3.3 Magic

Dan wiped sweat from his forehead and walked back toward the dorms. His mom was... difficult. She wanted to meet Mark before she said yes or no, understandable. But she guessed exactly what went on between them... Ugh. She was too sharp for her own good. And she was fuming mad at him. But she couldn't turn down a kid in need, so it would all work out in the end.

He climbed three flights of stairs. And now he'd have to apologize and, worse, explain himself. This was not the image he wanted to convey! Steeling his resolve, he quietly flipped the door open to their room.

Mark and Blake were curled up like two kittens on the bed, looking at Blake's photo album. "And that's my friend Sophia with my aunt Joyce at Half-Moon bay after we all got totally obliterated and made this gigantic bonfire... She was so funny, she was like, 'Nerrr, I'm the queen of the night...' and ran around with her coat over her head! Haha, that one is the next day, yeah I look great, huh, stupid mom taking a picture right after I wake up..." Slowly, Blake realized Dan had breached their cozy little bubble.

"Oh. Hey, Dan."

Dan was just standing, watching Blake treat Mark with such tenderness. It was... cute. But now wasn't the time for tenderness. Now was the time to get things done.

"Mark, do you still want to go back home?" He knew it was harsh, but it had to be asked.

Mark stiffened against Blake's lap and didn't look up. Do I? Do I ever want to go back there again?

Blake shot a death glare at Dan over Mark's shoulder. "Dan... just give it a—"

"I don't know," Mark cut him off. "It doesn't matter." He traced a finger over the faces of Blake and his mom in a snapshot, his eyes unseeing.

"You're missing school." Dan crossed his arms.

Wavy tendrils of hair fell over Mark's face, hiding his expression. He ducked his head down a bit further. "Don't worry," his quiet voice came out. "It doesn't matter. What happens, happens, and there's no way around it."

Blake scowled and rubbed Mark's back.

"Well," Dan replied, trying to keep his cool though he was feeling a trifle emotional. "As true as that is, my mom takes in foster kids. And she wants to meet you. That is, if you don't want to go home, and you don't mind going back to a new school."

Mark was still. His breathing stopped. Blake reached out to pull his hair back but Mark slapped him away.

"I told her we'd take her out to dinner tonight."

"...I've got to go to the bathroom." Mark stood up quickly and left without another word, letting the door shut itself behind him.

"Okay, you are so insensitive, Dan!"

Dan shook his head and sat by Blake on the bed. "You don't think straight. I'm trying to get things done. Do you want him carted off by the police? Because I'm sure that would be a helluv a lot less sensitive."

"Arrgh, okay! Okay, I'm glad your mom wants to help.. It was nice of you to work it out, I mean it, but... What are you smirking about!?"

"You're cute."

Blake's eyebrow rose high. "Uh, Thanks... Anyway, you really should work out a way of--"

Before Blake got another word out, Dan's face was about two centimeters from his, their lips dangerously close. Dan's dark eyes focused on Blake's mouth, and he licked his lips.

"All that being nice makes me want to be a little mean." He gently bit Blake's bottom lip. It tasted a bit salty. Like tears.

"Ngh..." Blake breathed heavily. Dan's hand pressed against his chest, urging him back toward the bed. "Dan, no, Mark's gonna come back, and--"

"I just want a little kiss." He shoved Blake back. Blake was helpless to Dan. He couldn't even try to protest. Dan leaned over him with hazy eyes and kissed him surprisingly soft and slow, his lips tender, grazing tantalizingly over Blake's sensitive skin. Blake let out a soft moan. The unexpected, almost needy gentleness from Dan caught him off guard – heat spread over his body and between his legs.

Dan's hand squeezed the skin of his chest, crumpling his white shirt. "Sorry," He said, between warm kisses. "I can't help my—"

The doorknob rattled and they both sprang up on the bed, wide-eyed.

Mark walked in with red-rimmed eyes and walked over to them. He plopped down right next to Dan on the bed, totally oblivious. Or maybe not. Mark had never been phased about that stuff...

"Okay. I'll meet your mom tonight." He said with a nod. "Don't ask me anything, let's just do something fun. Please."

Blake melted. He loved this kid... "Okay." He didn't trust himself not to talk about it, so he bit his mouth closed. Not to mention, his head was sweeping with wanting to be pinned down by Dan.

Dan smirked and stood up, all his sexual energy suddenly snapping into something else. "Ever played a keyboard?"

Mark shook his head. He looked like he'd been crying, for sure, but he also looked resolved. Dan felt some respect for him welling in his chest.

"How about improvisation? Can you play something as you think it up?"

