of town

2005-12-28T14:52:41Z

Another day. The brothers debated over breakfast on how to handle business while they worked on CJ's car. They knew they needed the income and they still had Spike's. But did they want to neglect outside business in favor of working on the Mach 1? While they wanted to do that, they knew they shouldn't do that. It was a toss up.

Finally, agreement. They would limit the amount of new business they took in until the car was finished. One job at a time that only took one of them away.

Not really a problem at that exact moment. With a halfway decent day ahead of them, the shop doors were flung open and the brothers set to work on CJ's car.

[ooc- While scene opened specifically for Hunter, anyone's welcome to stop by if they're out this way.]

Tuesday afternoon on the outskirts of town

2005-12-27T22:59:46Z

The brothers had been up early during the day and got started with CJ's car. Stripped down, all parts that could be salvaged were set aside for cleaning and a check. Everything was made ready and all they needed was for the parts Loz arranged to have shipped to show up.

It was a nice day and the doors to the shop were thrown open for Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj to work.

Monday Morning - Geoff and Loz - NFB-NWS

2005-12-26T23:15:50Z

NFB due to location. NWS for nudity.

Monday morning. Loz awoke with an annoyed snort. The sun, bright and clear on a pretty day, sliced through the curtains, and managed to nail him across the eyes. He tried to turn over and bury his face against Geoff, hoping he could go back to sleep but it was far too late…he was awake now.

With a sigh, he might as well make the most of being up so early and his hand stroked over Geoff, his palm cupping Geoff’s ass and smoothing over the swell of muscle as it connected to his back.

Sunday Morning Christmas Day

2005-12-25T23:13:02Z

NFB since, like, they aren't in town and the radio station is on break anyway. Still...just saying...

An interesting couple of days.

Loz had gotten more than he anticipated when Geoff came with him on the trip. And he was quite pleasantly surprised at that.

Geoff had proven a most capable mechanic, even if the things that he was asked to do made no sense to him. Still, he was willing to push up his sleeves, grab a wrench and tackle taking something off, making notes and keeping the paperwork straight.

They had managed to get most of the things they needed, both mechanical and body. The engine he had a lead on was still intact, even if some of the parts were missing. In fact the entire front of the car was in fairly good shape. A few rust spots here and there but otherwise perfect for his needs.

It was just a matter of getting the car loaded on a truck and delivered. They couldn’t handle that on Saturday, having gotten to the owner far too late to even get a truck out there.

He was invited back on Sunday, even though it was a holiday for them. A Christmas Day. Loz knew a little about this holiday even though he didn’t understand most of it. But he knew enough that the man’s offer to come in on Sunday to help get the car loaded if Loz would help, was a bit of a sacrifice.

He leaned over and brushed his mouth against Geoff’s bare shoulder. The other man was still asleep, lying on his stomach with his face buried in a pillow. Allowing his hand to pass down over the swell of his ass beneath the covers, Loz took that moment to simply enjoy the warmth of the body in his bed.

Making a decision, he slipped out of the sheets, trying not to wake the other man. Loz had worked Geoff hard the past couple of days, both in bed and out and he deserved his rest. In his place, left a small, brightly wrapped box next to Geoff, Loz dressed quickly and headed out to meet the junkyard owner.

Once this deal was concluded, it would be time to head home.

geoff_chaucer modded with permission

Time Away - a Loz and Geoff scene

2005-12-23T16:55:17Z

Loz and Geoff hit the road for business and for time away. Preplayed with geoff_chaucer and not open to interaction. OOC comments welcome. Conversation and time on the road NFB, but Loz's appearance at Geoff's shop and their leaving together is available.

On the road - Part One

The mood around the brothers’ house after news about CJ was gray but improving, especially in light of her waking up. There were still things that weren't right and apparently would take time to be right again.

Kadaj was restless for her to come home and Yazoo was taking the news with his usual aplomb.

And Loz?

Loz pushed it away and got busy with the task at hand. Betsy, CJ’s Mach 1, was a total loss. Ever since they got it towed to their shop, Loz had poured over every square inch with his brothers as they planned out, in intricate detail, how they would affect repair. Did they want all new parts? Original?

They would still need to do some digging to find body panels to fit the make and model of the car, which after several phone calls, they were able to get a few leads on.

It was decided. Loz would go out and find the parts they needed, Kadaj and Yazoo would stay behind and get the car stripped. They were rebuilding from the tires up.

On his bike, Loz was packed, minimally, and was going to head straight out when a thought, a guilty thought, occurred to him and he turned around, driving straight into town.

He pulled up in front of Geoff’s shop and cut the bike. Looking in the front window, he was hoping to find the poet there.

The atmosphere in town, the constant uncertainty of what seemed like everything lately, and the need to just get out on the road for a while had finally driven Geoff to distraction. He'd closed up the shop -- Sonia was gone now anyway, and he'd have to hire someone new, but just didn't feel like dealing with that yet -- and classes were on break. Switching out the modern suits he'd taken to wearing for his old leather trousers and a close-fitting sweater, he was putting the few things he couldn't do without on the road into a small pack when he heard the unmistakable rumble of a motorcycle outside.

Tossing down the book he'd been about to slip into the pack, he went to open the door.

When the door opened, Loz stepped back. "Hey. I wanted to drop by and see you."

He felt wrung out and tired and helpless and none of these things made him look like he felt worth a damn. Standing there in the door, something told Loz that Geoff wasn't faring much better.

"C'mon in." Geoff held the door open for Loz to enter, then closed and locked it again. Seeing the pack laid out in plain view on the floor, and his coat thrown over the chair beside it, he realized that Loz was going to know immediately there was something up.

"Um...I'm...would you a like a drink?" Geoff ran a hand through his hair and, without waiting for an answer, headed over to the cabinet to pour his guest a glass of whiskey.

"Yeah." Loz followed Geoff in and stood staring at the pack, a small smile on his face. "Going somewhere?"

