Money Can Buy Happiness
Chapter 4
Link walked into his office the next day a different man. Not necessarily worse, but definitely different. It put his poor secretary in a very awkward position. Saria came up to the office six times before lunchtime, simply to ask Zelda incessantly if she knew what the matter was.
"He just seems so off, this morning," she always remarked.
"I know," Zelda was starting to lose her patience. Normally she wouldn't have, as Saria always wanted to know these things so as to help, but this time Zelda knew it was just to satisfy her aching curiousity. The blonde wasn't having any of it.
"At least you don't work for him and have to hang around here all day!" she snapped.
"Yeah, you're right," Saria sounded apologetic. Zelda smiled.
"I feel so sorry for you!" Saria patted her gently on the head. Zelda lowered hers.
"Just go back to your office, Saria, please! I'll be fine," Zelda shooed the younger woman away and returned to her paperwork, sighing gratefully.
Link sighed as well, from the office behind Zelda. He had been having a horrible morning. He couldn't look at himself in a mirror without blushing to his ears. Worse was that he didn't know whether it just himself, or the fact that looking at himself constructed a picture of Raven in his mind.
God! He's like my friggin' twin!
All in all, Link supposed that was a compliment to both of them. He had found Raven exceedingly handsome and alluring.
Then again, thinking that made him blush even harder.
Sure, on the plus side he had had an amazing night. And he had slept well too. But he had woken up fifteen minutes late and had to sacrifice his coffee and tie to make it work on time. He had also met Sheik on the way in. The latter had smiled knowingly at him. Or at least he thought Sheik had smiled. It was always hard to tell. Sheik had this thing with coats and shirts that covered the lower half of his face.
The eyes had given him away. Link knew he had smiled. And frankly, it creeped him out.
Link's coworkers had several theories as to why this was. A deformity was the most common and the most likely. Anyone who knew Sheik was in therapy thought that had something to do with it.
Those people at the receiving end of Sheik's witty, and often 'smart-ass', remarks joked that he was actually a woman. Unfortunately for them however, Sheik favoured more or less tight pants; bell bottoms and the like. Therefore, any possibility of him being female was a joke reserved for the idiots.
Sheik knew that look. He had seen it on very few people, but it was always the same.
Raven. Always, always Raven.
He was surprised that Link had taken his advice so to heart. Sheik had honestly expected at least two weeks to go by without an appointment. But lo, it had only taken a day.
Sheik had smiled in spite of himself, and how much more uncomfortable he knew it would make Link.
The other tell-tale sign was being late for work the next day. Or, in Link's case, almost late. For Sheik it had just become a bad habit. He always shrugged it off.
Behind his shirt collar, Sheik had actually spent most of the morning laughing. A young lady named Saria worked just down the hall from him, and had been traveling up to Link's office for hours on end trying to figure what was wrong with him.
She and another woman, Malon, had been gossiping - or as they called it, worrying – about Link everytime she came back. Sheik almost considered going upstairs himself, just to see if he was worse off than obvious. But he settled for a coffee and a trip to the bathroom instead.
Raven stepped out of his car and stared up at the large, beige building in front of him, two fingers on the rim of his sunglasses.
Knowing that Link and Sheik, two of his favourite clients, both worked here had been too good an opportunity to pass up. He had even gotten himself out of bed early to be here by lunch. Raven loved to sleep late and it never made him uncomfortable that Louisa had a key to his house. As far as he was concerned, his life was perfect.
The only thing that could cause him discomfort was the fact that his newest client looked very much like himself. After all, he had always wondered whether…
Raven opened the first glass door in his path and made his way across the foyer to the elevators. He paused in front of the buttons.
He didn't know what floor Link worked on…
…but he was pretty sure Sheik worked on the third. Raven pressed the '3' gently and waited for the door to close.
As the elevator made its way up, stopping at both floors along the way, Raven hummed quietly to himself and tried to remember everything possible about Sheik. He hadn't seen Sheik in nine months, but Sheik wasn't a man you forgot easily.
Sheik had curious, or at least interesting, tendencies in the bedroom. For one, he had always preferred hands over lips everywhere but his face. But what had fascinated Raven the most about him was his similarities to a lethal predator on the hunt. He did absolutely nothing, which was fine with Raven, until a while in, when he would strike.
Strike with things that made even Raven bowl over with pleasure. So much so that Raven couldn't remember even one clearly. The thought would have made him blush, but he had gotten over that many years ago. It made him seem impenetrable to some, but his intimates knew better.
Like Sheik.
Raven leaned his head back against the elevator wall, but had to snap back as it reached the third floor.
In an ironic attempt to calm himself, Link had drowned eight cups of his missed coffee since getting into work that morning. Zelda had gotten the first three for him, but out of guilt that he was bothering her, he fetched that last five himself. His secretary was grateful, but she hadn't really been getting annoyed. It was a slow morning.
