The Journey Cycle Pt 2: New Zealand (pt 2 complete

Hi there. As I have had the most fantastic week this week, I have decided to post the entire 'bike rally' for your enjoyment. I am posting today 'cos I'm really busy all day tomorrow but I'm gonna put up several chappies today. A big 'reveal' is on the way!

Please, pretty please, review. Be nice - please don't harsh my wonderful week, where I've just gotten on the bottom rung of the ladder to the job of my dreams! And at my age too!!

Also, it's my birthday. So age is kind of a big deal to me right now.

Question: Is 51 too damned old to be writing slash? Answers on a postcard, please!

I hope that you all are having the same sort of amazing weather I'm having. The summers in England over the last two years have been pretty shite, but this year, we're having a 'real' one!

Okay, enough of my ramblings and on with the show.

As always, enjoy the next instalment, and, please, please, take a moment to post a comment. Best wishes, The Squig xxxxx

7

The light was starting to fail when he surfaced with his usual mouthful of Harry’s hair and armfuls of his man’s warm body, still breathing deeply in sleep, muscles lax and limbs soft and heavy. Nudging the hair aside, he started feasting on the back of Harry’s neck and shoulder, slightly tightening his grip around Harry’s middle, placing soft bites along his shoulder and pulling the somnolent man closer against his swelling cock. He murmured against the skin he teased with his lips and tongue, “Wake up, Harry, wake up, baby, I want you”. To receive a sleepy moan in response and a push backwards.

“Not like that, gorgeous, want you in me”, and Severus was once again amazed at the speed of his arousal for this beauty in his arms who was starting to squirm and make soft noises although his eyes remained closed. Turning Harry towards him, he moved his attentions to the front of Harry’s neck and was rewarded by Harry tipping his head to allow him access before he let his tongue trail over Harry’s jaw and plunge into Harry’s half-opened mouth, “Need you, lover, wake up for me”, he whispered before invading thoroughly to a soft sloppy reply.

He turned Harry fully onto his back, still kissing him. Harry’s legs dropped open and he moaned into the kiss but Severus pushed a leg away, “No you don’t, just lie there and let me do all the work”, he murmured as he straddled his beloved and grabbed for his wand and the lube from above the head of the bed. He cast a lightning fast Lubricus charm and, undoing the jar with one hand, began to slick Harry with goo as he moved gently under him. Leaning forwards, he located the handle that Harry had cunningly disguised in the wall of Bessie in lieu of a bed-head, and, clutching the base of Harry’s cock in one hand, proceeded to lower himself onto it, slowly.

That opened Harry’s eyes, quickly enough!! Just in time to feel himself totally buried in his lover. He gasped and his eyes flicked open, casting a quick look above him, to see his husband transported, his head flung back and to feel his own cock, wrapped in exquisite tight heat, “Oh, Gods, Sev”, he murmured and Severus looked down, “Welcome back. Aaah!”. He lifted himself and lowered again, before pitching forward to meet Harry coming up and they kissed, all wildness and abandon, “I thought I was dreaming”, Harry laughed as he sank back to the pillows before twitching his hips and, by the look on Severus’ face, hitting just the right spot.

Harry motioned for Severus to rise off him slightly and Harry bent his knees and thrust hard, his hips rising off the mattress to see the dazed look of lust in his lover’s eyes, “That’s what you need, isn’t it? A good fucking?”. “Yes”, the incoherent reply and Harry picked up speed, Severus held still above him, bracing himself for the slams as each hit, “Need you, Harry, want you”, the tortured whisper and then the shout as Harry could feel himself near and grasped Severus’ cock bumping his belly and began to move his hand. This was unravelling his man, thrusting down now onto Harry slamming into him then forward into Harry’s hand. “Harry, Harry, please, want you so much. Aaah, yessss, more, harder, need you, take me”, then a low cry from the pit of his gut as he crammed himself full of his Harry and came all over the pair of them, rhythmic shouts let loose with every spurt of come as he tightened around Harry and he felt the last strong thrust upwards as he felt himself filled. Harry shuddering beneath him at the power of his own climax.

Severus let his weight fall forwards onto his elbows, placed either side of Harry’s head and kissed him, “Good evening, love”. Harry grinned, all flushed and out of breath, “That’s an incredible way to wake up”, he reached up for a kiss and Severus was just teasingly obliging when they heard the tap on Bessie’s door. Severus stiffened, “Not just now”, he gasped. There was a low chuckle, “Just tellin’ ya that dinner’s about half an hour away”, came a voice, another chuckle, then silence.

They turned back to the kiss, there was no rush and Harry loved it when Severus was being this affectionate and drew out the afterglow for as long as possible, still collecting himself and holding Severus on top of him. He loved his husband’s weight crushing him, especially after an intense session as that had been, but they eventually had to disentangle themselves and make ready for the evening.

They showered singly and dressed in loose comfy clothes then made ready to exit Bessie. Severus stepped out first and Harry hesitated on the top step. Severus turned and saw the slight frown marring Harry’s brow. He stepped back to him, threading arms around him, “What is it, Harry?, he enquired.

Harry bit his lip, “Oh, nothing”, then as the onyx eyes fixed on his, the brows raising slightly, Harry shrugged, “Well, it’s another big gay gathering, just like...er...London...and I’d hate....”. His voice trailed off as Severus held him tight for a moment before backing away, Harry taller than he from his vantage point on the steps. He pressed their foreheads together, “You’re afraid I’m going to get tempted, just like Draco did, aren’t you?”

To feel a slight nod. Severus shook his head, he could remember the night clearly.

****

Harry turned up at our shop and rang the flat bell. Remus let him in to have a bundle of drunk and distraught Harry launch himself into his arms. “Oh, fuck. I tried to get him out of there, he doesn’t know what real dungeon scenes entail. He’ll be killed or worse”. Harry was incoherent until Remus got him to sit down, gather his breath and tell us about it.

The boys had decided to sample the delights of London Pride Week and had gone along to the Saturday celebrations. They had watched the parade, had several drinks with random strangers, had lots of fun, but Draco was getting antsy. Apparently he wanted to taste more than the activities on offer and had gone off with a bunch of what Harry supposed were leather men after they had had a huge bust up in the middle of the street. One of the men had tossed a matchbook over his shoulder as they left, “Just so you can come and join in. We’d love to have you”, he leered. Harry tried for one more entreaty, “Drae, don’t do this to me”, before he lost sight of Draco and ducked into a side alley, Apparating to us.

