Chapter Text
"Fine, not here…"
Theta chuckled and pulled back, getting to his feet and holding out his hand to Koschei, waiting for the brunet to take it and get up. But Koschei froze, looking at… his boyfriend? Could he call him that? Probably yes. Looking at his boyfriend and realising what was happening, still trying to steady his breathing. From the outside, it probably looked cinematic and slightly pompous, but the boys didn't care. After a few more seconds of admiring each other and Theta raising a questioning eyebrow, Koschei finally decided to respond to the gesture and reached out his hand in return. When he stood up, he felt that Theta didn't let go of his hand. Funny… They'd been friends for almost their whole lives, but they'd never held hands like this. Not exactly — they had held hands before, plenty of times, but there was always a reason. But like this, without a reason, without a solid excuse they could explain to each other or to others if strange questions arose — they had never held hands like this before.
"Shall we?" Koschei tried to shift his focus away from their hands, which he'd been staring at with surprise and a reverent pleasure for what seemed like too long. Theta flinched and nodded but didn't move from the spot. Koschei followed his gaze and exhaled quietly, feeling a slight pang of guilt.
"The shelter. Promise me we'll fix it and come back here to watch the stars," Theta finally turned and looked into the boy's eyes. Just a minute ago, his eyes had held only sparks and pure joy, and now they were so… so sad and full of hope that Koschei couldn't help but promise him, even if he'd wanted to.
"We'll fix it, I promise. And we'll come back here again and again. Do you believe me?"
"I believe you," Theta nodded slowly, and Koschei smiled at the way his eyes began to look more alive again. "Koschei?"
"Hm?"
"When we were kids, when I suggested building that shelter, why did you agree if you thought stars were boring?"
Koschei froze, trying to follow the chain of thoughts in Theta's head.
"I lied. I liked the stars. And I liked watching them with you."
Theta nodded again, this time more confidently, as if confirming something to himself.
"Let's go now. We'll fix the shelter tomorrow, alright?"
Theta hummed softly in agreement and gently nudged a stick lying nearby towards the pile with the toe of his boot. They walked hand in hand, not letting go of each other for a second, as if afraid that if their grip were to break, all the magic would dissipate and crumble like sand through fingers. It felt a bit strange to descend the mountain with only one free hand, but it wasn't deadly, so their fingers continued to stroke each other even on the slopes. Reaching the familiar forest path, the boys finally broke the silence, saying whatever silly things came to mind, just like old times. The rustle of leaves and the hum of birds were now interrupted by the ringing laughter of two boys who occasionally nudged each other with their shoulders. Theta had been afraid that after the confession they would feel awkward, and yes, there was some awkwardness, but it lasted only about fifteen minutes — an utterly insignificant amount of time compared to how long they'd been unable to open up to each other. Now they could finally talk about everything that had happened during those days of silence. Academy news, their classmates, and of course Mortimus.
"I thought you were going to incinerate him on the spot after what he said and after I left!" Koschei said this laughing, letting the situation go. And Theta joined in the laughter. He was so beautiful, so wonderful when he smiled. Small lines gathered around his eyes, and his lips stretched into a radiant smile.
"Nah, I held back!" Theta winked at Koschei and suddenly found himself closer than they'd been the whole walk. Koschei's hearts skipped a beat, and he leaned forward slightly, wanting to kiss Theta on the cheek — so beautiful and dishevelled.
"Yeah, too bad, he deserved it…" he muttered, staring at the smooth skin in front of him and losing track of the conversation as he found himself just a few pathetic inches from the boy. For the sake of curiosity, Koschei looked up to study Theta's expression. Oh… Well, no surprise there. Theta wasn't looking at him; his gaze was darting everywhere it could reach, and the boy himself seemed to have completely forgotten about him. The brunet smiled as usual and was about to ask what he was looking for when a sharp exclamation interrupted him.
"Hey, look up there!" Theta pointed with the finger of his free hand at the sky.
"Pretty, yeah," Koschei tilted his head back, staring at where his boyfriend was pointing, without much enthusiasm. Dark sky, yellow stars — same as always.
"No, that's not it. Look closer — the Wanderer is there."
Koschei was about to frown when he finally spotted that very constellation in the sky. He had completely forgotten that he'd named it that. But Theta remembered. He wondered if Theta had looked for it while they were fighting? Koschei didn't dare ask. Either way, the Wanderer was directly above them now, shining brighter than usual.
"Shooting stars, see?"
Koschei squinted and saw tiny sparks flying across the sky at short intervals, straight from one of the Wanderer's heads. On Gallifrey, there was no concept of a "shooting star shower" because the Time Lords had understood its nature for too long to give it such a fairytale name. And also because, honestly, they were rather dull and didn't pay it any attention. But Theta had read a lot about it in books about Earth, had heard mystical stories about "shooting stars," and was happy every time he saw the phenomenon.
"I see… Are you going to make a wish?" Koschei smiled, still looking at the sky. Theta always made wishes when he saw shooting stars, so Koschei was used to it. But this time, Theta took on a very serious expression, not taking his eyes off the sky. He finally stopped, and Koschei stopped with him.
"I always make a wish."
"I know. So?"
Theta pressed his lips together, thinking about his wish. Koschei lowered his gaze to him, thinking that his own main wish was already right here, as cheesy as that might sound. The dim light from the sky fell softly on Theta's forehead, filtering through his curls and creating beautiful patterns on his face. The brunet even stopped breathing for a second, savouring the moment. But the silence quickly brought on unpleasant goosebumps, so he resumed breathing soon enough.
"Well?"
"You're not supposed to say wishes out loud," Theta was still looking up, tracing each falling star with his eyes.
"You can tell me. Or are you afraid it won't come true?" Koschei chuckled at him, and Theta clicked his tongue.
