Survivors 2-II

[aurelius]

Survivors2-II: 6-10

 

 

 

6

 

I wish I could say that we had morning water and everything was fine after that, but it was only a first step.  I thanked Zuberi and Xander for coming—and Abari thanked them for coming as well.  Then I turned and said to Abari, “Do you think we should talk about this with our fathers?  Do you want to hear what they have to say?”  Yes, Abari wanted to talk about this with our fathers.  I figured he would.  His world had been shattered; he needed Amare to help put it back in order.

 

So we went to our fathers’ house.  They were having morning water.  I asked if we could come in.  They were happy to see us—until they saw that we had been crying.  Amare asked, “What’s the matter?”

 

I looked at Abari and asked, “Do you want to start?”  He answered: “No; I trust you to tell the truth.”  I let out a big sigh—there was hope.

 

So I explained how Xander and I were up on the mountain in front of the cave of ores, talking, and men were coming up to try and get into the cave.  And I kissed Xander as a trick so that they wouldn’t come up the mountain side.  But I enjoyed it.  And when I told Abari, he thought I didn’t love him any more.  Then I turned to Abari and asked him to tell how he felt. 

 

“I felt that Jabar betrayed me.  That he loved Xander more than me.  And I felt lost without him.”  It was a beautiful and true statement.  My eyes welled up.  My dad frowned at me—I could hear a whole lecture about being a man, spoken without words, in my dad’s frown.  I felt I had let him down and I buried my face in my hands.  When I looked up all I could say was “Dad, I’m so sorry!”  But my dad opened his arms and I fell into them and sobbed.  It wasn’t Abari who needed his dad—it was me; I needed mine.

 

I heard, “Jabar?  Jabar?”  If was Abari’s voice; it sounded far away.  When I looked up from my dad’s embrace, I saw Abari with tears falling down his face and a quizzical look, as if he didn’t understand why I needed my dad more than my lover.

 

Amare simplified things:  “Jabar, do you love Xander more than Abari?”

 

“No.”

 

“Abari, do you still love Jabar?”

 

“Yes,”  Abari said through his tears.  

 

My dad seemed to know what was about to happen.  He nudged me from his embrace so I once again sat beside Abari.

 

Amare put his one of his big hands on each of our shoulders.  “I know you still love each other.  You have always loved each other most.  I cannot count the ways that I’ve seen you show your love for each other.  Jabar made a mistake.  He is sorry.  Abari, you need to forgive him and love him as if this never happened.  Do you understand?”  He looked at each of us.  We were a mess—tears running down our cheeks.  But Amare then looked at Abari: “My son, love rests on forgiveness.  No love is without mistakes.  My love and I have hurt each other many times over the years, but we have always found a way back to our love for each other.  Isn’t that right, my love?”

 

My dad answered, “Yes, it is.  We all make mistakes. Being in love means you admit your mistakes and you forgive the one you love.”

 

Amare still held onto our shoulders.  “Now, I want you two to hug and kiss and promise you will love each other.”  Abari and I turned to each other, our faces full of tears, and hugged and then kissed.  I said, “I will only love you, Abari!”  Then Abari said, “And I will only love you, Jabar!”  And we hugged again.

 

“Now,” said Amare, “can we have morning water?”  He said it with a smile and a bit of exasperation in his voice.  Abari and I looked each at other.  We smiled a little, and then we laughed.  And then we hugged again.

 

But we still weren’t done.  After morning water with our fathers, we hugged and kissed them and told them we loved them and then we left.  “Should we go see Garin and Lateef?” I said, and Abari said, “Yes.  They know us best of all our brothers.”

 

So we walked over to their house and I stood by the door and said, “Can we see you guys?”

 

“Of course,” said Lateef, and he opened the netting.  Cups were on the floor for morning water.  Lateef looked at me and said, “Why have you been crying?”  And Garin leaped up and put his arm around Abari, “What’s wrong?”

 

I looked at Abari and said, “You should tell them; I told our fathers.”

 

“Oh,” said Garin, ”then it’s serious.”  He sat down and Abari and I followed.

 

“Yeah, said Lateef, “so shut up and let the boy speak!”

 

Abari told how I had kissed Xander and liked it and how he, Abari, felt betrayed; he was afraid that I liked Xander more.

 

Lateef turned to me and said, “How could you be so stupid?!”

