Title: Honor Bound 9/16

Author: Elandae (j_3101@yahoo.ca)

Beta: The lovely and charming Daea

Pairing: Craig/Karl, Craig/Dave, Karl/Dave (implied)

Rating: NC-17 overall

Disclaimer: Don’t know them; make no claims of any sort. This is nothing but fiction.

Warning: violence

Feedback: Love it

Dedication: Ooh, it was a run by fruiting! *throws a Kiwi at my muse* *then one at House Red*

Website: https://www.angelfire.com/hero/worship0/homepage.htm

Chapter Nine:

            The sun was already well above the horizon when Craig woke the next morning. He stretched lazily, his body warm with the comforting easiness of sleep. Feeling the pull of sore muscles, the events of the night before came flooding back. He rolled to his side, eyeing the empty space beside him. He couldn’t quite decide if the Prince’s absence was a surprise or not, he was not entirely sure what he has expected, this moment has not figured largely into his imaginings.

            A bitter smell reached his nostrils and looking over Craig discovered there was tray waiting for him on the stand next to his bed. Tiny wisps of steam were still wafting from the top of the dark liquid, so he knew it could not have been there long. His stomach rumbled loudly and Craig realized that he was starving.

            He pulled the tray onto his lap and began eating hungrily, taking a large bite of the apple that sat on the corner of his tray. The rosy red skin gleamed brightly in the morning light that flooded the room. He took another bite of the crisp white flesh, the sweetness dancing nimbly across his tongue. He smiled to himself and continued working his way through his breakfast.

*   *   *  

            Later that day, freshly bathed and dressed, Craig walked across the lush lands, David at his side. The view was truly beautiful, a dazzling panorama of vibrant hues that shimmered in the bright light of day, entrancing any passing eye into admiration.

            The air was softly fleshed out with the gentle rustle of the leaves that brushed against one another, whispering slyly in the light breeze. Flowers scattered throughout the expanse, clusters of brilliantly shaded petals, merged together in an imitation of nature’s own scheme. Gaudy shades of red, ranging from the fiery tones of a summer sunset to vivid crimsons that stained the skin pink when crushed between callous fingers.

Soft pinks, creamy whites, whisper soft lavender and buttery yellow flowers fell scattered amongst the others, demurely nodding their greetings to the warm wind, elegant against the flamboyant backdrop of the reds. There were others still, purples soft ad smooth, rich and glowing, or so dark they were a midnight shade, verging into blackness.

            The petals were every shape imaginable, some broad and flat, others tiny, a delicately formed tear drop in rich colors. This one smooth and alluring, another rippling into teasing, flowing lines, all softer than silk beneath both curious and indifferent touches alike. Some richly perfumed, scenting the air with their sweet heady fragrance.

            Emerald green grass stretched out for as far as the eye could see, soft and pliant beneath their footsteps.

“So, Craig,” David began, breaking the velvety silence of the afternoon, “Tell me, was I right?”

“About what?” Craig asked, idly trailing one hand over the textured bark of a tree as they passed, feeling small pieces flake off beneath his touch, lying still in the grass at the base of the tree.

“About Karl,” David replied, watching Craig from the corners of his eyes.

“You mean to say that there are times when you are not right?” Craig asked, his eyes wide in mock surprise.

“They are few and far between, make no mistake,” David replied, his eyes twinkling. “However do not think I will be so easily distracted.”

“I gave it an honorable effort at the very least,” Craig said with a small grin at David’s raised eyebrow.

“I suggest more emphasis on the effort and less on the honorable,” he said dryly. “And still you have not answered my question,” he continued, his voice growing softer as he spoke.

            Craig could feel his cheeks color at the thought of discussing what had happened the previous night, even though it was David that he was talking to. If there was anyone who would understand, it would be him, and yet Craig could not bring himself to speak the words.

“You need not divulge every detail, my friend,” David said, once more giving Craig the uncanny feeling that the other man could read his mind. “I ask only to know that you are alright and there were no unpleasant surprises. I hope there was not anything I neglected to tell you.”

            Craig smiled at the words, impulsively wrapping his arms around the other man and hugging him tightly, feeling David’s arms settle easily around his frame.

