Date: Thu, 09 Nov 2000 19:39:42 GMT
From: Irda Majere <jack_kea@hotmail.com>
Subject: Something Else Part VIII

Hey y'all!!! I do hope you've missed me, I like being missed. AND that
you've missed Something Else, 'cos it's my favourite story! :) I know it's
been ages since I last updated it, but that's only due to lack of
inspiration. But I've already started chapter nine, so there is hope for me
yet! Don't forget to send all that lovely feedback! :) The address is:
jack_kea@hotmail.com  Enjoy!

But before we get down to business I want to say a big HIYA!! to the
following ppl: Amber (when do we get to see more of Daz and co?? Hurry up,
girl!), Erica (hope you haven't given up on me! write to me soon!), Kelly (I
know you're probably not reading this, but HI anyway....), Mich (I'm afraid
I deleted the last chapters you sent me from your story! sorry! you have to
send them again!), Jay (don't keep us waiting...what's with the rose
pedals?) and Diana (haven't heard from you in ages! write to me!) I think
that's everyone. If somebody thinks that he or she is missing, just kick me.
Love ya!

Disclaimer: My disclaimer was inadequate last time, so here's a proper
            one: The author does not imply anything about the sexual
            preferences of Ronan Keating, Nicholas Byrne and Shane
            Filan, or that Mrs. Yvonne Keating is a prostitute. All
            other characters are fictional andany resemblence to actual
            people, living or dead, is purly coincidental. This story
            is not meant for persons under the age of 18. So there.

Something Else
by Irda Majere


Part VIII


When Ronan woke up the next morning, he opened his eyes and saw his own
face staring back at him. Being so newly awakened, the boy was confused at
first, but soon remembered his boss's strangely situated mirrors. But he
also noted that he was alone in the bed; Areq was nowhere to be seen. The
youth sat up and stretched. Wondering where the big man might have gone,
Ronan stood up and started looking for his clothes. Then he remembered that
he'd only been wearing his boxers when he'd come to his boss' room, so he
put on the discarded underwear and went to his own bedroom to get dressed.

Once fully clothed, Ronan made his way downstairs in order to get some
breakfast, and on his way to the kitchen he heard splashing noises coming
from the room where his boss had a large, very deep swimming pool. He
entered the huge room and discovered that the sounds came from his boss who
was having an early morning swim. Even though he'd seen it before, the
sight of the black man's naked body still amazed Ronan as he watched Areq
glide smoothly through the water. It was a while before the big man noticed
his audience, and Ronan's eyes were transfixed on the beautiful form the
whole time before Areq finally looked up.

"Good morning," Areq greeted, bringing Ronan out of his trance-like state.

"Good morning," Ronan replied, feeling a bit embarrassed about being caught
staring. He just prayed the older man hadn't noticed.

"Would you like to join me?" Areq asked. Ronan froze when he heard the
words. He would have liked to, but he would rather die than admit that he
couldn't swim. Areq would probably laugh at him.

"Nah," he replied as indifferently as he could, "but thanks anyway." Areq
swam to the brink of the pool so that he was right by Ronan's bare feet.

"Are you sure? The water's great, just the right temperature," Areq pushed,
making Ronan search frantically for an excuse to tell his boss.

"Nah, I'm just going to have some breakfast, I'm kinda hungry." With that,
Ronan prepared to leave but before he could turn around Areq jumped up,
grabbed the front of Ronan's trousers and pulled him into the pool.

The sight of the boy splashing around in the pool made Areq laugh, but when
he realized Ronan wasn't swimming he soon seized his laughter. He quickly
grabbed the boy and held him up in his strong arms. Ronan tightly wrapped
his arms around Areq's neck, and fought to catch his breath. When he was
breathing normally, he glared at his boss angrily.

"Get me out of this damn pool right now, Areq!" he yelled angrily. Areq had
never seen Ronan angry before, and the sight amused him more than worried
him. He smiled broadly.

"I'm sorry, " he said with a laugh, "I had no idea you couldn't swim."
Ronan only hardened his not-so-threatening glare.

"This is not funny, Areq!" the boy exclaimed dramatically, "I almost
drowned!"

"No you didn't!" Areq laughed. "I was right here, I would never have let
you drown!" Ronan had to admit that was true, Areq wouldn't have just stood
there and watched him drown in his own pool. But he was still angry with
him.

"Whatever, just get me out of this goddamn pool!"

"No."

Ronan stared at the black man in amazement. "What do you mean, no!"

