Daring Kai - Part 12 (Patreon)

Kai stared anxiously at the front door. The dare, like all of them so far, had started so simply. Answer the door in your underwear. Miles had done it already and now it was Kai’s turn, but with the usual excessive embellishments. He now stood completely naked in Miles’s front hallway. That already felt terrifying enough, even with Miles’s parents not due home for another hour, but the rapidly-approaching delivery driver meant he was about to expose himself to a complete stranger.

The others had remained in the lounge, not wanting to freak out the driver by giving an audience to what was about to happen, but a phone had been set up to capture the entire thing, because… of course it fucking had. What humiliation would be complete for Kai without the knowledge it was being immortalised on video! He stood tugging away at his dick as he continued to wait. Suddenly, the bell rang.

Kai heard a quick yelp of laughs and squeals from inside the lounge as the others awaited his humiliation. Taking a deep breath, Kai stepped forward and pulled the door open. There Kai stood, entirely nude. His scrawny torso and arms fully on show, his spindly legs as smooth as his upper body almost trembling. His dick, raging hard and desperate to cum. Terrifying as this was, it was also making Kai wild with horniness as he readied himself to ask the question.

The driver froze and stared at the naked teen, his eyes wide. He was a man in his early thirties, nowhere near as cute as the young guy Miles had exposed himself to, but for an old guy he was pretty easy on the eye. Short, jet-black hair perfectly styled and a short, neatly trimmed beard. His skin was a pale brown and while Kai was admittedly not good at recognising other ethnicities specifically, he could definitely place him as South Asian. Dressed in the delivery company’s uniform, his biceps bulged against the short sleeves while his forearms bore a covering of dark hair, the rest of his body concealed but impressively built.

Before the man could react to the naked boy before him, Kai blurted out, “Do you wanna see me cum?”

The man laughed as he shook his head for a moment, looking the boy up and down. “It ain’t on my bucket list of things to see before I die, but you wanna do it, then… you do you!” he said in obvious amusement.

“Fuck,” Kai gasped gently to himself and rapidly stroked his dick. As he looked past the man, he could see the delivery van was mostly blocking sight of him from the road, though anyone walking past on the pavement would certainly be able to see him. Fortunately (or unfortunately!?) the coast was clear and Kai masturbated fervently for the bemused-looking man.

The man raised an eyebrow as he saw the boy furiously fapping and started, “If you’re gonna be a while…”

“No, I’m… I’m… nearly…” Kai gasped, then finished the sentence with an eruption of spunk. ‘Eruption’ was probably a generous description. The first spurt was moderate, but the rest just kind of dribbled out onto the floor. Already blushing, Kai turned a brighter red and said, “I usually cum more than that!” He immediately regretted the entirely unnecessary proclamation.

“Good to know. Here’s your package,” the delivery man said as he handed over a small box to the embarrassed boy and turned to walk away, laughing aloud.

Kai groaned as he shut the door. It had been exciting, but only up until he shot his load, and then all enjoyment had vanished and all he was left with his mortifying embarrassment. The feeling only got worse as he heard shouts and laughter from the lounge as the door opened.

“Oh my god, he actually did it!” Miles declared.

“Fucking mental!” Leo said as he headed for his phone.

“Show us the recording, we gotta see it!” Caleb demanded, following Leo closely.

“And just think,” Miles said as he grinned over at his naked, blushing friend, “You get to do this FOUR more times!”

“Fuck. My. Life!” Kai sighed as he headed into the lounge to get dressed.

*****

That evening, with Miles’s parents home and the four teens fed, they did their usual routine of washing the dishes before heading off to entertain themselves for the evening. Miles had immediately commandeered Kai and insisted they needed privacy, stating he was going to ‘pay up’ for the clothing he had been given during the naked bike ride that morning.

“Kick about?” Caleb asked with a shrug as he was left with Leo.

“Sure,” Leo replied, heading out to Miles’s back garden.

