He peeked in again after dinner, and smiled to find a reply written on the back of his notepaper, left close to the hole in his closet wall.
Ari,
I’m sorry I missed you. I am curious. No need to prove anything; the paper is enough, the fabric on the pillows. You’re enough. I’ll try to come back to the room tonight.
Kimi
Ari smiled and tucked the note into his pocket. He got a book and a quilt from his bedroom, crawled into the little room, turned on the light, and read until he fell asleep.
“Ari?” The voice was soft this time, tentative, and Ari rolled over and stretched, waking up slowly. He was in the magic room, and it was very, very comfortable in there.
He blinked his eyes open and smiled up at Kimi, who stood in the doorway. “Hello again.”
“Hi. Can I come in?”
“It’s as much yours as mine, really,” Ari pointed out, sitting up and yawning. “What time is it?”
“Nine p.m. For me, anyway.”
Ari grinned and checked his watch. “Ditto. And come in. And I’m sorry I took over the space. You can decorate, too, or take half of it or… something.”
Kimi laughed and sank down to kneel beside the futon. He was wearing a long skirt that day, made out of the same material as the loose trousers had been, something that looked like it might have been linen. He sat cross-legged on a big pillow, just inside the doorway, graceful in his uncertainty and undeniably masculine, despite the feminine dress. “No. I love this. It’s exactly what I’d have done, if I were about a thousand times richer.”
“You keep saying that, but I’m not rich at all,” Ari protested. He paused and thought about that statement. “Well. For my time. Are you comfortable? I can get another quilt or something….”
Kimi shrugged, and Ari resisted the urge to wrap the man in his quilt as he imagined the two of them snuggling together on the pillows that carpeted the floor. Handsome as anything, the young man probably would not have liked being practically assaulted by a near-stranger.
Even if Ari would very much have liked to cuddle with Kimi under his quilt. Or do other things with him. Blanket optional.
“Are you all right?” Ari asked softly. When Kimi continued to sit uncomfortably, not saying anything, he reached out. “I won’t hurt you. And I think this place is safe. At least,” he said wryly, “it had better be, considering how much time I’ve spent here.”
Kimi smiled quickly and reached out, touching Ari’s hand. “I’m all right, thank you. Mostly all right. Oh, Ari….” He gave a shuddering, sad laugh. “There’s so much I want to ask you. And there must be so much you want to know too. You’re so lucky, to live when you do….”
“I am?”
Kimi nodded, those green-brown eyes seeking out Ari’s own blue gaze. “What’s it like?” he asked softly. “To walk in the woods, whenever you want to?”
“Huh? Uh. Okay, I guess?” Ari shrugged. “I don’t go on hikes or anything, like, ever. I’m a city boy at heart,” he admitted, grinning a little. “I can barely keep my garden alive.”
Kimi’s eyes were huge. “You have a garden? All to yourself?”
“Well, it’s mostly lawn….”
Kimi shook his head. “Such a waste. I mean—I’m sorry. It would be a waste for my time,” he corrected himself. “Grass is a luxury, unless it’s feeding livestock.”
“Seriously?” Ari asked. “What do you have in your yard, then?”
“My… oh. Oh, no one has those anymore,” Kimi explained. “Most of the arable land—like what your house is on, I’d guess—is farmland, or shared mega-gardens now. Everyone lives in huge apartment buildings.”
“Oh, those I know,” Ari said, on firmer ground now. “I grew up in New York City.”
“Me too!” Kimi laughed and squeezed Ari’s hand, never quite having let go. “Broadway and 108th. You?”
Ari grinned, pleased beyond measure to have found some common ground, finally. “Essex and Grand. Is it still Lower East Side?”
“Yes. Where do you live now?” Kimi asked, leaning forward in his curiosity.
“Levittown. Pennsylvania. You?”
Kimi gave him an odd look. “Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Huh. So this isn’t geographically linked.”
“Apparently not.” Ari frowned, thinking. “But we’re linked, somehow. I’m not your great-granddad or anything, am I?”
Kimi laughed and shook his head. “Nah. I’m first-generation American. So what do you do for a living in your house and your yard and your forests you don’t go into, city boy?”
Ari blushed, looking down. “It’s really boring. I do graphic design for this tiny ad company.”
“That’s not boring!” Kimi grinned at Ari’s look, the expression making him look even wilder, even more handsome. “C’mon, that’s neat. You get to make art every day.”
Ari rolled his eyes. “‘Art’ might be a bit of an exaggeration. I make what the client orders.” He shrugged. “I’m not bad, but I’m hardly going to win awards.”
“Still.” Kimi laughed at the look Ari gave him. “I’m an occupational therapist,” he offered. “I work with severely mentally handicapped individuals. Uh, as you could probably figure out from my being a total asshole to you yesterday.”
Ari smiled. “You weren’t. And that’s wonderful.”
“Not really,” Kimi said bluntly. “I mean, I love my work, but none of my clients are ever going to be even remotely self-sufficient. I just try to give them some coping skills.”
