Brokeback Island

A few days later, the phone rang while Mark was cooking dinner. Vaughn set down his beer and got up to answer it. "Hello?" he grunted.

"Don't sound so cheerful," the warm, feminine drawl commanded over the other end.

Vaughn groaned. "What do you want, Ma?"

Vaughn's mother laughed. "I just called to talk to my sweet boy!"

"Huh? Quit fucking around, Ma. You know I hate talking on the phone."

"Oh, hush up. I didn't call to talk to you."

Vaughn furrowed his brow. "Huh? But you said..."

"I said, I wanted to talk to my sweet boy. Now who would ever describe you as sweet, you big meanie? Give the phone to Mark."

Vaughn gave an annoyed grunt and looked over at Mark. "Phone's for you."

Mark wheeled around with his mouth open, but laid his spoon aside and turned the burner to low, then approached and took the phone from Vaughn. "Hello?" he asked in a small, confused voice.

"Well, hello there, sweetie pie!" Vaughn's mother exclaimed. Mark smiled and started to talk to her. They chatted for a while, until Vaughn came over and snatched the receiver from Mark.

"Ma, wrap it up. You're keeping him from cooking my dinner."

"Oh, you grumpy old thing. Well, I called to tell you two that they're throwing a big party for my 50th birthday next week. You should come."

"Waste of time," Vaughn grunted.

"Now, how rude!" she said, clucking her tongue. "I heard that you had a party there for Mark's birthday, and didn't even invite me. I thought I'd be the bigger person and extend an invite to my party." Vaughn just grunted noncommittally, and she sighed. "Just give the phone back to Mark. You're too difficult to talk to. Nothing but grunts and curse words." Vaughn grunted again and gave the phone back to Mark. She repeated the information about her party to him.

"Um, I don't know...I mean, I want to, but I can't if he doesn't want to," he said softly.

"Fine!" Vaughn grunted in exasperation, folding his arms over his chest. "Bunch of stupid bullshit," he grumbled to himself as Mark beamed and relayed that they would be coming.

The time passed quickly, and soon, they were riding the train to Vaughn's hometown. They had an overnight bag packed this time, as the party was going to run a little late. Mark hummed happily and looked out the window, as Vaughn continued to sulk about the whole thing.

The party turned out to be fun, surprisingly. They held it outside, and there was a lot of food there; and the best part, at least to Vaughn, was the absence of Denny and Danny. Julia explained. "Yeah, last I heard, Denny's traveling the world on some guy's yacht."

Vaughn and Mark looked at each other. "Will?" Mark whispered, and Vaughn smirked.

"Heh. What a match made in slut heaven," Vaughn chuckled.

Julia just arched one eyebrow, then continued. "And Danny's tied up with some work thing. I know you're so disappointed to not see the terror twins, Vaughn." Vaughn just grunted and drank his beer.

After everyone had cake, Vaughn's mother was presented with several wrapped gifts. Mark squeaked and ran back in the house, then reemerged with a lovely pale pink box with a red ribbon tied around it. "Kiss ass," Vaughn grunted. Mark just flashed him a smile and hurried forward to give it to her. It was a beautiful blue sweater. Vaughn's mother thanked Mark for his thoughtfulness and kissed him on both cheeks. When Mark returned to Vaughn's side, Vaughn grunted, "Bet that clothes store friend of yours picked that out, huh?"

"Maybe," Mark said coyly. Vaughn just rolled his eyes and shook his head, and the party continued on. After it was over, they retired back to the house. Vaughn's mother led them down the hallway and opened a door.

"You can stay in the guest room," she said. "Sorry, Vaughn, but I turned your room into a sewing room."

"Gee, thanks, Ma."

