Dear All,

Here comes a rather emotionally strong chapters in a way and you will understand by reading it.

I think we all are slowly understanding their personalities better and better, seeing that the title of the story is perfectly appropriate for them, especially how sometimes they clash.

The quote I chose for this chapter is definitely very much suiting both of them, especially our Travis who likes sometimes to address himself as "horny dog" and seriously, he is a really funny and extravagant character to write, but very much liberating at the same time. Each character brings something out of me, makes me feel in a way or another; I know I am the author so my opinion is very much biased, but in my eyes, mind and heart they are all special for one reason or another.

I wonder how you will like Aleksandr in this chapter ^^

I hope the same goes with you and I really hope you are enjoying reading this story, so please let me know about it with your amazing comments, messages and votes!

P.s. This for now is the last EDITED and ENHANCED chapter of "Fire and Ice" that I will post, as I am right now working on the others. I believe, if everything goes well enough, the following ones should be out in 2-3 weeks or so. I will try my best.

And now, enjoy it!

"My mind is a dirty thing, and I love having you in it," by Anonymous

ALEKSANDR POV:

We stayed there on my bed for a longer while in complete silence, granted he was probably still processing everything that had happened in the afternoon and I didn't mind resting there quietly and looking at the ceiling, for I had decided to lay down on my bed, Travis sitting right there beside me. I felt his searching stare on me, like he was studying me or maybe trying to decide if he could speak to me or not, or something like that. I mean, not feeling his gaze was basically impossible and his presence was a mere few inches from me, therefore I almost felt it touching me. But I realized that about his staring and presence since the first time I saw him. He had that air around him that attracted people's attention, eyes. Travis was well aware of it and yet not entirely at the same time. He hadn't missed girls and guys eyeing him in the corridors, but he had partially missed the effect he had on people. As I said, extremely similar to River, but way more peculiar, different in his own manner.

Our eyes met and stayed locked together for a few seconds, until he blinked and cleared his throat, averting them away.

"I think now I should probably go home, because I already bothered you long enough," he suddenly said, now his voice closer to me for he had somehow leaned more towards me. "Fuck," he murmured out under his breath, not entirely sure why he said that and then, I smiled at that, for he cursed and swore quite a lot. And that was quite a contrast in him, given his looks and his way of moving around.

I looked up at him and by then, he was slightly bent over me, observing me still a bit confused but with palpable intensity and curiosity, his eyes moving from my face, to my body, then back taking in every little detail. I stared at him more focused, because there were so many little particulars to notice about him once that close, and my eyes narrowed while taking each of them in, while studying his beautiful face, his lips, the fact he used a bit of makeup on his eyes, which looked good on him, his long and sinuous neck, the way his fingers stopped on it a moment, the black nail-polish, the wrist bands he wore. Did he have a piercing or not? I really couldn't get it yet. He trailed his glance away and saw how his expression had changed. What had just happened?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get that close to you, it came just natural...I mean, oh screw that," he swore out.

What did he say?

"What do you mean, Travis?" I didn't understand the sense of his sentence. Why did he have to apologize? Nothing happened and if any, I should have been the one doing so for the way I kept roaming his face and body with my stare.

"Err, you basically told me with your eyes to back off," he replied, giving me an obvious look.

"Did I? I didn't mean it, honestly," I told him, smiling at one side of my mouth. "I was only trying to guess whether you have a piercing on your tongue or not," I openly admitted and then, I understood what he had meant before.

My eyes always had that look telling people I didn't care about to get-the-hell-away-from-me or do-not-dare-to-bother-me, or, even better, who-the-fuck-are-you and get-the-hell-out-of-my-way-and-sight. Plus, most of the time I simply glared at people around me as if they didn't exactly exist, representing for me just an annoying and useless presence. Most of the time, I didn't even need to tell them to beat it, because as Travis commented about that, my eyes spoke clearly and loud enough for me.

He gave me a surprised look and then out of the blue stuck out his tongue, while glancing at me in a very playful way, which triggered a strong shiver slithering down my back, not to mention my blood running in a direction I didn't expect.

