I’ve been thinking about setting up a DnD set in my Primevals (formerly known as Rooted) universe for a while now, but I’ve recently been working on said campaign more intently, and have specifically been working on the beginnings of a plot for it. This is the intro for said campaign:
Billions of years before humanity's first breaths, there was the First Age of Magic. It was an age of many species, of magic and gods and monsters and unspeakable wonder. This age ended when one of the gods---The Butcher--- declared war on the rest, and the resulting war killed billions. The survivors finally managed to defeat her, but the spiteful Butcher could not stand losing the war. When the final blow landed, she unleashed all of her accumulated power and allowed it to run unchecked around the world, killing off nearly all life.This event left a relative handul of survivors; those who were skilled enough erect a barrier, those desperate enough to enact a failsafe spell, and those simply lucky enough to avoid the event.
You are a survivor of the cataclysm. It has been 8 years since the event. You are a recent arrival at one of the largest communities established since the war’s end. This community and several others have managed to establish a relative sense of order and peace in the wake of the desolation left by the Shattering's fallout. Recently, there have been rumors of one of the Butcher's surviving lieutenants attempting to rally the remnants of the Butcher's forces for purposes unknown. The authorities of the community have asked you to look into the matter.
By Friday afternoon, campus was like a ghost town. It had been emptying out steadily for days, slowly at first, then real quick all of a sudden by Thursday, as everybody finished up with finals and got on the road home for the holidays as soon as they could. Not Aiden, though. His last final was one of the ones that got pushed back to Friday afternoon, the last of the last, thanks to losing a couple of class days to snow at the end of November. His classmates had been pissed about that, but Aiden hadn’t minded. The gym wasn’t as crowded, lines at the dining hall were shorter, and the halls of the dorms were a lot quieter.
Now, Aiden was one of the last ones, one of the few stragglers left, and he was kind of loving it. He unlocked his dorm room door, tossed his phone and keys on the bed, and took in the sight of the half-empty room with a smile. His roommate had headed home late on Wednesday, and already it was almost like he’d never been there, nothing left of him but the vague imprint of his body on the stripped-down mattress across from Aiden’s bed. It was quiet in here. Quiet on the whole floor, in fact. First real quiet Aiden had experienced in months. For the first time in forever, he had a space of his own, privacy to do as he pleased, and it was almost as good as a vacation.
As soon as those two important words registered - quiet and privacy, Aiden knew what he wanted to do, more than anything. Kind of celebrate the end of finals, the end of semester, a release of the pent-up stress he’d been experiencing lately. His cock started to tingle into wakefulness inside his jeans as he ran his hand over it, feeling it stirring, smiling to himself as he tugged his belt open and kicked off his boots.
He could take his time jerking off now, just lay out on top of the covers, sprawled across his bed, completely naked in the daylight, feeling on his body as he stroked on his cock. He had a pretty nice cock, he thought, and he didn’t get nearly enough chances to admire it lately. There was always that tension in his belly, that risk that his roommate might come through the door at any minute, and catch him with his dick in his hand. Made it hard to really enjoy a good session of alone-time. Not now, though. Now, he didn’t have to stifle his noises, his grunts of pleasure, the soft wet schwick-schwick-schwick of his lubed fist gliding up and down the length of his cock, his lusty moans as he took himself up to the brink, then backed off, tugging on his fat young balls to hold off the wave of his orgasm, so he could build right back up again. Yeah, Aiden thought - now this was luxury.
As he got deeper into his stroke, pinching his stiff nip, feeling up the pump he’d gotten at the gym this morning, luxuriating in the quiet peace, he got to thinking about where else it’d be quiet on the floor. Another place he could really go to town on himself, and not get busted. He grinned to himself, and backed the pace of his hand down to a slow maintenance stroke, tuning his ears to the hall, listening for the sounds of other people. Grinned wider as his ears registered the complete silence.
Yeah bro, he thought. Let’s do it.
Aiden swung his legs off the bed, found his sweats and T-shirt from his workout this morning, then tugged them on, his cock making an obscene tent in his grey sweatpants. He grinned at it in his mirror, tugging on the long, hard arc of it, making it throb some more. Then he grabbed his towel and his shower bag and his keys, and headed down the hall to the bathrooms, letting his cock bulge lead the way, a big wicked smile on his face the whole time.
There was another guy in the shower room. Aiden found himself first surprised, and then a little irked. He was positive everybody else had gone home, and he was the only one still around. He’d been looking forward to having the bathroom all to himself, and especially the chance to take a long, hot shower, and stroke out a long, hot load along with it. Goddammit. Well, he was here now, and he might as well go ahead. Maybe the other dude would finish up, and he’d get his shot - or his shots - after all.
He’d been showering with other guys for years, playing sports back in school, so that wasn’t such a big deal - and besides, the stalls here were at least individual, with curtains to give you some privacy. Keep it quiet enough, and you could rub one out in here even when dudes were using the other showers. Aiden had been a little scared to do that the first time, but also excited to do it too. Really excited, in fact. The first time he heard the telltale grunts of a dude trying to stroke one out while keeping quiet from one of the other stalls, he’d been surprised to find his own cock suddenly thickening up in his hand, and ever since, he’d kind of gotten into the habit of doing it. Every dude had some idea about how to keep it quiet when you wanted to get off - every dude learned how to do that at home, growing up. Aiden had found it weirdly hot to try doing it with another guy showering the next stall over. Almost like a challenge, seeing how quietly you could get off. Maybe seeing if you could hear another guy doing it too. Maybe seeing if you could time it out to shoot your load at the same time as the other guy, listening for the sounds of his orgasm as you stroked your way towards your own.
Aiden couldn’t see who the other dude was, just heard the sounds of the water. He set down his shower kit on the shelf over the sink, making sure the other guy heard him, because it seemed like the polite thing to do. The dude might have been in the middle of something, or maybe he was planning on being in the middle of something - like, say, a long, soapy stroke session, when he thought nobody else was around. Aiden’s cock started to plump up in his sweats as soon as he started thinking that, but he tried to ignore it as he reached into an empty stall a couple down from the other dude, turned the water on, and slipped out of his clothes, letting his still mostly hard cock lead the way into the stall.
“Hello?” he heard a voice call out after a minute.
“What’s up,” he called back.
