The Title Will Go Here - 25. Chapter 25

- XXV -

“Oh, God, Stratos...! Stratos, don’t stop...! Oh, God, yes...!”

Leon let out a low growl when he heard those words scream in his head yet again, and signaled for another drink. He was determined to get filthy drunk as soon as possible, and by now, he didn’t care if he would, in fact, pass out in the middle of the street. This would be his drink number four, and to his dark frustration, he was still very much sober.

Suddenly, he thought about Katherine and about the night they got together at the bar. She drank almost an entire bottle of whatever-the-hell they were drinking that night, and she wasn’t intoxicated in the slightest. However, for some strange reason, she didn’t want him to know that, and played ‘I-am-so-wasted-right-now’ routine very convincingly.

“Why would she do it...?” he thought with a frown. “And how, for that matter?”

“Oh, God, Stratos...! Stratos, don’t stop...! Oh, God, yes...!”

He closed his eyes.

“Fuck... You...” he said very slowly in a low voice. “Fuck... You...”

Why the hell didn’t he keep his mouth shut earlier today? Why the hell did he even mention something about Stratos playing the wrong rhythm? Not like it would matter anyway – even if someone in the audience did notice it, they would simply believe that it was Stratos’ unique interpretation. If he kept his damn mouth shut, they wouldn’t come back to the hotel until much later, and by that time, they would be too late.

“...if he loses you, then I would lose him, and I would never let that happen...” he suddenly heard himself saying, and this time, he felt like screaming. Goddammit, what is wrong with him? Why, for the love of God, can’t he simply let it go? Why the hell is he so obsessed with him? He wasn’t even sure that what he felt by now was actual love – it felt more like an obsessive, torturing habit; fixation at its best. He’s been so goddamn hung up on him that he wouldn’t even have a one-night-stand, feeling that somehow he would be cheating on him, even though he knew that it was nothing but a crock of ridiculous shit.

He let out another low growl and reached for his drink that had finally arrived. He was about to gulp it down and signal for more, when all of a sudden, he heard someone calling his name. Of course, his first (almost subconscious) thought was, “Stratos...!” He turned around so quickly, he almost fell off the tall stool he was sitting on. He managed to grab onto the counter before it happened, straightened up, and looked at whoever it was who called his name. Then he frowned.

“Max...” he said slowly, trying to figure out how in hell was this guy able to find him here. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh...” Max’s pale eyes seemed even more transparent than they were before – the lighting in the bar was rather dim. “Uh... You forgot this...”

He handed something to Leon, and the other man took it from his hand, looked at it, and frowned deeper.

“It’s your membership card,” Max answered his silent dumbfounded question. “From the shooting range... You forgot it.”

Leon blinked at that, looked at the card again, and then shifted his gaze towards Max.

“I didn’t forget it,” he said in the same slow manner. “I didn’t need it, so I left it there... I mean,” he shrugged. “I doubt I will ever go back to that place... Was just a one-time-deal...” He put the card on the counter.

“Oh...” Now Max looked embarrassed. “Uh... My bad, sorry...”

“Don’t be,” Leon shrugged again, and then he thought of something. “How did you even find me here?” he slightly narrowed his eyes, and Max’s expression became a bit confused.

“You told me where you were staying,” he said slowly. “Told me the name of the hotel... I was nearby, figured I’d just drop off your card... You weren’t in your room, and I didn’t want to leave it at the front desk...” he glanced at the card. “Figured I would come back tomorrow or something... Then I decided to have a quick drink, since the bar is right next door...” He shrugged. “And then I saw you,” he finished with a slight nod, and Leon could see even in the dim light that his cheeks started glowing pink again.

“Huh,” he said with mild amusement – he absolutely could not remember telling him the name of the hotel. Weird, he thought, and then shrugged to himself – he simply doesn’t remember doing that, not a big deal. “Well...” he turned towards the counter again. “Grab a drink,” he shot a quick glance above his shoulder and let out a small smile when the pink glow became more noticeable while Max was getting onto the tall stool next to him. “What’s your poison?”

