The music was loud, the bass was thumping as the live band rocked Enigma, the club in a slightly seedier part of London that Jack and David owned.  The lights were low except for those that occasionally raked over the crowded floor and then focused back on the cover band on the stage.

perfect by nature... icons of self-indulgence
just what we all need, more lies about a world that

Jack stood 6'1", with dark brown hair, highlighted to blonde in places, and streaked with black in others. His eyes were an intense hazel, and they were outlined in black. His clothes were more interesting, though, if one actually got up the nerve to stare. His pants were leather, black as sin itself. Straps ran from the inseam to the outseam on each side, and were buckled in silver, tight enough to show off just about every curve that the man owned.

never was and never will be
have you no shame don't you see me
you know you've got everybody fooled

His shirt was the same color, but torn across the front and back, as if he had been mauled by a wild animal, and scars lay underneath that, as though a testament to such. The shirt was sleeveless, and black wristguards and a spiked collar completed the ensemble, as did black knee-high silver zippered boots. But he had a ring on his left ring finger, one that told everyone to leave him well enough alone.

look here she comes now
bow down and stare in wonder
oh how we love you
no flaws when you're pretending
but now i know she

David, on the other hand, was a contrast in color. Paler than Jack, the man was blonde, liberally streaked through with green and black as well. He wore a green silk shirt that offset his eyes, and tight black pants as well. Nowhere near as much leather as the man who wore the companion to his ring. And currently, he was watching the darker complected man like a hawk.

never was and never will be
you don't know how you've betrayed me
and somehow you've got everybody fooled

It was to be a rough weekend, and Jack was trying to get his anxiety, and his nervousness out of the way, before the true excitement hit. This weekend was his initiation into the third circle of his coven, and that was stressful enough for anything. If he screwed up, if he was found wanting, it would be a while before he could try again. He shook his head to clear his mind, and focused on the drink in his hand.  It was a bitter concoction, but the idea was to get drunk, not to enjoy the taste.

without the mask where will you hide
can't find yourself lost in your lie


A strong pair of arms slipped around his waist, and Jack set the drink down, looking over his shoulder, to see if he'd have to throw the liquid in someone's face. Luckily, his senses were correct. It was David. "You do realize what night this is?" the voice purred in his ear.

"My lucky night?" Jack quipped, stroking the other's cheek.

"No. This is 7 years since we got together, luv. 7 years tonight."

Jack swallowed. It was hard to think about the circumstances under which they got together in the first place. The things they both gave up for the other, the world that used them and then betrayed them.

i know the truth now
i know who you are
and i don't love you anymore


David slipped his hand under the shorter man's shirt and reached his hand up, to stroke a sensitive piece of flesh or two.   He hated the distance, the way that Jack shut himself off whenever someone mentioned the way their lives had been before everything went to shit.  "But yes... I think you are going to get lucky tonight, luv..."

it never was and never will be
you're not real and you can't save me
somehow now you're everybody's fool

***

Jack smiled, kissing his lover as they reached home early that morning. The club had closed at two, and after calling cabs for the slightly sloshed, the bartender had stayed behind to clean and lock up.

They lived in a third floor loft in one of the more formerly industrial sections of London. It was a bit trendy, but that ws the way that David loved it. After spending a few years in the smallest, most cramped flats in the city, they had found one that used to be a warehouse, and left all of the rooms open to each other, except for the two loos. It didn't matter to Jack in the slightest, as he had a slight fear of cramped spaces; besides, they never had anyone over to spend the night, so there was no reason to worry about anything of the sort.

The furniture was fairly modern, made mostly of leather, and completely black. Different tile, wood and carpet floors were present, delineating different areas as rooms, and they had a sitting area, a living room (with TV, DVD player and a few video game systems), the kitchen, which had an island with flat-top stove, a large sink, oven and a built-in grill, and a home office, as well as an area sectioned off with Japanese screens for meditation and reflection.

But the bed was the most comfortable place in the apartment. It was king-sized, and covered in soft duvets, as well as comfortable pillows. The sheets were white, covered in a deep navy blue comforter.  Jack had refused green bed-linens, and David hated the side of the color wheel that included red, vermillion, scarlet and all related hues.

David pushed Jack down onto it, straddling the smaller man easily. "I do hope that you're not hoping to sleep anytime tonight... that's what tomorrow afternoon is for."

Jack smiled, arching his back as David bent over, tracing his jaw with deft fingers.

David smirked in response, carefully undoing the other's cuffs, before removing his shirt next. Pale skin was bared, revealing a nipple piercing, as well as a tattoo of a snake curled up on his opposite pectoral. David's fingers grazed a flat stomach, as his lips descended on Jack's collarbone, kissing hungrily, as he moved to undo the fly of the leather trousers underneath him.

The buckles were going to be hell, and Jack was going to regret it later.

Each of them frustrated David, until he finally drew a piece of wood from his pocket and said, "Non vestere," effectively removing the trousers completely, leaving a completely naked lover beneath him, as he began to remove his own clothes.

Jack wasn't being submissive by any means. His fingers worked at the waistband of David's pants as David unbuttoned his own shirt. Soon, the taller wizard joined his lover, sitting back down so that flesh contacted flesh.

It made no difference that it was November. The room was slightly chilled, causing certain rosy peaks to stand up of their own accord, even as David latched onto the unpierced one with his mouth.

Jack writhed under the attention, as David grasped him firmly, giving a few tentative strokes as Jack moaned beautifully.

It had taken them a while to get to this level of intimacy, knowing that it was more about the intellectual love than the physical at first. Jack had always had touch issues, having been starved for affection as a child, even though David was nearly the same.

