The two boys carried on where they had left off in the back yard, washing the grime from the glass, perhaps not as carefully as they had done with the front of the house, but there was at least a noticeable difference. They managed to resist deliberately soaking each other, although neither one of them was particularly dry as their work ended, work that had been punctuated by tender kisses and caresses and much laughter. Once the job was done, Ant emptied the buckets and hung the cloths over the fence to dry whilst Dec went in to get them something cool to drink. They sat together, still slightly damp, with their backs against the fence, chatting away.
The evening was still warm, and sitting in the last rays of sunshine was very pleasant. Anne arrived home as the sun finally disappeared below the horizon, and watched them from the open back door. Heads bowed, almost touching, they were giggling over each other's stories. Anne knew she could be accused of being biased, but to her they just looked perfect together. She turned on the kitchen light to announce her presence to the two boys, but they were so engrossed in each other that they both jumped when she approached them and spoke.
"Thank you for doing the windows, boys, that was sweet of you. Have you eaten?"
Dec shook his head. "We didn't get lunch either, did we?"
Ant suddenly realised how hungry he felt. "We didn't. I didn't realise how late it had gotten." He looked around, surprised at the darkness around them.
"It's a nice night, how do you feel about me throwing some burgers on the barbecue? Won't take long and it'll be nice to eat out here." She was already half way to the kitchen to fetch her apron and some burgers, knowing that the boys wouldn't say no. Dec slowly began to stand up, offering a hand to Ant to help him to his feet. He went off in search of the charcoal and Ant trailed Anne into the house to see what he could do.
In no time at all, the barbecue was glowing hot and the meat was sizzling away on the grill. Dec dragged some chairs and a small table out into the yard and brought out plates for the food. Ant was put in charge of cooking, watching the glowing coals react as the meat gave up its juices, deep in thought. Dec slipped his arms around him from behind.
"You okay? You're real quiet."
"Aye, I'm good. Just thinking about today... and tonight." Ant flipped a burger over, craning his neck to kiss Dec's hair. "I want to make tonight memorable for you. Our first night in our new bed." His voice was so soft and tremulous, such a contrast to the growls of the beast that had been in evidence earlier. Dec brushed his lips over the back of Ant's arm, savouring the smell of his warm skin and smoke mingled together.
"I'm sure you will. You've given me some great memories these past few days, Anth. You've also given me a hell of an appetite – is that ready yet?"
Ant chuckled. "Aye, window cleaning does make you hungry, doesn't it?" He lifted the burgers from the barbecue and piled them on a plate. "All done here. Come and get it!"
Anne stepped out of the kitchen with a tray of drinks in front of her. Dec ran over to her to take them from her, put them on the table and then pulled out a chair for her to sit on.
"Thank you, Declan. This looks good, Ant." The boys sat down next to each other, piling their plates high with food. Pretty soon there was little left but crumbs. The two boys quietly began to chat, small giggles escaping every once in a while. Anne watched on, a smile forming at the sight before her.
"You two are so beautiful together." She spoke causing Ant and Dec to be abruptly interrupted from their bubble to turn towards her. "I don't think I've ever seen either of you so happy before."
Ant blushed slightly. It embarrassed him to be praised in such a way yet he still felt proud that it was him who made Dec the happiest. He had so many contradictory traits in his personality – the life and soul of the party one moment, quiet and shy the next. Confident and yet prone to panicky self-doubt; and as Dec had found out recently, gentle and calm for the most part, and a raging beast in bed. Dec knew which part of Ant's character he preferred. It was the part of Ant that only he had ever seen.
Dec yawned, beginning to feel very weary. He stood up and started to clear the table. He filled the sink with hot water to do the dishes, Ant following his lead to help. Anne made to get up, but she was firmly told to stay where she was as the two boys worked to clear the dinner things. Dec came out with oven gloves to remove the cooking rack for cleaning. It was still radiating heat, the embers glowing red through the grey, ashed surface of the charcoal, and Dec accidentally brushed his arm against the hot upper edge of the barbecue. His yell of pain brought Ant sprinting out from the house. There was a straight burn across his forearm, angry and red against the surrounding white skin. Ant acted immediately, remembering the films on first aid that he had sat through at school, and propelled Dec into the house, holding his arm under the sink as he ran cold water over the mark. Anne went to fetch something soothing for the burn, but came back without what she was looking for and instead she had a rolled bandage in her hands.
"That's strange - have you seen the pot of Vaseline, Dec? I could have sworn there was some in the bathroom the other day."
Dec felt Ant's amused reaction through the shaking arms around him. "It's okay mam, don't bother. I don't need anything on it, honest." He gave Ant a gentle jab in the stomach with his elbow.