Geoff turned around and held out the glass for Loz, following his gaze.

"Yeah, for a couple of days. Just thought I'd...get out on the road for a bit. Clear my head. I was actually going to stop by and see you on my way out of town."

Taking the glass, Loz knocked back a hefty swallow. He wiped at his mouth in thought. "Funny." He looked in his glass and swirled the dark liquid around thoughtfully. "I stopped by to tell you I was heading out for a few days."

Geoff looked at the man in surprise for a minute, and then laughed. "Well, okay then. Where are you headed?"

Looking out the window toward the bike, he added, "I guess you're on your way now?"

"We're rebuilding CJ's car." He waved in the direction of the bike with his glass. "I want to use as many original Mach 1 parts as we can get our hands on and I think I found a couple of places to find them. Problem," Loz drank the rest of his whiskey and set the glass down, "I have to go to them to get them shipped back. Should take a few days."

His lips pursed and he turned to Geoff. "It's not as exciting as just having a run at the road but, if you want the company..."

"Well, if you guys are doing the work, I have no doubt it'll be good as new." He leaned against the side of the worktable, and raised an eyebrow at Loz's offer.

"Come with you, you mean? I don't know, sounds pretty exciting to me." Geoff grins. "You said you were going to be back in a few days? I've really got to be back by Monday, Tuesday at the latest, so I can ready for the next term of classes. But...if you're really offering -- yeah, I'd like that."

"Long cold days on the bike when I'm not combing through junkyards, cheap hotels at night, ordering delivery for dinner" Loz said, grinning. "If that's how you want to spend the next few days, grab your gear and let's go. I can have you back by Monday night."

"Long cold days on foot, sleeping in barn if you're lucky or a ditch if you're not, and whatever half-stale food they serve at the local tavern," Geoff grinned back. "I've done it all before, Loz. At least this time there'll be good company."

He grabbed up the book he'd set down and stuffed it into the pack, tying up the fastenings, and then pulled on the long yellow coat and slung the pack over his shoulder.

"Well, what we waiting for?"

Stepping back and heading for the door, Loz shook his head and laughed. "For your ass to be on the bike so we can go?"

Out at his bike, Loz secured his pack further back so Geoff would have a place to sit and climbed on to start it up.

Geoff locked up the shop, making sure the sign was in the window, and slung his pack across his back so it was secure. Climbing onto the bike behind Loz, he wrapped his arms around the man and leaned into his back.

"All set back here!" he said into Loz's ear, over the rumble of the bike.

Loz nodded and pulled away slowly. He didn't open up for speed until they were on the causeway. Through town, Loz headed west. The urban landscape soon gave way to a more rural setting, even though they were on a major interstate.

Not in any particular hurry to get anywhere and truly enjoying having Geoff pressed behind him, Loz took his time. The further they got from the city, the better he liked their surroundings.

They stopped after two hours, Loz pulling off into a small diner's parking lot so they could eat and stretch. Not that Loz needed to walk off the riding, he practically lived on the back of the bike, but Geoff would need it. And since Loz wasn't in any hurry...it was no problem.

Geoff did need the time off the bike -- he knew how to ride a horse, but didn't do it with great frequency, and the bike was definitely not like a horse. Stretching his arms up over his head, he adjusted the pack and followed Loz into the diner.

He was grateful that he'd been living in this time long enough in Fandom to understand what he was seeing. Settling into the booth opposite Loz, he ordered something that sounded at least vaguely familiar, along with coffee, and grinned happily.

"This is going to be fun, I can already tell."

He slid the menu out of the way once the waitress took their orders and he hunched over his water. "You think?" Loz asked with a grin. "I could put you to work, suck some of that fun out of you."

Raising an eyebrow suggestively at the remark, Geoff smiled over his coffee. "So when did I give you the idea that I'm afraid of work?"

"You haven't," Loz said. He waved a hand and picked up his glass of water, draining it quickly. Catching the waitress' attention he wiggled the empty glass at her. "I just thought you wanted a vacation and I'm working, but I'll be more than happy to keep you entertained in any form, work or not."

Geoff laughed. "I just wanted a few days away from town. I've never yet spent time on the road where there wasn't some kind of work involved. So please, put me to work, if you can think of something that I can do to help."

Loz's smile turned into a leer and he leaned over the table. "Well, I can think of several things right off. But only after we get settled for the night," he said, stifling a yawn. When the waitress brought his water, he turned his cup over so she would get him some coffee.

Shaking his head, Geoff grins and leans in as well. "I'll bet you can. But I actually meant real work as well. Although it will be good to settle in. I think I've gotten soft, living the luxurious life of a professor."

He smiles at the waitress when she brings his plate, and she gives him a flirtatious smile back.

"What? I was talking real work too," Loz said innocently. He watched the waitress flirt with Geoff and smiled. Apparently, Loz wasn't the only one who thought Geoff was attractive, so he couldn't blame the girl.

It was just Loz wasn't in the mood to share and after a warning look to her, pleasant as he tried to make it, he tucked in to his food with the energy of a starving man.

The waitress raised her eyebrows and looked from Loz to Geoff and back, then hurried off to help her other customers. Geoff laughed.

"Loz, that wasn't necessary, you know." He shook his head again and attacked his own meal as well. "And I meant it about helping out. Obviously I don't know a thing about cars, but I figure you can teach me."

"There's a lot you can do and not need to know about cars. I bet you look really sexy with a wrench in your hand," Loz offered, ignoring Geoff's other comment. "Not to mention help me keep straight who we visit and what we get from them."

He gestured around generally with his fork. "Where we're going, it's rather small but centrally located from some junkyards and shops I want to hit. I have a lead on a guy who has a wrecked car, similar to CJ's. If the engine block is intact, that could save us quite a bit of searching."

Grinning as he drank his coffee, Geoff said, "Well, I haven't the vaguest idea what an engine block is, but if all I'm required to do is look sexy and remember some names, I can probably manage that."