"Well, I can try."

"All right, well check this out. I'll set a fast tempo and you play something. I'll record it. Then we can mess around on the computer and make a track out of it that I can play this weekend."

"No way. You'll play it at your show?" Mark's eyes widened.

"Yeah, why not? You're obviously good enough."

"What about me?" Blake asked, feeling left out like a little kid.

"Hmm..." Dan tapped his chin. "You go get us something to drink. Get some rum or something."

"But your mom's coming over in like 3 hours?"

Dan just stared at him. "...And?"

"Aw goddamn it. Okay. I'll be back, I'll drag my useless ass over to the store."

"You guys drink a lot," Mark observed.

"Huh?" Dan and Blake gave him confused glances in unison.

"We just-- the other night we-- ah, nevermind."

Blake shrugged and left the room.

Dan set up the keyboard and showed Mark how to punch in different effects. Then he got a beat going, something that moved fast with a lot of bass. They pumped it up so loud that Mark felt like the bass was beating his heart for him. It felt good. He felt alive. It drove all other thoughts from his head.

Mark smiled to himself and dug into the row of glistening hard plastic keys as Dan clicked around the recording program on his computer. Mark let loose.

It was easy. With the beat pumping through him he couldn't help but fall straight into rhythm with it, notes pouring through his head so fast he could barely keep up with them. It wasn't what he was used to either, this was hard, and mean, and fast, and grinding, like the city streets at night, like dancing, like sex. So this was what Dan did. Mark smiled again and his fingers pounded left and right like a hundred diving birds. The world around him melted into patterns of drums and spaces, drums and silence, beating and resting, it was life, it was music, it was soul, it was--

Mark finally drew his hands from the keyboard and sat staring at it as if it were some mysterious creature. This was worlds different from a piano. Worlds different.

He watched in a daze as Dan pulled his headphones on and clicked furiously at the computer screen, dragging here, dropping there, lines like heartbeat monitors at the hospital dropping and rising and going all over the place, green on black.

Blake walked in with the rum and pressed drinks into each of their hands, thought no one even gave him a glance. They were both entranced by a magic Blake knew about in his own way. He didn't feel jealous. Mark stared at Dan as he worked furiously at the computer, and he knew Dan had given Mark something of himself that he didn't often share this way, and it was enough to make Blake just stand back and watch.

There were so many ways to be alive, Blake thought, so much beauty in that glance from Mark's eyes to Dan's face, in that intensity in Dan's whole body as he worked the rhythms on his computer. Blake took a long drink and smiled.

"Blake," Dan cut through the loud stillness.

"Uh huh?"

"Would you flip the lights out? Listen to this, guys, take your shirts off, get up and dance, it's ing amazing."

Mark shook his head from the daze he was in and threw his shirt across the room, taking a huge gulp of the drink before putting it down. Blake laughed a little and shook his head before flipping the light out and joining them. Dan put a colorful program up on the screen that would catch the beat and light up the room with it, then shut the blinds.

"Get ready to be mind-ed," he shouted over the already loud bass that began pounding through their skulls. They danced like it was the end of the world, and they didn't care it was coming. The music was unlike anything any of the three had heard before, some alien conglomeration of electronica and mad chords that twisted, like Rachmaninoff on acid with a tribal drum.

Dan embraced it with dips and curves of his chest, his whole body in line with itself perfectly, moving until sweat broke out. Blake's body moved in and out, mirroring Dan's. He was still turned on, and the heat overtook him. He let himself fall into Dan's movements.

Mark didn't feel shy, but he hadn't done much dancing, either. He mirrored the two of them until he could close his eyes and just let it all take him over, until he couldn't even think. He wanted to do this forever.

BAM BAM BAM

Everyone stopped.

BAM BAM

Dan shut the music off. "Shit, Mom's here!"

They scrambled back into their shirts. "It's been three hours already?" Mark asked with wide eyes.

Blake ran over to the door and threw it open.

"Mrs. Song! How are you?" He gasped.

"Blakeeee! Hi!" Mark peeked over and saw a few locks of long black hair, but Blake blocked out the rest as he hugged her. Her voice sounded nice enough. Their hearts all raced from the dancing. "Whew, Blake, you are wet, were you all dancing in here? The loud music, yeesh!"

Blake stepped aside to let her in. She had a hint of a Korean accent, and long black hair with a fine-featured face that made her look younger despite the fact she was probably 50 years old.

She grinned and ran over in teeny steps, locking Dan in a bear hug. He looked mortified.

"Mom, ah, this is Mark."

