Dolce - Part Seven: A Quiet Dinner

[churbooseanon]

And the other half of that day. Ultimately it came out to over 13k words. The split was the right choice.

Dolce - Part Seven: A Quiet Dinner

While Felix wouldn’t exactly call the place dead, the summer home that Locus seemed to have so much pride in seemed to be the next best thing to it. As he took the time to wander between flipping through the pages of the folder, he found little to interest him, and more than he expected spoke volumes about the place, about Locus.

A desert, Felix decided. That had to be the best comparison. The place was dusty, empty, almost barren and definitely dead as he looked around. There were a few notable exceptions of rooms that seemed more lived in: the master bedroom, the library, the kitchen, and the airy living room area with the huge windows. As sunny, cheery, comfortable as those places looked, it didn’t compare to how depressing the rest was. Most of the other rooms were open, unused, covered in a thick layer of dust and just walking into them tended to make Felix sneeze.

That wasn’t even the only thing. Most of the rooms that were lived in seemed halfway toward abandoned as it was. Yes, here and there waited small touches that made a house a home, but they were rare. In the library there were a few photos of Locus with his family. In the bedroom that Locus had offered him there were a few small knickknacks and decorations that seemed to be hand made of shells by a child. There was even a beautifully carved wooden train set on the living room mantle, but really, there wasn’t much. Pictures of Felix and Locus, or Felix alone, or other things that he was certain were meant to sell the story, but mostly, there was little to make this place comfortable, and none of it was very revealing.

Some how it was more depressing than the almost sterile atmosphere of Locus’s office or the precision of his apartment. From the way Locus had spoken of this place, it was important to him, and even this felt like Locus was a stranger to it.

Or maybe he was just thinking too much.

Yeah, that had to be it, Felix decided hours later when he heard movement elsewhere in the house. He pulled himself out of the comfortable armchair in Locus’s room and stretched, tossing the folder aside before shuffling out to find his company. Maybe, he though, it was Doyle, or some member of the staff. After all, a quick glance at the clock in the room said it was still an hour until he was supposed to meet Locus for dinner.

So, of course, he wasn’t expecting to catch sight of his host in the kitchen itself. Maybe he should have expected that. When he’d gone to Locus’s with Lily they’d found Locus covered with flour and clearly busy with something. Why would it be surprising to see Locus doing the same here?

Felix smirked and headed into the kitchen, circling to a part of the counter that wasn’t covered with fresh vegetables or other stuff and hoped up to sit on the cool granite surface.

“So… First, let’s go through the motions. How was your day?” Felix asked. “I spent a long time on those files.”

Dry stuff, even with the emotional hints, he thought as he swung his feet back and forth. The usual stuff. Reminders on how they had met, how their marriage ceremony went, other little mundane details that sold stories like this. He had no questions on any of that. Really, most of his questions were about this place itself and how sparsely used it seemed.

“Doyle decided he wanted to nag me over your clothing choices for tomorrow. As if there was any chance to make alterations at this point,” Locus answered as he moved to the fridge and disappeared briefly to pull a container of something out. “Most of the planning has been completed, and we’ll have people here starting at mid-afternoon to prepare everything. I will have to head out around two to fetch our guests back.”

Locus moved to the cutting board beside Felix, setting down the container filled with some fluid and floating white balls that Felix couldn’t identify. Then there was a hand hooked around the back of Felix’s neck, pulling him down toward Locus and the brief, warm press of lips in what he thought was supposed to be an affectionate kiss.

“I need to head down into the wine cellar tonight to select the wines, if you’re interested in helping,” Locus continued as if the kiss was just the most casual fucking thing in the universe. Which, Felix supposed, it was supposed to be. It should be, in their ‘relationship’.

Still, Felix was left blinking at Locus as the man pulled some tomatoes in front of himself and pulled out a knife. Blinking and licking his lips while he barely registered the words. Okay, Felix, do something.

He nodded—great move when Locus wasn’t even looking at him—and tried to latch onto where he thought the conversation had been going. “I, um, don’t know anything about wine. But, I can go with you if you want.”

