Brothers in Arms

In the morning, Mrs. Reagan was up with the chickens, rousing the boys and preparing to send them on their way. By eight A.M. they were packed and ready to go. In addition to the two quilted bedrolls she had made for them she provided bacon, coffee and a coffee pot, a frying pan and pot, flour and sugar and some salt pork; all rolled and packed tightly in packs that were easy to carry if somewhat heavy. She sent them off also with a $20 double eagle each and a small caliber rifle and cartridges which had belonged to one of her sons.

Sean spoke first. "Despite the fact that you are making us leave, ma'am, we will always be grateful for what you have done for us. We probably would not have survived if it hadn't been for you!"

"Yah," repeated Preston, "Ah cain't believe you are bein' so gracious and all, even givin' us money and a gun. Ya know Ma'am, you oughtn't to be givin' folks guns and letin' 'em know you got gold. Somat is gonna kill ya for the gold. Anyways we thank ya kindly for everthin' Ah don' know what Ah'd a done."

"Though I can't condone thy behavior, in some ways I know in my heart that thee are honest and good boys. As for the money, thee worked hard for me and thou deserve fair compensation for thy labor. The rest, well, I couldn't in all righteousness just cast thee out with nothing. But neither could I abide thy deeds. The Lord must know that I neither condone nor tolerate that sort of behavior on my property. God bless thee in your travels boys and keep thee safe and may thee find thy way to God's light. Now be off with thee!"

Preston asked if please ma'am they could have a note that she had given them the money and goods, especially the rifle, in case they were questioned along the way. She went inside and wrote and signed a note, returned and handed it to Sean.

When Sean stepped forward to hug her, she stiffened, but returned the hug. Images of Sean's large manhood and the snake dreams flashed through her consciousness and she pushed him away, turned and fled into the house, her body flushed with unwonted desire.

The boys traveled all day, heading steadily westward, with hardly a word exchanged between them. They routinely avoided all contact with others, though they both knew that such contact was inevitable. That night, sitting around their campfire, the boys discussed their future, trying to make plans, to sort out all that had happened to them and between them. They sat close together, thighs and knees touching, hands often touching a knee, a shoulder. The awkwardness of physical touching was almost entirely gone from their relationship now and every day brought them closer, physically, romantically, and spiritually. There was no longer any doubt that they would be together, stay together, or die.

"You know," Sean said. "We are going to have to be very careful how we behave around other people. We are going to have to be cautious how we talk to one another and not touch each other and stuff like that when others are around."

"Whad'ya mean?"

"Think about it. If that nice old lady was so turned off by what we do, who we are, what we are to one another, think of how the first asshole we come upon is going to behave. Some will want to kill us."

"Kill us? Fer what?"

"Like I said. For who we are, what we are.. Think about how you felt about 'queer boys' before us. I mean me too sort of. That is to say I don't think I wanted to kill anyone but I was very revolted about the idea of people doing the things I do with you. Not only that, but what we do together is against the law in most places!"

"Agin the law? How could what we do, what we wanna do, be anybody's business? Shit, Ah tole you I din't want none a this shit."

"I didn't ask for it either. How was I to know I was going to fall for some red-headed hillbilly?" Just please be careful if we run into anyone. We might even have to separate our bedrolls every night after we, well, you know, before we go to sleep. If someone sees our fire smoke and ambles in and finds us sleeping together, they could cause us a lot of trouble. One thing I know for sure is we have got to get further west and North as fast as we can. The bigger the city the better. I hear San Francisco is a pretty wild and wide open place."

"Yeah, that wud be great if it was about 2000 miles closer. Ah'd feel a lot better if Ah had a horse and a real gun. Maybe we could find work, get a job someres?"

"How are we going to do that? Wherever we go they are going to want to know why we aren't fighting for somebody's side in this stupid war. We don't have many choices. I'd say Kansas and Missouri are out. Illinois might be OK if we are careful and go North. Then maybe Iowa. I guess if we go further north and west we might get to where there are almost no people. I think that would be our best bet. I wish I had studied more at school. Maybe I would have more idea just where things are."

