**********
Renouncing Rituals: Part Four
The same stench stretched over the same sweaty oasis of sex and cynical, dubious, obscure, eyes which greeted him past the second set of double black doors that beckoned him into the Midnight Sunset. The same repulsive crowd littered the bar and the bodies of young and stunning men giving their essence and cadence for little or nothing. The same dark and murky tempo rolled from inadequately hidden speakers. The same. Always the same. And the piteous 'employees' who squandered their lives here endured the same vile truths night after night.
He picked up a cheap beer at the bar instead of the more potent drinks that he would love to have intoxicate him. After drinking heavily over the past years, mild drinks had little or no effect on him; he'd attended too many parties in his teenage years to fall victim to the ludicrous delusion that rich boys were good boys.
Tonight, he wasn't out to get smashed, even if the thought was relatively tantalizing in the back of his mind. He needed a little assistance from his senses to keep his eyes on the prize, even if it cost him a significant gap in his pocketbook.
Vibrant, swaying, lights and dancing shadows embedding the wall formed a perfect curtain to veil himself from sins and distorted eyes that filtered through the stagnant air. It was so filthy, infected, and he was conscious of himself further tainting the abhorrent population. He'd be lucky if Wufei would even glance in his direction; even if he'd kept him from selling his sex for one night, Wufei has still felt the lust radiating from his eyes and the fervor smoldering from his skin. By now, he's be used to discerning that emotion from unfamiliar men.
Duo realized, sipping his watered-down beer in the curtained shadows, that he was unconsciously making assumptions that quite possibly may not apply. He had no idea how much life Wufei had wasted in this pathetic hole of sex and sin, but really, how much time would it take to break a man? Duo wouldn't last a week. Although, he had only briefly known true poverty and had been very young, so he didn't know what he would do in desperation.
And again, he was making assumptions-- he had no reason to believe that Wufei was homeless, needy, or any other term of destitution.
Rhythm slipped into a beat-less, frantic slur of pulsation, the spotlights shifting to bathe a boy who must have been 17 or 18, wearing nothing to conceal his manhood but a strip of leather textile fashioned like a Speedo, enthusiastically propelling his body in a perverted manner toward the fat assholes who were nearly drooling over his mere presence. The boy wasn't even attractive, moving the way he was, Duo thought, surveying his wanton dance. He was nothing compared to Wufei. Whores weren't supposed to beg for sex, sex was supposed to beg for them.
Duo deposited his half-drained mug on a lone barstool that had, at some point, been dragged into the shadows by some shy, misfortunate, bastard who couldn't move to the music. A playful, sadistic, grin flitted over his lips, and his small size gave him the advantage to dodge swiftly through the crowd of men as a skilled fighter would dodge an easy blow. Wufei hadn't yet graced the throng with his celestial presence, but Duo's eyes had found another target of prey, one confident, mysterious, and sexy in midnight blue clinging pants and a tapered white, button-down, shirt. His chocolaty hair fell loose and messy over his gradually slanting eyes in an indeliberately attractive style. He had a slight benefit over Duo in height, and he was incredibly built.
As Duo flitted closer to him, a crooked smirk decorating his glossy lips, the man turned his head toward him, sweeping his dark, midnight, gaze over Duo's body. Keeping his motions elegant and dominant, his hand slipped around the man's waist, looking mildly over his figure with interest. He had promised, tonight, to save his appeal for Wufei, but a slight appetizer wouldn't deviate him from the main attraction. This new stranger was the first charming young man he had seen here that wasn't part of the show.
He angled his chilled glower towards Duo's upturned face, obviously displeased by the casual touch. In Duo's humble opinion, he just needed to fucking chill. Why come to a club if not to look for lovin'?
His hand slipped away, or at least it began to, when firm, copper fingers, not as clammy as the sweat-laden air, latched around his wrist with harsh desire, holding it firm to his hip.
"I'm waiting for someone." The voice was gritty and sweet, honey-like, a rather foreign, but attractive, accent influencing his tone.
"Oh yeah?" Duo smirked, cocking a chestnut eyebrow with a dangerous spark dazzling dangerously in his mischievous, vibrant, eyes. The stranger neither pulled away or initiated eye contact, nor did he affirm the statement. Tired of waiting, Duo slid his hands into the man's back pockets, bringing their abdomen and groins together. The only damn way to get something done his way was to take control. Duo tilted his face to a coy slant, studying the seemingly foreign stranger through his long bangs.
