Monday Afternoon
The library was, as always, quiet. I sat with my arm across Runner's back, resting my head on Runner's shoulder. I looked up as Runner leaned back from his reading, frowning. "So... the world goes around the sun..." Runner began uncertainly.
"Uh-huh."
"So why does it look like the sun is going around the world?"
"It's because the world is spinning around..." I thought about how to explain it. "Here, stand up."
Runner blinked, but rose out of his chair.
"Okay, say the table here is the sun, and you're the world. I want you go slowly around the table, and keep turning around and around while you're doing it."
Runner smiled. "Like this?" Runner began turning in place, sidling gradually around the table.
Tate was looking up at us curiously from the other end of the library. I smiled back at him, and said to Runner, "Okay, stop here a minute. You're facing the table. That's like the sun being right up overhead. Now turn, and watch where the table is... no, keep looking straight ahead. Now you're seeing the table off to your side. It's getting close to the edge of your vision. Keep turning... See, now you can't see the table. It's behind you. And now... here it comes again, from your other side. Now it's right in front of you again. It's like the table moved in a big circle all around you, but it wasn't really moving at all. You were moving."
Runner looked at me wide eyed, his jaw dropping. "So tonight when we're in bed, the sun will be..." He pointed to the floor. "There? And we can't see it because the world is in the way?"
I grinned and nodded vigorously. "Right!"
Runner shook his head, looking amazed. "I always wondered where it went at night. I got afraid sometimes it wouldn't come back." He suddenly gave me a serious look. "Wynn... You help me learn so many new things. After this weekend you won't be here..."
I cut Runner off gently, putting both hands on Runner's shoulders, saying softly, "You can learn all this without me. I don't have to be here. You've been learning how to learn, so you can do it on your own. Just remember — there's always a reason for everything, even the things that really confuse you at first. There's a reason. There's a reason. You can find out what it is. Don't let it scare you while you're trying to find out." I grinned. "And if you do need me, you'll be carrying me around in your head." I tapped the side of Runner's head. "In your thinking. You'll remember this talk today, right here. You'll remember me telling you not to feel scared, or feel bad because you're confused. Remember me telling you to think about all those times when your confusion went away because you understood, and tell yourself that will always happen again. You'll learn and you'll understand. I know you will."
Runner's face seemed aglow. He threw his arms around me. "I will remember."
We held each other for a time. I was startled to hear a throat clearing nearby. I looked up to see Marcus.
"I figured I'd find you here," Marcus began apologetically. "I was thinking... since tomorrow night is our last time, do you want me to be... ummm... Marshall? You know, the clothes, the hair?"
I turned to face Marcus, my hand still rubbing Runner's back. I shook my head. "No, honey. I've always got Marshall with me. The person I want to say goodbye to is Marcus. I love you for you, not because you remind me of someone else."
Marcus beamed at me, leaned forward, and kissed me.
Monday Night
I sat on the bed in Holden's and Hamish's room, looking up at the brothers. "Okay, I won't say anything while you're doing it." I reached out and kicked the lever on the platform, starting its descent, then sat back and wrapped my arms around my shins, trying to imagine myself as a mere spectator of their pair hanging.
As soon as they were airborne, Hamish smoothly thrust his right thigh between Holden's, who gripped it tightly. They began moving against each other, briefly touching hips, cocks, lips together. They were working on shorter breathing cycles, constantly shifting their grips on each other with their legs to allow for a single, deep breath for each of them during each cycle. Comparing their performance with my memory of a month previous, they were much more sensual, less mechanical now than when they had first been learning. The leg lifts for nipple kisses still required effort, but flowed much more smoothly now.
The best sign of how far they had advanced was the tingling in my cock that began seconds after they started. I began rubbing myself, involuntary sighs escaping my throat.
When Hamish waggled his foot, it took a moment for me to remember that I was not a mere spectator, that I needed to move the lever to raise the platform again.
