by Runa Yukarin (\u6708\u30fb\u670b)<\/p>\n
(mirrors http:\/\/s2b2.livejournal.com\/264519.html<\/a>)<\/p>\n Vega was out with Lyra on the night that he met Altair.<\/p>\n They\u2019d been walking home, together, after a long day at market, and the night had just begun to fall, gray-purple and very soft. It was dark in the forest, and singing with insects.<\/p>\n Vega had probably noticed him first, but it was Lyra that stopped, resting one of her small, rough hands on Vega\u2019s wrist. \u201cDo you suppose he\u2019s okay?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n She pointed into the shadows, and the figure grew more defined as Vega focused on it. Vega swallowed at the sight of him. He was tired, feet aching and hands raw and tingling from handling fabric all day. Any other day, any other man, and he would have pulled on, to home and supper and sleep.<\/p>\n But the man under the tree lifted his head, hearing Lyra\u2019s voice, and his eyes gleamed in the dark. They were eyes that pulled.<\/p>\n <\/a>Vega hefted the unsold rug over his shoulder, and bent down on one knee in front of the man. \u201cAre you all right?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cLeave me be.\u201d The man\u2019s voice was clear, almost impossibly so.<\/p>\n \u201cReally? I mean, it\u2019s getting kinda cold out…\u201d Lyra approached from behind. She had her basket of yarns and roving with her, and her head tilted kindly.<\/p>\n \u201cLeave me be,\u201d the man said again, and his eyes shifted above his knees, locking with Lyra\u2019s. Vega extended a hand, and rested it on the man\u2019s knee. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be cold tonight. Winter isn\u2019t yet over. At least stay in our home tonight?\u201d he asked. \u201cIt\u2019s a sin to leave someone in need alone like this.\u201d<\/p>\n The man by the tree sniffed, curling in closer to himself. \u201cI\u2019ve been fine on my own for a while, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt least help us finish dinner, then. I\u2019m certain I made too much.\u201d Lyra\u2019s smile was contagious and sincere, and there were few who could resist it.<\/p>\n The man here seemed to be no exception. He sniffed again, and unbent himself from where he sat. \u201cSeems I have no choice, then. Take me with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Unfolded and standing, it became immediately apparent that he was not only an outsider — his refusal of offered hospitality made that obvious — but a handsome one, too. His build was stocky, broad in the shoulders, and he was shorter than even Lyra. And his skin — unbelievably — was smooth, almost shiny, and the color of fresh earth.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, where are you from?\u201d Lyra asked, as they began walking.<\/p>\n The man didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n \u201cNot from around here, I can tell,\u201d she continued. \u201cI\u2019ve seen fishers from the coast as dark as you. Is that what you do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m… a watchman,\u201d the man replied; his lips lay slightly open in the pause between his words. \u201cAnd tonight I am off my post with nowhere to be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I see! Spend them alone, usually?\u201d Lyra said.<\/p>\n The man nodded, and he looked over his shoulder at Vega. A chill unrelated to the wind ran through him; Vega had never seen such lonely eyes set in such a stern face.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you have a name?\u201d Lyra continued. \u201cI mean, hah, of course, everyone has a name, I suppose…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAltair.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAltair, that\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded, and Lyra\u2019s shoulders rose as she giggled. \u201cHow interesting, I\u2019ve never heard a name like that before! I\u2019m Lyra, and this is Vega, my older brother.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI see,\u201d Altair said, and there was little else said the way back home.<\/p>\n Lyra lay down her basket and took to rekindling the fire, once they arrived home. The air was cold and still inside the small house, but the orange light of the fire seemed to warm it before the heat could do its work. Vega put down his rug in the corner, and in the silence, his shoulders grew hunched. Lyra was busy, so he supposed it was up to him to speak…<\/p>\n \u201cUm… we have only one room for sleeping, but plenty of blankets,\u201d he said. \u201cSo you are, um… welcome to sleep with us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI sleep during the day,\u201d Altair said.<\/p>\n \u201cOh! Oh, then, um.