 

“I know, I know,” I said. “I was trying to trick guys climbing up to the cave of ores—and it worked. They headed back down.”

 

“So this was a trick—you kissed Xander because you were tricking some guys?”  Lateef looked angry.  I know he loves me, but I also know that we are always honest with each other.  He shouted, “You risked your love on a trick?”  He made a fist and drew back his arm; I thought he was going to hit me.  So did Abari:

 

“No!  You can’t hit Jabar!”  Abari put his big arm in between Lateef and me; my “little brother” was defending me.  Abari looked at both Lateef and Garin: “Look, guys, we’ve been crying all night and then again with our fathers.  Jabar has said he’s sorry—many times.  And my dad asked me to forgive Jabar, and I have.”  Here he placed his big hand on my leg.  I reached over and hugged him.  Now he was the bigger brother.

 

Garin looked at each of us.  He had been unusually quiet.  He shifted himself on the floor so he could face both of us: “First, we both love both of you very much.  Second, Jabar, Lateef is so angry with you because what you did was so stupid—and Lateef thinks you’re smarter than he is.  Third, whatever you need to get over this mistake—Lateef and I will help you.”  He turned to his lover and said, “Isn’t that right, Lateef?”  And then he glared at Lateef and put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Isn’t that right?” more softly.

 

Lateef turned to me and said, loudly, “I want to pound your brains out of your head, Jabar, because you don’t deserve them!”  But he paused, took a breath and said, “But I love you too much to do that, and it appears that Abari still loves you, so I won’t beat your brains out.”  Another pause.  “And the big guy is right—again; it’s remarkable how often he’s right—we love both of you too much and I will help in whatever way I can to help you two get over this.”

 

“I want to hug you, Lateef,” I said.  “Do you mind?”

 

“Of course not; come here!”  So we hugged.  I tried not to cry.

 

When we broke our embrace, Lateef said, “But we have to do some thinking about what happens next.”   Garin nodded.  “First,” Lateef continued, looking at me, “You don’t get to go up the mountain with Xander any more.”  Then, looking at Abari he said, “Do you agree with that?”  Abari nodded.

 

“Second,” Garin said, “You two need some time apart from each other—just during the day.  At night, I hope you will continue to suck each other’s cocks and sleep together—OK?”  I looked at Abari and we both nodded.  “But during the day,” Garin continued, “Abari can work or play with me, and Lateef can be with Jabar.  Are you guys good with that?”  Again, I looked at Abari and we both nodded.  And I was once again seeing that Garin was much smarter than I first thought he was.

 

“And third”—Lateef took over, “Abari gets to hit things and throw things as much as he wants when he’s with Garin—he gets to yell and scream and generally do anything he wants to get his anger out.  I think my lover can handle this—yes?”  Garin nodded and said to Abari: “You can hit things and throw things around me—but not at Jabar.  You need to start over with him, start loving him again.  Do you understand?”  Abari looked like the child he still was: his eyes were wide; he was listening deeply to everything Lateef and Garin were saying.

 

“And fourth”—I couldn’t believe that Lateef wasn’t done; that there was more—“I get to smack Jabar on his head, to remind him how stupid he was!”  And he immediately smacked me on the head.  “Ow!” I said.  “Good,” said Lateef, “What you did was stupid and you should be smarter—you MUST be smarter.  Our whole island depends on you being smarter.  Do you understand?”  Now I was the one who felt like a child.  I bowed my head and said, “I understand.”  Abari immediately hugged me.

 

Garin then said: “We love you guys.  I don’t think you understand how much we love you.  Abari, even though I take advantage of your innocence when we wrestle, I love you very much”—here, he reached over and hugged Abari.  

 

And Lateef added, “And Jabar, you are still my best brother.  I haven’t stopped loving you”—and he reached over and put his arm around my shoulders.  “I am still your best brother”—and tears were rolling down his face—“I may smack your head, but it’s only because I love you.”  I couldn’t help it: I collapsed in his arms, crying.

 

 

 

7

 

So Lateef became a go-between: he would check with Xander about how he was getting on with his defense force buddies, concerning the trenches plan for the training field.  And Lateef and I would go up to the cave of ores and try to keep guys from climbing up the mountainside, rolling away the boulder in front of the cave, and taking all the lapis and diamonds. 

