Chapter Six: A Little Night Music

Disclaimer "Sooner or Later(I Always Get My Man)" belongs to Sondheim. I highly doubt he'll ever find this comm, though.

Dominic checked the mic one more time before heading back behind the bar. Layla was sitting on an empty wine barrel, hands twisting and turning in her lap. "Relax, Milady. You'll knock them dead. So to speak. Have you seen the dress Maven sent over?"

Layla nodded, looking over at the blood-red dress that hung on the back of the door. It was sleeveless and backless, with a slit that went right up to the pancreas. "It's a bit...well, it's not really what I'm used to wearing," she said, indicating her blouse and pants. "I think the last time I wore a dress I had just been christened. Still, it's very beautiful. I just...I dunno, it's kind of showy."

Dominic laughed. "That's the idea, love. I need you to be able to draw my customers in with more than just that angelic voice of yours. You're a remarkably beautiful young woman, Layla Green, and it's time you showed that off."

Layla sighed and stood, retrieving the dress. "I suppose. Now, if you don't mind..." she pointed to the door, and Dominic bowed, exiting. Layla stared at the dress for several heartbeats then began to get dressed.

Dominic took his place behind the bar and watched as the Pixel Palace began to fill up. He could see Linkara and his boyfriend(s), Nostalgia Chick, and, much to his surprise, he also saw Harvey hovering in a darkened booth. Dominic raised his hand to the ghost in salute, and Harvey nodded back, then materialized on the bar stool in front of him. "Evening, Mr. Finevoice. What brings you here?"

"Heard you hired a singer, so I decided to come check her out. She any good?"

Dominic smiled enigmatically. "You'll have to find out same as everyone else. Have you seen that cousin of mine?"

"He had a call in Comiconra, said he might not make it tonight." Nostalgia Chick had bellied her way up to the bar. She gave a sidelong glance at Harvey, eyes narrowing, and Dominic cleared his throat.

"Please observe Neutrality, Miss Chick. What can I get you?"

"Rum and information."

Dominic poured her a glass of rum. "And the information?"

Chick pointed to a man sitting in a back booth. He seemed to blend in with the shadows. "Who's that?"

Dominic sighed. "It calls itself Todd. It's a Shadow." Chick looked blank. "Some of the more powerful Mages don't use animals for familiars, they use their own shadows. The Shadow can go wherever it pleases, even places most mortals couldn't enter."

"So not a real guy."

Dominic shook his head. "Shadows have no concept of sex, so don't try flirting with it." Chick nodded, then grabbed the rum bottle and headed back to her table. Harvey frowned.

"Poor gal. She's cute, she deserves someone." He turned back to the bar, sighing in longing. "Damn, what I wouldn't give to have just one drop of rye."

Dominic smiled at him in sympathy, then looked around at the sound of the door opening. "Douglas! You made it!"

Critic threaded his way through the tight throng, pausing to say a quick hello to everyone he knew. He stopped at Linkara's table and held a long conversation with him, then made his way to the bar. "Scotch. Now." Dominic poured him a shot, and he knocked it back. He looked worn out. "So I'm in this old warehouse that has been rumored to be the hangout of Necros. I go in, and instead of Necros I'm confronted with a teenager. The kid's pressed against the wall, whimpering and crying.."

Critic pocketed his gun, cursing. There weren't any Ghouls here, so why was he being called out to handle what looked like just another runaway? He stepped closer to the kid, and that was when the boy lashed out at him, eyes wild and wide with terror. "Make it stop dude make it stop they keep whispering to me they tell me things I can't shut it out there's a war coming Life and Death are two sides of the same coin oh my god my head hurts so much!" Critic blinked as the kid swayed, then fell to his knees. "It...hurts..so...much..."

Critic took a breath, then knelt beside him, gently touching his shoulder. "Hey, close your eyes." The kid looked at him like he had two heads. "Trust me. Close them." The kid obeyed, and Critic placed his hand over the lids, muttering a quiet spell. "OK, that should help temporarily. What's your name?"

"I...I don't know. I don't remember anything about myself." He shrugged. "Umm, I love the 90s."

"OK, I'll call you 90s Kid. Do you know what's happening?"

90s Kid shook his head. "No, I just know that every now and then I'll get these weird visions, and it's all I'm able to see. Am I..I'm not sick, am I?!"

