Hunted

The worst part of being a journalist was having to go into dingy neighbourhoods. Well, this time it wasn't that bad a place, though still a little lower class than Leandor would prefer. A working man's neighbourhood. Of course it was the same area as his favourite church was in, which made it much easier. The apartment complex in which he was supposed to meet the guy to interview, was not bad. It had a cafe and it wasn't impossible to spot some eye candy to keep him occupied if he got particularly bored.

Leandor had to squeeze through a group of men to get inside. Smelled like they could have been anything from plumbers to whinos, though he hardly cared enough to ask. As he stood inside the cafe, he sniffed his coat to make sure the odour hadn't clung to him. Nope, still the subtle scent of old spice. Good. He dusted himself off and looked around the contents of the cafe. Couldn't spot the one he was there for, so he went over to the back and sat down facing the rest of the room. Might as well spend some time getting his notes ready.

It didn't take long until a familiar head covered with blond curls showed itself. The guy scanned the area quickly, and upon seeing Leandor, he laughed loudly - too loudly, some would say - and started making his way over. Sitting down, not exactly in an elegant fashion, he rested his elbows on the table. "Hi!"

"Good evening, Bradley." He smiled warmly at the newly arrived man as he placed a notepad on the table. When it came to interviewing, he preferred to have everything out on the table for easy access and to make things simpler when he went to write the actual article, but some people weren't fond of his preferred tools. "Do you mind if I record this? No one else will hear it, I'll just use it to get my facts straight later."

The curly blond laughed again. When he finally got himself back together, he shook his head lightly. "You gotta be fucking kidding me." He scratched his head, then pushed to his feet. Smirking over his shoulder, he started walking over towards the counter. "Just need to get me a cup of coffee or something..."

That was probably a 'no', then. He shrugged and got his lucky pen out. "Now that you mention it, I'm rather thirsty. Would you get me a coffee while you're up there?" It was going to be harder without a recording, but he had expected that much. Considering the topic was crime, not many of the people he interviewed were going to be excited about being on tape. He leaned back in the seat and gazed over at the door, willing more eye candy to grace his line of vision as he waited.

When Bradley returned to the table, the one cup of coffee had become two super-sized coffees, two chocolate chip muffins and an egg sandwich on a tray. He let out a rolling chuckle as he placed it between them, picking up one of the coffees to take a sip before he sat down. "Got a bit hungry," he explained, "so... what's new your end?"

He was starting to remember why he chose that guy; was nice and friendly. If he was maybe 15 years younger and a bit cuter, Leandor might have been interested. "New? You should know better than that. I'm a creature of habit and the unknown sends me scurrying off back into my rabbit hole." He smiled and took the other coffee for a careful sip. "Shall we begin?"

"Sure." Bradley smiled, then seized the sandwich. Taking a big bite, he munched happily, turning occasionally to glance over the room. When his attention returned to Leandor, his eyes quickly drifted down to the notepad, visibly holding back a chuckle.

"Very well, let's go back to the start." Leandor quirked an inquisitive brow. Hopefully finding everything amusing wasn't infectious. It suited Bradley, but he had doubts it would work for him. "Where were you born? Where did you grow up?"

The guy shook his head lightly, swallowing the rest of his food. "Come on, you know that bit!" He laughed again, took a quick peek over his shoulder, and eventually sighed. "Alright. Around here somewhere. I'm actually not quite sure where mom stayed when I was born, never felt a need to ask."

Was he looking for someone? It wasn't unusual for people in areas like that to be constantly looking around. Leandor used to be one of them, so he understood to some extent; not completely. He twirled his pen between his fingers, not feeling the need to take notes quite yet. "I'm not using what I know to write this article. I'm using what I'm told. That way no one gets upset. So tell me how you grew up. What was your mother like? Any siblings?"

"Four siblings that I know of. Two brothers, two sisters... you know, that woman you're afraid of is one of them." Bradley laughed loudly again. "My mother? She was nice when she was sober. Not too often, though. Couldn't find work, so she got worried out of her mind, drank more, still no work..." He shrugged, then took another bite out of the sandwich while gazing thoughtfully over at the other man.