"Well! It wasn't like I held out any hopes that you would return home! Or that you would be bringing any grandchildren home to stay!" She waggled her finger at him as he shivered at the idea of children. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not one of those moms. You know, the ones that whine and pine for grandkids. I gave up that hope the first time I found a copy of Playgirl sticking out of your mattress." Vaughn rolled his eyes and groaned. "Okay, I'm done teasing. For tonight. Goodnight, y'all." She kissed Mark affectionately, and jokingly extended a hand to Vaughn to shake. Mark giggled, then stepped into the guest room.

Mark leapt about a foot in the air when he turned and saw the huge painting hanging on the wall. It was the meanest, most frightening man he had ever seen. His hair was jet black, streaked with silver, and his jaw was heavy. His eyes were as black as coal, and they seemed to stare straight through Mark. Mark stood up staring at it, shivering to his very core. He raised a shaking finger up to point at the portrait. "W-w-who is that?" he queried, his voice tremulous.

Vaughn glanced up as he threw their overnight bag on the bed, then he chuckled. "Why, that's my dear old pa. Don't tell me you're scared of him?" Mark nodded, swallowing thickly. "Come on, he's dead."

Mark trembled. "That makes it even scarier!" he whimpered.

Mark changed into his pajamas, staring in fright at the picture the whole time. Vaughn disrobed, then slid in the bed next to Mark and switched out the lamp. He turned towards Mark, kissing at his neck. But Mark's eyes were fixed on the wall, where he still stared at the creepy portrait of Vaughn's father, which seemed to be glowing in the dark. Vaughn grunted when he fondled Mark's dick and it didn't react, staying limp. "What's wrong?"

"I'm scared," Mark moaned.

Vaughn followed his gaze. "Oh, just don't look at it."

"That doesn't matter," Mark squeaked. "He's looking at me!"

"Don't be silly, darlin'. It's just a picture."

"The creepiest picture ever made." Mark breathed raggedly as he stared at the picture; Vaughn's father's eyes seemingly boring into him.

Vaughn gave a disgruntled sigh, then got on top of Mark, blocking his view of the picture. "Darlin'. Look at me. Don't look at Pa." Mark nodded up at him, the fear fading out of his eyes, and he allowed Vaughn to kiss him deeply. He moaned as Vaughn nestled himself between Mark's thighs, rubbing his erection against Mark's lower abdomen. He pulled Mark's pajama pants down one tug at a time, as he kissed him steadily. "You packed some lube, right?" Vaughn whispered in his ear. Mark nodded and Vaughn pulled away to get it out of the bag.

Mark trembled as he was once again faced with the frightening portrait. It seemed to loom even more ominously at him now that he had his pants off. He shivered, and felt his manhood deflate out of fear. Then Vaughn was back on top of him. "Are you still staring at that stupid picture?" he asked, and Mark swallowed hard, nodding. "You silly thing. Go on, get on your hands and knees and face the headboard. Then you can't look at it." He grunted and slapped Mark's ass as Mark scrambled to comply. Then he positioned himself behind his little lover, and began to slowly penetrate him. Mark moaned in pleasure, then pressed his lips together and tried to be quiet as he remembered that they were in someone else's house.

Vaughn thrust fully into him, then reached around, touching his completely recovered erection. "Why are you so quiet?" Vaughn grunted, the old bed squeaking with each thrust he made. "Still scared?"

"No," Mark whispered. "I don't want us to be heard."

Vaughn rammed into him faster, causing Mark to cry out in pleasure despite his resolve to stay silent. "I don't care. I need to hear you moan," Vaughn said through gritted teeth. He held onto Mark's hips, pressing deep inside of him.

"Oh, Vaughn!" Mark cried out as Vaughn hit him just perfectly.

Vaughn smirked and continued to thrust in the same manner. "You gonna come for me, darlin'?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Mark answered, then gave an anguished groan as his release was driven out of him. It splattered onto the sheets below, and Mark emerged from his haze of ecstasy long enough to yelp. "Your mom's sheets! I came on them!" But Vaughn ignored his worry, as he was already reaching the peak himself.

