Hope Among the Deserted

"Oh my god, Will." Lucas sat for a moment, trying to take it all in. "I don't know what to say."

"How about you get out your instruction manual from Gay Camp and find a potion you can whip up to make me all gay?"

"You can't make people gay."

"Well, not with a potion. But there's something else that might work. You just have to try."

Lucas looked at Will, at his pleading eyes, his sweet smile. Oh, god, was he really going to do this?

"Will, I need to know first. You won't get up and leave tomorrow morning. No matter what, we have to at least be able to talk about it, okay?"

"Depends on what's for breakfast," Will answered. Then that grin. "I promise, I do solemnly swear, that I will stay, no matter what. I am going to redeem straight guys in your eyes."

Lucas shook his head.

"I know I'm stupid, but I'll do it. Because I love you. Remember that, okay? I'm not doing this because you're hot. I'm doing it because you're my best friend."

"You saying I'm not hot? What kind of fag are you if this doesn't get you going?" He pulled off his shirt in one fluid motion and flexed his abs so that all eight slabs of muscle were clearly outlined.

"Fuck." That was all Lucas could say as he ran his eyes over Will's toned torso. "Let's go."

"Now we're talkin'." Will rolled toward the bedroom, with Lucas following along, watching with fascination the muscles flexing across his broad, strong shoulders.

They arrived in the bedroom, and Will rolled up right next to the bed. He leaned over and hoisted himself up on it, then turned to arrange himself in a pose he hoped was both casual and eager. As Lucas watched, he untied the string that cinched up the waistband of his sweats, and then slipped them off. This left him wearing just his white boxer briefs. He turned to Lucas.

"I figure I'd leave you something to unwrap. You know, build the anticipation." He grinned.

"You are a considerate man," Lucas teased him. Secretly, he was thrilled that Will had left his underwear on. He looked model-perfect in his easy recline on the bed.

Lucas then had to consider how to go about this. The relatively few men he had brought to his bed--working so much, he had few opportunities for dating, and with Michael to care for, little time--had arrived here as a natural progression from making out in the living room, say, or soaping up in the shower. This was different. Will lay there, waiting for him, and only him, to make the moves. It was a little odd. Totally hot, but a little odd.

Lucas walked over to his side of the bed, and climbed on. He smiled somewhat awkwardly, at Will, and then looked down at the work that lay ahead of him.

He reached out for the waistband of Will's underwear, and heard Will breathe in sharply. He pulled back.

"You okay?' he asked, nervously.

"Yeah. I'm just a little nervous." Seeing Lucas's reaction, he continued. "Not about you! I'm just nervous about whether this will work. That's all. Stage fright." He grinned.

"Okay, then." Lucas replied. "I'm going in."

He hooked his fingers under the waistband, and pulled the boxer briefs down. That lovely cock sprang into view, nestled atop those lovely balls. Seeing them, their beauty, made their malfunctioning all the more tragic. It was like a Ferrari with no engine. Lucas slipped the underwear off and tossed them aside.

He looked at Will, laid out before him, and marveled at the circumstances that had brought him here. If his convoy had left a little later, if Juliet had been a little more supportive, if if if. But he was here, and he wanted this, and so.

As Lucas reached his hand out for Will's cock, Will grabbed his hand, stopped him.

"You wouldn't do this fully clothed with someone you were really, you know, doing this with, would you?"

Lucas shook his head, wondering...yet knowing exactly where this was going.

"Will, I don't think it's a good idea for me to take off my--"

"Look," Will interrupted. "I'm going to let you in on a little straight-guy secret here, okay? Sometimes we don't really feel like having sex. Maybe it's been a long day, or we got yelled at for something at work, or we just would rather sleep. But if we can't get it up, then we're going to have to talk about it. About our feelings. About our relationship. And no straight guy wants to spend three hours doing that, so we figure out how to get it up. And the best way I've found to do that is going down on her, because--"

"Can we please do this without reference to lady parts? Please."

"Stay with me for a minute. It'll be worth it. Now, the reason that going downtown is the answer is that there's nothing that gets the bone on more than knowing that she's getting off. Knowing that you are giving her pleasure, that's she's moaning because of you? Bam--every time."

Lucas shook his head in confusion. "Why are we talking about this?"

"Because what I'm saying is that knowing that the other person is into it is what makes the difference sometimes. That's why I want you to take it off."

"I still don't get this," Lucas sighed, but he pulled his shirt off over his head anyway. "There, happy?"

