Tamquam Alter Idem

A Miracle of Moving Parts (mild NSFW)

The moment Adam walked through the front door of the house, Riah shot up from the couch he had been impatiently sitting on for the past hour. He gathered Adam up in his arms and kissed the smaller boy all over. The kisses were wet and sloppy and not unlike an overly excited puppy. Adam laughed brightly and let him, melting into his chest. When Riah finally slowed down, Adam captured his lips with his own, curling both his slender arms around Riah's neck.

Riah could feel Adam leaning into him, trusting him to take all of his admittedly little weight. Adam still harboured tiredness in him, even now that high school had ended a mere week ago. Taking on more hours at all three of his jobs didn't help, either.

Adam's extra shifts were both a curse and a blessing for Riah, who missed his boyfriend, but could never resist the tempting smell of gasoline and sweat. The scent reminded him of summer and sex and fast cars and adrenaline filled nights. It never failed to turn Riah on, especially when that scent was attached to Adam Parrish who smelled like plants and sugar beneath it.

Riah held him up easily. After a moment's deliberation, he bent down a little, grabbed Adam's thighs, and lifted Adam off the ground entirely. Adam wound his legs around Riah's waist as Riah moved them up the stairs, their lips still attached. Riah nearly stumbled a few times, which made Adam laugh hard enough to break the kiss.

Riah's carefree grin grew sharper as he dropped Adam onto their bed and climbed on top of him. Together, they had redone the bedroom, since they couldn't both fit in Riah's original bed without one of them falling off and they would be damned if they did not sleep in the same bed while they still could.

Adam's impending move away to Harvard University in the fall was a sore spot for Riah. It was a near constant reminder that he was losing Adam, despite Adam reassuring him that he wouldn't, so he wrapped himself up into Adam as many times as he could before he had to let Adam go completely.

Riah littered kisses all over Adam's pretty face and worked his way down to Adam's neck, sucking on a spot underneath his elegant jaw that made Adam let out a soft moan. The rush Riah felt at the power of making someone as composed as Adam lose control, even for a second, was strange and wonderfully intoxicating.

Riah wanted to hear that sound over and over again until it ruined him completely.

Adam's rough, work-callused hands were creeping up underneath Riah's shirt and he shivered involuntarily. Adam's hands had been Riah's objects of worship since he'd known Adam existed, and now he had the privilege to feel them on his skin. Riah reminded himself that he was not dreaming, that this was real. As real as Adam's teeth nipping at his earlobe. As real as one of Adam's slender legs hiking up to wrap around Riah's hips.

His own hands travelled lower, gripping the edge of Adam's shirt. Adam froze in place and Riah quickly let go.

"I'm sorry," Adam whispered, averting his gaze. "I'm sorry, Zachariah."

The expression on his face was one Riah had seen far more than once by now. A mix of sadness and frustration was responsible for the deep frown marring Adam's otherwise smooth forehead. Riah reached up to brush his fingers over the wrinkles until Adam's face relaxed and they were gone.

"Don't apologise," Riah said gently, rubbing Adam's arm a little as he sat down next to him.

Adam leaned his head on Riah's shoulder, his soft hair tickling Riah's neck. He could feel Adam's ribs expand and contract in a sigh that he could only decipher as defeat.

⁂

They were two teenagers, one 19 and the other less than a week away from it, in a relationship that they had both yearned for during those long months before their first kiss finally happened. It wasn't like they hadn't done anything beyond kissing since they'd started dating, but it had always been over their clothes. They'd felt each other up, grinding until they got off in their pants. Even the odd handjob that only allowed for itself to happen with their jeans still covering most of their legs.