Is It Love? Part 4

The rest of the day passed quickly. Some of their relatives came to visit so Linc was able to meet a handful of Michael's cousins, his aunt and uncle, and another of his friends showed up for an hour to wish Michael a Merry Christmas. "You're a popular one, huh?" Linc said wryly as Michael came back into the living room after bidding his friend goodbye.

Michael grinned cheekily, sensing the underlying jealousy from Linc. "I can't help it that I'm gorgeous, smart, and talented. It draws them in like flies." He sighed dramatically.

Linc snorted with laughter, drawing a dark glare from Michael, but he just laughed harder. "It's not that funny." Michael sulked, dragging another giggle from Linc which prompted his own lips to curl up in a smile. "It's good to hear you laugh. Even if it's at my own expense."

The laughter faded away leaving behind a comfortable silence between the two of them. It wasn't interrupted until Bryan came bouncing into the room. "Hey, guys, wanna play some PS2?"

"Sure. Let's go." Linc stood, grabbing Michael's hand and pulling him out of the room and up the stairs to Bryan's room. They spent the remainder of the evening laughing, and challenging each other to game after game.

It wasn't until their parents came in to wish them goodnight, that Linc realized he'd gone almost the whole day without thinking about Oliver. It felt good. And it left him feeling peaceful and happy. He still felt guilty that he didn't go home to see his parents but he supposed on Spring Break he could finally be ready to go home. Two in the morning, Michael finally admitted feet and yawned tiredly. "All right. I'm going to bed. You staying here, Linc?"

Linc set the controller down and stifled his own yawn. "Nah. I'm kinda tired too."


The two boys headed back to Michael's room. Linc got ready for bed first, slipping between the covers as Michael went into the bathroom to change and brush his teeth. Linc was already fast asleep by the time he got back to the room and he smiled gently, sliding in beside the smaller teen and drawing him close to his chest. "Goodnight, my kitten." He whispered, before closing his eyes and letting the peacefulness of sleep overtake him.

Warm wetness caressed his lips, coaxing them to open, pushing inside to explore, and pulling him from his sleep. Linc slowly opened his eyes to find Michael kissing him, pressing him into the pillow, with his hands braced on either side of his head. He allowed his eyes to close again, bringing his hands up to wrap behind the dark-haired teen. His own tongue darted out, becoming more daring, to caress and tantalize, causing a soft moan of lust to rumble in MIchael's chest. Linc couldn't contain a gasp when he felt Michael's hand slip underneath his t-shirt, trailing over his soft belly, touching hotly. "Michael." Linc groaned out, arching upward into his touch. "Wh..what about...you...your pare..nts!" He asked raggedly when Michael's mouth left his to nip at his jaw, along his skin, and down his neck to the base of his throat.

"They're not here. Bryan's at a friend's house. We have the house to ourselves." Michael whispered between kisses and licks of his tongue against his salty skin. Linc wound his fingers in Michael's hair, letting the other teen ravage his flesh.

Michael's hand pushed his shirt higher, baring his pale chest to his questing, thirsting mouth. Linc's eyes flew open wide when the taller teen's mouth closed around his nipple, sucking, tongue flicking it back and forth. Shudders of pleasure flowed through him, and he let out a moan, his fingers tightening in the inky hair. The shirt disappeared, destination unknown, leaving him completely bare from the waist up to the liquid silver eyes and heated mouth. Linc felt Michael exploring every inch of his chest, from his collar bone along his sternum and lower still to the strip of light blonde hair that trailed into his shorts. His sharp intake of air was loud in the silence of the room when he felt Michael's tongue dip into his navel. Electrifying sensations raced over his belly towards his already hot and ready flesh, making it throb with lust. "Michael, oh...." His eyes squeeze shut tight when a breath of heated air from Michael's mouth drifted through the fabric to his aching cock.

A soft palm slid down the length of his smooth thigh, moving around to the inner thigh and edging closer to the leg of his shorts. Linc felt as if his body was on fire. Michael's touch was nothing like what he'd experienced before. It teased him, tantalized him, flamed his passion for his roommate even higher, deepening his feeling for him even further. "I want to touch you." He panted out in a pained voice, reaching down to yank at Michael's shoulders to bring him up over him, tugging on the shirt and pulling it up over his head.