"So, how long until your little friend shows up?" Duo was losing himself in his steel blue eyes so that the music, the pungent, pale smoke didn't seem to exist anymore. Those eyes were lurid, jagged like daggers piercing his very soul.
The man's hands flowed up Duo's body, resting in a firm grip on his shoulders while the lights shifted, the music pitching into a lower, smoky key.
"He's already here," he said, thick and accented, tipping his head to view somewhere beyond Duo's obvious line of sight.
"Huh?" Duo spin around, at least whipped his head around, since the stranger's hands were burdening his shoulders. His long braid swung slackly, brushing against his own right arm.
Before him on the platform was the striking vision of a familiar Chinese man with satin ebony hair falling around his shoulders in picturesque contrast with perspiring, golden, skin.
Tough hands fell from Duo's shoulders, accompanied by a small shove as a farewell from the messy-haired stranger disappearing through the suddenly overwhelming sea of people. He may have tried to follow, but the man was out of sight before Duo could so much as ask for a name.
But damn, he had headed straight for Wufei. Duo hadn't worked so hard at dolling up, at calming his revolted innards enough to play a while in this rat-hole to have his goal snatched away before his eyes.
Dodging through the mass of bodies, his shoulders protesting against bared skin and slick materials of men who weren't about to complain, he let his body swing into auto-pilot, driven by the bizarre attraction that bound him to the beautiful stranger who called himself Wufei. The chillingly hypnotic thud of the music's drums invaded him, raping him as he neared the platform, leaving him helpless to it's melodic rhythm, unable to push it away from his person, despite his brutal attempts.
Duo had utterly lost sight of the brunette who had strolled off with an eye on Duo's prize. Music coiled around his legs, dragging his footsteps over the grainy floor. It seeped through him, ascending his limbs, slowing his navigation as he swerved around the sex-propelled bodies and wandering limbs. The appendages he called his legs had suddenly gained hundreds of pounds, leaving the stranger still invisible to his eye and Wufei inching miles away with each step he took towards him.
With a sudden burst of energy, Duo rather rashly shoved past a particularly large man who made him even happier that he didn't have the same job as the Asian boys, and took off toward Wufei.
Somewhere between Point A and Point B he thought something along the lines of 'no man is worth this,' but suddenly he was mere feet from the stunning Point B and all his thoughts proved negative.
Wufei's head was tiled back, his eyes clenched in what any stranger would label ecstasy, but Duo knew as well as the sky was blue that the emotions he was feeling were in the spectrum of panic, fear, and anxiety. Apparently, Duo had finally located the Perfect Stranger, working his way up Wufei's arched neck with pale lips that looked petal soft. Wufei trembled visibly, yet kept his arms draped around the man's shoulders and neck, his tightly clothed groin impelled unwillingly against the very evident swelling in the man's pants. Another god damned pig of a man, even if he was the sexiest pig Duo had seen in quite a while.
Duo stood frozen and helpless at the scene, overwhelmed with a strange urge to take Wufei into his arms, to tell him that it would be alright. What was that? He hadn't felt that since he was eighteen. He tried to shake the feeling, knowing he had barely met the man. His emotions argued, bubbling hot beneath his skin as the smirking, chocolate-haired man left Wufei with a sizeable wad of cash in his hand.
Duo hoped that money was not what he thought it was for.
He snapped from his immobile stance, taking brisk strides to Wufei before any other asshole could run their paws over his delicate skin, fingering his own wad of cash as he walked.
"Wufei," he started when he was close enough to know that he could hear his voice. Wufei turned his face away in what appeared to be shame.
"Wufei..." Duo held the money to him, but Wufei made no motion to take it. "C'mon, just like yesterday?"
Finally, inclined ebony eyes gazed into his own. "I can't. Not tonight. I... I've already got someone," he suddenly became interested with the floor, "someone who's important. One of the regulars."
"I see," Duo faltered. He didn't need to ask who the man was. "Take this, anyways." He pressed the money into Wufei's palm.
"I won't take it," Wufei protested at Duo's back, but his objection went unheard as he had already turned to leave the playground of the fools and the unlucky.
