wickerpark | (no subject)

"Hey, so I was thinking - karaoke, I can let Ty try to flirt with me again." It was a fun game, at this point, Ollie thought, but then Gael half turned, and Ollie's eyes widened and then narrowed again into sharp blue slits. Gael's chest was covered in healing bruises that made him look like someone had used him as a whipping post, and Ollie stepped inside the dressing room, shutting the door behind him.

It had been a few days since he'd seen Gael, he thought, which is why he'd come looking. In fact, it had been since he'd watched Gael disappear from Mooseknuckle in the company of Ty's best friend Carlos. Of course he was jumping to conclusions, but - probably best not to do so verbally, and immediately.

"What the fuck are those?"

Ah yes. Much better.

Oh. Fuck. Gael thought, his shirt only half way down when Ollie burst into the room, making plans for them before he stopped dead and stared. And then shut the door, and didn't yell....but might as well have. Mm. Well what was he supposed to say really.

"Bruises?" He asked, lowering his shirt down all the way and turning to look at Ollie. "They happen from time to time, and I just bruise so easily. Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to tan and not show bruises so clearly, you know."

Well, if nothing else distraction was a useful tool, he thought as he smiled at Ollie. "And sure, karaoke is fine. I....." He smiled a little more, thinking back to Carlos' promise before he lifted his brows a moment. "I might have a standing challenge that was issued with Carlos Sanchez. So, I could go with it."

Ollie gave Gael a steady, skeptical look, and it was hard to say what he was more skeptical about: I bruise easily or that knowing little smile at the mention of Carlos Sanchez. Ollie didn't know the Seven of Clubs, particularly, other than that he seemed to be best friends with Ty Kagan, but he usually came off as quiet and serious.

Not what he thought of as Gael's usual type. Not to mention those bruises and the even more faded ones on his arms weren't the kind that were acquired by accident. The ones on his arms looked like rope - certainly Ollie had seen that before - and the ones on his chest? Well, Ollie didn't have personal experience, but he'd lay money on some kind of...whip.

"And are those from Carlos too?" He asked carefully.

Edited 2017-07-03 15:36 (UTC)

"It wasn't anything I didn't ask him to do, My Sweet Diamond." Gael assured Ollie, leaning back against a desk in the changing room before he sighed a little. He always figured Ollie would see something he shouldn't, but he had never put much thought in how to explain it. Maybe he really should have.

"We both discovered we have a mutual like. We took advantage of that. This..." He gestured down his now clothed torso, looking down before fixing his eyes firmly on Ollie. "This is the result. I assure you, he would have stopped if I told him. We didn't just rush into it." Mostly. With his usual patron there had been a long discussion about what was allowed, what wasn't allowed. For one, he never referred to his Dom by his name- the man was married to a beautiful woman, had three kids. There was, really, nothing sexual about what they did beyond the fact that both found it satisfying and fulfilling. It was also mutually agreed that aftercare was something that Gael preferred to do on his own, away from his Dom.

His play with Carlos, though, it had definitely been sexual, and precisely what they had both wanted. It eased a need in Gael that he rarely admitted to others in needing, even if he was (somewhat) aware that the reason he craved it was not for the best of reasons.

"Don't be upset, Love. It...was never something I could ask from you. Never something you could have given me to the level I wanted it."

Ollie still looked skeptical - how could they not have rushed into it, when they hadn't ever even spoken to each other before? This whole thing, he thought with a sharp bit of annoyance, had happened because Ty was flirting with him, and hadn't been thrilled with the fact that Gael was...well, Gael was very distracting. Even if they were only friends, which they were.

Of course, that was in part because of Gael, too. Ollie recognized in Gael someone who he could have fallen in love with, but Gael also refused to get involved in relationships, so their feelings had not gotten as engaged as they could have. He'd only explained why he wouldn't date in the vaguest of ways, and Ollie had always been doubtful it had been about Claire.

"...Probably not," he finally said, though, in reply to what Gael was saying. He liked power play, and he loved their games together, but it wasn't in him to hurt his lovers, no matter how much they might want it. "Is that going to interfere with your alternate revenue stream?" He asked, though, gesturing back at Gael.

They didn't discuss it outright, but Ollie knew what Gael made as an actor, and he knew what the likely way was that he made up the difference in the rent, too. Ollie was in much better shape; as a director, he made considerably more than the musicians and actors did. Not enough to not live in Player's Quarter, but enough that he never had to worry about the rent.