Once both boys stood on the solid surface, I grinned and clapped my hands. "That looked great! And..." I paused, and chuckled. "There ought to be a drum roll for this, but I'll just say it — you don't need me anymore. Of course you need to make the program a little longer than that, and you should start working on a script for the boys assisting you to follow. If you want some ideas on that, Marcus would be really good. But you know what you need to know about the techniques and training."
Hamish beamed at me. "Thank you!" He kissed Holden.
Holden laughed. "So are you going to untie our hands?"
I smiled. "Thought you liked to be tied. You seemed happy enough with it last night."
Both boys laughed. Holden said, "That was SO cool. We ran straight back to Marcus's room after we saw you and Zuchter like that. Marcus made us sit through the end of that movie he and Runner were watching..."
Hamish continued, "...and then they tried to tell us they wanted to wait for another night, and not have to run around gathering the harnesses and ropes and all that..."
"...But we did a little tag team begging, and they knew we wouldn't let them alone..."
"And after they got us all set up like that, Marcus said they might leave us like that all night..."
"...but they came back about one a.m. Some night we want them to leave us tied all night..."
"...but only if we don't need to do much the next day, because we were so wiped out. We came so many times!"
Holden — "It just feels so amazing! It's like..."
I laughed. "Hey, I know what it feels like, remember?" I stood and untied Hamish's hands; Hamish untied Holden and they removed their nooses.
The boys jumped down from the platform, and unexpectedly pressed up against me from either side. Hamish, on my right, leaned in and began giving me kiss-licks on the side of my neck. Holden did the same on my left.
The breath ran out of me in a rush, and I squeezed my eyes shut. My entire body seemed to be pulsating, vibrating. I had often been with two boys at once, but it seemed far more intense, more sensual, for my perceptions to tell me I was being petted and fondled by the same boy in two places at the same time.
My eyes were still closed; I wasn't sure which of them pulled off my shirt, and which was unzipping my shorts, pulling them down with my briefs. Now they had moved around, one in front and one behind me. The brother in front pressed his chest, stomach, and cock against mine, bare skin to bare skin, his hands on either side of my face, holding my head as he kissed me, his tongue deep in my mouth. The one behind rubbed his stomach on my back, cock brushing back and forth against my buttocks, running his hands up and down my sides from my chest to my hips, while continuing kiss-licks on the back of my neck.
I moaned helplessly, then gasped in a sharp breath as both brothers let their fingers slide down between my legs, one slipping a finger inside me, one grabbing my cock. I managed to stammer, in a hoarse whisper, "I thought.. thought we weRRRRe! g-going to watch a movie."
The brother in front snickered, and asked softly, "Are you kidding?"
I lay on my back on the brothers' bed, my eyes half-closed, floating on post-orgasmic bliss. Holden lay my left, Hamish on my right, each with one leg draped over one of mine, each with one arm under my back, each with one hand on my chest, playing idly with my nipple. Each had his head on one of my shoulders, occasionally kissing my cheek.
Holden said softly, "We wish we could see your hanging..."
Hamish continued the thought with, "But we were talking before you came, and if missing your hanging is the price we have to pay for everything you've done for us, we're really glad to pay it..."
"We just never imagined, when I was leaving home to come here and Hamish had to stay behind for a year, that we could end up being in classes together, and graduate together..."
"And these pair-hangings we're going to be doing! To be able to put on shows where everybody can see the special love we have..."
Holden finished, "And it's never been stronger than now! Nothing has ever made me feel so close to Hamish before..."
"Whenever we feel that closeness, we'll think about you."
Tears were streaming from my eyes now. "Really, you know I didn't make any of that happen by myself..."
Holden giggled. "Oh, shut up, Wynn. Just let us think of you the way we want to."
Hamish leaned in and kissed me under the chin. "And then we'll shut up too, if that makes you feel better."
I grinned through my tears. "What'll we do then, if nobody's going to talk?"
In answer, both brothers rolled onto my body, covering me, and began another round of kiss-licks. I shivered, and found I was ready for another session of lovemaking.
