Barracks Bitch

[laguyinhou]

Dude. This was incredible. Absofuckinglutely outstanding.  This would make an absolutely incredible series. 

And don't rush anything. Before or after your cruise, we'll be here waiting, just the same. 

[Assmunch]

7 hours ago, laguyinhou said:

Dude. This was incredible. Absofuckinglutely outstanding.  This would make an absolutely incredible series. 

And don't rush anything. Before or after your cruise, we'll be here waiting, just the same. 

Thanks man!  And you’re right…about not rushing it.  I want to do it right.  These early chapters have a bigger purpose than being entertaining.  But I also don’t want to have the story and the drive to write it recede to the back of my mind.  That happened when I went to Texas, and it was so hard to bring it back.  I will definitely write at least a little every day while on the cruise, so it stays fresh.  

[DCWildBtm]

On 9/11/2022 at 9:37 AM, blackrobe said:

News Flash: You're hot now too. 

I'm not the only bottom here who would be thrilled to catch an encounter with you. Just sayin'...

Def not the only one thinking that!

[Assmunch]

Battle Buddies - Chapter 16

 

ASSMUNCH

 

I waited with the other Bravos and the randoms for Lenger and the Sgt. Airborne to walk our floor.  We all had our rucks, our backpacks, and our duffles crammed with everything.  Most of us didn’t bother sorting and organizing the stuff before we did.  It didn’t matter, we could re-pack them later.  Our ruck was always packed out anyway.  Sometimes you didn’t get a lot of notice ahead of time to move out so our ruck was ready for mission as a matter of habit.  It was just our casual stuff we had to get shoved away.

Our lockers were empty, the doors open.  After Sgt. Airborne inspected Lenger would go behind him and close the door.  He actually made Lenger get on hands and knees in the center of the bay so he could stand on his back to look around for anything that might have been forgotten on top of the metal lockers.  Sgt. Airborne wasn’t going to find anything, not in the bay, not in our lockers (or on them), not in the hall, the day room, the latrines, the showers, our instruction room, or outside perimeter of the building.

Speaking of the perimeter, that’s where Kevin and Tim waited for me, on the benches.  It sucked that they couldn’t watch this part of the process, I think they’d both find it interesting.  But at least they got to watch the next class of Airborne do their small tower jumps across the street.  That’s where I sent them when I had Sleeper give Hunter Wicomb a warning.

Just before we were dismissed, we lined up in front of Sgt. Airborne’s desk so he could tell us where we were supposed to be.  The randoms were released back to their units, or told where to report for holdover, and the Bravos were handled last.  We were told we had a four day special pass, but to report back in front of Command at 0500 Wednesday.  The difference between special pass and leave was the difference between a ditch and a canyon in terms of freedom.  With Leave, you could go anywhere, get on a plane even.  A Special pass meant you were subject to recall at any time, and you had to stay within a certain radius of your post depending on the length of the pass.  A commander could cancel your Special Pass whenever he wanted, for any reason.  Leave, once approved, wasn’t so easily withdrawn, it was a right, not a privilege.  And most Commanders were highly reluctant to pull a soldier off leave, plus they had to have a VERY good reason.

Bootlicker tried to get my attention alone while we were doing clear out, but there was just too much going on, too many things to do, and I felt like I had to be in ten places at once plus Kevin and Tim were with me most of the time.  Everyone wanted to be released so no one was slacking off, not even the randoms.  Bootlicker didn’t seem too worked up about whatever it was, so I knew it wasn’t urgent.  I’d talk to him when we got back from our pass.

“We’re going to have to jog to the Exchange.  It’s not far.”  I told Kevin and Tim when I got outside.  “I’m actually hungry, especially since I get to eat different food than Dining Facility stuff or MRE’s.”

“Is it really that bad?”  Kevin asked.  The wind was gusting just a bit and his hair was flipping back off his shoulders.

“Depends on what you think is bad.  Sometimes you’re so hungry it tastes like the best thing you ever ate.  Then two days later you’ll try it again and it tastes blah.  The Dining Facility has to feed hundreds of troops at once, so everything is made in huge portions.  I’ve never had a vegetable that tastes like anything except mush.  There’s some meats that are decent.  The meatloaf is usually good, especially with the gravy.  Breakfast is probably the best.  SOS is my favorite.  But you gotta watch it.  It’s not fun puking it back up if your Sarge decides your Platoon is goin on a ruck march.”  I explained.

Kevin’s eyes looked sympathetic and horrified all at once.  “Our dining facilities have really good food.”  He said, talking about MIT.

I laughed.  “Yeah, I’m not surprised.  Spoiled little princes and princesses.”

He shot me a look that promised future retribution for that comment.  I said a prayer of thanks.  Bring it on, Kev.

“So, the trick is we aren’t actually running, we’re just jogging.  It’s cool enough outside that it’ll keep us warm without sweating.”  I knew both Kevin and Tim were in excellent shape, and a twenty minute run wasn’t going to kill them.  We were going to be a little late, but not too late.

While we double timed… sorry…jogged —  Older soldiers figured out eventually how to double speak and that you only used military terminology in the military setting.  Unless you were telling a story to your friends, you used common civilian terms where you could.  Like, with other soldiers I’d say gunship, or AH, or AH-64.  But with civilians I’d say Apache Helicopter.  Guys that threw out terminology and acronyms left and right were either trying too hard to sell their military experience to people who didn’t know any better or sound more important than they actually were.  But to another soldier or sailor it sounded pretentious and idiotic if you weren’t talking to one of your own.  It worked the other way around too, in case you were wondering.  If you said ‘so I took my gun’ to other military, they’d just stop you right there and ask ‘which one’, or instantly assume you didn’t know shit about shit.  You had rifles, and you had pistols, and you had military issued weapons, and personal weapons.  You had long range, short range.  And the weapon you preferred or used sometimes said more about you that only another soldier would understand, like what kind of unit you were in, what you did in that unit, and more.  A civilian wouldn’t know what ‘so I took my M16’ meant, or the other information that phrase imparted, but another soldier would know immediately, you were probably on watch, patrol, battle drill, or taking a position and they’d definitely know you were on duty, on mission or training.  You didn’t always carry, but Infantry carried more often than anyone.  Other MOS’s would only carry rifles on high alert, and side arms if they were deployed at a forward operating base.  In the military, you learned to call things what they were, or refer to them with specific terms (either nicknames, jargon, or abbreviations).  Your kit was one thing, your gear vs. equipment was other stuff, your pack versus your ruck, uniform, etc.  With Kevin and Tim, I didn’t have to modify a whole bunch, they grew up in a military town.  But right now, I was on pass, with civilians, so I was ‘jogging’.  I needed to be better about switching between the two ways of talking.

I started off leading the pace with Tim on my right and Kevin on my left, trying to keep us to an easy jog, but soon Tim had other ideas.  Ah, the exuberance of youth.

“C’mon!  Let’s race!”  he cried out surging ahead.  Kevin smirked at me and leapt forward.  In dress shoes and slacks, but damn I could see the flex and expansion of his muscles as he ran and he looked amazing.  He really had the most fantastic legs and ass.  Kevin didn’t have a Sleeper level ass, it was wider and beefier, probably closer to Chunk’s ass.  It looked sturdy and substantial, and hard as a rock.  Just a fucking solid mass of brute muscle.  I was going to bury my face in there later and have a fucking feast.  I think I was going to have it sunny side up, with Kevin laying on his stomach.  Fuck yeah.

Kevin wasn’t going to let Tim have the lead.  I shrugged and let them be stupid because I knew they had no idea where they were going and they’d have to wait for me anyway.  Maybe Kevin wouldn’t even break a sweat, but neither of them was loaded down like I was.  I sure as hell wasn’t going to get into a race with either of them when I was encumbered.  When I caught up I threw my duffle to Kevin and my pack to Tim, keeping my ruck on my back.  That should even things out a bit.

Kevin looked at my duffle, hefted it to gauge the weight, then pushed it out to Tim and took the smaller backpack from my brother’s hand.

“Hey, that’s not fair, you’re bigger.  You should have the duffle.”  Tim complained.

“Get used to the weight, brat.”  Kevin said, shouldering the smaller pack.  “You want to train, run with as much as you can bear.”

I did the exchange without stopping.  “Go ahead and race now.  You’ll learn.”  I said.

Tim had to adjust his stride to accommodate the bounce of the duffle, which was now on his back, his arms through the straps.  Duffles aren’t exactly made to be carried on your back because the handles didn’t tighten, so Tim had to hold the straps while he tried to run so it wouldn’t bounce and slide down below his ass.  The key to carrying anything on your back was to keep it high and not let it get below your waist.

“How do you run with this shit?”  Tim said.  “Fuck me.”

I laughed.  “We aren’t even going that far or that fast.  Toughen up, little bro.”

It was evil, I admit.  Even trained soldiers didn’t run with duffles on their back, and even if we did I’d pack it different so the weight was distributed in a certain way to make it easier.  My ruck was always packed in a very specific order, the heavier stuff down low near my center of gravity where the back support and kidney straps would stabilize it and keep it from bouncing all over the place or making it difficult to maintain an even stride.  My pack and my duffle, I’d thrown stuff in so it had no balance or distribution to the weight.  That oughta keep both of them from getting us all sweaty.  That was payback for neither of them offering to carry anything to begin with.

I did feel lighter, but it wasn’t because I’d given Kevin and Tim stuff to carry.  It was because of my Wings.  That feeling would probably wear off eventually, but every time you pinned or sewed something new on your uniform you felt a certain energy from it.  A new rank, an award, a patch, a tab…you felt good.  It earned you just a little tiny bit more respect.  The word ‘respect’ didn’t get paired with the word ‘Private’ very often so I’d enjoy this feeling for the short time it flowed through me.  I still hadn’t gotten over the intense rush of parachuting from a plane and man did I want to do it again.  I hoped my application for Ranger Class went through, and not just for the opportunity to Jump again, but for the fifty other skills I’d learn.  And to be around other guys who were just as hungry to be masters of warfare.

Damn, I can’t tell you how good it felt to have my little brother and Kevin with me right now.  Just us men and I couldn’t have chosen two better companions.  It seems stupid when we were only jogging to the PX to meet my mom, but something about this moment would stay with me for years to come as one of my favorite memories.  My life felt balanced and in harmony, I was me, they were them but together we had something important with each other.  As a soldier you always lived in one world or the other, rarely both at once.  You shucked off your uniform to force yourself into civilian mode for a few hours, or put your uniform on and dismissed the casual nature of civilian life for duty.  Having your family participate in something military with you was a blend of the best of both worlds and it had its own magical energy that always felt like everything was finally right.  I wondered for a brief moment if the opposite was true: could you find that feeling with your brothers doing something civilian?  I’d love to just go camping in the wild with the Bravos one day and find out.  They were a great bunch of guys personally and professionally, and at the very least we’d have a fucking blast together.  We could fight and make up, laugh, be serious, decide our own adventure.

I really should have been careful what I wished for.

After eating at the cafeteria with Mom, we headed to the hotel, which was a good distance from Benning.  Of course, the town wasn’t that big so we’re only talking a few miles. Mom wasn’t stupid, she made sure we weren’t anywhere near the area of town where the weekend partying would take place which was always lively late into Friday and Saturday nights when soldiers took it off post.  The partying wasn’t restricted to bars and often extended well into the early morning hours at hotels and motels making life miserable for anyone else staying there.  It made me think Mom and Dad had more than a few experiences when they were young, and that made me smile.  She knew how young soldiers behaved.  My mom was really the best mom.

Kevin and I were sharing a room with Tim, Mom had her own next door so we got the rental car emptied of the drinks and snacks she’d bought as well as the luggage.  They hadn’t brought much, it was only going to be for a couple days.  My stuff took up the bulk of what we had to transport.