The two boys, antagonistic as they were to each other, tended to get on best when alone. With so many shared interests, they always had things to do or talk about, though practicing their football skills was one of their more frequent pastimes. Out in the garden, they were scuffling over a football, trying to tackle it away from each other. When Leo tried to make a dash for the goal and Caleb put a foot out to intercept the ball, Leo had tripped over it and stumbled to the ground.

“Ugh,” Leo grunted as he laid flat on the ground, staring up at the evening sky, “How is it SO hot still?” he grunted.

“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity!” Caleb replied as he offered a hand to Leo to help him up. Getting a confused look back, he shrugged and added, “Just a thing my dad usually says. I don’t get it really! He’s a dick!”

“Whatever,” Leo shrugged. “Too fucking hot for this!” he said as he started to peel off his t-shirt that was clinging to his sweaty body.

Caleb stared as the other boy exposed himself. He found himself immediately thinking of Kai, and all the times he had stripped off over the past few days. He wasn’t really comparing the two twins, but he couldn’t help noticing how different it felt. Objectively, Leo was hotter. He was tall, broad, muscular, toned and sporting hair in all the right places to show his rapid march towards manliness. Caleb watched his friend as he tossed his damp t-shirt aside and just felt… nothing.

So why did seeing Kai make him feel so weird? All of the things that made Leo ‘hot’ were virtually the opposite in Kai – short, skinny, boyish, smooth – but somehow it made Caleb excited seeing him strip off during his dares. Perhaps that was it. Perhaps it wasn’t the boy, or the body, it was the circumstance. After all, seeing Kai embarrassed was undeniably exciting, and yet… they had shared other moments, intimate moments. Those things hadn’t been embarrassing for Kai, but Caleb still found himself enjoying them both at the time, and thinking about them after.

“Geez, take a fucking picture, ya perv!” Leo huffed as he saw Caleb staring.

“You fucking wish!” Caleb scowled, though he blushed a little. Grasping for an excuse, he stated, “I was… just thinking that’s a good idea!” He quickly grabbed his own t-shirt and peeled it off.

Leo smirked as he saw Caleb strip, then looked down at himself and said, “This is starting to look like a dare!”

“Hnnh, yeah,” Caleb laughed. Shirtlessness while hanging out of playing football was completely normal for the two teens, but somehow, it certainly did seem different after the events of the past few days. “Good thing Miles ain’t here. He’d probably be coming up with some kinda bet for us!”

“What kinda bet you thinking?” Leo asked, cocking his head curiously.

“I… I wasn’t!” Caleb stated, “I was just saying… umm… if Miles was here, which he’s not… umm… plus the last bet didn’t end well for you!”

“Exactly, so I wouldn’t mind some revenge. What ya thinking?” Leo asked, stepping closer.

“I’m not thinking anything!” Caleb said defensively.

“Target shooting. Five shots. Loser blows the winner!” Leo stated bluntly.

“Jesus… fuck, Leo!” Caleb gasped, “You… you wanna… DO that?”

“No, I plan to win so that YOU have to do that!” Leo said with a cocky grin, “Or ya scared you’ll lose?”

“I won’t lose!” Caleb said confidently. “I just… don’t know if that’s a prize I actually want!” He immediately saw the expression on Leo’s face and realised what he had said was unintentionally hurtful. “Sorry, no, I mean… fuck, let’s do it!”

“Sweet,” Leo said as he hurried down the garden to set up a couple of targets for them to aim at.

Caleb gulped as he prepared himself. While both outcomes were scary, he certainly favoured winning. A blow job is a blow job after all, and seeing Leo reduced to a submissive cocksucker would be amusing if nothing else. Once Leo had the targets set up , they started taking shots.

A few minutes later, Leo groaned an unhappy, “Noooo!” as he watched the ball miss all of the targets… for the third time. He looked to Leo who was grinning as he went to get the ball and lined it up for his next shot.