**********
Renouncing Rituals: Part Four
The same stench stretched over the same sweaty oasis of sex and cynical, dubious, obscure, eyes which greeted him past the second set of double black doors that beckoned him into the Midnight Sunset. The same repulsive crowd littered the bar and the bodies of young and stunning men giving their essence and cadence for little or nothing. The same dark and murky tempo rolled from inadequately hidden speakers. The same. Always the same. And the piteous 'employees' who squandered their lives here endured the same vile truths night after night.
He picked up a cheap beer at the bar instead of the more potent drinks that he would love to have intoxicate him. After drinking heavily over the past years, mild drinks had little or no effect on him; he'd attended too many parties in his teenage years to fall victim to the ludicrous delusion that rich boys were good boys.
Tonight, he wasn't out to get smashed, even if the thought was relatively tantalizing in the back of his mind. He needed a little assistance from his senses to keep his eyes on the prize, even if it cost him a significant gap in his pocketbook.
Vibrant, swaying, lights and dancing shadows embedding the wall formed a perfect curtain to veil himself from sins and distorted eyes that filtered through the stagnant air. It was so filthy, infected, and he was conscious of himself further tainting the abhorrent population. He'd be lucky if Wufei would even glance in his direction; even if he'd kept him from selling his sex for one night, Wufei has still felt the lust radiating from his eyes and the fervor smoldering from his skin. By now, he's be used to discerning that emotion from unfamiliar men.
Duo realized, sipping his watered-down beer in the curtained shadows, that he was unconsciously making assumptions that quite possibly may not apply. He had no idea how much life Wufei had wasted in this pathetic hole of sex and sin, but really, how much time would it take to break a man? Duo wouldn't last a week. Although, he had only briefly known true poverty and had been very young, so he didn't know what he would do in desperation.
And again, he was making assumptions-- he had no reason to believe that Wufei was homeless, needy, or any other term of destitution.
Rhythm slipped into a beat-less, frantic slur of pulsation, the spotlights shifting to bathe a boy who must have been 17 or 18, wearing nothing to conceal his manhood but a strip of leather textile fashioned like a Speedo, enthusiastically propelling his body in a perverted manner toward the fat assholes who were nearly drooling over his mere presence. The boy wasn't even attractive, moving the way he was, Duo thought, surveying his wanton dance. He was nothing compared to Wufei. Whores weren't supposed to beg for sex, sex was supposed to beg for them.
Duo deposited his half-drained mug on a lone barstool that had, at some point, been dragged into the shadows by some shy, misfortunate, bastard who couldn't move to the music. A playful, sadistic, grin flitted over his lips, and his small size gave him the advantage to dodge swiftly through the crowd of men as a skilled fighter would dodge an easy blow. Wufei hadn't yet graced the throng with his celestial presence, but Duo's eyes had found another target of prey, one confident, mysterious, and sexy in midnight blue clinging pants and a tapered white, button-down, shirt. His chocolaty hair fell loose and messy over his gradually slanting eyes in an indeliberately attractive style. He had a slight benefit over Duo in height, and he was incredibly built.
As Duo flitted closer to him, a crooked smirk decorating his glossy lips, the man turned his head toward him, sweeping his dark, midnight, gaze over Duo's body. Keeping his motions elegant and dominant, his hand slipped around the man's waist, looking mildly over his figure with interest. He had promised, tonight, to save his appeal for Wufei, but a slight appetizer wouldn't deviate him from the main attraction. This new stranger was the first charming young man he had seen here that wasn't part of the show.
He angled his chilled glower towards Duo's upturned face, obviously displeased by the casual touch. In Duo's humble opinion, he just needed to fucking chill. Why come to a club if not to look for lovin'?
His hand slipped away, or at least it began to, when firm, copper fingers, not as clammy as the sweat-laden air, latched around his wrist with harsh desire, holding it firm to his hip.
"I'm waiting for someone." The voice was gritty and sweet, honey-like, a rather foreign, but attractive, accent influencing his tone.
"Oh yeah?" Duo smirked, cocking a chestnut eyebrow with a dangerous spark dazzling dangerously in his mischievous, vibrant, eyes. The stranger neither pulled away or initiated eye contact, nor did he affirm the statement. Tired of waiting, Duo slid his hands into the man's back pockets, bringing their abdomen and groins together. The only damn way to get something done his way was to take control. Duo tilted his face to a coy slant, studying the seemingly foreign stranger through his long bangs.