She finally let go and turned to lay kind brown eyes on Mark. "Hello there, dear, I'm... well, just call me Juleen."

"Hi," Mark replied shyly, peering at her and scooting a tad closer to Blake.

Juleen smiled warmly and took Dan's hand. "I hope my son is treating you well? Sounds like you were having fun before I got here." She winked and tightened he grip. Dan snatched his hand back, scowling.

Mark nodded. "I don't know what I would do if they weren't here," he said. He felt a little loose tongued from the rum. College students were crazy, he decided. And he liked it.

After all was said and done, and dinner was eaten, and they were all laughing about Blake's spaghetti mishaps with Dan's mom in the dorm room, Mark excused himself for the bathroom.

Last time, he'd sat there and cried, because he was leaving something behind -- leaving behind his hope that his life with his mother would get better. This time, he smiled sadly into the mirror and sighed.

"Well," he told himself. "It's like the laws of motion. Something pushes you to move, and you have to just move on. It's the way the world works." It was a truth that didn't feel so bad right now, with people who cared nearby, and things to look forward to. It was time to hold on to what he had, take life from moment to moment, time to finally let go and let people help him.

Mark, Dan, and Blake lay on the bed late two nights later, staring at the ceiling an hour after Juleen had finally, reluctantly, left after losing a game of poker. She grew attached to Mark so much that she wanted him to come home with her, but he politely declined, seeking the coziness of Dan and Blake. They were already going through the legality and paperwork to make her his foster parent.

"Can anyone sleep?" Mark asked in a whisper, just in case.

"Uh-uh," Blake replied.

Dan huffed a sigh. "How could I sleep?" He left it at that.

Mark blinked a few times, then smiled gently to himself. Neither of them would see it coming. He sat up and stretched his arms luxuriously in the moonlight, his bare chest and back catching moonlight. Two pairs of eyes were on him, and he knew it without having to look. It made him almost giddy. He let out a little sound and slid his hands down over his chest, then pressed them to his lower back, twisting.

"So let's play a game," he teased in a sultry voice.

"Hmm?" Blake's eyebrows rose a bit. Dan grinned. "What game?"

"The game's called, I tell you what to do, and you do it." He smiled mischievously and turned to sit on his knees so he could see both their half-lidded faces. He was already getting turned on, just looking at them both. They were obviously excited and trying to hide it.

"Depends on what you tell us to do," Blake replied. Dan just gave a smug look and lifted his arms to put his hands behind his head. His muscles stood out that way... Mark looked at his eyes, which sparkled with challenge. So you want to see me do your will? We'll see how long that lasts... they seemed to say.

"Kiss each other." Mark fluttered his eyelashes innocently.

They stared at him for a minute, then Dan took Blake by the neck and pulled him into a kiss. Their lips pressed warmly, softly together as Mark watched, his blood pumping down down down. Dan opened his mouth against Blake's and pushed his tongue in. Blake squeaked. His eyes rolled back. "Mmmff..." Dan's fingers tickled the hairs on the back of Blake's neck. Their bodies arched around Mark's knees as they reached around him for each other.

Mark bit his trembling lip and watched. "T-take his shirt off." He said with a little less certainty. Dan pulled back, glanced up at Mark with a dangerous gleam in his eye, then reached his fingers to touch Blake's hips, who became a puddle in his hands. He moved his fingers up, tickling gently, lifting the bottom of Blake's tee-shirt. His arm grazed over Mark's thighs as his fingers slowly pushed the shirt up, barely touching every inch of Blake's slender waist along the way. Blake's mind was white like he was orgasming right there and then, he was so turned on.

The shirt finally lifted over Blake's head and he shifted to let Dan pull it off completely.

"Kiss him again."

Dan bit his lip and moved to Blake's mouth, his hot breath moistening Blake's lips. Blake moaned with anticipation. But Dan didn't let his lips touch. He moved down Blake's neck, never touching, over his collarbone, down the middle of his heaving chest, until he reached Blake's belly button, and stopped. He licked Blake just above it, then just below it, then opened his mouth and kissed his stomach, sucking in the flesh and licking it mercilessly. Blake moaned and held his arms over his head.

Mark's whole body spasmed, and he felt blood harden him. His hands trembled, watching Dan's tongue move over Blake's stomach, nipping and sucking the flesh until Blake's back arched even further. Mark could feel Dan's breath between his knees. And, he could feel Blake's erection pushing against his thigh with the arching and thrusting toward Dan's mouth.

