Bang.
"Son, I've never seen such a big disappointment. Can't you do anything right?"
Bang.
"A teacher? Why the fuck would you want to be a teacher? Shut the fuck up and keep training; you're GOING to join the APF."
Bang.
"Did you say you have a BOYfriend? That's it, I won't have a fag for a son. Get out. Get the fuck out right now."
Bang bang bang.
The dummy Joel had been firing into falls to the ground.
"Dammit." He mumbled to himself as he removed his equipment, tears pricking up in his eyes and stinging them.
"Hey, Joel!" Geoff trotted over, waving a hand to catch the man's attention. Joel grumbled to himself as he turned to face him, wiping his arm over his eyes quickly. "I heard you have a date with the monster tomorrow night."
"His name is Ray. And yeah, I'm being told to go on a date with him." Joel gritted his teeth. He liked Geoff, but he really didn't want to talk about it. Geoff nodded sympathetically, a look of concern in his blue eyes.
"We need to talk afterwards, okay? Come by my office after the date." Joel went to object but was waved off as Geoff rounded the corner, disappearing from view.
Joel was a little more than disgruntled as he finally made his way down to his facility room, a nice, spacious area with bedroom furniture, television, couch, a table, and even a small kitchen area along with another room that was his bathroom.
He yanked off his clothes roughly and let out a weary sigh as the steaming water of the shower touched his skin, relaxing his tight muscles. He had definitely needed this.
What was he going to do about Ray? He was enjoying their time together too much, allowing his glances to linger too long. The tests were still inconclusive, they needed more time. That meant more moments with Ray, at least, with his bright brown eyes and short hair with a slight hint of curl at the end.. And a button undone totally on purpose to show creamy skin... And that fucking look he gave Joel, like he wanted to devour him..
Joel bit at his lip as blood rushed down to his groin area, heat coiling in his stomach.
"God dammit." He growled, pressing his forehead against the cool tiles of the shower greatly contrasting the heat running down his spine. His hand strayed lower, tweaking a nipple and making him gasp as he trailed it down, squeezing his eyes shut.
He wrapped a firm hand around his now hard member, imagining Ray's smooth palm around it instead as he did one firm experimental jerk.
"F-fuck." He choked out, twisting his hand before running it back down the base, repeating the motion as he gained speed.
"Ray!" He held the wall with his other hand, clawing for purchase.
Joel could easily imagine Ray kissing down his body, making his way down at an agonizingly slow pace, teasing him with that cocky grin. He ran a thumb over the slit and shuddered, pressing his forehead so hard to the wall he could feel the tile digging in. He felt the familiar tightening in his muscles and sped up, panting heavily.
"Ray Ray Ray Ray!" He yelled out over and over, spurting his seed onto the tile. He shuddered and took a deep breath as his spunk washed down the drain.
"Fucking Hell." He murmured to himself.
He had it bad.
-
"Where are you even taking me?" Ray's hands were covering Joel's eyes as he led him around.
"Shut up, I'm trying to check out your ass." The reply was growled in his ear and he shuddered while rolling his eyes (not that Ray could see the action anyways).
"I felt that mister. Don't you roll your eyes at me." Joel smirked. Good, his sarcasm didn't go unnoticed. "And... Open!" Ray removed his hands with a flourish and Joel blinked a couple times before the scene in front of him came into sharp vision.
There was a little round table sitting in a clearing of the construction site, covered with a freshly white table cloth. Two chairs sat on either side of it, and a candle sat in the middle of two plates. He was touched Ray would go through so much trouble.
"So are you always so cheesy? Because it's gonna end up making me lactose intolerant." Joel teased and he heard Ray humph.
"Listen here, you. I worked hard on his so sit your sweet little ass down and get ready for a nice dinner. Joel did as he was told, secretly switching his wrist comm to mute. He played it off as bumping his arm on the table.
"So, how much of this was actually paid for?" Joel cocked an eyebrow and Ray blushed.
"How'd you know?" He asked, and it was Joel's turn to look cocky.
"The outfit you wore yesterday still had a small security tag on it. And you don't seem to have a job. It was just a matter of putting two and two together." Ray grinned.
"Thanks, Sherlock. You caught me, I didn't pay for any of this. However, I only stole raw ingredients. The meal you're about to eat was made by yours truly." He threw him another proud grin before ducking down to pull a large box from under the table. "I hope you like shrimp fettuccine. The sauce is an old recipe my mom taught me." He pulled a Tupperware container from the box and several utensils. "Let me just..." His hands began to steam as he spoke, heating up the food.
"Show off.." Joel muttered, and Ray winked at him, spooning a generous helping onto both their plates and tossing Joel a fork.
"I don't get to openly be myself around most people. It's fun." He forked a large bit of noodles and devoured them, Joel mimicking his actions, letting out a throaty groan.
"Holy shit this is good." His cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk and Ray chuckled.
"I know."
"Oh shut up." Joel snickered, shoving another mouthful in. "So, do you wanna talk more about your childhood now?"
