Author's Notes- Oh dear, what a reputation this story has earned! And at first I thought it would get around ten reviews at best… I very much appreciate the fact that you all felt the need to prove me wrong. I am deeply touched by all of your compliments and encouragement to continue. In fact, I think that they may be what actually guilt me in to writing the chapters at a semi-reasonable rate (semi-reasonable for me, anyway). So lazy, I am.
I am also rather amused to note that I have received my first flame for this story! Morons never cease to amuse me. It wasn't even a remarkable flame though, truly… it seems they hit the 'review' button before they were done with their thoughts. Alas, it appears I cannot please everyone. Ra knows, I do my damndest. I do hope that this chapter will satisfy as the others have, and I also hope that you've managed to stay with me through all of my rantings and ravings. (Now when did these quit being witty and clever and turn into long, involved 'thank you's, I wonder…)
Disclaimer- Believe me my dears, if I were the owner of all things Outlaw Star related… well, I certainly wouldn't need to write this story, for one thing.
Warning- Well well well, will we escalate to that yaoi rating in this chapter? Perhaps, and perhaps not… I am still rather wary about what I should and should not post at , so, we shall see. (Fear not, if I suddenly feel an insatiable urge to write something nice and lemony, I shall not abstain; I'll merely post it elsewhere for all of you devoted fans to read.)
Note- Since this chapter begins immediately where the last left off, I decided to cater to the needs of my readers and repeat the last few lines of dialogue here, just to make sure we're all on the same page. Being the kind person that I am, I'll put the recap in italics. My politesse amazes even me.
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"I wouldn't say that you hadn't won a place in my heart."
"Oh? What would you say, then?"
"I… I'd say that you have a very definite spot there."
Gene watched as Fred's dark eyes began to widen in disbelief. He could almost sense the other man's desperate hope, and silently cursed himself for giving his roommate cause to doubt his previous statement.
"Would you…" Fred inhaled deeply. "Would you mind… saying that again? I'm not sure I heard you properly." Gene drew his eyebrows together in concern; he had never seen the dark-haired man so unsure, so confused.
So needy.
The guitarist felt an immediate, overpowering urge to put to rest any uncertainties that Fred may have ever had about him. Sparkling blue eyes never leaving the deep brown ones before him, Gene smiled softly.
"I said," Lifting the other man's hand, Gene lightly placed it on his chest, directly over his heartbeat, his gentle grip making sure that it remained where he wished it to be. "That you have a definite place here." He tapped his index finger over the back of Fred's palm once, making sure he got the point.
The navy-haired college student blinked once, disbelief clouding his eyes as he stared at his hand, pressed tightly against Gene's muscular chest. He could feel the steady pulse of the other man's heart against his palm, and began to slowly flex his fingers, stretching them as far as they would go, attempting to touch all of Gene that he could; trying to convince himself that yes, this was real.
This was real.
Taking a breath, Fred raised his gaze, feeling nervous for the first time since he had met Gene. Dark eyes again met cerulean, and, upon seeing the truth behind those sparkling irises, Fred found himself smiling widely.
"Well." The dark-haired man felt the urge to laugh in delight, but kept the vocalization at bay. "In that case." Digging his fingers into Gene's shirt, Fred narrowed his eyes mischievously, smile turning into a predatory grin. In an abrupt change of moods, he leaned forward, pressing the redhead down onto the mattress, then crawled forward to straddle his hips. "I think you can have all the free concerts you want."
"You're very kind." A gasp escaped Gene's parted lips as Fred lightly ground his hips into the shorter man's, successfully silencing any other clever marks the other student may have had in mind.
"But…" The navy-haired student bent down, his mouth mere millimeters away from being able to claim the other man's. "I think that, perhaps, I deserve some sort of compensation." His eyes sparkled, and Gene could see the laughter behind them. However, he could also see something else, something that, for the first time, did not scare him.
Though it did make him a bit nervous.
The redhead managed a small laugh. "I have no idea what you're talking about…" He could feel Fred's breath against his lips, and surprised himself by admitting that he quite enjoyed the sensation. "Doesn't 'free' imply 'for nothing'?"
The navy-haired man smirked impishly, and Gene felt a definite shiver run through his entire body. "Ah, perhaps I phrased it wrong, then." Fred shifted slightly, making it very difficult for the man beneath him to keep from groaning. "When I said 'free', I merely meant that I would not require you to pay with money." The vocalist chuckled as Gene squirmed in response to another shift of his hips. In truth, he had to make a real effort to hide how very ebullient his mood was, but the responses to his teasing were well worth the strain.
Inhaling deeply, the redhead managed to accumulate enough oxygen to form a complete sentence. "I feel as though I'm being taken advantage of…" Fred's soft laughter caressed his ears, and Gene tilted his head back slightly, withering under the sound as though it were a physical touch.
