Sisters by Red Zach's breath came out in shallow gasps, a little too much of the whites of his eyes showing, his face a portrait of abject fear. Already hunched up into the corner, he jerked further back as Julian knelt gracefully before him, a calculating look on that beautiful face, a predatory gleam in those indescribable blue eyes. He reached out towards the frightened boy, and Zach found that he could back up no further. A whimper of panic whistled out through his lips, his imagination running riot with countless images of what Julian could possibly do to him. Then the images shattered, terror turning to confusion as slender fingers ran gently through his hair, carefully separating strands, taming and smoothing his blonde locks. As those fingers teased through his hair, Zach found himself frozen in place, muscles taut, not daring to move for fear of giving Julian some kind of excuse to do something awful to him. Zach couldn't begin to fathom what the fuck was going through Julian's head, but if it didn't involve him being harmed or scared to death, he wasn't going to question it. Disturbing though it was, having his hair stroked by the crazed shadowman was preferable to the alternatives. Far more preferable, perhaps even... pleasant. Each of Julian's patient strokes began to have an effect on Zach, quelling the urgent need to run. Gradually, the terror began to dissipate; he was still tense, still didn't trust Julian's motives, but he began to feel reassured that Julian didn't have any immediate plans to kill him - or worse. After a while, the stroking motions ceased, and Julian's hands worked their way into the soft mass. He began fisting and pulling gently at the roots, causing a pleasant burn to spread across Zach's head, relieving tension, inducing him to relax. Despite himself, Zach found himself giving in, his breathing evening out, his muscles gradually loosening. He mewled, a sound which seemed to amuse Julian infinitely. Zach was immediately disgusted with himself; what was he thinking, responding as if he were a cat being petted by his master? Christ, he was in the middle of a potentially lethal situation with a psycho who wasn't even human, and he was /mewling/. But Julian's strange, soothing ministrations felt so good that his mental protests soon faded into the background. Julian had woven a spell in his hair with talented fingers, managed to manipulate Zach with nothing more than a deft use of touch. Still maintaining his grip on Zach's hair, Julian adjusted his position, carefully leaning in towards the boy. Zach watched warily as Julian's face pulled closer to his, blue eyes sparking with confidence, framed by stray locks of frost-white hair. A small, almost arrogant smile graced his lips, and then Zach was staring wide-eyed over the shadowman's shoulder, keenly aware of those soft lips brushing against his flushed cheek, breath slow and cool against clammy skin. Flesh rested against flesh for a moment, and then Julian's lips were nestling against his ear, murmuring in some archaic language Zach couldn't understand. Throughout the strange ritual Julian's hands had remained buried in his hair, almost comforting as they rhythmically clenched and unclenched. Now, unexpectedly, fingers tightened harshly, soothing heat turning into a cold, hard burn. A million pricks of stabbing pain rushed through Zach's scalp as Julian wrapped the strands around his hooked fingers. "You are mine," Julian's possessive whisper caressed the shell of his ear, an almost-hiss that caused his hackles to rise, and triggered every instinct Zach possessed to get away, as far away as possible from danger. But his own body prevented any attempt at escape, muscles locked tightly in fright. "You cannot possibly win," Julian continued. Zach shook his head, whimpering in denial, unable to comprehend he had been stupid enough to hope - no, /believe/ - that he might have come out of this unscathed. Julian's grip tightened. "I will own you completely, and you will submit willingly." To Zach's ears, it didn't sound so much a threat as it did a promise - a cold, deadly promise. His fear increased tenfold. Yanking the boy's head to the side, he nuzzled into Zach's neck, nostrils flaring as if tasting his scent. "Mine." His tongue snaked out, swiping roughly at Zach's flesh. The moist spot felt cool for a brief moment where the air hit it, and then Julian's mouth latched on, suckling, teeth nipping at his skin. Zach knew with some vague sense of horror that he was going to have one hell of a mark there, displaying to all and sundry what he'd been doing. He had no clue how he'd explain it away to the others, and at that precise moment his thoughts were to scattered and incoherent to come up with anything useful. All he could really concentrate on right now was the warm sensation of Julian's possessive mouth devouring his flesh; even the pain in his head where Julian held him