Waving the waitress back over, he ordered pie for them both and paid the bill.

"You didn't have to do that," Loz said, waving at their tab. "I got the money."

"If I'm coming along on this trip, I'm going to share the expenses." Geoff drained the rest of his coffee and sat back in his seat. "Anyway, I have a steady salary from the school, plus what I make from commissions. I'm not hurting. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of chances to burn money on this trip, I'm sure."

Loz looked across the table at Geoff and shook his head. "I didn't invite you so you could pay." Smiling, Loz slid out of the booth seat. "But I'm not going to argue with you. Something tells me I'll lose."

"You'll take me in a fight every time, Loz," Geoff said, grinning as he slid out of the booth, "But I promise you, I can out-argue most anyone."

He stops on his way out the door to give Loz a quick kiss. "I'd be on the road by myself if you hadn't invited me -- with no one to share the expenses. So this isn't your treat. We share."

"Yes, sir," Loz said with a laugh. He headed back to the bike and checked everything before climbing on to start it up. "So, this out-arguing, something I have to look forward to?"

Climbing on behind Loz and settling in against his back, Geoff says, "Depends on whether you like to argue or not. The grin is obvious in his voice.

"I like the making up part," Loz said over his shoulder.

Geoff's laughter was more felt than heard and he gripped his arms firmly around Loz's waist and rested his chin against the man's shoulder, watching the world around him speed up and then fly past.

On the road - Part Two

Loz stopped twice more to give Geoff a break and to refuel. The sun was beginning to set but they were close to the place where he would hole up for the next several days.

It was Yazoo that had done the research and picked the place. In his pack was the information on the junkyards, what parts they might have, phone numbers...

Also included were polaroids and picture printouts of the current condition of CJ's car and the type of body he was looking to scavange from.

He was armed and ready to deal and negotiate. If he was lucky, he would have everything he needed to rebuild Betsy.

As night progressed, Loz finally pulled up in front of the small motor lodge, located on a deserted stretch of road on the outskirts of the nearest town with only a gas station and back country bar across the way to keep it company. On the outside it wasn't much to look at. Neither was the room, actually, but it was clean and warm.

And their home for the next few days, depending on how business went.

Letting his bag drop by the door, Loz strolled into the room and flopped onto the bed on his back, exhaling loud.

Geoff knew exactly how the man felt. He wasn't used to this kind of travel, and even with the breaks, a full day on the bike had him feeling tired and more than a little sore. Running his hand through his hair, he dropped into a chair and stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles.

"I need a shower," he said, yawning and not actually moving to get up.

"Then you can get it first. I'll," Loz's hand flopped in the direction of the phone, "see what we can get to eat around here."

"Mm," Geoff says, sighing deeply. "Yes, all right, I'm going."

He grins, pulling himself out of his chair with a joking grumble, and heads for the bathroom. Stopping on the way, he leans down to kiss Loz first. "They bring the food to us? I think I like this place."

Laughing aloud, Loz shook his head, his fingers combing through the blond hair before Geoff pulled away. "I'll find out."

Grinning again, Geoff headed off into the bathroom for a quick shower. By the time Loz had checked about the food, he was back, dressed just in his trousers. He flopped down onto the bed next to Loz, smiling.

"One down, two to go," he said, the smile turning to a grin. "Your turn."

Loz rolled, pinning Geoff to the bed. "If I had been thinking, I should have told you to hold off on that shower. You'll just have to have another." His lips brushed over Geoff's jaw and down his neck to place a kiss on his shoulder.

"No dinner then?"

Geoff slid his hands up to wrap around Loz's waist, turning his head to give the man room to get his shoulder. "And you're overdressed, by the way."

"Pizza will be here in half an hour," Loz murmured. Not that he cared about eating dinner right at that moment. What had his attention was the warm body beneath his hands, stroking down Geoff's sides and slipping his fingers in his waistband.

Lifting his head, he grinned. "But I like fucking you while I'm dressed and you aren't. Turns me on. In fact...fucking you in just about any state of dressed or not dressed turns me on." A thoughtful look crossed his face and he nodded. "So I guess that means, just fucking you, standing there, or lying there as the case is now, turns me on," and he punctuated his statement with a rock of hips.

"Mmmm..." Geoff responded with a roll of his hips, sliding his hands up Loz's back. "I sort of would have thought the being turned on part might come before the fucking. But hey, if you need that much help..." He grinned roguishly.

Leaning up towards Loz's ear, he murmured, "You think half an hour's going to be enough time?"

"Not by a long shot, but it's enough to get started," Loz said with a slow exhale. Geoff was just a sexy man and his voice could reduce Loz to a molten mass.

He rose to his knees and sank back to his heels between Geoff's legs. He shook his head and was grinning quite widely at the image that presented him. His gaze didn't leave Geoff's body, skimming upward slowly and feeling the desire rising quickly, to rest in the clear and bright eyes.

Still holding to Geoff's gaze, he began the slow show of undressing. The catches for Dual Hound were released and he let the weapon slip over the side of the bed. His tongue snaked out and licked over his upper lip as the armor clasps were unbuckled and tossed to floor as well. His gunblade was next, allowing his fingers to brush against Geoff's chest as the holster was tucked under a pillow.

He raised an eyebrow, but...he wasn't complaining. A small smile hovered around his lips as Geoff watched the show, breathing growing a little more rapid as Loz's fingers brushed across his skin. And for some reason, the gun being slipped under the pillow just made things that much more interesting.

"Well, that'll make for an interesting greeting for the delivery fellow," he said, voice a little rough.

Unzipping his jacket, he rolled his shoulders to slip it from his body and it joined the rest. His hands skimmed over his own chest, brushing over his nipples and down his abdomen to toy with his waistband. The button on his pants popped out of the hole and he slid the zipper down slowly.