"I wished to get out of here as soon as possible. Finish my studies and roam any point in time and space, far away from this place. Nothing's keeping me here."
This wasn't news; they'd discussed such plans often when they were far enough from the Academy. But for some reason, something about it made Koschei wary. He didn't speak immediately, first just quietly studying Theta's face.
"What about me?"
"What?" Theta finally turned to him. He looked surprised, as if he didn't even understand the question. "Oh… You, yes, of course, you do! But that's not what I meant. I… Ah, never mind," the boy bit his lip, changing the subject. "What did you wish for?"
A nasty question crept into Koschei's mind: "You weren't thinking about me when you made that wish, were you?" But he decided to keep it to himself. After all, they'd only been a couple for fifteen minutes; maybe Theta really hadn't meant it that way.
"I…" Koschei only now realised he'd been too busy studying Theta to think about his own wish. "My wish is the same as always. I want to be the master of these stars, of these universes. I want to shape time and space with you, to create new constellations for us to look at." There was no malice or desire for petty ownership in his gaze. No, he saw the situation clearly and believed that Time Lords were powerful enough beings not to stand on the sidelines but to rewrite space and time, change the laws to suit their needs, and rule the entire ecosystem. However, his thoughts were mostly humane. Theta sometimes found his plans too arrogant and certainly egocentric, but he never said anything like that out loud. Usually.
"That's a bit ambitious, don't you think?"
"What is?"
"Well… I think that if you're going to break the non-interference policy, you should do it carefully and for a reason. It wasn't invented for nothing."
"If you interfere in secret, that doesn't change the fact that you're still interfering. Is there even any difference between doing it for a 'good cause' or not? It's all subjective. Your morality is sometimes very convenient, don't you think?"
"Well… And yours, on the other hand, is sometimes very conveniently absent!" Theta smirked and ruffled Koschei's hair, playing it off as a joke, but then continued seriously. "You know. If I rule time and you rule space, we could visit every corner of the universe."
"Or just be together. Sometimes I just want to steal a TARDIS and fly far away with you, not caring about the rest of the world…"
"Steal? That's disrespectful to the TARDIS and our people, isn't it? It seems reckless and low to me… Buying one would be better." Theta was staring into the distance, continuing to talk about what a strange thing to do that would be for a while longer. Koschei stood beside him, pressing his lips together. He wanted to object that that wasn't the point, but in the end he just let it go, trying to enjoy the evening. After all, he didn't want to argue right now, not after they'd finally reconciled. As if he couldn't make concessions on an evening like this. Theta's voice pulled him out of his thoughts again.
"Right, let's go. The prefects are already very agitated these days," Theta didn't want to mention the reason, but they both understood what it was. "I wouldn't want them to catch us during the second round of room checks."
They spent the rest of the walk more calmly, since the Academy was now very close. Still, they were interrupted by giggles and kisses in all sorts of places. One second sweet and even silly, the next already long and wet. Their hands were still intertwined, and sometimes Koschei let his fingers wander a little higher than necessary, brushing against the sensitive skin on Theta's wrist. As if by accident, gently and teasingly. And each time, Theta held his breath and lost his train of thought.
"You go first," Koschei whispered when they reached the window. Strangely, despite the missing student and the Academy's state of alarm, this entry point was still unguarded. Either the administration really didn't know about it — which seemed highly unlikely — or someone other than the students needed it. Both options seemed strange, but Theta preferred not to think about it.
Jumping down from the windowsill, Theta waited for the boy, carefully holding him as he climbed over. Making sure no one was around, the boys quietly headed towards their rooms.
"Theta."
"Yeah?"
"You know what we didn't think through?"
"Surprise me."
Koschei stopped by Theta's room and gave an exaggerated heavy sigh, then pulled on the handle. But not seeing the expected reaction on Theta's face, the brunet frowned and looked inside himself. Empty. Strange. His first thought was that something had happened to Drax, because although he usually disappeared at night, he'd been trying not to do that recently.
"He's with Ushas, it's fine," Theta said, placing a hand on Koschei's shoulder and walking inside. "They kind of… finally noticed each other."
The door clicked. Koschei also walked in and immediately started fiddling with the lock, trying to close it. Theta turned on the dim light and stood against the wall, stroking his neck and awkwardly looking down at his feet. On the mountain, he seemed to have exhausted the limits of his courage, but now all he could do was stammer and bite his lip. While walking here, Theta hadn't been afraid to flirt with Koschei and tease him with kisses on the neck. Where had his boldness gone now? Interesting question.
***
"Well… Awkward, isn't it…?"
But Koschei didn't let him finish. He suddenly stood before him, crushing their lips together and moving forward, pressing him against the wall. He felt exactly as he had half an hour ago on the mountain — so greedy, so sincere, so aroused. His lips were ravaging the lips opposite, biting and licking wetly with his tongue. Theta could hear his ragged breathing and feel him pressing his whole body against him, pinning him to the wall. Koschei radiated a heat that Theta could feel even through their robes. His gaze darted from lips to eyes and back, and his mouth greedily gulped air between kisses.
And Theta responded. He cupped Koschei's face in his hands, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. Koschei was so close, so terribly close, that Theta could hear his double heartbeat pounding against his sternum faster than usual. And he smelled so good, god, his hair smelled like… air? Air filled with ozone, like after a thunderstorm. It crossed Theta's mind that maybe it was because he constantly used mental energy and tension, but those thoughts scattered when the brunet gently placed his hands on Theta's waist, stroking and pressing lightly. His fingers on his skin were still trembling, betraying Koschei's obvious nervousness, which he was trying to hide despite everything. But at the same time, they were also extremely insistent, sending pleasant shivers down Theta's spine.
The curly-haired boy hissed through his teeth and pulled back, hitting the back of his head against the wall as he felt Koschei slip his thigh between his legs and rub lightly, brushing against his hard cock. Lightning shot through his body, and the ache in his groin intensified.
