Denial, Chapter 33: What Dreams May Come
Title: Denial, Ch. 33: What Dreams May Come
Author: wastingyourgum
Characters/Pairings: Little John/Legrand, Robin, Will, Djaq
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Slash
Warnings: Slightly dub-con
Words: 3422
Disclaimer: BBC & TA own
Notes This continues the 'Round-Robin' fic 'Denial' and takes place a few months after 2x11 "Treasure of the Nation" but before 2x12.
Beta'ed by the beloved darkentwisted and robinfanatic
Summary: Robin accidentally picks the wrong mushrooms for breakfast and Little John has some very interesting dreams...
Want to play? Come join us! Check out the Rules and join in the Round Robin fun!
Previous Chapters: Summary of previous chapters...
What Dreams May Come
by wastingyourgum
"Right - I'll go to Clun," Robin said. "Djaq, Will - you take Locksley. Legrand, the supplies you and John need to take to Nettlestone are over there." Robin indicated a small pile of sacks with his bow then glanced around with a puzzled expression. "Where is John, anyway?" he asked.
"Washing - himself and his shirt. I saw him when I was shaving," Legrand said.
John slowly trudged up to the camp, his damp shirt slung over one shoulder. He sniffed the air as he entered the camp. "Mushrooms?" he asked Legrand, who was standing stirring a pot on the range.
"Yes. Robin gathered them earlier."
"Robin?" The large outlaw scoffed, regarding his leader with a slightly disbelieving stare.
"Don't look at me like that, John - I'm trying to help!" Robin complained.
"And Will and I got some fresh eggs so today we will break our fast like kings!" Djaq said happily.
John hung up his shirt near the fire then sat down heavily and held out his hand. "Give some here, then."
Legrand ladled out a bowlful of the mushrooms and handed it to him, then stood back and waited for John's reaction. He'd learned by now this would either be nothing (good), a nod (very good) or a glare (not so good but the food would still be eaten).
John swallowed the mouthful of mushrooms and said, grudgingly, "These aren't bad."
The French knight turned camp cook was visibly pleased at what, from John, was high praise indeed. "Thank you," he replied as he started dishing out the others portions and John took another spoonful.
"So, where are we..." the dark-haired man stopped mid-sentence with a worried look on his face.
Legrand frowned at him. "Is something wrong?"
John reached over and grabbed Robin's arm. "Don't eat that."
"What? I thought you said it was good?"
"What... what mushrooms did you pick?" John put down his bowl. He was blinking a lot and his forehead broke out in a light sweat.
"The same one's Much always gave us."
"And... none of them... had... red spots underneath?" John started to slur his words slightly, as if drunk.
The archer looked at his bowl with horror. "I didn't check," he said weakly. "They looked the same as Much's..."
"I guess Much knows his mushrooms better, doesn't he?" said Will.
Djaq ran over to John and studied his eyes. His pupils were far larger than normal, making his normally brown eyes appear almost black. "John? John! What do the spotted mushrooms do? Are they lethal? John?" She frantically shook his shoulders.
"No, don' kill you," he mumbled. "Just make things... Make things... "
"What, John? Make things what?"
John looked around with a dazed smile. "Yellow..." His eyes closed and he slowly toppled backwards off his seat and fell insensible onto the camp floor with a great thud.
"John!" Everybody leaped forward with the same shout. Djaq pushed them away. "Stand back - let him have air!" She knelt down and lifted one of John's eyelids, then placed her head on his chest and listened to his heart and breathing. "His heart is a little fast but other than that he seems fine. I think he just needs to sleep it off - there's nothing else we can do," she said helplessly.
"Give me a hand, mes amis." Legrand grabbed John under the arms as Robin and Will took a leg each and between them they managed to haul the sleeping giant up and onto his cot.
"We can't make the deliveries now, can we?" said Robin.
"Yes. Yes, we can. John would want us to." Will replied, sternly.
"You go. I will stay and care for John," the Frenchman said.
Robin thought for a long moment. "You're sure he'll be fine?" Djaq nodded. "Then we'll make the deliveries as usual. Will - you go to Nettlestone. Everybody back here by sundown. Understood?" They all murmured their consent.
Sundown, Legrand thought, as he stared at the unconscious outlaw. That's a very long time to resist temptation...