"I have half an hour," Loz said. "That's plenty of time to blow you. Or," his hand slipped up Geoff's leg to rub over his cock, "jerk you off..." His voice dropped to a husky whisper. "Anything to just watch you..."

Moaning, Geoff watched as Loz fondled himself, his hips jerking upwards at the caress across his groin. "God...yes, whatever you want."

This was a new element -- before it had always been Loz grabbing him, alot of hungry kissing, and then Loz fucking him. None of which he objected to in the least. But he liked this new development, and he was interested to see how it would play out.

Also, the look in Loz's eyes pretty much always turned him on, and fast.

Leaning forward and bracing on one hand, Loz unzipped and unbuttoned Geoff's trousers, slipping in to grasp his cock. He stroked a few times and realized he wanted the clothing out of the way, his fingers hooking to pull them down.

Once they were worked off of Geoff's hips, he dropped to an elbow and worked his hand slowly over the stiffened flesh, his tongue swiping at the exposed head when his hand slid down. Soon, following his hand, Loz's mouth covered Geoff's cock and he matched tempo with the pumping of his fist.

Running his fingers through the short, pale hair, Geoff's grasp tightened as his cock slid into Loz's mouth. The sight of it, of Loz between his thighs, sucking him off, made him that much harder. He groaned, hips writhing a little as he tried to hold still.

What was it this man saw in him, Geoff wondered. He was a poet, a talker, with no skills at fighting, no knowledge of mechanics, not much to offer someone like Loz, at least that he could see. Nonetheless, the man seemed to want him, and more and more it wasn't just physical -- the man seemed to like being around him, talking, or at least listening, to him. And he certainly liked being around Loz.

The introspection didn't last very long -- really, with what Loz was doing to him, it had been doomed from the start.

Loz shifted again to lie flat on his stomach. That position enabled him to flex his hips, rocking into the mattress and the friction enough to keep him hard and even start to coax his release.

One arm slid beneath Geoff's hips and Loz pulled on him, his other hand working with a pace that slowly began to pick up time. Loz's mouth slid off Geoff's cock and he tongued down the hard shaft to lap at the tight balls nestled just beneath. Sucking one gently into his mouth, his tongue smoothed over one, then the other and worming further down.

"Jesus...Loz!" The cry was accompanied by a not-quite-restrained buck of Geoff's hips, one hand twisting in the bedcovers as the other flexed in a tight grip on Loz's hair. His breathing was becoming ragged, and a hot thrill raced along Geoff's spine and spread across his skin.

One more swipe of his tongue across Geoff's perineum and back up to curl over his sac before his mouth joined his hand again, Loz pumped his fist over Geoff's cock, picking up speed. Lips pressed to hand, he worked Geoff and lifted his gaze to watch him bucking on the bed, waiting to see the blond man tip over the edge.

It didn't take much longer. Looking down at Loz, when he saw the man's eyes turn up toward him, as if knowing he was close and waiting for him, the dam broke. With a hoarse cry, Geoff came, head thrown back as his hips arched up toward Loz.

Panting as he came back down from high, Geoff reached a hand down to grab at Loz's shoulder. "Get up here," he growled, pulling at the man and then reaching down to take Loz's cock in hand and bring him off.

Drinking greedily, Loz swallowed everything Geoff gave him. One more long swipe of his tongue and he crawled up Geoff's body to kiss him but only got as far as kneeling over him before the talented hand that had penned such lovely words grasped his cock causing Loz to jerk into his grip. "Fuck," he managed to strangle out, suddenly frozen to the spot as Geoff pulled on him, already so hard he ached.

He stared down into the flush face and crushed his mouth to Goeff's in a hungry kiss.

Geoff kissed back just as hungrily. Deft, calloused fingers worked Loz's cock, while Geoff's free hand encircled the man's neck, holding him in place.

He'd been feeling, lately, that he wasn't really doing much in the way of reciprocating Loz's attentions. The sex was good -- very good -- but Geoff was starting to realize that it tended to be a little one-sided, and that he was definitely getting the better end of the deal.

He was determined to change that. And although neither of them were much up to talking right now, he was also determined to find out a great deal more about what Loz liked.

His moans were muffled between their mouths and one hand slid up Geoff's arm to rest at his throat, his thumb resting over a pulse point. With Geoff jerking on him so smoothly, he wasn't going to last very long. Geoff had just the right touch, not too hard, but not so soft as to be an aggravation. Pumping into his grip, Loz rocked matching Geoff's tempo.

Everything about the man beneath Loz was a turn on. The way he looked, the way he stood, dressed, naked...the way he sounded...oh god, especially the way he moaned, but the way he talked too. Loz was sure the man could make him come just by talking.

He pulled from the kiss, his breath coming fast and hard and a clear indication he was quite close. Resting his head on Geoff's shoulders, he remained where he was, hips thrusting into the channel formed around his cock.

"Say something," he whispered.

At first Geoff was confused by the request, and he very nearly answered it with 'What would you have me say?' He caught himself, though, remembering what Loz had once said about the sound of his voice, and laughed softly.

"'I surely ravished be into Paradise...'" he said in a low voice, spoken into Loz's ear. "'...where my desire is for to be'."

Following the words with a swipe of his tongue along the man's neck, Geoff's hand grasped a little tighter, moved a little faster.

"Shit," Loz ground out against Geoff's neck. The words were like warm honey over his ears and when a soft tongue followed on the heels of that it just made him shiver, dragging his orgasm even closer to the surface.

He thrust, helpless against the speed Geoff's hand moved and as his climax rushed up on him, he stopped moving letting the man's strokes carry him the rest of the way.

When he came, it was with a muffled shout against Geoff's shoulder. His cock jumped and throbbed strongly, white stripes lancing across Geoff's chest as he emptied.

Geoff pressed a soft kiss to Loz's ear as the man slumped spent against him. "We've made a little bit of a mess," he chuckled. "And you're right, I do need another shower."