 

I was fine with Lateef going up the mountainside with me.  He let me know that he was doing this out of duty—he didn’t really think the Egyptians were going to attack us again for a while, but he loved me and didn’t want to kill me—or more likely let Garin kill me—if I broke Abari’s heart again.

 

“That’s not going to happen,” I said. “I’ve learned my lesson.  I love Abari but I always have to remember he’s much younger than he looks.”

 

“Right,” said Lateef.  “And besides, he could probably kill you—there’s that, you know.”

 

“Yes, there is that.”

 

“You know, when I make a mistake and I ask Garin to forgive me, I give him my ass.  He used to pound my ass, but now, when he fucks my ass, it calms him down—a win-win for both of us.”

 

“And if Garin makes a mistake?”

 

“I get to fuck him.  You know, it’s not a bad arrangement.  You should talk about it with Abari.”

 

“No; I’m not the one to talk with him about it—Garin could; Abari trusts Garin.  Or maybe the two of you.  He might want to ask you if Garin hurts you when he fucks you.  You know, fucking and getting fucked—this is a very sensitive topic for Abari; he got fucked a lot on board our ship.”

 

“I figured,” Lateef said.  “But maybe, as a result of your ridiculous mistake—“  here, he slapped the back of my head—“something good can happen.”

 

I was getting used to the slap—it was a good way to remember my mistake.

 

“So,” I said, “do you have anything to report from Xander and the defense force.”

 

“Yes.  He’s talked with them.  They at first were reluctant to give up parts of the training field, but Xander explained that trenches could slow down an invasion—so that they wouldn’t get swarmed again.  That argument seems to have worked.  Now they’re talking about where the trenches should go.”

 

“That’s good.  Maybe you and I can come up with a plan for the trenches?”

 

“Yeah; I already thought of that.  I’m thinking of almost random trenches, so the Egyptians don’t guess where they might be.”

 

“And has anyone suggested how long the trenches should be?”

 

“No; no one has thought that far ahead—you and your big brain!”  And I got another slap on my head, but much lighter this time.

 

Lateef smiled; I smiled.  I changed the topic: “What are Garin and Abari doing today?”

 

“They’re carrying slabs over to the training field; then Garin said they’d probably take a dip in the pool.”

 

“So, can we take a dip in the pool?”

 

“No, silly.  The idea is that you and Abari spend time away from each other, so that when you get together at night, you’ll want to be nicer to each other!”

 

“I know; I just thought that it would be fun to swim with them in the pool.”

 

“Maybe some day.  And soon, but not now.” Lateef turned and looked at me,  “You both need time to heal, and for you to fall in love again.”

 

“Then, if no swimming, can we go to the training field and meet some of the new guys?  I think it would be a good idea if all the archers started meeting—at least once a week.”

 

“Well, there are some new Nubians.  Maybe we should see if they’re archers.  But let’s wait awhile.  Garin and Abari are there now; we can go to the training field after they’ve left.”

 

“Wow!  You and Garin have Abari’s and my lives planned out!”

 

“Yes, we do.  We love you both and want you to get over this mistake”—and of course, he smacked my head again.

 

 

8

 

Lateef and I avoided the pool as we walked to the training field.  There, we saw the new houses which Garin, Abari, Akhom, and Tafari had just built.   And we met some of the new men: Tambal, Oshi, and Ketti were the new Nubians; Atum and Sefu were the Egyptians.  And we were in luck: all of the Nubians were archers.  In fact, they had heard of the two archers who had shot so many Egyptian archers at the bay, and they were eager to meet us.

 

“How did you get so good with your aim?” Oshi wanted to know.

 

“When you’re defending your home and family,” Lateef said,  “you focus your mind more.”

 

“Yeah,” I added, “Our fathers were nearby, and two of our brothers also were.  So we had to be good—but we were also lucky.”

 

Tambal added, “I’m just glad we weren’t there.  You could have killed us!”

 

I wanted to know how they got away from the rest of the Egyptians.

 

“When we came onshore, we headed to these trees.  The army was running to surround your soldiers—and we just kept running until we were sure no one could see us.  We had heard that you men were special—and now we know you are!”  Here Tambal flexed his arm and showed a muscle.

 

Baniti said, “They’ve been drinking water with us for several days—and it shows.   By the way, we haven’t offered you any water.  Will you sit down and have some with us?”

