Shade (The Sanctuary)

Eleven

Diego

The ride operator slid the over-the-shoulder harness in place, and the click was loud in my ears despite the chatter surrounding me. I was equal parts excited and terrified, and I wondered if the lack of sight would make it better or worse.

"Okay?" Shade checked in my ear, and all I could say was a somewhat squeaky, "Mm-hmm."

Before Shade could say anything, the ride started moving forward, and I grabbed onto the bars, my fingers digging into the hard plastic.

My back pressed into the seat as the ride slowly rode up, going higher and higher.

The people behind me cheered, the little girl beside me shrieked, and my heart went thud-a-thud in my chest as the roller coaster slowly came to a stop, suspended in time as everyone sucked in their breaths, even Shade and me .

I knew it was coming, and yet the moment the ride moved again, jerking in place, I gave a shout, along with half the people in the ride.

Before my heart could calm down, though, we fell in one swoop, and everybody screamed.

Wind smacked against my face, and I distantly thought my hair would be a mess again, but mostly, I just screamed and tried to keep my heart from leaping out of my chest.

We went up and down, then spiraled for a bit, and though I couldn't see, I still felt a little dizzy and nauseous by the time the ride came to a slow stop.

The harness was removed, and I stepped-slash-stumbled my way out, Shade's shadows the only thing keeping me from falling.

Since this must be a regular reaction, there were benches set up nearby, and Shade told me about them as he led me to one.

I sat down hard, and I felt his shadows tickle my ankle under my sock. "Are you okay?" he asked through the Bluetooth, and I hummed.

"Just a little dizzy," I said, then grinned. "That was fun. Can we do it again before we leave?"

Shade snorted, then sighed. "Sure, why not."

"How did it feel for you?"

"Ah, hmmm..." Shade trailed off, and I perked up, curious.

"Hmm... what?"

"It was fine," he said in a tone that very much said he was lying.

"Shade," I pressed, and he sighed.

"Okay, so maybe I, uh, I jumped to a different shadow. On the ground. Just in case you fell." He added the last part in a rush, and I grinned.

"Did you get scared?"

Shade scoffed. "No way. "

My grin widened. "When did you leave?"

Shade mumbled something, making my brow raise. "Repeat that, please?"

He sighed like it was such a trouble, then said, "When it reached the top the first time."

I grinned, but then shook my head. "We don't have to go again if you don't want to. There are a lot of other rides we still have to try."

"No, no. I'll stay this time, now that I know for sure you won't fall."

"Whatever you want, my sweet shadow. Now, how about we find something a little less dizzying," I said, and Shade hummed in agreement.

We ended up staying until well into the evening, filling ourselves on all kinds of extremely unhealthy snacks as we tried ride after ride.

It was past seven when we decided to call it a day, and my legs were killing me, but I had a wide grin on my face because it'd been the best day of my life. Okay, second best. The best would be the day I found Shade again.

"Would you like to come back to the Sanctuary? Stay the night?" Shade asked as we walked out of the park in search of a good shadow to travel through. Before I could answer, he added, "I'll bring Pixie over as well, of course. And anything she needs to feel comfortable at my place."

I smiled. He was so damned thoughtful. I loved him.

I stopped short, surprised by my thoughts. It wasn't like I'd never thought that before. I'd loved him as a kid, but that had been a different kind of love. This love, though...

"Everything okay?" Shade asked, making me realize I'd stopped walking altogether .

"Sorry," I said as I started again, and then added, "And yeah, let's go to your place."

"Great! Did you—" My Bluetooth beeped, telling me it was almost out of battery. I was surprised it'd lasted so long in the first place.

"Uh, can you repeat that? My Bluetooth is almost out of battery."

"Oh, here's a shadow. I'll say it once we're home. Come on, to your right."

I let his shadows tug me closer, and then they enveloped me like before, along with Shade's arms. A moment later, the shadows dissipated, but Shade's arms stayed around me.

"We're home," he murmured into my ear, and I smiled, removing the buds from my ear. Taking their case out of my pocket, I put them in to charge before I forgot as Shade took a step back. "Take a seat. I'll go get Pixie."

"Okay," I murmured, then found my way to the couch and settled down, closing my eyes and leaning my head against the backrest. While Shade's home was completely dark, it wasn't quiet.

There was the sound of crickets, and blades of grass moving in a gentle breeze.

The leaves shook every once in a while, and the whole thing made me feel immeasurably calm after the noisy day I'd had.

While I would've been comfortable at home, I lived in an apartment building, and things were never just calm like this. Something was always happening, if not in the building, then out on the streets.

"Meow."

I grinned at the sound, turning my head toward it. "You're back! "

Something warm and fluffy jumped into my lap, and I pulled Pixie close, kissing the top of her head. "Hey, Pix. I missed you."

She meowed again, then butted her head against my hand until I gave her some scratches. The couch dipped beside me, and I turned my body to face Shade, giving him a smile.

"Thanks for bringing her over."

"Of course. I put her food and water near the entrance, and her litterbox is near a tree some three yards right in front."

I smiled, then leaned forward to press a soft kiss on his face.

Since my hands were still occupied with Pix and I'd been taking a guess, I landed just below his lips, my top lip falling against his lower one, while my lower pressed against the dip below his mouth.

Playing it off as if that'd been my intention all along, I sucked his lower lip into my mouth, giving it a gentle bite before kissing him properly.