Caleb lined up and kicked the ball, then let out a cheer as it smashed into his third target. “And that’ll be a win for me!” he declared. He frowned slightly. It wasn’t unusual for Leo to lose a contest like this. After all, they were fairly equal when it came to football skills so they both won as often as they lost. But for Leo to have missed EVERY shot, it was certainly unusual, but as it meant a win for Caleb, he wasn’t about to question it.

“We should… play to the end,” Leo said, embarrassed to have been so soundly beaten.

“Why? You can’t win now!” Caleb shrugged.

“We could… go double or nothing,” Leo said, then frowned and added, “Well sort of!”

Caleb cocked his head at the comment. A way of winning without having to let Leo blow him, that felt like a good way out, so he stated, “I’m listening!”

“I get my last two shots!” Leo stated. “If I hit both, then… you win but no forfeit! If I just hit one, then… I pay up!” he explained.

“And… what if you miss both?” Caleb asked, enjoying the prospect of Leo digging himself in deeper.

“I… umm…” Leo said, pausing to gulp. He glanced at the house and stated, “If I miss both, I have to blow you and… also… offer to blow Miles and Kai some time too!”

Caleb was intrigued. While he was beginning to chub up a little at the thought of being blown, with horniness gradually taking the place of logic, he particularly enjoyed the thought of seeing Leo have to blow the other two as well. Figuring it was a win-win situation, he shrugged and said, “Okay, go for it!”

“Fuck, okay,” Leo said, seemingly regretting the stakes already. “Okay, here goes,” he said as he lined up for the first shot. He managed to miss the targets again and let out a groan as he said, “Well I’m paying up then. I guess we should stop there!”

“Yeah, no chance. Take your last shot, sucker!” Caleb said with a wicked grin.

Leo let out a whimper that was amusingly reminiscent of Kai during the ‘making it worse’ section of getting a new dare. He retrieved the ball and positioned it for his final shot, set his eye on a target… and missed it spectacularly. “Fffffuck,” he whispered to himself as he watched his fate get sealed as the ball came to a stop. “Come on then, we may as well get on with this!” he sighed.

“What, here?” Caleb asked, looking around anxiously.

“Well not RIGHT here,” Leo said as he approached the shed at the back of the garden, which sported a boarded-up window that had never been fixed after a different football game had broken it. “Behind here,” he said as he headed behind the shed.

Caleb looked around again before following Leo.

“Come on then. Get it out!” Leo demanded.

“This is so unfair,” Caleb huffed. “YOU lost but I’m the one getting my dick out!”

“You want it sucked or not?” Leo asked, but before Caleb could actually answer, he reached out and yanked his shorts down.

Caleb scowled and went to reach for them, but realised it was mostly necessary, so he sighed and fished his cock out from his boxers which he tucked below his balls.

“That just looks stupid,” Leo said, shaking his head. He reached out and pulled the boxers down too, shoving them along with Caleb’s shorts down to his ankles as he squatted in front of him.

“Just get on with it,” Caleb huffed, blushing at his own nudity.

“Come on little fella,” Leo teased, looking at Caleb’s mostly-flaccid cock.

“Fucking watch it!” Caleb growled, but it just got an amused smirk in response.

Leo looked at the soft penis and sighed, “I shoulda made you shower first. I can smell it from here!”

Caleb blushed and felt momentarily awkward, but decided to lean into it as he smiled and said, “Price you pay for being a fuckin’ loser. Now suck it, bitch!”

“Okay,” Leo replied quickly, then blushed, shook his head and said, “I mean… shut up, bitch!”

“You’re the bitch, bitch!” Caleb said as he thrust his hips forward a little, his dick beginning to swell.

“Fuck,” Leo grunted, then opened his mouth and let the head of the cock rest on his tongue. He let out a disgusted grunt at the taste of sweaty cock, but decided the best thing to do was get the worst over with. Taking the full seven centimetres into his mouth, he closed his lips around it and swirled his tongue. Caleb’s thick patch of black pubes tickled his nose as he sucked the dick clean, then pulled back and spat onto the ground.

