SquidgeWorld Archive

He's got that metal hand around my throat. Again.

Which I'm really getting tired of, by the way. I mean, it was cool at first...but now it's just really starting to piss me off.

And I'd love to tell him so. But he is nearly choking me, after all. I can't manage more than a strangled little "Zack..." as I dangle there, feet off the floor and back to the wall.

"I remember you," he says with an odd expression.

He remembers me...great. Apparently they aren't good memories. Or so I think... But then he sets me down. My first instinct...laugh all you want...is to flee. But turning my back on him when he asked to talk was what got me airborne in the first place. So I stay put. Coughing and sputtering and recovering my breath.

"You're Ben," he tells me. Uh-oh. Not that again.

"Why does Max call you Alec?" he asks next.

Good question, actually. Why the hell Max does anything she does is a mystery to me. I'd tell him this, too. But suddenly he's leaning close...and the look in his eyes... Somehow it makes me forget what I'm about to say.

"I remember us," he tells me quietly, in almost a whisper.

Then he kisses me.

It's a light kiss...tentative. Like even now he's still remembering, and he's wondering if he's got it right.

It's silent for a long time when he pulls back... And I should just tell him he's wrong. I should tell him I'm not Ben, I'm Alec. But let me just be honest...I'm kinky. That's really all it amounts to. Being Ben is probably the only way I'll ever get a shot at getting this close to Zack without him killing me, and I'm just kinky enough not to care if that's wrong. So sue me.

Anyhow, after he's kissed me, it doesn't seem to matter what I have to tell him. It doesn't matter that Zack-y boy here's just a few nanosites short of the whole package. Doesn't matter that that hand, still lightly grasping my throat, could kill me in a flinch.

It doesn't matter that, after all, I'm not Ben. And I'm not exactly high on Max's list right now. I can just imagine what she'd think if she knew I was here right now...getting a hard-on for her "brother". As if she's got room to talk. Personally, I think she's got the hots for him, too. Not that I mind.

But none of that really matters as I'm standing there...wanting Zack to kiss me again.

And he's just watching me...waiting.

So I take the initiative. I kiss him back...press our bodies together...

I'm not the only one who wants more. I feel the proof straining through our clothing.

"Zack..."

I say his name. Sentimental things, names. But I don't mind using them. I know Max and her kind have a sort of fetish for them.

"Ben..." he says back.

Do I feel a little guilty...hearing him call me Ben? Yeah, I do. Guilt is sort of pesky like that. I wish Max had never introduced me to it.

But why should I feel guilty?

It's not Ben here turning Zack on, it's me. He wants me...even if he doesn't know it. It's not like Ben could be here if he wanted to. Ben's dead. And it's probably better that way. He was my twin... But he was one scary son-of-a-bitch, I can't deny it. If he was around, there's no way I'd let Zack touch me. But he's not around...and Zack and I are. Why shouldn't we make the best of it?

Zack's grip has loosened during this time, and I can stand on my feet again. So I pull back, just a little. He's watching me. And I run a hand down the broad chest in front of me.

"Come back to my place," I offer, feeling a little like an idiot. Yeah, that one's original. But, it's not like Zack notices, so what the hell? "We can see what else you remember," I explain, as if an explanation is needed. Finally, he nods.

As he steps back to let me walk past him, so that I can lead the way, I try not to lick my lips. Whether from desire or anxiety, I can't tell you. But it's probably both.