Shit, he really had a piercing on his tongue and that looked incredibly sexy on him, it was freaking exciting as I had imagined. I suddenly sat up in front of him, and, even if his eyes widened at my immediate proximity, he didn't back off or move away That was something I already appreciated about him and that I really liked; he wasn't a pathetic coward. Our eyes lost into each other's and there was only pleasant and nice silence around us, his breathing very quiet. Something agitated more restlessly inside of me, and as I focused my gaze on him, I smirked, feeling one side of my mouth tilting up, my teeth slightly showing, my pulse quickening. He bit his lower lip, keeping his black jewels on me, for then, distractedly beginning to play with his piercing, moving his tongue against his upper teeth, letting it graze against his teeth, after that pulling it back and twisting it around, something I had seen him already doing once.

But not in such way. A way that had my dick tighten very much at such view.

Shit.

Shit, once more.

What the hell was wrong with me? I found what he was doing with his tongue extremely hot and sensual, and instead of pulling away or brush it off as nothing, I just deepened my smirk, looking more intently, imagining it around me. It felt as if something had awakened in me and it was howling freaking loud and in some frenzy. I suddenly wanted to feel that piercing on me and I had to repress that mad and sudden need. I definitely couldn't pin him down on my bed and shove my tongue in his mouth. No, definitely no for quite a few reasons.

"How does that feel? Did it hurt?" Instead I asked trying to distract myself from such visions, my voice sounding slightly lower than usual.

"Well, yes and not. My tongue somehow felt numb for just a couple of days, but after that I got used to it and just loved the feeling of it." He kept playing with that, unconsciously, as if some habit of his, still very much unaware of how that was madly affecting me. "For some people it's a real turn on," he commented as if reading in my thoughts, but he was more talking to himself. Shit, he was even more blunt and direct than Derek and I liked that.

"Is it?" I replied in kind, inching slightly closer. That was the irrational side of me that asked to be closer to Travis and to tease him, wanting to provoke some other fire-cracking reaction.

"Do you want to try it, Sasha?" He challenged me, completely giving me what I wanted, blowing me away at the same for the way his eyes lingered on me, and I swear, he almost sounded as if he was purring. God, he was messing with my head so fucking much, and not just my head given how my body and dick were reacting to that, so much that I felt sudden and maddening annoyance. I really needed to figure out what was all of this. I wanted it, didn't I? Yeah, if it was some irrational or momentary attraction or not, if there was more.

His question then brought me back from my endless stream of irritating considerations. Yes and no. Those were my silent answers to his question, if I wanted to try it.

Yes by my irrational side, my curious and excited part, the crazy me who wanted to shove my tongue in his mouth deeply and feel the piercing, rubbing it against the metal and sucking his own cocky tongue, rendering him breathless and moaning out my name, feeling his hands on me, mine on his muscles and on his ass, which I really wished to devour and destroy. I imagined him clawing my back and scratching it and I had no idea if what was right or not, but I didn't care one bit. It was how Travis was in my mind, in the fantasies haunting me.

Yet, no by my rational part, much more calm and colder. And I wasn't someone to easily give in on his irrational side, as the ice and distant me had been too dominant and strong for many years, in fact, most of my life. And being this triggered and open to someone I had just met wasn't normal for me. Still, it appeared that Travis had woken up my dulled and sleeping curiosity, shaking it and giving it a good kick. And not just my curiosity, but something else...much more than that.

We kept staring at each other somehow inching closer and closer, his eyes a real magnet for me, his lips curved in one of the sexiest smiles I had ever seen, and again, for a quick moment he played with his piercing, making me silently swallow down what came over me. I could feel my pulse quickening, my breathing deepening. I wasn't sure if it really happened or not, but it seemed we had moved closer, much closer.

My phone rang suddenly and snapped both of us out of that rather dangerous daze. Travis abruptly looked away, shaking his head like he wanted to get rid of something inside of it, and I got up walking to my desk, where my phone was. I breathed out deeply a couple of times before answer it, because my blood was roaring crazily in my head and not just there. I knew otherwise my voice would have revealed my state of mind and excitement.

"Yeah?" I spoke sounding more like my usual self.

It was Hayden, wanting to know if I was OK and if anything had happened to me or to my family, for it was very much strange of me to miss hockey practice like that.

"Alex, is everything cool with you? River told us you couldn't come to practice and smoothed things down with coach Garrison, 'cause he's a real pain in the ass," he said. "I mean, you're the best of us, so he should sleep tight."

