Authors' Note: Okay. NOW the fun starts. I normally don't really care, but starting now I would really appreciate it if you guys reviewed this. I need all the help I can get, since it's my first story of this kind. Things are gonna get pretty amusing from here on out, so I hope that you enjoy. Now…on to torturing the pathetic couple!! ^_~
The following chapters might be a bit lengthier. Sorry. ::grimace::
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"It is seven o'clock here at WXYB New York, Tuesday, April 26th, right now we're looking at mostly cloudy skies, perhaps a chance of showers in the early afternoon. Highs today will be in the mid to upper 60s, possibly reaching the 70 degree mark…"
His eyes still closed, Collins rolled, over, stretched, then sat up in bed, blinking open his eyes sleepily. Scrubbing at the film blocking his vision, he focused his sight and hit off the alarm. On instinct, he turned to look at Angel lying next to him.
Angel wasn't lying next to him.
This was surprising. Angel was very, very rarely up before Collins was. Sometimes, unfortunately, he was still asleep when Collins left for work, so all Collins could do was leave him with a simple kiss on the forehead and an "I love you," before leaving.
Shrugging, Collins padded out of bed and into the shower.
Have you ever felt warm water on you when you haven't…well…
::clears throat:: You guys know what I mean.
For some reason, his skin felt…extra sensitive this morning.
Like it hadn't been touched in a bit.
Collins' brow furrowed, but he shrugged it off, quickly finishing his shower and getting dressed. Then, standing over the sink, he went to shave and brush his teeth.
Ow!
Oo!
Aye!
Oh!
Ouch!
After cutting himself a consecutive ten times with his razor, Collins glanced down as to see what could be the possible cause of this problem.
Whoa!
Why the hell were his hands shaking like that!?!?!
Why the hell was his whole body shaking like that!?!?!
He wasn't cold, that was for sure. He padded out to the bedroom and checked the thermostat. Normal temperature.
Confused, he bandaged his wounds, and went to brush his teeth.
"OOOOW!!!" The incessant shaking of his hands caused him to poke the toothbrush in the most painful places of his mouth. Wincing, Collins slowly, carefully finished, rinsed, spat, dried, then made his way out to the kitchen.
How odd.
Angel was standing with his back to Collins, fixing a pot of Coffee. Collins smiled and snuck up behind him, squeezing his sides.
"Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Angel screeched, jumping unusually high.
"Whoa! Sorry, my love, didn't mean to scare you."
"Oh my God, baby, you almost gave me a heart attack!"
Collins laughed and leaned in to kiss the warm forehead. "A little jittery this morning, aren't we?"
Angel laughed, a confused smile on his face. "You know what, actually, you're right. That's why I'm up so early. I couldn't sleep. For some strange reason," he giggled, shrugging his shoulders. "I couldn't stop shaking."
Shaking?
Collins' eyes widened. "You mean…you, too?"
Angel walked over to the table, placing the coffee pot on top. He looked at Tom, surprised.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, see all these cuts?"
"Yeah! What did you do?"
"Well, I was trying to shave, but look at my hands!" He held them out to demonstrate. They were still shaking noticeably.
Angels' eyes widened. "Wow. Are you nervous about something?"
Collins shrugged. "Not that I know of…what are you making?"
Angel laughed. "Well, actually, when I woke up, I decided just to read a little bit, but I was so anxious and shaky that I had to be doing something. So I decided to make us breakfast. Nothing fancy, I just needed to be moving."
"Really? Are YOU nervous about something?"
"Nope," Angel answered, shrugging. "You know what this reminds me of? When I was little, I always ate a lot of sugar. All the time. Every so often, though, when I couldn't have any, I'd start shaking. A lot. Just like now. Almost like I was going through…"
Suddenly, Angel stopped.
Collins stopped.
They both looked up, their eyes meeting.
"Withdrawal." Their voices blended in perfect unison.
And in perfect dread.
Angel, who had been pouring coffee into a mug, gently set the pot down on the table. The two straightened up and stared at each other warily.
"My Angel…" Collins voice was low and shaky, "you don't think any of this might have to do with…"
"I don't know," Angel replied evenly.
The two regarded one another in silence a moment longer, then…
DING!
