A Mixed Tape

Warnings: Language, explicit yaoi/slash, not-so-happy sex (no non-con), violence



Disclaimers: I do not own 'Walking After You (acoustic)' by Foo-Fighters, 'Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay' by Otis Redding, 'Time Is On My Side' by Rolling Stones, 'We Are The Champions' by Queen, 'I Can't Dance' by Genesis, 'Come On Eileen' by Dexy's Midnight Runners, 'Sway' by Michael Buble, 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling' by The Righteous Brothers, 'Like A Stone' by Audioslave, 'Paint It Black' by The Doors, 'Rakuen (Fanatic)' by Sakai Mikio & Sugisaki Yukiru, 'Song Against Sex' and 'Glue' by Neutral Milk Hotel, or 'D'yer Mak'er' by Led Zepplin. Or 'The Adolescent' by Dostoyevsky. Apologies to various adult contemporary enthusiasts.  These characters are fictitious, and any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.



A/N: There will be no fluff here, sorry...and if it does manage to weasel in, it will be extremely minimal. However, I can also promise a relatively happy, non-tragic ending ^_^



There's a lot of music in this fic (ranging from excellent to horrid), but I wouldn't label it a songfic...I guess maybe an elevator music fic? If you see lyrics, Tai's either absently attending to the background music (i.e. intentionally/unintentionally zoning out), or overwhelmed by volume. Hopefully this isn't too distracting, but it fits Tai's personality.



I appreciate feedback, and any suggestions you may have. Special thanks to my delightful pseudo-betas Jaded Dragon and kikvws; you're wonderful! Also, thank you to those of you who reviewed, reviewer responses are posted at the bottom.



/lyrics/ = background music

*word* = action sound

Ajenia = Ah-sian-yuh; like Asian with an 'ah'

_________________________________________________



Chapter 2: Magenta Marinade



/Oh, I'm on your back./



"Welcome back, 'Jenta," Tai said with a smirk and a little salute, as Ajenia approached the counter of the coffee bar once again.



It was 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and he couldn't find it in himself to be surprised to see the man; the little shit appearing wide awake, and as pulled together as he usually did. His jacket was undone for the first time, revealing a tight, black T-shirt paired with low riding, faded jeans and a thick, studded belt. And he still had those goddamn boots on, too.



Running shoes were difficult to stomp in, though, so it was rather sensible.



"The usual?" Tai asked quietly, and shifted his gaze up to that pale face.



Ajenia's jaw tightened slightly in response, which Tai found a little confusing, but didn't care to examine too closely. Instead, he found himself staring at the cold man's jaw, studying the parts of the whole with a kind of morbid fascination.



He had a softly shaped chin that Tai hadn't noticed before; slim, but tender around the edges. Full, somewhat chapped lips always seemed to be pulled tight enough to add a more rigid quality to the shape of his lower jaw. With a genuine smile stretching that mouth, Tai was certain that he'd look...



Probably kind of creepy, actually.



/Another heart is cracked in two, I'm on your back./



"Chai," Ajenia finally replied with a flat tone, folding his arms over his chest, and revealing a tiny strip of skin between the top of his pants and his shirt.



Tai found himself blatantly staring once again; this time at the pale stretch of skin, surprised at the nearly mundane appearance of it on the untouchable man. It looked smooth and muscular at once, reminding Tai of white chocolate taffy that had been pulled too tightly. And the color, even more pale than the rest of him, seemed so white that it was almost bluish in tone. Like...whipped marshmallow creme.



"Showin' some skin today, eh, Magenta?" He propped himself up against the counter, and stretched languidly, giving Ajenia an exaggerated leer.



"More tastefully than you." He unfolded his arms, so he could jerk his shirt back down. Despite the abrupt motion, Ajenia still somehow managed to cover up without seeming self-conscious about it.



It was a little aggravating.



Tai blinked as he finally processed what Ajenia had said, straightening up so he could glance down at himself. His jeans were tight and at that perfect broken-in stage, splattered with what Tai referred to as artful rips that modestly displayed tiny sections of his skin. His shirt, openly visible to customers, was even more subdued. In fact, he highly doubted that Ajenia was referring to the fitted, dark blue button-down oxford shirt, sloppily buttoned to reveal a snug grey T-shirt.



All and all, barely any skin to speak of, but he decided to humor Ajenia.



"You got me there." He tilted his head and shot him a small smirk. Tai turned to face the espresso machine, and pointed to one of the smallest rips that grazed the back of his upper thigh. "Did I scandalize you?" He tossed over his shoulder, then got to work on the chai, not even waiting for a response that he was certain wouldn't come.



He had the ingredients dumped together, fitted up under the steaming wand, when Ajenia surprised him with a snort of disbelief, and a mumbled, "hardly."



"Looking at my ass, Ajenia?" Tai turned so he could watch Ajenia while he steamed the mixture, and found himself having to really work to fight a smile at the flustered look on that pale face. "Maybe I should feel scandalized."



"I would never..." Ajenia delighted him with the sputtered response that was almost lost in the noise of the steamer, causing him to feel a small thrill at being able to rattle the man so easily. "I wasn't looking at...your..."



"What?" Tai cut him off loudly, waving a careless hand at the espresso machine.



Ajenia frowned, folding his arms once again across his chest and locking a glare on the napkin dispenser resting on the counter. Tai turned back to the espresso machine, and concentrated his efforts on swirling the steam wand around the carafe evenly. He glanced at Ajenia's reflection in the shiny plastic of the coffee bins above his head, grinning to himself as the man's gaze flickered from his ass and back to the napkin dispenser uncertainly.



Straight, bi, or gay, the guy had to be a virgin.



He looked up at Ajenia's reflection again, trying to picture otherwise, and annoyed to note that he was no longer facing Tai. Instead, Ajenia had turned to scan over the small selection of books on the sale table across from the counter. Glaring at the irritatingly oblivious blonde in the shimmery plastic, Tai reached for a cup with his free hand. The bitchy, and obviously asexual enigma kept digging through the selection of literature, as if he was interested.