"Yeah buddy, everything is fine with me, thanks for calling, but don't worry," I quickly replied, chuckling at his words. "I just had to go home right away."

I avoided to tell and explain more, because it was going to be pointless, given they would see Travis tomorrow going to school with me, so why bother with explaining twice? I had not the patience for that. I eyed him still on my bed and sure as fuck, I wasn't letting him go back home and stay there alone. No, not a chance in a million. He could say whatever he wished, that he was fine and great, but I still couldn't get over his freaked-out and panicked look and the fact he had collapsed out of pure exhaustion in my arms.

"Sure man, I get that and cool if you're all good. Say hi to your family and see ya tomorrow and yeah, gym together?"

"You can bet on that, Hayd, and I'm going to break another personal record tomorrow." He laughed at that.

"No doubts about that, 'cause you always do. So, see you tomorrow and Saturday, we will destroy that team as usual."

He was talking about Saturday hockey game and I really was edgy to play and clash against some opponents.

"Of course, we will, I'm looking forward to it," I admitted openly. "See you tomorrow, bye."

As the conversation was over, I placed the phone back on the desk and turned to look at Travis, seeing he was messing around with his own, making some faces, for then focusing on me.

"How can I get home from here? I was trying to find it out through Google map but somehow it's not working for me now," he asked, and I snorted at that, causing him to arch one eyebrow.

"You're not going home tonight, and you stay here," I said in a matter of fact tone, quite commandingly.

"What? What the hell do you mean I stay here?" He wasn't someone easy to deal with, wasn't he? Oh, so was I. But he had no idea about that.

"Travis, I am not letting you stay there alone the entire night. You had a look that frankly I didn't like one bit and you collapsed on me. Did you forget this? Do you honestly think I would let you stay at home tonight without anyone beside you?"

"I am not a spoilt kid, do you know that, ha? I can perfectly take care of myself," he pretty much snarled at me in a fit of temper and pride, challenging me with his burning eyes. Well, bring it on, if you are a stubborn ass, I can be much, much worse. And I definitely didn't like to be contradicted.

"Whatever, you stay here, and you have no saying in the matter. Did you get it now?"

He jumped up on my bed and then very gracefully down to the floor. He was feline and incredibly smooth in the way he moved around and walked. Extremely sensual, too.

"What the hell?" He asked again, now standing right in front of me, his head titled back to better stare at me, for he was shorter than my 6'3''. "I'm not staying here, is that clear enough, Aleksandr?" Argh, what a stubborn sexy ass he was.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Travis," I growled a bit too roughly than I intended and he stared at me slightly shocked and evidently confused but rolling his eyes and snorting after a moment.

"There is no way I can stay here, because I have no change of clothes for tomorrow and for tonight," he said less annoyed. "I'm not going to school dressed in the same way as today." Was that the only issue he had? No problem with that, the solution was easy.

"Fine, I'll have a quick shower and then I'll drive you home, where you can get your stuff and that's settled." I admitted no more replays, only a yes, and he sighed, finally defeated.

"Fine. But I am not a damn kid," he remarked once more with a very outspoken stubborn attitude.

"I don't think you are one," I admitted, and that was the pure truth. He looked anything but an innocent and defenseless kid. In fact, the complete opposite and there was nothing of innocent in the way he earlier teased me with his question and way of playing with his piercing.

"Alright then, thank you," he finally said, and I nodded. "Err but wait a minute. Won't your family maybe mind my staying here?" He asked now hesitant and quite nervous. "I really don't want to intrude or disturb you all."

"No, don't worry about that. You're not intruding for I invited you." Well, not really invited but more imposed him to stay, but whatever. "They'll be fine with that, really." My dad had already seen him, and I knew without doubts he wouldn't let him go home alone. He hadn't come up yet to check for God only knew what reason, because surely, he would soon arrive to see if Travis was OK. The sexy cause and object of my maddening mess thought about my words and finally accepted the idea.

"OK, I see I have no other choice, thank you." Exactly, no other choice.

"Don't mention it, really. Just relax or watch some TV if you wish," I said as I gave him the remote control. "I am going to take a shower now."