"Yiiii!" Angel screeched.
"Yiiii!" Collins screeched.
"Yiiii!" Angel and Collins screeched.
"Yiiii!" I screeched.
Wait a minute…. ::blushes:: Oops.
"What is that?!" Collins asked, struggling to calm down.
"Relax! Relax, it's just the egg timer. The food's done." Angel lifted the skillet off the stove and brought it over to the table. Collins sat down, shaking from head to toe.
And falling off the chair.
"Yow!"
Angel let the skillet plop onto the table and rushed over to help his lover up.
"Are you okay—"
They grabbed hands.
"Sweetie…"
Wow.
ANGEL!! STOP IT! Angel thought mentally.
COLLINS! STOP IT! Collins thought mentally.
Angel pulled him up, so that the two were standing one inch from each other, face to face.
Silence.
Dear God, he's sexy, Angel shuddered.
Dear God, he's beautiful, Collins shuddered.
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
"Let's eat!" Angel laughed nervously, breaking the silence, quickly heading over to the table.
"Good idea!" Collins agreed, sitting down next to him.
Collins lifted a forkful of egg, but found, to his dismay, that by the time the fork reached his mouth, there was no egg left. You see, his hands were shaking so hard that it had all fallen off.
Damn.
Damn.
Damn.
Angel took a sip of coffee, but unfortunately spilled half of it all over his shirt, due to the intense quivering of his own hands. As he sipped as much as he could, his eyes drifted over Collins' body sitting next to him.
Dear God, he was so close. It would be so pitifully easy to just…
AURGH!!!!
Angel! Stop it! Don't you dare!!
Collins managed to take a bite of toast without doing any permanent damage, his own eyes wandering over the slim form of his love. From the beautiful black eyes, the dark Latino skin, the slim torso, fit legs, even the fingers were tempting!
DAMMIT!
The most annoying of all was the avid knowledge that each one, in normal circumstances, would normally have every right in the world to just jump one another in said situation and rip each others' clothing off.
Unfortunately, this was not a normal circumstance.
Angel smiled, trying to break the tension a little.
Collins melted, a wave of dizziness drifting over him, suddenly very much in need of a—
"BIG GLASS OF ICE WATER!" Each one cried, suddenly lunging up from the table. They both laughed, relaxing a little bit.
"W-w-w-want one?" Angel asked, smiling nervously, practically tripping over his own two feet.
"S-s-s-sure" Collins responded, blushing, hanging onto the chair for support. Christ, the two hadn't felt lust this strong since the night they first met.
Angel found two glasses, filled them up with ice and water, and handed one to Tom. They stood, still staring dazed at each other, but taking as many heaping gulps as they could manage.
Must cool off…
Must calm down…
When they'd finished, Collins held the cold glass against his forehead for a moment, begging relief, before setting it back down on the table.
"W-w-well, I, um, I guess I better get going…" Collins blushed shyly, taking his coat from the couch.
"Yeah! You…you don't wanna be late!" Angel laughed nervously, placing his own glass on the table.
Yes, go. Go far, far away from here, before I grab you, throw you on the kitchen table and show you exactly why it is the sturdiest model the store had to offer.
"Okay! Well, then, I'll be home normal time tonight…are you gonna be at the loft?"
"Yeah, you can just come right over, " Angel responded, smiling goofily.
"Great! Well, then…"
Collins paused, wondering if asking for a kiss goodbye would be the best idea at the moment.
Angel relaxed a little, and laughed, holding out his arms.
Collins relaxed himself, feeling slightly better, moving into the embrace and softly kissing the warm lips.
BIG.
MISTAKE.
VERY BIG MISTAKE.
Their eyes popped open, and they moved to pull away instantly, but unfortunately, their bodies had other ideas. They pressed themselves tight against each other, moving against one another, tongues exploring each others' mouths, hands moving deftly from head to…well… ::snigger:: You know where.
Collins gasped.
Angel gasped.
"Okay, I really, REALLY think you should go, Collins!" Angel sounded almost alarmed, panting for breath in between hot, short kisses.
"Me too, my Angel!" Collins responded, but his lips didn't seem to want to move from the other mans' neck.
