Tau Upsilon Gamma [M+/M+] [update - 10/1/25]

[DeeperThanRed]

Such a great return to this story!

Ray's drill course was really fun but despite the hot bondage, the highlight was the character interactions: Ray coming in terms with hus relationship with Mason was sweet and I appreciate Danny revealing that he plays the part that people expect from him.

Speaking of Mason, he can really take care of himself - and Brett, to boot!

[gag1195]

Man, I've missed this story! I am truly awed by how well you manage all these different characters and plots! And you even made me root for Ray! He's definitely low on my rankings of all these guys, for no real reason other than the rest are just more interesting to me personally. But man, this physical challenge turned brutal introspection bonding experience really made me appreciate Ray more. And I love Danny even more now too! Its an interesting situation- keeping up appearances despite the lack of interest. But I love that the thing he's actually into is just plain ole bondage fun!

And Mason continues to prove how well suited he truly can be! I knew he'd need to gag Brett before too long! And so well done, not only for his own sanity and not having to hear his complaints, but also for their own safety! It's a shame the backwoods toolshed didn't have any leather gags or ball gags to make the job easier, though!

[KidnappedCowboy]

Like @gag1195 and @DeeperThan Red, I'm glad to see the return of this story.

The obstacle course had my stomach in knots for Ray, but as you write it, it clearly shows that it is an endurance test that tests the mental and the emotional as well as the physical. I'm glad to see Ray breaking through some of the restraints that were holding him back.

And further into the wood as Mason and Brett go, it's great to see Mason taking charge and putting Brett in his place!

[wataru14]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. It's been so long since I've updated I was concerned if there was still interest. But I plan on updating more regularly now.

@DeeperThanRed Ray and Mason's relationship will be quite different after this. Especially once the Brett situation comes to light. It will really change the way Ray sees his little pal.

@gag1195 that's the beauty of an ensemble, cast. Some you will identify with, some you won't. But it leaves room for growth and development and people will surprise you from time to time. As a writer, Ray is one of the characters I have the hardest time with getting into his head. Which is funny considering how he's one of the more prominent characters right now. There's only one whose thinking is more alien to mine that his, but I'll let the readers figure that out on their own.

@KidnappedCowboy Danny is a lot smarter than people think. And he knew how to combine physical restraint with mental. Maybe from here on out they'll see each other less as rivals? Although both still really want to go head-to-head at something athletic. I can see a one-on-one basketball game where the loser gets tied to the basket support post? Hmmm, such possibilities!

I also wanted to tell everyone I've been working on a new side story. Like everything, it takes place in Metro City and there will be references to other stories people can find. But it's not SUPER closely connected to anything. What's different from they way I normally write is that it's essentially finished before I post chapter 1. I have the bones written in full and just have to edit and polish... and come up with a title. But there's still room to add things based on reader feedback. So, coming soon will be a gritty noir tale of hard-nosed gumshoe Mickey O'Rourke as he investigates a series of disappearances in 1930s Metro City. Hope to see everyone there.

[Bootmark]

I am always looking forward to updates, especially when it involves Cody.
I’m looking forward to the new series as well.

[gag1195]

I cannot wait for gritty, noir, black and white Metro City! I especially cannot wait to see how it ends up connecting to your present-day stories!

[big-gunth]

I think I'm one of the few people who was on team Ray from the beginning (although maybe it's team Rayson). On the outside Ray's your stereotypical dumb jock, but inside he really cares for Mason. He's even willing to sacrifice that relationship if it helps Mason.

Danny, like almost everyone else, assumes the worse about Ray. Danny thinks Ray abandoned Mason, when in Ray's mind, he was setting Mason free. It's almost like Gift of the Maji.

This makes makes me think back to the initiation night Ray was happy at Mason location losing his virginity in a such a spectacular fashion. But, Ray was also concerned that Mason would get his heart broken. And that actually happened when the sorority girls who deflowered Mason refused to give him their phone numbers. And Ray was there for Mason, cheering him up in the way he best knew how.

But this all confused with Ray's sexual confusion that even he is aware of. In TUGS so far, only 2 characters have a designated sexual preference-- Nate and now Danny. The rest are just amorphously bisexual. Ray almost seems asexual, but has very strong attraction to Travis and Mason. I wonder if because of his strict upbringing, he is afraid to even consider this possibility that he's gay.

Anyway, thanks for the new chapter. Like that your comments suggest that you have plans for where the story is going. Look forward to seeing where the noir series goes.

