Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/1055472. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: M/M Fandom: The_Sentinel Relationship: Jim_Ellison/Blair_Sandburg Character: Jim_Ellison, Blair_Sandburg Additional Tags: Alternate_Universe_-_College/University Series: Part 1 of Soldier_Boy Collections: 852_Prospect_Archive, Artifact_Storage_Room_3 Stats: Published: 2013-11-23 Words: 4527 ****** Soldier Boy ****** by elaine Summary Blair and Jim meet during Blair's first year at Rainier University Cascade 1985 “How about that one?” Tony pointed to a tall, skinny guy with fashionably shaggy blond hair and a loose, athletic stride. “Basketball, man, what else?” Blair asserted confidently. “And… maybe.” “Like you'd have a chance anyway.” Tony grinned and elbowed him in the ribs. “What about her?” Blair's gaze lingered on the girl – not too tall, which was definitely a bonus, slim build and a sensual way of moving. Latina, and very pretty. “Um… I'd guess soccer. But she's not my type.” “Your type?” Tony hooted. “You've got a 'type', Twinkletoes? I thought you'd screw anyone. If they'd ever let you.” “Hey!” Blair pretended offence, but couldn't maintain it for very long. A long, hot late-Fall afternoon spent watching the passing crowd and playing 'guess the sport' had left him lazily aroused – not that he wasn't in a perpetual state of semi-arousal anyway – but not, for some reason, particularly interested in doing anything about it. Not yet, anyway. Later, when he got back to the dorm, then sure. Maybe he and Tony could jerk off together and… “Holy shit…” Blair stared open-mouthed at a soldier with a very new set of lieutenant's bars who'd paused to stare out over the river at something Blair couldn't see. “Okay, football, definitely. And oh, my god, yes…” Tony almost fell over laughing and Blair frowned. “Hey. Come on!” “Not. A. Hope. In. Hell.” Tony was barely able to control his sniggers enough to get the words out. “Yeah? Watch me.” Blair scrambled to his feet, all five foot five of him, and would have stalked off if Tony hadn't caught him by the ankle. “Hey! Let go!” “Don't be stupid, Blair.” Tony was serious now, “He'll take you somewhere and beat the crap out of you. If you're really lucky that's all he'll do.” It gave Blair pause for a moment, but he was a good judge of character. All those years living and travelling with Naomi… he might be only sixteen (and a half), but he'd lived. He'd seen far more than Tony, in spite of the other boy's almost two years seniority. His instincts told him Soldier Boy was safe, and he trusted his instincts. But Tony was looking really worried, and he didn't want to worry his friend, so he smiled cheekily and said, “What do you think I'm going to do? Go up and grab him by the balls? I'm just gonna go talk to him, okay?” “Be careful, Blair.” Tony still looked worried, but he released Blair's ankle and added, with an attempt at lightness: “Don't do anything I wouldn't do.” “You never do anything fun, chickenshit.” Blair grinned as Tony flipped him off and trotted easily across the grass in the direction of his prey. There were a few earnest joggers, one pair a couple of obvious queers in matching outfits, but most people were simply milling around, strolling, walking the dog or skating along the paths. It wasn't difficult to time his arrival into Soldier Boy's life with a small knot of giggling teenaged girls (probably admiring him as much as Blair was, though he seemed as completely oblivious to the girls as he was to Blair) and, in dodging around them, to stumble artistically into the tall figure. That was where his plan began to fall apart. Instead of trying to save Blair and himself from the collision, Soldier Boy went down with Blair tangled around him, landing half on top of Blair and damn near crushing him to death. Okay, so that wasn't optimal, but Blair wasn't inclined to complain too much. He lay, happily breathless, staring up into the bluest eyes he'd ever seen, including his own in the mirror, and a face that was… like… he flailed, floundering for words to describe the masculine beauty before him. “Sorry, kid. I didn't see you there.” Soldier Boy got to his feet and held down a hand to Blair. “Are you okay?” “Yeah. I'm fine,” Blair wheezed, and