>>>-------------------------------->
Legrand sat on the bunk next to John, watching his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm, remembering the day his obsession had started.
The Frenchman had returned to the camp from another frustratingly slow walk with Djaq to find John sparring with Will and Robin, all three stripped to the waist in the summer heat, the younger men gradually beating John backwards with a succession of strikes from axe and sword. As Djaq and Legrand had entered the clearing, Robin and Will both looked round and John seized the opportunity to sweep the legs out from under his leader. All three had laughed and as Will helped Robin to his feet, the older man had looked over at Legrand, smiled and winked. "You can keep your fancy swords - eh, Legrand?"
Legrand had merely nodded, suddenly dry-mouthed and staggered to the nearest seat. His Saracen physician looked at him with concern but it wasn't his recent injuries that had made his legs go weak. He'd blamed his distant recollection of a kiss on the medicine he'd been given but now he realised with certainty that his Queen was not the only one who'd had her head turned by this rough outlaw. The realisation had come as quite a shock.
A peasant! An English peasant at that! An unkempt, older, ill-mannered, uneducated, taciturn thief... with a good heart, strong arms and eyes the colour of burnished oak...
Ever since that moment he'd been seized by a burning desire for the older man that he couldn't explain and which had only grown with each passing day and as his strength returned. When the Queen had commanded him to stay in England, Legrand had felt shamed that he'd somehow failed her but secretly pleased that his long forest walks in John's company would continue. He spent his days laughing and joking with the others but many of his nights were spent staring across the camp in bitter frustration at the feelings he could not rid himself of. When sleep did finally come, his dreams let him see what he knew he couldn't have in the waking world and it only made his obsession stronger.
John muttered something unintelligible and shifted his position slightly. Legrand saw the muscles in the outlaw's arms and across his chest tighten as he moaned and grabbed at his bedding. That simple movement made the knight's pulse quicken and his groin twitch. He tried to ignore the fantasies running through his mind but the longer he stayed this close to the object of his desires, lying there so... available, the harder it was not to act on his thoughts.
I shouldn't... but I'll never have another chance like this. Maybe it will help get him out of my head, Legrand told himself, knowing he was only trying to justify his growing hunger.
He leaned over and gently kissed John's lips before starting a small trail of kisses down the side of his neck and across his broad chest. He buried his face in John's neck, deeply breathing him in and gently rubbing his own smooth face against the other man's rough beard. Nearly all of Legrand's previous lovers had been nobles like him; clean shaven, smooth skinned, gently scented with lavender or roses or some other delicate fragrance. The English peasant's skin was deliciously warm and he smelled strongly of earth and wood, sweat and leather. There wasn't a single delicate thing about John and the tall Frenchman was both fascinated and aroused by him.
John suddenly woke from strange yet somehow pleasant dreams, slowly opened his eyes and frowned as he struggled to focus. He appeared to be on his bunk in the camp but the roof above him couldn't decide if it was three feet or thirty yards away. A pale face topped by fair hair swam into his vision.
"Legrand?" he said, thickly.
"Shh, John, relax. You're dreaming." Legrand said.
John wondered why he'd never noticed until now what a pleasing voice the younger man had.
"I am?" John tried to sit up but his arms felt like they belonged to someone else.
"You're fine. Go back to sleep."
John fought the growing heaviness in his eyes but it was a losing battle from the start. His head fell back onto the bunk as he lost consciousness again.
Legrand lightly rested his head against John's chest as Djaq had done earlier, listening to the steady beat of his heart, then, hardly daring to breathe, he slowly slid his hand down the Englishman's stomach and into his leggings, letting his touch gently roam through the thick coarse hair that he found there and curling it around his fingers. He moved his hand further down and softly cupped it against John, shivering as he felt the outlaw start to harden in response to his touch.
John moaned again and Legrand carefully wrapped his fingers around the older man's growing length while kissing his neck and chest, feeling John's chest muscles contracting under his lips as he continued to grab handfuls of blanket in his large fists. Legrand withdrew his hand and kissed his way down the trail of soft, dark hair leading down from the outlaw's navel. He gently untied John's leggings, tugging at the waist and John let out a noise that was half moan, half growl as his erection sprang free and Legrand took him into his mouth.