His eyes drank in the sight of the beautifully tan chest in front of him. It wasn't sculpted like a body builder's but it was breath taking none the less. Smooth, hairless, and with just enough definition to see the muscles rippling beneath the skin. He ran his pale hands over the boy's chest, exploring the flesh, running his thumbs experimentally over his nipples. A hiss of air drifted from Michael's mouth, and a tremble raced through the slightly larger body hovering over his. He did it again, fascinated with the way his eyes darkened to a steel gray with desire and passion. "You're playing with fire, kitten." Michael whispered when Linc's hand slid lower to touch against the soft belly, tracing a faint line of darker hair.

A sexy, mischievious smile overtook Linc's pale strawberry lips. His fingers toyed with the edge of the sweatpants, dipping inside and rubbing the backs of them over the other teen's lower abdomen, teasingly brushing over the base of Michael's rigid cock, toying with the hair before dancing away. Michael growled low, his chest rumbling with it, and he cupped Linc's own stiff shaft through the fabric of his shorts, massaging him and smirking at the mewling cry that issued from the slender teen. "I warned you." He leaned close to whisper in Linc's ear, nipping at the lobe, and flexing his fingers over the hot, hard length in his palm.

Linc arched his back from the bed, his head fuzzy from desire, grinding himself into Michael's palm. Lightening zipped along his spine, leaving him breathless and shivering beneath the onslaught of pleasure. Wanting to return the same feelings to Michael, he slipped his hand back inside the other teen's sweatpants, reaching lower than before and wrapping his hand around the bare, pulsing flesh. A surprised look flashed over Michael's face for a split second and he hunched over Linc, panting and shuddering at the feel of the slender fingers gripping his shaft. "Linc..ah..." Unable to finish his sentence, he pulled away from Linc, stripping the more slender of the two of his shorts, ravishing him with his gaze.

He shed his own sweatpants before rejoining Linc, pressing their bodies tightly together, running his hands over the bare skin of Linc's back. He rolled to his own back, bringing Linc with him so his roommate was astride him. Linc gave him a questioning look. "I just don't want you to ever feel fear with me." He reached up to run his tumb over the smooth skin of Linc's pale cheek, watching as understanding dawned on the beautiful features of his kitten. "I want you to be in control of how far we go and when we stop, baby."

Amber eyes shined with dampness and he felt his heart wrench at how sweet and caring Michael was being. He stayed unmoving for several long moments, just gazing down at the most amazing person he'd ever met. No one had ever cared so much for him before. Not even Oliver. Linc leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Michael's lips. "Thank you." He said quietly, brushing a lock of dark hair back from Michael's cheek where it had stuck.

Michael just gave him a tender smile, hoping that he wasn't wrong in giving this gentle teenager his heart, because it was irrevocably his. He rolled them so they were on their sides. "I'm not done savoring that delicious body of yours though." He reached down between them and ran the tip of one finger along Linc's stiff length, watching as it bobbed with pleasure.

He began pressing kisses to Linc's pale chest again, moving lower and lower, but swifter than before. Linc bit his lip the moment he felt the heat of Michael's breath against the head of his cock. To his embarrassment, his hips bucked forward when Michael's tongue flicked over the tip, and he flushed in shame, but Michael just chuckled low and did it again. The heat of his saliva and the cool air that hit it after the tongue disappeared was an odd sensation but it was driving him crazy. "Michael!" He begged, his hands tangling in the inky black hair the moment Michael's mouth engulfed more than half his cock.

Michael suckled lightly at first, gradually increasing in strength, enjoying the slightly sweet taste of Linc. It would quickly become an addicting spice he knew. While Linc was distracted by his oral stimulations, he slipped his hand between his thighs, gently probing at the entrance to the slender boy's body. Linc tensed when he felt something pressing against him, but it quickly became pleasurable and his body relaxed, losing himself to Michael's touch. If his mouth hadn't been full, Michael would have breathed a sigh of relief when felt Linc relax into him. Without breaking contact with his mouth, he reached over to the nightstand and opened the drawer, fumbling for the tube that he knew was there.