"Me too," Koschei whispered this in a hoarse voice and smirked at Theta's reaction, trying not to show that he himself was just as hard, rubbing a little harder. "Feel it?"
"Yeah…" Theta was taking enormous effort not to start rubbing back. He considered himself fairly restrained, although at this moment he would have forgiven himself any lapse.
Actually, such strong arousal was uncharacteristic for Gallifreyans. Not that they were asexual, it was just that since sex wasn't a means of reproduction, Time Lords had a different attitude towards it than humans. For them, sex was one of the highest indicators of trust, of opening up to a partner. Mostly, they didn't feel arousal at the sight of someone with whom they didn't have a strong emotional connection. Of course, even among Time Lords, there were those who had casual sexual relationships, but most considered such a lifestyle beneath their species, since they didn't need sex as such.
But Theta didn't count himself among those. What stronger connection could there be than theirs? The boy pressed his palms against Koschei's chest and pushed him slightly away, trying to catch his breath and smiling a slightly crooked smile.
"Something wrong?"
"No, no, it's… perfect. Just maybe move to, um…" Theta licked his lips, looking into Koschei's darkened but so attentive eyes. He loved being the focus of that attention, it was terribly pleasant. "To a more horizontal surface?"
Koschei smiled and gave Theta a quick kiss on the corner of his lips, then moved away from the wall, now letting Theta lead him while he walked backwards. Bumping his hips against the edge of the bed, Koschei turned back briefly and swore when he saw the mess on it. He yanked the bedspread off in one go, dumping everything on the floor, and straightened the sheet slightly. Theta, not wasting any time, pushed him by the shoulder, making him sit down on the edge of the bed.
"Lie down," Theta said, leaning over him and holding Koschei by the shoulder. "And take off your robe." Surprise appeared on the brunet's face, his eyebrows shooting up.
"What? No, I want to be on top, I—"
"Koschei," Theta moved closer, settling himself on Koschei's thighs and wrapping one arm around his neck. "I know. But lie down first, please. For me."
Their gazes met, and Theta could almost physically feel Koschei wanting to object. But he just pressed his lips together, let out a loud, exaggerated exhale, clicked his tongue, and grabbed the hem of his robe, which, thank Rassilon, was separable today. Pulling off the top part along with his cloak, Koschei leaned back and spread his arms. The cool sheet gave him goosebumps, making him shiver.
"Happy?"
"More than."
Theta shifted slightly on Koschei's thighs, getting more comfortable and, of course, wanting to tease him. Having achieved the desired effect — namely, a sharp intake of breath from Koschei — Theta smiled contentedly and bent over the boy. After a brief kiss on the lips, Theta began a trail of kisses down to his chin, then to his neck, sucking and biting. The brunet responded by just biting his lip, squeezing his eyes shut in pleasure, and stroking Theta's hair in approval. But Theta wasn't satisfied with that. Oh, he didn't want Koschei to hold back with him; he so wanted to hear his moans and sighs… And he was going to get them.
Unexpectedly for Koschei, Theta suddenly bit into his neck, simultaneously inhaling his scent. And yes, it worked like a charm. Koschei whimpered, grabbing the boy's hair tighter than he'd intended and throwing his head back. Theta's cock twitched immediately in response to the sound, and he pulled back, swallowing hard and studying the dark mark on the skin.
Pressing close to Koschei again, Theta began to kiss every centimetre of his body, moving lower down to his chest. Poking at random again, Theta licked Koschei's nipple, then blew cool air on it. The reaction wasn't long in coming: the brunet's other hand immediately landed on Theta's shoulder, squeezing it, as if unsure whether to push him away or pull him closer. Koschei himself arched his back, offering himself to the touch, and let out another quiet, keening moan.
Theta closed his eyes, setting to work licking Koschei's chest and savouring the sounds he made. God, exploring his body was wonderful. Koschei tried so hard to be restrained, silent, so hard to be in control of the situation, but that didn't align with his excessive sensitivity. A light bite on one nipple and rolling the other between his fingers proved fatal for Koschei. He moaned openly, covering his red face with his forearm.
"Fuck… stop teasing, please, or I'll come before I have to," Koschei was still trying to joke, though his ragged breathing and hard cock, still clearly pressing against Theta's thigh, suggested it might not be entirely a joke.
"Hey, have some patience," Theta bit Koschei's nipple harder, and hearing him hiss, finally moved lower.
"I hate you," Koschei hissed, though he didn't move.
Getting down on his knees from the bed and reaching Koschei's trousers, the boy began to slowly pull them down, kissing the newly exposed skin. Throwing the trousers aside, Theta let his slow, longing gaze travel back up to Koschei. He was lying there, propped up on his elbows, his chest heaving — already burning with bites — and his hard cock hidden only by his boxers. His mouth was slightly open, and although his eyes were trying to hold Theta's gaze, they still nervously darted from his own arousal to the boy's face. He seemed unable to believe that Theta was so close to him right now. He probably should have said something caustic, as usual, but he was too afraid of scaring Theta off.
Luckily, Theta didn't stay inactive for long. A moment later, his hand reached down to remove Koschei's underwear, hooking the elastic and carefully pulling it back. Koschei held his breath, finally feeling the longed-for release, his hips instinctively arching slightly. Theta's free hand landed on his stomach, holding him down. When the last piece of clothing was dealt with, Koschei suddenly realised, to his surprise, that Theta himself was sitting in front of him fully dressed. He wanted to object, to hint that Theta should also take something off, and in fact flip the situation and already pin Theta to the bed — when he felt Theta's broad tongue on his inner thigh. His legs immediately tensed, closing slightly around the boy's head, and a broken gasp escaped his throat.
