Nicholas woke with a sleepy smile to Sören and Anthony both raining kisses over his face. When Nicholas's eyes were open all the way, he saw that it was just after seven in the morning - their alarm was set to go off at eight. Sören was not a morning person and usually didn't wake up before the alarm, grumbling... but Nicholas felt Sören's hard cock grinding against his thigh.
"Morning, elskan." Sören gave Nicholas a kiss that was no longer chaste, but deep and hungry. Nicholas groaned into the kiss, his own cock stiffening.
"And a very good morning it is." Nicholas skritched Sören's beard and curls fondly, then Anthony leaned in to claim his mouth.
"Mmmm, I want breakfast." Sören started kissing Nicholas's neck, down to his chest. His tongue coaxed a nipple to life, and Nicholas moaned as Sören's full lips wrapped around it. "Think I want sausage, Daddy." Sören's tongue lashed the nipple some more, and Sören's hand wrapped around Nicholas's cock to make it very clear what "sausage" meant.
Nicholas chuckled. "You are incorrigible, my dear." He kissed Sören's brow, and then their mouths met again, tongues teasing. When they pulled apart, breathing harder, Nicholas mused, "The problem with the breakfast analogy is there are too many courses... too many things I'd like to do with both of you..."
Sören bit a nipple, making Nicholas cry out, cock jolting. "You talk too much," Sören growled, and kissed him again, roughly. Then Anthony kissed him. Sören and Anthony kept his mouth busy, kissing him and kissing him, rubbing against him, hands roaming over Nicholas's body, electrifying him.
At last Sören and Anthony were kissing his neck together, then sucking his nipples at the same time. The sight of Sören and Anthony licking his hard cock together was so erotic he didn't think he would last long, let alone two tongues laving his cock was exquisite. But before he could come like that, they were kissing and nibbling his inner thighs, kissing and licking his stomach. Then their tongues were back on his cock, licking much more slowly. So, so slowly. Every now and again Sören and Anthony rubbed their tongues together, sharing Nicholas's precum between them, before their tongues went back to sliding up and down the shaft, back and forth over the head. Sören drew the head of Nicholas's cock between his lips, kissing it, as Anthony sucked at his balls. Nicholas gave a deep grunt, pulling on Sören's curls.
"You like that, Daddy?" Sören purred.
"Yes." Nicholas shuddered.
Sören sucked at the head some more, then he and Anthony kissed, and Anthony whispered in Sören's ear. Sören nodded, and then he asked, "Want to watch him fuck me while I suck you?"
"That sounds lovely." Nicholas loved watching Sören and Anthony play together.
Sören resumed sucking the head of Nicholas's cock, Anthony licking up and down the shaft, licking and sucking the balls, and from the way Sören's hips were working and Anthony's arm was moving, Nicholas knew Anthony was readying Sören. They kissed again and at last Anthony climbed on top of Sören, holding onto him as he pushed inside. When Anthony was in, he leaned down over Sören's back, grabbed Sören's face and kissed him hard, then turned Sören's face back to Nicholas's cock. Sören took more of Nicholas's cock in his mouth as Anthony began to roll his hips, fucking Sören in a sensuous, languid rhythm, kissing and licking Sören's neck.
Nicholas thrilled to the sight of Anthony taking Sören - and taking care of him, so sensual and loving - and Sören's lips around his cock, the sultry look in Sören's eyes. Sören's mouth felt so good, and Nicholas lost himself in pleasure, enjoying Sören's mouth suctioning him, the feel of Sören's hands caressing his stomach and thighs, the way Sören moaned around his cock, making vibrations. As Anthony thrust faster, Sören sucked harder, until Sören was devouring him, bobbing his head back and forth, making filthy slurping noises as Sören and Anthony's hips smacked together, Anthony pulling Sören's hair as he bit Sören's neck and shoulder. When Anthony slapped Sören's ass, Sören cried out around Nicholas's cock and from the way Sören trembled, Nicholas knew Sören was coming. That set him off, coming in Sören's mouth, and a few thrusts later Anthony gasped, panting, shuddering, biting Sören's shoulder one last time.
Sören licked his lips, licked Nicholas's cock clean, and kissed Anthony, sharing Nicholas's seed. Anthony savored it, sucking on Sören's lower lip, before kissing him back.