took the hand, trying not to look like he was reaching for the Holy Grail. He tried to bounce athletically to his feet, but only managed an undignified scramble. “Ow! Son of a bitch!” Soldier Boy knelt and inspected his ankle while Blair hopped erratically on his left foot trying to keep his equilibrium. After a moment he put his hand on the broad shoulder for balance. He saw Tony watching them and grinned triumphantly. Mission accomplished. “I don't think it's sprained.” Soldier Boy released his ankle; reluctantly, Blair thought. He looked up at Blair. “Try putting some weight on it.” He did, gingerly, then winced, though actually it only twinged a little. “It hurts like a motherfucker.” “Your dad ever hears you say that he'll ground you for a month, Junior.” The blue eyes twinkled a little. “Think you can make it to that bench or should I carry you?” “It's a tempting offer, but I can walk.” Blair gave up the image of Soldier Boy sweeping him off his feet Scarlett O'Hara style with a small regretful pout. “And I don't have a dad, so I guess I'm safe.” “Your mom, then.” Soldier Boy walked at his side, watching him carefully. Blair reminded himself to limp. “She's in Nepal right now.” Blair sat on the bench and bent to rub his ankle. He looked up as Soldier Boy sat beside him, frowning. It looked good on him – he had nice, dark, well-defined eyebrows; nothing like the furry smudges over Blair's eyes. “It's okay, I'm at the university. Rainier.” “Aren't you a little young for that, Chief?” He could have looked impressed instead of sceptical, Blair thought. “I'm smart”, he said simply. Soldier Boy seemed to be weighing something in his mind. Then, decision clearly made, he held his hand out. “James Joseph Ellison, Lieutenant, Army Rangers, ODA-731.” It was a strange way for a guy to introduce himself, and Blair blinked. “Uh… nice to meet you. Blair Sandburg.” He took the hand hesitantly, shook it briefly and released it. “It's just…” Ellison smiled, and… wow… “I get the feeling I'm in dangerous territory here. You can call me Jimmy. Jim.”  “Jimmy Jim?” Blair pretended to consider it, then grinned. He knew he was almost irresistible when he grinned. It was one of the few advantages of being young, small, and skinny, and he knew how to use it to its full potential. “How about I just call you Jim?” Okay, so maybe he'd laid it on a bit thick, but there was no reason for Jim to roll his eyes like that. But… Blair was starting to like him, and not just because Jim was the hottest guy he'd ever met. Jim leaned back, stretching out legs that went on forever. “Whatever suits you, Sandburg.” Sandburg. He liked the sound of it in Jim's mouth. Liked the way it sounded: grown up, mature. “You live around here, or are you on, like, leave or something?” “My family's from here.” It wasn't quite an answer. “I'm shipping out in a couple of days and I had a weekend pass.” Jim shrugged. “I didn't really know where to go, so…” “So I guess you don't need a guide, then.” Well, that was one gambit that wasn't going to fly, but Blair could think of a few others. “Maybe you could show me around. You know, the places only the locals know about?”  “The kind I can take a fourteen year old to?” Jim looked at him teasingly and Blair wondered if he realised how flirtatious he was being. Probably not. “Hey, I'm sixteen, okay?” The offended tone wasn't entirely an act, even though, to be fair, he didn't really look his age. “Oh, well. That makes all the difference, Chief.” A large hand ruffled his short, depressingly fluffy, curls.  “I've been to a few places.” The kind where they were willing to turn a blind eye to IDs of dubious authenticity. “Club Doom, and Marco's, and… and Haze.” The cards were well and truly on the table now. If Jim was irretrievably straight he probably wouldn't know about Haze, and if he wasn't… well, he might know enough to want to beat the crap out of Blair. He met Jim's eyes with a touch of nervous defiance.  Jim shook his head with a small grimace. “You really are a piece of work, kid.”  “Just open minded.” Blair relaxed a little. Jim hadn't got up and walked off, so he wasn't that offended. “My mom lived on a lot of communes when I was a kid. I don't judge.” “Yeah, well maybe I do.” Jim frowned at him. “You should be more careful who you try to pick up, Chief.” “I'm careful.” Blair offered a small smile. “And I like girls too. It's just… guys are easier, you know? Girls are… are…” he gestured vaguely, not finding words adequate to encompass the workings of womanhood. “You mean guys will screw anything?” Lips a thin, flat line. Not good. “Not every guy. Chief… Blair… did someone… I mean…” “Nobody's molested me, if that's what you mean.” Jesus. Blair could do without the 'bad touching' lecture. He heard it often enough from Naomi, until he'd hit twelve and then it had become the 'exploring your sexuality' lecture. As soon as she found out he'd actually started having sex, it would no doubt mutate into the 'safe sex' lecture, as if he needed that. “I like having sex. Who wouldn't?” Jim relaxed a bit. “Can't argue with that.” “So, are you gonna…” he gestured again, vaguely obscenely, “like… you know…” “Celebrate my last days of freedom?” Jim sighed tipping his head back to stare up at the sky. “I've thought about it.” Blair looked at him speculatively. Maybe he could talk Jim into a threesome. He'd love to try that sometime. Tony only ever let him watch. For instructional purposes, they told the girls. Tony always jerked him off later, but it wasn't the same. “Well, maybe we could…” he threw up his hands in surrender as Jim glared at him. “I'm talking about girls, Jim. You could pretend to be my big brother. You'd be surprised how hot girls find that kind of stuff. There's this guy I know? Tony? He and I, we …” “No.” Jim's voice was firm, but without heat. “I've got a little brother and that's just creepy.” Blair thought about just making an unambiguous pass at him and decided it probably wasn't a good idea. He sighed. “What?” Jim rolled his head to the side to watch Blair.  “I was just wondering if you'd ever thought about it… doing it with a guy, I mean.” Because that would be so incredibly hot. God, he was getting hard just thinking about it. “How about we not talk about this any more?” Jim sat up, tugged his uniform jacket straight. For a moment, Blair thought he might get up and walk off. “Okay. You want to do something? There's this great beach…” “I know where the beach is. Local kid, remember?” Oh yeah. “Wanna go?” “Not really. Sand's a bitch to get out of the uniform.” Jim must have seen something in the expression on his face. He scowled. “Don't you think about anything but sex?” “Outside of school?” Blair pretended to consider the question, then grinned. “Nope, not really.” Jim laughed good-naturedly. “Hungry?” “I'm always hungry. There's a Mr Tube Steak… no really, that's what it's called, Jim, I promise… a couple blocks away, by the university. I buy them a lot.” Jim shook his head in resignation. “Let's go then.” *** It seemed Jim's Boy Scout-ness didn't extend to refusing to buy Blair a beer. One, lousy beer. Still, he only had one himself, so Blair couldn't complain too much, he supposed. They wandered around the campus as the light faded into actual night, talking amicably about whatever that occurred to them. Or, mostly, whatever occurred to Blair. It got to the time when a horny guy who could get into any club in town would naturally just dump his much younger sidekick. And then it got past that time. And then way past that time, and still Jim was hanging around. Blair weighed up his chances and started limping, not very noticeably. Jim noticed immediately. “You okay, Chief?” “My ankle's getting sore again. Maybe I should…” he let his voice trail off reluctantly. “Yeah. Sorry to keep you out past your bedtime, Sport.” Jim seemed genuinely sorry at the prospect of parting. “I'll walk you back to your dorm.” “Thanks.” They turned back, and Blair glanced curiously up at Jim. For a local kid, he sure didn't speak much about his family. “You staying with your folks? Is it far?” “No, I…” Jim hesitated, shook his head. “It's complicated. I don't get on with my old man.” “Got a motel room?” Blair waggled his eyebrows meaningfully and Jim flushed. “Jeez, Sandburg, give it a rest. No, I haven't got a motel room. Yet.”  “You could stay with me.” The offer was genuine enough, and if something happened, well that would just be a bonus. “My roomie's out of town for the weekend.” “Is that allowed?” “Just no girls.” Blair shrugged and grinned. “Told you guys were easier.” Jim laughed. “If I say no you'll probably just go stalk some other guy, won't you?” “Maybe. If he's as hot as you.” Blair watched as a tide of red spread up Jim's cheeks. “Aw, come on. Don't tell me you don't know you're hot. Have you got a bag or something?” “At the Railway station.” Which was on the other side of town. “I can get a toothbrush at the drugstore. I assume you've got soap and toothpaste.” “Yeah, sure.” And KY. Blair smiled happily, putting a hand on Jim's back and giving him a tiny shove. “There's a drugstore just around the corner.” *** There was no way any guy could look as good as Jim did wearing only a towel and still be one hundred per cent straight. Blair felt the heat rising in various parts of his body and tried not to drool. He managed it, but not by much; not nearly enough for Jim not to notice. “Blair…” Jim reached for his shorts and hesitated. He was still damp from the shower, his body long and lean, and just starting to fill out of teenaged lankiness. “This is crazy. I'll go find a motel.” “No. It's okay, honestly, Jim.” He leered theatrically, “your virtue's safe with me.” “It's not my virtue I'm worried about.” Jim muttered, and Blair felt his jaw drop open. “You mean… oh, great…” he scrambled off his bed and threw himself bodily at Jim. “Oh, man, this is so fantastic. I…”  “Blair, you're underage.” Jim pushed him away and scrubbed a hand over his shorn hair. “It's against the law.” “I won't tell anyone.” Blair pulled his sweater off over his head, still talking. “And Naomi wouldn't mind if she knew. She doesn't believe in the law interfering in people's private lives and…” Jim laid his hand across Blair's mouth. “I… Jesus, Blair, I feel like a pervert for just thinking about it. Not to mention…” “The guy thing?” Blair's insides melted. He really was a virgin. It would be the first time Blair knew more than his partner about what they were doing, and that was a strangely arousing thought. “We can just fool around a bit. God, Jim, I want you so much.” Heat flared in Jim's eyes. Blair kissed him. After the first shock of surprise, Jim responded. Oh god, how he responded, leaning into the kiss, his mouth all wet heat and eager questing tongue. When Blair drew back to breathe, Jim followed, seizing Blair's lower lip between his teeth and sucking gently, lips pressing, taking sipping little tastes of Blair's mouth. He'd never experienced anything like it, and when Jim pulled away, he looked as dazed as Blair felt. “Lie down.” The hoarseness of his voice shocked Blair. He swallowed hard. “Just come lie down, okay?” Jim hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. He went over to the bed and lay on his back, is eyes fixed on the cracked paint of the ceiling. Nervousness was written in every line of his body. Blair managed not to grin as he shucked his boxers and perched on the bed wearing only the t-shirt he used for sleeping in. Only a slight flicker of his eyelids betrayed Jim's interest in the stiff dick that was pushing at the hem of Blair's t-shirt. A muscle jumped in the finely chiselled jaw. “Maybe we shouldn't…” His voice trailed off as Blair slid his hand over Jim's chest, brushing lightly against one already peaked nipple. As Jim sucked his breath in, the muscles in his belly tightened, falling away so that the top of the towel sagged loosely at his waist. “God… oh, god…” “You like that?” Blair grinned happily. First base already. Guys were definitely easier. “You know, a guy's nipples are just as sensitive as a girl's. When I'm… some day, I'm gonna get my nipples pierced. I've heard it makes them much more sensitive.” Jim was too busy groaning and arcing into his touch to say anything, but that was okay. He rolled the hard little tip between his thumb and finger, enjoying the effect he was having on Jim. He liked Tony, but Jim was in an entirely different league, and just touching him like this was making Blair hard enough that his balls were aching.  