Nail Polish Lust

Direct continuation of the previous chapter:

The halls of his building were quiet with that strange ethereal silence that came only during the wee hours of the morning before the early risers woke or the night owls went to bed. Trevor was tired, back aching as well as his feet and his sides from the club; the result of dancing like a madman all night and fighting his way back and forth from bar to dance floor through the never ending sea of elbows waiting to accidentally jab him.

He could hear the leather of his boots squeak softly with every step, the eerie silence of the hall making it painfully obvious. Trevor tried to walk quieter, to stop clomping, aspiring to a soft hush of footfalls instead. It didn\'t work. A smile crept onto his face without his knowing as he remembered how he used to pretend he was an assassin when he was a boy, sneaking past the dreaded parents to the kitchen to slaughter a glass of orange juice before creeping back into the shadows of his bedroom.

Agitation coiled tighter in his chest, and he wished he was going back the way he came, back to a club, back to something other than the minor wreck the apartment would be in after whatever earlier party or dinner that had been thrown.

The tasteful oak door with the gold number 52 set into the wood gleamed in the dim hall light and faintly he could hear the murmur of voices through it. The party was still going and there was no way he could go inside with his club clothes still on. He had originally left wearing something acceptable but he had changed at Lucy\'s before going to the club and…well he hadn’t thought he\'d need to go back to change tonight.

With a sigh he turned to trudge back the way he came. He\'d have to go in the old way.

Ignoring the disdainful look from the doorman for the _second_ time tonight he slowly made his way around the side of the building. The alley was dark but the light from the street was enough for him to find the ladder to the fire escape. The metal creaked and groaned under his weight as he scrambled up it with ease that came from years of practice. It was too dark on this side of the window; the halo of light from his desk lamp didn\'t reach far enough to help him. He had to feel blindly for the edge of the sill, fumbling a moment before his fingers hooked the edge of the window, tugging up hard enough to check if it was locked tight. It was. Of course.

With a growl of frustration he let his head thud gently against the glass, the exhaustion of too much dancing and too many drinks washing over him. His head was muddled and for the life of him he couldn\'t think of another place to crash other than Dan\'s, which was off limits since it was Friday. Trevor was tempted to try anyway; surely the brother-in-law from hell wouldn\'t still be there after midnight.

The tap tap tap of knuckles on glass made him tense and pray it wasn\'t his father as he gingerly lifted his head to look. Luke raised one elegant eyebrow at him from the other side of the glass before walking away to flick on the light in his room. Then he returned to stand there, just watching him with an amused smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He couldn\'t help but smile back weakly. It hit him all at once that this is what he had been looking for at the club, what he had been trying to pretend he had in the stranger in the alley.

Trevor pointed at the window latch, \"Unlock it.\"

Luke\'s eyes drifted to the latch in question before returning to him, the amusement turning to something predatory. Their eyes met and something in those dark depths sent an electric thrill running through Trevor, made his pants uncomfortably tight. Then the latch was flicked open.

He quickly shoved the window up and slid through, landing in a crouch on the floor. When he straightened he found himself nose to nose with Luke. The other boy hadn\'t backed away from the window at all and didn\'t seem inclined to move now. They stood there, watching one another, silent.

Time seemed to stand still as Trevor took in everything, the faint mix of champagne and mint on Luke\'s breath, the way his hair fell into dark eyes making Trevor\'s hand itch to push it away, the way the other boy stared fixedly at his mouth until Trevor felt his lips tingle with anticipation. Muffled by his closed bedroom door, he could hear the murmur of the crowd taking over his living room, a steady background drone occasionally broken by drunken laughter. A breeze drifted through the open window behind him bringing with it the dull rumble of traffic and the coolness of the night. Trevor shivered for an entirely different reason.

Then Luke leaned in impossibly close, thin lips brushing feather light against his own, almost too soft to be felt. With anyone else it would be a question, a request, a gentle brush of lips saying \'I want this, do you?\" Luke didn\'t make requests.

Trevor barely had time to react to the apparent sweetness of that first touch before Luke returned, teasing his willing mouth open with arrogant determination. The other boy\'s hot tongue slipping between his lips to claim him, exploring his mouth with a slow proprietary diligence that Trevor had never experienced before.