"No. How does that help me see that you're into it? I can't see it."

"What? You want to see my--oh god, Will, you can't be serious."

"I am totally serious. If I could see that you are getting off on getting me off, I think it would really help."

Lucas was stumped.

"Why would you...a straight guy ... I mean, Jason never wanted to see me naked, ever. And now you're asking me to--"

Will grabbed Lucas by both shoulders. "I'm ... not ... Jason," he stated slowly, emphatically, looking right into Lucas's eyes. "He didn't care about whether you were into it. I do. He left you. I won't."

"Will, I ... I don't know what to say. Are you sure?"

"I am," Will stated simply.

Lucas got up off the bed. He unbuttoned his jeans and slid them off. He noticed, then, that Will was watching him. Was he just trying not to be Jason? Did straight guys look at each other that way? He shucked off his boxers and stood by the bed, his half-hard cock pointing directly at Will. Lucas would normally be embarrassed by such a display, but this time he needed to know that Will wouldn't freak out when confronted by another man's erection. He wasn't, evidently. He looked at it, then looked up a Lucas.

"Well, that's quite a compliment," he said, nodding at Lucas's bobbing cock. "I did that?"

Lucas nodded.

"Awesome," Will decided, then lay back on the pillow, his hands folded behind his head.

Lucas shrugged, and mounted the bed, naked and careless, then stretched himself out next to Will. He reached out again for that beautiful cock, and he wrapped his fingers around it. His own cock responded instantly, throbbing up fully hard and urgent. He ran his fingers up and down Will's penis, and then strayed down below to tickle his balls. This drew a gasp from Will, who was perhaps not expecting his balls to be on the menu today. But he groaned and smiled, and that let Lucas know it was okay to continue.

"I can feel everything you're doing, and it's awesome," he whispered.

"I'm just getting started," Lucas murmured in reply.

Lucas returned his hand to Will's cock, and began to stroke it more purposefully. He reached back for the bottle of lube, and he squirted some into his hand. He warmed the gel in his palm, and then spread it along the length of Will's member. It shone slickly in the light, a glistening wonder. He continued stroking, picking up the pace; he reached over with his other hand to rub the head--just the tip--something that always got him going.

"You are a pro," Will said, dreamily. "Is this getting you going too?"

"Look," he said simply, rolling back a bit to expose his rock-hard cock. Will looked.

"Holy shit, man! How do guys take that thing?"

"They don't have to, because it's never been this big before. You did this--your hot body, your hot cock, they did this to me. I've never been this hard, never been this big, because I've never been with anyone this amazing." These words, while not completely true in every particular, had the effect that Lucas hoped they would.

"Oh, fuck," Will breathed as his eyes rolled back in his head.

And then Lucas felt it. He felt a twitch, perhaps a throb, in Will's cock. He wasn't sure at first that it was the sign he'd been looking for, but then he felt another, and then another. He slowed his strokes, feeling his way along, trying to determine if the circumference was growing. He was sure it was. And then, as soon as he felt it, it faded, and Will's cock returned to its resting state. Lucas knew he had to keep trying.

"I've been with some hot guys before, but you are the sexiest by far. Your muscles make me weak. And your eyes get me so hot--I can lose myself in them. And your cock, oh my god, it's the most beautiful I've ever seen. I want you so badly I can taste it, and I want you right now. You are all mine, all mine." This was, Lucas knew as he said it, the absolute truth.

Will groaned, and the throbbing returned. Lucas picked up the pace, and he noticed Will's buttocks making little thrusting motions, as if disused muscles were awakening along with his cock. It was getting hard now, and it was magnificent. Lucas kept up his stroke until Will's cock was a bar of steel in his hand.

"You did it!" Lucas called out, amazed at the hot hardness in his hand

Will opened his eyes and looked down. He saw his old friend throbbing up at him, and he grinned like a kid who's just learned to masturbate.

"Oh, fuck, Lucas! You did it! You fixed me! Oh, god, I love you!"

It was only then that Lucas realized he had been thrusting his own hard cock along Will's lower leg, in time with his stroking. To his horror, he felt a sudden, clenching orgasm tear through him, unstoppable. The rush of cum shot out, streaking along Will's leg, splattering the sheets. He tried to ignore it, to keep up the stroking, but of course Will saw it.

