II. Two of Wands

Morning came quickly and brought another day of rain. Luke dragged himself from the bed to the kitchen. He chatted with the kitchen staff for a while before making the long trip up the north tower. When he reached the room at the top of the tower, he found Alan staring out toward the tiny window, watching the rain from the bed. He sat there in that dark space with only a single candle lit, quiet and near motionless. Luke put the plates on the table. He announced his presence. "Good morning, Alan." "Still not using my title. I'm not going to let that get to me." Alan looked over at him. Momentarily, a spark flickered in his lantern when their eyes met. "Good. Because it's silly to be concerned with that." Luke sat down on the bed. He took his shoes and cloak off. "What are you doing?" Alan asked. "I didn't get much sleep last night. Wake me up in about an hour or two." Luke pulled back the blanket and got under it. He closed his eyes. "I didn't give you permission to sleep in my bed." Alan said. "I never asked." "If you're going to sleep late, why do I need to get up early? You could have come later with breakfast." Alan asked. 'So he doesn't know all of his father's requirements. Interesting.' Luke rolled over and looked up at Alan. "Then go back to sleep. But your breakfast will be cold if you do. Eat and go back to sleep." Alan didn't respond to him. He heard Alan get up from the bed. The sound of the rain outside drifted him into a light sleep. He had a hazy dream about a cottage by a seaside cliff. Alan ate at a table, discussing something with him while he watched the sun rise from a window twice the size of the one in the tower. Alan's return to the bed woke him up. "What were you up to last night?" Alan asked him, getting underneath the blanket in the space beside him. "I'll tell you after I wake up again." Luke said, though he was not quite sure whether he was asleep or awake. Alan made himself comfortable in the bed. He shared the bed's sole pillow with Luke. "It feels warmer in here." "Of course it does." Luke said. The warmth Alan added made him want to sleep even more. He wanted to hold Alan close to steal his body heat. "It's always been so cold in here." Alan said. "You can request more blankets." "Then...others sleep with more? I assumed this was all I was supposed to need." Alan's eyes widened. "You can sleep with as many as you want. I'll bring you more tomorrow." Luke said. He looked at Alan, barely able to keep his eyes open. Alan's face was not far from his own, but Alan kept his arms in close to his body. He gazed at Luke intensely. Luke grinned. "You want me to hold you?" "That's indecent." Alan's face lit up. He turned over to face the window. "Your loss." Luke moved over slightly closer to him to tempt him with his warmth. Alan pulled the blanket up higher. He spoke softly. "If you held me...it doesn't have to be more than that, right?" Luke laughed under his breath. "You're the one in charge here. It can go as far as you want." Alan glanced back at him, face redder than before. "Could you...um...nevermind..." "Do you want me to hold you?" Luke asked. Alan nodded. He was looking away from Luke, but Luke could tell he was blushing even more. Luke stretched out his arms, slipping one underneath Alan's waist. "Come here." "You're...not going to hurt me, are you?" Alan's body tensed. "What would I do that for?" Luke asked. "I'm trying to sleep. That's all." Alan pressed his body against Luke. Gradually, Alan relaxed. He put his hand over Luke's and closed his eyes. "This feels nice." "Do you like it? We can do this whenever you want." Luke said with his eyes closed. "Do you like it?" Alan asked back. Luke nuzzled his face against Alan's neck. "I don't do it often, but I like it." "A long time ago...my first caretaker used to hold me when I went to sleep. That was when I was really small. Is it alright for adults to do this?" Alan asked. "Of course." Luke struggled to stay awake. "I'll answer more of your questions when I wake up." Luke drifted back into sleep. The scent of Alan's hair lingered in his mind. In his dream, he was holding someone else. A man with raven hair, dressed in red, rested in his arms. He caressed that man's face and asked him, 'Why aren't you here?' The man in red opened his mouth to answer Luke. Before he could speak, he faded away into mist. Luke woke from the dream agitated, but the memory of the dream itself quickly faded. Alan slept peacefully in his arms. He brushed back Alan's hair. "You're quite lonely, aren't you? You met me yesterday and here we are. I can't