Bullshit...



Tai hissed as the chai bubbled over rapidly onto his hand, nearly dropping the carafe in the process. The steaming wand slipped from the container, spraying him with the hot, spiced tea. He jerked back, his wet fingers slipping on the metal handle, but managed to save himself from a hot bath in the mixture by dropping the cup, and grabbing the bottom with his other hand.



The weight of the tea-filled container forced the expanse of overheated metal against his entire palm, and hot liquid sloshed over the sides, onto the exposed skin of his fingers. With a yelp of pain, he forced himself to hang on as he rushed to toss the pitcher into the closest sink. He immediately twisted the cold water knob, shoving his hand under the stream that came out of the faucet.



The instant throbbing of his hand and wrist was lessened by the coldness of the water, and Tai let his elbows rest on the counter, bringing his head down on his forearms. The skin tingled where spots of heated chai had spattered from the wand, feeling uncomfortably tight as the liquid dried, but not painful. His fingers were rapidly swelling to the first joint, feeling predictably clumsy as he carefully curled them into the stream.



He jumped as a hand roughly shoved his elbow against his own ribs, and looked up to find Ajenia experimentally turning knobs on the espresso machine, until he found the one that turned the steamer off. Openly agitated, he grabbed the rag from Tai's shoulder, using it to jam the steaming wand against the machine, safely away from it's precarious position by Tai's unharmed elbow.



Tai craned his neck so he could keep his hand under the water and stare at Ajenia at the same time. He opened his mouth a fraction, but snapped it closed when the man made a disgusted face and threw the rag back at him. He didn't manage to catch it, still a little shocked at the man's actions.



Ajenia had helped him.



"Foolish," Ajenia murmured with a minute head shake.



Before Tai could reply, Ajenia was walking out from behind the bar, stepping carefully to give him a wide berth. Tai twisted his head around to the other side, and watched silently, until he walked out the door.



He turned back to stare at his hands, wincing as the reddened palm of his left hand began visibly puffing up in a strange, circular pattern. The water was helping to tamp down on the dull throb, but there were still hours left on his shift. Swearing under his breath, he prepared to take a quick trip to the first aid kit for some burn cream and gauze, so he wouldn't be completely useless.



As he swiveled, hand still under the running water, his foot knocked a book against the bottom of the counter. Tai peered at the mellow blue cover, momentarily puzzled. It was Ajenia's, obviously, but now it rested, dejected, on the less-than-sanitary floor.



And it looked really, really boring.



Tai glanced at the cover again, making out the title: The Adolescent. He snorted to himself, attempting to picture Ajenia deliberately shopping for parenting literature...unlikely. Tai couldn't picture anyone getting the tightly wound blond loosened up enough to take his jacket off, much less have sex.



This looked like something else completely.

____________________________________



/...sittin' on the dock of the bay, wasting time.../



"Time...time...ti~me, is on my side, yes it is." Tai tapped his good hand against one of the mailboxes with thinly veiled, pent-up frustration.



It was frustrating, how powerful bad music was, turning a perfectly good day upside down and shaking the shit out of it.



/wasting time.../



"Ti~me is on my side, yes it is," he muttered under his breath.



It didn't help that he was feeling like a complete fool, as Ajenia had named him. He didn't know what the hell he was doing, standing in the foyer like a stalker, clutching the book that Ajenia had been eyeing. Actually planning on leaving it for the bastard in return for saving him a layer of skin or two.



He wasn't sure what to do with it, though.



There was no buzzer nameplate marked 'Frigid Bitch' or 'Pissy Asshole'; only 'A. Thomas'...or 'Shaw'...or 'B. & C. Chang'. And considering that A. Thomas, or Aaron Thomas, had moved out over a half a year ago, he wasn't putting much stock in the little list.



While he did know a good portion of the people in his rather small apartment building, that still left a large amount of possible doors to lead to one bitchy blond in particular. Besides, he didn't really even know when Ajenia had moved in...another oddity, considering the buzz of gossip that usually surrounded such an incident.



/Look like nothing's gonna change./



"But you'll come running back...you'll come running back to me."



There was always the slim possibility that Ajenia was staying with a previous resident. Shacked up with some bimbo that was too stupid to find a guy who would treat her well...which he had a tough time envisioning. And the prick was far too antisocial to be a visitor.



Tai sighed, and settled on balancing the dumb book he'd bought on a whim above the line-up of mailboxes, and marking it as Ajenia's. It was probably as close as he could get for now; he wasn't about to risk asking Josy or one of the other gossip hounds. They'd talk, and he was pretty certain that would only make Ajenia angrier.



/...watching the tide roll away.../



"Time, time, time is on my side, yes it is."



Tai searched himself for some paper, finding a crumpled lunch receipt, and wrote 'Ah-soft j-en-yuh' on the back, as neatly as he could with his stiffly bandaged left hand. He placed it high enough in the jacket of the book, so it stuck out above the spine clearly without falling.



He forced himself to walk away, and not worry about reactions, or the damn thing being stolen.

_____________________________________



Once again, Tai's ass was frozen, and he was just as much an idiot for it. A smart person would've been inside, but he refused to smoke in the apartment. Once that smoke permeated everything, it was a bitch to get out.



He was chain smoking like he hadn't in months, and his throat was beginning to feel raw. But, he couldn't bring himself to just leave his last three sticks alone, so he focused on blowing a small string of smoke rings through pursed lips. The air was so cold, the little, ghost-like rings dissipated almost immediately, sprawling out to form a transient haze over his head.



Something felt...off about the entire day. He hadn't really been quite 'there' for his shift at the coffee shop, his head thick and fuzzy, and his body feeling like it was submerged in water. Tai had anxiously watched the clock until it was time to leave 'Lou's Brew', not even able to stand being around Zack. Now that he was home, though, he found that he didn't really want to go inside.