But now, eight cups of coffee were taking their due toll. It pissed Link off, but he knew it was his fault. Besides, thinking anything with the word 'piss' in it was not helping.
"More coffee?" asked Zelda as Link passed her desk.
"Nope," Link managed through tight lips, "Bathroom."
"About time," she laughed prettily.
Sheik threw his empty coffee cup into the garbage, despite knowing that they were supposed to be recycled. But hey, there wasn't a recycling bin in the washroom, and he wasn't going back out just for that.
Sheik relieved himself, and moved over to the sink. He gazed absentmindedly into the mirror, and thought of Link. Sheik figured it would be, well, friendly to go up to the fifth floor and see if he was alright. But Sheik also knew it was as much for his own sake as Link's. He had learned long ago to accept these perverted turns of selfishness. He could comfort Link at the same time.
Sheik smiled to himself and started towards the bathroom door.
Godfuckingdammit!
That was the worst profanity Link knew, but he needed it now. The fifth floor bathroom door was locked. He didn't know why, it just was. And he was seriously pissed off.
Screwing his face up determinedly, Link made a beeline for the elevator, gritted teeth all the way.
I'll never drink coffee again. Ever.
He knew this wasn't true, and that the next morning he'd have his usual, but at the moment it seemed like the right thing to say.
There was no one in Sheik's cubicle.
How disappointing, though Raven. There was, however, a pretty red-haired girl standing not to far away. Perhaps she knew where he was.
Raven drew himself up and strode over to her.
"Excuse me, miss," He tilted his head and smiled. At first he had only used this face to flirt, but it had become habitual lately.
The red-haired girl turned.
"Oh, hello. It's Malon, by the way. Can I help you?"
"Malon. My apologies," Raven lulled the words out as usual, "I'm looking for a young man named Sheik. Is he here today?"
"Oh, yes, of course! He's always here. Well, technically he's in the washroom, but you know what I mean, right?" she was awestruck, and blabbering.
"Yes, of course. Thank you kindly for your help," Raven inclined his head and moved past her.
"You're very welcome," Malon smiled and waved as he past her.
Raven trudged along the hallway to the men's washroom, guided by small, overhanging signs. Pushing the door open, he stopped at the entrance and grinned.
"Raven!"
Sheik crossed his arms in a display of outer confidence to hide his surprise.
Raven entered the bathroom, letting the door fall shut behind him and bowed deeply.
"Charmed, I'm sure," he answered in a voice he never used otherwise.
"What brings you here?" always the formal one – well, almost always – Sheik narrowed his eyes but kept his tone light.
"Why, you and Link, of course," Raven loved to mock Sheik when the latter put on his ridiculous 'perfect gentleman' premise.
"I knew it!" Sheik uncrossed his arms in favour of pointing accusingly at the man in front of him. Raven furrowed his brow.
But Sheik laughed. He couldn't really be mad at Raven; they weren't lovers after all. Raven could do what he liked.
"I saw his face this morning. The same face that everyone else has, and I knew it was you."
"What face is this, exactly?" It was Raven's turn to cross his arms and tilt his head and wait for an answer.
"The face that your patients make in a public place after their first night with you. I've seen it before, and this morning I saw it on Link. That face."
Raven smiled knowingly, though he had never accompanied any of his patient's to a public place early in the morning and had thus never seen the face in question.
"But tell me, Sheik; how have you been since we last met? Nine months, wasn't it? And your still wearing those ridiculous turtlenecks to cover your face."
"Why not?" was the challenging reply.
"Makes you look dangerous," Raven saw Sheik lift a knowing eyebrow and added, "Not that kind of dangerous. The bad kind."
"Does it really?"
"It does. Quite."
Raven walked briskly over to where Sheik was standing and kissed his mouth through the fabric, one hand pressing into Sheik's back.
"Has anything else changed?" Raven made sure to pull away to avoid fabric getting in his mouth.
"I don't think so," Sheik's eyelids lowered, daring Raven to do something dastardly in the office bathroom.
Raven's free arm tugged the collar down then moved to cup Sheik between the legs as his mouth pressed to Sheik's again, open-mouthed this time, as there was nothing to get stuck to his tongue.
Well, nothing except Sheik's own. In fact, that was guaranteed.
Sheik squirmed comfortably in Raven's grip and moved his hands to grip Raven behind the head and pull him closer.
"Have you changed? I hope you didn't miss me too much," Sheik had this thing for trying to provoke Raven teasingly.
"Nope. I'm still an animal," Using strength unapparent in his lean arms, Raven lifted his left arm, the one cupping Sheik, and subsequently the latter into the air for a brief moment.
"Ah…!" Sheik's eyelids fluttered. His knees buckled when he touched the ground again, but he managed to straighten himself on his own.
"Don't do that," Sheik folded his arms again and stared at Raven.