He couldn\'t help but think of Dan. Dan was persistent and aggressive by nature, and it showed in his kisses. Every last one of them flavored with a harsh sort of intensity, like Dan was determined to get as much out of every second as possible regardless of what Trevor wanted. Like he was afraid Trevor would disappear before he had his fill of him.

Luke…was so similar. Just as persistent, just as aggressive as Dan could be but in a completely different way. Where Dan was brute force and rough charm, Luke was smooth, sly, and charismatic to a fault. Where Dan devoured his mouth, Luke savored with a leisurely confidence. As if they had all of eternity, like Luke knew there couldn\'t possibly be anything more enthralling than this slick give and take of lips and tongue.

Soft hands slid under his t-shirt, traveling sensuously up his back, thumbs pressing and dragging lightly up either side of his spine. When they reached the center of his back they tugged him forward until he was pressed close to the lean line of Luke\'s body, feeling his heat through their clothes. Trevor automatically let his hands slide beneath the dress jacket, over lean sides and down, palms smoothing over the gentle curve of Luke\'s ass.

He moaned, disappointed when Luke finally leaned back breaking the seal of their lips. He tried to remedy the problem immediately, leaning in to resume the kiss.

Luke evaded him with a slow grin, \"I have to get back out there before someone comes looking for me.\"

Trevor shivered at the way lust made the already sensual voice that much better, \"There\'s enough time for something fast.\" He knew he was one step away from begging for more and he hated himself for it, but he couldn\'t stop.

Luke chuckled, dragging his nails lightly down Trevor\'s back as he removed his hands, sending more shivers through Trevor\'s body. He groaned and closed his eyes, murmuring, \"C\'mon I\'ve got to be better than any boring party my parents throw.\"

One long finger traced Trevor\'s bottom lip, causing Trevor to open his eyes just a sliver. He slowly leaned in letting his lips slide down to the knuckle sucking suggestively, tongue flickering against the tip. His hand slid down, rubbing and stroking Luke through his slacks appreciatively. Luke watched him with rapt fascination, breath catching in his throat when Trevor touched him.

Trevor\'s fingers found the zipper, toying with it, teasing them both. Just before he started to drag it down, the doorknob began to turn with a rattle. With a startled gasp, eyes wide, he jumped back, all but diving into his closet just as his door banged open.

\"Luke! There you are. We\'re all missing you out there.\" The voice was female but Trevor couldn\'t place it.

He leaned back into the dark confines of the closet, his clothes pressing against his side, watching Luke compose himself in seconds, straightening his back and lifting his chin while buttoning his jacket to hide the signs of his arousal ruining the line of his slacks. If it hadn\'t been for the way Luke\'s lips were reddened from the kiss or the frustrated glint in his eyes as he casually walked towards where Trevor hid, shutting the door partway to keep him hidden, Trevor would never had known it had happened at all.

\"I\'ll be right there Melissa.\" For a moment Luke paused there, hand still on the closet door, their eyes locked.

\"Alright Luke but don\'t take too long.\" They both heard the clack of her heels on the hardwood floor outside the bedroom door. Both heard her mutter as she retreated, \"What the hell is he doing in there?\"

Luke smiled slowly, a wicked amused sort of smile, \"The rest of the night is going to be pure hell. What are you doing tomorrow?\"

Trevor felt a little surge of excitement and shoved it back quickly, \"Seeing a friend.\"

\"Sunday?\" Luke reached out, as if he couldn\'t resist the urge to touch any longer, his fingers trailing along the inch of stomach revealed by Trevor\'s shirt, which had ridden up at some point.

\"I\'ve got a paper to write, due Monday.\" He hated how breathless he sounded.

Luke\'s hand slipped inside his pants so slow it was excruciating, \"Ms. Madden\'s King Lear assignment?\"

Trevor closed his eyes, the yes coming out a strangled noise that could have meant anything. But really he couldn\'t be blamed because Luke\'s wicked clever fingers were brushing against him light and teasing in a way that should have been impossible in the awkward confines of his pants.

