OTA

[kersen]

Kersen sometimes did this thing where when he was feeling his worst, he tried to look his best. Elaborate drag when he was the most down, for example. Like maybe he could force cheerfulness with sequins and lipstick.

This time, he couldn't seem to muster up the energy for drag, though. What "look" said 'I just found out a lover is a serial killer'? Particularly coupled with 'what does this say about my taste in men'? Finally, he'd just gone with the forced cheerfulness: dark purple leather pants and a shirt (gifted to him by an employee years ago) that read OF COURSE I'M PRO-GAY, DO YOU THINK I WORK THIS HARD TO BE AN AMATEUR GAY in bright rainbow colors.

... also he'd started smoking again. Which was a little ironic since he was pretty sure that any effect they had on him was purely psychosomatic.

However, at the moment he was having a smoke break outside his bar. It was fairly early yet, just past 9pm. The streets were still full, lively with people leaving restaurants and shops, heading into bars and theaters. He liked this time of night, where the world was still alive. Wished he could experience more of it.

Some asshole walking by threw a homophobic slur at him, and he was briefly, stupidly tempted to flash his fangs as a threat. Instead he said, "The most fabulous you'll ever see, honey," and flicked the cigarette to the ground. Luckily it was the cowardly sort of asshole, and he just stuck up his middle finger and kept walking.

Comments

[utterly_mysterious]

Angelique took her own glass with her, and slipped away to the bathroom with it.

She spent some time there, looking at herself in the mirror for a few moments -- the old legend about vampires casting no reflection must be a myth, then -- before seeking out a cloth and some soap from among the cabinets and drawers. The makeup washed away easily, with care not to leave anything behind. She slid out of her long vest and top, removed her jewelry, and took off her shoes, folding and piling everything neatly on the commode. Then, she unpinned a few of her curls, and ran her fingers through her hair so it swept back from her face and curled against her slim, square shoulders.

Some minutes later, the young man who emerged shirtless, barefoot, wearing just a pair of very skinny jeans, bore a striking resemblance to Angelique, but glanced shyly at the floor before looking up for Kersen's reaction.

[kersen]

He was gorgeous. Well formed. Still somewhat androgynous. Though the shyness, that did not seem like Angelique.

There was no mistaking the desire in Kersen's expression when he first saw. But still, he stayed put, not moving closer. Looking then a bit unsure. "You're gorgeous. But I - I don't want to make you feel - " Kersen was sensitive to people wanting him for something other than him. He'd been with men who wanted a woman. He didn't like it.

[utterly_mysterious]

"You can't make me feel any way I don't decide to feel," he said, and that was the Angelique Kersen knew. Unafraid, certain, with a spine of steel beneath the graceful silk of white skin and ebony hair.

When Angelique had seen a kindred spirit in Kersen, had suggested they might understand each other in ways other people didn't, it had been because of this. This exactly. Kersen knew how to look beyond presentation and appearance, and see the person beneath. Angelique had never been quite so bare before him -- even now, still half clothed.

"It's only that I don't usually let anyone see me without my face," he added, and began to move toward Kersen with a gentle little sway of hips. "I feel a little... exposed."

[kersen]

Kersen moved towards him as well, meeting him partway and sliding his arms around his waist. "I like it," he said softly, and leaned in to inhale his scent. "And I'm pleased that you trust me with this."

[utterly_mysterious]

In Kersen's arms, he softened, draping his arms around Kersen's shoulders and tipping back his head. A shiver ran down Angelique's back despite the warm room, the warm touch. How strange it felt to live again in the skin he was born with, the body that never seemed to fit quite right... but Kersen understood that Angelique was more than just a body, more than makeup or skirts or high-heeled shoes.

"I want you to know me. Really... know me."

[kersen]

Kersen trailed his fingers down Angelique's bare back.

"Tell me how," he said quietly.

[utterly_mysterious]

Gasping softly at the sensation, Angelique rested his forehead against Kersen's. At first, he thought he hardly knew what to say, but then the confession came tumbling out. "I'm tired, Kersen. I'm tired of explaining myself, tired of my friends tip-toeing around what I want to be rather than who I am. I just want to be with you... with nothing else between us. Put out the lights. Touch me the way you want to, don't hesitate, because my answer for you is always yes."

[kersen]

Angelique's trust in him was touching. And Kersen understood, too. He kissed the young man's neck. "And the part where I'm a vampire?" he questioned softly. "Is your answer to that also yes?"

[utterly_mysterious]

Kersen deserved his honesty. "It frightens me a little," Angelique confessed in a soft voice. "But you are who you are, and you're asking no more of me than I ask of you. If I want you, then being a vampire is a part of you... so, yes."

He bit his lip, drew a breath, and repeated more firmly, "Yes."

[kersen]

[continued here]