Chapter 9:
Disclaimer: I don't own YJ.
As the afternoon marched on, Kaldur found himself growing restless. He flipped to the last page of each document more frequently than usual, counting all the sheets in between each time as though if he did it often enough, they would somehow decrease in number. They didn't.
Thankfully, he managed to finish everything he needed to do at seven pm on the dot, and with no small amount of relief tidied everything away in preparation for the weekend. A shiver of anticipation went through him as he thought of going out with Conner, something he hadn't allowed himself to think about too much for fear that it would distract him from other things. Thinking of Conner led him to remember Roy and their last, rather brief conversation. He smirked and picked up the phone, grinning at the thought of making the other squirm for a change.
"Mr. Ahm," Roy answered so smoothly it was as if he'd been expecting the call all along. "How can I help you?"
"Roy?"
"Yes?" Roy sounded so utterly serene Kaldur wondered if some evil corporation had kidnapped the real Roy Harper and replaced him with a clone.
"You busy?"
"Hang on, I'll get back to you in a minute." He heard the low murmur of voices in the background and wondered if his friend was ever not surrounded by people.
"Thank God you called." That was more like the Roy he'd grown up with. "Martina Larsson is terrifying."
"Roy, did you just take my call over dealing with actual clients?" Surely his friend would not be that foolhardy.
There was a derisive sound over the phone. "It's fine. My supervisor just needed eye-candy to distract her, paunchy and balding as he is."
"You can't just walk out!" Kaldur groaned. "It's a chance to make a good impression!"
"Believe me, I already made a great impression."
"Roy." Kaldur mustered up as much steel into his voice as he could. "You are going to go back inside and do your job."
Roy growled. "You know what she did?" His voice dropped so low he was practically hissing down the phone. "She pinched my ass on the way to the conference room!"
Kaldur could not repress a smile. "Not your type then?"
"She's seventy-six."
"You always did like older women—"
"Shut up. I hate you so much right now." Without so much as a good-bye, Roy hung up and Kaldur was left listening to a dead tone. Well, at least he'd gotten his friend back into the conference room.
Just as he was looking around the now-tidy office in satisfaction, Dick stopped by. He was dressed down for once, suit jacket off and sleeves rolled up messily. "Hey, you heading out now?"
"Yes," Kaldur replied. "You?"
Dick grinned widely. "You free for dinner tonight?"
Kaldur thought for a moment. Well, why not, he thought. It would give him a chance to dig for more information on Conner, and quite possibly deal with this Wally and Dick mess. "Sure."
"Sweet! I know a good teppanyaki place."
After wandering through a seemingly endless maze of side-streets and dimly lit back alleys, Dick finally stopped at a discreetly hidden door and opened it, motioning for Kaldur to go inside first. He carefully stepped through the doorway and looked around. It was cozy, dimly lit but still clean and seemed well-kept. A low buzz filled the room and he saw that there were only two or three seats left around the chefs.
"Welcome to Kokuren!" A blonde man, who looked just as Japanese as Kaldur did, stepped forward and bowed lightly. "Do you have a reservation?"
"Victor."
The man blinked and looked up at them before breaking into a smile. "Dick, good to see you again. Table for two?"
"You know it."
They were soon safely ensconced in a tiny nook that afforded them a full view of the restaurant, but was quiet enough to talk without having to shout or worry about being overheard. "Come here often?" Kaldur asked.
"Yeah, used to come here with some of the guys after work. It's got a good drinks menu too, lots of original stuff."
"They're more than welcome to come too, you know," Kaldur commented. "I won't mind if you want to have dinner with the other colleagues."
Dick snickered. "Truth be told, I'm more in the mood for a quiet dinner. It's been a long week, you know?"
Kaldur sighed. "Tell me about it."
"I heard you're working on Barry Allen's stuff now. He's a good guy, won't give you too much hassle or anything. And he takes good care of his department, particularly the newbies." He gave Kaldur a grin of acknowledgment.
"He's been very kind."
