Brokeback Island

Mark rose at the crack of dawn the next day with Vaughn. "I'll ride the ferry over this morning to sort out everything with Taro," he said quietly as he poured Vaughn a cup of coffee. Vaughn jerked his head towards the fridge, and Mark scurried to get the milk out. "Oh! I forgot!"

"Hmmm," Vaughn teased. "You're starting off on the wrong foot, slave."

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Mark's cheeks flushed.

"I'm just teasing, darlin'," Vaughn purred, and Mark flushed deeper at the affectionate appellation. "So, you're gonna sort things out with old Taro today?"

Mark nodded. "If you're still sure that you want me to stay here," he said hesitantly.

Vaughn chuckled. "I'm sure. You sure are cute, the way you're so worried about everything." Mark giggled softly as he put the milk away. He wrung his hands a little.

"I don't really have anything to make you breakfast with," he agonized. "But, I'll go shopping today, and from now on, I can make you a real breakfast."

"Sounds good," Vaughn said, taking a long sip of his coffee and then setting it down. He got out his wallet. "Here," he said as he handed Mark some bills. "You'll need money for the ferry, and then for groceries. Now, don't go blowing this at the sex shop, y'hear?" Mark nodded, his cheeks getting pink, and he put the money away. Vaughn gave a smirk and picked his mug back up, draining it. "Well, I better head on out."

Mark followed him to the door like a lost puppy. Vaughn chuckled at his behavior as he put his hat on. "I'll be back, I promise. Don't look so sad." Mark struggled to put a cheerful look on his face, but failed. Vaughn gave an amused snort, then bent down and gave him gentle kiss on the mouth. "You be good," he said. "Or I'll have to whip you when I get back," he whispered huskily in Mark's ear.

Mark bristled pleasurably at the threat. "Oh, then maybe I'll have to be bad," he murmured.

"Better not," Vaughn drawled. "I have a mean whip arm. I'll make you very sorry," he assured him.

"Mmmm," Mark made a happy, muffled sound as Vaughn kissed him once more. Vaughn chuckled and turned towards the door. "I love you," Mark said softly, faltering a little.

Vaughn paused with his hand on the knob, and turned his head back to Mark. "Love you," he grunted, but a pleased smile played on his lips. Mark smiled happily, and watched as Vaughn left. Then, he cleaned up the kitchen, made the bed and did some laundry. After that was done, he hurried down to the docks to catch the second morning ferry.

The boat ride to the island took about an hour and a half. Mark slumped down in a chair and slept part of the way, still tired from getting up earlier than he was used to getting up. The ferry horn sounded as it approached the shore, and Mark stirred from his nap, standing up and stretching. He disembarked at the familiar port, then nervously made his way to Taro's to tell him he was leaving the island.

The old man greeted him warmly as he got there. "Well, there's the little farmer. Ohoho! Don't worry, don't worry, I've taken good care of it in your stead. Elliot too." The young, bespectacled man mentioned smiled shyly. "He's getting a knack for farm work, it seems like! Gonna have to get a farm of his own, one day!"

Mark jumped right in on this convenient lead. "Well, maybe he'd like to take over the farm permanently," he stammered.

Both Taro and Elliot looked confused. "How's that?" Taro asked, chewing on a straw.

"Well," Mark took a deep breath. "I want to move to the city. I'm really sorry, since I know I said I'd stay here, but I really need to move there."

"What's the big change?" Taro asked. "Tired of the simple life?"

Mark hesitated. "It's not that...it's complicated."

"I got time," Taro said, and it was apparent that he had to have a concrete answer.

"Well...that is...I'm going to live with someone in the city."

Taro and Elliot both raised their eyebrows. "Like romantic living with someone?" Elliot asked, finally speaking.

Mark nodded. "Uh huh. So, I kind of need to clear out as soon as possible."

Taro took a deep breath and puffed out his chest comically. "Well, I can't argue with that, can't argue with that. Young love don't answer to no one. So, who are ya moving in with? Didn't know you had someone like that."

Mark laughed evasively, but both other men stayed silent, waiting patiently for an answer. Mark sighed, realizing he had to respond. "Vaughn," he said quietly, his cheeks getting pink as just the utterance of his name caused him to have pleasurable memories.

Elliot's eyes had a flicker of surprise, and Taro just looked puzzled. "Vaughn who?"

Elliot laughed lightly. "You know, Vaughn, Pepaw. The cowboy."

Taro's thick eyebrows beetled together. "Vaughn the cowboy?! Well, I'll be a tuckered fool. Who woulda thunk it? I say who woulda thunk it?" He had to sit down to recollect himself, shaking his head a little. "Oh my durn," he muttered to himself.