I began to remove my t-shirt and then my shorts, as it came just natural to me, being used to that due to training, undressing and dressing in the locker room right before and after training. But I realized only after having pulled down my basketball shorts that I wasn't with my teammates. Travis was there with me in my bedroom and once more, I felt his gaze fixed on me, his eyes following every move I did. As we looked at each other, I noticed he shifted on his feet uncomfortably, casting his stare away.

"Err, maybe I should give you some privacy," he murmured and went for the door, but I stopped him. The way he had ranked my body a moment ago didn't bother me in the least.

"I don't mind having you here, just relax, it's not like I am some brat too shy to undress in front of another guy," I taunted him with a touch of sarcasm, and he didn't miss it.

"You don't mind me here?" He countered back quickly. "You are taking off your clothes in front of a gay guy, hell, a really hot gay guy. And you don't mind me staying here and watching?"

My laugh left my mouth naturally, as it was impossible to keep it in. Travis was incredible funny, blunt and cocky in a good measure and way, very confident, too, which all together made an extremely good and rather electrifying combination.

"I believe you have met River, am I right?" I asked, recalling how the two shamelessly flirted with each other when they directly introduced to one another, the memory twitching my nerves. No doubts my friend had to take that chance to flirt with someone as hot and sexy as Travis, possibly sensing how that annoyed me, wanting to push me to react to my state of mind. I didn't have to tell River why I was in such bad mood recently, because yesterday and today he had guessed enough and very discreetly told me I could count on him if I needed to talk. So yeah, he had busted me quite a lot.

"River, yes of course we met, and oh...yeah...River." He had just realized what I meant, possibly confirming what he had already guessed straight away.

"He is my best friend, we train together, and anyway, I have no prejudices whatsoever, believe me. If I had any bullshit of the sort, my brother's fiancée would bite my head off."

"I see, well then," he lips curved in a very teasing and wicked smile, "I'll enjoy the view, please go ahead," he joked, softly laughing with a sound that caressed my ears and my skin, sending a slow shiver down my back. Then he bit his lower lip and shook his head. "Sorry, I am pretty much sure you already figured out my tongue has a mind and will of its own."

Yeah, that I did. But in that moment what he said sounded completely different in my mind and out of the blue I pictured his pierced tongue twirling around my tongue, rubbing against each other and sucking at each other in a very sensual and hot way, while he moaned in my arms, my hands solidly grabbing his ass. Shit, that same view again.

I really had to snap out of it. What the hell was that once more? He had such a crazy and unimaginable effect of me, and I almost didn't recognize myself. Was I really thinking about that and wishing to make out with him and feel his ass in my hands? Since when did I have such ideas and needs? I repressed a groan when the answers became all too clear to me.

I needed a shower. A very cold shower, right then.

TRAVIS POV:

Hell, this was pure and absolutely freaking illegal torture.

People had to believe me; it was eating me alive and it was fucking freaking me out. I was in the same bedroom of Aleksandr, the man I lusted and wanted more than I have ever wanted anyone else, the most perfect wild beast I had ever seen, apparently the most caring and quite authoritative one, too, and what was he doing? He was about to drive me more insane than I already was, because he stood right there in front of me only wearing black tight boxers, which left nothing much to my imagination, letting me see he was well gifted also in that department.

How big and thick would he be once hard? Oh, screw my dirty mind, did I really have to think about that right then? Of course, I had to think about it...it was his fault for showing me that and my mind took on fantasizing something about hundred different ways in which I could drive him out of mind, groaning my name and getting very hard.

I had to sit down to calm myself a bit and hide my lower problem. I had a mad and raging hard on. Fantastic, wasn't it? Hopelessly-horny-for-Aleksandr Travis struck again. Just perfectly and awesomely fantastic. I crossed my legs and tried not to stare at his rock-made and muscular body, at how his muscles flexed on his back as he moved, at how rounded and firm his ass looked, ready for me to bite it, because I had to swallow down the insane impulse to do that. I tried and failed miserably, unable to tear my eyes away from him.

Absolutely great. Thank God, he seemed to not mind it.

First, I woke up in a stranger room, for then finding out it wasn't a stranger's room but Aleksandr's bedroom, seeing him doing weightlifting and being slightly sweaty because of that, flexing his big and hot arms, his muscular and I-so-wished-to-ride legs exposed in all their hot glory. Then, he sat beside me on his bed, with pearls of sweat running down his neck. I had to mentally threaten myself to stay calm and not jump him on the spot, to lick those drops away and tear apart his already rugged t-shirt.

