A/N: If you're reading this, I'm shocked... after over a year break, I'm finally at a point to start trying to write again. Like I had done last time, I'm practicing with FanFiction first and finally finishing this story. It might take some time to remove some rust, but we're going for it!
The meeting took place in the back of a club. A club they were expected to enjoy later as drinks, drugs, and every kind of escort you could imagine were available. Some of the members were already filling the VIP booths lining the rear wall as all walked past into the back.
"Ron!" A sharply dressed gentleman called from the back. Their guide and contact raised his arms with sincere fondness and met the man halfway.
"Ah, is this our new weasel, come to help us out?" The man was perfect. Tall, clean-shaven, charming, deep-voiced. Gray noted the way he said weasel, similar to Ron. Perhaps distant relatives. The suit, extremely expensive, fit him better than a suit had ever fit a man. Very well-tailored. Judging by the other men, he was the stickler for details. The luring aroma he held encircled a few feet around him. It centered Gray's attention entirely away from anywhere else he might have mentally wandered and onto the man now right in front of him. Ron gave a brief pat on Gray's shoulder and left to meet up with three others.
Pretending to wave after Ron, Gray managed a good look at two of them. A taller woman with dyed short hair barely broke her conversation with a smaller dream of lady, to welcome Ron over. The second lady had a dazzling smile, plump cheeks bright with laughter, and wild red hair piled high on her head. Both women would be effortless to recognize in a public setting and only took a second's glance to memorize.
Gray extended his hand, introducing himself. The man applied a stronger pressure on the top side of the handshake, almost forcing Gray's hand underneath. Stiffening his grip, Gray refused to budge.
"Derek," he smiled wide in return. "And this is your partner?"
"Yes," stepping back to let John get closer, "my boyfriend, John." The two men shook hands, brightening Derek's face even more.
"Welcome. I love to see a family that travel's together."
Two glasses were brought over and handed to Gray and John as two other men approached.
"Drinks!" Derek said shooing away the waitress to fetch more. Or escort. The nipple tassels blurred the lines. "Come on, we all need something to toast, my dear!"
"This," he laid a hand on the back of the first guy, "is Hank, my engineer. Once you help us get in, Gray, he'll take care of stealing whatever we need. Absolutely brilliant and makes the best coffee cake. And this" he pushed the other man forward. "This is Omar, he'll be your bodyguard. Just to make sure everyone gets home safely. After all, family is most important and we all need to get home." The men each gave slight nods without letting a single smile slip out.
"And this my friends," he finally gestured towards Gray, "is our locksmith, safecracker, oh you name it. And his handsome boyfriend." All four men offered more nods.
Hank and Omar were by far the least pleased in the group. Gray had been under the assumption from Ron that Derek was the one to suck up to, the hard-ass that would not be easily pleased. He had the confidence that came with being the son of such a powerful man. But he also had the welcoming energy of a Disney princess.
The waitress brought over three more drinks. Giggling and leaning a little towards Derek, she handed Hank and Omar their glasses as Derek took the liberty of grabbing her ass and kissing at her cheek. With the last drink in her hand, she folded the tray behind her and faced Derek. She had a tattoo, easily distinguishable with the lopsided petals. Judging by her posture and darting eyes, she wasn't in a position of power. But possibly a valuable witness.
"Thank you, dear," he leaned over kissing her and gently pulled at a tassel.
"Cheers," he straightened back up and raised his glass. "Cheers to the next adventure and new friends." All five glasses clinked, three smiling faces, and two only nodding. Hank had a scar above his left eye, he was watching Gray's face. Average 6' 1" broad-shouldered frame and shaved black hair. Omar was absent of identifiable marks, the only thing separating him from the first man was his beautiful green eyes. Equal height to Hank, slightly longer hair, and a tad lighter in complexion.
After some light chitchat and plans to meet back up, the experienced duo left for one of the club's VIP lounges. Derek twisted to grab two more drinks from the flowered waitress's tray and handed them to Gray and John.
"So John, what do you spend your days doing?" Derek asked, taking a step closer to Gray's partner. As always, Gray waited a beat, letting John taste his drink first before he did so. With no warning of poisoning or ill intent, Gray let his gaze and interest roam. Everybody angle, slight exchange in touch, and whisper meaning something different to Gray. There were obvious smaller groups within this closed-off room. The overall exclusiveness was apparent but there was a subgroup of power here. They were the real goal of all this bullshit. The ultimate key in, the son of the gang's leader, was now leaning very close to John.
"Very interesting," Derek's smile was wide and shone in his eyes. Not a hint of pretense or falsehood. John mirrored his stance, open, welcoming, and fully enamored. John had already finished this second drink and the slightest layer of red flushed his beaming face.
John made note of Gray's returned attention first, turning his whole body to face Gray.
"But I wouldn't be able to do any of it if it weren't for Gray supporting me." His touch was light and tickled Gray's arm as he playfully tried to pull Gray closer. They exchanged the protocol endearing smiles before both turning to their host.
"Beautiful," Derek sighed. "I loved seeing this and I hope my family can continue to give you everything you need Gray. Keep you two around," Derek winked before lightly grabbing both of them on the arm. "Why don't you go back into the club and enjoy the night?! It's early and we'll have plenty of time to touch up on details tomorrow." His cologne waved over Gray again, it was far better than he had chosen for himself, much more inviting. John's arm cut out in between the other men, forcing Gray to realize he had been taking a step forward. The movement had been completely subconscious, based on a simple enjoyment of a smell.