“I need to get out of these clothes.”  Kevin said.  I liked that he made an effort to look good with his slacks and dress shirt, but I knew he had to be hating it.  Kevin hated anything tight.  I suspected he wore the super tight slacks and body hugging shirt just for me, and I appreciated the display he put on for my benefit.  Running track and training developed his thickness into a solid dense body that felt like it was just on the verge of action.  You could feel and see the potential in his muscles.  In high school he was an inch or so shorter than me, but he always had me in the size department.  Since then he’d grown upwards to just shy of six feet so his mass was distributed so much more proportionately.  I fucking loved it.  Still the same thick legs and round ass but they tapered together more.  Amazing calves too that I might just barely be able to wrap my hands around.  When he stripped down I stared in appreciation at the skimpy briefs he wore.  Kevin liked wearing boxers because ‘I gotta be able to move’.  So he’d switched it up, and I had to believe he did that for me as well.  A sexy line of dark pubic hair tufted over the waistband of the briefs in front, and the top of the crack of his ample ass rose from the back.  The pouch in front did an excellent job of accentuating his meaty bulge but I could see the outline of his shaft pointed down and over his big nuts.

He must have seen me checking him out.  “You like them?”  He asked, pulling gently on the sides of the waistband to reposition and pose with a smirk he somehow made look innocent.  Oh fuck him.    

“Oh hell yeah.”  I said instead.

Of course Tim was over on the other bed watching too, but Kevin never got embarrassed about anything.  And we both knew Tim liked to look at Kevin too.  Hell, I don’t think there’d be many people, men or women, who wouldn’t like to look at that.

“Good.”  Kevin continued smirking, then turned away to bend over at the waist and dig through his bag.  Fuck, now he was just being a tease, sticking his ass out at me like that, legs shoulder width apart, his meaty ass stretched the fabric enough that I could see the crack of his ass right through them, the baseball sized pouch that contained his cock and balls hanging between.  My dick was half hard before THAT, and now it sprung to a solid steel gun barrel.  I hope he let me fuck him once during this trip.  Once was all I wanted.  Just because he was teasing me with it didn’t meant he’d give it to me, I knew.  That was the mind-fuck part of the game.  Carol had taught him well.  I’d get whatever he decided I could have and fuck if that didn’t drive me near to shooting in my underwear.

“You better hold that.”  He said, still bent over.  I still didn’t know how Carol and now Kevin knew I was on the verge of shooting, he wasn’t even looking at me.  Fucking sadists, the both of them.

“Would you guys just kiss already.”  Tim said.  “I know you want to, don’t hold back because of me.”

Kevin stood up and looked back at me over his shoulder.  Another pose, another tease.   Damn, his back was wide.  I saw his eyebrow raise, and I knew immediately what he was thinking.

“Excellent idea, Tim.”  I said, and got up.  Once I was on my feet, Kevin and I moved together towards Tim and pinned him back on the mattress.  Then we both smothered him with kisses all over his head and neck while he did the absolute least he could to fight us off but still make it look like he was resisting.

“Not me!  You guys!”  He argued.

I planted one last kiss right on his forehead.  “Thanks for coming to my graduation, Tim.”  I said with a smile, looking straight into his eyes.  He was a good little brother.  That made him smile.

Kevin had climbed on to straddle Tim to hold him down, but he didn’t move when he grabbed me by the chin and pulled me up to him.

“Hey…” I said.

“Hey yourself, handsome.”  Kevin replied, hitting me with those soft flannel eyes.  I was gone.  Lost in the Kiss, again.

“I wish I could kiss someone like that.”  Tim said, finally breaking the spell Kevin had put on me.  Tim was still laying there pinned by Kevin’s ass, relaxed and dreamy eyed.  Kevin smirked.

“One day, brat.  Some girl will rock your world and you won’t know what hit you.” He told Tim.

“Let me up, I’m going to take a shower.”

Kevin gave a chuckle.  He reached behind his back and grabbed Tim by the crotch.  “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”  He said, climbing off.  “Don’t whack it so hard you pull the skin off, pervert.”

“You’re too old to remember what it’s like, asshole.”  Tim said.  “I get hard at everything.  I’m not a pervert.”

“That’s gonna cost you, brat.”  Kevin said roughly and he flipped Tim over masterfully and yanked his pants and underwear down while putting his knee across Tim’s shoulders.

“Tom!  Don’t let him do it!”  Tim squealed, squirming.

“Me?  I can’t save you.”  I said, laughing.  “He could take both of us.  Besides, you called him old, you deserve it.”

Kevin licked his hand and planted a solid whack to Tim’s bare asscheeks.

“Agggghhh!  He called me a pervert!”  Tim squealed.

“Guess one wasn’t enough, he doesn’t sound sorry.”  Kevin said calmly and gave my little brother another whack.

“Okay!  I’m sorry!  I’m sorry I called you old!”  Tim begged.

Kevin eased up on his knee.  “Good.  Don’t let it happen again.”

Kevin didn’t know Tim like I knew Tim.  Something else was going to come out of his mouth.  I heard it coming a mile away.  It was in the way he left his insincere apology hanging unfinished.

“Asshole.” Tim breathed, not loud, but not quiet enough to escape notice either.

WHACK! Kevin didn’t hold back this time.  He took it easy the first two swats, going for shock more than effect.  But this time…Hell I knew how hard he could smack your ass when he put some effort into it.  And the smirk he threw me when he did it told me he knew what was going through my mind.  His look promised I’d get equal treatment at the moment of his choosing.  Fuck my cock was dripping now.

“Ow!  Ow!  You ass—“ Tim stopped himself.  Now he was sorry.  Properly.  “You … person!” He finished.  I guess that was the only thing he could think of to finish what he started to say in a way that wasn’t going to get him another swat.

Kevin dismounted then gave Tim a kiss on the cheek.  “Sorry if I hurt you, little bro.  You okay?”  Kevin knew he couldn’t hurt ME, but Tim was an unknown.

Tim chuckled, and I knew he was okay.  “Yeah, I’m not a baby.”  Tim stood up and Kevin and I noticed his boner hadn’t gone down at all and was sticking out nice and proud with a slight curve to its length.  He gave us both an evil look as he took a step toward the bathroom. “You hit like a girl anyway.”  And he took off.  Kevin almost caught him but got the door slammed in his face and we could hear Tim’s laughter echoing.  “SUCKER!”

Fucking little brothers.  Such a little shit.

“I’m going to teach him a lesson when he gets out.”  Kevin growled.

It was my turn to give Kevin a smirk.  “Good luck, I’ve tried.”

My boyfriend’s grey eyes turned stormy as they looked at me.  “Looks like I’m going to have to take it out on you.”

Oh fuck yeah I thought as my dick jumped.

“Strip.”  He ordered me, sauntering over to the chair in the corner of the room.  He sat down slowly, spreading his legs and slouching down.  He leaned his head on his fist and started groping his dick through his briefs with his other hand.

“What if Tim comes out?”  I said, starting to remove my uniform.

“First, you better do what I told you to do.” The threat was clear, and thrilling.  He paused for a couple seconds to underline his seriousness. “Second, so what?  It won’t be the first time he’s seen us fuck.  Third, he’s in there beating his meat, probably thinking of us fucking anyway.  Fourth, it’s been years since he could take a long hot shower.  I remember what it was like at your house.  Five minute max.  He’s sixteen, he’s going to enjoy that shower until the water goes cold and he’ll probably jack off enough times to clog the drain.  We have plenty of time.  Fifth, why aren’t you naked and crawling over here already?  You’re going to get double for making me wait.”  He growled.  Damn, he knew just how to get me torqued up.  The voice he used to make his little speech had every nerve in my body revved up, rough, barely controlled patience and assertive demand in every word.

Crawl, he wanted me to crawl.  Two could play at that game.  I dropped to my hands and knees and fixed my eyes on his crotch.

“Oh, is that what you want?”  He said, spreading his legs wider.  He lifted the leg of his briefs and pushed his thick cock out.  He leaned back, never taking his eyes off me.  His eyes were half-lidded in a sleepy sort of way, but make no mistake, they promised a brutal immediate future.  He took up the entire chair with his beefy size, looking like a heathen warrior sitting on a throne of skulls.  He pulled his foreskin back briefly, then re-hooded his hard cock.  I caught a glimpse of precum glistening at the tip.  “Mmmm, yeah, that’s it… stalk your prey.”

I licked my lips as I took my time stretching out my limbs in a slow and languorous movement, rolling my shoulders with every extension.  I was going to take my fucking time.  He wanted to play animals?  Fine.  I kept my head low as I crawled, my lips in a snarl.  Playing with my prey was a panther’s prerogative, and this beast before me was not too big for me to handle.  I could taste the sweet juicy meat already.

“Good kitty.  Come here, I have a treat for you.”

Like hell I was going to be that easy.  Yeah, I wanted it, so much it was driving me crazy, but he started it and the game was no fun if either of us gave up right away.  I looked away, over to the bed, the door, down at my hands.  I took a quick glance back at him with a bored look and saw a scowl coupled with a dark, sinister smirk.

“Disobedient.”  Just one word, but it held so much meaning as a promise.  He sighed and shook his head once.  As if he actually regretted what he had to do.  I wasn’t fooled.

I created a plan all my own that had nothing to do with his desires.  All he had to do was move.  Whoever moved first lost the first round.

He took his hand away from his gorgeous cock and ran it through his hair, that sexy rake that pulled it away from his gorgeous face.  “I guess you want it the hard way.”  I blinked slowly, completely still.

Even though I had been waiting for him to move, his leap from the chair took me by surprise, it was that quick.  I saw his muscles tense, but I’m ashamed to admit I let my focus lapse to enjoy the ripples of them under his skin.  So many beautiful muscles holding all that comfortable effortless power.

His hand was around my throat in half a second.  I bit his wrist and grabbed him behind the knees.  He jerked his hand back.

I grinned up at him and yanked him off his feet.  Whoever was below us heard a nice booming thud as his entire weight hit the carpet, or maybe not.  Hopefully it was concrete, but who knows?

“That’s going to cost you.”  He grunted kicking his leg over to scissor my head.  “You think you’re the only feral beast in this room?”

He could talk all he wanted.  One of us was getting fucked.  As much as I wanted it to happen to me, I was going to make him earn it, and if he wasn’t man enough… well too bad for him because I was going to sink my dick balls deep in that magnificent big ass of his.

I drove my hand up between his humongous calves and pried his ankles off my neck.  Yeah fucker, I learned a few things in the army.

For which I received a hard kick to the face.  I saw stars for a second.  Damn, so it was like that, huh?  Oh fuck yeah.  Bring it on, stud.  If we both didn’t end up bloody I was going to be sorely disappointed.

“Remember, you asked for this.  I’m going to ring your fucking bell until you’re a nice, domesticated pet.” He growled.  And he sent his heel into my chest.  I rolled to take the majority of the force out of it, but it still felt like he reached my spine.  I got to my feet, grinning.

I let him climb to his feet as well.  He didn’t even fix his briefs, his thick, hard dick still coming out the leg.  It looked angry.  I snarled.  I crouched in a fighter’s stance.  He smirked.  I had a moment’s doubt.  He wasn’t worried at all.

“Aw, look at the training.” He said in a condescending tone like he was talking to a kindergartner.  Then he just stepped forward slowly, not protecting, not guarding.

I took a swing.  It was a mistake.  He barely moved and my wrist was in his grip.  His hard, unbreakable grip.  I gave him two rapid shots to the kidney which barely registered on his face.  He yanked my arm down and around, my only choice was to let him flip me over.  I’d recover when my feet reached the floor, I wasn’t worried.

I should have been worried.  Because he punched me in the gut while I was still flying over.  And he didn’t pull it.

“FUCK!”  I gasped.  And then he punched me in the face.  Fucking hard.  Then he didn’t wait he gave me a hard knee to the hip, full force.

I went down to my knees.  Fuck, where was that emptiness when I needed it?  He was taking me apart.  I was going to feel this tomorrow.

He bent over to whisper in my ear.  “C’mon Tom, you’re better than this.  You better start fighting back or I’m going to have to fuck you when you’re unconscious.  And don’t think I won’t.”