Legrand was amazed at the heat coming from John's body. He didn't know if it was a side effect of the mushrooms or just the Englishman's natural response but it increased the scent of John's arousal and therefore added to his own. He turned his hips slightly and as he started to move his head up and down in a steady rhythm against John's hardness, he freed his own rapidly swelling member from his breeches and started firmly stroking it, imagining it was the other man's hand giving him such pleasure.
John's hips started to lift against his mouth, seeking to drive deeper into his throat. Legrand could barely take him all as it was and he pressed down on John's hips with his other hand, forcing the outlaw back down against the bunk.
John's eyes half-opened as he came back to semi-consciousness and in his mind's eye the roof of the camp became the roof of his old cottage. He could almost feel Alice's long hair brushing against his legs as she hungrily swallowed him, her tongue swirling over and around the tip of his cock, driving him mad with lust and need. It was her favourite way to tease him before she would rise from her knees and straddle him, making him come in a matter of minutes.
He raised his hips from the bunk again, straining to meet her mouth and his vision suddenly shifted to the luxurious castle he had seen in his recent dreams. He and Eleanor were on large bed covered in silk sheets and John grinned wickedly at the knowledge he was being serviced by a Queen.
He reached down to run his fingers through her hair but as his hand found short hair and not long his eyes snapped open, the castle chamber became the Sherwood camp and he looked down to see Legrand's blond hair brushing against his stomach.
John stared at the younger nobleman in shock, then groaned as Legrand did something extremely pleasurable with his tongue.
No, that's... not right... It's a dream... This has to be another dream... John told himself as he struggled to keep his focus against the colours and sensations flooding his senses. He gasped as the Frenchman grabbed the base of his cock in his fist and started licking and kissing up the length of his shaft, totally engrossed in his task.
It doesn't feel wrong... It feels... wonderful, John thought as he shuddered and his hips arched forwards. His breath was coming in ragged gasps by now and Legrand could tell he was close to coming. "God, that's good!" Legrand suddenly looked up and John realised he'd spoken out loud. "Don't... don't..." He saw the Frenchman's head start to come up as he spoke. "Don't stop, please!" he gasped.
Legrand smiled devilishly at him and went back to his ministrations.
John looked down at him, still slightly in shock. He's... he's a good looking bloke, I suppose... and it's just a dream, right? A really, really good dream...
Legrand gripped John tighter with his hand and swirled his tongue around the head of his cock before taking him fully into his mouth once more. John cried out at the sudden combined rush of sensations, his back arching from the bunk as he came harder than he could remember in a very long time. Legrand sucked and licked at John's throbbing member, greedily swallowing his hot seed as he came in great spurts.
John's entire body was tingling and a wave of euphoria made his head swim. He was aware of Legrand's hands by his head, the soft lips meeting his, the unfamiliar taste which must be his own scent still clinging to them. With some surprise, he found himself eagerly returning the kiss, his hand grabbing at Legrand's hair. The blond Frenchman growled and kissed him harder, his teeth gently biting at John's lips, then his neck.
John could feel Legrand's hardness against his stomach and almost without thinking he reached out and grasped the younger man's length with a surreal sense of detachment, feeling something so strangely familiar yet not part of himself.
Legrand moaned and he shuddered as he thrilled to the touch he had imagined only minutes previously. He thrust against John's hand with increasing urgency, swearing softly in French as John gripped him tighter, then his whole body went rigid as his orgasm suddenly hit him and he threw his head back and groaned with release as he came in hot pulses onto the Englishman's stomach.
John marvelled at the sensation of the warmth spreading across his stomach and each throb of the strange length under his fingers, then he felt Legrand's weight crushing his chest as the Frenchman collapsed against him, breathing hard. He struggled to remain conscious as his vision clouded and the blackness took him once more...
Legrand felt John's hand go slack and looked up to see his head slump back against the bed as he fell unconscious again. He softly kissed him. I think you needed that, my love, he thought. I know I did...
He lay his head against the older man's shoulder for moment, sighing with contentment before he suddenly sat up and looked at John lying insensible beneath him with sudden horror and self-loathing.
My God! What am I doing? This man thinks I am his friend!
He hastily climbed off and went to fetch a cloth...
>>>-------------------------------->
"John? John - can you hear me?"
John's eyes snapped open as he felt the small hand gently slapping his face. "Wha'..? Where...?" He looked around in a daze and recognised Djaq standing beside him. "Djaq? What the...?"
