They met that day, as they had on many others, alone, standing in the wind of the fast approaching fall, unaware that they would never quite be as they had been, for each did to the other what one shouldn't be able to do to someone they are so close to.

Zack and Cody, the smiling twins, had a wonderful relationship, until the day that a lonely Cody asked of Zack something that had been weighing heavily on Cody's mind: "Can we be more than brothers?"

This had been understandably shocking to Zack, and the rebuttal had been harsh, admittedly too harsh, and Zack, having stayed at a friend's house to think, did apologize to Cody, but when Zack returned, there was a thick tension between them, and into this tension, about the middle way between Cody's question and the fall, is where we enter their lives more completely.

Zack and Cody had had a habit, all summer between seventh and eighth grade, of going to both the mall and the library, and talking all day long, mostly about things that would bore others, but, tension notwithstanding, their conversation interested them. It was a flirty conversation, albeit one that wasn't intended, for Zack had said no, indeed, and Cody tried to keep his creeping lust at bay, but it didn't stop him from staring much too intently at Zack's lips, and while he wasn't trying to be caught, he wasn't hiding very well either.

We join them in the mall, a vast, three story, sprawling maze that, between the hours of nine in the morning and seven in the evening, was attacked by floods of people. In the food court on the second floor, Zack sat with his back to the rail that oversaw the first floor, and Cody beside him, looking past his brother at the horde below, glancing at Zack when it was appropriate. They rather enjoyed an ice cream shop here, and shared a deep cardboard bowl of slowly melting vanilla wonder. They had one spoon, and passed it back and forth when it was needed, speaking little, just sharing their time together.

Presently, Cody looked to his brother and, taking the spoon into his hand, took some ice cream onto the spoon and stared into Zack's eyes as he licked it off. Zack knew that Cody had an agenda, but Zack had been sure when he said no, and he wasn't going to be swayed, damnit! But Cody's pink tongue, dribbled white from the melted vanilla that dripped from it, made him look pointedly away, balling his hand quietly into a fist to try and ignore the arousal that he felt. A war waged in his head.

First, Cody was his brother, his twin, and that made it worse than anything else. Second, being that they were close, it would make them different, in every possible way, if they indulged in Cody's nasty fantasies.

But Cody was sexy. Zack glanced back over at his brother, and quickly away again, staunching a groan at the look on Cody's face, his bright red pouty lips burning hot in the sun that blazed in from the western windows. A tiny drip of vanilla sundae dripped from the right side of Cody's mouth, a tantalizing answer to a question that Zack had.

Could the go forward? Or should they? Was this right to even consider?

Cody scooted closer, pushing one of his knees between Zack's open legs and resting that knee on Zack's seat. Zack looked at Cody, offering a smile, a pained one, and Cody smiled back.

"Whatchu thinking about Zack?" Cody asked.

His lips parted so that he could breathe, and his eyes held puzzled questioning hope.

"Nothing Cody, I-I," he glanced back at Cody's lips. "I think we should look around, maybe?"

"Look at what?" Cody, noticing Zack's eyes, licked his lips, and Zack looked away again quickly.

"A store, maybe, I don't know. Did you want to go somewhere?"

"Of course Zack, but you won't let me."

Zack moaned low in his throat, turning more to look out over the people behind him, pushing his hands in his lap, desperate to ignore his erection.

"How about the library?"

Zack looked over once more.

"That might work."

"There's also a book store here in the mall, want to go down there with me?"

Cody skimmed down Zack's arms with his eyes, hoping that he was right, that he was having the effect he wanted on Zack. He would give anything to take a step farther with Zack, to see what sex was like. He knew about masturbating, of course, Zack had helped him when it came to that, but that had been a one time thing and Zack had insisted that they not touch, otherwise it wouldn't be appropriate. And since then, a creeping desire had laid about Cody's mind, a shadow self that had snapped off from his subconscious. He wanted Zack like we wanted to succeed in his life.

Not that he really knew what he wanted. He just had an idea of what sex might be like, and he wanted to confirm it. He knew what Zack had down there. He saw his brother naked often, the tease, for Zack was very comfortable with his body. And in the last week and a half, just after Cody had told Zack, Zack had been very guarded at first, not showing anything, but last night…

Last night Cody had walked into their bedroom for bed and caught Zack masturbating. And while Zack had pulled the covers up over his belly, he hadn't stopped.