\u201d Vega skimmed over his thoughts. \u201cPlease, feel free to make use of the room in the… morning, then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be gone by morning. I\u2019m just here to help finish dinner, as your sister said,\u201d Altair said.<\/p>\n \u201cAh…\u201d Vega tucked a lock of hair behind his ear.<\/p>\n Why was it that this man was making him so nervous? True, Lyra was better at talking to strangers than him, but there was just something about him…<\/p>\n Vega decided to take the unsold rug and move it into the weaving room, if only to try and calm down. Figure things out.<\/p>\n Before he could even get started, Altair was behind him. \u201cWhat is this room for?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUm… weaving…\u201d Vega replied, though the enormous loom — Vega\u2019s loom — made that obvious, at least to him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a weaver?\u201d Altair walked forward, and began inspecting the half-made fabric.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, and my sister, she… spins. It\u2019s how we support ourselves.\u201d He nestled his hands, rough from work, in each other.<\/p>\n \u201cRemarkable,\u201d Altair said. \u201cIt hardly seems like the sort of thing you\u2019d make just to support yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I…\u201d Vega\u2019s lips knotted. \u201cI try to make them attractive, so they\u2019ll sell better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMm.\u201d Altair trailed his fingers over the white, sparkling accents in the deep blue of the rug. Vega shivered involuntarily, as if those fingers weren\u2019t touching the rug, but…<\/p>\n \u201cBoys, the stew is almost done! Come help set up.\u201d Lyra\u2019s voice broke the aching tension of the air, and Altair took his hand off the rug as he passed into the main room.<\/p>\n For a moment, his arm brushed Vega\u2019s, and the hairs on Vega\u2019s arm stood at attention.<\/p>\n It took Lyra calling out to him — \u201cVega, come on!\u201d — to get him to move again.<\/p>\n Lyra had made mushroom stew, and though he was hungry, Vega kept forgetting the food on his spoon, letting it grow cold before each bite.<\/p>\n Altair ate with the delicate grace of a cat, gently blowing on each wooden spoonful until the steam disappeared, and wrapping his finely-shaped lips over each bite. He wiped the broth off his lips with his knuckles, and licked them clean when he was done.<\/p>\n Lyra chatted on, as well she could, and Altair replied in a patient, even manner, not quite humoring her, not quite expressing genuine interest. He didn\u2019t ask questions, and he helped clean the wooden dishware after the meal.<\/p>\n Vega had questions, formless questions, but they stuck to his mouth and kept it shut. Vega took the opportunity to escape, tending to his loom with tender nervousness ringing in his ears. He swallowed, frequently, threading the shuttle back and forth, picking out the flower-like specks of white along the way in their improvised patterns. The yarn was smooth, Lyra\u2019s fine work, and the blue thread had a fine luster in the gentle light of his lamp.<\/p>\n The blue luster of the night on Altair\u2019s skin…<\/p>\n Vega closed his eyes tight and shook his head, as if trying to get water out of his hair, and tried to get back to weaving.<\/p>\n He got a good amount of work done, keeping his mind from wandering too far, when he heard the tap of a small hand on the wall behind him. \u201cI\u2019m going to bed; you coming?\u201d<\/p>\n It was Lyra. Vega looked over his shoulder at her, rather than continuing his work, and a crooked smile masked how startled he actually felt. \u201cI\u2019m almost done here. I\u2019ll go to sleep soon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMm. I\u2019ll lay out your blankets, then.\u201d Lyra turned back and trailed a hand behind her. \u201cNight.\u201d<\/p>\n What followed was not silence, but her voice again, muffled slightly by distance. She was offering to make up a bed for Altair, which he declined in that same, smooth, night-deep voice. Vega held onto it as he held his breath.<\/p>\n He only exhaled once he hard Lyra\u2019s footsteps, light and bird-like, retreat to the bedroom. A moment longer, he held the echo of Altair\u2019s voice in his mind, the image of his stone-soft lips against the spoon.<\/p>\n And he returned to work, as the oil in his lamp burned away, the whir-and-clack of the loom smoothing over his thoughts.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t even hear Altair enter, some lost amount of time later. But Altair\u2019s breath, lukewarm and light, touched his shoulder. Vega could almost feel his lack of body heat, even though they weren\u2019t touching.