Love Is Blind

Eric was in the doghouse and didn't understand why. Waiting to collect a client while loitering in kennels didn't help either. To his eye the posh mutts were unnaturally wiry and he was sure they were looking at them funny. Give him an old English sheepdog any day, the proper sort which looked like haystacks made of fur. Or a cat. Or even a natterjack toad. Eric made a mental note to go back to betting on horses and broke away from his greyhound staring match when Alan's nagging voice grew even louder than the growling.

"-and the death list says the client dies while poisoning not having poisoned."

"What blasted difference does it make? We're here for the human. There ain't aught on any list about bloody animals!"

Oh... bad move. He shouldn't have raised his voice but right now he felt on edge, increasingly confused and, put bluntly, pissed off. The hell was Alan's problem today? They had started off all sunshine and small rule-breaking smiles but while the afternoon wore on Alan's expressions had gone from expectant to disappointed and then over dinner Alan had stared at the pea-soup and hot eels as if the one was going to jump into the other and swim away.

Eric really didn't understand it. A working dinner usually meant street food and after an entire day practically living in each other's pockets he was hardly going to whip out a picnic complete with champagne and caviar. Especially as he wasn't drunk enough to enjoy the fizzy French piss-water and fish eggs seemed as appealing to him as the eel jelly he had offered to buy for Alan instead appeared to be to the fussy eater.

Eric had since learned his generous offer was an actual affront, all worked out by his own efforts too! The feisty little reaper had been giving him the silent treatment all evening. Until now. Apparently now, in the dark, in the middle of glorified ferrets on stilts for the last case of the day, now was the time to catalogue Eric's perceived sins over recent days with ever increasing volume. Bollocks to this, he'd had enough.

"Oh come on! They were bloody gymnasts, Alan! All legs and wide-angles and flexible and-" and he should really shut up now, shouldn't he? Alan narrowed his eyes at him. Yep. Eric should definitely shut up.

If he thought the silence sounded loud before this time it was thunderous. After an uncomfortable moment the flicker of a dimmed lantern indicated their client on his way, only to be reaped by Alan without a word before the reaper vanished to gods knew where.

Eric scowled when the owl hooting outside sounded like it was calling him a fool. He got the damned dogs a new dinner.

Owww...

Alan let his head hit his folded arm to hide from the horrible light and whimpered pathetically, determined to wallow in self-pity until... what? Until he found his self-respect again maybe. He seemed to have misplaced it a few hours ago.

Not that Eric cared. He could hear the snores echoing around from here. It wasn't fair. Why should he get to sleep when Alan was left all tipsy and lonely and not sober and lonely and why had he drunk the whole bottle again? Oh, how silly of him. Eric. Also known as an insensitive boor who was only ever after one thing and Alan was a fool to ever think otherwise. Oh but he got so very lonely though.

Bah. This was no good. This was all his so-called mentor's fault. If Eric was here the bottle wouldn't be empty. Scratch that. If Eric was here the bottle would definitely be empty but they would both be silly and happy and reap it all he was doing it again!

Alan fumed towards Eric's den of a bedroom, forgotten bucket clattering along with him. It was tempting to chuck the entire contents at the colossal idiot but shouting was faster.

"WAKE UP!"

Oh. No. No, not a good idea. Gracious, he really wasn't used to this much on an empty stomach, was he? Maybe he should drink some water before going to sleep, he could already feel a headache starting to form. But the kitchen was so far away. Plus it was amusing to watch his self-proclaimed "cool" mentor gaping like a landed fish. Eric looked so silly. Alan stifled a giggle and concentrated on pulling his best sulky face when his lover remembered how to speak.

"You're drunk."

"You're a cad."

Stupid ice. It should stop being so slippery. Alan frowned and tried to catch some of the frozen water again while he gave his partner a clue. Not speaking to him for so long earlier in the day had been boring.

"It's the fifteenth now."

Ah, there we go. Nice icy ice to quench his thirst while he went back to Eric watching. To his credit, his senior looked genuinely confused. He watched while Eric first peered at his clock then squinted at the calendar. Alan reminded himself he was angry and let his eyes wander around the dimly lit room. Then he saw a sheen of wide satin ribbon and didn't need to fake it.