So, he didn't, instead crouching on the fucking freezing stoop of his apartment building, and brooding.



About money, how his car was falling apart and needed an oil change, how he hoped the burn on his hand wasn't infected, how he needed a new job, hadn't called certain friends in a while, should start painting again, or maybe take a drawing class, whether or not Ajenia actually had received the book...



He was vaguely surprised that made it into his swirling train of thought.



The book had disappeared from the top of the mailboxes, and Tai had really expected an offended Ajenia to show his face at the coffee shop that day. But, he hadn't. Tai couldn't resist wondering about it, and Ajenia's reaction to it. The little bastard had probably lit the book on fire once he realized who it was from.



There were just so many ways he could misconstrue the gift, now that Tai stopped and thought about it. If he was in Ajenia's situation, he'd be completely weirded out. They'd seen each other a handful of times, and he was already giving the man a gift.



Despite knowing his own motivations were far different, he had to admit that, to an outsider, he would appear to be fixated. That was definitely not the case, at least, not in the way that implied. He had always loved a good mystery, but he was no masochist. And willingly being around the asshole for even a short amount of time would make him exactly that.



Tai glanced at his watch, well aware that it was getting late and he had to get up early to get some things done before work, but still reluctant to go in. He was too wound up to do any sleeping, but didn't have the energy to meet up with Riley...besides, Riley had undoubtedly 'booked' his entertainment for the night, and that did not involve Tai.



As annoying as it was, Tai felt a little grateful for the reprieve. There was certain irritating satisfaction that came from knowing that he was the only one Riley kept coming back to, even if he was fucking other people. And, overall, their relationship worked.



Tai enjoyed the spontaneous sex in unusual places, that extra push of adrenalin that came with the danger of getting caught. He also liked retaining his freedom, even though he had yet to fuck anyone since Riley became a regular thing. And the way Riley's lips turned up slightly at the corners with that first slide all the way inside him, almost made them feel like lovers, for a short enough time to avoid stifling.



It was enough.

_________________________________________



Tai removed his apron with his unharmed right hand, and slung it over the hook by the back door of the coffee shop, glad to finally be off his shift. It had snowed again early that morning, which always brought an influx of customers. But, as full as the shop had been, he hadn't seen Ajenia. Tai vaguely hoped that he hadn't scared him off with the book...but, if he had, it would prove to be an amusing means of screwing with the little bastard.



"Call me later," Zack called from behind the coffee bar, busy making a latte for an elderly man.



His black and red streaked hair fell in his face, any style it held earlier long gone from standing by the steamer for several hours. Zack's clothing seemed to be fairing just as bad as it always did when he worked. Tai could never decide if it was because he never wore an apron, or he was just messy. Either way, his patched jeans and red T-shirt were splattered with the usual glossy streaks of syrup flavors, cocoa powder, and dots of sprayed milk from the steamer.



"Bye," Tai grinned as Zack wiped a hand covered in white chocolate powder against his stomach, leaving a fuzzy, cream-colored hand print behind, before waving him off.



Tai threw his jacket on, bracing himself to go out into the cold, before leaving the warmth of the store. It was always a little surreal to go outside after working indoors, with no windows near...that same vaguely out-of-place feeling of waking to a storm after a clear night of deep, peaceful sleep.



It was quiet, muffled by the thick falling of snow that hadn't been in the forecast. It was a light, fluffy snow, and under the street lights it appeared creamier, like the white chocolate powder Zack was so fond of getting on everything.



Tai's mind flashed a picture of one of the worst incidences, where Zack's hair had been almost completely dusted...



"You're so fucking sexy when you smile like that," a voice called out, jolting Tai from his thoughts. He didn't have to look very hard to find Riley in his parking spot in the first row, elbow resting on the lowered window as he cocked his head at Tai. "Get in."



______________________________________________



/...we are the champions, no time for losers, 'cause we are the champions...of the world./



Tai looked up from his greasy economy menu burger, feeling his appetite dissolve as he watched Riley stuff a french fry into his mouth and take a sip of his fountain soda, juggling his cell phone from hand to hand. And he made this annoying sloshing sound Tai had never noticed before, right before he swallowed. Like he was forcing the liquid through the tiny gaps in his teeth until the carbonation disappeared. When he actually did swallow, it was a loud gulp, followed by an equally irritating, exhalation.



Evidence to what Tai had decided a long time ago; their relationship worked better when they fucked first and ate later, with him too sated to notice much at all. But Riley was apparently dealing with yet another catastrophe at work, which forced them to change their usual routine.



"Fucking Christ, Kelly, I e-mailed you the master graphs this morning. Well, where did the changes...?" Riley set his drink down harshly as he listened to the voice on his cell phone. "Santarbos is going to have a shit fit if we don't get our asses down there and put something together." He paused, and shoved another french fry in his mouth. "The bitch has a sixth sense..."



/We are the champions, my friend. And we'll keep on fighting, 'till the end./



Tai rolled his eyes, and took a tentative bite of his burger, effectively tuning out Riley's latest disaster at the subpar marketing company where he worked. From what bits and pieces Tai caught from the many conversations Riley had already had on that damn cellphone, the current scandal involved a new pitch for saltine crackers, and some missing data files for some important meeting in a string of important meetings.



It was all painfully boring.



But, Tai decided that Riley looked damn hot in his dark suit and standard crisp white dress shirt, much sexier than his clubbing clothes. His messy hair and crooked tie made him look like a debauched businessman, but in an entirely acceptable way. He always had a knack for skewing 'proper' impeccably. Finding that perfect area between 70's porn star and stickpin suit, and blurring it with just the right amount of inherently sensual innocence.