That was good to start off the notes. He picked up the notepad and wrote down a couple points and a shortened quote. "Afraid of a woman? Don't make me laugh..." He glanced up at Bradley and smiled lightly. "I prefer the term allergic, but tell me more about those brothers..."

~~~~~

Everything was going well. Had a few pages of notes and golden quotes that were bound to keep the reader's interest. He was really enjoying chatting with that man again; it had been too long since Leandor had cleaned up his act and became a contributing member of legal society. The interview was a good way to stroll down memory lane without screwing himself up again.

He took a slow sip of his coffee. It was almost done, but it was really good and he considered going to get a second. Cross that bridge when he came to it, at the moment he had other things to tend to. "This is all very interesting. I didn't know all this about you, but..." He trailed off suddenly as he spotted someone entering the cafe. Recognised that face almost immediately. It was that religious freak from church. Leandor cleared his throat, getting his thoughts back together to continue whatever he was saying - if he could remember - but before he did, the man started in their direction. Surprised, he forced a smile at Bradley as he nodded at the approaching man. "Friend of yours?"

The curly blond hesitated for a moment, then when he was about to answer, the redhead rested a hand on his shoulder. "You two know each other? Interesting..."

Flashing a quick smirk, Bradley responded. "Yes, boss. Me and Lee, I mean Leandor, go years back."

"This is rather unusual. I didn't expect to see you again." Leandor moved to get up, but decided against it. Somehow he doubted the homophobe would be willing to go through the typical handshake introductions. Instead, he offered a friendly nod. "I assume your name isn't 'boss'...?"

With a light snort and a raised eyebrow, the redhead met his gaze. "I'm Zach." He looked back and forth between the two seated blonds, then added, "anyone care to enlighten me what's going on?"

Not exactly the most friendly person on Earth. Wasn't exactly excited about reporting to the guy, but figured if he didn't, Bradley would. "I'm simply interviewing my dear friend. I'm writing an article in an independent paper about how people get into this business."

"I see." That was apparently enough to make Zach invite himself to the party. With a nod, he sat down on a free chair, then decidedly addressed the curly blond. "I met this fellow in the church the other day. He thinks his sins are hard to wash away... think he's right?"

Bradley looked confused from one to the other for several seconds before breaking out into loud laughter again. When he stopped and drew his breath, he spluttered and resumed laughing. Rather short on breath, he eventually shook his head. "No, he's straightened up pretty well now. Aren't you, Lee?"

"Not quite the word I'd use. Cleaned up, maybe." He couldn't fight the grin at that laughter, but his attention was mostly on Zach. No way was that interview going to continue with an audience. So he leaned back as he finished off his coffee. "What about you, Zach? You don't strike me as someone who is sin free."

One would think that could bring out some kind of emotion, but the redhead didn't seem bothered. "Noone is sin free. But the Lord forgives." He said simply, then clearly sized up Leandor for a bit. "Even you, if you make the right efforts..."

"Religion, eh?" Bradley got to his feet with a sheepish smile, "I guess I'll have to jolt. There's things to do... hope you got the answers you needed, Lee?"

"Yes, thank you very much, Bradley. The article really would be nothing without your help." He closed his notepad and leaned back to slip it into his pocket. He gazed at the redhead for a few moments, wondering whether or not he should play along. Wasn't exactly on the job anymore, but perhaps it was possible to fish something out for his story. "So tell me, Zach, what efforts would I need to make? I imagine this forgiveness isn't easy to come by, so how would I erase my desires in order to attain it?"

The redhead regared him with curiosity, making himself comfortable as if expecting a lengthy conversation. "You'll have to pray for guidance. The Lord leads those who would follow..." He said with great conviction.

Cute. Just more bible gibberish. Leandor thought about that as he idly ran a hand through his long blond hair. "I have quite a demanding sexual appetite for young men. An appetite that is very difficult to supress. Are you trying to tell me that all I have to do is pray and be willing to follow to make that go away? All I have to do is be a loyal believer and I will suddenly find myself lusting after women instead?"

There was that religious look again. Zach was apparently genuinely feeling sorry for him. Even worse than contempt, which could be fun. "Homosexuality is indeed a difficult disease to overcome, but Jesus can heal you. You just have to let him into your heart."

"Into my heart? That would be rather difficult. You see, as well as not believing in your God, I do not believe in love either. If the two are supposed to go hand in hand, then perhaps there is no hope for my 'disease' after all." What a relief. He glanced toward the door, spotting a couple teenagers entering. Neither looked like his type though, so he returned his attention to the redhead. "What about you? Have you been cured of your homosexuality?"

Zach was visibly annoyed by that, but forced himself not to frown as he started to get up. "Fortunately, God has spared me of having to endure such a nightmare. It's really a terrible sin to indulge in, but I guess the Lord has great faith in you to lay such a burden on your young shoulders."

"Oh, I'm sure he has as much faith in you. The burden of lying to oneself must be much heavier." He flashed a sweet smile and waved. "It was a pleasure chatting with you."

~~~~~

This is a collab, written together with Chlover. You can find her author profile here: http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=26260

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BennyPeace: 안녕 하세요! Good to hear from someone from 한국 :) Glad you like the story, we probably should look at getting a better summary for it...