Djaq looked at John with concern, noting the shock and confusion on his face as he looked down at himself and then around his bunk. "John, don't panic. You're safe. Whatever you were seeing wasn't real, it was a dream." She laid her hands soothingly on his chest.
"Not... not real?"
"No, you had some mushrooms and they made you see things, do you remember?"
"Mushrooms." John looked at her with utter bewilderment. It had all seemed so real. Well, parts of it anyway. "Yes, I remember." He flopped back on his bunk, suddenly feeling very tired and stared up at the roof. "Did you still make the deliveries?"
"Of course. Will went to Nettlestone instead while Legrand stayed here with you."
John sat up and looked over to the kitchen where Legrand, Robin and Will were busily preparing dinner. "I just hope he didn't mind having to babysit me," he said, thoughtfully.
"He said you were saying some very strange things and he practically had to sit on top of you at one point," Djaq laughed.
"Did he now?"
>>>-------------------------------->
Legrand lay awake for a long time, wrestling with his conscience. Finally he got up with a sigh, wandered down to the brook and squatting down beside it, splashed cold water against his face and on the back of his neck.
"I wasn't dreaming, was I?"
Legrand froze as John's voice came from directly behind him - he hadn't heard a thing. He turned round slowly. John was standing only a few feet away, sternly glaring down at him with his arms folded across his chest, daring him to lie.
For the briefest of seconds Legrand considered trying to brazen it out but the guilt had been slowly consuming him all day. "No. How did you know?"
"I wasn't sure at first... but then I noticed bite marks in my shoulder when I put my shirt back on."
John uncrossed his arms and took a small step towards Legrand.
"What else did you do to me?" he demanded.
"What?"
"You... you... with your mouth..." John couldn't bring himself to say it. "What else?"
Legrand was horrified. He would never have even thought of it but of course John wasn't to know that. He felt sick to his stomach that the man he loved would think the worst of him.
"Nothing, John! Nothing! I swear... I swear on the Queen's life! That was all I did to you."
"Why? I trusted you. I thought you were my friend. For God's sake, I gave you my blood! Why would you do... that to me? I gave you no reason to think I would wish it." The hurt in John's voice was unmistakable and Legrand decided to come completely clean.
"I wanted you," he sighed.
John looked at him incredulously. "You what? You wanted me? Me?"
"I've wanted you for weeks and it was driving me to distraction and then this happened and... I'm sorry, John. I'm so sorry. I wasn't strong enough." He stood up, closed his eyes and hung his head in shame. If John was going to hit him, he didn't even want to see it coming. "I betrayed your trust, John. I'll never forgive myself for that and I understand if you don't either. I'll leave tonight. Just please... don't tell the others why."
John clenched his fists, struggling with the impulse to unleash his anger on the man standing silently in front of him. Finally he let out a long breath and stared upwards through the trees, carefully considering his next words as his hands relaxed.
"No... I don't think you should go," he said. "I could have stopped you and I chose not to. I thought it must be another dream and I found it was a dream I welcomed, not a nightmare. It surprised me and I also realised if it wasn't a dream, then not only your actions were real." He sighed heavily. "You've... given me a lot to think about."
Legrand's heart leapt at the unlooked-for hope but he still could not bring himself to meet John's eyes.
"So... I do forgive you, Legrand. You will have to earn back my trust and I... will definitely need some time to think about what happened but I do forgive you. We all have our moments of weakness."
Legrand drew in a great rasping breath as he struggled to contain his tears. Suddenly and wonderfully John's arms were around him, holding him close. Legrand had expected John to react with anger, not compassion. The so-called peasant was more noble than many men Legrand had met who called themselves such.
John hugged him tightly. "To be honest, it's quite nice to feel wanted again - if in a slightly different way than I'm used to," he admitted, then his voice took on a sterner edge. "But if you ever do anything remotely like this again, or mention it to any of the others, I will break your arms. Understood?"
Legrand nodded.
"Good." John stepped back and released his hold on the shaken Frenchman. "Now let's go back to the camp - I don't know... I've spent most of today asleep and yet I'm still tired." He quickly turned and headed back up the hill.
Legrand watched John vanish silently into the moonlit forest and prayed he wasn't dreaming himself...