Another quick glance at Cody's lips, and Zack whispered, "Yeah, the book store would be fine."

Amongst the aisles, talking in a murmur to one another, Zack whispered, "So what kind of thing do you want?"

Cody, walking slightly behind and to the left of Zack, looked at Zack in question. "From here?"

"You know."

Cody blushed. 'From there!'

"I just want to be close to you, Zack, I don't know. I just know that it would make us good together."

"Good how?" They were in the baking aisle, and they were alone. Zack stopped, and pushed his back to the shelf behind him, staring at Cody with intense eyes.

"We just fit so well together, Zack, I know that if we were," his voice dropped to a bare whisper, just for this one word, "intimate, then we would be even better."

Zack had let Cody hear him last night. He wanted to try and see, maybe, if his fears were unfounded. What could their pairing hurt? What could one try hurt? It wouldn't be a commitment.

Zack looked at his brother. "Oh yeah?"

Cody, already standing close to Zack, reached out and touched Zack's fingers delicately, and took Zack's hand. Zack tugged, just a little, and their thighs pushed together. Cody was inches away, and could feel Zack breathing on him, could feel the intensity of his brother's longing gaze, staring at his lips, and deep into his eyes, trying not to be in love more than a brother would, but it was hard.

And then Cody whispered, "Let me show you the wild side," and Zack couldn't help it, pulling Cody closer to taste those pouty lips, just for a moment. Cody moaned, sinking into Zack, sliding his hand up Zack's chest to grab at his neck, and their hips met. Zack could taste the vanilla on his brother's lips, could feel Cody's erection, and pushed on Cody to stare at him. Cody's breathless wonder that they had finally broken the ice was beautiful, and Zack reached forward again, kissing his brother on the lips once more, letting himself moan this time, for this felt good.

Cody leaned all of his weight on Zack, hungry for this, wanting to feel more, but he didn't want to make Zack realize what they were doing.

But Zack did, and he pushed Cody away again, still staring into his brother's eyes, trying to ignore that idea that that they had kissed, and Cody had given him an erection. They still held hands though.

"Cody?"

A breathless nod was the answer.

Zack let go of Cody's hand. "Um, I need to go." So he did, breaking away from Cody and speed walking out of the store, and out of the mall, back into the park, and toward home, desperate to shake the idea of what he had just let himself do. He had given in to Cody, let himself do something that shouldn't have been done, and why did Zack still have an erection.

Cody's breath had been soft and delicate, his body light and tender, pulling on Zack with such beautiful need. Up the elevator Zack went, through the the lobby of the hotel, and he threw himself of his bed after he closed the door, desperate to drown the noise in his head.

Cody was his brother, his twin! They shouldn't have kissed! Zack needed better self-control then that. He rolled over, and looked at Cody's bed. There was something he had smelled on Cody, this musky scent. He sat up and stood, letting himself stand and walk over to Cody's bed, to see if his blankets and pillows smelled the same.

He reached for Cody's pillow just as the door outside closed, and Zack hurried back to his bed, sitting back down just as Cody came in. Cody, looking flustered, stared at Zack as though he was a ghost, and whispered, "I'm leaving, sorry," and he tried to back out.

"Cody, wait!" Zack stood, jogging to the door as Cody tried to close it, pulling on the handle, and grabbed Cody's hand.

In the doorway, they stared at one another.

"What's wrong Zack?"

"We just, need to talk more, before, we, do more. That was wonderful, more wonderful than I wanted it to be, and I can't say no, I just can't say yes, yet."

Cody's eyes shone with a dim happiness.

Zack kissed Cody on the lips again, just a little peck, and whispered, "I need time to let myself go, Cody."

Zack's beautiful twin nodded, and kissed Zack on the cheek, pulling himself to Zack, and whispered, "Take your time."

Where their skin touched was an electric charge, one that Zack had never noticed. Cody's eyes were hard, holding a sharp unmitigated lust, a deep desire that made him long to make more happen now, but he restrained himself.