Hell, fucking hell, I think I was swearing so much in my mind that my neurons stuck fingers in their ears so not to hear me. Could someone look that outrageously hot and beastly sensual? That was a freaking damn torture and I was this close to lose my mind, not to mention how hard my dick was, to almost painful levels.

Secondly, he asked me about my tongue piercing, and he liked it and what was that? What had happened between us in that moment? Was he flirting with me? No. No, no, no, Travis. That wasn't possible, not on this state, not in this continent and not on this planet. We were talking about ice-made Aleksandr Lebedev and not a common, normal person. I know I couldn't help my flirting, though, for it just came out naturally, and, if the phone hadn't rung, I might have done something really, really stupid and impulsive, because we had somehow drifted closer and closer, and he kept staring at me in such way my bloody burned in my veins and I felt the physical need to touch him, taste his lips, deep my tongue in his mouth and let him feel how I could use my piercing with him. I got my ass saved by the bell, literally.

Fucking hell!

I had to calm down. Like seriously. I couldn't just throw myself on him and kiss the freaking light out of him, right? Yeah, exactly, I could not. But then, it wasn't over.

Thirdly, the final and ending blow came and killed me for good. I was so hard by then that I think sweat was rolling down my neck. He began to damn strip right in front of me, without half care how shamelessly I was devouring him with my eyes. And as soon as the t-shirt went off, oh, my sweet Lord! He was absolutely, scandalously, and dick-blowing fucking handsome and perfect. His chest was just better than I have ever imagined, and believe me when I said I pictured it in my head many, many times; rock-like hard, smooth skin, broad and sculptured like a Greek god statue, prominent because he obviously knew how to properly train and lifted a lot, his muscles easily growing and right then looking even more pumped due to the earlier session.

I roamed his body more and did I say a Greek or Roman god? No, what I am saying? It was ten thousand times better. I was mentally drooling, and I had to swallow down several times, for he was crazily mouthwatering. Then, right because I wasn't horny and hard enough, I had to look at his sexy and perfect six pack moving down to prominent and well-defined V-line that had me hold my breath, my stare trailing down his boxers. Hell, both his abs and v-line screamed in my head "lick me, lick me" and, that was a real hard time. In all the possible meanings that could be thought of. His muscles weren't simply carved in his perfect body and defined, they were prominent, flexed, strongly and powerfully shaped. He did train a lot and I loved that in him, because it was a trait we shared. Not to mention his ass and the muscular legs, and the...I had to stop eye-eating him.

For my sanity and for his good, I had to get away from there, so I tried to leave the room, but obviously it turned out the sexy beast didn't mind my being gay nor my staring, apparently. Oh great! How fantastic was that? Let's mind the sarcastic note in here, please. Well, yes it was fantastic in a way, but not in another. That didn't make things easier one freaking bit for me. And to boot it, he also turned out to be a caring and responsible sexy, oh-so-hot beast. How the hell was I going to survive tonight?? The guest room better be located to the complete opposite side of his, so I could stay far away and not endure more of this torture.

When he went for the shower, as he had his own personal bathroom connected to the bedroom, just like I did at my place, I lay down on his bed, trying not to think about him, at his eyes when I showed him my pierced tongue, at his hands on my waist, at his scent, at his maddening hot body and at the fact I had an idea also his cock would be perfect and quite big. Ugh, Travis! I felt too hot and my heart did beat furiously inside of me, so I threw away my hoodie to stay with my very close-fitting black t-shirt. Would he also like my pierced nipple? Yeah, I had a piercing also on my right nipple, I always thought it was damn sexy.

It wasn't easy or painless at first, but then it healed very fast and I always took great and very meticulous care of it, especially while dancing. I covered it with some special disinfected tape, so that it would be protected and then cleaned carefully after each session. So yeah...would Aleksandr like this, too? I had a feeling he would. Should I maybe show it to him later, casually? Bad, horny dog Travis! Didn't you say you wanted to cool down? I peered down at my dick and yeah, still as hard as a steel-bar. I took a deep breath, once, twice, and many more times, until I slowly cooled my desire and lust.