"Thank you, Derek," John said, shaking hands with the warm gentleman, "it was nice to meet you."
The smile Gray gave was completely genuine and hid the sadness he was feeling at having to leave. Derek was supposed to be horrible, not this handsome delight.
"Yes, thank you for the warm welcome." Derek's hands were larger than Gray's, bigger than he had anticipated, and insanely warm.
"Of course, come see me anytime. I'm either back here, or someone here knows where to find me. Cam," he motioned for the tasseled woman to come over, "Can you let the main staff know they'll be on our tab tonight? I want them to enjoy themselves with no hesitation." He said the last part to his new friends with a grin.
"Should I get you two a room?" John said, careful not to use English and needling Gray in the side. They were standing to the side of the bar, in the perfect angle to scan most of the club. Hank and Omar were still in their booth, joined by four beautiful women and two additional men. The men hadn't been in the room and did not appear to be the fighting type. Smaller with clear skin, all their teeth, and perfectly straight noses. Hank shifted his body as one of the girls moved to his lap, keeping his attention on one of the new men. The smile he wore wasn't bright and gleeful by any means, more of a smirk, but bigger than anything he had done for them. His eyes told a different story, totally locked on the younger man as the girls reached up for their drinks.
"Who, two?" Gray asked back, still running through all the names he knew to try and find a match for this smaller captivating man.
"Our 'gate-keeper' and you," when Gray just gave a questionable side glance, John continued, "he was very ...impressed by you." John chuckled slightly at the word 'impressed'.
"Why, what did you catch?" Gray's chest tightened. Obviously it was the goal, but it was still a bit flattering. Then a split second later, he forced a quick inhale to try and calm himself. John could have picked up on his flushed neck.
And he did.
"Enough," John reached over to place his drink down and twisted towards Gray. "I think someone is interested in more than just your theft skills." Derek stepped out, just in time to see John kiss Gray on his neck.
"Be serious," Gray cooed, pulling John in closer. One of the clusters from inside passed by them, pausing to let one of their members stop and talk to the bartender.
"I am," John pushed his body into Gray's, "I still think we can use this time to have some fun. We have unlimited alcohol, a horny mass surrounding us, and a guise to keep up." John's hand was strong as it squeezed Gray's ass and brought them even closer. The wall and John created a tight space for Gray to exist within. Arms wrapped around Gray pinning him in and a teasing mouth soon began exciting him. They were in the dark, out of the way, and easily passed by most people, including the group Gray had been watching.
It wasn't that important though, it couldn't be out here in the open. All that was important was what John was doing. They were just two guys hiding in the shadows of a club, hooking up like a majority of these attendants had desired to achieve. Gray pulled his neck away, twisting his head to catch John's mouth. Gray had barely managed 2 kisses before he was interrupted. They were hardly as deep as he wanted but enough to know he could have easily ignored the conversation near the back door.
His heart lept like it hadn't in years. The group was heading out, their talk of paying back debt and getting even following them out the door, leaving Gray in the dark. He had stopped paying attention and missed everything, just like a novice child playing spy. Pushing John back a step he forced himself to take a breath before adopting a playful voice.
"Did you catch what they were talking about?" The ending coming faster and harsher than it should have for flirty banter. Gray took another controlled inhale. John's brows furrowed and he looked in the opposite direction of the slamming back door.
"Oh, catch who?" He smiled, almost laughing as he pulled Gray in for another kiss. It would have been better if they could argue for real, instead of playing into some ruse and letting John finish the kiss. Gray could hardly hold the words in and they rushed out as soon as John's lips broke away.
"They were talking about going to get revenge, we need to follow them!" As Gray's eyes left John's they met a lovely young lady's. Her eyes quickly flashed away with a flush in her cheeks and a smile on her mouth. Gray cleared his throat and pushed his body into John's and away from the wall.
"Let's get out of here," He gave a wink to add to his faux allure.
"I would love to," John's arms tightened, letting his real strength show for a moment. Gray's heart jumped again and his forearms braced themselves on John's chest, preparing to pry away but not yet able to do it.
"But let's not do it because of the 49ers," John finished.
Gray's resistance fully released and he let John push him back against the wall.
"What?"
"They were talking about lost bets on the super bowl and how the next draft will set them up for a new season." John's hand slipped out from behind Gray and came up to raise his chin so their eyes met. "I'm not sure I would use the word 'revenge', but ... if you must know details, person A bet $4,500 on the Dolphins to..."
"No, no," Gray shook his head out of John's hand and sighed before giving a pathetic attempt at a smile.
"Do you still want to get out of here?" John teased, running his hand down Gray's front. "Because I don't think you're just acting." John's hand traced over the seam of Gray's pants, pointing out the part of Gray's lust he couldn't have faked.
Gray laughed, nervously at first before it smoothed into something real. Reaching for the empty glass on the table near them, Gray squirmed out from under John and made a break to the bar. The glass had mostly melted, a few half cubes floated in a clear liquid, only tinted with the brown liquor.
Pivoting to his following partner, Gray grinned, "Maybe you don't know how good of an actor I am?"
Inside his stomach tied in a few knots, not dissimilar to how he felt on his first few missions. However, it wasn't the criminals he was growing wary of.