The Pink Panther
Avina Garamond
Chapter 4
Sephiroth woke thanks to a soft melody pouring from his alarm clock. He opened his eyes. He was surprised to see raven hair so close to him. Vincent's arms were wrapped around him securely and his head was buried, buried, in his chest. Sephiroth took Vincent's arms away from his torso. He'd let Vincent sleep in his bed of course. He took his pillow and stuffed it into Vincent's arms.
He watched, amused, as the arms curled around the pillow, hugging it. He thought. Maybe Vincent liked to cuddle? Maybe that's why he always crept onto his side of the bed at nights like these. He unconsciously would seek something to hold and Sephiroth just always managed to be in the way.
Sephiroth slid out of bed. The morning air was cold on his naked body. He took his scattered clothing from the floor and slid it into the hamper in his bedroom. He took a quick shower to freshen himself up. He slipped into a warm bathrobe and went back to his room. Vincent's clothing was also scattered and he kicked it into a corner by the door so that Vincent wouldn't have to find all the pieces when he woke up.
He decided to have a cup of coffee before getting dressed. His hair was still damp and he wanted it dry before putting on his suit. He went into the kitchen. Bright morning sunlight streamed through the window, making Sephiroth wince. Revolving apartment managed to get the kitchen face East this morning. He put on the coffeemaker.
He realized that sitting in a small kitchen chair in a bathrobe, drinking good strong coffee and seeing the morning sunshine was... well... cozy? It felt like a perfect morning. He frowned a little. On a perfect morning, he would disentangle himself from his lover's arms. Not from a male prostitute's. He sighed.
Seeing his hair was dry, he went back to his room and dressed for the day. Vincent didn't wake. Before going to work, Sephiroth dug out two grand and set it on the table for Vincent to find when he woke up. Sephiroth went to work, closing and locking the door behind him.
~*~
Vincent woke up holding Sephiroth's pillow. He tossed it away irritably. He wanted to wake up and say good morning and kiss Sephiroth goodbye. But no. Thwarted by the pillow. He stood up. The cold air hit his body and Vincent stretched, becoming aware of his surroundings. He saw the money Sephiroth laid out for him. Vincent sat down on the bed again. He was ashamed. Ashamed of himself, ashamed of how he earned money. He quietly curled into Sephiroth's sheets and hiccuped. It was warm here. But not comforting. Tears rained out of his eyes as he hiccuped and sobbed. He just wanted Sephiroth to know that he loved him. He didn't want the money. He didn't sleep with Sephiroth because he wanted some more cash, he slept with him because he wanted to. Because he wanted Sephiroth happy. Because he loved him, damnit!
He lay unmoving for another hour or so. Finally, he could no longer watch the minutes change on the clock and got up again. He took a shower and dressed. Then he cleaned up Sephiroth's room. He changed the sheets, the pillowcases, everything. He tossed them in the washer to rid them of the scent of sex. He opened the windows to air out the room. He winced as the morning sunlight hit his face. He wished he'd gotten up earlier, before the apartment turned the bedroom towards the sun.
Vincent went to his miniature computer and started looking up his accounts to see if he had any job offers. He smiled. One job offer! He immediately scheduled the interview and took the online tests. He was ecstatic. He hummed and ran through the house, doing whatever jobs he could find to keep himself occupied. He did his laundry. He even did Sephiroth's laundry and ironed too. He smiled ruefully at himself. He was becoming a housewife. Not much else he could do though. Not with Sephiroth working and himself without a job.
Sephiroth came home at around eight-thirty, like always. Vincent told him excitedly about the job offer. Sephiroth had his full support and they celebrated a little with a glass of wine each and a quick dinner. At ten, Vincent dressed into his Pink Panther outfit and put on his trench coat and black boots. Sephiroth drove them to the Hall.
Vincent set his room up. He hid the trench coat in the closet and his boots too and put on his pink stilettos. He sat in front of the mirror, putting on some make-up so that he wouldn't seem too pale on stage. He adjusted his cat ears and made sure his cat tail was clipped on correctly.
He slipped out of his room and walked backstage. He chatted a little with Cleo. She was sympathetic to his troubles. She also had landed in debt. Not to any street gangs, but to the government. They didn't let her state bankruptcy either and without a job, without anything, she had a friend get her a job here. Her friend recommended her to a business that owned Lily and Cleo became partners with her. She was slowly getting out of debt, though the privately owned business did take half of the profit Lily and she made.
She cheered Vincent on when he said he got a job interview next week. Soon Lily and Cleo were up on stage, dancing to a song and never letting go of each other. They were making the impression they were Siamese twins. Vincent smiled. He would be up next.
~*~
The routine was intense. Vincent buried his face into Sephiroth's shoulder, fighting the blush that threatened his cheeks. He had blatantly stuck his crotch into a man's face for the hundred dollars he waggled in his fingers.
