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Shawn didn’t know how it happened, but he'd started to feel more at home in Minkus' house. It's not the ‘surrounded by family and friends’ at-home feeling that he would get with his dad or with Cory's family. It was more of a contented, peaceful feeling, like he could just relax there all day and never feel weird or like he should be playing a part.
This feeling probably stemmed mostly from the fact that Minkus just didn't seem to give a damn. Shawn would come over and after they made out for a while on the couch, Shawn could really come and go as he pleased. If he opted to stay, he could do whatever he wanted. Minkus didn't need his attention.
The first time Shawn stayed, Minkus had gone to do some homework. It was snowing outside, and Shawn hated pedalling home in the snow. It always got stuck in his wheels and made the trip torturous. That's not even taking into account the cold. Something about snow melting on your cheeks really made the whole thing seem so much more miserable than otherwise.
Needless to say, Shawn decided to wait it out. Without a moment's thought, he pulled out his notebook and started jotting down some ideas.
A blur of time later, Shawn startled when Minkus walked back into the room. He'd been so focused on his work that he hadn't even been aware of the other boy.
Minkus, similarly, seemed just as surprised to see Shawn. Seemingly unsure of how to proceed, Minkus just continued into the kitchen and pulled out a jug of milk from the fridge. "Milk?" He offered, holding the jug up as though to emphasize.
"Uh, sure,” Shawn said, rubbing his eyes and stretching his hand. Glancing around the room, his eyes landed on the grandfather clock. It had been two hours.
Pouring two large glasses of milk, Minkus made his way back into the living room. "Feel free to not use a coaster," he said as he handed Shawn his drink with a pointed look at the antique coffee table.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, Shawn put his drink down on the bare wood and accepted a mischievous grin from Minkus.
As he walked from the room, Minkus paused again at the stairs. He checked the grandfather clock, and seemed equally surprised at how late it had become. The snow was very clearly still falling outside, showing no sign of letting up. "You know, if you want to stay, my brother's room is free. It's the one with the alien poster on the door." He cast a quick glance upstairs. "The washroom is across the hall. My parents won't be home for a few days, so I know they won't care."
Shawn nodded in acceptance. "Yeah, thanks. I think I will." Taking Minkus' offer was the path of least resistance, and he easily resigned himself to it. Even if he could get home now, he was going to be in trouble regardless. He may as well stay comfortable in the meantime.
The upstairs bedroom was perfectly neat. It was full of nick-knacks and keepsakes, all which seemed to indicate that this room was lived in. It was tidy though. Too tidy. Everything was put away, everything was dusted and lacking any sort of lived-in feel. Whoever had lived there clearly hadn't been back in a while, and Shawn would bet money that the Minkuses—Maybe it would be ‘Minki’, he wondered—In any case, Shawn would bet money that the family had a maid that cleaned up this room but otherwise left it alone.
Whoever had occupied this room, this mysterious brother about whom Shawn had never heard before, seemed like a really cool person. He had band and movie posters all over his walls, the bed had a dark green coverlet with black silk sheets. There were comic books and novels all over the shelves, some of which Shawn had read but most were appealingly foreign, and there were porn magazines between the mattresses. Mostly girly mags with a few hot guys to add a bit of variety. Shawn put those back vowing to have a more leisurely look later.
The desk had a Star Wars lamp on it, and a neat row of school books along the wall, although Shawn thought it likely that the original occupant hadn't left them like that. He picked one up, opening the cover to look at the names inside. The last name written was 'Samuel Minkus'. Well, at least now the occupant had a name.
Testing the name 'Samuel' out, Shawn decided it didn't suit the room at all. It was probably Sam. This room looked like it belonged to a Sam.
Shawn had never been on the second floor before . There had been no reason to go upstairs in the past since everything that mattered seemed to be downstairs, including a second washroom by the garage door. Feeling a bit daring, Shawn left the room and made his way across the hall.
The bathroom was larger than he was expecting. It had both a bathtub with shower attachment and a shower stall. The sink was on a pedestal, but there was a long counter under the window that was covered in little dividers full of toiletries, perfumes, and make-up. Most of it looked old and well used.
Moving on from the bathroom, Shawn tried the next door in the hallway. This one looked more lived in, but also considerably more Spartan. There was a Queen-sized bed, so Shawn put a solid guess that this was the parents’ room. There were clothes strewn about, the bed wasn't made, and honestly, the space had the personality of a hotel room. There were a lot of things for living there, but they were all generic and lacked any sort of personal touch. There was a transient feel to this space.
