Tavern Boy

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This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story takes place in medieval times, features b/b action and as I plan on continuing the story line, elements of fantasy or magic will feature, as I believe there was much more magic in the world in medieval times. Or, things we find ordinary now were most decidedly considered magical back then.

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Now, on to the story!

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Travis fell back and landed softly on a bed of hay. His small nose tingled as the dust from the hay drifted into his nostrils. Nothing he wasn’t used to. He had just finished brushing down the horse of one of the more wealthy guests of the tavern he was employed at. It was a beauty, big, black, well toned and obviously very well cared for. He had taken down the saddlebags and the saddle, being only able to just get them down. He was only a scrawny twelve-year-old, not very big in the muscles department either. Not only that, but he was almost camouflaged in the hay. Dusty shorts and open shirt, straw blonde hair and incredibly piercing, bright blue, eyes. If you looked quickly, it was like there were two blue jewels lying in the hay. And only then you noticed Travis.

He yawned, it was late, the sun was well down. But the owner of the horse had paid for a room, and that meant his horse would need to be taken care of in the stables. Which the tavern owner, a huge and heavyset man, had made clear with a lot of snapping of whatever he was currently using as a dishcloth.

Travis fished some wayward pieces of hay out of his shirt, stretched himself, and was considering if he should dare taking a few moments to close his eyes. But if he did fall asleep, there would be hell to pay if had got caught out. Normally no-one else would enter the stables, there were no other boys employed at the tavern and the kitchen ladies wanted nothing to do with horses, hay, or anything else that didn’t require cooking, pouring or hanging around guests. And master Thomas, the tavern owner, well, it’d be a miracle if he could actually squeeze in through the door connecting the stables to the tavern. And as it was pouring outside, he wasn’t afraid of anyone coming in through the stable doors either. Okay, quickly, just for a moment. And he closed his eyes.

Waking up with a boot connecting to his ribs was not what he had been expecting. He jerked awake, disoriented, and looked around. There was only the one oil light in the stables, and it was turned down way low. In the darkness, he could just make out two black forms, a big one and a much smaller one. Living in an era rife with superstition, Travis’s thoughts immediately suspected he had been kicked by some kind of spectre. A second later, he recalled that spectres were supposed to be immaterial, and would this find it difficult to deal out a good kicking.

Getting up quickly, he adjusted the oil light to shed some more light and saw his guests were a man in a big, wet, black overcoat, and a tiny boy. The boy was just as wet, hidden under what looked like a huge hat, but was probably just a normal-sized hat looking ridiculously large on the boy’s small frame.

“Oy, boy, what are you lying about for!? Get my horse in and stable it.”, the large man bellowed. He grabbed the smaller boy by the arm and almost dragged him inside the tavern, leaving a wet trail on the dirt floor. It must be really pouring down heavily outside.

Travis had no choice, and more important, he had no overcoat like the man had. Sighing wistfully, he opened the stable doors wide and stepped out into the rain. It took exactly the count of four (and yes, he could count to ten, thank you very much!) to get completely soaked down to his breeches, had he worn any underneath his shorts. He grabbed the horse by the reins and guided it in.

Taking down a big woollen blanket from the wall, he started drying the horse. Readying it for brushing it down and getting it to its own place in the stable. He had this skill down to perfection and in twenty minutes the horse was dry, brushed, relaxed and put away. Travis looked back to where he had just been dozing in the hay but decided not to take the same risk again. Instead, he turned to the connecting door and stepped into the tavern.

He was immediately met with a load of sounds, smells and quite a lot of smoke. Obviously, someone was not keeping an eye on the central hearth again. He quickly moved over to it and opened the chimney a bit more. The fire immediately responded, came to live and was much less smokey. He hoped the rest would waft out of the tavern as well. Looking around, he saw the big man and the little boy sitting at a table in the corner. The man was talking with someone and the boy was looking very bored. They caught each other’s eyes and Travis gave a quick little wave with his hand, while leaning against the stone side of the hearth. The boy looked at the man, appeared to say something, and then suddenly got up. What was he doing? Was he coming towards Travis? Yes, he was!

