Blood Brothers [1/2]
Title: Blood Brothers Part 1
'Verse: Psychomachia
Pairing: Chris/Ty
Rating: slash - soft
Author's Note: Currently, this is a two part series featuring Chris and Ty of Psychomachia, before they're hired as Keith's crew.
Three dirt-smudged boys raced each other across the heated sand, shouting and shoving. The dinner bell had rung, and none of them wanted to be the last one in-the last one had to wash the dishes. Chris was in front, as usual, the oldest and fastest among his brothers, sure-footed and strong for his eleven years. His brothers shoved at one another behind him, neck in neck to be second best.
Down the gravel street, a boy was playing on his own, setting fire to a pile of twigs. His face gleamed in the tiny flicker of flames, intent on his work. The boy took something out of his pocket, and, as Chris glanced over, sprinkled something on top of the fire.
A loud bang caused his brothers to trip in surprise and fall over themselves. Chris jumped, heart speeding up, but the boy who’d caused the minor explosion only laughed gleefully, his face dirty now with ash and smoke.
Curiosity got the better of him, and Chris left his brothers to greet the boy. He and his family were new in the village, from all the way across the world, and Chris was intrigued by the prospect of someone to play with. Of course, Chris’s idea of playing was all competitive games in which the loser was ordered into servitude for a day. And Chris was never the loser.
He stood in front of the new boy, who looked up as the shadow fell across his work. “Hi,” Chris greeted him.
The boy shaded his eyes to stare up at him. “Hi.”
“I’m Chris,” he announced, holding his hand out to shake. The other boy grasped it, shaking it tightly.
“Ty.” The boy poked a stick in the fire, waving it around. His eyes were all for the fire.
“My mom says you’re from Kiwi land.” He paused thoughtfully. “Are there other kinds of fruit there too?”
Ty looked up at him again. The stick went out. “What’dyou think?”
Chris frowned angrily. He didn’t like the tone being used with him. “I dunno, it’s why I’m askin’,” he said defensively. His lower lip jutted out. “You talk funny.”
“So do you!” Ty retorted, his hands balling into fists.
“No, I don’t! Shut up!” Chris shoved his shoulders. Ty fell backwards, caught himself on his hands, and jumped up to shove him back.
“Yes you do! You asked if there was more fruit where I come from, you dummy!”
“How was I supposed to know? I never heard of no fruity place like that! I don’t like kiwis anyway!”
“It’s called Oceania, stupid! Your mom doesn’t know anything!”
“YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING YOU STUPID KIWI!” Chris screamed, and tackled him squarely. They fell on the sand together, punching and rolling and kicking and biting.
“GET OFF ME!” Ty yelled. “YOU BIG STUPID FREAK, GET OFF ME!”
They were pulled apart by their fathers, who apologized profusely to one another and scolded their children severely. Chris nursed a bloody lip, Ty sported a bloody nose. They grimaced at each other as they were forced to apologize.
* * *
Three days later, they befriended one another over the exciting discovery of a poisonous snake at the outskirts of the village. They took turns poking at it, and when Chris was bitten and screamed and cried, Ty helped him back to his house. It turned out the snake wasn’t poisonous at all, and Chris suffered nothing more than injured pride, but Ty quite nicely didn’t even make fun of him for crying. He even offered to go back and kill the snake for him, but Chris was still a little scared, and voted they do something else with their time.
They played with robot action figures a lot, and found they both had a love for machine work and a penchant for getting into trouble. They built their own go-carts and raced them around, lording it over when Josh and Kyle begged to try them out, and forced them into day-long servitude for every ten minutes they played in their go-carts.
It wasn’t long before they started using nicknames for each other. Chris’s little sister Miranda had been calling Chris ‘Kit’ since she had first learned to talk, and Ty took on using the nickname with relish. Chris, on the other hand, began using ‘Kiwi’ for Ty, a teasing reminder of their first meeting together.