This time, Linc leaned into his touch, whimpering when his finger pushed inside, swirling around and loosening his tight channel. One finger became two, moving in and out of Linc's unresisting body. It was almost more than Michael could bear, feeling the way his body tightened around his fingers, almost as if milking them. Everytime Linc came close to exploding, he'd slow down and let him come back from the brink of orgasm, until Linc was sweating profusely, his body slick with it and he was begging Michael. "No more, please, I can't take anymore."

Knowing that his roommate was ready, Michael briefly covered his own stiff prick with lube, tossing the tube on the nightstand without looking where it landed. He pulled Linc atop him again, allowing him to straddle his hips. "You choose how fast or slow we go." Michael whispered against Linc's lips, running his tongue along them. It was taking every ounce of his will power not to roll his kitten beneath him and just ram home.

Linc was unsure exactly how to proceed, giving Michael a helpless look, who just reached down and guided his body. The head of the inky haired teen's cock pressed against his cavern, sliding in slightly when he moved his hips backward. He tensed, his eyes opening wide, and he bit his lip, knowing that he wanted to be joined with Michael more than anything but fearing it as well. He moved again, allowing another fraction to slip inside, but it didn't hurt. Not like before. Linc carefully, gingerly lowered himself the rest of the way, gasping when his rounded cheeks met Michael's thighs. He felt so full! But it wasn't an unpleasant full. He could see the strain on Michael's face at the slow pace they were going, and he began to move, concentrating on how it felt.

It became a sensual, erotic dance as he shifted and rode, slowly rising up and down Michael's hard shaft. "Are you doing ok?" Michael asked in a hoarse voice, his fingers digging into Linc's tender flesh of his hips.

He nodded, his amber eyes closing with pleasure. It felt wonderful, fantastic. There were no words that could be used to describe exactly how good it felt. And the sensations only increased when Michael wrapped a hand around his throbbing flesh. He could feel his climax rising swiftly towards the surface. All of the teasing before left his head spinning and his body hungry. He hunched low over Michael as he got closer and closer to the edge. "I...I'm go..going to...ha....come." He mewled out breathlessly.

"Come for me, Linc." Michael ground out, thrusting his hips upward, feeling Linc's body sucking and squeezing him. He gripped Linc's hips harder and just lifted and left him drop.

Linc let out a strangled cry as he came, his white fluids spilling across Michael's stomach, his body shuddering with each hard spurt. He couldn't hold himself up any longer, collapsing on top of Michael weakly. Michael quickly rolled them, spreading Linc's thighs wider and slamming home several times before crying out his own release, flooding the tight flesh around his pulsing cock. He felt his toes curl from the intensity of the orgasm before he finally rested atop Linc, breathing heavily, and trembling.




Michael lay awake as Linc slept beside him, curled up to his side, his own arm hooked around the slender kitten. He stared sightlessly at the ceiling, sending a prayer to the Heavens that he wasn't putting his emotions where it would only hurt him. He knew Linc wasn't entirely over his friend, but he wanted him even if he had to risk having his heart broken by this beautiful creature that had captivated him from the very first moment. Glancing down, he smiled tenderly at the sight of the peaceful expression on the smaller boy's face before pressing a kiss to the touseled mousy hair. His parents would be home soon and it wouldn't do for them to find the two of them like this, but he supposed it wouldn't hurt just to savor this moment just a little longer. He didn't know how long it would last.

A half hour later, he gently shook Linc awake. "Baby, we have to get up. My parents'll be home."

Linc moaned and turned to his stomach, burying his face in the pillow. Michael chuckled at the childish action and press a kiss in the middle of the slender shoulder blades. "We'll be able to enjoy more days like this when we get back to the dorm. Now come on." He waited to see if Linc would move, but still the other teen didn't get up, so he brought his hand down with a small crack on Linc's bottom.

His kitten shot up straight in bed with an indignant sound, giving him a nasty glare. "What the hell was that for?" He growled, reaching behind to rub his bare cheek.

A smirk spread across Michael's face. "I told you we had to get up. You didn't listen."