He was right.  I was taking it easy on him because I still thought of him as the man I loved.  It was still a game to me.  That had to go.  I breathed, closed my eyes for a moment and felt the emptiness take me.  I cautioned myself not to break any bones, but everything else was open as a tactic.

“Oh-ho… Look who decided to show up to the fight.”  Kevin said when he saw the look in my eyes.  “C’mon killer, show me what you can do.”

tit for tat.  I round-housed him right in that square handsome jaw, which made him take a step back and shake his head.  Even in my zone he looked so fucking hot when his head rocked with the force of my kick and his hair flew.  Fuck yeah, I clocked him GOOD, and I decided I would kick him in his head a couple more times just to watch it again.

“Nice.” He smiled.  He had blood on his teeth.  Fucking sexy as hell.  Now he crouched, on guard.  I guess he decided to take it seriously.  I had to put my heel into his sternum next, like he had done to me.  Automatic me planned it.  A fake to get him to open and turn slightly.  I had to heel him with a back kick, but he played it exactly like I orchestrated.

“Hey…are you…. ? Oh you fucker.”  He laughed, gasping at first, then his big, booming full laugh.  He figured it out.  Every shot he had given me, every time he rang my bell, I was doing to him.  “But, time’s up, hot stuff.  I want to fuck two loads into you before your brother gets out of the shower, so as fun as this is, I’m going to have to put you down.”

That’s what he thought.  I went in for a disabling strike but it glanced off the nerve cluster just below his sternum. I ignored the spike of pain that traveled through my wrist when my half-folded finger knuckles hit bone.

The spike of pain distracted me for maybe only a tenth of a second, but it was enough for him to wrap my head in his big arms.

“Time to go to sleep, beautiful.”  He whispered.

**********

I came to feeling his hips slamming into mine as he plowed my ass with all his weight.  My legs were pinned by his hands, splayed out onto the mattress beside my hips.

“Welcome back sexy.”  He murmured with a smile.  Fuck I loved him.  “Took you long enough.”

“Have you cum yet?”  I asked him, not sure why that was the first question out of my mouth, but his insistent pounding and the fullness in my ass were all I cared about.  I couldn’t have been out that long.  I had never felt this relaxed.  I drifted in a state of perfect ease.

“Just waiting for you, baby.”  He stroked twice more, powerful deep thrusts.  “Number one.”  He said, pausing for just a couple seconds as I felt his thickness expand and throb along with a sub vocal growl from his throat.  He looked deep into my eyes as he shot his seed inside me.

And that made my dick suddenly spring up.  I’d gone soft when I lost consciousness, but with his cum shooting inside me it didn’t matter, my own cum started pouring out of my dick.  Fuck!  I came soft, what the hell?  That’s what he did to me, and our fight  unlocked something visceral inside me, some connection to him I couldn’t explain.

“Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhh fuuuuuuuccccckkkkkkkkkk” I moaned in a long, deep heave as the cum poured out of my dick onto my stomach as my head arched back.  I didn’t shoot, it poured out of me and holy fucking hell it was amazing, like one long continuous spurt of jizz originating in my prostate.

I looked up into his smiling face.  “You’re”

SLAM

“So

SLAM

“FUCKING

SLAM

PERFECT!

SLAM

SLAM

SLAM

He dove onto my face and kissed me with his bloody mouth and I just kept cumming.  I was going to pass out again.  I felt the world close in, the light became a tunnel, and then nothing.

************

I woke up again with him gazing at my face with a look of deep love radiating from those soft flannel eyes.  He was still on top of me, inside of me.  He kissed me again, this time full and everything, it was The Kiss.  I had never been so happy, so content, so completely submitted to him.

“You’re incredible.  The things you make me feel, Tom.” He whispered, tears in his eyes.  “Did I hurt you?”

I laughed with a joy I don’t think I’d ever felt.  “You hurt me as much as I wanted you to.  I meant it.  You’re perfect, Kev.”

“Why do you do that?”  He asked, grinning.  “I was going to be all gentle and loving and treat you like my beautiful, wonderful Tom.  I wanted to show you how much I love you.  Instead, we end up kicking each others’ ass until we’re bruised and bloody then have the best sex we’ve had, ever.”

I gazed at him, serious.  “I feel how much you love me every time you meet me on a new, higher level.  Every time I think I’ve left you behind, you come up and meet me.  I was going to beat you bloody and fuck you if you didn’t get me first.  I can’t believe you got me.  But….”

He waited.  But I didn’t fill the silence.  I just fell into his eyes.

“But you were waiting for me to get there with you…”. He finished.  He locked me, pulled me in.  And just as I was spiraling down, he said “I’ll do whatever I have to, Tom, to be right beside you, always.”  his kiss was in my soul.

“Don’t mind me, I’ll just get dressed over here while you keep your dick in my brother’s ass.”

Kevin didn’t move.  He just smirked.  “Lesson.”  He whispered.

God it felt awful when he yanked his thick cock out of my ass, but he was up and off the bed in an instant.  Part of me wanted him to beat my little brother bloody too, for ruining the moment.

I didn’t have the strength to participate, I was too far in that feeling of contentment, so I watched.  Part of me knew I was just laying there exposed, the blankets fallen off the end of the bed.  But men were men.  Naked, cocks out, bare-assed, only weak men cared about that.  I rolled onto my side to see what punishment Kevin would demand.  He would never go further than Tim could endure.  And after he took me without breaking a sweat, I knew Tim was going to get what was coming to him.

“Tom.  Control your boyfriend.”  Tim tried first.

I just remained silent.  “C’mon Kevin.  It was just fun, right?”  Tim continued when I didn’t interfere.

Kevin was walking slowly towards him.  I knew his dick was still hard, at most he’d cum twice.  Usually it took four times until he was done.  Poor little Tim.  No, Kevin wasn’t going to fuck Tim.  But the picture of Kevin the Beast striding slowly towards you with a rock hard thick as fuck cock paints a whole different picture than some dude fully clothed, right?  And Tim didn’t know what to keep his eyes on.  Kevin knew that, his rather large dick bouncing out in front of him as he walked.

“Did you call me a sucker?”  Kevin said, in a surprisingly conversational tone.

“Well… It was… I mean… “ Tim stammered.

“It made me think you weren’t really sorry.  Like you apologized without meaning it.”  Kevin was now just a foot away from Tim.  Both were naked, but only Kevin was hard.  I guess Tim had whacked all the stiffness out of his not too shabby teenaged dick in the shower.

“I meant it, I swear.”  Tim said, his eyes wide.

Kevin stepped forward, now they were almost touching.  He bent down, Tim was still shorter than him by four inches or so.  I saw Tim’s body tremble.  Kevin whispered something in his ear and I saw his lips move across the flesh there, like a caress.  Kevin made sure his lips touched Tim’s ear.  I knew how soft Kevin’s lips were, and how they felt so good when they brushed across you.

I was enjoying this.  I knew how Carol had taught Kevin everything she knew, so I know Kevin was playing with my little brother in some way.  We were both sure Tim was probably bi, and we knew he had a thing for Kevin.  Nothing was going to happen, but Kevin was getting his pound of flesh for Tim’s impertinence and disrespect.  Kevin couldn’t be that close to Tim without his dick rubbing up against his stomach, he was way too close.

Then Kevin pulled his head back slightly to line up with Tim’s face, their noses touching.  I wish I knew what Kevin whispered to Tim.

“Are you going to be a good boy?”  Kevin said, his lips so close to Tim’s I found myself wanting to see them touch.  Kevin’s eyes were locked onto Tim’s, and I watched my little brother’s chest heave with deep breaths.  Tim didn’t want to move away, even a centimeter.

“Yes, sir.”  Tim said, with the barest breath.

Kevin put his hand up on Tim’s head and stroked his face.  “Good boy.”  He said, and gave Tim the barest brush with his lips.

When Kevin turned back around to me where Tim couldn’t see I got the most satisfied smirk I’d ever seen on him.  Fuck… Kevin was just insane.

I didn’t miss the renewed boner my brother sported, and the dreamy smile on his face as well as his closed eyes.

I was also newly bonered.  And after that performance, I didn’t care if my little brother watched.

“You better pull the sheets up.”  I said when Kevin came back.

“No, you want him to know what real love is?”  Kevin asked.  “He needs to see it.  That last part, he’s not ready for.  But this, I want him to find this for himself.  Girl or guy.  Are you in?”  Kevin asked me.  He raised is eyebrows.

I didn’t know how to answer.  I wanted to protect my little brother.  I didn’t want him to think of sex as dirty, or something to be ashamed of regardless of how he wanted to do it or who he wanted to do it with.  But part of me also didn’t want him to think this was an invitation to join in.  After what I just saw between Kevin and Tim, I knew I’d want Kevin to be the one to show Tim what sex between two men could be, just like I felt good about Carol teaching him about sex with women.  Tim obviously carried a crush on Kevin from the start, and I loved that.  Tim saw Kevin as a hero, and if he couldn’t emulate me or dad, Kevin was the next best choice.  I knew Tim’s personality though, and he’d blaze his own trail.  Shit… this was up to me.  Was Tim ready?  I had no idea.

I felt the right decision settle on my mind.  It was up to Tim.

I looked over to my little brother, who was still standing where Kevin left him, hard teenage dick erect, his hero-worshipping eyes on Kevin who was next to me.

“Tim?”  I called out.

“Yeah Tom?”  the expectant hope in his voice cut me, just a little,  I know what he wanted, just from his response.  And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that too, just a little.  But he was my brother, and he had to grow into a man of his own mind before I’d even consider crossing that line.  Right now, he had heroes, he had larger than life men who were everything he wanted to be, and he just lost his biggest hero, his father.  In this, I had to be resolute.  My little brother was a HUGE part of my heart.  I wanted him to be a man to be proud of, a man HE would be proud to be.  I know he would let either Kevin or I do whatever we wanted with him, but I didn’t want him to be anyone’s plaything, manipulated into conditioned responses, submissive to the first person that gave him a boner, afraid to be confrontational or draw the line between what was worth it, and what you could leave behind you in a forgotten pile of trash.

Maybe Kevin was right.  If I walked away from Kevin today he’d pace behind me two steps away until I looked back and then he’d challenge me.  He wouldn’t let me take another step until I proved I wanted to leave him behind.  And it would be damn hard to prove that.  I couldn’t figure out how he maintained his independence, his own path, but I still had him right beside me.  How the fuck did he do that?  He was like no one I’d ever met.  He was ALL him, but somehow he was part of me too.  I don’t think I was him… I sure as hell couldn’t meet him on that intellectual brain level he was at.  My brain didn’t turn in gears like his. I knew, I saw, it came to me, I understood…but fuck if I could explain it.  It was all intuition for me, some fucking kind of magic that just connected the dots without understanding how.  Kevins gears clicked until all the pegs fell into the right holes and he knew every peg, every hole, every gear, every turn.  He dissected until all the tiny pieces were revealed.  Me… hell I saw people as whole and complete, and I just understood what that meant.

But Tim had to see how real it was.  He had to know the depth it could reach.  That stuffing your dick into someone was fine, but there were levels so much deeper where souls fucked, where minds inseminated and fertilized.  Sex was biological.  But making love was metaphysical.  Levels existed, and I was sure humanity hadn’t found them all, not after my altered state experiences.  Hell, how had Kevin made me cum just after regaining consciousness?

I felt the dive over the cliff was imminent and right.  I loved my baby brother so much, maybe more than I even loved Kevin, that I wanted him to know, to understand how deep that chasm of love could be so that he had a lodestone to orient towards when he found love himself.  I know he loved me, and I absolutely know he was in love with Kevin, but a love all his own was what I wished for him, something he would value and protect with every fiber of his being.  A love that lived and grew inside him as its own immutable truth, like what I had with Kevin.

“Come here, Tim.” I said softly.