Travis stood up straight and watched the boy come closer. He was no longer wearing the very large head, he must have left it at the table. The wet coat was also nowhere to be seen. What was left was a boy, almost a head smaller than Travis, and perhaps a summer his junior. He had curly brown hair, a cute tiny button nose and yes, he appeared to have some freckles. He must be outdoors a lot. The boy was dressed in a rather fancy vest, sturdy pants and appeared to be wearing a decent set of boots. Oh, and he had a bright red scarf or handkerchief tied around his neck.

Observing that he had been ogling the boy while he had been walking towards Travis, he quickly tried pretending to be interested in keeping the fire going. Which was absolutely roaring now and quite happily keeping an eye on itself. The boy weaved in and out of a few tables and other patrons and finally reached Travis.

With a pipsqueak of a voice, the boy announced his presence, “Hi, I’m Oliver!”, he said cheerfully. That voice! It was very high-pitched and cute!

Travis felt an uncontrollable urge to show he was at least a summer older than the boy, and tried putting on a heavy voice. Having hit puberty hardly, he failed miserably. “Hi, I’m…”, his voice broke and went almost as high as Oliver’s voice, “I’m Travis…”

Travis turned an impressive shade of red as Oliver could not help but giggle. “I’m sorry,” Oliver said, “I should not be laughing. My voice does this all the time as well, but I go low.” That last bit was said with an exaggerated low tone. Well, low? In the register of mice, it might have been considered a low squeak.

As far as icebreakers go, there is nothing as good as two people admitting to their bodily mishaps. Travis smiled and continued in his normal voice, “Okay, second try. Hi, I’m Travis”. He stuck out his hand and he felt the small hand of Oliver grab it and shake it very formally.

“Nice to meet you Travis,” Oliver said, “I hope Ben didn’t wake you up too rough?”

Ben? Who was Ben? Oh wait, that must be the big guy who had tried denting his ribs. Feigning as if he had at least two broken ribs, Travis said, “No, no, I’ll be okay… in a week or two.”

Oliver actually looked shocked, he was under the impression that Travis must indeed be hurting quite a lot.

Travis laughed, “No worries, I’ve had worse. I’m just pulling your leg.”

Oliver visibly relaxed, “Oh, good, you had me worried there. I thought I might have to have a talking to with Ben.”

Again, Travis was surprised how the boy referred to the huge man by his first name and as if the mas was not his boss. Rather, it seemed like the boy expected the man to be his servant or something, which was silly, of course.

Oliver was now quite frankly looking Travis up and down. His eyes lingering first on Travis’s open shirt, and secondly, well, somewhere halfway between his shirt and his pants. Making Travis just a bit uncomfortable. He had seen patrons giving looks like this to some of the serving girls, or even the older kitchen ladies. But he now had a very distinct sensation that he was being looked at, and regarded, in a similar way. Which was a first for him, even at twelve. And, as you may or may not have noticed, this being the year of our lord thirteen-thirty-five, being twelve made you almost an adult. Almost, according to the tavern-owner, but not quite. He was tenured to the tavern until he came of age. Something his dad had thought of, after leering at a handful of coins a much smaller tavern owner had presented to him some six years ago.

Anyway, being busy all the time, and not of the female persuasion, there were quite a few life lessons that still had to be imparted on Travis. But from the look Oliver was giving him, he could deduce that Oliver might not only have a better schooling in the actual school department, compared to himself. He scraped his voice, which seemed to attract Oliver’s attention again, and suddenly there was this young and innocent looking boy in front of him again. Had he been imagining things? Perhaps out of his own sudden interested in this young person?