Dan pulled away and looked up at Mark, awaiting further orders. Mark whole face was hot and he breathed heavily. "Take off my sweatpants," he gasped, unable to hold in his desire. He stretched his legs out in front of him and Dan's hands reached out to rest against his stomach. His long pointer finger circled Mark's belly button and Mark closed his eyes, his nostrils flaring with desire that shot in streaks down straight into the heat of his erection. Dan fingered the lip of Mark's pants and slowly tickled them down. Mark lifted his body from the bed as Dan slipped the pans over his hot, slender thighs and down his legs. Blake sat up and turned his body around so he could face Mark directly, his eyes glazed with passion. He trailed a finger over Mark's lips and kissed him hungrily, his wet lips slipping into Mark's mouth and sucking the boy's tongue. Blake trailed a finger down the middle of Mark's stomach and stopped at his boxers.

"Take them off," Mark demanded in a heavy raspy breath. Blake looped his fingers under the elastic waistband and swept them off in one motion. Mark was raw and exposed now, and it felt like he was going to explode.

Dan sat back, watching the two of them, pulling off his own clothes. This was... heaven. If last time was heaven, this was even better. He crawled lithely over them and lay behind Blake. He pressed his hard, naked form against Blake's muscled softness and reached around him to touch Mark's lips. Both of them moaned and stilled, all the heat and streaks of electric fire overwhelming them. Dan took advantage and tore down Blake's sweatpants, then slid a hand between Blake's thighs.

Mark felt Blake's member twitch against him. He felt warm fingers move from between Blake's thighs and grasp his own cock, then shifting up and down. Blake's hips thrust against Dan's arm and he kissed Mark again, messily and confused with white-hot sex. Mark moved against Dan's fist hungrily, each slide of his hand causing beads of wetness to drip down his cock, and lubricate his movements.

"Blake, your mouth..." was the only order Mark could manage, but Blake got the idea. He slid his wet lips down Mark's chin and chest, pausing to suck a pink nipple. Mark writhed on the sheets, frowning with need. Dan pulled his hand away and hungrily took Mark's mouth in his as Blake's lips slipped over Mark's cock. It was almost enough to make him cum right then. He thrust hard into Blake's warm, soft wet mouth as Dan's tongue threatened to touch the back of his throat. "Nnnnnnnngh" Mark moaned loud, thrusting over an over. Blake's tongue swirled over the tip of Mark's cock and down the shaft. Dan's fingers pinched Mark's nipple and his tongue overtook his own, throbbing in and out of his open mouth. Bursts of white filled Marks' mind as his ecstasy doubled, then re-doubled with each sliding tongue and fervent thrust. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, and exploded heavily into Blake's mouth. Blake pushed his mouth hard against Mark as he came, sucking and swallowing until the hot throbbing stopped.

Then, Dan grabbed Blake by the armpits and pulled him up, pressing Blake's back onto the bed and climbing on top of him. Blake's big blue eyes looked up at him and said... take me... Dan spread Blake's thighs with his knees. Then he grunted and shifted back. He fumbled through a drawer and not thirty seconds later, a cool wet liquid was being pressed against Blake with hot, throbbing fingers. Blake almost screamed with the intensity. His erection got even harder. Dan's fingers pushed into him and Mark lay dazed beside them, staring with a goofy smile up at the ceiling.

Dan kissed Blake roughly before thrusting himself against the smaller man, entering him, feeling Blake's body stretch around him, sending spasms through Dan's cock. Blake gasped loudly in and out and his hips moved up and down in tiny throbs that nudged Dan further in, stretching Blake's entrance in a way that made him grip the sheets and pull. Dan thrust against him hard, then grabbed Blake's wrists, pushing his hands up over Blake's head and thrusting again. Blake gasped and felt Dan inside him ,the heat pushing and spreading, pulsing and throbbing until he was nothing but a beam of light and feeling. Dan's thrusts grew more fervent and Blake screamed for real this time, shooting spurts all over his stomach as his eyes rolled back and sweat broke out on his forehead. Dan's eyebrows clenched together and he whimpered, his whole lower body trembling as he pinned Blake's wrists to the bed. His whole cock felt like fire and ice and lightning all at once before he gave one final, hard, push and came deep inside of Blake.

Moments later, and heavy with release, all three of them found themselves staring up at the moonlit ceiling...

"That was hot," Dan said, before curling into a sheet and turning his back to the others. Blake smiled and decided that phrase must be Dan's seal of approval.

"Mark," Blake said through his blanket of drowsy relief. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Shut up," Mark replied with a smile. "How could I not? I live in heaven."

Blake sighed contentedly and had to agree. They drifted off to sleep in the cool moonlight shadows of early autumn.

The End