Book 6, Chapter 2: And Dream of Making Our Escape (2/4)
Title: And Dream of Making Our Escape (2/4)
Authors: kiltsandlollies and escribo
Characters: Billy/Dominic
Word Count: 5009
Summary: Continues from here.
Index
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction; the recognizable people in the story belong to themselves and have never performed the actions portrayed here. I do not know the actors nor am I associated with them in any way. If you are underage, please do not read this story. I am not making any profit from these stories, nor do I mean any harm.
When they step outside from the theatre, the sun’s set, and Dominic can tell that they've missed the rain. The air feels cool and fresh even tinged with the tang and spice of a city, and it’s a relief to overheated skin and mind. Dominic’s pleased enough with himself, with Billy and with this whole evening so far, he could almost whistle. Billy’s not looking much less smug, and he laughs out loud when he spots food and drink, pointing Dominic toward a slightly down-at-its-heels pub next to a bustling, low-lit restaurant.
"What do you think?" Billy murmurs, nudging his shoulder against Dominic's.
"Mario's," Dominic reads. "Italian. I think that's a top idea. I'm starving."
"When are you not?"
Dominic smiles along with Billy's joke and slides his arm around Billy's waist, kissing him--in public, a thought that makes his head spin with the headiness of it. He knows Billy's likely thinking the same thing if he's not already planning his meal. Dominic’s grateful for this city, for the relative anonymity it allows them both. Few people would bat an eye at their displays of affection and need here, and not for the first time Dominic wonders what it would be like to live permanently in the city, or in Paris or Berlin, some place far away from where everyone knows them, somewhere their lives would be even easier. He laughs as the kiss ends, stumbling himself and Billy down the block as if they're already drunk. Inside the restaurant, they're given a booth in the back, which suits them both; a single candle in an empty wine bottle sits on the table, barely illuminating them. As Billy shucks his jacket and looks over the handwritten menu, deciding for them, Dominic replays the scene in the cinema that had nothing to do with the actors on the screen. It’s not something he’s ever made a trick of doing, even though he’s had the opportunity; the risks he’s taken with others seem more pointless now that’s he reached a point where can take them with Billy. He reaches up to tug the brim of his hat down low over his eyes, and throws Billy a look heavy and warm enough that he can tell Billy is blushing slightly even as he laughs, shaking his head.
Billy orders a bottle of red and a starter, setting the waitress bustling off to the kitchen and leaving them to the mostly empty dining room. Dominic takes advantage of the peace to reach for one of Billy's hands. "We need to do this more often," he says as he stretches out his legs beneath the table and eases back in his bench, and Billy nods amiably from behind the menu.
“Well, some of it, anyway. I don’t think my back could take it too often.”
“I’d make it up to you.”
“Yes, you would. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were in this mostly to see how far you could take an old man, Dom.”
"And if I didn't know better, I'd think you were in love with me."
Billy lowers the menu and tilts his head, shifting in his seat as his legs slide against Dominic's. "I might be," Billy says, nodding again. "No, I think I must be. Have been for at least a week."
"That long?"
Billy's smile turns up higher at one corner, and he rubs a thumb in a circle in Dominic's palm before his expression turns a bit more serious. "I couldn't tell you the first thing about that film now, but it’ll go down as one of the best I’ve seen, I’m thinking.”
“You think that rubbish Poseidon Adventure’s one of the best you’ve seen, Billy.”
“And I have my reasons, none of which would be of any interest to you. My point is that the film didn’t much matter, did it. That was-” Billy tilts his head, looking for the words, and Dominic stares at him, loving the search just as much. “Insane. And fantastic. If I’d known what you had in store for me, I’m not sure I would have let you go about it.”
“Maybe you didn’t,” Dominic smiles, reaching for his water glass. “Let me, anyway. Maybe I didn’t need the approval in advance.”
“Do it now, ask forgiveness later?”
Dominic laughs at Billy’s arched eyebrow. “I don’t think I need forgiving, Billy. Not this time.”
“You’re right, y’don’t. It’s not easy for me, you know. This having you run the show bit.”
"You told me nothing worth it ever is."
“Your memory’s a dangerous fucking thing, Dom,” Billy sighs, and Dominic can see and almost feel the flush of heat that rises along Billy’s cheekbones, his temples and up into his slightly too long hair. “All right, conceded. And you’ll note how I didn’t stop you, and how I appreciated the view as much as the result. You’re a man of many talents, Dom; the more y’show me, the more I want to see.” Billy takes up his own glass, knocking back a healthy amount of the water before he pushes the glass away again. “Tonight’s yours until you don’t want it anymore, so whatever else you’ve got on your own agenda, odds are good I’m game. Are we clear?”
Dominic nods, his smile thinner now to match the sudden return of Billy’s. “Clear.”
“And are we comfortable?”
“If you are.” Dominic lifts his chin only half-consciously, and Billy lowers his, that smile turning smirk for only a moment before Billy recovers.
“You liked that,” Billy says quietly. “Better than you thought. Y’liked me not letting you, and not getting to forgive you. There’s as much benefit to taking as there is to giving, Dom, and I’m not going to lie; you make quite the sight doing both.” Billy nods this time, more slowly. “Tell me, Dom.”
“I did.” The words tumble from Dominic’s lips before he’s thought them through, and he juts his chin again, sitting up a bit higher, too, before he leans across the table and turns Billy’s wrist in his hand. “Only thing I like better than having you give is having you take, and it's a close call either way."
Dominic holds his breath a little, waiting out Billy’s response to that, but what he receives is enough; Billy tilts his head again, lowers his eyes to Dominic’s long fingers around his wrist and then raises them again to Dominic’s eyes. Dominic releases Billy slowly, but his hand’s caught on the retreat, fingers laced hard between Billy’s for the moment they have before the waitress returns.
She’s brought the wine along with fresh, hot bread and their starter, and Dominic slides his fingers from between Billy’s and sinks back into his seat, not quite managing to look abashed. Once the wine is approved of and poured, Billy rattles off the rest of their order while Dominic takes a long drink, setting down his wine glass only when they’re alone again.
"You liked it as well,” Dominic says simply, not really trusting himself to do more. “Knowing someone could find us--watch us. Like you found me this afternoon."
