Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2014 00:37:47 -0700
From: Durriken Homewood <rainbowshadows@gmail.com>
Subject: Beneath the Sycamore, Chapter 1

Beneath the Sycamore Chapter 1
(C) 2014 Durriken Homewood
All Rights Reserved

This story may not be reproduced in whole or in part without author's
permission.  The author grants the Nifty Archive a non-exclusive,
worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, and non-cancellable license to display
this work.

This story is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to persons, living or
dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. They are a
product of the author's imagination, or used fictitiously.

-Chapter 1-

   Dusk had narrowed to a needle's eye, slipping through it the first
threads of night to be sewn onto the fabric of the world. A low thrum of
anticipation coiled in the soft summer breeze, carried on suburban scents
of barbeque, fabric softener, clipped grass and hose water. It was Friday,
and the entire neighborhood, from crickets, dogs, cats, all the way up to
the human inhabitants, knew that a distant change was sweeping closer; a
new pattern preparing to be stitched.

   Jeremy felt it like a cool serpent slithering into his stomach and
taking root there, a thing of beauty and fear. He heard it in the slowing
of the insect symphony, and the lack of children's voices carrying past the
twilight hours. He smelled it in the plastic spike of new shoes, the brush
of new clothes with the tags still attached. Even his home had acceded to
the change, floorboards creaking, ceiling settling, walls groaning as last
minute plans were rushed into action.

   Everyone said he had nothing to be worried about, that the transition
from middle school to high school was much the same as the promotion from
elementary. He wanted to believe them too, his Mother and Father, his elder
brother Aaron, and Aaron's many friends. His instincts told him that it was
different though; that he would be told there was nothing to worry about if
there was not, in fact, something to be worried about.

   He had taken to sitting outside for long stretches of time to escape the
terrible sense of the unknown, tucking himself on a bench in the back yard
beneath an old sycamore tree. There, he could lose himself in thought and
memory and fantasy, casting his mind back to the early days of summer break
where carefree bike rides turned into pleas for car rides to the mall, to
the movies, to places he now felt old enough to go.

   Old enough. That was a phrase being thrown around a lot lately, like it
would start attracting money to it any moment now. He was old enough to
stay home alone; old enough to wander the packed corridors of shopping
centers without hanging off his Mother's skirts, or shadowing Aaron's
movements. Old enough to keep his room clean without being reminded.

   His parents had harped on him about that last one for as far as his
memory reached back. They had started to throw in the bit about being old
enough more recently. It was Aaron's contribution to the conversation,
given in typical big brother fashion, that had struck upon a deep, oaken
chord within him, a guitar string of emotion that had hitherto remained
unplucked.

   "What if you bring a girl home?" he had offered, hovering at the
threshold of Jeremy's room as he made a dent into the rug of dirty clothes
to reveal the blue gray carpet beneath. "Do you think she'd want to hang
out in here?"

   Girls, the corollary of which was dating and, what Aaron had hinted at,
sex. What girl, Aaron had really been saying, would want to have sex in a
room that was one chunk of loose masonry away from being declared a
disaster zone? The question had taken a ride on the merry-go-round in the
back of his mind as he had cleaned. Other thoughts joined that one, bobbing
up and down into the forefront of his consciousness and then receding again
as they looped into the back; thoughts about sex, about bodies, about lips
and kissing. About experience; attraction.

   After dinner, he had withdrawn to the bench, withdrawn within, isolating
himself to explore these new ideas that seemed to be at the crux of the
change, the pivot point upon which it all balanced. On one side, there was
the sexual issues. On the other, the urge to giggle whenever he heard, or
thought about naughtiness.

   The back door thumping shut drew him out of his head and into the
present. Though dark, his big brother's silhouette was so familiar that
Jeremy's brain felt safe enough to partially detach, splitting his
attention into equal halves, one focused within, the other out.

   As was common in the summer months when he was at home, Aaron was
shirtless, his long, lean torso catching the weak embers of light
sprinkling down from the house behind him at just the right angles to
emphasize the cut of his abdomen and chest muscles, the subtle bulges at
his arms, the grooves of his collar bones. He flipped a triangle of hair
out of his eyes before his heavy gaze fell on Jeremy, curled with his feet
on the seat, his knees tucked to his chest, and arms wrapped around his
legs.