As he suggested, being actually a good idea for my state of mind, I switched on his flat-screen TV and concentrated on a quite old but hilarious sit-com from the nineties called "Frasier", the episode I was watching was one of my favorites; without even realizing it, I began to laugh out loud, because Niles, the brother of the protagonist, was absolutely irresistible and I always loved him. While I was chuckling more and more, someone opened the door of the bedroom without knocking and directly spoke.

"Sasha, shto dyelayesh?" A voice said and my eyes then met the owner of it. Err, that was Russian, right? However, I had no idea what that meant.

The guy, who had just spoken, was more or less as tall as Alexi, but less muscular and broad than him (yeah, that was his brand-new nickname I just created) and stood right there at the door leaning his shoulder against the doorframe, with a puzzled expression. He looked very much alike Alexi, yet his eyes were of deep and dark grayish blue and his hair was longer and styled on his head. He definitely had a much more relaxed and approachable air than Aleksandr. But hell, I had to admit he was hot, too. OK not as insanely hot as Alexi, though. Was he his brother? Perhaps, his older brother.

"Hello, was that Russian? I didn't get a single freaking word," I blabbed out without thinking about it, realizing how I had just spoken quite friendly and openly to a complete stranger and member of his family.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked back running his eyes on me quite surprised and not having minded my tone of before one bit. Yeah, he was much more approachable and sociable than Alexi.

"Travis and who the hell are you?" I replied in kind and I saw he cracked a smile at that, so the brother, because he could only be his brother, was able to take a joke and a touch of sarcasm. That was a good start. He stepped in the room and sat astride on the chair at the desk, facing me and studying me more. Something wrong in me?

"I am Ivan, Sasha's older brother," he promptly introduced himself, jerking his hand out which I took and shook. Oh, he had a strong handshake, possibly a family trait.

"I thought so," I admitted, still shaking his hand. "I am Travis, nice to meet you. I'm his friend, I guess," I added then. I wasn't exactly sure about that myself. Were we friends?

"You guess?" He asked amused and leaning forward on the chair, an inviting smile on his very handsome face.

"Well, we haven't known each other for very long, we just met recently in school, because I transferred there in September," I explained quickly, for, yeah, let's put the matter in that way. We had just met and from today, something changed. I couldn't put my finger on what exactly changed, aside the obvious that he saved my ass and showed to be a considerate and real good person, but well, something more. And I definitely wasn't going to waste this chance, because I had to get to know Alexi better.

"I see, cool then, so," he said looking around the room, "where is my little brother?" He asked, really being much more open and easygoing than Aleksandr, and also his gaze wasn't cold or hard, telling people to get the fuck out of his air. I guess they had very different tempers. And sure, Alexi had a very commanding and hot trait that...stop it, Travis!

"Your little brother?" I then asked not able to contain myself, because hell, Aleksandr was bigger than him and Ivan creased his forehead as to ask what I wanted to say. "I mean, he is bigger than you." Great, just say randomly what you have in mind, Travis.

"Excuse me? I am taller than him," he pointed out and yeah, he probably was slightly taller but that didn't change the matter much.

"Alright, but he is bigger," I insisted, and I bit my tongue to punish it for its stupidity. Again. Just shut the fuck up, will you?

"Who is bigger?" Asked Alexi himself, stepping out of his private bathroom with nothing but a fresh new pair of very dark grey Armani boxers wrapping around his crotch and once more showing me his wonderful manly glory. I think my brain and groin had just short-circuited.

He eyed me and we stared at each other without saying anything for a couple of seconds, but I really didn't understand his look. I had almost gasped at the view and ogled him openly, not even caring about that, about the fact his brother was there. Was he trying to kill me? His hair was still wet from the shower and he had a few drops of water on his collarbone and shoulders. Hell, I stared again at his prominent and sinful six pack and then at the V line. Great, now I needed a shower. A freaking cold shower. I looked away to meet his brother's questioning gaze. Right, he just had witnessed all of this, fantastic.

"Your friend, Travis, was saying you are bigger than me. But shit, I am taller than you, Sasha," his brother playfully complained, winking at me.

"He is right, though, I am way bigger than you," the hot beast pointed out and I swallowed down once more as our eyes met another time. He was too hot for my mental and cock's health and he had to stop walking around wearing nothing but his tight boxers.

