Primeval WIP: Dating (40/...)

[talliw]

Title:  Dating  (40/...)
Author: TalliW
Pairings: Lester/Cutter, Stephen/Lyle, Abby/ Connor
Rating: M
Disclaimer: Primeval is the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Lyle belongs to Fredbassett.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to Fredbassett for beta-reading. I couldn't have done it without you.


Professor Cutter thought it was not one of his better ideas to come into the ARC this morning. Abby was marching towards him with a more than unfriendly expression on her face. And Connor, who had been walking behind him a moment ago had suddenly disappeared.

Lifting a finger and poking him in the chest Abby hissed angrily, "Cutter, where is Connor? What have you done with him?"

"I haven't done anything with him," Cutter stuttered. "He was sleeping on my couch."

Abby furrowed her brow. "Why? I hope you're aware that you totally ruined my plans for the night."

"It was necessary, Abby," he said, matter of factly.

In reply to her look of inquiry Nick Cutter grimaced and searched for a nice way to explain.

"Please don't tell me it's still because the drug," she groaned, annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Abby, but even the small amount of the drug Connor still has in his blood involves some risks. It's better if you don't get too close to him at the moment before Connor has been given carte blanche by Ditzy."

Abby's anger deflated and she sighed in resignation. "Fate seems to be conspiring against me. I'm crappy with relationship stuff, anyway. Perhaps I should just forget about it."

Nick looked affectionately at the sad blonde girl and lifted her chin up to him with his forefinger.

"Be a little more patient, Abby, and everything will work out. Connor is a good guy and worth some waiting for. The lab has made progress with the search for an antidote. After they have been successful there won't be anything standing in the way of your love. I'm absolutely sure you'll get your happily ever after." He smiled gently at Abby who straightened her back with determination again.

"You think there'll be time for a domestic life between all that chasing after nasty creatures who're looking for a nice snack in our world?" she teased him and punched him softly on the arm. "Next time tell me the truth immediately instead of kidnapping my date and making up some nonsense on the phone. Now I've ruined my punch bag."

Cutter took a deep breath, glad he hadn't got the same treatment as the punch bag and smiled sheepishly.

"Now excuse me," Abby grinned. "I've got to find Connor so he can explain everything to me in detail. He's so cute when he gets all stuttering and embarrassed."

Nick chuckled and felt a touch of sympathy for the poor guy as she sauntered away. Abby Maitland was certainly a handful.

Then he looked up to the office, where Lester was standing, talking with Jenny and his heart started to beat faster. This evening they would finally have their date.

Yesterday he had picked up his best suit from the dry cleaner's. After hanging unused in his wardrobe for more than two years a clean had been necessary for the black suit.

He'd considered getting an appointment in a hair salon as well but he actually liked how his hair fell softly around his face, not standing up like the quills of a hedgehog anymore.

He guessed Lester would have insinuated a haircut was in order if the longer hair annoyed him so Nick decided to go with his intuition and leave his hair as it was.

The Professor was on his way to his office as Stephen and Lyle walked in side by side with a very pleased smile on their faces. It seemed the evening had progressed rather well for both men after Stephen's call.

"Morning, Cutter," Stephen greeted him cheerfully as he popped in when passing the Professor's office.

"Good morning, Stephen. I take it your evening with Lyle went well," Nick Cutter replied cautiously.

Stephen snorted. "You're a master of subtly, Nick. Before you burst with curiosity I'll tell you that my concern was totally unfounded. It was great. Lyle was great."  For a moment Stephen furrowed his brows, "Apart from a difference of opinion over the breakfast preparations, everything was great."

The younger man bounced away to his own office a minute later, bursting with energy so much that Nick could almost see the sparks flying.

Nick couldn't remember a time when Stephen had ever been so happy and he was glad for his friend. Perhaps Stephen had finally found his place in the world.