[wataru14]

Chapter 8: Dazed and Confused [warning: drugs]

When Nate got up, he noticed Cody, Ray, and Mason were already gone. Only Leo remained in the freshman bunks, sleeping like a dead man. Nate threw open the window, unconcerned with disturbing his bunkmate. The scenery outside – forest-covered mountains in the distance, dense woods in the beginning stages of changing into fall colors and dotted with clearings holding some mystery or other, the crystal-clear lake – was staggering. He grabbed his camera and snapped some pictures of the view out the window. He wasn’t much for landscapes, but it was a breathtaking sight.

After taking a quick shower, he threw on a clean pair of jeans and headed downstairs. He had packed fairy heavily for this trip and even though the “dress code” rendered most of it useless, he was glad he did. Cody didn’t even bring a second pair of pants. Just some swimming trunks. So if Cody’s “task” today was a physical as Nate suspected, he would soon regret being covered in mud the next few days. Or maybe he wouldn’t. Cody was like that.

Nate was surprised to see Scott and Shane sitting down at the breakfast table when he arrived. The five freshmen had spent a great deal of time last night trying to work out who would be paired with whom. Leo, in particular, was convinced that Nate would be partnered with Brett. He said they had a “mutual acquaintance” Brett would want to talk about, but he refused to elaborate any further. He also lowered his voice and looked over his shoulder when he said it, Nate noticed. The two in the kitchen were the least likely to be paired with him, by group consensus at least, with only Cody saying that Scott was a possibility. “Interesting,” Nate thought as he sat down.

Breakfast was a lighthearted fun affair, and Nate appreciated that. Leo staggered in a few minutes later, complaining that someone left the window open and the sun was hitting him in the face. How could he sleep through that? The group laughed often as they downed the stack of banana pancakes Scott had whipped up in the pre-dawn. A massive pile still remained on the counter.

“Hoss and Danny, the two biggest eaters, both went out early,” Shane said, savoring a bite. “Scotty Crocker went through all the trouble of making enough for them and they skipped out.”

“It’s a damn shame,” Leo agreed, grabbing two more for himself. For a skinny twig, he could really put it away when he wanted to. “Well, the microwave still works. They’ll have to make do. If we leave any for them, that is.”

Nate looked up furtively at the two seniors as they all ate. Scott smirked. “Nate, my dude, chill!” he said, “You look like you’re about to take a mid-term!” He leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head. Nate could see the TUG letters tattooed on his inner right forearm. All five seniors had gotten them at the beginning of the term. It was a tradition, Hoss had said. Hoss’ was on his right shoulderblade. Brett’s was on his chest, right over his heart. Nate wondered what he would do in three years. While his branch of the family wasn’t as orthodox as some of his cousins, Judaism still didn’t look favorably at things like that. His great-great-grandfather was a rabbi who fled from the pogroms as a child with only the Torah and the clothes on his back. And some of his elder relatives were VERY conservative on matters like tattoos.

“Sorry,” Nate said, wiping some syrup off his chin. “I was just thinking about something.”

“That’s your problem, brah,” Scott said. “Not that thinking is bad, but you have to live life and take things as they come. You can’t micromanage everything, bubeleh.”

Shane cackled. “That’s some real wisdom,” he joked. “I mean, Scott’s philosophy has gotten him just a few short months away from living in a van on Malibu beach. Isn’t that where gurus hang out nowadays?”

“Pipe down, Barbie,” Scott laughed, adopting one of Hoss’ nicknames for Shane. “I got plenty of plans for the future. I’m just not obsessing over them.” Nate assumed those “plans” were just being a kept houseboy for Wade. He watched as Scott stood up, wrapped up the extra pancakes, and put them in the fridge. While he was in there, he grabbed something in a Ziploc bag from the vegetable crisper and stuffed it in his pocket before Nate could see what it was.

“Snacks for the day,” Scott smirked, seeing Nate’s attentive glances. Shane just rolled his eyes. “Well, I’ll skip the bullshit,” Scott said, closing the fridge door and putting his hands on his hips. “It’s you and me today, Reb Nathaniel.”

Leo looked up from his plate at that. Based on who was there, he would have put money on Nate being with Shane and him being with Scott himself. Especially if he was right about what the “observing” was for. Scott was the Social Chair. What in the hell would he be observing Nate for? And Shane was secretary. No one in their right mind would consider him for a role like THAT, Leo thought. “These two went off script,” he realized, cemented after seeing Shane’s nonchalant smirk. “No wonder they’re the last. They had to wait until Brett was gone before messing with his orders.”

Nate was thrown for a loop, despite what Cody had said. “You and… me?”

“You almost sound offended,” Shane said, almost bluntly.

“No!” Nate countered. “I’m just… surprised is all.”