"You didn't have to hit me." Linc complained, grumbling as he stepped from the bed, unaware of the hungry silver eyes that followed his lean, naked body.

They were dressed and downstairs having lunch by the time the front door opened and Michael's parents were home. Linc wondered if it was obvious what they'd done that morning but his parents didn't seem to notice, chatting with them about the friends they'd visited and how their daughter just had a baby girl Christmas morning. Everything was almost surreal to Linc as he watched Michael laughing and joking with his parents. He rested his chin in his hand while enjoying the deep laughter coming from his...we're they boyfriends now? Was that what he could call him? Or just lovers? Did Michael want more than just sex from him? A frown settled between his eyebrows and he was so involved in his thoughts, he didn't even notice that Michael's parents had left the room or the way that Michael was watching. "What's wrong?" Michael interrupted him, moving closer to his side.

"Are you...my boyfriend, Michael?" Linc asked hesitantly, studying a very interesting spot on the table.

"Do you want me to be?" Michael parried, slipping into the seat beside his roommate, now his lover.

The spot became even more interesting and Linc bit his bottom lip as he tried to still the nervous energy running through him. "I would like that very much." He whispered uncertainly.

"I'd like that, too." Michael reached out and ran his hand over Linc's sheet straight hair, brushing a few strands back from his face.

Linc turned his head to look over at his now boyfriend, grabbing his hand to press a kiss to the back of his palm. Happiness shone from the deep amber eyes gazing at the inky haired teenager. "Can we go ice skating again?" Linc asked after a long moment of staring into the silver eyes he loved so much.

"Sure. Let's go put on some warmer clothes though. You were frozen through the last time we went." Michael stood, holding out a hand to help Linc from his seat. He couldn't believe that this amazing, beautiful, sweet kitten was now his boyfriend. He'd been afraid that what they'd done upstairs had only been a fleeting moment, but to hear Linc ask that had aleviated those fears. There was no denying that he'd stolen his heart, and held it in those small hands of his.

The remainder of the week and a half they had of vacation was like a dream for Linc. Michael treated him so gently and with such consideration. They made love each night, touching each other gently yet heatedly, straining to keep quiet, but they were sure his parents had figured it out by now, with the looks they received one morning as they'd come downstairs to breakfast. It had left Linc flushing with embarrassment and Michael grinning with happiness.

Linc was packing up his things to return to school when Michael's mother came into the room, perching on the edge of the bed. He looked at her in curiosity, still folding his clothes and setting them in his duffle bag. She smiled at him and reached out to take his hand. "I wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" He asked in surprise.

"For making Michael happy." She laughed lightly at his blush, but continued, "He really cares about you, a lot. And I can see that you care about him. He told me what happened to you, Linc." A look of horror came over Linc's face and she immediately stood up to hug him. "It doesn't change anything about the way he feels about you. Michael's father and I just wanted you to know that we think you're an amazing person and you deserve to be happy. Please don't be mad at him for telling me. He was so angry about what that boy had done to you, and he needed someone to talk to because he didn't want you to feel worse. He wanted to help you so he came to me for advice. Don't let what happened with that boy stop you from living life, honey, because if you want it, a wonderful future stands right in front of you. You only need to reach out and grab it."

Linc couldn't believe that Michael had spoken to his mother about his personal matters, but her words struck a chord deep inside his heart. He knew what she said was true. That he couldn't let what happened with Ollie keep hurting him. It wasn't fair to Michael. He smiled up at her and nodded. "I know."

She smiled and hugged him again, stepping back and straightening his hair. "You'll take care of him back at school? He tends to forget to eat when he's been working on a project."

"I know! I'm always nagging him to eat." Linc wrinkled his nose. "It's like trying to get a pit bull off a mailman's leg to get him to leave his work long enough to eat."

A laugh tumbled from Michael's mother and her silver eyes, so similar to Michael's, twinkled with merriment. "I see you've already noticed that. I'm so glad to know he has you to take care of him, Linc." She pressed a light kiss to his cheek and turned to leave.

Michael came back into the room a moment later, looking around to make sure he had everything. "Got everything?" He asked.

