Chain Male (5 page)

"This is a lot of work," Chad said.

"Kind of. I could be lazy and use folding tables, but I like mine. Tell me they aren't cool as hell. Can you get tablecloths on them while I get the chairs made? Tablecloths match the tabletop paint."

"Yeah, no problem."

"It's the container with the red lid. You might get the bed parts around, too, the boards with holes along their lengths and the four with little square holes in the middle. And the coils of rope."

Chad couldn't argue with the coolness. Where there had been a bare patch of grass, there was now a little tent with carved wooden slats, a sunshade and several tables. Jace had just put together two chairs shaped like partial Xs. He settled on the shortest edge of one and lit several large multi-wick candles.

Chad dumped the lumber in the tent and watched Jace carry a candle in. As he covered the tables, he heard Jace putting wood together and the slithery hiss of rope. He came up short on clothes, and didn't cover the table Jace had put back by the tent.

Jace called, "Set the containers on the tables, the lid color matches the tablecloth and put the cooler on the uncovered table. Put the little spool between our chairs. That's for drinks and the cashbox. Thanks."

Chad picked up a blue-lidded container and nearly staggered under the weight. He lugged it to the table with the blue cloth. He couldn't believe how heavy the boxes were. Used to lugging a lot of books as he shelved, he got them to the tables. There was no cooler, just a couple of large, ornately painted wooden boxes. Jace must have invested a lot money and work in this hobby. He remembered Jace saying he made more selling the mail than he did on his day job.

"Chad, come help me," Jace called from in the tent.

"Thought I was," Chad grumbled, but went in anyway. By the light of the candle set on a platform hanging from the ridgepole, he saw Jace with his feet braced against the foot of the bed. The ropes were woven across the bottom to form springs.

"Get settled and pull that first loop as tight as you can," Jace said. They pulled at the ropes, tightening them until the boards bowed inward just a little.

Chad just stared. How did Jace manage this all by himself? He must bring someone else with him. He wouldn't ask.

"If you can get the bed made, I'll get the booth settled and we'll have some dinner. Oh, and throw our clothing containers under the bed. Mine's the box with the ring on the lid."

"How do you do this alone?" Chad winced as he blurted it out.

Jace gave him a grin. "I usually hire some broke college student to be my minion all weekend. I pay them in food and a piece of mail. Girls work well, because chain mail bikinis are a good draw for the booth."

Chad returned the grin and got the big foam roll off the trailer. "I have no doubt." He unrolled the foam, only to find the bedding was all still in it. He smoothed it and tucked it in. The clothing box was easy and he added his own duffle under the bed.

Jace had a lot of the heavier pieces set up. "Almost there. And it's not even seven. An hour and a half is a new record. Can you park a trailer?" Chad stammered. "I guess that's a no. Think you can arrange the tables neatly?"

"That I can manage."

"Let's get dressed before I take the car out." Jace went into the tent and the light dimmed a little. Chad followed and saw he had blown out two of the three wicks.

Jace had a blue tunic trimmed with gold Celtic knotwork laid out. He had shrugged off his own T-shirt and was shaking out a red tunic with yellow entwined dragons around the neck.

Chad stared. He just realized he'd never seen Jace shirtless. All the kissing, all the frotting, all the blowjobs, Jace had stayed dressed for them all. He stared a little more. Little silver rings hung in both of Jace's nipples. Jace saw him looking and grinned.

"Please." Chad sighed, reaching out to touch one. The ring was warm from body contact and Jace shivered when he stroked the nipple itself. "Gorgeous," he whispered, before lowering his mouth to cover one nipple, ring and all. Jace thrust against him, hard and ready.

"These are gorgeous," Chad said, nibbling a bit before he released Jace. He fingered the woven trim on the blue tunic. "This is, too. Everything is so ornate." He stole a kiss. "Even your body."

Jace gave him another grin. "Wait'll you see the tat, then."

"You have a tattoo?"

Jace turned around. Chad gaped at the art. Jace wore a mural on his back, his hobby indelibly marked into his skin. Chad traced the intricate patterns, the knotted beasts and birds, the twining flowers, all in glorious full color.