“Well, that’s the point, isn’t it?” Scott said. “Keeping people on their toes? What’s the point if you can guess it beforehand?” He looked at Shane for confirmation.

“Brett’s pairings were a little too obvious,” Shane agreed. “Danny and Ray? Cody and Hoss? Amateur hour. Of course he kept the only shocker for himself. But there’s a method to our madness. You’ll see.”

Nate couldn’t argue with that once he heard who among the missing was paired with whom. But that meant Brett was with Mason. THAT was a surprise. “Well, not really,” Nate admitted. Mason had been taking a leadership role recently. Ever since the car wash. Brett HAD to have noticed.

“Relax, Nate,” Leo said, finishing the last of his pancakes. “You’re in for a fun time. You think THIS guy is going to make you run laps or something?”

That was true, Nate thought. Nothing about Scott screamed “taskmaster” or anything, but he did have a little apprehension. They were the only two of the ten who were in a… relationship. Mason/Marisol and Cody/Sam weren’t really serious… yet. Ray and Travis? Well, no one was really sure what THAT was. And Scott being Hoss’ best friend meant there would probably be… questions.

“All right,” Nate said, getting up from the table. “Let’s go then.”

---

Scott had his arm casually draped over Nate’s shoulder the entire walk. From someone like Brett or Danny, he would have considered it a power move. A show of dominance. But Scott wasn’t like that. Scott was clearly a sub, but irrespective of bedroom politics, he was the one out of all the seniors who was the least concerned about rank and regimentation. It was just a simple, straightforward “bro” gesture. And Nate appreciated that.

They left out the front door, passing the parked bus, and took a side path at the lake into the woods. Nate was hoping they might be going to the lake, since he so rarely got to swim and he rather enjoyed it. But they didn’t stop. They walked along a path that shadowed the small stream that fed the lake. So clean you could see the rocks on the bottom and the little fish swimming around. Nate heard the rumble of a waterfall up ahead.

“Now this place is beautiful all around,” Scott said, sensing Nate’s attention to the surroundings. “But you’re about to see my favorite place on the whole property. It’s pretty gnarly.” They followed the river, moving subtly up in elevation, until they came to a small clearing.

The far side of the clearing was a rock wall that went up, almost full vertical, to the base of the mountains. The stream’s source was high above, an offshoot of a larger river that skirted the edge of the property. The water from the stream cascaded down into a small pond, where it collected before running downhill to feed the lake. There was a soft mist all around, humid but cool.

“It’s better in the spring when the snow melts,” Scott said. “And you get animals here a lot, but this time of year they’re either hibernating or migrated for the season.” Nate could tell this was Scott’s favorite place. A few ratty towels were arranged in a circle around a dead campfire ring. It had a very chill vibe. Even Nate was put at ease.

“Wow…” was all he said.

“I know, right?” Scott replied, lighting a cigarette. He picked up a coffee can from beside one of the towels to use as an ashtray and unsealed the plastic lid. “Have a seat, little dude. You and me are going on a journey.”

“A journey?” Nate asked. “Like a hike? But we didn’t bring any gear. No boots, no map…”

“Nah, not like THAT kind of journey,” Scott smirked. “Just cop a squat. All shall be revealed soon, mon ami.”

Nate chose the nearest towel and sat down with his legs stretched out in front of him. The earth underneath was soft and cool. Scott plopped down on the towel beside his. They sat, basking in the natural grandeur until Scott finished his smoke. After sealing up the coffee can he grabbed the Ziploc bag from his pocket.

“I know we just ate, but here ya go,” Scott said, taking a brownie from the bag and handing it to Nate. “You think my pancakes are good? Take a bite of that baby!” Nate looked at the confection quizzically for a moment. It was soft and still moist from whenever Scott baked it. It wasn’t done here at the retreat, but it hadn’t yet begun to harden. Massive chocolate chunks throughout. It looked heavenly. Nate took a bite.

The rush hit him after two seconds. Scott had devoured his almost instantly and now looked at Nate with a goofy grin. As Nate took another bite, he saw the corners of Scott’s mouth begin to curl beyond the dimensions of his head. Like the Joker or the Grinch. He blinked a few times in disbelief. Then… he giggled at the absurdity of it. He started to sweat.

“Heh,” Scott chuckled. “Hits the skinny guys like you pretty quick.” Nate took another bite. The taste of chocolate with a hint of honey danced over his tongue and down his throat. He looked down and realized the brownie was gone. But he was sure he still had half of it to go. He saw an image in his mind of him scarfing down the remaining half, but he didn’t remember doing it.

“Whoa…” he said, feeling a pleasurable heat begin to well up in him. “Time is… wobbly… like it’s bending back on itself.”