Oliver was now looking him straight in the eyes. And the very last thing he expected came from his lips, “So, what does one have to do to get a drink around here?”. Again, in that adorable exaggerated low voice. Travis could not help but laugh out, which he should have been careful of. Immediately, he could feel a pair of eyes trying to drill holes in him, and he heard the rumble and heavy footfall of the tavern keeper rushing in his direction.

As he could see master Thomas getting closer, he also noticed that the man suddenly slowed down and took on a whole different demeanour. He was actually wringing the dishcloth in his hands, as if he was nervous all of a sudden. Oliver looked back and saw the innkeeper approaching. Travis did not know why the innkeeper deserved it, but he also got one of those beaming smiles Oliver appeared to be capable of giving away.

The innkeeper came to a halt in front of the two boys, and he was actually trying to bend over or curtsy, which was an incredible thing for someone of his posture to attempt. “G’day master Oliver, I hope this little brat is not bothering you in any way?”, he said, glaring at Travis.
“Oh no, kind master innkeeper. Actually, your tavern boy here was being very kind and courteous and offering to get me a drink.” he said brightly. Courte...what? This boy must be from a very well off family and possibly quite wealthy. He seemed to be from a very good upbringing, throwing words like that around. Travis was immensely proud of being able to count to ten, which was basically most of what was required of him if he ever needed to settle an account with one of the inn visitors. On the words department, well, it was not like he could read any books or anything, so he pretty much knew all he could know from what he overheard in the tavern. And apparently, none of the visitors ever considered anyone courteous.

“Oh, well, ahem,”, the innkeeper cleared his throat, “that’s okay then.” He turned to Travis, “Mind you, be quick about it and make sure master Oliver here gets all he wants. Tonight, your sole responsibility will be to stay with the young master here at all times and attend to any of his requests, got that!?”. The innkeeper was now waggling a huge and fat finger at Travis.

“Yes, sir!” Travis quickly said, knowing this was the only acceptable reply. But he would have gladly accepted otherwise. He could not believe his luck. No sweeping, no mopping up vomit, and, with any luck, no clearing out the outhouse later that night.

“Well, hop to it, boy! Get master Oliver a drink!”, the innkeeper turned to Oliver. “I’m sorry young master, but I hope you understand I can not serve you anything alcoholic, yet. Other than, perhaps, a table beer?”

“No, thanks, I have not acquired a taste for it, yet.”, the boy said, “Would you mind if your tavern boy here joins me for a drink? I would appreciate the company.”. Nodding his head toward the table he had just left, he continued, “Let the grown-ups talk, and we can have our of fun.”. Oliver suddenly thought of an amazing idea and his face lit up. “Would you by chance have a deck of cards?”

“Why, yes young master, of course we do. My inn is well-equipped for all kinds of enjoyment.”, the innkeeper said with a tone of pride in his voice. Though, Travis did not think that young Oliver would be very much impressed by the two rooms set apart for when some regulars paid for a bit of extra service from the serving girls.

Travis found his voice again, “I’ll get us something to drink, and I’ll fetch a deck of cards. You’ll have to teach me though, I have never played the cards myself.” He quickly dove behind the bar, grabbed the old deck of cards that the innkeeper must have referred to, and he poured two large jugs of the milk that had been brought in fresh that morning. Fresh milk was another rare treat for Travis.

He looked around to see where Oliver had gone and saw him sitting by himself a few tables away. He brought the mild and the deck of cards and sat at the table across from Oliver. He put a jug in front of Oliver, who promptly downed half of it.

“Ahh, I needed that!”, Oliver exclaimed, treating Travis not only to a bright smile, but a bright smile adorned with a big, white, milk moustache.

Travis suddenly felt he couldn’t resist himself, and he reached across the table and dragged his thumb over Oliver’s lips, cleaning the milk moustache. Oliver could obviously have got rid of it himself, but Travis had had a sudden desire to touch his table companion. He did not really understand where this was coming from. The gesture was like what a mother would do with a small child, but the way Travis felt had nothing to do with thinking of Oliver as a small child. It had just seemed like a perfect excuse to touch him.