"You're either speechless at its beauty or you hate it." Jace looked over his shoulder.

Chad softly kissed the potted plant that had flowers shaped like little penises, near the middle of Jace's back. "This is the most ornate thing I've seen yet." He kissed Jace's mouth, then pulled his tunic on over his long-sleeved T-shirt.

Jace got into his own tunic and pulled Chad close, sliding his cool hands under both tunic and T-shirt to tweak Chad's own intact nipples. "You my pretty little thrall for the weekend? Get you dressed, have you display my goods." He pushed the hem up and lowered his head to nibble at one of Chad's nipples.

Chad groaned and ground against him.

"Will you keep or do you need something hot and fast?" Jace kissed him hard before he could answer.

Chad felt his face flush in the cool evening. Jace always got to him. "Definitely a little something."

Jace slipped one hand down the front of Chad's pants. "Hand okay?"

"Yeah." Chad wrapped himself around Jace for support. Jace's big, strong hand closed around his cock and he looked down at Jace's face. Jace looked up and kissed him, his hand moving fast and hard, but never painfully.

Chad sucked on Jace's tongue, but when Jace squeezed his cock just so, he was lost. He shot off in his underwear, with a soft gasp against Jace's mouth.

"We can play more later, babe. Let me get the car out of here." Jace kissed him again and walked out, licking his hand clean.

Chad sat down hard on the bed, finding it springy and more comfortable than the average cot.

When his knees decided to work again, he stepped out and started arranging the mail on the tables, hanging the earrings on the rack, like Jace had started and standing up the little armored teddy bears. He noticed Jace had put out a little wooden sign, carved to read "Olaf Ringstad, Armorer," with five interlinked rings and some runes underneath it. Everything was in place when Jace came back.

Jace strolled back, a candle lantern in one hand, a staff in the other, looking like something out of a storybook. "Looks good," he said. "We probably won't sell much tonight, everyone's getting all set up. But we might. I'll stay open until midnight in case." He opened a lockbox and set it on the little spool table between their chairs. "There's a price cheat-sheet in here, but everything's labeled. I have a sales tax calculator as well. You hungry?"

Chad's stomach rumbled. "You said there was a cooler."

"Yeah. The box with the big ring on top and the tree of life, you know, the cock-flower one, on the side."

Chad grinned as he opened that box and found it was foam-lined. A couple bags of frozen stuff sat beside sausage, cheese and fruit.

"I made stew for tomorrow evening. We'll just heat it over the brazier. There's oatmeal for tomorrow morning. Bring the sausage and cheese. There are some crackers in the storage box with the little hammer on top."

They ate dinner and watched the camp take shape around them. Several merchants had already set up and Chad watched two more, a clothing seller and a book vendor, get their tents in order. All the booths seemed to be open late.

In ones and twos, people began to drift along the torch-lit path, wandering in and out of the sales booths. Chad watched as Jace got to his feet and made a small bow to a man in a brass crown. He got up and followed suit.

He listened to Jace talk about mail and smiled when he sold the man a pouch. Jace bowed again as the man left, and tucked the money away, grinning from ear to ear.

"That's the Crown Prince, just won last weekend. He wants me to make matching coifs for his coronation."

Chad shook his head. He understood the words, but not how they went together. "Little words for the new kid, Jace."

"He fought in Crown Tourney last weekend and he's the new Prince. He'll be crowned King in March and rule for six months. He wants me to do head pieces," Jace laid his hand on a foam head holding a delicate lady's coif, "for him and the Princess. That's a couple hundred bucks, right there. He'll pay for those, but I'll throw in some extra goodies as a coronation present."

They watched the people a little more.

"You can go shop if you want," Jace offered. "I'll hold the fort if you let me take a leak before you leave."

"Go on. I have the cheat-sheet." Chad wasn't too worried. Jace headed down to a line of Porta Potties at the far end of the trail. Chad just watched people.

A pretty girl in a low-cut red dress stopped and looked over the teddy bears. She smiled. "Do you make them?" she asked, toying with her hair, making sure he saw the tip of her braid teasing her cleavage.