A strip of smooth, warm skin peeked out from Riley's open collar, shifting over bone and muscle as he moved around in his seat. It had been a few days since Tai had licked up his neck, his skin with that...taste. Plain. Shockingly plain, always unflavored almonds. It was a sharp contrast to the artificial, peachy scent of Riley's shampoo, and the very faint spice of faded cologne.



Tai shook his head, feeling his stomach tighten slightly.



"Tai?" Riley murmured, covering the mouthpiece on his cell phone. "You okay?" He stared pointedly at Tai's hand, frozen halfway to his mouth, clutching a french fry.



He flushed, and nodded, quickly eating it, but lacking taste. He wasn't sure if he'd been hungry to begin with. Any appetite for food he might have had was long gone, but he picked at it absently.



Not much time had elapsed before Tai found himself once again eyeing the loosened tie around Riley's neck, the way his dress shirt was smoothed open at the top. He spanned the skin from Riley's collarbone to his chin, tuning into those lips, and just above the left side, where there was the faintest freckle. Tai fought the urge to briefly tongue his own lips, ruminating on just how talented Riley's could be.



He dropped his gaze back to Riley's neck, and followed the line of unmarked skin down to his collarbone. There was something about the tease of skin stretching tightly across his collarbone, and disappearing into that shirt, that never failed to arouse him a little.



Tai shifted in his chair as his cock began to stir. The area where his fingers rested on his thigh itched, his skin suddenly feeling too tight. He rubbed his palm against his jeans, and tried to ignore the desire for a cigarette that was trying to outweigh the lust he was scrabbling for.



At least that was more interesting than tuning out his mundane conversation.



"Riley," he mumbled, keeping heavy-lidded eyes on his neck, as his own tongue flickered out to press against a spot on his upper lip. Right where a cigarette-or an erection-fit so perfectly...



He could always have both.



"Rye," Tai groaned softly, a low noise that bubbled up from the back of his throat.



Riley paused, then tilted his head back into the phone. "Call you back, Kel," he said smoothly, and flipped the cell phone shut with a 'snap'. He stared at Tai for a moment, and set his phone on the table. "What up? I know that look."



A quickie in the bathroom, and Riley would drop him off at home, just as blissfully, to his nicotine. He wouldn't even know any better; unlike the one time Tai had been stupid enough to try lighting up a cigarette directly post-coitus...before Riley had pulled out. That had pretty much mutated Riley's distaste for cigarettes into full-blown hatred. Made it impossible to smoke around him without getting a lecture about how easily a cigarette could be dropped, and scorch more than just an overly sensitive abdomen.



And the burn on Riley's skin had barely even blistered...not nearly as bad as Tai's hand was currently.



"Tai?"



He let his eyes linger on Riley's lips, and he leaned forward. "Come to the bathroom," he purred softly, tamping down on his underlying impatience to get the hell out of the 'restaurant', and go home; trying to turn the dial up on his own libido. Riley looked down uncertainly at his half-eaten fries, and picked over cheeseburger, his hooded eyes passing over them, to linger on his cellphone. "Unless you want to fuck under the plastic penguin by Kiddie Playland?"



"Bathroom," Riley muttered, and snapped his gaze up from the table.



/I never thought so much could happen just shooting pool./



Tai stood and slowly stretched, grinning when Riley leaned forward to watch him. He cocked his head, before turning, and heading to the men's room. He glanced over his shoulder to see Riley hastily shove a few fries in his mouth, and stick his cell phone in his pants pocket. Tai muffled his own annoyance, but still ended up smacking his hands a little too roughly on the bathroom door.



Pain gnawed at his left hand, despite the thick padding of gauze wrapped around the blistered mess that Tai was beginning to seriously fear was infected. He bit his lip, and swallowed the throbbing feeling, taking a look around the bathroom. There was no one at the urinals, so he squatted to look under the poorly painted grey stalls.



Empty.



Riley entered shortly, already tugging off his jacket, and Tai reached to snap the dead bolt into place when the door was closed. When he turned around, Riley was on him, pushing him up against the door, hard enough that he could feel his skin throbbing as the handle bruised his side. Riley dipped his head to lick at his neck, swirling his tongue around his Adam's Apple, and sucking.



"I coulda fucked you by kiddie land, you tease," Riley panted against his skin, his breath making Tai's neck feel uncomfortably clammy.



He scraped his teeth along the sensitive skin on the underside of his jaw, and slid his thigh between Tai's legs. Light, rubbing pressure on his cock made him grind his hips forward, shoulders automatically jerking under Riley's grip. It was good, but not enough, with so much cloth in the way.



"Kiss me," Tai mumbled, momentarily hating himself, but began purposefully pushing his shoulders forward anyway.



Riley gave him a toothy grin, and shoved his shoulders back against the door again, holding them with a firm grip. He leaned in slowly, and pressed his lips against Tai's for a soft kiss that made his cock tingle with the rush of blood. While he didn't do it often, Riley could kiss efficiently enough to make Tai feel ridiculous...lightheaded. Maybe it was the contrast of rough hands touching him, and painfully soft lips pressed against his...



He didn't really care.



A tongue slowly, erotically, pressed into his mouth, and slid along his own with a sensual attentiveness that was lacking everywhere else. Tai groaned as he sucked on the slick appendage, tasting stale potatoes from the french fries, and a tangy sweetness from the soda. It made him want to lick Riley's skin, until that plain almond flavoring overwhelmed everything else.



Only the taste of chai seemed to make him as hard as that...fucking flavor.



It never lasted long enough, though, and Tai almost immediately found himself pushed back again, the door handle trying to burrow under his skin. Riley pulled away to unzip his pants, and carefully slipped his erection through the slit of his lime green boxers. He looked at Tai expectantly, and reached up to grasp his shoulders. He applied light pressure that Tai didn't fight, letting himself be eased down to a kneeling position.