I watched him walk over, trepidation in every step.  I looked up at Kevin, into his eyes, those beautiful, soft flannel eyes that held all the emotion I pushed with every beat of my heart,  He knew what I would ask.

I looked up at Tim, standing next to Kevin.  They were so different.  Tim was unfinished, not yet complete, his face needing me to be the one to decide.

“Tim, do you want Kevin to kiss you?  Nothing more, just a kiss?”

I saw a tear fall from Tim’s eye.  “Yes, but I don’t want to hurt you.  Is it okay, Tom?”  The pleading in his words…fuck.  He thought he would steal Kevin from me?

Kevin answered, reaching up to hold Tim’s young face in his hands.  “Tim…Little bro… I love you, you know that right?  You aren’t going to hurt anything.  Tom loves you with all of his heart.  I love you too.  It’s okay.  We want you to know what that love feels like.”

Tim was looking down.  He was crying fully now, tears just pouring from his eyes.  He looked up, his eyes full of hope.

Kevin moved in slowly and first kissed Tim with a gentle peck, just barely brushing his lips on Tim’s.  I saw Tim’s body go limp, but Kevin was ready, and surrounded him with his capable, comfortable arms.

And then… Tim felt….

 

The Kiss.

[daddybear54]

The Kiss. The Intensity. Wow. Just... Wow.

[Assmunch]

6 minutes ago, daddybear54 said:

The Kiss. The Intensity. Wow. Just... Wow.

You know the Kevin and Tom parts are beyond everything normal.  Those two are truly animals for each other.  I don’t know why, just that it’s where they find the the most primordial version of their bond.   They are abandon and chaos.  And amazing.

[daddybear54]

17 minutes ago, Assmunch said:

You know the Kevin and Tom parts are beyond everything normal.  Those two are truly animals for each other.  I don’t know why, just that it’s where they find the the most primordial version of their bond.   They are abandon and chaos.  And amazing.

And the way you translate it all into words is amazing too 

[Guest]

Great writing bub

[laguyinhou]

Holy fuck. "The Kiss". 

When I read that an energy bolt ran from the bottom of my spine to the top of my head and back down to my toes. 

Thank you. 

[Assmunch]

7 hours ago, pervedone said:

Great writing bub

thanks man!  I appreciate that.

[Assmunch]

SLEEPER AND ZEUS

 

Sleeper was nervous.  He didn’t like it when he didn’t know what was next.  Assmunch had gone off with his family and his boyfriend. Kevin was nothing like what he imagined he would be.  Sleeper felt a little bad that he thought Kevin would be more… well… gay.  Instead, the dude was impressive.  Not just the way he looked at you with those startling grey eyes, which felt like he pulled you apart like a weapons disassembly, but also his weighty silence felt a lot like Zeus.   Leave it to Assmunch to pick someone dangerous and smart.  Sleeper didn’t feel exactly threatened, but Kevin had measured him with those eyes and Sleeper felt challenged.  That was the truth of it: Kevin challenged him, with just a stare, no words, like Sleeper better live up to Assmunch’s expectations.  Protective?  Jealous?  Asshole?  Competition?  Sleeper couldn’t choose the sense he received, and that was probably more unsettling than knowing.  Kevin felt solid and immovable.  Just the sort he’d choose for his best friend if a dude was where he wanted to plant his dick.  Sleeper couldn’t picture Kevin getting fucked, the guy seemed wound pretty tight.  Assmunch had told him Kevin had fucked him, but Sleeper wondered if it ever went the other way.  It had to, right?  It wasn’t like Assmunch was going to lay down for just anyone.

 

Sleeper hadn’t been paying attention when Assmunch left, so he had no idea where he was staying.  More than half the guys were going to get hotel rooms in town and relax for the next four days.  A few were talking about some State Park and a lake.  Sleeper thought it might be good to join them, but he didn’t know what to do with Zeus.  Gabriel had made it clear there wouldn’t be any more sex because it was against the regs.  Sleeper couldn’t bring himself to be angry with Zeus, he wasn’t exactly wrong and besides it was impossible to get angry at a God you loved.  Plus, part of Sleeper realized he was risking getting booted and that worried him more than anything else because his four year enlistment contract was the only thing keeping him from having to return to his mother and father.  So whatever Zeus said, whatever he wanted, Sleeper would deal with.  But none of that kept Sleeper from wanting it.  He growled with frustration.  He’d finally reached the point where he understood the whispered ghosts of Gabriel’s subtle emotionless moods, felt like he had unlocked a deeper connection with Gabriel and that they knew each other in a way that didn’t require talking about it.  Now Zeus was back to being a blank wall while they didn’t get a moment away from the Bravos or the Army.

“What should we do, Addison?”  The source of his frustration asked from beside him.

“Don’t know, Gabriel.  But we don’t have anywhere to stay here on Benning.”

Gabriel shrugged.  “Where’s Andrew?”

Okay, he could work with that.  Zeus preferred to stick by Assmunch.  Or maybe the huge man thought Assmunch would tell them what to do.  “He’s already gone with his family and boy—his friend Kevin.”  Fuck, he almost slipped up.  Zeus knew, that wasn’t the problem.  It was that you didn’t say anything like that out loud, not on post.  Of course it would probably be taken as a joke anyway, someone was always referring to someone else as a ‘boyfriend’ when taking a dig at one of the brothers.  “Bootlicker, take your boyfriend out for some fun.”  Talking about Wanker.  “Troll, control your boyfriend.”  Talking about Demon.  But that was between the Bravos.  Sleeper didn’t need some random overhearing him describe Kevin, a civilian, as Assmunch’s boyfriend.

Sleeper watched the drills of the next Airborne Class from his seat on the grass next to Zeus, his back leaning against his duffel, his legs on top of his MOLLE, enjoying the chilly, crisp remainder of the morning just before noon.  It felt clean, and Sleeper loved the feeling of achievement and completion you got at the end of training.  An expectant potential existed right at this moment between an awarded accomplishment and unknown assignment that would follow.  Down the street another group of students were being double timed, probably going to the gravel pits for more PLF drills, something about them looked green.  Cadre were shouting out instructions, students calling out replies.  Benning during daylight was a bustle of activity, a well choreographed dance of moving AIT trainees just out of Basic (quartered and instructed in another area of Benning),  Airborne students, Command duty functions, and day to day operations, maintenance and duty of both Airborne Regiments and Ranger Regiments.  All the civilians from the graduation were probably cleared off post already.  A Staff Sergeant was directing some Corporals and Privates while they loaded the tents from their graduation onto trucks.  Probably Airborne, but who knows, he couldn’t see their patches from here.  It was shit duty, so they could also be fuck ups going through AIT or some dumb fuck from training command.  If it was punishment, the SSgt would have them run behind the trucks breathing diesel exhaust while he rode on the back screaming at them to keep up.  That brought a smile to his face.  Nothing was better than seeing someone get smoked.

Getting smoked was a term that described any exercise punishment suck, not really breathing exhaust.  Run a mile, pushups, sit-ups, mountain climbers, dig a hole and fill it in, move rocks (think 40 pound rocks), crawl… limited only by the imagination of the Sergeant but usually geared toward completely exhausting you.  It happened ALL THE FUCKING TIME in Basic, and it was how you got to know your Drills were fucking assholes.  If your Drill saw a cloud in the sky… you get smoked and do fifty.  If he didn’t like how you said ‘Good morning Drill Sergeant’ you get smoked and run three miles.  Your left eyeball didn’t match your right eyeball right on the very thin edge of the brim of his cap?  Crawl on your elbows and knees for fifty yards then do fifty burpees.  Didn’t have your manual memorized for that week’s instruction?  Can’t name parts of your weapon; your Drill’s middle name (hint:  they NEVER told you their middle name), you didn’t eat fast enough, your shoulder didn’t line up with the man next to you, you get the picture.  Fifty was a common number, probably because it didn’t eat up too much time, but still got you worn out because doing them slowly wasn’t an option with a screaming Drill kicking dirt at you and spitting on you when he screamed.

In AIT you didn’t get smoked as often unless you or your Platoon fucked up.  Sometimes it was Company wide, but Company wide meant you pissed off your First Sergeant somehow, probably by failing to meet some target in either operations or training.  Still, there was always the chance of a random smoking just because.  After AIT, it hardly happened at all in the regular ranks but in Infantry you dealt with it until you ranked up enough that someone else was the target.  One stripers got smoked just for fun in Infantry until you learned to just stop bitching about it.  It fell off in direct proportion to your attitude.

Sleeper sighed.  He could do this for the rest of his life and be happy.  He loved that his future was completely in his own hands.  No family obligations.  No expectations of fictitious ancestral honor to adhere to even in private moments.  He could say ‘fuck’ all he wanted.  He didn’t have to pretend to be someone else.  He could eat what he fucking wanted, well, most of the time.  His words and actions were all his own, and they affected only himself.  He let out a small laugh of happiness, which caused Gabriel to glance over.  He just winked back.  Eventually he might tell Assmunch and Gabriel about his upbringing, his family, their connections and money, but for now he loved the freedom he felt.  He loved how no one knew who he was or where he came from and just expected him to be a regular guy, just a grunt.  Freedom was always relative.  For him, the rigid and regulated U.S. Army was far more free than he’d ever been in his entire life and his future felt wide open, exciting, and unpredictable.  He loved that he could play the average but competent regular guy and no one expected greatness from him.  Being normal was a relief.  He could finally relax.  Just some dumb Private in a green sea of other dumb Privates.  Anonymous and completely unremarkable.  Every rank he achieved was due to his own efforts and his own desires.  Awards.  Recognition.  Not a single person gave a fuck that he was Addison Cristobal Augurius Emigdio Montelongo Garrido on his Certificado de Nacimiento for Spain, and Addison Christopher Garrido-Montelongo for his American Birth Certificate. He almost hated that name.  Almost.

“I heard a few of the guys saying they were going to camp in Standing Boy State Park.  You wanna go?”  He asked Gabriel.

Gabriel smiled, mostly with his eyes, but his lips lifted just slightly too.  “Yes.”  He said.  Wow.  A whole ‘yes’ instead of the usual noncommittal ‘okay’.  Hmmm.  Gabriel must be in an exceptionally good mood.  Sleeper felt his own spirits lift even higher with the realization.

“Cool.  Let’s do it.”  He replied to Gabriel, and the sudden urge to kiss him popped into his head.  He immediately squashed it.  Nope.  Just bros.  ‘Keep it together, Addison.  Don’t scare the Giant God’.  He thought.

They already had everything they needed on their backs, even food if they were willing to eat the MRE’s in their packs.  Which Sleeper wasn’t.  Besides, he might have maybe five, it’s not like they carried a whole pantry of supplies with them.  They usually got issued MRE’s during field training or patrols, and they could buy them on Post if they wanted, but the good ones were usually picked clean by the time you got there.  Ratfucking the MRE’s was commonplace.  He chuckled.  ‘The good ones.’  Yeah, well he’d pick eating an MRE sitting in the dirt with the Bravos over the silent, joyless, scrutinized mealtime with his parents, holding his fork just right, not drinking a sip until the end of each meal course, always sitting upright, and a hundred other rules and manners of Class society.  He told Gabriel they needed to go shopping at the Commissary first.

*******************

By 1600 they were setting up camp in Standing Boy.  He let Zeus scout a good site with running water of a decent creek nearby, after a two hour hike into the woods.  It wasn’t a dry year so the Park Ranger at the entrance said campfires were okay, but they had to be extinguished if they left camp for any period of time.  That wasn’t a problem.  “But I know I don’t have to worry about you Ft. Benning boys.”  The Ranger said, which said more about his recourse of reporting them to the base than any real confidence in them as individuals.  Starting a fire from scratch took little effort anymore, and partially burned wood meant getting the next fire going even easier, so putting it out was no trouble at all.

“You want a tent?”  He asked Gabriel when he brought another armload of deadwood from the woods.

Gabriel shrugged.

