Page 18 of Hansel and Gerhardt
Thatwas even worse somehow. Had he heard him and turned away for some peace?
He wasn’t unaware of the cooling mess all over his cock, but when he sat up, it really drove the point home.
Horrible.
He couldn’t walk around like thatall day.But what was he to do? He searched around, for what, he knew not.There was nothingto fix the problem.
Almost nothing…
There was, sparkling and babbling in the background, one way he could get clean…
He glancedover his shoulderat the water, black and forbidding last night, but nowtwinklingandpretty.Almost inviting, if he didn’t know it would be ice cold.
The night had been frigid, and the two had slept back to back to share body heat. They’drakedleavesin closeandstacked a makeshift shelter ofbranches around themselves to stave off thewind, bereft of fire as they were. And they had survived, but even now, as the sun began to relieve the forest of the night’s frost, it was bitterly cold.
He let out the start of a whine, then caught himself, lest he wake Gerhardt. After all, this was a lucky turn. Had they not found themselves here by the river, where would he be?
Days deep in old cum.
Thethought propelled him quickly and silently to the water’s edge. From there, he could keep a close eye on Gerhardt while he slept.Hansel washorrified at thethought of leaving him vulnerable, even now, when the terrors of thedarkhad subsided and he had something so important to take care of.Eventhoughit had been Gerhardt’s shift to stay awake and watch over them both.
Thank goodness he had not.
The bank was dense with leaves, wet from moist air and morning dew, lining the forest floor right up to the river’s edge in every shade of the season. A light drift of early-morning fog rolled along the river, and when Hansel stepped beneath the shade of an enormous pine tree, hefoundthe sun’s rays split, cleanly and evenly, into nine gorgeous, swirling shards.
Great boulders lined the river, covered thickly in bright green soft moss.Heran his fingers overit,sinking themin luxuriously.
How beautiful it was. How hard to believe the horror he and Gerhardt had run away from was directly back down that river, the way they’d come,thena sprint through these trees. Brutality of so many designs, dirty and dank, when here, everything was pure.
He glancedoverat Gerhardt, sleeping soundly.It struck him then howlovelyhe was. So peaceful. No thought or shade of fear or hunger pulled at thathandsomeface. If only for these very few, very sweet moments, he was at perfect ease.
Hansel refused to make any sound that might disturb the tenuous peace.
Heleant down to touch the crystal-clear water, and how cold it was. As ice to his warm fingers.Yetit beckonedtohim. As if here,in this quiet place,he could wash away all the filth of his life, the dirt from his hands and his memories, and become something new.
Hansel slipped hisbreechesdown, laying them on the bed of colourful foliage. He took off his vest, and threw it a little further back, towards Gerhardt. He pulled at the strings of his shirt, eased it over his great shoulders, and let it drift down to the ground.
Tentatively, he pressed a foot forward.At the first touch, the shock of cold water shot from the base of his warm foot through his entire body. But he forced it down, sinking in up to his ankle. Ice. But crystal clear.
The otherfootstepped in, sharp rocks biting into the tender arch. But he kept on. Deeper, up to his shins,tohis knees, freezing water slicing into his great, lean thighs, milky white. They would have been like tree trunks had he been able to eat regularly.
He kept on, water lapping at his ass, on and on until it reached his waist.His lungs contracted against it, his breath coming in short, sharp bursts. The deepest, most desperate of these wheezed into him with horror when he heard the warm, amused chuckle over his shoulder.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
Aghast, Hansel’s head snapped up to Gerhardt on the dry bank, hands in pockets, shirt open and hair going every which way, wonderfully dishevelled from the long night.
He was a sight, the mahogany of his glistening hair at one with the forest, him so youthful and beautiful, like a creature of thewoodland. Had such things not been slaughtered for food long ago.
“Washing,” said Hansel.
“Why?”Gerhardt smirked.“Is there someone you’re trying to impress?”
Funny, the way Hansel could blush while his heart sank. He swirled his hands in the water. “I’m almost done. Wait over there for me.”
Gerhardt gave him a smile. A particular smile he didn’t understand, that came with a pointedly raised eyebrow and the sense that Gerhardt knew something he didn’t. Probably poking fun at him inside his head. At least he wasn’t saying it out loud for a change.
Gerhardt retreated, and Hansel snatched hisbreechesup. In his haste to wash them, he got them far wetter than he’d ever meant to. He scrubbed at the mess with his fingernails, disquieting white flecks billowing up all around him, the gentle current taking it so slowly he wanted to weep.