Chad hesitated. "No, my boyfriend does." The word felt silly out of his mouth, but it was apparently the right thing to say. The girl checked her pouch and looked at the price tag. She wandered on down to the next booth.

Jace came back and settled down in his chair.

"Sorry, Olaf, I lost a sale," Chad said, gesturing at the girl.

"Oh. Her." Jace waved dismissively. "She thinks she can get anything she wants by being cute and putting out. Does her good to know we don't all swing that way. Now, shoo. Go shop. Wander around. You want a lantern? It's pretty bright out tonight."

"Yes, please. City boy, you know." Chad took the lantern Jace handed him and walked out. Merchant's Row was open, all the tents well lit. Shops sold clothes and books, leather work and tableware, armor and furniture. Anything he needed to get started on this hobby could be had if he had a big enough bankroll.

He reached the end of the row and saw campfires through the trees. The sound of drums and singing came to him, so he went that way.

" ...
call the cry

How many of them can we make die!"

Everyone at the fire shouted the last line, until the echoes rang off the tree line. The song ended and another began.

"Once we feared the beast

When he followed us we ran

Ran very fast though we knew

That it was not right for the beast to master man

but what could we flint-workers do?"

Chad found a spot on the edge of the circle and listened as the singer told of the great god Tyr, who had sold an eye for a magic knife to save humanity from the beast. A man rose and told the tale of how he had ridden a pooka. A woman started a song about a lady in love with the court fool, but married to a duke, and how she switched their bodies with sorcery.

Songs and stories traveled around the circle, holding him enthralled. Most of the people weren't terribly talented, but they all took a great joy in their performance. After the last song finished, there was silence and he realized everyone was looking at him.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any songs or stories." Chad flushed, glad it was dark enough they wouldn't see.

"That's fine," the older man who seemed to be leading the performances said.

Chad noticed the moon was much higher than it had been when he left Jace. As the next singer started, something about mourning King Harald Godwinson, he slipped away, heading back to Merchant's Row.

Jace was sitting comfortably, working with a pair of pliers in each hand on some mail. "Nice walk?" he asked with a smile.

"Yeah. All kinds of stuff to buy and I found people singing."

"Yeah, there's always a bardic circle at night. Tomorrow, there will be belly dancers, too. And some idiot will drum all night long and another one will take it into his head to pipe the camp awake at dawn with a set of Great Pipes. Do you know," Jace set the mail aside, "the bagpipe is the only musical instrument to be banned as a weapon of war?"

Chad laughed as he sat down. "What time is it?"

"Time to close up shop," Jace said. He dowsed all the lanterns, except one, and covered his wares with a black cloth. He took the moneybox into the tent with him, after blowing out the last candle.

"You aren't afraid of thieves?"

"I'm the only mail-maker out here. My stuff is pretty distinctive and I have an official inventory sheet. Money? Money has no maker's mark. But my mail does." Jace shut the tent flap behind them.

Chad swallowed hard. It hit him that he was going to sleep with Jace tonight. Sleep at least, maybe more. Jace stripped down to his pants. Chad swallowed again at the sight of those sexy nipple rings, shining when Jace reached over his head and took the candle out of the ridgepole lantern. He sat on the bed, waiting, letting the candle make strange shadows.

"Coming?" Jace grinned.

Chad gulped for air and stuttered. Jace just laughed at him.

"To bed, trashmind," Jace added.

"Oh. Yeah." Chad stripped off his tunic and shirt, the cool night making his nipples peak, and crawled in quickly. Jace blew out the candle's last wick and covered them both with several layers of blankets, including one faux fur throw that looked like bearskin. "No lights?"

"Can't sleep with them. Beside," Jace kissed his neck, "we're about to get busy, right?"

"Oh hell yeah," Chad was already unbuttoning Jace's pants.

"We don't want an audience."

"Audience?" Chad gulped.

"No shit, there I was..." The way Jace said it, the words sounded like "once upon a time." "It was a camping event in early summer, and night had just fallen. The tent was white. She was married. He was married. But not to each other. They left the lantern on. The rest of us pulled up our chairs and watched the porn. We applauded when they finished."

"Holy crap." Chad gaped at the tale. "No lights," he agreed