He pictured the alley and Apparated us in, There was no-one about, and Harry headed off up the street following where he had last seen Draco. According to the little map on the rear of the matchbook, the club was only a couple of streets away and we made our way there as quickly as possible.

Harry, on a sixth sense, bypassed the front door altogether and we found ourselves in the alley behind the club, where we found a very chastened and frightened Draco huddling down amongst all the dustbins, There were tears on his face, his clothes were torn and he looked very dejected. Harry rushed to his side, “What did they do to you, baby?”, he murmured as he went to put his arms around his lover. Draco shied away like a panicked horse, “I hexed them as soon as it started to get heavy but some-one peed on me and I think I’ve got cum in my hair. Please take me home. Thanks for coming to get me”, he finished in a small voice. Harry lifted the blond against him, reeking as he was of others’ emissions and we all Apparated back to our flat.

Draco was none the worse for wear ultimately. There had been no rape or any other sexual attack barring the piss and come. We stuffed him under the shower. Remus had to lend him some clothes to go home in as Draco destroyed every item of clothing that he stripped off. They left once Draco was clean again. Harry all concern. For myself, I’d have hexed the little git’s balls impotent for at least a month for the hurt he caused Harry that night. There was no contact from them for a week or more but when we saw them again, all was sunny and bright again between them and Draco seemed to have learned his lesson.

****

Severus looked deep into Harry’s eyes, “Less than two weeks ago, Harry, I made vows to you, that I would love you, cherish you and stay true to you for the rest of my life. What part of that is currently eluding your understanding?”, asked so gently. He felt the tremor in Harry’s body as he held him, “I’m never going to cheat on you, or be unfaithful to you, Harry. I am yours and you are mine. No-one else’s. Yes, we are going to a big gay rally and, yes, I attended the one in Manchester on several occasions before I sold the house in Spinner’s End and set up shop in London with Rem, and, yes. I partook. But do you know, Harry, the men I envied the most at these ‘do’s?” Harry shook his head, “It was the men with partners, Harry. Those who sat at the little tables set out along Canal Street with their lovers, making, no doubt, all sorts of rude comments on the rest of the sybarites out there. There was no envy towards us, in fact there was a certain smugness, if you like, that in the shallow commercial world that is the life of the big city gay man, they had made it, found someone to love. Of course, when Rem and I got together, he wouldn’t be seen dead in such places and I didn’t mind, Harry. Because I had someone of my own. The meat market didn’t matter, any more. And now? We have been invited to another one, here at the other side of the world, and I want us to experience it together and to enjoy it as spouses. I know the vows I made, and I intend to keep them”.

The smile that Severus saw spread across Harry’s face was worth rubies to him and he smiled back, softly, tentatively, shyly, letting his love show in his eyes until Harry held him tight, “Sorry, love. I should never have doubted you.....”. Severus hushed him, running his hands along Harry’s body, cupping them under his arse and lifted him from the step to the ground whereupon he claimed Harry’s mouth in a fierce and possessive kiss that Harry arched into with a moan. As they came up for air, Severus reached behind Harry to push Bessie’s door shut, “Shall we go and eat, sweetheart?”

From the fire, this exchange had been witnessed. Jed leaned over to his partner, “Ten dollars says Severus is the top in their relationship”. Sammy looked at his partner, “You’re on”, he muttered.

Harry wrapped both arms around Severus’ middle. Severus flung one about Harry’s shoulders and pulled him in for a quick kiss as they left the bus and headed for the fire from whence many interesting cooking smells issued. They were welcomed with various smirks by the assembled company. Sammy called out to the two of them, patting a log at his side that the two made their way over to. “Come and sit. Frank and Chris are making dinner tonight. We take it in turns as a rule”. Harry flung himself to the ground, pulling Severus after him. Jed and Sammy noticed the man’s ever-so-slight wince as he sat.

“That’s ten bucks you owe me”, Sammy sniggered quietly to his lover before rising and offering them drinks.

Harry accepted a cold bottle with thanks, “We’ll need to get some more supplies. Is there anywhere near to where we are going to stock up again?” and the conversations started.

Dinner was a convivial mixed grill with eggs and beans, bacon and local sausage, a burger each and a small steak, all washed down with the local lager. Harry leaned back against the log, replete, his hand over his stomach to feel Severus’ head against his ribs shortly afterwards. He laid his head back and trailed a hand over Severus’ shoulder and down his chest, absently rolling a nipple through the cloth of Severus’ t-shirt until Severus caught his hand and looked up. Harry moved his head, “Whoops”, he grinned and retracted his hand to safer ground. Severus, his onyx glare burning into Harry’s returned his fingers to their previous location. He bit his lower lip as Harry ghosted fingers over his nipple again then moved his hand down to rest over his belly, all full of food and he felt a kiss in his hair.

As his belly felt a little less distended, Severus sat up and joined in again from his former position lying in Harry’s lap listening to the conversation go on without him. They were talking about their bikes and his ears sat up and took notice. “May I have a proper look?”, his dark voice interjected and Frank came over to their side of the fire and held a hand out to him. Severus used Harry’s shoulder to lever himself to his feet and squeezed it before following Frank to where the bikes where parked.

Jed stood up and followed them, not being able to resist a chance to show off his machine. This left Harry and Sammy together. Sammy sidled over to Harry’s side and Harry acknowledged him with a sated grin, “The food was great”, he murmured, to Sammy’s laugh. There was something about these two that fascinated him. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he was grateful to get Harry on his own for a while and was determined to take advantage of that.

Harry pushed his glasses up his nose even while his eyes remained closed. He felt Sammy scoot closer and stiffened slightly. The other man read it and backed off a bit. “Sorry, didn’t mean to get in your personal space or anything. I’d just like to ask you a couple of things”. Harry opened an eye in Sammy’s direction, “Go on then, if it’s not too personal, then I’ll answer if I can”. Sammy bunched his legs up in front of him, wrapping his arms around his knees and considered for as moment, “What’s it like being married? Is it any closer than just, you know, being together? Only you two seem to be rock together. If I’m honest, I’m a bit jealous. Not of either of you”, he hastened to elaborate, “But of the vibe you have between you”, he finished.