But it mattered little as David released the abused nipple, having bit it slightly, before tugging on the opposing nipple ring. Jack twitched, as David moved his other hand lower, to Jack's arse.

Jack drew David's lips down to his own, even as David caressed that area, before slipping a finger inside.

David would be sated in more than one way tonight.

***

Jack opened his hazel eyes, inhaling deeply as the sun rose in their flat.

David's right arm was draped over Jack's side, and he was spooned against Jack's back. His chin set on Jack's shoulder, in fact, fairly close to the bite mark that had been gained the night before.

Jack smiled, moving the other's arm off of his body, and setting it gently on the bed. He slipped out of the bed, tugging on his discarded boxers, and heading for the kitchen as his husband slept on. D is always like this. You'd think he'd be more refreshed the morning after he's fed. Jack smiled to himself again and went to the loo, before heading onward to the kitchen, to eat some granola or something.

He could use a shower or something, especially as tonight was the Initiation that he had been majorly stressing about for weeks. He ran a hand through his completely unruly hair and sighed. He stank of cigarette smoke and worse, and probably the alcohol that he had consumed the previous night. That was probably what had knocked David out further. The combined total of his own alcohol, plus what was in Jack's blood as well.

He finished eating and headed into the lavatory again, intent on showering and cleaning up a bit, before preparing himself mentally for the ceremony.  The bitemark had to be first.

David wouldn't be there, and he would be on his own.

It wouldn't be that bad, but he was rarely away from his husband. He didn't want to go, but it wasn't as though David was as involved in the coven as he was. It was something that David hadn't fully embraced yet, as it was a Muggle thing. 

'I may live in the muggle world, but I will not be a Muggle,' David had said.

The thing of it was, Jack wasn't a Muggle either, but he embraced the concepts of the Wiccan philosophies and practices, and faith.  He believed more strongly in magic and the power of it than any of the other 'witches' in the coven.  After all, he could use it.  Without a wand, Jack had discovered the power to create what many Muggles believed to be minor miracles.  It was fine though.  Finding magic in all the world helped keep Jack's faith in the goodness of the world.  Something that had been suspect at several times in his life… especially when Jack and David got together.

Jack turned on the water, allowing it to cascade down in a clear stream, before undressing and slipping under it. His hair was wetted, then he grabbed the cake of sandalwood soap and began scrubbing the club scents from his skin.

He got out, leaving his hair without any styling products, and settled into an unbleached cotton shirt, and drawstring pants, knowing that he'd have to clean up again, but determined to have as little work as possible to be 'pure'.

***

Jack smiled as he was embraced by the other members of the Inner Circle of the coven, entirely of the Third Level.  The ceremony had gone off without a hitch.  It was terrible that David was still in the novitiate level, but he could work David up to at least the second level before their handfasting. 

It was little wonder why David had delayed all talk of their handfasting.  After all, the bond they shared was far deeper than many in the realm of human interaction.  But Jack had begged him for a formal commitment… where words spoke louder than actions, instead of the other way around.

Jack sighed, pressing a hand to his right temple, as a migraine seemed to set up residence there.  "Damn," he said, as they began to walk back to the cars from the place where they had performed the rites. 

"You okay, Jack?" Krys asked, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder.

He shook his head.  "It's nothing… I promise."  Right about then, his eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped to the grass, caught by the two people nearest him.

"Jack?" Krys asked.  "Jack?"

Jack began to convulse.

***

The phone rang urgently as David sat at home, waiting for Jack to return, after his initiation. "Hallo?"

"Dave! It's Krys," the woman's voice at the other end of the line replied. "Something's wrong. Is Jack epileptic or something?"

David shot to his feet, knocking over the phone as he stood. "What happened?"  Short blonde hair fell in his eyes as he moved, and he raked a hand through his hair, to move it out of the way.

"We finished the ceremony, and Jack was walking back with me, when he just collapsed... we're on the way to the hospital."

The wizard paced furiously for a second. "Where are you? Exactly where are you?"

"We're back in the city, but we're..."

"Take him to Charing Cross Road," he said, firmly. He walked to the dresser, removing his socks and finding his wand. "I'll be waiting on the curb. Find me, and give him to me, I know where to take him."

He Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron, rushing out into the street to wait for the others. He pulled out his cell phone and directed them to his location.

***

David carried the unconscious wizard in his arms into the Emergency Room at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies. "I need a medi-wizard NOW!"

AN:  Okay, so I haven't updated this in for fricking forever, right?  Well… I apologize, but between grad school apps, and exams,  being ill all the time, and my computer actually crashing and taking this chapter with it… it hasn't been a good time for me.  At all.  Anyways…

Well, we have the beginning of a plot here, and about damn time, too?  Now you get to see why the first chapters I posted were actually prologue.  I planned this story to be much longer than just the prologue. 

I'll try to be more regular about posting, but if you want to know more, do friend me on LJ or something, or join my yahoo group.  I think both are listed on my user profile page. 

It may get slashier, but likely not on ffn.net, maybe on my yahoo group, though… if enough people are interested.  I hate editing, but I realize that this is a site used by many young people.  *Doesn't want to offend, and doesn't want to have to reload her fics…*

Anyways, brand spanking new computer (not for spanking tho…) and multi-tasking.  We'll see how soon I get the next bit out, which should involve Jack's vision, his time in St. Mungo's, and how exactly this will develop into a plot. 

Since my computer crashed, it took all of my reviews with it… so I am not going to reply individually to the reviews.  However, thank you all for reviewing, and review again, so I can acknowledge you all properly.  And if I get rec'ed somewhere, let me know in the review, because I'm a shameless egotist (comes with being a Leo, I guess).