"No, I won't let you out," Areq replied, barely containing his laughter but
keeping a straight face.

Ronan just stared at him. "Why not?" he sputtered.

"Because I want you in here with me," Areq replied as serious as ever.

Now Ronan was getting furious. "Let me go!" he yelled as he tried in vain
to loosen the grip Areq had on his small body. Then suddenly, without
warning, Areq planted his lips on Ronan's and slid his tongue inside the
younger man's mouth. Ronan stopped thrashing around, and the crease in his
brow slowly faded as the kiss deepened.

The kiss reminded Areq of last night, the short but sweet sexual encounter
with the young boy, and the memories aroused him. Bringing them both to the
edge of the pool, Areq lifted Ronan up on the ledge before getting out
himself. Ronan didn't object as Areq removed his soaked clothing, and when
Areq felt Ronan's naked body next to his he became more and more
excited. He lay the boy down on his back and lay himself on top; his hands
moving down to spread Ronan's legs. But when Ronan realized Areq's
intentions, he yelled for him to stop.

"What?!" Areq exclaimed irritably.

"I-I don't want you to," Ronan said, trying not to show how terrified he
was of the overpowering man. For a moment, Areq said nothing; he just
stared at the boy beneath him with an angry look in his eyes. Ronan was
sure he was going to do it, in spite of his objections, and he closed his
eyes and prepared for the worst. But the next thing he knew, he felt Areq
move away from him and heard his bare feet as they slapped against the wet
floor. When Ronan opened his eyes he saw Areq walking out of the room
without even glancing back at him.

The boy sat up and drew a shuddering breath. 'That was close,' he thought
as he got up to his feet and started gathering his soaking clothes. 'I
really thought he would do it, though, and he still might. Just because I
stopped him now, doesn't mean it'll work again.' He scolded himself for
trusting the big man too much, and promised himself he wouldn't be so
stupid anymore. He was a criminal, after all.

Ronan made his way up to his room to shower and get into some clean
clothes. As he sat on the bed and thought about what had happened-or almost
happened-by the swimming pool, he felt tears start to sting his eyes. But
he didn't let them fall. 'This is it, Ronan,' he thought to himself, a new
determination rising in him. 'You've done enough crying for a
lifetime. From now on, you're not going to bawl like some spoiled brat
every time something goes wrong. You ran away from mommy and daddy and it's
time you started taking responsibility for your actions!' Ronan almost
smiled. Add a 'young man!' and he'd sound exactly like an accusing
parent. He took a deep breath and let it out.

"And now you're going to go down there and face that bloody pervert," he
said out loud. "What's he doing, anyway, screwing around with a
fifteen-year-old?" He stood up and made his way downstairs.

Areq was sitting in the living room, wearing only a pair of loose fitting
trousers and holding a glass of whiskey. His head was resting on the back
of the couch, his eyes closed, making Ronan wonder if maybe he was
asleep. He went over to the couch and stood beside him, the big man never
moving or acknowledging his presence.

Ronan crossed his arms and said: "Isn't it a bit early in the day for
that?" Areq's eyes opened and he looked up at the boy standing over him.

"Hey," he said in a low voice, smiling. "I didn't think you were talking to
me." Ronan just shrugged. "I'm sorry about what happened by the pool," Areq
said as he sat up and lifted his arm as if to gesture for Ronan to sit with
him. Ronan, remembering that he was supposed to be grown up now, took the
offer and placed himself on the big man's lap.

"I forgive you," Ronan replied in a voice that suggested it was a great
honour for Areq to have been forgiven.

Areq smiled again and kissed Ronan on the cheek affectionately. Burying his
face in the boy's neck, he said: "Thank you."

Ronan wrapped his arms around the bare shoulders. "Just don't do it again,"
he said sternly, and quite uncharacteristically, making Areq laugh
inwardly. The boy was so cute when he was being serious.


After that, things started going much better for Ronan; the following six
weeks or so were great. It didn't take Ronan long to learn all about
picking the kids up in the mornings, and he was actually starting to get
along with them quite well. And, most importantly, he was getting along
fine with his boss. Which was good, 'cause he spent a lot of time with the
big man. He went with him everywhere, sometimes feeling like a loyal dog;
the way he was at his side at all times. Old Trusty, he was.

And, Ronan had to admit, he was starting to fancy Areq something bad. The
way the older man adored him was incredibly flattering and exciting, and
their sexual encounters continued, though they were all alike to their
first one. Ronan wasn't ready to go any further, and he was sure Areq
understood.

