[flashback] Lighting The Match (Hadrian)

[Astrolabe]

It had been a peaceful night for Astro. Typically he slept soundly and whatever dreams came his way, he usually had no recollection of them upon waking. This night had been no different. Once he had managed to get to sleep, both enabled and distracted in this by Hadrian’s proximity, he slept well. As night shifted into morning, his internal clock was also shifting his mind into wake up mode, and eventually he became conscious of his surroundings once more. That growing consciousness came with a startling realization, but one which was far from unwelcome, though he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Hadrian’s body was now snugged up against his, chest to back, and a noticeable hardness was pressing into him. Astro’s mind had finally processed what it was that had been the ultimate sensation which had brought him awake – identifying it as the feel of warm lips in the curve of the back of his neck, where it blended into his shoulder. Hadrian’s breath was even now caressing Astro’s back, in a ticklish kind of way. But the hand that slid down over his hip and around to his front, even as Astro opened his eyes to the growing dim light that signaled daybreak, really caught him off guard. So, he froze, momentarily, trying to evaluate the situation. He rapidly resurrected and reviewed his memories of the evening before, but could still not find any indication one way or the other that Hadrian might have been interested in him, in such a way – unless one counted seemingly total obliviousness as disinterest per se. Maybe Hadrian was just an opportunist, maybe he was shy, maybe . . . Astro’s thought processes were quickly shutting down in favor of the more visceral response of his body to Hadrian’s grip. Who cares why – just enjoy it! his body was purring in a loud mental sound that was soon to overpower his more rational analysis. Astro’s eyes closed again as he concentrated merely on his tactile senses. His leg shifted slightly and his hips pushed backwards the smallest degree. Damn . . .

[Hadrian]

Hadrian remained in that blissful half-state for a while, rested, warm, and not quite awake enough to worry about the strange disconnect in sensation. Anyway, oh! there was a bit of pressure. His body knew what was right, even if his somnolent mind did not. But the sleeping mind and the sleeping body had a short attention span, and soon Hadrian was shifting onto his back, one hand behind his head, the other making acquaintance with his own morning arousal. There was that connection! And now he began to drift back into the dreaming, where that Kendall girl showed up at his door in the rain, her body mostly visible through her soaking clothes, to tell him that she had dumped her Vantha boyfriend because she didn't want to pretend anymore and hoped that he would... and one gets the idea. Utterly unaware that he was disappointing anyone, and utterly unaware that he was in another lad's bed, Hadrian did his thing.

[Astrolabe]

Sure enough, it was just too good to be true. Astro wasn’t quite ‘prepared’ for anything specific, as he had no idea exactly what Hadrian had in mind. So as the other boy shifted behind him, his body turning and his hand falling away, Astro waited a moment to see what was going to come next. But Hadrian made no sound, other than in the next few moments the sound of his hand moving under the covers, which was faint. But along with the concomitant shivering of the covers told its tale well enough. Astro waited one heartbeat, two, five – but still it seemed that Hadrian was now focused on himself, which was odd but Astro could hardly do anything about that. With a frown of puzzlement, he turned slightly to look over his shoulder, and in the dim light saw Hadrian’s eyes were closed. He couldn’t be asleep, could he? Astro wondered, for he hadn’t ever experienced such a phenomenon himself, that he was aware of. And if Hadrian wasn’t asleep, it seemed obvious he was well content to be doing what he was doing, and no help asked for or needed. How odd, and rather embarrassing. And awkward - definitely awkward. Hadrian hadn't seemed like an . . . exhibitionist, but there was just never any telling, Astro had learned. He felt extremely confused, as usual. Life never seemed to be straightforward with him. He watched that movement under the covers for a moment, trying to decide what to do. After a moment, he turned away again. Moving carefully, to make as little commotion as possible, Astro slipped from under the covers quietly, reaching for his trousers. Pulling them on, he crossed to the door, to exit the scene as softly as he could. He wasn’t under any illusion that his departure would go unnoted. He just thought he might as well make himself scarce and come back in a bit when Hadrian was finished. Hopefully he wouldn’t make too much of a mess in Astro’s bed – he had just changed the sheets a few days earlier. Besides, Astro had something to take care of himself, and he knew just what was called for there. In the poor light, and with his mind preoccupied, he failed to note that Frank too was intent upon leaving the little room. As he reached for the door handle, his big foot came down upon the cat which was skittering to get ahead of him. Frank emitted a yowl of disgust and leapt back, as Astro cursed in surprise and stepped back as well, creating far more noise than he had intended.