“Really know how to make a guy feel special,” Caleb said flatly, though it was mostly to try and distract himself from the embarrassment of his erecting penis. Both boys stared at the dick as it throbbed in time with Caleb’s heartbeat, swelling a little on each pump until it stood at its full fifteen centimetres.

Leo didn’t say anything more as he leant forward and took the cock into his mouth… all of it!

“Jesus!” Caleb gasped as he felt himself fully inside Leo, “You’re a natural at that!”

Leo sucked briefly for a moment before he pulled back and said, “Great, my parents’ll be so proud!” Getting a reluctant smirk from Caleb, he looked at the erection again and said, “On the bright side, at least it’s nice to know I’m bigger than you!”

“Fuck off, no you’re not!” Caleb scoffed.

“Umm… yes I am,” Leo argued.

“No you’re fucking not,” Caleb argued back.

“You wanna compare so I can prove it?” Leo asked, raising his eyebrows, expecting Caleb to back down.

“It’d prove you WRONG, but no, I ain’t comparing dicks with you. That’s… weird!” Caleb said a little awkwardly.

“Weirder than this?” Leo asked, gesturing to their general activity.

“Fair point, but still no!” Caleb insisted.

“Pfft, you just know I’m right,” Leo said with a grin as he stood and grasped at his own erection through his shorts.

“Firstly, you’re not right,” Caleb said, raising an eyebrow, “And secondly… you’re hard!?”

“Oh, I… I…” Leo stuttered, then frowned and said, “I’ll prove me right!” He pushed his shorts and underwear down in a single gesture, then stood back up with his cock pointing up towards Caleb’s face.

“SO not bigger,” Caleb said, if only to give himself something to say as he felt so awkward being naked with his friend.

“Here, look!” Leo said as he stepped forward and grabbed his own and Caleb’s dicks at the same time, placing them side-by-side. “Huh,” he grunted, “Pretty much the same!”

Caleb nodded and gulped as he stared at Leo, willing himself not to look down at the two dicks held in the other boy’s grasp. “Are you… gonna… let go?” he asked after a few moments.

“Yeah,” Leo replied, without letting go. He gulped anxiously and wrapped his other hand around the two cocks as he moved his own on top of Caleb’s. He cautiously slid his hands forwards and backwards a couple of times.

“L… Leo,” Caleb gasped, “What are you… doing?”

Leo didn’t answer. He kept his eyes fixed down on the two similarly-sized penises and began to increase the speed of his strokes. In awkward silence, the stroking continued for a few minutes, with Leo showing no signs of stopping and Caleb showing no attempt to make him.

“Leo,” Caleb gasped again. He finally looked down at his cock in his friend’s grip and let out a wheezy whimper before gulping. “Ah, oh god… that’s… you’re… you’re gonna…” he panted.

“Me too!” Leo replied back, breaking his silence.

A few moments later, both cocks began to spurt. Leo felt Caleb’s cum splatter against his balls while Caleb got Leo’s load squirted into his pubes with a little spattering up onto his stomach. Leo kept stroking until both boys had ejected their full loads onto each other.

“Leo,” Caleb said shakily as he pulled away, unsure what he was trying to say. He reached down and scraped as much of the spunk from his crotch as he could before flicking it onto the ground. He quickly reached down to pull his shorts and boxers back up, wincing as he felt a little wetness that could have been either of their jizz.

“I… really need to stop making stupid bets,” Leo said, blushing as he got himself dressed too. “Any chance… you WON’T tell the others I owe them a blow job?” he asked hopefully.

“If I do, does that mean you’ll tell them… what we did?” Caleb asked nervously.

“You think I wanna tell anyone about this?” Leo scoffed, “No fucking way!”

“Good, yeah, good,” Caleb nodded, increasingly embarrassed as the post-orgasmic clarity filled his mind. “But yeah, I’m totally telling them then!”