But one day when Ronan, Areq and the kids were lounging around the house,
something happened that made Ronan change his mind about his boss.

The boy was walking past Seth's bedroom door when he heard grunts and moans
coming from the room within. Too curious to walk away and his heart beating
at record speed, Ronan pushed the door open a crack and peered inside. The
sound of his young heart breaking could probably be heard in the whole
house. On the bed was Seth going down on Nicky and Areq was behind the
lithe black-haired boy, plowing away like there was no tomorrow.

Nic happened to open his eyes at that moment as he was shooting his load in
Seth's throat, so he saw the broken youth standing in the door. But before
he could say a word, Ronan was gone. Nic waited for Areq to finish, and
when Seth had licked his boss' shaft clean of the juice, Nic spoke
up. "Areq," he said as Seth moved his lips up to the black man's pierced
nipple.

"Not now," Areq said, rapidly regaining his impressive erection as Seth
serviced his chest and neck before eagerly lowering himself downwards.

Nic ignored his boss' reply and went on. "Ronan was here, watching."

"So?" Areq replied irritably as Seth took most of his hard member down his
throat.

"He seemed quite upset," Nicky pressed.

"Then go talk to him!" Areq snapped as Seth moved his head up and down
rapidly, assisted by Areq's big hands which had their fingers entwined in
the black hair.

Nic rolled his eyes and got up and got dressed. He went over to Ronan's
room and knocked. No reply. "Ronan?" he called through the closed
door. "You in there?" Still no reply. Nic tried the door handle and
discovered it was unlocked. He gently pushed it open and stepped into the
dark room. Reaching over and turning on the lights, Nicky looked around the
room but Ronan wasn't there. He decided to search the rest of the
house. 'He must be somewhere,' he thought as he made his way down the
corridor.


Nic was really starting to worry now. He couldn't find the kid anywhere;
he'd looked in each and every room of the house but to no avail. Hurrying
up to Seth's room, he burst in without knocking. Areq was now going down on
the smaller man from behind, but Nic ignored their actions and announced:
"Ronan has run away. I can't find him anywhere."

Areq's head snapped up. "What?!" he exclaimed.

"Something must have upset him, 'cos he's gone."

Areq pushed Seth away, the latter pouting disappointingly. The black man
threw his clothes on in a hurry and threw Seth's clothes onto the bed. "Get
dressed," he ordered, "you're going to help us look." Seth didn't seem
happy, but he didn't object and quickly got dressed.

The trio searched the whole of Dublin, but there was no sign of the blonde
anywhere. It was as if he'd vanished into thin air, and as far as Nic and
especially Seth were concerned, they didn't care anymore. They were hungry,
tired, and sick of Areq snapping at them every time they dared speak a
word.

Eventually, Nic couldn't take it anymore. "Areq, have you considered that
maybe he went home to his family?" Areq didn't reply, but the blonde could
tell that he had considered that possibility. "And if he has, " Nic
continued, "you know it's for the best. Our life is not suitable for a kid
like Ronan." Still no reply, but Nic knew Areq agreed with him, even if he
didn't like it. He was crazy about the kid. They all liked him, but Areq
was smitten. The way he looked at the blonde boy sometimes was amazing, the
admiration was so strong. 'It isn't going to be easy finding a replacement
for that one,' Nic sighed as Areq finally headed homewards.

Nic had no idea at the time how true that statement was. Ten days passed,
and Areq rejected every single potential escort Shaqur and the rest brought
to see him, saying things like, "He talks too much," or "His teeth are too
big." Nobody seemed to fit the job, and Areq's brother was getting
desperate.

One time when Areq had just turned down another guy, saying that his eyes
were too far apart, Shaq burst. "This is it!" he exclaimed. "You can't turn
down every single guy we bring you, just because they aren't all Rowan!"

"Ronan," Seth and Everlyn both corrected.

"Whatever," Shaq replied.

They all looked at Areq, waiting for this reply. Finally, he
sighed. "You're right," he said as he stood up and put on his
overcoat. "This can't go on."

"So you're gonna take Felix?" Everlyn asked hopefully as Seth turned to run
after the boy Areq had just rejected.

"No," Areq replied, making Everlyn lose her hopeful look. "I'm going to
find Ronan." They all groaned as the big man exited the room in a flurry of
black leather.