“Shit… thought it was just me here,” the other guy said, and he tried to place the voice, but with all the water noises and stuff, it was hard to do. Could have been any one of a dozen guys on the floor - and it had to be one of the guys from this floor, you needed a keycard to access it.
“Yeah, me too,” Aiden chuckled.
“You have a late final too?” the other guy said.
“Yeah, Anthro, didn’t get done ‘til like 3,” Aiden said as he squeezed out some body wash and started lazily soaping up his chest. His pecs were feeling full and tight from the workout this morning. Sensitive. Already, his nips were starting to stiffen up from the attention, and his cock was too, after he’d abruptly held off his load. He really wanted to bust this nut now. Except this other dude was in here too. But then again...
“Western Civ here,” the guy said. “I got done by lunch, but didn’t feel like heading home yet. Figured I’d chill, enjoy the quiet.”
“Same, bro,” Aiden said, dipping his head under the spray as he fondled his chest, his other hand idly soaping his treasure trail, working lower, watching his cock slowly engorging, stretching upright. Brushing the backs of his knuckles against the curve of the shaft, smiling to himself as he watched himself growing again. Eager to take it in his soapy hand, and take the slow ride he’d been looking forward to. Just as soon as this other rando got the fuck out of here.
They fell into quiet, just the sounds of the water on the tile, splashing as its course over their bodies changed as they washed. Aiden was looking down at his cock as he soaped his bush, feeling the tingle under his skin, when he heard the quiet sounds coming from the other stall. A kind of rhythm to the splashing of the water, like it was hitting a moving target. Like a moving forearm. A stroking forearm, maybe. He cocked his head, frowning, listening closer. Then he heard a kind of raggedy, quiet exhale of breath, and he started smiling to himself. The other dude was stroking off.
That was kinda weird, because they’d like had a mini-conversation and everything. There wasn’t any question - the dude knew Aiden was here. It felt a little bit like the guy was breaking some kind of unspoken agreement, acknowledging it was just the two of them in here, but going ahead with his dick in his hand anyway. Like a bro code violation, maybe.
Dude, you jack off in here when there’s other dudes showering all the time, he thought. You know you’re not the only one who does it, either.
The whole time he was thinking this, Aiden was soaping his thickening cock, growing in his slick hand, and as the rhythmic splashing picked up pace, he found himself starting to stroke too. Soon enough, he was hard as fuck, his hand full of cock, as he watched his fist slide the lather up and down the gleaming length of it, just like the other guy was doing, and listened to the quiet, but unmistakable noises coming from two stalls down.
The other guy let out a raggedy, panting kind of breath, the kind you do when you’re getting close, and that just spurred Aiden on even more, picking up the pace on his soapy cocklength. He found himself kind of mentally cheering the dude on, thinking shit like Yeah, go for it bro, get that nut, which was a weird thing to think, but not the first time he’d thought that, listening to another guy jackin’ it in here. And it was hot as hell, too, making his own cock throb and thrum as he picked up the pace. Even hotter, as he started to try and picture what this other dude looked like, which of his floormates he might be, what his cock looked like, what his hand looked like all soaped up and stroking along the length of it...
Another raggedy huff-huff of breath from the other stall, the splashing getting a little faster. Fuck, he doesn’t even care, Aiden thought, he’s gonna bust any second now, and he knows I’m right here… His own strokes got faster and faster, his thumb and forefinger pinching his tingling nip, trying to play catch-up without even thinking about it, just following his instincts and his cock and the fast-approaching feeling building up in his balls and the base of his piece.
Aiden could hear the dude’s strained whisper, just a little louder than the drum of the water - “Aw fuck!” - and he swore he could just about hear the guy’s load, shooting out of his cock, down onto the tile floor of the stall, into the swirling water, circling into the drain with the soap bubbles. He grunted, maybe a little louder than he’d planned on letting out, and focused on the upper stretch of his cock, fast, slick strokes, his thumb working that spot right under the head, stroking over the tingling soapy flesh of his helmet, faster and faster, biting his lip, pinching his stiff tit, his breath getting raggedy now, wondering what the dude’s cock looked like as it shot, how big his load was, reaching down to touch that spot between his balls and his hole now as he pictured the guy shooting his cum, then he was gasping again, feeling it coming, feeling himself coming, and he swore he heard the dude chuckle at the noise, but it was too late to stop now, fuck, fuck, “Oh fuck!”
Aiden’s cum hit the wall in front of him, where countless loads had probably splattered before, all these decades this dorm had stood, all the horny young dudes who’d come in here, and cum in here, maybe generations of cumloads before his. He wondered if the other dude could hear the thick, wet splats - Aiden had always been a pretty big shooter, and he’d noticed his loads getting bigger since he’d gotten to college, maybe something to do with being 18 and basically a man now. He started to blush, as his breath slowed, his cock softening slowly in his soapy fist, shivering all over in a post-orgasmic aftershock. He thought about that soft, knowing chuckle from the other dude’s stall, right before he shot off. Started blushing harder. Wondered how long it would take the guy to finish up showering, and if he could just wait him out in here.
He heard the water in the other stall shut off, and breathed a silent sigh of relief, then focused on very slowly, carefully washing himself, listening to the sounds of the guy at the sink, the water running there. Aiden stayed under the spray until he was pretty sure he was on his own, his face flushed from the heat of the water, the afterglow of his hard cum, and the sudden shame of being caught out like he’d just been. Once he was sure he couldn’t hear anything outside, he shut the water off, and slowly swiped his towel over his body, before knotting it round his waist and drawing the curtain back.
The bathroom was empty, just the faint traces of the other guy’s deodorant lingering in the steamy air, as Aiden stepped out of his stall. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved, or disappointed. At the very least, he’d hoped to catch a glimpse of the mystery dude, this random guy he’d just stroked along with, so he could put a face to the sound of the guy’s load, or something. But it was just him now, alone as he dried himself off.
The hall outside was silent again as Aiden made his way back to his room, and he wondered if he’d ever know who his mystery stroke buddy was.
*****
Maybe you should head home today, he thought as he lay in bed Saturday morning, another load of cum cooling on his torso and his hand from another slow, deep, intensely pleasurable stroke session. He looked at the cum on his fist, shining on the sides of his thumb and his forefinger, and slowly brought them up to lick them clean, the salty, bleachy, mineral taste of his load making him grin. Another little luxury it was hard to indulge in with your roommate a few feet away, or apt to come through the door at any minute.