Scott howled with laughter. “That ain’t the half of it. But don’t worry. Time is moving just fine.” But that wasn’t the only thing that was moving. Vines and creepers began to slink out of the foliage and crawl toward the pair. All of varying thicknesses. Nate started openmouthed in fascination. He saw colorful trails of light lagging behind them as they slithered toward him along the ground. Their movement wasn’t ominous or worrying. Nate almost felt like he was in a cartoon where the forest creatures come out to play.

“The Ents are coming to Eisengard…” Nate chuckled. Then he broke out into full-on giggles that wracked his body in joyous spasms. His head swam with a disconnected euphoric feeling. Almost like he was floating in space. His sense of pressure was misfiring. He gazed in giddy curiosity as the vines reached his feet.

The vines were in no hurry as they began snaking up the legs of both Nate and Scott. Moving of their own accord, they wrapped around and around, slithering up ever further. Nate reached his hand out to touch the vine as it crawled up his chest. His arm felt like it was moving in slow motion. Like it was forcing its way through some viscous liquid. The vine felt warm and alive when he made contact with it and he giggled again.

“What’s going on?” he asked, still flushed and giddy. Scott didn’t answer. He just watched the vines wrapping around his own legs with a goofy smirk. Nate looked back when he felt a thin creeping tendril crawl over the back of his hand and start encircling his wrist. The wind changed slightly as the creeper crawled along his arm and onto his bare back. When it made contact with his trunk, it began asserting a gentle pressure, pulling his arm back. Another creeper snaked around his other wrist, which was still planted against the ground to stabilize him.

It was fascinating to watch, Nate thought. His mind didn’t even register how this was a horticultural impossibility. The vines began to constrict his legs, pulling them flush together and spiraling up toward his torso. Getting thicker and tighter with each revolution around. He teetered a little as the creepers around his wrists worked them slowly behind his back. More vines crawled out of the bushes and wound their way around his chest. Behind his back, the creepers had positioned his hands together and had begun to wrap themselves around his wrists. Nate giggled again as he felt budding leaves ticking his bare skin.

The vines continued to snake around until both Nate and Scott were enveloped and cocooned in green tendrils. Nate felt the energy and life from his bonds radiating out and permeating him. There was a quick vibration and the universe itself seemed to slightly pulse for a moment. Then Nate’s giddiness vanished with a pop, leaving only a warm buzz of euphoria in its place. He blinked a few times as everything came back into focus.

“You and me are going to play a little game,” Scott said. He was just as bound and wrapped up by vines as Nate was, but he didn’t seem fazed by it whatsoever. Nate wasn’t scared, or even nervous, just vaguely curious about the “How” of the situation. Did they have weird mutant plants out here? Did Scott have plant-based superpowers or something? Nate was fascinated more than anything. The vines slowly finished their snaking around his body and settled, snug and secure.

“This is some Poison Ivy shit right here,” Nate said, his voice sounding like it was coming from somewhere outside his body. “Does Audrey II eat me if I lose the game?”

“Nope, little man,” Scott said, shifting his weight to get comfortable. “No deathtraps, just some chill conversation. It’s just a game of 20 Questions. The vines are there to make sure you answer honest. Watch this. I’M WEARING A LACY BRA AND PANTIES RIGHT NOW!” The vines tightened around Scott’s chest, causing him to let out an “Ooomph” before they loosened. “Think of it as my jolly green lie detector. Just be honest and you’ll be fine. If you’re ready, I’ll go first. Why did you join TUG?”

Nate chuckled slightly. “Pretty much Cody,” he said. “We got our letters delivered under the door of our room at the same time. He was super excited, but I didn’t know what to make of it.” That was sufficient enough to answer Scott’s question, but something inside Nate made him want to elaborate. He was normally quite private about personal matters, but at this moment he couldn’t help himself from sharing more. Maybe it was whatever was in the brownie? “I’ve always had a hard time making friends. Bullied a lot. And I mean a LOT. And unlike Mason, I didn’t have a protector watching my back. When I first read the letter I thought ‘Great! Another group of douchebags who will fuck with me. This is probably a sick joke.’ The only reason I reconsidered is because Cody was so adamant about it. I figured, with him there, it would be all right.”

Scott nodded at his explanation. “Well, we are a bunch of douchebags sometimes,” he smirked. “But we would never pull a stunt like that. That’s DIX shit.”

Nate felt the vines encircling his ankles slowly loosen and unravel. They unfurled and slank away into the foliage like they were never there. So that’s how the game worked. “And the truth shall set you free,” he quipped. Scott indicated that it was Nate’s turn.