Luke\'s voice was husky, like pure lust twining around Trevor\'s senses, forcing him to reach down with shaky hands to unfasten his own pants giving Luke room to wrap his hand around him if he wanted. Luke didn\'t. Instead the bastard just kept up those infuriating caresses all along his length.

\"Meet me Sunday, we\'ll work on the paper together, get it out of the way and then…we can have some fun.\"

Trevor shivered, but couldn\'t help but grin at the obvious difference between Mr. Straight A student and his own B, sometimes C, grades. He sure as hell wouldn\'t push back the chance of really good sex to finish an English paper. Well…they\'d work that out on Sunday.

\"Where?\"

\"My house, my parents won\'t be there.\" Luke finally wrapped his hand around him, finally stroked him just like Trevor needed it, magnanimous in his victory.

Trevor bit his lip viciously, muffling a low groan as his hips thrust helplessly into the warm clasp of Luke\'s hand, praying fervently that it would stay long enough, that no one would walk in his open bedroom door and find them in the closet. He was so close, between the near miss encounter at the club, everything that had almost happened since he had come home to find Luke in his room, and the sound of that deep sexy voice in his ear he was right on the edge.

Luke shifted, moved, stepping inside the closet, leaning casually against the wall beside Trevor. Warm lips trailed languid teasing kisses along his jaw and neck until Trevor couldn\'t help but turn his head and capture them with his own.

The kiss was sloppy wet and needy, Trevor too close to the edge to manage much more than that. Luke pulled away, and all Trevor could see were his lips, red and slick, mouthing his name, whispering liquid commands in his ear. It was over all too soon, mere seconds before he was coming into that tight grasp, grinding his teeth down on the loud moan building in the back of his throat, changing it to a rasping whimper as his body twitched, tense beyond all reason for those few seconds of ecstasy.

When he came back to himself Luke was fastidiously wiping his hand clean with a white handkerchief, when he was finished with it, Luke tossed it at him, \"Don\'t forget Sunday.\" With a smirk, and an amused glint in his eyes the other boy stepped out of the closet leaving Trevor to pull himself back together.

***

When he was younger, he could remember his father pulling him close, ruffling his hair affectionately, \"Promise me you\'ll always look out for your Mother and Meg, Daniel.\" Dan could remember looking up into his face, weathered and lined with age. Already his father had begun to show signs of the illness that would kill him a year later though at that time he was hiding it from everyone else in the family. Dan had been so proud that Dad had trusted him with something that important, he never questioned why.

He had taken it serious too, especially after dad had died. His mother had been amused when he started following her around, helping out wherever he could. Meg hadn\'t been as thrilled, she was seventeen then and having her ten year old baby brother trying to follow her everywhere hadn\'t been her idea of a good time. Not that he could blame her.

But he had tried his damndest anyway even though it was next to impossible to look out for someone nearly ten years older than you. He was too young to make sure she didn\'t kill herself climbing the huge pine trees out in the backyard when she was nine and wilder than he would ever be, too young to stop her from falling in with the bad kids when she was in high school and tempted by the drugs and liquor, and too young to stop the older boys from taking advantage of her when she started to mature.

But he was old enough to be there for her when she would allow it, someone to talk to, offering up his clumsy immature advice when she was in trouble, when the world hurt her. And in some ways, it was enough. A few times he had even managed to take the heat off of her from their parents, letting cigarettes and empty whiskey bottles be blamed on him rather than her, once even a wild weekend party while their parents were out of town.

Megan needed someone to keep an eye out for her. She was so full of life, so stubborn, so _blind_ to how harsh life could be. It had always been too late for him to do much about it, by the time he was old enough to understand what she needed to be protected from she was already leaving. She was made for something greater than the steady safe life their parents had wanted for the both of them.

He could picture her in his mind, the day she had gone off to college, paying for it herself from the money she meticulously saved from her part time jobs, refusing anyone\'s help. She had been so excited, eyes the same color as his own dancing with joy, red hair coming free of her rough braid sticking out every which way giving her an electrified look, her tiny body almost vibrating with the need to be gone, to try something new, her mind already there.