"Yeah, he's big on the whole being friendly thing. And he genuinely means what he says too; it's not just an act he puts on to fool people. He's honestly that nice."
"I'm glad to hear that," Kaldur joked. "So what about Clark Kent then?" He asked. "I hear he's pretty nice too. His entire department gets off early on Fridays."
Dick cackled. "I know, it's easy to forget he heads up one of the best litigation departments in the country right?"
Kaldur grinned. "He's so…amiable."
"I know, I think that's what gets his opponents all the time," Dick commented. "They see this guy who's kind of quiet and really easy-going, they get into the courtroom, he takes his glasses off and they realize they have no idea what just hit them."
"So what was that whole thing with him and Conner and you and…well, everything?"
Dick raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything else. Kaldur sighed when he realized the other was determined to make him work for the information, although why he couldn't understand. After all, it wasn't as though he'd been particularly quiet about Conner's misconception of his and Roy's relationship.
"You're terrible, you know that?" He asked Dick. The other cackled in response and beamed at the waitress as she placed a gigantic plate of sushi and sashimi on the table.
"Further and proper particulars as to the nature of the inquiry," Dick sang out happily and Kaldur rolled his eyes.
"Are Conner and Clark Kent related by blood?"
Dick thought for a moment and then slowly shook his head. "It's not my story to tell," he said finally. Kaldur noted that the other did seem genuinely remorseful, but he also knew that the other was likely good enough to become an Oscar winner should he ever choose to go into acting. "It's a really…personal thing. One that Conner might not like if you found out before he wanted to talk about it."
"You mean like estranged-family stuff?"
Dick gave him a pitying look. "Come on Kaldur, I'm not that easy."
"This sushi is pretty good," Kaldur commented as he finished another piece. "How did you find this place?"
Dick still looked wary but answered him promptly anyway. "Stumbled in on it after a late night at the office with a bunch of fellow trainees; this was when I hadn't qualified yet." Seeing Kaldur's puzzled look, he explained further. "We need to do two years of articling – kind of like housemanship for doctors – before we're considered independent lawyers. Most firms hire you for the two years and then see whether you're worth re-hiring afterwards."
"I see. So when they say trainees – they're just starting their two years' training?" Kaldur vaguely remembered one of his professors mentioning that Commonwealth countries preferred to have fresh grads undergo a training period of two years before qualifying as actual practitioners, but he didn't recall too many details.
Dick nodded and grinned mischievously. "They have no idea what they're in for."
"Are they just going to be…set loose?"
"No, no, don't worry," the other replied, "they're assigned a number of the associates and partners because they have to rotate around departments first, get a feel for what areas they might want to practice when they qualify."
"I see. So who supervised you?"
Dick chuckled. "It's a different person for each department, obviously. I worked with…let's see, Clark Kent for litigation, Dinah Lance for shipping, Hal Jordan for corporate and Helena Bertinelli for insurance."
"Not Bruce?"
"No, he was never my direct supervisor, but he and Clark are close, so he was usually working alongside us."
"I just thought, since you two seem close—"
"Yeah," One corner of Dick's mouth twisted upwards. "We…work together well. He's not as friendly as Barry or Clark, but he'll help anyone who asks." The waitress chose this moment to place a basket of tempura in front of them and Dick's chopsticks shot out so quickly the only reason Kaldur even knew he'd moved was because of the gigantic prawn that his colleague was now chewing on.
"So Tim's coming to visit you soon?" He vaguely remembered Dick saying something of the sort.
The other man beamed. "Yeah, he's looking forward to it. I think he's mostly just back for Al-Alfred's cookies though." The hesitation in his voice made Kaldur wonder just why Dick would be so uncomfortable about saying it, but at the same time he was glad that the other seemed to be opening up.
"Alfred?"
"Our…" The other paused for a moment before squaring his shoulders, clearly resigned to spitting it out. "Our butler."
Kaldur blinked. "You mean…like an actual butler? A gentleman's gentleman?" Okay, so his friends had made him watch three seasons of Jeeves and Wooster when he'd told them he was moving to London.