Yeah, because someone like Locus wanted the distraction of Felix, especially down in a room with what had to be lots of really expensive bottles when Felix felt about a coordinated as a newborn puppy. “So, tomorrow sounds stressful. How do you handle being so calm about this? Party planning, I mean. Fuck, I would rather be the one going to a party than the one hosting.”

Again Felix laughs, trying to sound casual. Trying to distract himself from the fact that he could still feel Locus’s lips against his.

“I have hosted before,” Locus answered, his deep voice almost soothing next to the rhythmic sound of the knife hitting scraping over the wood of the cutting board as he worked. “Without Doyle and the planner he hired, though, this would be a disaster. This is not the sort of thing I handle well. I was never supposed to. I am a business man first and foremost. At best I was meant, am meant, to marry a woman to do this sort of thing for me, it’s expected. Otherwise, I hire help.”

Felix didn’t bother to jump on the stupidity of marrying a woman only to have her manage Locus’s social life. Instead he started kicking his feet again. “Good thing you have Doyle, then. A little of column A, a little of column B, all in a man that seems to micromanage your life.”

He watched as Locus pushed the chopped tomato aside and put the knife down to reach for something else, and then Felix awkwardly grabbed for Locus’s hand to pat it gently. “Just so you know… breathe, I guess. You got the hired help, literally, to make it easy for you. Just let them do their work and it’ll be okay. They’re professionals, and professionals get things done properly.”

That was something Felix should know. And yet here he was, maybe professional maybe personal—it was so hard to tell anymore—and he wasn’t sure if he was doing this right. How the hell was he supposed to reassure a guy as self-possessed as Locus?

“And you?” Locus asked, his hand twisting so that Felix was holding it and Locus’s thumb was running over his skin over and over. “Are you going to be okay with this? You need to be more confident, which I haven’t seen from you yet today. Look around you, Felix. Everything you see in this place would belong to my spouse. Belong to you. Act like it.”

Felix let himself look around, just to get away from the intensity of Locus’s eyes on him, and actually looked at the place around them. Dear god, Locus was right, wasn’t he? Felix’s entire day here had been spent looking at this place as Locus’s home. Maybe even a touch like an expensive hotel a client had brought him back to. But it wasn’t that. Couldn’t be that for the act. Absently he squeezed Locus’s hand as he slowly breathed the place in and out as he looked and smiled.

“Yeah,” he said at last, returning his gaze to Locus and nodding. “I’m fine. You know me, I’ve got this. I’ll be good tomorrow. I promise that you’ll be handing me all the awards for how good I play this up. People will go, 'My what a beautiful home you have!’ and I’ll be all, 'Oh I know, isn’t it? I’m thinking of setting up a little garden in the back for herbs and vegetables for when Locus cooks, but I just don’t have a green thumb’ and all that bullshit I’m supposed to say.”

Locus laughed, and Felix felt his smile widen. It wasn’t often that Locus truly laughed in front of him, and he loved the sound of it.

“You? Garden, I would pay to see that.”

With that Locus pulled his hand from Felix's—Felix didn’t think about how cold his hand felt after that—and returned his attention to pulling things in front of himself to chop or cut or whatever that size of stuff counted as.

“Remember, Felix, that this is in no small part about you. You’re going to be the center of attention. You and my… our home. You are already charming and entertaining. Just make sure that you give the guests a larger dose of that than normal. Any other questions?”

“Locus, Locus, Locus,” Felix said, tone dipping into the sarcastically disappointed, “have you learned nothing in the time you’ve known me? I live to be the center of attention. Well, not reall, but fuck my track record says I was born to do this. You’ll see. I’ll have everyone eating out of my hands in no time flat. Maybe literally too if we have finger foods, who fucking knows.”

He watched as Locus started working on a green pepper, cutting into it with quick, almost mechanical precision. “You know… it’s kinda cute, this whole cooking thing you have going on.”

That earned him a smile from Locus when the other man looked up from the chopping.

“Have you ever had someone cook for you before?” Locus asked, his voice dropping just a little, closer to the tones Felix had heard in Locus’s bed, and damn if that didn’t send a shiver down his spine. A shiver that wasn’t helped when Locus selected a piece of green pepper and held it up for Felix in a clear offer. “There is something powerful in cooking. Being able to feed someone, to keep them going, to please the senses.”