"I don't make half the picture you did this afternoon, Dom," Billy laughs, tearing off a piece of the warm bread. "You’re a piece of work, and I’m-not. That doesn’t matter either. I swear to you, half the Chairs could have walked in on us and I wouldn’t have had you stop. Your mouth might get you in trouble with me a lot, but it’s brilliant enough t’get you right back out.”
Dominic blinks, surprised by Billy’s bald admission of what they both already knew, then laughs, too. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Y’should. You make me forget everything around me, Dom, and I don’t-turn it off like that. Not well. Not often enough."
Dominic nods, a momentary wave of something warm and tender nearly overwhelming him as he watches Billy stare at his own hands and then take a deep breath. "Would have been an educational experience," Dominic says quickly, winking when Billy looks up again and tugging the brim of his hat down a bit, "Besides, I think at least one of them’s gay. He might have at least enjoyed it."
“Putting aside the legality of it, I think it was pretty fucking enjoyable no matter what side of the pitch you’re on. Which one?”
“The Chair?” Dominic looks up from tearing his own piece of bread off, and then nods when Billy does, too. “Harroway.”
Billy pales a little, then hums lightly. “Another from St. Andrews.”
“Did you know him?”
“No. I’m not sure I knew anyone, really. He-was involved in something a few years before I got there. Something about these two first-years-I wasn’t there when it happened, and I don’t know him. I’m a bit of a bastard for even mentioning it now, so don’t you dare repeat it.” Billy flattens his hands on the table and takes another deep breath. “It wasn’t the worst I heard there, so there’s something, I suppose.”
"Wasn’t sleeping with them, was he?” Dominic throws it out like a punchline, swallowing slowly around his bread when Billy doesn’t laugh. “Go on, Billy, I don’t mean it like that, we’re completely different-”
“Are we?”
"For one thing, I seduced you, and I wasn't a first-year."
"As impatient as one."
Dominic looks sharply at Billy, then relaxes; Billy’s nerves have passed along with whatever memory he’d conjured up, and he’s smirking slightly again, forcing himself back on pleasant track. Dominic breathes easier, and chances another grin. "I couldn't wait, not when I knew."
"Knew what?"
"That I loved you."
"At whatever cost or reason," Billy sighs, then for a moment looks a bit lost for words. Dominic watches him reach first for his glass and then the bread, and then Billy catches him staring. "You’re too far away from me,” Billy says firmly, and Dominic’s half out of his side of the booth before Billy finishes the sentence. “Which I was about to say is the safest place y’could be.”
“Tell me the last time I was interested in safety.”
“I can tell you that you started and ended the night in it, but you weren’t much there in between.”
Dominic swallows hard as he slides back down into Billy’s side of the booth, memory indeed proving as dangerous as Billy had warned, but Billy’s already moved on, pressing a small, torn-off piece of the bread into the warm oil, then offering it to Dominic. “Go on.”
Dominic catches his hand, sliding the tip of his tongue over Billy’s fingers to capture the trace of oil lingering there before he takes the bread, too. “’s perfect,” he says simply, reaching for what’s left of Billy’s share of the bread to tear off more. “Your go.”
And what a go it is, Dominic thinks, holding his breath when Billy draws Dominic’s oil-slicked fingers and the bread between his lips. When Billy's teeth slide against his skin, Dominic feels the shiver run up and down his back, and his eyes darken in pleasure. Billy’s enjoying this, Dominic thinks as Billy sits forward, his lips pressing against Dominic’s now, making Dominic’s head spin a bit. He’s grateful that they’re mostly hidden from the view of anyone else as he dips his head willingly to take in Billy's fingers again, the bread, the oil, everything. He swirls his tongue around Billy's fingertips and nudges a little closer under the table, only stopping when Billy tilts his head back and laughs.
“’m not going anywhere," Billy says quietly. “Least not now.” Billy nods, and Dominic turns his head to see the waitress returning, bearing one tray while a helper stands ready behind her with another. Dominic looks back at Billy, then sighs, inching back to his own side of the booth.
It’s too easy to forget exactly where they are, to imagine they're alone, in their own world, and Dominic watches Billy now, calm as ever as he thanks the waitress and sets to his meal and the wine. Dominic’s nearly overwhelmed by what he's told Billy several times already tonight in words and touch, and instead of saying it again, he laughs and nods when Billy raises his eyebrows and then stares at Dominic’s plate.
“Right, I’m eating. Just had other things going through my head.”
“Can’t imagine why.” Billy’s tucking into whatever delirious mess of a meal he’s ordered, not even looking up now, and Dominic laughs again.
“Remember to breathe, Billy.”
“I’ve earned this, frankly. Y’can’t expect much more out of me tonight if I’m not properly sorted.”
Dominic just nods in acknowledgment; it’s pointless to argue with Billy on most things, but especially when he’s enjoying two of his dearest vices, good food and drink. Dominic loses himself a little to the evening, then, thinking again about how easy this would be once he’s finished at Baskerville-will be, if he has anything to say about it. The daydreaming he’s done recently has felt more real, closer to truth and possibility than ever before, and it’s easy, too, now to imagine Billy like this, with him, pausing between bites to let spill some secret or other, some small part of him Dominic’s not seen or learned yet, all of it adding up to a perfect whole over the next few years of their lives. He doesn’t want to say so out loud, not even on a night like this; breaking the spell would be unfair to them both, he knows, maybe more so to Billy, who finally pushes the last of the plates away an hour later, sitting back with a sigh and utter peace in his features. He looks sated, as lush as Dominic feels, too, and Dominic laughs as he looks over the chaos they’ve created.
"Not bad, was it? Good sex, good food-"
“Fucking brilliant food. Everything before was maybe better. Except the film.”
“Right, well, we’ve covered that.” Dominic takes a deep breath and peers at Billy from underneath his lashes. “Let’s go out. Find a club around here, let me show you off a bit.”
“You’re mad.” Billy reaches for his wine glass, frowning as he sees what little there is left. “I don’t-club. Do that. Go to clubs.”
Dominic laughs at Billy’s spoiled-milk expression. “Go on. You can pretend it’s a pub with a dance floor-”
“I don’t dance, either.”