"Actually, I wanted to know about yours. This is a date after all, it's only fair I get to know you better." Joel grimaced, sitting up straighter. "Only what you're comfortable sharing, of course."
"I guess." Joel sighed out. "There's not much, really. My mom died in childbirth so I was raised by my dad. He was a strict guy, firmly believed in physical punishment. He was really important in the Organization, and he demanded that I join, too. I guess it's a good cause, so it's not the worst thing I could be doing. He pushed me to my limits, and then when I was twenty he kicked me out. It was too engrained in my brain to do my best by then, so I just kept working at APF, working my way up the ladder." He shrugged, hoping he didn't look as pained as he felt. Judging by Ray's look, he must have.
"What's the APF?" Ray questioned, stabbing a shrimp.
"Oh, that's the name of our Organization. I guess that's classified." He sighed, forehead creasing.
"Oh, hey! Are we being monitored?" He questioned, moving to stand up.
"No, they figured it'd be okay. We are all on our own. You're not planning to kill me, are you?" There was an actual hint of fear in his voice but Ray didn't notice.
"Only if you hadn't liked the food. But seriously, I wanna show you the new trick I've been working on." He stood still and took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. Joel watched with wide eyes as the younger man's skin slowly began to turn what appeared to be solid silver, spreading from his fingertips inward until he was like a statue.
Joel dropped his fork, reaching over the run a hand down Ray's arm. Yep. It was definitely metal.
"That's amazing!" Joel exclaimed as the silver retreated, leaving patches of skin back in their normal places.
"Y-yeah." Ray smiled weakly, falling back into his chair and wiping at a bit of blood that had begun to trickle it's way out of his right nostril.
"Jesus is that healthy? You look like that hurt a lot." Joel extended a hand without thinking and Ray grinned, taking it. Joel tensed for a moment before allowing himself to relax.
"It's not too bad. Plus, it helps me get stronger, and that's cool. Soon, I'll be dominating the world." He teased, but Joel only frowned. "Anyways, I've gotten some pretty cool tricks in. I was thinking I could maybe like, volunteer at a children's hospital and do stupid shit with my face. Like that movie with Robin Williams, whatever it was." He squeezed Joel's hand and the latter smiled.
"Patch Adams, I think." Joel butted in and Ray nodded.
"Yeah, that. Check this out." He scrunched up his face again and his nose extended into a beak. Joel was strongly reminded of Tonks from Harry Potter and burst out laughing.
"I think you'd do fucking fantastic." He giggled before snorting as the beak transformed into a snout. They spent the next hour with Ray doing stupid things with various parts of his body, making Joel laugh so hard his stomach physically hurt; their hands never left one another's.
It started to get dark out and Joel shuddered slightly. "Okay, I should probably go." Joel spoke hesitantly, checking the time on his comm. he went to walk away but Ray yanked him back, pulling him in for a deep kiss. Joel froze, almost jumping back, before melting into it. The kiss was sloppy and needy but absolutely perfect. Their tongues mingled together, swirling around in the wet heat of their mouths. Joel fisted his fingers into Ray's hair, the latter resting his own hands on Joel's hips.
They nipped at one another's lips and Joel let out a muffled moan. Then he froze.
He pulled back, staring at Ray in confused disbelief, and then he was gone, leaving behind a shocked and worried Ray.
-
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" Joel was muttering to himself as he paced down the hallway, licking his kiss-swollen lips. He had kissed the enemy. HE HAD KISSED THE ENEMY.
And he had liked it.
He stopped outside of Geoff's office, taking a deep breath to steady himself before stepping in, hoping he gave off his normal disgruntled air.
"Hey, Joel. How'd the date go?" Geoff's tone was unaccusing. Good, they didn't know.
"It was pretty okay. We didn't do much but eat." Okay, technically wasn't a lie, right? He plopped down into the seat he usually did.
"It's come to our attention that Subject 00012 has grown a close bond with you. While that is perfectly okay, we fear you may also be growing attached. I just wanted to remind you what these things actually are."
'Ray's not a thing.' Joel thought to himself before sighing internally. Yeah, he was becoming too attached.
"Do you remember the pictures of people torn to shreds, of massacres with hundreds of casualties, hidden from the public? Those were THEM. Hell, one of them even happened in New York a decade ago. Isn't that where your little friend lived?" Joel's blood ran like ice through his veins as he nodded slowly. "I'm only telling you this because I don't want you to be another casualty."
Joel nodded again, his mouth too dry to say anything back. His mind was racing, two sides battling one another.
He excused himself and hurried to his room, blinking away tears that were desperately trying to force their way out.
So now he had a choice. Did he believe his company, throw away any feelings for Ray and do his job, or did he confront Ray, try to get the truth? And then what? Did he trust him when he had been trained all his life to believe the Adapters as horrible monsters? He let out a loud groan, but his decision was made in a heartbeat.
-
Ray was flying high (not really, he didn't think he was prepared to spread wings). He hummed to himself as he buzzed around his apartment, straightening things up with a grin on his face.
That kiss had been like nothing he'd ever felt before, and it was like floating on air. He wanted to do it over and over; he was smitten.
What a way to end a perfect date.
