Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/646561.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Last_of_the_Wine_-_Mary_Renault, RENAULT_Mary_-_Works
  Relationship:
      Alexias_(Last_of_the_Wine)/Lysis_(Last_of_the_Wine)
  Character:
      Lysis_(Last_of_the_Wine), Alexias_(Last_of_the_Wine)
  Additional Tags:
      Intercrural_Sex, Philosophy, Love
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-01-20 Words: 1868
****** Hazy Summer Afternoon ******
by Vingtieme
Summary
     Lysis and Alexias spend a lazy summer afternoon in pleasure. Lysis
     cannot keep up with Alexias' insatiable libido, so they examine the
     nature of love and Socrates' theories on the matter.
Our bodies slack with satiety, Alexias and I lied together on my couch. No one
was near. The streets were quiet, all Athenians having retreated into the cool
of their houses in the baking heat of the summer afternoon, and all that could
be heard was the sound of insects buzzing in the trees.
Alexias stretched with a lazy felinity and curled closer to me, nuzzling into
my chest. My heart caught in my throat, and an aching fondness for the youth
swept over me. I loved him so. I loved him in his entirety. His mind I loved
for its depth of thought and observation, and for the boisterous arguments it
raised. His tongue I loved for the words that tripped out over it, and for the
way it slid over my own. His body I loved for the way it ran a race, so perfect
that it could be dedicated to the god, and for the hard work it did when there
was need, and for how it had protected me in battle. I loved it also for its
supple muscles and lithe grace, and for the passion it aroused in me. His heart
I loved for the goodness that resided there – the willingness to help anyone
who was in need, the devotion to its family, the love that it had given me, and
for the beating that kept my love alive. His eyes I loved for their blueness,
and for the purity of soul one could see mirrored in them. His curls I loved
for their dark sheen, and for the dust that they caught when I wrestled him to
the ground laughing. Oh, I loved him. And now, as he curled into my chest like
a cat, looking like a flushed god, I felt I could deny him nothing that he
could possibly care to ask of me.
“Lysis,” Alexias purred softly, “want to… do it again?” My eyebrow arched in
mild amusement as he kissed me with coy playfulness.
“Already, Alexias? Aren’t you satisfied?”
“Never,” he replied, still playfully, but obviously lustily. He kissed me more
deeply, and rutted gently against me, and I was surprised to find that he was
already capable of becoming aroused. He was younger than I, of course, and I
suppose I remembered the days when my appetite had been that insatiable. I had
never had a lover, though, and so I had known women young. I was happy that he
was better off than I had been. I had had no one to instruct and guide me.
Although I was flattered by his desire for me, I was slightly concerned.
“Alexias, you should not overindulge. One must take everything in moderation.”
“Oh, come, Lysis, you knowit would please you,” he needled.
My heart beat quicker at the sight of this beautiful youth begging for me, but
the fact was that I was simply worn out, and was not quite ready for what he
was asking. I was mortified that I could not meet his needs. Blushing, I said,
“Socrates would disapprove. He says this sort of love is the basest sort, and
that one should strive to hitch the chariot with two winged horses. If an
earthly horse is yoked beside a beast of the Gods, even the celestial being
will be dragged to earth.”
Alexias was actually quite phased by this comment. Sometimes I thought he loved
Socrates better than he loved me. He longed for his approval, and was quite
casual with regards to mine. Now I understand that this was because he knew me
better but, at the time, I felt something akin to envy.
“Do you really believe that, Lysis? That this sort of love is wrong?”
“I do not know, Alexias,” I replied honestly. I had never given it much
thought.
He pulled away from me and frowned pensively. “It must not be… It must not be
if the gods created it?” He said this last as a question, quietly, unsure of
himself.
“I do not know, Alexias. It is possible that it was created only in order to
beget children. If that is so, then…”
“So if I were a woman, it would be alright? Do you wish that I were a girl,
Lysis?”
I was shocked at the turn this conversation had taken. “Not in the slightest,
Alexias! You know that a girl could never seriously engage me!” I vehemently
protested.
“But what of a wife, Lysis? A woman to whom you will swear your life?!”
“A wife is different! She – ”
“How?! How is she different?! If anything, she is worse, because she can
seriously engage you.”
“Alexias, if you are feeling jealous, I can assure you that I have not betrayed
your trust in any way.”
At this, he looked remorseful. “Oh, no, Lysis, I would never accuse you of such
a thing. Never. I am confused, that is all. Can it be that such a wonderful
thing is damaging to one’s soul? Like gluttony or greed?”
I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to quiet his mind, but possessed no answers
to his questions. All I could think to say was, “Surely not. Not really.”