Oliver had not minded. The milk had been rich and creamy, and he was not surprised if he had had the biggest milk moustache ever! What surprised him was that the slightly rough finger of Travis had left a feeling of pinpricks over his lips. Oliver saw Travis reaching for the cards, and he quickly took his own chance to touch Travis by putting his hand over Travis’s. “I’ll deal, and I’ll explain.”, he said.

Travis shrugged and sipped a bit of his own milk. He was not sure if he’d get another, so he wanted this one to last. He left his other hand on the cards a bit longer and enjoyed feeling Oliver’s smaller hand on top of his. Then he gave way to Oliver and let him get the cards. “Okay, but I can’t promise I’ll be any good at it.”

Oliver quickly shuffled the cards and considered for a moment what they would be playing. Travis had said he never played any cards, so he didn’t want to try too difficult a game on his older friend. He hoped that they could indeed have a very pleasant evening together and after having sat on a horse’s saddle for three days, with nothing but his companion's large back to look at, he was craving some fun and enjoyment. Playing some games was just what he needed right now! Ah, he had just thought of a simple game. It only required matching the cards to the same symbols or images. Quickly he explained and he dealt the cards.

Travis only got it wrong a few times at first, but then it suddenly clicked for him, and he got the game. It was a game where he had to quickly recognize what was on the table and if he could match it. If he could not, he’d have to hit the stack of cards on the table with his hands, putting no cards down. But if Oliver caught out that he had no cards and hit the deck of cards before him, he’d have lost a round. It was a fast-paced game and very much to his enjoyment, they often hit the deck of cards almost simultaneously, and they would be touching again. He noticed they must have been playing for quite some time as one of the serving girls came over to them to bring them both another jug of milk and to replace the nearly gone candle on their table.

Oliver suddenly could not help but yawn. It had been another long day, and even though he was having so much fun, his body started to demand he’d also take time to relax. If only he could have a nice warm bath before having to go to bed. It had been days, as they had been on the road for quite some time. He was travelling to family in the north, and Ben, or, Mr. Chadwick if other grown-ups were around, was his chaperone, man-servant, and well, to be honest, guard. It were trying times, and they had indeed encountered some trouble on the road. Quickly dispatched of by Mr. Chadwick’s skill with both a small sword, or, depending on how you looked at it, a ridiculously long knife, and with his fists.

“Travis, I know this may seem a bit odd, but do you think it would be possible for me to find a hot bath around here?” Oliver asked, hoping against all hope.

Travis quickly thought about it. One of the two specially ‘reserved’ rooms had indeed a bath, that was usually kept warm until quite late in the evening. Some of the paying guests could do with a bit of a scrub, before getting any kind of extra service. Or so the innkeeper had confided to Oliver just a short while ago. “You know, I might have an idea,” Travis said,” hold on for a moment”.

Travis got up and quickly went to his master, the innkeeper. He explained the request that had been made, and the innkeeper was eager to please. No doubt expecting a handsome tip when young master Oliver left his establishment. He checked if the room was not in use, which was not the case. “You have the room, I’m not sending anyone else up there for as long as young master Oliver wished to soak. Mind that you don’t let the water get cold, or I’ll throw you out in the cold rain for the rest of the night!”, the innkeeper barked. Never a pleasant fellow him, always threatening with something.

Travis was delighted that he had managed to arrange something for Oliver and quickly skipped back to the table. “Guess what! I have arranged for you to enjoy the royal treatment here! We have a room with a hot bath waiting for you.”, Travis said, trying his hand at a curtsy when explaining about the royal treatment.

Oliver was very much surprised, a hot bath, waiting for him! He forgot about being tired for a moment and quickly rushed over to Ben, explaining where he’d be.

“I’ll be staying down here for a bit longer, master Oliver. Apparently, I’ve found an old comrade with whom I served together years ago. Though the years have not been kind to him and I would not have recognized him!”, he laughed, kicking his companion against the shins below the table.