“Great,” Leo sighed. As they stepped out from behind the shed, he looked at the house and asked, “Whadda you reckon they’re up to anyway?”

“Probably playing Mario Kart!” Caleb said with a shrug.

“Really?” Leo asked, wide-eyed.

“No, you tit. They’re shagging. I’d put money on it!” Leo stated bluntly, sniggering at the other boy.

“You… they… oh,” Leo said, looking absolutely disheartened. Realising how he probably looked, he forced a smile and said, “Wait, how MUCH money? Could you bet anything else?”

“Hard pass!” Caleb sniggered, then glanced up at Miles’s bedroom window, curious about what was happening inside.

*****

“Whadda you reckon those two are up to?” Miles asked as he peeked between the curtains to see Leo and Caleb disappearing behind the shed.

“Probably shagging!” Kai shrugged.

“Hnnh, freaky,” Miles chuckled as he turned to face Kai, who was currently lying naked on the bed.

“So… what are we actually doing?” Kai asked, casually fiddling with his dick. It was amusing and a little embarrassing how quickly he had become used to being naked in front of Miles, as well as his comfort with casually touching himself. Of all the other three, Miles was the one he had done the most with. Well technically, Caleb was the one he had done the most THINGS with, but Miles was the one he had been with most frequently, as he had taken full advantage of the daily blow jobs he had offered.

“Testing something,” Miles said, looking slightly anxious.

“You okay?” Kai asked as he sat up, cocking his head sympathetically.

“Yeah,” Miles nodded, “I just… it kinda feels like… there’s something I need to figure out. Could you lay back down please.”

“Sure,” Kai said with a nod, resuming his previous position. He watched as Miles walked over to him, weary of what was happening but not scared of whatever his friend intended.

Miles reached down and tweaked Kai’s nipple. He hummed thoughtfully before doing it again, then one more on both nipples.

Kai gasped gently at the touches, but frowned at the expression on his friend’s face and started, “What are you…”

“Shh!” Miles hushed him. He turned his gaze slightly down Kai’s body, then reached out to poke his erection with the tip of his finger. He watched as it swung a little to the side, then slid most of the way back into place, leaving a slight wet smear on the smooth, flat stomach it rested upon.

Kai continued to look confused and tried again, “What are you…”

“Shhhhut up!” Miles hissed, raising a hand to cover Kai’s mouth. “Seriously. I’ll put something in there to silence you soon enough, but first… let me do this!” he insisted.

Kai nodded and the hand was pulled away.

Miles took a breath and exhaled slowly as he reached down to grasp Kai’s cock. Sniggering a little at the way the other boy jerked and gasped at the touch, he gave the erection a cursory stroke before letting go. “Nope!” he stated, seemingly to himself.

Kai wanted to question it again, but remained silent as Miles knelt down onto the ground next to the bed.

“Okay, just… stay still and shut up,” Miles said as he took another deep breath. He leaned forward and took Kai’s cock into his mouth.

Kai let out another shuddery gasp as he felt a mouth around his dick for the first time, but by the time he began to enjoy it, Miles had pulled back, gagging a retching as he wiped at his tongue with his hands.

“Definite no!” Mile said as he finished cleansing his tongue. His brow furrowed heavily as he looked at the prone, naked boy. As their eyes met, he asked, “Any chance you’re okay with kissing?”

“What!?” Kai exclaimed in surprise.

“No, never mind. Kinda pointless,” Miles said, shaking his head, “Pretty sure I have my answer!”

“Answer to… what?” Kai asked cautiously as he sat up again.

Miles sighed and sat at his side. He shrugged briefly as he thought about how to answer, then said, “Well… all of this stuff we’re doing, it’s kinda… made me question some things and, y’know, you can only be turned on by a naked Kai so many times before you start to wonder… am I into him, or, like… am I gay or something?”

“Oh, I see,” Kai said, nodding a little. “I… take it from the almost vomiting my dick caused that you got a pretty clear answer then!”