Something in the way he said it—probably the tone and what it was doing to Felix’s head—made Felix lick his lips and lean forward. He caught the bit of pepper between his teeth and not only met, but held Locus’s gaze as he bit into it. Sure it was raw, sure it was a vegetable and thus not his normal thing, but Felix’s didn’t care. The cool, crisp, moist explosion and flavor on his tongue was almost as pleasant as his lips brushing against Locus’s fingers. And curse his traitorous tongue for reaching out, curling around the rest of the pepper to pull it into his mouth. But maybe he just enjoyed the way Locus’s eyes flashed to his lips and watched as Felix chewed and swallowed.

“No,” Felix said when his mouth was clear and Locus’s eyes tore away from Felix to stare down at his pepper even though he didn’t start to cut again. “I can’t say that I have. I mean if you count restaurants then sure. But no home cooked meals. You? Or do you… like being the one in control?”

“Being in control…” Locus said after a long moment and his knife returned to chopping, “is all I know how to do. I wouldn’t know how to give that up, much less how to function without my power. Cooking grants me a special sort of control over my life outside of business. I make it a point to cook at least three meals a week.”

“Wow,” Felix cooed, half impressed. “An actual point? Shit, Locus, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you have a problem, but I mean being in control of oneself is probably a good thing. I guess I’m like that too? Only with my business.”

He watched as Locus moved his chopped vegetables to a bowl and opened the plastic container, letting out the pungent smell of what was maybe cheese? Still, Felix was pretty sure his hesitation had to do less with the strange scent and apparent food and more with wondering if he was revealing too much about himself.

Would it matter if he went that far, he found himself thinking? After all, two days and then he was gone. After this he resolved that he really wasn’t going to see Locus again. Period.

Well, then saying it wouldn’t matter too much, right?

“Why do you think I talk so god damn much?” Felix continued as he watched Locus work. “I control the conversations, the situations I end up in most of the time, and these people eat it the fuck up. Some of my clients too, those lonely old bastards. Well, they’re not old, but you know? I get some weird cards of course, all sorts of flavors. But, anyway, I can understand where you’re coming from, you know? You have to be in charge in your line of work, just like I am in mine, I imagine. It’s really kind of attractive, you know. Being in charge of things.”

“Am I a 'weird card’? Be honest,” Locus insisted as he busied himself around the stove. “I have to assume I am such. As you already pointed out, it is apparently strange for me to cook at least three meals a week. Of course, three meals out of twenty-one in a week seems rather minor. And they are rarely as complex as what I’m making for tonight.”

Felix sighed and pulled a leg up to brace on the counter so he could rest his head on his knee. “You? No, you’re rather fucking tame in the grand scheme. And three meals isn’t bad, but it was just like… 'I have to make these meals for myself or I’ll lose it!’ is what I thought, but anyway…”

Again he hesitated for half a moment before pushing on. “I… once had a client, some guy, doesn’t matter who okay? He wanted me to go on a date with him. Simple, right? And the pay was good, so I went. After that he kept asking for me. And asking. And asking. And asking. Which is completely fine. I figured I did a good job. Then the psycho started showing up at my apartment. Which I know doesn’t sound weird because you’ve been to mine, but it’s a rule in our company. None of the clients are supposed to know where we live, what our personal info is…”

Felix trained off for a long moment while he realized just how badly he’d fucked up with Locus on those rules.

“Just… there he was. Turns out he followed me home every night I worked for him after those first couple nights. Then he got ahold of my cell and e-mail. Don’t ask me how. I nearly fucking punched the shit out of the guy, but Kimball convinced me to go through their legal bullshit route to report him. I would rather have taken him out back and beat the crap out of him, but this way no one got sued. And that…” Felix paused and sighed, “was a more tame story.”

Locus didn’t look up from the pot of something wonderful smelling that he was funneling the peppers and tomatoes into, but his voice carried back to Felix anyway. “Have I caused you issues by being aware of your personal information? In all honesty I haven’t meant to cause you as many problems as I clearly have. It was my intention to cleanly cut ties with you, but our wonderful Mrs. Johnson did give me the cold shoulder when I implied you were gone.”