"Goodness." Eyes never leaving the other man's, Fred slid his free hand to the side, deftly enlacing his fingers with his roommate's. "I'd hate for you to feel disconsolate about the matter…" Slowly, he pushed Gene's arm up so that it rested above his head, though not releasing his hand once he had it in the desired position. "And I doubt seriously that you are being taken advantage of, per se…"
"Oh? And what would you say?" Absently, the blue-eyed college student gave the other man's hand a gentle squeeze, allowing his body to relax completely beneath Fred's slightly longer frame.
Well, perhaps not completely.
His groin didn't seem to get the message.
"Well, if you're so fixed on that idea, I'm not sure I could say anything…" Fred smiled gently, basking in Gene's small displays of affection. It seemed that all of his hard work was finally paying off, and he felt as though he were the epitome of happiness. "But I might try to allay your fears." Not allowing the shorter man enough time to response, the navy-haired vocalist closed that minute distance between their lips, claiming Gene's mouth with his own.
The redhead felt himself instinctively tensing at the contact, but found that it was very simple to relax once again. He hadn't been expecting such a physical reaction to his small confession, but, looking back, he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. Marveling at the fact that he hadn't melted all over the mattress yet, Gene parted his lips as he felt a warm tongue probing against them gently, making a soft request that he couldn't deny.
Once Fred's tongue had entered his mouth, he found that sensible thoughts became few and far between. He was entirely to focused on the way the hot velvet of his roommate's tongue caressed the inside of his cheeks; how his own tongue seemed to decide of its own volition to react with an intimate stroke or two of its own. Gene quite enjoyed the small sound of pleasure that came from Fred's throat as the redhead became a more active participant in the kiss, and wondered vaguely how he could earn another.
Pulling away slowly, Fred closed his mouth around Gene's lower lip, sucking on his prisoner once before releasing it. Clouded eyes opening lazily, the navy-haired young man peered down at his roommate, lips curving in to a gentle grin at the dazed look on the redhead's face.
"You look very alluring like that, Ge-ene." Fred put a slight lilt on the other man's name, teasing in a loving fashion. "Do you think that's very wise, in these circumstances…?" Raising his free hand, the vocalist brushed the tips of his fingers against the soft skin beneath Gene's left eye, then down to trace his jawbone.
The redhead inhaled deeply a few times, his mind still trying to recover from what he had just identified as the best kiss of his life. "I…" He took another breath and tried again. "I doubt anything I do is particularly 'wise'…" As Fred's wandering hand made a detour into his hair, Gene tilted his head to the side, absently leaning into the touch. "And…" He trailed off once more, but this time didn't make as if to continue.
"And…?" The navy-haired young man gently caressed the redhead's scalp, noting the contented purr the action received. Noting how particularly delectable Gene's neck looked when he held his head in that position. Noting how he very much wished to taste that tantalizing throat. Realizing that his answer was going to be anything but immediate, Fred gave in to temptation, leaning down to lick at the skin around his roommate's collarbone.
"And… well…" Gene paused momentarily to let a pleasured sigh pass his lips as Fred's exploring mouth found a particularly sensitive spot in the dip of his neck. "Uhn…. I… don't… know…" His roommate chuckled, and his warm breath brushed over the redhead's now-damp skin, causing him to shiver slightly.
"It seems I rob you of your thoughts." After pressing a gentle kiss just under Gene's jawbone, Fred glanced up to give the other man a look that fell somewhere between loving and devious. The shorter man wouldn't be at all surprised if he found himself on the receiving end of that look countless times in the future. "And I'm not even doing anything… goodness." The navy-haired student shifted his hips again, the not-quite-innocent expression suggesting that the action was anything but accidental.
"Tease."
"Oh? A tease, am I?" Closing his eyes half-way, Fred slid a hand up Gene's shirt, reaching up to trace a nipple with his forefinger. By the time he actually got around to touching the nub itself, it was a hard pebble of pink flesh. The vocalist let out a quick breath of laughter. "Why, that would mean that I'm withholding from you something that you want…" Slowly, he began to roll the nipple between his thumb and finger, absolutely adoring the mewling sounds the action elicited from Gene's throat. "But what could that be?"
He was replied with a rather heartfelt groan.
"Ah, I see." With a smile, Fred bent down over the redhead once more, tongue taking advantage of those soft, parted lips and delving into the warm wet of Gene's mouth. The shorter man gasped around the intrusion, but soon closed his lips over the muscle that seemed so intent upon ravishing every inch of the inside of his mouth.
He seriously considered homicide when a cell-phone rang.
