Note: I know I've been very quiet, but I've started about fifteen one-shots and haven't finished any. This one was the first one I was happy with. At least okay with. (wink) This is my love letter to "Queer as Folk". The amazing song is "Melancholy Rose" by Operatic. Truly one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.

The smell of body order, authentic and manufactured. The pulse of the techno music. The flashes of multi-colored lights. The laughter coming from the bar hounds. The frowns coming from the wallflowers. The heat emanating from the dancers. It was a club after all. What more did he expect? Collins buried himself among the drunk and the feeble at the bar. That way he could stay out of peoples' way. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy dancing. That he didn't want to get out there and see the view of the hundreds of shirtless men. It wasn't that. It was the fact that he would only dance with one person. The only person that mattered, in his heart, body, and soul. If only he could find him among the crowd. The pursuance of that soul mate, the one. Was that what everyone was doing here? Searching for a partner? Or were they simply searching for that night's trick? That sounded more right. If these guys were out for the forever stuff they would have their shirts on and would have carried their diaries in hand. No, they were there to scratch an itch. While Collins was searching for the one.

Hey settle down
And tie your heart's pieces
Sitting here all alone
And I never felt life like this before

Collins gave the bartender a small wave and soon his shot glass was filled again. Bourbon. It wasn't his favorite, but it would have to do for the moment. Maybe it would get his brain foggy enough to dare the dance floor. He downed the drink and ordered another. It was gonna take a lot of shots. As he waited to be refueled, he spun on his stool and turned to watch the dancers. Some were hot, others were not. But Collins always had to smile at the guys who still looked like they hadn't yet left junior high. The awkwardly thin and tall boys hunching over to hide their height and pimples. Even though they weren't a normal gay man's cup of tea, Collins had to admire them because they had the confidence. And in this place, it was all about confidence.

A smaller man danced into his view. Tight jeans with a tiny hint of glitter along the back pockets. A black tank top, a bit too big for his body, but then again it showed off the beginning of his well-defined chest. A tease for sure. Collins found himself entrapped by the man. He didn't have the muscles or the build of the perfect body builder that most gay men seemed to enjoy. And this guy knew it, but he had that amazing element of confidence. Of course, the tight jeans didn't hurt. Collins spun around and downed his shot. "Well…it's now or never," He whispered to himself. It was only fair that he have one dance.

The man who Collins was watching raised his head to meet the black man's eyes. He smiled as if he had known him for years or centuries. Their eyes stayed locked on each other until Collins was standing right in front of him. Standing while the smaller man was still dancing. His confidence still intact.

"Could I uhhh…"Collins coughed and motioned to the dance floor. He was never that good at the whole…making a move thing.

The man smiled gently and held out his hand. "You may, uhhh." He teased with that smiled again. "C'mon…let's see what you got."

The men around them seemed to fade. The blast of the music quickly became slight murmurs. The lights seemed to get dimmer. Even the strobes slowed down their flashes. It was just the two of them. Collins' hands on his hips. And his hands on Collins' shoulders. Breathing in the other's breath. Their legs dangerously close.

Oh my brother I don't know
Why but it's just you and I

Collins looked around for a moment unsure of himself. Then he felt a sole kiss on his cheek. His whole body burned as if it was the first kiss he had ever received.

"Relax," The man whispered pulling him closer while kissing him with a type of rekindled passion. His small hands soon slipped under Collins' shirt and pulled up. "You have the muscles…you should show them off." Collins didn't argue and only tossed the shirt to the side, finding that confidence in himself. Those small hands ran along his chest hungrily. Collins bit his lip holding back a moan. Despite what the hundreds of couples making out in dark corners and the dance floor, this wasn't the place. The smaller man knew what he was thinking.

"Wanna get out of here?" He took Collins' hand and led him out of the club. Collins never bothered to take back his shirt. Those hands would keep him warm.

They made a quick detour in a back alley. Collins pushed the smaller man against the wall as he assaulted his neck with his lips. "God, we should do this more often," The man giggled revealing just a bit of his true nature. He carefully pulled off Collins' mesh cap to run his hands through a hint of hair.

Collins laughed into his skin "You got that right." He took the cap from the smaller man's hands and pushed it in his back pocket. It wasn't long before he felt a hand wander back into the same pocket. It took a hold of the cap but seemed to linger enjoying the current location. "What exactly are you doing, Ang?"

"Feeling you up," Angel admitted with a not so innocent laugh. Collins joined in only to quiet him with a hard kiss.

All the angels spread your wings
Visit me with your sweet sweet dreams
And visions in my head an empty room and empty bed
Is that your voice calling me

As they parted they kept their eyes closed for a moment. Still enjoying the simple rush that their bodies felt with the contact of kissing. Collins knew he could never get enough. Angel was his partner. And he was glad that he didn't have to go to a sleazy club to figure that out.

Angel opened his eyes and immediately turned into that innocent Angel that most knew. Only Collins got to see the all out sexual man who just so happened to wear women's clothes. "What are you thinking?" Angel asked quietly putting Collins' cap in his back pocket.

Collins raised his brow wondering if he should retrieve his cap in a similar fashion that Angel retrieved it. But he opted against it. Instead, he kissed him deeply their tongues doing battle in the hallows of their mouths. When they parted for air, their lips curled into identical smiles. "I love you…that's what I was thinking." Angel rewarded his response with a simple kiss.

Then without another word to each other, they joined hands, fingers interlacing with more fingers. And they slowly walked towards their apartment. Other couples who stumbled out of the club raised their brows at the young Latino in sparkling jeans and the large black man. They weren't like the normal hookups that left the club early to explore the male body. They were different from the other club goers. When the techno music winded down, when the strobe lights paused, and when the colored lights faded everything was still the same. Their love was just as strong in heat as it was in normalcy.

Angel's eyes creeped up to capture Collins'. And only with their eyes, they smiled.