He leaned over and sucked Jim's nipple, sending a shudder through them both, until Jim pushed his head away. “Too much. I'm gonna come if you don't stop.” “That would be an awful waste.” Blair grinned, high on the power of being able to turn on someone who was as hot as Jim was. He licked his lips nervously, “Can I touch your dick?” Jim looked away, flushing vividly; but then he nodded. “Yeah”, he said hoarsely. “Please.” His hands were actually trembling as he loosened the towel and slid one hand between it and the hot, smooth skin of Jim's belly. There wasn't a hair on him that Blair could see, or feel; unlike Blair's own body, which was already getting pretty damned hairy. Then his questing fingers found the solid shaft of Jim's dick and he pretty much stopped thinking for a while. Jim didn't even notice when Blair eased the towel completely open. He was lying with one arm flung across his eyes, his head turned away from Blair as if he couldn't bear to watch what Blair was doing to him. Blair didn't mind; Jim was obviously getting off on it – his lower lip was bitten to redness and his other hand had a white-knuckled grip on the bedding. And, oh god, that was one gorgeous dick – ivory pale at the base and darkened to carmine at the tip. Blair eyed the clear beads of moisture gathering in the slit and spilling over the crown and felt his gut hollow out in anticipation. “You want me to suck you?” He'd never offered before, not to anyone. It crossed a line he wasn't sure he wanted to cross – trading hand jobs with guys was one thing, but blowjobs? That was for fags, and Blair hadn't ever thought of himself like that. There was, it seemed, a limit to his open-mindedness. But he wanted to do it; ached to put that slick, wet tip in his mouth, even if he wasn't exactly sure how to proceed from there. And when Jim didn't answer right away, he bit his lip in confusion and disappointment. Maybe it would cross a line for Jim, too. Maybe Jim would end the whole thing right now. Then Jim's dick twitched urgently against his palm, and Jim said, on a hitching, indrawn breath, “Fuck, yes.” “Okay. Keep still, though. I haven't done this before.” Jim eyed him from beneath his forearm and Blair added hurriedly, “Much.” He leaned over Jim's groin and licked cautiously at the thickened shaft, about halfway up. He licked again, following the line of a gnarled looking vein; felt the pulse of it against his tongue, and wow, that was something else. He thought he was going to like this. Jim was almost motionless; his jaw clenched and twitching with the effort, and the only other part of him moving was his dick. Blair finally grabbed hold of it around the base, and that made it easier to lift the heavy shaft and run his tongue over the slick, swollen head. Jim groaned helplessly, but didn't move. To his relief it tasted okay, but then Jim had only just got out of the shower; there was only a trace of musk and a thin saltiness that wasn't unpleasant. With a tiny sigh of relief, Blair went to work, licking enthusiastically until Jim gasped and pushed his head away again. “Too much?” He waited for Jim's nod, his fingers moving restlessly at the base of his dick. “Okay, I'll just suck you for a while. It's not so intense.” At least that's what Tony had told him. He'd never offered to demonstrate, the lousy bastard. It turned out to be easier than he'd expected. He took it slowly, closing his lips around the shaft just below the crown and bobbing his head up and down a bit awkwardly. Jim seemed to like it, and Blair soon got used to the feel of something so big in his mouth. He even managed to go a little deeper, which made Jim groan again, and shudder.  Daringly, Blair slid his free hand between Jim's thighs and began to squeeze his balls gently. Jim moaned his appreciation, shifting his legs further apart, though he still hid behind his forearm. The tremors that ran through his body were strengthening, and Blair realised he was going to come soon. For a moment he even considered letting Jim come in his mouth, but he wasn't sure he could manage that. Wasn't sure he wanted to, either. “Sorry,” he whispered, his fingers sliding up to just below the crown. “I don't think I can…” “It's okay, Chief.” Jim let his arm drop away, but after just a brief glance at Blair, closed his eyes. “I don't think I can keep still…” he groaned, his body jerking as Blair slid his thumb over the crown. “Oh, god…” “Yeah. Let it go, man…” He slid his circled fingers down and up again, tugging