Harry turned his head and smiled, lazily opening his eyes regarding the younger man before him, trying not to feel the jolt at how similar he was in looks to his Draco before he sat up to pay the question his full attention.

“D’you really want to know?” and saw the other man nod earnestly. “Well, I’ll tell you. I feel safe for the first time in my life. Safe that my man isn’t going to turn around and betray me. Safe that I’m the only one for him. That I’m enough”. He watched the silver grey eyes of the blond before him before Sammy looked away, “That’s how I thought it would feel”, he said, mournfully, “That’s what I want, although Jed is such a free spirit. The very mention of the ‘m’ word, or the ‘c’ for commitment word has him running for the hills although it’s so stupid. We have been together for over ten years now and the last eight of that, we’ve been exclusive with each other”, he sighed, before looking off into space, “What is it about some men that makes them not want to commit?”

Harry looked at him sympathetically, “My last partner was already married. To a woman. He was from an aristocratic family and he had obligations, to produce an heir, which he did, then he came back to me after the ‘spare’ was born. It was complicated. We could have never wed, but I was completely shut out by this family when he died and was buried, despite the fact that it had been me that cared for him all through his illness and his death. That hurt, I can tell you. When Sev agreed to marry me and I saw how much he meant it on our wedding day, I knew that the next funeral we had could be dignified, either me seeing him off or the other way around. When my best friend told me two guys could wed, I thought of this. I will never be ashamed to bury my lover again. The world can never foist this on me again. I felt so lucky to be granted a love like this twice in my life, and this time, so help me, I want it to be right. I love Sev more than life itself and marriage to him was the perfect way to say it. So don’t worry about sinking to straight’s levels. That level of commitment is difficult, but, by fuck, it’s bloody worth it”.

This took the blond aback for a moment as he read the vehemence in Harry’s eyes but his own expression softened, “Jesus, you really mean it, don’t you?” Harry let his eyes stray to his lover, crouching beside a bike while Frank showed him some detail, pointing it out with the neck of his bottle. He watched as Severus concentrated hard on everything the man said and smiled slightly, “Oh, yes”, he whispered, “He’s mine, and only mine. We have rings and vows and a bit of paper that proves it. Marriage is so much more than that wee bit of paper”, he grinned up into Sammy’s eyes. “I asked him, you know. He knew bugger all about civil contracts and all that, but he said, ‘yes’, and here we are”.

Harry saw the brightness of Sammy’s eyes, “So ask him. It’s not a ‘top’ or a ‘bottom’ thing. Just ask. The worst he can say is no, then you know”. Sammy hung his head between his knees, “I’m afraid of that, him saying ‘no’. I’m not sure I could take that”, he murmured. Harry slapped his knee, “Don’t be so glum. Has he ever asked you?” Sammy shook his head, “So ask”, he replied. Sammy laughed ruefully, “You make it sound so bloody easy”. Harry laughed, “Don’t be daft. My heart was in my mouth the whole time. I proposed to him in Venice, it has to be said, one of the most romantic locations on the planet, but I don’t think that really had any bearing on things, if that helps”. Sammy glanced at him, “Can’t have hurt any”, he mumbled. Harry slapped him again, playfully, “You never know ‘til you ask”, and they left it at that.

Severus slumped down just then beside him and Harry leaned in for a kiss. “So, the bikes. Cool or what?” Severus grinned at his lover, “They like the old Brit bikes, Nortons and BSA’s and old Triumphs. Of them all, two are Brits and one Japanese. So what have you and our young Draco-alike been discussing?” Harry kissed Severus’ temple, “Would you believe....Marriage?” Sammy leaned over, “Sorry, I’ve been pumping your hubby for info”. Severus shrugged, “Don’t apologise, Sam. Marriage is great. I’m loving it and all it means to us both”. He gazed significantly into Harry’s eyes for a moment.

Sammy shook his head and smiled before leaving them to join his own lover on the other side of the fire, now engaged in a heated debate with Frank over specific bike parts, whether generic or made by the Japanese for British bikes. Harry watched him go until Severus called his attention back, “Poor Sammy”, he exclaimed, “He loves Jed so much. I told him he should just ask already but he’s shy of such a thing”. Harry sighed as he relaxed in Severus’ arms, “I’ll never be sorry I asked you, never in a million years”, he looked up into Severus’ face and saw the love reflected along with the firelight in Severus’ eyes, “Never”, he whispered as he pulled Severus’ face down to his and they kissed. They were right back in their circle of two and revelled in it as Severus deepened the kiss with a sighed, “Oh, Harry”, escaping before their lips and tongues joined again.

They emerged sheepishly at the sound of applause and blushed ferociously, which fortunately, could not be seen as it was now dark. They mumbled vague apologies to their hosts to be told, “Don’t be daft”, in a brusque voice that they recognised as Chris’. “Never apologise for love”, he stated baldly as he spontaneously grabbed Frank and held him to only the mildest of protests, growling in his lover’s ear to be grabbed and kissed senseless. Harry added his own cheer to that of the others even while he shot a look to his new friend, Sammy, who winked at him.

And so the rest of the evening passed, lazily and cordially, until Frank stood with a yawn, Chris by his side, “Gunna crash, guys. See ya tomorra. Wake us”, and they were wished goodnight from all around the fire. One by one, the other couples took their leave, until only Severus and Harry were beside the fire.

They kissed to the sound of the wood crackling and the waves crashing as the tide rose, waiting ‘til their companions were asleep then stood, seeing the wreckage of dirty plates and empty beer bottles around the fire. Harry cast a glance around the camping space and, thinking that all their new friends were asleep, he and Severus drew their wands and had the campsite ship-shape in no time, the empties in a bin-bag, the dishes magically cleaned, the remains of the food wrapped and back in the cool-box from whence it had come. With a final flick of his wand, Harry extinguished the fire and he and Severus wound their way back to Bessie, wrapped around each other.

But they had been observed.

Jed had crashed as soon as his head hit the pillow much to Sammy’s chagrin. He had left a slit of the tent door open to allow air in. As he heard the clink and rattle of the tidy-up operation, he sat up, rolling over onto his stomach, peeking through the gap in the tent door and with widening eyes watched the two Brits as they waved sticks of wood and stuff did what they wanted it to. His eyes were wide as he lay in the dark, not quite believing what he’d seen. He knew that these two were different, and now he had a vague inkling of just exactly how different. “Gotcha!”, he murmured as he snuggled down into Jed’s side and let his eyes close.