Felix watched as Locus stirred the pot, then brought a wooden spoon of the sauce up to taste. “I think it needs more oregano…”

Then Locus was in front of him again, offering the spoon to Felix. “What do you think?”

“Did you miss the part where I don’t know shit about cooking, Locus?” Felix laughed, but he leaned forward anyway, letting Locus press the spoon to his lips and licking it clean. “It taste fine to me. Really good even. If you think you need more, though, you should add it. I’ll be glad to test it again.”

If that was what home cooking tasted like, Felix mused as he licked his lips clean, well, he could get used to that. And he could get used to the way Locus’s eyes followed his tongue, and the way Locus pulled him down into another kiss. A kiss that was a shade longer and definitely warmer than before. A kiss that still, sadly, ended far sooner than Felix wanted. God, he wanted it to go on so much longer. Wanted it to be like kissing in Locus’s apartment, with them ending up back on Locus’s bed, hungry for each other.

But the way Locus looked away and returned to the stove said that wasn’t exactly likely to happen.

“Anyway, this is totally different. That guy was literally stalking me. I understand clients who have favorite escorts, but that shit is on the clock. Once we’re off the clock, it’s… different.”

Like having sex with clients. Anyone who did that did it off the clock. Like Felix had. With Locus. In Locus’s apartment which he’d ended up in off the clock. Fuck. He reached up and ran his fingers through his hair to try and shake the memories loose and away. “You’re fine. If you were trouble, Kimball wouldn’t have talked to me about taking you back as a client, much less let me do it.”

“And,” Locus agreed from the stove as he sprinkled something from a small glass bottle into the pot, “if I was too much of a pain, I suppose you wouldn’t have dragged me out of this latest problem either. I really must find a way to thank you for the favor you’re doing for me here.”

“If I had a problem with you, I would have told her to redirect your business to someone who matched me in appearance and personality,” Felix shrugged, but he knew just as well as he figured Locus did that it was more complicated than that. So he went silent for a moment as he watched Locus fiddle with a dial on the stove and move away to some other task entirely. “It’s no problem, like I said. You just owe me two favors later. I’ll cash them in when I need them. Simple as that.”

“I can hardly imagine there being someone else on Dolce’s lineup that has your looks and personality,” Locus chuckled in response. “Anyway, I’ll have the rest of this together in less than ten minutes. Could you get dishes down for us? The cabinets furthest from the fridge have plates, and the drawer below it for silverware. Forks. We can just eat in here.”

Hey, Felix wasn’t going to pass up any excuse to get his eyes off of Locus, so he had no problem hopping down from the counter and heading over where Locus was pointing.

“Honestly, you’d be surprised. I’ve seen this guy at HQ that would be thrown at you if you wanted someone that looked like me. Pretty close. Not exactly doppelganger territory, because I’m cuter, but good enough that you could use him in the future I guess.”

“I’d notice the difference.”

Felix froze with his hands on the plates and had to force himself to breathe and just pull them down before opening the drawer for forks.

“I pay for your company, Felix. Not some random man who may look a bit like you. I’d rather not have to teach someone new how to handle the situations you’ve always known how to read for yourself. We work well together, Felix. As such, I don’t feel like training a replacement.”

* * * * * *

Laughter was the response he got. Laughter punctuated by the sound of Felix putting the plates on the kitchen table.

“You make me sound like a pet you bought, which wouldn’t be too far from the truth. And I have been called worse, so whatever.”

That was followed by a small exhalation that Locus guessed was the sound of Felix hopping back up on the counter. Locus wasn’t sure which hurt more, the fact that he’d implied that Felix could be replaced at all, or the implication that the only reason he didn’t was because it was too much effort. In fact, he wasn’t sure which he thought would be the better answer to that question. The former would never be true, Locus was pretty sure about that. The latter trivialized the way his chest clenched painfully at the very thought of that moment when he put Felix back on the mainland and saw him for the final time.

“I’ve got a question.”