“Yeah, weather’s nice.  You’re right, no tent.”  He said, dumping the wood by the fire pit Gabriel had dug out and encircled with rocks.  Besides, if the temperature was cold, you got condensation on the inside walls of the tent fabric from breathing and body heat, which invariably ended up dripping on you, or raining down on you if the wind shook the tent or you rolled over and shook the tent yourself.  Tents were great for the rain, but just too many problems if it wasn’t.  And tents were even worse than sleeping bags for concentrating the smell of two grown men.  If you had to exit the tent for any reason, then went back in after being in the fresh air, the smell just about made you pass out.  Added to those basic practical reasons, it was already ingrained in both of them that hiding yourself away inside a tent meant you had no sight on your perimeter and sound was blocked, so you could easily be caught unaware.  Sleeper didn’t expect to have anything to worry about, but being lax about their environment went against all their training.  Funny how that worked - how the Army slowly erased any civilian comfort from your blood in that constant glacial grind until you couldn’t bring yourself to ignore how the Army wanted you to do something as unremarkable as camping out.

“You hungry?  I’m hungry.  You feel like chicken, or steak?”  Sleeper asked.  They had splurged at the Commissary, knowing the temperatures for the next few days wouldn’t rise above 40 degrees so meat would keep just fine for three days until they cooked it, or already cooked meat would keep too.  They’d bought about fifty pounds of food and Sleeper was going to eat everything he wanted, whenever he wanted for the next three days.  He silently sent his hope that Gabriel would choose steak, really willing it to happen.  Steak.  Steak.  Steak.  Ever since he saw the inch thick ribeyes his mouth was watering with the taste of wood fired beef.  It was a chant in his head.  Steak.  Steak!  Steak!

“Can we have steak?”  Gabriel said like a kid at Christmas.

Sleeper threw his head back and let out a long, loud wolf howl, scaring something in the woods not too far away.  When his breath ran out, he laughed.  “FUCK YEAH WE’RE GONNA HAVE FUCKIN STEAK!!!”

Gabriel was smiling like a fool.

“Give a howl Gabriel!  We’re MEN and we’re eating MEAT TONIGHT!!!”  And he threw his head back again and roared.  Gabriel followed with a resounding howl that sent shivers down Sleeper’s spine.  Fuck, the Ranger at the entrance probably heard that.

He found himself grinning at Gabriel with pride and amazement.  “Get a fire going, I’ll get the stuff out and hang the rest.”

While the wood burned down to a manageable and consistent level, they arranged the rest of the camp.  A latrine dug ten feet from the fire, a paracord over a branch 16 feet up to hang the pack holding the food, tied to another branch 6 feet up, dead sticks and brush scattered in a ring around the camp to provide advance warning of anything larger than a house cat intruding, pine straw bedding under the sleeping bags.  He managed to convince Gabriel that zipping their bags together was best and he promised he wouldn’t try anything.

“Okay Addision.”  Gabriel had finally agreed.

“We can still snuggle though, won’t hurt to keep warm.  And it’s not against regs, right?”  He said.  Besides, even a doubled sack was going to be filled to capacity with him and Gabriel, so they were going to be on top of each other regardless.

“No, it’s not wrong.  Okay.”  Gabriel smiled.

Sleeper’s heart soared.  Who cared about sex?  They could just cuddle up, maybe talk about stuff, tell jokes, fall asleep.  It even felt like that was better, keeping their honor intact.

“Hey, why’d you build a rock table in the fire?”  Addison asked.  Gabriel had found two eight inch tall stones that he put on either side of the fire, and had placed a relatively flat rock that spanned across and balanced expertly on top.

Gabriel cocked his head.  “For cooking, Addison.”

“What?  How?”  Addison really didn’t know much about cooking.  He could use a sterno to heat up an MRE, probably cook an egg, but that was it.

“The fire heats the rock, gets it real hot.  You have to pick the right rock though, the wrong ones explode.  A flat, thin piece of slate is good, if it’s dry.”  Gabriel explained.

“No shit?”

“How were you going to cook the food, Addison?”  Gabriel asked.

Addison felt embarrassed.  “I hadn’t thought about it, I figured we’d just stick stuff over the fire, on a branch or something.”

Gabriel grinned and shook his head.  “The rocks help at night too, when it’s cold.”

Sleeper gave him a dry look.  “Yeah, I learned that too in Survival.  But they didn’t cover gourmet camping, bro.”

His giant friend looked at him with a sweet, innocent look.  “It’s okay Sleeper, I’ll make sure you don’t starve and die.”

Sleeper froze in shock.  “Fuck me…did you just make a joke, Gabriel?”

The smile he got from his big blonde friend blazed like the sun, his hazel eyes playful, and Addison’s heart swelled just that much more.

“Fuckin proud of yourself, are you?”  Sleeper laughed.  “That was really good!  Alright, one for Gabriel.  I’ll get you back.”

Gabriel turned out to be an excellent cook, or maybe Sleeper was just hungry enough to eat his own leg, but regardless the steak and vegetables were incredible.  He knew it had something to do with being there alone with Gabriel, out in the wild, with not a single worry or care.  They ate side by side, and every so often he’d lean up against Gabriel’s shoulder and give him a grin as he chewed.  He loved how sitting next to each other his head came just over Gabriel’s shoulder and he was the small one.  They didn’t speak, just enjoyed the moment and the peace of the woods.  Yeah, this was just perfect.  They took their time, both of them choosing to eat with their hands and share the warmth of the fire.  They didn’t have a house around them, but a domestic comforting peace settled  inside him and he realized he would take eating a simple meal in front of a fire with this man over anything else in the world, for the rest of his life.  There was something about Gabriel that held no motives, no worries, no fears, as if life for him was an entirely clean slate and life was ever forward and never looking back.  Addison’s heart had dreamed of exactly that since he was old enough to realize the prison of his name and the shackles of his family.  He’d never been deeply religious, in spite of his family’s strict Catholicism, but he felt compelled to say a silent word of thanks to God for this time in his life, for the beauty around him, and the beauty of the man beside him.

“Hold on, you have something on your face.”  He said.

“What?  Where?”  Gabriel asked and started to raise his hand to wipe.

“No, I’ll get it.”  Addison replied, figuring his hand was just greasy enough from holding the now non-existent steak.  He reached out gently at first, then wiped his hand solidly across Gabriel’s cheek and onto his forehead.

“There.  It’s gone now.”  He grinned.

“You just…” Gabriel started, his mouth hanging open.

Addison was up and running just as Gabriel reached out.  “Too late, bro!  Got you back!  We’re even!” Laughing as he ran toward the creek nearby.

“I’m going to catch you!”  He heard Gabriel shout, which only made him laugh harder.

He kicked off his boots, and stripped off his blouse and undershirt as he ran, then unbuckled his belt and pants.  He bunny hopped to get out of them.  Gabriel was really close, so he had to hurry.  Just before Gabriel got to him, he jumped naked into the creek.

“Fuck it’s cold!!!”  He shouted.

“Don’t make me come in there, Addison.”  Gabriel said from the bank, hands on hips, a stern look on his face and a smear of black char and grease from his cheek across his eye to his forehead, making him look like an angry tribesman.  He actually looked kinda hot, like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first Predator movie.  Predator 2 was okay, but not as good as the first one.  Sleeper hadn’t even seen the first one until after he was out of Basic.  After a group at AIT had gone to see Predator 2 at the base theater in 1990 they were floored with disbelief when they found out Sleeper hadn’t seen the first one, so one of his AIT buddies rented the VHS and they watched it in the day room that night.  His parents didn’t feel movies in general were a good use of time, so he’d rarely seen one at a theater, and they certainly didn’t have a VHS machine at home.  You’d need a TV to hook one up anyway.

“Hey bro, you got something on your face.”  Addison replied, laughing from his position in the middle of the creek.  He  sank down to his shoulders and ducked his head in the freezing water, washing his hands.  It really didn’t feel too bad once you were in, but he knew he couldn’t stay for long.  “Come on, you need to wash too.  Don’t be a baby.”

Gabriel crossed his arms and scowled, then threw them up in the air and started stripping.

Addison let out another wolf howl as he watched his beautiful naked man try to navigate the creek bank carefully, eliciting a grin from Gabriel.

They each grabbed a handful of dormant grass from the bank and scrubbed themselves quickly so they could get out of the freezing water.  Gabriel shot him a frown as he rubbed the grass across his face to get rid of the stubborn grease Sleeper had smeared there.  The blonde giant dipped down under the surface to rinse.

He came back up slow, stopping when the water was just below his eyes.  The look he gave Addison promised retribution.

“No!  Gabriel, we’re even!  Don’t even think about it.  Don’t.  Don’t.” Addison said seriously, moving backwards toward the bank while he pointed at his friend with one finger in warning. “Don’t.”

The giant exposed the rest of his face.  The worst part was that he didn’t say a word while he tracked Addison with his own movements, his hazel eyes half closed.

“You better not!”  Addison continued, hoping to buy time to get away.  He was being hunted.  He had no idea what Gabriel had in mind but he wasn’t going to wait around to find out.  He took a quick look over his shoulder to determine how far away the bank was.  He broke the rule about taking your eyes off your opponent.  When he jerked his head back around Gabriel had a handful of creek mud that hit him square in the face, and the battle was on.

Addison reflexively batted the hand away but the mud accomplished the goal of blinding and distracting him for a critical moment, enough for Gabriel to capture him in a grapple that lifted him off his feet, their naked bodies coming together and Addison felt momentarily weakened by the seductive heat of Gabriel’s skin in the freezing water.  Fuck, the heat of that huge body felt good.  Still, he fought, squirming in Gabriel’s embrace while blind, he didn’t want the runny mud to get in his eyes.

The water helped him get his arms up between Gabriel’s muscular elbows and he flexed outward trying to break the massive man’s hold.  He arched backwards with a grunt and Gabriel’s arms released, and Addison flopped backwards in the water.  He quickly wiped his face and stood up.

On dry ground, Addison could put up a good fight with Gabriel in normal circumstances even though he always lost to the height, weight and skill advantage Gabriel had over him eventually.  However, in the waist deep creek with a soft muddy bottom Addison had little hope.  But fuck if he was just going to give up that easily.

He decided his only chance was to go on the attack, throw Gabriel off balance and buy himself enough time to get out of the creek and run.  The challenge was how?  The creek was waist deep for him, but only thigh deep for Gabriel.  Still, the bottom wasn’t level or solid enough to provide stable footing so if he could knock the giant off his feet he might create an opening to give himself the lead he needed.  He couldn’t delay too long, the cold water and air were leeching the strength from him already.  He dove under and grabbed onto Gabriel’s ankle, planted his feet and yanked it up, maneuvering it onto his shoulder then pushed up off the creek bottom.  Standing up with a jaw clenching smile he saw a determined scowl on his friend’s face.  The huge man was precariously balanced on one foot, reaching out to Addison with both hands that didn’t quite reach him.  Addison gave him a taunting grin then pushed his leg up off his shoulder, toppling the giant backwards into the water.  Addison didn’t wait to gloat, he dove away and scrambled towards the creek bank.  He could make it.

He didn’t make it.  He was out of the water, but the creek bank rose three feet or so forcing him to climb.  He felt his right ankle get locked in an unbreakable grip and a sharp yank dropped him to his chest and stomach, knocking the air out of him with an audible ‘OOOF’.  Then, embarrassingly, Gabriel slowly dragged him across the dirt and grass like a dead carcass back into the water where he leapt on top of him from behind.

“Pesky little rabbit.”  Gabriel grunted into his ear.  Something about the way he said it so rough and chastising only completed his possession and Addison found himself going limp as Gabriel stood up.  The heat of that amazing body pressed against him from his shoulders down his back to his knees, Gabriel’s strong arms wrapped tightly around his chest, one leg pinning Addison’s shins…Addison felt all fight and desire to escape leave him.  The ease with which this God held him, firm but not crushing, it was solid, secure, safe.  Addison breathed out as he felt an overwhelming trust warm him.  “Good rabbit.”  Gabriel breathed, climbing out of the water still holding him in that incredible embrace, not even struggling for balance as he strode with casual steps of confident strength up the embankment.