"You have to exclude the air from a burn. The Vaseline would have been ideal, but let me cover it with this instead, son. You don't want it to scar." Anne seemed insistent, and Dec allowed her to pat him dry and apply the bandage, which was three times bigger than was strictly necessary, Ant holding up his arm from behind.
"Thanks, mam. That feels fine. God, I'm stupid."
"No you're not, for goodness sake. Accidents like that happen when you are tired – go on, I'll finish up here. Go to bed, sweetheart."
Dec nodded. He kissed his mother goodnight and went off to get ready for bed. Ant threw a bucket of water over the still glowing barbecue and retrieved the furniture from the yard before giving Anne a one-armed hug and following Dec to their room.
"Hey, are you ready?" Ant's breathy question sent shivers down Dec's spine as he sat in the darkened room. Ant switched on the light.
"I'm ready." Dec was perched on the edge of the bed, naked except for the strip of white gauze around his arm, making it look as if somebody had made a half-hearted attempt at gift wrapping him. Ant shut the door quietly. He approached the bed, and looked down at the pale, almost frightened face in front of him. He undid the cord on his shorts and pushed the fabric over his angular hips, down his legs and over his feet, his hand held coyly in front of himself. Dec brushed Ant's hand aside and pulled him towards him, arms wrapped tightly around his hips, nuzzling into his growing erection. Ant's hands roamed over Dec's head and shoulders, rubbing lightly at skin and pulling at his hair, until he remembered that bite on his lover's neck. Pushing the sandy brown hair aside, Ant sought out the mark, and rubbed it hard with the ball of his thumb. Dec sighed, cock immediately rock hard in reaction to the pressure on his throat.
"You really like that, don't you? You like that pain..."
"I love it. That's your mark on me, proof that you own me."
"I don't own you, Declan. Nobody could own you."
"You do. Completely. Bite it some more, Ant. I don't want it to fade." Ant dropped to his knees and buried his head into Dec's neck, worrying at the bruise with his teeth. Dec tipped his head to one side, his breathing becoming laboured as he endured and enjoyed the discomfort. Ant stopped before he broke the surface of the skin, licking and sucking gently at the mark, then sitting back on his heels to admire his work.
"There. How's that?"
"Let me see it." Dec stood up and walked over to the mirror above the desk. He lifted his hair and turned his head so that he could inspect the purple blotch just high enough to be covered by his hair. "It's beautiful." He poked at it with his finger, flinching slightly then smiling with satisfaction. Ant came to look over Dec's shoulder, placing his hands on the desk top either side of his lover. "Every time I think of you, I'm going to rub it." Dec twisted round, leaning back against the desk to face Ant. "The bite, I mean..." His voice was full of innuendo, his eyes twinkling. Ant laughed softly at him. Standing as close as they were, their erections were rubbing up against each other and crying out for attention.
"I'd have my hand permanently down my pants if that was the case."
Ant stooped forward to kiss the freckled nose. "You make me feel so fucking horny; how can I please you tonight?" Dec shuddered, his skin prickling at Ant's words.
"You're doing great so far. You could always kiss me." Ant didn't hesitate. He licked Dec's lips and pressed their mouths together, eager and hungry for the taste of him. It wasn't long before he started to get carried away again, just as Dec had hoped he would. As Ant's tongue and teeth worked in his mouth, Dec's eyes closed and he felt his legs turning to jelly beneath him. Ant mistook a shrill squeal of submission as one of pain and hesitated, looking into Dec's face with concern.
"Hey – are you okay, man? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Dec's green eyes fluttered open.
"No! Hell, no. I thought making someone go weak at the knees was a cliché, but you do it to me every time you kiss me like that." Ant clutched Dec's head to his chest, hands combing through his hair and kissing the top of his head lightly.
"Thank god. I don't want to ever hurt you."
"Not even if I ask nicely?"
Ant smiled and winked. "Well, if you put it like that... let's just concentrate on making those memories for now, shall we?" He placed his hands around Dec's slender waist and lifted him onto the desk, swivelling him around to lie sideways across the top. Pausing only to grab a pillow from the bed to put under Dec's head, Ant leaned over his boyfriend, spread out in front of him like some delicious feast on a dinner table, duplicated by the reflection in the mirror. Dec took a sharp intake of breath, both at the speed of Ant's actions and at the coldness of the surface below him.
"You look so good tonight. You've got a sort of glow about you." Ant was almost salivating at the sight.
Dec chuckled. "Aye, I burned my stupid arm, remember?"
Ant gently stroked the bandage. "I'll make you forget that. Just lie back and close your eyes." Dec obeyed, feeling vaguely like the subject of some twisted medical experiment laid out on a slab. He trembled as he felt Ant's lips pass delicately over the flesh of his chest and stomach down towards his cock. There were a few delightful seconds of tormenting anticipation and then Dec felt the sudden heat of Ant's mouth closing around his tip, tongue dragging across his slit to remove the droplet of pre-come that had gathered there. Dec's body reacted with an all-over twitch at the sensation.