****

The next morning, Harry and Severus were the first up, much to Harry’s delight. In short order they got the fire going again, by Harry waving his wand over the part burned logs and muttering an Incendio. They unpacked the last of their stores and started a big breakfast for eight over the fire.

Mike was the first to show his face, “Mmm, mornin’ guys. What’s cookin’? Smell’s good”. He stretched and scratched at his balls. Harry grinned at him, “Well, it’s the last of our supplies but we’ve got pancakes cooking. With bacon and goat’s cheese”. The man turned to him, “Sounds good. We have some gourmands on the road with us. I need to get a wash. How long ‘til we eat?” Harry checked the fat heating as Severus beat the mixture, “About ten minutes until the first batch”. The man turned away towards the tiny stream that found the sea and moved up a few metres to still fresh water, sluicing his head and back.

The others slowly surfaced as the smells of cooking drew them forth. Sammy regarded them warily as he emerged but seeing as how the cooking was done the old fashioned way, decided to say nothing for now of the incidents that he had witnessed the previous night. He shook out his sleeping bag to air it and hang it over a branch while he watched Severus expertly flipping the pancakes and Harry turn the bacon in the pan. Some part of him wondered if it had all been a hallucination, he had been considerably pissed after all before he retired for the night, but something kept him from mentioning anything.

As Harry handed the plates out, Severus was soaking the cooking pots in hot water, lifting the largest pan back onto the fire as they ate. Sammy was confused, they had done all of this with a flick of the wrist the night before but now the others were watching, although Severus went through the motions as if he’d done it many times before sitting back against a log with his lover and eating.

Sometime after breakfast was over, Matt produced a map, spreading it out before them all, “If we take the regular route, we won’t be able to lead these two up the trail”, he stated. Harry leaned in and regarded the map, “Don’t worry, just show us the way and we’ll find you up there. Severus is a dab hand at maps”. Jed cut in, “No way, bro, we ride in together. This other track is nearer and all the bikes here can ride it, but it’s too narrow for whasshername”. Harry grinned, “Bessie. That’s her name”. Jed returned the smile, “Bessie. She won’t make it. So we’ll go this way”, his finger described a wider trail up the mountain, “No problem and you guys can restock on the way up there”. Severus dipped his head slightly, “Thank you. If you chaps want to carry food up there on Bessie, then we have plenty of room. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of cold storage or anything but we can apparently take the extra weight”. Harry chuckled, “Fuck, yeah. She could take a herd of elephants up Mount Everest but no faster than a stately fifty five, tops. I hope we don’t cramp your style or anything”.

Frank laughed out loud, “I haven’t heard such a well-conditioned Perkins for years. We go the slow route and we’re proud to travel with such a beautiful beast. She’s lovely”. Harry blushed then, “We fixed her steering rack in Germany, so she’s a good’un. Sorry she’s not a hog or anything”. Sammy rolled his eyes, “This lot appreciate a good motor, whatever it’s in. When we heard Bessie’s engine, we knew, you two were the real deal”. Severus let out a breath, ‘Saved by an engine? Wonders will never cease’, he thought as he flashed back to the panic that had accompanied the arrival of these guys. Harry just shrugged modestly and went back to his breakfast, aware that his respect rating had just bumped up a notch or two.

Two bikes rode ahead of them and one behind in a phalanx and Harry felt somewhat honoured to have outriders. Severus was also amazed and quizzed Harry as they drove along the winding quiet roads, “Ah, come on, Sev, these guys know about engines and the like. Let’s hope that Bessie lives up to the hype”. He extended a hand and Severus squeezed it before letting go to let Harry take up two-handed steering again. He was still slightly awe-struck.

Jed, riding in front, indicated by a flick of his hand, where their usual turn off was, but according to the map, they had to go an another twenty miles or so to meet the wider uphill track. When they had stopped for food at the general store cum petrol station, Harry had offered to contribute to the extra fuel that the guys would need to travel the longer distance, only to be waved away peremptorily, “It’s no trouble, mate”, was the concensus, and that was that.

Harry and Severus shared a grin as they turned off the main road and onto the track that would take them to the site. It was narrow and rutted but with a combination of Harry’s driving skills avoiding the larger rocks and Bessie’s persistent and dogged engine, they arrived along with the three bikes on a large flat plateau just above the main treeline. The front riders held back until Harry was with them. Jed made the sign for Harry to open his window. “This here’s the main race field, the camping field is up there, the hardcore field is higher up”, he stated before he peeled away again.

Harry put Bessie in gear and followed him, wondering what he meant by the ‘hardcore’ field. He shrugged as he wrestled Bessie over the rutted ground, thankful for her high ground clearance and up yet another track, much less well maintained, that tested Harry’s driving skills to the utmost to prevent them turning over in the ditches that ran along each side of the road. Ahead of him on the main field, he could see a single-decker coach. If that could get up there, Harry was determined that Bessie would. And so she did, chugging steadily uphill, letting nothing hurry her, a slow queenly pace in second gear that made Harry grin when he heard the engine beneath his feet work hard but at nothing beyond her capacity.

Severus had to brace himself on the dashboard, then at Harry’s request had to open his window and give instructions as to how near the ditch he was on that side. It was definitely teamwork that got her up to the camping field. Harry parked up under a small scrubby line of trees with a feeling of triumph as he turned off the engine, patting Bessie’s dash, “We made it girl”, he exulted. Severus caught the pride in his voice and patted her too, “She certainly did”, before Harry launched himself from the driver’s seat into his lap for a kiss. Severus was half-way through saying, “She’s a great vehicle, Harry”, before he was silenced by Harry’s eager mouth on his. He moaned and gave it up.

Bessie’s engine was ticking as they both leapt out and took in their new surroundings. The first thing Harry noticed was, although they weren’t by the sea any more, they had a beautiful view of it from up here. He cast his eyes about. They were in a fairly barren space with a red sandy floor surrounded by scrubby trees that Harry noted with satisfaction. The trees they parked under arched over Bessie’s roof and would protect them from the fiercest sun. As Severus looked around, he realised that as an innate traveller, Harry had picked just the right spot for them. He placed an arm around his love, “This looks like the best site, love”, and Harry grinned up at him as they surveyed the scene. They had obviously arrived at the start of everything and had bagged themselves a prime spot.