   "You ever coming back in?" he asked, looming over Jeremy.

   The serpent in Jeremy's belly stretched and rolled over, as though
basking in the glow that was Aaron's sunshine. It was a strange, untangling
sensation that left him feeling roomy, open to invasion. Beneath him, the
wooden boards dipped and complained as Aaron sat in the open space, knees
wide, chest open, head thrown back to consider the stars forming in the
sky. One hand rested on his thigh, disturbing the light bouncing off of the
shimmery fabric of his basketball shorts.

   A breeze whispered along the elder youth's skin, carrying the scent of
his body wash and fruity shampoo to Jeremy's nose. He breathed it deep into
his lungs, eyes flicking of their own accord to the front of Aaron's
shorts, tasting the maroon material draped over his crotch.

   His brother was not wearing underwear, and the loose fit of the shorts
precluded him from seeing anything substantial hidden there. The idea that
there was something hidden there though, ignited a coal always smoldering
in him these days. Trapped between his legs and his body, Jeremy's groin
clenched and tightened, making the position too uncomfortable to continue
in. He righted himself on the bench, giving the inner leg of his jeans a
quick tug to free up some room for his growing prick.

   "Can I ask you something?"

   "I already told you," Aaron sighed, not looking at him, "our lockers
will be right next to each other, and you already know where all of your
classes are, and yes, I'll give you rides to and from school."

   Jeremy rolled his eyes. It had been at least a day since he had asked
anything about school, or sought reassurance from his big brother. With the
school year almost on top of them now, he had come to peace with the
promises Aaron made.

   "It's not that," he said.

   "If it's about Mom and Dad leaving, they'll be back before school
starts, and I'm not going to ride your ass about your room while they're
gone either."

   "Hey! I've kept my room spotless for a week!"

   Aaron turned a grin to him. "Did you do your laundry?"

   He thought of the overflowing basket of clothes by his bedroom
door. "Tomorrow," he promised and then, realizing he was being led off
track, added, "So, can I ask you?"

   Sliding forward so that his neck was supported by the back piece of the
bench, Aaron resumed his star gazing. "Shoot, little bro. Ask me anything
you want. But first, which constellation is that?" He pointed up at the
sky.

   Jeremy followed his finger. "Cygnus."

   "How do you remember that?" Aaron wondered aloud. "I can remember Orion,
the Big Dipper, but the rest are just dots."

   Jeremy shrugged in reply. Space was one of his favorite subjects; had
been since he was a little kid learning the names of the planets. But the
answer he wanted was not up there, and he pulled his gaze down to the
house, then to his lap, heaving a sigh. He sat a moment in silence,
collecting his thoughts while the elder teen beside him smiled at the sky.

   "Aaron?" he said and swallowed past the lump in his throat.

   "Yeah?"

   Aaron dipped his hand toward his crotch, manipulating his shorts'
contents with unabashed disregard, digging deep enough to give Jeremy a
hint of what was kept there. The last light in the house winked out,
draping deeper shadows around them. Their parents were heading to bed.

   The added layer of darkness wrapping around the bench gave him a boost
of confidence. The atmosphere was intimate, respecting what needed to be
said without judging it.

   "Do...do you ever, you know...check out other guys' packages?"

   There! He said it. The question had been asked and now he could send
that thought packing, to make room on the merry-go-round.

   Aaron laughed, pulled Jeremy against his warm body and held him there,
tucked beneath his wing. The scent of his recent shower was still strong,
but beneath it, Jeremy detected a musky spice; an aroma of maleness that
coursed into his skin and ran down the length of his body.

   "Everyone does, bro," Aaron chuckled. "Whether they admit it or not. Are
you afraid someone's going to check you out and make fun of your junk?"

   Relief, though welcome, was short lived. The ease with which Aaron
acknowledged the act had the banter of the locker room dripping from every
word.

   "I mean, like...on purpose. You know? Like, in class or...or
wherever. Like, when guys get boners..."