“Oh, I’m happy for you, Ben, ehm, Mr. Chadwick,” Oliver piped up and quickly corrected, “I might go to bed after my bath. So, goodnight!”

Ben ruffled Oliver’s hair and wished him good night as well. Though there was a big age difference, not to mention the difference in positions, he and his young master had also become good friends. At times, he felt like a bit of a guardian, or a mentor towards the young boy. Teaching him some of the more worldly skills. Like how to defend himself.

Oliver quickly retreated from having his hair being manhandled and rushed back to Travis. “On to the royal treatment, my dear sir!”, he said, in as posh a voice as possible.

Travis actually took Oliver by the hand and almost dragged him upstairs. It was the second room on the right, which had the large chimney from the hearth downstairs running through it. On some clever spaces on the chimney pipe a few buckets of water were placed, which was how they stayed warm, ready to replenish the water in the large wooden bathtub that was in the corner of the room. Though the large bathtub was obviously the big eye-catcher in the room, there was also a comfortable bed and a rack with fluffy towels. Well, admittedly, the towels had known fluffier times, but compared to what Travis was used to, they were as soft as holding a bunny. The innkeeper was a bit of a brute at times, but he did keep a very decent inn, and they often got the more posh guests in that were travelling up or down the road outside the village.

Oliver actually made a bit of a squeaking sound as he saw the bath, wisps of steam still rising from it. He went over to the bath and put a finger in, warm, but not hot. It would not be long before you might not even call it warm any more.

Travis saw the look of disappointment on Oliver’s face as he had put his finger in. The water must be cold, and the innkeeper had told him to make sure the water would not be cold. “Hold on,” he quickly said, “I’ll pour some more hot water”. And he quickly emptied two large buckets with steaming hot water into the bath.

Oliver tried again, and he treated Travis to another huge smile. “That’s marvellous!”, he exclaimed, “how very smart with the buckets on the chimney pipe!”.

As the boys had entered the room, they had closed the door behind them, and Oliver was not waiting another moment for his bath. Not minding Travis, he started dropping clothes. He was used to having someone with him in the bathroom when he was at home, he usually got some help with his unruly hair and servants often came in to check if the water was still warm, or if he himself was not getting all wrinkly. They had told him once that if he stayed in too long and got too wrinkly, they might not be able to get the wrinkles out again. Which had scared him hugely and for some weeks, he hardly stayed in the water long enough to get wet. Until his father found out, and he quickly explained that he had been had by the staff. Luckily for the same staff, his father had a good sense of humour.

Travis on the other hand was not used to being around other naked people. He had sneaked a peek recently after one of the serving girls had led up some farmer’s boy. But through the small crack in the wall he had mainly seen a lot of moving flesh, and he had hardly been able to figure out what had been going on. Sex, of course, he was not dimwitted. He had had a few days off, and he had hung around with some of the boys in town. He had heard stories. Oh, and he had gone swimming with the boys, but they had taken their clothes off behind some bushes and then quickly jumped into the water.

But here Oliver was, already halfway naked, trying really hard to get his boots off. He rushed over, “Here, let me help”, he offered, and he started pulling Oliver’s boots off, one by one. Remembering what Oliver had called him when speaking with the innkeeper, he joked, “all part of this tavern boy’s service, my dear sir.” His posh accent wasn’t very convincing.

Oliver giggled. “Sorry I called you that, but I have found that I must act like my dad at times, if I want any grown-ups to do as I want. I could hardly let your master know we were on a first-name basis already.”, Oliver excused.

As Oliver was now freed of his boots, he stood up and started pushing his trousers down. Travis quickly turned around. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he said, “I’ll leave you to then, I guess.” And he started making his way to the door. He noticed a large mirror right next to the door, and he could sneak a quick peek at Oliver, now fully undressed. At least he’d have that image to keep him company while he waited for Oliver.