Smiling, he followed the his friend with his eyes until he disappeared into his own office. Then Nick Cutter started to count the minutes until his date with James.

Jenny Lewis looked shocked at the small bouquet of white, pink and red roses on her doorstep when she arrived home.

She didn't know if she should be thrilled or worried by it. It had been years since someone had given her flowers apart from on her birthday but she wasn't sure the mysterious admirer didn't just want to get close to the Anomaly project. She had only met some men as part of her work or on the few occasions her mother had tried to hook her up with someone.

After picking up the flowers she walked into her flat, not knowing  that the man who had brought her the flowers was just a few metres away, watching her from across the street with a dreamy smile on his face.

James Lester eyed his image in the bathroom mirror of his hotel room. The working hours had passed quickly and James had been in a state of pleasant anticipation the whole day. Not even another boring executive meeting had managed to diminish his good mood.

Now the bureaucrat sighed in irritation.

There was nothing wrong with wanting to impress his date and looking his best but slowly it was becoming ridiculous. He'd changed his attire for the fourth time now and still wasn't pleased with his appearance.

The tie was too formal and the suit was more appropriate for a funeral than a date. He slipped out of the charcoal grey suit and tried another set of clothes, realising as he wound his tie that it was the same one he'd donned at the beginning and finally gave up. The navy blue wool suit with the light blue shirt and dark blue tie would have to do.

He cast a last glance into the mirror and left his hotel room, walking with firm steps.

Nick Cutter was ten minutes too early but he couldn't stand sitting at home any longer. Now he walked up and down in front of the restaurant instead, waiting for James to arrive.

"You look great in a suit," a familiar voice told him and Nick turned around, his heart beating faster at the sight of James.

"I'm only wearing it for you. The last time I wore a suit voluntarily was at my own wedding," he declared, distracted.

Lester raised his eyebrow in  amusement and Nick groaned in annoyance at his own stupidity. "You should think I would have learnt by now to avoid putting my foot in my mouth."

"Don't worry, your sweet talking gets to me every time," Lester smirked and enjoyed the fetching view of Nick Cutter in formal attire.

"You...," Nick chuckled. "Come on, let's go in there."

Nick's eyes swept over James once they had been seated in a nice alcove illuminated only by four Chinese lanterns.

"You don't look bad either."

"You see me in a suit every day at work."

"But I haven't seen you wearing this suit. Is it new?"

"No, I've owned it for some time, I have only worn it once before..." Suddenly Lester looked sheepish as he remembered the occasion and Nick got curious.

"Come on, out with it! It can't be that bad."

Lester grimaced as he revealed, "I wore it the day I visited my lawyer to sign the divorce papers."

Nick snickered. "It's good to know I'm not the only one who makes mistakes."

Lester just shook his head. The anxiety he had felt on the way to the restaurant had vanished and he picked up the menu. He was determined to enjoy the evening with Nick.

Babyface didn't feel good sitting between Abby and Connor on the couch with Rex perched on his shoulder.

Playing chaperone was not exactly the way he had pictured spending his evening but he couldn't refuse the desperate plea from his friends. He could understand that it had to be difficult for Abby and Connor to ignore their feelings now after they had finally taken the first step.

'The professor should have informed them earlier then the whole mess could have been avoided,' Marcus thought angrily, hoping the third Star Wars film would finally be enough to make them sleepy.

"The food is really good. I'm glad we finally managed to get to this place," Lester said.

"So you aren't sorry you agreed to go out with me?"

"Not in the slightest. How is your food?"

"It's great. Want to try some?"

Cutter scooped some of his Peking duck between his chopsticks and held it out in front of Lester.

Lester dared a glance around but everyone was busy with his own dishes so he moved forwards quickly and snatched the offered bit in his mouth.

When Lester's lips closed around the sticks a wave of arousal rushed through Nick and went straight to his cock.

He draw a deep breath and with a sigh he took a small box out of his suit pocket.