blame you. I'd be desperate for any touch if I were trapped in these walls every day." Alan stirred in his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. Alan opened his eyes. "You've woken. How did you sleep?" "I had a dream, but now I've forgotten it." Luke said. "Sleeping was nicer than usual." Alan said. "Oh, really?" "You're really warm." Alan stayed close. "It's always so cold in here." "It'll be even warmer when I show you what else we could do in bed." Luke whispered to him suggestively. "You're so indecent." Alan's face went red. "I haven't said I wanted to do that with you just yet." "Oh, then I must have misinterpreted things. My apologies. I'll make a note to never ask you about such things ever again." Luke said to test Alan's reaction. "I didn't..." Alan's face was so red Luke didn't think it was possible for it to get any redder. He stumbled through his words. "That's not what I...I've only known you two days!" "Calm yourself. I'm only teasing you. I'm not going to force you into anything, nor deny you anything. You can have me whenever you're ready. I know you want to." Luke played with Alan's hair. "What makes you think I want it that badly?" Alan asked, his eyes full of hunger. "You're a man, not a young boy. That's why. When you were in my arms, you wanted more then, didn't you? Don't be ashamed. Plenty would take that opportunity with someone they just met. There's nothing odd about that." Luke added. "And you know I'm quite willing to satisfy you in that regard. That makes it very appealing, doesn't it? How long have you wished for someone to hold you? That's why you didn't throw me out." Alan sat up. "I don't intend to do that before I've had my first kiss. And you misunderstand me. The reason I didn't fire you is because you made me angry yesterday, and I refuse to let you boss me around. I may be a prisoner, but I am still a prince." Luke laughed. "You certainly are, with that attitude." Alan got up from the bed. He walked over to the table. "But I...I do intend to sleep with you at some point. I will make that clear. If you're only teasing me and don't plan on following through on your words, say it now." Luke was taken aback at Alan's honesty. He laughed again. "Oh, I'll certainly follow through on that. You're really cute, you know." Alan sat down in one of the chairs, his face red. "Anyway, I have no intentions of firing you. Please, eat lunch with me." Luke got up from the bed. He grinned, considering Alan's confession a personal victory. Before he reached the table, he remembered something. "Oh, I brought the cards. Do you want to see them?" "Yes, please." Alan stared at him again, wide-eyed. Luke sat across from him at the table. He handed Alan the deck of cards. "Here." Alan looked through the deck. "They're beautiful...someone painted each of these cards for you?!" "Yes, it took a while to complete. I paid the artist a lot of money for it." Luke fixed himself a plate of food. "Really, I'm amazed it's still in such good condition, given the places I've taken it." Alan's excitement waned when he got to a specific card. "Even here, there's a tower." "I get that card a lot. I swear, it's following me." Luke said, laughing. Then, he stopped. He felt a chill down his spine as he looked around at his surroundings. "Huh. That makes some sense now." Alan sifted through the rest of the cards. He put them down to finish his lunch. After lunch, Luke explained the rules of the game to Alan. He adjusted the rules slightly to accommodate their lack of two other players. "What should I bet?" Alan asked. "Let's not bet anything yet. You've never played before. We'll wait to do that until you really understand how to play. I'd practically be cheating otherwise." Luke said. "Alright...but when that time comes, what should I bet?" "Hmmm, how about your first kiss?" Luke joked. "I don't want to bet anything like that. Besides, that hardly makes sense as a loss for me." Alan blushed deeply. He cleared his throat and pushed the deck over to Luke to shuffle. "Anyway, let's play." Luke kept his amusement to himself. "Very well." The two of them played for an hour. Alan lost every time. "Did you have fun?" Luke asked. "Yes, but I don't know if I'll ever be good enough to beat you." Alan sighed. He put his cards with the rest of the deck. "You need more practice. That's all." "How was your night? Did you find someone to stay the night with?" Alan asked. "Didn't go out. Too wet." "Oh. How did you spend the rest of your night?" "Went straight to bed. What about you?" Luke asked. "I stared at the walls until I fell