Fresh Knish

Life, Relationship change

Fenneck, Erikur and Alexei have sex for the first time and start to face the dangers their country poses as they start to grow up.

"Hey!" Erikur's voice rang out through Naertho's shop. Fenneck perked up and ran over to greet his friend. "Hey!" Fenneck greeted him. "Wanna hang out tonight?" Erikur asked him. "I figured we could ask Alexei to hang out too," he suggested. Fenneck looked over at the clock on the wall and realized it was time to head home for the day. Naertho waltzed out of the back room. "Oh, hi Erikur. How are you today, darling?" Naertho greeted him. "I'm wonderful, Naertho, how are you?" Naertho smiled and placed his hands on Fenneck's shoulders. "Splendid. Your tunic looks fabulous, I might say," he said, squeezing Fenneck's shoulders proudly. "Thanks, I love this new fabric!" Erikur told him showing off the soft wool tunic Fenneck had made him. "I assume your lessons with Lord Turgenev have been going well?" Naertho motioned to the flute case hanging off Erikur's shoulder. "They have! It's going quite well, actually. He seems to think I have what it takes to join the palace orchestra soon!" he said excitedly. "Wonderful!" Naertho said, giving Erikur a beaming smile. "I should let you both get home. It's been a long day already," he said, patting Fenneck's back and kissing him on the top of the head. "Tell my sister that I'd like her and your father to join me for dinner this week, Fenny," he told Fenneck as he and Erikur skipped to the door. "Yeah, okay, Naertho! See you tomorrow!" Fenneck called out to his uncle before slipping out into the market place in the first level of the mountain with Erikur. "Let's go save Lex!" Erikur said, leading Fenneck to the lifts. They got onto the second level where Fenneck lived and headed toward the tavern. The bar was empty as well as the rest of the tables in the other half of the room. They heard yelling from down the hall and Fenneck gave Erikur a sad look. They heard what sounded like a crash of broken glass and Erikur ran down the hallway. They got to Alexei's room and Erikur knocked on the door. Adrik, Alexei's father, opened the door with blood on his hand. Alexei was cowering on the bed behind him. "The hell do you two want?!" Adrik asked them angrily, his breath reeking of vodka. Erikur straightened himself out so that he towered a few inches over Alexei's dad. "Alexei is staying at Fenneck's house tonight," he told the drunk decisively. Adrik grumbled and cast Alexei a dirty look, as if he had called for them. "You wouldn't want me to get the guards involved, would you?" Erikur threatened him. "You know they'll side with a respectable high-elf over a drunk wood-elf any day." He raised his brow at the very angry wood-elf who reluctantly turned to Alexei and waved him to the door. Alexei bolted and nimbly dodged past his father, out into the hall and hid behind Erikur and Fenneck. "Clean yourself up, Adrik," Erikur told him disapprovingly before walking away and leading Fenneck and Alexei down the hall, back out into the tavern. Alexei clung to Fenneck's arm, shaking, and Fenneck wrapped an arm around him comfortingly. "Did he hit you?" Fenneck asked him quietly. Alexei shook his head. "Not this time. He punched the wall again." Fenneck squeezed him comfortingly and Erikur headed straight to Fenneck's house. They walked in and saw Faina in the kitchen, baking fresh knish. Leonid was leaning against the counter and it seemed as if they had been discussing something rather important and had quickly stopped when the boys entered the room. Fenneck closed the door behind them and Faina ran to Alexei who was still shaking. "Oh darling," she said, pulling Alexei into a hug. "Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?" she asked him, gently caressing his jet-black locks. Alexei squeezed her tightly and started crying. Leonid sighed heavily and looked over at Erikur and Fenneck. "Are you both okay?" he asked them. Fenneck nodded. "Yeah, can they stay the night tonight?" he asked his father. Leonid nodded. "Of course," he assured them. "How are your parents?" he asked Erikur. Erikur shrugged. "They're fine. They've been pissed about my music lessons but that's nothing new. Lord Turgenev mentioned the palace orchestra again so hopefully that means I'll be able to get a job soon and move out. I think Catherine wants to move out with me if I do." Leonid nodded. "Well that's great about the orchestra and moving out. Your parents should be proud of you. Why don't you sit down? Dinner is almost ready," he told them as Faina led Alexei into their bedroom to talk privately. Leonid took over in the kitchen as Fenneck and Erikur sat down at the table together. "How's Naertho?" Leonid asked Fenneck. "Oh yeah, he wants you and mum to have dinner with him this week," Fenneck remembered. "He's good. Everything in the shop is going well. Lady Orlov came in today and I helped him fit her for some new