Fred pulled away at the sound, placing a small, apologetic kiss to the corner of Gene's lips before reaching over to answer the irksome interruption. Winking at his roommate, he mouthed 'Just one minute' before holding the phone to his ear. "Hello?"
Gene considered yanking the phone away from the other man and yelling something rather crude into the mouthpiece, but the sudden presence of wandering fingers beneath the waistband of his pants set that notion packing.
"Oh. I see. I'll be there in a few minutes, then." He didn't, however, like the sound of that. "Don't worry, it's not a problem…" Gene spotted the wince at that comment, and couldn't help but feeling relieved that it was a definite lie. He didn't like the thought that he was as unimportant to make that statement true.
"Yes. All right. Good bye." Pressing a button to end the call, Fred sighed slightly. A corner of his mouth raised in a sheepish half-grin, he raised a hand to pet Gene's hair. "That was the director of the musical theater troupe… there was a problem with their volunteer for today…"
"Let me guess." The redhead found it hard to be too vexed with his roommate's fingers caressing his scalp like that. "They need you to come down right away." He closed his eyes, sighing quietly as the other man's free hand joined the first, doubling the comforting pleasure of the light massage.
"I'm sorry." Leaning over, Fred brushed his lips over the other man's eyelid. "Truly, I am." He repeated the action on Gene's neglected eyelid. "But it seems I'm the only one they can call at the moment." Dipping his head lower, he caught the redhead's lower lip in his mouth, and proceeded to suck on it gently for a short while.
Sitting up once more, the vocalist tilted his head to the side, smiling. "I'll be back soon." Placing a finger his roommate's lips, he raised his eyebrows minutely. "Don't forget about me." He rocked his lower body pointedly, wanting to make doubly sure that Gene knew exactly what he meant.
"Fat chance of that."
Fred laughed softly. "Very good." Slowly, he stood, exhaling through his teeth at the hardness between his legs. "I'll make sure that I'm not too long." He grinned, unable to resist. "Long gone, that is." His mirth only grew at the sudden reddish tint that appeared in Gene's cheeks.
Sliding off the edge of the bed, the vocalist slid his feet into his shoes, scooping up that accursed cell phone and slipping it in to a pocket. "Worry not, fair youth, for I shall return." He caught the pillow that had been aimed at his chest. "Oo, so violent."
"The sooner you go, the sooner you get back." Gene gave the other man a mild glare from beneath the arm he had thrown over his eyes. "So go already."
"So eager, too!" Turning, the navy-haired student made sure to sway his hips slightly more than necessary as he walked away. "I do believe I'm getting through to you, Gene…" He chuckled as he dodged the next pillow, throwing a jaunty wave over his shoulder before closing the door behind him.
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Shoving the last over-sized prop (which happened to be a palm tree, an item whose importance Fred never did quite discern) onto its brightly colored x, Fred exhaled in relief, plopping down gracelessly on the hard black surface of the stage. The sound of footsteps indicated that someone was approaching, more than likely the director to thank him for his help. Ann, as the woman insisted on being called, was never one to let help go unappreciated.
"Oh, Fred, you're a lifesaver." Yes, sometimes the vocalist impressed even himself with his preternatural cognizance of reality. "No one else had the time to come down, after my volunteer bailed at the last minute…" The middle-aged woman shook her head slightly, rubbing her forehead as she moved to stand beside the brightly colored palm tree. When she paused to make a few marks on the clipboard she carried, Fred gazed up at the ridiculously green fronds, resting back on his hands as he pondered the existence of such a large piece of foliage in the scenery.
"It was no problem, really." It was a lie, yes, but what was he supposed to say? The navy-haired student could barely suppress a grin at the possible responses that came to mind. He was quite sure they were nowhere along the lines of what the stressed director wanted to hear. "Glad I could help." Ann laughed, resting her clipboard against her hip.
"You're a good kid. If you ever need any recommendations, you be sure to come to me first." Stepping forward, she ruffled the vocalist's hair before making her exit. "Thank you again, you have no idea how much you've helped."
Fred shook his head at her retreating back. "I might begin to get an inkling if you'd quit doing that to my head!" The woman only laughed again. Frowning slightly, the young man reached up to straighten his mussed locks, almost absently smoothing the navy strands. Hearing the far away slam of the auditorium door, he sighed quietly, knowing that it was more than worth it to get up, but unable to find the energy to do so.
With a roll of his neck, he rocked his weight forward, preparing to stand. However, upon hearing another, somewhat closer door slam, he smiled slightly. "So impatient that you couldn't wait another…" He cut himself off upon seeing the intruder. Or, rather, intruders. That fact in itself threw off his original suspicions at the identity of any interloper.