Locus didn’t bother to look back over his shoulder this time, just carefully teased a strand of pasta out of the boiling pot and bit to test whether it was done or not. It wasn’t, he hadn’t expected it to be, but it was a good way to keep his eyes off of the man who had spent his entire time in the kitchen seeming just on the edge of trying to seduce Locus. Seriously, who ate green pepper like that? And the way Felix had looked about ready to suck on the tip of the sauce spoon had made him shiver in the worst way.

“Feel free not to answer, because you know, you’re not obligated to talk about anything but… Kimball said that when I was off-planet she tried to set you up with another one of our people. Like… did she just blow it or what? I haven’t met her myself, but… Well, I have in passing and she seemed nice around the office but that isn’t what people are always like, you know?”

Well, that was an easy enough question, not that Locus liked to think about that period of time. It wasn’t that he missed Felix, just that he…

No. He’d missed Felix. What was the point in lying?

“She… was an enthusiastic, bubbly, under-dressed for my taste woman whose small talk at our interview lunch together failed to prove suitable to my level of business and who was overly forward.”

Which was an understatement. Locus almost had to shudder at the memory of the girl, Kai, whose foot had gone places it definitely shouldn’t have been. “At the end of the lunch she invited me back to her place. I called her a cab and sent her home.”

And the cab had been a calculated insult, for all that the woman hadn’t seemed to notice it. Even when he’d sent Felix home from his own apartment he’d sent Felix in a paid car, rather than a cab.

“Despite her thoughts, I was not interested in buying companionship. If I wanted that, I could find far cheaper prices with more adequate skill. Or far more for individuals who better knew how to read people and respect boundaries in public situations.”

If he never saw Kaikaina Grif again in his life, well, he would be happy.

Again Felix laughed, and Locus smiled briefly at the sound of it. He loved the sound of Felix mirthful.

And no, he wasn’t even remotely willing to analyze his own word choice there.

“Holy shit, I would have paid, actually paid to see that. God, one of the basics in this shit is 'don’t sleep with clients first thing.’ I mean, unless that’s already on the table. Like, if you’d said 'I want to sleep with you’ then she would have been welcome to be forward, but otherwise you keep it the fuck to yourself.”

So what had that made… no, don’t finish that thought either.

“Well, it’s not actual policy or written down anywhere. It’s just the thing we all sort of agree on, the other escorts and I. Geez. Sounds like a fucking train wreck,” Felix observed, a note of what Locus thought might be joy in his voice. “At least I know what I’m doing.”

“Yes,” Locus agreed with a smile as he turned the heat off under the pasta and moved the whole pot to the sink to strain the noodles. “I seem to recall you knowing quite well what you were doing, both on the job and off. I will happily gran that you are experienced and probably worth more than even I ever paid you. That aside, dinner will be ready in a moment.”

There was the sound of activity, accented by motion in the corner of Locus’s vision, but he didn’t realize just how close Felix was until a plate was being set down at his side. When he reached out the second was handed over to him, and it took far more effort than he would have liked to keep from lingering against the warmth of Felix’s skin. Instead he turned his gaze fully to putting pasta on first one plate and then the other. It wasn’t until he took them to the stove to pour sauce over them and lay slices of the fresh Parmesan cheese over it to melt a little that he finally spoke up again.

“I’m sure she learned proper escort behavior since our meeting, but I’m not willing to work with someone new again, as I said.”

As he made it to the table Felix stood and took a plate from Locus and then settled back down. For half a second Locus stared at him as Felix pursed his lips, a clear attempt to keep from saying something. Well, he could understand that. So Locus just moved to the opposite chair and sat, grabbing a napkin from the holder between them while Felix took his first bite.

He cared, maybe a little too much, about how Felix reacted to the meal.

“Oh god,” Felix almost moaned around his first mouthful, and Locus had to bite his own lip to keep himself from looking up too fast. “This is really good. If this is what home cooked tastes like, then I should dust off my stove and try it some time.”

At least Locus thought Felix said 'some time’; it was hard to be sure with how garbled the words were with another forkful of pasta in Felix’s mouth. Locus just smiled at the sight of Felix’s eyes closed, his head tilted up a bit as he savored what he was eating, and damn the way Felix licked his lips when he pulled the fork back…

Locus really needed to stop being alone with Felix in kitchens. It was killing him, sight after gorgeous sight.