Chris suggested that Ty marry his little sister, Miranda, so that they could be brothers. They held the service, putting a pillow case on Manda’s head and some dead weeds in her hands as a bouquet. Chris played the priest, but when he announced that Ty had to kiss the bride, Manda screamed and ran away, crying for fear of germs. Ty demanded a divorce.
They decided to become blood brothers instead, each carving an even-armed cross into their left forearms and pressing them together. They swore an oath to always be best friends and brothers forever, and to always look out for one another.
* * *
When they were fifteen, their relationship took an unusual turn. During the festivals, all the boys began finding themselves girls to dance with, and kiss if they were brave enough. Chris was one of the few boys who didn’t bother to play these childish romantic games, whereas Ty was probably the best at it. The first time Chris found Ty kissing a girl in secret during a festival, he threw a fit and refused to speak to him for days afterwards. Ty, as was his way, was completely clueless to what had triggered his friend’s reaction, and was more than willing to forget all about it when they finally started speaking again.
During their time of separation, Chris had had a lot to think about, and shared these thoughts with Ty one late night while they were camping. They went camping a lot during the summer nights, sleeping outside under the star-speckled skies, usually with a large bonfire courtesy of Ty.
Chris was lying on his stomach, watching Ty throw some more logs on the fire, wearing nothing more than a pair of canvas shorts. The other boy finally came over to flop down beside him, a little sweaty, smears of ashes on his face and arms, but pleased with his creation. Chris rolled onto his side to watch his friend.
“Hey Ty,” he began quietly, and Ty’s ears perked up. The few times Chris ever used his real name, instead of ‘Kiwi’, usually meant he was going to talk about something serious. “What d’you think sex is like?”
Ty thought it over, wiping his hand over his face. “Well, probably good. Otherwise people wouldn’t bother doing it, right?” His voice was perfectly reasonable.
“Yeah. Right.” Chris pulled up some dead grass. “I haven’t kissed a girl yet.”
His friend grinned at him. “You should try it, it’s fun.”
Shaking his head, Chris tossed the grass towards the fire. The breeze carried some of them towards the flames, others spiraled towards the ground. “I don’t like any of the girls.”
“Why not? That Elise girl, the pretty redheaded one from Meraukee, she likes you. Her friend told me, asked me if I could talk to you about her. I kinda forgot until now.” Ty shrugged sheepishly. It wasn’t hard to gather what had distracted him and made him forget.
“No, I-I don’t like girls,” Chris stammered. He did his best to hide his blush in the flickering firelight.
“What, at all?” Ty asked dumbly.
Chris shook his head, pushing himself up so that he could scoot closer to his friend. He placed a trembling hand on Ty’s chest. The other boy lay perfectly still, looking up at him in confusion. Chris had planned some things to say at this point, but they all fell out of his head, so he filled his mouth with Ty’s lips instead.
It wasn’t a very good kiss. Chris didn’t know where to put his nose, and he wasn’t sure what to do with his hands. Ty was too surprised and awkward to clue him in on what to do. Chris started to cry a little, and pulled away, hunching up so he could bury his face in his knees.
Ty sat up slowly. He watched his friend cluelessly, completely dumbfounded and having no idea of what to do next, or what to even think, but then ‘Chris’ and ‘crying’ came into his head, and he shook off his doubt. He came over to sit next to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulders.
“Hey, come on. Don’t do that,” he pleaded softly. “Don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying,” Chris’s muffled voice announced, his face still hidden.
Ty poked him sharply in the side. Chris yelped and straightened up, and his tear-stained face came into view. “Liar,” Ty murmured, wiping his cheeks dry. “Would it make you feel better if I showed you how to kiss?”
Chris hiccupped, considered it, and nodded.
So Ty kissed him. Not because he was particularly interested in Chris in a sexual way, but because it made Chris happy, and that made all the difference to Ty. He showed Chris what he’d learned so far with girls, things involving their tongues and the best places to put your hands. Chris proved to be a good student, and Ty thought it was actually sort of enjoyable teaching him.
They pulled their sleeping bags side by side so they could sleep close, arms and legs tangled, foreheads pressed together. A fox came out of a nearby wood to watch them, sleeping under the hazy moonlight. It wouldn’t be the last time.