"Yes. A gentleman's gentleman." Dick slouched even lower in his chair, looking for all the world like an awkward teenager. "He's family."
"…Right." Seeing how uncomfortable his friend was with the entire conversation, Kaldur let it go. For now. "So do you have any plans for you and Tim?"
"Not really, it'll probably just be a quiet weekend, spending time with the family and whatnot. And Damien's coming home from boarding school for the weekend too, so it'll be pretty crowded in the house."
"You all live together? In Mayfair?" Kaldur blinked in confusion.
"Well, no. They're staying at the…mansion." Dick's lips twisted in a wry smile. Kaldur fought the urge to gawk like some back-country hick.
Dick gave him a wary look. "Is this going to cause problems?"
"What? No! No, I'm just…I'm just trying to wrap my head around all of this," Kaldur hastily explained. "It's not every day your friend reveals he's a secret millionaire."
Dick still looked wary, but some of the tension drained out of his shoulders. "That's good," he said slowly. "That's – that's good."
Kaldur decided to quit while he was ahead. "The food here is amazing. I haven't had such good Japanese since LA."
Dick practically glowed with pride at that. "I know, right? It's one of the hidden gems around this area." Then he grinned mischievously. "And since it's Friday night, why don't we get some sake? It's imported from Japan."
"I can't," the other politely tried to decline. "I–"
"Reached your alcohol quota for the month already? Shame, I thought you were a better drinker than that." Victor came over with a tray and two small cups, along with a pitcher of what Kaldur presumed was the sake. How the staff even knew Dick's intentions before they'd even been voiced out loud was a mystery to him.
His colleague poured the sake into both cups and pushed one closer to his side of the table. "Drink up," Dick said with an impish grin as he tossed back the first cup.
Some time later, Kaldur leaned back in his chair with a sigh of contentment and loosened his tie. His suit jacket hung precariously on the back of his chair, one sleeve almost brushing the floor but he didn't care right now. Dick was just as relaxed, tie crumpled up on the table and a dull red flush slowly making its way up from his neck. "Pretty good stuff, isn't it?" The other asked smugly.
"Yeah." They sat in comfortable silence for a while before Dick reached out to refill both their cups.
"We should probably be going soon," the dark-haired man commented lightly. "You've got a big day with Conner tomorrow, after all. Wouldn't want you to be late."
Kaldur grinned at the thought and Dick cackled. "Look at you," the man teased. "All smiley and dopey. All you need now are cartoon hearts floating around your head."
Instead of dignifying this with a reply, Kaldur refilled both their cups. "Drink up," he smiled.
Kaldur looked over at Dick as the cab pulled up to Number 32. "You going to be okay?" He asked. His friend sputtered awake. "Yeah, no, I'll be fine, go ahead," he slurred. "Park Street, Mayfair," he said imperiously before collapsing back into the seat. The driver raised a hand in acknowledgment and barely waited for Kaldur to close the door before he drove off.
Saturday morning dawned grey and gloomy, accompanied by a distinctly chilly wind. Kaldur shivered as he jogged down the road to Flash, thinking that he would have to wear a thicker jacket next time. He was alone today; Wally had texted him saying that he was knackered after a week of exams and needed extra sleep.
"Morning Artemis," he greeted the blonde girl. She nodded in reply, giving a few more good kicks to the practice dummy before walking over.
"Big day today," she smiled. Kaldur blinked, unsure of what she meant. "You know, Conner, Brick Lane, any of that ring a bell?"
Kaldur shook his head. "Of course. I'm a little tired today, actually. I was hoping my morning workout would help me shake off the weariness. It's been a long week."
Artemis smiled. "Far be it from me to hinder you." They spent the rest of the hour sparring, only taking the occasional five-minute break to get some water and catch their breath. Mercifully, Artemis didn't press him for more details on Dick, Conner or Wally.
Kaldur was just headed downstairs to get to the Tube station when the intercom in his flat buzzed. He slammed one hand on the button. "Hello?" He asked. "Can I help you?" He heard the sound of a truck driving by and then Conner's voice came through.