/Poor old Johnny Ray.../



Tai sighed, staring at the cock in front of his face, framed by retina-burning green fabric with...miniature pairs of boobs and a few scattered dicks adorning the material. Tai was pretty certain he could make out the phrase 'Titty Fuck!' curling around the bunched up material at the base of Riley's cock. He rolled his eyes, and reached up to push the slit open further, letting it gape enough to give him access to his balls.



Riley was on the large side of average, a nice size that fit in his mouth fairly easy. He also tended to be very responsive, which usually pleased Tai, and comfortably tipped the scale of control. It didn't mean he enjoyed it very much, putting his lips where he knew plenty had before.



It was a little unnerving.



Riley didn't give him much time to speculate.



He pulled gently on the back of Tai's head, and pushed his hips forward, so the tip of his erection trailed along his cheek. Tai shivered as the air hit the slightly slick patch left behind on his skin. He felt a tiny pang of pleasure that Riley was already dripping precum, and spared a momentary thought about the expertise of Riley's previous sexual encounters.



How many times before had he been sucked off by some random twit in exactly the same way?



"You make me so hard." As if reading his thoughts, Riley fisted his fingers along the roots of Tai's hair and groaned. "Harder than anyone else."



Tai tried to squash the ridiculous feeling of pride brought about by hearing that sentiment from Riley, and leaned forward to lick at the head of his erection. Riley's breath caught in his throat, his fingers tightening their grip on Tai's hair. He gently slipped his tongue across the slit, and tasted the precum that was pooling there.



The skin of his erection always tasted very different from the rest of him, obviously more salty and bitter, much hotter. It was a taste he had yet to really define, not adequately, and that bothered him a little. Bad chicken noodle soup came to mind, but it just seemed wrong to associate the comfort food, no matter what quality, with an erect cock. Tai mentally shrugged, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth to take the tip of Riley's cock in his mouth, focusing on his own breathing while his tongue played along the veins.



"You're so good at that," Riley breathed, as Tai experimentally took as much in his mouth as he could, and backed off to tease the head once more.



Tai could feel Riley's legs shaking through his shoulders as he sucked the head into his mouth, rubbing his lower lip along the triangular patch of skin just below it. Riley stiffened for a moment, then jerked Tai's head forward, and rammed his cock too far down his throat. Tai choked, but took the hint, working up a quick rhythm with his mouth, while his good hand kneaded the sprouting erection in his own jeans.



/Eileen, I'll hum this tune forever./



"Perfect...keep doing that," Riley murmured softly, tugging on Tai's hair to take him deeper. "Yes. Sorry about that," he continued in a firmer voice. Tai fought against the urge to open his eyes, already sensing that Riley's full attention was no longer on him. "No, the old hag would never buy it," Riley continued, voice steady, openly annoyed. Tai heard the sounds of a muted female voice speaking rapidly.



On his fucking cell phone.



The dominating, passive-aggressive side to his personality took over, and he sucked Riley forcefully, angrily. He removed his good hand from his erection, and guided it to grip the base of Riley's, roughly jerking in counterpoint to the movements of his mouth and throat. Riley groaned softly, but remained fairly stoic, aside from the smirk that Tai knew was on his face.



"Yeah, well...no, no, that's bullshit," Riley swallowed softly, and his hips jolted forward, smacking his cloth-covered balls against Tai's chin. Tai winced, but kept his rhythm steady, not bothering to hold Riley down. "No, I heard it was slide progression. Yeah. I know."



Tai made his throat vibrate by humming softly, while thrusting his tongue against the prominent veins in his cock. Riley stiffened above him, his fingers curling tightly in Tai's hair as he tried to pull him off. Tai shook his head against the grip, and swallowed a few times, the muscles in his throat clutching at Riley's erection spasmodically.



/When we dance you have a way with me. Stay with me, sway with me./



"Kel...Kelly, let's run through the first five of your verbal. Maybe we can take a shortcut." Tai opened his eyes, and snuck a quick look up at Riley. There was a thin layer of sweat above his lips, that glimmered in the unflattering recessed lighting as his head jerked with his body's rhythm. Tai sealed his lips against throbbing skin and sucked hard, consciously loosening his neck muscles to allow Riley to set his own pace. "Naw," he murmured hoarsely, and licked his lips. "Skip the intro."



Riley grunted quietly, ramming his cock in and out of Tai's mouth as fast as he could, and he fought him dutifully with as much suction as he could stand. Riley's fingers were tangled painfully in strands of his hair, whipping Tai's head forward to meet him with frantic motions.



Without an erection of his own to distract him, Tai noticed his hand was beginning to really sting, tightly clenching loose material by his thigh, and forced himself to relax. The tape attaching the cotton wrapping had pulled free, and the material slipped a little against his wrist. He focused back on the organ in his mouth, and pressed his tongue along the side, as he continued humming.



The phone hit the nutmeg color tiles of the floor with a hollow 'crack', and suddenly, his mouth was empty. Riley pounced, his weight making Tai tip over backwards. He flailed his arms out to his sides, cushioning his landing, but his head smacked against the cold surface of tiles, teeth clicking together with the impact. Riley didn't give him time to recover, instead, held his shoulders down and nudged his cock against Tai's lips.



Tai snarled at him, and turned his head away to look for the phone.



The slimy head of an erection trailed down his neck, guided by Riley's hand while he jerked himself off. Tai reached for the now cracked cell phone, which had skidded across the tiles to rest just under the first stall, beside the outer leg. The tail of his bandage whipped along the dirty floor behind his palm as he scrabbled against the tiles in an attempt to reach the phone. He could faintly hear a voice coming out of the speaker, over the blood rushing in his ears.



"Don't," Riley gasped, his hand tightly gripping his cock while he tugged on it fiercely. "It's muted..." Tai turned back to the phone, and tried to focus in on the voice again, which, thankfully, was still droning on, fully monotone. When he tilted his head back to Riley, dripping skin pushed insistently at his tightly clenched lips. "Tai...please...please..." Riley whined, and painted Tai's mouth with pre cum.