“Course you do.” Billy shifts uncomfortably on his side of the booth, but not convincingly enough for Dominic to just let it go like that. “We’ve just never been, together. When was the last time?”
“That I attempted to dance? Let’s not put a date on it. It didn’t end well.”
“Good reason to replace the memory with something better, then.” Dominic grins across the table, waiting about as patiently as any human fairly could while Billy wrinkles his cloth napkin into a gathered heap. Finally Billy breaks, letting his shoulders drop, and he nods.
“Right, with the proviso that whatever horror you see in there stays in there.”
“You said you were game, professor,” Dominic laughs, and he can hear the challenge low and thrilling in his voice even as he tries to temper it gently. “Here’s your chance to prove it.”
Billy rolls his eyes, but it’s with affection and resignation more than anything else, Dominic knows; they have nothing to prove to each other in most respects, but Dominic’s already on what feels like the most natural high tonight, watching Billy give on little things that’ll add up to something larger by the time Dominic does indeed tire of taking, which they both know he will.
“We did this all out of order, yeah?” Billy sighs. “If there’s a creature on earth more persuasive than you, I hope I don’t meet him or it in this life."
“I hope you don’t either.” Dominic laughs again, then lets it fade from his lips as Billy’s stare across the table warms again. They hold that stare together for only a moment before they both reach for their wallets, intent on getting back out into the night as soon as possible. Billy’s just a second faster, already scrawling his name across the receipt before Dominic can change his mind.
Once they’re outside and a good hundred yards from the restaurant, Billy steps around an ill-lit corner and leans against a wall, reaching for Dominic's lapel to bring him close. "This is what you want?" he asks, and Dominic nods. "You’re sure?"
“Unless it’s something you don’t, and you mean it.”
Billy hums, low and soft, and Dominic's almost tempted to suggest they stay right where they are, whatever either of them wants. He presses his body tight against Billy’s in a more gentle persuasion, but they can both hear music, nearby, deep, rhythmic, pounding music with a driving beat. Dominic wants Billy in his hands tonight for as long as he can bear it, wants this night not to end, wants to show off a bit if he’s honest, and Billy knows it, too; when their eyes meet again, Billy nods sharply. Dominic lets out a relieved little noise and presses one last kiss to Billy's surprised lips before he stumbles a step backwards, pulling Billy in the direction of the music.
It’s quickly apparent that that driving rhythm is coming from exactly the type of club Dominic had in mind. There's a short line outside, made up of mostly boys a bit older than Dominic, and Dominic tilts his hat down a bit, digging the last of his money from his pocket to pay the cover charge. Inside, the room is dark and loud and longer than it is wide, the lighting in eerie neon and the clientele hungry and dark-eyed. Dominic stands behind Billy near the bar, pushing his fingers into the front pockets of the jeans Billy wears, feeling Billy’s hips pressing gently against his touch. "Do you need a drink first?"
“I think one, yeah,” Billy says, almost too calmly. Dominic’s impressed by this minor show of strength Billy’s putting on, and thrills a bit to the fact that no one else can see the high flush in the skin of Billy’s throat and neck, the little tells of Billy’s nerves fighting his typical measured if sometimes purely manufactured confidence. Dominic leaves him at one end of the bar, in the relative safety of a corner with a wall, and leans to catch the attention of a bartender just attractive enough to acknowledge with a kinder smile. Dominic’s been behind the bar like this, has worked to earn the rare tip that hadn’t been tacitly contingent on something else later. Dominic’s cash is gone, but he knows Billy will pick up this round; it might well be the smallest tab Dominic’s ever helped run.
When he returns to Billy’s side, Dominic finds him casing the room like a thief, looking for the best of what’s on offer and an exit at the same time. Dominic follows Billy’s gaze and then laughs, stepping in front of Billy and pressing a bottle into his hand. “It’s brilliant, isn’t it?”
“It’s … something. Fascinating’s maybe the better word. Is this the sort of place you go?”
“Went. And sometimes, yeah. Not always. Cover’s a bit much to come into the city, and the company wasn’t worth it.”
Billy’s smile is thin and slow-moving, widening as he touches the neck of his bottle to Dominic’s. “I’m thinking they could dance, though. I’m going to look like a git. You can barely hear yourself think in here.”
“Then don’t,” Dominic says simply. “Nobody in here came to think, trust me.”
“I do.”
It’s the right response to such a flip statement, but Billy holds Dominic’s stare for long seconds, punctuating what he’s said with almost more than Dominic can process. Dominic finally shakes himself out of it and takes his own advice, stops thinking and pushes one hand inside Billy’s jacket again, shifting his fingers when they catch on a tear in the fabric and Billy flinches, but only just.
“This should probably go,” Dominic says quietly, his lips close to Billy’s ear. Billy gives him one short nod and shrugs off the jacket, abandoning it quickly to the bar stool beside them. Dominic rests his hand back at Billy’s waist immediately, feeling Billy’s skin gone shockingly warm beneath his shirt, and they’re not even on the floor yet. Dominic looks back up at Billy again, confirming Billy’s still prepared to go through with this.
“Teufel,” Billy says suddenly, his voice slurry, thickened with everything he’s taken in so far tonight. Dominic tilts his head, and Billy laughs and says it again. “Teufel. That’s the word, ‘s what I’ve been trying to remember all night. Teufel, that’s you. What sort of trouble are you going t’get us both in now?”
“Nothing I can’t get us out of later.” Dominic grins and takes a long pull at his own bottle, the drink going straight to his head, before he wraps his arm around Billy’s waist, his hand slipping into the back pocket of the jeans. Billy can call him anything he like, as long as he keeps doing so now, murmuring the word over and over again as Dominic moves them easily in time with the newer, slightly less frantic music that’s begun to play. Tipping his bottle back again, Dominic finishes it off in one go, licking his lips as he levels off and drags Billy forward and onto a mostly hidden corner of the floor. "Let's see what you’ve got, professor."
Dominic can feel the eyes on them, on him out of the usual interest he knows from experience he can provoke when he wants to, and on Billy out of first curiosity then appreciation on another level. Dominic can’t honestly remember if he’s ever been in this club before, but decides it’s the perfect night to have walked in here now, that this is the impression he would want to make anywhere.