Tuesday Morning
I felt a quiver inside as Tina smiled and directed me into the Dean's office. This may be my last time in here, I thought in amazement. I looked around, taking in details I'd never noticed before. A photo of the Dean shaking hands with the mayor. A framed award from the Chamber of Commerce.
The Dean stood and offered me his hand. I was stunned, and couldn't think what to do for a moment, but recovered my senses enough to shake hands with him.
Sitting, I began, "Sir, I just want to thank you for... for everything. Everything in my life in the last four years." I wanted to go on, but couldn't think how to expand on that.
He smiled. "I'd like to offer you my thanks as well. I'd make a list, but I'm sure you know what would be on it."
I blushed. "I was just trying to... be a Hanging Boy. I think all of us have our own version of what that means. Everything I've done comes out of what being a Hanging Boy means to me."
"You've added quite a lot to what it means."
My eyes stung with tears, and I tried to palm them away. "Shit. I told myself I wasn't going to do this."
He smiled and pushed a box of tissues toward me. I blinked in surprise, took several, and blotted my eyes with them. I looked questioningly at him, and he smiled and shrugged. "I've done a lot of exit interviews."
I laughed through my tears, then sobered as a thought struck me. "I'm sure every one of those boys has added to your pride and the school's reputation. I hope I can do that."
He smiled again. "Not something I'm really worried about." He sat back now, tapping his pen idly. The smile widened. "For old times' sake, is there anything more you want to persuade me to do?"
I burst out laughing. It felt odd doing it while still crying. I sniffled and tried to recover. "N-No, Sir. I think I'm about done with that." Then I had another idea. "Oh! Wait! There is one thing."
He folded his arms. "Thought there would be."
I thought over how to put my wish into words. "This is kind of vague. You'll just have to figure out what it means when the situation arises. I think you'll be okay with it, though." I looked at the floor, seeking the words there. "Sometime... You'll get another applicant like Maverick. Technically perfect, unlimited potential. You'll feel positive you want him as a student. But... ummm, he's sort of deficient in social skills, maybe. When that happens... get him together with someone like me. I don't mean I'm especially brilliant and can fix everybody's problem. But he and I... we were just right for each other. For hanging, he was the best teacher I could ever have had. And I found I could... open him up. Make him more approachable. We... I guess the best word is, we elevated each other. You can make that happen again, if you find the right fit."
He raised his eyebrows. "I should bring these two hypothetical boys together? I take it you mean pair them up from the beginning. How would I identify them that early?"
I leaned forward. He gave him a small smile. "I know how you are at reading people, Sir. I think you'll know as soon as you interview them."
He sat back thoughtfully. At last he nodded. "I will promise to keep that in mind."
I grinned. "Thank you, Sir."
"Anything else?"
I waited a moment to see whether further inspiration would strike. At last I shook my head. "No, Sir."
The dean rose to signal the end of the interview; then, to my surprise, he came around the desk. I stood up to meet him; he held out his arms, I leaned against him and felt his arms go around me.
I couldn't help it — I was sobbing openly now. With no idea the words were about to come out of me, I blurted, "I love you, Sir."
I felt his arms tighten slightly around me. It was enough. He and I both knew; a Hanging Boy doesn't need to hear words.
Tuesday Afternoon
I wasn't sure I wanted to say goodbye to Puppy, but I felt a need I couldn't shake off. I owed my life, or at least my escape from the island, to Puppy. I had no way to make Puppy understand that he would never see me again after this week, but I still needed to say goodbye.
Puppy had so many new friends, lavishing so much of the physical intimacy he loved on him, that I wasn't entirely sure Puppy even attached any special significance to me as a person anymore. At least, I hoped that was the case. I didn't want Puppy to mope around unhappily from missing me.
After an initial round of face-licking, Puppy was content to lie quietly facing me, his stubby limbs entangled with mine, our faces close enough that no effort was required to kiss occasionally.
I sighed, wishing again that we could have given Puppy a more completely people-life. Looking into Puppy's eyes, I saw contentment there, and decided that was enough. How many people have that much?
Or have pink hair?