“There surely cannot be another like you in this world, David.” He studied the other man with a fond smile before adding, “Yes you were right and no your teachings were….they were more than adequate,” feeling his cheeks heat further as he spoke, his mind conjuring up images of Karl unbidden. Images flashed through his mind in a steady succession. First the soft look in Karl’s eyes, the sight of dark hair tumbling forward as his mouth fastened on Craig’s skin. Then he recalled the way it had felt when Karl had finally slid inside of him, the intoxicating mixture of pleasure and pain that had consumed him. His body remembered every touch, every breathless gasp echoing in his mind.

            He came back to himself slowly, glancing over at David with a sheepish smile. David has been watching him, keen eyes never missing one emotion that had flashed over Craig’s expressive face. He watched as Craig opened his mouth to speak, changed his mind and still he watched. David didn’t say anything, just kept walking alongside his friend in silence. If Craig needed to talk about this, David knew that he would speak up.

            Several minutes passed in companionable silence before David spoke, “If you will excuse me now, I have matters that I must attend to this morning.” He smiled warmly over at the other man before taking his leave.

            Craig continued his walk over the grounds on his own, heedless of the beauty that surrounded him still, too absorbed was he in his own thoughts. He headed back to the palace, belatedly realizing that he had taken a wrong turn on the way back to his chambers.  He cast a curious look around the hall. None of this was familiar to him. He continued on slowly, finally realizing that that he was no closer to finding his way back now than he had been when first realizing that he had lost his way.

            He finally came to a stop, carefully studying the hall he presently stood in.  He moved to the door nearest him, pausing to listen carefully for any noises from within. Hearing nothing he finally decided that he must now take a risk. He hesitantly pushed the door open, waiting for a voice from within demanding to know what he was doing here. Receiving none and hearing no sounds he pushed the door farther open.

            Craig slowly stepped into the room, feeling his breath catch in his throat. Before him was a large, airy room, one wall consisting almost entirely of a broad window that flooded the room with bright light. The other walls were lined with shelves from floor to ceiling. Lining every shelf were books. Row after row of books, their skins every color imaginable. More books than Craig had ever seen in one place before in his life.

            Forgetting what he had been doing, Craig stepped farther into the room, letting the door fall slowly shut behind him. At the far side of the room there was a tall ladder that fit easily against the shelves, standing tall and proud, reaching from the floor to the top shelf of books that almost reached to the ceiling. Craig breathed in slowly, smelling the musty scent of the books that permeated the air like the scent of blossoms on the breeze.

            He moved slowly towards the shelf nearest him, trailing his fingers across the bindings in reverence. Some were textured, their surfaces lightly roughened beneath Craig’s fingertips, other smooth and seductive, their unmarred perfection tantalizing to the touch. He hooked one finger just inside the binding of the spine, pulling it from its place on the shelf.

            The book was weighted in his hand, a solid reassuring bulk. He flipped slowly through the pages, a soft wave of cool air brushing over his skin as he did so. He skimmed over the pages, taking in no more than a word or two here and there. Craig set the book back on the shelf, reaching for another volume, this one taller and thinner than the previous one. Flipping through the pages he saw there were illustrations in this one, carefully drawn black lines showing scenes from the story. Craig set that one back too, carefully easing it back into its place on the shelf.

            He pulled another book out, this one dressed in blue gray leather, its title written in a flowing script across the front. He wandered across the room, settling himself in one of the armchairs positioned before the window. He flipped the cover of the book open with an easy flick of his fingers, paging through until he came to the first page of writing. He leaned back in the chair, already lost in the words before him.

///

            Craig closed the book with a satisfying thud, his head falling back against the chair. He blinked, taking in with a degree of surprise how the light in the room had dimmed since last he had noticed. The day had fled while he had been absorbed in the book, evening descending slowly as a lady settling her dark skirts around her. Craig sat up quickly, replacing the book hurriedly on the shelf and quickly exiting the room.

            He stepped out into the hallway, realizing once more that he had no idea where he was. He looked first up and then down the hallway, finding no clue of his whereabouts. He held a quick debate with himself and finally decided to head back down the way he had originally come, paying careful attention to the adornments on the wall. They were the only distinguishing mark on the pure white of the marble.