Once on dry ground, Gabriel flipped him around without effort and settled him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.  “Stay, rabbit.” Gabriel’s deep voice mumbled, one arm securing Addison around his thighs.  Addison let his cheek settle against the warm, muscle bound back.  He should be cold, but he wasn’t.

As Gabriel carried him back to the camp, Addison felt the large hands roaming up and down his legs and over his ass and it was so soothing, he was so relaxed, he let himself drift off.  The early morning wake up, the jump, the graduation, clearing out the barracks, and the hike to the campsite loaded down with all their packs and gear then the battle in the creek finally hit him, and settling into Gabriel’s beautiful massive warm body did the rest.

He woke up snuggled warmly inside the sleeping bag with Gabriel wrapped around him, a soft snore coming from the giant’s mouth pressed up against his neck.  He had to take a piss, but Gabriel’s left arm and leg were on top of him, his right under Addison’s head wrapping around his neck and his huge hand resting on Addison’s chest.  He gently moved Gabriel’s arms, trying not to wake him.

“Settle, Rabbit.”  Gabriel murmured, returning his arms to surround Addison.

“Sorry, beautiful.  I have to pee.”

“Mmmm, I like when you call me beautiful, Rabbit.”  The giant replied sleepily, smiling into Addison’s neck.

Addison felt a flush of warmth go through him as the deep tones of Gabriel’s voice washed over him.  He twisted around to turn on his side facing his beautiful man.  Here, now, Addison thought of nothing except the magic of this moment.  Gabriel pulled him closer, swallowing him with his big body.

“I love you, Addison.”  Gabriel’s eyes were half open, gazing with dreamy relaxation.  His hand had moved to rest on Addison’s ass and it felt like that’s exactly where it belonged.  Gabriel’s other arm pulled inwards to hug Addison closer until they were connected from head to toe.  Addison let his head relax onto Gabriel’s, cheek to cheek.

“I love you too, Gabriel.”  It surprised him how easy those words came, unforced and feeling like a foundation so deep there was nothing else more important.  Had he never felt real love before, he wondered?  Whatever he thought he’d felt with the two girls he’d dated secretly until his parents found out, it wasn’t this.  He’d never been so willing to risk everything, he didn’t even care about anything except the feeling of this beautiful, good man’s arms around him, listening to his voice, looking into his eyes.

Gabriel’s hand came up to stroke his face, and he still marveled at how large it was, fully covering him from jaw to hair.  Gabriel moved his head back to smile at him.  He leaned in and kissed him.  Addison was ready, pressing forward, but Gabriel pulled back after just a touch of the lips.

“Go pee, Rabbit, then come back.”  His voice rumbled.

“Yes, boss.”  Addison smiled.  He extricated his naked body from Gabriel’s, and the giant refused to help, remaining limp so that Addison almost wanted to just give up and stay, his aching bladder be damned.  He finally climbed out and immediately missed the warmth even though it wasn’t that cold outside the sleeping bag, probably just 38 degrees or so in the quiet early evening just before sundown.  They must have slept for a few hours.  He noticed Gabriel had cleaned up the remains of their meal and fed the fire, as well as collected their clothes from the trail to the creek.  He must have been completely zonked out not to notice any of that, or Gabriel climbing into the bag with him.

Even though he had to take a mean piss he took his time sauntering over to the edge of camp, taking a quick glance back to see if Gabriel was watching him.

The big man had just the top of his head poked out of the bag, exposing only his unblinking light hazel eyes.  Addison turned halfway and leaned his elbows against the tree beside him and let loose, keeping his eyes on Gabriel who was riveted to his performance.  He posed himself with his weight on one leg, knowing it would flex his ass while he arched his back and leaned over to let his dick hang. Addison grinned and closed his eyes letting the relief of a good long piss relax him, knowing Gabriel was watching everything.  When he was just about done he looked at Gabriel again, who had pulled his entire head out while he watched Addison’s dick dribble out the last drops.  Gabriel glanced back up at Addison’s face, his lips slightly open, then looked back down again, so Addison took a moment to turn to face him and stretch in a big lazy yawn with his legs spread and all his muscles tight and stretched out.

“Rabbit….”  Gabriel said with a growl, a warning.

Addison found himself chuckling.  He didn’t know or care why Gabriel had settled on calling him Rabbit, but he found he liked it.  “Coming, boss.”  He replied with a smile.  He made sure to return just like he’d gone, sauntering so that his big thighs flopped his dick and balls from left to right.

As he climbed back into the bag, Gabriel grabbed him roughly to pull him down.

“Andrew is right.”  Gabriel growled.

He pulled Gabriel’s arm back around him and nuzzled his way back into the crook of the big man’s other arm to lay his head on the comfortable bicep.  “About what?”

“You’re a show-off.”

Addison smiled, taking the opportunity to enjoy the smell of Gabriel’s skin, his armpit just a couple inches from his nose.  He nuzzled in deeper as Gabriel pulled him in.  “This feels so good.”  he gave the area where Gabriel’s shoulder and pec met a soft kiss.

“Do you want to sleep some more, Rabbit?”

“Mmmmmm, not really.  Let’s just stay like this and talk.”  He answered.  Gabriel’s hand was rubbing up and down his back softly.  He could feel the hard length of Gabriel’s cock pressing into him, which made him smile even more knowing how much Gabriel liked his little show.  ‘We’ll see how long he can hold out.’  Addison thought to himself, deciding he’d push Gabriel to the limit of his no sex promise.  He’d keep it, because it was important to Gabriel, but there was a lot of room to play without crossing that line.

“Gabriel, if we weren’t in the Army, would you be okay with us being together?”  He suddenly asked, letting his buried hand stroke the big muscles of Gabriel’s chest.  Why had that question come out?

“Yes.”  The deep voice answered without a pause.

“Even letting everyone know?”  He asked, uncertain of the response.

Gabriel’s arms tightened around him.  “I would tell everyone you were my boyfriend, Addison.  I want to tell them now, but we can’t.”

“So we’re still boyfriends?”  He asked, surprised.

Gabriel sighed.  “Boyfriends are in your heart, Rabbit.  You’re in my heart, and I’m in yours.”

The way he said it cracked a dam inside him that he hadn’t realized was there.  The sincerity, the plain, unadorned raw honesty grabbed him inside and pulled at him until the simple words caused him hurt and joy simultaneously.  It was that straightforward to Gabriel, the only requirement and it was so pure and innocent Addison repeated it softly as he breathed.  “You’re in my heart.”

“Shhhhhh, Rabbit.  It’s okay.  It’s not sad.”  Gabriel murmured into his head, rubbing his back.  “Don’t cry, Rabbit.”

Addison sniffed, and wiped his nose with his free hand.  “Not really crying, buddy, just wasn’t expecting that.”  He answered gently.  “You really are beautiful, Gabriel.”  Addison didn’t cry, hadn’t shed a single tear that he could remember since he was five.  His parents wouldn’t have it and besides, what did he have to cry about?  Cry about his soft, pampered life?  His every need being met while what he actually wanted was withheld?  His frustration redirected into activities and lessons and duties until he fell asleep exhausted enough to never dream?  Transferred in the care of nannies, tutors and bodyguards that shuttled him from place to place who no doubt had strict instructions to keep him at arms length just like his parents did?  Cry about what?  Some fictional concept of freedom and individuality that always felt foreign to him until he met the Bravos?  Until he met Andrew who actually bothered to ASK him what he thought, what he liked, what he wanted and wouldn’t give up until he felt comfortable enough to actually vocalize the things he’d never been allowed to say.  He now knew his parents had been fortunate to have such an agreeable child as him, who didn’t argue or fight or throw tantrums but instead quietly accepted that they had his best interests at heart.  He wasn’t so sure of that when he got old enough to realize there was so much more out there in the world he’d never experienced.  The stories of the Spanish explorers and conquistadors his parents insisted his tutors taught him called to him, enamored him and he fell in love with the adventure of their lives, their battles, their fierce nature and tough resilience.  That was why he wanted to join the Army, why he’d filled out all the enlistment paperwork, took the ASVAB, and left his parents with no choice but to let him go.  By the time they found out, there wasn’t anything legal they could do to stop him.  He did feel a little bad for deceiving them.  They weren’t bad people, and he did love them.  He was mature enough to realize they were doing what they thought was best, that they were never mean or cruel, they praised him when he did well, often talked to him about how to resolve problems he was having.  But they were distant and unavailable for most of his childhood, far too busy to be involved in his day to day activities.  They had functions to attend, parties, meetings, businesses to run which required frequent travel.  But when they were home, they did carve out a little time for their cherished only son.  Addison wasn’t bitter about it, his basic decent nature felt grateful for the time he actually did get to spend with them.  When they were all together his parents didn’t talk business or work, they talked with Addison about how things were with him.  He felt a little guilty that he had only written them a few letters telling them what he was doing.  He wasn’t avoiding them, exactly.  It was because it felt like being in the Army was for HIM, his own personal experience, the first thing in his entire life that was entirely on him, for himself, and something he wanted.  He could take four years for that, his family obligations could wait that long.  His parents would have to understand.

He felt a sudden unexpected panic as an uninvited thought intruded:  two years left.  That was all.  Just two years to grab every experience he could.  Two years to be someone different before returning to his boring life of every minute scheduled for him, every decision made for him, every step planned, appearances, dress, inoffensive small talk, schooling his face into the vapid, empty, neutral smile required.  They chose his friends, and they would choose a selection of acceptable women that he could date, all of them beautiful no doubt, intelligent, from the best families.  But first, University, probably Oxford or Cambridge, not for the education exactly, but so he could rub elbows with his peers in the nobility.  His parents had high hopes.  After reading extensively, Addison knew minor nobility like his family weren’t truly considered peers, as a cadet branch, but his mother felt one must not fall behind if one was to be taken seriously among the peerage.  Addison felt that entire view of the European nobility was outdated and archaic.  Among the young whom he’d met, the overwhelming feeling was that in order to maintain their position they couldn’t be seen as placing themselves above the citizens of their respective states.  Image was everything.  Princess Grace of Monaco, and Princess Diana of England were beloved by the people of many countries.  Addison felt that there was a lesson there that his parents could learn.  But even so, he wasn’t stupid.  His father’s business connections, their financial success, depended upon being welcome in the highest circles and it was their name that ensured that more than their money and businesses.  His parents had even dined in the White House with President Reagan.

