Variations
on a Corpse 1 (Tunnel), a
Finding
Lucky in a motel room with Emily had been shock enough. Finding a naked dead
guy in there with them was almost too much.
Wrapping
the naked dead guy's arm around his neck and staggering outside like a trio of
drunks placed the experience directly in the Twilight Zone.
By
the time they'd wrestled the corpse into a boat, snuck back to the island and
wrapped the rapidly-stiffening dead guy in a tarp Nikolas' brain had shut off
all extraneous thought and was operating on instinct. Maybe crime was just in
the Cassadine genes. Or maybe it was some previously unexpected tendencies in
their mother's family tree that made it so easy for both young men to slip so
naturally into the mechanics of concealing a murder.
Nikolas
tended to think it was a little of both. Then he stopped thinking again, and
panting slightly at the dead weight he was carrying, nodded toward the entrance
to the tunnels that ran beneath Windemere. He had the glimmer of a plan in the
animal instinct part of his brain that was concentrating on survival. His.
Lucky's. Emily's.
Nobody'd
find him. Emily wouldn't be put away for a murder she didn't commit. And he,
his brother, and Elizabeth wouldn't be thrown in prison for obstructing
justice, accessory after the fact, and any number of felonies he was trying his
damnedest not to think about.
Not
thinking was a good plan. He'd stay with that.
There
was a problem with the key latch, when they finally got to the old freezer he'd
remembered, right where he'd remembered it. Lucky made some sarcastic comment,
more fear than anger, and he'd snapped back, adrenaline making his temper short
and his blood rush through his veins. He'd finally gotten the blasted latch
open, and they'd pushed and shoved until they'd gotten the dead guy firmly
hidden in the freezer.
It
had been horrible. The limbs were stiff, just starting to soften, and it felt
like he was playing tug-of-war with an oversized Gumby. At least the body
hadn't started to smell yet. He wasn't looking forward to having to move it
once the heat of the search was off. His brain shied away from nightmare
visions of decay and limbs falling off as they were pulled.
Then
Lucky froze. He stared over at his half-brother's wide, terrified sky blue eyes
and wondered what could be making him sweat now? Lucky'd been pretty
together with the whole thing so far, much more together than Nikolas himself.
Then he heard it, too.
Heels.
Tapping along the corridor toward them.
Oh,
Mary, Mother of Mercy, his grandmother! He stared down at the freezer,
imagining he could see huge neon letters painted across it flashing 'Corpse
Inside! Look In Here!' He swung wildly around, losing the blessed detachment
that had gotten him so far. So help him, if she came in here, there just might
be two corpses sharing space in the freezer. She couldn't know. If she did,
she'd hold it over him for the rest of his life, and he couldn't live like
that.
A
strong hand gripped his wrist. His eyes slid down to the fingers wrapped,
white-knuckled, around his arm, then followed the attached arm up to his
brother's completely panicked face.
"What
do we do?" Lucky hissed. His eyes were huge, and he was the color of
paper. The good kind, the linen stuff his uncle kept for personal letters.
Brain
skittering around like a hamster on speed, Nikolas mentally threw up his hands
and went with instinct again. If he could pull this off, he knew of one way to
keep her from actually entering the tunnel.
"Trust
me?" he whispered urgently. Lucky nodded immediately. Nikolas grinned, a
manic look, he knew, but he couldn't help it. The whole damned situation was
insane. "Don't say anything. Just follow my lead. And Lucky?" His
brother nodded again, looking like one of those puppy dog car window dolls with
the waggly head. "Think of
With
that, he grabbed hold of his brother, leaned him back over the freezer now
hiding a dead man's body, shifted so that the only thing his grandmother could
see from the entryway was his back, the back of his head, and the blond hair he
was now holding tightly. With any luck at all, she'd think Lucky was a girl,
and after watching for a little while, because she was, after all, a Cassadine,
so was a voyeur by nature, she'd leave. He could apologize, Lucky could punch
him, the corpse would stay hidden and they'd all be safe.
At
least, that was the plan.
Lucky's
nerves were humming. He hadn't felt this wired since the last time he and his
parents were on the run ... his mind turned away, encountering a block that he
instinctively bypassed. Better to keep his mind on business.