            He wound his way through the halls, grinning to himself when he recognized a painting. Craig headed quickly down the halls, feeling more at ease now that he knew where he was. He found his way to the dining hall where dinner was already in process. He dropped into his customary seat next to David with a relieved sigh.

“Where have you been?” David asked curiously, casting a look over at the man next to him.

“I got lost,” Craig said with a sheepish grin as he filled his plate quickly from the many dishes that lined the table.

“From you room to here?” David asked, the amusement clearly evident in his voice.

            Craig laughed, “Not just now.” He took a quick bite to quiet the rumbling of his stomach. He chewed and swallowed before adding, “I got lost on the back this morning.”

            David was unable to hold back a wave of laughter at that, “You’ve been lost all this time?”

“No, I got lost this morning, but I found my way to the library, or a library,” Craig added offhandedly. Perhaps there was more than one library in the palace, he had never thought to ask.

“The library? Which one?” David asked, watching as Craig devoured his food. “You spent all this time there?”

“Yes, but I don’t know which one.” He paused for a moment before adding, “How many libraries are there?”

“Three that I know of.”

            Craig stopped eating for a moment, eyeing David in surprise. “Three? Are they all as large as the one I found?”

“Well I don’t know which one you wandered into, but they all fairly expansive,” David said casually. “I should have thought to show you where they were earlier,” he added apologetically.

“It does not matter,” Craig returned dismissively, “I found them myself.” He grinned widely at David.

“So I gathered,” David replied dryly.

*   *   * 

            Craig made his way to his room, falling easily across the bed. From here he could see the night sky. His high spirits buoyed from dinner slowly ebbed in the silence of his room. He didn’t mind, he preferred the solitude he had here. He got slowly back up from the bed, moving across the room and settling himself at his usual place before the window. Tonight the sky was partially obscured by thick dark gray clouds. Still he was content to sit there, breathing in the fragrant night air, this was all he needed.

            He spent every night here, it was his only remaining link to his home and the life that he had once had and though he tried not to dwell on it, this was not something he could easily relinquish, his nightly ritual. Sometimes memories would wash over him as he sat there until he lost himself in his thoughts, other nights the peace would be his only companion. Craig liked that, it was all the company he needed those nights.

            A small noise behind him made him turn then, and he smiled as he took in the Prince lounging easily across the bed, his head propped up on his arm as he watched the other man.

“I did not hear you.”

“I did not mean for you to hear me,” Karl returned with a self-assured grin.

“To hear you speak, a stranger would have no choice but to draw the conclusion that you are unbearably vain.”

            Karl studied Craig for a moment, his eyes unreadable, before he replied, “Then said stranger would be correct.”

            Craig chuckled, for the man was overbearingly arrogant at times. He got slowly to his feet then, feeling the Prince’s eyes fixed steadily on him as he moved towards the bed. His own eyes never left Karl’s as he joined the man on the bed. He made no move to touch the Prince, instead he lay facing him, their bodies close but not quite making contact yet.

“You must always make matters difficult,” Karl said mildly, watching Craig and in turn making no move to touch the man.

“Make matters difficult for myself or for you?”

“Both.”

“Would you prefer I was simple then? A mindless boy here solely to grant your every wish?”

“Yes.” Karl’s expression was perfectly composed as he spoke but Craig knew he was lying. Such a man would tire of such antics almost immediately.

“I do not believe you.”

“You don’t?” Karl looked down as Craig reached over, trailing his fingertips up the Prince’s arm, feeling the warmth of bare skin beneath his touch.

“No. You are certainly a man who enjoys a challenge,” Craig said, lingering over the last word.

 

“Am I?” Karl’s eyes were fixed on Craig’s lips as he spoke.

“Certainly.” Craig’s fingers continued their slow journey upwards, tracing the graceful line of Karl’s neck now. “You like things hard,” he said with an innocent smile, his hand coming up now to fit against the Prince’s jaw just the way that David had shown him. Karl’s eyes darkened as Craig watched him, his breath catching just the slightest bit as Craig’s fingers moved elegantly along the line of his jaw.