Aiden thought about the drive. It wasn’t that long, a few hours if the weather held. He’d have to go back to being quiet when he jacked off, tolerate the sounds of people making noise and moving around close by, cooped up in the bedroom that had never really felt like his. His bedroom had gone with the old house, years ago, when his parents had split. Heading back meant just kind of hanging out, him and his stepdad and stepsisters tolerating each other while his mother fussed around them all, everybody forcing themselves to be all cheerful and shit for the duration. Biding his time until he packed his car up again and headed back here at the start of January.
Aiden decided he wasn’t going home today. Instead, he wiped the cum off his stomach with the old sock he’d dedicated to that task, slipped his sweats and sneakers on, and headed to the gym.
The Rec Center was dead, and Aiden had the run of the equipment, making good use of it as he pushed through his lower-body workout. He was just starting his cool-down stretches when a guy he sort of recognized came in from the indoor running track, fit and leaner than him, blond, more of a track build to Aiden’s former baseballer’s frame. Aiden tried to think where he knew him from, mentally snapping his fingers, until he recognized him as Joey’s roommate, from down the hall. He couldn’t think of his name, but they had a kind of nodding acquaintance, lifting their chins when they saw each other on the Quad or in the halls. The guy looked over in Aiden’s direction, looking surprised to see somebody besides the front desk guy there, and gave him the upward-chin nod and a smile of recognition. He changed course, heading in Aiden’s direction, tugging his earbuds out, when Aiden suddenly put two and two together.
It’s the fuckin’ shower guy, he thought, his guts twisting up all of a sudden. Shit, what’s his name…
“Hey,” the dude said. “You’re Brody’s roomie, right?”
“Yeah,” Aiden said, hoping his blush could be played off as a post-workout flush. “Aiden. And you’re Joey’s roommate, yeah?”
“Yup - Cooper,” the guy said, sticking out his hand, and of course, the first thing Aiden did was think about what Cooper had been doing with that hand in the shower yesterday. But he didn’t want to be a douche, so he put his own out, and the two of them shook. “You’re a straggler too, huh?”
Aiden nodded, smiling in spite of his roiling thoughts. “Yeah. I was gonna head home today, but I might stick around another day, see what happens. It’s nice and quiet, y’know?”
“I hear that, man,” Cooper said. “I was gonna go get some lunch - you wanna come with, if you’re done?”
“Sure,” Aiden said before he even thought about it.
The dining hall was closed, and so was the food court in the Student Center, so they headed over to College Street, where the fast food places and slice joints would still be open. Campus was nearly silent, almost eerie, like they’d woken up in some kind of post-apocalyptic world where everyone else had died or disappeared or been abducted by aliens in the night. The illusion lasted until they reached the end of the Commons, where the Hoover Building stood, like the last fortification against the real world, and Aiden felt a little bit of disappointment as they stepped onto the sidewalk on College and saw the few cars driving past, the lights of Bellucci’s and Wing Zone and the C-Mart.
Slice Kings took the Wildcat Card, so they used up some of their remaining balances to grab a few slices and a drink. They had the whole place to themselves, pretty much, sitting there chewing on their pizza, and Aiden was thinking about what it might take to just stay here, camp out in his dorm room until January, live in his own little world for a couple weeks and skip Christmas altogether.
They got to talking, two dudes who sort of knew each other in passing, but had been thrown together by circumstance, no rush to be anywhere, just a couple guys getting to know each other better. Two dudes who had stroked a load out in the communal showers at the same time this morning, and they both knew it, but it seemed like Aiden was the only one who was holding onto that thought. Cooper didn’t seem at all fazed about yesterday, about the two of them stroking their loads out together in the showers.
Not together, that would be… Aiden found himself thinking. That would be… what, exactly? And shit, even as he thought that, he could feel his cock tingling inside his jeans again.
Cooper was easygoing, funny, and Aiden felt a little bit sorry he hadn’t made the effort to get to know him better this past semester. Seemed like the kind of guy who could be a bro, and that had been one of the big things Aiden had struggled with, his first semester as a college man - how to make new friends you could truly hang with.
It wasn’t the first time Aiden had found himself wondering about another dude. Sure, he wondered about the guys in the other showers sometimes, especially when he had a hand full of his soapy cock, picturing them doing the same. But he’d never really been in a situation like this, sitting across from another dude one-on-one, with the knowledge that they’d both been jackin’ it in the same space not so long ago sitting there unspoken in the air between them. The fact that Cooper wasn’t being all sly or cutesy about it just made it more confusing for Aiden. On one level, they were just a couple of guys in a similar circumstance, two guys just hanging back late at the end of semester, in no rush to head home. A couple of acquaintances eating pizza in a little college town. But fuck if it didn’t feel like… not a date, exactly, but definitely there was that shared, unspoken kind of intimacy between them, even if neither one of them seemed to want to acknowledge it.
“So you’re in no rush to head home either, huh?” Aiden said.
“Nah,” Cooper shrugged. “My folks are in Europe until Wednesday, so I’d just be kicking around the apartment by myself anyway. It’s funny - my mom loves the Christmas markets over there, but we’re not super-Christmasy in general. We don’t make a big deal out of it or anything.”
“Lucky you,” Aiden said. “I think I grew out of it years ago. It’s cool to go back and see my friends, I guess…”
“But sometimes you’d rather have the alone time, right?” Cooper said, picking up Aiden’s line of thought perfectly, and he found himself returning Cooper’s smile, and feeling a weird little tingle in the pit of his stomach that he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt before.
“Exactly,” Aiden said, as Cooper fixed him with that easy smile and a kind of assessing look.
“Yeah, it’s awesome, how quiet it is. You can watch what you want without earbuds in. Stay up late and not worry about keeping your roommate up. Do whatever you like.”
Cooper leaned in a little, lowering his voice, all confidential, bro to bro.
“Take long showers, and not worry about anybody else coming in, right?” he said, that fucking grin of his suddenly knowing, his gaze on Aiden’s kind of direct and deep, making his skin prickle with the blush he knew was starting to creep up his neck. And there it was, their shared secret, out in the open.