Puppy was slightly startled when I reversed my position beside him. I started licking Puppy's cock, and he immediately reciprocated. Soon we were both moaning. Just before I lost myself in the world of pure sensations, I reflected that Puppy never sounded so much like a normal boy as he did when he was nearing orgasm. And that, I thought, was just right.
Leading Puppy by his leash, I knocked at the door to Marcus's and Zuchter's room, and heard Zuchter's voice saying, "In."
I opened the door and smiled at the sight of Runner on the platform, noose around his neck. Runner grinned. "Wynn! Watch!" He nodded down to Zuchter, who pulled the lever to lower the platform.
I was glad that Puppy no longer barked at the sight of boys practicing hanging. He'd become accustomed to the constant sight, and understood now that no one was in danger.
Swinging freely, Runner took a short time to get into a breathing rhythm. Suddenly, with his legs together, he made a complex move with his hips, then swung his legs. Runner's whole body made a quarter turn to the side, and remained facing that direction as he swung his legs separately to dampen the motion. I blinked in surprise.
Runner waggled his foot to signal Zuchter. Moments later, he stood on the platform, beaming at me. "I tried that last night, with Zuchter, when we were practicing with feet tied. Having my feet together gave me more..." He frowned and looked at Zuchter. "What was... Oh! Control. That was the word." He looked at me again. "I had more control that way."
I gaped at him. "You made that up yourself?" Turning the body while hanging was always a gradual, laborious process involving certain standard leg moves. No boy, as far as I knew, had ever turned as far as Runner just had in a single move.
Runner grinned and nodded.
I tried to decide whether to try to learn the move in my remaining time, and decided against it. I might become proficient with it in a week or two of practice, but I didn't have that long. A hurried attempt to work it into my routine would just throw everything off. "Where's Marcus? I was thinking we could all go to dinner."
Zuchter answered, "He got called down to the Dean's office. It didn't sound like a big deal. It was just a few minutes ago..."
He stopped at the sound of running feet down the hallway. Puppy quickly turned to face the door, a low growl at the back of his throat, prepared to protect his friends from any danger.
Marcus appeared in the doorway, using a hand on the door frame to stop his momentum, and stood there, grinning and out of breath. I tried to imagine what the Dean could have told him that would make him so happy.
Marcus finally finished steadying himself, and said, still slightly breathless, "Tina just told me... the Dean said it was okay to tell me..." He stopped again to make another payment on his oxygen debt.
I made a come-on gesture. "Marcus, what the hell is it?"
Marcus stood upright at last without help from the door frame. "They just mailed out letters of acceptance for next year's class. My brother Magnus got accepted!" Marcus was bouncing up and down in place with his fists clenched.
My jaw dropped. I jumped forward to give him a hug. "That's great, honey!"
Zuchter quickly untied Runner's hands, then lunged at Marcus to join in the hug.
I shook my head. "I didn't even know he'd applied."
Marcus's eyes glowed. "I didn't either! Didn't know he'd interviewed, or anything. I think the Dean didn't want to get my hopes up, in case."
"Did you know he was going to apply?"
Marcus shook his head. "I haven't seen him for two years. When I left home, I didn't even think he was interested in hanging! He was talking about going to medical school. That was his latest phase, anyway."
Runner jumped down from the platform to add his hug to the others. Puppy barked, and Marcus laughed and knelt to offer a hug at floor level.
Runner asked, "So will you be like Holden and Hamish?"
Marcus, giggling as his face was licked, said, "We're not quite like them, Runner. I think he'd almost be like a stranger. He went from sixteen years old to eighteen since I left home. Boys really change a lot between those ages."
Runner frowned. "Isn't that just two years?"
I rubbed Runner's shoulder fondly. "Growing up here is a little different from what you had, Runner. That age is, well, it's the time when a boy realizes he's growing up and has all these choices to make."
Runner nodded, seeming to understand. He looked back at Marcus. "Will he live with us?" Runner would be rooming with Marcus and Zuchter once I was gone.