A throat cleared behind him and Shawn jumped a mile before turning quickly, fighting down the initial burst of fight or flight adrenaline. Minkus was behind him, arms crossed and leaning against what appeared to be some kind of linen closet. Cory had one of those upstairs, too.
"Enjoying your tour?" Minkus drawled with a raised eyebrow.
Feeling suddenly embarrassed as though he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Shawn shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away. "Just trying to get my bearings."
Minkus mouth drew inward slightly as he thought things over, before relaxing into a smoother line. "Fair enough." He pushed past Shawn to stand inside the room. "This is the master bedroom, clearly. There is an ensuite bathroom off the side there that is quite nice but generally doesn't get used." He backed away, expecting Shawn to follow. "Is it safe to assume you've already looked at Sam's room and the bathroom?"
Mentally, Shawn was grinning. That was totally a Sam's room. "Yep, I hit those first.” He tried not to let his inner jubilance come out in his voice.
"Well, here's the linen cupboard. If you need towels or newvc bbv sheets, just grab them from here and put the old ones in the hamper in the bathroom. Maria does all the washing on Monday so they'll be washed and put back." He opened the door to show Shawn and then closed it just as quickly. "And last, but certainly not least, we have my room." Opening the last door, Minkus gestured at Shawn to enter. A tension seemed to line his posture; it wasn't anything obvious but Shawn had gotten much better at reading Minkus' body language.
This room also had a bit of a Spartan quality to it, though different from the other bedroom. If Minkus' parents' room felt transient, this room felt monastic. The occupant didn't bother to hang on to very much, but what he did have was all personal and private. Shawn got the feeling that this was Minkus' sanctuary against the rest of the house.
There was a bed similar to Sam's, but it had a few different blankets on it. One was cotton, one wool, one fleece, as though he had scrounged his favourites from all over the house. There was a desk, as in Sam's room, but this one was covered in papers and stacks of books. A big difference was the chair by the window. It didn't really seem to fit the space, everything being shuffled to accommodate it, but it looked incredibly comfortable and vaguely familiar. There was a quilt thrown over it and stacks of novels had migrated from the book shelves to live in easily accessible stacks on the floor.
Minkus seemed to be nervous, while trying to pass as nonchalant. Why he cared what Shawn thought of his bedroom, Shawn would never know.
"Nice chair, looks comfy," Shawn offered.
Letting out a small burst of breath, that Minkus would likely never admit to holding, he nodded. "Yeah. I stole it from the den downstairs. No one was really using it there anyway and it's a great reading chair."
Nodding thoughtfully, Shawn picked up one of the books from the top of the stack. "Do you mind if I sit?" He asked, not wanting to invade Minkus' space too much.
Minkus shrugged thoughtfully. "As long as you don't mind if I work on my science report," he said, gesturing at the open textbook on the desk. "It's due in a couple days."
With permission granted, Shawn curled up in the chair. He gave a brief acknowledgement to Minkus that he wouldn't mind, and then opened the book to the first page. This really was a great place for reading. There was a lamp behind the chair to illuminate the pages, and you could see the snow storm outside. It was honestly just lovely.
That was how they spent the evening: Shawn in the chair and Minkus at the desk. They didn't say a single word to each other, but it was still nice to have the company.
An understanding of sorts seemed to have developed over time. Shawn could come over any time he wanted between Thursday night and Monday morning. Minkus' parents were consistently not home over the weekends and if he was at all concerned that they might come home for a surprise visit, he never gave Shawn any indication about it. In fact, Minkus seemed to treat his parents’ absence with the same kind of bored indifference with which, Shawn rapidly began to realize, Minkus faced the world.
While Shawn didn't have a key to the house, Minkus had made sure Shawn knew where to find the spare after finding out that Shawn had hung around outside for an hour once waiting for Minkus to arrive. Minkus made some crack about the neighbours seeing, but really just seemed concerned about how cold it was getting.
It was becoming increasingly common for Minkus to come home from the debate team or the chess club only to find Shawn sitting on the couch watching pay-per-view with his muddy feet up on the antique table.
Minkus reacted to these invasions with little more than a nod of greeting and a shrug before putting some popcorn on and joining Shawn on the couch. Everything was casual and friendly, very relaxed, until it wasn't.
Often times, these days, it would start with Minkus playing pool in the den. That had become a bit of a signal that he wouldn't mind making things a bit more intimate. They didn't engage and those types of activities every visit, it really was often just casual friendship. They would watch movies, throw popcorn at the screen, maybe play a game of cards, or whatever. Or they would just go their separate ways, occupying their own spaces in the house and leaving the other to his own devices. About once a week though, things would become a little more serious.