“It takes a fair amount of practice,” Locus answered as he smiled down at his own meal before lifting a bit to his own lips. Damn, still not quite enough oregano. Oh well, too late to remedy that. “Maybe you can save one of your favors for a home cooked meal. But… I suppose that would be a rather poor use.”

He looked up again and saw Felix staring at him, and to have that gaze so intent on him… Locus quickly spooled a bit more pasta onto his fork, made sure it was well sauced and held his fork out to Felix. “I believe such behavior may be expected of us in the more intimate home setting of tomorrow night’s party.”

Why was he doing this to himself? Still, the look Felix gave the fork before smiling and shaking his head was almost worth the way Felix was leaning forward.

“What, feeding each other? Let’s hope not,” Felix answered, but sure enough he took the bite and Locus got to watch as Felix’s eyes fluttered briefly closed and he pulled back from the fork, taking the food with him and leaving his lips trailing over the metal in a way that while not pornographic probably wouldn’t have been seen as acceptable for general audiences. Or at least not in Locus’s mind.

“Unless we have to, then fine,” Felix continued as he chewed carefully. “Whatever keeps you in Joyce’s good graces.”

“I won’t need to stay there long,” Locus admitted quietly. “I got a call today from Lily. Joyce… may not live out the month. Her doctors are concerned of her traveling here for us as it is. But she won’t be dissuaded. So, I suppose, you’ll soon be free of me.”

He stared back down at his meal, suddenly less hungry, as Felix snorted.

“Isn’t that what you want anyway? Other than being a fucking bitch to me, Lily doesn’t seem too bad,” Felix said at last, his voice somewhat more professional than Locus was used to these days. “I guess she still likes you. Of course I still tune her out half the time. That’s actually how I don’t mouth off at her so much. I don’t listen to half of what she says.”

“Must I remind you how much I dislike her?” Locus sighed, shaking his head. “Lily is never worth listening to. But… Well, you know my plan.”

“If I had a glass, I’d fucking toast your future happiness,” Felix mocked from across the table, and Locus flinched at it. “Whatever, right? Not like you can’t have a mistress or mister on the side. Is it called a mister?”

Locus looked up to suggest that it probably wasn’t, but he just had to watch as Felix barreled on anyway.

“As long as you get to keep your business running, it’s good. Honestly, she might be good for that, even if she will bore you to tears.”

With a sigh Locus returned his attention to his meal and tried not to let Felix’s words get to him. “I doubt I’ll be able to have a mistress…”

Well, there went that plan.

“Pre-nuptial contracts on my level of wealth are quite inane. So much as a whisper of scandal can ruin the ways I’m intending to expand the business,” he finished, because really, he’d started so he might as well.

Another mouthful of pasta, focus on the food and not the man who was currently across the table, all but laughing at Locus. “Shit, no pressure then. Wow, have fun with that.”

There was silence for a long while, only the sound of forks scraping over plates, and honestly. Locus was thankful to be free of conversation related to Lily and the chances he had of marrying her. The last thing he wanted to think about was any moment past when he’d lose Felix.

At last Felix stood and Locus looked up at him and his clean plate. “Thanks for dinner, Locus. It was amazing, and I really mean that. I… can clean up for you if you want?”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Locus admitted, truly he was relieved, as he pushed his own plate away. “Don’t worry about the dishes. I’ll leave them for the staff in the morning. It should be the only thing they need to touch in the kitchen apart from meal prep.”

Again there was that silence, awkward this time, and Locus said the only thing he could think of to break it.

“Last night, on the phone, I offered to show you the stars. There’s a spot up the beach that’s perfect for star gazing. The… offer still stands if you’d like to join me.”

* * * * * *

“Oh,” Felix said softly as he looked back at Locus. “You… were serious?”

He let his gaze turn to the window, outward to the already dark sky, and he smiled at it. You could actually see the stars out here. “Yeah, I’m down with it. I mean… I should know what the night is like here anyway, right?”

“Of course,” Locus agreed, and when Felix looked to him, there was a hand in Felix’s, Locus pulling him toward the door. “I would show this view to someone important to me, so you should see it.”