His hand moved slowly up and down Loz's back, caressing, as both men caught their breath, and Geoff chuckled again.

"You really were serious about listening to me talk, weren't you?"

"I'm still due one," Loz said, matching Geoff's chuckle. He sighed, rubbing his forehead on Geoff's shoulder before he lifted to brace over the other man again.

He stared down at Geoff, caught in the man's gaze and feeling like he were falling into a fathomless depth. "Yeah. I was serious." Pointedly looking down at Geoff's chest, he looked up at Geoff with a cheeky grin. "What gave it away?"

Furrowing his brow a little, Geoff replied, "I'm not sure. I think it might have been the way you moaned when you said 'Say something'. Or...yeah, I think was it." He returns the grin and looks down at himself. "Oh yeah, or it could have been that."

Reaching up to pull Loz down for another kiss, he murmurs against the man's mouth, "Maybe we should shower before the food gets here?"

"I've managed to get away with not getting messy," Loz said, stating the obvious. He turned and flopped onto the bed next to Geoff, his hand resting on one of Geoff's hips. "You can get the shower, I'll terrorize the delivery kid and shower after we eat."

"You did that entirely on purpose just so you could terrorize the delivery kid."

Geoff turned and placed a soft kiss on the corner of Loz's mouth, then slid off the bed. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the shower on this trip?" he said to no one in particular, heading off into the bathroom.

"Is that a complaint?" Loz called after him. He didn't hear the response if Geoff gave him one over the pounding at the door.

Rocking up to stand, he dug out his wallet and opened the door, letting his body fill the frame and block any view into the room. Loz looked out, then down to the scrawny kid who held the two large pizzas and the soda. It was hard not to laugh when it looked like the kid was going to shrink away to nothing.

"D-d-delivery, sir?" the poor boy's voice squeaked.

Loz kept his best game face, one of a perpetual scowl when he dug the money out. Taking the boxes and the soda, he thrust the money at the delivery boy and with his foot, slammed the door shut before the kid could thank him and wish him a nice evening.

Hey...he was hungry.

There was laughter from the bathroom.

"You just answered that door half naked, didn't you? Poor kid, probably scarred for life now." Any response Loz might have made was lost in the sound of the shower, however.

Returning to the room just a short time later, Geoff dropped into the chair and dug hungrily into the pizza. "So, what are our plans for tomorrow?"

Loz wiped his hands on one of the napkins and went to dig around in his pack, pulling out a folder. He thumbed through the contents and pulled out a sheet of paper that had a list of junkyards and the parts they said they had available. "I thought we could start at the junkyards that said they had the most parts and work from there."

"This is your show, my friend. Starting the likeliest place and working outward sounds good to me. You'll have to be patient, though. I have no idea what we're supposed to be looking for."

Grinning, Loz shook his head. "What you'll be doing is fairly straight forward. If there is a part that needs to be removed? You'll get the tools. It's just a matter of nuts and bolts and unplugging things. Be prepared to get dirty and oily and sweaty and hanging at odd angles to get to them."

He gave Geoff the folder, which also contained pictures of CJ's car. "I'll have you keep up with what parts we get and when we are in a yard scouring around, be on the look out of for a car of that body type."

"I've got no problem getting dirty and sweaty. And I think I've got the odd angles thing down," he added grinning.

Looking over the pictures of the car, Geoff frowned and got very quiet. After several minutes, he said in a low voice, "No problem. I'll keep track of everything for you."

"Hey," Loz ducked down to look at what Geoff was seeing. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just...thinking about CJ, that's all." He smiled weakly at Loz. "Really, I'm fine."

Brushing the backs of his fingers against Geoff's throat, "She'll be okay. She's tough."

Geoff nodded. "I know. She just...looked so weak and tired in the hospital, I'm not used to seeing her like that. And with everything that's happened lately -- especially with Jack losing his memory..." He shook his head and frowned, as if dislodging the thoughts.

"I know she'll be fine. This is just the first time I've really given thought to the accident itself. It's just got me a little shaken up, that's all."

Smiling at Loz, he said, "Thanks, Loz. And thank you again for taking care of her."

Loz shrugged. "I didn't do anything," he said. Gesturing to the photographs, "It could have been a lot worse than it was."

"I know."

Geoff was fully aware of exactly how bad it could have been. And normally he wasn't the type to dwell on what could have gone wrong when things were lucky enough to turn out well. But it was such a shock, and especially for it to happen to CJ...

"I'm not doing her any favors by obsessing about this, am I?" Shaking his head, he handed the photos back to Loz.

"It's all right. Let my mind finish working through this, and by tomorrow I promise, I won't start losing control whenever I see a car that looks like CJ's."

Laughing, Loz gathered up all the information and put it to the side. "Better to obsess when she's not around. At least she's awake and her memory only has holes."

He leaned on the table. "And you're kind of cute when you obsses. I wonder," Loz grinned cheekily at Geoff. "Would you obsess like this over me?" The question was asked in jest. Loz didn't really expect an answer and started on his pizza again.

Geoff sat silently for a long moment, gazing at Loz, eyes narrowed in contemplation.

Softly, he replied, "Yes. I would."

He really hadn't expected an answer. Caught in mid bite, Loz put his pizza down and grinned. "Yeah?"

Sitting there, Loz thought about that for a moment. "That's..." he paused before adding in a whisper, "cool."

While his brothers would, Loz hadn't ever had anyone else that would have. Ever. At all. It was an uncomfortable feeling but not a bad one. Unexpected but not unpleasant.

Smiling to himself, Geoff ducked his head and ran his hand through his hair.

"Glad you think so," he said quietly.

Still grinning, Loz picked up his pizza and continued eating until he was full and he had eaten his fair share of the pie. Leaning back, he rolled his head. "Now I think I'm due a shower and crashing early."

He stood and stretched, flopping onto the bed long enough to get his boots off. When Loz passed by Geoff, he ruffled his fingers through the blond hair and headed to the bathroom.