asleep." "You're joking, right?" "I have a hard time sleeping. I spend a lot of nights like that. And, well...it's usually cold in here at night." Alan's eyes became dull. Luke felt the chilly air gliding over his skin. He imagined how long, empty, and cold Alan's nights must be. A stinging pain pierced Luke's chest. "I'll get some more blankets for you. Do you want me to hold you again?" "But I am not tired right now." Alan said. "We don't have to be sleeping to do that." Luke said. He motioned for Alan to follow him back to bed. "Besides, it'll keep us both warmer." "I feel as though you have ulterior motives." Alan narrowed his eyes. "I want to touch you. Is that what you want me to say?" Luke said with a smirk. "We can do that again, but no further than what we did earlier. And this time, I'll hold you." Alan closed his eyes and turned his head away, with a voice full of confidence and red decorating his face. "Oh? As you wish." Luke took the prince's hand and led him to bed. Alan lay on his back. He pulled Luke down to rest against his chest. He put his arms around Luke. Luke didn't usually allow anyone to put him in a position like that. It made him more vulnerable. But the prince was harmless, and he found the request enticing when it came from Alan. He listened closely to Alan's racing heartbeat. Gradually, Alan's heartbeat slowed down to a steady, calm rhythm. "No one's ever really suggested doing the sorts of things you do." Alan stared up at the ceiling. "They'd give me food and water for my bath, and then ignore me. Well, the ones after Lady Violet." "Your father mentioned her to me. She was your caretaker for a long time, right?" Luke asked. He looked up at Alan. "I hated her. She didn't treat me like a ghost. For her, I was a criminal. Everything I did was always wrong." Alan said. Luke heard Alan's heart beat a little faster. Alan took hold of Luke's hand. "You said before I must be lonely and desperate. That's why I let you stay." "Those weren't my exact words." Luke said. "You're lonely too, aren't you?" Alan ran his fingers through Luke's hair. "That's why you're doing this with me." 'Where did he learn to behave like this?' Heat rose in Luke's face. He rejected Alan's claim. "I'm fine." "Have you come to mock me?" Alan asked. "What?" "Do you intend to break me?" Alan's heart raced. "No." Alan glanced to the side. "You said earlier..." "Alan." Luke sat up. He caressed Alan's cheek. "Calm down. I don't have any deep intentions. Your father sent me here, you won't fire me, and I'm too stubborn to quit. I'm not going to leave." "What do you mean?" Alan asked. "You told me to quit. I won't, because you told me to. Then, you win." Luke half-heartedly smiled at him. Alan laughed. His strange mood left him. Alan sat up. "Can I touch you more?" Luke laughed with him. "Go ahead. Do whatever you want. Where did you want to touch me?" Alan faced Luke. He leaned in close, getting between Luke's legs. He slipped his hands around Luke's waist, then further back and down. Alan's face turned deep red. "Should I undress for you?" Luke asked. "No." Alan looked up at him. "Lay on your back." Luke did as Alan asked. He spread his legs out to tempt him further. Alan felt over Luke's chest. He moved next to Luke's thighs, his curiosity causing him to linger over every space he touched. Then, he surprised Luke. He felt over the front of Luke's pants. Luke watched Alan as the prince explored his body. He noticed that Alan was getting very excited by all the touching, and he was too. Alan stopped. "I'm sorry." Alan moved away from him. He covered his face. Luke bit down on his lip. His body felt hot. He wanted more. Flustered and frustrated, he sat up and asked. "What's wrong?" "I shouldn't have done that. That's dirty. I barely know you..." Alan said. Luke could see how red his face was through the spaces between Alan's fingers. "I offered to do things like that with you. You don't need to be ashamed." Luke's words were half meant to comfort Alan and half out of lust. He sat up and put his arms around Alan. Alan's face went a deeper red. He uncovered his face and put his arms around Luke's waist. Cautiously, he leaned in against Luke. "I'm sorry...I don't know why I did that. We've only just met. I've never...I don't know why I...My body feels strange." "What do you mean?" Luke asked, petting Alan's hair. "Before you came here, I mostly thought about dying. Now, my head is filled with dirty thoughts." Alan grabbed hold of Luke's shirt. "It's your fault. I can't stop thinking about it. It's constant. My body feels like it's on fire." Luke's body