I had the urge to connect some dots so you get this xDDD Now, I didn't have a beta for this so I'm sorry for any mistakes and...yeah.
Oh! And thanks to my deliciously awesome friend and fellow Goddess worshiper, Cynical B. Itch for helping me upload lately!
Token sat at his desk, tapping away at his laptop, distracted from the rest of the world. Frowning slightly, he finished the check over the payrolls, and sent it to his secretary, who would make sure everyone was paid.
Sighing, he leaned back in his chair, relaxing. The life of a young CEO, while not unexciting, did have its lazy moments, and this was one of them. He had a meeting in an hour with a potential new client, but until then he had nothing to do. After a few minutes of silent contemplation, his laptop flashed black, and switched to the screensaver.
Token watched as pictures of him and Clyde together faded in and out, and he smiled a bit. He'd be home in a few hours and then he could relax fully and cuddle Clyde like the teddy bear he was and loved to hold. Though he'd never admit it out loud, of course, manly pride and all that.
He wondered if he should stop by home. He did have an hour, plenty of time to make the drive...but that would mean leaving the office, and then what if something came up? Sighing, he moved the mouse, making the screen pop back up to his email, and began to check over the list for tomorrow. He had a couple of forms to fill out that he had been planning to do tomorrow, but today was as good a time as any and it would while away some time.
He had pulled the forms from their folder on his desk and started to put a pen to them, when his phone rang.
Scowling in puzzlement, he pulled it out. It was his private line. He had two phones, one for work and one for his private life, and while a number of clients and businesses had his work number, there were only a few select people that had his private number. It was the one phone he never let go unanswered, because those few people were important to him. His mother, his father, and most importantly, Clyde. He peered at the screen and his scowl deepened.
The number was blocked.
The hell? Flipping it open, he put it by his ear. "Hello?"
"Well, well, well, hello. You don't sound too happy; anything wrong, sweetheart?" The deep voice, obviously male and unfamiliar, made Token narrow his eyes.
"How did you get this number?" He asked bluntly.
"That's not very important right now...or maybe it is. What do you think?"
"Stop playing Cheshire Cat and tell me what you want or I'm hanging up." Token said coldly. He had no time for games and prank calls.
"Sheesh, so touchy...but alright." There was a chuckle. "I'm calling about your little sweetheart, Clyde. I'm worried for him. I did get your number from his phone, so..."
Token felt a chill settle in him. No way. He had a couple of people that didn't like him, but nothing to warrant something like this. And...and didn't this only happen in movies? He felt a yawning pit of terror at the mention of Clyde's name. Was he alright? They didn't do anything to him, did they?
The laptop screen switched to pictures of him and Clyde again and he shut it, feeling an uncontrollable rage rise in him. His voice was pure ice. "How do you know Clyde?"
"Is that really important right now?"
A snarl came to his words. "If you've touched him, you're dead." This guy didn't know how serious he was. Token had an arsenal of people at his beck and call, and if Clyde was hurt or even scared, this guy wouldn't have enough pieces left of him to stitch back together for his funeral.
The voice laughed, and lost some of its deepness, becoming much lighter and somewhat impish. "Dude, chill, the guy's fine. It's me, Kenny. Kenny McCormick."
Token was taken aback, voice suspicious. "Kenny?"
"Yeah man, come on, ya didn't forget me already did ya? Kid in the orange jacket, died a lot, obsessed with titties? It's me!"
"And if I don't believe you?"
"Do I have to bring up a certain incident when we were nine and made up a talent agency? I seem to remember a little black waiter at a wedding..."
"Fuck." Token sighed, dragging a hand down his face. It'd been years since he'd talked to the guy. "Goddammit, Kenny, what the fuck was that?"
There was a chuckle. "Didn't think you'd take it so seriously. You need to lighten up, man."