“Oh. Uh. Still.” It was Ari’s turn to take the other man in, gazing at him carefully, noting how he still wasn’t relaxed, and how he stayed close to the door. Well, that was probably sensible. “Do you really call them special? To their faces?”
Kimi had the grace to blush. “I guess it’s twee to you, huh? Yeah. It’s not as condescending as it sounds, really. It’s just… it’s how we are.” He shrugged. “It grew out of your generation’s desire to humanize and mainstream, so don’t blame me!”
Ari smiled and stretched out on the futon, hoping he was putting Kimi at ease. The fact that his world only really became interesting when he was talking to a man from eighty-five years in the future… he chose to file that away and think about it later. Maybe. And maybe, at the same time, he could think about how he suddenly felt a little lost when he let go of Kimi’s hand. Well, isn’t this what you always wanted? Something interesting?
“So, what do you do for fun?” Kimi finally asked after an awkward silence.
The two men talked for hours, comparing their times, what they liked doing, and what they could do. Some of what Kimi said was chilling—like the fact that forests were so rare and so protected that they had become treats, with visits booked months in advance—and some of it encouraging. Equality, true equality, had become nearly commonplace, and everyone received some basic level of support.
Eventually, Kimi had to leave to go to work, but they promised to meet up again the next evening, to talk more and share their worlds, the two of them equally fascinated by both the changes and lack thereof.
Ari considered staying in the little room, pulled by the siren song of his book and having hours before he had to think about going anywhere. He looked at the door to Kimi’s apartment, left cracked open when the other man had left, and decided to go out. The Pine Barrens were a bit of a drive for one afternoon, but there were parks in town. And, when he got home, he could wiggle his bare feet in the soft, too-long grass in his backyard, watching evening fall and the fireflies come out.
He told Kimi about all of this later, enjoying the way the other man’s smile lit up his whole face. He’d been tired after work, but had come to the little room anyway to have his dinner with some company. Ari had piled up some pillows, making a little faux sofa out of the futon and making sure Kimi could relax and put his feet up.
“I’m fine, really,” Kimi protested, laughing. “This is wonderful.”
“Good.” Ari grinned, settling bes
ide him on the futon, and gazed over at Kimi. Christ, he’s handsome. He was muscular, his hair was braided neatly back that night, and even the tired look in his eyes didn’t detract from the quiet strength and easy good looks of Ari’s new companion.
Ari pushed the unwelcome thoughts away. So he had something nice to look at. What could ever come of it?
With Kimi’s job schedule and Ari’s occasional social life—just dinner and beer with friends, he sheepishly admitted, making Kimi laugh—they couldn’t meet in the shared room every night, but they sat together in the little pool of light for hours whenever they could, talking about their lives, their childhoods, and what had happened at work that day. (“I drew a logo forty-five different ways.” “My client threw a glass of milk at me.”) They had agreed, silently, not to talk of big, global events, particularly not those that had happened between Ari’s time and Kimi’s.
“It’s not like I could change anything, anyway,” Ari pointed out, when they just touched on it, nearly a week after they’d first met. They were both sitting on the futon, curled up around pillows that they’d stacked against one wall. Ari was nursing a mug of coffee, having surrendered the first taste to Kimi, who’d never had the (for him) exotic, expensive beverage. He’d made a face, and Ari laughed, and just barely stopped himself from kissing the other man. He had been doing that a great deal, lately.
“No. And besides, you’re way more interesting, and you seem to think I am too,” Kimi pointed out.
“Oh, yes. You’re very interesting,” Ari said softly. “Like no one I’ve ever met before.” He cleared his throat, a little awkwardly. “And you’ll soon figure out that I’m not. At all.”
Kimi snorted. “The hell I will. Ari Rosenberg, you’re a fascinating human being, whether you like it or not.”
Ari rolled his eyes. “Kimi, the most exciting thing to ever happen to me was when I moved to Maine for school. I mean, the most exciting thing before this.” He grinned shyly. “I always figured that there was more in heaven and earth than are dreamt of and all that, but they were always just… dreams.”
“Never! The world is such an amazing place,” Kimi exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. “How can you possibly think otherwise?”
Ari shrugged. “I was born on an island full of hundreds of thousands of people who all led lives that were pretty much the same, when you got down to it. Mom raised me and my sister by herself. I went to school. It was nice. I had some boyfriends, who were also nice, but….” He gave Kimi a helpless look. “I’m boring. I did what I was supposed to, and what I liked well enough to make a living. I go out to a bar with friends on Friday after work. I cut my lawn. Kimi, there’s nothing fantastic about my life, because there’s nothing fantastic about me.” Ari set his coffee aside, feeling awkward and plain and boring as hell, even if he had done more in the last week than he had for years and years. Even people at work were commenting on how he seemed different, suddenly. Changed.
“Shut up.” The other man reached over, covering Ari’s hand with his own. “You’re pretty damn fantastic as far as I can tell, Ari Rosenberg.”
Ari shook his head, leaning in automatically, drawn to Kimi’s warmth. “Me? I’m nothing. You’re….”