[Hadrian]

Of his nocturnal activities, Hadrian would have been able to say little. He rarely went to bed with the intent to fall asleep, but read until he did or his candle guttered out. Other times he fell asleep at his desk, a pillow of his hand or some tome conveniently placed. For the main, he ignored the needs of his body, eating because sometimes he remembered to eat, sleeping because his body would shut down, but all things sexual were sublimated. Nobody liked him, anyway. It was best to ignore that facet of life; it just made one look a right twat anyway. But with the cat's yowl, he sat up sharply in the bed with a gasp, some of the tension returning to his shoulders. In an instant, he went from a fragmented dream where that Kendall girl was straddling him and making him feel very, very good in his pants, to gaping around, eyes wide with incomprehension. After a few moments, he started to recall things: philtering class, studying with Astrolabe, a back rub. He tried to remove his hand from his pants as nonchalantly as possible. The bed was already getting cold. Hadrian was always cold when he even thought about the temperature. Astro must have noticed what Hadrian's sleep-masturbating body had been up to. "I, ah... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep." He was fully clothed yet, which made things a bit easier. He swung his storkish legs out from the comfort of the blankets, feet feeling about for his shoes. "You must have things to do... I'll get out of your house so you can do them." He hoped the heat in his face was not a telltale flush. Personal dignity was not his highest priority, but he had little else here. Most people seemed so unimpressed by him as a person.

[Astrolabe]

Astro was as much at a loss as Hadrian to know how to most appropriately address this situation. Hadrian had sat up in the bed with a start, and sounded a bit confused himself, making some hurried apology for nothing that needed apologizing for. Astro couldn’t for the life of him think of what to say, where to put his eyes, what to do with his body, standing awkwardly by the door. One thing he was determined to do was to pretend like he had not noticed anything out of the ordinary. His hand went to his head and he ran his fingers through his short hair as Hadrian fumbled about for his footgear. He had his own give away bodily protuberance to think about trying not to reveal, and his other arm slipped down so that his lower forearm and wrist were somewhat helpful in shielding it from his tutor turned bedguest. Finally he managed to stammer, “Um, oh . . . well, yeh – yes. No worries. It was – it was fine . . . that you stayed here.” His dark blue eyes lifted to take in Hadrian making his preparations to leave. “I mean . . . “ his hurried words slowed a bit. “I was the one asked you to, after all. And – and you were tired, so – yeah, it’s all good. Really.” He felt really silly, and really awkward, and really at a loss, standing there by the door, not knowing how to act as casual as he felt he should be. Morning wood, big deal. Didn’t it happen every day of the week? It was times like this that a little maturity was called for. But . . . as he watched Hadrian for those few brief seconds, he thought it had been quite . . . pleasant. Really, it was a shame – that Hadrian had . . . well . . . Gah! Why was life so confusing? Frank was now over his indignation at being stepped on and cautiously pressed against Astro’s legs. Automatically, Astro opened the door and the cat slipped out. “I – yeh, you – you need to go too, I’m sure.” His gaze fell away and went to the table. “I packed your things, last night. So Frank wouldn’t mess with them.” He inhaled and then exhaled a bit deeply. “Thanks, you know – for last night. Helping me. I’m really . . . grateful.” He nodded to emphasize his sentiment. His eyes went back to Hadrian. “I, um . . . “ there came a long pause. “I don’t suppose I could talk you into coming back – another time? I mean – it doesn’t have to be to study. We could just . . . hang out, or whatever.” He shrugged. “Like – whatever you want to do, for . . . um, fun.” Hopefully, Hadrian had been asleep, and would have no recollection of . . . what he had done, though Astro was not likely to forget it. Not for a long time yet, anyway.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian was not a very good friend. He was more absorbed in his studies than he ever had been in a person, and so he forgot things like birthdays, plans to meet, and the like. He didn't know how to comfort someone when they were sad. He didn't know how to lighten the mood with humor. Generally, he felt there was just something wrong with him, something broken or malformed within him, and it was embarrassing at the best of times, shameful at the worst. But he found his shoes and pulled them on. Soon he would be out of Astro's way, and the other student could go about his life without strange Hadrian there to mess it up. But what...? Astro wanted him to return? "Oh, ah. Well, yes. I suppose we'll be moving onto a new subject in philtering soon. I can come over and explain things to you another way, if that helps. I generally read ahead so I should already understand by the time we have lecture." While he worried it sounded like he was showing off, really, it might have come across as more sad than anything else. He had nothing better to do than study. Thankfully he liked it so much. "Thanks...," for taking care of his things. "I'm sorry, I..." It didn't seem like Astro had noticed his hand down his pants. Hadrian didn't understand why he always woke up hard, figuring that was just another something wrong with him, his humors out of balance or something. But Astro obviously had places to be, so Hadrian heaved himself up, twisting as he did so to hide his erection, trying to rearrange it without being seen. "You can let me know in class, if you want. If something doesn't make sense and you want me to explain it. We can do it in the library if you prefer. I mean, then you don't have to play host. Or... whatever, really. I'm sorry... I'm not very good with... well, with people. "But that doesn't matter now. You need to go, right?" He hitched his satchel over his shoulder, thinking to go and read up on those ancient runes while he had some free time. Oh, and possibly eat before he forgot for the whole day and passed out in public again.