"Just because you are obsessed with hockey and weightlifting. C'mon, you and your friends are all crazy beasts, aside for River and Derek who are slightly more normal," he joked, and I chuckled at his intended pouting tone, sounding on purpose like a child, but smiling while he spoke. Then, he concentrated his attention on me. "Travis, are you keeping us company for dinner?" Ivan asked me and I eyed his brother, nodding at me.

"Err, yes, Alexi said so before, if this is not a problem for all of you, of course," I said, feeling a tiny bit shy and conscious of their staring and attention. I mean, I was going to have dinner with his family, who wouldn't be nervous? I was and definitely Aleksandr' eyes on me had quite the strong effect.

"Alexi?" Ivan repeated and then burst out laughing like a madman. What did I say or do that was so funny? I blinked twice looking at him and he waved his hands at me as if saying it was nothing. "Bro, your friend is sure very interesting and funny. God, no one would get away with petting his name too much, believe me," he told me, still slightly chuckling and getting up from the chair.

"I didn't pet his name, it's just a different way to shorten it, a more original way, since everyone calls him Alex, which is not original at all, or Sasha, which is very nice, but still not unique," I defended myself. And, hell, it was true. I liked calling him Sasha, but it wasn't just my thing and I wanted to find some way in which only I would call him, a special name between us two only. However, Aleksandr laughed at that, meaning he didn't mind it and he threw me another of his one-side and sinfully handsome smiles.

"I like you, Travis, seriously," his older brother commented, and I grinned at him, signaling the feeling was mutual. He reminded me of Derek or Dmitri, for his spontaneity, but also Hayden wasn't far from that, being so relaxed and easygoing, just much quieter. Ivan went for the door and then spoke to me again. "Come with me, we can watch something on the TV downstairs in our much more comfortable and bigger living room, while dad and Julie prepare dinner."

"Later Vanya," Alexi said while dressing. "I first need to drive Travis at home to collect his stuff, because he's staying here with us for the night."

"What? Shoot, tomorrow we'll have frogs raining," he joked, still laughing his ass off, and I had a feeling this wasn't a normal situation, considered Alexi's personality and such.

He stared at his older brother and snorted, rolling his eyes and grumbling out a "whatever". He zipped his jeans and went to wear a simple black and white plaid shirt, leaving the first two buttons open, and then grabbed his hockey team jacket. He searched for the keys on the desk and found them, giving me a nod as to say to go. Fuck, I realized then I left my leather jacket at school while I tried to escape those bastards. I was so freaked out this morning, after the bathroom incident, after the corridor's even worse incident and chasing that it completely went out of my mind. I wondered if tomorrow I was going to find it in school, or maybe those peanut-size brains morons burned it saying it belonged to a fag. I rolled my eyes at that, thinking it something super idiotic that they could do.

"Let's go," Alexi said as he noticed me still standing in his room, so I wore back my hoodie and followed him out of the room.

"Don't you have a jacket with you? Today it's pretty cold outside," he commented now standing at the door frame and damn it, he really was big, completely filling that space.

"I left it at school," I only replied, not wanting to remind him of that episode, but it wasn't necessary, as his mind made the connection in an instant and his expression grew hard and enraged in a nanosecond. His chest rose and heaved down in two long breaths and then he shook his head, his eyes concentrating on mine for a second. And then, again, he blew me away with his thoughtfulness and very much unexpected attentive side.

He removed his own jacket and handed it to me, for then walking towards the armchair on the side of his bed and grabbing a rather sportive leather one left lying there. To say he looked mind-blowing sexy in that didn't make it justice.

"Thank you," I said while slipping inside his jacket, inhaling his smell and cologne on it, obviously being bigger than my usual size. But it didn't matter at all, because I was losing myself in the warmth of it and it felt as if his arms were wrapped around me.

I shook myself out of that daze and followed Alexi, noticing then how his brother had an even more surprised and amused expression, going with us down the stairs and saying an amused "see you later, Travis", a rather smug smile on his mouth.

Err, what was that?