“I’m important to you?” Felix asked, letting Locus pull him onto the patio and down onto the beach without putting his shoes on. All he could do was blink and follow and contemplate the sand between his toes and Locus’s words and how stupid he sounded parroting them back. God it had been so dumb to say that. Locus meant the act, right? “I mean, of course I am. I’m a big player in your plan. So…”

His grip on Locus’s hand tightened, and he for a moment he hated how warm it made him feel even though he should be used to it. Should act like he was used to it. Wasn’t used to it at all. He wanted to linger like this forever. The warmth of Locus’s hand in his, the excited energy around the other man, and the soft feeling of cool, wet sand between his toes.

“Of course you are,” Locus answered anyway, slowing down and forcing Felix to do so as well. At last Felix slowly settles into a pace with Locus, standing at his side. “The best view is a few minutes up the beach, away from the light of the house. But It looks pretty good right now, doesn’t it?”

Felix let his eyes go skyward, trusting Locus to make sure he didn’t run into anything or trip. “Yeah… it does.”

Damn Locus for being right. Already the night sky was startlingly clear. In the city there was nothing. Too bright from the city lights, and far too smoggy to see anything. Sometimes you couldn’t even see the moon in the city at night, but here everything was out and glittering. It was beautiful.

“I only ever get to see the stars and stuff when I’m going off planet. It’s… weird to see them on the surface.”

“It’s strange to not see them in my opinion,” Locus answered, his voice slow, almost lazy, and falling perfectly in time with the soft wash of waves on the shore. The sound together was far past soothing. It was comfortable. “From here it almost feels like you can reach out and be up there, rather than bound by gravity. The sheer amount of stuff out there… it boggles the mind when we live our lives so caught up in ourselves.”

“That’s… really kind of poetic,” Felix chuckled, smiling at Locus. Enjoys smiling at him. Maybe, for a moment, if he pretended hard enough, it could almost feel like they actually were something. What that something was he didn’t know. Maybe like the rings on their hands meant something. It’s stupid, it’s self-destructive, and it was more than he could ever have. Ever even dream to have.

“It’s not my norm, I assure you,” Locus answered, bringing them to a stop. Felix watched as Locus turned to him, went frozen as a hand came up and curved around his jaw. They were still there for a long moment as Felix wondered whether Locus was going to kiss him again.

And then he didn’t need to wonder anymore, because he was leaning forward to meet Locus in the kiss.

He could feel something inside him swell, break, release deep down inside of him. There was just something about the atmosphere he told himself. In the dark, the stars, the soft sounds of the waves breaking on sand and Locus’s hands holding him there. His lips… He could feel his eyes shut, his brows furrow because this was it. This was the pinnacle of his frustration and confusion. They were pretending, were supposed to be pretending, but like in Locus’s apartment, there was no one here to see the act. So… why? Why was he kissing back, his own hands hesitantly raising to mold around Locus’s face? This was so far beyond the realm of practice, so far beyond an act, and it was killing him slowly.

The worst part was that Locus’s lips were exactly what he remembered them being like, and he hated that he remembered them so easily, and loved that he could only engrave that memory deeper into his mind.

Leave it to Locus to wait until Felix was finally pressing in, finally joining the kiss, to pull away. Asshole.

“I’m sorry,” Locus whispered. “That was unprofessional of me. I was… caught up in the moment.”

All Felix could do was step back and clear his throat. “Uh, yeah. I don’t blame you. It’s…” Magical. Romantic. Beautiful. Perfect. “Whatever, just don’t sweat it. It’s… getting late, huh? Maybe we should… call it a night. Do we have to get up early?”

“You’re free to sleep in as late as you want,” Locus answered, his hands moving into his pockets as he backed up another step. Yes. Space, that was something Felix needed. “But to do that we have to get you back. Come on then.”

With that Locus turned and started back toward the villa, Felix following a few paces behind him, arms crossed over his chest. He hated this spot on the beach now, though he couldn’t begin to understand just why it was. In fact, he didn’t even fucking care to figure out why. He just did. That didn’t mean he said anything along those lines as they made their way back to the house, taking a moment to clean their feet in a small tub of water by the patio door before shuffling into the big, still empty house, and up to the master bedroom.