"Ohhh...fuck...Mark..." he hissed as he shot deep inside of the boy. He groaned in delight, giving a few more thrusts for good measure, then pulled out. Mark immediately began flailing for the tissues, and he frantically tried to clean up the mess he had made. He did the best job he could, then sighed in worry as he looked at the damp stain on the bed. He then flopped on his back, and screamed out in sheer terror as he beheld the portrait of Vaughn's father again.

"It blinked at me!" Mark yelped, his whole body shaking as he burrowed under the covers. Vaughn sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, then got up and hefted the huge gilded frame from its mount. He turned it around and leaned it against the wall, hiding the picture that was frightening Mark so much.

"There, that better?" he grunted as he got into bed, and Mark nodded meekly. "You're so silly," he said as he wrapped Mark up in his arms and kissed the side of his head. "You're still shaking," he observed. "It's okay." Mark cuddled up close to him and managed to wipe the creepy image out of his mind long enough to fall asleep.

The next morning, they slept in until the sun began to rise, but the familiar sounds of a farm at the crack of dawn compelled Mark to get up. He wormed out of Vaughn's arms and stood up, getting dressed. He attempted to brush his unruly blonde hair, but eventually gave up, and headed out of the room. It was absolutely quiet in the house, so Mark went out in the back yard. He saw the henhouse door open, and he headed that way.

Vaughn's mother looked up as he entered. "Well, look who it is! Up bright and early!"

Mark smiled softly. "I used to have a farm...it felt like instinct to get up and come out here."

She returned his smile, wiping her hands on her burlap apron. "I'm just glad you're still alive. All that ruckus last night; I thought my boy was murdering you! Bless your poor little heart! Screaming and crying! What does he do to you? Wait - " she waved her hand in front of her, "I don't think I really want to know that." Mark blushed like mad.

"Oh...I-I-I...I was afraid of that picture in there."

"Vaughn's pa? Well, I don't blame you. He was a pretty scary man. I sometimes look at that and wonder what I saw in him." She shrugged. "Well, it wasn't his charm, that's for sure. But there was something in the way that he would grunt orders at me that I liked. 'Fix me dinner.' Clean up.' 'Lay down.'" She sighed in remembrance. "I couldn't refuse him."

Mark stifled a giggle. "I can imagine..." he said quietly. It sounded similar to his own submissive role to Vaughn. He fell in right next to Vaughn's mother and began scattering chicken feed. He followed her out of the coop, and into the animal barn.

"Can you milk?" she asked. Mark nodded, and she handed him a pail. He smiled and set to work at the nearest cow. She watched him for a minute, appraising his technique. "My, my, you've got some skilled little hands. So that's what Vaughn was grunting about last night!" Mark choked for a minute, turning to look at her as he continued to pull haphazardly at the cow's teats. Cream gushed out sideways and splattered on the side of his face. Mark spluttered and wiped his cheek while Vaughn's mother howled with laughter. "Oh, my boy, you're a hoot," she sighed as she caught her breath. "Bless your heart." Mark flushed with embarrassment and continued to milk the cow.

Vaughn's mother settled down on a wooden stool nearby and began to milk another cow. "You know, believe it or not, Vaughn wasn't always totally grumpy." Mark looked at her in interest, and she sighed. "When he was a toddler, he smiled a lot. Always running up for a hug. But his Pa soon stamped that out of him. He wasn't an affectionate man, not even when it came to his own child. Vaughn would try to climb up in his lap, only to be pushed out. Poor thing, he would cry and cry. Pa told him, 'Quit that crying. No one likes a boy who cries.' I know he might have had good intentions with all that - wanting his son to be a manly man; but it backfired, making him into the same kind of cold hearted person."

She wiped her hands on a rag that was tied to her belt. "That's why I think you're good for him - he doesn't look so hard when you're around. Actually smiles a little. Not much, but some. Being that hard hearted takes its toll on you - it shortens your life. Vaughn's pa only lived to 38. Oh, and that was awful. Simply awful."

