Spring Rites

It was Tuesday afternoon, and Kellen Schroeder had arrived home from work a little after five. He made his way up to the twelfth-floor apartment he shared with his boyfriend of just under six months, Eric MacDonald. Kellen unlocked the door, and stepped inside to the scent of incense which pervaded the place thanks to Eric, and considerable warmth due to the suite facing west without any cover or neighbouring high rises.

Sunlight streamed through the windows, and once Kellen's eyes adjusted from the relative dark of the apartment hallway, he saw Eric standing at one of the living room windows, leaning on the sill as he gazed outside. The sunlight caught Eric in just the right way to make his shoulder-length auburn hair appear to glow.

Kellen pushed off his shoes, hung up his jacket in the hallway, and walked over to join Eric at the window, taking in the sight of his boyfriend as he did so. At twenty-five years old, Eric was about 5'8", with a slim build but still retained some softness about the edges, his complexion was quite pale with icy blue eyes courtesy of his Celtic ancestry. Today, Eric was clean shaven, wearing his customary black rimmed glasses, a black short-sleeved t-shirt, and a pair of beige shorts.

"Hey babe, how was your day?" Kellen asked as he slipped an arm around Eric's waist.

Eric looked up at Kellen, smiled, then pursed his lips and gave his boyfriend a peck on the cheek before answering.

"Oh, it was good. I got a bunch of things done around here and did a little bit of prep work for later today. You do know what day it is, right?" Eric replied, looking up at Kellen as he turned to face his boyfriend, back to the window.

"I know it's not your birthday, and it isn't our anniversary, even for the six-month mark. It's not my birthday either, and unless they've added a holiday I didn't know about, I'm lost. So, Tuesday?"

Eric looked up at Kellen, a smile curling from his lips and gave a slight chuckle before replying.

"It's the Spring Equinox! There aren't too many big days in the Celtic year, but this is one of them, and you kind of have to observe it, you know, so you don't piss off the gods and spirits." Eric reached out and took both of Kellen's hands in his before continuing. "I know you're not a believer, and that's fine, but I think you'll like the way we'll celebrate and make our offerings."

"You know I can't say no to you, and I see that it's important to you, so I'll help you celebrate. But first, I need to have a shower and get changed." With that, Kellen leaned down, gave Eric a quick kiss on the forehead, and went into their bedroom to strip off.

Eric sat down on the living room couch, scrolled through his phone for a few minutes to double check his times, and looked up just in time to see Kellen move from the bedroom to the bathroom, wearing only his underwear. Kellen was 6'2" and quite thin, and liked to joke that his metabolism still thought he was sixteen, not twenty-seven. Kellen's hair was dark brown and wavy, his eyes a warm shade of brown, but his features were all hard angles and edges.

A little while later, Kellen rejoined Eric in the living room after getting cleaned up and dressed. Kellen leaned in and gave Eric a sniff, enjoying his scent, and Eric rested his head against Kellen's shoulder.

"So, what now?" Kellen asked.

"Well, I've got to put some pants on, then we're going over to one of the parks that has an oak tree. We'll make some offerings, and then we'll go from there." Eric replied.

It was then Kellen's turn to watch as Eric retreated to the bedroom for a few minutes before he emerged this time with pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and his hair tied back. The little amber amulet which Eric wore around his neck was conspicuously on display over his hoodie, as opposed to its usual place under Eric's shirt.

Kellen followed his boyfriend out of the apartment into the chill air of the early prairie spring. It was a few degrees above freezing, but it felt tropical after a recent spell of very cold weather that had plunged the city into the minus twenty-degree range. Snow on and around the sidewalks was beginning to melt, and here and there they had to sidestep treacherous puddles with ice at the bottom.

Finally, they arrived at one of the nearby parks, and Kellen followed Eric to a large tree at one of the corners. Eric smiled appreciatively as he ran a hand over the trunk, then stepped over to the west side of the tree and motioned for Kellen to follow. Eric then reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out a small packet of what looked like birdseed, tore it open, and poured some into his hand. Kellen heard a few muttered words from Eric in a language he didn't recognize, and watched curiously as his boyfriend walked around the tree three times clockwise, sprinkling the seeds as he went.

At the end of this, Eric stopped where he had started, looked over at Kellen with a big smile, then said "Okay, now it's your turn!"

"Uh, what exactly am I supposed to do? Walk around the tree three times and sprinkle seeds?" Kellen asked.