The titles of nobility in Spain are a mess.  At different times in history noble titles were eliminated, then reconferred, inherited titles done away with, then re-established, new categories created as honorifics without blood relation to the King or any other noble family.  Over two thousand Spanish nobles.  But in essence, they were a cadet branch that traced their lineage back to the Viscount Jofre of Terragona.  Addison’s cousin Reynaldo Maria de Patricio Ruiz Montelongo Escobar held the actual title, and he was ten years older than Addison.  They’d met when Addison was 16 at a family wedding in Spain.  Cousin Reynaldo wasn’t a first cousin, but was a very laid back guy who didn’t take himself too seriously, and actually told his parents that at family events titles and deference were absurd.  “Just relax, cousins, and enjoy yourselves.  We have to deal with that garbage too much in the world out there, we can relax here in private.”  Addison was trained too well to show his shock, but Cousin Reynaldo was younger than his parents by 15 years, yet he spoke to them as if they were contemporaries, and dismissed any importance of their status with just a few kind words.  That was the moment when he understood his parents took themselves far too seriously and the rigid nature of his upbringing was completely unnecessary.  Cousin Reynaldo was refined and well mannered, yet he came across as a normal person.  Not long after their return to the States he joined the wrestling team at his private school, much to his parents’ confusion.  Of course they objected.  “It’s coarse and beneath you, Addison.  All that rolling around with sweaty men, like animals.  You could get injured.”  His mother explained.  “What’s the point, Addison?”  His father asked.  “If you want to learn how to fight, we’ll get you a tutor, or you could train with Marco.”  Indicating Addison’s bodyguard.  Little did his father know he’d already been having Marco show him how to take care of himself.  It said a lot for Marco’s dedication and loyalty that he hadn’t told Addison’s father about it.  But of course, why would he?  It wasn’t forbidden.  Addison suspected Marco did not approve of how his parents raised Addison and so he sought to teach him as much about real world things to which his parents would never allow him to be exposed.  Marco had been with them since Addison was 5, having been just 21 when he was first hired, Addison’s parents seeing the necessity of growing a bond between them.  Now he’d be 36, and Addison knew he was helping his parents in other capacities.  He suspected his parents were keeping Marco around for when Addison returned, even though he hadn’t said he’d return.  He wrote Marco far more letters than he’d written his parents, writing him every week.  Addison idolized the man, a larger than life figure who was both serious and humorous.  Marco took his duties to heart, and recognized Addison needed a male figure he could be relaxed with, so in the unscheduled moments of his life Marco would invent games for them to play, quiz him on things he’d taught him, and let Addison be silly. He also knew Marco might also show the letters to his parents, but that was okay.  He just wrote about what he was learning, doing, his achievements, the friends he’d met, and generally about the Army experience.  As he’d been taught, his letters contained nothing intimate even if what he wrote was personal.  He sighed.  Only people of a higher class saw the distinction between intimate and personal revelations.  Addison hated that.  It was one of the reasons he loved the Bravos so much.  They were so free with their intimate feelings as if there was no harm in exposing yourself to people you trusted.  It was his last remaining wall within himself, and he felt guilty that he hadn’t told his brothers who he was.  He just couldn’t take the chance that they’d change, that they’d see and treat him differently.  He loved being considered just another soldier who they could insult, yell at, joke around with.  He felt like he belonged when they did that.  And most of all, he felt guilty about Gabriel.  He had never intended for things to go this far.  How would Gabriel take the news that he couldn’t find a way out, his family would never allow him to escape and that he couldn’t bring himself to leave them behind.  He was wracking his brain to find a way for he and Gabriel to stay together, as impossible as he knew it was.  But even if they both left the Army, he knew Gabriel would have a problem with his eventual marriage.  He could easily hire Gabriel as a body guard, have Marco teach him how it was done in Society.  Andrew would understand the difficult position Addison was in, but Gabriel wouldn’t.  Even Addison’s parents might reluctantly accept a relationship between he and Gabriel, enduring the necessity of keeping Addison happy so that he could marry and have kids and be the dutiful son to all outward appearances.  And that was the true issue - maintaining appearances.  As long as that was accomplished, just about anything could be tolerated.  But Gabriel would never allow himself to have a relationship with a married man.  The very idea had WRONG written all over it.  Gabriel was very clear about how he felt about wrong.

A low purr rumbled through Gabriel’s chest, pulling him back to the present.  He snuggled in deeper choosing to focus on the comforting feel of Gabriel’s huge body rather than depressing thoughts of his trapped existence.

**********************************

“Sir.”  Major Collins answered the phone.

“Mark, why do I have a Mr. and Mrs. Montelongo tormenting my staff?”  The General’s voice didn’t sound angry, and actually sounded amused.

“I have no idea, George.”  Collins sighed.  “Maybe asking for special treatment for their son?”

“I’ve put them off, but that fuse is almost burnt.  Is he one of the kids in your test program?”

“Yes, Sir.  Private Addison Montelongo in one of the Platoons we have scheduled for RIP in a couple weeks.

“I’m actually impressed.  How they figured out which command their son was under is beyond me, no one is supposed to know the participants.  You think the kid told his parents?”  General Middleton asked.

“Not possible, the soldiers don’t know anything about why they’re in the program.  That would defeat the purpose of the study.  I suspect the parents have other resources.”  He answered.

“Mmmmmm”. The General mused.  “I’ll figure it out, but something tells me I won’t have to.  They are persistent, and if I know their type they will be frustrated enough soon to overplay their hand.  Do you have the file on Montelongo?”

“In my office.  Major Baker knows where the participants’ files are.  I’ll call her when I get off the phone with you and tell her to bring it over.  You want anyone else’s or just Montelongo’s?”

“Send over Brickmann’s file too, he made some sort of impression on the team in Germany.  What’s your opinion?”

Collins knew George was asking for the unofficial information he’d never put on actual paper, things outside the weekly report he gave the General personally.  “Solid soldier, keeps it professional, shows unusual concern for his men which might be a problem in combat.  In some sort of relationship with an MIT engineering student, which is unclear.  Kevin Copeland.  There was some kind of love triangle between the two and a girl in high school, again unclear but almost certainly sexual.  Both Kevin and Carol attended the funeral of Private Brickmann’s father a few weeks ago, so the relationship may be ongoing.  The Copeland boy keeps to himself at MIT, no social life to speak of, but the girl has been quite active socially and sexually at USC.”

“Security risks?”

“I’m confident there’s no security risk.  Brickmann knows how to stay in his lane.  And we’re listening when possible.  Copeland and the girl aren’t idiots either.  There’s signs that Brickmann’s mother and brother know about the relationship with Copeland and the girl, so any kind of blackmail scenario seems unlikely.  And once Brickmann knows that WE know all about him, he can’t be compromised in that way either.  Except for suspected homosexuality, he’s squeaky clean, and eats, breathes, and sleeps Army.”

“Hmmmmm.  After I look at his file, I might want to talk more about Harris.  From what the team in Germany reported, we don’t see a soldier like this too often.”

Collins grinned.  “I’d have to agree.  If you met him in person, you’d see it.  There’s definitely something there.  I hope you’d let him have his time in Regiment if he gets through the Ranger course, so he could establish his unofficial credentials with the Rangers before moving him anywhere else.  You know how it is with that sort.  Interestingly, he, Montelongo and Gunnerson put in for a Ranger re-class just before we sent them to Airborne.”

“I remember, Mark. Rangers hold themselves to a higher standard.”  The General laughed.  “Almost as bad as getting jumped in with a street gang.  Of course, that was back in my day.  Never been so glad to get my ass kicked.  But today’s Ranger no doubt has other hazing to endure to be accepted.  Anyone else you think merits special notice?  If this program succeeds, we’ll need people out front.  Best to recognize potentials now.”

Collins did have a few standouts in mind.  “I’ll put together an overview by tomorrow and have Baker get the files to you with the others.  I do have to say, George, that this group is pretty fascinating.  It’s beyond the scope of this program, but we might want to look into selective unit composition.  We chose each of these groups from soldiers their previous units considered as outliers, those who didn’t exactly blend for some reason, homosexuality wasn’t the only selection criteria.  But put a group of them together and they seem to understand each other in a way that doesn’t happen in regular units.  It might be worth examining the dynamic as a separate program after we get done with this one.  Some of it is leadership, their platoons trust Brickmann and Lamont.”

General Middleton chuckled again.  “We’ll see.  The pile of your suggested programs and studies keeps growing.  I’m actually glad to see you get a little hands on in the field on this one.”

“Well thanks for approving it, George.  After the report for the Armed Services Committee on Iraq, doing something that might promote some good in the Armed Forces is a pleasure.  That was nasty business.”

“But necessary.  War always opens the door for soldiers to get creative on earning extra income.  It happens every time, but we can’t be lax about it or ignore it, especially the big stuff like armament and military equipment.  Just be glad that was your task instead of what Major Baker had to do with the looters.  That involved breaking down American doors on American soil on top of prosecuting service men and women, some with rank.  I did not enjoy that.  Are you planning on staying through the Ranger phase?”

Collins had given it quite a bit of thought and really couldn’t come up with a reason for his presence.  The Ranger course was its own little world and the RI’s knew what they were doing, and there could be no distractions or interference if their evaluations were to be accurate.  He’d be a distraction.  “No.  I’ve got work to do back in Washington.  I’m here until they are turned over to RIP, then we’ve got their Sergeants Walters and Horvath on standby for them during the course.  They were read in after their phase was complete so we could use them for this phase.  If Horvath and Walters did their job well enough in Germany, RIP shouldn’t be impossible for them, but the RI’s are going to be a bit angry that their normal 14% pass rate won’t be accurate for this class.  Plus, I’ve got something special in store for them between now and RIP, so I’ll be out of contact for a couple weeks.”

“You’re going to cheat, aren’t you?”  The General said.

“Aw, George, you wound me.  It’s not cheating.  They will qualify, and succeed on their own abilities.  But the point is to have them in Regiment.  It wouldn’t be a very good study program if all our participants failed out, would it?  I’m just making sure they have the knowledge and skills not to fail.”

“Yep, cheating.”

“Besides, this gives me a chance to have them evaluated outside of the military structure and command.  These guys are very close knit.  I want to see what they do without rules.  I might have a few more files for your special attention at the end of it.  Depends on their performance.”  he explained to his friend.  General George Middleton had become a friend more than a superior long ago.

“Well, just put it in the report, and I’ll see you in two weeks, Mark.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He heard the General chuckle just before he hung up.  ‘Sir’.

*********************************

His prediction came true the very next day.

“I’ve told them you are unavailable without an appointment, sir.”

He carefully stacked the files in full view, making sure that Private Montelongo’s file was on top.

“No, Lieutenant, they’ve succeeded in getting my attention.  Anyone who can get as far as my outside door isn’t your ordinary visitor.  May as well show them in.  Oh, and find some  Black Tea and brew a pot.  Ask Candler, he’s a tea nut, he’ll have some.  In 15 minutes bring it in.  A tray would be nice, Mrs. Montelongo would like that touch.  Any chance you have any service experience?”

The Lieutenant shook his head.  “Hmmmm, just ask Candler, he’s probably got all the materials, and might even like putting on a show.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Ten minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Montelongo were shown through his door.  He stood to greet them.  He wasn’t exactly sure who their sponsor was, but he did know you didn’t walk the halls of the Pentagon without some very high placed friends.  He felt standing in respect would start whatever this meeting was on the right note.

“Mr. Montelongo, Mrs. Montelongo, it’s a pleasure.  I hope I’ve pronounced it correctly.” He said with a smile.  He had to admit, this was a nice diversion from the usual phone calls with staff, the joint chiefs, Senators or senior Pentagon officials.  And he did find their determination amusing, so he was in a very gracious, pleasant mood.

Upon first impression, Mrs. Montelongo was stunning, a real beauty with night black hair, exceptionally pale skin, and brown eyes so light they almost appeared golden.  Her prominent and defined cheekbones accentuated delicate skin, full red lips he was sure didn’t have lipstick present, and a remarkably straight nose.  He knew from his research she was 45 years old, yet she could easily pass for her mid 20’s, if it wasn’t for the fierce steel in her gaze.  She wore a tight fitted black dress that hugged her athletic and slightly voluptuous body, black sheer hose and shiny black pumps.  She had refused to clip her visitor’s badge to her dress, he noticed and instead chose to clip it to her clutch bag that she held at her abdomen.

Mr. Montelongo was likewise exceptionally handsome and fit, though he showed his age of 48 by the hint of grey at his temples that had just begun to intrude upon his thick, dark hair.  General Middleton felt a twinge of envy.  His own hair had started greying prematurely when he was only 35, and had gone fully silver by the time he was 48, and now it had changed again in the years since to a brilliant white.  But at least he still had a full head of hair.

“Please, sit.  What is it that I can do for you?”

Mrs. Montelongo smiled, a genuine smile he couldn’t help being affected by.  “You’ve pronounced it perfectly, General.  However did you get it correct?  The slight pause between the first and second syllable, the slide of the third without overstressing.  You must have spent time in Spain.”

In fact, he’d called a friend at the Spanish Embassy for information about the Montelongo’s, and he’d been coached on the pronunciation.  He’d been correct in his guess:  they were very well connected.

“I admit I cheated.  I called the Embassy for coaching.”  He faked a wince and shrugged.  He hoped it would play.