   Aaron stopped laughing and, for a heartbeat, he seemed to stop
breathing. He pushed himself into an attentive, erect pose, turned to
Jeremy and studied him in the darkness.

   "Do you do that?"

   Jeremy's face burned. He nodded, as though his silence could shield him
from his own admission, from the crushing sense of wrongness dancing up and
down on his chest, choking tears from his eyes. He collapsed forward onto
Aaron's chest, fearing his brother would turn him away in disgust, fearing
he wouldn't.

   "Okay," Aaron comforted, smoothing a hand down Jeremy's back. "It's
okay..."

   * * *

   Aaron had not cuddled with Jeremy since they were kids. Hugged, ruffled
his hair, a thousand little touches to demonstrate the bonds of fraternal
affection, sure; he did the same sorts of things with his friends. But
cuddling, that was different; intimate as opposed to friendly, tender
rather than brotherly. It was an act he reserved for girls, a way to share
himself and show them that he was not just after the hot, silken folds
between their legs. Jeremy starved for it though, the needy hunger so deep
and painful that it had doused the light that quickened in his eyes,
robbing him of the vital nutrition necessary to function as a young man
entering the world of high school. Given his younger brother's admission,
Aaron doubted Jeremy would be finding any soft of comfort in a girl's soft
curves sheltering against him; he was the one in need of shelter.

   Jeremy's tears had stirred the instinct, and Aaron had reacted to them
much as he would have if a girl had come to him in a similar state of
sadness. He had not been expecting his dick to react the same way though,
stretching taught and thickening, making him regret the decision to abstain
from jerking off in the shower. Of course, the last month without a
girlfriend had left him hard most of the time anyway.

   Damn, he missed Heidi! A year long relationship washed away by the tides
of life, of parents getting better jobs out of the country. She wasn't like
the other girls, who held onto their pants like they were made of gold. She
loved fucking, and had made it very clear when they started going out that,
if Aaron could not keep up with her ravenous libido, she would drop him.

   Not only had he kept up, he had surprised her.

   After twelve months, one week and four days of being at her disposal,
and she at his, his sex drive had grown accustomed to the frequency, and
was burning a hole in his pants for the sudden lack.

   The threat of rain blew in on the breeze around him, picking up to a
less-than-gentle wind that disturbed the leaves in the tree
overhead. Jeremy had been quiet for a moment, his wet eyelashes brushing
against Aaron's chest as they blinked a few remaining tears away.

   In the dark, with the night air sizzling with anticipation of the coming
storm, it was almost like he was holding Heidi in his arms again, making it
that much more difficult to let go, and was probably why he had not urged
his little brother to sit up.

   As the breeze slipped over his shorts, shifting the way they draped his
groin, the smooth material rubbed against his sensitive tip, his cock
flexing in response, jumping up and tenting the shorts. Jeremy's breath
caught.

   Not only had he been checking out other guys, he had been watching Aaron
too! That thought sent another shivering pulse into the root of his meat,
pulling it all the way off of the pillow of his nuts and onto his hip,
dragging a line of sensation with it long enough to draw forth a dew drop
to the head.

   The sound he made had been the same sort of appreciative hitch that
Heidi had let out the first time she saw him throw wood. In fact, a lot of
girls he knew made that wheezing, hissing noise when they glimpsed his
hard-on through his clothes, whether they ever did anything about it or
not. And, like a switch being flipped, the gasp turned on the same mental
program each time.

   "You wanna see it?"

   Aaron froze, knowing what had just come out of his mouth and not
believing it either. He tried to back-peddle.

   "I mean..."

   "Can I?" Jeremy asked, pulling away to fix him with a bright, hopeful
gaze. The lower half of his face was hidden in deeper shadow, but Aaron
could make out a watery, paper thin smile forming on the youth.

   His brain buzzed around the situation, searching for an escape route. It
competed with his inner animal, who knew the familiar scent of lust
sloughing off Jeremy like a snake shedding its skin.

   "Maybe we should go inside," he offered. "It's getting pretty dark
and...and I think it's gonna rain."

   Jeremy deflated. "Oh."