“No way, you’re staying here, with me.” Oliver quickly said, afraid to be left alone in this unfamiliar room. It was not very brightly lit, and standing there all naked, the last thing he wanted was to be left all alone.

Travis turned around, trying his best to look Oliver in the eyes, and just the eyes. “You sure? You are, all, like, naked.”, he said, gesturing up and down, indicating all of Oliver.

Oliver thought that Travis’s obvious distress was the funniest thing ever, and he struck a pose as if he was some kind of strong man. “All of this, you mean?”, he said, flexing none-existent arm muscles.

Travis felt silly now. Okay, Oliver was just a boy. Just, another boy. It was not like he was here with some naked girl. Nothing to worry about. Except perhaps for the fact that he had a hard time keeping his eyes glued to Oliver’s face. He had to admit, he was curious how Oliver compared to himself. And from the quick glance he’d peeked, Oliver was an early bloomer. Obviously younger than himself, he was not really smaller in the more private department.

“Alright, I get it. Naked bodies here. No problem.”, Travis said, “Not the worst this room has seen.”, he finished.

“Oh, how come?” Oliver asked, apparently genuinely innocent, as to what Travis had meant. He busied himself trying to get into the bath.

Travis stepped closer, and before he realized what he was doing, he was holding the young naked boy in his hands and helped lift himself up into the bath. The feeling of the boy’s smooth skin lingered on his hands, as if had dipped them into honey. He realized that he had put himself in an awkward position with his offhand comment, and now he would have to explain. How much would this boy know? Having led such a sheltered life and all?

“Well, you know, when a man, and a woman, really take a liking to each other…” he started.

“Ohh!”, Oliver exclaimed, he knew what Travis was talking about. Ben had warned him what kind of things went on in some inns. He whispered, “you mean, sex...”

Travis was glad he did not have to explain everything about the birds and the bees. He did not really consider that part of the services provided by him, as the tavern boy. That’s what the serving girls were for apparently.

With a contented sigh, Oliver slid down in the bath, and he submerged himself. The temperature was just right. He looked over at Travis, who was standing next to the bath, a bit awkwardly. His new friend could do with a bath himself, there were even still pieces of straw stuck to his clothes in places. And his hair looked decidedly greasy. He could use a bath himself. Suddenly he wondered what Travis would look like naked. He was sure that Travis would have some proper muscles to show! Then it hit him.

“You know, you could use a bath yourself.”, Oliver said, looking Travis up and down.

That was the funniest thing ever, Travis thought. He had washed his face like every morning, and he had been in the river only two weeks ago. The very cold river, as he remembered, and he wondered what an actual hot bath might be like. They said it was something amazing. He shrugged it off, baths were not for the likes of him.

“No, seriously, I think you should have a bath. There’s plenty of room here, this bath is practically made for two.”, Oliver said, trying to convince Travis.

“Nah, I couldn’t. The master would skin me if he found out.”, Travis reminded Oliver.

“Ehm, I don’t think so. I seem to recall you have to do whatever I request,” Oliver said, and tauntingly he added, “... tavern boy!”.

Oliver had him there, his master had said that, quite explicitly. He had been basically ordered to do whatever Oliver asked of him.

“Come on,” Oliver urged him on, sensing he had won the battle, “get them clothes off!” Oliver actually sounded excited.

Travis did not have much work to do to get out of his clothes. His shirt was a loose fitting half open shirt, he had no boots, and this morning he had opted not to wear any breeches, as they could do with a bit of an airing. So, it took about three seconds to get out of his clothes. And he stood there hands in front of him, still feeling a bit shy.

“Go on, get on in, “, Oliver urged him on, “And don’t be shy. You’ve seen mine as well.”

Travis had to admit that was true, and he could hardly climb in and protect his modesty at the same time. He reminded himself, it was just boys. And as he had head many of the guests in the inn say, boys will be boys.