Nate thought for a minute. They had time to get into hard questions, but something had been gnawing at his mind and he just had to ask. “Exactly what was in those brownies?”

Scott smiled broadly. “Eggs, sugar, cocoa, the usual. But that’s not what you’re asking. Well, the secret ingredient is something we discovered my sophomore year. One of the seniors was really into botany that year. You can guess what we had him growing most of the time, heh heh... But besides that, he crossbred these flowers that had kickass psychoactive effects. A clean mellow trip, no paranoia, and non-addictive. I don’t even think it’s a recognized species. We discovered a bunch of different ways to use them, and every method has a different effect. But when you cook with them… well, let’s just say it alters your perception pretty heavily.”

“So this isn’t real?” Nate asked. Immediately the vines tightened around his wrists and chest. They didn’t loosen again.

“Ah ah ah!” Scott scolded. “One question per turn. But as for whether it’s real or not: your body and your brain both certainly think so. And that’s all that matters. Now…” he smiled wickedly. “I heard that Cody sleeps in the nude. Is that true?”

Nate smiled. “That’s a cheap question,” he said. “But I guess I have to answer. He doesn’t do it every night, but… yes. Sometimes he does. If he goes commando for the day, let’s just say he doesn’t dress up for the night. And before you say it, no, he’s not trying to bait me or anything. He’s not that type. It’s just how he is. Not to say that I don’t… look… hahahahahaha!!!!” The vines around his knees retracted and disappeared.

Nate had an odd thought. If these vines were all-knowing truth detectors, he just might be able to learn something that had been bothering him for a while now. “How did you guys find us?” he asked. “TUG, I mean. I had only been on campus six hours before the letter arrived.”

“Sorry to say, little dude,” Scott said. “But that I don’t know. Our advisor handles that with Brett. Big secret meetings. My freshman year was our advisor’s first year in charge and it started then. Just a meeting between him and the president the day the dorms opened and that’s that. Before him it happened later in the month and the actives had to go out and observe people to look for possible recruits. Or have a normal rush process like the other frats. For all I know the advisor has a crystal ball or something.”

It was an unsatisfying answer, but a true one, as the vines retreating from Scott’s ankles attested. Still, Nate was suspicious. He knew the advisor was there because QE asked him to take over. But how did they know each other? In a normal state of mind, Nate would have been afire with theories and hypothesis. But in his current state, the best he could do was file it away for later consideration.

Scott decided to stop with the kiddie questions and get more serious. “Where do you see yourself in two years?”

That was easy. Nate had been planning his future (with or without his mom’s help) for years. “Well,” Nate said. “If you asked me that four months ago I’d have said I see myself living in a tenement in the arts district of Metro City. Surviving on Cup O’ Noodles from the bodega and trying to sell my art on the street and catch the eye of some gallery owner out slumming. But now…” he paused. “I’m not sure. I’ll have most of my core classes done by then so I can focus on my art. Maybe get a showing on campus. But definitely still with TUG. That’s a given.”

That pleased Scott. “Good,” he said. “You’re the one we were the most worried about. People have dropped out before, but it’s rare. We’re usually a lot more careful about invitations than most, but it does happen.”

“I’d think you’d be more worried about Ray,” Nate said.

“At first we were, not gonna lie,” Scott said. “He was almost ejected, but you know that already. But the dude’s been through fire and came out the other end. He’s not going anywhere.”

It was Nate’s turn again, so he decided to up the stakes. “Since you asked me, where do YOU see YOURSELF in two years?”

Scott clearly didn’t like the question. Nate noticed the vines tightening around Scott as he considered his answer, then loosen again. “To be honest, I don’t know. Planning was never my strong point. I know what I said to Shane, but that was pretty much bullshit. Probably living with Wade. Helping out at the shop or taking care of the house.”

“You don’t sound too enthused by that,” Nate said.

“No, I am,” Scott shrugged. “I love Wade. He’s my everything. After all the DIX bullshit last month, and everything else, he’s always been there for me.”

“But…” Nate interrupted. “You’ve got ideas of your own.”

“I do want more,” Scott said. “But I don’t really do anything well, besides getting wasted and bottoming. I guess I’m just a big fuckup.”

“That’s DEFINITELY not true,” Nate said. “I don’t know why the vines aren’t strangling you right now. There is something you do well. Better than anyone I’ve ever seen.” Scott knew he couldn’t ask a question since it was still Nate’s turn, but the look on his face was screaming for Nate to elaborate. “Cooking.” Nate said. “The burgers at the Bid Party were out of this world! The banana pancakes this morning? Come on! You’ve got real talent.”