Critic smiled. "No, you're a Precog. You can see the future...sort of." 90s Kid frowned at him in confusion. "Well, the future isn't set in stone. So, what are you doing in this warehouse?"

"I don't know. The visions sometimes make me black out, and I'll wake up in weird places."

Critic sighed. The Kid looked like he had lived a rough life. "Listen, I...I might know someone that can help you."

90s Kid's eyes lit up. "Really? Who?"

"An alchemist that calls themselves Insano and Spoony. They..he...anyway, if you want to, you can come back to Awesomia with me."

Harvey grinned. "That was so noble of you, Disciple. And here I thought you were a heartless bastard."

Critic glared at him. "Fuck you too, Ectoplasm." The bar plunged into darkness.

"Harvey, enough! Turn the lights back on! And Douglas, please conduct yourself with a little more decorum." Dominic scolded both of them. The lights came back on, revealing that Harvey had gone to talk to Linkara. "So where's the kid you rescued?"

"Nella's keeping an eye on him."

Dominic 'hmmed'. "Glad you could make it. Layla makes her debut tonight, and I have the feeling you'd hate to miss it. Go find a good seat, she's coming on soon."

Critic found a table right by the stage. Dominic stepped up to the mic. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have a special treat for you tonight. Making her singing debut here at the Pixel Palace, the lovely Miss Layla Green!"

There was polite applause, then the curtain opened and Layla stepped onto the stage. A dead silence fell, and Critic thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head. Layla was in a dress that clung to her in all the right ways, showing off curves he hadn't even known she had. She walked up to the mic, and he whimpered softly at her long legs. "Thank you, Dominic. And thank you all for that applause. I hope I can live up to it." She glanced around the room and spotted Critic staring transfixed at her. A wicked thought entered her mind. "Ladies and gentlemen, I was going to sing a few older songs, but that's changed." She took the mic off the stand and began singing, her voice as seductive as she could make it.

"Sooner or later you're gonna be mine."

Layla sauntered off the stage, eyes fixed on Critic. When she got close to him, she leaned down, grabbing the end of his tie. "Sooner or later you're gonna be fine! Baby it's time that you face it..." She slid into his lap, hooking her bare legs around his waist. "I always get my...man." Critic gulped, and Layla pushed his hat down over his eyes, sliding off his lap.

Critic pushed his hat back, breathing harshly as Layla swiveled her hips in front of his face. "Sooner or later you're gonna decide. Sooner or later, there's nowhere to hide!" She sat on his lap again, this time facing the stage, and grabbed his hand, running it up her bare leg. "Baby, it's time, so why waste it in chatter? Let's settle the matter. Baby, you're mine on a platter. I always get my...man."

Layla swiveled around so she was facing him, and grabbed his tie, pulling him closer with each word. "But if you insist, babe, the challenge delights me! The more you resist ,babe, the more it excites me! And no one I've kissed, babe, ever fights me again..." Critic leaned in for a kiss, and Layla pressed his hat over his face. He tossed it on the table, glaring at her. "If you're on my list, it's just a question of when...when I get a yen...then baby amen...I'm counting to ten! And then.." She positioned herself so she was siting astride him, and ran her free hand up his chest. "I'm gonna love you like nothing you've known! I'm gonna love you and you all alone! Sooner is better than later, but lover! I'll hover, I'll plan!"

Layla slid off Critic's lap, and stood, smiling seductively at him. "This time I'm not only getting...I'm holding...my...maaannnn!"

There was silence for half a second, then the entire bar erupted in applause. Layla bowed, grinning in pride. Dominic looked over at her and gave her a thumbs up, then looked over at Harvey. The ghost had a giant grin on his face, and he gave Dominic two thumbs up. Linkara and Spoony were cheering loudly, Spoony going back and forth between himself and Insano so fast it was making Dominic dizzy.

He looked over at Douglas, trying not to grin at the look of unbridled longing he saw on his cousin's face as he stared at Layla. She went backstage to change, and after a minute of fretting, Critic went after her. Dominic almost followed, but decided against it. Douglas was many things, but a rapist was not one of them.

Layla had just slipped her shirt back on when she heard Critic's voice behind her. "You looked gorgeous out there."

"Thank you," she said, turning around to face him. "I hope I didn't...embarrass you with my choice of song."