“A dry martini would do,” Max replied somewhat uncomfortably, and Leon nodded to the bartender.

“On me,” he said. “Since you came all the way here to give me that card...”

“Uh... I was nearby...” Max said, and Leon just sighed when the glow smoothly slid down to his neck.

“Right,” he nodded and toyed with his short glass that was still full. “So... What do you do for a living?” he asked, wondering why he hadn’t asked this question earlier.

“Uh... I work for a magazine,” Max’s intonation was still uncomfortable.

“Oh, yeah?” Leon nodded at the bartender who delivered a glass with dry martini. “Which magazine...?” He pushed the glass towards the other man.

“Thanks...” Max nodded and took a sip of his drink. That seemed to relax him a little. “It’s called Ad Absurdum... Heard of it?” he shot Leon a quick glance through his eyelashes and took another sip of his martini.

“No shit!” Leon said with genuine interest. “You work for Ad Absurdum? What do you do?”

He wasn’t faking his interest – he was sincere. Ad Absurdum was a strange mix of sophistication, gossip, stone-cold-truth, and complete absurdity – it was one of the most well-known, most loved magazines, and it definitely deserved its reputation.

“I write The Weekly Countdown column,” Max nodded, and Leon left his glass alone.

“Seriously?” he asked incredulously. “I’ve been reading that column for the past six years,” he explained when he caught a confused look of the pale eyes. “I fucking love it!”

“Oh...” The glow deepened itself and spread farther down Max’s neck. “Well, I’ve been only doing it for the last six months... Started working there last April... Been on a three-months-training-trial before they actually agreed to keep me and took off the training leash...”

“That’s why the style has been so different lately!” Leon snapped his fingers. “I was wondering...”

“Uh...” Max said carefully and drank more of his martini. “Good different or bad different?”

“Definitely good,” Leon nodded without hesitation. “Love the sarcasm... One of my favorites was The House of... Err...” he wrinkled his forehead, trying to remember.

“The House of Eviscerated Illusions?” Max asked quickly, and Leon snapped his fingers again.

“That’s the one!” he nodded, still without touching his fourth drink.

“Yeah...” Max grinned, more relaxed now. “That was my third or maybe fourth column... After I wrote it, I was afraid they would tell me to can it, but they never did...”

“Because they didn’t last this long in this kind of business for their inability to see and recognize what is good and sellable,” Leon snorted, and Max smiled at that.

He drank his martini, his pink glow somewhat tamed by now, and Leon watched him rather thoughtfully. Was it the dim lighting or the alcohol talking right now? He wasn’t sure if it were both or neither, but all of a sudden, the only thing he wanted was to push Max against this bar counter and have him right here, in the middle of the goddamn bar, everything else be damned!

“What?” Max asked when he noticed Leon’s intense stare. “What?” he frowned and set his drink aside when he received no answer. “Is there something on my face?”

He brought his hand up and quickly ran his fingers across his face.

“What...?” he started saying again when he looked at his hand and saw that it was completely clean.

Leon didn’t let him to say anything else. He leaned forward, grabbed him by the back of his neck, and smashed their mouths together almost forcefully. Max let out a startled ‘Uh...!’ and instinctively jerked backwards, but Leon wouldn’t let him, grabbing the back of his neck tighter, and making him to stay put. Max let out another ‘Uh...!’ and suddenly, stopped resisting, bringing one of his hands upwards and sinking his fingers in Leon’s hair, while letting the other man into his mouth and almost trying to swallow his tongue.

The kiss wasn’t gentle at all – it was hard, forceful, attacking, and almost violent, but neither one of them would break it. They kissed until they were completely out of breath, and when that happened, Leon slid off his stool without letting go of the back of Max’s neck. He didn’t think of anyone or anything; he didn’t care about the consequences of this, didn’t give a flying shit about the looks they were getting right now, and he couldn’t care less about Stratos and his kelari. The only thought on his mind was, ‘I want him right here, right now!’ and he was hell-bent on making it happen.