Lester looked at him with raised eyebrows as Cutter swallowed two pills dry but didn't comment on it.

Lyle was still snickering as they arrived at Stephen's flat.

It had been too funny when Stephen had blushed and stuttered in the chemist's when the saleslady had asked him if he would prefer the bigger tube of lube which was on special offer. The question had been asked just loudly enough so almost everyone in the small shop had heard it and had eyed him curiously and started to whisper whilst Lyle had just amused himself at Stephen's expense.

At the moment Stephen was pretty peeved and Lyle was starting to worry that he wasn't going to get any sex that night.

After he'd followed his lover into his flat, he put his hands around him from behind and pulled him against his body.

"I'm sorry for laughing at you, OK?" he whispered into Stephen's ear and slid his fingers under his tee-shirt. "Now forget about it. After you've had to put up with so much you certainly don't want it to have been for nothing, do you? I thought you were interested in fucking me and it seems like a good idea to me."

Lyle was surprised when Stephen shook his head as he leaned relaxed back against him.

"Thanks for the offer but I think I'm still too worked up to really enjoy it. Is it always so... so...?"

"Do you mean people's reactions to gays or the joke the sales lady made at your expense?"

"Probably both," Stephen sighed.

"Most people are relatively sensible but there are always some idiots who have problems with homosexuality. That's why I don't usually make a big deal of my preferences. You're the first man I've forgotten common sense for."

Stephen grinned smugly as Lyle carried on. "And cashiers like to make fun of people with delicate items in their shopping basket. Sometimes they pick on a man who buys some tampons for his wife or a young woman with condoms and so on. Don't take it too seriously."

"Can we just go to bed and go to sleep after a quick fuck? You top."

"Are you sure? After the last night I thought you weren't up to it. How's your arse?"

"Twinges a little but not enough to put me off sex," Stephen confessed.

Lyle smirked and ushered his lover into the bedroom.

"Then strip and and lie down on your belly," he commanded, already flinging his shirt onto the floor.

Nick didn't want the evening to end. But they couldn't stay in the restaurant forever. When Lester announced they should go he nodded in resignation and waved for the bill.

Lester watched Cutter's suddenly subdued demeanour and asked, as they stepped outside, "So, what do we do now?"

Cutter gulped and said sheepishly, "If I could be sure I wouldn't put my foot in my mouth again I might suggest we go to my place for a cup of coffee and I could show you my fossil collection."

With a hint of humour, Lester answered "Let's start with showing me your living room and making me a cup of tea. Drinking your horrible instant coffee isn't exactly the best way of finishing the evening."

They walked the short way to Cutter's house unhurriedly, leaving Lester's car behind in the car park at the restaurant.

Stephen sighed as he felt the fingers on his arse, smearing lube into his cleft and slipping gently into his hole.

Some weeks ago he'd had difficulties imagining someone touching him like this and now, after one night, he couldn't wait to feel Lyle's cock moving inside him instead of just his fingers. He really had gone for the wrong gender all these years. Luckily he'd realised it before he was too old to enjoy that new-found knowledge.

"Here we go," Lyle whispered and pushed inside his lover.

"Fuck," Stephen groaned.

"Give me a second and I will," Lyle panted as he tried not to lose control.

Stephen Hart laughed and ripples of pleasure cursed through Lyle as the laughter sent shockwaves through his lover's body, right to Lyle's cock deep buried in the tight arse.

"Keep that going and this will be over very fast," Jon Lyle said, but all he got in return was another snicker from Stephen.

"Good, I'm not in the mood for slow and easy. Now fuck me into oblivion, my strong  sexy soldier," he demanded and Lyle gladly followed his command.

Nick hadn't seen James Lester so relaxed in his present since the time before the accident with the drug. His jacket had been casually thrown over the back of the couch, his tie was loosened and he was sitting smiling beside Nick on the couch.