>>>-------------------------------->
On to Chapter 34: How will Prince John's letter be received in the Holy Land?
Author: wastingyourgum
Characters/Pairings: Little John/Legrand, Robin, Will, Djaq
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Slash
Warnings: Slightly dub-con
Words: 3422
Disclaimer: BBC & TA own
Notes This continues the 'Round-Robin' fic 'Denial' and takes place a few months after 2x11 "Treasure of the Nation" but before 2x12.
Beta'ed by the beloved darkentwisted and robinfanatic
Summary: Robin accidentally picks the wrong mushrooms for breakfast and Little John has some very interesting dreams...
Want to play? Come join us! Check out the Rules and join in the Round Robin fun!
Previous Chapters: Summary of previous chapters...
What Dreams May Come
by wastingyourgum
"Right - I'll go to Clun," Robin said. "Djaq, Will - you take Locksley. Legrand, the supplies you and John need to take to Nettlestone are over there." Robin indicated a small pile of sacks with his bow then glanced around with a puzzled expression. "Where is John, anyway?" he asked.
"Washing - himself and his shirt. I saw him when I was shaving," Legrand said.
John slowly trudged up to the camp, his damp shirt slung over one shoulder. He sniffed the air as he entered the camp. "Mushrooms?" he asked Legrand, who was standing stirring a pot on the range.
"Yes. Robin gathered them earlier."
"Robin?" The large outlaw scoffed, regarding his leader with a slightly disbelieving stare.
"Don't look at me like that, John - I'm trying to help!" Robin complained.
"And Will and I got some fresh eggs so today we will break our fast like kings!" Djaq said happily.
John hung up his shirt near the fire then sat down heavily and held out his hand. "Give some here, then."
Legrand ladled out a bowlful of the mushrooms and handed it to him, then stood back and waited for John's reaction. He'd learned by now this would either be nothing (good), a nod (very good) or a glare (not so good but the food would still be eaten).
John swallowed the mouthful of mushrooms and said, grudgingly, "These aren't bad."
The French knight turned camp cook was visibly pleased at what, from John, was high praise indeed. "Thank you," he replied as he started dishing out the others portions and John took another spoonful.
"So, where are we..." the dark-haired man stopped mid-sentence with a worried look on his face.
Legrand frowned at him. "Is something wrong?"
John reached over and grabbed Robin's arm. "Don't eat that."
"What? I thought you said it was good?"
"What... what mushrooms did you pick?" John put down his bowl. He was blinking a lot and his forehead broke out in a light sweat.
"The same one's Much always gave us."
"And... none of them... had... red spots underneath?" John started to slur his words slightly, as if drunk.
The archer looked at his bowl with horror. "I didn't check," he said weakly. "They looked the same as Much's..."
"I guess Much knows his mushrooms better, doesn't he?" said Will.
Djaq ran over to John and studied his eyes. His pupils were far larger than normal, making his normally brown eyes appear almost black. "John? John! What do the spotted mushrooms do? Are they lethal? John?" She frantically shook his shoulders.
"No, don' kill you," he mumbled. "Just make things... Make things... "
"What, John? Make things what?"
John looked around with a dazed smile. "Yellow..." His eyes closed and he slowly toppled backwards off his seat and fell insensible onto the camp floor with a great thud.
"John!" Everybody leaped forward with the same shout. Djaq pushed them away. "Stand back - let him have air!" She knelt down and lifted one of John's eyelids, then placed her head on his chest and listened to his heart and breathing. "His heart is a little fast but other than that he seems fine. I think he just needs to sleep it off - there's nothing else we can do," she said helplessly.
"Give me a hand, mes amis." Legrand grabbed John under the arms as Robin and Will took a leg each and between them they managed to haul the sleeping giant up and onto his cot.
"We can't make the deliveries now, can we?" said Robin.
"Yes. Yes, we can. John would want us to." Will replied, sternly.
"You go. I will stay and care for John," the Frenchman said.
Robin thought for a long moment. "You're sure he'll be fine?" Djaq nodded. "Then we'll make the deliveries as usual. Will - you go to Nettlestone. Everybody back here by sundown. Understood?" They all murmured their consent.
Sundown, Legrand thought, as he stared at the unconscious outlaw. That's a very long time to resist temptation...