Tai fought against rising bile as his partially bared hand scraped against a sharp metal defect on the leg of the stall, as he slumped against the mildewed tiles. His palm felt damp and hot under the sagging cotton dressing, which had turned a dingy grey in places where the grit of the floor had worked into the fabric. Idly, he hoped his hand wasn't getting more infected.



/You never close your eyes any more when I kiss your lips.../



Tai finally opened his mouth, needing to go home, but well aware of Riley's state of mind. He was not overly sensitive, and Tai liked that most of the time...it was one of the reasons he favored men over women. But, he could really be a selfish asshole, Tai decided passively, when the head of Riley's erection grated against his soft palate, and bumped the very back of his throat.



Fingers gripped deep into his hair again, and the back of Tai's head ground against the chilled tiles as Riley thrust into his mouth. Tai laid still, letting Riley fuck at his own pace, but no longer contributing. Riley dropped his hands to the tiled floor, moving his body forward slightly, so he straddled Tai's head.



His shin dug into Tai's elbow as he crouched lower, but Tai knew he was too far gone to care. His throat protested as he tried to swallow the spit pooling in his mouth, and Riley let out a long groan, speeding up his thrusts. Tai's nose tickled as pubic hair brushed up against it with the rapid, deep jerks of Riley's hips, and he tried to time his exhalations to blow them back. His chin was beginning to throb where the apex of Riley's thighs rubbed him raw.



Finally, Tai felt a tremor of tension echo through Riley's body, feeling the slap of balls against his chin in a disturbing, musical stacatto. Riley ground his hips against Tai's face twice, before jerking all the way out, and gripping his erection in his right hand. Tai's stomach churned when the cock sputtered at him like an old faucet, closing his eyes instinctively, as the first warm spray of cum splattered against his skin.



Riley was gasping above him, still pumping his hips into his hand, forcing every drop from his cock. Tai shuddered as the sticky mess slid down part of his forehead, pooling on one closed eye, while some of it oozed down his cheek to his lips and neck. Little drops of the remaining fluid spattered his closed eyelid, making the skin feel heavy and slimy.



Tai grunted in disgust, and shoved Riley off, not caring when he heard him plow into bathroom stall with a painful sounding thump. He didn't say anything, knew he couldn't look at Riley without losing his temper completely. He spun around and was through the door, past a lone guy waiting in the hall, and was outdoors in a matter of seconds.



Tai shivered when the air from outside hit his slimy face, and he rubbed at the mess with his sleeve.



With a blank mind, and somewhat unsteady legs, Tai walked quickly away from the restaurant. Not that Riley would follow, not when he was 'acting like a chick'. And, maybe he was, running away like he'd never had semen on his face.

__________________________________________



His jacket had vanished, but not his keys.



/In your house, I long to be. Room by room.../



Tai slouched down lower in the backseat of the lukewarm taxi he had finally managed to flag down. He had waited outside the restaurant, with nothing to keep the cold out for close to fifteen minutes, until Riley left.



Tai felt like a bullied child, hiding from his antagonist, but he knew if he saw Riley again so soon, it would end messily.



Which left him feeling fairly idiotic for reacting so irrationally, but also, too cold to really focus on his own feelings, which was a welcome condition. It was his own, cursed fault for not just calling a cab, and now he couldn't get the warmth back. His hands, especially the burned one, felt stiff, and clumsy, so he carefully cradled them between his thighs.

He didn't understand the message Riley was sending him, leaving his keyring behind instead of his coat. Brooding on it was not something Tai wanted to do, but it nagged at him until his mind felt both blissfully blank and chaotic at once. He could already predict trouble sleeping for the night.



Tai sighed as the taxi finally pulled up to his apartment building, and scraped together enough cash out of his wallet to pay the fee. He kept his head down as he trudged up the sidewalk, wincing at the feel of cold air brushing against a dried patch of cum along his jaw, but he felt too wrung out to wipe at it with an already crusty sleeve.



For once, he didn't slide around on the ice that coated the walkway.



Tai made it to the front entrance, unlocking it quickly, and hurried across the foyer to the stairs, more desperate than he cared to admit to be back in his apartment with no outside contact. Padding up the stairs silently, he made it all the way to the first landing before hearing footsteps.



He felt a surge of irrational panic, and glanced around for somewhere to hide. Tai looked ahead to the next landing, where opening one door would have him safely down the hall to his apartment, and behind him, back to the foyer where there was more possibility of running into a neighbor. The footsteps grew nearer, and Tai cursed himself for wasting time, keeping his head down as he rushed up the final set of stairs.



He made it through the door just as he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a darkly clad figure reached his landing. Tai didn't dare look closer. He didn't want to make himself any more identifiable, certain he reeked strongly of greasy food and sex. Hell, he had cum on his face.



Finding himself already clutching the key to his apartment, Tai tried not to jog to his door. He kept his head down, but his heart sped up irrationally when he heard the hinges on the landing door faintly groan. Behind him, footsteps thumped against the ugly plaid carpeting, matching his own until he paused to unlock the apartment door.



He didn't stop moving until he was in his own bathroom, waiting for the shower to heat up while he stripped off his clothes. Through the rush of water, he heard a knock on his door, squashing any hope he might have had about not being recognized. Tai could feel his heart beat resuming a ridiculous, frantic pace, as he searched for a proper reaction.



If he answered the door, half naked...reeking of sex, with a nice trail of semen on his face, he'd have to move out. Didn't matter who it was, there was no way he'd show his face around the building ever again. If he just ignored it, at least he could claim sickness later on.



Wasn't exactly a lie.

___________________________________________________



*knock, knock*



/I see a red door and I want to paint it black.../



Tai looked up from the personal ads he'd been eyeing for about an hour, since he'd come home and showered, trying to lift his mood with a laugh. It ended up having an opposite effect. He discovered that his own standards were apparently set way too low, his situational personal ad ending up along the lines of:



SWM, ISO SM age 18 and up for occasional, degrading sex in public places. No coming on face without prior approval.