Scott stopped for a moment. Yeah, cooking was something he really enjoyed, but was he THAT good? The guys at TUG reacted well to his creations, but Hoss, Danny, and Brandon would eat a tire and call it ice cream. He had wanted to try something more creative for discerning brothers like Shane and Jaquan, but he was always too scared. He felt the vines around his knees loosen, signaling that Nate’s turn was over.

“OK, so I can cook,” he said. “So Wade gets his own personal Gordon Ramsey when he gets home. What do you suggest I do with this knowledge?” Scott winced, realizing he just used up a question without intending to.

Nate frowned. Scott wasn’t going to like this. “I would recommend that, after graduation, you leave Metro City. And Wade… temporarily. I have a… friend who has significant holdings in Las Vegas. Lots of top-notch restaurants and bistros there. If you want my advice: go out there and intern. Learn from the masters. Refine your own style a bit more and then come back and open your own restaurant in Metro City. It may take a while. And it will be hard work… which, let’s be honest, isn’t your strong point. But I really think you can pull it off.” The vines around Nate’s lap rapidly unraveled and whipped away with great speed. Scott knew what that meant. Nate was being truly and deeply sincere.

“Leave Wade and go out on my own…” Scott mused. “I’ve never done anything major on my own. I’ve always had Danny or Brett or Hoss to fall back on. Uproot and just drift into a new city on the other side of the country… that’s crazy.” The idea terrified him. But he had to admit that it allured him, too.

“If you don’t think you can handle it, if you’re too SCARED,” Nate said bitingly. “Then don’t. All I’m saying is that you asked for my opinion and I gave it. You were the first person at TUG that I met, and right away I knew there was more to you than meets the eye. You’ve done your best to keep that hidden, but it breaks through occasionally.” Scott bit his lip. There was a cold intensity to Nate’s voice that he had never seen before. Hoss had told him in secret about it, but Scott didn’t believe him. Now he was seeing a whole new side of Nate. A dark, almost edgy side that knew know to command. Suddenly he realized how right he was in convincing Shane to switch partners today. Letting Shane get his hands on this Dark Nate would be a supervillain origin story waiting to happen.

Still shaken by Nate’s tone, Scott was on the defensive. So he decided to play dirty. “What’s the deal between you and Hoss?” he snapped. More a defense mechanism than a question.

Nate recoiled, even though he expected Scott would go there eventually. Scott and Hoss were best friends and Nate was positive he already knew everything. He just wanted Nate to say it out loud. “Hoss is… my first ‘boyfriend.’ My first anything really. I was a virgin until a month and a half ago. People look at him and see just a big dumb slab of beef, but I see more than that. He’s complex. Even vulnerable sometimes. I’m sure you’ve seen glimpses of it, but it’s a side of him that he only lets me see fully. Being with him is exhilarating. It’s fun and exciting and I’ve never been happier.” He anticipated what Scott was going to say next and said it first. “You want to know if I love him. I… don’t know. Maybe I do. I’m not sure what that’s supposed to feel like, so I can’t say for sure. Don’t forget I’m still new to relationships. For the first two weeks I was constantly on guard that he was going to pull the rug out and say it was all a joke on the stupid gullible frosh. But… now I know that’s not true. I know he loves me. With the way he reacted during the fire it couldn’t be anything else. He’ll have those scars on his back forever. That… scares me a little.”

Some more vines recoiled off Nate and slithered away.

Things were getting intense. Both of them were half free from the vines that bound them, but the game wasn’t done yet. Nate decided to change direction. “What do the seniors think of Travis?”

“Danny and Hoss both think he’s playing Ray,” Scott shrugged, the leaves of the vines encircling his bare chest jingling in the air from the movement. “That it’s all an act and he’s DIX through and through. Brett knows that’s not true, but he’s more concerned with consequences. Brett’s also a legacy in TUG like Travis is in DIX. So he knows there might be fallout beyond what we can see if we ‘poach’ him like you guys want. Me and Shane, though… we’re behind you five all the way. I saw how they treated him when Brett, Hoss, and me were captive. There’s no way that’s faked. But if you’re expecting some sort of White Knight rescue scenario… you should probably get ready for disappointment. Hate to say it, but it’s true.”

The vines slithering away from Scott’s midsection gave Nate the sinking knowledge that what he just heard was true. He’d have to tell the others. Maybe they could come up with a different plan of attack?

Scott laughed. “Man, this heavy talk is killing my buzz. So what do you have planned for the next D&D session?”