            Craig shifted his body closer to the other man’s, drawn in by the unspoken invitation he could so easily read in hooded eyes. His hand slipped down now, finding a gap in the material of Karl’s robes, his hand now settling against the smooth skin of his back, fingertips racing over a long sscar that cut across his side. He leaned in then, his lips parting the slightest as they brushed over Karl’s, too teasing a touch to even be called a kiss. He smiled quickly at the soft sound of impatience this got from Karl. He moved closer still, pressing their bodies together as he obliged the Prince with a more substantial kiss, their mouths moving easily together. It was slow at first, almost lazy but he soon found the kiss increasing in its urgency. He could now feel Karl’s arousal pressing into him, shifted his hips so the hardened lines of his own erection slid against it. Though the contact was muted by layers of clothing, the friction was enough to make him moan softly into Karl's mouth.

            Karl rolled over onto his back, taking Craig with him so he lay across the other man’s body. He wondered for a moment if the Prince would wish him to do to him what he had done to Craig the first time. The thought was soon chased away, along with every other thought as Karl’s hand came up, curling around the back of his neck, holding him tightly.

“Are you trying to tell me something?” Craig asked breathlessly, his lips swollen from the kiss.

            Karl didn’t answer, just pulled Craig back against him, re-capturing his mouth in a hard kiss. Craig’s chest felt tight as though all the air were being sucked from the room. He pulled back for a moment, studying Karl through his lashes, feeling the quick rise and fall of the man’s chest. He slid his hands down the sides of Karl’s frame over the smooth contours of his robes, still able to feel the firm lines of the Prince’s body. With Karl’s help, his eager hands managed to divest him of his robes. Craig paused for a moment then, admiring the pleasing view Karl provided. So clearly a masculine that he possessed in such quantities, all firm muscles and long clean lines.

            Craig pressed a soft kiss to Karl’s jaw, smiling at the way the Prince leaned into the contact.

“Do you want me?” He breathed against the Prince’s neck, slightly surprised at his own words. Karl’s pulse fluttered softly beneath his lips.

            Swallowing hard, his voice hard, the Prince murmured one word, “Yes.”

“Good.” Craig nipped softly at the tender skin at the base of Karl’s throat, feeling the man shudder beneath him as he raked his teeth over his collarbone. Craig continued down, swirling his tongue around one hardened nipple. He rolled it between his teeth, quickly soothing any hurt with a warm swipe of his tongue.

            He then pressed a series of sliding kisses down over the lightly tanned skin of the Prince’s stomach, tracing the line of Karl’s hipbone with the tip of his tongue, hearing the intake of breath that got. Feeling the other man’s urgency he then turned his attentions to the Prince’s jutting erection. Craig breathed in the dusky scent of the other man, close enough that the warmth of his breath puffed over sensitized skin making Karl shiver.

            Craig hesitated for only a moment, not out of a dislike of this but from a wave of apprehension that washed over him. He had never done this before though he admitted he was more than little curious to know how Karl would feel upon his tongue, he wanted to learn the taste of the other man.

            With the tip of his tongue he trailed a slow line up the underside, knowing well how he enjoyed that sensation himself. Reaching the head, he swirled his tongue around it, taking the soft sigh this got from Karl as encouragement. He let the head slip all the way into his mouth, playing his tongue against Karl’s cock the way David has taught him. He moved slowly down the length, taking as much as he could into his mouth before he pulled back, almost letting Karl’s erection entirely from his mouth before sliding back down. He repeated that, this time wrapping his hand around the base of the Prince’s erection, moving it up and down just the slightest bit, his mouth slipping down to meet his hand and then away once more. He played his tongue along the length, trying to remember all that David had told him.

            Karl moaned low in his throat, making Craig completely lose track of whatever it was that had been in his mind before. Craig sped up his motions, trying to remember to watch his teeth against sensitive flesh. He soon found a rhythm, quite simple this was really. He wasn’t quite sure what he has been scared of. He felt Karl’s body tense beneath him and before he could comprehend what that meant, the Prince came, with a low moan. Craig was rather startled to find his mouth suddenly filled with a warm, bitter liquid. Too surprised to do anything else he leaned over and spat it onto the floor.

            Karl laughed weakly at that and Craig felt his cheeks flush.

 

“Sorry about that, I….”

“We’ll have to work on that,” Karl said with a crooked grin, head dropping back onto the bed. Craig moved back up his body and simply nodded. They would.

/////

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