What Billy’s doing in his arms is something less than dancing, it’s true; he’s letting Dominic sway them this way and that, about as pliant as Billy ever gets even while his gaze remains steady, calm and certain, making it clear to Dominic and anyone else bothered to look that he’s in more control of the situation than it would appear. That knowledge gives Dominic strength, as it usually does; again, he doesn’t have to think-he can just feel and enjoy and move against Billy the way he never could outside Billy’s home.
It takes a full song before Billy’s truly settled into himself, though, and Dominic registers the difference when Billy’s hands travel down Dominic’s back with stronger but slower energy, with a purpose that makes Dominic arch up almost involuntarily against him, groaning a little when Billy laughs and pulls back. Dominic leans in to kiss him, tasting the spicy warmth on Billy’s lips again, and Billy doesn’t stop him; instead he deepens the contact, lifting one hand to push hard into Dominic’s hair, nearly knocking the hat off Dominic’s head in the process. They both laugh, then, and Billy’s hand drops to Dominic’s waist and then smoothly between them, fingers brushing gently over Dominic’s trousers. Dominic arches again and his vision blurs a little; when it clears, he finds Billy easing out of his grasp with the smallest of smirks, murmuring be right with you as he slides past Dominic on his way-somewhere, Dominic supposes, not trusting himself to turn around and look until he’s collected himself a little.
Once he has, he confirms Billy’s headed for the gents’, and for a moment Dominic considers following him, well aware of what they could get up to there or in some darkened corridor nearby, but in the end he decides against it, feeling thirsty and suddenly remembering Billy’s abandoned jacket. It’s still where they left it, though their bottles are long gone, and Dominic orders another for them to share but then downs more than a third of it, nearly dropping the thing when he feels hands on him again, both unfamiliar and not.
He spins around, ready to move straight into Billy’s arms if he’s playing some game or straight out of anyone else’s, at play or not, and finds himself face to face with someone who’s seen him in less, had his hands on Dominic, too, in an entirely different if still charged situation. The clerk from the clothing store looks much the same off duty; he’s more polished than anyone in this club has reason to be, and more attractive in this lower light. He seems closer to Dominic’s age in here, sizing him up as an equal while also holding an important card of understanding in the pocket of his expensive trousers.
“’Lo,” the clerk says simply, and Dominic swallows, every inch of himself still a bit on fire but feeling chilled slightly, too, by what he can see in the clerk’s eyes. “Good to see you.”
“Right,” Dominic breathes. “Look, I’m not here-”
“Alone, I know.” The clerk backs off on one side, leaning an elbow on the bar and nodding in thanks to the bartender leaving a drink there for him, while his free hand still rests at Dominic’s waist. Dominic feels rooted to the spot, his thoughts careening in the truly improbable direction that Billy knew the clerk was here, that this is some secret Dominic’s not been party to since he’d seen Billy slip the man that small piece of paper along with his signed receipt, ages ago now it seems.
“This where you tell me your name,” the clerk laughs. “Mine’s Graham.”
“Dom.” He says it without thinking, then steps back enough that he’s out of Graham’s reach. “Sorry, I was just off-” Dominic hooks his thumb in the vague direction of the loos, and Graham tuts under his breath.
“’s too bad, that. Give him a minute. You look like you could use one.”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t want anything.” Graham looks genuinely surprised by the question, maybe annoyed, too, but then he smiles again, and nods at the dance floor. “D’you think there’d be a problem if we-”
“Yes.” Dominic rushes it, then blushes crimson. “Look, I’m flattered, but-”
“You’re also lucky.” Graham sighs, giving Dominic the most thorough lookover he’s felt from anyone but Billy in a long while. “I think I would have recognized you even if I was in a darker room than this.” Dominic frowns, wondering if the look of placid recognition the clerk had given him in the fitting room had come from more than just an acknowledgment of his and Billy’s relationship, but then Graham shrugs. “You were a pleasure to fit. And like I said, lucky.”
“I know.” Dominic says it softly, still feeling frozen where he stands when Graham steps into the space between them.
“Does it work for you, then?”
“Yes.” Dominic blinks at how eagerly he admits it to this virtual stranger, how easy and good it feels to do so, then shakes himself out of his reverie again, his head swimming in a different way now. “You’d know that, though, wouldn’t you?”
“He would, yes.”
Dominic turns around again, this time with a wave of relief coursing through him at the sound of Billy’s voice. The words are on his lips, ready to tumble out for Billy, but Billy’s attention is on the clerk, who shows Billy his palms and backs off a scant few inches and then several more when Billy doesn’t break their stare, a smile on his face as if his work here is done.
For a moment Dominic can’t breathe, wondering if that mad instinct of before was correct and Billy had somehow engineered this as some test, but then Billy’s hand is warm on his back, his voice low in Dominic’s ear.
“There you are. ‘s all right, Dom, there you are.”
“There I am.” Dominic takes an enormous breath and faces Billy, working hard to keep his voice even. “Did you-”
“No.” Billy shakes his head sharply. “Hardly the night to do that to you, is it, even if I could have.” He pauses and peers at Dominic so closely that Dominic has to turn away, flattening his hands on the bar for balance. “Dominic.”
Dominic laughs, then, shaking his head more slowly. “Fuck. I just-that was a bit off the charts, wasn’t it.”
“In terms of poor timing, I’d say so, yes.” Billy gives Dominic a moment and then turns him gently, measuring something about Dominic as keenly as the clerk had, and then Billy nods in understanding. “Didn’t know whether you wanted me to see that or not, is that it?”
Dominic shivers, but can’t answer; he can still feel the clerk’s hands on him, coolly knowledgeable, and he knows Billy’s reading it off him as he does everything else. They’re not in any sort of play here, as Billy would be quick to remind him, but Dominic feels like they might as well be; he has a clear enough idea of how Billy might react if he had real cause for concern that he almost wants to feel it, and Billy knows it, too. When Dominic finds the courage to look at Billy again, he sees that Billy’s smiling, gently and dangerously at once, and Billy leans in, his voice again low and soft and only for Dominic.
“If I thought I had reason to put you there, you’d already be on your knees, Dominic.”
“I want-you don’t, Billy, you don’t, but I want-”
“Because I don’t, you’re not there now. I know what you want. Let’s get out of here and see if it’s something you need, too, hmm?” Billy tilts his head. "See if we can get ourselves out of trouble."