Miles chuckled and said, “Yeah, sorry about that. Nothing personal, I swear!”

“Feels kinda personal,” Kai pouted.

“No,” Miles said, shaking his head, “It’s really not! I… well, you fucking know I like getting sucked by you and, honestly… I’m gonna keep doing that as long as you let me or until I get someone else to do it for me!”

“Yay?” Kai said with a bemused shrug.

“It just turns out… stuff that involves… unisex parts – stuff like hands, mouths whatever – well it works for me cos I close my eyes and picture you as someone else!” Miles explained.

“Oh, but it’s not personal,” Kai mumbled, receiving an elbow to the ribs for it.

“Look, it’s really not and all this is fun and I totally wanna keep doing it but…” Mile paused, puffing out his cheeks for a moment before exhaling slowly. “Okay, I’m just gonna say it and I’ve never actually said this out loud before so please don’t’ freak out or you’ll scar me for life but… Kai… I’m straight!”

“Wow,” Kai said, smirking a little, “That’s… big. I mean… how d’you think your parents are gonna take it?”

Miles laughed as he stood up. “Ah, they’ll be fine, they’re pretty open minded!” he said jokingly, “Now, I believe I promised to put something in your mouth!”

“Oh, NOW you want me!” Kai scoffed, “Fine, do it, but stick your fan on. I’m sweating my knackers off over here, it’s so fucking hot!”

“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity!” Miles said with a nod as he turned the fan on. “Now suck me silly!” he said as he launched himself at Kai.

*****

“We’ll come over to yours before the game tomorrow to get Kai ready,” Miles said happily as he gathered with the others near the front door. As much as the boys COULD spent every night together, sometimes they still liked to actually stay in their own houses.

“Yesss,” Leo hissed happily, “Can’t wait. Kai the cheerleader’s making his debut!”

“Woo,” Kai said flatly, waving imaginary pom-poms.

Before the others could say anything further, there was an unexpected knock at the door. “We’ve got it!” Miles called out to his parents who were watching TV in the lounge.

Leo let out a slight gasp and whispered, “You mean KAI’S got it!” He turned to his brother and hissed, “Quick, strip!”

“Fuck!” Kai grunted as he started pulling off his t-shirt. He could feel his dick twitching as he rapidly undressed and by the time he was naked, he was sporting a semi-erection that thickened quickly in his grasp as he was shoved towards the door.

Quickly scurrying aside, the others gestured to Kai to go on and, cock in hand, he opened the front door.

“Oh my word!” a middle-aged woman exclaimed as she stood alongside a man slightly younger than her. Both looked shocked and appalled.

“Would you… like to see me cum?” Kai asked awkwardly as he stood fully exposed before the two strangers.

“Absolutely NOT!” the woman squawked before turning away, the man accompanying her hurrying behind.

Blushing profusely, Kai slammed the door and lunged for his clothes as the others burst into laughter.

“WHO WAS IT?” Miles’s dad called out.

“Umm, I don’t think we need to worry about the Jehovah’s Witnesses bothering us anymore!” Miles shouted back, causing even louder laughter from the rest.

Frantically dressing for fear of being caught naked by Miles’s parents, Kai pulled on his clothes and got ready to head back home with Leo and Caleb as he muttered, “Ugh, that was so embarrassing!” It got more sniggers from the others.

“Ugh,” Caleb grunted as the door opened, “How is it hotter out here than it is inside?”

“It’s the humidity!” Leo and Kai both replied before smirking at the synchronicity.

After a quick goodbye to Miles at the door, followed by another goodbye across the road with Caleb as he headed off down the road to his own house, the twins headed in. They stopped to chat to their parents for a while, talking through their weekend plans briefly before the twins headed upstairs.

“I guess I need to tie you down now, cos I ain’t supervising you for the rest of the night!” Leo said as he followed Kai into his room.

“Ugh, no,” Kai grunted. “It’s too hot for that. I’m not doing it!”