"There are three people in the world who have this number and Clyde is one of them. Forgive me if some random guy suddenly calls me up on my private line and mentions my lover, who I told to never give this phone number out, unless he was dying." Came the sarcastic response. "What am I supposed to think?"
"Oh...whoops."
"Yeah, whoops. There are couple dozen hitmen that could have tracked you down in about five minutes, you jackass." Token sighed. "Dammit, now I have to get a new phone..."
"I won't tell anyone, I swear." Kenny laughed. "I got a new record going, and I got too much going on for me to suddenly mess it all up by dying."
Another sigh, and Token leaned back in his seat. "What do you want?"
"Well, I wasn't lying, kinda. I met Clyde today in the park, and got this number from him, but he didn't mean to give it to me, really. I kinda peeked at his phone a bit. But anyway! We got to talking, and he told me some veeery interesting things..."
The dark-skinned man raised a brow. "Really?"
"Mhm. Let me just say this: you, sir, are a man in one hell of a mess."
"What?" Token was surprised. This was a strange turn for a conversation with a guy he hadn't seen in forever. "What do you mean?"
"Did you know Clyde's unhappy at home? Positively miserable."
The other was stunned. What? Unhappy? Miserable? How did he know? Why? And why the hell didn't Token know about this? Kenny took the silence as a gesture to continue.
"Well, maybe not completely and utterly miserable, but he's got some complaints."
Complaints? What? With him? But...but everything seemed to be going so well! Kenny couldn't be telling the truth. He told Kenny this, and the blond had the audacity to laugh.
"You poor, blind idiot. Every day when you go to work, Clyde is left alone with the mess that you make, and he cleans up after you faithfully. He's getting a bit tired of that. Apparently you really know how to trash a room. Now, I don't really think Clyde's changed too much, 'cause he wasn't much of a liar or an exaggerator when we were younger, and it looked like he was telling the truth. He looked really depressed, too." Kenny paused. "Now, what're you gonna do about that?"
Token could barely speak. "Are...are you serious?"
"Like a fat boy with cake."
"Well...fuck." Token ran a hand over his head, stunned beyond belief. The Kenny he knew wasn't much of a liar either, and if this was the truth, then...damn. "Why...why hasn't he said anything?"
"He said he thinks you'll think he was whiny or something. Mentioned something about you being mad, too."
Ooh. That sounded like something Clyde would say, too. The black man winced, and sighed. "I could hire a maid..." he offered.
If Kenny could have slapped him over the phone, Token was certain he would have.
"HAVE YOU NO SENSE, YOU GODDAMN IDIOT? WHERE THE FUCK IS YOUR ROMANTICISM?" There was a crash in the background and random cursing, and Token held the phone away from his ear, a little surprised. Well, okay, he hadn't been expecting that. Kenny came back on, a heaved a very long, deep sigh that came over as static. "The point is not that the mess is there, but that you won't do anything about it. I don't think Clyde would mind picking up after you so much if you just gave him a hand with it. And stopped leaving boxers in bookshelves. Just...pick up a little, wash your plate after eating, and do some laundry once in a while. Don't shove it all on him. Help him out."
Token gave a sigh, and nodded, though he knew Kenny couldn't see him. "Alright. I will. I don't want Clyde to be unhappy at home." God no, he didn't. What the hell was he of use for if he couldn't keep his only love happy? Money? Hell, anyone could give Clyde that. He wanted to be everything and anything Clyde wanted him to be; he loved him. He'd have to find Kenny later and thank him for this conversation and possible save of his relationship, but he had to get back to work now, and he began to say his goodbyes.
"I'm not done yet."
Token froze. There was more? Crap, was he doing everything wrong in this relationship? Why had Clyde even stuck around for so long if he was this discontent with him? "What?"
Kenny cleared his throat. "You sure this line is private? Things are about to get a little...sensitive on topics."
"...yeah, we're fine." Token was getting a little suspicious now. What could Kenny be talking about?
"Is it true you never initiate sex between the two of you?"