 

“Of course,” Lateef said.  We went inside Baniti’s house and sat down.  Baniti bought out a water jug: “I don’t have enough cups for everyone—does anyone mind if we just share the jug?”  No one minded.

 

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Baniti,” I said, “but these new men are a big addition to our archers—correct?”

 

“You are correct.  And I know from Xander that you are already thinking about the next invasion.”

 

“Well,” I said, “I see you have an ankh necklace, and I see new scarab necklaces throughout the island—and all it takes is for one sailor to wear his necklace and one Greek or Cretan merchant to see it.”

 

“And the word will get back to Egypt—and they’ll probably attack again.”  That Lateef finished my idea didn’t surprise me.  But that he sounded as if he finally accepted the idea that another invasion was possible—that surprised me.

 

Ketti added something new: “And we know that the Egyptian higher ups haven’t given up on conquering this island and enslaving all you muscle men—they really want you guys back as slaves.”

 

“So then why join us?”  I couldn’t help asking.

 

“Because when we saw all your muscle—even covered with mud—“ Oshi said, “we just looked at each other and knew we wanted to be here.  You guys are really beautiful.”

 

“Hey!” said Lateef, “I’m taken, and so is he—and our lovers are bigger than we are.  Don’t even think of it!”  Everyone chuckled.

 

“Well then,” I said, looking at Baniti, “I think it’s time we start thinking about how we can get even better before the next invasion.  Do you agree, Baniti?”

 

“Yes, I do.  I understand from Xander that the smithy is producing more khepehes, stabbing swords, spear heads and arrows.  Maybe we should start practicing more, too.”

 

Tambal said, “But we just ran away from one army!  You sound like you want to put us into another one!”

 

“Sorry,” I said, “but if we want to live here and not be slaves again, we have to think ahead.  I promise you won’t have a regimented life, but we need to think about how to make ourselves better archers—and how to use our skills to protect our island.”

 

“But before we do anything,” Baniti said, “We need to get together with Kashta, Dakka, Saati and Theron.  All of us need to talk about what we want to do and how we want to train.  Let me go get them—and let’s meet outside, since I’m very happy to say that my house can’t hold all of us!”  Baniti rose; we all moved outside.

 

 

9

 

Baniti soon came back, bringing Kashta, Dakka, Saati and Theron.  As they greeted the new arrivals, it was clear they had already met.  Once everyone was seated in front of Baniti’s house, he said, “We’ve been talking about preparing for the next invasion.  Does anyone here think there won’t a next invasion?”

 

Theron said, “I don’t want to think about it, but I can see the possibility.”

 

“I notice you have a nice thunderbolt on a necklace,” I said.  “I’m afraid my brother Zuberi’s skill in making jewelry will be seen at some port in Crete or Greece—and the Egyptians will know that there are precious metals and stones here.  And all it takes is for one man to see a scarab like Kashta’s, with its piece of lapis, and I think we can count on the Egyptians being interested.”

 

“Well,” said Kashta, “I’m not giving up my scarab!”

 

“And I’m not asking you to give it up.  I love my ankh and Lateef loves his thunderbolt just as much as you love your scarab.  But we have to realize that the Egyptians will probably see a piece of lapis and plan on attacking us again.”

 

“By the way,” Oshi said to Lateef, “Why do you wear the thunderbolt?  That’s a Greek symbol, isn’t it?  But you’re a Nubian!”

 

“It’s the symbol that my northern barbarian father Gareth wears.  I wear it because I love him.”

 

“He’s my father too but I wear the ankh because my lover is Nubian and wears one.”

 

Ketti said, “Is he the big guy who hangs around with the big pale guy who wears the thunderbolt?”

 

“Yes, Abari is my lover—“

 

“And Garin, the pale hunk of muscle with the thunderbolt, is my lover—so, like I said, both our lovers are bigger than we are, so mind your manners!”   Lateef was sounding more and more like Garin!  But it was perfect for the moment: everyone chuckled.  And that gave a chance for Baniti to change the topic:

 

“I’ve been thinking we could meet here every afternoon for a while, and do some target practice.  Anyone else have ideas?”

 

“Or,” said Kashta, “We could meet in the morning soon after morning water, and get the practice over with.”

 

Saati then said, “And I like Kashta’s idea that we practice in the jungle, climbing trees and shooting at targets representing Egyptian soldiers.”

 

Lateef looked at me; I said, “Yes, that’s an excellent idea.”  But I couldn’t keep myself from a small shudder.