"Kaldur? Hey. It's Conner. I'm, uh, downstairs. I was thinking, maybe we could go there together because the tube system is rather confusing."
Kaldur replied with a jumble of words that he hoped made some coherent sense and hastily made his way downstairs to see Conner standing outside on the pavement, face still close to the speaker. The other started slightly at his sudden appearance, but it was quickly replaced by a small, warm smile. He made a small, aborted move forward like he wanted to shake hands, but pulled back as though restraining himself. Kaldur settled for reaching over to gently touch the other man's arm.
"It's good to see you." Conner looked less unsure of himself now and slowly nodded.
"I finished early this morning," he explained. "So I thought maybe we could go over together."
Kaldur didn't care if he was grinning like a loon. "Of course."
Conner steered them through a number of narrow alleys to get to the tube station, one hand gently guiding Kaldur whenever they had to make a turn. It was an odd feeling, since he was normally the one guiding everyone else he'd ever dated, but Kaldur supposed he could get used to it eventually.
"So…any recommendations for Brick Lane?" Kaldur finally asked, since Conner seemed to be doing his best impression of a mute bodyguard. At the startled look the other gave him, he tried his best not to smirk; Dick was clearly rubbing off on him. "I hear you're an expert on Indian food," he elaborated.
Conner seemed to relax at that and looked almost sheepish. "Yeah," he admitted quietly. "I just have some…other stuff on my mind."
"Like what? Bad day at work?"
The dark-haired man shrugged. "No," he said. "More like family stuff."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kaldur just knew Dick would be laughing himself silly at the sight if he were there.
Conner seemed torn. "I, uh, it's nothing," he said after a long pause. "I don't really want to talk about it right now."
"You know it's okay to talk about it, even if it's not with me, right?"
"Yeah, I know. Just don't worry about it, okay? I don't want to think too much about it."
"Any ideas on where to go in Brick Lane?" He asked. It was a particularly unsubtle change of subject, and particularly poorly executed, but the relief in Conner's eyes was gratitude enough.
A small smile twitched at the corner of the other's lips. "I have a confession to make," Conner said carefully.
"Oh?"
"I…may have the numbers of all the best Indian places in Brick Lane and elsewhere."
Kaldur tried to fight back a smile. He must have failed miserably, because Conner suddenly hunched his shoulders defensively. "I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable," he said defensively. "And I like Indian food."
"You spent some time in India." Kaldur remembered. The pleased surprise in Conner's face was worth the slightly awkward conversation.
"Yeah. Took a gap year and wandered around most of it before deciding to become a mechanic. I think I'm probably still immune to the water."
"So I'll be expecting you to find the most authentic Indian cuisine in the area then. No pressure, of course."
Conner smiled. "Of course not."
They arrived at Aldgate in good time, shuffling through the crowd to exit the station. Kaldur blinked as the autumn air sneaked in through his slightly-too-thin coat and scarf, and he made a mental not to dig out some of his warmer clothing for next week. "Cold?" Conner asked. When Kaldur stared at him in mild confusion, the other shrugged. "You shivered," he explained.
As they headed down the road towards Brick Lane, Kaldur noticed that Connor seemed determined to press up against him and brush against his hand. Kaldur tried not to shy away self-consciously; his normal body temperature was a little cooler than most people's and when coupled with the chilly weather his hands probably felt like ice. Conner didn't seem to notice, instead stepping to one side of the pavement and motioning for Kaldur to follow him. Without so much as a warning, the brunet stripped off his jacket and swiftly stepped behind Kaldur, draping the black coat over his shoulders. It was still warm from Conner's body heat.
Kaldur resisted the urge to openly stare at Connor's well-muscled frame with what he was sure was a limited degree of success. "Aren't you cold?"
Conner shrugged. "I grew up in a much colder climate. This is actually quite pleasant."
"Are you sure you don't need your jacket?"
Conner opened his mouth to reply, but then pointed forward. They had arrived.
