|
|
Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 24, 2008 21:09:29 GMT -5
Ten minutes. In ten minutes he would be seventeen, he would be legal. He would be able to do whatever he wanted and his brother couldn't say anything about it. Just ten more minutes. Ariel stared up at the clock, watching the huge second hand click down the time. To most people he was already seventeen, it was the right date. But to Ariel standing there with his fingers shoved in his pockets, it wasn't true until that clock struck just the right time.
|
|
|
|
Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 24, 2008 21:16:37 GMT -5
Markise refused to admit he was lost again. He wasn't anywhere dark, though it was rather deserted. He was just exploring. He wasn't lost. Markise walked into the large room to see that somehow he'd ended up in the clock tower. He blinked in surprise, not that he'd thought he was on the other side of the castle, just that he hadn't placed himself here.
He popped the bubble he'd been blowing and started blowing another, his eyes idly scanning the room. They stopped when they saw Ariel. God, he was hot. A lesson in brooding masculinity from head to toe, regardless of his temptingly smooth skin. Markise didn't announce himself, other than the careless pop of another bubble, but took his time looking Ariel over while he wasn't looking.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 24, 2008 21:28:12 GMT -5
Ariel heard that pop and pulled his eyes from the clock to look over, then his eyes hovered on him until he heard a loud click and turned his eyes back up to the tower. Nine minutes. Just nine more minutes and he would be seventeen. He didn't say anything, didn't go up to Markise for a kiss, but kept his eyes on the achingly slow movements of the clock. Couldn't it move any faster?
|
|
|
|
Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 24, 2008 21:31:49 GMT -5
Markise's gaze followed Ariel's, that sudden loud noise having jarred him. Knowing what it was didn't slow his blood, though. Markise crossed the room slowly, stopping beside Ariel. He glanced up at the hands of the clock, then turned his attention to the boy--his boyfriend--beside him. Just thinking that was a cheap thrill. "What are you waiting for?" Markise asked softly, trying not to disturb the moment any more than absolutely necessary. His lips parted for another slow bubble.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 24, 2008 21:40:17 GMT -5
"For the big hand to make it to the seven," Ariel said, watching as the second hand rounded the six. He hadn't thought much about that fact, but when it met seven, he would be seventeen. He wondered at the coincidence, or if it had meant to be like that since the beginning. Just a few more seconds... There was another click. Eight more minutes. It seemed like such a short time, but it was stretching on for an eternity.
|
|
|
|
Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 24, 2008 21:45:40 GMT -5
That last click had made Markise jump, and he took slightly quicker breaths again as the quiet returned. He looked up at the clock, noting the time, the position of the hands. Then he looked back at Ariel, who looked deep in concentration. "What happens then?" Markise asked, just as softly as his last question. It seemed like something important, but if it was, why had Ariel been standing in the clock tower to brood on it? Was he brooding? Markise wasn't sure. Ariel hadn't at all snapped at him.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 24, 2008 21:50:55 GMT -5
Ariel didn't answer immediately, his eyes slowly following the hand that seemed to just crawl slower under his watchful eye, but still he watched intently. "I turn seventeen." Officially. He hated knowing that people considered him a year older when it really hadn't turned the right time yet, just a little pet peeve of his. Usually, though, he didn't watch the clock, but seventeen was a big deal. Click. Seven more minutes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 24, 2008 21:56:55 GMT -5
Markise looked aside at Ariel, after he'd begun to recover from yet another loud noise that set his heart pounding. His mouth wanted to state the obvious--I didn't know it was your birthday--but he managed to stop himself in time and look back up at the clock again. "You're looking forward to it?" Markise asked, his voice hovering just above a whisper now. He could feel the tension in Ariel, and it was distracting.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 24, 2008 22:01:39 GMT -5
"Just a little," Ariel answered, his voice soft. He was looking forward to it very much, he was barely able to stand it. His fingers curled in his pockets and he put his hands in deeper. His muscles tensed as he watched the clock, as the thin hand once again passed twelve. Six more minutes. Had the clock finally decided to speed up? Seven hadn't been as long as ten, nine, and eight, or at least it hadn't felt like it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 24, 2008 22:06:54 GMT -5
A little. It seemed that Ariel could create an obvious understatement as easily as he could swim. Markise turned his attention back to Ariel now, paying attention to the way he held himself. He could almost feel Ariel's anticipation, even aside from the rapid beat of his heart from that startlingly loud clock hand. Markise didn't say anything this time, but brought one hand up to toy with a strand of his hair, needing the motion.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 24, 2008 22:10:34 GMT -5
Ariel's lips moved as the clock moved on, five minutes, four minutes. He had been waiting for so long. It wouldn't immediately change anything about his life, wouldn't break him apart from his brother, wouldn't give him money. But it seemed like so much. Three minutes, two minutes. Somewhere along the line he found himself whispering the words, ever so slightly. His muscles tensed as his eyes followed the hand on its penultimate journey, another two rounds and he would never care again.
|
|
|
|
Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 24, 2008 22:19:14 GMT -5
Markise stood beside Ariel, silent now as the tension grew almost stifling. He abandoned his bubbles and watched the clock with Ariel, anticipating that last second and the second after. What would happen then, when Ariel turned seventeen? Would there be moments of silence? A joyous whoop? Would he turn and walk away, his need fulfilled? Markise's blood pulsed faster and harder as the time grew near. He felt the building excitement as well, and couldn't help being affected by it. His hand stilled in his hair, and his mouth worked slower and slower against his gum, finally drawing to a stop.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 24, 2008 22:28:09 GMT -5
One more minute. One minute wasn't long, but it seemed to stretch on for an eternity, the hand clicking down each second with a slight jerk. Somewhere during that minute, Ariel started to hold his breath, just the knowledge that he could do something on his own if he wanted to was enough for him, even if really nothing changed, even if he would really have to wait until he was out of school to be away from his brother.
Click. Ariel let out the breath, long and low, and turned his head to look at Markise. The only thing that gave away the true happiness he felt the sparkle in his eyes at first. Then the side of his mouth turned up in a half smile as he pulled his hands from his pockets and turned his body towards Markise. His mood instantly improved as his arms slid around Markise, pulling their bodies together.
|
|
|
|
Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 24, 2008 22:37:59 GMT -5
Markise's heart beat even harder now, from that jarring click or from knowing the minute had come, he didn't know. Then Ariel's arms were around him, and as Markise turned to him, moving easily against him, his excitement no longer had anything to do with either. Markise's lips parted slightly as his gaze dropped to Ariel's, surprised at the teasing curve of that half smile. Markise's eyes rose slowly to Ariel's, and his hands slid over his shoulders to the back of his neck. "Happy birthday," he breathed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 25, 2008 9:16:22 GMT -5
"Thank you," Ariel said, wrapping his arms just a little tighter around Markise. "So what did you get me?" he asked, eyes sparkling as certain thoughts ran through his mind. He knew that Markise hadn't known that it was his birthday, but that didn't mean that he couldn't give him anything. Ariel could think of plenty Markise could give him without spending a knut.
|
|