That got a pleased laugh from Geoff, and he watched Loz walk off toward the bathroom before cleaning up the remains of their dinner. Stretching out on the bed, he decided to get in a little reading while Loz showered, and he pulled out the book of Sylvia Plath poetry that Angela had gifted him with, and settled in.

OOC - A bit thanks

2005-12-23T05:04:54Z

A huge ass thanks goes out to a_phale for the gift of user pics for 6 months. 100 user pics to be exact!

squee! Thanks, Phale-mun. You totally rock my world.

OOC excuse

2005-12-14T12:53:01Z

Blinding headache to the point of vomiting. Anyone I have an open scene with, my apologies. I'll be slow but trying to keep up.

What to do? What to do...

2005-12-10T15:20:26Z

Yazoo had gotten no sleep the previous night. It wasn't that he was upset or anything, just disturbed. While he and his brothers enjoyed chaos, there were certain 'rules' that just weren't violated.

One of them was a sudden change in people they actually happened to 'like', as few and far between as those were.

Thus Yazoo's problem. He liked Tex, as much as he could like anyone, and while the woman was curt, abrupt and possibly bordering on rude, those were the things he liked about her. And the person in the familiar armor...well, that was really the only thing familiar. The armor. She hadn't even taken her helmet off.

Showering and dressing, trying for once not to wake his brothers, he decided some research might be in order and headed into town.

As the front door shut and the bike roared to life outside, Kadaj lifted his head and blinked sleepily at Loz. "It still bothers him."

They had stopped trying to sleep in separate beds. As Loz's was the biggest, Kadaj and Yazoo had just started piling up with him. When Loz shifted and wrapped his arms around him, he wiggled around so his head rested over Loz's heart.

"Mmm. Yeah." Loz said.

Kadaj smiled. He liked to hear Loz talk. His voice always vibrated in his chest and Kadaj liked to have his ear pressed against him when it did. He relaxed and yawned. Weaving his legs with Loz's, Kadaj drifted off back to sleep.

If they didn't love it so much already, they should charge...NWS

2005-12-07T13:54:12Z

For master_of_fear and the bike ride.

They were all up early because if Yazoo's up, everyone's up. He took all the hot water during his shower and after dressing, made his way downstairs. A final bike check to make sure everything was in order, he grabbed his cell phone and a few other things and stuffed them into the storage under his seat.

Throwing the shop doors open so he would watch for Jonathan, Yazoo sat at a work bench and worked on a rifle repair.

Has become NWS. Just sayin'...

Staying in and reading...or working...or something...

2005-12-06T20:43:48Z

Same as CJ's...Geoff's (or anyone's) visit can be broadcast unless specifically labeled otherwise. The conversation, unless someone is lurking outside their door, I would think ends up being NFB. Or at least...can't be overheard.

Still snowy. Still cold.

Their odd jobs were spotty at best, which could be good and could be bad, and other than needing to go in to the pub to talk to Spike tonight, their day was free. With all this time on his hands, Loz could have spent it going over their bikes in meticulous detail. But there was only so much of it that could keep him busy and he had done that last week.

Kadaj and Yazoo headed onto the mainland to chase down a part for their water heater and Loz decided to kick up his feet and read. It was slow going, for him to read. It wasn't one of his strong suits, that was Yazoo's domain.

A book from the local library by Walt Whitman, the imagery was far beyond Loz. But he persevered...only just, though. Only just before he finally put the book aside and stretched out on the sofa to count the cracks in the ceiling.

[For geoff_chaucer, but you're welcome to swing by afterward if you want.]

In a house on the outskirts of town

2005-12-05T19:30:21Z

CJ's visit can be broadcast. The conversation, unless someone is lurking outside their door, I would think ends up being NFB. Or at least...can't be overheard.

On the sofa, with his chin propped up on the back, Kadaj watched the snow coming down. It was actually a bit soothing as the sounds that normally could be heard were muffled and he thought, for just a brief moment, he could actually hear the snow coming down.

Loz had started a fire and the living room was toasty warm. His brother was in the kitchen with a tractor starter in pieces on the table – work for some farmer on the mainland.

With Yazoo in town to pick up ammo for a job he was doing, the house was quiet with the occasional ~plink~ and ~clatter~ from the kitchen and Kadaj found himself dozing pleasantly.

for prof_cregg specifically, and anyone else who is out in the snow and wants to drop by

OOC - Another AMV

2005-12-04T16:51:29Z

Yeah. I'm bored. Another AMV uploaded for my ~~your~~ someone's enjoyment.

Music: P.O.D. - Youth of the Nation

Youth of the Nation AMV by Stefan Tellebo

OOC - AMV for the brothers

2005-12-04T04:04:10Z

Although, as I've said in the past, I don't particularly care for AMV's that use songs with lyrics (because oft times, they are schmoopy lyrics that don't fit in the context of the images the editor is using or an overused song altogether), this one was well done in its use of timing with scene action to music 'punctuation'. They do use a few flashy effects but they aren't overbearing.

An enjoyable AMV added to my collection.

Music is Freuer Frei by Rammstein

The AMV by Blackspider

A bit glitchy a for the first few seconds but it picks up almost immediately.

Home Again

2005-11-26T15:35:53Z

Up to no good, the brothers tore around the country side, investigating and exploring, with creative side stops along the way. Balance was what they needed, in their own twisted and warped way. Their associations in Fandom Town were keeping them ‘off’ and it weighed them down, pinned and no longer free.

Kadaj found it terribly amusing the reports of violent weather that seemed to follow the path they took. How easy it was to fool these people. They wanted to believe the storms were to blame.

He supposed, in a way, they were right. Three silver storms were to blame.

For the first time in months, the expressions on his brother’s faces were clear and bright. The heavy cloud of responsibility was gone. Wild and free and beholden to none, answerable only to each other and no one else. Their laugher rang free, not holding the tense reserve that tightened it before.