Severus smiled as he dropped a kiss into Harry’s hair. Here he was at the other side of the world with a bunch of gay bikers. Only with Harry, he thought, only with Harry, as he held his lover close before laughing out loud and kissing Harry above his ear. “How do you do it love?”. In his arms, Harry shrugged eloquently, “Dunno. Adventure always seemed to find me, although, it has to be said, that I do look for it”. He chuckled as he relaxed into Severus’ arms and they looked out over the sea together in an island of peace while their new friends pitched camp nearby.

Harry came back to himself and shifted in Severus’ arms, “I suppose we should offer some help. I could be digging a fire-pit or something”. Severus released him, “You’re quite right. We could do with the water tank filling up as well”. Harry turned, “There you go, no rest for the wicked”, and they moved apart.

Severus dug out the ten-gallon container and Harry unearthed his mattock and shovel. He walked over to the others, “Where do you want the fire? I’ll start digging it”, he offered. Chris smiled up at him, hammering the last corner of his flysheet into the earth, “Nice one, Harry. Usually we just scrape a little depression out of the earth but a real pit would be cool”.

The others gathered around and decided on a likely spot. Almost without thinking, the three tents had been erected in such a way as to create a square in the centre with Bessie as the fourth side. A large-ish space between them was perfect for a fire, not too close to any of the tents or the van. Harry laid down his tools and walked around the small clearing sizing up his creation. “I’ll need stones, both to line it and to edge it”, he muttered. Sammy shrugged, “Plenty of those about. Shouldn’t be a problem”. Harry cast his eyes about and saw that this was true.

He started with the spade but the ground was too hard, so proceeded with the mattock and soon had a rough dish dug about two feet deep and about twice that again across. The ground they were on was hard-packed red clay. He scooped up some of the powdery stuff into his palm and spat in it making a gooey mixture. Perfect. He could line it properly. Before he did that, however, he carefully used the sharp end of the pick to make a hole in one ‘side’ of the dish about half way down. He scrambled for his tools again and extracted a sharp-nosed trowel and scraped out another hollow, a rough sphere in the clay going back about fifteen inches, perhaps a foot tall.

By now he had an audience, who were quite bemused by his antics. On the opposite side from this new hollow, Harry measured out a sharp angle facing into the prevailing wind after testing for it with a wet finger. He bored a hole in the ground about two inches across, some six inches from the edge of the pit and bore down at an angle with a sharpened stick, twisting and turning. The hole ended at the bottom of the pit slightly up the side but near enough to the base of the hole.

Back to Bessie again to fetch the bucket, which he half-filled with water, then scooped in trowel-fulls of the rich red earth and stirred to make a thick clay. He cast about the immediate site, picking up rocks, “If any of you guys are into helping me instead of gawping, then I need about three dozen rocks all about this size or smaller”, he called out, with a grin, sweaty from his exertions.

This galvanized the others who came to and started the search. Pretty soon, Harry had all the rocks he would need. Using the tip of his trowel, starting at the bottom of the hole, he gouged out small holes and inserted rocks. Using the back of his trowel and his hands, he used his gloopy clay mixture to make a lining for the fire-pit. Some of the stones, he didn’t set in flush but left them proud a bit, to create ‘layers’.

He set a line of stones around the edge, sealing them in the same way. The odd hole that he had excavated into the side of the pit, he simply lined with a thick layer of his clay mixture before placing a loose stone over the entrance to this ‘mini-cave’.

After climbing back on Bessie to clean himself up while the clay started to set, he glanced outside to see the others peering dubiously at his handiwork. He dug out his two flat latticed ironwork rounds that he always used as his grates and came back to the pit. “When the clay’s dry, this rack sits on these stones here”, he pointed to the lower layer of stones standing proud, “Then the wood is put on it. The higher layer takes this rack and that’s what the pans stand on to cook or meat can be placed directly on it to brown. The stick can be pulled out of the sloping thin hole to let the wind in under the fire or shoved back into that hole to damp it down, and the little recess here”, he pointed to the ‘cave’ behind the loose rock, “Acts like an oven. And the ashes are dead easy to rake out from the underneath of the lower grate. Voila!! A cooking pit”. He laughed and bowed slightly.

“Well, I’ll be....”, murmured Frank. “I haven’t seen a cooking hole like that since I was a hippie back in the day. Well done, Harry, it’s nice to see that the old skills are still alive”. There were various murmurs of approval, “It’s not like you even needed to go to too much trouble, you’ve a full range on board, haven’t you?”, enquired Mike. Harry nodded, “It’s a bit warm still to have Bessie’s range going at full stretch at this time of the summer and me and Sev would die of the heat at night, and if we’re sharing the cooking detail, then it’s a lot more sociable out here”. No-one could disagree with that.

Severus, meanwhile, had wandered off in search of fresh water and had found a small clear stream nearby. He tasted the water cautiously, it was cold and clear run-off from the mountain above them, and filled his water carrier. He checked no-one was in the vicinity and levitated it to hand height with his wand, then toted it back with little apparent effort, picking his way carefully over the uneven ground. When Harry spotted him, he walked over and relieved him of his ‘burden’ and they strolled back together. The ladder accessing Bessie’s roof was away from eyes so Harry climbed up and levitated the carrier to him and emptied it into the tank. Severus called up, “How many more do we need?” Harry grinned down at him, “Another four or five at least. The tank’s pretty low, we should have used the hose at the last town, they had a standpipe outside that store”.

Severus sighed and reached up for the carrier again which Harry passed him and he set off again. Jed called out, “Have you guys got anything we can collect wood in? We’ve got a bit of tarp for kindling but nothing for logs”. Harry scrambled down again and fished out the log basket that sat under the range. “Here you go, this is pretty sturdy”. He was thanked and Jed and Sammy wandered down the site back to the tree-line and disappeared into the woods. Matt smirked as he watched them go, “Well that’s the last we’ll see of those two for a while. Let’s hope they get back before dark at any rate so’s we can get some food together”, to a general round of sniggers from the others.

While they all waited for the wood supply to return, Harry brewed up on Bessie, using the last of their own woodpile to do so, staggering down the steps with the magically enhanced teapot now spelled big enough for eight. Just then, Severus reappeared with more water and flopped down, “Will that do us for now, love?” Harry kissed the top of his head, “Yes, I’m sure we’ll manage. It’ll give us enough for showers and some washing in the morning. Come and have a cuppa, you look like you could do with one”.

