::Disclaimer: Gorgeous Carat belongs to You Higuri::
Chapter 1:
"Are you almost finished?"
Florian looked up at Ray and smiled, "Are you asking if I'm almost finished with breakfast or with the newspaper?" He lifted first his left hand holding half a croissant slathered with orange marmalade, and then his right hand holding the morning Gazette.
"Both," Ray replied, reaching over to steal the other half of Florian's croissant off his plate. He took a big bite as he leaned against the buffet. "We're leaving for Brussels at noon."
"We are not," Florian countered as he selected another croissant from the breadbasket and tore it in half. He'd already given up on the paper. Ray was not one to appreciate being ignored in favor of the society column.
"Oh?" Ray replied with that little upturn in his voice that never promised good things. He reached over and stole half of the croissant Florian had just placed on his plate.
"Get your own." Florian scolded, tapping Ray's knuckles with the flat of the butter knife. "And we're not going to Brussels at noon because we just got back from Spain three days ago. I've barely unpacked."
"Good. Then you won't have to do much to prepare." Ray rose, licking the last bit of marmalade from his fingers. As he passed Florian, the blond put out a hand to stop him and Ray obliged with a kiss. "I prefer strawberry," he said with a grin as he sauntered out of the room, leaving an annoyed Florian behind, the breakfast calm hopelessly shattered.
XXXXX
"Spain at three, Brussels at noon. Next it will be America at dawn I suppose," Florian grumbled as he settled into the padded seat of the private train car. Laila was making minute arrangements with Ray's men in the second class passenger section while Ray puttered with his valise and mumbled.
"More likely at midnight," Ray said distractedly as he took a seat. He'd arranged for a sleeping car for them to share later in the journey but he wanted to read now and Florian was hoping for some explanation of their hasty journey.
"You can stop fidgeting. You'll find out what this is about when I'm done reading."
Florian made a face once he was sure Ray's attention was on the book then turned to look out the window. Reading while on the train made him dizzy and he didn't want to spend the trip confined to bed. He'd endured enough of that to and from Spain. Still, there was only so much landscape you could look at before it became a blur.
"You're fidgeting again. Maybe I should have brought Noel along. At least he keeps you busy."
"Nonsense. You can't keep dragging Noel all over the world on a whim. It disrupts his studies and he's far enough behind as it is."
"And whose fault is that, letting him off at every excuse. The boy only has to blink those big eyes at you and you give him anything he wants. You'd spoil him rotten given half a chance."
"I would not. And he's not like that at all. He's a very good boy, and smart. His tutor said he'll be moving on to the next level in his studies in only six weeks if he keeps up his current pace."
"His tutor indulges him almost as much as you do." Ray dismissed the entire topic with a sniff, just as he dismissed any topic that no longer interested him. He returned to his book and read a few more pages before he looked up again. "You're staring."
"I am not. I'm just looking in your general direction."
Ray smiled as Florian blushed lightly and looked away, his amethyst eyes bright. Marking his place in the book, Ray set it aside and crossed the narrow space between them, settling in at Florian's side while the blond blushed more and shifted away.
"Someone might see."
"Then close the blind. We're in a private car; the only one who will come in without knocking is Laila."
"Yes and she delights in her bad timing as you well know. Just yesterday she walked right in while you were…" Florian looked away, unable to finish, although his pink blush darkened to crimson.
"She only does it to see you blush and stammer. It amuses her. If you'd ignore her she'd find someone else to annoy."
"I don't seem able to help it," Florian confessed quietly. "If mother were still alive, I don't think I could be in the same city and… well…"
"But you enjoy the 'and, well', and you know it my dear Amethyst." Ray leaned in for a kiss just as the door opened and Laila breezed in. She dropped into the space where Ray had been sitting until a few minutes ago and settled in for the show. Embarrassing Florian was her absolute favorite pastime these days.
She smiled and wiggled her fingers at Florian who glared at her briefly before turning to Ray with a knowing smile. He rested his hand on Ray's thigh and moved infinitesimally closer as if preparing to convey a secret. He brought his lips close to Ray's ear and whispered a single word.
The reaction was satisfying on two counts – Ray responded eagerly, giving Florian a broad grin while across the way, Laila crossed her arms over her chest and turned towards the window, pretending to be very interested in the countryside.
Florian celebrated his victory by sliding his hand the slightest bit higher on Ray's thigh.
Ray feigned a completely unconvincing yawn and stood up, turning towards Florian as he stretched to give Florian the best view of his nicely-muscled torso and long legs. The blond obliged by running his eyes the full length of Ray's body, the usual amethyst of his eyes darkening to purple.
"A rest before dinner then. I'll see you in the dining car at seven, Laila? Florian?"
"A rest sounds good," Florian tried to sound casual as he stood, but he knew from Laila's scowl that they weren't fooling her one iota. Nevertheless, he kept up the pretense. "Traveling always makes me tired." He turned to Laila and gave her a half bow before following Ray out of the car towards the sleeping compartment next door.