Nick Cutter yearned to put his hands on Lester's chest, moving slightly with every breath, and open up the first buttons of James' shirt. He really liked what he saw and it made it difficult to keep a clear head.

"Your shirt looks great," he told James quietly and it earned him a blinding smile.

"It seems you've developed a shirt fetish. But no, I will not leave it here this time. The hotel personnel already looked very curious when I walked in last time in a suit without a shirt underneath. I'm not going through that awkward inspection again. I'll give it to you tomorrow at the ARC. All right?"

"Thank you. That's fine. Your silk shirt is still in good condition. I didn't come over it." Cutter tuned pale and put his head in his hands, annoyed with himself. "Oh my God, I didn't just say that. I'm sorry, James. My chat up lines really suck. But you drive me crazy, sitting on our couch and looking good enough to eat."

He squinted through his fingers up at James and saw the civil servant rendered lost for words.

"I should probably just shut my mouth before I make it any worse."

"Most of the time I find it endearing," Lester said finally and Nick looked up, amazed.

"Really? Then I'll gladly carry on making a fool of myself for you, although I think I managing this more than enough already. I just don't want to make you uncomfortable with my remarks."

"I don't feel uncomfortable right now. It's not an easy situation for either of us. But I'm slowly be able to separate our good moments from the bad which happened on that day.

"That's good. We haven't exactly acted like we're on a first date after all."

"No, we didn't. But I've realised we have too much baggage anyway to just ignore it all. Despite our short time together you know me better than anyone else."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Nick asked, gently.

"It makes me more vulnerable to you too. You are the only one who could hurt me on such a deep level..."

Nick gulped painfully. "I would never hurt you voluntarily, James. That terrible occurrence... it was the drug, not me."

"I know that or I wouldn't be here. It feels good to be close to you again. Just sitting with you on this couch brings back good memories."

"Our first kiss," Nick smiled.

"And awkward groping and coming in our trousers," Lester smirked.

"Oh, I had nearly forgotten that. But it was fun, wasn't it?"

"Oh yes, it was very nice. Isn't that the reason you wanted to bring me here, to repeat the evening of our first kiss?" Lester asked, with laboured breath.

"It worked the first time," Nick answered with a longing expression on his face.

"That it did. Then come here." James leaned over Nick and touched his lips gently with his own.

Nick groaned and buried his hands in Lester's fine hair at the base of his neck. As Lester pushed him down on the couch he went without hesitation and tried to wriggle into the same position he'd had their first time.

Lester's tongue sweeping softly over his lips, demanding entrance, nearly made Nick faint and he sucked it greedily into his mouth. He was rock-hard and feeling James semi-erection against his hip sent a shiver down his spine.

"God, James you feel so good," he whispered as James panted breathlessly against his face and started to nip his way down to his neck.

Nick was confused when Lester stopped and suddenly sprang up.

Worried, he looked at the man now hunched on the end of the couch. "James? Are you OK. Did you have a flashback?"

"Those were the same words you said under the influence of the drug...," Lester mumbled in anguish.

"Shit! James, I'm sorry," Nick ran a hand through his hair in despair.

"It's all right. You couldn't know. Let's just take it slow. I thought I was over it. But it seems we were moving too fast after all."

Nick felt so helpless. "James," he whispered and tried to get rid of the excitement still flowing through his body. He threw another look at Lester and stood up. "Excuse me for a moment."

James Lester followed him with his eyes as Nick hurried out of the room, straight into the bathroom where he swallowed another sedative and took care of his arousal.

"Feeling better now," Lester asked tentatively as Nick came back eight minutes later.

Nick blushed but James patted the place on the couch next to him. "Come here, Nick. We will just sit side by side, all right?"

As Cutter sat down, Lester moved closer until their thighs touched and took gently Nick's hand in his.

Then both men sat in the living room for a long time, just holding hands and listening to their heartbeats, oblivious to the shadow at the window, looking through the small gap in the curtains.