insistently. And again, as Jim's hips rose, following his guiding fingers, then pushing into them urgently. Little gasping cries escaped Jim now, his control ruined, shattered, and he drove into Blair's fist, freezing at the height of the thrust as his dick pulsed fiercely. Blair watched it all, avidly – the effortful rise of Jim's sweat slick chest, the rictus of climax distorting the handsome face, the thick jets of come erupting from his slit to spatter across his belly and chest. He thought he might even come too, just from watching; it was the hottest thing he'd ever seen in his life. Beside him, Jim slumped into sated bliss, his breath flowing out in a soft groan. Blair clutched at his own dick and tried to force back his imminent climax with a few deep breaths. He succeeded after a moment and opened his eyes to see Jim watching him with sleepy amusement. “Want me to take care of that?” He didn't need to ask twice. “Fuck, yeah. Anything you want to do, man.” “Get over here, then.” Jim gestured, lifting his head weakly and Blair realised with a shock of gratified lust that Jim was going to return the favour. He scrambled up onto the bed, straddling Jim's body at the hips and pulling his t- shirt off over his head at the same time. “Jesus, you're gonna be hairy as a monkey some day.” It was all too likely, not that Blair minded; but his heart sank at Jim's remark. “You don't like hairy guys?” “You're not that hairy, Cheeta. Not yet, anyway.” Jim pushed himself into a sitting position and ran a large, warm hand down Blair's side. Inexplicably, he rubbed his face against the wide, scanty patch of hair in the centre of Blair's chest and then, to Blair's intense satisfaction, sucked his nipple, swiping his tongue across it several times for good measure. It felt so good Blair had to bite back a protest when he stopped. “I guess we'd better do this before you detonate.” Blair glanced down and saw that his dick was impudently prodding at Jim's chest. “Sorry,” he managed, not feeling sorry at all, or bothering to pretend. “Yeah, yeah,” Jim grumbled, but he scooted down a bit and Blair stretched himself up as much as he could and then Jim's mouth closed around his dick. Waves of pleasure, scalding hot, icy cold, crashed over him. A blow job. A fucking blow job, at last… He realised, with a detached sense of embarrassment, that he was making pathetic little mewling noises, sounding like a week-old kitten. And he couldn't stop. Didn't want to stop; not the blow job, not the noises, not anything.  He clutched at Jim's shoulders and tried not to move too much, but Jim didn't seem to mind. Jim actually caught hold of his hips, his thumbs moving lightly over the sharp hollow of his belly, just above his crotch hair, and helped him to move in a less jerky, less desperate rhythm.  All too soon, Blair felt his balls draw up and gasped out a warning, and then Jim's mouth was gone from his dick, and Jim was pulling him down on top of him and Blair was thrusting hungrily against Jim's hard belly and soft, wet dick; and Blair was coming like he'd never come before. Afterwards he lay sprawled across Jim's body, absolutely certain that every bone in his body, all two hundred six of them, had somehow been removed in the brief moments he'd been zoned out. He didn't even care. Then Jim muttered something, and heaved, and Blair was lying on his back, precariously close to the edge of the bed. He opened his eyes long enough to watch Jim swab both their bodies with his towel and then toss it aside with a grimace. Blair waited for Jim to turn off the light and settle again on the bed; then he rolled back into Jim's side. “I take it back, you're not a monkey; you're an octopus. With eight fucking elbows.” “Ape.” Blair smiled sleepily. “Cheeta's a chimpanzee. Chimps are apes, not monkeys.” “Whatever.” Jim adjusted their positions with a sigh and Blair moved a little closer, pressing his cheek against Jim's shoulder. Maybe in the morning they could do it all again. Or… or other stuff. Or just lie in bed and trade off hand jobs and kiss a bit. He resolutely pushed aside the knowledge that Jim would be leaving Cascade in a few days time.  And, anyway, surely Jim would come back some day.   Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!