Elliot laughed, moving forward a little. "Come on, I'll help you pack up your stuff," he said helpfully. The two younger men set out, leaving Taro to puzzle over his own thoughts for a while. "I already knew," Elliot whispered to Mark as they walked. "Julia's my girl, you know. She said she saw you guys together a few times, and she could tell you weren't just friends. She said he doesn't have friends anyway, and that's how she knew something was up when she saw you two eating in the diner together." He chuckled softly. "They're so different, it's weird to think that they're related."

Mark gave a little yelp. "Julia and Vaughn are related?"

Elliot grinned. "Yeah, they're first cousins! See? He's so cold, he doesn't even acknowledge his own family. So I was surprised when you said you were moving in with him. He sure has changed. He's always hated people, Julia said. When they were kids, he never played with the other kids. Just sat in the corner and sulked. So, yeah. Wow."

Mark thought in silence as they arrived at the farm and began to pack. "So, does that mean Mirabelle's his aunt?"

"Well, yes, but no. They're not blood related. Mirabelle was married to his uncle, his dad's brother. Julia says her dad was a lot like Vaughn - a real cold dude. As was Vaughn's own dad. Men in that family are cold, and the women are kind and warm. Julia says being so mean must be bad for you. Neither her dad nor Vaughn's is still alive."

Mark nodded, thinking that he hoped his presence would warm Vaughn up enough to at least extend his life expectancy. He neatly folded his clothes and put them his suitcase. Elliot opened the cabinets. "What are you going to do with all the dishes and stuff?"

"You can keep them," Mark said quietly. "Vaughn has his own things."

Elliot grinned. "Thanks, Mark. You know, this couldn't come at a better time. I want to ask Julia to marry me, but I couldn't, being that I still lived with my mom and my pepaw." He rolled his eyes. "But now, I'll have my own place. This is going to be great!" He began to hum cheerfully as he inspected the other things that would soon be his.

"That's good," Mark said, relieved that it was all working out so easily. "Well, all I'll really take is my clothes and personal items. The furniture, sheets, all that; you can keep. Your grandpa provided them, anyhow. And the farm stuff, too."

Elliot turned. "Oh yeah, but we'll have to give you some money for all the stuff you bought yourself. Like the cow, the sheep and the chickens. Plus you had those buildings commissioned yourself. Let's go back and work that out with my pepaw, okay?" Mark nodded, and they headed back.

Taro had recovered himself and was industriously whittling something. "Hey, Pepaw. Mark did a lot of improvements to the farm with his own earnings. We need to work out a figure to pay him for the place," Elliot said.

Taro nodded. "Fair enough, fair enough." The three men sat down and calculated out all the money that Mark had put into the farm, and then Taro went to the house safe and retrieved a large bundle of money. "Hoo, boy!" he cried as he counted out the bills. "You're a rich man!"

Mark nodded bashfully. He put the money away carefully. "Well, I'll go get my stuff, and then that'll be it." Taro and Elliot nodded at him.

"You'll still come back to visit sometimes, won't you?" Elliot asked earnestly.

"Oh! I suppose so." He began to think about Vaughn's weekly visits to the island, and mused that he could probably come with Vaughn each week. "I'm sure I will," he concluded, giving a shy smile. Elliot accompanied him back to his farm, where Mark turned to him. "I hope you enjoy the place as much as I have," he said. "Oh! Wait!" he cried, suddenly thinking of something. He hurried over to the barn, with Elliot behind him. Once inside, he threw his arms around Bessie. She gave a low moo, chewing her cud nonchalantly. "Bye, girl," he said. "I'll miss you." He then went over to the sheep. "Bye, Fuzzy Wuzzy." He patted the ewe on her thick wool coat. Elliot smiled at this tender display of real affection for his animals. He could see why Vaughn had fallen for the little blonde.

Mark gathered his bags, and then Elliot escorted him back to the dock. The afternoon ferry was due in fifteen minutes, so they sat and visited. Just then, Denny walked up with his fishing pole, whistling a happy tune. He spotted Mark with suitcases around his feet, and sat in shock. "What's all this?" he asked, bewildered. "You abandoning us?" Mark nodded solemnly. "What about your guy?" Denny asked.

Mark blushed. "That's where I'm going. To live with him in the city."

Elliot looked back and forth between the two of them. "Oh, so I guess he knows about Vaughn, huh?"

Denny howled with laughter. "Oh, yeah, I know ALL about them." He caught Mark's eye, grinning devilishly, and Mark blushed deeply. "Oh don't worry, I'm not going to spill. What happens in the shack stays in the shack."