He climbed in and was surprised how warm the water was while he was still standing in the tub. How was Oliver not getting burned alive! He was not used to warm water like this at all.

Meanwhile, Oliver got quite an eyeful of Travis as Travis stood in front of him in the bathtub, not making any attempts to sit down. He noticed Travis looked quite similar to him. He had noticed he himself had been growing lately. You know, down there. The few times his dick used to turn stiff it had hardly made much of an impression, but not only did he seem to get hard more often, the effect on his dick was also definitely more than it used to be. Where first he could only hold himself between his fingers, he was now able to wrap his hand around it. Admittedly, he did not have very large hands, but compared to a year ago, the difference was already staggering. Travis was not suffering from any kind of stiffness, but the limp dick hanging in front of him was still mesmerizing.

Travis felt that the burning on his legs was subsiding. Was the water cooling down this fast? Or was he just getting used to it, like getting used to the cold water of the river? It must be the latter. He hoped it was the latter, now that he was in, he did not feel like climbing out again to pour in more buckets of hot water. Besides, with the two of them in the bath, not much more water could be added.

He felt he might actually attempt sitting down. He was so focused on the sensation of the hot water, that he took no notice of all that Oliver had gone very quiet and was staring open-mouthed at him. He lowered himself, and he could feel the warm water travelling up his legs. Which was all fine, until he felt his balls breaking water and it felt like getting boiled eggs out of the cooking water. He squirmed and muttered a little, which elicited a response from Oliver. Who, by now, had found a way to close his mouth and look as if he was back on earth.

“Warm, isn’t it?” Oliver giggled.

“Har, har, mr. rich and wealthy.”, Travis muttered, “Us normal folks are not used to hot baths and other fancy things like that.” He finally felt that it was safe to put his eggs back into the hot water and found it was easy to sit down after that. The hot water reached up to his chest and he slid down a bit more, his feet brushing against Oliver, who was sitting in front of him. “Sorry!”, he excused himself.

“No worries,” Oliver said. And, taking revenge, he stuck out his own foot and tapped Travis on his butt cheek. “Baths are slippery.”.

Travis was sure that that had been no accident, and he splashed a bit of water in Oliver’s face. “Whoops!” And before they both knew it, much more splashing of water and prodding of feet occurred. Until, suddenly, Travis felt one of Oliver’s feet hit something way different from his legs or butt. He could feel Oliver’s toes push right up against his balls! It wasn’t even a kick, Oliver had deliberately stretched his leg and gently pushed his foot up against Travis’s privates. He was not just letting that slip!

He got up on his knees quickly, reached forward and dove towards Oliver. His left arm stretched, and he held his hand out. Contact! He felt what he was looking for slip into his hand. There they were, sack, balls, and, oh wow, quite a rigid pole!

Oliver gasped, he had not expected this and the sensation was overwhelming. His body had been fully relaxed from the hot water, but feeling a hand cupping his balls and gripping a hold of his hard dick sent tingles everywhere. Especially it being someone else's hand. Yes, of course he had learned about touching yourself. He was eleven already, after all. The stable boys did talk. More importantly, he had heard more than they realized. And had been doing some experimenting himself. Because of that, he knew about the tingling sensations he might get at times. But that had never been what he was feeling now. He straightened his back and shoved both his legs out, pushing Travis all the way over, and he felt Travis land on top of him.

As Travis felt himself falling forward, he did not relinquish hold of his prize. He was now in it to win it, like boys will get when competing against each other. Though, it was a bit awkward to be lying fully naked against another boy, holding his private parts. As Travis’s brain engaged again, he realized what he was doing and he quickly let go and he tried to scramble up. Oliver wasn’t having any of it and he wrapped his arms around Travis and pulled him close.

Travis felt himself sliding up against Oliver and noticed that not only could he feel Oliver’s rigid dick against himself, he himself was pushing back just as hard into Oliver as well. How horrible!