Ray had reserved an entire carriage so he and Florian would not be disturbed by aristocratic gossipmongers and other busybodies. Ray detested being dissected by society matrons, having had more than enough of that in Paris. He wanted to travel in peace and, since Florian was not the best of travelers under most circumstances, Ray hoped removing one stressful element would make it an easier and more pleasant journey.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" Florian asked, frowning in concern when Ray yawned for real. The blond had fallen asleep waiting for Ray to come to bed and, although the space beside him was still warm when he awoke, Ray had already gone downstairs for his breakfast and an early morning session of paperwork.
"I had more than I'd intended, but you were fast asleep and didn't even wake when I pushed you over and took back my share of the blankets."
"The stories you tell." Florian shook his head with mock-resignation as he sat on the edge of the bed and untied his shoes. He removed one then the other and placed them neatly under the edge of the bed, ignoring Ray's sigh. The shoe 'discussion' was one of many that they'd agreed to disagree about. It had been drilled into Florian for as long as he could remember to place his shoes just so under the edge of his bed. A year of Ray complaining about it wasn't going to undo that kind of conditioning.
"Are you done fussing with your shoes or do you want to tuck them in and tell them a bedtime story?" Ray tossed his shirt across the back of a nearby chair along with his trousers and dropped onto the bed in only his undergarments. It was a bit warm in the sleeping car but he staked his claim to a blanket, knowing he'd have to wrestle it away from Florian later regardless.
"If you're going to complain all afternoon I'm going back to the passenger car. At least Laila's complaints are amusing." Florian made a show of adjusting his shoes one last time before standing and slowly removing his outer garments. He hung them carefully before returning to the bed, laughing at Ray's expression. "You look like Noel when I've told him he can't have a cookie."
"Do I?" Ray countered, reaching out to pull Florian down onto the bed. "What if I don't want a cookie? What if I want something else instead?"
"Something else?" Florian asked coyly, sitting beside Ray and leaning over him so he could look directly into his eyes. "And what might that something else be? Candy?"
"Definitely." Ray vowed as he placed one hand behind Florian's head and brought the blond down for a long, exploratory kiss. As they parted, Ray's tongue darted out and he licked Florian's lip. "Very nice."
"Is it?" Florian smiled in a way that contradicted every bit of his innocent blond manner. Whether this was his true nature and Ray was helping to reveal it, or it was something the blond had learned from Ray wasn't clear, but Ray enjoyed it completely. Ray had never been one of for pretty blond ingénues; he needed a challenge. Florian had proved time and again that he was indeed a challenge.
"You've wandered off into your brain again," Florian complained, giving Ray's side a not-quite pinch. It was one of Ray's ticklish spots – a bit of secret knowledge Florian had discovered by accident late one night when he and Ray were playing rough.
"I'm easily bored," Ray reminded him, grabbing Florian and flipping them both around so Florian was on his back looking up into Ray's emerald eyes. The sight took Florian's breath away for a moment but he recovered and leaned up to nip at Ray's ear.
"Exercise is the perfect remedy for boredom. I read that in one of your books."
"Did you? What else did you read?" Ray leaned down, pressing himself fully over Florian, letting the blond feel the curves and planes of his body. The blond loved to touch Ray, letting his hands move endlessly over his skin as if memorizing the feel, the heat and the curves. No one had ever explored Ray like that before and the dark-haired man found it endlessly arousing.
"I read that people need to be touched – that skin to skin contact is important for their mental health, especially for reducing stress." Florian reached up and caressed Ray's face lightly. "You've been so tense lately – " Florian left the rest of that thought unvoiced – that Ray refused to tell Florian what was bothering him. Florian suspected it had something to do with Ray's alter-ego, Noir. The phantom thief of Paris had been busy lately, masterminding three large robberies and several smaller ones in the last six months alone. The trip to Spain had allegedly been to visit an old friend and attend the world premiere of an opera, but the quantity of precious gems hidden in their luggage belied those reasons. Still, the opera had been enjoyable, even if Ray had yawned through most of it, and his old friend had regaled Florian with several memorable tales of Ray's college exploits. Florian had also managed to get the man alone several times and now had a small store of useful anecdotes to dole out when Ray was in one of his stubborn moods. But now, Florian had a different idea in mind for helping Ray relieve some stress. He smiled his sweetest and reached up, wrapping his arms around his lover, pulling him down while pressing up slightly to let Ray feel how much Florian wanted him.
Ray laughed and returned the favor, pressing the blond down onto the dark sheets. He felt Florian tremble eagerly beneath him and slid a hand up under the slender man's undershirt. The pale skin felt like warm silk and Ray savored the sensation even as his legs pressed Florian's apart. A glance at the clock told Ray they had three hours. He intended to enjoy every minute.
::end part 1::