“Yeah,” Aiden said, his voice all quiet, feeling suddenly shy, feeling not at all like the man he technically was, or was supposed to be, anyway. Wondering how Cooper seemed to have that quality, but he didn’t. Not yet, anyway.
“But then, sometimes somebody else does come in…” Cooper said, still smiling, still looking right into Aiden, seemed like.
“Can’t always have them all to yourself,” Aiden finally said, the words coming from someplace inside of him.
“That’s right,” Cooper said. “So you gotta make the best of it, right?”
Aiden nodded, as Cooper sat back again, his smiling gaze still on him. He’d never experienced this kind of confidence up close, not directed at him. At first, he didn’t know how to take it, or respond to it. But he wasn’t hating it. Not a bit.
“I could do with a shower right about now,” Cooper said after a long minute. “Guess I could’ve had one at the Rec… but it’s not the same, is it?”
Aiden was shaking his head in agreement before he knew he was doing it, feeling that tingle working its way from his belly down into his groin, making his cock wake up again inside his sweats.
“I might head back and take one,” Cooper said. “You wanna head back with me, bro?”
“Yeah,” Aiden said, his voice sounding strange and distant to his ears. “Yeah, that sounds good, bro.”
It was a short walk back to the dorms, but when Cooper picked up the pace into a jog, looking over his shoulder at Aiden with that grin of his, Aiden found himself stretching his stride to catch up, falling into step with him, feeling the excitement mounting in his belly. He wasn’t sure what to expect, what was gonna happen next, just that he was ready for whatever it was going to be.
They were both quiet as Cooper swiped his keycard to access the door to the fifth floor, and they made their way down the hall.
“Just gonna grab my stuff,” Cooper said as they reached his door. “See you in there?”
“Yeah man,” Aiden said, the heat in his belly mixing with his nerves now, into one big bundle of uncertainty as he headed for his own door. Cooper grinned at him and slipped inside his room.
When he got inside, Aiden stood in the middle of the room, his nerves starting to really catch up with him now. He felt rooted to the spot, his shower stuff all within easy reach, but suddenly like an impossible task. A couple minutes later, he heard the sound of Cooper’s flip-flops passing by outside, then the noise of the bathroom door opening, and still he couldn’t seem to move.
The fuck, man, he thought. Are you gonna do this or what?
He thought about Cooper’s easy grin, his handsome features, the lean strength of his runner’s fit body. Thought about the sounds he’d made yesterday, as he’d nutted in the shower while Aiden stroked his own cock. The soft, knowing chuckle as Aiden got his load too. How he’d wondered what his mystery stroke buddy had looked like as the guy worked himself over. Well, know he had the chance to find out. Just him and Cooper, all alone together, nobody else to know.
Aiden started tugging his clothes off, down to his boxer briefs, and looked at himself in the long mirror on the closet door. He wondered what Cooper would think of his body, as he flexed his muscles, testing the fresh pump from this morning’s workout. Aiden liked his body, the way his frame had filled out the past couple of years from baseball and the gym, the breadth of his shoulders, the strength in his arms and legs. It was getting to be more of a man’s body, not just a teenager’s anymore, and he liked the way it was changing. He thought Cooper might like it too, if it came to that. He decided it was time to find out.
Walking down the dead-quiet hall in just his underwear in the middle of the afternoon was a trip, the kind of thing he’d sometimes imagined doing during the semester. He’d heard they were pretty loose about that kind of thing in the jock dorm, and that made him kind of regret not pushing harder with baseball in his last couple years of high school. But that didn’t matter - he was here now, doing it, not quite strutting down the empty corridor in his boxer briefs, but with a sneaky kind of grin on his face as he went, his heart racing a little.
The bathroom was already starting to steam up as he stepped in, towel over his shoulder, his shower kit in hand. Cooper was in the same shower as yesterday, the curtain pulled aside, water coursing down over the fine muscles of his back, the swells of his trim runner’s ass. Aiden stood there and took in the sight, in a way he’d never done before, just admiring another guy’s form, his body. Cooper didn’t seem like he’d heard Aiden come in, but he had to know he was there. Maybe he was just letting Aiden look. The thought of that made Aiden’s cock stir.
“Hey bro,” Cooper said, then turned around, soaping his pits, wearing nothing more than that smile. His cock wasn’t hard, but it had that heavy kind of hang to it, a sheen of soap bubbles down the length of it. He had just the kind of body Aiden had pictured him having - lean and lithe, all defined, firm muscles, strong tight legs. Aiden swallowed, blushing as he looked down. Away from the sight of the dude. “Thought you might’ve changed your mind.”
“Nah, bro,” Aiden said, blushing a little, because for a minute there in his room, he might have.
Cooper nodded at one of the showers across from him. They were lined up in an L shape, and the one he was suggesting Aiden take had a clear line of sight between the two stalls. Aiden swallowed hard as he looked at it, then back at Cooper. Fuck, this kid was so confident - maybe it was because he was a New Yorker or something. Whatever, Aiden wished he had more of it, but it seemed like it was a little bit contagious, too. He nodded, reached in to turn the water on, and then after a moment’s hesitation, stood there as Cooper watched and slipped his boxer briefs down his thighs. His heart felt like it was in his mouth as he stood up straight, giving Cooper a look, which the handsome blond sure did. Shit. He knew he’d been checked out in the locker room before, and he kinda liked that, being seen that way. Being admired. But he’d never offered himself up for another guy’s inspection like this. It was scary, and thrilling, and he could feel his cock starting to rise to the occasion in response. Aiden had nothing at all to be ashamed of, bodywise, and Cooper definitely seemed to agree, judging by the approving nod he gave Aiden when their eyes met.
Aiden didn’t draw the curtain behind, him, just stepped into the shower, letting the hot water course over his gym-fatigued muscles. He could practically feel the weight of Cooper’s gaze on his back, traveling down over his ass, and when Aiden reflexively tightened his glutes, he was pretty sure he heard some kind of appreciative noise coming from the other dude. Aiden smiled to himself, in spite of the nerves tightening his chest and his stomach, and started to wash, aware of himself and the way he must look, aware of Cooper, and Cooper’s gaze more than ever now. He decided he liked the idea of it, and the feeling of it even more.