There were three, rather rough looking students striding up the aisles of the auditorium, doing their best to look suitably threatening. Fred kept an eye on the lot of them, expression mildly questioning. The largest, a man with close-cropped blonde hair clad in a pair of low-fitting jeans and a crass t-shirt was apparently the leader of the little gang. Fred had a vague remembrance of the man's face, and, if his retrospection served him, the blonde was not exactly known to be the friendly sort. The scowl on his face did nothing to disprove the validity of his hazy memory.
Oh dear.
Tilting his head to one side, the vocalist looked at the other two in turn. Separate, they were nothing impressive, perhaps a bit more muscular than usual, with styles of dress and hair similar to that of their 'leader', something that further promoted the idea of his authority. Mundane as the students may have appeared separately, the three together created a force that would certainly demand a definite amount of attention.
Noticing the rather cliché way the leader was cracking his knuckles every now and again, Fred had a rather uneasy feeling as to what sort of attention, exactly, the small group would demand.
"Can I help you, gentlemen?" Narrowing his eyes slightly, the navy-haired student tried to place a name with the face he knew. The man occasionally took part in theater productions, his name would have been available for learning on more than one occasion… Kyle, maybe? Or Kevin? "The play isn't until tomorrow night, I'm afraid you're a bit early to reserve seats."
"Don't be smart, Luo." The combination of the man's gruff voice and the use of Fred's last name suddenly managed to ring a bell.
"Kenneth, was it?" Crossing his legs in front of him, the vocalist leaned forward slightly, trying to make his expression as amicable as possible. "What can I do for you?" The students had now ascended the steps to the stage, and were currently in the process of staggering themselves around Fred in a vaguely circular pattern. Why does this seem familiar…The student frowned slightly, not liking the way this little encounter was going.
"You can get your faggot ass out of here, for one thing." Ah, so he was one of those. "You're not even in this production, what the hell are you doing here?" Unimpressed with the man's lack of vocabulary, Fred just barely managed to avoid an eye roll before responding.
"I was responding to a distress call, as it were." Nonchalantly, he stood, finding the prospect of being in a vulnerable sitting position around these three not at all appealing. "Today's volunteer couldn't make it, so Ann called me to help with the scenery." Raising his eyebrows slightly, he decided to be, as this blonde brute called it, 'smart'. "Surely you cannot consider me at fault for THAT."
"Matter of fact, I can." Kenneth crossed his arms over his chest, making the attempt to look impressive, even though now Fred stood a good two inches taller than he did. "I was the volunteer for today, and I was just a little late."
"That wasn't the impression I received." The navy-haired student shrugged. "Either way, the job got done. No need to thank me. I'm sure you can help out another time." Figuring his job in the area to be complete, Fred turned to leave.
"Not the point, asshole." A rough hand gripped his shoulder, proving that escaping this rather unpleasant situation was going to prove more difficult than he had thought. "You took my fucking job, like you always do around here." He could hear the scowl in the other man's voice. "Always hoggin' the damned spotlight, aren't you?"
Fred couldn't help an eye-roll at that comment. "I can't help that I'm a better performer than you are, give me a break." Coming to the conclusion that the blonde wouldn't appreciate (and more than likely wouldn't comprehend) his elevated diction, the vocalist chose to be crude. "Piss off and leave me alone."
"No, I don't think so." Tugging, Kenneth nearly sent Fred's slighter frame off-balance. "I'm really sick of your attitude, you fucking homo, and I'm sick of everyone treating you like the next big thing." The blonde tightened his grip, and Fred had to make a real effort to keep from grimacing in pain.
"Well then, you'll really have a problem when they turn out to be right, won't you?" Stiffening his body in preparation for the blow he knew was coming, the vocalist inhaled deeply. "Now, get your hand off of me, or I swear I will forcibly remove your ability to create offspring."
"Big words, Luo." Unsurprisingly, Kenneth did not move his hand. "I'd like to see what a pansy-ass like you could do to back up that threat."
"Oh?" Had the blonde been able to see the other student's face, perhaps he would have felt a little wary. The smile spreading on Fred's lips was anything but affable, and the sheer threatening coldness behind it would have made quite a few people more nervous than they'd care to admit. "Well then, I'd hate to disappoint." Raising his knee, the navy-haired young man made an educated guess, and then kicked out backwards with as much strength as he could muster.
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Author's Notes- Dearie dearie me, I do apologize at the rather delayed completion of this chapter. School really is quite the bitch. I will make a real effort to update again in a more timely fashion, since I have a good portion of the next chapter planned out already. (Ha, like that gives me the time or motivation to write it…) Oh well. Such is life, I'm afraid. I am grateful for your patience, in any event, and do hope that the rather sporadic schedule of this story has not frightened you away.
Alas, there is no song to comment on this chapter. If any of you actually miss my eclectic taste in the music department, do make it known to me, and I'll do my damndest to make sure a song gets into the next installment.