Bizarre
as this business was, it took everything he had to stay on track. Nikolas had
been great, quick to catch on to exactly what was needed and, once the
alternatives were spelled out a little, creative in finding ways to cope with
the situation. There was a lot of their mother in him. Or maybe it was a
Cassadine thing. Now that they'd finished hiding the body -- and how gruesome
had that been, yuck! -- Lucky was starting to shake and Nikolas was calm
as could be.
He
leaned against the freezer, shaking a little and trying to ignore it, panting
from exertion and trying to get his heart to slow back down to normal. Over the
rushing in his ears, he heard a sound that made his heart nearly stop.
Footsteps.
In the corridor leading up to where they were. And he recognized them.
He
tried to warn Nikolas, but nothing would come out when he tried to talk. So he
stared as hard as he could, first at his half-brother, then at the corridor.
She's coming! his mind yelled. Not a sound escaped his mouth.
Somehow,
Nikolas must have read his mind, or his panic, or maybe his hearing just caught
up with him, because his eyes suddenly widened and he paled. Lucky worked his
throat until he had enough spit to say something, and what came out was,
"What do we do?" He grabbed hold of Nikolas instinctively, looking
for an anchor in the middle of madness.
He
could practically see the gears turning in Nikolas' mind. It was a good thing,
because his own was stuck firmly in neutral. After a little time that felt like
forever, Nikolas asked "Trust me?"
Lucky
nodded automatically, and once he started, found he couldn't stop. Nikolas got
this maniac grin on his face, his eyes lit up, and he moved very close.
"Don't
say anything. Just follow my lead. And Lucky?"
He
nodded again, or maybe it was a continuation of the nod he'd started before.
His brain was completely shorted-out. Nikolas stepped right up to him and said
something that made no sense at all.
"Think
of
He
finally stopped nodding, because Nikolas slid both hands into his hair and held
his head immobile while he kissed the stuffing out of him. Pure shock made his
jaw drop. Nikolas paused for a second, as if listening, but the only thing
Lucky could hear was his heartbeat in his ears, drowning everything else out.
He thought he heard Nikolas growl, "Damnit," but he wasn't sure.
Then
Nikolas moved impossibly closer, his legs straddling Lucky's, pressing him
against the cold metal of the freezer, bending him over it, laying on top of
him. Lucky's mouth was still hanging open, partly in shock, partly to try to
breathe with the full weight of his brother laying on him, and Nikolas was
kissing all over his face, little kisses that felt like caterpillars crawling
over his skin.
Deep
in the fragment of his mind that wasn't in shock, he heard heel-taps pause. He
remembered those heel-tapping sounds, could place a name and an emotion with
them. Danger. Fear. Obedience. His memory did a funny little flip-flop and he
wasn't in the tunnel under Windemere, he was in a cabin in the wilds of
Nikolas'
voice joined it in a strange, dissonant harmony, minor tones making his skin
itch. "Think of
"Do
everything you can to make Nikolas happy."
"Think
of
"
"Think
of
Not
knowing which way he was turning, only knowing his brother needed something,
that it had to do with
He
wasn't
Nikolas
froze in shock, unintentionally mirroring his brother's posture from moments
before. He didn't know when he'd lost control of the situation, but he
certainly had. One minute, he was putting on a show to discourage his
grandmother's tunnel explorations and their possible discovery; the next, Lucky
was kissing him like he was a starving man and Nikolas was a banquet. It should
have freaked him out.
It
turned him on.
For
one thing, Lucky knew what he was doing with that tongue of his. It was a
furnace with a purpose, and it was burning him up from the inside. The heat
extended further down, too. Lucky's body was twisting and writhing against his,
and it felt incredibly hot, in every way.
For
another thing, very dimly he could hear the retreat of heels echoing in the
tunnel, and he knew the danger of discovery from
Then
the world started to move, and he gasped. Lucky swallowed the sound, and
Nikolas realized that it wasn't the world, it was themselves. They were sliding
off the freezer. He retained just enough awareness to make sure they landed as
softly as possible, because Lucky sure as hell wasn't paying any attention.
That
was because Lucky was too busy unbuttoning his fly and diving into his boxers.