Marcus didn't answer immediately. He looked thoughtful. "It depends on what he wants. He's probably going to want to spend most of his time with the boys he's in classes with. The First Year boys. He'll learn more that way, and I'm sure that would be important to him."
Runner blinked as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "He'd be in classes with Holden and Hamish. Could he room with them?"
"Ummm... Runner?" I took his hand. "Don't say anything about that idea to Holden or Hamish, okay? They have a really special bond, and nobody should mess with that." I wasn't sure Runner understood what the word "bond" meant, but Runner was uncanny about picking up new words from context. He certainly knew the word "bondage," which was related. "It's possible they might want to share a room with Magnus. But if they do, it should be their idea. Okay?"
Runner nodded. He was usually willing to yield to my superior understanding of social situations; Runner was just cracking the surface of that subject.
Zuchter grinned, looking at me. "Somebody suggested a minute ago we should all go to dinner." He looked at Marcus. "How's that sound?"
"Great!" Marcus beamed at him. "We can tell more people!"
I led Puppy, following Marcus and Zuchter out the door, but I stopped and choked back a laugh when I looked at Runner, who was nearly to the door. "Runner." I gave Runner a significant look.
Runner caught on, and threw his arms up in exasperation. "I still forget about that!" The rest of the boys waited as Runner, still naked from hanging practice, rounded up his clothes.
Tuesday Night
Marcus and I lay facing each other, arms wrapped around each other, lips close enough together that we could kiss without effort.
I smiled. "I was just thinking. Now there'll be three Warren brothers who've been to the Academy. I wonder what the record is for one family."
Marcus shrugged and gave me another kiss. "I could ask Tina. I suppose they've kept track somewhere."
Marshall's head sat in his place of honor on the shelf. It would soon belong to Marcus. My lips brushed Marcus's as I said, "You look so much like Marshall. Does Magnus?"
Marcus shrugged again. "I don't think so, but maybe I'm not the best judge. Maybe somebody outside the family would think so. He has dark brown hair. So that's different. I don't know if anybody would get us confused if he colored it."
I leaned forward to give Marcus a more serious kiss. "Maybe it'll be good for Runner to see a brother relationship different from Holden and Hamish..." I stopped as I felt, more than saw, Marcus's lips curl into a sudden smile.
"Wynn, stop worrying."
"Worrying?"
"About Runner. I know you think it's your job to get him acculturated, and you feel like you're leaving that unfinished. I promise... promise, promise, promise, that we'll keep working on that. Me, Zuchter, Holden and Hamish, the other boys. Everybody who's close to him. We all love seeing him grow. We can all see how much potential he has, and now we feel like it's our job to make sure he reaches that potential. So stop worrying."
I smiled, and tightened my arms around Marcus. "Okay."
A thought struck me. "Growing up, were you boys different from Holden and Hamish? I mean, in the sense of physical relationships?" With my background of dysfunctional sibling dynamics, I constantly felt amazed at how different other families could be from mine.
Marcus nodded, his lips and nose brushing mine. "None of us in the family ever had anything sexual going on — well, obviously not with Marshall, since he was so much older than the rest of us, but I never had anything with Magnus either. But seeing how Holden and Hamish are..." He shrugged and laughed. "I guess it's inevitable that's made me a little curious. We might try it, but only if it's really obvious Magnus wants to."
I chuckled. "He's going to see Holden and Hamish too. I guarantee he'll get curious."
Marcus made a slight giggling sound. "Yeah, probably."
My arousal had been gradually rising with the series of intimate brushes of lip against lip. Now I reached a tipping point. I rolled over and raised my tail, and looked back at Marcus with my best saucy expression. "Do me, please?"
Wednesday Afternoon
I pulled open the door, holding Runner's hand, and led him inside.
"This is the Hall of Honor," I said, speaking barely above a whisper, though no one else was present. "You know what 'honor' means? When somebody is honored?"
Runner wrinkled his forehead in thought. "It's for somebody who does something most people wouldn't do? Something very good?"