'Verse: Psychomachia
Pairing: Chris/Ty
Rating: slash - soft
Author's Note: Currently, this is a two part series featuring Chris and Ty of Psychomachia, before they're hired as Keith's crew.
Three dirt-smudged boys raced each other across the heated sand, shouting and shoving. The dinner bell had rung, and none of them wanted to be the last one in-the last one had to wash the dishes. Chris was in front, as usual, the oldest and fastest among his brothers, sure-footed and strong for his eleven years. His brothers shoved at one another behind him, neck in neck to be second best.
Down the gravel street, a boy was playing on his own, setting fire to a pile of twigs. His face gleamed in the tiny flicker of flames, intent on his work. The boy took something out of his pocket, and, as Chris glanced over, sprinkled something on top of the fire.
A loud bang caused his brothers to trip in surprise and fall over themselves. Chris jumped, heart speeding up, but the boy who’d caused the minor explosion only laughed gleefully, his face dirty now with ash and smoke.
Curiosity got the better of him, and Chris left his brothers to greet the boy. He and his family were new in the village, from all the way across the world, and Chris was intrigued by the prospect of someone to play with. Of course, Chris’s idea of playing was all competitive games in which the loser was ordered into servitude for a day. And Chris was never the loser.
He stood in front of the new boy, who looked up as the shadow fell across his work. “Hi,” Chris greeted him.
The boy shaded his eyes to stare up at him. “Hi.”
“I’m Chris,” he announced, holding his hand out to shake. The other boy grasped it, shaking it tightly.
“Ty.” The boy poked a stick in the fire, waving it around. His eyes were all for the fire.
“My mom says you’re from Kiwi land.” He paused thoughtfully. “Are there other kinds of fruit there too?”
Ty looked up at him again. The stick went out. “What’dyou think?”
Chris frowned angrily. He didn’t like the tone being used with him. “I dunno, it’s why I’m askin’,” he said defensively. His lower lip jutted out. “You talk funny.”
“So do you!” Ty retorted, his hands balling into fists.
“No, I don’t! Shut up!” Chris shoved his shoulders. Ty fell backwards, caught himself on his hands, and jumped up to shove him back.
“Yes you do! You asked if there was more fruit where I come from, you dummy!”
“How was I supposed to know? I never heard of no fruity place like that! I don’t like kiwis anyway!”
“It’s called Oceania, stupid! Your mom doesn’t know anything!”
“YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING YOU STUPID KIWI!” Chris screamed, and tackled him squarely. They fell on the sand together, punching and rolling and kicking and biting.
“GET OFF ME!” Ty yelled. “YOU BIG STUPID FREAK, GET OFF ME!”
They were pulled apart by their fathers, who apologized profusely to one another and scolded their children severely. Chris nursed a bloody lip, Ty sported a bloody nose. They grimaced at each other as they were forced to apologize.
* * *
Three days later, they befriended one another over the exciting discovery of a poisonous snake at the outskirts of the village. They took turns poking at it, and when Chris was bitten and screamed and cried, Ty helped him back to his house. It turned out the snake wasn’t poisonous at all, and Chris suffered nothing more than injured pride, but Ty quite nicely didn’t even make fun of him for crying. He even offered to go back and kill the snake for him, but Chris was still a little scared, and voted they do something else with their time.
They played with robot action figures a lot, and found they both had a love for machine work and a penchant for getting into trouble. They built their own go-carts and raced them around, lording it over when Josh and Kyle begged to try them out, and forced them into day-long servitude for every ten minutes they played in their go-carts.
It wasn’t long before they started using nicknames for each other. Chris’s little sister Miranda had been calling Chris ‘Kit’ since she had first learned to talk, and Ty took on using the nickname with relish. Chris, on the other hand, began using ‘Kiwi’ for Ty, a teasing reminder of their first meeting together.
Chris suggested that Ty marry his little sister, Miranda, so that they could be brothers. They held the service, putting a pillow case on Manda’s head and some dead weeds in her hands as a bouquet. Chris played the priest, but when he announced that Ty had to kiss the bride, Manda screamed and ran away, crying for fear of germs. Ty demanded a divorce.