"Well Yah know Sean, we been going steady West. We oughter be in Ohia., if not already then dang soon. If we cud find us the Ohia river and find us a boat we cud maybe float and paddle all the way too Illinois. Ah don even know how I kno dat, but Ah know it from sum place. Er, ya know, another choice is we cud hop us the first train goin' North. We might even cud pay. We got us $20 each!"

Sean rose and walked around animatedly as he spoke. "You know, Prest, you aren't half dumb for an old hillbilly boy from Florida. We need something else, too, we need a cover story. Who are we, where are we going, why do we look and talk so different from each other. And most of all, why aren't we fighting in the war." he stopped his roving and stood behind Preston, reached out and touched his cheek with the flat of his palm. Preston responded immediately nuzzling his cheek into Sean's hand and sighing. The young boy's shining face glowed amber and gold and scarlet in the campfire light, so beautiful that Sean's heart jumped. He took Preston's face in both his hands and kissed him fully on the lips. Up to now the boys had not kissed much. Somehow, to Sean, kissing another man seemed so much more unusual, so much odder, than the far more intimate things they had done for and to each other. But now they kissed as only lovers can. It was as if they had a need to consume one another as the kiss went on and on. Their tongues, their lips, their teeth licked, nibbled, explored; left them panting and breathless.

Sean paused to throw several handsfull of fuel and kindling on the fire, then took Preston by the hand and led them to the spot where he had previously laid out their bed rolls together. He lay down, not releasing his hold on Preston and drew him down atop himself. His hands flew to rid Prest's body of the clothes which hindered him. He rolled and knelt over his lover as he quickly discarded his own clothing. As it always was and always would be, the enormous heft of Sean's cock stretching out from his hairy loins was a ferocious presence between them. Sean continued to kneel over the boy running his hands over every inch, savoring the silky hairless feel of Preston's white flesh, now glowing like embers. Most of their previous loving having been in near or total darkness, Sean savored the sight of his beloved, bent to kiss and tongue and nibble each spot that flashed and flickered in the dancing firelight.

Preston moaned and moved under Sean's exploring touch, his eyes never leaving the towering flesh which bobbed above him. "Sean," he said softly, "Ah want, Ah want. Ah don't know how to say it."

Sean shut him up by covering his lips with his own. When Sean's head descended to kiss, lick and nipple at Preston's dark red nipples, the latter's slick slender silken penis bobbed and throbbed against the back of Sean's thighs. On a sudden impulse, Sean squirmed and maneuvered until the wet pink head of the younger boy's slender shaft, just peeking out from beneath its sleek foreskin, came in contact with the center of his dark puckered hole; squirmed and pushed until he had impaled himself on Preston's now rock hard slender cock. Both boys gasped loudly. Sean could not believe the harsh sudden shock of pain that roared through his insides. He had not known that this type of penetration would be so painful. He paused to collect his emotions, to give his tortured anus a few moments to adjust to this new feeling.

Preston, on the other hand, who had never penetrated anyone before except Sean's mouth was suddenly overcome by the sudden onrush of raw naked lust. He thrust upward and back, deep into Sean's ass, the thrill of penetration, the tight grasp of Sean's resistant anus on his hard cock, overwhelmingly erotic. He quickly drew back and slammed home again. Sean was finally able to control his screams of pain enough to whisper clearly in his lover's ear, " Easy, oh, please, easy!"

Preston stopped suddenly. "Oh god! Oh God! Did I hurt you?"

"D. . . D. . . Don't st. . . stop n. . . now I want you, I want . . . it. Just for a minute 'til I catch my breath. Just please go slow! Easy, kiss me!"

Preston took Sean's face in both hands and drew it down to smother it with kisses, his eyes his cheeks, his lips his neck, slow, long loving tender kisses, kisses Preston had never before shared with anyone, had dreamed only in his most wild and secret dreams he would ever share with a man.

Sean's massive hardness poked and probed between their bodies, a living force to be reckoned with. Even pain had not diminished its size or force, and, as Sean now began to raise and lower himself slowly on and off Prest's solid shaft, Preston took it in both his hands and began stroking it in time to Sean's exploratory thrusts.