It made him feel really, incredibly pathetic.



*knock, knock, knock*



Even ideally, he was coming up with a lot less than others. Tai let his eyes wander over the ads again. He had never really given any thought to walks in the rain, movies, or actual long-term commitments, and had to wonder if the real people behind them did, either. Or the many other well-defined, unrealistic perimeters.



Tai found himself wondering if having no standards was such a bad thing. At least he wasn't too rigid, cutting out people he could've had a good time with. Race didn't matter to him, neither did money. Tai didn't really give a shit if the other person had blond hair, blue hair, or no hair at all. He'd dated a really tall guy before, just as happily as a shorter one. Pudgy, skinny, strong, frail...the few lovers he'd had were, for the most part, entertaining because of the variety.



*knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock*



Tai stared at the door, deciding that his persistent knocker wasn't going to stand for being ignored. He sighed, setting the paper down with as much quiet violence as he could, and plodded to the door. He stood next to the peephole for a minute, knowing in his bones that it wasn't an apologetic Riley, and resenting him even more for it.



Tai expected Josy, or some other annoying neighbor, so he was surprised to find a familiar pale blue coldness staring back at him through the spyhole. He jerked away from the unblinking glare, and tugged the door open with his unbandaged hand. He had a feeling Ajenia wouldn't waste the energy on asking what took him so long, so he felt a little relieved to avoid an explanation. That didn't prevent him from feeling a bit off-balance when faced with hostile company in what was supposed to be his sanctuary.



Ajenia stood there, somehow both stiff and graceful, shooting a glare of disapproval at him. Once again, he wore the fitted, black leather jacket, clasps undone, but still pulled close around his body. From what Tai could tell, Ajenia wore loose dress pants under the long jacket, paired with some kind of high-necked dress shirt. His heavy boots had been substituted with those of a similar style, only shinier and lighter.



"I don't want this," Ajenia mumbled. Tai snapped his head up, to watch Ajenia's gaze comb the floor of his apartment to avoid eye contact.



"Uh..." Tai tilted his head down to put himself in Ajenia's line of vision, and found the book he'd left promptly shoved into his arms, looking at Ajenia's retreating back once again. "You thought enough of it to lug it over to where I was burning a layer or two of skin from my hands," Tai stated flatly, and Ajenia turned back, reclaiming the step he'd taken. He had an unpleasant look on his face, so Tai pushed the book back at his hands, careful not to push too forcefully with his sensitive hand. "I'm fine, by the way."



"I can see that," Ajenia said, as he reluctantly cradled the book in his arms.



He was certainly not willing to be so childish as to push it back at Tai. His sense of propriety was seriously fucked up, but Tai found he didn't mind, especially if it meant he got his way.



Tai backed away from the door, leaving it wide open in a welcoming gesture. Ajenia shifted uncomfortably in the doorway, gradually panning his gaze from the floor to the rest of Tai's apartment. His eyebrows raised at the sloppily stacked boxes of pizza on the coffee table by the couch, and the semi-circle around it formed by empty beer cans. Aside from those, several stacks of bills, old magazines, and a few articles of clothing, Tai thought his place looked fairly organized.



In reality, most of the really disastrous stuff was hidden from direct view.



Mainly, the shitty, worn floral patterned couch; stained and stretched way too thin over batting that had gone limp twenty years ago. Luckily, no longer noticeable, covered with a lush, leather slipcover. Also, the coordinating pictures and accent pieces decorating his walls, some of which were watercolors or photos cut directly from a magazine and jammed into a frame, others frameless paintings bought cheap from yard sales.



There was a handmade metal clock adorning one section of wall by the television, secured in place by a metal hanger twisted about liberal layers of duct tape. Ajenia's eyes scanned right past it all without much reaction, but lingered on the far corner of the living room, where an industrial entertainment center held messy stacks of dvds and outdated videos, all carefully concealed by a decorative draping down the front of the metal bars.



A thirty-year-old bamboo plant stand had been shoved in the corner by the couch, with a large, gangly aloe plant sprawled on top in a black pot. On the other side of the couch, an inexpensive end table balanced another hand-me-down piece, an old lamp painted red to cover orange and brown colored flowers on an iredescent blue background.



/Saiketa hane shiki tsumete kimi wo yokatayou (I spread over you the wings I tore away and lie down with you.)/



"Come on, Ajenia." Tai murmured, watching him from the corner of his eye. "Wouldn't want the neighbors to think we're having a lover's tiff, would you?"



Ajenia stiffened, his face unreadable as always, and studied Tai as he trudged over to his wobbly kitchen table, which had been carefully stabilized with a folded piece of cardboard. Tai sat on a padded metal chair, propping his feet up on the adjacent seat. He tapped his finger against the tabletop, and pointed to the chair across from him.



Ajenia shut the door behind him, but remained in front of it, staring at Tai with his arms folded over his chest. Tai stared back challengingly, and let a wide smirk cross his face, hoping to annoy Ajenia enough to rattle him. But, Ajenia stayed very still, unblinking; he didn't even shift his weight from one foot to the other. It was like staring at a mannequin in a store window. Those creepy, glassy eyes always watching, but never visibly moving...



Tai jerked in his seat when Ajenia's lips parted, and he finally spoke. "What game are you playing?"



"Look...Ajenia..." Tai crossed his legs sloppily on the seat. He scrambled for something reasonable to say, something reassuring, and floundered. "Fuck, man, it's a book. And not even a very good one, from the looks of it."



/...and all the drugs that I don't have the guts to take to soothe my mind, so I'm always sober, always aching.../



No response, again.



No blink, no apparent breathing, no movement aside from the glare tattooed on his face.



Tai sighed loudly. "You stopped me from burning myself. Further, anyway."



"I don't like the smell of burning flesh," Ajenia tilted his head, and something like confusion crossed his face.