I smiled. "Wouldn't, or can't. Yes." The first row of heads came into view. I went on, "We honor these boys because they died to help us, not themselves. These are the boys who have been hanged here, at the Academy. They were all students here. Except for one of them, these boys didn't graduate. They weren't doing well enough in their classes, so instead of selling them, the Academy let them use their abilities in a different way. Some of them were hanged in classes, in what we call 'demonstrations.' In a demonstration, a boy is hanged so other students can learn from watching. In each demonstration, there's something the students are supposed to pay close attention to, so they know that much more about hanging and they can do a better job themselves."
Runner was frowning. "These boys flunked out?"
I looked at him curiously. "Where did you pick up those words?"
"On a TV show. It was about college students, and they were talking about one boy who 'flunked out.' It sounded like he did bad on his tests and the college wouldn't let him stay."
I nodded. "It's kind of like that, but here we don't make them go away. That's very sad, when someone has to go away. At the Academy, all of the boys, even when they flunk out, are very special. They know more about hanging than anybody outside. So they either do demonstrations for us, or else we hang them at parties. You've seen that. In fact, you'll remember some of these boys." I led Runner into the last occupied row. The heads went three-quarters down the row, with empty spaces after that. I pointed to the last head, a porpoise, and smiled. "You know this one."
Runner gasped, "Oh, it's Armand! I watched him hang at the last party!" He looked at another recent head. "And this is Manfred! From the time before that!"
I grinned. "The longer you're here, the more special this room will be to you, because you'll know so many boys here. And here, look." I pulled out the small drawer at the bottom of Manfred's niche. "Boys come by and leave notes here. Manfred can't read them now, of course, but before he died, he knew his head would be here, and that his friends would come by and leave messages for him. That they would all remember him. Here's one. Can you read that?"
Luckily, the note was printed, rather than in cursive, but Runner needed to concentrate on the shapes of the letters, none quite identical to the mechanically or electronically printed ones he was used to. With many hesitations, sounding out words silently in his head until he felt sure he had them right, he read, "Dear... Manfred... Do you... remember... the time you... hugged... me... after I ... messed up our... first... test? I... always... will. You were so... sweet... Thank you... so much... I love you. Sandy."
I smiled. "See, this is a room full of love. We love all of the boys who are here. And some are extra-special." I moved back up the row, and reached out to stroke the hair of one of the heads. "This is Sumner. He was my first roommate, for the first month I was here. He was the first in our class to... well, flunk out. But the demonstration he did..." I tapped my own head. "He's in my memories. I'm the only one left from our class, but we all remembered him. By dying, he helped us all be Hanging Boys." I leaned forward and kissed Sumner on the lips.
I looked up to see Runner frowning again. "Wynn, will I flunk out? I don't want to. I want to graduate! I want to put on a show like you're going to."
I turned to face Runner fully, and took both of Runner's hands in mine. "Runner, I know you won't flunk out. You'll have to work hard, but I know you can do it. Always work hard. Promise me that?"
Runner nodded.
I gave Runner's hands a squeeze. "Good. Because if you keep working the way you do now, I know you're going to be one of the best Hanging Boys ever. Runner, you learn faster than anybody I ever saw, and in hanging you're already figuring out new things none of us knew how to do before!"
Runner's eyes lit up. "I do want to be one of the best. I want to be the best."
I grinned. "Well, you'll have to work really hard then. I'll show you who's the best."
I led him back to the front of the row, and to the wall opposite the rows of heads, to the one special niche by itself, facing the rest. We had walked by it on the way in; I hadn't wanted to call attention to it until the last.
Runner blinked as he saw the specially-honored jackal's head. "Oh, he's pretty!"
I smiled. "Very."
Runner bent slightly to read the inscription on the plaque. "Maverick..." He gasped and stood upright suddenly. "This is Maverick! The one you talk about... all the boys talk about, all the time!" Runner looked confused. "Why is he here? He didn't flunk out, did he?"