>>>-------------------------------->
Legrand sat on the bunk next to John, watching his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm, remembering the day his obsession had started.
The Frenchman had returned to the camp from another frustratingly slow walk with Djaq to find John sparring with Will and Robin, all three stripped to the waist in the summer heat, the younger men gradually beating John backwards with a succession of strikes from axe and sword. As Djaq and Legrand had entered the clearing, Robin and Will both looked round and John seized the opportunity to sweep the legs out from under his leader. All three had laughed and as Will helped Robin to his feet, the older man had looked over at Legrand, smiled and winked. "You can keep your fancy swords - eh, Legrand?"
Legrand had merely nodded, suddenly dry-mouthed and staggered to the nearest seat. His Saracen physician looked at him with concern but it wasn't his recent injuries that had made his legs go weak. He'd blamed his distant recollection of a kiss on the medicine he'd been given but now he realised with certainty that his Queen was not the only one who'd had her head turned by this rough outlaw. The realisation had come as quite a shock.
A peasant! An English peasant at that! An unkempt, older, ill-mannered, uneducated, taciturn thief... with a good heart, strong arms and eyes the colour of burnished oak...
Ever since that moment he'd been seized by a burning desire for the older man that he couldn't explain and which had only grown with each passing day and as his strength returned. When the Queen had commanded him to stay in England, Legrand had felt shamed that he'd somehow failed her but secretly pleased that his long forest walks in John's company would continue. He spent his days laughing and joking with the others but many of his nights were spent staring across the camp in bitter frustration at the feelings he could not rid himself of. When sleep did finally come, his dreams let him see what he knew he couldn't have in the waking world and it only made his obsession stronger.
John muttered something unintelligible and shifted his position slightly. Legrand saw the muscles in the outlaw's arms and across his chest tighten as he moaned and grabbed at his bedding. That simple movement made the knight's pulse quicken and his groin twitch. He tried to ignore the fantasies running through his mind but the longer he stayed this close to the object of his desires, lying there so... available, the harder it was not to act on his thoughts.
I shouldn't... but I'll never have another chance like this. Maybe it will help get him out of my head, Legrand told himself, knowing he was only trying to justify his growing hunger.
He leaned over and gently kissed John's lips before starting a small trail of kisses down the side of his neck and across his broad chest. He buried his face in John's neck, deeply breathing him in and gently rubbing his own smooth face against the other man's rough beard. Nearly all of Legrand's previous lovers had been nobles like him; clean shaven, smooth skinned, gently scented with lavender or roses or some other delicate fragrance. The English peasant's skin was deliciously warm and he smelled strongly of earth and wood, sweat and leather. There wasn't a single delicate thing about John and the tall Frenchman was both fascinated and aroused by him.
John suddenly woke from strange yet somehow pleasant dreams, slowly opened his eyes and frowned as he struggled to focus. He appeared to be on his bunk in the camp but the roof above him couldn't decide if it was three feet or thirty yards away. A pale face topped by fair hair swam into his vision.
"Legrand?" he said, thickly.
"Shh, John, relax. You're dreaming." Legrand said.
John wondered why he'd never noticed until now what a pleasing voice the younger man had.
"I am?" John tried to sit up but his arms felt like they belonged to someone else.
"You're fine. Go back to sleep."
John fought the growing heaviness in his eyes but it was a losing battle from the start. His head fell back onto the bunk as he lost consciousness again.
Legrand lightly rested his head against John's chest as Djaq had done earlier, listening to the steady beat of his heart, then, hardly daring to breathe, he slowly slid his hand down the Englishman's stomach and into his leggings, letting his touch gently roam through the thick coarse hair that he found there and curling it around his fingers. He moved his hand further down and softly cupped it against John, shivering as he felt the outlaw start to harden in response to his touch.
John moaned again and Legrand carefully wrapped his fingers around the older man's growing length while kissing his neck and chest, feeling John's chest muscles contracting under his lips as he continued to grab handfuls of blanket in his large fists. Legrand withdrew his hand and kissed his way down the trail of soft, dark hair leading down from the outlaw's navel. He gently untied John's leggings, tugging at the waist and John let out a noise that was half moan, half growl as his erection sprang free and Legrand took him into his mouth.