They came up and nuzzled each other. Nicholas pulled them against his chest and held him tight, feeling so happy his heart could burst. Life was good and about to get better - he was going to see Mount Vesuvius today, a lifelong dream. He'd been to Italy before, but this was his first time visiting Pompeii, as he'd spent most of his time in Rome the last time. They were still in Rome, since they had a nice package deal at the hotel, but soon their tour would be picking them up to take them to Naples, and from there, Pompeii and Vesuvius. Sören had specifically requested October twenty-third as their day to go, to give the day a better association than what happened in 2013, and that day was here. As much as Nicholas could have spent a day in bed just cuddling and making love, they would need to start getting ready soon.
After he came out of the shower, while Sören and Anthony were getting dressed, Anthony's cell phone went off. Anthony answered it right away. "Hello, Mum."
Nicholas chuckled - he'd been wondering when Elaine was going to call to check up on him. Anthony stepped out to the balcony of their suite for more privacy, and though Nicholas tried not to eavesdrop, he noticed Anthony's face registered surprise. Anthony came back in a couple minutes later, still on the phone, and he handed it to Sören. "Mum wants to talk to you," he said.
That in and of itself wasn't shocking - Sören and Elaine had a very good relationship, of course Elaine would want to say hello - but when Sören went out on the balcony to talk to her, Nicholas saw Sören's expression go from surprise to anger to getting emotional, teared up. Sören's voice rose and fell and at one point he began speaking Icelandic. Now Nicholas couldn't hold his peace, and quietly asked Anthony, "What's going on?"
"I'll explain - or we will - once he's off the phone." Anthony put a hand on Nicholas's arm. "Before you panic, it's... nothing bad. Or at least I hope it's... not." Anthony gave Sören a nervous glance.
Nicholas was going out of his mind with curiosity, but he made himself be patient and wait for Sören to end the conversation. Sören gave the phone back to Anthony, who went back out on the balcony, and finally Anthony came back out, still on the phone, and said, "Yeah, I'll talk to him about it and let you know, but I think he'll say yes. OK, I love you too. Bye."
They waited for Nicholas to finish getting dressed, and when they were all seated, Anthony and Sören looked at each other, and then back at Nicholas. "My mum went to Scotland about a month ago as part of her tour of Europe," Anthony began. "It's where her ancestors are from, so it made sense she'd eventually go there."
"OK." Nicholas remembered that Elaine's maiden name had been MacLeod, but he was utterly confused now, how this affected Sören.
"So... she went to Skye, and she met someone who runs a bed-and-breakfast up there. That someone is a she."
"That someone is my aunt Birgitta," Sören said.
"Oh." Nicholas didn't even know Sören had an aunt Birgitta, he'd never mentioned her.
Sören seemed to pick up on that, and explained, "I haven't seen her since I was five, almost six. Actually... she tried, in 2009, to get in touch with me, and I told her to fuck off because she'd been gone all that time when I could have used non-shitty family, living with my father's sister and brother-in-law after my parents died."
"Ah." Nicholas felt for him.
"So... I found out that the reason why she hadn't been around when I was a kid is because when she left Iceland for Scotland, she got involved with a woman named Jane - the woman who started the bed-and-breakfast, Gitta was staying there; Jane died a few years ago, and left Gitta everything - and Katrín and Einar didn't want lesbians around us. Because, you know, lesbians aren't good for kids, but drinking and beating the shit out of kids totally fucking is." Sören rolled his eyes and then he scowled, looking murderous.
"Oh dear." Nicholas sighed. "Yes, the 1980s and 1990s were a very hostile time for people like us."
Sören nodded. "And once I'd grown up, in the days before social media it was harder to find somebody. She did track me down in 2009, and called me, and like I said, I went off on her because... I didn't know. She was too afraid to try again, and now I feel like an asshole."
Anthony put an arm around him and gave him a little kiss. "Your reaction was understandable, and she seems to know that too."
Sören nodded. "Yeah. What are the fucking odds though, that your mum would cross paths with her. That's... some coincidence."
"Yeah, it's a little weird." Anthony looked back at Nicholas. "Mum and Gitta have invited us up to the Isle of Skye for Christmas. They wouldn't be charging anything for our room and board. And we can take the cats with us. I didn't say yes right away because I wanted to ask you first. I know we'd talked about going to Iceland in December, but -"
"I would like that," Nicholas said. "I've missed Elaine's friendship and would like to see her again and Sören should see his aunt and... I'd love to visit Scotland."