<\/p>\n \u201cAren\u2019t you going to sleep soon?\u201d Altair was almost whispering, but his voice seemed to reverberate deep through Vega\u2019s body.<\/p>\n This time, Vega didn\u2019t look back. He kept his hands on the loom, his thick fingers fast in the threads. \u201cI… tend to not rest when I\u2019ve made a lot of progress…\u201d he said, inhaling in the pause. \u201cDon\u2019t want to lose my rhythm, see…\u201d<\/p>\n He heard the ground creak as Altair knelt beside him, and in his peripheral vision Vega saw the silhouette of his head as he leaned over to get a better look. \u201cThere\u2019s so much more here than before our meal. I\u2019m impressed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nothing, really…\u201d<\/p>\n A smooth hand snaked its way over to the bar of the loom, where Vega\u2019s hand rested. \u201cI told you, I\u2019m impressed.\u201d<\/p>\n Their fingers, for a moment, touched at their edges.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s beautiful,\u201d Altair said.<\/p>\n Vega cleared his throat, and fumbled with the shuttle. \u201cIf you\u2019ll excuse me, I… think I\u2019m done for the night…\u201d<\/p>\n As he stood, and left the room, he saw Altair\u2019s eyes follow him, dark and animal-luminous, and lonely. Eyes that stayed with him as he settled into his blankets, beside Lyra, in the silence of the dark.<\/p>\n Vega woke some time later, not quite at dawn, but clearly a while later. The room was dark, from the lack of moon, but he could see Lyra sleeping beside him, her black hair fanned out gently across her pale cheek.<\/p>\n Altair was still awake, he supposed. He didn\u2019t feel immediately sleepy, so to check on him… would be reasonable, wouldn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n Altair was not in the main room, no, but he was outside, looking up at the sky. It was beginning to pale, leaking shades of cream and orange to precede the sunrise.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should go back to sleep,\u201d Altair said, without even turning back. \u201cI\u2019m quite fine here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I know, I just… can\u2019t sleep, either,\u201d Vega said. \u201cMind if I, um… sit with you, for a while?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t mind.\u201d<\/p>\n The wood of the veranda around the house was cold. Vega wrapped his blanket around himself tighter. His mouth hungered, and he struggled with it for the right thing to say, the memory of the hand and the loom rolling and rumbling at the back of his mind.<\/p>\n At least he didn\u2019t ask directly about the weather. \u201cAre you… sure you aren\u2019t cold?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m used to the cold.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh… Are you from north of here? If you\u2019re used to it, I mean,\u201d Vega said. \u201cI hear the snow never melts there, even in summer.\u201d<\/p>\n Altair shook his head. \u201cI\u2019m from far above north. Not a place many people live.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh…\u201d<\/p>\n Vega\u2019s breath clouded in front of him and disappeared into the dark. Altair\u2019s didn\u2019t. \u201cIs it lonely, where you are?\u201d<\/p>\n Altair finally turned to look at him there, and with his eyes already adjusted to the darkness, Vega got the best look at his face he\u2019d had all night.<\/p>\n He had dark, bird-wing eyebrows, and eyes that were both dark and clear, like wine.<\/p>\n And beneath that clarity, delicious and enticing, was that loneliness, etched into the deep sockets of his eyes.<\/p>\n Eyes that pulled, and pleaded, locked into an unflinching face.<\/p>\n Vega had to do something, fuss and want wrestling under his thoughts, and concern. So he leaned forward, and kissed him. Altair\u2019s lips were soft and yielded gently, like the flesh of a ripe fruit.<\/p>\n He pulled back after that, his heart beating in his throat. \u201cI\u2019m… I\u2019m sorry, I just…\u201d<\/p>\n Altair just stared back at him, his lips slightly parted, his brows raised.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t leave, if you don\u2019t want to.\u201d This was all Vega could manage, though more words, unspoken, coated his lips: \u201cSomeone as beautiful as you shouldn\u2019t have such lonely eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n Altair smirked, bitterly, and looked at the ground. \u201cI have no choice but to leave. But…\u201d And he lifted his face, and his clear, dark eyes seemed even more luminous in the dark. \u201cThat you wish to share my company, I\u2019m… flattered.\u201d<\/p>\n Vega\u2019s face burned in the low dawn. Even his fingers seemed to be trembling.