He knew the sounds Cooper made when he jerked off now - the change in the sound of the water, the soft sigh as he took himself on hand, and Aiden’s cock responded accordingly. He listened for a minute, eyes closed, picturing Cooper stroking himself, as he reached down for his own fast-rising cock and gave it a slick-handed stroke to help it along the way. In a matter of seconds, he was full-blown hard, and he let out a little sigh as he savored the feeling of his cock, all hard and hot and slick in his hand. He hoped Cooper had heard his sigh. Wanted his new buddy to know he was playing along, too.
The two of them stood there like that, two guys stroking in their showers, knowing each other was doing it. Wanting each other to know they were doing it. Aiden was starting to get a little lost in it, in the pleasure coursing through his cock and his groin, his eyes closed, listening to Cooper’s jacking-off sounds, and his own like a harmony. He’d just about decided to open his eyes, turn around, and see if Cooper had decided to do the same, when he heard Cooper’s voice.
“Hey bro?”
“Yeah?” Aiden replied, trying to keep his voice steady, collected, confident.
“I’m strokin’ over here, bro,” Cooper said, and Aiden swore he could hear the smile in his voice.
“Yeah bro?” Aiden said after a second. He opened his eyes, looked down at the soapy hardness of his cock in his hand, and smiled, feeling a whole new level of thrill deep down in his guts and his loins.
“How ‘bout you?” Cooper said. Aiden waited a couple beats, giving himself two or three slow, up-down strokes, before replying.
“Yeah bro,” he said, his voice a little husky and thick now. “Yeah, me too.”
He waited another second, then slowly turned, fisting his cock, and saw Cooper in his shower, facing him, that playful smile on his face as he stroked himself, looking Aiden over. The guy nodded, and Aiden smiled back.
The two of them stood there, slowly handling themselves across from each other, the air between them getting heady with steam and mist from their showers. Aiden watched as Cooper reached up with his free hand to touch his nip, then thumb it, just like Aiden himself liked to do. Cooper caught him watching, and gave him a lazy grin, nodding as Aiden mirrored him, reaching up to touch his own tingling nip, feeling it stiffen and thrill to his touch. Aiden let out a soft little moan at the sensation, and Cooper nodded approvingly.
“Yeah bro,” the runner said. “Go for it, dude.”
Usually when he jacked off in the shower, it was kind of a balance between doing it as quickly and efficiently as possible, and listening out for the sound of one of the other guys doing it, secretly trying to make his own pleasure last with the other guy’s. Those rare times he was on his own, he liked to take his time, and he took that course now, him and Cooper matching each other’s pace, as much showing each other as they were stroking themselves, sharing the experience, two fit, healthy, horny young dudes enjoying the natural pleasures every man had enjoyed since ancient times, and enjoying them together.
Aiden had watched dudes stroking off on cam before, clips of them pleasuring themselves on Tumblr, and man, he’d always found it crazy hot to see a guy handling himself like that. He liked to see their technique, the little extra ways every guy tried to enhance his experience, playing with their tits, their balls, their taint. Different ways they stroked. He liked to try those new techniques out as he stroked along, see if they worked for him too, and he did that now, going between watching himself and watching Cooper, watching the ways Cooper switched up his hands, touched himself, explored his fit, lean runner’s body as he showed Aiden how he liked to pleasure himself. He tried to show Cooper the same thing, the way he liked to rub his thumb up and down the space where his groin met his thigh, how he liked to curl his fingers into his bush and stroke his fingers in the hair, against the sensitive skin underneath, on the delta of flesh above his cock.
It was getting hard not to cum, as Aiden got all caught up in the experience - the pleasure of his hands on his own flesh, the hot sight of Cooper doing the same, the friendly intimacy in the air between them as they smiled and grunted and nodded at each other, each encouraging the other on in his self-pleasure. Aiden stopped stroking and reached down to tug on his balls - nice hefty balls, he’d always thought, especially now - and Cooper gave him a knowing smile, and did the same. That really brought home to Aiden how they were playing along together, really playing with each other, in a way, and the realization hit his loins like a warm, tingling wave.
“Hey bro?” Cooper said, and Aiden nearly jumped at hearing the sound of his voice after all these minutes of heady silence between them. He looked up at the handsome runner.
“You want some company?” Cooper asked, his smile still all friendly and playful, but maybe not quite as confident. Maybe he wasn’t as experienced at this game as he’d seemed. Something about that was incredibly relatable to Aiden, and after a slow moment, his guts tightening up in anticipation and nerves again, he nodded.
Cooper ducked under his showerhead to rinse the soap off his tight body, then shut it off, swiping the water off his face, stepped out of his stall, and walked across the tile towards Aiden’s, his hard, handsome blond-haired cock leading the way as Aiden watched nervously. He stepped back to make room, swallowing hard, and his cock never lost a degree of stiffness as Cooper smiled at him, hesitated a moment outside the stall, then stepped in with him.
The water from the shower formed a curtain between them as they looked at each other, like each of them was waiting for the other to make the first move. Then Cooper smiled and took his cock in hand, gave it a slow stroke, inviting Aiden to join him, and he did, slowly returning Cooper’s smile with his own.
Fuck, this was wild. He’d never done anything quite like this before. Sure, maybe in the dark with one or two of his buddies back in high school, each of them in their own sleeping bag or bed, quiet bonding in the dark, silent, no words spoken. Never in the light, out in the open like this, in such a close, shared space. Never acknowledged. Always furtive. Showering with other guys had always been about looking away, for Aiden, looking down, denying the reality of your manhood, your cock, and the other guys’ too. Until college, and discovering the secret thrill of getting yourself off in the showers like he’d been doing all semester long. And now, this - a whole new ballgame, so to speak.
Up close like this, Aiden couldn’t avoid scoping out Cooper’s body, his cock, the way the fine, strong muscles of his arm flexed and bulged as he stroked himself. Cooper’s gaze on him was almost like a touch, ghosting over his pecs, his abs, his muscles, his cock, and it made Aiden’s skin tingle all over with the thrill of it. And of course, he couldn’t avoid looking up to Cooper’s face, and the way his new bud was smiling at him, seeing him, encouraging him, not more than a foot or so of humid air and the spray of the shower between them.