"OK, good." Anthony smiled a big smile, looking obviously relieved. He glanced at his Rolex. "I'll call Mum back later today, in the meantime we better go down to the lobby and wait for our ride."
On the way out, Nicholas gave Sören a big hug - he knew the news of Gitta wasn't easy for him, even as it was a beginning and not an ending. Knowing that a supportive, loving family member had been kept from him all this time because of his guardians' bigotry... that broke Nicholas's heart. He put an arm around Sören's waist as they got in the lift, and Sören leaned on his shoulder, closing his eyes.
Anthony needed a wheelchair to ambulate long distances, and he was a bit self-conscious about it still, but as Sören pushed the chair along the cobbled roads of Pompeii, Anthony finally made a joke. "This would be better if I was traveling in style, like making you carry me by rickshaw." He grinned over his shoulder at Sören. "Preferably shirtless, and with me cracking a whip."
Sören snorted.
Nicholas chuckled - the idea of Sören shirtless and sweaty in the Italian heat appealed to him - but then his inner historical pedant got the better of him. "As you know, the wheel had been invented long before the days of Pompeii."
"Yeah, you were there," Sören quipped.
Nicholas rolled his eyes, smiling a little - Sören's brattiness was strangely comforting, that the world had not embittered him too much to keep him from making jokes.
But a little frisson also went through him, like Sören's joke had hit too close to home - he couldn't shake the feeling that he had been here before, somehow... that they all had. Which made no sense. He knew he'd had dreams of himself in another body, which felt like another time, but that was still different.
Nicholas tried to shake the feeling, and made himself focus on the ruins around them. There was only so far Anthony's wheelchair could go before they got to a pile of rubble that the wheels couldn't ride over, but it was just as well to turn back and walk down another street; Nicholas thought if he had to walk through the entire area his knees would eventually give out.
It was October but very very warm - the three Londoners weren't used to these kinds of temperatures - and their tour guide, Fabio, noticed they were already getting down to the last of the water they'd brought along, they would have to stop at one of the few concession stands for more. "Should we go up to the volcano soon?" Fabio asked, cheerful.
Nicholas looked at the others. They hadn't seen everything but they'd seen a lot - gladiator's barracks, the ruins of bazaars and the Temple of Apollo and the Forum of Pompeii and the eerie plaster casts of the fallen. Sören nodded. "At the risk of committing blasphemy, I'm more interested in seeing the volcano than this," he said.
Of course you are. Nicholas chuckled fondly.
"Not that I don't like seeing this," Sören said. "It's just... kinda creepy." Sören shivered.
Nicholas wondered then if Sören had that same "here before" feeling. He wasn't going to ask. Then Anthony chimed in, "Yeah, let's go to Vesuvius."
Nicholas cringed reflexively, not just because that suggested all three of them had that feeling, and Sören paused and put a hand on his hip. "What's wrong, Nick?"
"Oh..." Nicholas gave a nervous, self-conscious laugh. He was aware that sometimes he could be too pedantic and a bit of a spoilsport, but he couldn't help it. He decided to just be honest. "As an historian, a Classicist, it is one of my pet peeves to hear it pronounced 'Vesuvius'. I have done so myself for the sake of people understanding what I'm talking about, but that is actually a mispronunciation. The proper pronunciation is 'Wesuwius'."
Anthony had taken a swig of water, and ended up wearing it, doubling over in his wheelchair. Sören started gigglesnorting. Sören and Anthony looked at each other then and said in unison, "Uwu!"
"Oh... oh no." Nicholas knew that reference; some of his students engaged in "owospeak", which was right up there with mumble rap on Nicholas's list of most annoying things.
"Uwu, wet's go to Wesuwuius," Sören cooed. "I hope it doesn't ewupt and buwn us to a cwisp."
Nicholas glared. He wasn't really angry though, especially not when Sören's mischievous grin lit up his entire face.
Because of the special tour Nicholas had booked to accommodate Anthony's disability, they were allowed to ride in a van to the peak of the volcano, when vehicles were usually not permitted. Nicholas looked out the window the entire way up, lost in the breathtaking view. At the very top, on the rim around the crater of the volcano, the view was at its most spectacular, which more than made up for the sulphur smell rising from the fumaroles. Nicholas felt like he could see forever, looking down at Pompeii and out at Naples, Ercolano, and Torre del Greco. The world seemed so vast, and it was humbling to feel so small, and yet also inspiring to see what had stood the test of time, the living memories of those who had shaped history. It was always thrilling to come face-to-face with the subjects he'd spent his life teaching, long gone but still alive in a way.