Sean began to push himself on and off Preston's cock in long slow movements. He took the long thin rod deep inside himself before sliding down once again. He could feel his sphincter loosen to allow deeper faster entry. The pain began to diminished now and Sean began to appreciate the wonder of having part of his lover's body actually inside his own. He had never felt so wanted, so possessed. Preston's cock began to strike something deep in Sean. Each thrust lessened the pain and ignited a hot flame of lust. He quickened his movements, bent to kiss and nibble his lovers face and neck as he thrust himself ever harder, ever deeper, racing toward some unknown goal he had never felt before, never dreamed existed.

Preston, feeling Sean's motions quickening, hearing his increased moans and grunts, seeing his face and neck and chest grow red with growing passion, took this as a sign to increase his own movements, planted his feet firmly, and began to thrust up and back with all the power in his strong young legs and hips. The firelight flickered and danced on their hard wet bodies as their movements became wild and uncontrolled and they writhed and growled and thrust at one another in a primeval dance older than mankind.

Sean began to cry, "Oh! Oh! Oh!" each time Preston's cock struck deep. Prest knew that he was close to climax and went with him, letting loose a blast inside Sean that caused both boys to cry out even more loudly. Finally Sean collapsed atop him, sighing and panting and nearly crying as the waves of release ran through him. Hot spurts of thick white cum shot from Sean's fat gushing cock,flooding both boys' chests and necks. Preston wondered for a moment how Sean's orgasm had occurred for neither boy was stroking Sean's penis, then filed the thought away for future consideration as he clasped his lover tightly against him and kept the upward pressure on, trying to keep his wilting penis inside Sean as long as he could. Once again, he was struck with wonder and awe at the pleasure he was discovering in Sean's arms.

Sean awakened as a shadow fell across his sun streaked form. A stranger stood over him, looking down at him. The stranger held a pistol easily in his fist,pointed down at the middle of Sean's chest.

"Mornin'," the stranger drawled. "I want you to get up nice and slow."

"Can I get my pants," Sean inquired?

"I don't think you'll be needin' yer pants. Jest git up nice and slow." Holding the weapon on Sean, the young man began going through their belongings, he found the gold pieces almost immediately and stuffed them in the pocket of his filthy slacks. The robber stopped with a strange look on his face. Sean stood there naked. The robber gawked at Sean's massive cock and shook his head as if he had not seen what he thought he had seen. Sean tried to tell his eyes not to search for Preston.

"That there is one big piece a meat you got there! Too bad I am about to deprive a whole lot of young women the pleasure of havin' it in them!" He cackled as if this were the funniest thing he had ever heard.

They had camped for the night a few hundred yards from a deep spot in a local creek. Preston had gotten up early and gone to the river to wash up, get water for coffee, and scout for small game. He had taken the small rifle with him in hopes of spotting a rabbit, squirrel, coon or the like. Now he was headed back toward the campsite with a rabbit by the ears, the water skin over one shoulder, and the rifle held loosely in the other hand, happy to tell Sean he had secured breakfast. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks. That was a laugh. And not Sean's laugh. It sounded cruel and evil. He placed the rabbit and the water jug softly on the ground and circled to his right, keeping a copse of trees between himself and the camp, but drawing steadily closer in a spiral.

"It's a pity really that I have to kill you," the stranger said. " But it ain't that far to Louisville and you'd surely go there and tell someone, then I'd have a sheriff and maybe a posse after me. If I kill you, the wolves and critters will eat all or most of you and no one will ever know I was here. Say. Wait a minute," the stranger said. There was someone else here. I jest noticed there was two bedrolls. Where is he? Or is it she? That would be nice. A woman to have before I kilt ya both. I ain't had a woman in quite a spell. Well? Where is she or he?"

"Uh she left at dawn," Sean tried to lie.

"Alone, out here in the middle of nowhere? A woman? Alone? That's all right, I reckon I can find her maself. She's probly down by the creek. You know a good prayer," the stranger asked, pointing the pistol at Sean's head? You'd better say it now!"

Suddenly the stranger's face formed a complete O of surprise, eyes wide and mouth open wide. A tiny red spot appeared exactly one inch above the bridge of the stranger's nose only a short moment before the sound of a shot was heard. He gurgled for a few seconds and blood began to run down his face. He twirled on one foot like a weird ballet dancer, then fell at Sean's feet, obviously dead.

Preston stepped out from behind a tree, still holding the small rifle at the ready. "Are you Okay," he asked Sean? Unable to speak, Sean merely nodded his head.