Severus poured while Harry bopped up the ladder again and poured the water in the tank. This time, he left a gallon or so in the carrier for the washing up after dinner, setting it down near one of the small trees for everyone’s use. He liked these guys but he felt a bit ambivalent about having them tromping about freely all over Bessie.

As he drank, Harry checked his handiwork on the firepit, “This’ll be good enough to use in about an hour. What’s for dinner?” They all discussed it over tea and then all looked up as the other two returned, lugging the big basket between them. Jed also had his piece of tarp slung over one shoulder, bristling with long dry sticks for kindling, “Bloody hell, have you two had a row? Is that why you are back so quickly?”, came Mike’s amused question.

Sammy rolled his eyes, “Tosser. I want to test out this fire-pit thingy. I’ve never seen one like that before”. They dumped down their prize. Sammy went to his tent and found his small hand-axe and the machete and the two started to cut and chop the wood between them until they had a sizeable pile of logs and kindling to one side of their small site, then they all sat together drinking tea.

“So”, Severus said, “What goes on here then?” He made a sweeping gesture with his hand that encompassed the whole site. Chris grinned and slung a packet or two of biscuits down for everyone that were instantly opened and passed around.

“Well, down on that field there, that’s where all the races happen during the day, like, and that structure that’s being built at the far end? That’s a stage for bands and so on in the evenings. This field is the main camping field and the one behind us..”, he made a vague gesture up the hill, “Is the ‘hardcore’ field. Strictly men only. Shit, I should have told you. Maybe you guys don’t want to be down here with the girlies and all the rest”. Harry held up his hand, “No, no, we don’t mind women’s company. Not at all. Two of our best friends are very fine ladies. Define hardcore though”.

Frank joined in, “Well, it gets a bit wild up there. I don’t mind paying a visit but I don’t want to spend the whole time up there with the bloody leather queens. They have all sorts of parties up there, but it’s the sort of place where you always find at least one freak lying in the bottom of the latrine pit letting all and sundry piss on them, shit too, if that’s yer bag”. Harry pulled a face, “I think we’re best off down here, though we may take a look at some point”.

The others laughed, “Our thoughts exactly, young Hal”, Frank growled as he rolled and lit a cigarette. “It definitely is a bit rich for most tastes. The butches and their ‘pets’ tend to stay up there. At some point, there’ll be a custom bike show, where we all get to drool at each other’s machines, there’s drag racing, novelty races, the usual shit. It’s a blast, so long as the Angels don’t put in an appearance”. There were low murmurs at this.

Severus said, “I take it you mean the Hell’s Angels?” Frank chuckled, “The very same. They came tooled up three years ago and tried to trash the site, daft twats. This is a peaceful festival, by and large but we gave ‘em a pastin’ that time. They won’t mess with a bunch of poufs again in a hurry”. Harry looked shocked, “That’s terrible, were many people hurt? Only I’ve seen children on-site”. Frank roared his gravelly laugh, “Fuck, no, you should see them bitches fight, the girls are worse than we are. I presume that you guys haven’t been to a bike rally before?” Harry shook his head, “The only two-wheeled transport I ever owned was a Honda 90 and that was hardly the machine to go to a rally on now, was it?”, to guffaws from all around.

Frank continued, “We usually have a wet t-shirt competition. Total equal opportunities here, matey, boys and girls enter. There’s a play area for the kiddies and a bit of a creche. Sometimes they set up a rave tent on the bottom field. Up here, if you noticed the shacks, there’s showers and real bogs on this level and latrine pits dug on the top and bottom field. There’s a power line in to this level too. The lassies in that bus over there run a bit of an Internet cafe, too. All mod cons here, you know”. Harry munched a biscuit, “Oh, that’s good. I need to catch up on e-mails and stuff. Is it expensive to use?”

Frank shrugged, “Dunno, don’t use it, meself. Never saw the point. Maybe I’m just too old”. Sammy swatted him playfully, “Aye, Frank’s a bit of a Luddite when it comes to technology. Rosie, who runs the Internet cafe, doesn’t charge much, just enough to cover costs and a bit over. It keeps her and her girlfriend and their two kids. She takes that bus all over New Zealand and Aus to different rallies, but to answer your question, last year it cost a few dollars an hour for a hookup”. Harry nodded, “Thanks”, he looked thoughtful. Jed cut in, “Yup, they have a Sat-phone, too, same sort of deal, phone anywhere in the world for a few bucks”.

After tea, Harry inspected the fire-pit and declared it nearly ready to use, “I need to light a small fire now to speed up the drying and setting of the clay then we’re ready to cook”, and busied himself doing just that. He left out the metal racks for now and just laid slim sticks in the bottom of the pit and lit them, withdrawing the damper stick and blowing gently down the hole. His breath acted like a gentle bellows and the twigs were soon crackling merrily. “Oh, that’s what that’s for”, murmured Jed. “Bloody ace. Nice bit of design, Harry”. Harry grinned, then removed the stone from the front of the ‘oven’ feeling the state of the clay liner, “We may not be able to use the oven tonight but it should be useable by morning”.

Frank coughed, “See, not all you youngsters have forgotten the old ways. This is a proper gypsy fire. I bet you can do a roast dinner on here, can’t ya, Hal?” Harry blushed slightly, “Never tried, but these little ovens make excellent biscuits. It’s more of a warming oven than a cooking oven for larger dishes, it’d need to be bigger to do roasts in, you have to have it deep enough for hot stones under the casserole dish or baking tray for it to be totally effective, but even this small, it’s great to prove and bake bread in”. The others were impressed, including Severus, “Your traveller friends taught you how to do this, I presume?” Harry smiled at him and nodded, “It’s only the second time I’ve ever built one. It’s handy being on clay like this”.

Mike grumped, “You won’t say that if it bloody rains, this place is like a sea of fuckin’ mud when it pours, so we just pray for good weather”. Harry looked surprised, “Does it rain a lot here?” The others shook their heads, “Nah, the weather’s usually good to us. If we left it any later in the year then it gets mighty ruddy cold up here, there’s a reason the trees don’t grow much this high up. By June or July, it’s knee-deep in snow this high up”.

