Feuer
"You know that saying about playing with fire?"
-R.E., DarkRed
The air is cold, but I don't have time to care. We bolt through the open window and I follow Gilbert on the thin windowsill, half scared to death, half excited by all that is going on.
Now Gilbert is effortlessly climbing down the fire staircase and in one short moment he motions that I come after him, his face half worried, half irritated. Giving him a teasing grin, I keep walking on my tiptoe to the stairs.
Soon, I'm jumping off the ladder and then I start running as fast as I can, but not so fast since Gilbert doesn't seem like a big fan of life & death marathons. Frankly, I'm not either but apparently now I'm not in the position of arguing.
"Over here!" He ushers in hushed tone pointing at a dark bush. I nod and follow without thinking, letting the branches scratch my bare arms and chest.
After walking a bit further in what seems to be a forest, the both of us exhale longly before sitting down on cold damp ground.
I don't know how long we've stood there in utter silence until one of us said anything. "You think they gonna find us here?" I ask in a bored voice. With the corner of my eye, I see him shrug.
"They haven't before." I eye him suspiciously and he smirks at me. "Oh, you bet your sweet ass I've done weirder shit than this."
"I'd rather leave my ass out of your weird adventures."
His ruby eyes glimmer with amusement, but he doesn't say much. "You sure?"
"Yes. Very." I sigh. "How long are we going to stay here anyway? I'm freezing," I pout now suddenly impatient and annoyed.
"Oh. Why didn't you say so?" He raises to his feet and I almost scramble up too, but he stops me. "I managed to grab this before jumping out the window. It might take a while before we're safe to go so...yeah." He almost sounds apologetic as he hands me his plaid shirt, but I know better than that.
"Are you sure? It's actually chilly tonight." I raise an eyebrow at him and expect him to back down, but he doesn't. In fact he alsmost shoves the thing in my hands. So I take it and mumble an embarrassed 'thank you'.
"You know what? I think we should go to a pub or something! " He suddenly says after two minutes of silence.
Eyeing him from head to toe, I let out a long sigh. "That's all nice and dandy, but you're sort of naked. You know, in case you've forgotten."
"That won't be a problem if we go where I say," he tells me and he probably thinks he's all cryptic and shit, but he so isn't.
"Ok, Gandalf. Take me to your secret crib and let's get this over with already."
"Eager, ain't we?"
I punch his arm playfully. "Stop messing around, you big dork. You promised me a party, remember?"
"And a party you will get, my friend."
True to his word, after people bulging their eyes at him for being shirtless in such a cold night and at me for laughing almost the whole road to the pub at the silly faces he made.
Pub&Go is more than meets to the eye. If you know the owner, you're let in 'the back' as everyone who knows about it calls it.
The back is the basement, but it's not like your common damp, narrow and ocassionally the nest of a malevolent supernatural creature that is planning your death in the most gruesome ways.
Nah. For starters, the place is huge. It's well-kept and the walls are covered in colourful graffiti and various small objects like wooden pendants, vinyls and other stuff like that.
Also, the basement is packed with all sorts of people but I highly doubt anyone is some sort of fairytale being with ill intentions.
The music is loud, catchy and slightly sensual, if you care to listen. To some it's just rhythmic, but to most is a good excuse to grind their more or less clothed hips to another person's ass.
To each his own.
I'm currently sitting at the bar, beer in my hand, the second since I arrived in here. No one's questioned me about my age. I showed up here with Gilbert and apparently that was all it takes for one to be accepted in here. If I actually was sober, I'd probably ask a shiton of question.
"Good thing you aren't then," the bartender says suddenly making me jump. Did I just say that out loud? "I'm afraid you did." He offers me an apologetic smile.
I laugh nervously. Then I see. "You...you're Arthur. Arthur Kirkland!" I almost shout, but the blond's alarmed expression prevents me from doing that or saying anything too compromising. I take a generous sip of my beer. "Wow. This night is weirder than I thought it'd be," I confess.
"Oh, hon, you've seen nothing," the Brit says, playfully winking at me. "I do hope tomorrow you don't have anything of importance to do, because you won't probably be able to lift a finger after tonight."
"Is that a promise?" I challenge.
"You bet it is."
As if summoned by some sort of shady spell, Gilbert suddenly materializes behind my back. I honestly don't know when he's gotten back from the bathroom.