“You have to. It was the punishment!” Leo insisted.

“No, the punishment was NOT to cum and I can do that without you tying me up. Besides, I can’t sleep properly like that!” Kai grumbled.

“I’m tying you up!” Leo insisted as he shoved Kai onto the bed.

“No, you’re not!” Kai argued back, kicking his brother away.

“Yes, I am!” Leo said angrily, catching Kai’s foot as he tried to kick again on his next approach.

“Oh my god, fuck off Leo!” Kai snapped. “I’m doing what you say. I’m doing the dares, I’m doing the punishments just leave me the fuck alone. You’re SO annoying!” he barked furiously.

“Ah, geez chill, ya little bitch,” Leo huffed as he backed away. “Fine, just… don’t do any shit you’re not supposed to!”

“Whatever. Fuck off,” Kai huffed as he shook his head and rolled his eyes. He turned away from his brother and heard his door slam a moment later, followed by the same from Leo’s bedroom door across the hall. “Dickhead,” he muttered angrily.

*****

Kai awoke to the sound of an almighty crash. He wondered what it was for a moment, until he heard the rain pelting against his window. A summer storm was raging outside. Barely more than a second later, his mind jumped to his brother. As he clicked on his bedside lamp and sat up, intending to head across the hall, his door quietly opened.

“Kai,” Leo said shakily as he stepped into the room. “I know you said to fuck off, and I’m really sorry about earlier, but…”

“It’s okay, come on,” Kai interrupted, offering a meek smile as he shuffled across on his bed to make room, then patted the vacant space.

Leo hated storms, or rather he was mortally terrified of thunder and lightning. Neither boy could even recall when it started, or if something specific had caused it, but any time there was a storm Leo had ended up taking shelter with his twin.

Leo, looking utterly embarrassed, walked across the room towards Kai’s bed, but just before he reached it there was a flash of lightning that made him jump and immediately flinch. Placing his hands to his ears as he tightly closed his eyes, he let out a whimper as the inevitable clap of thunder followed.

Kai shuffled back across and reached out to grab Leo and pulled him towards the bed. Pulling the hands away from his ears, Kai said softly, “Come on, get in!”

The two boys were laid side-by-side as Kai clicked the lamp off, though the moment he did, the room lit back up for an instant as the bright bolt of lightning flashed, bright enough to be seen around the curtains. Leo whimpered again and as the inevitable clap of thunder followed, he lunged to the side and grabbed onto Kai.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Kai said softly as he slipped an arm under his brother and draped the other one over him, pulling him close.

“I’m so stupid. I’m such a fucking pussy!” Leo sniffed, humiliated and scared all at once.

“No, you’re not,” Kai whispered, giving him a quick squeeze.

A moment later there was another bolt of lightning, followed by the rumble of thunder almost instantly. The storm was right on top of them it seemed.

“Make it stop!” Leo sniffled, rocking slightly.

“Hey come on, try this!” Kai said, moving both himself and his twin slightly to get Leo’s ear pressed against his chest. “Can you hear my heartbeat?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Leo replied weakly.

“Okay, then listen to that. Focus on the sound of it and nothing else, and just count!” Kai instructed.

“For how long?” Leo asked curiously.

“However long it takes,” Kai replied obliquely. “Just close your eyes and count,” he reiterated, then held both hands over Leo’s other ear to mute the sound of the storm as much as he could.

Though he felt his brother jump slightly at the next two crashes of thunder, they got progressively weaker and by the third there was no reaction at all, the sound of his breathing growing deeper and more rhythmic. Kai remained awake, holding Leo and covering his ear, waiting for the storm to die down. Annoying as Leo was, Kai loved his twin. Seeing him so scared was always hard, but it almost felt nice to feel like the stronger one for a change.

Satisfied that Leo was sound asleep and unlikely to be bothered by the storm again, Kai nuzzled his cheek against the top of Leo’s head for a moment before closing his eyes to drift off to sleep.