Pleasantries - Chapter 5 - Faking It
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Chapter 4
Part 2
Part 3Chapter 5
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
interlude
Part 6
* * *
Genre: Drama, Modern, Sci-fi, Dark, Crime
Word Count For Chapter: 20900
Rating: NC17 / M for story as a whole.
Advisories: *takes a deep breath* Language, Nudity, Angst, Adult Situations containing those who shouldn't be in adult situations sometimes with those who should, Implied Discrimination, Idiocy, Implied Violence, Implied Drug Use, Irritating Siblings who are old enough to know better, Photoshop Fail, bad!Anto and Misuse of Library.
Pleasantries - Chapter 5 - Faking It - Part 1
9:10 AM Sunday, May 11
The first thing Telesto noticed as he pulled up his chair at the table was how unusually quiet his siblings were. Breakfast at their house was not a quiet affair.
On any other Sunday morning Rein would be happily talking away about the latest gossip while Damon recounted every detail of the previous evening’s entertainment. Parentally acceptable version of course.
This morning though the only sound was the clinking of cutlery and the occasional quiet snicker as Rein and Damon exchanged failed attempts at covert glances.
This was going to be uncomfortable. Not entirely unexpected though.
Flashing a cheerful smile he grabbed his fork and tucked into his breakfast. He would let them have their fun.
“Alright,” Rythe set his fork down and looked pointedly at each of them in turn, as another round of snickering broke out between his eldest children, “someone start talking. What exactly is so funny?”
“Nothing,” Damon said innocently, “We were just wondering if Tel had a good time last night.”
Rythe turned his attention to his youngest son, “Telesto, care to shed some light on what these two find so humorous?”
“No idea, Dad,” he shrugged, “We just went to PURE.”
Rythe sighed, “Rein? Want to tell me why a club is funny?”
“Daddy, clubs aren’t funny,” Rein scoffed before breaking out into a wide grin, “What happens at them though, that can get pretty entertaining.”
“I see,” Rythe nodded, “So we are all going to have a laugh at your brother’s expense this morning. Well don’t leave me out. Someone share.”
Damon grinned, “Tel had a very interesting dance partner last night. You might even go so far as surprising.”
Rythe arched a brow, “Really. Who was this?”
Telesto shrugged again, though he couldn’t keep the smile off his face, “A friend.”
“Oh no,” Damon countered, “That is where you are wrong little brother. Friends do not follow friends onto the dance floor looking like a vulture about to descend onto helpless prey.”
“Friends,” Rein added, “actually dance with other people at least once in the entire night.”
“Also, friends do not glare like rabid dogs when someone else asks their friend to dance,” Damon put in.
Telesto felt himself starting to blush slightly as his siblings described his behaviour from the night before.
He still wasn’t quite sure where they stood and once they had gone back inside he’d tried to act casual, to keep up the appearance that they were just friends. It turned out to be harder than he had imagined, but he had tried. From the sounds of it he hadn’t succeeded.
“Oh, and don’t forget,” Rein laughed, exchanging a look with Damon.
“Oh yeah, can’t forget that,” Damon agreed with a laugh of his own.
“Can’t forget what?” Rythe prompted.
“Friends,” Rein stressed the word, “Do not …”
“Kiss friends …” Damon added.
“Like that,” Rein cut in.
“In the middle of a dance floor,” Damon finished.
Telesto groaned inwardly. Okay, so he really hadn’t succeeded very well at all. It had just been the one kiss though and he hadn’t thought anyone was paying attention. It might also have ended up being a lot more than just the quick peck on the lips he’d intended. He hadn’t expected to be kissed back. Not then anyway. Not with so many other people around.
That quick brush of lips had turned into more, so much more. Before he knew it there were hands involved and arms and tongues. Somehow they had even managed to end up in a tangle of legs as well. Come to think of it he wasn’t entirely sure how they had stayed standing and really didn’t think he would have cared at the time if they hadn’t. At the time all he had wanted was closer, deeper, just more.
Biting back a second groan of an entirely different nature this time, he focused his attention on his plate.
Rythe’s brows had risen nearly to his hairline as he listened to his twins describe the exploits of their younger brother, “Sounds like I missed quite the show.”
“You did,” Damon nodded, “I have honestly never seen Tel act like that with anyone.”
“I think our little Telesto might be falling for this one, Daddy,” Rein teased trying to get some sort of response from her brother.
Telesto just carried on happily eating his breakfast. Falling? No. That was the wrong tense for that word. Now if she wanted to try again with the past tense, he would have to agree with her.
Rythe smiled, “Really?”
It was Damon who replied, “I gotta say it looks that way.”
“Well then,” Rythe turned his attention to Telesto beaming happily for his son, “are you going to tell me who this girl is?”
Telesto shook his head, “Can’t.”
Damon and Rein exchanged a glance, both attempting to control a fit of hysterical laughter.
Telesto grinned at them. They might tease him and spill all the rest of his secrets but he knew they would leave this one for him to reveal.
Rythe looked puzzled, “You can’t?”
“Nope,” Telesto confirmed as he finished the last of his meal.
“Why not?” Rythe asked furling a brow.