"So, how long until your little friend shows up?" Duo was losing himself in his steel blue eyes so that the music, the pungent, pale smoke didn't seem to exist anymore. Those eyes were lurid, jagged like daggers piercing his very soul.
The man's hands flowed up Duo's body, resting in a firm grip on his shoulders while the lights shifted, the music pitching into a lower, smoky key.
"He's already here," he said, thick and accented, tipping his head to view somewhere beyond Duo's obvious line of sight.
"Huh?" Duo spin around, at least whipped his head around, since the stranger's hands were burdening his shoulders. His long braid swung slackly, brushing against his own right arm.
Before him on the platform was the striking vision of a familiar Chinese man with satin ebony hair falling around his shoulders in picturesque contrast with perspiring, golden, skin.
Tough hands fell from Duo's shoulders, accompanied by a small shove as a farewell from the messy-haired stranger disappearing through the suddenly overwhelming sea of people. He may have tried to follow, but the man was out of sight before Duo could so much as ask for a name.
But damn, he had headed straight for Wufei. Duo hadn't worked so hard at dolling up, at calming his revolted innards enough to play a while in this rat-hole to have his goal snatched away before his eyes.
Dodging through the mass of bodies, his shoulders protesting against bared skin and slick materials of men who weren't about to complain, he let his body swing into auto-pilot, driven by the bizarre attraction that bound him to the beautiful stranger who called himself Wufei. The chillingly hypnotic thud of the music's drums invaded him, raping him as he neared the platform, leaving him helpless to it's melodic rhythm, unable to push it away from his person, despite his brutal attempts.
Duo had utterly lost sight of the brunette who had strolled off with an eye on Duo's prize. Music coiled around his legs, dragging his footsteps over the grainy floor. It seeped through him, ascending his limbs, slowing his navigation as he swerved around the sex-propelled bodies and wandering limbs. The appendages he called his legs had suddenly gained hundreds of pounds, leaving the stranger still invisible to his eye and Wufei inching miles away with each step he took towards him.
With a sudden burst of energy, Duo rather rashly shoved past a particularly large man who made him even happier that he didn't have the same job as the Asian boys, and took off toward Wufei.
Somewhere between Point A and Point B he thought something along the lines of 'no man is worth this,' but suddenly he was mere feet from the stunning Point B and all his thoughts proved negative.
Wufei's head was tiled back, his eyes clenched in what any stranger would label ecstasy, but Duo knew as well as the sky was blue that the emotions he was feeling were in the spectrum of panic, fear, and anxiety. Apparently, Duo had finally located the Perfect Stranger, working his way up Wufei's arched neck with pale lips that looked petal soft. Wufei trembled visibly, yet kept his arms draped around the man's shoulders and neck, his tightly clothed groin impelled unwillingly against the very evident swelling in the man's pants. Another god damned pig of a man, even if he was the sexiest pig Duo had seen in quite a while.
Duo stood frozen and helpless at the scene, overwhelmed with a strange urge to take Wufei into his arms, to tell him that it would be alright. What was that? He hadn't felt that since he was eighteen. He tried to shake the feeling, knowing he had barely met the man. His emotions argued, bubbling hot beneath his skin as the smirking, chocolate-haired man left Wufei with a sizeable wad of cash in his hand.
Duo hoped that money was not what he thought it was for.
He snapped from his immobile stance, taking brisk strides to Wufei before any other asshole could run their paws over his delicate skin, fingering his own wad of cash as he walked.
"Wufei," he started when he was close enough to know that he could hear his voice. Wufei turned his face away in what appeared to be shame.
"Wufei..." Duo held the money to him, but Wufei made no motion to take it. "C'mon, just like yesterday?"
Finally, inclined ebony eyes gazed into his own. "I can't. Not tonight. I... I've already got someone," he suddenly became interested with the floor, "someone who's important. One of the regulars."
"I see," Duo faltered. He didn't need to ask who the man was. "Take this, anyways." He pressed the money into Wufei's palm.
"I won't take it," Wufei protested at Duo's back, but his objection went unheard as he had already turned to leave the playground of the fools and the unlucky.
**********
