And in This Small World

Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Henry Kissinger

Seph watched Gemlin closely, his eyes burning into his forehead. “So I was thinking…”
Gemlin’s head jerked up and he glared at Seph over his root beer. “That’s a bad habit.” Seph smiled slightly and shook his head; he hadn’t been expecting sudden resistance.
“Yeah, sure, but do you want to hear this or not.”
“Will I like it?”
“I dunno.”
“Then keep it to yourself and let me pretend I’m somewhere else not in your company.”

Seph snorted and reached over to take a French fry “Don’t be an ass.” Gemlin made a slurping noise on his straw and looked away with a small grin. It took a moment for Seph to concentrate on what he had been saying before.
“Well, I’m gonna go away for a while.”
Gemlin grinned. His angry expression was changed to that of an excited child. “Where are you going?”
“Well its just a place out of town, I go there every year at about this time.”
“Awesome! So I get to disappear for a while?”

Seph tapped his fingers against the table nervously. “Actually, kid I was thinking you could come.”
Gemlin raised his eyebrows as he thought this through. “Fine, just cause you asked so nicely, I will.”
Seph stared at him a moment “That’s it?”
“What’s it?”
“No kicking, no screaming? You’re coming, just like that?”

Gemlin nodded. He popped the lid on his cup and looked at how much he had left. Pulling out the straw he lifted the cup and drank the rest without it. He let some spill slightly over his lips just to feel the sensation of it… also because he knew he was driving Seph insane. He saw the way the Esper was staring at the drip as it moved off his chin to his throat. Seph clenched his fingers into a fist and as he released it he crammed a French fry into his mouth.

“When are we leaving?” Gemlin asked. Seph stood up.
“Right now”
Gemlin nearly choked “Now? But I’m not done!”
“Take it with you.”
He sighed and looked at his unfinished food. “Nah, lets go.”

“So how are we getting to this place in the country?”
Seph smiled “Duh, We’ll drive.”
“But you don’t have a car.”
“I will when I find a good one.”
Gemlin’s eyes almost popped out of his head “You will not steal one.”

Seph just grinned. He sidled up to a man in a suit. He was an older human; in his thirty’s with a striped tie and a brief case. The man moved away from Seph slightly, but Seph pushed himself against the guy. Slowly Seph’s pupils glazed over with green and a soft pulsing feeling entered Gemlin’s head. “Hey there hot stuff, I’d love to take a ride in that car of yours.”
The business man removed his glasses “I-I well, yeah sure I’d l-like to give you one.” Seph’s voice was layered with power “No, silly I want to drive. Give me the keys won’t you?” That made the man wary. His eyes shifted to the side. “W-well see I don’t know…”
Seph pushed the man against the side of the car and breathed gently into his ear. A curl of green air crawled over his lips and into the man’s head. “Yes, you do.” The man blinked a few times but his hand reached into his pocket and he handed the keys to Seph. “Thanks old man!” Seph twisted away from the business man and pushed him away from the car. He grabbed Gemlin as he opened the door and slid in. Putting Gemlin on his lap he slammed the door just as the man began pushing at the window. “Will I see you again?” Seph laughed and put the keys in the ignition. “Nah way man, you’re too young for me.” Twisting around and looking over his shoulder he backed away and then drove out onto the main road.
“Operation Seduction complete.”

Gemlin began wriggling in Seph’s lap “Hey, that’s distracting my driving.” Gemlin climbed onto the passenger seat, “it’s not safe to have two people in one seatbelt.”
Seph rolled his eyes “Who’s wearing seatbelts?”
Gemlin folded his arms and stuck out is lower lip. He stayed silent. “Oh come on Gemlin if you want you can wear your seatbelt, its no big deal.” Gemlin looked out the passenger window and pulled his knees up.

Seph sighed “What’s wrong, Kid?” Seph took quick glances at Gemlin but he had to keep his eyes on the road. “Gem, tell me or I’ll rape you.”
Gemlin snorted “Charming.”
Seph put more pressure on the accelerator. Gemlin grabbed onto his seat “Seph, you’re going over the speed limit.” The car continued to speed as Seph pushed the pedal to the floor. “S-Seph you should s-slow down.”
“There’s no one on the road.”
“I-I’m serious Seph! Slow down.”
Seph continued watching the road speed past them in a blur. “Not till you tell me what the matter is.” Gemlin turned to him wide eyed.
“You could kill someone!”

Gemlin didn’t know why he thought that would make a difference Seph was an Esper after all. He watched the terrain speed by in growing panic. He felt the pricking at his eyes and tried to rub them away before they actually came. Suddenly a car sped by barely noticeable except for the loud screaming honk and black blur fading away. Gemlin lost it; the tears began leaking from his eyes. He grabbed the seat until his knuckles turned white. “I didn’t like what you did to the guy, that’s why I was angry.”
Seph had a look of pure shock on his face. He took his foot off the pedals all together. He glanced at Gemlin as the car began to lose speed ever so slowly. “Wow, Gemlin. I thought you didn’t like me?”
Gemlin clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes closed. “That has nothing to do with it!”
“I’m sorry Gem; I didn’t know you’d be jealous.”
“I’M NOT! You used your power to manipulate that guy, that’s wrong!”
Seph applied pressure to the brake slowing the car down slightly faster. “No, it’s not. I’m very nice about it. Some Espers would just kill the guy and take his car; I left him alive just for you.”
Gemlin shook his head and rubbed at the tears still falling down his cheeks. “That’s not okay you-you…”
Seph slammed the brake and let the car skid down the road. He let go of the wheel and grabbed Gemlin.
“DON’T LET GO OF THE WHEEL!!!!” but Seph wasn’t listening.