Telesto rose from the table. Picking up his plate he shot his father a grin.
“Because last I knew, Ripp isn’t a girl.”
* * *
9:30 AM Sunday, May 11
“You haven’t slept.”
Ripp looked up with a sheepish smile, “No.”
Sitting down beside him on the bench, Lilith held out her coffee, “Any reason?”
Ripp nodded reaching for the offered cup.
Taking a sip of the steaming coffee he sputtered, “Fuck, Lil! Warn a guy. That shit is already gross and then you drink it black?”
“Sorry,” she didn’t look at all apologetic, “So what’s up with the insomnia?”
“Thinking,” he replied, grimacing around another sip of coffee.
“About?”
Ripp stared down into the cup, “Tel.”
Lilith frowned, “I’d think you’d look happier if you were thinking about Tel.”
Ripp gave her a weak smile, “You’d think wouldn’t you?”
“That’s the thing. I am happy. I’ve never been happier which is really kind of stupid because all that happened was a couple kisses,” he went on staring off into the distance, “How pathetic is that?”
“I don’t know,” Lilith shrugged, “The right person might make me pretty happy. Is he the right person?”
“I think he is.”
“But?”
“I’m not.”
Handing her back her coffee cup he got to his feet, “Thanks, Lil. I am going to go borrow your shower before I go.”
She nodded, “Going over to Tel’s?”
“Yeah,” he sighed, turning toward the house.
“Ripp?” Lilith called after him.
“Yeah?” he paused, glancing back over his shoulder.
“Think about it.”
“I have.”
* * *9:40 AM Sunday, May 11
Anto frowned tossing the paper on the counter.
“Three is hardly a string,” he murmured aloud, “Maybe a short thread, but not a string.”
Leaning against the counter he glanced again at the headline, the smiling face of the second dead alien woman looked back at him.
Cal had been right and the cat had been hers. It had been the best lead they’d gotten. They now knew who she was and that she was a recent college graduate working at a temp agency. They knew she had no family to speak of save an elderly aunt in a nursing home and that she always paid her rent in advance. What they didn’t know was how she’d died or who had killed her.
Officially the deaths of the three alien girls were labelled as ‘suspicious’. There was no concrete proof they had been murdered. No injuries, no external signs of trauma, nothing to link them to any sort of foul play.
The telephone rang dragging him up out of his thoughts.
“For all we know they just died,” he sighed, pushing off from the counter, “Except, that bodies don’t dump themselves in allies and ponds.”
Snatching up the phone he leaned against they wall, “Yeah?”
“Wanna tell me what fucking colour I am?” came the irate voice of Caliban.
Anto frowned, “Green, why?”
“Did you see this morning’s paper?”
“Unfortunately.”
“You didn’t read it did you?”
“No,” Anto padded back over to the counter to pick up the paper, “Should I have?”
“Well you are quoted in the fifth paragraph …”
Anto scanned the article until he found the quote in question.
‘We are doing everything we can to solve these cases,’ assures Detective Anto Nakai. An anonymous source close to the investigation tells a different story, ‘All I’m saying is if these girls were human, this case would be solved by now.’
Anto swore tossing the paper back on the counter as he headed back across the kitchen toward his bedroom.
“Meet you in the office in an hour?” Cal’s voice was low, determined.
Anto pulled open the closet door, “On my way as soon as I’m dressed. You want me to call Taneli?”
“Already called him. He’s bringing breakfast.”
Tossing the phone on the bed, Anto adjusted his sweater, smiling grimly.
They would find who or what it was that had killed those girls, allegations be damned. They were false allegations anyway. The department was not withholding resources on this investigation simply because the victims were aliens. That was simply not something they would do.
Would they?
A cold, heavy weight settled in the pit of his stomach. He pushed it aside. No, they wouldn’t.
Crouching down to fumble his shoes out from under the bed he sighed, “Racism is not this particular department’s problem.”
* * *10:10 AM Sunday, May 11
“Good morning. I missed you. Now get your ass into my room and in bed before I drag you there.”
“What?” Ripp blinked at the rush of words that had accompanied the opening door.
Telesto grinned reaching out to snag Ripp’s hand and pull him inside, “Which part didn’t you get?”
“The last bit.”
“Let’s start again at the beginning anyway,” Telesto suggested wrapping his arms around Ripp’s neck.
“Tel,” Ripp leaned back slightly as the alien leaned closer, “There’s some stuff I need to say.”
“Talk later,” Telesto insisted reaching a hand up to pull Ripp’s head down, “Good morning.”
Ripp managed to hold out for all of half a heartbeat before his resolve crumbled with a tiny, helpless little squeak.
A nagging voice in the back of his mind told him this was not the best way to start this conversation. Ripp ignored it, wrapping his arms tighter around Telesto, crushing the alien against him. This would probably be the last time he got to do this. Everything else could damn well wait.
“Wow”, Telesto sighed, breathless, several long moments later, “I think you missed me more.”
Ripp shook his head, “I do. I did, but we really need to talk.”
“We will,” Telesto nodded stepping back, “Once you are in bed where you can sleep.”