I shook my head. "No, he's the one graduate in here. All other graduates end up with their owners. Their heads are usually... Well, you've seen Marshall, but you've seen others like him too, right? Mounted on a stand, or on the wall? In TV shows?"
"Oh!" Runner nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Hunting trophies."
"Right. Well, it's like that for Hanging Boys. Like we might be over the fireplace, or... well, somewhere our owner can show us off to his friends, or visitors. Having a Hanging Boy head is special."
"But Maverick is here?"
I nodded. "So many people — members — knew about him, and how good he was, that the Dean put on a show, just for him, so the members could come and watch him hang. They paid a lot of money, way more than for any other Hanging Boy ever, because they thought they would never see another like him." I took Runner's hand, and waited for Runner to look back at me, so I could hold Runner's eyes with mine. "I know what you can do. I know you can be like him."
Runner's eyes grew wide. "Really?"
I pulled Runner in for a hug, and whispered in his ear, "Really."
I broke off the hug, and turned to Maverick. All of the time spent with Maverick, all of the practicing together, all of the talking for hours, all of the closeness, all of the times making love with him, washed in a flood through my mind. I stroked Maverick's cheek with my hand, then leaned forward to give him a lingering kiss on the lips, for the last time. Tears stung my eyes. I smiled and sighed. "Goodbye, honey."
Now it was time to spend as much time as I could with my current roommate. I took Runner's hand once more. "Let's go back to our room."
Wednesday Night
I couldn't remember the dorm outside my room, being so quiet, except for a few times when it was emptied out for one reason or another. I knew Marcus, Zuchter, Holden, and Hamish were taking shifts sitting in the hallway, reminding the boys to keep conversations and television volume down low. I loved them for that, and for so many other reasons. They wanted Runner and me to share a world of our own, without undue intrusions. Marcus had brought us sandwiches and drinks for dinner on trays, had picked the trays up later and replaced them with a late snack — three bowls, one containing fresh strawberries, one with sour cream, and one brimming with brown sugar.
I sat on the bed with Runner, automatically adopting our favorite position: sitting upright facing each other, legs around each other's waist, each with his right leg under the other's left, our arms around each other. Our chests, bellies, and cocks were pressed tightly together. Occasionally one of us would reach for a strawberry, dip it first in the sour cream and then the brown sugar, and feed it to the other — I had shown Runner how it was done.
Runner smiled as he licked some excess brown sugar off my lips. He frowned then in thought. "Wynn, will I feel you with me when I wear you? After we got Manfred's fur, I thought I was going to feel different, like he was helping me in some way, but I still felt the same."
I smiled and sat for a moment, thinking. At last I said, "It can be like that, but you have to do some other things first. When you want to feel someone with you, first you need to think about him, and remember him. You didn't really know Manfred, but you remember one thing about him — you watched him hang. At the party, do you remember what you were feeling inside while you watched him?"
"I felt..." Runner hesitated, searching helplessly for the right words.
I shook my head. "You don't need to tell me. Just go back to that night. Close your eyes, and put yourself there, right now."
As I watched, Runner's face began showing an inner excitement. He swayed slightly, his muscles making tiny twitches as though he were imagining himself hanging — exactly as he had that night while Manfred had been hanging.
I reached out to cup my hands lightly against the sides of Runner's head, and said softly. "You're thinking back to it now. You're remembering Manfred. You know that everything you think, any time, is inside here, right? In your head, in your brain. That's where thinking happens."
Runner, coming back to the present gradually as I spoke, nodded.
"You got a swatch of Manfred's fur later, and now Manfred isn't just in your head anymore. Not just where his fur touches you, either. He's everywhere inside you. Your immune system takes strength from his fur. You've absorbed Manfred into your T-cells. Now, when you think about Manfred, what you remember about him, start from the memory in your head, and then let it spread out to all of the rest of your body. Manfred was only here at first..." I tapped a finger lightly against Runner's shoulder, where I could see Manfred's distinct color pattern, "...but now he's spread out all around inside you." I let my hands slip down from Runner's shoulder, slide down his arms, move to his waist, to give tactile meaning to the spreading.