"That's pretty much it, just make sure it's clockwise and the seed is all gone by the end. You can ask the gods and spirits for their blessings, if you want, but the offering is enough." Eric answered. Kellen held out his hand, and Eric poured the rest of the seeds into it, and Kellen repeated the process, minus any prayers.

"Alright, now what?"

"Now we wait for a sign."

With that, Eric led his boyfriend over to a nearby park bench, sat down, and motioned for Kellen to join him as he watched the tree. Kellen felt more than a little ridiculous, but it was a nice day to sit in the park, and no one seemed to have taken any notice of them or Eric's little ritual.

They didn't have to wait long, as a few minutes later Kellen felt Eric grip his hand and softly said "Look!"

A pair of chickadees had flittered over to the base of the oak, and we're busily picking up the seeds. The little birds ate their fill, and seemed to briefly peer over at the couple on the bench before they flew away together. Kellen felt Eric's fingers interlace with his, and looked over at his boyfriend, who was absolutely beaming.

"We got our sign!" Eric said and kissed Kellen on the cheek, then stood up. "Now let's go home and celebrate."

They were about half-way home when Kellen turned to Eric and asked him about what it was that he had said at the tree.

"That was just me asking for a blessing, and I did it in the old tongue of my ancestors, Gaelic." Eric answered.

Kellen frowned a bit, then responded "But wouldn't it make more sense to ask in Cree? After all, you're in Alberta, not Scotland."

Eric was silent for a few moments before he replied "I'm trying to put this in the best way I can, but a people's gods and spirits travel with them, so that's whose blessings I asked for. Are the local gods and spirits important? Of course they are, but they aren't mine, just like the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish god isn't mine, and he definitely isn't local either. That god came with his believers, who spread his teachings all over the world, so people just kind of take him for granted now."

They walked arm in arm in companionable silence for the last few minutes before reaching their building, and took the elevator up to the twelfth floor. The sun had lowered somewhat, so the suite was now very warm, and Kellen could not wait to strip back down to shorts and a t-shirt, quickly making a beeline for the bedroom after discarding his winter jacket. He emerged a few moments later to find Eric had rolled out their big, padded exercise mat in the open space in front of the apartment's balcony.

Eric looked up at Kellen as he finished weighting down the last corner of the exercise mat, blushed, and stood up before walking over to his boyfriend to take him by both hands. Eric made to sit down on the mat, and Kellen followed suit so that they were now facing each other, cross-legged, half their bodies in the light, half in shade. Kellen could feel a slight tremble in Eric's hands, and thought he detected a bit of dampness on his boyfriend's palms.

"So, uh, the other thing about the spring equinox is that, uh, how do I put this, it's a celebration of" Eric stopped to clear his throat "fertility." Kellen could feel Eric's hands trembling, and Eric's pale face was flushed.

"I'm guessing that part of this involves us having sex in the sun?" Kellen replied.

"Not just sex," Eric began "but making love."

"How's that any different from any of the other times we've done so?" Kellen asked, beginning to get annoyed with Eric's oblique answers despite his love for his boyfriend.

"This time will be different because I want you to seed me, both as part of the ritual and to seal our love."

"Oh," Kellen was at a loss for words.

"The thing is, we've been together for almost six months, living together, sharing everything, except in bed." Eric had by now mastered the shaking in his hands, but Kellen definitely felt the sweaty palms. "We've kept that one, last barrier while making love, and I want to remove it on this special day of fertility. I've been off PrEP since the end of COVID, and I haven't seen a prescription in your stuff in the bathroom, so, will you take a rapid test with me?" Eric asked softly, his face had a pleading look which Kellen doubted he could resist, even if he wanted to.

"Of course I will," and Kellen pulled Eric in for a tight hug, and could feel his boyfriend let out a shuddering breath of relief. A few moments later, once Eric had mastered himself, he got up from the exercise mat, went over to his shoulder bag, which was on the shelf next to the front door, and returned with a pair of small boxes, and passed one to Kellen. They read over the instructions, took the samples, waited a short eternity, and confirmed that they were safe after which they embraced, standing in the sunny living room of the apartment.

A few moments later, Eric released Kellen from the embrace and looked up at his boyfriend before speaking. "Could you please go to the bedroom, strip down and wait until I call you in? I promise it'll be worth it."