Kaldur had imagined Brick Lane to be rather colourful, something like a smaller version of the Bollywood films his mother sometimes liked to watch on the weekends. It was instead similar to Camden, tatty colours brightening old brick walls that had probably been standing there for years on end. People bustled to and fro, muttering apologies whenever they bumped into someone else. Kaldur stopped for a moment to examine one display consisting of brightly coloured combat boots and thought that they might make good gifts for the triplets, provided they came in children's sizes.
Conner leaned in. "Want to go look some more, or eat first?" Kaldur shivered slightly as he realized how close the man was. "Eat. We can look some more and I'm sure you're very hungry." He felt Conner nod and the man gently grabbed his wrist.
"Let's go."
After a trip down a number of small, winding alleys packed to the brim with vendors and fast-food hawkers, they wound up in front of a tiny restaurant incongruously named the Taj Mahal. The doorway was dingy and the walls were scuffed with black marks that looked like a combination of mould and dirt, and for a moment Kaldur wondered if he was going to contract food poisoning after today. Then they stepped inside, and the pungent, distinctive smell of curry reached his nose.
The inside of the restaurant glittered and shimmered thanks to a number of strategically-placed mirrors and burnished gold ornaments. The furniture was made of some heavy, dark wood and Kaldur blinked when Conner led them to a small table tucked neatly away in an alcove.
Just as they were about to pull out their chairs, two men suddenly popped out of nowhere. One was short and plump, the other tall and thin, but their identical smiles showed them to be brothers, or at least closely related. "Namaste," they said together in unison.
"I am Arjun," the plump one beamed.
"I am Vishnu," the tall, thin man continued.
"And today we shall have the honour of serving you," both chorused, smiles so wide their eyes became mere slits and crinkled at their corners.
"Please," Conner said, bowing with his palms together in greeting. "We are all friends here. There is no need to be so formal."
The two waiters chuckled and Arjun moved forward to clasp Conner's hand. "It is always a pleasure to see you here, Conner," he said warmly. "I see you have brought a friend today."
"How could I not? He wanted to explore Brick Lane, and you know no visit is complete without a meal at your restaurant."
Vishnu chuckled next to him and Kaldur gave a start. The man was like a cat. "I sense you are not from here," the Indian man commented. "A friend from abroad?"
"I moved here for a job, actually," Kaldur answered. "From LA."
The waiter's eyes lit up in understanding. "Ah, an American. Welcome to London." He gently ushered Kaldur over to a chair and pulled it out, gesturing for him to sit. "Please, have a seat. Is there anything you wish to drink? I would highly recommend the mango lassi if you would like something cool and refreshing, or the house chai should you prefer something warmer."
Conner sat down not too soon after, Arjun clapping his shoulder heartily before producing two menus seemingly out of nowhere and placing them on the table. "Take your time, gentlemen," the man beamed before leaving just as discreetly as he'd arrived. Vishnu, meanwhile, had already vanished.
"Any recommendations?" Kaldur asked. He noticed that Conner did not so much as glance at the menu before pushing it aside.
Conner immediately reeled off a list of dishes. Some Kaldur had heard of before, and some he could not even begin to pronounce. Kaldur put the menu down. "I shall leave myself in your very capable hands then," he smiled. "Since you are the expert in Indian food."
The other ducked his head and shrugged sheepishly. "I really missed India," he explained. "And Megan was actually the one who introduced me to this place. She loves spicy food."
"I…can't imagine that," Kaldur confessed. "I would've thought Megan preferred desserts above all else."
Conner looked amused. "No, she just makes them all day for a living," he quipped, startling a laugh out of Kaldur. "She's the only one you can take out for strange foods no one else would want to try."
"Like what?"
"Sweetbreads, fish heads, pig's liver congee—"
Kaldur conceded the point. "So anything unusual on today's menu that you want to disclose before we order?" Conner shook his head.
"Something tells me you wouldn't take too kindly to some of the more local cuisine," he remarked, smiling mischievously. "I'll try to ease you in."
