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

[runningred]

"But a good one, I hope." He hugs Emcee close, rubbing his back in slow, easy strokes. "Sleep well, beautiful."

He lets himself relax into an easy doze, breathing in Emcee's scent. This feels really good - just enjoying Emcee's company. He knows Emcee doesn't usually get this sort of relaxed affection, more does he but it's good. It feels refreshing.

[i_am_your_host]

He breathes out a drowsy little hum in response before he falls asleep, a deep, crashing sort of sleep that comes from being unused to so much activity during the daytime. His nocturnal nature had been put to the test without artificial stimulants, and that sort of thing takes a physical toll.

But right now he's just happy to have somewhere to nap comfortably. And someone to nap with. And it is refreshing.

An hour before midnight, the alarm goes off. It's an incessant beeping that drills itself into Emcee's head and wakes him with sheer annoyance. He picks his head up and stares at the device.

"Oh, good god, turn it off--!"

[runningred]

Jay picks it up and slides a thumb over the smooth surface without opening his eyes. He drops the silent phone back on the table and gives Emcee an apologetic hug.

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee can't help but laugh. He plops his head back down on Jay's chest and sighs.

"I must say, the sound of an electronic alarm clock is just as awful as the ones you have to wind up."

[runningred]

"At least the one on the phone you can change to something less evil." He mutters, stoking Emcee's back. "But I'll sleep through anything too gentle."

[i_am_your_host]

"Mm, I'm the same," he agrees, stretching under Jay's touch, before sliding up onto his knees. He looks toward the wide windows at the nighttime sky, and a familiar restlessness begins to seep into his limbs. These are his peak hours, so he's wide awake now.

"I'm going to eat a little something before getting ready. Do you want anything? There are frozen meals in the refrigerator, or we can finish the pizza."

[runningred]

"Coffee will do me so help yourself to whatever you feel like." He yawns, a bit slower to wake up.

[i_am_your_host]

"Coffee at midnight, how adventurous of you," he says with a smirk.

He leans down to peck him on the chin as he yawns, then slips off the bed. He considers putting clothes on, but why be clothed when he's in his own home? Or at least, a place that could be his home. He's still distancing himself a little from the idea.

Padding into the kitchen, he faces down the fancy coffee maker.

Oh, dear. Right. So.

He doesn't want to drag Jay out of bed to ask him to show him how to use it, so he does his best through sheer determination. And guesswork. And pressing lots of buttons. Do people just not boil their coffee on the stove anymore? Eventually he does get it to make appropriate gurgling sounds and to produce a stream of brown liquid into the carafe, so hooray for technological victories.

[runningred]

Jay pads in a few minutes later, clad in just a pair of boxers and led by the smell. "You didn't have to do that, I could have made my own."

At least that's what his mouth says. His hand say gimme. Bat related caffeine addiction is something of an issue.

[i_am_your_host]

"But I wanted to try it," Emcee insists brightly with a grin as he opens some cupboards in search of mugs. "No sense having all these fancy toys around and not learning how to use them." He hands Jay an empty mug for when the coffee finishes brewing.

"But I will ask you this: how long should I heat up a slice of pizza in the microwave oven?"

[runningred]

Jay pours himself to coffee, drinking it black and bitter, sighing happily. Life's blood!

He leans over the counter and shows Emcee how to set the timer and where the menu has a setting for pizza.

[i_am_your_host]

"Huh. There's a button for everything these days," Emcee muses with amusement. He slides a slice of pizza onto a plate and into the microwave, setting the timer as instructed.

Then he darts away to find his clothes, patting Jay on the ass when he passes.

[runningred]

Jay grins at the little pat and leans in the bench, letting the coffee do it's work. By the time Emcee's dressed, Jay looks almost human again, leaning on the window as he talks softly on the phone.

When Emcee comes back, he signs off and hangs up, pocketing his phone.

[i_am_your_host]

When Emcee returns, in trousers and sleeveless undershirt, with his hair neatly parted yet still playfully touseled, he only casts a brief glance at Jay by the window before heading straight for the microwave. His pizza is done warming up, and he carefully removes it to let it cool. It's remarkably hot for having spent such a short time in there.

While it cools, he pours himself a glass of gin and lights up a cigarette.

"Ahh, fuck, darling," he exhales with a plume of smoke, "I'm actually quite excited right now. I just want to fucking let loose tonight, don't you? I feel as if everything has been building up to this moment."

[runningred]

Jay grins and comes over to kiss Emcee soundly. "That's what I like to hear." He looks Emcee up and down. "Well, you look perfect. I'm going to have to come up with something to wear. I think I saw some spare clothes in one of the guest rooms."

Technically, that's a lie seeing he originally set this place up as a crash pad, he knows there's several changes of his clothes in one of the wardrobe. Along with back up IDs, emergency cash and a few back up weapons hidden in a false wall

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee giggles at the kiss, trailing his fingertips down Jay's chest.

"I hope you can find something nice and tight. If you're going to be my boytoy, you'll need to show off."

[runningred]

"I think I can manage that." Jay growls softly. "So should I have invested in a collar and leash while we were shopping?" He asks teasingly.

[i_am_your_host]

"Perhaps you should have," he laughs brightly. "It would have made for an interesting presentation."

He nibbles on some mushrooms and olives picked off the slice of pizza.

"I'd have to beat everyone off for wanting to pet you."

Deliberate word choices all around.

[runningred]

Oh Emcee. The puns. He shakes his head with a groan and kisses him again. "Let me go see what I can pull together. You can vet me for petability."

[i_am_your_host]

When Emcee puns, you know he's still his old self.

He giggles into the kiss and gives him another pat on the ass.

"Sometimes it's not what you wear but how you wear it," he remarks cheerily before taking a sip of gin.

[runningred]

Jay tries to look scandalised at the pat and fails terribly. He slips off into the spare room and starts going through the stash of clothes. Combat gear, Armani suit, motorcycle gear. Ah, that might work.

He comes back to Emcee dressed in skin tight black jeans, fabric shot with something metallic that catches the light when he moves, an equally tight blood red sleeveless muscle top that rides up to show off the skin of his hips, motorcycle boots and forearm braces that look like leather but have that same woven-in metallic glint. Tough and a little exotic.

"Think I'll pass?"

[i_am_your_host]

Meanwhile, Emcee feasts on his pizza, trying not to burn his tongue on the melted cheese, because that would suck.

When Jay reappears, he turns to him, and--

"Oh my god," he half-gasps, an expression of utter delight on his face.

"You look incredibly hot, darling." He takes his arm and touches the braces, fascinated by the material. "What is this made of?"

[runningred]

"Not something you'd see on the open market. Stuff's called Nomex." The bracers feel like cloth but move with the stiffness of leather. "It's designed to be fire-proof. The jeans are made of the same stuff but blended with a different fibre to make them comfortable."

Up close, the jean have bands of stiffer fabric over the hips and down between the upper thighs, a slightly darker V that draws the eye. And more importantly, protect the arteries. "The vanbraces are treated to make them slash proof."

[i_am_your_host]

He can't help running his fingers over his hips, noticing the different fabrics.

"It's fashionable armor," he murmurs, awed and impressed. And also a little turned on. "Forget boytoy, you could be my bodyguard."

[runningred]

Jay shivers, a little turned on himself. It's hard not to be with Emcee touching him like that. "If you wanted bodyguard, I could have gone with the Armani suit and the shoulder holster."