   He sounded so forlorn that Aaron winced at the pain of the single
syllable response. He cast a quick glance to the house, seeing only the
glow of the TV in the front room reflecting against the refrigerator door.

   It was really such a little thing, and if it made Jeremy happy, wiping
away that despondent look, it would be worth it.

   "Okay," he said, lowering his voice to a private level, and tucking a
thumb beneath the waistband. "Just...just don't tell anyone I did
this. Okay?"

   His little brother perked back up, nodding enthusiastically and scooting
closer. As his lap fell into the strip of light that illuminated Aaron's
own bulge, he saw that Jeremy's hand had curled at the front of his jeans,
hiding a bump slithering down his inner thigh. Realizing that Jeremy was
getting off on the idea of seeing his naked dick was like throwing a bloody
chunk of meat to a hungry wolfpack that lived inside him, chasing away his
doubts.

   With one hand, he reached into the humid heat beneath his shorts,
slipping the waist band beneath his nutsack with the other, and looked down
at what he held.

   Fuck, he was so hard! Show and tell aside, he needed to get off, and
soon! His balls ached with the burden of the heavy juice boiling within
them, a brew made hotter by the enforced celibacy. He closed his eyes, his
mind wandering. If only Heidi were there, her soft hand wrapping around his
rigid staff, stroking up, and down, instead of...

   Through a crack in his eyelids, he peeked down. Jeremy was jerking him
off, slowly, expertly, studying the cock that was almost too big for his
grasp.

   It felt good to have another's naked hand on his bare cock. Heidi
insisted on condoms even when all she would give him was a hand job. But
Jeremy had dove right in, pulling the satin soft skin in just the right way
along the iron hard shaft, even spreading the droplet of precum over the
knob for extra pleasure. Girls were so afraid of anything that came out of
a dick it was a wonder anyone ever got pregnant!

   Desire rolled over onto its back inside of him, revealing a soft
underbelly begging to be stroked, crushing the bug of virtue beneath black,
wolfish fur. Here was someone that wanted to touch him; someone that had no
fear of cock and what came out of it. He laid an arm across Jeremy's
shoulders, rubbing his back in encouragement.

   "Fuck, bro, that feels really good," he sighed, relaxing into the hot,
sharp pleasure undulating up his dick. "Keep going...yeah..."

   He felt Jeremy lean over his lap, and his stomach clenched in
anticipation for a wet mouth and sucking lips, fingers itching to curl into
his little brother's hair and force his head upon him. But Jeremy did not
wrap his mouth around the meaty pole, instead spitting on it, using his
young saliva as lubricant and quickening his stroking pace.

   Aaron's ass muscles flexed, pumping his hips up into Jeremy's grip in
sympathy while his thighs vibrated his body's need. Lightning arced between
his balls and his cock, each strike of sensation more intense than the
last, rippling up his spine and making his muscles seize.

   Jeremy moved faster, his fist a blur on his big brother's prick,
mingling spit and precum between the palm of his hand and the smooth skin
of Aaron's shaft. And Aaron shivered, his breath shallow, preparing for the
approaching climax.

   "Keep going," he panted through a dry mouth, "keep going...keep...FUCK!"

   A fountain of cum erupted up Aaron's torso and shot over his
shoulder. He moaned as the spasms overtook every nerve fiber in his body,
tightening his muscles up for the next burst which painted his abdomen. The
final spurts dribbled pearly globs over his little brother's fist, coating
his pubic hair and oozing down the shaft of his cock to form a cooling pool
at its base. He shiverred as Jeremy gave him one final, luxurious squeeze,
coaxing the last of the brew out.

   The insides of Aaron's eyelids turned bright red. Jeremy's warm, gooey
hand released him, quickly slipping the shorts back over his cum covered
cock.

   "What are you guys doing out there?" His mother's voice called from the
porch.

   "I was showing Aaron the constellations," Jeremy lied beside him, his
voice betraying nothing.

   "It's late. Come inside."

   The back door closed, and Aaron opened his eyes. Jeremy was smiling at
him, an opalescent bead just above his brow.

   "Too late," he joked. "You already came outside."

   Aaron chuckled.