The first dish was a plate of samosas and other, brightly colored foods Kaldur could not identify. He noticed there was a large spoon sitting on one side of the dish, presumably for serving, but other than that there was no sign of cutlery anywhere else. Seeing him glancing around, Conner explained. "It's pretty traditional. You'll have to eat the appetisers with your hands, and then they come around with the cutlery for the other hot dishes."
It turned out that forks and knives were completely unnecessary; Kaldur was sure that the chivda would have simply slipped all over the place and there was no more satisfying way to eat the chaat other than with one's hands. Between himself and Conner, they finished the food off so quickly even the waiter commented on it.
"This is amazing," Kaldur commented. His mouth felt pleasantly warm from the heat and he savoured the slight tingle of spice lingering in his throat. "So what did you do in India? How long were you there for?"
"I was there for my gap year," replied Conner. "I didn't really know what I wanted to do after high school, and I wasn't smart or anything, so my A-Levels looked pretty bad." He hunched over somewhat defensively and Kaldur wanted to reach out and tell him there was nothing wrong with that. But he knew the gesture would be seen as condescending or worse, pitying and he did not say anything. "Then I met with one of my mum's old friends; she works for an NGO and she was looking for volunteers for charity work in India. I figured I had nothing better to do anyway and three months after graduating high school, I was in India with a bunch of people I'd never met before."
"Weren't you worried about the language and…well, everything else?"
Conner gave him a half shrug. "Well, the NGO she was working for funded the entire trip, accommodation and everything, and in India most people speak some basic English." He suddenly grinned, smile in sharp contrast to his earlier defensive posture. "And we got good at charades by the end of the first week."
"What were you doing there?"
"Just a lot of heavy lifting, really. It was a makeshift shelter for this village that had been hit by flood, so they needed people to handle some of the easier admin work, move supplies; that sort of thing. They wanted me to stay on longer, but I figured I should move around, see more of the country."
"Do you rescue cats from trees too?"
"No, but I once carried an old lady across the road three seconds before the traffic lights turned red." The slight twitch at the corner of Conner's mouth belied his words and Kaldur idly thought that it was nice to see Conner smile for once. It seemed like the other was finally relaxing.
The next dish came in due course, a steaming basin (there was no other word for it) of rice and a number of bowls filled with different types of curry. They ranged from dark, rich yellow to varying shades of burnt orange, the spicy aroma shot through with coconut milk, paprika and a myriad of other spices that made Kaldur's nose sting just slightly.
Conner spooned a generous helping of rice onto Kaldur's plate, gesturing for the other man to start eating. "I'd suggest starting with the green curry and working your way up," he said. "They're arranged in order of hotness, so the green one is pretty much nothing and the red…well, the red's hot."
Kaldur took a careful spoonful of green curry, making sure it didn't spill all over the place and carefully mixed it with some of the rice. He took a cautious bite and then went back for more when it turned out not to be anywhere near as spicy as what he had expected. "This is really good," he managed out around a mouthful of the rich sauce.
"Yeah, it's incredible," Conner agreed around a mouthful of hot orange curry. "The restaurant's been through three generations, four if Arjun's son wants to take over. They're determined to serve only completely authentic home-style Indian food."
When he finally got round to the one Conner had described as being 'hot', Kaldur took an even smaller helping. He took a careful bite and braced himself, the heat searing through his mouth but nothing he couldn't handle. Encouraged by this, he went back for a second helping; it was spicy but by far the best of all the curries they'd ordered. And then his mouth exploded in flames.
Conner was up in a flash, quickly encouraging him to swallow and carefully placing a glass to his lips. As soon as he could manage it, Kaldur took a few hasty gulps and sighed in relief as the pain faded to only a dull heat lingering along the edges of his tongue and in his throat. He looked down at the curry and back at Conner, who was looking worriedly at him. "I didn't think you'd just take that all in one go," the other commented. "More lassi?"
Kaldur decided to forego dignity in favour of relief and took another gulp of lassi. The coolness washed over his tongue, immediately cutting through the remaining heat. "Thanks," he croaked out. "I thought you said it was 'hot', not 'burning-fires-of-Hell' hot."