Kimi tilted his head to one side, those curious eyes seeming so big this close up. “What?”
Ari closed his eyes, mentally telling his cock to shut up. “You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Kimi said, his voice soft and rough and a fraction of an inch away, so that he barely got the words out before kissing Ari.
Ari made a soft noise, returning the kiss hungrily, his arms wrapping around Kimi’s shoulders, which were bare as always. He’d jokingly asked the man if he even owned a shirt. Kimi had looked deeply hurt, and he’d felt like a heel—until the other man started laughing at his teasing. Ari had pouted until Kimi pulled him to the doorway and showed him his tiny, one-room apartment, standard issue for all single men.
Now he wondered if there had been a certain emphasis in Kimi making sure it was known that he was single, not to mention gay.
Kimi gently rolled Ari onto his back and moved on top of him, keeping himself up on his elbows so as not to completely crush them together.
Kiss followed kiss, this one deep and hungry, the next one teasing, Ari laughing as Kimi chased his lips across his face, his short beard tickling. Ari wove his hands through long brown hair and spread his legs, not shy in wanting. He wasn’t shy about much, suddenly.
Kimi wasn’t either, apparently, and as he moved his hips, Ari felt a hot hardness rub against his thigh, matching his own cock, which had gone from definitely interested to throbbing and hard and was well on its way to the delicious ache that ended best in release.
“Please, please, please….”
Kimi smiled, reaching between them and flicking the button on Ari’s jeans, incidentally giving him a hard rub with the palm of his hand. “Yes, yes, yes,” he teased a little, before trailing his lips down, nibbling softly at Ari’s throat and making him cry out, his hips bucking up and his arms tensing around Kimi’s shoulders.
They parted just long enough to shuck off their clothes, and Ari made an admiring noise when his friend—soon to be his lover—was bared before him. Kimi wasn’t tall, but he made up for it in compact muscle, arms and thighs and broad chest all begging to be caressed. His cock was uncircumcised, standing proud and dark, and Ari reached for it eagerly. He bent over, wrapping his lips around his prize and sucking hungrily, gently pulling the foreskin back and lapping at the shining, swollen head.
Kimi’s legs fell open, and he just caught himself from falling entirely back, still sitting mostly upright. Ari felt a warm, square hand land on his head. Not pushing, just… touching. There, acknowledging, caressing.
He bobbed his head, hollowing his cheeks as he sucked. Ari hadn’t had many lovers and didn’t enjoy random hookups, so his experience was scarce. Judging by the noises Kimi was making, he was certainly doing something right.
Kimi groaned, whispered his name, ran gentle fingers through his hair, and Ari in turn lapped, kissed, worshipped, all in his own way. He rested his hands on Kimi’s thighs, not sure what else to do with them, and he felt the muscles there tense, bulging under his fingers.
“Ari… going to….”
Ari looked up, vaguely conscious that they should probably have talked about STDs in their respective days and ages, and caught Kimi’s spend full on his chin and chest. He felt debauched, lush, and more impossibly sexy than he could have dreamed.
Kimi groaned, swiping at Ari’s chin with his thumb and tugging him up for a kiss. His tongue pumped in and out of Ari’s mouth, and Ari was abruptly brought back to his own desire with the other man’s touch, the way their bodies slid together, and those amazing kisses, their tongues meeting, exploring, promising. It only took Kimi reaching down and grasping his cock, spreading the wetness at the tip and pumping once, then twice, to make him curve his back, rear up, and cry out as he came, moaning far more loudly than he’d ever dared before.
Ari shuddered, his cock pumping, and painted Kimi’s stomach so that their bodies slid together, seed mingling as they lay down, shuddering and kissing through aftershocks, until they were both relaxed and loose, arms about one another.
“I should get a washcloth, clean us off,” Kimi murmured, and Ari grunted, squeezing his arms more tightly around the smaller man.
Kimi laughed softly and kissed his shoulder. “I don’t want to let go either, handsome man.” He smiled when Ari’s cheeks reddened, the blush automatically following the compliment. “You are, you know. Very, very handsome.” He wound a strand of blond hair around his finger, and kissed it. “Wanted you so much. Wanted this so much.”
Ari mumbled something about how Kimi was awfully damn good-looking himself and wriggled closer, shifting so he could rest his head on his shoulder, face nuzzled between chin and neck, Kimi’s beard wonderfully scratchy against his face.
He must have dozed off, because w
hen next Ari was aware, he was clean of all evidence of lovemaking, and they were snuggled under the quilt together. Ari smiled before he even opened his eyes, knowing that it was Kimi against him, knowing it was the gentle man who was smoothing his hair, just running his fingertips along Ari’s hairline.
“Hey, you.” Kimi grinned when Ari opened his eyes, and they kissed, a sleepy kind of “good morning, I like waking up next to you” kiss.
“Mmm, hey.” Ari stretched and rolled over onto his side, pressing up against Kimi, who was stretched out on his stomach. He liked how they fit together. “How’re you?”
I Reach Through Time and Touch the Other Side Page 2