But for him she pulled herself away from the siren call of college, of getting away from home and family, long enough to hug him, with a fierce strength she seemed to delicate to possess. \"Try taking care of yourself Danny, I\'ve got it from here.\"

That had been it. She had gone. From then on there were letters and calls, the occasional visit with the man of the hour tagging along, usually some nerdy intellectual sort that treated her like she deserved to be treated, like a goddess.

And he had worried for her, wondered if she was okay, wished he could protect her like he hadn\'t been able to before.

Wished that she would let him.

But Dan had always had this feeling deep down that in the end she would be okay, she was delicate but fierce and she would get exactly what she wanted from life.

That feeling crumbled to dust when he met Pete for the first time.

Pete was a big man, tall and broad shoulder, with boyish good looks. Dark silky hair that always fell into dark brown eyes that were just a bit too wide and bit too large, giving him an innocent sweet look that probably had girls falling all over him. It distracted from the thin cruel mouth and hard jaw. He liked to brag about himself, the things he had done, the things he had bought, and the trips he planned to take. He tended to take charge when things weren\'t being done fast enough for him.

Pete wasn\'t one of those star struck intellectuals that his sister was usually so fond of; no he was a whole different animal. A wolf in sheep\'s clothing. He was polite and charming, their mother loved him to death. This time it was Meg with the starry eyes, worshipping Pete\'s every word. And on the surface he seemed just as infatuated with her, always generous with her, always getting her what she wanted.

By then Dan had been made detective and he _knew_ people, and there was something not quite right about Pete Kilgore, something slimy beneath the good military boy charm. There wasn\'t a damn thing he could do about it either; he had nothing on Pete, nothing he could prove, just this feeling. So he kept his mouth shut, tried to be there as much as he could, hoping he would be able to cushion her fall when it came. But so far it hadn\'t.

Those were the thoughts swirling through his mind as he waited for them to show up. A light super fast rapping dragged him from his memories. Megan\'s knock. She was only five minutes late, Pete\'s influence, since Meg never could get anywhere less than a half hour late.

Dan dragged himself up from the couch giving the apartment one last glance before going to answer the door. The rapping continued the entire time, speeding up slightly until he heard a low growl and it stopped altogether. Pete.

He answered the door with a smile that faltered for a moment when he saw his big sister for the first time in a year. She was all smiles, but her eyes didn\'t dance with good humor like they used to, and there was something shrill in her overjoyed laughter as she reached to hug him. Her body felt too thin, frail in his arms, and her too sharp chin dug into his shoulder. She wasn\'t eating.

\"Hey baby brother! You look good.\" Her hand lighted on his cheek for only a second before fluttering away, \"Are you good?\"

He shrugged and stepped back out of the doorway, \"Come in. And stop worrying, that\'s my job remember?\"

For a few fleeting seconds he got one of her old genuine smiles, then Pete\'s hand slid over her arm and the light in her eyes dimmed again. They moved past him, into the living room, Pete following Megan, still touching her, hand on the small of her back now. Nate came last, not looking up, eyes fixed on the blue gameboy firmly grasped in his hands.

Nate was possibly the only good thing to come from Meg and Pete\'s marriage. The kid had gotten the best features from both his parents. Big blue eyes, thick wavy red-brown hair, his father\'s handsome face with all the sharp angles toned down just right. He was going to be a heartbreaker once he grew up.

Megan took a seat on the couch; Pete perched on the arm beside her gingerly as if he was afraid he\'d sit in something disgusting. Nate drifted over and settled on the edge of the couch beside his mother.

Dan took a seat on the coffee table, watching Pete and Meg, taking in the possessive arm wrapped around her shoulders, thumb brushing lightly over her shoulder. She started talking, stumbling over herself to fill up the silence with something. Dan could see Pete\'s hand tighten imperceptibly on her arm every once in awhile, whenever that happened Megan changed the subject. It was so subtle that he would have missed it if he hadn\'t been looking for something off about them.

