OTA

[alcuin]

It had been a while since anyone had randomly recognized Alcuin. He credited this in part to the fading memory of the city (despite the tabloid flair-up around the holidays), and in part to his decision to cut his hair. He'd also taken to wearing glasses, which were a prescription weak enough that he'd typically gone without them in the past, but he was spending considerably more time in front of a computer these days than he had when Anafiel was alive. Maybe it was a little Clark Kent of him, but he definitely wasn't noticed as much this way. And it wasn't even just being recognized, but he also got less attention. Which caused... more conflicting emotions than he would have anticipated.

In any case, this all resulted in his looking like a rather normal young man sitting at an outdoor cafe drinking coffee and reading a copy of Jon Ronson's new book So You've Been Publicly Shamed. It struck a bit of a chord with him, to be honest. He was glad he hadn't spent much time on social media last year. He really didn't want to know what Twitter had thought of him.

The cafe was busier than usual, perhaps due to the weather being nice, and it was a Friday just late enough for people to skip out of work early. He reached over and took his bag out of the other seat at his table in case anyone wanted to join him, as there were no more empty seats around.

Comments

[harrowgate]

Felix's eyes positively lit. Those were the other magic words. How could he resist an offer of such beautiful attention? "I know just the place. A hotel not far from here, I think, full of business travelers who ignore each other as much as possible. You'll love it."

[alcuin]

"Sounds perfect," said Alcuin. He slid his glasses back on and slipped the book into the messenger bag at his feet.

It felt so terribly normal, going to have a drink with a friend.

[harrowgate]

Felix pressed up to his feet as well, gesturing Alcuin to come along with him.

Even though it turned out to be only a few blocks away, Felix summoned directions to the rather posh hotel on his phone, and seemed to rely on them quite heavily. Nevertheless, he chatted amiably as they walked, largely about the books he was reading, and what Alcuin was learning at school.

Mentally, he was calculating how much he could drink and still remain a good judge of his own behavior. It would be all too easy to lure Alcuin nearer, tempt him into being alone with Felix. As delightful as that might be, it was sure to dismay the people he and Alcuin cared the most about.

"They have excellent food, as well," Felix was saying as he caught the door for Alcuin to go through, "but I had the entire menu ten times over while I was staying here, and I don't think I could bear the lobster ravioli one more time."

[alcuin]

"Where are you living now?" Alcuin asked once he'd gone through the door and nodded politely in thanks for the gentlemanly gesture.

[harrowgate]

"I have an apartment," Felix answered, not untruthfully. His rooms at the Mirador House were more spacious than even his luxury hotel room had been. "It's rather sparse and bare, and I spend as little time there as possible. It's little more than a glorified closet with my library attached."

He ushered Alcuin toward the bar, smiled at the young lady at the hostess stand, and had his pick of the quiet and darkened tables away from the windows. Felix even drew out a chair for Alcuin before seating himself. "And yourself, do you live on campus?"

[alcuin]

Alcuin chuckled. "No," he said as he slid into the seat. "Goodness, I don't think I could handle such a small space. I did move into a smaller place, a townhouse. I inherited Anafiel's estate after he died, but a couple of months living in that large house by myself and I just couldn't take it anymore."

[harrowgate]

Felix settled himself opposite Alcuin, and requested a bottle of wine from the server who appeared attentively at their table. "I hope you don't mind white, darling. This is a favorite of mine," he consulted with the other man before sending the server off.

"Solitude seems so tempting until you attain it," Felix agreed, once they'd settled on their opening round of drinks. "I spend most days wishing everyone would leave me alone, and then they do, and I hate it."

[alcuin]

Alcuin was happy to let Felix decide on the wine. He settled back in his seat comfortably and watched him for a moment, then said, "I think I understand exactly what you mean."

[harrowgate]

"Surely you needn't be alone, if you don't want to be," Felix observed. "You are excellent company, bright and charming." He specifically did not mention Alcuin's looks, as he suspected his young friend got quite enough of that. "University libertines must be beating down your door to attend your salon, so to speak."