Nate was grateful Scott was shifting gears to lighter talk. The weight of the questions was even more restrictive than the tendrils that bound half their bodies. The next few exchanges were light, more than a little raunchy, and extremely refreshing. Nate felt a closer bond of friendship with Scott forming moment by moment. They were an unlikely pair, but Nate felt comfortable around Scott. His high school years had made him more guarded and aloof than the others when it came to interacting with people, but maybe… just maybe… Scott could help him to break down those walls and let loose a little. Nate smiled at the thought.

Finally, the two were left with just their wrists bound behind their backs by the vines. Scott looked at Nate and grinned. “Just one more each,” he smiled. “Make it count. Here’s mine. We both know you’ve got the biggest hunk on campus wrapped around your finger. But if you had a ‘hall pass,’ who would you use it on? And don’t you dare pull that ‘I would NEVER!!!!’ bullshit.”

Nate laughed. “That’s easy,” he said. “Joe Manganiello. ‘True Blood?’ ‘Magic Mike?’ Even that shitty military movie he made with that WWE wrestler years ago? Come on, man, I can’t believe you had to even ask that!” Nate waited for the vines to slip off his wrists, but they didn’t. “Huh?” he asked, looking quizzically back over his shoulder at his still-secured wrists.

“Nah,” Scott said. “Not for the last question. We both get loose at the same time. That’s how it works.”

Nate understood. The game about connection. Bonding as much as bondage. “So it’s last question then. OK, here we go. We know what the real reason behind these excursions are. Mason, Leo, and I figured that out last night. My question is: are you actually REALLY considering ME for Social Chair?”

“Fuck no!” Scott laughed, drawing a deep relieved sigh out of Nate. The idea of having to plan parties and fundraisers made Nate’s skin crawl. “That’s Leo, no question. You are clear-cut for Secretary. That’s not even up for debate. As you probably figured out already, Shane and I switched behind Brett’s back. I’m still a little sore at Leo for bushwhacking me during the Pledge Hunt way back when, but it’s more than that. I wanted to see what makes you tick. You came to me first with a few things since you’ve been with TUG and that means a lot. And I’ve found you’re a pretty interesting dude.”

Nate was a little taken aback by that. No one had ever called him “interesting” before. A lot of other off-color derogatory things, but never “interesting.” He felt slightly overcome with emotion. So much so that he almost didn’t notice the final vines unsnaking from his wrists and slithering away.

“And that’s that!” Scott said, standing up and stretching out. Nate joined him. “Now, I bet you want to know what my big secret is…”

Nate cut him off. “I think I already know what it is,” he said. “I pretty much figured it out when we were talking about you training in Vegas. Everyone feels inadequate and is scared about their future. There’s no reason to be ashamed of that. But you’re NOT a fuck-up and you’re NOT talentless and you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone BUT yourself. I believe you’ve got what it takes.”

Scott was overwhelmed by Nate’s show of support. So much that he grabbed him in a tight bro-hug and lifted him off the ground. “Now THAT’s a ride-or-die attitude, my dude!” he said. “Total bro move. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re not the coolest cat in the room.” He put Nate down.

“Should we head back?” Nate asked, readjusting his glasses after they got knocked around by Scott’s hug. “It’s getting late.”

“In a minute,” Scott said. He reached into his jeans pocket and took out his pack of Marlboros. “There’s something I want to do first.” He opened the pack and slid out two joints. “I was saving these for tonight, but hey, nothing better than blazing up with your homies surrounded by nature, right?”

“Of course right,” Nate said with a grin.

---

Red-faced and puffy-eyed, Nate and Scott made their way through the woods, arms mutually draped over each other’s shoulders and giggling like schoolchildren.

“Look,” Nate said, his speech pleasantly slurred. “All I’m saying is that He-Man is a gay icon. And I don’t think it’s unintentional. Everyone is totally jacked. There are like four women on the whole planet and one of them is his mom. You’re talking about a clearly gay guy and his clearly gay cat. He holds up a magic phallic symbol, comes out to the world, and all of a sudden he’s tan and wearing a bondage harness and a fur loincloth while his cat gets a gimp mask. Do I have to draw you a fucking map, dude?”

“Whoaaaaa,” Scott said, his mind completely blown. “I totally never even thought of it that way!”

The pair met up with Leo and Shane, who were coming up from the lake area. Seeing the state that Scott and Nate were in, Leo burst out laughing. “Well, look who it is: Cheech and Chong!”

“What can I say?” Nate giggled. “Our activities involved a lot of green. In more ways than one.”

Shane stood slightly apart from the others, his trademark unreadable smirk on his face, as he looked across the grounds to the lodge house. “Scott, if you’re quite done corrupting the innocent, something is going on at the front porch and I know none of us are going to want to miss it,” he quipped.