To be continued.
Authors: kiltsandlollies and escribo
Characters: Billy/Dominic
Word Count: 5009
Summary: Continues from here.
Index
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction; the recognizable people in the story belong to themselves and have never performed the actions portrayed here. I do not know the actors nor am I associated with them in any way. If you are underage, please do not read this story. I am not making any profit from these stories, nor do I mean any harm.
When they step outside from the theatre, the sun’s set, and Dominic can tell that they've missed the rain. The air feels cool and fresh even tinged with the tang and spice of a city, and it’s a relief to overheated skin and mind. Dominic’s pleased enough with himself, with Billy and with this whole evening so far, he could almost whistle. Billy’s not looking much less smug, and he laughs out loud when he spots food and drink, pointing Dominic toward a slightly down-at-its-heels pub next to a bustling, low-lit restaurant.
"What do you think?" Billy murmurs, nudging his shoulder against Dominic's.
"Mario's," Dominic reads. "Italian. I think that's a top idea. I'm starving."
"When are you not?"
Dominic smiles along with Billy's joke and slides his arm around Billy's waist, kissing him--in public, a thought that makes his head spin with the headiness of it. He knows Billy's likely thinking the same thing if he's not already planning his meal. Dominic’s grateful for this city, for the relative anonymity it allows them both. Few people would bat an eye at their displays of affection and need here, and not for the first time Dominic wonders what it would be like to live permanently in the city, or in Paris or Berlin, some place far away from where everyone knows them, somewhere their lives would be even easier. He laughs as the kiss ends, stumbling himself and Billy down the block as if they're already drunk. Inside the restaurant, they're given a booth in the back, which suits them both; a single candle in an empty wine bottle sits on the table, barely illuminating them. As Billy shucks his jacket and looks over the handwritten menu, deciding for them, Dominic replays the scene in the cinema that had nothing to do with the actors on the screen. It’s not something he’s ever made a trick of doing, even though he’s had the opportunity; the risks he’s taken with others seem more pointless now that’s he reached a point where can take them with Billy. He reaches up to tug the brim of his hat down low over his eyes, and throws Billy a look heavy and warm enough that he can tell Billy is blushing slightly even as he laughs, shaking his head.
Billy orders a bottle of red and a starter, setting the waitress bustling off to the kitchen and leaving them to the mostly empty dining room. Dominic takes advantage of the peace to reach for one of Billy's hands. "We need to do this more often," he says as he stretches out his legs beneath the table and eases back in his bench, and Billy nods amiably from behind the menu.
“Well, some of it, anyway. I don’t think my back could take it too often.”
“I’d make it up to you.”
“Yes, you would. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were in this mostly to see how far you could take an old man, Dom.”
"And if I didn't know better, I'd think you were in love with me."
Billy lowers the menu and tilts his head, shifting in his seat as his legs slide against Dominic's. "I might be," Billy says, nodding again. "No, I think I must be. Have been for at least a week."
"That long?"
Billy's smile turns up higher at one corner, and he rubs a thumb in a circle in Dominic's palm before his expression turns a bit more serious. "I couldn't tell you the first thing about that film now, but it’ll go down as one of the best I’ve seen, I’m thinking.”
“You think that rubbish Poseidon Adventure’s one of the best you’ve seen, Billy.”
“And I have my reasons, none of which would be of any interest to you. My point is that the film didn’t much matter, did it. That was-” Billy tilts his head, looking for the words, and Dominic stares at him, loving the search just as much. “Insane. And fantastic. If I’d known what you had in store for me, I’m not sure I would have let you go about it.”
“Maybe you didn’t,” Dominic smiles, reaching for his water glass. “Let me, anyway. Maybe I didn’t need the approval in advance.”
“Do it now, ask forgiveness later?”
Dominic laughs at Billy’s arched eyebrow. “I don’t think I need forgiving, Billy. Not this time.”
“You’re right, y’don’t. It’s not easy for me, you know. This having you run the show bit.”
"You told me nothing worth it ever is."
“Your memory’s a dangerous fucking thing, Dom,” Billy sighs, and Dominic can see and almost feel the flush of heat that rises along Billy’s cheekbones, his temples and up into his slightly too long hair. “All right, conceded. And you’ll note how I didn’t stop you, and how I appreciated the view as much as the result. You’re a man of many talents, Dom; the more y’show me, the more I want to see.” Billy takes up his own glass, knocking back a healthy amount of the water before he pushes the glass away again. “Tonight’s yours until you don’t want it anymore, so whatever else you’ve got on your own agenda, odds are good I’m game. Are we clear?”
Dominic nods, his smile thinner now to match the sudden return of Billy’s. “Clear.”
“And are we comfortable?”
“If you are.” Dominic lifts his chin only half-consciously, and Billy lowers his, that smile turning smirk for only a moment before Billy recovers.
“You liked that,” Billy says quietly. “Better than you thought. Y’liked me not letting you, and not getting to forgive you. There’s as much benefit to taking as there is to giving, Dom, and I’m not going to lie; you make quite the sight doing both.” Billy nods this time, more slowly. “Tell me, Dom.”
“I did.” The words tumble from Dominic’s lips before he’s thought them through, and he juts his chin again, sitting up a bit higher, too, before he leans across the table and turns Billy’s wrist in his hand. “Only thing I like better than having you give is having you take, and it's a close call either way."
Dominic holds his breath a little, waiting out Billy’s response to that, but what he receives is enough; Billy tilts his head again, lowers his eyes to Dominic’s long fingers around his wrist and then raises them again to Dominic’s eyes. Dominic releases Billy slowly, but his hand’s caught on the retreat, fingers laced hard between Billy’s for the moment they have before the waitress returns.
She’s brought the wine along with fresh, hot bread and their starter, and Dominic slides his fingers from between Billy’s and sinks back into his seat, not quite managing to look abashed. Once the wine is approved of and poured, Billy rattles off the rest of their order while Dominic takes a long drink, setting down his wine glass only when they’re alone again.
"You liked it as well,” Dominic says simply, not really trusting himself to do more. “Knowing someone could find us--watch us. Like you found me this afternoon."
