Rating: Same as Chapter Zero
Characters/Pairings: Dee, Ryo
Warnings: Homosexuality, Murder, Hoodoo use
Disclaimer: Same as Chapter Zero
Spoilers: All the way through book 7
Notes: The second chapter! This chapter originally had a lemon in it, which I have posted over on my livejournal and AFF.N
Jackson Square (formerly Place des Armes) is a city-block sized open park, at the old center of the city. After the Battle of New Orleans it was named after victorious general Andrew Jackson; an equestrian statue of Jackson is in the center of the park.
The square originally overlooked the Mississippi River across Decatur Street, but the view was blocked in the 19th century by the building of larger levees. The riverfront was long given to shipping, but the administration of Mayor Moon Landrieu put in a scenic boardwalk along the river across from the Square; it is known as the "Moon Walk" in his honor.
On the opposite side of the square are three 18th century historic buildings which were the city's heart in the colonial era. The center of the three is Saint Louis Cathedral. The Cathedral is designated as a minor Basilica by Pope John Paul II. To its left is the Cabildo, the old city hall, now a museum, where the finalization of the Louisiana Purchase was signed. To the Cathedral's right is the Presbytere, built to match the Cabildo. The Presbytere originally housed the city's Roman Catholic priests and authorities, it was then turned into a courthouse at the start of the 19th century, and in the 20th century became a museum.
On the other two sides of the square are the Pontalba Buildings, matching red-brick block long 4 story buildings built in the 1840s. The ground floors house shops and restaurants; the upper floors are apartments that are the oldest continuously rented such apartments in North America.
Directly across from Jackson Square is the Jax Brewery building, the original home of a favorite local beer. After the company ceased to operate independently, the building was converted into several businesses, including restaurants and specialty shops. In recent years, some retail space has been converted into luxury condominiums.
From the 1920s through the 1980s the square was famous as a gathering place of painters of widely varying talents, including proficient professionals, talented young art students, hacks, and dreadful caricaturists. In the 1990s the artists were largely driven away by tarot card readers, mimes, and fortune tellers.
Live music is a regular feature of the square. Occasional formal concerts are held here, but for a century or more musicians playing for tips have set up in the square, the subject of unending controversy with nearby residents.
Diagonally across the
square from the Cabildo is Café du Monde, open 24 hours a day, well
known for the café au lait with chicory and beignets served there
continuously since the 19th century.
---from Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia
Ryo sighed as he leaned on the balcony railing of the hotel room he and Dee had gotten. To his left sat St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square. Huge floodlights cast their beams on the white marble sides of the Catholic church, drawing the eye to it. The black iron fences around Jackson Square were locked tight for the night, but the statue of Andrew Jackson on his horse could be seen over the trees. Beyond the French Quarter, his dark eyes could barely make out the Mississippi, slowly winding its way alongside the Crescent City. Down the street to his right, Royal Street and beyond it Burbon Street were brightly lit and busy. The mixing of rock and cajun music along with laughs and jeers from the streets' patrons made a heady brew, making Ryo's blood spin.
The half-Japanese detective looked down at the ornate, Spanish-style iron, his fingertips caressing the cool metal as his dark eyes unfocused, drifting back to the New Orleans' precinct he and Dee had visited earlier that day.
The precinct was old, and had that well-worn, frayed at the edges type of dirt that was ground into the floor tiles and soaked into the walls; the kind that only years of polishing or a complete renovation could get out. It was crowded, too, the benches and walls full of people waiting to talk to an officer. However, both the detectives were smart enough to head back to the hotel and get their badges before going to the precinct, and the shiny gold shields had given them immediate assistance.
The detectives they spoke to about the case were quite hush-hush about the entire thing, but Ryo hadn't liked the way their eyes lit up when he produced the bloodied tarot card. They had taken their fingerprints to eliminate the contamination that had occurred when they picked up the card, taken their hotel information and given them a small business card in case they remembered anything else.
Ryo sighed. His gut told him that there was more to this than they were letting on, but his head told him to drop it. He was on vacation. He was supposed to relax.
Two strong arms encircled his waist, pulling him back against a warm body. Ryo smiled and turned his head up into the kiss Dee placed against the shell of his ear. "Hey, wanna go on over to Burbon Street? I hear they've got some gay bars over there."
Ryo rolled his eyes. "Just what I need," he teased, turning his head to look at his lover. "Some sweet thang with a southern accent stealing you away and leaving me all alone."
"You'd have the music to go along with the mood," Dee teased back, and Ryo nudged him with his elbow. "Aw, Ryo, you know I'd never leave you."
Ryo crossed his arms and sulked in Dee's embrace, squirming away from the soft kisses Dee began pressing against his neck.
The two lovers backed into their hotel room, swaying slowly in time with the jazz music floating in through the window from one of the bars along St. Anne's Street, the street their hotel, the Place d'Armes, was located on. The slow seduction of the dancing and music, along with Dee's drugging kisses along his neck and face, made Ryo's angry facade fade as the half-Japanese blonde leaned into the loving caresses. Dee's fingers slowly drifted down his torso, thumbs hooking into his belt loops before spinning Ryo around to look him in the eyes.
Ryo's hands slid up to tangle in Dee's dark hair, the taller man leaning down to give the blonde a proper kiss, the first of the night. They continued dancing to the slow beat of the jazz music, their mouths gently caressing one another. Dee pulled Ryo's shirt out of his pants, ghosting his fingers over the sensitive skin just above the waistband of Ryo's pants, making the blonde moan moan into their kiss and lean against his lover. His hands slid down underneath the collar of Dee's shirt, tickling the short hairs on the back of his neck, grinning inwardly when Dee moaned as well.
The two slowly undressed one another, clothes dropping to the ground as they slowly rotated, clinging to one another as their tongues slid over and around one another. Once they were divested of their clothing, the two of them fell onto the bed, hands sliding over humidity-wet skin. Dee bit down gently on Ryo's pulse point, licking and sucking the delicate skin as he ground their hips together, slick intimate flesh sliding against one another. Ryo groaned, tugging at Dee's hair.
"Dee... please... want you...!"
Dee smirked as he nipped at Ryo's ear before smiling down at his lover. "You are so easy."
"Just shut up and do me..." Ryo replied, reaching for the lube.
Dee reached over as well, their fingers getting in one another's way as they reached for the bottle. Dee's finger found it first, and he sat back, grinning down at Ryo before leaning up and kissing his lover deeply. Although the two of them had been lovers for a years, and although Ryo had considerably loosened up when it came to their bedroom activities, there were still traces of that shy, inexperienced lover that he first have known.
The two of them made love with the windows wide open, sultry jazz floating into the room and covering them like a blanket. Afterwards, the two lovers snuggled against one another as their pulses slowed to less-than-critical levels, sharing lazy kisses and gentle caresses. The two shivered when a cool breeze blew through the open window, and Ryo reached down to pull the covers up over both of them.
Down below, across St. Anne's, a black-clad figure wearing a fedora smiled. Dark eyes cut up towards the open window, where sexual and love energy poured down onto the paved street like a waterfall.
"Too bad... It's tainted," the figure lamented, tugging the hat down over dark eyes.
A hooker dressed in a mini skirt and fishnet stockings crossed the street, heading towards Burbon. The smile curved upwards a little more.
"Ah, well... I can get it from other places..."