<\/p>\n \u201cI would be happy to share the rest of this night with you, however much is left,\u201d Altair continued. He leaned forward, and his hand, his arm came so close to Vega that he could see the fine, dark hairs on his skin.<\/p>\n They kissed again, and this time, Vega could taste him. He tasted of snow, and Lyra\u2019s cooking, and the tang of storm-touched rain.<\/p>\n Altair\u2019s hand was cool against Vega\u2019s face, as he gently held Vega\u2019s jawline, supporting his head as he kissed harder. His hands were smooth, hands that belonged to someone that had never known work.<\/p>\n In the pauses between kisses, where they gulped down cold air and winter silence, Vega\u2019s head swam with questions.<\/p>\n Was this truly happening, or was he still dreaming, fantasizing about a stranger who couldn\u2019t possibly be truly interested in him? It wouldn\u2019t be the first time, with other men and other fantasies, but Altair was a man of disinterest, gentle refusal, and…<\/p>\n And Altair was gently easing Vega onto his back, his thick, muscled legs straddling Vega\u2019s hips, dipping into him with each kiss, cool and smooth and real.<\/p>\n This man, from out of nowhere, a watchman with nowhere to be, and yet here he was, answering Vega\u2019s movements as if he knew them by heart, had known them all his life. Vega gasped, his chest rising and falling as he wrapped his arms around Altair\u2019s back, the cold wood of the veranda underneath him.<\/p>\n This wasn\u2019t a fantasy, a dream. He felt everything: Altair\u2019s lips, the cold air, the blood running hot and agitated through his body…<\/p>\n And yet, all too suddenly, he felt Altair lifting out of his arms, and in moments, he was gone. Completely.<\/p>\n Vega lay on his back for a while, reeling, the surge of his heartbeat resonating through the tips of his fingers, his joints, his groin. Breath clouded over him like fog, and the milk-butter light of the dawn reached over the black skeletons of trees around his home.<\/p>\n Once his blood had cooled, he sat up, and winced, laughing a little. Of course, it had been a dream.<\/p>\n He asked Lyra, once she woke up, if she knew what had happened to Altair in the night. \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d she replied, stirring the rice over the hearth. \u201cI assume he left while we were asleep. Why do you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n Vega shrugged noncommittally. \u201cJust… hoping he got where he was going,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In the weeks that followed, they didn\u2019t see Altair again.<\/p>\n At least, Lyra didn\u2019t. But Vega saw him, often, and in the smallest places.<\/p>\n At the loom, he\u2019d feel the phantom brush of his smooth fingers against his wrist. In his bed, he\u2019d feel Altair\u2019s weight held over him, lips against lips. He kept these to himself, for his sister\u2019s sake, turning over onto his side and cupping the space between his legs with cold hands until he calmed.<\/p>\n One month passed.<\/p>\n And on the next new moon, coming home from market, Lyra and Vega found Altair waiting for them at their home.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope you don\u2019t mind if I stay with you another night,\u201d he said, after Lyra expressed her delight in seeing him. \u201cI was… in the area again, and I wanted to repay your kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n He had gifts for them, small ones, but none were more precious than the way Vega\u2019s pulse quickened when Altair\u2019s eyes met his, and he saw that the loneliness was gone.<\/p>\n What it had been replaced by, Vega did not dare assume. But his heart read that clarity, and felt longing, and want.<\/p>\n For Lyra, he presented a beautiful knife made of white glass, like bone.<\/p>\n And for Vega? \u201cWhat is this?\u201d It was a spool of some sort of material, silver-bright and sparkling where the light hit it. Thinner than yarn, something obviously meant to accompany a greater thread.<\/p>\n \u201cFor your weaving. I thought you might make some good use of it,\u201d Altair replied. \u201cLyra\u2019s yarns are of good quality, but I thought you\u2019d appreciate… something more.\u201d<\/p>\n The thread was cold to the touch, on its spool. Cold, and smooth.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never seen anything like it,\u201d Lyra added. \u201cNo way I could manage to spin something like that myself. I hope my brother can make something beautiful with it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hope he does too,\u201d Altair added, and his eyes seemed to melt with warmth.<\/p>\n Vega stared at his hands. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the very least I could do, for your kindness,\u201d Altair said. \u201cThat, and another meal tonight, if it\u2019s not too much trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot in the least!\u201d Lyra said.<\/p>\n They had fish that night, salted and grilled, but Vega could hardly taste it. His mind was tangled up in too many other things: memories of lips, and silver spools of wire.<\/p>\n Vega took to weaving after dinner, since Altair was content to sit outside by himself in the hollow warmth of the night. It was all he could do to keep from thinking about what had happened last time, and all the wishful thinking attached.<\/p>\n Even with Altair there, before him, as real as he had seemed, there was so little that could convince his mind that what had happened between them was real. The memory of those smooth hands and lips was as insubstantial as air, and the ghosts of those sensations haunted him.<\/p>\n The loom was real, and the steady, erasing rhythm. Tonight would be the last night he\u2019d see Altair, and he was only with them to repay the kindness of him and his sister. All the while, Altair\u2019s gift of silver lay beside the loom, unused, too precious for the unfinished, common thing under his fingers.<\/p>\n Somewhere in the uncertain passage of time, Lyra came in and said she was going to bed, which Vega acknowledged with a hum and a tilt of the head.<\/p>\n And then, even deeper into that dark night, Vega felt the touch of cool fingers on his shoulder, cool breath on his neck. He shivered, tensing in response, before shaking his head. It was late, and his numb fingers must have been dulling his senses…<\/p>\n Until he felt a kiss by his ear, and he smelled rain.<\/p>\n Turning into the kiss, he saw Altair there. His dark eyes seemed heavy and liquid in the lamplight.<\/p>\n \u201cAltair? What are you doing?\u201d Vega said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe token gifts for you and your sister, those were just for your hospitality,\u201d Altair said. \u201cBut I wish to repay you for easing my loneliness.\u201d<\/p>\n Vega gulped. His heart raced. No, Altair\u2019s eyes didn\u2019t look lonely now. They were filled with a need of an entirely different kind.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease, let me repay you,\u201d Altair said.<\/p>\n Vega didn\u2019t say anything, swallowing again, and nodding several times, as if shaking off his disbelief.<\/p>\n Altair gently held onto the back of Vega\u2019s head, his fingers curling into Vega\u2019s black hair, and they began to kiss; gently, at first, their lips touching for only seconds at a time, but soon with greater and greater urgency, as if they were hungry for each other.<\/p>\n Vega held onto him, in time, supporting himself by resting his hand against Altair\u2019s cheek, the sand-tan of his skin a rough contrast to his partner\u2019s smooth, darker brown.<\/p>\n This, surely, was enough, Vega thought, to repay Altair. A kiss for a kiss, a touch for a touch. That it was all Altair would want, and that it would end all too soon, gone, and lifted away from him like a dream.<\/p>\n But Altair\u2019s kisses began to wander down his face, his neck, and onto his chest. His small, fine fingers pulled at the front of his robe, exposing his chest, which was shining slightly with sweat. Vega could feel the soft skin of Altair\u2019s cheek by his collarbone, his lips sweeping over his skin as he dipped lower.<\/p>\n When Altair spoke, breaking the breathing silence, his voice was calm, and unhurried. \u201cYour pants. Can I take them off?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat for…?\u201d Vega felt slightly dizzy.<\/p>\n \u201cTo repay you further. Please, let me.\u201d<\/p>\n Altair\u2019s eyes pulled and stirred at something in Vega\u2019s stomach; he could hear his heart beating in his ears. \u201cWhatever you… want, I suppose,\u201d Vega replied.<\/p>\n And for the first time, for however short a time they\u2019d known each other, Altair smiled. It was a slight smile, almost invisible, but it sent Vega\u2019s mind reeling in happiness.<\/p>\n Slowly, almost deliberately, Altair untied and pulled away the ribbon holding up Vega\u2019s trousers, and left him naked from the waist down, his robe completely undone.<\/p>\n \u201cStand up. Please.\u201d<\/p>\n Vega didn\u2019t even reply, and he stood, his pants around his ankles, as Altair knelt before him. His hands wandered to Vega\u2019s chest, and he kissed him on the belly, following the trail of his navel to his groin.<\/p>\n And with those beautiful, small hands, he cupped Vega\u2019s scrotum and began gently massaging his shaft. Vega couldn\u2019t help but gasp as he began to grow hard and hot, and his breath quickened, pulsing in his chest as if he\u2019d been running for miles.