Conner looked worried for a second until he saw what Kaldur knew was a slight grin on his face. The curry was still delicious, but he knew that he would have to take it easy for the next few minutes or so. Perhaps order a lassi too, just in case the heat became unbearable. "How did you stand it?" Kaldur asked. "The heat, I mean."
"Just got used to it, I guess. It wasn't like there was a lot of choice other than spicy and spicier."
The lawyer noticed that the other man was still standing next to him, one hand curled around the drink and the other on his back. It was nothing intimate and he knew Conner was probably only trying to make sure he didn't choke, but all the same…
"Yes, the Vindaloo does do that to some of our patrons. Would you like some more mango lassi, Conner? And perhaps another one for your friend?" Kaldur fought not to jump right out of his skin as Vishnu appeared out of nowhere to smoothly slide the glass out of Conner's hand and deposit a plate of chicken on the table. "Tandoori chicken, gentlemen. Enjoy." Throwing what could only be described as a smirk back at Kaldur, the thin man vanished into the back of the restaurant.
"So, uh…"Conner seemed to have returned to being awkward and unsure of himself, but he didn't move from where he was standing. "I'm sorry about the curry?"
Kaldur carefully reached out to place one hand over Conner's, which was still resting on the table. He knew it was a bold move, but he figured the worst case scenario was that the other would immediately bolt and that was highly unlikely.
Conner's eyes widened as he looked down at their hands and he hastily moved away, muttering something about the curry getting cold. "You should take it easy with the vindaloo," he commented. "Well, until you get used to it, anyway."
It didn't take Kaldur too long to get used to the heat of the curry and devise a method of tackling it. He smirked silently at the way Conner kept shooting him glances over the plates and hastily looking away as soon as Kaldur so much as shifted in his chair. It was honestly quite odd, to say the least. Perhaps he'd pushed Conner too far, too fast?
Regardless of what he thought, it appeared that Conner hadn't been thrown off by the touch at all. In fact, he continued to act as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened, rambling on perhaps a little more about his experiences in India but essentially it was as though nothing had changed. Kaldur was just about to write everything off as a misunderstanding.
Conner made a grab for the bill before Kaldur could so much as twitch, practically throwing his card down on the table and shoving it back into Arjun's hands. "So I guess you want to check out the stalls around here next?" Conner asked as they waited for the waiter to return.
"I was thinking of getting some gifts, yes," Kaldur admitted. "My brother is thinking of planning a trip to London for Christmas, since I likely won't get time off, and I wanted to get a head start on shopping." He almost wanted to slap himself in the head after that last sentence slipped out; he sounded like his mother, for crying out loud.
Thankfully, the other man seemed to take everything in stride and merely nodded. "I saw you looking at the boots," he said. "We can start there and move along the street. And there should be more people now too; most of the stalls only bring out the good stuff after lunch because they know there are more potential customers about."
It was only when they stood up to leave that Kaldur remembered Conner's jacket. "Your jacket," he said hastily, trying to pass the clothing over to the other man.
"Keep it for now," Conner replied, pushing it back. "Wouldn't want you getting cold, and I think I saw something this morning about it being likely to rain sometime today."
"All the more reason to take it back," Kaldur argued. "I don't want you freezing and catching something. Besides, I'll be fine; that curry really warmed me up."
Then Conner suddenly stepped up so close to him he could almost feel the heat radiating off him and gently cupped the back of his neck with one large hand. "Do I feel cold to you?" He asked softly, warm breath feathering over Kaldur's neck and making him shiver for a completely different reason. Then a cool weight dropped around his shoulders and Conner stepped away, leaving Kaldur to blink, look down and realize that he was now wearing the leather jacket. "It's fine," Conner smiled. "Now come on. We can't stand here forever." Then he gently placed one hand on Kaldur's back and guided him out of the restaurant.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have a very happy Chinese New Year and all the best for the year of the snake! Reviews are much appreciated, and thank you again for reading.
In other news: YJ got cancelled? Daaang.
