Part Thirty (End?)

Clayton carefully approached the being that sat curled up in a ball. Noticing the white hair and folded elf ears, he instantly relaxed. There he was. He was safe. Clayton sauntered up to him and bent down on a knee, tapping the elf's shoulder gently. Oren turned to the human and smiled widely, shooting up to catch him in a hug.

"I see you're awake." Oren's smile shifted to a cheery grin. "Don't you like this place? No humans. No technology. No pollution. Clayton, this is amazing." Oren sounded utterly awed. Clayton could see the wonder and reverence clear in his eyes.

"Yeah, it's fascinating, but.. Why'd you come here? Is something bothering you?" Clayton asked, now sitting on the ground next to the elf. Oren paused, seeming to be in thought.

"It just... called to me. I didn't want to be around that world of yours. It all looks too broken, but I know this may seem like a too-good-to-be-true fantasy to you." Oren looked down and fiddled with a white flower on the ground. "I like this place. It suits me more than the over-world."

Clayton slackened. Had he not seen the woman dressed in fiery colors? The one who disappeared in a ball of light? "Yeah, I understand that. But... Have you seen the woman who lives here?"

Oren shook his head. "I thought I created it.. It's not supposed to welcome strangers in."

Clayton grinded his jaw nervously. "She spoke to me while I was trying to find you. She said she made this world and wasn't finished. You must've interrupted her work." Clayton tried to put it as gently as possible, but Oren scoffed.

"You think it's my fault? I didn't even know someone was behind all of this. You could've told me sooner.. Everything would've made so much more sense." he bickered.

"No, I'm not saying it's anyone's fault. I just found out by speaking to her a few minutes ago. She might've stayed and we can catch up to her if we're quick enough." Clayton replied, frowning.

"I thought this was going to be a private place, where there's no bizarre things happening to me. To us. A safe place, like your bedroom. I-" he remembered feeling a pair of eyes scrutinizing him before he fell asleep last night. "That must've been her if she's the one behind this portal thing. But how did she know that we'd... go here..?" he trailed off into thought and Clayton lolled his head back against his shoulder blades.

"This is getting nowhere." Clayton made an effort to get up, but he was dragged back down by the elf.

"It might seem like it, but I think I can grasp what's going on now. This might be a reach, but I think the sand could be linked to the woman you saw. So that must mean she's Euthenia, you know, the Guide on my phone. Mind you, I'm thinking all of this is linked. That's why the phone acted strange when I disabled her. The holes in the temple that were blocked by gems, those must be from not finishing the dimension in time before we arrived."

"Explain the rabbit that tried to kill you then." Clayton protested.

"I... I haven't gotten that far." Oren slumped and fell back onto the ground, looking up at the green canopy above them. It made a lovely sight, really. But now that the truth's been revealed about these dimensions, that they were created by some random lady, seems a little disappointing.

"Oren, I know you wanted this to be your thing. Your little happy place..." Clayton's voice rang in the thick air, splitting the silence. "but I don't think that's what the woman will think. I don't know where she is now, but maybe--"

A deafening screech resonated through the air, making Oren's sensitive ears fold back against his head. It echoed and bounced, scattering all birds that once rested in the treetops. Oren shot up and looked around with wide eyes. There was nothing to his left, but when he turned right he could just barely see the rising particles of a hungry yellow flame. The ashes lifted and caught onto tree leaves.

"Why... a fire..?" Oren murmured, scrambling to his feet. He felt his heart squeeze painfully at the sight of the rising fire. He began to dash for the blazing flame, using all his willpower to push through bushes and weave past tree trunks. Clayton followed behind closely, though he was slightly faster than the elf running ahead of him.

"What--" Oren's words were intervened by a fit of coughing and he stumbled on his feet. The red-orange glow that kindled the forest only grew blinding as Oren searched for a way to stop it. He only had plant powers, none of which contain water.. As he tried thinking, the flames grew taller and he was shoved out of the way by Clayton, causing them to topple to the ground.

Oren began to cough again and the blond shielded him from the building smoke that fogged their vision. The human landed on Oren's leg, making it twist unnaturally. Oren let out a cry and pawed at Clayton's arm, trying to look over his shoulder. The human's body drew close and blocked his view. The elf felt his eyes water as the animalistic shrieking died out.

"Cl--" He stammered, leg throbbing as he scratched at the hot grass. "Have to- get back home--"

The human nodded and scooped the elf up in his arms, beginning to sprint even with the extra weight on his hands. Oren held onto him desperately, hiding his face in the cloth of Clayton's shirt as to try and sooth his worries. The tears were already falling by this point, and the fact that he knew he was slowing Clayton down wasn't making things any better.

"Clayton..." he muttered through the cloth. "Just drop me if you have to.."

Once the loud crackling of burning wood grew quiet, Clayton slowed and caught his breath. 'Guess Cross Country paid off after all.' he thought. He kept Oren in his arms though, noticing briskly that he'd been crying as he ran from the massive fire. Speaking of fire, he looked behind himself to see the flames only rising higher as they conquered most of the land.