Theta smiled. Koschei was breathtakingly beautiful. All the bites, hickeys, and red marks were visible on his pale skin, only heightening Theta's desire to touch and stroke him everywhere. He wanted to lick his sharp collarbones and hip bones for as long as possible. And his cock, leaning slightly to the side, a little longer than Theta's own, was now almost lying on his stomach, drawing attention with its swollen, crimson head.
The boy swallowed and brought his face closer, breathing out hot air. He touched it experimentally with his tongue, then ran it in a long strip from base to tip. Koschei arched, despite Theta's hand on his stomach. It felt so good to finally have some contact with his aching cock. Growing bolder, Theta wrapped his hand — the one that had been on his stomach — around his cock and pumped it several times. Receiving an approving exhale in response, Theta continued to jerk him off slowly, watching his reaction. He placed his other hand on Koschei's thigh, softly stroking and tracing patterns.
Watching how Koschei gently moved his hips to meet his hand, as if begging for more, Theta licked his lips and finally took him in his mouth. At first just the head, sucking it and licking the frenulum, again drawing too-loud-in-his-opinion moans from Koschei. Then, getting used to it, Theta tried to take him deeper, clumsily, slowly, but with genuine desire. Koschei trembled finely, trying to control his body, but his hips kept jerking involuntarily, and he thrust into Theta's mouth, biting his lips and clutching Theta's shoulder.
Koschei was close; Theta could tell from the way his eyebrows were knitting together more and more, from the moans he was restraining less often, and from the increasing trembling. With his tongue, Theta could taste his slickness, licking and swallowing it. Koschei was close, but not close enough. And then he felt the tapping. "Thump-thump-thump-thump." Very light, barely there, but a familiar rhythm. Theta was tapping it out on Koschei's inner thigh, apparently without even thinking. But Koschei couldn't help but notice. It felt like a headache finally gone — a headache so deeply ingrained that you'd stopped noticing it.
"Are you… mgh… are you doing it on purpose?"
"What?" Theta only paused for a second, letting the cock slip from his mouth but continuing to jerk him with his hand. His lips were shiny, and his eyes looked utterly clueless. Koschei didn't care if it was on purpose anymore. The only thing that mattered was that he continue everything he'd been doing a second ago.
"Nothing… ah… nothing, just… just keep going, god."
And Theta continued, again taking the head into his mouth. It felt so good that the brunet let out a muffled sound, almost like a sob, and with his free hand clutched the sheet so hard his knuckles went white. Theta moved his head smoothly, swirling his tongue around the head and tapping the rhythm on Koschei's thigh.
"Theta…" Koschei moaned, no longer controlling his voice. He had probably never felt so good. "Theta, I'm close… Fuck… I'm… I'm gonna…"
Oh yes, Theta could feel it. Could feel the muscles of his stomach tightening, his balls drawing up. He knew Koschei was terribly close. Knew it — and so he pulled back, letting the cock slip out of his mouth with a wet pop, stopping the movement of his hand and squeezing the base. Koschei whimpered, hurt and almost pained. His hips thrust up a few times by inertia, but it was useless, and he just fell back onto the bed, defeated and frustrated.
"You're tormenting me…"
"Nope. I just want you to come with me, not like this."
"That's cruel," Koschei finally caught his breath. Honestly, he didn't want to come like that for their first time either, but god, the fact that he had been so close…
Theta smiled fondly and pulled away. Koschei's warm hand slid from his hair, stroking his cheek as if in farewell. It smelled of coal. Pleasant. Theta wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, rubbing his own erection, which was obvious even through his Academy uniform.
"I thought you'd be, you know, resisting, taking charge, taking the initiative," Theta said softly, smiling gently and looking at Koschei, who was still horribly turned on.
"I tried," the brunet propped himself up on his elbows, looking into the boy's eyes. His gaze burned with arousal, challenge, and a slight embarrassment that he immediately tried to mask with a joke. "But you were on your knees sucking my cock so well that I forgot how to breathe… Take that as a compliment. Now get over here, you sadist."
Koschei sat up fully and reached out his hand to Theta, helping him up and settling him back on his lap. Once they were comfortable, and Koschei had his back against the wall, he abruptly pulled Theta close, crushing their mouths together and tasting himself on Theta's lips. It was strange, but not unpleasant. In any case, kissing Theta was worth it. Pulling back, Koschei quickly hooked the edge of Theta's robe, pulling it up and leaving him in just his trousers. Finally, he could see his boy's body. How long he had dreamed of this… How he had loved to secretly watch him in the communal changing rooms, in the Academy pool, on field assignments when they shared a tent. He had seen Theta's body so often, furtively, but never like this. He had never had the chance to study it, to admire it, to kiss every centimetre and make Theta arch. Koschei would never forgive himself if he didn't take this opportunity.
The brunet ran his hand over Theta's torso, grazing his nipples with his fingernails and earning a stifled gasp. Wrapping both arms around Theta, Koschei began to kiss and suck on his skin, breathing in his scent and trying to memorise it forever. Theta rarely saw Koschei like this… tremulously gentle. As if he were touching a porcelain statue that could shatter from the wrong move. His actions contrasted sharply with his sharp tongue, but perhaps that was the essence of Koschei.
"You're shaking," Koschei's voice sounded not mocking, but rather puzzled. It wasn't a shiver from arousal, and it wasn't cold in here…
"Nervous," Theta froze in his arms, swallowing and looking away. Just a minute ago, kneeling between Koschei's spread legs, he hadn't looked this agitated. Or had Koschei not noticed?
"Why?" The question was stupid, direct, but right now it was the best option.
"Well… This is my first time," Theta blurted out, still not meeting Koschei's eyes. "Unlike you."
Koschei pulled back, raising an eyebrow, trying to understand what he'd just heard. Theta's words sounded like an accusation, as if there was something hidden in them.