It seemed that Max was on the same track because his pale eyes were hazy and horny as hell. Speaking of horny, Leon thought while half-walking, half-stumbling towards the bathroom and ignoring whatever-the-hell the bartender was saying to him. Fuck it, he’ll just pay whatever fee they would charge him for this. However, speaking of horny – he couldn’t remember the last time he was so goddamn hard; not even with Stratos. Well, maybe with Stratos, but it was four years ago, which right now felt like four centuries. Oh, sure, he’d get hard rather often – nature had to have its fixes – but not like this. Right now, he felt like he was on fire, inside and outside.

They finally made it to the bathroom, and Leon locked the door and switched on the lights – he had to see everything. Every single grimace, every single lip bite and eye roll, every single move – he had to see it. Max didn’t seem to mind the lights in the slightest. The bathroom was a private kind – it only had one toilet and a sink, which was kind of weird for a bar, but perfect for this.

He pushed Max against the sink counter and all but ripped off his pants while half-registering his own pants getting removed with the same hungry gusto. He blinked when Max pulled his shirt over his head and threw it on the floor.

“I come hard...” Max panted when he caught his look. “And I hate come stains... And it’s been a while since the last time I’ve done this, so...”

He didn’t finish the sentence, but he didn’t have to. Leon ripped off his own shirt (he’d be amused later that he didn’t ruin a single button), threw it on the floor as well, and glanced around the counter. (“Shit, I hate dry fucking... Do I have to use spit...?”) He let out a low, panting laughter when he saw a bottle of lotion not too far from the sink – apparently, this bathroom had more than just one purpose.

He reached for the bottle and looked downwards. Max was hard as a rock, and both of them were already leaking like two damaged faucets; with the lotion it’ll be nothing short of heavenly. He squeezed some lotion onto his fingers and turned Max around, slightly pushing him on the counter, making him to bend forward. When he was with Stratos, he would be usually bottoming. Hell, forget usually – he was the one getting fucked, and not the other way around (unless tongue fucking counts). Right now, however, he felt like dominating the hell out of Max.

He started quickly working his lubed-up fingers, trying to be patient enough for this part – he wanted to fuck, not to hurt – and Max started to push against his hand, rocking in the same quick rhythm, letting out soft, low growls. He is getting off on this, Leon realized. He is getting off on this, and he doesn’t give a flying shit that he is about to be fucked in a bar bathroom by someone he only met five hours ago.

This complete horny willingness turned Leon on even more, and he let out a strangled moan, restraining himself from forgetting about the hand already and just start ramming into him, just like that.

“Enough already...” Max moaned suddenly, and Leon blinked several times. Did he hear his thoughts somehow...? “Enough already...!” Max moaned again, looking at him above his shoulder. “Shit, Leon, just fuck me...! I can’t handle it any longer...! Fuck me, goddammit!”

Leon let out a very loud exhale and withdrew his hand.

“I want to see your eyes...” he muttered, surprising himself. He does? “I want to see your eyes...” he said again and turned Max around, so they were facing each other. Yeah, he does want to see his eyes, he realized the minute he looked into them. That is one hell of a pair of eyes...

Max buried fingers of both hands in Leon’s very messy by now hair, and pulled him closer, locking their lips together again. Leon moaned when he felt a harsh nip on his lower lip and grabbed Max’s waist, quickly lifting him up and lowering him onto the counter.

“Fuck me...” Max muttered, and suddenly, he laughed in a very strained manner. “Shit...” he said in a breaking voice. “Usually, I am nowhere near this horny, but with you...” He paused and delivered another frantic kiss. “With you I am turning into a goddamn whore...” he panted a minute later and wrapped his legs around Leon’s waist. “Fuck me...!”

Leon finally finished with the lotion, applying plenty on both of them, and pushed the bottle away. He pulled Max a little closer to the edge of the counter and ran one of his hands down the warm, smooth skin, delivering quick, circling strokes, heading towards the hip. The counter turned out to be the perfect height, and Leon loved the sound that emerged from Max’s throat the minute Leon entered him.

He slid both of his hands onto the small of Max’s back, pulling him even closer to himself while both of them started moving in a perfectly synchronized quick, hard rhythm. Max started rotating his hips, and Leon knew what he was doing – he was trying to find the right angle, trying to get Leon to ram into his sweet spot.