"Oh my fucking god! Oh!" Will called out, gripping the sheets with his fists. He was clearly over the edge, and Lucas shivered with joy as his own orgasm faded in waves. He gripped tighter and kept stroking, but then--

"STOP!" screamed Will. "Oh god stop!" He was screaming and every muscle was tense. Lucas dropped his cock, terrified.

"What's wrong, Will? What is it?"

"Cramp! Horrible horrible cramp! Oh, god, something's just seized up in there! It's like a charley horse in my junk! Make it stop!"

Lucas leapt up off the bed, ran to the bathroom, and soaked a hand towel in the hottest water he could get to run out of the tap. He dashed back to the bed and laid the hot towel onto Will's groin, swaddling his cock, balls, and the regions below in wet warmth. He hoped this would help, and soon.

"Ugh, it's fading now. Holy crap that was awful! I guess the plumbing isn't quite ready for this, huh?" Will joked feebly; the sweat on his brow showed that he was trying to bluff through the pain.

"I'm so sorry, Will! This is all my fault--"

"No," Will interrupted. "You were perfect. You did exactly what I needed you to do. And you did it better than anyone else ever has. Ever. And I'm not leaving. Okay?" Lucas was silent. "Okay?"

"Okay," Will replied, his fear assuaged.

"Now, how about you use that nice wet cloth to wipe up the spooge you shot up my leg, hmm?" Will grinned. "That was fucking hot, by the way."

Lucas did as he was asked, and tried to account for his miraculous good luck. How had this amazing man found his way into his bed?

"There. Sorry about the jizz."

"No apologies. Just tell me why it happened."

Lucas grinned. "Because you are so fucking hot."

"And?"

"Because seeing you hard made me come."

"And?"

Lucas paused.

"Because you said you love me. I came because...because I love you."

"Damn right," Will said, and then lay back on his pillow. "Now, I think I'll get a little rest, to try to unsprain my cum muscles, or whatever went tits-up in there."

Straight guys. Lucas got up from the bed, dressed, and walked out to the kitchen, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

"Will?" Lucas called through the door. "Will, dinner."

Hearing no response, he opened the door. Will was asleep, lying just where Lucas had left him several hours earlier. He was still naked, no covers on in the afternoon warmth, and he was breathing serenely. Lucas shook his head thinking about how Juliet could look at this beautiful man and think there was something dark inside him.

He approached the bed, and saw, to his surprise and delight, that Will's cock was larger than usual, and pointed upward. A very good sign. Without thinking, he reached out and gently stroked his fingers down its length.

Suddenly, Will was upright, grasping Lucas's wrist painfully with both hands. His eyes were wild, his breathing shallow, every muscle tense.

"Ouch, Will, that hurts."

Lucas's voice seemed to bring Will around, and he relaxed his grip and lay back.

"Sorry, I jump a bit when I wake up." He turned to Lucas. "I didn't really hurt you, did I?"

"No," Lucas said, rubbing his wrist. "It was my fault. I saw that you were hard, and I wanted to see what it felt like. I shouldn't have done that."

Will shook his head. "Dude, when will you get it through your head? I'm okay with this. I'm okay with you looking at me. I'm okay with you touching me. I'm okay with--well, you." He smiled that sweet smile.

"This is hard for me, because it's so new."

"And it's not for me? I think I'm the one who's stretching the most here."

"Yeah," Lucas agreed. "I guess you are."

"So, what's for dinner?"

"Something special. Come on."

Will shifted to the edge of the bed and lifted himself over into the chair. He was about to roll out of the room when Lucas stopped him.

"Naked? For dinner?"

"What, there's a dress code now?"

"For god's sake, Will, you can't expect me to be able to eat looking at that." He pointed to, well, Will's entire body.

"Oh, fine. Grab me my sweats, and let's go. I tell ya, I'm really beginning to think you're not really gay at all. I mean, who wouldn't want to eat looking at this?" And here he grabbed his cock and waved it at Lucas.

"And I'm beginning to think you're not really straight at all, so we're even. Come on, food's getting cold."

As Will rolled into the kitchen, he sniffed the air, as was his habit when mealtime approached. Juliet had never been much of a cook, and of course the Army wasn't either. But Lucas? That guy knew his way around a kitchen.

Something in the air brought him to a standstill. He sniffed, not believing.

"Lucas, did you ..."

"Yep, I did. Now get over here and eat."

Will rolled up to the kitchen island, and stared in disbelief at the plate before him. He looked up at Lucas.

"How did you know?"

"One of the docs in my clinic had been stationed in Germany, and had worked on a soldier from your unit. He said the guy told him about a local woman whose cooking was legendary with you guys."