It was hard to believe they were just fine a minute ago.

Clayton adjusted Oren in his grip and soothed the poor elf. He could feel the boy vigorously trembling in his hold. "Don't worry, we're gonna be fine. We're gonna get back home..." Winded, he scanned the area only to find limited paths he could take.

"Clayton, what the hell happened..?" Oren's raspy voice came from below, sounding drained and hopeless. His tone didn't sound like his own; it was too dismal. "We were safe... The next thing you know, we're thrown into a wildfire. There's slim to no chance of us surviving." He looked up, frustrated.

However, it didn't matter how angry or down he was, the tears kept coming. "I'm not good under pressure and we don't know where the portal is, the fire is gaining on us and we don't have much breathing room left--" he wheezed, "--Clayton, I'm gonna slow you down."

"Doesn't matter if you slow me down. We're both getting out of here alive." The blond turned back to see the fire's progression. It was gaining quickly; growing forth only a meter away. Clayton began to run again, this time slower from the weight on his aching arms.

The blond wheezed and fought the tight burn in his chest. He was losing his breath quickly, and his legs felt as if they were already caught in the flames. He stopped briefly before adjusting Oren in his hold and took off again, eyes desperate for any sign of the way back home.

"I'm slowing you down! Come on, just let me go!" Oren insisted. Clayton had looked at him as if he'd grown three heads. Wide, full-blown eyes stared him down as his hands grasped the boy tighter.

"I am not leaving you behind, Oren! Are you crazy?!"

The crackle was growing louder. The roaring, screeching and sizzling cries of pained animals. Everything was obliterated, and if they don't get out of there soon, they will be too. Clayton's eyes searched frantically for an exit and he spotted only a fleck of green. Hope flushed in his chest as he took a sharp right turn. He dashed for the portal and leaped in before the flames engulfed the exit. He clutched Oren tightly as they crossed.

Both boys wheezed and panted as they clashed over one another on the floor, coughing up smokey air as they took in cleaner oxygen. Oren hung onto Clayton for dear life even after they collapsed. The elf's tears were drying on his cheeks when he smelled the familiar scent of Nutmeg, and the comforting essence of Clayton all around him. He breathed out in relief and inhaled again, hoping all of this was just a horrible dream.

Once Clayton caught his breath, he gently let go of Oren when the elf reached up and grabbed his wrist, knuckles pale and nails digging into the skin from his biting force. "Clayton," he huffed every now and then, still trying to calm his thundering heart. "You could've just left me back there.. You would've had a better chance."

Clayton pulse leaped. "That's a load of bull and you know it. I can't even stand the thought of losing you, especially if I let you slip away willingly. I would rather throw myself in those flames to rescue you. I would die just to see you live, idiot." he was practically seething now, hot tears forming at the edges of his eyes.

"You can't do that to me. You can't give up on yourself. Listen to Heath, he's your brother. He'd be crushed to see you lose hope like that." Clayton sighed loudly and took Oren's face in his hands. He leaned down and smashed their lips together, Oren's eyes almost instantly fluttering closed as Clayton tried to push his tears back.

The blond slowly pulled away and kissed the spot under his jawline, where he was most sensitive. Oren couldn't help but whimper shyly at the attention. His mind was no longer pressed to the forest fire that just happened. The elf tensed as the blond kissed light trails down the side of his neck.

"You know what? I love you, and if anything ever happened to you, I'd probably die. Or do something crazy to try and get you back. I'd literally go insane. All I need is for you to be safe, healthy and happy." Clayton traveled back up to catch Oren's lips in his for a second time, but this kiss was less rushed.

Clayton gently brushed the white hair away from Oren's face and left kisses over the apples of his cheekbones, his forehead and even his eyelids as he made sure to shower the elf in attention. "Oren, I want..." he trailed off into silence and Oren cupped his face in his freckled hands.

Oren swiped his thumb over Clayton's cheek and smiled sweetly. "What do you want?" Clayton leaned down and sighed into Oren's neck, making the boy below him tremble. Oren opened his hand and let a gentle vine sprout from his palm, watching as it crawled over Clayton's shoulder blades to bring him closer.

"I wanna.." Clayton took a breath and sat up to look Oren in the eye. His expression was a mix of ardor and frustration as his lips broke out into a smile. He couldn't fight the feeling of that dreadful disconnection between them and brought his hand along Oren's side, lifting the boy's woolen sweater up as his grinning lips closed around the side of Oren's neck.

Oren hummed at the gesture. "You need to finish your sentence." he noted jokingly, which sprouted a pulse between the two. Yeah, the lips on his neck felt amazing, but it seemed like Clayton was holding back from saying something too explicit. The elf let out a stuttering gasp when Clayton lazily rolled his hips against his.

"That's what I want." the human pulled away from the elf's neck with a pop. Oren had absolutely no experience with that spectrum of a relationship. He was a little apprehensive, but he quickly remembered he was with Clayton. The human had hardly ever hurt him throughout their long time together. The elf blinked back to reality to see a patient Clayton staring back at him.