"Okay, okay, hold on, okay, we have to stop…" Angel gasped for air, gently pulling back. Collins let him go reluctantly as Angel stepped back and quickly thrust Toms' glass into his hands. "Here, just…here."
"Good idea," Collins responded, his whole face scarlet red. He gulped down the remaining water left in the glass, before slamming it on the table and heading for the door.
"I'm really going now!"
"Yes! Go! Get out of here! And don't come back a SECOND earlier than you have to!"
"I'll be LATE!" Collins cried triumphantly.
"GREAT IDEA!"
Angel turned to clean up the table, when:
"My Angel?
Angel turned around, eyebrows raised.
"Yes?"
Collins blushed, smiling shyly.
"I love you."
Angels' knees faltered, and his heart raced, before his own nose pinkened. He smiled warmly.
"I love you, too."
Collins disappeared through the doorway, shutting it behind him.
~~
::Knock knock knock::
"Yeah?"
"Hey, it's Angel! Open up!"
Roger opened the door, smiling at the sight of the drag queen.
"Hey Angel! How's it goin? Come on in."
"Thanks, Rog." Angel stepped through the doorway.
"So, how you holdin up?"
Angel gave him a bit-too-cheerful smile. "I'm…fine…"
Bah. Yeah. Right. What a laugh. 'Fine,' if that means being sex starved,
horny, and prolly VERY ready to jump Collins the second he walks through the
door…
"That's great! Listen, Angel, about this whole situation, don't worry about it with me, okay? I, for one, am personally not in agreement with the others. I think Mark is gonna end up owing you guys quite a bit of money at the end of the week."
Angel smiled, eyebrows raised. "Really, Roger?"
"Yeah. I think you guys are strong. Even if nobody else does."
Angel laughed, and patted Rogers' shoulder. "Thanks Rog. I could use a little encouragement at the moment."
Strong. Pth. Yeah, we're strong. Reeeaaaal strong. If he hadn't had to go to work this morning we'd prolly be forking over the flow as we speak.
"Oh, reeeaaaallllllly? Isn't that interesting!" Marks' voice broke through the silence as he strode into the living room.
Angel sighed. "Hey Mark."
"Hey Ang! So, what's this I hear about you needing encouragement? Getting more difficult by the second, perhaps?"
"IT IS NOT!" Angel spat out, rising a laugh out of Mark.
"Easy there, princess, I was just kiddin around. No, seriously, Angel," and Angel heard that Marks' voice actually did hold a little smidge of real concern, "Are you guys doin okay?"
Angel sighed, and smiled. "Yeah. We're…hangin in there…fine! We're fine. Don't worry about us. Worry about how you're gonna manage after you give up the money you'll owe us come Friday." Angel grinned evilly, turning to plop down on the sofa.
Mark grinned back, sticking his hands on his hips. "Friday's still a long way away, Ang."
Augh, don't remind me, Angel thought miserably, but kept the smile plastered on his face. What a day it had been. He had gone out playing extra early today in order to get rid of some of his jitters, and met up with a group of old transvestite friends by the community garden.
Every single one of them had noticed something was up.
"Angel? You okay, girl? You look so pale!"
"Honey, why are you shaking like that?"
"Wow, you're really jumpy today, aren't you?"
"Have you been taking your AZT, Angel?"
"You're feeling okay, right?"
Angel had laughed it off, and told them everything was super.
I mean, really! Angel thought, begrudged. What
was I supposed to say? 'Oh, don't
worry, Tatiana, everything's fine! Really. I just haven't gotten
laid recently, so I'm feeling a bit off my game. I'm sure you understand. But relax! I'll be okay!'
Sigh.
Oh, c'mon, Angel! You guys'll do fine! If this as bad as it's gonna get, which it probably is, then you have NOTHING to worry about.
Nonetheless, he was still jittery, and his head hurt a little. However, deciding not to let it get to him, he let himself smile again, and saw that he actually felt much better when he did.
This morning was just
a fluke, he thought. Now that I've gotten it out of my system, we'll
probably do just fine tonight.
~~
I need aspirin.
Collins headed up the stairs to the entrance of the loft, dragging his bag behind him. He was looking forward to seeing his Angel. He could use a little warmth and understanding after the day he had just had.