---

Somewhere in the South Pacific, the normally still waters began to churn. Something was rising. The water cascaded aside as a metal structure, encrusted with algae and barnacles, slowly crested and emerged. Once it was fully out of the water, the surface of the roof split open and a grinding sound echoed forth. On gears rusty from disuse, a metal platform rose up, housing a sleek, futuristic two-seater plane. A garish decal featuring a kawaii-style Cthulhu adorned the top of each wing. VTOL engines firing, the long-disused Calamity Shuttle took off and streaked across the sky toward Bora Bora.

Coming Soon: Chapter 9 – Back to Nature

[gag1195]

I am incredibly grateful that Shane and Scott decided to break the rules and swap pairs! For a number of reasons:
1. Scott had a very unique way of bonding with Nate and getting some deep insights from both of them.
2. I don't think we would have gotten near as many insights if they'd kept the original pairs
3. It means that Shane and Leo get to be a pair after all and that makes me so happy!

The psychedelic vine bondage is so fun and unique! I was initially expecting the little twist to be that Scott was actually tying Nate up, and Nate was just interpreting it as living vines, but I'm very happy to have been wrong! And again, so very nice insights to both Scott and Nate! I really appreciated Nate's honesty regarding his relationship. It's all so new, that it can definitely be tricky to understand how deep the emotions go. And I love dom Nate coming out and putting Scott in perspective!

But how dare you tease us and make us wait for the Shane/Leo pairing! Grr!!!

[CowboyStud]

Hmmm I’m curious why the questions about Cody. Like does Cody sleep in a nude?

I’m curious why would he care? Did wade ask that about him?

Does someone have a crush on our fellow cowboy?

Also, if his assumptions about Travis are correct should we worry about ray?

I’m curious about the legacies.. is it possible Leo’s father is a legacy? I’m thinking at least one of our pledges is a unknown legacy.

[wataru14]

Hmmm I’m curious why the questions about Cody. Like does Cody sleep in a nude?

I’m curious why would he care? Did wade ask that about him?

Does someone have a crush on our fellow cowboy?

Scott already knew the answer to that question. He just wanted something light and cheeky to put Nate at ease. And neither Wade nor Scott have a "crush" on Cody. Although Cody does feel an attraction to Wade somewhat (he mentioned it in his thoughts in an earlier chapter). But they're both pretty much spoken for at the moment, so the odds of anything happening are a little low.

Also, if his assumptions about Travis are correct should we worry about ray?

Not worried about Ray. Like Scott said, he's not going anywhere. And the reader poll was against Travis becoming the sixth pledge. But that doesn't mean that they're just going to leave him to his fate. All five pledges are behind him, and with Scott and Shane on their side, who knows what devious plans for DIX they will cook up?

I’m curious about the legacies.. is it possible Leo’s father is a legacy? I’m thinking at least one of our pledges is a unknown legacy.

None of the pledges are legacies. By the nature of TUG itself, they're not very big on the legacy system. They're actually quite rare. With only a small group of pledges each year and each one being selected because TUG can help give them what they "need," it doesn't sit will to give someone an automatic spot. Brett's legacy status is on his father's side, but it's a few generations back. We'll see who it is when I post my next side story.

I am incredibly grateful that Shane and Scott decided to break the rules and swap pairs! For a number of reasons:
1. Scott had a very unique way of bonding with Nate and getting some deep insights from both of them.
2. I don't think we would have gotten near as many insights if they'd kept the original pairs
3. It means that Shane and Leo get to be a pair after all and that makes me so happy!

The psychedelic vine bondage is so fun and unique! I was initially expecting the little twist to be that Scott was actually tying Nate up, and Nate was just interpreting it as living vines, but I'm very happy to have been wrong! And again, so very nice insights to both Scott and Nate! I really appreciated Nate's honesty regarding his relationship. It's all so new, that it can definitely be tricky to understand how deep the emotions go. And I love dom Nate coming out and putting Scott in perspective!

But how dare you tease us and make us wait for the Shane/Leo pairing! Grr!!!

Scott and Nate are a fun pair. And they're definitely going to hang out more in the future. As for his relationship, Nate has never dated anyone before so he doesn't really know how to proceed or what to do. And his relationship with Hoss isn't particularly standard, anyway. He is bringing the big guy home for Hannukah, so he is very serious about it. He just needs time to process what he's feeling.

And you won't have to wait THAT long for Leo/Shane! I'm going on a trip next weekend and won't be able to get any writing done while I'm away, but it is priority one for when I get back.

[DeeperThanRed]

Nate is really shaping up to be my favorite character.

His bonding (pun intended) session with Scoot was definitely interesting, and I'm curious about the tease at the end.