reacted strongly to those words. He grinned and said. "What a compliment. Thank you." Alan looked up at him in confusion. "You are so strange." "Am I?" Luke played with Alan's hair. "Aren't dirty thoughts much better than ones about dying? You like touching me, don't you? I'll tell you why you can't stop." "Why?" "Because you're not thinking about dying, that's why." Luke said. Alan stared deep into Luke's eyes. "I'm afraid of you." "Why?" "I don't understand what's happening to me." Alan said. "Nothing is happening to you. Nothing bad, anyway." Luke pulled Alan back down onto the bed. "Tomorrow, I'll bring you more blankets and some nice pillows. An some better food too. We can play with the cards again. Maybe you'll let me kiss you." Akan pulled the blanket over them. He closed his eyes. "I'm starting to think you're not real. I've been abandoned up here and I've gone mad." "What makes you think that?" Alan didn't answer Luke's question. "If I have gone mad, then I suppose I should ask for nice things. I want a blanket made of fur. I want thick socks. I want incense to burn." "Incense?" Alan spoke softly. "My first caretaker, Lizzie, used to burn incense on Sundays because she couldn't go to church anymore. She would have me pray with her by the window with a big candle lit and incense burning." "What happened to Lizzie?" Luke asked. "I don't know. She tucked me in one night and kissed me goodbye on the forehead. The next morning, Lady Violet showed up. She wouldn't say where Lizzie went." Alan lowered his voice. "She's dead, isn't she?" Luke was silent for a moment. He answered. "Most likely. If she adored you, your father probably had her killed out of fear she would free you." Tears fell from Alan's face. "Why am I here? What did I do wrong?" Luke wiped the tears away. "Nothing. Your father is the one who's really mad." "If I leave, he'll kill me. Won't he?" Alan asked. "He'll try to. Escaping wouldn't be easy, either..." Luke said. "The castle is heavily guarded and you'd need money to survive. It'd be difficult to leave alone." "I suppose I really will be here forever." Alan said. Luke looked down at the man in his arms. They had met only yesterday. Somehow, in that small amount of time, Alan had managed to get him to behave in a way only two others ever had. He didn't feel in control of himself anymore. He wanted to drown himself in alcohol and quick, half-hearted pleasures. When he looked at Alan closely, he saw fire and James's face. He had nothing to look forward to, and no reason to risk his life for anything. "You could always order me to help you escape." Luke said. Alan's eyes widened. He gave Luke a strange look. "What did you say?" "Why not? Use me." Luke leaned in and kissed Alan. "Your father ordered me to give you whatever you wanted." 'Except love and freedom.' Luke thought. But he had no intentions of telling Alan about that. Alan put his hand up to his lips to feel where Luke had touched him. "Are you a devil here to break my heart?" "I am a devil. And I have broken many hearts. I might break yours." Luke looked out at the storm beyond the window. "Some people say I'm an incubus." "So what would you be getting out of this?" Alan asked, heart racing. "I don't want to be trapped here. Neither do you." Luke got up from the bed. "Let's leave here and never return. You can part ways with me afterwards, if you want. It's not like there's any reason for me to stay here. I'm not even from this kingdom. I only came here because I was running away from something else." "What were you running from?" Luke laughed under his breath. "Nothing you should need to know about, dear prince. What do you say, Alan? Should I set you free?" Alan rose from the bed. "Why would you do this for me?" "I don't know. Maybe I'm mad too." Luke sighed. "When can we leave?" Alan asked. "Not tonight." Luke looked Alan over. "Not for a while. If we do run into trouble escaping, you're not even in a good condition to defend yourself. I'll need to come up with an escape route and sort out when would be the safest time to leave. We'll need supplies and money on hand too." "What do you mean I'm not in a good condition to leave?" Luke held up Alan's left arm. "The guards aren't as strong as me, but I know maidservants who would overpower you. You've got no muscle on you. You don't know how to fight or use any weapons. I'll need to train you." "But won't my father get suspicious if you bring weapons up here?" "He will. Which means I'll have to think of alternative ways to teach you those things." Luke rubbed his chin. He had a lot to plan out. "For