"Sure," Kellen replied, then retreated to the bedroom, already feeling an erection start, and not a little bit of nerves too. Kellen pulled off his shirt and shorts, then discarded his briefs to let his long, curved cock loose, then looked at himself in the dresser mirror. Kellen did not consider himself much of a looker, with his small nose, high cheekbones and overall skinniness, but he had to admit that his cock looked great. It wasn't all that thick, but it reached the depths of Eric's insides, so much so that Eric had joked that it was the perfect way to scratch an itchy stomach. And now, for the first time in years, it was going to go into another man bare, and not just any man, but his boyfriend Eric MacDonald, who had specifically asked Kellen to breed him.

"Okay, you can come in now!" Eric called, his voice muffled by the bedroom door.

Kellen stepped out into the living room to the smell of fresh incense and the sound of faint ambient music. A small silver chalice was sitting in the middle of the exercise mat, and Kellen heard Eric's voice from the bathroom as the door closed.

"Take a seat on the mat, facing the bedroom and the cup; I'll be out in a few."

Doing as he was told, Kellen sat cross-legged where Eric had instructed him to, and watched the chalice rock dangerously as he did so, its contents sloshing slightly. Idly, Kellen noticed that their bottle of lube, usually stored in the bedside table, was at the edge of the mat, and it occurred to him that going forward, he and Eric wouldn't have to worry about getting condom-safe stuff anymore. He then heard the sound of the faucet in the bathroom turn on, then off, the door opened, and out strode his boyfriend.

Eric's auburn hair hung loose, freed from the hair tie, and gone were his glasses. The amber amulet hung on full display in the middle of Eric's chest, and a braided silver armlet graced his right bicep, opposite the Celtic design tattoo which covered most of his left shoulder in black ink. Otherwise, Eric was entirely nude, his already pale complexion made paler still by the long winter months forcing him to cover up, his ginger pubes giving the lone flash of colour. Kellen saw that Eric's cock was limp, probably from nerves, and for whatever reason, that made him appear even more attractive. Was it a certain what, vulnerability maybe? That must be it, and soon enough the last of their barriers would be gone.

Eric checked his pace for a moment on seeing Kellen waiting for him, almost like a bride being brought to the altar, then took the last couple of paces to the mat, before he knelt across from his boyfriend. Eric closed his pale eyes, took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled slowly, opening his eyes as he did so, then took up the chalice with both hands, and held it in the air between him and Kellen. A few words in Gaelic were spoken, some sort of incantation Kellen thought, then Eric brought the vessel to his lips, and drank deeply.

"Now take the cup from my hands and drink." Eric instructed his boyfriend, and Kellen mimicked what he had seen Eric do, minus the Gaelic phrase, finishing off the remnants of the liquor from within, quickly recognising it as that ghastly honey wine Eric always seemed to have a bottle of. Kellen grimaced as he swallowed the wine, and Eric grinned as he took the chalice back from his boyfriend, and placed it on the floor, safely off the exercise mat.

Kellen felt the heat of the liquor start to course through him, his cock, already hard, felt almost turgid now at the sight of this beautiful creature inches away. Eric reached a hand up to gently caress the side of Kellen's face, the tips of his fingers tracing along that sharp jawline from ear to chin. Kellen in turn placed a hand on Eric's hip, hearing a little intake of breath as he did so, noticing that Eric's cock was quickly catching up to his own, and a little bead of dew was forming at the tip, glistening in the sunlight.

Their lips met in the space between them, at first softly, tentatively, then with a sigh and a deep inhale, the kisses lengthened, and both rose to their knees. Kellen reached out with both hands to grip Eric's firm ass cheeks, pulling his boyfriend in close, their cocks pressed together, Kellen's dark pubes to Eric's ginger ones, Eric's arms reaching up to encircle Kellen's neck. Two racing hearts pounded against each other, kept apart only by skin, flesh and bone.

Eric did his best to suck Kellen's tongue down his throat, while Kellen's hands kneaded his boyfriend's ass, fingertips gently stroking Eric's hole. Kellen then brought his hands up, fingertips skimming along Eric's back, before running his hands through his boyfriend's hair, massaging his scalp, and causing Eric to close his eyes and groan gently.

"I could let you do that to me all day long," Eric breathed as Kellen pulled his head back by the hair, Eric's pale neck stretched, his Adam's apple prominent while his chin pointed to the ceiling. Kellen responded by leaning down and licking up and down his boyfriend's neck before kissing him right on the middle of his forehead. By this point, both of their cocks were freely leaking, Kellen's juices on Eric's belly, Eric's on Kellen's.