"What do you mean?" he asked slowly, stroking the boy's sides, trying to draw his attention and show that he was ready to get to the bottom of the problem.
"Well…" Theta finally looked up at him. "A few years ago. Remember that guy from Matrix Engineering? What was his name… Marcis…"
"Marcus."
"Yeah," Theta grimaced slightly. "You spent so much time with him. He'd whisper things to you, you'd smile back. Everyone at the Academy was saying you two were a thing. And I…"
"And you believed it?" Koschei stared straight into his eyes, unable to believe what he was hearing. Somewhere deep down, he felt terribly hurt that Theta — his Theta — could have believed for even a second that Koschei would give his heart, let alone his first time, to someone else. But next to that hurt, another feeling flared up. Theta had probably been very afraid of getting it wrong, thinking Koschei had more experience. Koschei wanted to hold and kiss his Theta again.
"I didn't say anything. What was I supposed to do? I didn't interfere, but it hurt, you know." His voice carried a note of hurt. God, it was so long ago, but Theta still remembered it… Silence filled the room. Koschei stared at him for a long time, then let out a quiet, hoarse laugh and pulled Theta by the neck into a slow kiss.
"You're an idiot, Theta Sigma," he whispered, still holding the boy close. "You believed the rumours? You — the only one who knows me better than anyone?" Koschei pulled back, his head thumping lightly against the wall, and continued. "There was nothing between us. Nothing with him, nothing with anyone else but you. You're the first, believe me?"
Theta nodded, licking his lips and smirking as well. He was glad to hear it, to know that he was Koschei's first too. To know it had all just been rumours, nothing more.
"Really? Because you kiss like you've had practice. Lots of it," he was already sure of the boy's answer; he just wanted to tease him a little. Or maybe hear one more confirmation that he was the only one. Just a little.
Koschei smiled in response and shook his head, running his hand through Theta's damp hair, pushing it away from his face. For some reason, this gesture felt more intimate than anything that had come before.
"It's not about practice. I feel you, and you feel me. We've been wide open to each other for years. Do you think such a strong mental connection just goes away?" Koschei gently stroked Theta's temple. "I feel you constantly. Your presence, and now your… desires. Well, after you opened up to me completely. This connection is probably never going away. I'll feel you through every regeneration. Always."
Theta nodded. His sudden surge of jealousy melted away, leaving behind something warm and soft. But along with it, he felt a touch of fear. If this connection was going to be with them forever, what would happen if one day they drifted apart… or if one of them didn't want to see the other anymore? Koschei must have felt that Theta was getting too lost in dark thoughts, because he decided to steer the conversation in a more pleasant direction.
"Alright, enough of that. Do you want me to show you what I can do?" A familiar fire sparked in Koschei's eyes. After all, they were still both desperately aroused and didn't want to stop. "Since you think I'm so experienced…" Koschei chuckled, emphasising the last word.
"What do you mean?" Theta frowned, not immediately understanding the context. But the question was apparently rhetorical, because Koschei, without waiting for an answer, kissed the boy softly, tensing his hand on Theta's temple.
A pleasant impulse ran through Theta's entire body. It was unlike anything they had practised together before. The impulse didn't just touch his mind; it seemed to reach for his nerve endings, gently brushing across them like the strings of a harp, leaving a tremor behind.
"That's… not bad."
"Not bad?" Koschei smirked, running his other hand along Theta's neck and torso. "I've only just started."
He pressed his fingers harder to Theta's temple and noticeably tensed, biting his lip. The next wave hit him like a punch to the gut. Koschei didn't ask permission to enter Theta's mind as he usually did; he simply invaded it, knowing Theta wouldn't object, and began searching for his pleasure centres. The curly-haired boy gasped and grabbed Koschei's wrist, squeezing it from the intensity of the sensations. His cock tensed and jerked slightly, and the knot in his groin tightened further.
"What are you—"
"Shh, it's okay. I promise it'll feel good," Koschei closed his eyes. His own cock was aching for contact, but he tried to ignore it, giving all his attention to Theta. Koschei looked both extremely gentle and caring — trying not to accidentally touch anything he shouldn't — and unbearably aroused by the whole situation. It was clear that despite his efforts, focusing properly on influencing Theta's mind was difficult. But he found the nerve endings with surgical precision, unerringly caressing those responsible for physical arousal, and looked incredibly arousing doing it. He slid through Theta's consciousness, gathering all the thoughts that had ever turned him on, amplifying them and sending them back.
Waves came one after another, each subsequent one hitting the nervous centre harder, making Theta feel touches everywhere. The boy arched, moaned, and dug his nails into Koschei's shoulders. He made Theta feel phantom touches — a tongue on his nipples, a hand on the head of his cock, cold fingers on his spine, hot bites on his neck. Theta whimpered because his cock, still untouched, stood painfully hard and pressed uncomfortably against his underwear. With the next wave, Theta bent forward, pressed himself against Koschei, and felt himself literally "leak." There was probably a dark spot from the wetness on his boxers.
"Mgh… where did you learn that… God, Koschei…" The dark-haired boy intensified the stimulation, making Theta lose himself in the sensations and just grind against him in pursuit of any kind of release. It was embarrassing, but he couldn't stop, continuing to rub his cock against Koschei's bare stomach. It felt so good to know that Koschei could do this to him with just his thoughts. But he was on the edge, so terribly close. "Koschei… mgh… Koschei, this is too much…"
"No, not too much yet," he said, and now began to dig more selectively through the boy's head. It seemed he was looking for something… And he found it. Desires — strange and shameful — that Theta had hidden deep, but not deep enough for Koschei to miss. Koschei only had to touch them, and Theta grasped his shoulders tighter, opening his mouth in a silent scream, trembling heavily, now from arousal.
"I'm close… so close, K-Koschei…" Theta froze in that position, afraid that if his cock touched anything again, he would come immediately.