now, we should continue on with your father's wishes. He wanted me to entertain you. I'll fulfill your requests while I work out how to get us both out of here." Alan's eyes lit up. "You'll really help me escape...You're not tricking me, are you?" "I would never do something that cruel." Luke grinned. "We've only just met. Why would you...?" Alan started to ask. Luke silenced him with another kiss. When he pulled away, their eyes met. Luke saw that fiery vision again. "I don't know. Being around you makes me feel strange." Alan put his arms around Luke's neck. He initiated the kiss this time. "You also make me feel strange. Everything in me feels strange. My mind, my body, my heart..." They kissed again. Then many times more on the bed. Luke attempted to take things further. Alan stopped him from taking his shirt off. He started to regain his senses. Embarrassment washed over him. "I-I'm sorry...I got carried away." Alan's face flushed. "I can't believe I kissed you. So soon..." Luke laughed. He sensed a haziness in his own mind fading. "Sorry. I've taken your first kiss already." Alan covered his face. "At this rate, you'll have me naked by tomorrow. What's wrong with me?" Luke liked the thought of that. "Naked by tomorrow? I can't wait." Alan peeked through his fingers. "Are you really going to free me?" "I'm going to try. Probably not my wisest decision, but...well, I've done plenty of stupid things in my life that could've gotten me killed. At least this time it would be for something worthwhile." Luke wasn't sure if he could keep that promise. He wasn't certain why he made it in the first place. For a moment, though, his mind wans't filled with pain and sadness. Luke entertained Alan for the rest of the day. He made a list of items to bring the next morning. In addition to items for the bed, the incense, and warm socks, Luke had convinced Alan to try a number of different foods. Alan had never had meat, eggs, or any sort of deserts before. He kissed Alan goodbye before leaving for the night. Luke visited the cook first. He told him what he wanted made, then went about finding servants who could get him the other items. Excited to see Alan's reaction, Luke went straight to bed after he finished making arrangements for everything. As he lie in bed, the events of the day finally sunk in. Did he really promise a man he barely knew he would run away with at risk of execution? 'What the hell am I doing?' Luke asked himself. He stared out the window. The storm had broke. The moon shone down on him as the clouds parted. 'Sounds like something you'd do. Is that what you did?' The room was silent. He laughed at himself, tears falling. Luke got up to get a glass of wine to help him sleep. He downed the glass, then another, and another. He dragged himself back to bed and finally fell asleep. In his dream, he was still in bed, but it was morning. A man with raven hair sat on the bed. The black-haired man put his hand on Luke's forehead. 'You don't need to worry over me.' The man said. 'I'm alright now.' Luke opened his eyes and looked at the man. He pulled him down against himself. 'You're a liar. You're dead. My mind is making me see you to give me false hope.' The man with raven hair pulled the blankets off of Luke and straddled him. 'Do you really think I'd die so easily? Do you really think I'd let Death take Robin from me?' Luke put his hands on the man's waist. 'All humans can die. The real you wouldn't ever put himself in this position with me.' The man leaned down and whispered in Luke's ear. 'But this is a dream. It doesn't count as cheating.' 'You definitely wouldn't say that. God, what's wrong with me?' Luke hated himself for dreaming such a thing. The man went in for a kiss. Disgusted with himself, Luke leaned in anyway. Everything inside him hurt. When their lips met, he wasn't himself. His body had changed to that of his older brother, the raven haired man's actual lover. Luke woke up in a cold sweat. His heart was pounding in his ears. The moon illuminiated the mist rising around his bed. A cold breeze went through his room. He looked over. His window was open. He was certain it was closed before he turned in. Luke got up to close it and went back to sleep. When he woke again in the morning, he didn't remember having any other dreams. The first dream wouldn't leave his mind. He did his best to bury it with other thoughts. When Luke went to the kitchen to get everything, he had even more to carry than he expected. Today was Sunday, Alan's bath day. The cook and servants had a good laugh at watching Luke carry all the items, the