"Fuck, that's good..." Ant rolled his lips further down Dec's erection, curling his tongue around his shaft. Dec let his legs fall a little further apart, trying to relax into the unforgiving hardness of the desk, opening one eye to sneak a look at the other boy. He loved what he saw. Ant's face was a picture of lust-filled pleasure – half-open eyes trained on the mirror, watching himself closely as he worked on his lover's cock, soft, wet noises coming from his tightly wrapped lips. Dec stretched down to caress his cheek, his shoulder, his dick. Ant took a step sideways to allow Dec to reach him more easily, gently thrusting into his fist. He sucked harder, slipping a hand under Dec's ass to lift him up into his mouth, teasing at his entrance. Dec's hand tightened as Ant's thrusts became a little more edgy, and his eyes slammed shut again as Ant's other hand started to rub over his balls. The smaller boy arched his back and wriggled as he felt his orgasm bubbling below the surface, grunting along with the rhythmic twisting and sliding of Ant's lips on his cock. Ant lapped and licked, humming and purring, watching his reflection and sensing the building tension in Dec's belly.
Time momentarily stood still for Dec. Wave after sweet wave rippled over him, under him, through him as he came into Ant's throat. He was finding it incredibly difficult to keep quiet, acutely aware that his mother was just a couple of rooms away, and so, to solve that little problem, he reached with both hands to pull a shocked Ant off his still-convulsing cock, crushing their lips together and effectively muffling his scream with the younger boy's sticky mouth, making him cough violently.
When the hands released their grip on his head, Ant flopped down onto the chair that partnered the desk, breathing heavily. He wiped the back of his hand over his forehead and stared into the hooded green eyes of the boy still sprawled out in front of him, puzzled.
"Jesus, Dec... what the fuck?"
"Sorry, man – I didn't want mam to hear me, like. This is the first time we've, well, you know, done anything when she's been home!" Dec's chest was heaving and Ant laid a tender hand on it, feeling the quickened pulse of his heart through his fingertips.
"Shit, I forgot about that... shit - sorry."
"S'okay – no problem." Ant scooted the wheeled chair closer to Dec's head, nuzzling into him. Dec pressed dozens of butterfly kisses to his lover's face, and whispered to him.
"I want to get my mouth around you now. Let me finish what I started. Come on, let's swap places." Dec hopped off the desk and watched as Ant clambered up and laid his head on the pillow. Ant looked anxious as Dec's lips closed around him, his body going rigid as small hands were placed on his thigh and stomach.
"Hey, relax." Dec left Ant's softening cock to run soothing lips over chest and face. "What's the matter?" Ant was trying hard to suppress his trembling, but his breath was ragged and there were beads of perspiration breaking out on his skin, betraying him. He sat up shakily.
"Sorry, Decs, I'm sort of freaked out. When you pulled me off you I was so scared I'd done something wrong. I just don't want to spoil what we've got."
Dec jumped up to sit on the desk next to him. "Hey, it's fine. No harm done." Dec had seen Ant panic in the past but hadn't been able to comfort him before, unsure of what his reaction would be to a hug from another boy. This time, however, he knew what he needed to do; he wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly against his body, rocking him as if he was nursing an infant, shushing him and kissing his hair until the shaking almost stopped. "I pulled you off me because you did everything right – jeez, Ant that felt incredible. If we'd been alone I'd have screamed loud enough to be heard three streets away. Come on, let's get into bed. What can I do to make you feel better? Tell me, Anth... I'll do anything you want, anything I can."
Ant's eyes met Dec's, shining with tears. "I know you will. I-I'm sorry, I can't help this. So fucking stupid."
"That makes two of us today, then. Come on, bed. Now!" Dec picked up the pillow from the desk as Ant climbed into their bed. He turned off the light and crawled under the covers next to him. "Tell me what I can do for you."
"Just hold me." Ant's voice was steadier than before. Dec clung on to him, arms around his chest, legs coiled around legs.
"It's alright. I'm here and I'm not gonna move until you tell me to."
Ant gave out a hollow laugh. "I wanted tonight to be memorable – yeah, right. I want to forget being a total fucking idiot, though." Dec clutched him tighter.
"You're not an idiot. You're a beautiful. Kind. Thoughtful. Wonderful. Animal!" Dec punctuated his words with kisses to Ant's shoulder, the only part of him that he could reach with his lips. He felt Ant chuckle at the last word, wishing he could see his face with a different expression on it from the despairing one of a few moments before. "Now sleep. I love you, Ant, you know that. You own me, you really do. I've got the mark to prove it." Ant lifted Dec's hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles. His shaking had now completely ceased, his breathing evened out into a calmer, deeper rhythm as he slowly drifted off to sleep for the first time in their new, spacious, comfortable double bed.