“You’re joking.” Knight stared at Leo, at the caps and back at Leo again. “I can’t accept that.” Leo winked, giving Knight one of his terrible, infectious grins again. “I insist.” “But...” “Oh come on.” Leo held out his left hand again. “I invited you out tonight, and it’s me who’s gonna pay. If you like it’ll be your turn next time.” “Okay. In that case...” Knight took the chips with a smile and Leo grinned even broader. “Sweet. Where do you want to start?” Knight stared at his chips and let his eyes trail across the casino. “Let’s do cards first.”
They made a little money at Black Jack and lost the lot again at the roulette tables, spending a few hours in a pleasant bubble out of reality in each other’s company, cursing the dice and cards and balls when they lost and praising them when they won. Having run dry on chips they returned to the Brimstone bar for another beer, but this time Knight insisted that he buy the drinks.
They clinked their bottles together after settling down and, nursing their beers, watched one of the prostitutes doing a pole dance on the stage. It was that moment that Knight, his heart still fluttering, remembered that Leo shared his personal preferences, something he had managed to forget every now and then in his near-futile crushing on the man. “I’d totally do him”, Leo said conversationally and took a sip of his drink. “If he weren’t a hooker.” “Don’t do hookers?” “I’m not dogmatic about it”, Leo gave back. “But as a principle... no. Feel too much like a job. Which I am, of course... but well. I’d prefer not to be treated like one and as of yet I haven’t found someone who doesn’t.” “You met Old Ben yet?”, Knight blurted out and realised the same moment what he had said and felt the unpleasant and unfamiliar burn of a blush creep onto his cheeks as Leo very slowly turned his head and looked at him, all traces of amusement gone from his eyes. “Old Ben? I have, but I didn’t know he also... does boys.” Knight stared at his bottle, cursing himself for his blunder and wondered if there was something he could say to smooth it over, make it not sound like he hadn’t had sex with a hooker, but where was the point? Because the plain truth was that he had. When he finally dared to look at Leo again he found the other man stare straight ahead, but not so much angry but all the more annoyed. He was tapping the side of his bottle with a nervous finger. “Leo?” “Hm?” He didn’t take his eyes off the stage. Knight took a deep breath. “What’s wrong?” Leo stared at the mouth of his bottle for a long while before answering. “I... I just. I don’t know.” “You’re...” Knight tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “You’re not... seriously.... you’re not jealous, are you?” “Of course not”, Leo snapped back far too hastily and Knight couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “Oh come on, Leo. Old Ben’s a Hooker and nothing more.” At that, Leo looked up again, a shy smile on his face. It made Knight’s throat go dry to see him look at him like that. Their eyes met, and suddenly Knight couldn’t look away any more. In Leo’s eyes the glint of humour had vanished, replaced by a deep dark shine, a strange kind of hunger that made Knight want to drown himself in these eyes. Leo leaned a little forward, the smile widening into something genuinely happy, and placed a hand onto Knight’s, yet years and years of hushing up had created forces of habit he couldn’t even shed in that moment, so he let his eyes sweep across the bar in search for anyone who might know him before he dared to close his fingers around Leo’s.
Leo, in turn, had seen that gesture and with a sigh, let go of Knight’s fingers again before he stood up. “Don’t move”, he said and vanished, leaving Knight wondering what he was up to now.
Knight didn’t have to wait very long, but when Leo came back he wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry, or if he should maybe just slink out of the door, into the courtyard, climb over a wall and vanish as he watched Leo come back to their table with a feisty grin on his face and a –female– whore in his arm.
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timeasmymeasure
My Knight in shiny Armour 4c/??
Date: 2011-11-08 02:31 pm (UTC)Leo winked, giving Knight one of his terrible, infectious grins again. “I insist.”
“But...”
“Oh come on.” Leo held out his left hand again. “I invited you out tonight, and it’s me who’s gonna pay. If you like it’ll be your turn next time.”
“Okay. In that case...” Knight took the chips with a smile and Leo grinned even broader.
“Sweet. Where do you want to start?”
Knight stared at his chips and let his eyes trail across the casino. “Let’s do cards first.”
They made a little money at Black Jack and lost the lot again at the roulette tables, spending a few hours in a pleasant bubble out of reality in each other’s company, cursing the dice and cards and balls when they lost and praising them when they won.
Having run dry on chips they returned to the Brimstone bar for another beer, but this time Knight insisted that he buy the drinks.
They clinked their bottles together after settling down and, nursing their beers, watched one of the prostitutes doing a pole dance on the stage. It was that moment that Knight, his heart still fluttering, remembered that Leo shared his personal preferences, something he had managed to forget every now and then in his near-futile crushing on the man.
“I’d totally do him”, Leo said conversationally and took a sip of his drink. “If he weren’t a hooker.”
“Don’t do hookers?”
“I’m not dogmatic about it”, Leo gave back. “But as a principle... no. Feel too much like a job. Which I am, of course... but well. I’d prefer not to be treated like one and as of yet I haven’t found someone who doesn’t.”
“You met Old Ben yet?”, Knight blurted out and realised the same moment what he had said and felt the unpleasant and unfamiliar burn of a blush creep onto his cheeks as Leo very slowly turned his head and looked at him, all traces of amusement gone from his eyes.
“Old Ben? I have, but I didn’t know he also... does boys.”
Knight stared at his bottle, cursing himself for his blunder and wondered if there was something he could say to smooth it over, make it not sound like he hadn’t had sex with a hooker, but where was the point? Because the plain truth was that he had.
When he finally dared to look at Leo again he found the other man stare straight ahead, but not so much angry but all the more annoyed. He was tapping the side of his bottle with a nervous finger.
“Leo?”
“Hm?” He didn’t take his eyes off the stage.
Knight took a deep breath. “What’s wrong?”
Leo stared at the mouth of his bottle for a long while before answering. “I... I just. I don’t know.”
“You’re...” Knight tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “You’re not... seriously.... you’re not jealous, are you?”
“Of course not”, Leo snapped back far too hastily and Knight couldn’t suppress a chuckle.
“Oh come on, Leo. Old Ben’s a Hooker and nothing more.”
At that, Leo looked up again, a shy smile on his face. It made Knight’s throat go dry to see him look at him like that. Their eyes met, and suddenly Knight couldn’t look away any more. In Leo’s eyes the glint of humour had vanished, replaced by a deep dark shine, a strange kind of hunger that made Knight want to drown himself in these eyes. Leo leaned a little forward, the smile widening into something genuinely happy, and placed a hand onto Knight’s, yet years and years of hushing up had created forces of habit he couldn’t even shed in that moment, so he let his eyes sweep across the bar in search for anyone who might know him before he dared to close his fingers around Leo’s.
Leo, in turn, had seen that gesture and with a sigh, let go of Knight’s fingers again before he stood up.
“Don’t move”, he said and vanished, leaving Knight wondering what he was up to now.
Knight didn’t have to wait very long, but when Leo came back he wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry, or if he should maybe just slink out of the door, into the courtyard, climb over a wall and vanish as he watched
Leo come back to their table with a feisty grin on his face and a –female– whore in his arm.