He arrived at NYU noticeably flushed and shaky. The staff asked him if he was feeling all right, if he had been taking his AZT as scheduled, if he wanted to call off sick. Insisting that everything was fine, Collins got his mail from the mailbox and headed off to class.
Completely forgetting that it was the day he had scheduled a HUGE exam.
The students were awaiting nervously, chewing on their pencils, doing last minute cramming, whispering and sharing techniques. When the professor had asked why they all looked so nervous, they all silenced and stared at him as if he was the number one lunatic of planet Earth.
Which, at the moment, he was sure as hell feeling like.
Dammit.
At least happy to be free of giving a lecture that day, Collins had quite a bit of paperwork that had to be filed. He worked diligently at his desk while the students took the exam, stapling and cutting the sheets.
And himself.
Looks like that shaking-hand problem just hadn't gone away.
After coming back from the infirmary with quite a few bandages on his fingers, the students turned in their tests, and Collins ate his lunch with another teacher from the philosophy department. She noticed right away that he wasn't acting "himself."
"Are you SURE you're okay, Tom?"
"Yeah! I'm fine! Really," Collins smiled warmly, taking a bite of his sandwich with trembling (and now bandaged) hands.
"Well, I don't know, you seem a bit jumpy."
"No, really, I'm fine."
"Well…okay, if you say so…"
Collins blushed, and smiled again, taking a forkful of his salad while stifling an ironic laugh.
'Sure, Linda, everything's fine. Totally okay. Oh, I'm jittery? Oh, that's nothing. You see, my boyfriend and I just haven't been able to make love in a while, because we kindof made a bet with a friend that we could last the whole week without physical relations. So I'm just kinda not really with it today. I'm sure you don't mind. Would you like the rest of my coffee?'
* Snrk *
The rest of the day dragged on forever, until the final bell rang, symbolizing freedom. Collins packed and locked up, then headed over to the loft, eager to find salvation in Angels' arms.
Only Angels' arms.
But that was enough.
"Guys?" He called out to the seemingly empty loft, shutting the door behind him.
"Collins?" Angel came out of the kitchen, holding a tall glass of ice water and a bottle of aspirin. Collins' heart skipped a beat at the sight of his beautiful Angel, done up in an absolutely gorgeous dress, and he smiled shyly, already feeling the red creep up to his ears.
"Hey, my love," Collins answered, reaching over to him and kissing the top of his head. "How was your day?"
"Mrrrrrrpppphhhhhh….." Angel half moaned, half laughed, face muffled into his shoulder. Tom loft and kissed the soft hand.
"That bad, huh?"
Angel looked up and kissed him softly on the nose, smiling gratefully. "I'm just glad you're home. I missed you."
"I missed you too," Collins answered, gently laying a small kiss on his flushed forehead.
"Buh uh uh!!!!" Mimi scolded, entering the room. "Careful!"
"Hey! We're allowed to kiss!"
"I didn't say you weren't allowed. I just said be careful it doesn't go further than that. Unless you want to be paying mark $100 this Friday." She continued into the kitchen, imitating the sinister cackle of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Angel stuck his tongue out at her and laughed, laying his head on Collins' shoulder, then suddenly handing him the aspirin and water.
"I had a feeling you might need this. I know I did."
Collins' heart stopped.
"You…you're not feeling well?" His voice quivered, his breathing quickened, and his eyes widened in raw fright. "My Angel, you…you're feeling…?" His voice broke off.
Angels' heart broke.
"Oh, no, no, Collins, my love, it isn't like that. No." He wrapped his arms around the teachers' neck, kissing his face softly. "No, I'm feeling totally healthy. I just had a little headache because I met up with some friends today, and they kept drilling me with questions about why I didn't seem 'myself,' and so on and so forth…that's all. Don't worry." He pressed his forehead against Collins'. "I'm okay."
Collins let out a shaky sigh, blushing and recomposing himself. "Oh, thank God…I just, I thought you meant…" he couldn't go on. That very particular thought was possibly the most painful thing for the man to think of.
Angel smiled warmly and kissed him again. "I know. Shhh."
Collins laughed weakly, and took the aspirin from Angels' fingers. "Actually, I pretty much had the same problem as you, so this might help a little."