<\/p>\n It was completely unlike all the times he\u2019d had to pleasure himself, in the secret, hot silences when he had the house alone. Vega\u2019s own hands were rough, thick, and his body knew them too well to respond immediately. But Altair\u2019s hands were so cool, and felt like stone made flesh, and each new touch sang through his body and into his joints.<\/p>\n Vega was erect within moments, and Altair\u2019s hands moved in response, shifting positions and pulling with more intensity. His eyes closed as Vega began to moan slightly, trying to keep his mouth shut; Lyra was two whole rooms away, but cold air seemed so much quieter, and sounds traveled like thieves.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you okay? Am I hurting you?\u201d<\/p>\n Vega opened his eyes, and saw Altair looking up at him; he\u2019d let go, but his hands hovered just by his thighs, ready to return at any moment. Vega, however, didn\u2019t even notice that. What he noticed were Altair\u2019s eyes, and his brows knit together in painful concern.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, please… keep going…\u201d Vega said. He looked at the ceiling, and when he felt Altair\u2019s hands upon him once more, he sucked in his breath through his nose and moaned slightly, as if stretching his limbs.<\/p>\n And then Altair\u2019s hands were joined by an entirely different companion: his mouth. Altair\u2019s lips were firm and wet, and they rippled with his tongue along Vega\u2019s shaft, sucking and pulling more intensely than his hands had. Vega couldn\u2019t hold himself in, letting out a gentle cry and biting his lower lip. His right hand curled by his chest, each pull on his phallus running hot through his joints, and his left hand reached for Altair\u2019s head, for balance, for comfort, for…<\/p>\n Warmth, spasming and electric, began to fill his loins. It was a familiar sensation, but one he\u2019d never felt so strongly.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m… I\u2019m almost…\u201d<\/p>\n Altair seemed to understand immediately, and took his mouth away, squeezing the base of his shaft in a firm, final motion. It was enough; white jism came forth, surge after surge, more than Vega had ever experienced before.<\/p>\n In the heavy-breathing stillness that followed, Vega managed to come around and open his eyes. His hand was still on Altair\u2019s head, though it had shifted to his ear, and the remains of his gratefulness lay spattered on Altair\u2019s forehead and sleek, black hair.<\/p>\n Vega immediately boiled with embarrassment. \u201cDid I… did I get it on you? Oh, Altair, I\u2019m so sorry, I…\u201d<\/p>\n Vega tripped over the pants around his ankles, but Altair caught him, and he smiled for the second time that night.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all right. That\u2019s what I wanted to have happen,\u201d Altair said. \u201cThere is a spring nearby where I can wash it out before I have to return home. Would you join me there?\u201d<\/p>\n Relief washed over the burn of shame in Vega\u2019s head, and he nodded, breathlessly. \u201cSure!\u201d<\/p>\n He dressed himself, lightly, and crept out of the house with Altair. The spring was not too far, but he still worried about the jism in Altair\u2019s hair hardening too quickly to wash out easily. It was a small worry, however; the reality of Altair holding his hand as they went through the woods together was far more preoccupying.<\/p>\n When they reached the spring, they undressed, and swam in the spring together. The water reflected no sky, or moon, but blackness. Altair\u2019s hair was cleaned easily, and lay glossy and flat against his head, fanning out over his shoulders. He was incredibly lovely, there, and Vega could not help but swim beside him, above him, and kiss him again, once or twice, no longer feeling so impulsive.<\/p>\n They sat by the rocks together as the sky began to pale; so much time had passed, and yet Vega hardly felt tired. He did, however, feel a vague, originless unease, and only when he noticed Altair looking at the sky did he figure out what it was.<\/p>\n \u201cAltair?\u201d he said. \u201cThe last time you visited, why did you leave so suddenly?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t mean for that to happen,\u201d Altair replied. \u201cThe dawn came more quickly than I expected.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to leave with the dawn?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt signals the return to my post.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, yes, you told me you were a watchman…\u201d Vega said. \u201cWhere are you posted?