"Yep." Linc picked up his bags and followed Michael downstairs to say goodbye to his parents and Bryan. Twenty minutes later, they were back on the road to school and almost the entire trip back, Michael held his hand, resting them against his thigh.

They were walking close together as they entered the dorm, laughing and talking amongst themselves when Linc glanced up only to stop dead in his tracks, his bags dropping to the floor. "Linc?" Michael questioned, stopping and turning to look at his boyfriend, getting a secret thrill out of it. He saw the horror and fear on his kitten's face and looked in the same direction. There was a teenage boy sitting by their dorm room wall, his face buried in his arms resting on his knees. Apprehension skittered across his nerves and his fingers tightened on the handles of his duffle bags.

"Ollie?" Linc whispered, but the other boy heard it, swiftly raising his head.

"Linc!" Oliver stood quickly, his face contorted in pain. He looked awful. He'd lost weight and dark circles were heavy beneath his eyes. There was a haunted look in the blue eyes he'd once loved so much. Or thought he had. "I..." He stepped forward but one look at the murderous expression on Michael's face brought him to a halt.

"What are you doing here?" Linc asked softly. He could feel the emotions rolling off of Michael, and wanted so badly to reassure him but he couldn't. Not right that moment. He was still too much in shock at seeing Oliver standing there.

"Is this him?" Michael bit out, fighting the urge to drop his bags and start wailing on the bastard.

"Yeah." Linc stepped closer to Michael, resting a hand on the tense arm. "I...need to talk to him."

"What?" Michael asked incredulously, staring at Linc as if he'd lost his mind. "You want to actually talk to the son of a bitch? Why?"

"I just need to. Please, Michael?" Linc pleaded with his eyes, begging the other boy to understand, to give him this chance to work through his own demons and pain.

"Fine." A stiffness entered Michael's body and he pulled away from Linc, slamming into the dorm room and closing the door with a loud bang in the empty hallway.

Linc looked up at Oliver with a calm expression. "Why are you here, Ollie?"

"Your parents told me you didn't come home for the Christmas break, and....I...God, Linc, I'm so sorry." The blonde boy reached out and tugged Linc into his arms, hugging him tightly, burying his face in the straight brown hair. "I messed up. And I haven't forgiven myself. I can't forgive myself. I never should have done what I did. I was scared. Scared that I was going to lose you, and I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I snapped, and it just happened. I...please, Linc, come home. I..need you."

Linc gently pushed away from Oliver, giving him a resigned look. "I can't, Oliver. My life is here now. I...know you didn't mean to do what you did, but it doesn't change the fact that it happened."

"I know!" Oliver ran a hand through his hair in agitation. "I...I love you, Linc. I didn't realize how much until that day, after I left you. And I've been going out of my mind with it."

A few months ago, he would have died to have heard those words from Oliver, but his heart didn't belong to the tall, blonde boy standing in front of him anymore. It belonged to the dark-haired, angry teenager inside that room. A sad smile passed over Linc's lips. "I'm sorry, Oliver. I would have given everything I am to have heard those words back then. My soul even. But I...don't feel that way anymore. I..I'm in love with someone else."

Tears shone in Oliver's eyes, but the muscular teen blinked them away, not allowing them to fall. He sank down against the wall again, leaning his head back against it. Linc kneeled beside him, resting a soft hand on his bicep. "I lost you." Oliver whispered hoarsely, his throat tight with the unshed tears.

"I really am sorry, Oliver. But I couldn't stay there anymore. It hurt too much. And then to have the one person I trusted more than anyone else in the world hurt me like that, it changed something inside of me. I was nothing but a broken shell for a long time. Barely functioning. It was only because of him that I began to come back to life, Ollie."

Sadness swamped Oliver but he could see that Linc was happy. There was a softness around his eyes and a glow that just seemed to fill the entire hallway. He gave a shaky smile to his best friend, and reached out to trail a finger over the slender, pale cheek. Almost as if saying goodbye. He slowly stood up from the floor, helping Linc to his feet. "Is...there any hope for our friendship? Any at all?"