Alexias was silent then. He turned away from me and sat on the edge of my
couch, and thought for a long moment. Then he looked over his shoulder and said
with conviction, “I think that this sort of intimacy is a legitimate part of
love. I truly believe it to be so, Lysis.”
“Please, my dear, enlighten me.”
“Can it not be said that an animal of the earth is as beautiful as a bird. You
would not frown upon a well-bred chestnut mare simply because she had no wings.
Why, she would look unnatural with them! Is not a tigress as awesomely powerful
as a falcon, despite her inability to fly? Although they are different
creatures, one is no more beautiful or pure than the other. Difference does not
make someone wrong. Do I judge you because your hair is a different shade? Or
your eyes? We are all a part of this world, and we all have our place. Earthly
love is simply a manifestation of celestial love. That pure, deep love can only
be felt within the soul. Therefore, the only way we can display our deepest
love to our lovers is for it to take its earthly manifestations. I do not know
about you, Lysis, but I have never seen a winged horse. Still, we know them to
exist on Olympus. We know that Apollo yokes them to his chariot each morn and
pulls the sun into the sky. And we can imagine what they look like because we
know the form of an earthly horse. If I want to show you my deep, pure,
heavenly love for you, all I must do is present you with its earthly
manifestation.”
Alexias kissed me then, gently, and I smiled against his lips. He pulled away
slightly, and looked into my face. “Why are you smiling?”
“Because I love you.” I pulled him again into a kiss.
Alexias pressed frantically closer to me, triumphant in his victory. He kissed
me fiercely, and all that he wanted I gave to him. I wanted him to be happy.
Pulling away from his swollen mouth panting, I took my lips, teeth, and tongue
to his throat, something I knew he loved. Sure enough, I was rewarded with
high, bitten-off whines, and fingernails in my shoulder blades. I bit
particularly hard at the place where his shoulder met his neck and he cried out
uninhibitedly, rutting his hardness against me.
He pulled me into a bruising kiss and reached down to stroke me. I could tell
that he was embarrassed that I was still flaccid, even as his cock lay thick
and hot against his taut abdomen. He thought, I am sure, that he did not please
me, and I could not bear for such a misunderstanding to go uncontested. I
wanted him to know that I loved him as much as he loved me.
“Alexias, my dear, I am sorry to say I am a bit worn out. I am not as young as
I used to be.”
“Oh, it’s alright, Lysis,” he scrambled to reply, realizing too late my
embarrassing condition. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’ll just – ”
“Nonsense, my dear, I could not deny you a pleasure simply because I cannot
share in it. In fact, it will give me pleasure to give you pleasure. Go and
fetch the oil from the table there and do as I have done with you.”
Alexias’ eyes widened and he shook his head. “No, Lysis. I cannot – you are the
elder! I do not wish to… to dominate you.”
I pulled him into a kiss, laughing. “Silly! Do you think that I wish to
dominate you? Go on!”
I sat up and pushed Alexias gently to the edge of the couch. He stood, and when
he turned hesitantly towards the table, I slapped him firmly on his behind. He
blushed beet red and turn to glare at me accusingly.
I only smiled wider, and he fetched the oil and returned to me, too wanton to
delay any longer. Frantically, he sloshed the oil into his hand and slicked his
aching cock.  He looked askance at me once more.
I cupped Alexias’ cheek and kissed him briefly but firmly on his lovely mouth.
Then, without another word, I turned away from him. Bracing myself on my hands
and knees, I presented my young lover with my backside, pressing my thighs
tightly together. Oddly, I did not feel out of place. This was the first time I
had done this, never having had an erastes myself, but I felt only joy at
giving Alexias what he desired. I never could deny him anything.
His breath came quickly as he pressed against me, fingers scrabbling between us
to slick my thighs with excess oil. Slowly, holding me close to him, he pressed
his hot, wet, hardness between my legs. He moaned my name. I could not help but
grin.
As Alexias thrust, panting, into the heat between my thighs, I intermittently
squeezed him more tightly. Each time I did this, he cried out, and bit back a
few profanities. I laughed internally. I loved to think of what I was doing to
him. Still possessed of the hotheaded hurry of youth, Alexias did not take long
to spend himself. I pulled him to me and kissed him deeply, for as long as I
could manage without air. Smiling, I held Alexias close and breathed in the
scent of his hair as his mind drifted in the aftermath of his pleasure.
After we had cleaned ourselves, we lay together on my couch for as long as we
deemed seemly. One could not lie about all day. Still, an hour by my Alexias’
side was pure bliss. A cool breeze playing gently across our skin, we basked in
each other’s warmth. For one heavenly hour, we drifted in and out of
consciousness, exchanging soft kisses, and whispering endearments over the
peaceful drone of cicadas.
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