Crap.

Eric put his glasses on and looked at the calendar again. Nope, he had still missed Valentine's Day. Bugger.

He and Alan weren't exclusive, by Eric's reckoning they weren't even an official item yet. Sure, he had daydreams but there was no particular incentive to rush into anything beyond token commitment. Or so he thought. His former mentoree turned fairly new lover standing munching on ice seemed far more threatening than it should have done.

Crunch! Grind-grind-grind.

He was in deep shit, wasn't he?

"Alan... Sweetheart-"

"Don't you "sweetheart" me!"

Now this was interesting. Eric was used to being snapped at by now but this time his partner actually flinched. So rare to see the other reaper displaying weakness, not to mention incredibly attractive when paired with mussed hair, heavy stubble, and a gravel-voice from only just waking up.

By the lay of the sheets Alan had woken him from the start of an interesting dream too. Hm.

"Eric...?"

Uh oh.

Alan was sweet but he didn't do sweet unless Eric was in Very Big Trouble. The purr in his partner's tone wasn't enough to distract from a sense of impending doom. Even if the posh lilt was making him melt. Then Alan's voice was all honey and rational thought flew out the window.

"Do you want me?"

Bless. Alcohol made the young reaper bolder and coaxed Alan into giving the most adorable little giggle when Eric held out his hand to him and invited his lover to come find out. He wasn't about to question the unexpected offer and quickly shut up the tiny warning voice in the back of his mind by lifting his hips into the very nice rub he was now receiving through the bedclothes.

Sleep-heavy eyes half-shut, Eric gave a lazy smile when he felt rather than saw Alan's other hand drift towards his own hand. Aww, his funny little bundle of contradictions must be feeling affectionate tonight. He made vague plans about kissing each tiny knuckle in turn... only to have his plans rudely interrupted when his wrist was unceremoniously shoved to the bed frame and something looped around it.

Wait. What? No. He hadn't signed up for this!

Alan sighed. So much for the easy approach. He bopped Eric on the head with the bamboo handle of the ribbon he securing him with and returned to "reasoning" with his complaining lover.

"You're going to let me blindfold you."

"Sod off!"

"You're going to let me blindfold you and you're going to like it."

There was another sputtered protest but the idea was fixed. Alan was carrying this out. Besides, Eric was a reaper anyway and so perfectly capable of breaking out of mere ribbon anytime he wanted... Maybe he should bind further down Eric's forearms too to slow him down.

Alan hummed a merry little tune to himself while he continued his work and Eric soon quietened down to only low-level grumbles. He even managed to make the more experienced reaper's breath catch but whether that was due to Alan rewarding himself on a job well done with a luxurious grope of his lover or because Alan had snatched up the dirk from Eric's bedside table to saw through a section of ribbon he couldn't say.

Even to his slightly fuzzy frame of mind he could understand all play was out until the blade was safely out of range though. He recognised his mentor's tone of voice for when thing were truly non-negotiable. The problem was quickly solved by carelessly throwing the dagger at the door and Alan then wrapped the rest of the unintentionally generous gymnast's ribbon around the other reaper's eyes.

There! Lovely. Even if coral pink with white flowers really wasn't Eric's colour.

This was stupid. Eric gave a grumpy huff and wondered again what the point of blindfolds were. Especially improvised ones with effeminate designs. He was about to about to voice his grievance again when a set of soft lips shushed him. Hm. Eric parted his lips to confirm and decided he liked champagne when it was Alan flavoured.

Blindfolds might not be so bad either, even though he still considered them a waste when your bedmate was good-looking, but sight was hardly needed to tangle tongues. He might as well get some pleasure from this if he was being made to look bloody stupid.

Mmm, this was nice. Alan let his hands go wandering and decided this almost made up for his loveable lout missing the date. Almost. Maybe so much brawn ate into one's brain or something, in which case he would let Eric off by virtue of being so beautifully bulked out in all the right places. Including one prodding him now.

"Show some restraint!"

Alan's reprimand might have been more effective without the tipsy giggle at the bad pun running all the way through it but climbing back off his partner made his meaning clear enough. He had been made to wait all day, it was Eric's turn now.