Sören stood with Nicholas, looking out at everything, looking up into the blue sky, and back down at Pompeii. Then Sören turned, and Nicholas heard footsteps crunching and Anthony's chair wheeling and knew Sören was looking at the crater with Anthony. Fabio joined Nicholas to take in the view, not saying anything, as if he understood this was a sacred moment.
Of course, Sören's voice cut in. "Owo, what's this?"
Nicholas rolled his eyes again, but he couldn't resist turning around, wondering what had gotten his curiosity. Nicholas gasped as he saw a very bright white light in the dark crater, rising and rising... and then, floating out of the crater was a stone just like the one Sören had brought back from Iceland, burning bright, so bright it made Nicholas's eyes hurt, and there was a sudden flood of warmth, like someone had turned on a lamp right near them. Fabio's back was still turned and they were the only ones up on the summit - Nicholas felt himself push with his mind, shouting don't turn around, don't turn around, just stay there for a minute into Fabio's head like that actually worked, Nicholas felt daft - but what he was seeing was even more daft, absolutely insane. The stone continued floating, over until it fell into Sören's waiting hand.
Anthony's mouth was open, his eyes wide and full of tears, like he had seen a miracle, or a god. Nicholas felt himself shaking, the most unnerved he'd ever been in his life. A stone almost like a diamond, but far brighter, far more refractive, a stone just like the one Sören already had, just came out of a volcano, floated in the air, and went right to Sören like it knew him.
"Did I just..." Nicholas took a few steps back, reflexively. "Did... I..." He bumped into Fabio by accident.
Fabio turned around and swore in Italian. "You need to be more careful up here!" Fabio yelled, throwing up his arms.
Nicholas had a moment of sheer terror, that Fabio was going to see the stone and that would spell trouble, but to his relief, Sören had tucked it away and was now pretending to look innocent. Anthony still looked shaken, but Fabio didn't remark on it, still annoyed by Nicholas bumping him.
Nicholas and Sören's eyes met, and Sören quickly looked away. Before Nicholas could wonder if he'd just hallucinated, Fabio turned around again and Sören pulled the stone out of his pocket, gazing at it, petting it.
Nicholas didn't just need more water, he was going to need something much, much stronger.
"Don't start with that 'it belongs in a museum' shit again."
Nicholas sighed. "I hadn't even said anything."
"But you were going to."
Now Nicholas felt a prickle of irritation. "You needn't take that tone with me, or assume such bad faith. After losing you, one would think I'd learnt my lesson about arguing over the bloody stone. Stones." Nicholas pointed to the stone Sören had just removed from his pocket, now that they were safely back at the hotel room in Rome, in private. He sighed. "I won't lie. Seeing the stone float? Still makes me think it would be a good idea to have it studied by science. But I shan't tell you what to do, as if I could ever tell you what to do -"
"OK. Look." Sören exhaled. He sat down. Nicholas braced himself, trying to keep calm on his end, so he wouldn't escalate things on what was supposed to be a vacation celebrating their love in the place where love between men had been honored so long ago.
Still holding the stone, Sören rubbed his face like an annoyed wet cat, glared, and then he opened his hands and the stone floated an inch above. They all marveled at it - Nicholas had never seen anything like it. Sören glanced at Anthony. "My satchel?"
Sören's satchel was on the table right near Anthony. Anthony grabbed it and passed it over. While the stone continued to float, sparkling, throwing rainbows all over the ceiling and walls, Sören fished around in his satchel until he produced the other. The two stones began to spin around each other. Nicholas felt like he couldn't breathe.
"You brought that on the trip," Anthony said, a statement, not a question.
"I didn't want to take the risk of leaving it at home, in case our place got broken into while we're away." Sören shrugged. "I figured I had less chance of losing it if it was in my carry-on and shit."
Anthony laughed, then let out a noise like a wounded animal. "Jesus."
Sören's eyes locked with Nicholas's. "OK. I didn't want to tell you this when we were having our first go-round about this subject earlier this year, but now I feel like I have to."
"You've been keeping something from me? After all your talk of honesty and need for open communication?" Nicholas's irritation grew.