Will nodded. "She was an old woman who lived near the base, in a tiny little hut with her granddaughter--the only member of her family who had survived. She made a little money by cooking some local dishes and serving them to soldiers who patrolled the neighborhood. Once, when we pushed out the Taliban who had been harassing her, she made this lamb stew with saffron for us that was just amazing. It smelled just like this!"

"Well, before your buddy ended up in Germany he got her to tell him the recipe, and he passed it to the doctor. Said it was the best thing he could bring home from the whole experience."

"Oh, that had to be Benny. The guy was all about the food. He caught a bullet on patrol one day. Man, we lit that place up."

Will leaned over the plate, smelled deeply.

"But why," he asked, "Would he give a recipe for Afghan lamb stew to his doctor?"

Lucas hesitated.

"Because," he began, then took a deep breath. "Because he knew he wasn't going to make it. And he wanted to pass along the only good thing he could."

Will looked up, the pain slashed across his face.

"I'm sorry, Will. I thought you knew."

Will shook his head, slowly. He sighed, and then a familiar look of resignation replaced the pain. He had been here before, too many times for this new one to hurt him much more.

Then he leaned down to smell again.

"Benny was right. This is the best thing he could have brought out of there."

He took a bite of the stew.

"Oh my god, Lucas. This is it. This is exactly it. How did you do this?"

"I got the recipe, and I tracked down all of the ingredients. Wasn't easy--some of them are pretty exotic. But I wanted to make this for you. So, I did."

Will squinted at him.

"That must have taken you weeks!"

"It was more like a month and a half. But it was worth it, don't you think?'

Will set down his fork.

"You did this for me?"

"Of course I did."

"But you started planning it long before you knew I'd be here. This is a lot of trouble to go through for someone who was ... um--"

"Unavailable? Believe it or not, I didn't make this in an awkward attempt to seduce you. I wanted to do something special for you because I loved working with you, and I thought you would enjoy it. That's all."

Will shook his head. "I can't believe you. Here I thought you were plying me with your wonderful cooking to get me into bed, and it turns out you were just being the nicest guy in the world."

"Well, would it have worked? Would you have fallen into bed with me after one taste?"

Will ate another big bite.

"Yes, I believe I would have. This is pretty amazing, what you've done here."

"Heh," Lucas laughed. "I guess I've found that potion from Gay Camp. Eat up--I think you've only gotten to bi-curious, and I want you all the way to flaming by bedtime."

"Yes, sir!" barked Will, and he tucked into the stew with vigor.

After dinner they sat on the porch, watching the sunset, talking, reading. It was still early, but Will was anxious.

"What's up, buddy?" Lucas asked, seeing Will's restlessness.

"I want to try again."

"Try what? There's more stew, if that's what you mean," Lucas said, smiling.

"Thanks, but that's not what I was talking about. I meant the thing we tried this afternoon."

"Ah. Do you think you're ready to go again? That cramping sounded horrible."

"Well, I was thinking about that. See, there was this thing that they wanted Juliet to try, but she was grossed out by it."

"Well, if it involves shaking boobies in your face, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you."

"Very funny. What they wanted her to do was massage my prostate--you know, get things working from inside."

Lucas considered this.

"Did they think that would work?"

"It was an outside chance. But after today, I think it could help. That's kind of where my cramping was--I wonder if it would keep it from happening."

Lucas puzzled over this a minute.

"You know, I doubt that one straight man in ten our age knows where his prostate even is, much less what it feels like. How did you come to be on such intimate terms with yours?"

Will blushed a bit--quite becomingly, Lucas thought.

"Well, there was this doc on one of the bases I rotated through. He had a bit of a reputation for being a little too thorough on the physicals, if you know what I mean. Anyway, he asked if I had had a prostate exam recently, and I told him that my civilian doctor had told me I was too young to need one. Well, he had a glove on and lubed up before I could say anything about it, and he bent me over the table and went at it. Everyone always talks about how prostate exams are torture, but either this guy was extremely talented or I just have a happy gland, because it was kind of amazing. As soon as he flicked it the first time I felt like I was gonna pee all over the exam table. Then he started rubbing up and down, and I felt this heat just radiating all through my junk. I looked down, and my dick was dripping--there was a puddle pooling up on the paper cover. It was amazing. From that time on, I've always kind of wondered why everyone hates on the prostate so much. I think mine's pretty awesome."