Finding the right angle is not difficult if you are not half-assed about it, which Leon most certainly was not. He knew he found it when Max growled something out with an unintelligible loudness, and his legs locked tighter around Leon’s waist. The look on his face made Leon almost lightheaded with hunger – it was an awesome mix of pure lust, raw pleasure, and ‘whatever-you-do-don’t-stop!’

That look made him to pick up more speed, and he rocked harder, making sure he didn’t lose the right angle. He didn’t.

“Shit...!” Max moaned in a strained manner. “Oh, shit...!” he threw his head back and gasped for air, locking his arms around Leon’s neck. “Fuck, this is good...! Oh, yeah... Oh, yeah... Oh, hell, yeah...! Oh, shit!”

This last ‘Oh, shit!’ was louder than the rest of the words, and Leon immediately knew why. He snaked one of his hands up the sweaty back, and buried his fingers in Max’s hair, making him to lower his head and look at him.

“You gonna come, aren’t you?” he asked in a low, breaking voice without looking away from the pale eyes and without letting go of the dark hair in his grasp. “You gonna come... I’ll fucking make you come... Because there is no way in hell I am coming first... Fuck, you are so tight...!”

He was close; too close. He knew that Max was almost there, on the brink, but so was he, and as he said, there was no way in hell he’d come first right now. He rocked his hips harder and faster, ramming into Max’s sweet spot, making the pale eyes roll all the way back, and... Oh, hell... He was too goddamn close!

“I’m gonna make you come...” he half-growled, half-moaned. “Right now...”

He let go of the messy hair, and his hand suddenly shot downwards. Max let out an unabashed, absolutely shameless scream, knowing that the entire bar would probably be able to hear him, and not caring about that in the slightest.

“Yes...!” he screamed when Leon started stroking him hard and fast. “Oh, shit, yes...! Oh, yeah...! Oh, yeah...! Oh-oh-oh, yeah!”

He wasn’t lying when he said he came hard, Leon realized a few seconds after his final ‘Oh, yeah!’ Holy shit, he thought, unable to look away from the glorious explosion. It’s a good thing he took off his shirt – it’d be nothing but one huge stain if he kept it on.

“Fuck...!” he hissed, powerless against the convulsing tightness around him. “Fuck...!”

This was one of the most intense climaxes in his entire life, he thought when he could form coherent thoughts after his body had finally stopped trying to ravish the pleasure center of his brain. Bloody hell, he seriously could not remember the last time he came this hard.

“Fuck...” he whispered and delivered a quick, sloppy kiss on the panting mouth in front of him. “I had no idea that a magazine writer could be the fucking definition of best sex in my life...!”

He wasn’t just saying that – he meant it. Being with Stratos felt completely different. Not bad different, but just different. He wasn’t trying to figure out all the differences right now; he had no desire to compare or to analyze. He had no desire to even think of Stratos right now.

Max let out a very weak laughter and dropped his head onto Leon’s shoulder.

“You know...” he muttered without looking up. “I am not usually this easy... Just so you know...”

“Mmm...” Leon said and wrapped his arms around the sweaty, glowing body.

“And I haven’t done it in a public bathroom for everyone to hear before,” Max added a second later, and Leon snorted at that.

“Me neither,” he muttered. “Well...” He managed to make a weak shrug. “I’ve done it in a dressing room once, but never in a public bathroom...”

Max laughed again and raised his head. Leon looked into his pale eyes, and suddenly realized that he didn’t want this to be the last time he saw those eyes.

“Damn...” he muttered and slowly traced one of the eyebrows with his fingertip. “Five-hour-drive to Brookland... Why do you have to live in this damn city?”

Max blinked at that several times, his legs still locked around Leon’s waist.

“I am not,” he said slowly, and Leon frowned. “I live in Norrington...”

Leon stared at him without blinking or saying anything for almost ten seconds.

“Wait, what...?” he asked finally, and Max leaned closer to his face.