gowns." "Wonderful," Leonid said as he took the fresh knish out of the oven. "Wow, that smells amazing," Erikur said excitedly. "Were you able to get some meat?" he asked Leonid. Leonid nodded. "We did, a little at least. It's in short supply these months," he said, shaking his head. "All the animals are starving or infected." Erikur nodded solemnly. "I know, my parents haven't been able to get meat for two months now. They had ten goat die from starvation this month which doesn't help things." Fenneck sighed. "Was mum able to get any apples?" he asked hopefully. Leonid shook his head. "They aren't in season anymore. We'll have to wait till the fall and even then, they disappear pretty quickly." He set the fresh knish rolls down in front of them and Alexei and Faina came out of her room. Alexei had clearly been crying but he looked calmer now. He sat down on the other side of Fenneck. "Thanks for getting me out of there," he told them. "Of course, Lex," Erikur assured him. Fenneck gave him a warm smile and they all settled in and fixed a plate. Faina said an elvish blessing over the meal and they started eating. They kept the conversation light and eventually Fenneck led his two friends into his room and closed the door behind him. Alexei laid down on Fenneck's bed mat and Erikur sat down across from him, leaning against the wall. Fenneck sat down in between them. "Wanna play dragonchess?" he suggested. "Ugh! We always do that!" Alexei complained. "Oh!" Erikur exclaimed. "I almost forgot! Look at what I found today," he said, pulling out a small notebook from his pocket. They all scooted close to see what was in it and Erikur opened it up to reveal very sensual images of elves making love. "Ew!" Alexei said. "Where did you get this?" he asked Erikur. Erikur smiled. "Catherine's drawers!" he said mischievously. Fenneck giggled. He was very curious about sex. In his meditations he was starting to remember such activities and it was very intriguing. The pictures were mostly different positions male and female elves could make love in, but a couple of the images were men with other men and women with other women. "I thought that was illegal?" Alexei said cautiously, realizing that Erikur shouldn't have this book. Erikur shrugged. "Why? That law is stupid. Who cares if you want to be with a man?" he asked. Fenneck shrugged. "My mom and dad told me that it doesn't really matter because you don't really choose your thiramin anyway." Erikur gave him a funny look. "Yeah but like, even if your thiramin was a man, they'd still arrest you for it. I had a couple neighbors a couple years ago who were supposedly thiramin, two males, high-elves even, and they got arrested for it. I haven't seen them since. My parents called their relationship an abomination," he said, rolling his eyes. Alexei pursed his lips in thought. "Have either of you had sex?" he asked them, seeing as they were older. Fenneck and Erikur both shook their heads. "I've masturbated though," Fenneck suggested. "I could see how it would be more fun with another person." Erikur smiled. "Yeah, I really want to try it. I'm too nervous to ask anyone out though." Alexei scoffed at him. "Why? Everyone likes you! Nadia Angeloff is always flirting with you at the bar! And Sasha Agapov!" he exclaimed as if it were obvious. Erikur shrugged. "Yeah, but actually asking someone, 'hey, can I put my dingdong inside you' is a lot more nerve-wracking than you'd think!" he countered. Fenneck laughed at the word dingdong. "I haven't even kissed anyone. It seems nice though," Fenneck said thoughtfully. Erikur shrugged. "I kissed Sasha once. It was weird," he decided. Fenneck and Alexei giggled. Erikur rolled his eyes. "It really wasn't that big of a deal. Kinda disappointing, honestly. Here, we can kiss each other and you'll see," he suggested, giving Fenneck a shy look. Fenneck felt his heart flutter in excitement at the idea of kissing Erikur, but he didn't want to seem too eager. Alexei was much more nervous. "I don't know. It's like... bad. We could get in a lot of trouble if anyone found out," he said. Erikur met Fenneck's eyes and Fenneck felt himself getting excited at the idea. "It's just a kiss," Erikur said, looking a bit too longingly at Fenneck. Fenneck felt his ears start to blush and he leaned forward and pecked Erikur on the mouth before quickly jumping back in surprise and fear. Erikur laughed at him. Fenneck swallowed nervously. "Sorry, it's just... it is weird. It's wetter than I expected," he said. Erikur chuckled. "Try again," he suggested. They leaned in again and nervously kissed each other. It was exciting and nice to Fenneck. He liked the taste of Erikur's mouth but found the act of kissing to be quite odd in practice, unlike the romantic mysticism that Fenneck had assumed it would be like after reading so many books and watching his parents kiss. He closed his eyes and leaned into it and soon felt Erikur's tongue in his mouth, exciting