"I don't make half the picture you did this afternoon, Dom," Billy laughs, tearing off a piece of the warm bread. "You’re a piece of work, and I’m-not. That doesn’t matter either. I swear to you, half the Chairs could have walked in on us and I wouldn’t have had you stop. Your mouth might get you in trouble with me a lot, but it’s brilliant enough t’get you right back out.”
Dominic blinks, surprised by Billy’s bald admission of what they both already knew, then laughs, too. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Y’should. You make me forget everything around me, Dom, and I don’t-turn it off like that. Not well. Not often enough."
Dominic nods, a momentary wave of something warm and tender nearly overwhelming him as he watches Billy stare at his own hands and then take a deep breath. "Would have been an educational experience," Dominic says quickly, winking when Billy looks up again and tugging the brim of his hat down a bit, "Besides, I think at least one of them’s gay. He might have at least enjoyed it."
“Putting aside the legality of it, I think it was pretty fucking enjoyable no matter what side of the pitch you’re on. Which one?”
“The Chair?” Dominic looks up from tearing his own piece of bread off, and then nods when Billy does, too. “Harroway.”
Billy pales a little, then hums lightly. “Another from St. Andrews.”
“Did you know him?”
“No. I’m not sure I knew anyone, really. He-was involved in something a few years before I got there. Something about these two first-years-I wasn’t there when it happened, and I don’t know him. I’m a bit of a bastard for even mentioning it now, so don’t you dare repeat it.” Billy flattens his hands on the table and takes another deep breath. “It wasn’t the worst I heard there, so there’s something, I suppose.”
"Wasn’t sleeping with them, was he?” Dominic throws it out like a punchline, swallowing slowly around his bread when Billy doesn’t laugh. “Go on, Billy, I don’t mean it like that, we’re completely different-”
“Are we?”
"For one thing, I seduced you, and I wasn't a first-year."
"As impatient as one."
Dominic looks sharply at Billy, then relaxes; Billy’s nerves have passed along with whatever memory he’d conjured up, and he’s smirking slightly again, forcing himself back on pleasant track. Dominic breathes easier, and chances another grin. "I couldn't wait, not when I knew."
"Knew what?"
"That I loved you."
"At whatever cost or reason," Billy sighs, then for a moment looks a bit lost for words. Dominic watches him reach first for his glass and then the bread, and then Billy catches him staring. "You’re too far away from me,” Billy says firmly, and Dominic’s half out of his side of the booth before Billy finishes the sentence. “Which I was about to say is the safest place y’could be.”
“Tell me the last time I was interested in safety.”
“I can tell you that you started and ended the night in it, but you weren’t much there in between.”
Dominic swallows hard as he slides back down into Billy’s side of the booth, memory indeed proving as dangerous as Billy had warned, but Billy’s already moved on, pressing a small, torn-off piece of the bread into the warm oil, then offering it to Dominic. “Go on.”
Dominic catches his hand, sliding the tip of his tongue over Billy’s fingers to capture the trace of oil lingering there before he takes the bread, too. “’s perfect,” he says simply, reaching for what’s left of Billy’s share of the bread to tear off more. “Your go.”
And what a go it is, Dominic thinks, holding his breath when Billy draws Dominic’s oil-slicked fingers and the bread between his lips. When Billy's teeth slide against his skin, Dominic feels the shiver run up and down his back, and his eyes darken in pleasure. Billy’s enjoying this, Dominic thinks as Billy sits forward, his lips pressing against Dominic’s now, making Dominic’s head spin a bit. He’s grateful that they’re mostly hidden from the view of anyone else as he dips his head willingly to take in Billy's fingers again, the bread, the oil, everything. He swirls his tongue around Billy's fingertips and nudges a little closer under the table, only stopping when Billy tilts his head back and laughs.
“’m not going anywhere," Billy says quietly. “Least not now.” Billy nods, and Dominic turns his head to see the waitress returning, bearing one tray while a helper stands ready behind her with another. Dominic looks back at Billy, then sighs, inching back to his own side of the booth.
It’s too easy to forget exactly where they are, to imagine they're alone, in their own world, and Dominic watches Billy now, calm as ever as he thanks the waitress and sets to his meal and the wine. Dominic’s nearly overwhelmed by what he's told Billy several times already tonight in words and touch, and instead of saying it again, he laughs and nods when Billy raises his eyebrows and then stares at Dominic’s plate.
“Right, I’m eating. Just had other things going through my head.”
“Can’t imagine why.” Billy’s tucking into whatever delirious mess of a meal he’s ordered, not even looking up now, and Dominic laughs again.
“Remember to breathe, Billy.”
“I’ve earned this, frankly. Y’can’t expect much more out of me tonight if I’m not properly sorted.”
Dominic just nods in acknowledgment; it’s pointless to argue with Billy on most things, but especially when he’s enjoying two of his dearest vices, good food and drink. Dominic loses himself a little to the evening, then, thinking again about how easy this would be once he’s finished at Baskerville-will be, if he has anything to say about it. The daydreaming he’s done recently has felt more real, closer to truth and possibility than ever before, and it’s easy, too, now to imagine Billy like this, with him, pausing between bites to let spill some secret or other, some small part of him Dominic’s not seen or learned yet, all of it adding up to a perfect whole over the next few years of their lives. He doesn’t want to say so out loud, not even on a night like this; breaking the spell would be unfair to them both, he knows, maybe more so to Billy, who finally pushes the last of the plates away an hour later, sitting back with a sigh and utter peace in his features. He looks sated, as lush as Dominic feels, too, and Dominic laughs as he looks over the chaos they’ve created.
"Not bad, was it? Good sex, good food-"
“Fucking brilliant food. Everything before was maybe better. Except the film.”
“Right, well, we’ve covered that.” Dominic takes a deep breath and peers at Billy from underneath his lashes. “Let’s go out. Find a club around here, let me show you off a bit.”
“You’re mad.” Billy reaches for his wine glass, frowning as he sees what little there is left. “I don’t-club. Do that. Go to clubs.”
Dominic laughs at Billy’s spoiled-milk expression. “Go on. You can pretend it’s a pub with a dance floor-”
“I don’t dance, either.”
“Course you do.” Billy shifts uncomfortably on his side of the booth, but not convincingly enough for Dominic to just let it go like that. “We’ve just never been, together. When was the last time?”