The loud crack of pool balls crashing into one another always resonated through the whole house. Whether Shawn was in the living room, the kitchen, or even upstairs in the bedroom that he was rapidly beginning to think of as his own, he could hear that sound everywhere.
For some reason, that had become Minkus' way of wordlessly announcing that he was done with whatever work he had been doing, and was available for whatever at Shawn's convenience. Shawn wasn't sure how it had become the signal, they had never talked about it. Maybe it was because of the ambience of the den. Generally, Minkus kept it dark with a roaring fire going to illuminate the space. It was a space of shadows where temptation seemed so much more appealing than in the well-lit living room or comfortable bedrooms.
Shawn finished his poem and left his notebook on the coffee table. He made his way into the hallway and around the stairs to the back of the house, making his way to the den.
Minkus was in a baggy white T-shirt and navy blue sleep pants, and he was leaning over the pool table with his back to the door. He wasn't really paying much mind to Shawn, focusing instead on his next shot.
As always, the only light in the room was the fireplace, casting the entire room into flickering shadows. Shawn took a moment to admire Minkus in this light, enjoying the way the darkness danced across his skin and the way the white shirt glowed in the gloom. Minkus always lined up his pool cues with perfect precision. His form was like art in motion. In his quieter moments, Shawn just liked to watch him move.
Minkus hadn't noticed Shawn's entrance, his eyes completely focused on the coloured spheres spread across the table. His light blue eyes were almost the same colour as his pants in the darkness, though they flickered and reflected the flames as their light sparkled across his face.
Feeling a hint of mischief overwhelm him, Shawn crept up behind the other boy and slipped his hands around Minkus' waist as he took the shot.
Minkus jerked upward in surprised, the shot went wild.
Chuckling, Shawn slid his hands under Minkus' shirt and traced his fingers across Minkus' bare skin. "You missed," he whispered into the other boy’s ear.
"Well, if someone hadn't distracted me..." Minkus complained, his breathing coming in heavier bursts as Shawn stroked across his stomach.
Still snickering, Shawn let his hands become more adventurous. His left hand moved further up to thumb across Minkus' nipple, his right hand going lower. It dipped below Minkus' waistband but didn't go any further than fingering the hair that he found there. "You mean like this?" Shawn teased.
Resting the pool cue against the table beside him, Minkus leaned back into Shawn's embrace. His voice was shaky but he was trying maintain his composure. "Yeah, like that," he answered, closing his eyes.
Shawn chuckled against Minkus' hair. "I can stop if you want." He started sliding his hands away.
Without a moment's thought, Minkus grabbed Shawn's wrists and pulled them back into place. "That's quite alright, I was done playing anyway."
Shaking off Minkus' hands from his wrists, Shawn grasped the hem of Minkus' T-shirt and dragged it upward.
Minkus lifted his arms, allowing the shirt to be removed and tossing it aimlessly aside. Goosebumps spread across his back and shoulders, marring his otherwise perfect complexion.
Shawn traced his hands down Minkus back, enjoying the feeling of shoulder blades, muscles and bone under his finger tips. Didn't matter if it was a boy or a girl, Shawn loved backs. He loved to look at them, he loved the feel of them. Didn't matter what they looked like, they were perfect in his eyes.
Bracing himself against the pool table, Minkus' arms began to tremble.
Caressing every rib and vertebrae, Shawn finally leaned down and started mouthing across Minkus' shoulder.
Pushing off the pool table, Minkus turned in Shawn's arms so that they were finally facing one another. Within a moment, their lips were locked together, and Minkus was desperately pulling him closer.
Rolling his hips against Minkus, Shawn pulled out of the kiss to ask "Couch?"
"Hell yeah," Minkus panted, pushing him backwards toward the couch. He never broke the contact though, staying with Shawn the whole way.
Shawn took off his shirt quickly and threw it away before lying quickly on the couch and pulling Minkus down on top of him.
It didn't wake much effort to push both of their sleep pants down a bit without breaking the kiss. Shawn loved the feel of Minkus hard and naked against him. Nothing in life could compare to skin against skin. Without a thought, Shawn wrapped his hand around both their members, holding them together while he stroked.
Minkus' whole body was thrumming at the contact, just barely managing to contain himself. Shawn wanted to hear him though, wanted to hear every sound that Minkus was trying desperately not to let out.