"Eh, probably." Gael said as he shrugged. Pushing off the desk, Gael moved closer to Ollie, smoothing out his shirt as he did so. "But it is fine, I can maybe supplement it was part-time work. Or just ask my father...." Which he didn't want to do. Not that Daniel couldn't, or wouldn't do it for him- he just didn't want Daniel to worry. It likely didn't stop the man from worrying anyway.

"How are things going with your Club problem, anyway?" He asked, coming up to Gael and pressing his lips to the other man's cheek. "You know, I could call him off. Or just send Carlos back with his tail between his legs. If you wanted. I don't know how committed you are to torturing Hadyn Novak by seducing his son."

But he rather did hope Ollie didn't want him to give up Carlos. He was a bit more fun than he'd even care to admit- well, the sex was, anyway.

Reaching up, he smiled as he ran his fingers across Ollie's cheek, trying to sooth away the displeased expression on the man's face. "Come on," he said softly, "don't be upset. You're still my hero, you know. My knight in Diamond armor." He...suspected he even loved Ollie, in a manner. In as much as his heart could let him love another. "How can I make that frown go away?"

Parents tended to worry no matter how well their children were doing. His had worried about Samaire - their sleek, successful eldest - as much as they worried about him, with his high flying Naval career. God knew they'd be worried about him now. "You should ask him," he said. He liked Dr. Prochazka, who was on the surface quiet, studious, and utterly un-Spade-like. "My mom once told me that sending money made her feel like I still needed her, even if I didn't need the money then." The US government paid well to send him into death, after all.

He wasn't sure how committed to torturing Hadyn, either. Probably because he was starting to like Ty Kagan as a person now - and it made it harder to think of him as a part of a vendetta. "I think he's losing interest," he said a bit dryly. "I may have overplayed the hard to get game." It had been a while since he'd played it at all, after all. He deliberately kept relations casual with everyone on the Deck, and only Gael had wormed his way in.

He tilted his head at Gael and smiled a bit. "So there's no need to give up your Carlos, darling. Especially when you look so excited about seducing him tonight. You should do Want to Want Me. There's a song that will get his attention from the get-go." Not that he expected Gael to ever have a problem with that.

He quirked a brow up, though, smirking a bit. "How am I at all your hero?" He asked. "You've been there for me more than I've ever been for you." And god knows he hadn't arrived in the Deck anyone's idea of a hero. No matter, he thought, that that was exactly the burial he'd had back in the Outside world.

"I will, I will. But I will also make him promise to not try to talk me into moving home. Just think of how boring that would be." Not that it was strange in a place where children often lived at home until they were married or otherwise forced out. Families stayed close on the deck.

As Tyler losing interest, Gael quirked a brow a little looking over Ollie's features carefully. He could tell there was more to it than just a vendetta, and he suspected Ollie's heart didn't have it in him to really hurt someone that was becoming a friend at the very least. And Tyler Kagan was an easy sort of man to be friends with.

"Love, I don't think I need to hit the nail on the head too much, where is the fun in that? Besides, I know he wants me- I've sort of known for a long time. Beside the point, though. Look- you don't have to keep going, if you don't want to. Or if things have changed- but you should figure it out before you let him flirt with you more. He's a smart guy, it is a blessing and a curse." It also meant that Ollie could have underestimated Ty just a little, or overestimated how hard someone was willing to fight for attention from someone they barely knew.

"Honestly? You have to ask?" Gael covered his face with his hand, giving a forlorn sigh as he fell against Ollie dramatically. "How quickly you forgot your heroic deeds, why...I don't know how to deal with this at all. Ollie...." He said, before sobering up at looking at the other man plainly. "You're a hero for just being a friend. Do you really need more? I admire you- even when you're being an idiot."

"Don't fall for it's lonely with the house empty one, babe. Parents use it all the time." Though it was probably true. Noelle had moved into Spade Castle, after all, the best place for someone with her ambitions to be, and Gael had switched Suits and moved into his own apartment. Deck parents sometimes seemed to view a Suit switch as a tragic separation for reasons that remained a mystery to Ollie.

"I'm just saying, if you want a certain reaction, there's nothing wrong with being obvious." Advice he himself could take, really, but the problem there was that he didn't really know what reaction he wanted from Ty. He wanted him, certainly. But he wasn't exactly sure why Ty wanted him. He'd probably underestimated him, and overestimated his own appeal - that much was true. "I feel like a fucking teenager," he muttered. "It's depressing enough to almost make me want to get wasted, also like a fucking teenager." It had been that long since he'd gotten drunk off his ass.