“That I attempted to dance? Let’s not put a date on it. It didn’t end well.”
“Good reason to replace the memory with something better, then.” Dominic grins across the table, waiting about as patiently as any human fairly could while Billy wrinkles his cloth napkin into a gathered heap. Finally Billy breaks, letting his shoulders drop, and he nods.
“Right, with the proviso that whatever horror you see in there stays in there.”
“You said you were game, professor,” Dominic laughs, and he can hear the challenge low and thrilling in his voice even as he tries to temper it gently. “Here’s your chance to prove it.”
Billy rolls his eyes, but it’s with affection and resignation more than anything else, Dominic knows; they have nothing to prove to each other in most respects, but Dominic’s already on what feels like the most natural high tonight, watching Billy give on little things that’ll add up to something larger by the time Dominic does indeed tire of taking, which they both know he will.
“We did this all out of order, yeah?” Billy sighs. “If there’s a creature on earth more persuasive than you, I hope I don’t meet him or it in this life."
“I hope you don’t either.” Dominic laughs again, then lets it fade from his lips as Billy’s stare across the table warms again. They hold that stare together for only a moment before they both reach for their wallets, intent on getting back out into the night as soon as possible. Billy’s just a second faster, already scrawling his name across the receipt before Dominic can change his mind.
Once they’re outside and a good hundred yards from the restaurant, Billy steps around an ill-lit corner and leans against a wall, reaching for Dominic's lapel to bring him close. "This is what you want?" he asks, and Dominic nods. "You’re sure?"
“Unless it’s something you don’t, and you mean it.”
Billy hums, low and soft, and Dominic's almost tempted to suggest they stay right where they are, whatever either of them wants. He presses his body tight against Billy’s in a more gentle persuasion, but they can both hear music, nearby, deep, rhythmic, pounding music with a driving beat. Dominic wants Billy in his hands tonight for as long as he can bear it, wants this night not to end, wants to show off a bit if he’s honest, and Billy knows it, too; when their eyes meet again, Billy nods sharply. Dominic lets out a relieved little noise and presses one last kiss to Billy's surprised lips before he stumbles a step backwards, pulling Billy in the direction of the music.
It’s quickly apparent that that driving rhythm is coming from exactly the type of club Dominic had in mind. There's a short line outside, made up of mostly boys a bit older than Dominic, and Dominic tilts his hat down a bit, digging the last of his money from his pocket to pay the cover charge. Inside, the room is dark and loud and longer than it is wide, the lighting in eerie neon and the clientele hungry and dark-eyed. Dominic stands behind Billy near the bar, pushing his fingers into the front pockets of the jeans Billy wears, feeling Billy’s hips pressing gently against his touch. "Do you need a drink first?"
“I think one, yeah,” Billy says, almost too calmly. Dominic’s impressed by this minor show of strength Billy’s putting on, and thrills a bit to the fact that no one else can see the high flush in the skin of Billy’s throat and neck, the little tells of Billy’s nerves fighting his typical measured if sometimes purely manufactured confidence. Dominic leaves him at one end of the bar, in the relative safety of a corner with a wall, and leans to catch the attention of a bartender just attractive enough to acknowledge with a kinder smile. Dominic’s been behind the bar like this, has worked to earn the rare tip that hadn’t been tacitly contingent on something else later. Dominic’s cash is gone, but he knows Billy will pick up this round; it might well be the smallest tab Dominic’s ever helped run.
When he returns to Billy’s side, Dominic finds him casing the room like a thief, looking for the best of what’s on offer and an exit at the same time. Dominic follows Billy’s gaze and then laughs, stepping in front of Billy and pressing a bottle into his hand. “It’s brilliant, isn’t it?”
“It’s … something. Fascinating’s maybe the better word. Is this the sort of place you go?”
“Went. And sometimes, yeah. Not always. Cover’s a bit much to come into the city, and the company wasn’t worth it.”
Billy’s smile is thin and slow-moving, widening as he touches the neck of his bottle to Dominic’s. “I’m thinking they could dance, though. I’m going to look like a git. You can barely hear yourself think in here.”
“Then don’t,” Dominic says simply. “Nobody in here came to think, trust me.”
“I do.”
It’s the right response to such a flip statement, but Billy holds Dominic’s stare for long seconds, punctuating what he’s said with almost more than Dominic can process. Dominic finally shakes himself out of it and takes his own advice, stops thinking and pushes one hand inside Billy’s jacket again, shifting his fingers when they catch on a tear in the fabric and Billy flinches, but only just.
“This should probably go,” Dominic says quietly, his lips close to Billy’s ear. Billy gives him one short nod and shrugs off the jacket, abandoning it quickly to the bar stool beside them. Dominic rests his hand back at Billy’s waist immediately, feeling Billy’s skin gone shockingly warm beneath his shirt, and they’re not even on the floor yet. Dominic looks back up at Billy again, confirming Billy’s still prepared to go through with this.
“Teufel,” Billy says suddenly, his voice slurry, thickened with everything he’s taken in so far tonight. Dominic tilts his head, and Billy laughs and says it again. “Teufel. That’s the word, ‘s what I’ve been trying to remember all night. Teufel, that’s you. What sort of trouble are you going t’get us both in now?”
“Nothing I can’t get us out of later.” Dominic grins and takes a long pull at his own bottle, the drink going straight to his head, before he wraps his arm around Billy’s waist, his hand slipping into the back pocket of the jeans. Billy can call him anything he like, as long as he keeps doing so now, murmuring the word over and over again as Dominic moves them easily in time with the newer, slightly less frantic music that’s begun to play. Tipping his bottle back again, Dominic finishes it off in one go, licking his lips as he levels off and drags Billy forward and onto a mostly hidden corner of the floor. "Let's see what you’ve got, professor."
Dominic can feel the eyes on them, on him out of the usual interest he knows from experience he can provoke when he wants to, and on Billy out of first curiosity then appreciation on another level. Dominic can’t honestly remember if he’s ever been in this club before, but decides it’s the perfect night to have walked in here now, that this is the impression he would want to make anywhere.