Still, even trapped in this world and only a cursory idea of how to get home, they had a place they could use as a grounding point. A place to hole up, have relative safety and a way to get money they needed to survive until Kadaj was ready. And it was that place they roared up to and secured their bikes. Although...some things would need to change.

With Mother back in her place of honor, Loz went into town to scrounge for food while Yazoo and Kadaj showered. Their bikes, leathers and weapons would need cleaning to get the mud and blood off and the rest of the afternoon was spent doing that before they would head into town again to check in with Spike.

~*~*~*~

Somewhere outside of Halifax, North Carolina (NFB)

2005-11-25T20:21:12Z

NFB because it doesn't happen near Fandom Town. A warning is issued. Mention of violence, some torture and reference to rape. Sensitive types might want to give this a pass.

Three motorcycles pulled to a stop at the edge of the woods, idling and waiting. They’d been driving most of the day and well into the night, the asphalt was a blur beneath their wheels. Ready to blow off the frustration they’d carried for what seemed an eternity, their muscles clenched with anticipation.

A small farm house nestled in a depression between two hills; lights shone cheerily from the downstairs window, the sounds of laughter soft on the air.

Kadaj raised his arms over his head. Light crackled around his hands as they lifted to the sky. Clouds rushed to do his bidding, thickening and swirling, covering the full moon and casting the valley into shadowed darkness.

The wind roared and lightning flashed. Laughter lifted over hum of their engines and the three brothers were carried at the edge of the storm.

~*~

There were many kinds of horror a man could face. If he was lucky, he never had to look it in the eye; just casually brush it aside as easy as folding the newspaper to throw it away or turning the channel to watch pro wrestling instead of CNN.

Sometimes horror found him. It grabbed a hold with razor teeth and forced to him stare it square in the eye. It showed him that he was truly unable to look away.

Jeb Decker had seen his share of death and destruction, at least on the TV. Living out in the middle of nowhere shielded him and his family from it. Hunting, fishing, farming…a life that ground day to day; slowing churning through the years.

That night, he would see what true horror was. It came in the form of three white haired demons and they showed him what horror tasted and felt like. It wasn’t zombies or Martians or war or poverty or death.

It was powerlessness. It was the inability to be a man and protect his own. It was watching as the tallest of the three raped his wife and daughter - over and over, a machine of anger and violence, sneering as he tormented them and delighting in their screams and their begging.

It was being bound and gagged in the chair as he heard the crushing of his daughter’s neck beneath the man’s hands and the liquid sounds of his wife fighting for her last breaths from the slit in her throat.

It was feeling the press of cold steel against his jugular as one of the beasts casually ate an apple, an apple from his orchard, and shoving the core into his son’s flayed body and the sound of the gun going off as his son’s brains splattered against the far wall after the long haired one had his way.

And it was in the resounding silence of the house punctuated by the howl of the storm outside as the life left his own body through a snick at his throat, streaming out to darken the floor beneath him. Sleepy, Jeb felt warm and safe now, lifted on a soft cushion surrounding him, bathed in a brilliant and unearthly flash.

~*~

Ron Black pulled up to Halifax Gas and Convenience Store, his rickety orange Ford truck skidding to a stop in the dirt parking lot. He nodded to old man Solomon who sat out front, just as he had for as long as Ron could remember. The old man rocked to and fro, his lips forming around words almost inaudible. “…three devils…riding the storm…”

He kicked in the store and grabbed a newspaper. With it tucked under his arm, he headed to the back to get a six pack of beer. “Morning, Carl.”

Carl popped up from behind the counter, a Slim Jim sticking out of his mouth. He bit off a piece and chewed noisily. “Morning, Ron. You and Selena weather the storm okay last night? Heard there was tornado warnings all over the county. ”

“Yeah, winds were high. Lost the pecan tree in the back yard but it was eat up with bugs and I been meanin’ to take it down. Just saved me the trouble.”

“Should be good firewood for the winter then,” Carl said. “Larry was through early this morning, heading up to the old Decker place.”

“Oh?” Ron set the beer and the paper down on the counter top. He pulled two cans from the plastic rings and handed one to Carl. He popped the top of his, a healthy gulp sending a trickle down his chin.

Taking the offered can, Carl took a swallow and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “He got reports from Possom Holler about Jeb’s propane tank going up during the storm last night and went to investigate. Said it looked like the tornado touched down, nothing left of the house except the foundation. Not a splinter.”

“A bit late for tornados, innit? How’s Jeb and his family holdin’ up?”

“That’s the thing. Larry said he didn’t find Jeb, Sis or the twins. Truck was wrapped around a tree at their property line, so they didn’t drive nowhere. He stopped by here to get a search party together. Bet they won’t find nothing.”

Ron nodded and took another drink. “Only if they’re looking down. My money’s the bodies will be in the trees.”

Solomon stood and began to pace outside. His arms waved in the air as he raved at no one.

“What’s up with Solly today? He’s more agitated than usual.”

Carl shrugged and took another draw off his can. “Don’t know. He’s been like that since yesterday. Three punks came in to get drinks and he just started waving his arms and shouting at them.”

“You think Solly knew ‘em?” Ron looked out at Solomon. The old man tore at his hair and clothes, still shouting, although the words were muffled.

“Nah. They weren’t the type. They looked like they might be from Raleigh or some place. Strange accents though.” Following Ron’s gaze, Carl leaned on the counter. “He’s been shouting about the devil coming and the storm ever since. Guess the bad weather really got to him.”

“Yeah.” Ron drained his can and threw some money on the counter. He grabbed the rest of his six pack and his paper. “Got to head back or Selena will have my head for holding up dinner. Have a good day, Carl.”

“You too, Ron. Give Selena a kiss for me.”