food, and several buckets of water to the tower. By the time Luke reached the top of the tower, he was exhausted. He would show Alan the items and food later. The first thing he needed to take of care was the bath. Luke quickly filled up the metal tub. His body ached from carrying the water up those long stairs. Luke pulled the blanket off of Alan. "Get up. Today's bath day. Unless you want to bathe in cold water, you better get in here right now." Alan rubbed his eyes. "Is it Sunday already?" "Unfortunately. On the bright side, this does give me an excuse to not be in church." Luke touched the water. It was still very warm. "I've never been to church, but I hear such pretty singing from here. You dislike going?" Alan asked. "I never go unless I'm dragged there." Luke said. "Come on. The water's ready." Alan stared at him. "Are you not going to leave?" "What for?" Luke asked. "Usually, my other caretakers leave when I bathe." Alan said. Luke looked at him strangely. "Are you shy or something?" "I thought that was how it was." Alan said. "I'm not going back down those steps just so you can bathe unless you order me to. Actually, this tub is pretty big. I wouldn't mind a bath myself." Luke dipped his hand in the water again. With how much his body ached, a warm bath sounded nice. "People bathe together?" Alan asked. "Quite often. Private baths are a luxury. Well, are you getting in?" Luke started to strip. He tossed his shirt to the ground. "You're not going to ask my permission?" Alan watched him. "If you don't want to bathe with me, then you can get in when I'm done. But the water will be cold by then." Luke removed his shoes. "Very well. I'll bathe with you." Alan got off the bed. Luke was naked by now. Alan looked over Luke's body, comparing every part of them. He stared most intently at the place between Luke's legs. Luke noticed he was staring at him. "Something wrong?" "I've never seen another man naked before." Alan said. "The few men who've cared for me would only drop off my food and water, then leave for the day. I've only ever bathed with a woman before, when I was really little. That woman who my father sent to seduce me undressed for me too." "See anything you didn't expect?" Luke joked. "You're smaller than me." A hint of red rose in Luke's cheeks. He got in the water to hide himself. "That doesn't matter when it's like this." "Does yours get a lot bigger? Mine doesn't." Alan had no idea why Luke was offended. He started to undress. "That varies between men. No one's the same. Let me see." Luke compared. In another situation, he might complement him or hit on him, but Luke couldn't bring himself to flirt with Alan after the comment about his own size. "Well, I see why you don't change much. I can't know for sure without seeing it up, but I'd say you're probably average in that regards." "Oh, I was worried I was too big to be normal." Alan got in the water with him. "You would hardly find a man who complains about his being bigger than average." "Why's that?" "Don't worry about that." Luke sunk deeper into the water. He listened to the rain outside. Night had given him a reprieve from the stormy weather, but it had returned once again by sunrise. Alan kept his distance from Luke, but he moved slightly closer. Luke could feel Alan's eyes on him. Luke asked, "What is it now?" "Did you bring all the water up at once?" Alan asked. "Yes, why?" "My other caretakers always took several trips. You must be very strong. The water's never this warm." Alan said. "It was more stubbornness than strength. I wasn't going to take those steps that many times, especially in this weather." Luke closed his eyes. The steam rising from the water felt good on his face. The water moved. Luke opened one eye. Alan was further away, and the water glowed. When Alan noticed Luke was looking at him, the glowing stopped. Luke sat up. "What was that?" "Oh, that. That always happens when I touch metal." "Look, if I concentrate..." The water glowed a bright purple. "You can affect things touching metal too? How did you learn to do magic like that?" Luke was impressed. "I don't remember when I first started doing that. I could as long as I could remember. Lady Violet always yelled at me about it." Alan commented. "Can you stop this or does it always do this?" Luke asked. "No. I can make it appear as though nothing is happening by making the light unseen, but I can still feel it." Alan motioned for Luke to look around the room. "You probably didn't notice, but few things in this room are made of metal." "Huh, I didn't notice." Luke said. A thought