himself even further and prompting him to scoot into Erikur's arms. He felt Erikur's hands weave through his long white hair and caress the back of his head. He suddenly became very aware of how hard his cock was and he pulled away in fear. He was breathing heavily and couldn't help but notice how excited Erikur was as well. Erikur gave him a small smile and Fenneck looked over at Alexei, having forgotten he was there for a moment. Alexie looked at them curiously. "Wanna try?" Fenneck asked him. Alexei nervously glanced at the door as if the guards were about to burst in and arrest them already before turning to Fenneck and nodding softly. Fenneck scooted closer to him and Alexei leaned up and hesitantly kissed him. Fenneck was less nervous now and more curious as he explored Alexei's mouth with his own. Alexei seemed to quickly enjoy it and relax into Fenneck's arms. Fenneck felt Erikur's hand caress his back and he pulled away to see Erikur's face next to their own and pulling Alexei into a kiss with his hand still caressing Fenneck's back. Fenneck let one of his hands stroke his very hard, very excited cock over his pants and Erikur noticed this. "Wanna try some other stuff?" he asked Fenneck with a hopeful sparkle in his eye as he pulled his lips from Alexei's. Fenneck looked into his eyes nervously wanting to say yes. Erikur seemed to notice this though and let his hand assist Fenneck hand, sending waves of excited pleasure through Fenneck. Fenneck threw himself into Erikur's embrace and felt Erikur start to pull his shirt off excitedly as they kissed each other. Alexei slowly started to massage himself and Fenneck reached out a hand to assist him as Erikur pulled Fenneck's pants off. Erikur slowly leaned down and wrapped his mouth around Fenneck causing him to gasp and moan in excitement before quickly covering his mouth as he realized his parents might hear them. "Does it feel good?" Erikur asked, pulling his face away from Fenneck who nodded weakly. "Yeah, wanna see?" he offered to Erikur who nodded and took his own clothes off. Fenneck nervously went to him and he felt Erikur pull his hair out of the way as Fenneck put Erikur's bulge into his mouth. After a few hours of trying different things, they were laying together, naked and covered in sweat. Fenneck was spooned into Erikur's arms and Alexei was lying down in front of them, huffing from excitement. Fenneck had never been so happy and blissful in his life. Sex was awesome. "Fenneck!" he heard his mother call from the living room. He shared a worried look with his friends, realizing they had been kinda loud at a few points and he quickly got up and tried to think of an excuse as he quickly threw his clothes on. He caught a glimpse of himself in his looking glass and realized his hair looked ridiculously unkept and he quickly brushed it out. "Coming!" he called out to his mom. Alexei and Erikur also started getting dressed as the reality of what just happened caved in around them. Fenneck cautiously snuck out of his room and closed the door behind him. His parents were sitting in the living room, looking nervous. His mom made eye contact with him and he knew they knew. "Look, it just sort of happened-" he started frantically, trying to explain himself as he started crying, knowing just how dangerous engaging in activities like that was. "Oh stop, Fenneck. We're not mad," Faina told him. He stopped talking and glanced at his parents, trying to judge their reactions. "Erik, Alexei!" she called to his room. The boys poked their heads out and gave Fenneck a worried look. "Come here, boys," Faina told them gently. They walked over and joined Fenneck. Leonid took a deep breath. "Look. We understand what you were doing. We aren't mad at you, we just want to establish something," he explained. The boys nodded nervously. "Sex is a great thing. We're glad you're exploring it. You're old enough now and we trust you to be smart and safe about it. However," he gave Fenneck a morbid look. "Homosexuality is illegal in Lenisily. It is a crime and it can get you killed." Leonid had tears in his eyes as he fought to stay in control of himself. "We understand that you have desires and emotions, though, and as long as you are here, in the privacy of your room, you can do as you wish," he assured them. "However," he said, his tone growing very harsh and serious. "I do not want to see you kissing in public or talking about this or doing anything that could get any one of you killed or imprisoned. We love you all very much. Erik, Lex, you're both like sons to us and we just want to keep you all safe," he warned them compassionately. "As far as personal beliefs go on the subject, Faina and I wish the political scene here was different. We believe you should be able to love whomever you please. We have many friends who have gotten themselves into trouble over this and we understand how awful and oppressive this place is," he said as a couple tears slid