They decided to become blood brothers instead, each carving an even-armed cross into their left forearms and pressing them together. They swore an oath to always be best friends and brothers forever, and to always look out for one another.
* * *
When they were fifteen, their relationship took an unusual turn. During the festivals, all the boys began finding themselves girls to dance with, and kiss if they were brave enough. Chris was one of the few boys who didn’t bother to play these childish romantic games, whereas Ty was probably the best at it. The first time Chris found Ty kissing a girl in secret during a festival, he threw a fit and refused to speak to him for days afterwards. Ty, as was his way, was completely clueless to what had triggered his friend’s reaction, and was more than willing to forget all about it when they finally started speaking again.
During their time of separation, Chris had had a lot to think about, and shared these thoughts with Ty one late night while they were camping. They went camping a lot during the summer nights, sleeping outside under the star-speckled skies, usually with a large bonfire courtesy of Ty.
Chris was lying on his stomach, watching Ty throw some more logs on the fire, wearing nothing more than a pair of canvas shorts. The other boy finally came over to flop down beside him, a little sweaty, smears of ashes on his face and arms, but pleased with his creation. Chris rolled onto his side to watch his friend.
“Hey Ty,” he began quietly, and Ty’s ears perked up. The few times Chris ever used his real name, instead of ‘Kiwi’, usually meant he was going to talk about something serious. “What d’you think sex is like?”
Ty thought it over, wiping his hand over his face. “Well, probably good. Otherwise people wouldn’t bother doing it, right?” His voice was perfectly reasonable.
“Yeah. Right.” Chris pulled up some dead grass. “I haven’t kissed a girl yet.”
His friend grinned at him. “You should try it, it’s fun.”
Shaking his head, Chris tossed the grass towards the fire. The breeze carried some of them towards the flames, others spiraled towards the ground. “I don’t like any of the girls.”
“Why not? That Elise girl, the pretty redheaded one from Meraukee, she likes you. Her friend told me, asked me if I could talk to you about her. I kinda forgot until now.” Ty shrugged sheepishly. It wasn’t hard to gather what had distracted him and made him forget.
“No, I-I don’t like girls,” Chris stammered. He did his best to hide his blush in the flickering firelight.
“What, at all?” Ty asked dumbly.
Chris shook his head, pushing himself up so that he could scoot closer to his friend. He placed a trembling hand on Ty’s chest. The other boy lay perfectly still, looking up at him in confusion. Chris had planned some things to say at this point, but they all fell out of his head, so he filled his mouth with Ty’s lips instead.
It wasn’t a very good kiss. Chris didn’t know where to put his nose, and he wasn’t sure what to do with his hands. Ty was too surprised and awkward to clue him in on what to do. Chris started to cry a little, and pulled away, hunching up so he could bury his face in his knees.
Ty sat up slowly. He watched his friend cluelessly, completely dumbfounded and having no idea of what to do next, or what to even think, but then ‘Chris’ and ‘crying’ came into his head, and he shook off his doubt. He came over to sit next to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulders.
“Hey, come on. Don’t do that,” he pleaded softly. “Don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying,” Chris’s muffled voice announced, his face still hidden.
Ty poked him sharply in the side. Chris yelped and straightened up, and his tear-stained face came into view. “Liar,” Ty murmured, wiping his cheeks dry. “Would it make you feel better if I showed you how to kiss?”
Chris hiccupped, considered it, and nodded.
So Ty kissed him. Not because he was particularly interested in Chris in a sexual way, but because it made Chris happy, and that made all the difference to Ty. He showed Chris what he’d learned so far with girls, things involving their tongues and the best places to put your hands. Chris proved to be a good student, and Ty thought it was actually sort of enjoyable teaching him.
They pulled their sleeping bags side by side so they could sleep close, arms and legs tangled, foreheads pressed together. A fox came out of a nearby wood to watch them, sleeping under the hazy moonlight. It wouldn’t be the last time.