Runner, his eyes still closed, suddenly shook and gasped in a sharp breath. Knowing Runner and his body as well as he did, it seemed to me that Runner had had a small orgasm. Runner's eyes popped open wide. "I feel him! I do feel him inside!"
I laughed delightedly and hugged him tight. "Yes! And you can always do that, with me or anybody you wear."
Runner kissed me hard. The kiss became a tightening of arms, a rocking of hips, rubbing cocks against each other. Presently we moaned, then coated our bellies with cum.
After the lovemaking, I set the now-empty bowls on the floor; one of the boys would pick them up when they brought breakfast.
I knew how I wanted to sleep with Runner on my last night with him; Runner had the same idea; he was already curling into the appropriate position,. We lay, and fell asleep, each gently sucking on a nipple of the other, exactly as we had on our first night together, on the island. I knew how content it made Runner feel, reminding him of how he had always slept in the pen. It made me feel the same.
Thursday
We made love in the sixty-nine position.
We fed each other breakfast, brought by Hamish.
We made love sitting up again.
Runner lay face down on the bed, because he wanted me to give him "both pleasures". Afterward, we switched.
Zuchter brought us lunch, and we fed each other. After, we made slow love, barely moving for hours, mouth covering mouth, tongues lightly touching, until the fire built up and set us into frantic motion.
After we fed dinner to each other, we made love once more.
And then it was time to part.
Thursday Night
We walked silently to Marcus's and Zuchter's door, holding hands.
Runner knocked on the door, and Marcus opened it. Marcus saw Runner's wavery smile, on quivering lips, and put his arms around Runner.
Looking over Runner's shoulder to me, Marcus asked, "So we should be ready to go about eleven, tomorrow morning?"
I nodded, and gave Marcus a distant smile. "I want to make sure to be on time. Benjamin says I should try to be there by noon."
"He's never said why he wants you a day early?"
I shrugged. "No, but it's not a big surprise. Whatever kind of show he wants me to put on, I assume it requires some rehearsal. Leo had to be at the sorority a couple of days early, for exactly that. And then there was Larry, of course."
Zuchter asked, "Are you sure you really want to be by yourself tonight? You could stay here, and we wouldn't have to do anything, if you're kind of sexed out."
I gave him that same distant smile. "I won't be by myself. You know that." I turned to Runner, who was losing a battle to keep his eyes free of tears. "I'll see you in the morning, sweety."
Runner gave me a spastic nod. "I... it's hard, letting you go." He was trying to smile again, though not well. "But I can see... well, it started about when we were leaving the room. You're somewhere else already. You're seeing your noose."
My smile widened. Runner had no trouble reading me. I hadn't told Runner about my perception of the "light" I saw in a Hanging Boy's eyes when his day came. Runner didn't call it by the same name, but he could see it now in me, and understood it for what it was. "Yes. You'll see your noose someday too."
Runner smiled back. "I know." He took a deep breath and appeared to gather himself. He seemed about to turn away, but I caught him by the shoulder and gave him one more soft, long kiss. I backed away then, and Runner entered the room. Marcus gave me a small wave, biting his lip, and closed the door.
I took a deep breath, and looked both directions down the hallway. My last night in these halls.
I went back to my room, and closed my door. Quickly, I shed my clothes that I'd put on just minutes earlier.
I went into the bathroom, took a shower, peed and brushed my teeth. Then I returned to the bedroom.
I took another deep breath, my eyes closed. At last I opened them, and reached onto my shelf for Marshall's head.
I sat on my bed, holding Marshall, then I lay on my side, drew up my legs and curled myself into a ball; I wrapped myself around Marshall, cuddling Marshall against me, Marshall's face against my chest.
There was a tightness in my throat, it made my voice husky. I began, "Marshall... Thank you, thank you, thank you. For the last four years, and everything in them. I... I can see my noose now." As I spoke, my voice gradually softened and relaxed.
I began talking about my favorite memories of the last four years, though I knew Marshall knew them all already.