securely in place seemed to fade into the background as his mind focussed on the oddly pleasant tingle caused by Julian's teeth scraping over his skin. He couldn't have moved if he'd wanted to; his curiosity at the sensations he was experiencing held him as firmly in place as his overwhelming fear. A firm grip still on Zach's hair, Julian's free hand caressed the boy's cheek, sliding possessively down his neck, his chest, his stomach. He pulled back from Zach's neck to look the boy in the eye. "Mine," he growled as fingers brushed over a quivering (from fear or desire, Zach wasn't even sure now) thigh, lingering lightly for several moments, before eventually drifting up to cup Zach's crotch. Zach let out an involuntary gasp as Julian began kneading his quickly stiffening flesh though the thick denim of his pants. The shadowman leaned in, eyes dark with desire. "Mine," he breathed into Zach's parted mouth before hungry lips locked down on his mouth, assaulting him, devouring him whole. Involuntarily, he responded to Julian's kiss in kind, tongues entwining roughly. His mind shut down, unable to process the overwhelming myriad of sensations and feelings that came from above and below, inside and out. The heat in his groin was almost unbearable, a torture too delicious not to give into. Unable to help himself, he arched upwards, into Julian's touch, increasing pressure, moaning into Julian's mouth as he experienced a burst of blooming pleasure. The hold on his hair remained firm, but began to relax as Zach responded favourably to Julian's desires, allowing a measure of movement into a more comfortable position. Distantly, he knew this was wrong, that giving into Julian was a Bad Idea that was bound to turn around and bite him on the ass... but he couldn't bring himself to care, too easily lost in the excitement of the moment, in feelings he'd never experienced before. Too blown away by the fact that this exotic creature was showing interest in /him/, the anti-social loner, the boy more at home in solitude with his camera than with any kind of company. Julian pressed in closer, bringing their chests together, rubbing against him in time to the steady motion of his hand toying with Zach's crotch. The grip in his hair changed, hand moving to the back of his head, fingers splayed to provide support that Zach was surprised to find he needed. Zach was the one who finally broke the kiss, unable to maintain any kind of steady contact, needing to put all his concentration into remembering to breath. He gritted his teeth, face contorting into a mixture of pleasure and pain, trying to fight off the inevitable as Julian steadily built him to climax. Unable to hold out any longer, Zach came hard, flinging his head back (with only Julian's supportive hand in his hair preventing him from dashing his brains out on the wall behind), crying out wordlessly as the sticky warmth of his orgasm spread across his groin. Above him Julian watched possessively, a satisfied smirk spreading across his lips. Zach writhed against the shadowman, muscles twitching, breath coming out in ragged gasps. His dazed mind distantly noticed that his lips were swollen, as if stung. Maybe Julian had infected him with some kind of insidious venom; surely it would kill him, but he found himself craving more, to taste Julian on his tongue once more. He leaned forward to give into desire, to capture that mouth again, but was thwarted as Julian moved back, leaving him suddenly cold and bereft. Unease began to creep back into Zach's gut at the expression on Julian's face. Triumphant, possessive, arrogant. He knew exactly what he'd done; conquered Zach, taken him willingly and left him wanting... /needing/ more. "Mine," Julian said throatily, voice tinged with the aftermath of sex, a thrill of death and danger. Zach couldn't respond, didn't know how to, and so did the only thing he could. Fighting despair, he shut his eyes blotting that gloating expression from his vision. When he finally dared open them again, Julian was gone. Utter relief crashed over him along with a feeling of bitter disappointment, and Zach was disturbed to find that he wasn't sure which emotion was stronger. The sane, rational part of his mind knew that he should be relieved that the shadowman was gone, but at the same time, a small voice had been awakened, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Julian, whispering insidiously to him that he wanted more - oh, god yes, he wanted more, with every fibre of his being he /needed/ it. Feeling vulnerable and exposed, he huddled into the corner, trying his best to ignore the sticky reminder of his body's betrayal. He could manage that - just - but there would be no simple escape from the confusing thoughts swimming in his head, nor the steady throb on his neck where Julian had marked him. Zach closed his eyes again, wishing the world away, and whimpered softly to himself. Fin.