to Berlin with love.

[runningred]

 From here

Jay opens the door into a quiet back alley that could belong to any city - the lingering scent of garbage and the miss-matched colours where graffiti has been washed off or painted over. In the mid-afternoon chill of early spring, he takes Emcee's hand and leads him out into the street, pocketing the key. The sunlight is thin but warm and picks out the green swell of buds in the branches. The tree lined avenue is quiet this time of day. Not lacking in people but without rush, a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Comments

[i_am_your_host]

He blinks at him.

"Oh, dear. I'm going to have to learn how to use a modern kitchen, aren't I."

[runningred]

Jay laughs softly. "I can teach you the basics. Other than the microwave, everything else is pretty similar."

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee still looks uncertain, but he nods.

"I'll have a look. I don't usually cook for myself and the Bar has spoiled me rotten, so this would be something to get used to."

[runningred]

"There's no end of restaurants or delivery services around. You can always order out." Jay shrugs.

[i_am_your_host]

"Delivery? There are places that deliver meals?"

That could probably be the best modern invention he's ever heard of.

[runningred]

Jay chuckles and holds out a hand to him. "I'm pretty sure there are menus in one of the kitchen drawers."

For just about any nationality or style food Emcee can think of. And a few that he might not have.

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee takes his hand and gets to his feet, taking along his gin and cigarette, and follows him to the kitchen.

It's very...shiny. Like the kitchen in Milliways. He's tempted to open all the cupboards and cabinets to see what's in them, and he's pretty sure that he wouldn't be using half the appliances available. The coffee maker alone looks too complicated.

There is indeed a drawer full of menus, and he sorts through all of them, marveling at the variety.

"I've never had pizza before."

[runningred]

"Pizza it is." Jay grabs a phone and shows Emcee how to dial. He writes the address down to give for the pizzeria for the delivery. Fortunately the building access is off a different street to the club so it won't give away the game.

[i_am_your_host]

The cordless, push-button phone isn't too difficult to learn, except for maybe remembering to press a button to dial and another button to hang up. So strange.

"Hallo, yes, I would like to order a pizza please." He gives Jay an excited look of I'm ordering a pizza! "A large one. Ooh, I can get three toppings? Oh, all right, let me see..." He should have thought this through as he scans the list on the menu. "Black olives...um, mushrooms, and...oh, why not, Italian sausage."

After giving the address and hanging up, he tells Jay, "They said it will be here in twenty minutes. And I didn't want to say anything about how expensive things are, but things are fucking expensive. Inflation really is a bitch."

A pause.

"Speaking of which...do you have money? Although, I suppose, more importantly, do I have money?""

[runningred]

Jay laughs softly, sitting on the bench to watch Emcee's excitement.

At the question he holds at hand out to pull Emcee close, bracketing his knees either side of Emcee's thighs. "Okay. So, there's more to this conversation to be had. But I really don't want to freak you out. So for now, lets just go with yes, you have money. Enough for a comfortable living."

[i_am_your_host]

More? What could there possibly be? Emcee looks as if he's about to ask, but he knows he's not ready to hear anything else right now. All the hows and whys and wherefores-- it's just Jay being Jay.

He rests his hands on Jay's shoulders.

"If I'm going to accept this, I don't want to be living off of you or taking advantage of you or-- or anything like that, however you've planned it. But there's no way I could pay you back for this either."

[runningred]

Jay cups his cheek, drawing Emcee into a slow, undemanding kiss. "You owe me nothing. I give it freely."

[i_am_your_host]

End lets himself be drawn into the kiss and he lingers there for a moment, wishing this could be easier. He's not used to receiving things without expecting to give something back in return. The bigger the gift, the more likely he is to reject it.

He pulls back with a sigh.

"How about a grand tour?" he says with a faint smile.

[runningred]

Jay nods and steals one last kiss before slipping off the bench. "Open plan kitchen and lounge obviously." As they're standing in it. "The balcony runs right around the south east sides so you can sneak access it from the master bedroom too."

[i_am_your_host]

"Now I'm trying to imagine a scenario where that would come in handy," he chuckles.

"Where's the master bedroom?"

It's an innocent question. No, really.

[runningred]

"Slipping away from a party to change your outfit perhaps?" Jay says with as much innocence as he can muster.

He leads Emcee down the hall to a large if understatedly decorated master bedroom. "You can change the furniture however you like. This is just what it can with." A queen sized bed and dresser, a plush looking chaise lounge in one corner. Walk in wardrobe and decadent ensuite bathroom, and large folding doors onto the balcony.

[i_am_your_host]

"Sounds plausible," he says, amused, as he follows Jay into the master bedroom.

Which draws a small gasp from him. He pauses in the doorway, before slowly stepping inside.

"I swear, my flat is about half the size of this room."

He wanders over to the bathroom. Milliways (and Eric) has spoiled him in terms of what to expect from a modern bathroom, and here he is not disappointed. A roomy glass shower stall and a bath that looks like it can fit at least three people.

[runningred]

When he comes out, he'll find Jay perched on the chaise lounge, checking through a box of paperwork with a critical eye. "These are yours too. I just wanted to make sure they were up to spec."

EU passport, birth certificate, drivers license, checkbook, bank card. All in the name of Errol Marcus Christoper.

"Sorry I didn't have time to check the name with you. I can get it changed if you hate it but I figured it gave you room to stay with EMC."

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee goes over to him and examines the birth certificate.

And he laughs.

It's not exactly a cheerful laugh, because the need for such documents is a very real and sobering one, but it is an amused laugh.

"It's funny, I used to give myself a whole variety of names, but I've never been an Errol."

[runningred]

"Name of an Australian born movie star in the forties. Famous for his virility and habit of seducing his co-stars."

He holds up a document, examining it against the light. "Oh, money. Pizza will be here soon." He hands Emcee a well worn wallet with cash, credit and debit card, library card, bus ticket, half stamped frequent coffee card. Everything you'd expect.

[i_am_your_host]

"Ah, well I look forward to seeing his films," he says with a smirk.

He takes the wallet and looks through its contents. Again, a sobering reality. And he goes quiet for a moment, staring at the library card before tucking it away.

"You've thought of everything."

[runningred]

Jay lowers the document and looks at Emcee, holding a hand out to him. "I'm sorry, I've had to do this myself a few time. I guess I've stopped thinking about weird it can be."

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee takes his hand and sits beside him, shoulders slumped, holding the wallet in his lap.

"It-- it is weird. I've never had an identity on paper. Nothing to declare that I exist. And now, I have an entirely new existence in this wallet, on those papers... I haven't thought about reinventing myself for quite a while, but this is certainly more thorough than just picking out another name."

[runningred]

Jay nods and puts an arm around him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rush you. I just wanted to be sure you had everything you might need. If you wanted to make a life here."

He gestures to the box that all of it came out of. "I've got so many of those of my own, I guess I just tend to think of an identity as just a bunch of paperwork designed to fool other people."

[i_am_your_host]

He leans against him.

"No, it's all right, it's just very--" He exhales a breath. "--real. And I will have to deal with it. I understand that I would need all these things. I'll just have to have a little more time to-- figure out who this person is, before I decide if I want to-- be him. Without losing myself. In my time, who and what you are, are very much connected to what it says on your identification papers, and you don't want to be caught without them-- or to have the wrong kind of identity."