Pixie, disappointed she no longer had my full attention, leaped off my lap and stalked off, probably to explore this new place. Shade wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close, and I pulled back from his lips to murmur against them. "Where's your bed?"

Shade sucked in a breath, and I shrieked as he picked me up, then carried me deeper into his place.

Shade

Reaching my bed, I gently placed Diego on the mattress, then quickly removed his shoes and socks. He reached for me as soon as I was done, pulling me close as he turned on his side.

I climbed in, then cupped his face between my hands, kissing his soft, pink lips as he made a happy sound, his arms sliding around my waist. While I didn't exactly wear clothes, I did cover myself in my shadows so I appeared somewhat 'clothed' to the people who could see me.

But when Diego touched me, he could feel me with nothing between us, since my shadows were far too wispy to form an actual barrier.

"Your skin is so silky," Diego murmured as he ran his hand up and down my side, and I hummed at the warm touch.

"Your eyes are the deepest brown I've ever seen," I replied, making him smile.

"Yeah? You know, it's weird, but people don't generally talk about my eyes.

It's like they think they'll catch my blindness if they look at them too long," he said, his eyes flickering all over like they would if he could see.

I knew his blindness hadn't been caused by any damage to his eyes, but rather by the damage to the nerve that connected his eye to his brain.

Damage caused by that wretched man who'd thought hitting a ten-year-old kid made him strong.

Sometimes, I wished I'd made him suffer some more.

"Well, they're idiots, because you have beautiful eyes, and I could look at them all night."

Diego snorted, then closed his eyes. "Nope, not tonight. I have plans for tonight."

"Oh? What kind?"

Diego grinned, then leaned forward to smack a kiss on my lips. "That's a surprise. You like surprises, right?"

I snorted, making him chuckle, and I pulled him back into a kiss, wanting to taste his smile.

We made out for a while, and I was just about to suggest Diego lose some of his clothes when there was a knock at the door. I stopped short with my teeth on Diego's neck, then pulled back, much to his annoyance, if his groan was anything to go by.

"Yes?" I called out, unwilling to leave the bed .

"You're back! I was starting to get worried," Liam exclaimed as he opened the door and walked right in.

We were far enough away that he wouldn't see us with his human eyesight, but I still covered us in shadows, not wanting him to see Diego's hazy eyes and flushed skin.

Though I didn't think human sight was good enough to see that even in light.

"Yes, we are," I answered, trying to find a way to get him to leave. Liam was a good friend, but right now, I wished he wasn't.

"Oh, is Diego here too? Did you guys have fun?"

"We did, but we were about to have some more fun, if you know what I mean," Diego chimed in as he sat up, and Liam's eyes widened before a pink blush colored his cheeks.

"Oh! Oh, wow, I'm so sorry. I'm gonna go now, and I'll make sure no one else bothers you."

"Thanks, Liam. We'll tell you about the date tomorrow," I promised him, and he gave a jerky nod before racing out.

"He's far too sweet for this world," Diego grumbled, and I hummed.

"The human world, maybe. But here, everyone adores him."

"That's true," Diego said, then fell back into the mattress, pulling me with him so my body covered his. "Now kiss me some more."

So I did, and when I trailed my finger below the hem of his shirt, he helped me take it off, then removed his pants as well, leaving him in just his underwear.

I ran my palms over his bare thighs, humming when his hair tickled my palm. I didn't have hair on my skin, not even on my head—but I used my shadows to give the impression of it, because it was fun to 'put on' long hair sometimes, and short others—and I liked the way his felt .

"Come here," Diego murmured, then pulled me into another kiss. I slid my leg between his, slotting my thigh against his bulge as my hard length pressed against his. He groaned into the kiss, and then wrapped his hand around my length.

"Fuck!" I gasped into the kiss as he started sliding his hand up and down, then reached for his underwear, ripping it in my haste to get to his cock.

Diego chuckled against my lips, then moaned when I took him in hand, mirroring his movements over my cock.

"Damn, you feel so good. Your skin is so smooth," Diego mumbled as he twisted his hand, making me hiss. Pre-cum dribbled from my tip, as dark as the rest of me.

Diego let go of my cock, and I almost whined. But then he pulled back from our kiss to suck his pre-cum-coated thumb into his mouth, and I groaned, leaking some more of it. I watched as he licked his palm, covering it in his saliva before taking hold of my cock again.

"Line up with mine," he murmured, and it took me a moment to figure out what he meant. He spread his legs, and I moved between them, covering his body until our cocks lined up, and took us both in hand.

I watched as he jerked us off together, hissing at how good it felt to have his silky cock against mine.

Kissing him again, I danced my lips against his as his hand moved over, pushing me closer and closer to my climax. I'd never felt like this before, this need, this desperate desire. It wasn't like I'd never jerked off before, but that had felt nothing like this.

"I'm close," Diego gasped against my lips, his hand squeezing around our lengths, and I hissed, pulling back to turn my attention to his neck.

His skin was soft, and smelled like sweat and light.

Rubbing my nose against his skin, I pressed kisses down the column of his neck as my hips moved of their own accord, thrusting into his hand as we both chased our orgasms.

"Shit!" I gasped as I felt myself tumble over the edge, and Diego shouted my name a moment later, both of us spilling almost simultaneously, our dark and light cum mixing on Diego's hand and belly.

I had a feeling I could quickly get addicted to this, to Diego. If I wasn't already.