Elliot furrowed his brows together. "Hmm. I can only guess." Denny broke out into laughter again, and Mark buried his face in his hands, embarrassed.

"Oh, don't worry. I just watched them get it on one time. It's not like they let me join in or anything. Stingy bastards," Denny teased. Mark peeked up from his hands, still blushing. Elliot just shook his head, his eyes wide.

"Oh yeah!" Mark exclaimed. "Look what I got," he breathed, standing up and unzipping his pants a little ways.

"Whoa, whoa there, brother," Denny said, misreading his actions. "I know you got one of those. I saw Vaughn touching it, remember?"

Mark's cheeks burned. "No! That's not what I want to show you! It's this," he said triumphantly as he exposed his small tattoo. Elliot and Denny leaned in to see it.

"Wow," Denny whistled. "You're really gaga for him, huh?" Mark nodded shyly. "Well, good for you, I guess." He chuckled. "Guess this means you guys are serious, what with you marking your body up and moving in with him. You probably won't be giving free shows anymore, huh?"

"I don't know," Mark said softly. In truth, he would be happy to do anything Vaughn wished of him, including things like showing off for Denny. It was all up to what Vaughn wanted. "We'll see."

Elliot looked back and forth between them. "Uh, okay. That's nice. Anyway," he said, trying to change the subject away from gay sex, "What's Vaughn's apartment like?"

"Bare. Simple. Just like you'd expect," Mark explained. "Oh, and he's got nothing but milk and beer in the fridge!" Denny and Elliot got a laugh out of that. "But I'm going grocery shopping today. It's hard to cook for him with bare cupboards."

Denny cast out his line and glanced back at Mark. "So, is that going to be your job in the city? Vaughn's personal slave?"

Mark blushed, embarrassed that Denny had hit the nail on the head. "Well...yes." He giggled a little. "I don't mind," he said softly.

Denny gave a low whistle. "Yep, you're gaga for the guy. Well, you two seem perfect for each other. You know, I've never seen Vaughn with a real boyfriend. He's done plenty of guys - who I usually pursue right afterwards, if not at the same time, which is why he hates my guts so bad - but he hasn't ever had a little slave boy like you before. You're just perfect for him. He can order you around all day long and you just lap it up. Cute."

Mark's cheeks began to pink up, and he was relieved to hear the ferry horn sounding. "Oh! There's my ride!"

"Happiness in slavery," Denny snorted. Elliot shook Mark's hand and bid him farewell, thanking him again for the opportunity.

"Oh no, thank you," Mark said breathlessly. "I'm just relieved that it worked out so well." He gave a little wave and then turned to board the ferry.

Mark arrived back in the city at about 2pm. After dragging his suitcases up to Vaughn's apartment, and carefully putting away his clothes, he set out. His first stop was the bank, where he opened an account and put in the money that he had received from Taro, which was quite a substantial amount. Even though Vaughn had promised to take care of him, he felt better knowing that he had a little money of his own, and he decided that he couldn't keep that kind of cash with him.

After that, Mark went to the grocery store. He bought eggs, bread, fruit, and other necessary items, then lugged those back to up to the third floor. "Phew!" he exclaimed as he set them down. "At least I won't get out of shape living here!"

He carefully put away all the groceries, then began to cook dinner. He cleaned up behind himself as he went, striving to really impress Vaughn on his first real day as his "slave." He smiled to himself a little about that. He knew that Vaughn didn't really think of him as a slave, but it was fun for both of them to pretend. He knew he was free to do as he wished - it was just that what he wished to do was whatever Vaughn wanted.

Mark jumped a little as the door opened behind him. He turned to see Vaughn stepping inside, a smirk on his face. He set his work bag and hat on the table as Mark skipped forward to greet him, smiling widely. Mark leapt into Vaughn's waiting arms, getting a squeeze and a kiss on the top of his head. He pulled away and tilted his head up to get a kiss on the lips. Vaughn gave him a little half smile. "I missed you, little darlin'."

Mark glowed with happiness, pressing another quick kiss to the cowboy's lips. "I missed you too..." he quickly thought of a pet name, "Master." He waited to see how Vaughn would react to it, and was delighted when the cowboy broke out in a satisfied grin.

"I like the sound of that," he growled. "But now, don't call me that in front of anyone, or they'll be calling the police on me, thinking I'm keeping you against your will." Mark nodded vigorously. Vaughn looked over at the kitchen. "What's for dinner?"