The car screeched to a stop in a grassy area completely off the road. Seph pushed Gemlin’s back into the seat and put his hands between his legs. Gemlin was trembling “W-what the hell?” Seph grabbed him and Gemlin squeezed his eyes shut. Leaning in Seph brushed his lips across the underling’s tear-stained cheeks. “I promise never to seduce another person as long as I live. Besides you.” Gemlin tried to push him away.
“I wasn’t jealous I just…” Seph kissed him and let go of his crotch. Pulled the underling’s hips up against his own he leaned back and lay down on the driver’s seat, Gemlin now on top of him.

“You’re mine underling. No one else is.” Gemlin tried to speak but Seph cut him off by grabbing his ass. “I don’t care if you don’t think you’re in denial. You are mine and while we’re on this subject I’ll make you remember it. I own you. I don’t care how you feel about me, I’m a selfish bastard and I’m keeping you for me. Where ever you go I will find you and bring you back. You understand that?” Gemlin was still crying. Seph sighed and his eyes softened. “No matter where you go I’ll find you, alright?” His voice was soft and gentle as if some how the words were both a threat and a promise. Gemlin dropped his head onto Seph’s chest and let his tears make little wet spots on the Esper’s shirt. Seph pulled him close but he sat up and put the car in the right gear. Still holding Gemlin he steered back onto the road and began driving at a more civil pace. Gemlin fell asleep against his chest.

As he turned of the highway onto a thinner road he heard Gemlin mumble his name softly in his sleep. Seph smiled.

The car grumbled as it crawled along the dirt road leading toward the house. Gemlin woke up when his head slammed into Seph’s jaw as the car went over a particularly bad bump.
“Ouch!” Rocks were being spat against the sides of the car as if the road had a personal vendetta against them. Gemlin crawled over to the passenger seat again and held on as the car struck another pot hole. Finally a stand large stand of trees came into view.

“We there yet?” Gemlin asked. Seph shook his head.
“Nope, still a small while yet.”
The trees continued to become taller and grow more numerous as they get closer. As the stand of trees came closer they began to look less like a bunch of trees and more like a gigantic forest in the middle of absolutely nothing.

“So um, where are we?” Seph sighed and looked over at him.
“You only have one more question after this until we arrive and then you need to be quiet until we get there, get it?” Gemlin nodded.
“Alright then, our exact location is in a point in no-where about an hour from our destination which is in the middle of said no-where.”

Gemlin thought that over for a moment. “Well, that’s a lame answer.”

Once their car had gone into the forest, Gemlin figured they’d soon reach the house; he was wrong. He had never seen so many trees in his life, having never left the city that didn’t really mean much but it was still an incredible sight for him. The trees looked beautiful with their strong but delicate branches caressing their neighbors. The mosses that grew in patterns over their rough skin seemed to be pulling the trunks towards them as if they couldn’t stand to be apart. He envied their splendor and devotion.

Gemlin hated the trees. The trees sucked. Each trunk, each branch, each twig, each leaf; they were all mocking him. Laughing at his hope that he’d ever escape the car and finally reach some sort of house or building, anything, even an outhouse, that seemed to be made by human hands. He was disgusted at them, their sarcastic grins at his endless drive. Just wait he thought, I’m coming back with a chainsaw.

Finally, after all eternity had come and gone Gemlin saw a house. No, scratch that, this thing wasn’t a house it was a castle in disguise. Sure it was in the shape of something akin to the Whitehouse, but it was made out of stone and wood; like a haunted scary version. Seph stretched his neck and re-arranged himself slightly, Gemlin was soon aware of the growing power surge that spread softly throughout the car. The Esper cracked open the window slightly. “Do you mind?”
Gemlin shivered slightly he felt like something had spread out into the air and had fallen over his skin like a blanket. “Yeah, I think so… just don’t relax too much more then that.” Seph grinned and for a second there was a hot feeling in Gemlin’s pants. Gemlin stared at him “I know what you can do, you don’t need to show me just cause you can relax without a human falling down dead.”
Seph chuckled “But I feel so much freer now! Like I was holding air in my lungs and never letting it go. It feels marvelous just to let a little out!”

Suddenly Gemlin felt like he was about to be crushed by the air around him. He counted four others. “Tell me Seph were you expecting company?” Seph looked away.
“Ah, yeah.”
Gemlin snorted “and would these guests all happen to be Espers?”
Seph grinned “Perhaps.”