Token nearly choked. "What?"
"Yeah...Clyde doesn't like that either. Maybe you should fix that."
"He...he told you this?" Token had a little trouble picturing Clyde discussing their sex life, and wasn't very comfortable with the idea of people knowing about this sort of thing.
"Took a bit of wheedling, but yes. Now, I don't even need to explain what's wrong with that. You have any idea how that makes him feel?"
Token actually began to blush. This was getting into something, an issue he didn't really want to discuss. He knew exactly why he never initiated sex. "...I didn't really think it was a problem."
There was a silence. "...you have some major problems in your head, don't you? You ever thought about seeing a shrink?"
He sighed. "I...oh God..."
"...why do I have the feeling it's not just a 'I -didn't-think-about-it' problem? You...do want to do him, right? Why don't you?"
"I'm not entirely comfortable discussing this with you."
"I'm hurt, Token. Wounded. Clyde managed to grow balls enough to tell me, and you can't? Disappointment, man, disappointment. You put black men to shame. Maybe you should have been born Asian."
"Thanks." Token responded dryly.
"Come on, what could be so bad about just taking the lead for once and just 'dragging him to bed or the couch or the kitchen table', as he so tactfully put it?"
"...he said that?"
"Mhm. He's not picky, apparently. So come on, spill."
Token debated this for a moment. This was an issue he had struggled with all through the four years he had been away from Clyde during college, and he remembered the worry, the fear he felt at one day them just growing apart and breaking up because his boyfriend was thinking about this little issue too. But no, Clyde had never expressed anything except longing and happiness at talking to him. When he'd come back, and Clyde had started to be the one who began all sexual activities, he put the fear out of his mind and convinced himself that he wouldn't have to do anything about it.
Oh, how wrong he was...and now that issue was back. Fuck.
He sighed. "...I was the one who convinced Clyde to have sex with me after prom. I wasn't really planning it. But prom was over and there were a couple of parties we were going to go to, and I knew for some reason...it just really struck me that we weren't going to see each other for four years. I mean, with all the stuff I was taking, I knew I wouldn't have any time to visit, and I didn't want to wait four years to get into his pants."
"I just want the reason, not your life story, as interesting as it is."
"Shut up, this is the history behind the reason, asshole." Token snapped.
"Okay, okay, jeez. Go on."
Token hesitated. "...I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I just started making out with him in my car and things were getting...interesting, and I asked him if he wanted to go someplace and he said yes...basically we ended up in a hotel room and we had sex." he paused, lowering his head into his free hand.
"The look on his face when we finished...like he wasn't sure what to say, or even if he liked it...it was my first time too, and he was unsatisfied, for the love of God...and then he started crying, and..."
"So you got scared." Kenny supplied.
"Terrified." Token agreed, sounding very despondent. "Jesus, I couldn't stop thinking about it. It was better when I got back and he started to...'initiate' things. I mean, what if I start something and he isn't in the mood? Or if he doesn't want it? What he's still unsatisfied with it? When he starts things, it ends up great, but...I don't know if that would be the same if I did it."
There was a silence on the other end of the line. "...I never thought the day would come when I heard a black man afraid of sex."
Token snapped at him angrily. "If you're not going to take this seriously, I'm hanging up. You're the one who brought it up."
"Sorry, sorry." Kenny sounded actually contrite. "But you actually want him in bed and stuff?"
"Like a black man wants some ass."
"O—kay..."
"There was this one time," Token suddenly remembered, "when I swear to God he was testing me. He didn't start anything and we went abstinent for almost two months."
"And how did that turn out? Did you give it to 'im good?"
"Uhh, no. If he really was testing me, he cracked first, 'cause after a while he begged me to throw him on the bed, but God," Token growled lustfully, remembering those days. "I was about close to cracking myself; I just looked at him and all I wanted to do was just push him up against a wall and rip off every single damn piece of clothing he had on and—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Straight man on the phone, man, straight man on the phone. Even this guy has a limit."