Aiden started stroking along with Cooper again, matching his strokes, getting comfortable with it again. He felt his guts tighten up again as Cooper switched hands, sliding his left hand up and down himself now as his right reached slowly through the curtain of water. Cooper looked at him, the question on his face, and Aiden slowly nodded, just once. The hand sliding over his hip made him freeze in place, mid-stroke, and he closed his eyes tight, heart racing again, breath catching in his throat. Cooper’s hand paused in place, letting Aiden get used to his touch, then slipped further across his wet, warm flesh, up to his side, up and down his hip, leaving Aiden’s skin tingling even more. He jacked his cock slow, real slow, as Cooper started to explore his flesh a little more, slipping across his Apollo’s belt, and slid over the muscles of Aiden’s stomach, almost rubbing there.
“OK, bro?” Cooper said, his hand moving in a little circle on Aiden’s stomach, asking a question of its own, and Aiden swallowed hard and then slowly nodded.
“Shit, you got a nice body, bro,” Cooper said after a minute, eyes looking him over up close now as his hand gently explored Aiden’s stomach, moving a little higher, like he was trying not to startle Aiden.
“Thanks man,” Aiden said, trying to keep the nervous shake out of his voice. “Uh… you too.”
Cooper smiled up at him at that, and Aiden knew he had permission to touch him, if he wanted. And he did want. Just… just not yet. One step at a time.
Aiden started to slowly, tentatively stroke himself again as Cooper rubbed his stomach, up to the underside of his pecs, his eyes roaming over Aiden’s bigger body, nodding to himself. He’d never experienced anything quite like this before. It was… it was nice. He looked down at the dude’s hand as it stroked up and down the centerline of his torso, up between the pecs he’d been working so hard on lately, all the way down to where the hair started to get thick and dark around his navel. Felt his breath catching in his throat again, but then the butterflies in his stomach started to ease, as he gave into the pleasure of the sensations.
Maybe Aiden’s cock had faltered a little when Cooper’s hand first slipped across his wet skin, but it was making up for it now, standing hard and proud and hefty in his hand as he started to stroke himself again, slow and faltering at first as he got used to the new, added sensations of being touched by his buddy while he did it. He looked over at Cooper’s body, saw his left hand working his own piece, and yeah - the guy had a good cock. Not as big as Aiden’s, maybe, but nice all the same. When he looked up Cooper’s lean, defined chest, his tight runner’s body gleaming with water and soap, he found Cooper looking at him with that smile - friendly and inviting and a little playful. It was a good smile. He’d never been smiled at like that by another guy. It was working.
Aiden’s free hand was reaching out to Cooper before he knew it, reaching out to touch the hard, defined muscles up high on his stomach. Cooper’s shiver and his shuddering sigh surprised Aiden, a little - he’d figured him for the experienced kind, but maybe not. Maybe this was all a first for him too. That seemed to encourage Aiden to touch him more, to trace his fingers up through the little indent between Cooper’s flat, firm pecs, smaller than Aiden’s, but more defined. He could feel the dude’s heart racing under his skin, just like Aiden’s was, and felt super bonded with him, all of a sudden. The two of them were literally feeling their way through this together. Aiden was starting to wish he’d gotten to know this guy better, sooner.
Aiden took a chance, and trailed his fingers over Cooper’s pec, down to his nipple, all stiff and reddish-pink on his creamy skin. He drew a slow, halting circle around it, and when Cooper let out a low murmur, Aiden dragged his wet, soapy fingertips across the stiff nub, making Cooper shiver.
“Yeah man,” Cooper said, his voice husky, smiling as he looked from Aiden’s touching fingers to his face, and then his bigger pec. Slowly, he reached up and returned the favor, and Aiden was startled to hear the low, deep grunt that came out of him, sucking in his breath as Cooper’s wet fingertips circled, then closed in on his engorged nip.
They looked at each other near-silently, just the panting of their breaths as they tweaked and teased each other’s stiff nips, and then Cooper brought his hand down to touch Aiden’s stroking forearm. Aiden paused his stroke as Cooper’s fingers trailed through the wet, dark hairs there, tracing over the muscles, up to the bigger bulge of Aiden’s bicep.
“Keep going, bro,” Cooper said, low and husky, and Aiden nodded and continued to stroke, watching Cooper’s intent face as he stared at the working muscles, touching them, feeling them shift and bulge and flex as Aiden stroked himself.
Cooper looked up at him as his fingers trailed down towards Aiden’s wrist, a mix of nerves and determination in his gaze as he put his palm on Aiden’s wrist and tugged it off of his cock.
“Let me, man,” he said, and all Aiden could do was nod and stare down as Cooper reached to take the thick, wet flesh of his cock in his hand, and try to control his shudder of pleasure.
“Shit,” he grunted as Cooper took over, wrapping his slick hand around the throb of Aiden’s cock, halfway between stroking and admiring it, getting the feel of him. He’d never had another guy touch his cock before, and while it was a little different having the grip reversed, there was immediately no question that another guy handling you was way better than a girl doing it. After all, who better to handle your cock than somebody who had one of his own? Cooper’s hand on him was assured, knowledgeable, and once he’d caressed all over the hard young flesh, taking the measure of Aiden’s throbbing piece, Cooper started giving him a slow, skilful stroke.
Aiden’s hand fell away from Cooper’s tits as he watched the dude work on him, and he let both hands hang by his sides, unsure what to do, focused on the pleasure his new bro was giving him. His hands needed something to do, though, so he played at washing himself, his hips and thighs and stomach, something that was really more like feeling himself up, while he got adjusted to this hot new scene.
“You’ve got a nice cock, bro,” Cooper said, and they looked at each other and grinned.
“Thanks man,” Aiden said, blushing but smiling. He looked down at Cooper’s left hand, slowly handling his own cock as he polished Aiden’s, and felt the itch in his palms. Felt that curiosity rising in him that he’d started to feel lately, this past year especially. Wondering how his teammates’ cocks might feel, if they’d let him touch them like Cooper was now. His best buds’. The guys who showered at the Rec.
Aiden reached out with his left hand to touch Cooper’s long, tight bicep, feeling the lithe, strong muscle working as the dude stroked on him. That left his right hand at loose ends, ready to do something, if only he had the balls like Cooper had.
“If you want to,” Cooper said, like he was reading his mind, and when Aiden looked up at him, blushing hard, all he saw was the dude’s understanding smile, all inviting and knowing and friendly.