 

But Kashta said, “Then why did you seem to flinch when Saati mentioned it?”

 

“Because the jungle scares me!  It scared me when I killed my snake, and a snake nearly killed Abari!”  And I shuddered again, just thinking about it.

 

Lateef explained: “This was before Abari got big.  Both Abari and Jabar came here as kids.  After they got hair around their cocks, they had to kill a snake, and then they drank their dad’s cum and then got big.”

 

Tambal said, “Well, I can see how the jungle might scare you if you had to go there as a child and kill a snake!”

 

“But understand,” said Lateef, “If the Egyptians attack through the jungle, then the snakes are our friends.  If we wound a handful of soldiers, the snakes will attack and kill them.  And also understand, some of these snakes are very big.  It will be like the sharks were at our bay.  So, climbing trees and shooting soldiers makes a lot of sense.”

 

“But,” I turned to Kashta, “I don’t think I’ll be of much use in the jungle.”

 

Lateef put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Jabar will get over it.  I did.  I had to kill a snake several years ago.  Jabar killed his a couple of weeks ago.”

 

Baniti got us back to the topic: “So, are we meeting for target practice in the early afternoon or soon after morning water?”

 

Most of the guys liked the idea of practicing after morning water.  Lateef said that he and I would probably be late since we were coming from the bay.  

 

“That’s OK,” Tambal said with a smile.  “We won’t regiment you!”

 

 

10

 

As we headed up the hill near our houses, I said goodbye to Lateef and headed home.  On my way I met Abari.  I said, “How was your day?”

 

“Pretty good!  Garin and I did a couple of trips from the quarry to help build houses for the new guys.  And then we went swimming.  Garin even taught me how to dive off the cliff!”  He held the netting open for me to enter our house.  I said, “Thank you.”

 

“I’m happy for you!  It sounds like a good day!”

 

“And how was your day with Lateef?”

 

“Well, my head got smacked a couple of times—“ I smiled, and Abari smiled—“but Lateef is Lateef; I love him like a brother and we can talk freely with each other—as I hope we can do again, soon.”

 

“I hope so too.  But what did you do?”

 

‘We went up the mountainside and talked about preparations for the next invasion.  Then we went to the training field and met the new Nubian archers.”

 

“But I didn’t see you there!”

 

“Lateef waited until he was sure we wouldn’t meet you.  He and Garin are serious about keeping us apart during the day.”

 

“I know,” Abari said, “I wanted you to come swimming with us.”

 

“That’s what I said to Lateef!  That I wanted to go swimming with you!  Oh, Abari, I missed you!”  

 

“And I missed you too!”  And we were soon in each other’s arms, kissing and hugging—and even crying a bit.

 

After kissing, hugging and crying a bit, Abari said, “Do we need to talk more about the day?  Or can I suck your cock now?”

 

I kissed him again.  “My love, you can suck my cock any time you want!”  And Abari said, “Goody!” It was like he was a child again—and we really were starting over.

 

I guess sucking each other’s cocks is at the core of our relationship now.  Abari does it with such glee—as if it’s a new toy.  He still has his toys from Babu: they’re on the table with the water jug, and the carving of Abari and his slingshot is in the center, the place of honor.

 

He sucks so greedily, I rub his hair and whisper “Slow down, my love” and he says “Sorry” and slows down for a moment.  But then he speeds up again, like a child who wants a prize.

 

After I cum, I sit up and say, “My turn,” but Abari has something else in mind.  “Wait.  I had a long talk with Garin in the pool today.  Did you know that, if he makes a mistake, Lateef gets to fuck him—and if Lateef makes a mistake Garin gets to fuck him?”

 

“Yes; Lateef and I talked about that today on the mountainside.  He suggested that I talk to you about it; I said that you would probably listen more carefully if Garin or Garin and Lateef talked with you about it.”

 

“Why did you suggest Garin talk to me?  Oh yeah—because you’ve talked with me about fucking and I said I didn’t want to.”  And here he reached over and held my head while he kissed me.  “You are always thinking about me, aren’t you?”

 

“Well, mostly”—and here I slapped my own head.  Abari chuckled.

 

“Anyway,” he said, “Garin also told me about something else he and Lateef do with each other.  And I’d like to try it with you.  Can I?”

 

“Of course you can,” I said and I gave him a little kiss.