Not wanting to lose to him, my lips curl in a coy smile and I touch his shoulder lightly. "Don't worry, darling. I so can take it," I state in a reassuring manner, but this doesn't seem to throw him off at all. If anything it makes matters worse.
"Oh really?"
"You bet your ass I can, princess." Oh yeah. Have I ever mentioned that I have a penchant for playing with fire and also getting burned? No? Well, I am now.
"We'll see 'bout that, Twilight." He smirks.
"Ooooo!" From behind the counter, Arthur covers his mouth while he signals my inevitable burn.
"You'll so pay for this, Frosty," I warn, index pointed at his still naked chest. "Why're you still shirtless anyway? Didn't Arthur offer you one of his shirts?" I frown.
"That he did. But clothes are for pussies. I'm too hot to be covered by shitty fabrics." He wiggles his eyebrows at me suggestively and if I didn't know any better, I'd say he's flirting with me.
"Please, you? Hot?" There's a pause and the self-proclaimed Prussian raises a questioning eyebrow. "When hell freezes over, buddy!"
This time Arthur is mumbling a series of curses and looks with pity in Gilbert's direction. 1-1.
"Is that so?"
"Definitely." Initially, I didn't plan to say any more than this, but something in his provoking, amused and rather mocking gaze makes me go on. "You're shirtless and acting all high and mighty, but you're still hovering around me."
"And?"
I frown. Doesn't he get what I'm trying to say?
"What's the point of being hot, if you're just hanging around plain ol' me?"
The music spices up; some powerful bass and intense feeling it possess. I find myself looking at him, waiting for an answer that'll probably never come.
When out bodies touch lightly, I half-mindedly realize that I don't remember any of us actually moving. Was it me? Was it him?
The air is hot, filled with various scents- some questionable, some rather appealing- and somehow my lungs feel like the air is both cool and burning hot.
Gilbert. He is gazing at me ever so intensely and he's got that look on his face. That look that would want to say that something is on, but he is either not sure how to, if or he is not understanding his thoughts at all.
Confusion. Hesitation. Curiosity.
Curiosity? About what?
"What are we doing, Gilbert?" softly, I barely whisper yet again our faces inches apart.
"I don't know. You tell me."
There's playfulness in his tone, but not the cheery or cheeky type. He is hesitant, yes, but there's also a drop of casual, of tempting.
"It's the second time this happens tonight. If I didn't know any better..." Somehow, I feel like I am onto something, but it's gone before I can catch it. If Gilbert knows, he doesn't mention it.
"It doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it to. I could simply go away and do my stuff. Or...I could play with fire a bit. Just say the word, Vlad, and I'll oblige."
It's silent. Well, the music is blasting my head off, but my head is silent. The thoughts are passing with such force, I don't even feel them anymore.
"What do you mean by playing with fire?" I enquire. Shockingly enough, I actually have a great idea where is getting at, but a guy can never be too sure.
"Oh, I do think you know quite well what I am trying to say." Smirking like he owns the world he leans in just a very tiny bit letting our noses touch lightly, my breath halts if only just for half a second. "I could close this gap right now," he whispers, the hesitation in his voice almost imperceptible. "It could mean nothing if we decided so. It could mean something and we could choose whatever we'd fucking want."
I bite my lip. "Why do you think I want to play with fire?" I try. Yes, I am buying myself time because honestly I don't even know what I want anymore.
His smirk gets wider. "Trust me, birdie. I know when someone wants to get burned."
I can feel his furnace hot breath on my upper lip. I can almost taste his pulse although the music covers it completely. There's very little hesitation in his crimson eyes. There's mischief, amusement, curiousity and slight lust too.
"Burn me then," I say breathlessly and then everything happens very quickly.
Our lips meet harshly, hungrily
His arms grab my waist possesively, squishing our bodies together and I snake my arms around his neck and drag him lower. His tongue pushes my lips and I open my mouth without hesitation and there's a figh of dominance that he clearly wins in the end but not after many efforts.
We kiss, we bite our lips and there are hands groping and grabbing and feeling and I feel like I need more and more each touch I receive or give.
When we finally pull away, we are panting like we've run the marathon of our lives.
Minutes later of heavy breathing and shakily making it to our seats at the bar, I let out a soft whistle. "Wow. Now that was something."
To be continued...
A.N. Please don't kill me, guys. I just couldn't help it. Apparently, neither could Vladimir. Ahem. Sorry really but Gilbert is very attractive.
Feuer= (German) fire
Cheers
Eris