"The Pink Panther!" the announcer cried out. The spotlight returned and Vincent stuck his tongue out from between his lips and waved.
"YEAH I wanna feel that tongue on me, babe!" one of the audience members cheered. Vincent smiled and beckoned him naughtily with a curled finger. This received more whoops and cheers from the audience.
The announcer quieted the audience down and finally let them go to take "autographs" from their favorite "performers." The man that Vincent had beckoned was first in line.
"How much does it cost to rent out The Pink Panther for a night?" he asked. Both Sephiroth and Vincent said nothing for a moment.
"Two grand exact," Sephiroth said. "And not today. You can schedule for tomorrow if you like." The man nodded.
"Alright. Tomorrow the entire night. And I'd like to get a little something today as well."
"No problem. Please wait until The Pink Panther has a customer for further discussion." The next man gave Sephiroth the slip stating he was clean and Vincent crawled off Sephiroth's lap. He tugged the man by the belt to his room. The door closed.
"Alright. I'll need your name, phone number, address," Sephiroth told the first customer. He flipped to another page in his notebook and titled it with the next day's date. He carefully wrote down the customer's information and snapped a picture of him on his camera. He checked the hospital slip and nodded.
"Thank you. Please wait until The Pink Panther comes out." Sephiroth started scheduling the rest of the night's men.
~*~
Vincent soon came out, followed by the man who looked rather satisfied. Vincent took the new customer to his room. The new customer's name was Paul. He said he didn't want to get too much today, so he told Vincent to tease himself so that he could enjoy taking him tomorrow. Vincent smiled and simply said alright and started taking his clothes off.
The customer paid for a striptease and two shows and left. Vincent put his clothes back on and walked out. He told Sephiroth what the customer wanted and gave him the money earned. He took on the rest of the customers.
~*~
Vincent was quiet the ride home. Like always, really. But Sephiroth had the nagging suspicion that something was wrong. Something more than just the shame that Vincent felt after prostituting himself.
"What's up?" he asked. Vincent was silent.
"Vince? Something wrong?" Sephiroth asked again. Vincent was silent but Sephiroth noticed a faint tremor.
"Vince? Really. Tell me. What happened, why are you freaking out?" he asked growing more concerned.
"You sold me off..." Vincent whispered. Sephiroth swallowed. He shouldn't have done that. That was stupid. That was... incredibly stupid. He hadn't even asked Vincent if he'd like to do it, he just agreed to hand him over.
"I'm... sorry. I didn't think. I should have asked you first."
"What's done is done, Sephiroth," Vincent said. Sephiroth parked into his space and looked at Vincent. He wasn't looking at him, but out the window. He hadn't even called him Seph, but Sephiroth. Sephiroth turned the car off and climbed out of the car. He waited until Vincent got out of the car. Vincent stumbled a little but caught himself and slammed the door closed.
He walked behind Sephiroth to the elevator and didn't look up once when in the elevator. He just leaned against the wall in the corner and didn't listen to any of Sephiroth's apologies. He quietly walked to his room and shut the door. Sephiroth sat on the couch. He did it this time. He heard the shower running in Vincent's room. Unhappily, he took a shower himself and changed.
He prepared coffee for the both of them. He knocked on Vincent's door. No answer. He opened it softly. Vincent was looking at the computer, checking if he had any other job offers. Sephiroth dully noted the tears on his cheeks. He gave Vincent a cup of coffee.
"I won't do it again. Not without your permission. I'm sorry, Vin. I really am." Vincent just nodded and waved him off. He set the coffee next to the computer.
"Anything new come up?" Sephiroth asked. Vincent shook his head. Sephiroth hugged his shoulders and left for work. Vincent spent a little more time on the computer and went to bed.
He woke up at around four. He freshened up and rechecked the computer. He poured the untouched cup of coffee down the drain. He was upset. Why, why didn't Sephiroth realize what he felt. How could he be so clueless? Did he really think of Vincent as property now?
Sephiroth came home at eight-thirty on the dot. Vincent quietly gave him his dinner. Sephiroth took one look at him and realized that Vincent had not yet forgiven him. He decided to leave Vincent alone. Maybe he just needed to be alone for a little while. Vincent stood up and got dressed into his Pink Panther outfit. He put on his trench coat and boots and took a little bag of things to take. He opened his safe and took out fifty dollars for the taxi and silently left.
Sephiroth finished his dinner alone. He stewed over in his misery. He went to bed but couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned. The clock showed midnight and he was still awake. The clock changed to one. To two. Sephiroth couldn't stand it anymore. He paced around his house. He was worried. What if something happened? What time would Vincent come home? He wanted to know. He poured himself cup after cup after cup of coffee. The clock showed four.
Where was Vincent?