Areq had driven around for hours in the pouring rain, and it was getting
darker and darker, but he was nowhere near quitting. 'Ronan could freeze to
death in this weather,' he thought as he parked his car and went to look in
the park. Ronan had said once that there was where he'd slept when he'd
been on the street.

The big man had searched almost the whole park when he saw a shadowed form
sitting beneath a big tree, absoloutely still. "Ronan!" Areq called as he
ran towards the hunched form. It was he. He had his eyes closed and he
didn't reply as Areq repeatedly called his name. Areq picked him up in his
arm after slinging the blonde's backpack over one shoulder and carried the
comatose boy to his car. He placed him in the backseat, secured his seat
belt and sped home.

Nic and Filan were sitting in the living room when Areq burst through the
door, dripping wet and carrying something that looked like a person.

"Get some towels and some blankets, now!" he yelled at the two surprised
youths as he carried Ronan up to his own bedroom. Shane and Nic dared not
but obey and quickly gathered the requested objects before following their
boss into his bedroom.

They saw the big man sitting on the bed next to the naked figure of a young
man, whom they immediately recognized to be Ronan. Nic cried his friend's
name as they both ran to the bed.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Shane asked shakily as he handed Areq the towels,
watching as the black man dried the small form of the blond boy. Areq
didn't reply, he just covered the whole of Ronan's body in the blankets
before pulling his big, silky duvet over him, a grim but worried expression
on his face.

"Leave us," Areq ordered without even glancing at the twosome who were
standing behind him, looking anxiously over his shoulder at the still form
of their young friend. Even though they both longed to stay, Filan and Nic
left the room without objection.

After they had left, Areq picked up the phone and called a friend of his
who was a doctor. Because of his occupation, he didn't dare take the boy to
a hospital. But he trusted Katarina, he always called on her when one of
his employees needed medical care.

While he waited for her to arrive, Areq noticed some marks on Ronan's
face. His lip was cut and he had a fading black eye on his right eye. As he
wondered what (or who) could have caused this, the doctor walked in. Areq
stood up to greet her, relieved to see his good friend.

Katarina was in her early thirties. She had long, brown hair and blue eyes
that sparkled almost mischievously, but she also had a look of sharp
intelligence about her. She was a tall woman at about 5'11", but she seemed
even taller somehow because of her chin-up posture and no-bullshit manner.

After examining the boy, she told Areq her diagnosis. "He's undernourished,
that's the main reason for him being unconscious. And, of course, due to
the fact that he's been sleeping outside in this damn wet weather we've
been having." Then, pointing to the bruises on Ronan's face, she added,
"And I may not be an expert but I'd say he's been attacked."

Areq's brows furrowed. "Attacked?"

The doctor nodded. "Yep." Then, a bit hesitantly, she added, "Want me to
see if he was raped?" Areq glanced at her with an expression of both
discomfort and nearly unattainable fury; and gave a small, almost
imperceptible nod.

He turned away as Katarina studied the boy's rectum, and when she announced
that she was finished he turned around, half-afraid to hear her
conclusion. He held his breath as she spoke.

"He wasn't raped, thank God," she said and smiled as relief flooded Areq's
face. "This kid means a lot to you, doesn't he?" she inquired. She'd never
known anyone to mean anything to Areq, except maybe a handful of people who
had known him for a long time, herself included.

"Yes," Areq replied in a low voice, his eyes on Ronan. For a split second
Areq's hard features softened into an expression of care and worry, but
were soon back to their grim selves. "Thanks for coming," he said as he
turned away from the boy and stood up. "Do you think he'll wake up soon?"

"It shouldn't be long," Katarina replied as she put on her rain-soaked
coat. "And when he does, be sure to feed him something light, like soup. He
probably hasn't eaten for days so his system wouldn't be able to take
anything heavier." Areq nodded, but suddenly Katarina walked over to him
and hugged him. When she'd let go she said, "You looked like you needed
that." Areq gave a small smile, but didn't say anything. "Don't worry, big
guy. He'll be okay," Katarina said encouragingly before making her way to
the door.  As she exited, Areq finally spoke.

"Kat," he called to her. She turned around. "Thanks," he said, and she
smiled and blew him a kiss before closing the door behind her. Areq looked
at the door for a while, a bemused look on his face, then turned back to
the unconscious boy. Afraid he might be getting too warm, Areq removed the
duvet and then climbed into the bed beside Ronan. Before long, the big man
fell asleep, Ronan's small, unmoving hand clutched in his own.