“Fuck,” Cooper murmured when Aiden took the initiative, and took him in his hand. Fuck, Aiden thought to himself. I’m touching another dude’s cock. I’m stroking another dude’s cock…
Cooper wasn’t as big as him, a little shorter, a little thinner, but a real fine cock all the same, Aiden savored the ridges and veins, the heat of him, the pulsing hardness of another guy’s cock in his hand for the first time. Like Cooper had done to him, he explored the length and girth of his new friend, committing it to memory, before taking a firmer hold of him and starting to stroke. Lately, part of his jacking routine involved turning his stroking hand around so the thumb was nearer the base of his cock, like another guy was doing him, and now that was what he did to Cooper, looking from the guy’s cock to his face, watching the pleasure on his handsome features as Aiden stroked him, getting more and more into it.
“Feels good,” Cooper murmured to him.
“Yeah man,” Aiden nodded, smiling. “You’re stroking my cock, bro,” he added, blurting it out, blushing, feeling like a dumb kid, but Cooper’s grin just widened as he nodded.
“Fuck yeah, bro,” he said. “You’re stroking my cock too.”
Aiden felt a rush inside him at that, like something had been unlocked inside of him. He reached up with his free hand to thumb Cooper’s nipple, digging his sharp intake of breath, then pinched it gently between his fingers like he loved to do to himself. Cooper thrust his cock up into Aiden’s soapy fist at that, and the whole deal made Aiden throb, and return the thrust, pumping himself up into Cooper’s wet fist in reply. They grinned at each other like a couple of kids and fucked each other’s fists, slowly, experimentally almost at first. Aiden could feel the deep burn in his loins, letting him know that as hot as this was, if it kept up, he wouldn’t be able to hold off that much longer.
“Feels so good, bro,” he half-moaned to Cooper, who nodded eagerly in reply, and fuck, his lips were parted, and he had this look on his face, and Aiden had always wondered, always wanted to know, always wanted to…
He didn’t hesitate any longer. Aiden leaned in and pressed his lips to Cooper’s, both of them grunting in surprise at the sudden gesture. Cooper’s lips were firm and wet and warm, and after a moment’s hesitation, they parted against Aiden’s. Aiden’s lips moved with his, his cock throbbing even harder now in Cooper’s slick fist as Cooper pushed into the kiss, his breath hot and panting across Aiden’s parting lips as Aiden’s tongue flicked out, flicked against those unfamiliar lips, another dude’s mouth parting to him, letting him inside, and oh fuck he’d wanted this so bad…
Aiden moaned needfully into Cooper’s mouth as Cooper’s tongue met his, moved against his, wet and slippery as they grunted and started to devour each other, hands teasing each other’s nips and cocks, pulling closer together, their knees bumping and sliding against each other. Cooper let go of Aiden’s chest, reached around his hip and squeezed the meat of his ass, groping the muscle, pulling Aiden into him. Aiden responded instinctively, slipping his left arm around the back of Cooper’s neck and feeding the dude his tongue, drawing him in deeper as their tongues wrestled lustily.
When Cooper moaned, low and deep and loud, Aiden froze for an instant, pure instinct, thinking of how public this space was. But it was their space now, just the two of them, two new bros experimenting, finding out about each other, and his insides thrilled to the sexy freedom of being able to moan right back. The sounds of their kissing, their grunts and moans and sighs, the wet noises of their hands stroking each other’s cocks, faster and faster echoed off the tiles all around them, amplifying the heat and intensity and lust of what they were doing together.
Cooper sucked harder on his tongue, so Aiden gave him more, mouths wide, reaming each other out, hard and hungry, as their fists worked faster and faster. He could feel sweat starting to bead on his forehead from the steam and their body heat and the intense energy of what they were doing together, to each other. He licked his way around Cooper’s mouth, Cooper’s tongue chasing his, then pushing into his own mouth and returning the favor, and Aiden moaned real deep in his chest and reached down for the hard-carved muscles of the dude’s runner’s ass, tight and firm and flexing as Aiden drew him in, their knuckles rubbing each other’s stomachs as they worked faster and harder on each other’s throbbing young cocks.
“I’m gonna cum, bro,” Cooper moaned as he pulled out of the kiss, his face flushed and hungry and looking a little awed, almost.
“Yeah bro, cum,” Aiden moaned right back. “I’m gonna too. You’re gonna make me cum.”
“Makin’ each other cum,” Cooper panted.
“Yeah bro?” Aiden said. “We gonna make each other nut?”
“Fuck yeah,” Cooper said, all lusty and hungry and grinning. “Let’s fuckin’ make each other cum, bro.”
Cooper pushed his mouth to Aiden’s and kissed him, hard and wet and hungry, jacking his big young piece faster and faster, his fingers digging into the muscular meat of Aiden’s ass, and Aiden growled into his mouth and repaid the favor. He wanted nothing more than to bring his new buddy off, hard, take his bro over the finish line. It’s what he’d wanted to do for years, him and a bro, making each other happy. Making each other cum.
“Fuck, bro,” Cooper almost whimpered, his body shivering, right on the brink.
“Yeah dude,” Aiden said, his voice deep and husky and sure, in a way he’d never heard himself sound before. He liked it. A lot. “Cum for me, bro.”
Cooper moaned and shook, his cock throbbing harder in Aiden’s fist, and when Aiden ran his thumb over that spot on the underside of his head, that sensitive spot that always got him shivering inside, Cooper clutched tighter to him, let out a low wail, and started to cum. His cum shot hot and thick up Aiden’s stomach, over his stroking arm, hot and wet and searing, like a brand on his skin as he shuddered and shot in Aiden’s embrace. Then, almost without warning, he triggered Aiden off too.
“Fuck, bro!” Aiden gasped, and it was his turn to shake and moan and squirt, looking down between them to see his cum fountaining out of his cock, gripped tight in Cooper’s soapy fist, shooting over the guy’s tight, defined runner’s muscles, pearly streaks over his creamy skin. It was the hardest cum he’d ever had in his life, even harder than the first time he’d stuck his finger up his butt and touched that spot inside of himself. His head dropped to rest on Cooper’s shoulders as he shuddered and shot with him.