"You. . . you. . . you k k killed him! You fucking killed him! Just like that!"

"Yep, shot his ass right between the eyes!"

"But. . . but. . . but. . ."

"But what? He was gonna kill you so Ah shot him."

"Just like that?"

"Yep! Jes like that!"

"Well what are we gonna do now?"

"We-el, the first thing Ah'm gonna do is take that fancy pistol and gun belt and put it on maself. Then Ah am gonna search him and find out if he's got, er AH shud say had, any money besides ours. Then Ah am gonna go looking to see if'n he's got a horse stashed sumplace round here.. Then Ah am gonna bury him and be on my way. Ah baleve Ah heerd him say that Louaville was not too far away. That would be North. Sounds like a good start. If'n we can slip across the river thar, we gonna be in Indiana, Then cross country or down river to Ellinoise."

The boys conducted a search of the highwayman's pockets and knapsack and came up with a bit of food; ammunition for the pistol, a good solid Colt with nothing fancy for anyone to recognize; seventeen dollars and some change over and above their forty dollars; and a very fine hunting knife with sheath. Preston remained convinced that the robber had a horse stashed somewhere nearby, but the boys never found it. Instead of burying the stranger, they shoved him out into the deepest part of the river in the hope that if he floated far enough downstream, no one would know where he met his end.

As they made their way North, Sean kept repeating from time to time, "Gosh Prest, you shot him dead, right between the eyes. I can't believe you really shot him. Just like that. Pow! I still can't believe it!" They pushed themselves hard that day, trying to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the 'scene of the crime'. They were dog tired and bone weary by the time they decided to stop for the night. They had seen a pallor of smoke hanging over the sky in the distance and assumed that was Louisville. They got to talking and figured out that each of them must have been involved in what would come to be called 'The battle of Perryville', and had been in Kentucky all along, not Ohio as they had originally thought. This was good news because Kentucky was not part of the confederacy and therefore safe for Preston at least.

As they walked, they also worked on their story and decided they would tell everyone they were cousins, one from the north and one from the south who had inherited a small legacy from a common uncle and decided to go west to try to make their fortune together. Along the way, Preston stopped a few times to practice drawing and firing the pistol and soon became quite good at quick drawing and hitting the target.

They had jerky and hard tack and coffee for dinner, to avoid the hassle of cooking, and sat for a while talking before the small fire. Finally Prest's tone of voice underwent a subtle change as he spoke to his lover. "Sean?"

"What Prest?"

"Well you know what you did last night?"

Sean grinned lightly and said, "yeah, I think I know what you mean."

"Well, Ah. That is Ah. I mean. . . I want to try that too. Ah want to take you, uh. . . you know, uh. . . inside. It's all Ah been thinkin' bout all day. But Ah got one big problem with that if you know what I mean."

"What do you mean Prest?" Even in the dim light, Sean could see that Preston was blushing a bright crimson.

"Well, its . . .ah. . . ah. . . Well Ah might as well come right out and say it. Ah don know if that giant thing of yours is too big.

Sean laughed lightly. "Well, buddy, we will just have to go slow, a bit at a time and see what happens. I promise to quit whenever you say so, okay. I have to admit I would much rather do it to you than have you do it to me; I don't know why, it just seems more right. But Preston, good friend, buddy, lover, the last thing I would want to do is really hurt you so if it comes to that we'll just skip it." As he said this, he drew the young Rebel boy close to him, holding him in his arms and whispering, "It'll be okay. Everything will be okay. Especially now that I know we have a trained killer to protect us. Cumon, gunslinger. Let's go to bed."

At first they just snuggled under their bed roll. After Sean undressed them both, they went on touching softly, kissing gently, moving their hands and lips and tongues in a continuing exploration of one another for a long time. Finally, Sean moved them so they were lying side by side and head to toe. He began, very slowly at first to make love to Preston's cock. Oh so slowly he kissed and licked and nibbled. He stroked and caressed and kneaded. He worked the youngster's foreskin up and back, licked under it with his tongue, swirled around the smooth pink head, flicked at the tiny cock lips, sucked on the pulsing vein on the underside. He took each of Prest's balls into his mouth and sucked on them. He kissed and nibbled at the space between his balls and his crack, feeling the blood pounding there.