"Why not? Afraid someone might notice a difference when you walk back to your desk? Or was nine months just not long enough for you?"
Sheik wrinkled his nose in disgust but could think of nothing to say.
Raven walked away and leaned against a wall.
"So, what do you do here, exactly?"
"I work in the financial department. I help manage the company's budget."
"No wonder you like to haggle so much."
"Oh please! 200 an hour is a ridiculous price for sex!"
"Not for mine." Raven grinned at Sheik, who hadn't moved from his spot, a good 3 metres away.
"Any sex." Sheik said in a tone of finality.
"Why should you care about that anyways? You managed to have it put under medical insurance, you little weasel."
Raven didn't change tones no matter what he talked about. Or rather, he never raised his voice. Besides, he wasn't trying to insult his former client, and Sheik knew it.
"What can I say? I'm good at what I do."
"So am I. I deserve everything I make."
"Are you really trying to seduce me in a public washroom?"
"Why not? If we use a stall, nobody has to know."
Sheik looked away for a few seconds, considering, then walked briskly back to the stall he had just used and motioned to Raven. The latter smiled, removed his hands from behind his head and followed, locking the door.
"Surprisingly roomy, isn't it?" he remarked, looking down into Sheik's eyes.
"It is," said Sheik indifferently.
Raven kissed Sheik again. It was as though nothing had changed. Admittedly, neither of them looked very much different, but nine months is a long time, particularly if you've been celibate. Nonetheless, a feeling of routine returned. The stall even had the heavy air of the room Sheik and Raven had always retired to. Not nearly as fragrant, of course, but the feeling was more or less the same.
As though in a meditative routine, Raven began moving his hips to an imaginary rhythm, in figure eights. Receding, then coming back to push against Sheik's.
Sheik licked his lower lip, then bit it. Raven held Sheik's back, pulling him towards the repetitive movement(1). He licked Sheik's lip for him. Everything was going perfectly.
Sheik began to move against Raven, though not the way the latter wanted.
"What's wrong?" he breathed into Sheik's ear.
"Something's different. Other than the location, I mean."
"Oh."
Raven promptly grabbed Sheik's wrists and slammed them into the stall's wall, somewhat above his head.
"Better?"
"Lovely."
Link was entertaining numerous, exotic ways to kill the janitors. Both bathrooms on the fourth floor were closed. One, apparently, was flooded; they had had to block the bottom of the door to prevent flooding the offices. The other, well, it had to be some horrible joke. It was locked, and he had to piss, badly. That's all he knew for sure.
He was now in the elevator, on the way to the third floor, desperately trying to keep his mind of anything even remotely liquid-like. The man who came in with the water-bottle wasn't helping.
I'm going to die here, Link thought. I never dreamed it would end this way. How pathetic!
Then the door opened. If only the Olympics had been taking place, Link would have taken gold for the 200m sprint. Half the people on the floor didn't even see him go by.
"Curse toilet paper for being so thin!"
"Hm? What's that?" Raven looked up from where he was crouched, about halfway down Sheik's back.
"Well, if it was stronger we could use it as rope."
"Mm." Pulling away from the small of Sheik's back, Raven stood slowly up once more, drawing his hands up Sheik's front and catching some hair in his mouth in the process.
On second thought…Raven redirected his hands downwards and undid the button on Sheik's pants.
"And I dared to think you were joking," murmured the latter, sighing.
"When did I give any indication that this was a joke?"
"Mmmm…"
Sheik jerked and breathed in sharply as Raven began to stroke in short, hard movements. Reaching behind himself he grabbed Raven's head as though holding on for dear life.
Then the bathroom door swung open and slammed into the wall.
In a second it was all over.
Safe, thought Link. And people think they have to go to Niagara to see the falls! Damn.
With a sigh of relief he made his way to the sinks.
And nearly had a heart attack, as he heard;
"The hell was that?" from one of the stalls.
"Oh my God! Raven! What the f—"
But Raven had recovered his composure as swiftly as he had lost it. In an instant he had glided out from the stall as a perfectly cordial gentleman.
"Good morning," said he, with a grin.
Link's mouth was still on the floor.
"What are you doing here?"
"Visiting an old friend."
Until that moment, Sheik had been successfully slinking away. Now he really had no choice but to turn back and make some excuse.
Damn you, Raven!"Hello, Link. Don't you work on the fifth floor?"
"Yeah, well, but, the doors…I mean the bathrooms…both floors…something…."
Why was he here again? Sex, right? No! Bathroom. Coffee. Yeah. Too much sex. No—coffee! Bah!"I have to go!" Biting his lip, Link made his way through the door. Sheik followed before it had even swung shut again.
Well, thought Raven to himself as he drove out of the parking lot, I now know what floor Link works on.
So, in short, it had been a relatively well-to-do morning.
TBC
(1) To the author, it was 'Music' by Madonna.
Well there you go Thana'al. Happy?