Thumbing over the head, Shawn started working them with purpose. He wanted Minkus to lose some of his valued control. He needed to see Minkus fall apart. It wasn't even about Shawn's pleasure anymore, though this felt hotter than anything he'd ever felt before. All he could feel was Minkus, all he wanted to feel was Minkus. He would give up his whole world, his whole life just for this.
Minkus broke in another moment, obscenities flowing from him mouth as he came, the likes of which Shawn normally connected to his life at the trailer park. It was the sense of pride that did it for Shawn, pride that he had reduced Minkus to his level. That same moment, Shawn followed Minkus over the edge.
They stayed there a long time, Minkus' breath wheezing a little but not enough to warrant any major concern. Shawn filed the information away with a note to make sure Minkus had some orange juice in the morning to fend off the beginnings of a cold.
It took a long time for Minkus to becoming heavy enough that Shawn felt the need to shift. Shawn couldn't really explain it. Minkus had a good home, and money. Whenever Shawn was over, they ate like any healthy teenage boys would, so he couldn't understand why Minkus always felt so light.
He didn't dwell on that thought too much longer though, because Minkus interrupted him with a quick peck on the lips. "I get the shower first,” he whispered, though he didn't seem particularly inclined to move from his perch.
Nuzzling the top of Minkus' head and leaving a small kiss on the other boy's crown, Shawn murmured sleepily, "how come?"
Suddenly Minkus pushed himself up to look Shawn in the eye and smirked. "Because I can get there first," he announced, jumping off the couch and running from the room.
Not bothering to move for a moment, Shawn just took a moment to rest on the couch - listening to Minkus' footsteps as he made his way upstairs and into the bathroom.
Once the shower was running, Shawn stood up and started making his way around the room.
Almost without thought, Shawn started tidying the space. He returned the pool cue to its spot on the wall and then picked up the shirts from the floor.
Making his way upstairs, Shawn threw both shirts in the laundry. Minkus never seemed to mind one way or another, and all of Shawn's clothes would end up folded and resting on Sam's bed so he took that as permission to keep doing it.
The water was still running in the bathroom; Shawn was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable in his increasingly crusty underwear.
Pulling open the top drawer of Sam's dresser, Shawn took a moment to marvel at the weight of it, and the beautiful hardwood. His own dresser was particleboard, and was already in rough shape before it even got to him.
There were several pairs of soft flannel sleep pants folded neatly in the drawer. Shawn picked out a blue pair and a white undershirt before closing the drawer and making his way towards the bathroom.
The door wasn't locked. Shawn made a lot of noise as he entered, making sure his footsteps echoed along the tiled walls as he slowly crossed the room.
Minkus poked his head through the shower curtain and gave Shawn a curious look.
"You were taking too long," Shawn said with a jovial lightness to his tone, though he could feel a coiled tension in the pit of his stomach. "Mind if I join?" He tried to keep the question casual, but felt in his bones that it really wasn't.
Minkus just looked at him for a long moment before letting his eyes shift away. "I have school tomorrow..." he began, hesitantly , "so I don't really want to do anything more, you know..."
Shawn couldn't tell if the pink on Minkus' cheeks were from the water or from embarrassment, but in either case, he got the point. "Yeah, me neither,” he said casually. "I wouldn't mind someone scrubbing my back, though."
With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Minkus stepped back into the cloud of steam and water - leaving the curtain open just enough to be a silent invitation.
Grinning, Shawn kicked off his clothes and climbed over the porcelain tub, closing the curtain behind him. When he turned his attention towards Minkus, his breath caught.
Minkus was hunched forward slightly, his arms twitching upwards slightly but seemingly were held against his sides by sheer force of will. His cheeks were flushed a faint shade of pink that spread down his wet torso and over his chest. Water traced down his stomach, over his penis and down is legs.
None of it was anything Shawn hadn’t seen before, but to see it all on display was another matter entirely.
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer” Minkus finally grumbled, turning his body away from Shawn’s gaze.
A wicked grin curled its way across Shawn’s face. “Can—”
“No,” Minkus cut him off. “Forget I said anything. There are to be no nude pictures of any kind, ever.”
Pouting in mock disappointment, Shawn reached for the wash cloth and soap.
Scrubbing the bar of soap against the wash cloth a few times, Shawn truly considered just washing himself quickly and efficiently, like he would have at home, and then getting out and leaving Minkus to his privacy. From the look of Minkus’ whole posture, that seemed to be what he was expecting, or perhaps hoping for.