“I live in Norrington...” he murmured. “I came here to cover the concert, and to see you again... I’ve had an enormous crush on you for the last seven months or so...”

“You live in Norrington...?” Leon muttered, as if not believing it, and then he suddenly smiled. “You live in Norrington...”

“Uh huh,” Max slowly ran his tongue over Leon’s lips. “And I am glad you think it’s good news...”

“Excellent news,” Leon said quietly and gave him a quick, light kiss, catching his tongue for just a few seconds. “Because I definitely want to see you again... Maybe not in a public bathroom next time?” he offered, and Max smiled.

“Living in the same city is a hell of a pro,” he murmured without pulling away.

“All hail Norrington,” Leon said seriously.

He sighed and straightened up.

“Let’s clean up,” he said, and slightly regretted losing the tight circle of legs around his waist. “You do come hard...”

Max let out a soft laughter and leaned closer again. He ran his tongue on Leon’s neck, right underneath the earlobe, and Leon blinked at that.

“It got all the way up there?” he asked with mild amusement, and Max shrugged with the same small smile.

“I come hard,” was all he said before sliding off the counter.

“It’s kinda late...” Leon said half an hour or so later, after they left the bar.

Speaking of the bar... It seemed that they would be famous there for quite a while. When they finally left the bathroom, almost everyone who was in the bar, burst into loud applause. Max’s face immediately started glowing pink, and Leon just snorted and rolled his eyes – he was used to attention; when you spend a decade next to a celebrity, you get used to things like this.

When he came to the counter to pay for the drinks, the bartender gave him a wide grin.

“On the house,” he said and made a very sly wink.

That annoyed the hell out of Leon. He threw several bills on the counter.

“Keep the change,” he said with a nasty smile, and the bartender didn’t wink this time, even though he kept the wide grin.

They walked outside without looking back, and once they left, Leon let out a regretful sigh.

“Well,” he said. “Another addition to my ‘I-am-not-coming-back-there-again’ list... Damn...” He glanced at the bar. “Too bad... The location is great... Oh, well,” he sighed once more, and Max gave him a silent smile; he seemed uncomfortable again. Leon almost frowned at that.

He looked at his watch.

“It’s kinda late,” he said, and Max blinked and glanced at his own wrist.

“It’s only ten-thirty...” he muttered, and then stopped talking and slightly bit his lip. “If you want to go, that’s fine,” he said in a quiet voice a couple of seconds later.

Leon did frown at that. Go...? Then he understood – Max thought Leon wanted to ditch him, having no desire to hang out and waste time after he already got what he wanted. He stopped walking.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said seriously, and Max looked at him without a smile. “I meant it’s kinda late to go anywhere, and since my hotel is right here...” he paused and glanced at the huge building. “We might as well just head to my room...”

Max blinked, and his posture slightly relaxed after he heard that. He stood still for a minute, his expression thoughtful, and then he let out a small smile and slowly shook his head.

“No,” he said in the same quiet voice. “I don’t want to wake up in the morning and realize that you are regretting this...”

“Regretting this?” Leon interrupted him with another frown. “Why the hell would I be regretting this?”

Max shrugged.

“Because it was a spur of the moment,” he said without looking away. “You’ve been drinking, and...” He shrugged again. “You were clearly distraught,” he nodded, and Leon didn’t say anything to that. “And it was kinda obvious that you hoped to see someone else when I called your name...”

“Max...”

“Here...” Max put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Leon immediately recognized his membership card from the shooting range.

Max dug in his other pocket for several seconds, and finally, he pulled out a small pencil that seemed to be chewed on quite a lot. He wrote something on the card and handed it to Leon.

“If you still want to see me after you wake up, call me,” he said quietly, and Leon slowly took the card. “If not...” He shrugged. “Just throw it out,” he glanced at the card. “I’ll get the message... Don’t worry,” he smiled again. “I won’t stalk you, I am not a clingy type... I would rather have the memory of this evening than a very awkward awakening,” he added after a few seconds.

Leon looked at him without saying anything for a minute or so, and then sighed and put the card into his pocket.

“What time do you usually wake up?” he asked without a smile, and Max’s mouth slightly twitched at that.