Alan padded away to the other side of the room and tucked a strand of hair back behind his ear while he leaned back under the dartboard. Eric was such a lovely specimen of the male body. A working model. All his. Alan took the time to watch the way all those muscles flexed and rippled...

"Alan? You still here?"

Even asking the question sounded weak and a muscle in Eric's cheek twitched when he set his jaw to try and hide how much this was starting to get to him. Damn Alan.

A thousand years later he heard a small sound of acknowledgement and relaxed slightly, only to tense up again half-a-second later when he started to doubt his own hearing. Was his lover right by him or the other side of the room? He couldn't hear him. Oh gods, he wouldn't leave him bound and alone would he? No, Alan couldn't. Al-

Alan shushed him from close enough for Eric to feel warm breath on his neck and Eric pretended he wasn't about to break his bindings. For the next few moments all his concentration was on appearing like he was still in control. He was hardly going to get wound up by a few scraps of fabric. He was Eric Slingby, in demand for his physical skills in all fields, and he... had to... get the hell away from these bloody knots.

His struggle never really got going due to a sudden icy tongue on his nipples which shocked Eric into a shout and made him jerk back hard enough to give his head an almighty clunk on the bed frame. Gyuh. Give Alan his due, he did check Eric was ok but the older reaper decided in a fit of pique to dish out the silent treatment right back to him.

Only his body wasn't listening, various places hardening first due to cold then due to pleasure when Alan tugged and teased and teethed. Eric shuddered without meaning to and decided to blame the cold.

Oh, no. Hell no. He did not just whimper like some goddamned girl getting her first taste of a properly attentive lover. He was the default top here! Eric gathered his wits, ready to deliver a blistering set of descriptive reasons why he should be let loose right NOW, Alan:

"M-more."

Bollocks. That wasn't what he meant to say at all but- Haah... he was so glad Alan was obeying the order. Because Eric was still in control. Really. Honest Guv.

Oh, who was he kidding? He couldn't do a damn thing and this was the entire thrill of it.

"Alan... l-let me see. C-come on," when had his voice got so shaky? He took another sharp breath, simultaneously loving and hating being pushed this far, "Please?"

Delicious. Eric was absolutely delicious and sounded even better.

Most of the ice had melted by now but Alan still found a chip to drop into his lover's navel and counted it a reward when the larger reaper arched with a gasp, swore and tried to shake it out. Alan decided he quite liked watching Eric thrashing about blindfolded.

Curious, he trailed a finger over Eric's lush lower lip and let out a soft sigh when his lover gently kissed it. The barest hint of a lick was so uncharacteristically shy and it was fascinating to see his lover almost cautious when he could sense Eric's entire body practically thrumming with tension. Not to mention very enjoyable to see him try so hard to keep up a front even while acting so uncertain. Such a contrast to the cocksure braggart from earlier. He would have to break. It was only a matter of time.

The candle in the bedside lantern had burned out some time ago but by concentrating hard Alan could still make out how the dark flush in the other reaper's skin had travelled far further than just his face. He traced the colour down Eric's neck and over his shoulders. Alan stretched out as languidly as a cat and nuzzled into coarse chest hair, marvelling at how quick his partner's pulse was. He continued his hand movements just enough and not enough to manage the building heat. The task kept him distracted enough to almost miss the first quiet beg.

Mmm, yes. So underneath all the bluster the grizzly reaper really was just a teddy bear. Eric Slingby broken made such a pretty picture, such a pretty...

Being sweet seemed to be working, Eric took the slowing strokes as a good sign. His lover must be about to give up on teasing by now. Surely. Please?

"Ah- Alan?"

No answer. He knew the other reaper was still here this time though, the lazy lump was leaning on him.

"Al..ahn..."

Oh this was cruel. He was right on the edge. All he needed was a few touches more. If Alan didn't hurry it up Eric would break his bonds and fuck him right through the floor. The damned tease deserved it after working Eric up to desperation, humiliating him, frustrating him to the point where denial was starting not to be fun. He begged, pleaded, got dangerously close to issuing a threat before verbally crawling and pointing out that by now he had surely earned sweet, sweet relief.

"Alan!"

Demanding did no good. The reaper at his side gave a sleepy mutter and a soft snore.

- END -