\u201d<\/p>\n Altair pointed to the sky. \u201cThe moon is my ward. Once a month, I have nothing to guard, and I am left here on earth to do as I please.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe moon…!\u201d It had been a moonless night when they\u2019d first met, and it was moonless here, too. \u201cIs that true? Are you a god, then?\u201d Vega said.<\/p>\n \u201cSome might call me that,\u201d Altair said, though there was no care in his voice.<\/p>\n \u201cYou must be all alone up there,\u201d Vega said. \u201cUnless there are other guards?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe sun has a protector, I\u2019m told. But I\u2019ve only seen him on the other side of the sky, sometimes,\u201d said Altair. His eyes were focused on the water, which had grown still and clear from their lack of movement.<\/p>\n Vega moved closer, sending ripples through the water, and kissed Altair on one of his high cheekbones, cradling the other side of his face. \u201cDo I ease your loneliness?\u201d<\/p>\n Altair\u2019s hand rose to meet Vega\u2019s, and there was a line of guilt in his smile. \u201cYes,\u201d he said, \u201cyou do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen… if you want to spend those nights alone with me, instead… I will always welcome you,\u201d Vega said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou… truly mean that?\u201d<\/p>\n Vega nodded with more certainty than anything else he\u2019d ever felt.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I will look for you, if you look for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Altair\u2019s eyes were glossy and bright, with happiness, and tears.<\/p>\n They kissed a while longer, in the spring, before the dawn came and claimed Altair back to his post, his body fading into the dark as the crown of the sun began over the horizon.<\/p>\n Vega slept late, when he returned home. And when Lyra teased him for sleeping in so late — \u201cStayed up late weaving again?\u201d — all he could do was smile at her, and tell her that their guest Altair would be joining them again the next month.<\/p>\n As the weeks passed, Vega would often look up at the moon, alone in the black sky, and picture his beloved\u2019s face there, finely-carved and dark. He would wonder if Altair was looking down upon him as well, if he thought about him as often.<\/p>\n There was some uncertainty, as the new moon approached, that Altair would not come. But the night came, and darkness fell, and Altair came out of the woods and onto the threshold of Vega\u2019s home, and the promise was fulfilled.<\/p>\n They eased each others\u2019 loneliness, late into the night, when all was still and none would interrupt. They shared their lips and their tastes, their stories and their sighs. Vega would always wait until dawn before sleeping, never wanting to leave his beloved Altair alone, knowing the burden he carried the other nights of the month. Only after the dawn took him away would he have been able to sleep with peace.<\/p>\n And so it continued for the next month, and the next, until a great deal of time had passed.<\/p>\n Until it came to pass that, one night, Altair came to Vega with a proposal:<\/p>\n \u201cCome and live with me, in the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n They were laying together, under a blanket, in his weaving loom, where Vega had taken to sleeping lately. Altair\u2019s cool, stocky body nested comfortably beneath Vega\u2019s long, string-rough one.<\/p>\n \u201cLive with you in the… sky?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve consulted my masters, and it\u2019s been decided that you are worthy enough to join me in my duties. We would never have to be apart.\u201d<\/p>\n Vega\u2019s heart fluttered at the thought. True, to be with Altair always would be unspeakably wonderful, but all the same…<\/p>\n \u201cDo you not want to?\u201d Altair said. He leaned over, and his hair fell in a curtain beside his face.<\/p>\n \u201cI would love nothing more,\u201d Vega said. \u201cIt\u2019s just, I worry about my sister…\u201d Without him, and the rugs he made, she would barely make enough money to survive on just her spun goods.<\/p>\n Altair\u2019s eyes fell. \u201cLyra has been as kind to me as you have,\u201d he said. \u201cI would hate to see her suffer because I wanted to have you with me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet me talk to her. After you\u2019re gone. Then we can figure out what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Altair\u2019s face remained uneasy, and Vega kissed it to comfort him, but he felt the stirrings of unease within himself even after the dawn arrived and took Altair away. He was still awake when Lyra woke.