Mrs. Montelongo laughed, a musical and delightful sound.  Her husband held out his hand to her which she took as she sat gracefully in the overstuffed chair across from his desk, on the edge of the seat as was proper, her ankles crossed, her back at a rigid 90 degrees that would put to shame any troops at attention on a parade march.  Mr. Montelongo released when she was in position, then sat himself, fully reclining to rest against the back of the chair, and surprisingly crossing his ankle over his knee in a relaxed position.  Somewhat a study of opposites.

She smiled.  “Oh, it IS nice to make matters easier with just a phone call, I agree.  Your friend seems very knowledgeable.  I’m sure we know him.  Possibly the Ambassador’s secretary Francisco?  Jaime de Ojeda y Eiseley has the most proficient staff.”

General Middleton smiled.  Yes, he liked her, and her games.  “And now you surprise me in return, Madam.  You are correct.  Francisco has become a personal friend, our sons work in the same law firm.”

“You must be very proud.”  She remarked.

He was just about to respond when there was a knock at the door.  Without waiting for a response, Candler entered carrying a tray.  Perfect timing.

“I took the liberty of having tea brought.  Black Tea, I believe?”  He raised his eyebrows with the question, along with a slight but pleasant smile.

Her face was radiant.  “Oh, yes, we’ll get along fine, General.  Does your man pour?”

“He does.”

Candler was playing his own game, and MIddleton wanted to laugh, but couldn’t.  Instead of his uniform, Candler had changed into a black suit, black tie, white shirt, every inch the trusted servant rather than a Brigadier General of the U.S. Army.  His lieutenant must have explained the situation to Candler, thank God.  Another on the long list of reasons he had the lieutenant on his staff.  Anticipate your superiors.

“Cream, no sugar.”  She said.  General Middleton had expected it to come out as an order, but instead it was downright pleasant and not arrogant at all.

“Yes, Madam.”  Candler said in his most subservient and serious voice.  “Would Sir care for tea?”

Mr. Montelongo grinned.  “Sir would love a Bourbon.  If you’ve got it.”

“I can do that.”  Middleton replied,  turning behind him to his credenza and opening the bottom drawer.  He pulled out two Waterford tumblers and the decanter he stored there.  The set was a promotion gift when he’d received his third star, from the very same Francisco whose ears were probably burning at this very moment.  A gift not too extravagant, which wasn’t allowed between a foreign national and a General at the Pentagon.  “It’s Jack Daniels, if that’s okay.”

“A bad bourbon doesn’t exist, General.”  Mr. Montelongo replied.

He poured two fingers in each tumbler, then stood to deliver Mr. Montelongo’s to him personally.  If there were actual stakes to this meeting, he might have entertained the power play of setting the glass on the edge of his desk so that Montelongo would have to retrieve it.  But there was no point to petty games like that in this situation, and the General firmly believed you could catch more flies with honey.  By this time Candler had delivered the teacup and saucer to Mrs. Montelongo.  “I certainly didn’t expect Wedgewood in the Pentagon, General.  Your tea set is beautiful.”

“Oh, it’s not mine, Mrs. Montelongo.”  General Middleton replied.

She smiled.  “I know.  It’s his.  My compliments General Candler, it’s a fine set, and you make a lovely pot.  I do appreciate the service, though it wasn’t necessary.  I do hope Francisco didn’t make me out to be some kind of monster if you saw the need for this performance.”

Out played.  Well, Francisco hadn’t been exaggerating.  Mr. Montelongo was sipping on his bourbon with a pleased smile.

“I don’t blame you, General, but you’ll find it damn near impossible to out maneuver my wife.”  He raised his glass in a salute.  “Damn good try, though, fun to watch.”

“No, Francisco told me your preferences, to be sure.”  Middleton explained.  “But he warned me against being anything but direct.  I thought he was exaggerating.  Turns out he gave me sound advice.”

Her laugh, once again, was a thing of beauty.  “I think that all went very well, and I hope I surprised you as much as you surprised me, General.”

He had to admit, she had.  “It’s not often I’m not the one in control in my own office, Madam.  I offer my surrender.”

“Accepted, of course.  With one condition.”

Here it comes, he thought.  Get me off balance, then go for the kill.  He had to admire her skillful manipulation.  Still, he was no pushover.

“Which is?”  He prompted.

“You pour a little of that bourbon in this lovely teacup.  I love Black Tea, but a touch of bourbon fortifies the spirit.”

Middleton found himself laughing in spite of himself.  She glanced over at General Candler and winked.  “Don’t be so dour, you must try it yourself before you judge.”  She turned once again to look at him.  “I know you’re a busy man, so we won’t waste your time, and we have a luncheon with the Ambassador in an hour.  The presence of my son’s file between us, on a stack of similar files, tells me you already know why we’re here.”  Middleton had gone over to pour a splash of bourbon in her tea.

“I admit I don’t.  I know it must be about your son, but nothing specific. I decided to familiarize myself with his record when it became apparent you wouldn’t give up trying to get ahold of me.  Candler, the Lady recommended you give it a try.  It would be rude to refuse.”  He said to his junior.  Candler poured himself a cup, using the one he expected to serve to Mr. Montelongo and held it out.  “That’s the spirit.”

Mrs. Montelongo nodded.  “I appreciate your being prepared.  We’d like you to give him a hardship discharge.  We understand he’s involved in some special training program that no one will talk about, but as our only child we can’t risk endangering his life.”

“And how does your son feel about this?”  He’d tried to get ahold of the Private, but he was off post on a pass and no one knew where he was.  Even if they did, Middleton wouldn’t cancel his pass just to get some answers about why his parents were making a nuisance of themselves.

“He’ll resist.  He did this on his own, without our approval.”  She said.

The term ‘without our approval’ said volumes about what kind of family this was, in spite of Mrs. Montelongo’s charm and beauty.

“I assure you, he’s in no danger.  The program he’s in is still in the training phase.  The real world phase is next, of course, but considerations can be made to keep him in country.”

“Every week he’s in your military is a week he’s not learning what he needs to be a part of this family, General.”

“I understand your position, and his value, Mrs. Montelongo.  Have you considered that what he’s learning in the military has its own value, something he can’t learn anywhere else?  Your son is very capable, I’ve read his file, and I’ve no doubt you have your own informants keeping tabs on him, so you know he’s doing well.  He only has a four year enlistment.  What’s wrong with letting him ride it out?  He seems to want to, he’s made no reports to his superiors that he’s unhappy.  If I may say so, he’s cut from the same cloth as you.  He’s been very careful not to excel, staying solidly at the top of the middle, when I think we both know he could do so much better.  I think he’s enjoying himself.  His careful positioning tells me he’s got a sharp mind, and the ability to keep himself exactly where he wants to be.  All-State Wrestling Champ in his weight class?  A 4.2 GPA in his academics, with honors in Physics, Calculus, History and Literature.  A 1596 on his SAT, almost acing both math and language.  I suspect he did that on purpose, failing to achieve a perfect score.  Your son is smart enough to know what he’s doing, I think.  I’ll be direct, as Francisco suggested:  I think your son needed a break, needed to take some time to find out who he was, who he wanted to be.  He’s trying incredibly hard to be absolutely normal, to raise no flags, he tells no one who he is, did you know that?  Not one of his closest friends know his father owns and runs a multi-billion dollar international company, shakes hands with royalty, has dinner with the President and is the 375th wealthiest person in the world.  They probably don’t know about your family at all.  I don’t know many young men who wouldn’t brag about that or try to get special treatment.  Yet, your son doesn’t.  It says quite a bit about who he is.  I think you’ll find he’s far more cooperative with your future plans if you let him have this time.  He’s got two years left.  The more your interfere, the more he’ll resent you.  Take it from a father who made that mistake.  My son and I eventually repaired our relationship, but it wasn’t easy.  I think Addison will get whatever he’s looking for in his time with us, even if it’s just having the experience of being a normal kid, if you let him, and he’ll return to you with a new focus.”

He hadn’t intended to give parental advice, it just came out.  The usual hard line wasn’t going to work with them he intuited.  While he could probably kick the kid out of the study program easily enough, Collins would be irritated, saying it compromised the results.  Collins needed this study to be without wrinkles in order to make clear recommendations.  He’d custom built this program after visits to the militaries of several allied countries to study the interaction between homosexual troops and their comrades.  But only Americans knew the peculiar opinions of puritanical Americans.  He wouldn’t change a single thing about the study program without talking to Major Collins first, and he was out of contact for two weeks.

“We know our son, General.  He didn’t do this to spite us.  He has some romantic notion of being a soldier, with all the tough, gritty brutality it involves. He has no idea what true war is.  He’s playing a pretend game, knowing there are no actual consequences for his failure.”  She sighed.  “We’ve spoiled him, it’s true, but he’s a good boy.  And every year he’s playing pretend he isn’t getting the education he needs to take his place in the business.  Release him from your program so that his discharge can happen.  We’ve already arranged it.”  She looked at her husband.

Mr. Montelongo finally leaned forward.  “Senator Graham’s office will have the paperwork on your desk this afternoon.  We appreciate your doing this for us.”

It was clear the Montelongo’s were accustomed to getting their way, being in control, and navigating the political hallways of Washington, D.C.  He was going to have to choose his options very carefully.  People like them had backup plans and alternate strategies waiting in case their initial request was denied.  He was going to have to figure out just how important this kid was to the study program.  One thing was certain, the Montelongo’s absolutely could not find out the nature of the study program.  He had a feeling the hell they could unleash would make actual wartime combat feel like a fun day in the park.

 

What a fucking mess.

[laguyinhou]

1. Welcome back! Hope your vacation was wonderful! 

2. Well. That certainly was something...amazing. The way you write Addison/Gabriel is perfection. I met parents like them before when I was on HRAP. Nasty work. Hopefully they don't succeed.

3. Remember when I joked you hit close to home several times with this story? I guess it may have been more common during the DADT years for these things to occur, but damn if it doesn't bring back some happy memories. Buddy told me he was going to the beach for a 4 day weekend and asked it I wanted to go with. Went with him, we got there and it was an enormous house with a  pool. Turns out his parents had bought it for him as a weekend getaway. 

[Kayne]

I absolutely Love This Story!

[Assmunch]

2 hours ago, laguyinhou said:

1. Welcome back! Hope your vacation was wonderful! 

2. Well. That certainly was something...amazing. The way you write Addison/Gabriel is perfection. I met parents like them before when I was on HRAP. Nasty work. Hopefully they don't succeed.

3. Remember when I joked you hit close to home several times with this story? I guess it may have been more common during the DADT years for these things to occur, but damn if it doesn't bring back some happy memories. Buddy told me he was going to the beach for a 4 day weekend and asked it I wanted to go with. Went with him, we got there and it was an enormous house with a  pool. Turns out his parents had bought it for him as a weekend getaway. 

As usual, my vacation made me want to never come back.  LOL.  And I am sore from work, and it’s not even strenuous, just wiring for new lights and drywall patching.  But damn my shoulders and legs feel all the overhead work and ladder climbing.  Last night I slept good for the first time since being back.  It’s rare for me to sleep past 4 a.m., but this morning I woke up at 5:15.  It felt like being on vacation again.  

Sleeper’s parents won’t give up, so they will find a way, but he has a little more time, and he needs to stick around long enough to let Assmunch and Zeus know his real story.  

It’s funny, isn’t it, how the branches are filled with people from so many different backgrounds, some you look at an wonder ‘why would you put yourself through this if you could have a fantastic life without superiors ordering you around all day?’  But everyone has a different reason for joining up, and some do it on impulse, or they just want to get as far away from their previous life as they can.  Back in my dad’s day, it was about the security of a promised career, decent income, being legitimate.  Now I hear a lot of stories about learning trades and being instantly employable after a 4 year or 8 year enlistment.  And of course, all the branches now have the ‘up or out’ approach, so hanging around just treading water for a paycheck isn’t possible.  I hope your four day weekend at the beach house was fun!  

[Assmunch]

1 hour ago, Kayne said:

I absolutely Love This Story!

Thanks man!