“It varies,” he said. “You can call me any time... Believe me...” here he smiled again. “I won’t bitch about the fact that you woke me up.”

“Remember those words,” Leon said warningly. “Because I will hold you up to them!”

“Do,” Max said simply, and this time, Leon finally smiled.

“Want me to drive you back?” he asked, and Max shook his head.

“I drove here myself,” he said and nodded to his left. “Had to park two blocks from here...”

“Yeah, parking is a bitch in this place,” Leon agreed. “Let’s go then...” He sighed when he saw the look in the pale eyes. “I can walk you to your car, can’t I?” he asked patiently. “You’ll just drive me back here...”

“Yeah...” Max smiled again, this time, wider. “Yeah...”

They made it to Max’s car in half an hour or so, and Leon blinked a few times when Max pushed the button on his keychain, and a small, funny-shaped yellow car immediately winked in response.

“You are driving a ‘Flea’?” he asked with slight amusement, and Max’s ears started glowing again.

“Yeah,” he said. “Saves me gas and it’s reliable,” he sounded slightly defensive when he said that.

‘Flea’ was a nickname for a certain type of cars – they were small, quite fast, and their shape was curiously-funny. They looked almost round. One of the reasons they were called ‘Fleas’ was because they could take off very quickly, almost as if they were leaping forward just like an actual flea would. Not too many people drove them though – they were too small and for some, too funny-looking.

“It suits you,” Leon said suddenly, and Max frowned.

“How so?” he asked, and his ears glowed a little less.

Leon shrugged.

“Just does,” he said. “Come on,” he sighed. “Give me a lift back.”

“Yeah...” Max muttered and pushed the same button again.

...They got to the hotel in less than ten minutes, and when Max pulled to the curb, he didn’t put the gear in Park; he just sat there, holding down the brake pedal while waiting in a silently-patient manner for Leon to get out.

“Park it,” Leon said without smiling. “Just the gear,” he added when Max narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.

He nodded when the gear was slowly thrown into the Park position, and leaned closer.

“I will talk to you tomorrow,” he murmured and slowly traced Max’s mouth with his tongue.

Max sat still for a few seconds without responding to the kiss or saying anything, and then he let out a quick breath and parted his lips, letting his own tongue to return the favor. They kissed for several minutes, and when the kiss started turning into something bigger, Max moaned and pulled away.

“Mmm...” he breathed. “If you are planning on waking me up in the morning, then I’d better head to bed,” he muttered in an uneven voice, and Leon closed his eyes for a second or two.

“Right,” he said when he opened them. “Good night then...”

“Night...” Max said softly and grabbed Leon’s shoulder when the other man was about to get out of the car.

Leon looked at him with a silent question, and when Max wouldn’t say anything, he sighed and leaned closer again, running his fingers through the chestnut colored hair. This time, the kiss was very responsive the minute their lips touched.

“Good night...” Leon whispered a few minutes later without pulling away from the soft mouth. “Or park this thing and come upstairs with me...”

“Mmm...” Max let out a shaky breath and pulled away again. “Good night...”

Leon gave him a quick smile and climbed out of the car. He watched the yellow ‘Flea’ leap forward and disappear around the corner, and then he pulled the membership card out of his pocket. He looked at it for a minute or two, and then slowly dropped it on the ground. Whom is he kidding? He actually considered seeing someone else? Right, like that would ever work...! Tonight was great, yes, but that’s all it was – tonight. Stratos was his addiction, doom, and his complete demise. He accepted it four years ago, and it was still true. It will always be true, he thought bitterly and turned around, heading towards the front door of the hotel. He will probably never talk to Max again even if he sees him – the only thing they would share would be a great memory of a great night. He sighed and pulled open the heavy door, feeling strangely disappointed with himself. He frowned, shook his head and walked inside the hotel, letting the heavy door to close on its own.

Less than three minutes later, he came outside again and looked around with a tight frown. His forehead smoothed out when he saw the card, and he quickly walked towards it and picked it up. He looked at it again, and after a minute, he put it in his pocket and went back inside the hotel.