Token snorted. "Wuss."
"Look who's talking. Anyway," Kenny suddenly got back on track. "Let me just fill you in on a little secret...
...the first time is never amazing. It's just not possible. And if both of you were virgins, then hell no. What, just sudden magical experience is going to be bestowed upon you? No, man, it doesn't work that way. That's idiotic. My first time was pretty horrible too. I didn't become an amazing sex god at birth, you know. But either way, that's what practice is for." Kenny chuckled quite lewdly. "You gotta just keep on at it, and do it over and over and over—"
"Okay, I get it. Thank you for that wonderful image."
"My point is, I think you know now what makes him happy. You've got experience. You're not a virgin anymore. And Clyde told me himself that sex with you is great."
Token felt a flicker of pride. He preened a little on the inside, like a peacock. "Really?"
"You should have seen his face, it was priceless. Like the air had just turned into tacos; it was hilarious. That guy thinks sex with you is the greatest thing on earth since sliced bread and Jesus. I don't think you'll have any problems if you wanna get a little something going. And think of it this way; now you'll be getting laid twice as much: all the times that Clyde starts something, and now all the times you start something."
Token got a slightly devious look on his face, stroking his chin. He had always been a man of adventure, and this bore some investigating. And this face of Clyde's that Kenny spoke of was veeeery interesting.
And now he was very, very desperate to get home. Screw the meeting. Hahahaha.
"I'd like to thank you for this lovely chat, Kenny; remind me to buy you a yacht or something." He said smoothly, a grin on his face.
"Nuh, uh, uh, don't hang up the phone just yet. You see..." Kenny said in a tone just as silky as Token's. "I'd like to keep my involvement in this a secret. I did kind of promise I wouldn't say anything, and I don't think Clyde would appreciate me being the one to tell you this. Soooo, that being said, you can't do anything right now, or else he'll know that I blabbed to you."
"Damn you Kenny, I'm a black man, and I need me some ass!"
"I get this." Kenny soothed him. "I understand your pain. I, too, have gone through the black man phase. Which is why I've taken the liberty of giving you a golden opportunity."
Token raised a brow as his interest sparked. "Speak."
"I have given Clyde a pill to solve all his problems."
"If you gave him crack, Kenny, I swear to Go—"
"Dammit, why does everyone think I deal crack? I don't!" Kenny sighed, and cleared his throat. "Anyway, it's completely harmless. It's just a sugar pill. But the thing is, this is your golden opportunity. I told him to put it in your drink, and that it would cure both of his problems. I don't really think he'll give it to you right away, seeing as he probably doesn't believe me, but when he does, BAM! A miraculous transformation of Token Black into a somewhat neater sex beast, and no one suspects lil' ole Kenny in anything. And this way, you can plan it all out in some dramatic, romantic gesture."
Token nodded slowly. "I see...but how'll I know when he gives it to me, if he does?"
"Oh he will. These things don't just go away. He'll keep on worrying about it and worrying about it until he tries it, just to see if his problems really will go away. The hope that it will will make him do it. It's human nature. He wants things to get better." Token winced at the words. God, he must really be driving Clyde insane...it wasn't a very good feeling. Kenny went on. "That, and whatever he puts it in will be sweet as hell. It's small, but it packs a punch. And he'll probably be acting all shifty and staring at you too. So...yeah. Give it a couple of days."
"...alright." Token sighed.
He heard Kenny give a satisfied sigh. "It does my heart good to know my meddling is working. Oh, and Token?"
"Yeah?"
"I'll be waiting for that yacht." The line went dead.
Token stared, a little surprised, at the phone in his hand. He didn't even have his number, seeing as it was blocked. He gave out a reluctant chuckle and shook his head, wondering just what he was going to do when Clyde finally slipped him the magic little pill.
"Damn Kenny. Always gotta have the last word..."