down his cheek. Erikur nodded guiltily. "I'm sorry, Leonid," he said nervously. Leonid shook his head in pain. "There's no need to be sorry." He gave Erikur a sad, comforting look. "I wish I could tell you that it doesn't matter. That you can be with each other proudly," he said remorsefully before taking a deep breath and squeezing Faina's hand. "I had a relationship with a male half-elf when I was in Vladigrad for a few years, before I moved back here and married Faina," he revealed. "He was found out and murdered at the gallows for our relationship. I narrowly avoided being caught and decided to move back here, where I could start fresh. This world is dangerous, boys. We wish it wasn't. Trust me." Fenneck sniffled sadly. His father had never talked about what happened when he lived in Vladigrad. Fenneck realized how awful it would feel to lose either Erikur or Alexei in such a way. Sex with them had been so wonderful. Why was it such a bad thing? Why was expressing your love and affection for someone so bad? Faina gave Fenneck a sad frown and beckoned him to her. He walked over and curled up next to her and started crying into her arms. Alexei sighed guiltily and Erikur was starting to cry. Leonid stood and walked to them. "I'm not trying to scare you," Leonid told them, fighting tears in his own eyes. "I just don't want you to get hurt," he said lovingly as he pulled them both into a comforting hug. Faina caressed Fenneck's hair. "I'm so sorry, Fenny," she told him softly. Erikur and Leonid shared an intense look for a moment and Erikur shook his head. "It's not right," he said decisively as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Leonid nodded. "No, it's not," Leonid agreed with him. "You should all get some rest," Leonid decided. "Like I said, we're okay with you being with each other here, but don't risk it anywhere else, okay?" he begged them. They nodded and Faina kissed Fenneck's forehead before letting him up. "Goodnight, boys," she told them. They all muttered goodnight and made their way back into Fenneck's room. They all looked at each other nervously as Erikur closed the door behind them. Erikur looked angry and upset as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Alexei looked confused and nervous but Fenneck felt sadness more than anything. He collapsed onto his bed mat and leaned against the wall. Alexei nervously sat down about a foot away from him and thoughtfully started picking at the blanket he was sitting on. Erikur was looking off into space, thinking very hard about something. Alexei broke the silence. "Maybe... maybe we shouldn't do that again. Look, it's really dangerous. I'm already a wood elf, I have enough problems as it is. I don't want to risk anything," he decided. Fenneck just nodded sadly. Erikur shook his head. "No!" he said angrily. Alexei looked up and gave Erikur a sad look. "Erik, it's too dangerous," he pleaded with him. "No, Lex! Why shouldn't we be allowed to do this kind of thing? There's nothing wrong with it. I liked being with you both!" he argued. "It's our stupid emperor's fault for outlawing it! I mean, seriously. I like men. I don't want to hide that!" he said decisively. "It shouldn't be a controversial statement! That's ridiculous! The government shouldn't care who's sleeping with who! It's atrocious!" he exclaimed. Fenneck shrugged weakly. "They'll kill us for it, Erik," he said sadly. "They're only killing people over it so that it doesn't become a common ideal," Erikur argued. Alexei shrugged. "Sure, but is it really worth dying over?" Erikur looked to Fenneck for help. Fenneck shrugged. "Look, they said we can do stuff in the house. As long as we aren't messing around in public we should be fine. Everyone knows we're friends and they won't assume anything different," he suggested. "I know it's not fair and that we have to be secretive about it but I liked it. A lot." Fenneck looked at Erikur longingly prompting Erikur to finally come over and settled next to him. "Look, Lex, we won't make you do anything you're not comfortable doing," Erikur assured him. "Fenneck and I can mess around when we're alone and that way you won't get in trouble for it," he suggested. Alexei nodded. "I liked it, I did. It's just... it's riskier for me," he told them. "And that's also some dragonshit," Erikur said in annoyance. "Let's get some rest," he decided. He settled next to Fenneck and scooted next to him so that their arms rested against each other's. Alexei stayed in his own spot and closed his eyes. Erikur looked over at Fenneck and Fenneck felt his heart flutter again. It really wasn't fair that their world wouldn't allow them to love each other publicly. Erikur leaned in and kissed Fenneck who gratefully kissed him back as he felt his ears starting to turn red again. They kissed for a little while before Erikur pulled away and settled back to meditate. Fenneck leaned against him, enjoying their closeness and closed his eyes.