What Billy’s doing in his arms is something less than dancing, it’s true; he’s letting Dominic sway them this way and that, about as pliant as Billy ever gets even while his gaze remains steady, calm and certain, making it clear to Dominic and anyone else bothered to look that he’s in more control of the situation than it would appear. That knowledge gives Dominic strength, as it usually does; again, he doesn’t have to think-he can just feel and enjoy and move against Billy the way he never could outside Billy’s home.
It takes a full song before Billy’s truly settled into himself, though, and Dominic registers the difference when Billy’s hands travel down Dominic’s back with stronger but slower energy, with a purpose that makes Dominic arch up almost involuntarily against him, groaning a little when Billy laughs and pulls back. Dominic leans in to kiss him, tasting the spicy warmth on Billy’s lips again, and Billy doesn’t stop him; instead he deepens the contact, lifting one hand to push hard into Dominic’s hair, nearly knocking the hat off Dominic’s head in the process. They both laugh, then, and Billy’s hand drops to Dominic’s waist and then smoothly between them, fingers brushing gently over Dominic’s trousers. Dominic arches again and his vision blurs a little; when it clears, he finds Billy easing out of his grasp with the smallest of smirks, murmuring be right with you as he slides past Dominic on his way-somewhere, Dominic supposes, not trusting himself to turn around and look until he’s collected himself a little.
Once he has, he confirms Billy’s headed for the gents’, and for a moment Dominic considers following him, well aware of what they could get up to there or in some darkened corridor nearby, but in the end he decides against it, feeling thirsty and suddenly remembering Billy’s abandoned jacket. It’s still where they left it, though their bottles are long gone, and Dominic orders another for them to share but then downs more than a third of it, nearly dropping the thing when he feels hands on him again, both unfamiliar and not.
He spins around, ready to move straight into Billy’s arms if he’s playing some game or straight out of anyone else’s, at play or not, and finds himself face to face with someone who’s seen him in less, had his hands on Dominic, too, in an entirely different if still charged situation. The clerk from the clothing store looks much the same off duty; he’s more polished than anyone in this club has reason to be, and more attractive in this lower light. He seems closer to Dominic’s age in here, sizing him up as an equal while also holding an important card of understanding in the pocket of his expensive trousers.
“’Lo,” the clerk says simply, and Dominic swallows, every inch of himself still a bit on fire but feeling chilled slightly, too, by what he can see in the clerk’s eyes. “Good to see you.”
“Right,” Dominic breathes. “Look, I’m not here-”
“Alone, I know.” The clerk backs off on one side, leaning an elbow on the bar and nodding in thanks to the bartender leaving a drink there for him, while his free hand still rests at Dominic’s waist. Dominic feels rooted to the spot, his thoughts careening in the truly improbable direction that Billy knew the clerk was here, that this is some secret Dominic’s not been party to since he’d seen Billy slip the man that small piece of paper along with his signed receipt, ages ago now it seems.
“This where you tell me your name,” the clerk laughs. “Mine’s Graham.”
“Dom.” He says it without thinking, then steps back enough that he’s out of Graham’s reach. “Sorry, I was just off-” Dominic hooks his thumb in the vague direction of the loos, and Graham tuts under his breath.
“’s too bad, that. Give him a minute. You look like you could use one.”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t want anything.” Graham looks genuinely surprised by the question, maybe annoyed, too, but then he smiles again, and nods at the dance floor. “D’you think there’d be a problem if we-”
“Yes.” Dominic rushes it, then blushes crimson. “Look, I’m flattered, but-”
“You’re also lucky.” Graham sighs, giving Dominic the most thorough lookover he’s felt from anyone but Billy in a long while. “I think I would have recognized you even if I was in a darker room than this.” Dominic frowns, wondering if the look of placid recognition the clerk had given him in the fitting room had come from more than just an acknowledgment of his and Billy’s relationship, but then Graham shrugs. “You were a pleasure to fit. And like I said, lucky.”
“I know.” Dominic says it softly, still feeling frozen where he stands when Graham steps into the space between them.
“Does it work for you, then?”
“Yes.” Dominic blinks at how eagerly he admits it to this virtual stranger, how easy and good it feels to do so, then shakes himself out of his reverie again, his head swimming in a different way now. “You’d know that, though, wouldn’t you?”
“He would, yes.”
Dominic turns around again, this time with a wave of relief coursing through him at the sound of Billy’s voice. The words are on his lips, ready to tumble out for Billy, but Billy’s attention is on the clerk, who shows Billy his palms and backs off a scant few inches and then several more when Billy doesn’t break their stare, a smile on his face as if his work here is done.
For a moment Dominic can’t breathe, wondering if that mad instinct of before was correct and Billy had somehow engineered this as some test, but then Billy’s hand is warm on his back, his voice low in Dominic’s ear.
“There you are. ‘s all right, Dom, there you are.”
“There I am.” Dominic takes an enormous breath and faces Billy, working hard to keep his voice even. “Did you-”
“No.” Billy shakes his head sharply. “Hardly the night to do that to you, is it, even if I could have.” He pauses and peers at Dominic so closely that Dominic has to turn away, flattening his hands on the bar for balance. “Dominic.”
Dominic laughs, then, shaking his head more slowly. “Fuck. I just-that was a bit off the charts, wasn’t it.”
“In terms of poor timing, I’d say so, yes.” Billy gives Dominic a moment and then turns him gently, measuring something about Dominic as keenly as the clerk had, and then Billy nods in understanding. “Didn’t know whether you wanted me to see that or not, is that it?”
Dominic shivers, but can’t answer; he can still feel the clerk’s hands on him, coolly knowledgeable, and he knows Billy’s reading it off him as he does everything else. They’re not in any sort of play here, as Billy would be quick to remind him, but Dominic feels like they might as well be; he has a clear enough idea of how Billy might react if he had real cause for concern that he almost wants to feel it, and Billy knows it, too. When Dominic finds the courage to look at Billy again, he sees that Billy’s smiling, gently and dangerously at once, and Billy leans in, his voice again low and soft and only for Dominic.
“If I thought I had reason to put you there, you’d already be on your knees, Dominic.”
“I want-you don’t, Billy, you don’t, but I want-”
“Because I don’t, you’re not there now. I know what you want. Let’s get out of here and see if it’s something you need, too, hmm?” Billy tilts his head. "See if we can get ourselves out of trouble."
To be continued.