<\/p>\n \u201cHey there, did Altair leave?\u201d She began stirring the embers in the hearth to wake them.<\/p>\n \u201cMm.\u201d<\/p>\n The kettle was hung in the hearth for tea. \u201cSomething wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, just tired. I\u2019m going back to sleep.\u201d He retreated to his weaving room without another word, and slept dreamlessly.<\/p>\n He avoided talking to Lyra about it for weeks, until the night of the new moon, and Altair\u2019s return, was uncomfortably close at hand.<\/p>\n It shouldn\u2019t have surprised him that Lyra moved to talk about it first. \u201cAltair\u2019s gonna be here soon. Did you two have a fight?\u201d<\/p>\n They\u2019d been working together in the living room; she was spinning, he was sewing on embellishments to a rug. The question hit him with such unexpected power that he pricked himself with his needle.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, did you?\u201d Lyra said, not even looking up from her spinning wheel.<\/p>\n \u201cN-no, we haven\u2019t… fought about anything, why would you assume that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLovers go through rough patches sometimes. It\u2019s natural.\u201d<\/p>\n In the silence that followed, she looked up from her work, and smiled teasingly. \u201cWhat, you thought I didn\u2019t know? You two are quiet, but not that quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n Vega\u2019s face felt like it was exploding, from all the heat in his cheeks. His hands trembled as he put down his sewing. \u201cWh-why didn\u2019t you speak up…?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause it\u2019s rude to be nosy in matters like this,\u201d she said. \u201cBesides, I see the way you look at each other. You\u2019d have to be heartless to butt in.\u201d<\/p>\n Vega covered his face in his hands, unsure whether to smile or grimace.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, are you two fine? I\u2019m not gonna stand for it if he\u2019s being rude to you,\u201d Lyra continued.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re fine, it\u2019s just…\u201d Vega lowered his hands, keeping them somewhere by his collarbone. \u201cHe wants me to… live with him, and I\u2019m worried about how you\u2019ll do without me…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, that\u2019s<\/i> what this is about? That\u2019s nothing!\u201d She laughed, and had to stop spinning to wipe her eyes. \u201cI\u2019ll be fine on my own, honest. If he wants you to live with him, then go!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLyra, are you just saying that to make me feel better…?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou kidding? With you out of the house, I might have room for a lover of my own!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cY-you have a lover?\u201d<\/p>\n Lyra just laughed, keeping her secrets and her joys to herself.<\/p>\n When Altair returned, on the night of the new moon, Vega ran to him and picked him up into his arms, and kissed him openly, feeling enormous relief and overwhelming love. They spent their night together as they had always done, only sharing their happiness with Lyra, and readying the house for Vega\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n The only possession Vega brought with him, for his new home, was the spool of silver thread that Altair had given him, his first gift. It had seemed too precious to waste on a simple rug, and lain unused in the house for a very long while.<\/p>\n Now, Vega knew, he would have a place for it.<\/p>\n They held hands as the dawn came, and faded into the sky together. Lyra awoke to an empty house, but she was far from worried.<\/p>\n And the next night, as the sliver of the waxing crescent rose into the sky, the first star in existence rose beside it, as bright as a shard of mirror in a bolt of velvet.<\/p>\n As time passed, the stars increased, with Vega\u2019s weaving gifts granting color and light to the night, so that his Altair could never be lonely.<\/p>\n Of course, the new moon still came, as it always had.<\/p>\n But on those nights, the sky would fill with shooting stars, trailing silver light like fine wire.
\nHe was a shape at the base of a tree, dark and huddled into itself, and his brown arms were clenched over his knees. The night gleamed blue on him, and his eyes were hidden.<\/p>\n
\nVega felt his heart jump. The whites of the man\u2019s eyes were almost pearl-like, gleaming in the dark there. There were cold hooks in those eyes.<\/p>\n
\nWhen Lyra excused herself to get some spinning done, Altair announced he would be outside, thanking them once more for their kindness.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n