“Sorry, sorry!”, Travis spluttered, getting water in his mouth. Oliver was still holding on to him. Travis noticed he couldn’t wriggle free and then, he did not really want to wriggle free any more. Okay, he did not mind the wriggling part, but that was mainly because it felt real good to feel his dick squishing against Oliver’s. It was like when he was alone in bed and he humped his pillow, but way better.

This was quickly turning into something neither of the boys had expected, but not knowing any better, they also couldn’t really mind as long as the other boy did not protest. Which neither was inclined to do. Travis relented and relaxed, and he moved Oliver around a bit, so he would not accidentally drown him underneath him. It had been ages since he had had a real proper hug and this felt so good. The hot warm, a new friend, the closeness. He did not want to let go. It was like his body was acting all on itself, and he was just along for the ride. He looked into Oliver’s eyes and even as his brain was still considering how odd it would be for boys to be kissing, his body was already there, and he felt his lips brush against Oliver’s. Nope, nothing odd here. Wow!

Oliver was not believing what was happening. This boy, Travis, he was there, right against his own body. He knew he lived a privileged life, but that also meant that his parents were away, a lot. There was not much room for affection of any kind. And this was completely overwhelming him. He felt all kinds of new emotions rushing through him. He felt… friendship… a deep sense of caring… longing… hunger? No, not hunger, but he definitely wanted something! And then, boom! A kiss. His first kiss. Okay, he had not expected it to be coming from a boy. All the stories he had heard from other boys, men, or the tales from bards, usually only mentioned women kissing men. But now, for the very first time, he could understand why people would actually do this. It was not yucky at all!. He wanted more of it!

Passion surged between them, and their bodies writhed against each other in the water. Finally, they both got tired, and they ended up with Travis sitting against the side of the tab and holding Oliver in front of him, in his arms, leaning back against him. The water was not as hot any more either. He felt contented.

“You know, I should either pour in more hot water, or we should get out.” Travis told Oliver.

“But I don’t want you to let go of me.”, Oliver practically whined.

Travis looked around the room. “Well, we do have the room, and the old turd told me nobody else would be coming until we got out.”, he said. “So we could just stay here.”.

Oliver perked up at that. “You mean, like, sleep here?”, he looked quizzically at Travis, “You would stay, wouldn’t you?” He said.

As subservient as he could, Travis answered, “Yesh, masther!”. On this, Oliver nudged his elbow into Travis’s still sore ribs. “Sorry, yes, I will stay here with you, if you wish.”, Travis answered.

“Oh yes, I wish it. I wish it very much.” Oliver said. His tiredness now really got the better of him though and he stifled the biggest yawn yet. Travis could not help but to follow suit and he let out a big yawn as well.

“Okay, my very wet master, let’s get out and get dry.”, Travis said, pushing Oliver up and out of the bath.

They both felt the chill of the evening air on their wet bodies and rushed over to the dry towels. If they hadn’t been so tired, they might have thought of drying off each other, but all they could think of now was getting dry, getting warm, and getting into bed.

The wet towels were thrown in a corner and, to Travis’s surprise, Oliver took Travis by the hand and actually led him to the bed. This felt like such a grown-up gesture, and all he could see was his hand in Oliver’s and the cutest tiny butt leading him into bed. This was so weird!

They dove under the covers and back into each other’s arms. Travis felt himself getting excited again, but at the same time he was so very tired. And the bed was so soft, and the covers so warm and Oliver so close… so close… and his eyelids closed as well.

During the night, neither of the boys noticed the bedroom door opening slightly. A huge frame of a man threw a shadow into the room, and a head peeked around the door. It was mr. Chadwick checking up on his young charge. Seeing him safely in bed, removed the worries he had felt when he had not found young Oliver in the room they had rented. The boys looked safe, and young master Oliver looked happy. It was not in Ben’s nature to give the two boys in each other’s arms any more thought, the large quantity of rum currently circulating in his body also helped not to give much thought to anything either. He quietly closed the door and tiptoed back to what had now become his private room.