Nikolas
was moaning, and he couldn't do a damned thing about that, either. Just as he
couldn't do anything to stop his brother from digging his erection out of his
pants and putting it in his mouth. Well, maybe he could, but the only way he
could would be to castrate himself, because as good as it felt, he never wanted
to take his cock out of that wet heat ever again. He didn't know where Lucky
had learned to do the things his tongue and lips were doing, but wherever it
was, he thanked it. Wholeheartedly. Fervidly.
Too
far gone to do anything but hang on for the ride, it was very little time
before he was attempting to grunt out a warning. Lucky ignored him. He stared
down in disbelief at his brother's face, eyes closed, sucking hard, the bulk
stretching his cheek the end of his own cock. It was amazing. Unbelievable.
Incredible.
Incredibly
good.
Then
he was coming, and Lucky was swallowing, and he could barely see past the
blurring of his eyes at the fact that Lucky's jeans were also open, and he had
his cock in his hand, and he was coming too. It was icing on the cake. Too
much. Nikolas came so hard he nearly passed out.
Lying
flat on his back, Lucky curled up between his thighs, Nikolas panted, sweat
rolling off his skin. He stared up at the ceiling, wondering what the hell had
just happened, and what he was supposed to do next. There was a stirring below
belt level, and he raised his head just far enough to see Lucky efficiently
tucking him back in his boxers and buttoning up his fly. Nikolas' head felt like
it was stuffed with concrete, but his body was light as a feather.
Still
wondering what to say, he cleared his throat. "Lucky?" he asked
hesitantly. His voice sounded funny. Raspy. He wondered vaguely if he'd been
screaming, then mentally shrugged. If nothing else it would add verisimilitude
to his little 'making out in the tunnel' ploy to throw off his grandmother.
Not
that the appearance of truth was needed, since he'd just gotten the blow job of
his life.
"Think
she bought it?"
Lucky
sounded so ... normal! Nikolas glared up at him. His half-brother was standing
beside him in his familiar slouch, combing his hair back out of his eyes. His
clothes were neat, his expression calm. The only indication there was that he'd
been sucking Nikolas like a hungry anaconda moments before was his slightly
swollen, reddened mouth.
"Uh
... yeah," Nikolas said very slowly. Lucky smiled at him. Nikolas blinked.
"Cool.
Let's get out of here, then," Lucky told him, way too damned cheerfully.
He extended a hand to help Nikolas up.
Nikolas
took it. Kept hold of it. Stood up and stared into Lucky's face.
Lucky's
bewildered face. "Nikolas?"
"Yes?"
he responded, all reasonable tone and encouraging expression.
"Hand?"
Lucky asked, tugging gently. Nikolas let him go.
"You
want to talk about it?" Nikolas stepped around him as Lucky turned to go.
Lucky looked confused.
"Why?
It's over, it worked. I'm cool with it. Now let's get out of here before she
decides to come back and check it out, okay?" He shrugged one shoulder,
tossing Nikolas a smile, then ducked around him and headed up out of the
tunnel.
Nikolas
stared after him. "Okay," he said quietly, feeling as confused as
Lucky had looked. Something was wrong with his brother. They were going to talk
about it. He wouldn't push, but when Lucky was ready, he'd be there.
Lucky
breathed a sigh of relief when they got to the dock. Nikolas was acting weird,
too quiet, watching him too closely. He didn't know what the big deal was.
Okay,
so he could admit, if only to himself, that he'd kind of liked the kiss. And it
was a little fuzzy, actually. There was the kiss, then Nikolas lying on the
floor looking like somebody kicked him, and no Helena. The only thing Lucky could
figure was that he'd automatically pushed Nikolas off once
And
he didn't want to hear it. Because then he'd have to admit just how much he had
enjoyed it. Even if only to himself. Better they just let it lie.
The
boat ride back to Port Charles was quiet, but he didn't break the silence. He
just sat as close as possible to Nikolas, ignoring the strange looks, trying to
let him know without actually saying anything that it was okay, they
were okay. Then they were back at Kelly's, and back in the thick of things, and
he did his best to concentrate on the present and just let it go.
Just
let it go.
end first variation