"I..don't know, Ollie. I just need some time away from everything. I'll be coming home for spring break, and we can talk again then, ok?" Linc leaned up on tiptoe and pressed his lips gently against the stubbled, tan cheek. If he'd known that Michael would grow impatient by then he never would have done so.


The dorm room door swung open just as he pulled away, and Linc froze in dismay. Hurt and pain blazed from Michael's liquid silver eyes just before the door closed again. He swore softly. "I have to explain to him. Please, Ollie, I need you to go away. For me." He knew he had hurt Oliver but he couldn't forget that look in Michael's eyes.

Oliver slowly nodded and began to walk away. He stopped after a few feet and turned back to Linc. "I'm sorry. I never would have come here if I had known."

"It's all right." He hoped.

A brief nod was all that Oliver gave before turning and continuing down the hallway. Linc took a deep breath, grabbed his bags, and entered the dorm room. Michael was sitting on the edge of his own bed, gripping the edges of the mattress tightly, his knuckles white from the force. "Michael?" He said quietly, walking over to sit beside the other boy.

"Are you going back to him?" Michael asked bitterly, keeping his gaze trained on the floor. He had never felt pain like this before. It was almost more than he could bear. Is this what Linc had felt like?

"No. Of course not." Linc protested, moving to drop to his knees in front of Michael, to be able to see into those silver eyes. There was so much pain swirling in their depths that his heart jolted painfully. He felt it like a physical ache, and he rested his cheek on Michael's knee. "I'm sorry, Michael. I didn't mean to hurt you. But I had to do that. To find my own closure to that part of my life. Please understand that." He begged, almost crying with how much he needed Michael to believe him.

A gentle hand came to rest on his hair and he closed his eyes. "Why was he here?"

"He...told me he loved me." Linc replied quietly, noting the way Michael's body jerked, as if stabbed. "And I told him that I didn't love him anymore. That I didn't feel the same."

"Why?" Michael's voice was edged with pain and Linc pulled back to look up at him, reaching up to touch his cheek, to feel his warm flesh beneath his hand.

"I told him that because...I'm in love with someone else." He never looked away, willing the inky-haired teen to believe him.

Michael's lips parted on an intake of breath, and hope began to shine from the silver eyes. "You're...in love with someone else?"

Linc nodded, rising up slowly to eye level. "Yes. Very much."

A smile edged at the corners of Michael's lips, pushing away the sorrow that had been there just brief moments before. "Do I know this person?"

"I think you know them very well. In fact, I'd say you were so close to them that you can't even tell the two of you apart." Linc teased softly, reaching up to wrap both arms around Michael's neck. His amber eyes sparkled with love and affection, conveying his emotions clearly.

The tension that had invaded Michael's body eased away as he brought his own arms up to wrap around his fragile kitten. He rested his forehead against Linc's. "I love you, too, my kitten." He said it so softly, so tenderly that it brought happy tears to Linc's eyes.

Linc tilted his head up, brushing his lips against Michael's before deepening the kiss, drawing it out. Their mouths languidly played over one another, drifting like a butterfly in the wind. Nothing had ever felt so right before. Linc didn't know how he could have confused what he felt for Oliver for love. Because it felt nothing like what he felt for Michael. He pulled away reluctantly. "I do love you, Michael. What I felt for him is nothing compared to the love I have for you."

A contented sigh escaped Michael's lips and he hugged Linc tightly. "You know. You'll have to make it up to me after giving him that kiss though."

"What?" Linc exclaimed. "I only kissed him on the cheek."

"Mmm. That's still enough to make me jealous. And now you owe me every inch of that sweet body." Michael teased, pulling Linc off the floor and into his lap, tumbling them both backwards onto the bed.

Linc gazed down at Michael in amusement. "You can have that without me owing you." He rocked his hips forward suggestively, licking his lips at the desire that darked the silver orbs.

Michael growled and rolled them both, coming to lie on top of Linc. He tenderly ran the backs of his fingers over Linc's smooth cheek, leaning down to kiss him gently. "I like the sound of that." He whispered against the pale strawberries, dipping his tongue inside to taste him. The rest of that evening and the waning hours of the night were spent paying off his 'debt' to Michael.