Severus chuckled, “That is hard to take on board. I know the weather is shite in England, but we’re at least in high summer come June. It’s all the wrong way round”, he mused. Sammy rolled his eyes, “Yup, and the water spirals the other way down plugholes, too. Welcome to the other side of the planet”, to much laughter all round.

Harry periodically tested the pit and after an hour declared it ready to cook on. Frank stood then, “C’mon, Christoph, time to shake booty and get these guys some trough. Whaddya say?” Harry immediately leapt up, “Oh, no, we’ll....”, to be hushed and pushed back down, “Give over, you just spent hours makin’ the friggin’ thing, now let us do the honours. Sit ye down and we’ll take it from here. Come on, someone, break out the beers, you know y’r Uncle Frankie can’t cook nuthin’ without a wet”.

Harry solemnly laid the racks over the ashes of the sticks, poked logs between them and more sticks beneath them and blew down the damper hole again to ignite them. Within minutes, lively flames licked around the logs. “There you go. You should have a decent cooking fire in a few minutes”, Frank clapped him on the shoulder as he moved to the sidecar on his bike for supplies, “That’s one damn fine fire-hole, young Hal. It’s loads better than we usually have, here, have a beer on me”. Harry received it with a flushed thanks.

Chris handed out more beers as Frank busied himself cooking chops and boiled spuds. He picked a cooler part of the fire rack and placed the chops directly on it, the potatoes in a pan on the hottest part, then threw in a can of peas as the potatoes were nearly cooked to warm them through. Chris rustled up plates and cutlery, Severus provided him and Harry with their own crocks to help out then sat back down, gathering Harry to him, “I’m very proud of you, Harry”, he whispered, kissing Harry’s ear, “You have so many skills, not to mention tact and diplomacy. Where would I be without you?” Harry turned in his arms and kissed his husband on the nose, “Up shit creek without a paddle?”, he smirked, then, more seriously, “Wasting away in your shop, perhaps?” Severus bit his ear, “Cheeky bugger. But, you’re probably right”.

He held up Harry’s face with a finger then kissed him properly, “I love you, Mrs S”, he murmured as they were brought back to earth by a guffaw from above them. They both looked up to see Chris holding two plates of food. They separated quickly and took them from him with a muttered, “Thanks”, and Chris smiled down at them, “Newlyweds!”, he tutted, and went back to his own meal.

During the meal, Harry ventured to ask what the others did when they weren’t at rallies. Sammy started, “Well, I am, believe it or not, a lawyer, I know, boring”, to a wide-eyed and disbelieving look from the two of them. Jed nodded at their surprise, “He sure is, and I’m an accountant, but studying to be an architect, it’s how we met, at some godawful conference we both attended. How weird is that?”

Mike sighed, “For my sins, I’m also a lawyer, have my own practice in Christchurch, and Mattie here is a barrister”. Frank sniggered, “I bet you didn’t think that we were all a bunch of professionals, did you?” Harry shrugged, “I have absolutely no idea. None whatsoever. I try not to judge by appearances as it generally lands me in all kinds of shite”, to general laughter.

Frank lit another of his ever-present roll-ups, “Well, this lot are a bunch of office bound stiffs, but I run my own customisation workshop in Wellington and Chris, here, is a well-established artist in his own right. After this shindig is over, then we are off to Japan”, he glanced proudly at his lover who swatted him, “Leave off, Frankie, you were just such a stiff until you retired. Franklin here was a drugs and alcohol counsellor for many years, working for the State, but, yes, we’re off to Japan to mount an exhibition of my latest work, a series of sculptures I’ve been working on. For some bizarre reason, the Japs love my work and I nearly always sell out when I show there”.

Harry was pleasantly surprised as was his husband, “Well, I worked for the Government in a kind of hush-hush capacity, gathering intelligence on criminals and cold cases working in tandem with the law, but due to the nature of the work, I took time out when Draco, my previous partner, was dying, and decided that I’d had enough. I still have nightmares and things from that time, so I got them to pension me off early on health grounds. So if you hear me scream out in the night, it’s just another of my ruddy nightmares”, he shrugged.

Severus spoke up, “For myself, I was a humble schoolteacher at a boarding school as Sammy so rightly assumed, then, when I got together with my previous partner, we went into business and opened an Apothecary shop. I am a trained herbalist and I make all sorts of herbal medicines. Unfortunately, I was unable to do anything for Draco and my own partner, Remus, except make palliatives for their pain. When Harry and I got together, we decided to embark on this journey together and I wound the business down. I consider myself retired now”.

The talk turned to bikes they had owned and other events attended in their youth, then the rise of the separate gay event a few years previously and the generous loan of the land once a year. How, in the beginning, it was an all-male affair, then with the advent of the ‘dikes on bikes’, the whole event became more egalitarian and chilled out. For, despite popular opinion, not all bikers were into the weird and wonderful hardcore scene, although that was certainly catered to, but that most just wanted a bit of a laugh and a chance to get together with the like minded.

“Aye”, Frank, coughed as he spoke, “There’s young ‘uns that come, like, but mainly it’s a bunch of old farts who can’t let go o’ bein’ ‘ippies”. Harry laughed, “Maybe I always wanted to be one, but haven’t had the chance until now. Probably the start of the mid-life crisis or something. Still, could be worse. I could be lusting after sixteen year olds and driving a red penis car”, then he told them of the travellers that he had known when younger.

The chat drifted with the smoke from the fire. The meal was finished and the pots washed and folk were splitting up for the evening. During the course of the day, Harry had been aware of more and more people arriving, tents being put up, then as the evening deepened to dusk, fires springing up everywhere. The rally was officially to begin the following day.

After the meal, Jed and Sammy headed off to see another group of friends that had just arrived. Matt and Mike went to the top field for a look around and Harry took the top grille from the fire, adding more wood. It was an evening fire now, not a cooking fire anymore and despite the depth of the bowl, it gave off a lot of heat. He opened the damper to let in more air and soon it burned higher and brighter.

Frank asked Harry more details on the siting of the oven etc. and they were soon deep into talk, Severus was highly amused at the older man’s nickname of ‘young Hal’ for his husband. He got up and went into Bessie, emerging with more beer, the groundsheet and the seat cushions from the sofa, making a very acceptable makeshift seat. Chris rolled a joint and came over to sit by him as Severus handed him a beer.

