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Teth Adam came across Al sitting on a bench, head and forearms on the wide stone railing of the patio, gazing wistfully out at the gardens, mostly shapes in shadow now that the sun had set and the brilliant oranges and fiery pinks were fading into darker violets and burgundies.
Things ... things had not gone well for Al these past few weeks. His actions, his choices weighed heavily on him. Teth Adam often noticed him taking long, solitary walks in the desert as the cool of the evening came on, and a part of him feared that Al would one day choose to keep on walking, and what would he do then? It would be simple for him to find Al. It would not be so simple to deny a man the use of his conscience.
But so far, Al had always returned before Teth Adam became worried enough to search for him.
Had Al chosen to take his walks in the direction of the rising sun, the people of Kahndaq would crowd around him, asking for his blessing, showering him with tokens of their affection. But with few exceptions, Al avoided the people he had given so much of himself to save. Simple thank yous he appreciated. The outright adulation and worship of the people unnerved him.
These were the qualities in Al this simple decency and straightforwardness that had drawn Teth Adam to him at the outset. This was the kind of man Teth Adam knew would be good for Kahndaq. This was the kind of man he wanted at his side, stalwart and trustworthy, who would not stand idly by if Teth Adam should stray from the path. A man who would voice his objections and would always, always, do what he thought was right.
However Teth Adam knew all too well what it cost to serve the greater good, what it meant to be a leader of a nation, a people. Al Rothstein did not, and it grieved Teth Adam to see that the lessons learned and the price of that knowledge sat so heavily on those very powerful and yet so very, very, young shoulders.
Teth Adam also knew all too well that trying to serve two masters, especially masters with opposed demands, was a fool's errand. A man had to pick one or the other and live with the consequences of the choice.
A harsh reality indeed.
Al gave a heavy sigh, the sound of which caused Teth Adam to give his own inward sigh. He also knew that he should not have done this to Al goaded him onto this path, forced him to learn lessons life had not prepared him for.
But he had wanted Al for this task, wanted him for his people....
It seemed Al was his reminder about the cost of serving the greater good, a burden that weighed heavily on his very old, very wise, and very powerful shoulders.
Teth Adam came up quietly behind his friend, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. Al gave another shuddery sigh, and Teth Adam felt a hint of the tension drain out of his body. Tenderly, for he had not called Al his brother lightly, Teth Adam carded his other hand into those rich auburn waves, and drew the silky tendrils through his fingers. Another hitching sigh. Another fractional relaxing.
And in that instance, Teth Adam realized something about the nature of their existences here in Kahndaq. People adored them, worshiped them, cleared the way before them, worked to meet any possible need they could have.
But very few people touched them.
And now, this simple act touching a beloved friend hammered home to Teth Adam exactly how lonely he was, and reminded him of the value and the richness of contact, of touching, of knowing, of sharing.
He wanted to open his mouth to say something, to try and bridge the gap between them, to let Al know how sorry he was, that he understood how hard it was for him, and to try and explain to Al the depth of his gratitude and love, but before he could speak, Al leaned back, and nuzzled Teth Adam with his head, rubbed his cheek along Teth Adam's hand and forearm. The intimacy of the gesture, it ....
He had to make sure. He had to know.
And, ever so delicately, trembling inside, Teth Adam raised his hand, and soft as silk, traced the line of Al's cheek and jaw with finger.
An intimate touch.
A lover's touch.
Al's massive hand wrapped around his, holding it, as he rubbed his cheek against it, dragged the fingers across his lips.
Oh.
And then Al turned and stood.
The first brush of lips was tentative.
The second was not. Al's mouth, hot on his, devouring, needing, seeking something that Teth Adam knew he could never give, needing something Teth Adam didn't have.
But that didn't stop Teth Adam from wanting this. It didn't stop him from rising up and snaking his fingers into that thick auburn hair, and holding that head right where he wanted it, and taking what he wanted from those lips.
Finally, with a ragged gasp, Al tore himself free. "This is a mistake," he murmured under his breath.