[alcuin]

Alcuin quirked an eyebrow. "Surely the same is true of you."

[harrowgate]

"You're the only University libertine I know," responded Felix promptly, barely suppressing his smile. The server returned with the bottle of wine, unobtrusively poured two glasses, and slipped away before Felix even had to wave her off. "Finding company is easier when I'm away from my apartment. The place is full of the people I work with. Good for getting into an argument, but not much else."

[alcuin]

"And the world is full of people who know what was written about me in the papers," Alcuin pointed out. "I'm afraid it's made me rather skittish."

[harrowgate]

"The world is full of idiots, if they all only believe what's printed in papers," Felix opined, setting in to his wine with relish. "Or rather, if they're going to base a system of faith on that, they ought to read everything, including the part where you've been exonerated."

[alcuin]

"Well, some of it was true," Alcuin murmured, and took a generous swallow from the wine glass.

There was just nothing that could be done, the danger of meeting someone who knew he'd been a prostitute. Because usually either they cared, or they didn't care, and sometimes the not caring was even worse.

[harrowgate]

"I'm objecting to the inconsistency of the general public," Felix explained, in those tumultuous musical tones that invited Alcuin in on his personal amusement. "What actually happened is plainly none of my business, except when you choose to make it so. It is your business, and I think we should all be a great deal better off if we drew those lines more finely."

He swirled his glass and took a long drink. "I would still be living with Shannon if we did."

[alcuin]

Alcuin appreciated the sentiment, though he was actually glad that Felix knew the truth about him (or most of it, anyway).

He watched Felix drink and then said, "I take it he found out something he didn't like, then. I'm sorry, Felix."

[harrowgate]

Briefly, Felix toyed with the idea of telling Alcuin the truth. But he did not wish to watch Alcuin calculate backwards in time, watch his face change when he understood. "Hence my comments about your lover's past secrets," he said instead. "As it happens, it was not Shannon who couldn't live with my past coming to light. It was me."

[alcuin]

It would not have even occurred to Alcuin that Felix's past might have been worse than his own. But he certainly was not going to ask. He respected Felix too much for that.

Instead, he quirked a wry little smile and reached for the bottle of wine, refilling Felix's glass. "We're quite a pair."

[harrowgate]

"Oh, darling, I'm afraid we really are," Felix agreed, his gaze tracking the movement of Alcuin's elegant hands filling his glass again. Damn. If he was this fascinated now, it did not bode well for his self-control once he started drinking. "I have to admit, I envy you a little. Your Doctor is much more my usual type, believe it or not. How did the two of you meet?"

[alcuin]

Alcuin filled his own glass as well, and then smiled at the question. "He rescued me from a throng of reporters who were camped outside the hospital waiting for me. He has a habit of rescuing me."

[harrowgate]

Felix's brows lifted with more interest than amusement. "Do you often find yourself in need of rescuing?"

[alcuin]

Alcuin did not want to give him a real answer to that, afraid it might lead him down a path towards his real secrets, the real dark things.

So he only shrugged and said, "Occasionally. Though it is not that I require rescuing, only that he is always there for me." He smiled a little, a bit bolder now into his second glass of wine. Alcuin was still something of a lightweight, to be honest. "It took a long time, you know. I never thought he would want me."

[harrowgate]

Always there for me. That was a hallmark of healthy relationships with which Felix was quite unfamiliar. What did it mean, for another person to be there?

"Nonsense," he commented, truly disbelieving. "I don't think there are breathing people who wouldn't want you."

[alcuin]

Alcuin shrugged. "Straight men." Though then a little smile tugged at his lips as he looked at Felix, as if he'd realized belatedly that he'd received a compliment.

[harrowgate]

Felix rolled his eyes playfully. "Hardly any such thing, in my experience. Most of them can't admit their curiosity, and when you... when one looks a certain way, swaying them isn't too difficult."