\"So that\'s what we did with the garden, you\'ll have to come up and see it sometime Danny.\" She paused for a moment licking her lips nervously, \"How are things with you? Are you dating again?\"

Dan sat back smiling faintly, \"Yeah…a little.\"

Meg leaned forward smile warming to something real again, \"Really. You sound like you aren\'t telling me everything.\"

He couldn\'t help but flick a glance at Pete who was watching him with a bored expression, \"I don\'t want you getting your hopes up. It\'s not going to work out. She\'s,\" He paused a tiny grin creeping up on him at the thought of Trevor as a girl, \"moving away in a few months.\"

Meg frowned and reached out to squeeze his knee, \"I\'m sorry Danny. Maybe if you told her you were serious she might stay?\"

Dan shook his head, \"I don’t want to influence her Meg. She knows I want her around but it has to be her decision. I don\'t want her to resent me.\"

\"Danny-\"

Pete stood, \"I think it\'s time we went Megan, we don\'t want to miss the plane and I\'m sure Dan doesn\'t want you badgering him.\"

\"Oh I don\'t mind Pete, she is my sister after all.\" Hostility edged his tone as he stood too, meeting Pete\'s stare head on neither of them looking away. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Meg watching them, frowning. Nate didn\'t budge, seemingly oblivious to the rising tension.

\"Well yes I guess we had better go. C\'mon Pete.\" Meg grabbed her husband\'s arm, tugging to pull him away.

Pete finally turned away from him after it was obvious that it was his own decision not Meg that made him, \"I\'ll wait for you in the car Megan. Don\'t take too long saying goodbye.\"

Meg waited until the door shut behind him to turn on Dan, \"I\'m sorry about that, he\'s tense lately, work hasn\'t been going so well and Nate\'s been doing horrible in school.\" She shrugged helplessly, \"We\'ll stay longer when we come to get Nate I promise. I miss seeing you.\" She gave him another insubstantial hug before hugging Nate. Then she was gone.

Nate had stayed silent through the entire exchange, bent over his gameboy on the couch. Something about the way Nate was blocking everything out bothered Dan. Not that it was unusual for a teenager to bury himself willfully in something and ignore people; it was the way Nate was doing it. There was no edge of rebellion, nothing sullen about the slump of his shoulders. No, he seemed more resigned to his silence, as if anything else would be punished.

Something wasn\'t right about that behavior. Something that didn\'t click with Megan\'s cheerful monthly calls that always sketched an almost perfect family that fought only occasionally.

When Dan turned from locking the door he found Nate watching him warily head still tilted down, and he could almost see the scales tipping back and forth in those pale blue Hunter family eyes as he was judged, threat or friend.

Feeling dread settle in his stomach as his suspicions grew as to just what sort of homelife Nate had, he moved towards the kitchen. Forcing a smile, he let how glad he was to spend time with his nephew bleed through in his eyes, \"Hey Nate. Want something to drink?\"

Nate nodded ever so slightly but still didn\'t speak.

\"I went out and got some different stuff for you since I don\'t know what you like.\" He perused the contents of the fridge, rattling off what was in there, without mentioning the weird pink ginger ale crap Trevor drank when he wasn\'t stealing beers.

Dan straightened, looking into the living room when Nate didn\'t say anything. The boy was staring at him frowning a bit, \"C\'mon Nate, pick something. If you don\'t drink them they\'ll be in the fridge forever.\" A lie since Trevor would drink anything that was more than fifty percent sugar.

\"Um.\" Nate\'s voice cracked and he cleared his throat, speaking up, \"Whatever. I don\'t care.\"

The kid was wound up tight and Dan made a split second decision, tossing out his resolution to play it straight and narrow around his nephew, \"Want a beer?\"

Nate\'s eyes lit up and Dan could see the scales tip over to friend with a resounding clang; he couldn\'t help but smile. Teenagers. They were entirely too easy to thrill. Without waiting for Nate to speak up he grabbed a couple cans and slammed the fridge door. \"Just don\'t tell your dad about this.\"

A smile twisted Nate\'s lips as he took the can from him, \"No I um. I wouldn\'t do that.\" He popped the tab and took a sip, nose wrinkling at the taste.

Dan couldn\'t help but laugh at the betrayed look Nate was giving the beer, \"It\'s not supposed to taste good, it\'s just supposed to give you a buzz. Don\'t tell me you never snuck some out of your dad\'s stash.\"

\"Dad doesn\'t drink at home.\" He took another sip, this time managing not to look disgusted.