"Then come," Koschei whispered this into Theta's ear, licking his earlobe and kissing just below. His own arousal was pulsing, his cock almost painfully pressed against Theta's stomach.
"No… no, no, not like this, stop… ngh… not like this… I want us to come together."
Koschei slowly removed his hand, breaking the connection, still feeling a faint tingle on his fingertips. He stopped right at the threshold, leaving Theta trembling and breathless, just as he himself had been a few minutes ago.
"Whatever you say," his voice came out unexpectedly soft, and his hands slid down Theta's back in wide, soothing strokes. Theta was still shaking and breathing heavily. "Okay?"
Instead of answering, the boy lowered one hand from Koschei's shoulder and pinched his nipple. Koschei hissed and jerked, then laughed softly and kissed Theta on the lips, pulling him close again. Meanwhile, Theta quickly unfastened his trousers and pulled them down together with his underwear to mid-thigh, not wanting to pull away. Now they were both finally naked. Koschei slowly, stroking Theta's velvet-soft skin, lowered his hand to his cock and immediately gathered the leaking slickness with his thumb. Theta had already tasted him, and Koschei desperately wanted to do the same, so without hesitation, he briefly moved his hand away and licked his finger, hearing the boy's ragged exhale and closing his eyes.
Theta, meanwhile, decided not to waste time and wrapped his hand around both their cocks, pressing his lips together and squeezing his eyes shut at the feeling of Koschei's hot skin against his. The brunet's eyes snapped open, and he dug his fingers into Theta's shoulders, biting his index finger to keep from moaning. After all, Koschei was terribly sensitive, even if he hid it. And Theta found it terribly pleasurable to discover such spots on him, spots that sent a jolt of electricity down Koschei's spine. Theta squeezed his hand a little tighter around the cocks, drawing a low grunt from Koschei and a sharp upward thrust of his hips.
"Okay?" Theta mimicked, smirking at the boy's state. As if he himself were in any better shape — all dishevelled, wet, and barely containing his arousal.
"Oh, shut up and move," Koschei managed, smiling nonetheless. He loved his Theta, even in these torturous seconds. "I'm afraid I'll come just from the feeling of your hand on me…" he muttered more quietly.
And Theta moved. He slowly slid his palm upwards, gathering wetness from both heads, then slid it back down, squeezing harder. His mouth opened in a silent moan, and he felt Koschei's cock jerk in his hand. All the sarcasm instantly vanished, on both sides. Koschei's gaze was now fixed downward, watching Theta's hand slowly, oh god, slowly, glide over their cocks.
As if hearing Koschei's thoughts, Theta quickened the pace, paying special attention to the tip of Koschei's cock, brushing his palm over it each time. Apparently, he'd noticed how much Koschei liked the touches to his head during the blowjob. Sighs turned into outright moans, no longer held back by a bitten lip or by clutching hands. Theta leaned in to kiss Koschei, and at the moment their lips touched, his rhythm momentarily faltered.
One-two-three-four.
The rhythm of the drums. Again. And again, Theta did it unconsciously. Koschei whimpered into the kiss, pulling Theta closer with his free hand and thrusting his hips to meet Theta's hand. Pulling back from the boy's wet lips, Koschei threw his head back, offering his neck for kisses.
"Faster, oh Rassilon…" Koschei moaned. "But… don't break… mgah… the rhythm…!"
"Don't mention his name right now, please!" Theta didn't immediately realise which rhythm he meant, but when he did, he unconsciously paused for a second, then immediately resumed at Koschei's pained hiss. "Wait… d-do you like this?" Theta could barely control his own voice, but he was still managing better than the brunet. He pulled back from the boy's neck, looking him in the eyes. Out of curiosity, the curly-haired boy placed his other hand on Koschei's thigh and began tapping out the same rhythm. The cock in his hand twitched, and Koschei arched even more.
"Fuck… No. Or yes… I… I don't know ngh… how it works…"
Theta smiled widely and pressed close to the boy's neck again, kissing and biting him, revelling in Koschei's moans. His hands continued moving in the same rhythm, just a little faster, trying to bring them both to orgasm.
"Faster… I'm so close…" Koschei whimpered.
"Ask me," Theta breathed, running his tongue over a particularly sensitive spot near his collarbone.
"Fuck… Please…" Koschei said it a little louder and felt his own cock twitch. He would have hoped that Theta hadn't felt it if he'd been more conscious. "I'm begging you, Theta… mmmh… faster!"
And Theta quickened his pace even more, still trying to maintain the rhythm. He inhaled Koschei's scent — still slightly electric from the mental practices, but now more homely, slightly pungent and leathery — and it swept him away. The boy let out a low moan, ran his tongue in a wide, wet stripe from collarbone to ear, and then bit into Koschei's neck, hard but gentle, sending a cascade of goosebumps down the brunet's spine. A few more movements, and Koschei cried out and came, spilling over Theta's hand, over his own cock, and onto his stomach. His seed mixed with Theta's wetness, making the movements even slicker. Theta pulled back slightly, and the sight of Koschei — so beautiful and exhausted after his orgasm, still trembling from Theta's unrelenting hand — was the last straw. Theta lost control, speeding up to a frantic pace, and came a few seconds later with a low moan, arching his back and watching his whitish fluid fall onto Koschei's stomach and chest.
The boys collapsed onto the bed, utterly happy and exhausted, wiping themselves off with some mysterious tissue that appeared from under the bed. Pleasant waves of pleasure still made their bodies tremble lightly as they came down. A few minutes passed before Theta could prop himself up on his elbows, gazing at the peacefully lying Koschei, wondering how to ask his question. He desperately wanted to know something, but had no idea where to start…
"Can I ask you something?"
"You already have," Koschei muttered without opening his eyes. The corner of his mouth twitched in a half-smile, but Theta ignored it, taking it for consent.