Legrand was amazed at the heat coming from John's body. He didn't know if it was a side effect of the mushrooms or just the Englishman's natural response but it increased the scent of John's arousal and therefore added to his own. He turned his hips slightly and as he started to move his head up and down in a steady rhythm against John's hardness, he freed his own rapidly swelling member from his breeches and started firmly stroking it, imagining it was the other man's hand giving him such pleasure.
John's hips started to lift against his mouth, seeking to drive deeper into his throat. Legrand could barely take him all as it was and he pressed down on John's hips with his other hand, forcing the outlaw back down against the bunk.
John's eyes half-opened as he came back to semi-consciousness and in his mind's eye the roof of the camp became the roof of his old cottage. He could almost feel Alice's long hair brushing against his legs as she hungrily swallowed him, her tongue swirling over and around the tip of his cock, driving him mad with lust and need. It was her favourite way to tease him before she would rise from her knees and straddle him, making him come in a matter of minutes.
He raised his hips from the bunk again, straining to meet her mouth and his vision suddenly shifted to the luxurious castle he had seen in his recent dreams. He and Eleanor were on large bed covered in silk sheets and John grinned wickedly at the knowledge he was being serviced by a Queen.
He reached down to run his fingers through her hair but as his hand found short hair and not long his eyes snapped open, the castle chamber became the Sherwood camp and he looked down to see Legrand's blond hair brushing against his stomach.
John stared at the younger nobleman in shock, then groaned as Legrand did something extremely pleasurable with his tongue.
No, that's... not right... It's a dream... This has to be another dream... John told himself as he struggled to keep his focus against the colours and sensations flooding his senses. He gasped as the Frenchman grabbed the base of his cock in his fist and started licking and kissing up the length of his shaft, totally engrossed in his task.
It doesn't feel wrong... It feels... wonderful, John thought as he shuddered and his hips arched forwards. His breath was coming in ragged gasps by now and Legrand could tell he was close to coming. "God, that's good!" Legrand suddenly looked up and John realised he'd spoken out loud. "Don't... don't..." He saw the Frenchman's head start to come up as he spoke. "Don't stop, please!" he gasped.
Legrand smiled devilishly at him and went back to his ministrations.
John looked down at him, still slightly in shock. He's... he's a good looking bloke, I suppose... and it's just a dream, right? A really, really good dream...
Legrand gripped John tighter with his hand and swirled his tongue around the head of his cock before taking him fully into his mouth once more. John cried out at the sudden combined rush of sensations, his back arching from the bunk as he came harder than he could remember in a very long time. Legrand sucked and licked at John's throbbing member, greedily swallowing his hot seed as he came in great spurts.
John's entire body was tingling and a wave of euphoria made his head swim. He was aware of Legrand's hands by his head, the soft lips meeting his, the unfamiliar taste which must be his own scent still clinging to them. With some surprise, he found himself eagerly returning the kiss, his hand grabbing at Legrand's hair. The blond Frenchman growled and kissed him harder, his teeth gently biting at John's lips, then his neck.
John could feel Legrand's hardness against his stomach and almost without thinking he reached out and grasped the younger man's length with a surreal sense of detachment, feeling something so strangely familiar yet not part of himself.
Legrand moaned and he shuddered as he thrilled to the touch he had imagined only minutes previously. He thrust against John's hand with increasing urgency, swearing softly in French as John gripped him tighter, then his whole body went rigid as his orgasm suddenly hit him and he threw his head back and groaned with release as he came in hot pulses onto the Englishman's stomach.
John marvelled at the sensation of the warmth spreading across his stomach and each throb of the strange length under his fingers, then he felt Legrand's weight crushing his chest as the Frenchman collapsed against him, breathing hard. He struggled to remain conscious as his vision clouded and the blackness took him once more...
Legrand felt John's hand go slack and looked up to see his head slump back against the bed as he fell unconscious again. He softly kissed him. I think you needed that, my love, he thought. I know I did...
He lay his head against the older man's shoulder for moment, sighing with contentment before he suddenly sat up and looked at John lying insensible beneath him with sudden horror and self-loathing.
My God! What am I doing? This man thinks I am his friend!
He hastily climbed off and went to fetch a cloth...
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"John? John - can you hear me?"
John's eyes snapped open as he felt the small hand gently slapping his face. "Wha'..? Where...?" He looked around in a daze and recognised Djaq standing beside him. "Djaq? What the...?"