Dan resisted the urge to grill him on what exactly his dad _did_ do, and instead settled in to watch a little tv and coax his nephew out of his shell.


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Hiryuu-LOL thanks for the compliment and well, I\'m horrible at updating fast. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Tehanu-I\'m glad you love it, thanks!

KlebKat-*sigh* You\'re going to hate me but see the above note. One of these days I will work on the serial killer part. Really. Just not right now. I hope you still enjoy the story though even without that aspect. Thanks for reading.

ThePQ4-*cough* Well how\'d the frostbite go? I hope you\'re alive and well and it\'s warmer up there now *G* Tennessee\'s boiling right now. Ugh. *hides from the heat*

British accent. Huh. How strange, well at least you didn\'t read it with a southern accent in mind. *chuckles* Well you have your Trevor/Luke in this one. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks!

Keishi-LOL I am continuing it, slowly but surely. I\'m glad you\'re enjoying it

Mscimorene-Thanks for commenting on the sex, I always worry about it to some extent, if it\'s real enough or if I\'m swerving off into the realm of the impossible. *G* I don\'t know what\'s going to happen with Trevor, Dan, and Luke, I have ideas but things seem to change radically when I\'m actually writing, so we\'ll see. *G* And yes RL is a bitch, I try to pretend it doesn’t exist whenever possible. Thanks!

Reed-*beams* Wow, now that\'s flattering. Thank you so much. I am curious as to what you think is going to happen, *grins*

Evelyn-Revolutionary. *G* Thanks!

Sabrina-A lot of people have that reaction to Luke, I doubt your opinion is going to improve any with this chapter. Personally I\'m half in love with the character but then I\'m the one writing him so I suppose that\'s…hard to avoid. *G* The domestic scenes are the most fun to write, I\'m going to have to start putting more in.

Mercia -Oooookay.

ChibiHentaichan-Yup. *G* Um. Thanks.

Sirolwen-You know, I hadn\'t realized it until you pointed that out but you\'re right. I do always seem to write them in that one position. *G* I don\'t think Trev minds getting smashed into the furniture but, I\'ll have to see if I can\'t honor your request next time around.

Scrawl-*G* Finally! Someone that likes Luke! *is excited* Wow pot belly *chuckles* Um, when I write Luke I always visualize something of a cross between Wolverine from the X-men comics (The comics, not the movie necessarily) and (probably the fanon version) of Ray Kowalski from Due South (is this not a weird combo?) But *G* Wolverine\'s build and more of Ray\'s looks/hair/etc. Don\'t know if that helps a bit since you already have your mental image set so *G* Ignore me.

Meg-S\'kay, you\'re reviewing now. Well you have your Luke scene, and at least a guarantee of one more (though I really do think Luke is goin get get at least as much time as Dan and Trevor from here on out).

Leaf Zelindor-Ah, well, it\'s always a treat to come back and find more than one chapter. Glad you liked them

Luxy-Thanks, hope you like the new chapter.

I\'m_a_little_mental-Really? (this is so bad of me) but um where? Just curious.

MidnightMoon-And then I throw a chapter full of Luke at you, with no sign of Dan/Trevor in sight *innocent smile* Sweet aren\'t I?

Ms. Skippy-*winces* Let me dig up a link to my update list if you\'re sick of checking in a hundred times and just want an email when I do finally update. I know it\'s irritating, I apologize. I\'m glad you love the story enough to put up with the hassle though.

Muraki-Thanks! Glad you like the little boogers.


Meg-Oh dear and that was in april, bad me. Bad bad me. Hope you like the new chapter though

SnyperKat-Thanks! I\'m not good at soon though, just so you know

Anon-nice. I\'ll take that. Thanks

Nakht-Why confused?

KlebKat-*hides in fear* Um. If you kill me you _definitely_ won\'t get another update, I will so withhold future updates because I\'ll um…be dead. So there! *G* On that note, I updated!

Meg-What kind of cookie?

yn-Nyn-Nope.

Tinyteeth-Because…it\'s fun? I didn\'t mean to tease really. I swear.