When he finally rounds the last corner, he stares at where Clark is still nervously pointing. He glances up at Clark to be sure he’s s looking at the right place. He appears to have gotten the angle right, so he looks back at the floor to where a small lizard is sunning itself in a bright patch on the kitchen floor. It’s a skink if he’s not mistaken, although he isn’t sure of which kind. His mouth opens, but nothing comes out at first. He tries again, his voice tinged with his confusion. “Clark?”
“Get it, Lex! Please, please get it.”
Lex doesn’t know what it is about the skink that put such fear into Clark’s voice, but it’s Clark so he doesn’t need to know. He brings the pipe down quickly and squashes the reptile instantly and then looks up at Clark.
The boy is lowering himself shakily from the chair he’d been standing on, and Lex forces himself to look away when the towel wrapped around his waist gaps open a little. He swallows hard, forcing the desire down. He watches as Clark finally sits in the chair, putting his head down on the arms he rests on the table’s surface.
Lex walks up to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. He can’t resist the call of that golden skin and he also wants to help his friend recover from whatever had happened. “Clark, what was wrong with it? Was it…”
Lex gasps as Clark surges out of the chair and wraps strong, but shaking arms around Lex’s slighter frame and buries his face into Lex’s neck. “Thank you, Lex, thank you. I was so scared. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one, and one’s never come into the house before.” His voice is muffled as he doesn’t raise his head, but Lex understands him easily enough.
Slowly Lex’s arms come up and he places them around Clark’s waist. He strokes the boy’s lower back and makes soothing sounds, to try and calm his friend down. He subtly shifts his hips away, so Clark doesn’t become aware of the affect his closeness and bare skin are having.
A sigh shudder sighs out from Clark’s mouth and Lex has to suppress his own shudder as the breath warms his neck and penetrates below the skin. He grasps Clark’s head and gently tilts it away from his own skin. Clark doesn’t really loosen his hold much, so Lex winds up looking into the prettiest face he’s ever seen on anyone from only a few inches away.
A single tear has escaped Clark’s control and is trailing down one sharply defined cheek. What Lex wants to do is lick that tear up and nuzzle his way past those lush lips. What he allows himself to do is brush that tear away with his thumb and then reach up to stroke Clark’s hair comfortingly. “Tell me, Clark. Tell me what about that lizard has you so upset and scared.”
“That was a gut-eating skink, Lex! They crawl up inside a person’s ass and lay their eggs, and when the eggs hatch they spread out and start eating.”
Lex doesn’t laugh at his friends, and he wouldn’t laugh in the face of such sincerity and fear anyway, but he does relax the guard he’d been keeping up, even after the lizard was dead. “Clark, who told you such a thing? I think someone is playing a cruel joke on you.”
Clark’s already shaking his head. “It wasn’t a friend, Lex. It was one of my friend’s parents when I was seven. I saw one and started to run up to it, hoping to catch it so I could see how it felt. That’s when he told me what they were and what they could do to a person. I said I’d run away, but he told me that they were fast and even if I did outrun them they’d catch my scent and find me when I was asleep.”
“Jesus, Clark! An adult told you that?” At Clark’s nod and small sniffle, Lex became furious on behalf of the even more innocent boy Clark must have been back then. What kind of an adult told a young child such a horror story? He continued the soft stroking of Clark’s hair and used his other hand to tip his friend’s chin up a little more. He wanted to be sure that Clark was paying attention and that his eyes weren’t still glazed over in fear.
Re: Skink! Part Two (Rated PG)
“Get it, Lex! Please, please get it.”
Lex doesn’t know what it is about the skink that put such fear into Clark’s voice, but it’s Clark so he doesn’t need to know. He brings the pipe down quickly and squashes the reptile instantly and then looks up at Clark.
The boy is lowering himself shakily from the chair he’d been standing on, and Lex forces himself to look away when the towel wrapped around his waist gaps open a little. He swallows hard, forcing the desire down. He watches as Clark finally sits in the chair, putting his head down on the arms he rests on the table’s surface.
Lex walks up to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. He can’t resist the call of that golden skin and he also wants to help his friend recover from whatever had happened. “Clark, what was wrong with it? Was it…”
Lex gasps as Clark surges out of the chair and wraps strong, but shaking arms around Lex’s slighter frame and buries his face into Lex’s neck. “Thank you, Lex, thank you. I was so scared. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one, and one’s never come into the house before.” His voice is muffled as he doesn’t raise his head, but Lex understands him easily enough.
Slowly Lex’s arms come up and he places them around Clark’s waist. He strokes the boy’s lower back and makes soothing sounds, to try and calm his friend down. He subtly shifts his hips away, so Clark doesn’t become aware of the affect his closeness and bare skin are having.
A sigh shudder sighs out from Clark’s mouth and Lex has to suppress his own shudder as the breath warms his neck and penetrates below the skin. He grasps Clark’s head and gently tilts it away from his own skin. Clark doesn’t really loosen his hold much, so Lex winds up looking into the prettiest face he’s ever seen on anyone from only a few inches away.
A single tear has escaped Clark’s control and is trailing down one sharply defined cheek. What Lex wants to do is lick that tear up and nuzzle his way past those lush lips. What he allows himself to do is brush that tear away with his thumb and then reach up to stroke Clark’s hair comfortingly. “Tell me, Clark. Tell me what about that lizard has you so upset and scared.”
“That was a gut-eating skink, Lex! They crawl up inside a person’s ass and lay their eggs, and when the eggs hatch they spread out and start eating.”
Lex doesn’t laugh at his friends, and he wouldn’t laugh in the face of such sincerity and fear anyway, but he does relax the guard he’d been keeping up, even after the lizard was dead. “Clark, who told you such a thing? I think someone is playing a cruel joke on you.”
Clark’s already shaking his head. “It wasn’t a friend, Lex. It was one of my friend’s parents when I was seven. I saw one and started to run up to it, hoping to catch it so I could see how it felt. That’s when he told me what they were and what they could do to a person. I said I’d run away, but he told me that they were fast and even if I did outrun them they’d catch my scent and find me when I was asleep.”
“Jesus, Clark! An adult told you that?” At Clark’s nod and small sniffle, Lex became furious on behalf of the even more innocent boy Clark must have been back then. What kind of an adult told a young child such a horror story? He continued the soft stroking of Clark’s hair and used his other hand to tip his friend’s chin up a little more. He wanted to be sure that Clark was paying attention and that his eyes weren’t still glazed over in fear.