"Do you… really want to be, um, you know… held down to the bed and all that?" Theta seemed unable to find the right words that weren't embarrassing, so he said it looking away.
Koschei's eyes snapped open, and he stared at Theta with an expression of pure horror and embarrassment. His pale cheeks flushed red again, and he swallowed several times before opening his mouth.
"How do you…?" Theta could almost see the gears in Koschei's head whirring.
"We have a two-way connection, remember?" Theta smiled gently at Koschei's even more stunned expression. "I saw it back then, in your head. When you were so busy turning me on with my own fantasies, you forgot to shield yours. And I, um… I saw a lot of things in your head."
"Shit," Koschei frowned and covered his face with his hands. "Shitshitshit… This is so embarrassing…"
Theta wanted to say something else, but for a moment he felt embarrassed himself. What if Koschei hadn't wanted him to know? To just barge into his thoughts like that? Maybe it was something very private, and he would stop opening his mind to Theta after this?
"Is it bad? That I saw?"
Koschei turned away and bit his lip. He was silent for a while, and Theta was about to apologise for the question altogether and lie back down, but Koschei finally exhaled and turned back, running his hands over his face.
"No, not bad. It's just… very… uncomfortable when someone sees you like that… Vulnerable? And the way you found out was stupid," Koschei said the last sentence very quietly, but Theta heard anyway.
"How should I have found out?"
"I don't know… Do you think I could have just said one morning: 'Hey, Theta, could you tie me to the bed, fuck me, and order me not to touch myself'?"
Theta laughed, throwing his head back, and pecked Koschei on the forehead, pushing his hands away from his face. The boy placed his hands on either side of Koschei's head, staring into his eyes.
"I wouldn't mind, actually," Theta said completely seriously, studying the full spectrum of emotions in the boy's eyes.
"What?"
"I wouldn't mind tying you to the bed and—"
"Oh, please don't continue! I got it…" Koschei smirked, still searching Theta's face for some trick, expecting him to start laughing again and call him a "pervert." But it didn't happen. Koschei grew a little more serious, but there was a small spark of hope for understanding and acceptance in his eyes. He bit his lip and smiled softly. "You're strange."
Theta clicked his tongue and got to his knees, about to collapse back onto the bed next to him.
"You could have just given me a more ordinary compliment, like 'you're handsome'!"
"You're dazzlingly handsome," Koschei caught his gaze and blushed even harder when he realised he'd said it without a trace of sarcasm. Theta smiled with the corner of his lips and muttered something suspiciously like "you too," falling back onto the bed beside him.
***
Ushas woke to persistent knocking on the door. The sun wasn't yet shining in her face, and her alarm hadn't gone off, so she thought she didn't have to open her eyes yet. But the knocking didn't stop. On the contrary, it seemed the person knocking was growing more and more irritated. The girl grimaced and tried to roll over onto her other side, hoping to escape the noise. Turning over, she grimaced as sunbeams hit her directly in the eyes. Alright, she'd been wrong about that — the sun was already up… Scrunching her nose, she suddenly opened her eyes wide and froze for a moment. This wasn't her room. Fragments of her dream vanished instantly, and Ushas quickly looked around, trying to remember what had happened.
She was still dressed, which was reassuring. She licked her lips, running a hand over her face and immediately grimacing at the black smudges left behind. She hadn't taken off her makeup yesterday. Makeup… Oh. Magnus. Ooooh… Drax… Ushas propped herself up on her elbows and looked around the room. Drax was lying next to the bed on the floor, wrapped in a blanket, one hand holding a pillow under his head. He looked cute — that was Ushas's first thought. And then she immediately felt sorry for him for spending the whole night like that. It must have been terribly uncomfortable. Fragments of the previous evening began to surface in her mind. She must have accidentally fallen asleep right here, and he hadn't wanted to wake her or make her uncomfortable, so he'd slept on the floor. Quite… cute.
"Hey, Ushas, I know you're in there!" came a loud grumbling from behind the door, followed by knocking. The girl turned towards the door. Oh, Magnus. It was definitely him, but Ushas didn't understand, firstly, how he'd found her, and secondly, what the hell he wanted.
"Ushas, are you alright?" a voice came from beside her. Drax's voice — muffled and slightly hoarse. A second ago, the boy had been asleep, but now he looked more awake than a runner. Hmm, maybe he hadn't really slept at all… Well, yes, it's hard to fall asleep properly on the floor. Guilt pricked at Ushas again, but she tried not to pay attention. "Ushas?" the boy repeated, more concerned now.
"Yes, fine," the girl quickly managed, but after another knock, she exhaled in annoyance. "Or not. I don't know what that idiot wants from me. We weren't even dating! And even if we were, how stupid do you have to be to show up at a girl's room at…" she glanced at the clock. "Six o'clock in the morning! God."
"Ushas…"
"Hm?"
"This isn't your room."
"Damn," she whispered. The pieces clicked into place; now she understood how this looked from Magnus's perspective. "Someone saw me come in here…"
"And that someone told him," Drax nodded slowly, throwing off the blanket. He was also dressed. Maybe he hadn't wanted to embarrass the girl in the morning? Or maybe something else… "What does he want?"
"Ushas! I just want to talk!" the answer wasn't long in coming. "You're not answering my messages, you left yesterday without even saying goodbye… And now you're… here?"
"Was getting hit in the face with a bouquet not enough for you?" she hissed, annoyed, so that only Drax could hear. "What else is there to talk about?"
"Ushas, I know I was wrong, but you're being stupid, come out!"
"You don't want to see him?" the boy looked directly at her, studying her. After sleep, her hair was slightly poofy, her clothes were askew, and her face still showed remnants of sleep. He smiled involuntarily, and something very tender shone in his chest.
"Nope," she pressed her lips together. "I'm not ready to listen to his explanations. Or his apologies. Whatever it is."