Djaq looked at John with concern, noting the shock and confusion on his face as he looked down at himself and then around his bunk. "John, don't panic. You're safe. Whatever you were seeing wasn't real, it was a dream." She laid her hands soothingly on his chest.
"Not... not real?"
"No, you had some mushrooms and they made you see things, do you remember?"
"Mushrooms." John looked at her with utter bewilderment. It had all seemed so real. Well, parts of it anyway. "Yes, I remember." He flopped back on his bunk, suddenly feeling very tired and stared up at the roof. "Did you still make the deliveries?"
"Of course. Will went to Nettlestone instead while Legrand stayed here with you."
John sat up and looked over to the kitchen where Legrand, Robin and Will were busily preparing dinner. "I just hope he didn't mind having to babysit me," he said, thoughtfully.
"He said you were saying some very strange things and he practically had to sit on top of you at one point," Djaq laughed.
"Did he now?"
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Legrand lay awake for a long time, wrestling with his conscience. Finally he got up with a sigh, wandered down to the brook and squatting down beside it, splashed cold water against his face and on the back of his neck.
"I wasn't dreaming, was I?"
Legrand froze as John's voice came from directly behind him - he hadn't heard a thing. He turned round slowly. John was standing only a few feet away, sternly glaring down at him with his arms folded across his chest, daring him to lie.
For the briefest of seconds Legrand considered trying to brazen it out but the guilt had been slowly consuming him all day. "No. How did you know?"
"I wasn't sure at first... but then I noticed bite marks in my shoulder when I put my shirt back on."
John uncrossed his arms and took a small step towards Legrand.
"What else did you do to me?" he demanded.
"What?"
"You... you... with your mouth..." John couldn't bring himself to say it. "What else?"
Legrand was horrified. He would never have even thought of it but of course John wasn't to know that. He felt sick to his stomach that the man he loved would think the worst of him.
"Nothing, John! Nothing! I swear... I swear on the Queen's life! That was all I did to you."
"Why? I trusted you. I thought you were my friend. For God's sake, I gave you my blood! Why would you do... that to me? I gave you no reason to think I would wish it." The hurt in John's voice was unmistakable and Legrand decided to come completely clean.
"I wanted you," he sighed.
John looked at him incredulously. "You what? You wanted me? Me?"
"I've wanted you for weeks and it was driving me to distraction and then this happened and... I'm sorry, John. I'm so sorry. I wasn't strong enough." He stood up, closed his eyes and hung his head in shame. If John was going to hit him, he didn't even want to see it coming. "I betrayed your trust, John. I'll never forgive myself for that and I understand if you don't either. I'll leave tonight. Just please... don't tell the others why."
John clenched his fists, struggling with the impulse to unleash his anger on the man standing silently in front of him. Finally he let out a long breath and stared upwards through the trees, carefully considering his next words as his hands relaxed.
"No... I don't think you should go," he said. "I could have stopped you and I chose not to. I thought it must be another dream and I found it was a dream I welcomed, not a nightmare. It surprised me and I also realised if it wasn't a dream, then not only your actions were real." He sighed heavily. "You've... given me a lot to think about."
Legrand's heart leapt at the unlooked-for hope but he still could not bring himself to meet John's eyes.
"So... I do forgive you, Legrand. You will have to earn back my trust and I... will definitely need some time to think about what happened but I do forgive you. We all have our moments of weakness."
Legrand drew in a great rasping breath as he struggled to contain his tears. Suddenly and wonderfully John's arms were around him, holding him close. Legrand had expected John to react with anger, not compassion. The so-called peasant was more noble than many men Legrand had met who called themselves such.
John hugged him tightly. "To be honest, it's quite nice to feel wanted again - if in a slightly different way than I'm used to," he admitted, then his voice took on a sterner edge. "But if you ever do anything remotely like this again, or mention it to any of the others, I will break your arms. Understood?"
Legrand nodded.
"Good." John stepped back and released his hold on the shaken Frenchman. "Now let's go back to the camp - I don't know... I've spent most of today asleep and yet I'm still tired." He quickly turned and headed back up the hill.
Legrand watched John vanish silently into the moonlit forest and prayed he wasn't dreaming himself...
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On to Chapter 34: How will Prince John's letter be received in the Holy Land?