"Hold still, let me turn around," Eric said as he disengaged from Kellen's grasp for a moment, spun about, and backed up so Kellen's long tool was nestled against his ass. "Hold me," Eric said hoarsely, and Kellen responded by wrapping his boyfriend up in a tight hug, his slender arms encircling Eric's torso, and Eric wrapped his arms around Kellen's.

"You want to do it like this?" Kellen asked, gently grinding his cock against Eric's perky little butt, the leaky tip drooling against the small of Eric's back. "I can get really," Kellen loosened his embrace, hands sliding to Eric's hips to pull against his hard cock "really deep if we do it like this."

"I like that idea," Eric breathed, his hands coming down overtop Kellen's, then guiding them in toward his taught midriff, and held them there just below his belly button. "Your long cock, plowing deep inside me" Eric's hands were now guiding Kellen's as they made gentle circles against his lower stomach "your seed getting worked into my guts. Spreading it into every little furrow, filling me up with your essence." Eric was now griding hard against Kellen, who saw that Eric's own cock looked almost painfully hard, a bead of juice hanging from the engorged head.

"But why don't you eat me out first, get me ready for that big cock of yours." Eric breathed, releasing Kellen's hands so he could bend over, presenting his pale, lightly fuzzy ass to his boyfriend.

"Fuck," Kellen groaned, and placed a hand on either of Eric's cheeks, pulling them wide to expose the pink rosebud in the middle of those pale mounds. Kellen leaned down, and gently ran the tip of his tongue around the edge of Eric's hole before moving to the centre, the pressure becoming more as he felt the muscle's resistance yield. Soon, Kellen's tongue was as deep as he could get into his boyfriend's ass as Eric made sounds of muffled ecstasy into the exercise mat.

Judging that it was time, Kellen reached over to the lube bottle, and poured a generous amount onto his fingers, then slid first one, then two fingers into Eric's relaxed anus. Kellen twisted his fingers inside Eric to stroke his prostate, and was rewarded with a shuddering coo of pleasure as Eric backed his ass up onto the probing fingers.

"You ready for me to fuck you?" Kellen asked in a husky voice as he lubed up his rock-hard cock, mixing the lube and precum up in a bright sheen along his curved length. It was so tempting for Kellen to wordlessly take Eric from behind, plow him mercilessly and breed him like a bitch in heat, but this was Eric's show, and Kellen wanted to follow his lead.

Eric raised his torso and head up from the exercise mat, then turned his head partway to look back at Kellen through his messy auburn locks. Kellen was on his knees, cock in hand, and poised to enter Eric's tender hole, which was oh so inviting in the afternoon sun. Instead, Eric rose up to his knees as well, turned to face Kellen, then kissed him deeply, the taste of Eric's ass now on both of their tongues.

"I want to take you inside of me; lay on your back, right here." Eric directed, and Kellen obeyed, his head closest to the windows, feet toward the door. Kellen placed his hands behind his head, and looked up at Eric as he stood over overtop, one foot on either side of Kellen's skinny waist. Eric's pale body was lit up by the sun, his hair hanging down to frame his face, the light glinting off the silver armlet and the amber pendant appeared to glow.

Eric sank to his knees, and Kellen watched and felt as Eric reached a hand behind to grasp Kellen's hard, lubed up cock, then slowly guided it to his hole. Kellen felt the warm pressure of his boyfriend's body press down on his cock, then the smoothness of Eric's anus opening up to take his length, before arriving at his second hole. Eric took a breath, closed his eyes, exhaled, and took Kellen fully into him.

The texture changed as his cock sank deeper, and Kellen revelled in the tight, velvety grip of his boyfriend's insides, the thought of his DNA being worked into Eric's insides intoxicating. Putting his hands on the floor behind him, Eric leaned back with a low groan, his eyes still closed, and Kellen was treated to a wonderful view of his boyfriend's lightly defined abs and chest in the sunlight, his cock standing out starkly.

They remained motionless for a few moments until Kellen brought his hands to rest on Eric's hips, and Eric brought himself upright, his full weight bearing down on Kellen's groin. Gently at first, Eric started to rock himself back and forth on Kellen's tool, and with every squeeze and grind, more of Kellen's juices found their way into Eric's ass. Kellen started meeting Eric's movements, thrusting up as Eric pushed down, Eric's dripping cock bobbing in time with their lovemaking.