"No, don't worry. I'm really hard..." Layla's brow rose, and he hastily amended his sentence. "To embarrass! I'm really hard to embarrass!"

Layla bit back a smile and walked over to him. "Something tells me you're the other thing, too." She glanced down, grinning at the tent she could see in his pants. "I could take care of that, if you want."

"Whuh..."

Layla snickered. "Of course, you'd have to be very quiet..." She slid to her knees in front of him, running her hand over his belt, then pulled it out of the loops one by one.

"Layla...please...we...can't..."

Layla smirked up at him. "We can, and I know you want this as badly as I do. Now just hush." She unzipped him and pulled out his cock, whistling softly at the length and girth. "Oh my..." She licked the tip, sighing, and Critic's legs nearly buckled. Layla licked up to his balls, running her tongue along the underside of his cock, and he stuffed his fist in his mouth to keep from moaning loud enough to wake the dead.

Layla deep throated him, and Critic's eyes rolled into the back of his head in ecstasy as she did things with her lips, tongue and teeth he had never thought possible. Gods, this was heaven, being buried in her hot, tight mouth..He could barely keep upright, and fell back against the door, groaning. "Faster..." Layla obeyed, and he let out a muffled curse, burying his free hand in her hair, guiding her. "Layla...I'm coming..."

Critic's body spasmed as he came in her mouth, and Layla moaned in happiness and swallowed, then pulled away with a wet popping sound. "Feel better, Critic?"

"A bit, and I think you've earned the right to call me Doug."

Layla grinned up at him. "Only a bit, Doug? What can I do to make you feel all better?"

Critic yanked her to her feet and pulled her into a bruising kiss, not minding that he could still taste himself on her. Layla kissed back, and he spun around and pressed her against the wall, squeezing her thigh hard. "I want you...fuck Layla I want you so fucking badly..."

"Doug, why do you think I sang that song? I was hoping this would be your reaction. But I'd prefer we not fuck in the back room of your cousin's bar, because I intend to get...wild."

Critic kissed her. "Layla, I don't want this to be just a fuck. I want you. Wild, soft, slow, hard, however you want, I'm yours. I've had enough of shallow relationships. I want to be your man, if you'll have me. If you'll...love me."

Layla nodded, and Critic beamed. "Grab hold of me and shut your eyes." She obeyed and he recited a Teleportation Spell. "Open your eyes, baby."

Layla looked around the room, then realized she was lying in a bed. And that she was naked. "Are we in your bedroom?"

"Yep. Figured I'd save us a walk."

"Hmm. And my clothes?"

Critic kissed the hollow of her throat, then made his way down to her right breast, flicking the nipple with his tongue. "Figured I'd save a step. Don't worry, all I did was magic them away. I prefer my lover be...responsive." He slid his hand down between her legs, lightly stroking her cunt. Layla whimpered, and Critic smirked. "Like that." He fondled her, sucking on her breasts, and Layla cried out. "Gods baby you're so wet...I need you so badly..."

"Doug...need you..." Layla's throaty purr sent him teetering over the edge. Critic had planned to make this a night she would never forget-he had thought at first their love making would start out slow and sensuous, then build. But gods, his cock was aching with the need to be inside her.

"Fuck it." He yanked her into a hard kiss, at the same time slamming his cock into her tight cunt as hard as he could. Layla screamed in elation, and Critic braced himself against the headboard and proceeded to fuck her into the mattress. Layla matched him thrust for thrust, raking her nails down his back, leaving bloody scratch marks. She bit and sucked at his neck, and he raked his teeth across her shoulder.

By the time it was over, Critic had come five times. Layla had lost count of her orgasms. She rested her head on his chest, and he ran his hand up and down her spine. "Wow..."

"Yeah. I love you, Layla. And I swear to do all I can to keep you safe."

"I love you too, Doug."

Fate looked over at Death, biting her lip in anticipation and worry. They had just watched the whole thing(well, Death had watched, Fate had pointedly stared at the wall until it was over) and now she was waiting for ...well, she wasn't sure what. "Thanatos?"

"Well...I must say, this is unexpected. Still, he looks happy."

Fate blinked. "You're not going to punish him?"

"No, why would I? You yourself said their threads are linked."

"And when she performs the Resurrection Spell?"

Death sighed. "I'll worry about that when it comes. You said there's another few months, right? Then for now, let Doug Walker have a little happiness."