Sören scowled again. "Let me explain. What I kept from you is one of the reasons why I doubled down about not giving up the stone." Sören sighed deeply. "I dreamt of it, before I found it. I know that sounds batshit crazy. But I dreamt of making the stone, and..."
"There were three," Anthony said softly. "I dreamt about it too."
For a moment you could hear a pin drop in the hotel room. Nicholas looked at the stones, still continuing to spin around each other, like two together had increased the strength of each. They also seemed to glow a bit brighter as well. While each stone was brilliant white, one had more of a faint red cast and one had more of a pale blue cast, that Nicholas hadn't noticed until now.
Nicholas's attention turned from being mesmerized by the stones, to the weight of what Sören and Anthony had just said. "So you both... dreamt... of..."
"Yes." Sören shook his head and shrugged. "I know it sounds fucking crazy. I know. I know. This is why I didn't tell you, that and I know you used to be a priest and you're weirded out by anything that smells like religion so I can't just roll up on you like 'so hey Anthony and I have dreams that feel like past life memories and one of the things in our dreams turned out to be real' -"
A shiver went through Nicholas, his hair standing on end. His mouth went dry, all the bells and whistles in his head going off at the dreams he'd had of "before", of both of them. He hadn't dreamt of the stones, and he was sure there was a good reason for that, but...
"Show him the art," Anthony said quietly.
Nicholas's mouth opened. Before he could say I believe you, Sören pulled his Wacom tablet out of the satchel. "I never showed you any of this because it hurt too much when Anthony and I weren't together, and after we got back together I still hadn't shown it because, well, I thought it would be too weird. But..." Sören pressed some buttons and pulled up an old gallery of his artwork. He passed the tablet over and Nicholas began to browse.
It was exactly like his dreams. Men with somewhat similar faces to Sören and Anthony, but not quite - other-Sören was clean-shaven... and they both had grey eyes. Sören had a flood of long, straight black hair; Anthony was pale blond. They were both decked out in royal regalia, Sören in red, Anthony in green and gold... in the paintings where they were clothed, anyway. Most of the art was erotic in nature, and quite explicit. Nicholas's cock stirred at one painting of other-Sören riding other-Anthony in a garden, other-Anthony's hair fanned out, holding a leash of diamonds and pearls that terminated in a glittering collar around other-Sören's neck. They were beautiful together, not just their bodies, their faces, their hair, but the love between them, which felt like it was burning from the screen, burning like the stones. As if the stones had been forged of that love.
"We were brothers," Sören said, and Anthony nodded. "We were brothers, we were lovers, I know that sounds sick as fuck but we were consenting adults -"
"If you looked like that, I shan't blame you," Nicholas quipped, face burning - yes, that was indeed exactly like his dreams. Before he could say so, Sören continued.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, and I hope you understand why I didn't." Sören took back the tablet. "I didn't know how to tell you. This shit weirds me out, never mind telling you when I know you don't want to touch past lives - afterlives, who's in charge of all of that - or paranormal phenomenon like sharing dreams, or dreaming of stuff and then it comes true. But now that I have two of the three stones, I feel like it's time to come clean so you understand why I can't, I won't, I refuse to give them up. This is going to sound assholish of me, but I don't fucking care if these stones can be used to produce power, we all know corporations would fuck it all up for capitalism anyway. But even more than not wanting this to get in the hands of someone evil like the Koch brothers, it's like..." Sören closed his eyes, as if he was remembering something. "We had enemies, back then." His eyes opened, fierce. "I don't want to take the risk of them finding a way to get this and ripping us apart from each other all over again. Sure, maybe there wasn't a before. Maybe we've just got really creative imaginations dreaming stupid dreams. But I can't take that chance -"
Nicholas raised a finger. He could hear the hysteria rising in Sören's voice, and he didn't want Sören to get himself more and more worked up, when his mind was already made up, he was on Sören's side.
"What." Sören folded his arms. "Don't tell me you're still going to lecture me -"
"No." Nicholas's nostrils flared. "For god's sake, Sören, stop acting like I'm your enemy." Then he wondered if there had been a reason - beyond the falling out earlier this year - for Sören to get so defensive. If they had, in fact, parted on bad terms, before. The thought that he might have hurt Sören tore at him.
Sören took a deep breath. He waited.
Nicholas didn't know what he wanted to say - there was too much - but then the words came to him. A question, rather than an answer. "Did you have another brother?"
Sören and Anthony looked at each other, and then just nodded.
Nicholas put down the tablet, and held out his arms.
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