As they talked about this and that, Severus couldn’t help casting the occasional glance at Harry. At a lull in the conversation, he suddenly murmured, apropos of nothing, “I still can’t believe I’m here, you know. I would never have done any of this without him”, he turned and smiled, “Sorry”. Chris laughed, “Don’t apologise. Me an’ that guy over there’ve been together twenty seven years come Christmas. You two look like you’re in it for the long haul, ‘scuse the pun, and if travellin’s your thing, then keep at it. If you like, I could tell ya of a few places I’ve been. In the Merchant marine I mainly got to South-east Asia, southern India, sometimes as far as the States and South America...”, he stopped suddenly and slapped at his neck, exclaiming, “OW!! Fuck!! Bloody mozzies!! You’d think they wait all bloody year....”.

He withdrew his hand and flicked the mess off onto the ground, “Well, that’s your last friggin’ meal. That’s gonna itch like a bastard, now, I can’t do anti-histamine”. Severus said, “I have a remedy that may work, give me a moment, I’ll go and look for it”. He went to Bessie and quickly lit a candle, rooting through his locker before drawing out his own patented remedy and some clean gauze, closing the cabinet securely and going back outside.

“Lift your hair, show me the wound”, he said as he knelt. Chris sat up and did as bid, “Turn to the fire so I may get a proper look, if you would”. The bite was already swelling, bigger than the bites from the Scottish Mozzie (a particularly evil breed!), but Severus cracked open the phial, put a few drops on a clean piece of gauze and held it over the wound, “There, hold on to it against your neck for a few minutes and the swelling should abate as will the desire to scratch at it. There’s no anti-histamine ingredients in it as I, too am sensitive”.

Chris closed his hand over the pad as Severus retracted his and sat back down, “The solution will also render your skin unpleasant to mosquitoes for a few hours, so you should not be bitten again tonight”. Chris nearly let the pad drop, “Really!”, he exclaimed, “I never heard of such a thing before”. Severus smiled, “It’s a recipe I make myself and I am in the process of patenting it, so I only use it myself, though I hope one day to market it, it acts on the skin but doesn’t penetrate”. “Bloody hell, when you said ‘apothecary’ you really meant it. This thing is cooling down already”, he made to remove the pad but Severus stayed him, “No, leave it be for a few moments longer for the full efficacy”.

Chris stood and went to his bike drawing out a long exterior candle from the pannier, he lit it on the fire and went back to the bike, positioning his wing mirror so he could see his neck and removed the pad, “Fuck me, it’s nothing! There should be a lump the size of a sparrow’s egg by now and there just....isn’t”. There was just a red dot showing where the wound site was. “Bloody hell, you need to get that patent mate. In a place like this, this’d sell like wildfire. What’s in here? Magic or something?”

Severus and Harry both stiffened on hearing this, but Chris was still looking in his mirror and Frank was entranced by the fire and neither saw. Severus snickered, “No, just a few herbs. Unfortunately, though, I have yet to be able to neutralise the diseases that mosquito bites can spread. Never mind. One thing at a time”.

Chris laughed aloud, “You bloody Brits, eh? You’re so bloody modest. Normally on a night like this, early autumn, I’d get four or five bites and that’s with that foul shit you get at the chemist full of fuck knows what junk. If this is the only bite I get tonight, it’s a fuckin’ miracle”, he turned to come back to the fire.

Harry grabbed a cushion, returning to Severus’ side, “You showing off your potions again, lover?”, he whispered, butting his shoulder.

Severus turned, “The poor man had a bite, and it worked”. Harry kissed him lightly and sat back with his beer, “We need backrests of some sort, maybe long logs or something”. Frank spoke up, “We’ll find some in the woods lower down, no doubt, we c’n have a look in the morning. It’ll make the place a bit cosier, aye”.

Harry kept his voice as low as he could as he accepted the joint from Chris, “I don’t suppose we’ll be able to score a bit of this on-site sometime this week?” The man nodded, “Don’t see why not. We’ve some friends coming on Friday with a bit, so if you haven’t got any by then, I’m sure they can let you have some”. Harry smiled his thanks and Chris went to sit on the other side of the fire with his partner.

Harry lay on his back toking slowly on the powerful grass, his other hand rubbing lazy circles on Severus’ back. Severus took a long pull on his beer and turned to look at Harry gazing at the sky, “What are you thinking?”, he asked softly. Harry grinned, “I want one of those constellation books like we had at Hogwart’s. In the autumn in the Astronomy tower, I knew every one up there, but most of these are unknown to me, he said, quietly. Severus put his bottle down and laid beside Harry, “No, we never looked at Southern hemisphere astronomy either at school and I, too, got an ‘O’ for Astronomy”.

They lay hand in hand, Harry pointing with the joint at different supposed star configurations as they tried to figure out what they were, a cow?, a scorpion?, a Dover sole? As the joint was smoked, the suggestions became sillier. They barely heard Chris say, “See you later, lads, Frank ‘n’ I are going to take a walk around”. Harry waved a vague hand, “See you in a bit”, and they were alone.

Severus leaned up one elbow and took a pull on his bottle again before looking down at Harry who was looking back. He smiled as he descended, tasting Harry’s sweetness on his tongue as he kissed him. Harry hummed his approval as they paused for breath. “Mmmm, the best kisses anywhere”, before Severus growled and claimed him harder, rolling Harry atop him, their mouths lusciously, wetly, joined.

They drew apart slightly, “Do you know what I’d love to do?”, Harry purred. By the light of the fire, Severus could see the mischievous lights dancing in Harry’s eyes and smiled up at him, “No, go on, tell me. Be as graphic as you like”, he replied as he fitted them closer together.

Harry leaned down and kissed Severus’ nose, “I want to have a shower, and when I’m nice and clean, I want you to turn me to the wall and fuck me under the water. But I don’t come. After you have filled me, over and over, with come, then you sit on the closed bog seat and suck me off while finger-fucking me, squelching in all your come up my arse with your long, beautiful fingers, and I either come in your mouth or I pull out and watch myself paint your gorgeous face with strands of my come, then we shower again and either go to bed or indulge in hedonistic midnight munchies”.

Severus laughed, “Harry, my love, that sounds like a plan”. Painting it was. Liberal, hot and exotic, then all licked away before they cleaned up properly and donned gowns before Severus organised supper and they had an early night, twisted together, Severus breathing into Harry’s hair.