Mark just stayed quiet, milking the cow slowly and waiting for her to continue. "Vaughn was 13, and Pa had sold his favorite horse. Vaughn got home from school, I broke the news to him, and he went barreling into Pa's study to argue about it. I could hear Vaughn yelling from where I was in the kitchen. 'How could you sell Goldie? I hate you! I wish you were dead!' Vaughn was getting more and more upset, but Pa just stayed quiet. Vaughn started yelling at him. 'Say something, you mean old bastard!' I had already started hustling in there to break up the fight that was sure to break out any second, but when I stepped in there..." She paused, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "Vaughn was backing out of the room with a terrified look on his face. Pa was sitting in his chair facing out the window, and when Vaughn stepped around the front of it while yelling at him, he realized he had been dead all that time." Mark just stared at her with wide eyes.

"Took its toll on him, it did. Boy didn't speak for almost two weeks. It was after that when his hair started going gray. Too much for a child to handle." Her voice was thick with emotion. "I tried to turn things around for him - you know, maybe to change his personality a little. I made the house a happy, positive place, but he was already gone into the darkness. Scowled and grunted at me, was never happy with anything. As soon as he was an adult, he was gone. If it weren't for the fact that his job brought him in contact with Julia and Mirabelle, I wouldn't have even known where he was at some points." She shook herself a little, and managed a cheerful smile. "Well, that's all in the past. No use dwelling on it."

Mark stood up, passing her the pail of milk. "Well, if you don't mind, I'll go back in and see if he's up yet," he murmured.

Vaughn's mother nodded, giving him a kindly smile. She set the pail down, and then reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Keep him happy, won't you? I know he must be a terror to live with sometimes, but you're all he cares about. I can see it in his face." Mark nodded solemnly, and went back into the house. He stopped at the kitchen sink and washed up, then returned to the guest bedroom.

Vaughn was still sprawled out on the bed, sleeping. Mark smiled, removing his pants, and crawled quietly back into the bed, slipping under Vaughn's arm and nuzzling up to his chest. Vaughn stirred a little and pulled him in tighter. "You smell like a barn," he muttered, his voice rough with sleep.

"Mmm hmm...I was milking the cows," Mark whispered.

Vaughn smirked with his eyes closed. "Fresh milk," he murmured.

"Yeah," Mark breathed. "Want some?"

Vaughn chuckled deep in his throat, then tilted his hips to press his morning arousal up against Mark's body. "I've got something else you can milk first," he grunted. Mark murmured happily and reached down, sliding a hand over Vaughn's rock hard length. He teased and played with him, until Vaughn interrupted him to roll on top of Mark's back. "I need to fuck you," he groaned into Mark's ear. Mark smiled, reaching out to get the lube, and then passed it to Vaughn, who slicked himself sufficiently. Mark pulled down his briefs, and Vaughn began angling the tip down towards Mark's entrance. He pressed himself inside slowly, as Mark made pleased mewing noises. Once he was inside, he pumped in and out, groaning with satisfaction.

"You are so tight," he grunted, savoring the feeling of Mark's snug embrace. Mark sighed happily, spreading his legs a little and letting the force of Vaughn's movements rub him against the bed. They both groaned and moved together, Vaughn kissing and nuzzling at the back of Mark's neck.

After a few minutes of passionate lovemaking, Mark began to squirm underneath Vaughn. "V-Vaughn," he stammered. "This is it...oh..." He erupted in a series of sharp cries as he released. Vaughn groaned in ecstasy, then rode Mark hard, finding his own blissful relief moments later. They sighed and writhed together for a few moments, then Mark cursed under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Vaughn grunted.

"I came on your Mom's sheets again," Mark lamented, lifting up slightly and sighing in disdain at the sticky mess underneath him. Vaughn just chuckled and shook his head.