When was he going to get another chance like this, though? Shawn stepped closer to Minkus, forcing the other boy to step sideways and out of the water stream. “Can I wash your back?”
Raising a skeptical eyebrow, Minkus slowly turned his back to Shawn and put his hands on the wall.
Shawn could feel his stomach tighten at the display. While they were often intimate, rarely did they bother with much nudity, or if they did, it was very short-lived. Clothes always went back on once the afterglow faded. Shawn never had the chance to just look though , and he felt a burst of lust rush through him as he stared.
Minkus’ shoulders were starting to tense and Shawn could see that he was a moment away from retreating entirely. Without any sort of grace or poise, Shawn plopped the cloth on the other boy’s back to keep him from leaving.
Despite the warmth he was feeling and the urge he had to devour the naked boy in front of him, Shawn kept his movements deliberately clinical. Nothing touched Minkus’ skin except the washcloth, and the only thing that slicked across the flesh was the soap. He couldn’t stop at the boundaries of Minkus’ back though, that would have been impossible.
Allowing the cloth to slide upwards, Shawn washed the back of Minkus’ neck, his shoulders, down his arms which Minkus allowed to drop from the wall one at a time to accommodate Shawn’s roaming hands. Then Shawn brought the cloth back to Minkus’ lower back, slowly moving downward and waiting for Minkus’ to let him know if this was too much.
Minkus stayed completely quiet, though his stuttered breathing echoed through the confines of the shower.
Taking that as permission, Shawn added more soap and used the cloth to circle the round orbs that made up Minkus’ butt. He knelt down on the wet porcelain to get a better vantage point, and really savoured the look of it all. Shawn’s mouth was watering to just reach out and nip the soft flesh. Quickly, he moved lower and washed Minkus’ thighs, knees, and feet – trying to get his libido under control all the while. He’d promised, after all.
Using light pressure to make Minkus’ turn around, Shawn looked up to see Minkus leaning against the wall. His pupils were blown, his breathing was coming in shallow bursts, and he was so hard he almost poked Shawn in the eye.
More soap on the cloth, and Shawn continued his task. He washed Minkus’ shins, his thighs. Minkus’ cock was just inches from Shawn’s mouth and was straining desperately towards him. Mouth watering, Shawn looked up at Minkus for permission. Minkus was devastatingly silent, his expression locked away.
Sighing, Shawn gave the penis in front of him a quick wipe of the cloth before standing up and washing the rest of Minkus’ chest.
“All done,” Shawn said casually, forcing some cheer into his voice. Smiling, he gave Minkus an innocent peck on the lips before making a shooing motion.
Starring at him for a long moment, Minkus left without a word. He grabbed a towel off the shelf and closed the door firmly behind him.
The moment the door closed, Shawn’s hand circled his member. Two quick jerks and he was coming all over the bathroom tile and trying not to choke on the water that was still spraying down upon his head.
He made quick business of his own clean up, making a haphazard swipe with the cloth across his skin and specifically cleaning the mess from earlier. Within five minutes, he was out of the shower and dressing in the borrowed clothes from Sam’s room.
When he left the bathroom, the hallway was silent. Minkus’ light was turned off and his door was closed.
Wondering if he had done something wrong, Shawn was tempted to knock but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He never could face people being angry with him.
Silently, he turned off the hall light and made his way into Sam’s bed.
Groping at the floor, he picked up the novel that he had started the night before. It was an old science fiction work that Shawn had never heard of before, but was having a terrible time putting it down once he started. There were only about 50 pages left, and Shawn thought he could finish it tonight.
As he reached the last chapter, the was a quiet knock on the door.
“Come in,” Shawn called, letting the book rest open across his chest.
Minkus opened the door and stepped inside shyly, none of his usual swagger.
Cocking his head to the right, Shawn waited curiously to see what Minkus had to say.
After a few aborted attempts, Minkus finally opened his mouth and spoke. “I never washed your back,” he said in a rush, and then winced as though that wasn’t what he’d intended to say.
“Huh?” Admittedly, not the most eloquent reply, but it was one in the morning and Shawn was seven pages away from the end of his book and hopefully a good night’s sleep.
Steeling himself, Minkus tried again. “In the shower, you asked to join me so that I could wash your back…and then I didn’t,” he finished lamely, a blush staining his cheeks.
Thinking back, Shawn nodded. “You’re right…. Well, maybe next time?” He questioned hopefully.
With that, Minkus seemed to relax. “Yeah. Next time.” He smiled and offered a quick wave before stepping out and closing the door behind him.
Shawn finished the book with a smile on his face.