came to him. "I'd like to see what you can do to a blade. Can you manipulate the metal?" Alan put his hand on the edge of the tub. The spot glowed as it morphed. From that place, metal rose up and twisted into the shape of roses. "Amazing!" Luke touched the delicate, metal flowers. He had never seen such intricate work before. "We should test what you can do with this. This could help us escape. At the very least, we could certainly use this to make money." "Do you think people would pay for things like this?" Alan asked. "Yes. A bigger piece and you could make quite a lot of money. Hmm...but if we drew too much attention to ourselves, that could also be bad. At least, until we can get far enough away. Maybe if you only sold small pieces...Hmmm..." While Luke was planning things out, Alan noticed the pile of items on the floor. "What's all that?" "Oh, I brought all the things you wanted. We should go back to bed after this. Then you can finally sleep like a prince." Luke stretched. He yawned. "I informed the cook to not prep all your food at once. I'll go back down for your other meals later, so all your food will be warm today." "Thank you, Luke." Alan's eyes watered. He blushed as he kissed Luke on the cheek. Alan's gaze turned downward. "How much bigger does yours get?" Luke blushed. "Back to that, huh? About two inches or so." "Really? So...how many inches is that in total?" Alan asked. "Does it matter?" "I'm just curious." Luke didn't want to answer, but he did know. One drunken night, he got into an argument with a man he wanted to have sex with about who was bigger. They agreed to measure each other and whoever was the bigger of the two would get oral sex from the other. Luke knew himself to be quite average, but he often found that the louder a man proclaimed his penis to be, the smaller it was. He felt confident he would win the competition, and did. "Five and a half." "Huh...You know, I've never thought to measure mine. What's average for a man?" Alan looked down between his own legs. "It varies a lot." "Really? What's the smallest and largest size?" "I don't know." Luke looked away from Alan. Alan leaned against Luke, laughing. "What?" "You're blushing." Alan grinned. Luke's face was deep red. "I am not. My face is red from the heat." Alan laughed again. "You've been flirting with me all this time, but talking about this embarrasses you? Why would that be?" Luke splashed water at him. "Take your bath." Alan covered his mouth as he laughed. "I don't really care about this, you know." "Of course you don't." Luke pushed back some. "So, tell me, how much bigger does yours get? Show me with your hands." "Hmm...How much..." Alan looked down at himself and then made an estimate with his hands. "It's gets about...around this big." Luke's mouth hung open. "Uh...are you sure you're not overestimating?" "I don't think so...I can try measuring it some time, but I think this is about right." Alan panicked. "Is...is that bad? is there something wrong with me?" "No, there's nothing wrong with that. That's just a little...bigger than I expected." Luke downplayed his real thoughts. 'My god, he's huge.' Alan didn't know much about the outside world, but Luke's reactions told him quite a bit of amusing information. After the bath and breakfast, the two of them headed back to bed to enjoy the new blankets and pillows. Luke lit some incense. He didn't care for the scent. It reminded him of being stuck at church. But it made Alan happy. For that reason, he would endure the uncomfortable scent. Alan slept comfortably in Luke's arms. Today was the third day they had spoken to each other. Their closeness didn't make sense, Luke thought. All of his actions didn't make any sense. He wasn't the type to get close to people, and certainly not in a romantic way. Since he came into the tower, something had changed in him. He felt he was being pulled by forces he couldn't escape. Alan was a stranger. Alan felt more familiar to him than anyone he had ever met before. After what happened with the last man he fell in love with, he didn't intend to go down that path ever again. 'I'm not in love.' Luke reminded himself as he pulled Alan closer. 'I'm never falling in love again.' "Luke...I feel strange." Alan, briefly waking, said. "I do too." "You're beautiful." Alan whispered as he drifted off back into sleep. "Don't leave me..." Luke kissed him on the forehead. "You're the one who will throw me away once you're free. No one wants me." Alan couldn't hear him. He was too deep in sleep. Luke closed his eyes and hoped he would not dream. III. Nine of Pentacles