"Questions?"
"You don't know the half of it."
"Headache?"
"Splitting."
They shared a laugh and plopped down on the sofa, leaning up against each other, beat.
"Yanno, I didn't want to admit it…but this is just a tad harder than I thought it was gonna be."
"It's horrible!"
Angel laughed, snuggling up closer to Collins. "Tell me about it."
Collins giggled and drew Angel closer to him, wrapping a blanket around the two of them. The warmth of the drag queens' body sent a certain wave of desire running through him, and he shook himself out of it quickly.
Angel laid his head against Collins' chest, listening to the soft beating of his heart. The warmth of the skin against his own sent a little spark against him, and he could practically feel his mouth water as his eyes once again began to wander down the lanky, tall form of his lover.
The sweet scent of Angels' perfume mixed with his shampoo drifted up to Collins' face, and he breathed in deeply, letting the scents fill him with a blissful intoxication. He felt his whole body start to quiver even more than it had been the whole day.
Like it had been this morning.
Oh no.
OH NO!
Suddenly, Angel lifted his head to look up into Collins eyes, who stared back, biting his lower lip.
"Maybe…" Angel started.
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," the two finished, pulling away slightly, just as the door slammed open.
"Dinner's here! Hey Collins, hey Angel! What's up?" Maureen winked slightly in their direction. "You two are looking awfully cozy. I'd be careful if I were you."
Collins and Angel gave each other a look, lacing their fingers together. "How you doin, Maureen?" Angel asked as Collins blushed and planted a small kiss on Angels' hand.
"I'm great. Gettin laid. Havin sex. And you? Oh, that's right!" She laughed merrily, and JoAnne nudged her slightly.
"Maureen! Stop it! You're being really insensitive."
"Pookie! I'm just kiddin around!"
"Well—"
"What's for dinner?" Angel cut off the sure-to-be-fight-soon situation, standing up.
"Well, Angel, you'll be happy to know it's not fast food," JoAnne stated. "We stopped off at the Chinese restaurant. Don't worry, you won't get fat."
"Yeah, well, no one's seeing me naked at the moment anyway, so it really doesn't matter," Angel mumbled, fishing through the bag to lift out cartons. JoAnne giggled. Collins blushed and helped Angel, his eyes this time focusing in on the transvestites' small, yet strong hands, imagining the feel of their caresses…
Angel served the food on to the plates, and in doing so taking a small peek over at Collins' ass.
The same ass that he most likely would not be seeing before Friday.
Suddenly, Angel felt like crying.
~~
They walked home late that night in a rather awkward silence, holding hands and nuzzling together, but not saying anything. Their eyes seemed to not be able to stop wandering over one another's' bodies, and their hands seemed to not be able to stop touching one another everywhere and anywhere they could while still in public.
Dear God. I can't do this any longer! Collins mentally screamed, sneaking a peek at Angels' backside, lying so close, JUST underneath that skirt…
He blushed, smiling, tempted.
Technically, actually, if he wanted to, (and, oh, baby, did he want to), he could. The bet clearly stated that the only thing that counted was actual sex. However, Collins knew himself well. And he knew his Angel well. And he knew that if they started any actual petting of any kind, that it would soon escalate, and they would not be able to stop themselves.
Thus, better to be safe than sorry.
However, it seemed to Tom that things really couldn't get any worse than they already were. Little does Tom know that I am the author, and I am going to make things much, much worse.
Poor little guys.
I'm such a little nugget, aren't I? (That one was for Casey).
Anyway, HE figured that the old statement held true: that things had already gotten as bad as they could, so now they could only get better.
::snort:: Poor, misguided soul.
Thus, he forced himself to smile, planting a kiss on Angels' cheek, who seemed to stumble a little at the contact.
"My love, you okay?"
Angel grinned widely, shaking his head quite fast. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm great!" His voice shook, and Collins noticed he was trembling.
Angel opened the door to their apartment, feeling Collins' eyes wandering over him as he worked. He could feel the tall, lanky yet oh-so-sexy body pressed up close against his, the heat, the want, the need.
Don't touch me, Collins. Don't even think about touching me, cuz if you do, I'm whirling around and doing you where you stand.