"Yes," Teth Adam replied, smoothing back an errant lock of Al's hair.
"But I just don't care any more," Al whispered before resuming the kiss.
Teth Adam didn't even have to consciously think about floating so as to keep himself on a height with Al, and there certainly was nothing approaching thought as need met want, and strength matched strength as they thundered down the hallways of the palace, slamming up against walls, doorways, monumental statues, heedless of the damage, gasping for air, hands groping, fingers clenching, hips grinding, lips seeking, until they burst through the door to Teth Adam's room, shattering it, and found themselves on the bed, Teth Adam pinned beneath Al, both of them clothes rent, lips kiss bruised, eyes ablaze.
The Wisdom of Zehuti still counseled him that this was a mistake, but that was a small voice compared to the roar of Amon, urging him on, while Shu also whispered in his mind, telling him of his father, Atum, who created the world by fucking his fist. They weren't like those anemic things the Greco-Roman gods had become, nor were they the joyless, sexless Judeo-Christians, this old pantheon. They were primal, raw. No chaste virgins here. Sex and desire and pleasure twined through every fiber of their beings.
With the Swiftness of Heru (who also whispered in Teth Adam's ear tales of the times he lay with Set), Teth Adam had them both naked. And it was the same voice which told him how to milk their seeping cocks for slickness, and how to tuck himself between Al's thighs and thrust Al's cock hard and hot against his belly and hand and grind and chafe towards that longed for release.
When Al rolled them and covered him, driving himself between Teth Adam's thighs, seizing Teth Adam in his hand, the sky gods howled in protest at being dominated, but Teth Adam ignored them and listened to Heru tell him of Set and how the desert meets the river valley and how seed calls to seed. And while a part of Teth Adam wanted to dominate, he understood that Al needed this, needed to slam away, and bite, and clench, and feel in control of things. Al needed this to find a moment's comfort, and Teth Adam wanted him to have it.
And, as Teth Adam felt the heat and weight of Al's body on his, felt Al's hand ruthlessly fisting his cock, as he heard the stream of gasps and groans and incoherent syllables escape both their mouths, as he felt Al's lips and teeth and hot breath along the join of neck and shoulder, he reveled in it. Reveled in the feel of a body against his it had been so long reveled in having all of this fierceness and rage and need directed at him, reveled in his ability to take it all, reveled in not needing to hold back much.
The heat, the friction, so mindlessly good, so primordial, so ... before words .... It wasn't the word that brought the universe into being. It was the act. The sheer mind-blowing cosmic pleasure of the climax. And Teth Adam wanted it so badly, he was so close, almost at that perfect moment. He could feel it building in body and mind.
"Please, please," he gasped, desperate to let Al know that he wanted more; he wanted everything that Al could give him. Now.
Al obliged, spilling hot and slippery between his legs, the warm flood sending Teth Adam over the edge the violent rush of the spring floods giving life to the desert, the union of earth and sky, air and water, the stars wheeling in his vision, the whole of the cosmos in his reach ... the first moment ... he touched the minds of the gods ... the everything was in his grasp ... as, with a shout to shatter windows, he came.
And then it was over.
He was back in his body.
The world had limits again.
He ... was ... it was ...
Without a word, Al rolled off of him and turned to face the wall.
Silently Teth Adam rose and returned with a cool, damp, cloth.
Al, eyes closed, utterly spent, said nothing, just gave a few shuddery breaths as Teth Adam gently cleaned the two of them. He fell asleep bare moments after Teth Adam tucked in behind him and whisper soft, trailed a hand down his flank.
And for that, Teth Adam felt grateful.
Because, for all that he was in love with Al, all the joys between them were wound through with thorns. Because, for all that he loved Teth Adam, Al still served two masters, and that never ended well. Because, as Teth Adam eyes drank in the shape of his beloved's body and delighted in its beauty, its aura of coiled power all the love in his gaze was tempered with an equal measure of sorrow.