"Do you want to?" Clayton asked after a moment of silence. With those desperate eyes and soft eyebrows, the elf couldn't find himself to turn the offer down. Oren cracked a soft smile and huffed out a patch of breath.

"Yes. I do want to.." the elf replied and after a whole minute of progressively heated kissing, Clayton stood and brought the elf over to a more comfortable surface than the floor. He gently sat Oren down at the edge of the bed and knelt down in front of him.

Clayton could just feel the bashfulness melting from the elf. He gingerly rubbed Oren's arm in reassurance and said, "It's okay. I'll take it slow, I promise."

IHIHIHIH SKIP THINGY

A/N: To read the rest of this scene, you'll have to go to my profile, select the book called, "Private Chapters (NSFW)" and find this scene. I was too embarrassed to write it down in the main book.

The blond opened his eyes to a sunlit bedroom and a beautiful sight laying next to him. Clayton slowly sat up, the sheets rolling off his abdomen. The dull ache in his back became evident, and a wave of chills flushed his entire body.

The human remembered that he was completely naked. Oren was still sleeping; white hair disheveled and bruised mouth ajar. His reddened eyes were blissfully closed and his white eyelashes brushed over freckled, emerald cheeks.

Clayton felt an involuntary smile come to his face as he looked over the slumbering elf. Quietly shifting his gaze, he found three rose petal hickeys peppering Oren's neck. His eyes trailed down to his collarbone, only to find two more. Memories instantly flooded over from last night as he gave Oren a soft kiss to the forehead.

He stood clumsily and dressed himself in clean clothes before Oren woke up. After brushing his hair, he opened the bedroom door to find Ava standing there, looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"Are you just gonna leave him there?" she asked playfully. Clayton flinched and glanced to the side. "Why didn't you tell me you guys were together? I would have loved to know." she inquired, failing to display a single sign of anger or disappointment. Clayton opened his mouth to speak but Ava cut him off.

"-and did you two at least use protection last night? You caused quite a ruckus." she asked additionally, a smirk haunting her lips as she spoke. She knew that her pestering was getting somewhere with her son.

With a curt turn of his head to hide his growing blush, Clayton responded, "Of course we did. I stole them from dad's bedroom a while ago..." he turned back briefly and retrieved a small strip of latex condoms with one obviously missing. The used one was tied up and thrown in the trash bin next to the door.

"Well, I'm really proud of you. Just make sure to be a bit quieter next time." the woman grinned with a following giggle, shooting her son a look that read, "I heard and couldn't fall asleep."

"Clayton.." the human heard a raspy voice from behind him. He turned to see Oren who supposedly awoke from their conversation. He shot his elven boyfriend an expectant look as he waited for words to spill. "Help me sit up, please." the sleepy elf muttered, reaching up to rub his sore eyes. Ava simply snickered to herself and quietly closed the door behind her.

"Are you okay?" Clayton speed-walked over to the elf, leaning down to press a hand to his bare back. His other hand held Oren's as he helped the boy sit up. The covers drooped from his chest, exposing all of the clearly visible love marks that Clayton left on him the night prior.

"I-I'm fine... My back and hips just hurt a little." Oren scrunched his face up slightly, managing to sit up with the aid of his boyfriend. He looked up to the blond, not even aware of the fact that most of his nude body was exposed to the other.

"I'm sorry." Clayton chuckled softly with pity. As a quiet apology, he leaned over and nuzzled his head into the crook of Oren's neck for comfort. The elf happily accepted the apology, breaking a soft smile.

"You're fine. I had fun nonetheless, so it was worth it." Oren chuckled, earning a light slap to the shoulder.

___

Seven Years Pass

Clayton swiftly entered the small child's bedroom and picked up the three month old boy from his crib. "It's all right, Hunter.. Shh, it's fine. You're okay." the father coaxed, cradling the perturbed baby in his arms with Gavin sitting quietly by his feet. Gavin was a small Yorkie that they rescued a few weeks back.

"Are you all right, Clay? Hunter?" Oren asked, peeking around the open door frame. His wide yet vivid eyes scanned the room for any source of danger. Luckily, there was none detected.

"I'm twenty-seven, Oren. I think I can handle a baby." Clayton laughed, motioning for him to step into the room. Oren was about to retort but suddenly the words were shoved back into his throat. He grew distracted by the smirking blond.

"What?" Oren inquired with a tilt of his head, looking out of their window and followed Clayton's gaze... He saw the outside achromatic world, dead as per usual.

"Nothing at all, I remember when we went into portals. Pfft, how immature. We weren t even prepared for the obvious dangers." Clayton laughed as he reminisced of great memories that were taken place only years ago. The moments were still vivid and fresh in his mind.

The corners of Oren's mouth curled into a pleased smile as he dove back into the flurry of their past. "Yeah... I still remember that. It seems as if it were just yesterday though." he replied, turning back to look at the man fondly.

"My heart will always hold a special place for those memories." Oren said, grinning.

THE END

?

Thank you for reading. :)

.

This has a sequel!