Luckily, Collins kept his hands to himself as they stepped into the apartment. It was well past midnight, as usual, therefore also a mutual understanding to go to bed.
Bed.
DAMMIT.
They headed into the bedroom and began to undress.
Then stopped.
Collins looked at Angel.
Angel looked at Collins.
"Um…" Angel stated nervously. "Why don't I get changed in the bathroom, and you get changed out here?" He smiled earnestly.
"That is a VERY good idea," Collins returned the reassuring smile as Angel picked up his pajamas and headed to the bathroom.
Where he immediately turned on the cold water and ran it over his face. His make up ran, but he couldn't have cared less as he dabbed his face dry.
Beads of sweat were already starting to reform.
Darnit.
Angel fanned himself, forcing himself not to think of the half-dressed lover he had left out in the bedroom. Surely he must only be half clothed at the moment, with those long arms, and bare chest…
Angel shuddered. Think about something else, dammit!
Off came the dress, the stockings, the shoes, the wig, and on came the PJ's. He was just buttoning up his shirt when he noticed.
The coffee stain from that morning.
He didn't have any other shirts in the bathroom. They were all in the bedroom.
Dammit.
Tossing the shirt into the hamper, he opened the door a crack.
Collins was fully dressed in his Pajamas, turning down his side of the bed.
Creep, creep, tiptoe, tiptoe…
Crack.
The drawer creaked as it opened, causing Collins to turn around.
"My Angel! I didn't hear you come…" his voice drifted off in a shaky breathlessness as he noticed Angel was wearing no shirt.
"…in…" he finished, almost as if all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. His mouth hung open in a shameless hunger as his eyes drank in the half-clothed form.
Angel blushed, and had to literally hold on to the handle of the drawer to keep himself from lunging at Collins, throwing him on the bed, and making up for the last 48 hours of sexual starvation. He smiled shyly before quickly yanking a new shirt out of the drawer and buttoning it on.
They stood in silence, staring at the bed remotely.
You might not wanna sleep in the same bed!!! What the others had called down the hall after them the night before.
Angel and Collins always, always slept holding each other. It was just…instinct. They held one another and talked and kissed and cuddled until they fell asleep.
However, both men were in full knowledge that night that kissing and cuddling would lead to something much more…expensive.
Say, $100 worth.
Angel smiled at Collins uneasily.
Collins smiled at Angel uneasily.
"Maybe…" Angel started.
"Maybe it would be better if one of us slept on the couch tonight," they both said simultaneously, dissolving into nervous laughter.
"Yeah…I, um…I actually think that'd be a good idea," Collins said lamely, flushed and shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Angel grinned. "You can have the bed, if you'd like. I don't mind sleeping on the couch."
Collins shook his head, returning the warm smile. "Oh, no, my Angel. I'll take the couch. That way you can get a good nights sleep, and I won't wake you up getting ready tomorrow."
"I don't want to be selfish…"
"You're not being selfish, my love. Don't worry about it. It's okay." He picked up his pillow and a few blankets before heading over to the door. He leaned over and then gave Angel a kiss on his forehead.
"G'night."
"I love you," Angel whispered, squeezing his hand tight. "You know I do."
Collins nodded. "I know. I love you, too."
He walked out into the living room, spreading the blankets out on the couch. Angel watched him forlornly. He didn't like sleeping without Collins. It was so lonely.
He sighed and closed the door, then climbing into bed. There was a long night ahead.
That was close.
~~
Collins nestled into the covers, pulling them tight around him. He hated sleeping without his Angel. It was so lonely. There were times where the two of them would just lie in bed all night together, holding each other and laughing and talking about everything and anything there was to discuss until they fell asleep.
Only 3 more days, Collins, he told himself.
It seemed like three years.
Collins rolled over on his side, pulling the blanket with him.
CRASH!
And falling off the couch.
How typical.
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AWWWWW!!!! I feel so bad for these guys, and _ I _ am the one who's torturing them!!! Well, we better get used to it, cuz it DOES get worse. I lie not. Wednesday and Thursday…well, they're not up days for these fellas, and Friday? Ha! They're practically vegetables. Review and let me know what you think, and stay tuned! Chapter 4 will be up sooooooooooooooon….