Mark smiled proudly. "Eggplant Parmesan," he answered. "But it's still got a while to bake, so until then..." he urged Vaughn to sit on the couch and relax. He hurried over and got a beer from the fridge, presenting it to Vaughn with a transparently eager to please expression. Vaughn chuckled and took it, flicking the cap off. Mark bustled to put that in the trash, then went back over to sit beside Vaughn, waiting for instructions.

"Relax," Vaughn chuckled. "I don't really expect you to wait on me hand and foot."

"Oh, but I want to," Mark insisted breathlessly. Vaughn was surprised but pleased, and he took the younger man's chin in his hand and pulled him in for a kiss.

"You're too cute," he said as he came out of the kiss. Mark just smiled, his cheeks rosy. Vaughn took a long swig of beer, then leaned back into the couch. Mark's eyes glimmered for a second, then he swiftly moved off the couch and onto his knees on the floor. Vaughn arched an eyebrow in interest as Mark moved between his legs, and began to work at unbuckling his belt. He dipped his head and kissed the top of Vaughn's jean clad thigh as he got the buckle undone. Vaughn's breathing sped up as he watched the little blonde unbutton and unzip his jeans, then he lifted his hips off the couch to allow Mark to tug them and his boxers down.

"You are really something else," he breathed, as Mark lowered his head and flicked out his tongue at the head of Vaughn's cock. Then Mark engulfed the tip in his mouth, and Vaughn groaned in delight, throwing his head back against the couch. "Oh, fuck...now this is something to come home to," he said brokenly, as Mark began to bob his head enthusiastically. He lifted a hand and laid it gently on Mark's head, running his fingers through his thick, healthy blonde hair. Mark wiggled his tongue inside his mouth, against Vaughn's firm flesh, causing Vaughn to tilt his hips upward in an attempt to get more.

Mark cast a seductive glance up at him, then his mouth rose slowly to the tip, coming off with a slow, satisfying suck. He ran the tip of his tongue up and down the shaft teasingly, then took him in his mouth once more, this time taking him all the way down his throat. Vaughn groaned deeply. "Oh, that's it," he said, his voice thick with need. He made small, precise thrusts with his hips, and his hand grasped almost painfully at Mark's hair, guiding him in the correct speed and rhythm. Mark increased the suction, and soon Vaughn was making desperate, animalistic vocalizations.

"Oh, fuck, Mark...I'm gonna...come...Fuck!" Then he was there, his release bursting up into the back of Mark's throat. Mark pulled away slowly and swallowed, looking up at Vaughn as he did so.

"Tastes way better than cafe au lait," Mark said, giving him a coy smile. Vaughn's ecstasy clouded mind struggled to find the meaning of that random statement, but when he remembered, he smiled lazily.

"If you say so," he grunted, then pulled Mark up to cuddle with him, not even bothering to put his manhood away. "You..." he kissed Mark warmly, "are really, really something else." Mark smiled, pleased, then jumped up hurriedly as the oven timer went off. Vaughn then tucked away his satisfied member, setting his lower half straight again. He slowly stood up, approaching the table to eat. Mark dished up the meal eagerly, smiling proudly the whole time. They ate, and Vaughn complimented the meal in his own way, grunting, "Not bad."

After dinner was over, Vaughn leaned back in his chair. "I brought something for you," he said to Mark.

Mark looked up eagerly. "Oh? Really?"

Vaughn smirked. "Yeah, look in my work bag there." Mark rose up eagerly, hurrying over and gingerly opening the bag. "Don't worry, it won't bite you," he chuckled.

Mark turned around smiling, holding the box of chocolates to his chest. "Thank you!" he exclaimed.

Vaughn just smirked more. "I didn't want to give them to you before dinner, since you might not have been able to control yourself."

Mark pouted playfully. "I'm not addicted or anything." Vaughn snorted, and Mark huffed. "What? I'm not, I swear!" Then he giggled and began to unwrap the package. He laid it on the table and opened the lid. "These ones are my favorites," he explained, pointing out four square chocolates. "Square means that they're caramels. Then next best, I like these rectangle ones. Those are chewy. Then, the round and oval ones. They're creams. My favorite cream is the coconut, but there's no way to tell from the outside. So it's like a game to see what I'll get."

Vaughn listened to this lecture with affection. "I had no idea there was so much to know about chocolate."

Mark's eyes widened. "But of course! It's a whole world. Okay, so then, there's also dark and milk chocolate in here. I like dark better, but milk chocolate is good too. I don't like white chocolate though, because it isn't even really chocolate." He sniffed in disgust. "But there isn't any white chocolate in here, so that's good." He continued to peruse the box happily, and Vaughn watched him fondly as he sipped his beer.