Tai chuckled, and rolled his eyes. Ajenia just looked at him with that same puzzled look, which, on a normal person, would've indicated a desire for more information. Tai was pretty sure that on Ajenia, it was something else completely.



"Sit," he implored again, trying really hard to keep from sounding whiny, but it was difficult.



"I'll stand."



"Pissy, pissy bitch," Tai mumbled under his breath, at a loss for a response to someone so obviously lacking in social skills.



Bribery always seemed a safe path.



"If you sit, I'll get you that chai you missed out on yesterday."



And that was all it took. Tai watched as Ajenia closed the distance, gliding straight into one of the chairs, once again annoyed at that inherent grace he seemed to possess. It seemed amplified, since the asshole never seemed to waste a single movement.



Automaton bastard.



Tai walked to the connecting kitchenette, and set about pulling ingredients out for the chai, and earl grey for himself. He reached past a bottle of Irish cream liquor in his cupboard for the tea mix, forcing himself not to spike Ajenia's drink just to see what the uptight prick would be like with a little alcohol in his system. It probably wouldn't work, anyway, considering the amount of suspicion and distrust that radiated from Ajenia.



When he'd finished, he returned to the table, and almost dropped the mugs. Ajenia was shifting in his seat almost awkwardly, as he flipped through the book Tai had given him, clearly not focusing on the text, but needing some kind of distraction. He'd turn a page, shift as though searching for a comfortable position, then turn another page.



Tai grinned to himself. It was obvious that Ajenia was doing everything he could to keep from bolting out of his apartment, stayed only by his increasingly evident sense of honor. Seemed like flipping one of his many switches, from gracefully stoic to blatantly uncomfortable, as abrupt as all of Ajenia's mood shifts that Tai had witnessed so far. Tai set the tea in front of Ajenia, who immediately set the book down, and picked up the mug.



"How's the book?"



"Hn," Ajenia brought the mug to his lips, and took a quick sip of the hot liquid.



Tai winced at what had to be a scalded tongue, but continued, "one of that guy's less appreciated, no doubt."



/The urge is so real, it smells like glue./



Ajenia blew on the surface of the tea, and chanced another tiny sip, jerking back slightly upon contact with the scalding fluid. He refused to even glance at Tai, just kept up the pattern of blowing, sipping, and glaring at Tai's chipped mug with distaste. He tipped the mug for a look at the side, sporting a logo from Riley's favorite strip club, complete with male and female strippers whose clothing dissolved when the mug got hot enough.



His face tightened, and he glared harder at the ceramic.



Tai smiled, but let the moment pass without comment, and pointlessly nodded at the book again. "What's it about?"



Ajenia continued to ignore him, taking larger, scalding sips of his drink. He kept his eyes focused on the swirling glass surface of Tai's table, the fingers of his free hand idly tracing the pattern. Tai sighed loudly, and Ajenia just kept on disregarding him.



When Tai couldn't stand the silence any longer, he snatched the book from the table, and flipped it over to read the summary on the back. "'...the story of a nineteen-year-old searching for identity amid the disorder of Russian society in the 1870s.' Uh. Sounds...serious."



Ajenia reached out and removed it from his grip, setting the book back down out of Tai's reach. "Not really."



Tai arched an eyebrow triumphantly at the intelligible response. "Comedy?"



Ajenia took a drink, swallowing slowly, before mumbling, "Humorous drama."



Tai laughed quietly to himself. "From you, I don't know whether that really is a huge compliment to the author, or what."



Ajenia frowned, and returned his attention to his tea, no longer needing to blow on it to drink. Tai waited for a moment, vainly hoping that the silence would force Ajenia to respond, but knowing it was pointless. He took a deep, loud breath, and repressed a grin when Ajenia's brows furrowed in annoyance.



"It's just that, you don't seem to find many things...amusing." Tai cleared his suddenly dry throat, in an attempt to soften his voice. "Makes me wonder about your sense of humor, finding any sort in that kind of book."



"That's idiotic," Ajenia murmured, blinking at him in confusion.



"Nuh-uh," Tai smiled faintly.



"Yes." Ajenia glared hard, looking genuinely annoyed. He brought the mug to his face, and drank the last of it, setting it down with a soft 'click'. "If I'm so difficult to amuse, that I find something funny should be testament enough to the humor."



"Whatever," Tai smirked, and took a sip from his own neglected mug. "It's probably about murdered puppies or-"



"That isn't funny."



"Exactly."



Ajenia just looked at him, face impassive.



Tai let out an exaggerated sigh. "You don't get it because you don't have a sense of humor."



"Hn."



The atmosphere at the table changed, and Tai knew they were done talking. It was almost tangible, the way Ajenia shut down; his eyes seemed to harden further, taking on that dull, frosty sheen that bothered Tai. Without even pushing his chair back from the table, Ajenia rose in a fluid motion, book in hand, and stalked out the door.



Tai had to wonder at the flicker of genuine excitement that passed through him at the man's reaction.



*From Andrew R. MacAndrew's translation of 'The Adolescent' by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1981, W.W. Norton & Company).



TBC

___________________________________



Responses: DrkDreamer-*lol* That (the 'fucking') is the most important part of a story, isn't it *grin*? I'm shooting for sex in every chapter...hope it stays as realistic for you. Thanks so much for the encouragement! jayree05-Probably the main thing I'm striving for with this fic is realism, so I'm really glad to hear that the first chappy came across that way. Hope the latest chapter leans that way as well. Thanks so much for the review! Lady Chaos-Thank you! This fic will definitely be continued, but your LOVE IT *grin* really inspired me to get my ass in gear with this chappy. Appreciate it! dark_Angel-Thanks for the review, hope this lives up to your expectations! Yes, and sex in every chapter *cheers* to illicit more 'mmm's'.



^_^ Thanks again, those of you who reviewed, and those of you who are still with me.