[Astrolabe]

Astro was nodding his head in funny little jerks, as if in agreement with Hadrian, as he spoke of new subjects and reading ahead. “Yeh – yeh, sure. Sounds good.” He was saying as backdrop to Hadrian’s rejection of his offer to do anything other than the studying. Well, that’s what he had requested, right? He needed a tutor, not a friend necessarily, though it seemed the two did not have to be mutually exclusive. But it did indeed seem that’s how Hadrian viewed the issue – and this embryonic acquaintance of theirs. He obviously didn’t even wish to come back, here – well, Astro thought maybe, somehow he had really, really gotten things confused and somehow he had been the one to make Hadrian feel uncomfortable – for the other boy was so obviously that. If he had, that had never been his intent, and it made him feel a bit . . . sad. Probably, what Hadrian really wanted was to get gone as quickly as he could and then not have to deal with an idiot like him again – not even to study and not even in the library. The guy was just being polite, bless him. Astro was stepping away from the door, a non-verbal gesture of acquiescence with Hadrian’s take on both of them needing to get somewhere else, fast, when the last words really registered. Running his hand up through the hair on the top of his head, he answered honestly, “Nah – I was just heading for the loo. But . . . I’m sure you got things to do, so . . . “ He brought his fingers together in front of him, looking down at them as they tapped and twirled about one another, a nervous habit he had. “Thanks. I’ll see you in class.”

[Hadrian]

"Oh, well... I will let you do that," he continued lamely. Of course, it wouldn't take all that long for Astro to take care of his call of nature unless there were some problem with his digestion, but Hadrian was trying not to freak out. He didn't like that he was, but he didn't know how to keep calm other than to cling to politesse and etiquette. "So yes, I will see you in class. If we start a new topic, perhaps we can meet after, go to market for something to eat and sit and talk it over so you understand. Or we can wait until your paper gets graded, if you'd rather, and talk about that and then whatever new material... Well, ah, you understand my point, I think." His smile was nervous and perhaps just a touch self-loathing for being so socially retarded. "Well, so, um, have fun in the privy..." He blinked those gloriously blue eyes. Had he really just said that? "Right, until class, then." And he fled. END

[Paragon]

Adventurer's Loot Astrolabe's Loot : Astrolabe Skill XP Reward Philtering +1 Persuasion +1 Socialisation +1 Massage +2 Lore: Hadrian (acquaintance), Importance of Oxidised Iron, The Rusting Process, Hadrian's Misdemeanour Items or Consequences: Nil Hadrian's Loot : Hadrian Skill XP Reward Teaching +2 Philtering +1 Socialisation +1 Lore: Astrolabe (acquaintance), Imparting Knowledge, Sleeping Sexual Acts, Digging a Deeper Hole Items or Consequences: Nil Tehehe! Awkward but funny little social thread here, looks like Astrolabe won't forget this. I'm trying out a new reward template - what do you think? I was going for a retro roleplaying feel - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, don't hesitate to PM me.