Your voice reflects in the darkness

      The first thing he sees when he wakes up is the familiar ceiling of his dorm room. A dark stain where a piece of putty had been chipped off, a slowly rippling cobweb in the corner, and barely visible cracks along the wall. The first thing he feels is the warmth of someone else’s body to his left and a barely perceptible touch on his fingers. The first thing he hears is the steady breathing, consonant with his own.       Andrew blinks a few times and carefully turns his head sideways. The auburn hair, recently cut by Alison’s skillful hands, was scattered across the pillow. The very tips of it are barely illuminated by the morning sun, casting a rich copper hue in the bright rays. Dry lips are slightly open, and Andrew can almost feel the sensation of those lips on his own. The gray T-shirt is pulled up slightly, revealing a view of a thin strip of skin above the waistband of his pajama pants. The outline of the scar is hardly visible, but he doesn’t need to see, he already knows what every inch of it looks like.       The last few days had been abnormally hot for this spring, so Neil’s blanket was forgotten somewhere on his own bed on the bottom tier. One of his hands is hidden under the pillow while the other rests between them, the very tips of his scarred fingers touching Andrew’s skin. They never touch each other when they sleep, there’s always a decent distance between their bodies, but last night had been a really good one, so maybe in their sleepy condition they hadn’t noticed how their fingers had reflexively found each other.       He looks so exposed and relaxed now, Andrew doesn’t dare make any unnecessary movements in order not to wake him up. Neil deserved a rest after all those busy days as team captain. Several days in a row, he’d come back to his room exhausted and fallen right back to sleep, occasionally exchanging a few faint kisses with the blond. Everything had changed for him after the senior girls had left the team, and it wasn’t long before he started to get used to this new phase of his life.       He’d come back last night when the moon was already blazing outside the window. A rare, happy smile was on his lips, and his eyes glistened from the small amount of alcohol he’d drunk. Allison had come to South Carolina for a couple days and dragged Neil with her the first chance she got. She brought him back around midnight with a new haircut and a bag of expensive clothes, which Andrew, let’s be honest, appreciated. So he could confidently say that yesterday had been a good day.       Deep in his own thoughts, he doesn’t notice when Neil opens his eyes in response to his attentive gaze. He squints against the bright sunlight that hasn’t reached Andrew yet, and breaks the weightless contact of their fingers.       “How long have you been staring at me?”       “Who says I’m staring?”       Neil yawns and smiles, propping himself up on his elbows. He slowly turns his head from side to side until something in his neck crunches, and with a sigh, he falls back onto the mattress. Andrew quickly examines his hands and notices that the skin is covered in goosebumps. Following his gaze, Neil adjusts his t-shirt, pulling the short sleeves lower on his shoulders.       “It’s colder today than yesterday.”       “Morning,” Minyard replies briefly and finally turns sideways.       “Yesterday morning was hot.” For a second, Neil even wishes he’d brought a blanket with him, but he’s clearly not going to get up just for that.       The sun is getting closer to the blond man by the minute, so he moves as far away from the edge of the bed as possible. It’s not that late on the clock, getting used to the early dawn after the dark rises of winter is hard. Neil stretches, barely perceptibly wince, and shifts his gaze to Minyard. Slowly he looks him over, and then moves closer.       After several years together, they’ve unmistakably learned to read each other’s body language, making unnecessary questions almost useless. He knows it’s a yes now, so he leans in slowly and gently touches his lips. Andrew instantly responds to the kiss, turning his head for a more comfortable angle. His fingers burrow into the short strands at the back of his neck, pulling him even closer. He’s still not used to the new haircut after so many months of free growth.       Neil pulls away first, hides his head somewhere between his pale neck and shoulder, and exhales.       “Morning breath is awful, I need to brush my teeth.”       “It wouldn’t be that awful if you did it in the evening.”       “I don’t drink often enough to remember details like that. I thought my feet were left somewhere in that bar.” He mooed unhappily, which made Andrew’s skin rapidly become covered in goosebumps. “You’re so warm. Why are you so warm?”       “Someone doesn’t forget the blanket.”       “Lend me yours,” Neil offers, raising his gaze to him. The blond frowns at the bright light, and his eyes resemble sweet caramel in the sunlight. Neil can’t resist another kiss.       “Take it downstairs.”       “I have to go downstairs for that.”       “Such an athlete.” Andrew rolls his eyes and lifts the edge of his blanket. Neil doesn’t hesitate. He moves almost right up to him, amazed at how hot his body was.       Morning kisses have only one downside, but that doesn’t stop them from continuing. A wet trail of kisses traced along Andrew’s jawline, following Neil’s lips. Blue veins clearly visible under the pale skin, he traces the contours of each one with his tongue. The blond man shudders and throws his head back harder, giving Neil free rein. His hands touch Neil’s back, pulling him even closer, so that there’s not even a inch of distance between their bodies.       Andrew moves his hands to Neil’s hips, squeezing lightly. He traces simple patterns over the thin fabric of his pajama pants while Neil slowly works his way down. He almost reaches his collarbones when Andrew pulls him upward to resume the kiss. Not that Neil has anything against it.       “If we keep going, we really need to brush our teeth,” Minyard says on an exhale.       “Definitely,” Neil whispers faintly, capturing his lips with his own, and Andrew doesn’t hold back from another kiss.       Eventually they make their way downstairs and walk to the bathroom, concurrently kneading their stiff limbs.       “When will Kevin be back?” Neil tilts his head back slightly to keep the foam from running out of his mouth.       “Tonight, if Thea lets him go by then.”       “He’s probably already resting in the local pond. Like,” he spits into the sink, “it’s Thea.”       Neil thinks for a moment about putting on something thicker than a thin T-shirt, but since he won’t be needing extra clothes anytime soon, he decides to endure the cold. Andrew is still messing around in the bathroom when he returns to the bedroom and takes a quick look around the room. He returns his pillow to the bottom tier and looks out the window, his hands resting on the sill. The sun has risen higher by now, so the room is darker than it was a while ago. The leaves on the trees are wet from the overnight rain, but it won’t be long before the excess moisture evaporates. It would be worth checking the weather forecast for tomorrow, Neil was thinking, when familiar arms wrapped around him from behind.       He didn’t hear anyone’s footsteps, so he exhales in surprise. A slight smile forms on his lips, and he throws his head back to cross his gaze with hazel eyes. Andrew leans almost close to him, his fingers interlocked on Neil’s stomach, his lips an inch from the thin skin on the back of his neck.       “Yes or no?” Minyard finally asks.       “Yes,” Neil answers immediately and flinches slightly when a wet kiss lingers on the sensitive spot behind his ear.       The cold and tension vanished in a few moments, replaced by a blazing fire and deep desire. Neil closed his eyes, surrendering to the sensation. He trustingly placed his body at Andrew’s disposal, anticipating each subsequent kiss and touch. Andrew’s fingers, meanwhile, moved lower, lightly lifting the edge of the thin T-shirt. He traced the edges of the scars with his very tips, and he didn’t even need to see them, so well he had studied each one.       Neil exhaled quietly, an electric shock running through his body. His pulse quickened, throbbing in the temples. He finally couldn’t take it anymore and turned around, pulling the blond man into a lingering, rough kiss. His fingers burrow into the blond strands out of habit, giving him the grounding he needs. Andrew leans back against the windowsill and then climbs up on it in a flash, letting Neil settle between his legs. They’re about the same height now.       Their tongues meet somewhere around the halfway point, the tugging knot underneath tightening more. It had been so long since they’d last kissed like this. Kevin, suddenly absorbed in his studies, hardly ever left their room, and heavy downpours automatically made the roof an inappropriate place.       Andrew pulls Neil’s shirt off in a second, and tosses it somewhere to the side of the bed. Without a second of hesitation, he returned to his lips. His palm traces a path along Neil’s spine and presses lightly on his lower back, forcing Neil to arch up and come even closer. A barely audible sigh escaped his moist lips, a shiver running through his body.       Andrew pushes back the edge of the pajama pants and boxers and squeezes his ass in a confident motion. Neil flinches and bites Andrew’s lip a little. Moving lower and lower along his jaw and neck, Neil leaves a few kisses on his pale collarbones in the places he knows Andrew likes the most. His own arousal pulses tightly in the lower abdomen, so he pulls himself even closer, searching for the friction he needs.       “Touch me,” Neil says quickly, pulling away from kissing his neck for a second.       Andrew doesn’t need to be asked twice. Leaving one hand on the firm muscles of Neil’s ass, with the other he quickly moves his pants and underwear down. With a quick glance at his erection, he grips the tip of his dick hard enough to make Neil gasp.       “Fuck,” he whispers, closing his eyes. “Andrew, can I…”       “Yes.”       “I haven’t even said what I want to do.” Neil snorts quietly.       “That’s a yes, Neil. Just for now.”       Following Neil’s clothes on the bed comes Andrew’s T-shirt. He runs his fingers impatiently over the strong muscles of his chest and finally reaches his already erect dick. It’s dry, rough and fast, and reminds him a little of their first times a long time ago, but the desire is too strong to change anything. Their lips meet again in a kiss. Neil rests his free hand on the windowsill, trying unsuccessfully to stay on his feet. It doesn’t matter how many miles he can run, how many exy matches he can endure, scoring precise goals, with Andrew he always feels weightless and wadded up, as if his soul is about to leave his body, leaving it broken and empty.       Touches so familiar and desirable, every breath imprinted in the memory, every touch burning with fire.       Not much time passes when Neil feels the approach of a rolling avalanche of pleasure.       “I’m going to come,” he barely audibly whispers against Andrew’s lips, as if it wasn’t obvious.       A couple more quick movements of Andrew’s hand and he freezes for a second as his body shudders in orgasm. He doesn’t even have time to think about how fast it happened, his brain is useless. Andrew wraps his hand around Neil’s over his dick and finishes following him a few seconds later with a heavy and loud sigh. They’re both a mess. Andrew’s pale chest is covered in pink spots and slowly lowers and rises with each inhale and exhale. His hair sticks out in different directions from Neil’s indiscreet fingers.       Neil’s condition is no better. With a blurred look, he studies Andrew’s face while a slight smile appears on his lips. He exhales loudly and drops his head to Andrew’s shoulder, leaving a soft kiss on his collarbone. Neil refuses to move anytime soon, all he wants to do right now is get as close to Andrew as possible and stay in that position for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, Minyard doesn’t share his desire. He draws him into one last quick kiss and pulls away.       Adjusting his underwear and pajama pants, Neil takes a couple steps back, allowing Andrew to climb off the windowsill.       “Shower?” he asks as the blond almost leaves the room.       Andrew thinks about it for a second before he gestures toward the bathroom and steps out into the hallway. A satisfied smile is still on Neil’s lips as he lifts their T-shirts off the bed and pulls fresh underwear out of the closet. The water is already running noisily in the shower.       “Are you coming?” a familiar voice sounded from behind the ajar door, and Neil had never run to the bathroom so fast.