The two of them rode it out, the shaking subsiding as their spent young cocks tingled in each other’s hands, their breaths harsh and echoing off the tile as the water rained down on them from above. Aiden felt weak and flushed all over, spent, feeling that little stab of remorse he almost always felt in the afterglow of a load. But it seemed lesser this time, somehow, even as his head pulled itself back together, reassembling everything he’d just done. Everything he was feeling about all of it.
After a minute, they pulled apart, revealing the sticky mess pasting both their stomachs. Cooper looked up at him, all flushed, maybe a little nervous, like he was worried how Aiden was going to react now, in the aftermath. Aiden himself wasn’t all that sure, but his own smile came naturally, easily, without any thought, and seeing Cooper match it made him feel real good inside. They each leaned back and let the hot water course down their torsos, loosening the slick, yet sticky streaks of their young loads from their skin. Cooper looked back over at his abandoned shower stall, like he was about to head back there to finish cleaning up.
“Stay,” Aiden said, putting a hand on Cooper’s wrist, surprising them both, but himself most of all. He reached for his body wash and squirted some on Cooper’s stomach, then his own, and smiled encouragingly at him. Wondering how the tables had turned so quickly, and he’d become the confident, inviting one. He decided he liked it, this part of himself - liked it a lot.
Things were easy between them as they toweled off afterwards, and Aiden loved the hot kind of freedom of not having to hide behind the curtain as he dried his body off, and being able to look Cooper over as he did the same. It wasn’t until they got out to the empty hall, heading back to their rooms, that he started to feel a little funny. Confused, maybe. He wasn’t sure what came next, what to say, what to do. He was hoping Cooper would take the initiative again, but to his surprise, he didn’t seem to know either. They stood in front of Aiden’s door, suddenly awkward, and Aiden realized in the moment just how young and unsure he was. How far he had to go, still.
“Guess I’ll go and get dressed,” Cooper said after a long, awkward moment, looking down the hall towards his room. “That was… that was fun, man.”
“Yeah man,” Aiden said. “I wish we’d… uh…”
“Yeah,” Cooper said, nodding, blushing, but seeming to know just what he was thinking.
“Well… I’ll be around,” Cooper said after another long moment. “Get up with you later?”
Aiden didn’t know how to feel, or what to say, so he was glad for the out Cooper was giving him. He smiled, nodded, reached for his door handle.
“Yeah bro,” he said. “For sure.”
It was getting gloomier outside, the light starting to fade early, like it did this time of year. He thought he saw a few stray flakes of snow starting to fall as he looked out the window, down to his car, all alone in the parking lot. He unknotted the towel from his waist and let it fall to the floor, standing there naked, seeing his faint reflection in the glass as he looked at the world outside, thinking about how young he was, how little he knew about himself. How much he’d found out, too. How much more he wanted to discover. What it would take to get there.
Aiden stood there, looking at his naked reflection, at the darkening sky, the empty campus grounds, until a chill went through his naked body. He was startled to see how dark it was getting, and realized he must have been standing there longer than he’d thought. Almost half an hour had passed like that. He dug through his already packed duffel bag, found clean underwear and socks and a pair of jeans, and pulled his sweater and boots on. He was hungry, he realized, really fucking hungry, in fact. He grabbed his keys and phone, slung his duffel and his backpack over his shoulders without thinking about it, and made his way down the hall, moving quietly past Cooper’s door. He could hear music playing softly in there as he paused, and thought about knocking. But then he kept on going, heading to the stairs down to the parking lot.
The Honda had been sitting for a week at least, and the engine grumbled to life a little reluctantly, the leather of the seats cold on his back as he waited for warm air to start blowing out of the vents. He looked up to the fifth floor, looking for the light in Cooper’s room, before he realized he was on the wrong side of the building. This side of Joseph Hall was dark, empty, quiet, looming over him as he looked at the clock on the dashboard. If he kept on it, he could make it back to his mother’s house before it got too late tonight.
The engine settled down into a steady idle, the air from the vents warming nicely now. Aiden thought about his bed at the house he’d never really thought of as home, and the couple hundred miles between there and here. He looked at the little stray flakes of snow starting to fall on the windshield, and past them, up at the dark windows of the empty dorm. Well, almost empty. He thought about the easy, inviting way Cooper had smiled at him, how his lithe body had felt in Aiden’s inexperienced arms, the taste of his lips and his tongue. How the rest of him might taste, too. How much more of himself there was still to discover.
Aiden decided he wasn’t going home today, after all. He shut the engine off again, grabbed his bags, and headed back to the dorm. He took the stairs up to the fifth floor three at a time, starting to smile, feeling something growing inside him, ready to knock on Cooper’s door, and find out all the things that could happen once he went through it.
Wouldst I not be 'dripping
With bitches, yo' if I said
I never was the type
O'fella to hitch up my knickers
And forge a path into any
Given heart of darkness?
I wait to see which set
Of hitched knickers
Doesn't get eaten and
I head that way and
Take as many stragglers
As I can with me
Do stragglers straggle?
Oh, they must. Collectively, yeah.
Is “straggle” a real word?
Oh, it must. Lexicographically, yeah?
Stragglestragglestraggle
Oh, hey Phil! How's work?
Going to the company straggle?
It's a misdirected pilgrimage
There's a barbecue at the end
If you can find it
Plenty of potato salad, too
Stragglestragglestraggle
Straggle rock
Slower than Cobain
Smells like Beck
Tastes like fried bat
Goes good with potato salad
straggler
/ˈstraɡlə/
something that grows or spreads irregularly or apart from others of its kind.
Wow. Even when the world was ending, Sokka had still found a way to be super fucking gay. Maybe he should win a trophy or something for this shit. Were his standards slipping because he hadn’t actually seen another human being in ages, or was the dude actually really, really good-looking? Unconscious, but still cute.
The world had ended. Well, it was supposed to. The city was only a reminder of the struggle that had taken place between zombies and humankind. A city’s worth of panicking people shoving and screaming and running, trying to avoid either getting crushed by desperate drivers or getting mauled by a horde of zombies—it didn’t get much scarier than that.
There are many ways to survive the end of the world, but what comes after? What is there for a survivor? What keeps someone living when the whole world is wasting away? What keeps them fighting for something more than survival, fighting to live?
Isn't it ironic that some only find out what living truly is when everybody around them is dead?
basically 80k+ words of enemies to lovers, zombie apocalypse style.