“Tel …”
“No,” Telesto interrupted turning Ripp around, taking hold of his shoulders and steering him toward the hallway.
“I’m really not tired,” Ripp protested.
“Bullshit,” Telesto countered, “Lilith called. You didn’t sleep at all and when we get you in bed you are going to tell me why.”
Ripp sighed and let himself be directed down the hallway. There would be more than enough tension soon, this argument he would let slide.
Once the door closed behind them he turned to face Telesto.
“Now can I talk?”
“Will you sleep when you’re done?”
Ripp nodded, “Yeah. I’ll go home and grab a nap or something.”
Telesto stiffened, “Go home?”
Ripp dropped his head nodding.
“I’m not going to like this am I?” Telesto asked quietly, crossing the room to sink down on the bed, “Okay, talk.”
Ripp swallowed nervously before deciding to just jump right in, “I don’t know what it is you want but I’m pretty sure it isn’t me.”
“I knew I wasn’t going to like this,” Telesto wrapped his arms around himself, “Why?”
“I like you, really like you. Gods, do I ever like you,” Ripp began, slowly pacing the room, “but it just won’t work. Not the way it should.”
“I don’t even know what we are doing and already it is more than I should be doing. I won’t ask you to hide. That’s not fair to you,” he continued, the speed of his pacing increasing with his agitation, “Being stuck with me isn’t fair to you either, but mostly it isn’t safe. I can’t let you …”
“Stop it,” Telesto had risen to his feet, anger evident in the set of his jaw, “Just stop it.”
Ripp stopped.
“Stuck with you?” Telesto snapped, “You can’t let me? You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to just decide like that.”
“Tel, my Dad hates pretty much everything you are and he doesn’t really like me either. If he finds out …”
“Yeah,” Telesto nodded, “I kind of figured that part out already. Him finding out right now would be bad. So we make sure he doesn’t.”
“It’s not that easy,” Ripp countered, “I’m not what you think I am …”
“What? You’re suddenly not human?” Telesto cut him off with a derisive snort, “Fuck that. I don’t know if you’d noticed, neither am I.”
“You don’t understand. There are things you don’t know, things I did …” Ripp sighed in frustration sinking down onto the edge of the bed.
Telesto’s anger subsided at the sight of Ripp’s pained expression, “Whatever it is you’ll tell me when you’re ready,”
Ripp looked up at him, “And if I don’t.”
“I’d like to know what you think is so bad.”
Reaching out a hand Telesto ran his fingers through Ripp’s hair, “I hadn’t thought it through all the way, Princess, but I did know this wasn’t going to be easy. I keep hearing that nothing that really matters ever is.”
Ripp shook his head, “Tel, don’t. I’m not worth it.”
“I think you are,” Telesto countered, “You don’t think I am?”
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Smoothing a stray strand of hair back off Ripp’s brow, Telesto stepped closer, “Then don’t hurt me.”
Ripp opened his mouth to argue only to snap it shut again staring confused at the alien standing before him. It was impossible to argue with Tel doing that, looking at him like that. He was teetering on the edge of giving in. It wasn’t smart, it wasn’t safe and it was the last thing he should even be thinking of doing, yet he wasn’t just thinking of doing it he was one little push away from actually doing it. He got the feeling that was exactly where Telesto wanted him to be.
“If you really don’t want to be my boyfriend,” Telesto began quietly, “I’ll move and you can go, but I really want to be yours and I am okay with doing whatever we have to do as long as I get you to myself sometimes.”
“I …” Ripp’s voice trailed off. Tel actually wanted to be his boyfriend? He really should be saying no. Why wasn’t he saying no?
“Please, Princess?”
Ripp never would be sure if it was the words; the way Telesto’s voice, barely more than a whisper, almost broke on the first syllable; or the way in that moment the alien’s eyes seemed to look right into him telling him everything would be okay if only he’d let it. He suspected it was the eyes.
He believed them.
“You need sleep,” Telesto insisted.
“I’m okay,” Ripp assured him.
“Fine,” Telesto smiled getting down off the bed, “I want a nap and I want you to join me.”
That was an offer Ripp found he couldn’t refuse.
Shifting himself around, Ripp leaned back against the pillows. A moment later Telesto joined him, curling up against his side.
Ripp looked down at the top of the raven head resting against his shoulder catching sight of the satisfied smile playing about Telesto’s lips. He had definitely been out manoeuvred. An entire night spent thinking over what would be best for both of them and planning out what to say had crumbled in the face of one determined alien and a quietly whispered ‘Please’.
He should probably be annoyed by that. Right now though, with Telesto pressed up against him, he just couldn’t. It didn’t bode well for him winning any future arguments either, but if the consolation prize was a deliciously warm Telesto in his arms like this, he could get used to losing. A lot.
“You,” he chuckled quietly, “are a manipulative little shit.”
Telesto tilted his head back, grinning, “Your manipulative little shit?”
Closing his eyes Ripp rested his cheek against Telesto’s hair, “My manipulative little shit.”
Telesto snuggled closer, “Good.”
* * *
On to Part 2.
It's probably loaded with typo's. Let me know if you find any.