Waving the cans over his head, Ron headed back to his truck, giving the ranting old man a wide berth. “Alzheimer’s will do that…”

~*~*~*~

Off to play

2005-11-23T17:12:27Z

Another night of no sleep. The brothers sat silently at the kitchen table until the strain was no longer bearable. The air was thick with it. Tension, frustration…a deep dissatisfaction with the current course they were on. It folded in on them, a feedback loop that cycled between them and built in intensity. The mental sounds of rending…

Kadaj stood, the chair snapped back and fell over from the sudden move. The air was dark and volatile and it shimmered as it clung to him. He strode out into the living room, stopping in the middle as he regarded the small table that held Mother.

Loz and Yazoo followed close behind him. “We need to play,” Kadaj said absently.

His shoulders were tight with the anger that had been building and supressed for so long, yet he was gentle when he picked up Mother, cradling her close to his chest. His fingers stroked over the rosary before he picked that up as well and tucked it into his leathers.

He pulled out his phone and spoke quickly into it before closing it and tucking it away.

“Let’s go.”

It's Raining Again (Late Monday night into Tuesday morning)

2005-11-22T16:02:35Z

If a tree is emo in the woods and no one's around to hear it, does it cry alone...or something...

It was raining again and the weather fit the mood in the house with the brothers, again. After coming home from Spike’s, Kadaj and Yazoo had gone straight up to bed and tried to sleep. Loz wasn’t tired.

He had things on his mind. Things he couldn’t shake and no matter how many times he mulled it around in his head he couldn’t put together. Like a jigsaw puzzle of all one color, the pieces would snap together easily enough until you got to the end and the one remaining piece didn’t fit. Having to take it apart to start over, hoping this next time was right.

Anger, frustration, abandonment…the ache of something burned deep in his chest. Loz could feel it, sitting like a stone and it hurt like no other injury ever had.

The creak of the stairs from inside the house and Yazoo joined him. They both sat on the porch to stare out at the rain as dawn approached.

“Kadaj’s nightmares are getting worse and he’s not sleeping well,” Yazoo said. He didn’t need to say it, Loz knew already. “I’m…,”

Loz looked over at his brother. Yazoo didn’t need to say more, he could see it etched on his brother’s face. “Yeah. I’m feeling it too.”

“We can’t stay in this place, Loz. It’s strangling us. I hate it.” Yazoo sighed and stretched out on his side, resting his head on his brother’s thigh.

He stroked his fingers through Yazoo’s hair, the motion soothing to them both.

“I actually miss Ajit.”

“I do, too.” Loz looked down at Yazoo, smoothing his hair from his eyes so he could see. “But we don’t do anything until Kadaj is ready. He’s not ready. If he tried now, it will wipe him out.”

“What about getting help?”

Loz snorted and let his head fall back against the house. “Who would help us, Yazoo? Who can?”

Feeling Yazoo shift to lie on his back, Loz waited until he was settled before resting his hand on Yazoo’s chest. Their fingers entangled to provide the comfort they both needed. Neither young man got rest that night as they watched the rain come down well into the morning.

This is becoming a habit for them...[scene locked for the good Doctor]

2005-11-18T17:39:44Z

Yazoo was up and out of the house on time, not that he held much stock in being on time anywhere except the pub, and only then because they had money dependent on that.

It felt weird to be sitting in the park, beside some blue box that looked like a phone booth from the mainland, except...it was blue, and no other structure around. But this is where he said he'd pick up the Doctor and so that was where he sat.

Leaned against his bike, he had a book out and was reading, waiting for the Doctor to go on the ride promised on Monday.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

2005-11-16T16:30:01Z

The windows and doors were open and the sounds of the rain filled the living room. Yazoo was stretched out on the sofa in the dim room, staring at the ceiling. His mood was a dark as the sky.

He’d pushed away Loz that morning, not interested in sex, which sent Loz off to pout in the shop. He wasn’t interested in anything except wallowing in self pity. He was mad. Furious. Raging. And hated he felt like that to begin with.

There were a dozen things he could be doing and wanted to do nothing.

The squeak of leather from the kitchen brought his attention around and he saw Kadaj standing in the doorway.

“He’s beneath you.”

Yazoo sighed at the ceiling. “I know.”

“No, you don’t,” came Kadaj’s reasonable reply.

“Don’t-”

“You don’t need him, Yazoo.” Kadaj’s voice was soft. The floorboards creaked as he crossed the floor. Yazoo watched Kadaj sink to his heels next to him. Kadaj’s hand splayed over Yazoo’s stomach. “You only need us.”

Yazoo reached up to touch at Kadaj’s face, fingers traced along the high cheek bones of his youngest brother. “Yes,” he whispered.

When Kadaj nudged at him, he watched Kadaj stand to take his jacket off, their gazes locked in silent communication.

Yazoo shifted around to accommodate Kadaj climbing onto the sofa with him and Yazoo wrapped his arms around his brother, listening to the rolling of thunder in the distance.

Trip onto the Mainland - Take Two - [locked to Geoff] - NSFW

2005-11-13T16:22:40Z

[ooc- with possible interactions with anyone who passes by outside the blue box in the park before they leave. Esp. prof_cregg or ten_and_chips. Will be slow until mid afternoon EST.]

Now with a NSFW Warning! Adult content ahead!

Trip attempt number two. At lunchtime, as he said, Loz was on his bike and waiting outside Geoff was staying to pick him up for their afternoon trip to the mainland.

This idea he had, one that only occurred to him recently, was something he was proud of. It wasn't often he had ideas like this and felt particularly inspired. His mood was still a bit on the dark side, all things considered. And there were several...

This thing with Paige and whoever beat Geoff up had him in a boiling rage he had to keep closed away because of how Geoff would react. Geoff was influencing him and he wasn't really sure if that was good or bad but at the moment, he wasn't going to think about it.

What was specifically on his mind was a warm body pressed tight against him in more ways than one but he'd settle for warmth on the back of his bike. The other he would get later.

And he reclined against his bike to wait for Geoff.