As we drove to my place, this time I was much more relaxed in his car, and he played some radio, while we made some small conversation, explaining me what his brother Ivan was doing in college and other small things. It was clear he was close and attached to him and I believed, the same applied to the rest of his family. I wondered why Ivan mentioned the name of a woman instead of calling her mom or so, which made me think that perhaps their father was divorced. Oh well, nothing strange or new. My mom was divorced and the perfect gentleman who could remotely deserve her was still to be found. He asked a few small questions regarding dancing, since when I began and such, and really, speaking with him was surreal yet extremely soothing.

It was very pleasant to sit there and listen to him, normally talking and occasionally quickly looking at each other. The enormous and glacial distance we had in the past days seemed to melt away and we just conversed spontaneously, as if it was the most natural thing for us.

Once we arrived where I lived, he patiently followed me to my apartment, saying the place was really cool, and then, even more patiently, waited for me in the living room while I decided what to bring with myself, quickly running through my immense and crazily stocked closet and picking the clothes for the following day and evening. When I walked down the stairs, he was standing right there, straight and magnificent in his broadness and hotness, his gaze following my every step.

"How do you feel now?" He suddenly asked and the sincere tone of his voice melted me. I walked very close to him, stopping right in front and a mere few inches away, tilting my head up to directly stare at him. I could stare at him for hours...I really liked his eyes and the way they wandered on me.

"I am good, thank you, Alexi," I replied honestly, smiling at him. "I really am, don't worry, and mostly, it's because of you." It was true and there was no need to deny it.

"You have a bit of a bruise on your face," he suddenly remarked, and his tone of voice had dropped in his cold and barely angered-control realm, and he did something that I wasn't expecting from him at all. He touched my face where it was slightly bruised, and my breath caught in my throat and I almost trembled there in his hand. I was lost into his eyes as if hypnotized, until he said something, and I sort of snap out of it. "I should have given you some ice or ask dad for a cream, but I'll do it once we're back." His hand was still there, the slight roughness of his fingers only affecting me more, and I unconsciously moved closer to him. Him touching me felt perfect and I was almost scared to acknowledge all the emotions coursing inside my mind and heart. I wasn't simply attracted and hopelessly lusting for him...no, because I was discovering sides of him that...our eyes met again, and something moved inside of his. What was that? "Sorry," he said, removing his hand. "I shouldn't have touched you like this." What? Was he kidding me?

"I don't mind it," I fired out in one go. "Hell, I definitely didn't mind it."

He relaxed his stance and gave me a smile that almost caused me to liquefy right there on the spot, and then he eyed my bag, taking it from me and, when I went to resist it, he gave me that same smirk he had before in his bedroom while he saw my piercing.

"Don't be stubborn with me, Travis. You know it's perfectly pointless," he said with quite a tone of voice that inflamed my blood and not just that. Then, he smiled in a different way. "I'm glad you feel good now and even more knowing I had been the one able to help you." I didn't really grasp the meaning of his words, but I didn't ask, giving in and letting him take my bag. Hell, he really was a considerate and thoughtful beast and I really feared about the feelings beginning to stir inside of me, in my heart. "Shall we go? They'll be waiting for us for dinner, and maybe Vanya's girlfriend will be with us tonight, but I am not sure. However, if she'll be there, you'll definitely like each other."

"Really?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Author's chit-chat:

So dear all, what are your feelings, reactions, emotions, thoughts, comments or anything else you feel like sharing with me right now? Did you enjoy it?

I think it was quite tense and emotional under some aspects, clearly understanding and breathing in their attraction for each other.

How do you like Ivan? What will happen at dinner and in the evening, Travis having to sleep over their place? I can say it'll be quite amusing, for us anyway ^^

OK, so once more let me remind you that this FOR NOW is the last edited chapter, and the rest are still in the old, UNEDITED version, so please be very aware of that while you'll read the story. I am already working on the next 10 chapters and as I said, I will soon try to post them. Maybe the first 5 this time, to make you wait less, as my dear MistakesAndSadness suggested, thanks very much dear for the advice, which might be a very practical one.

And then of course, I will work on my other stories in the series (the new ones!) so, stay tuned and just be ready for more updates from the Witch and her Cat.

For now, I wish you all a lovely day and weekend and do take care.

Let me know please what you think of this edited version of "Fire and Ice", the comments and feedbacks are always very much appreciated and welcomed. THANK YOU!

Lots of Love, Magic, Hugs & Meows,
-TheWitchAndTheCat-