"Understood."
Drax stood up from… well, from the spot on the floor where he'd been sleeping, and, shaking himself, walked over to the door. Throwing a quick glance at Ushas, he jerked his head towards the wall, indicating she might want to hide if she didn't want to be seen. She did, pressing herself against the wall, but listening nonetheless.
"Ushas!" Another bout of banging was cut short when Drax opened the door, catching Magnus with his fist raised over it and an extremely displeased expression. "Oh. You…"
"Me. Were you expecting someone else?" Drax left the door open just enough to stick his own head out, hanging onto it. Magnus looked dissatisfied, and Drax wanted to end this conversation quickly, so he decided not to drag it out. "So, what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Ushas — she's here with you?" Magnus lunged forward, trying to get inside, but Drax didn't budge an inch, making Magnus's face twist, his dark circles becoming more visible.
"Nope. Why would she be here?" He raised an eyebrow pointedly, seeing some confusion on his friend's face. He hadn't slept all night, judging by his appearance. Drax didn't know what he was supposed to feel right now. On one hand, Magnus was his friend, and not a bad one. Yes, he sometimes acted too self-satisfied, but that didn't cancel out all his good qualities. He didn't want to lie to his friend, but… Did he have a choice?
"You're lying," Magnus said, narrowing his eyes. "I know you're lying."
"Then why ask?" Drax smirked and tilted his head.
"Because I was hoping I was wrong," his face no longer looked gloomy, now rather… tired, confused. Drax was beginning to feel sorry for him. "Drax. We're friends. I just want to talk to her and apologise, is that so bad? Do you think she could give me another chance?"
"Magnus," Drax sighed, leaning against the doorframe and letting go of the door. "If you have to break down my door at half past six to find her, it means she doesn't want to see you right now. If she were here, she would have told you that herself. But as you can see…"
Magnus clenched his jaw. He stood there, unable to move, still unsure of his every action. This was new for him. Even Drax was surprised to see him like this.
"What brought you here anyway?" Drax pressed, unable to bear the oppressive silence.
"I was walking down the corridor and heard someone say Ushas was with you. I didn't believe it, so I decided to check. I opened her room door, and there… Only Koschei and Theta were there. Theta woke up and told me to get lost, sent me to you."
"Oh, something tells me Theta isn't in a state to be sending anyone anywhere right now," the boy smiled genuinely, finally observing something positive. Theta and Koschei had made up. Thank Rassilon.
"In what state?" Magnus blinked, confused. Drax just chuckled, not wanting to go into details.
"None of your business," Drax said thoughtfully. "Or mine."
"Drax," Magnus interrupted his thoughts. Apparently, he had convinced himself that Ushas wasn't with him and wanted to end the conversation quickly. Or he just realised Drax wouldn't crack. "If you see Ushas… Tell her I'm an idiot. And that I'm sorry I acted like one." He paused for a second. "But you see, I didn't know she wouldn't like that! All girls like that, I don't understand what else she wants…" Magnus began to speak more quietly, almost muttering to himself. "I don't think I'm entirely to blame… And—"
"I'll tell her," Drax cut him off. Magnus wasn't quite as emotionally developed as he would have liked. Oh well. "Is that all?"
"Yeah…"
Drax nodded and hurriedly closed the door, exhaling and turning his gaze to Ushas, who was peeking out from behind the corner. He smiled at her, running a hand through his hair.
"Gone?" The girl looked irritated, but it seemed she was genuinely interested.
"Yeah. Did you hear?" Drax sat on the bed beside her, leaning his elbow on his knee and turning his head towards Ushas. The sunlight was beginning to flood the room more and more, leaving pretty little sunspots on the girl's face.
"Parts of it. What was he mumbling at the end?"
"Well…" Drax wondered if he should completely ruin Ushas's opinion of Magnus. Probably not. "That he's an idiot and he's sorry. Mostly."
Ushas smirked and pressed her lips together, nodding slowly.
"At least we can agree on something." She didn't ask further. Either she had heard the rest herself, or she just didn't want to fill her head with nonsense about that idiot so early in the morning. Or maybe both.
The silence wasn't unpleasant — quite the opposite. In this quiet, they could hear the Academy waking up, students shuffling lazily from door to door, and someone rustling in the bushes outside the window. Maybe someone was coming back to the dorm after a night out. Or maybe, on the contrary, someone was running away just to avoid seeing the teachers' displeased faces. Ushas understood both, staring into the distance. Her window had a completely different view, even though the rooms were supposedly next to each other. Those Time Lord tricks again with their strange spatial physics… The girl jolted when she heard the alarm and hurried to turn it off.
"Are you going to first lesson?" a quiet voice came from her side. She noticed Drax's intense gaze. Had he been looking at her like that the whole time?
"Nope," not that surprising, really. Ushas rarely attended lessons, preferring independent study, though some teachers still couldn't accept that.
"I'm not going either," now that was interesting. Why had he set that awful alarm then? Drax usually didn't skip; he had enough problems with some subjects as it was.
"Why?"
"Because I didn't sleep. And because I don't have first lesson."
Was he lying? Probably. Did Ushas want to find out why right now? Mmm… Probably not.
"I do have first lesson," Ushas yawned, leaning back on the bed. "But I'm not going."
Drax nodded and threw her a pillow "so you wouldn't lie on something hard." Ushas wanted to ask if that meant she could stay, but it seemed obvious anyway. Which was fine. She felt safer with Drax anyway, and annoying Magnus couldn't reach her here. So, all in all, it was a win.
"They'll probably be late today," the girl said, turning her gaze to the door. "Theta and Koschei."
"They'll probably not come at all," Drax corrected, getting out of bed and shuffling over to his desk. He needed to study. Definitely. Ushas shrugged in response to this observation.
"Let them sleep. They need it."