 

“OK, so this starts with you on your knees, with your ass in the air.”  I got in that position.  “Here goes.”

 

I felt a wetness around my hole—a very soft wetness, almost as if it was something that was just happening and not planned.  But then I felt more wetness and it went around my hole as if it was planned.  I guessed he was using his tongue on my hole.  I had never felt anything like it.  No one had ever treated my hole that way—as if it was important.  Soldiers only rammed their cocks there, and it hurt.  This didn’t hurt.  This felt strange, but nice.  “That feels nice!” I said.  Abari stopped, took a breath and said, “But I’ve only just started.”

 

He went back to making my hole feel special.  But then he put something in my hole—I guessed it was his finger;  it felt strange—again, all I had to compare it with was a cock rammed up my hole.  But then he put another finger in my hole and rubbed around inside me.  His fingers went further up my hole, still rubbing around—and then he hit something which sent shivers all over my body.  I moaned—and I remembered hearing Lateef moaning in the bushes that night I slept alone behind the fireplace.  “Oh!” I said.  “That feels good!”  Again, I’d never felt anything like it.  But it made me feel good.  Abari kept doing it, and then it didn’t feel as good.  I wanted something more.  I wanted his cock up my ass.

 

“Fuck me, my love!  Fuck me, Abari!”

 

“Are you sure?  I don’t want to hurt you!”

 

“Yes, I’m sure.  Don’t ram it in all at once, but I want your cock in me—now!”

 

“OK. I love you and I don’t want to hurt you!”

 

“My love, a little hurt is worth a lot of pleasure”—for that’s what I imagined would happen.  I didn’t know, but this was not like any fuck I’d ever had.  

 

Slowly, I felt Abari’s big cock start to fill my hole.  He pushed it in a little.  “Is that OK?” he said.  “Yes!” I said, “Now do it some more.”  So he pushed it in some more.  “Oh, yes!”  I bit my lip.  There was pain, but there was also pleasure.  

 

“Are you sure I’m not hurting you?”

 

“Not now,” I gasped.  “Now, pull out a little and put it in again.”  I wondered what this fucking would be like when we didn’t have to check with each other all the time.  

 

“OK,” he said.  My pleasure increased.  “Oh,” I said.  “I wish I could kiss you and show you how much I love you for this!  Can I roll over with you still in me?”  

 

“You want to try?”

 

With some effort—and Abari’s cock almost popping out—I rolled over and faced my love.  His face was a strange mix of concern and pride and pleasure.  I immediately reached up to his head, pulled it down and kissed him.  “I love you, Abari!  I love how you are fucking me.  Please don’t think you could be hurting me.  OK?”

 

Finally, a smile on Abari’s face.  “Then it’s really OK?  I can fuck you like this?” 

 

“Yes, you can fuck me like this!”  And I gave him another quick kiss.  “Now, I want you to fuck me until you cum, so that you have some pleasure too.”

 

I probably shouldn’t have said that.  A few more thrusts and I could feel him shoot—and saw his face briefly contort as he did it.  He is so young.  I would have to find ways to encourage him to thrust more gently, to make his fuck last longer.

 

But we had done it—our first fuck!  After Abari pulled out I gave him the biggest hug I could.  I kissed him all over his face and said, “You did it!”  He looked a little amazed and confused.  “And I love you for it!”

 

I hugged him again.  I did not mention what I was thinking—that I wanted eventually to fuck him.  I had to give him time.  I suspected that he was still overwhelmed that he fucked me.

 

“Jabar, are you sure I didn’t hurt you?”  Of course he thought that—all he knew was soldiers hurting his ass.

 

I looked at him and said, “Have I ever lied to you?  Even when I made my mistake—did I lie to you?”

 

“No.”

 

“And I’m not lying to you now: There was some pain, but there was a lot more pleasure than pain.”  He still looked confused.  I continued: “I know that may seem strange to you, but I’m telling you what I felt.”  I hugged him and said, “Now, can we curl up and go to sleep?  Do you want your arm to be on me or my arm on you?”

 

He looked relieved.  He even had a little smile: “I want your arm around me.  I love you, Jabar!”

 

“And I love you, Abari!”  So we went to bed and I put my smaller arm around his bigger arm.  I hugged him and whispered, “Goodnight, my love.”  And he whispered, “Goodnight, my Jabar!”