The master bedroom where Felix was going to have to share a bed with Locus. He groaned inwardly. Could tonight get any worse? Maybe he really should have taken Locus up on that spare room. He still could. Except fuck making a bed in the morning.

“I’m… gonna go get changed,” Felix mumbled, mood sour as he moved to where Locus had left his bags and he began to dig out his bed clothes. How in the world had he fucked this all up so royally? He had rules dammit. Rules that said not to come to care for a client. Not to come to l… Nope. Fuck that word. Fuck it hard with a rusty knife.

He didn’t wait for Locus to respond, just grabbed his clothes and toiletries and headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He could shower in the morning, but for now… Now he just stood there by the sink, staring at himself in the mirror.

“How the fuck are you such a fuck up?” he whispered to his reflection.

By breaking his rules about twenty times too many for Locus. For the beautiful, intelligent asshole he was now fake married to and going to share a bed with.

Fuck his life.

Fuck him.

Fuck Locus.

Oh dear god don’t think about fucking Locus.

By the time he finally calmed down enough to leave the bathroom, his clothes folded and ready to drape on the top of his luggage, he could see Locus sitting in the chair in the corner of the room, lamp on and a book in his hands. Damn, why did that silk robe have to look so damn good on Locus.

It would look better on the floor, Felix’s traitorous mind supplied, and he almost had to slap himself to get that thought to leave him alone.

“Well, look at you,” he said instead. “You’re like the picture on a business magazine. You know, except for the robe… That’s a nice color on you by the way.”

That got Locus to look up briefly, and those eyes on him, green and piercing, wow, Felix couldn’t handle them at this moment. So he just kept talking as he made his way to the bed.

“Do you care which side of the bed you get?” Felix rambled as he pushed the covers down and hopped onto the bed like the question really wasn’t important. And almost immediately Felix let himself flop down in the middle of the bed, not quite moaning at the soft, smooth feeling of the cool sheets on his skin. “Holy fuck, give me a moment. Oh… oh god… This bed… It feels so good.”

He punctuated that by pulling the blankets over him, even though he was at a weird angle, and he snuggled into them. “Dear god I love rich things. This is so good.”

Thankfully the angle meant that Felix couldn’t look at Locus when he heard the rich, deep chuckle of the other man. A chuckle that swelled until it was full on laughter, and Felix let his eyes go wide in shock. Locus had never laughed like that before. It sounded like Locus was moments from falling out of his chair.

“That’s it,” Locus managed in his laughter as Felix shifted around like a worm, trying to find more skin to put into contact with the perfectly soft sheets. “That is the moment. I can now honestly say I have never met anyone like you before, Felix. Nor do I think I shall ever meet anyone like you again. It’s just a bed. There can’t be that much difference between how it feels and how any other bed feels. So far as I know, it’s identical to the one in my apartment.”

“No, you shut up,” Felix insisted. “The threat count must be different on these sheets or something. It definitely feels different from your apartment, and is worlds better than my bed, so shut up.”

At last he rolled and twisted until he was lying down nearest the door and furthest from Locus, and he adjusted the blankets so they were properly draped over him.

“I’ve slept in a lot of beds, and this one definitely tops the list of most comfortable,” he sighed contentedly as his head sank just the perfect amount into the pillow. “Wake me up when you get up, okay? Cause I know I’m allowed to sleep in, but technically I’m on the clock first thing, so…”

“You’re not on the flock first thing,” Locus countered, his laughter dying away. With that the lights in the room all went out save for the lamp Felix remembered being by Felix. Which didn’t matter, he supposed, seeing as he had his back to Locus. “I suppose the sheets are part of the difference. Quality bedding is one of my greatest indulgences in life. I… may be known to take an extra set with me when I’m on business trips. Hotels never compare.”

“Maybe I’ll indulge myself too when I get back home,” Felix yawned, snuggling into the pillow more. “If I wake up in the morning, I wake up.”

If Locus responded Felix didn’t know it. His head was to hazy with sleep. Everything in the moment felt right. The quiet hum of the house around them. The soft warmth of the bed. The way everything around him faintly smelled like Locus and an ocean breeze.

He feel asleep with a smile on his lips.