He did give Gael a skeptical look. "I think you underestimate yourself, love," he said just as plainly. "Being friends with you isn't heroism." And he didn't know that there was much of him to admire, but that was just starting the evening off in a very dark place. "Come on," he said instead. "If you're really cute tonight, I might even sing with you."

"My father is a master at what he does, this is why asking is dangerous." Gael said with a laugh before he sighed a little. There were still some things Ollie might never understand- a lot was the history of the suits. The traditional battle lines drawn in times of suspicion and intrigue. Gael's switching the Hearts, perhaps, not as horrifying as his friendships with a Diamond and a Club. It was something Gael couldn't really explain- without possibly using Shakespeare.

"Mm, yes. If I want a reaction." He could have thrown that back at Ollie so easily he thought, but he held his tongue. Instead they both turned to move out of the room and toward the side doors in the theatre. "Darling- has no one ever explained that we never stop acting like teenagers- we just develop a different sort of flair. Same drama- different ages. Instead of girlfriends cheating on boyfriends, it is wives cheating on husbands. I think getting wasted to avoid facing your own emotions is perfectly fine still."

As for Ollie's believe- well, Gael didn't push it. He had soothed away enough nightmares in the time he had known Ollie, and he knew things haunted the man still. But...he wished Ollie could see what others saw. Or at least, what he saw. "Babe, I'm always cute. What song do you want to sing?"

It was different Outside, to be sure. And Ollie had never personally experienced anything similar, but in times of war - and after - he'd seen neighbors and friends torn apart by suspicion born of national identity. It wasn't the same, but it was terrible to see all the same.

"Well, God knows it's an enduring coping strategy." One he avoided generally for reasons he hadn't even shared with Gael. He doubted that, even tonight, he'd go as far as wasted, but he might get more drunk than usual. And he wasn't even going to touch that knowing look Gael had given him about reactions. Perhaps they'd spent too much time together, he thought. Gael didn't even have to say a word anymore.

"I don't know how you deal with all that unbearable adorableness," he said though, as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Some demons couldn't just be soothed away, no matter how determined the friend. Ollie knew well enough that some people admired who he appeared to be, but it wasn't as if most of them really knew him. "Something Kesha, maybe. Like Blow. That one's always fun."

"Honestly, I don't know how I deal with it at all." He said, moving along with Ollie quite easily. He didn't have a reason to press, he thought. If and when Ollie wanted to talk about things- he would. And in the mean time, Gael would do his best to distract him.

Though really, that did leave him with one thing to consider as he reached out to stop Ollie for a moment. "If we are going Blow- I am not dressed right. I should at least have a wig, don't you think? I mean, really- I have to be more....Kesha like. It would be like singing Lady Gaga with being weird." He said, laughing as he glanced about. Honestly, he didn't think they even had any wigs like that but it could have been a lot of fun.

"Do you think we should do Blow, or maybe We Are Who We Are." He said, "or maybe Blah Blah Blah. Oh- you know, how good are you at rapping? Because she did do a duet with Pitbull." It was probably a crime just how much he knew about Kesha. But then, Gael liked fun music= it was easier to dance to in a club and easier to sing along to really.

"If we're doing We R Who We R, you need hot pants, darling." And he needed something sexier than denim, too, really, he thought as he looked himself up and down. "And my rapping is terrible but you know. So is Pitbull's." So they'd probably be okay.

He tilted his head, though. "I brought my bike," he said. "If we want to raid our closets." They were approximately the same height and weight, which, Ollie often thought, was at least a quarter of the reason they'd initially made friends. What better way to maximize one's wardrobe.

Later, he'd remember how close he'd been to diving into depression again, and how fast Gael had been to distract him from it. "I have a long blond wig at home," he said. "Don't ask why."

"Darling, I would never question why you have certain things. But we might as well raid a closet or two." The benefit of just being a floor or two apart was, without a doubt, closet raiding. And tonight, it seemed, to be quickly morphing from potential flirting to quietly making sure Ollie was going to be okay. He didn't know if he wanted to explain to Carlos just why he was disappearing to tender to another instead of soundly enjoying their time together.

"By time we are dressed, I'm sure we can decide on a sound or five." Because really, Gael enjoyed making a fool of himself on any stage. "Though, really, I think you just want me on your bike with a wig and heels to turn heads." Because he would.

Which- wait. "Should I shave my legs? I should probably shave my legs." It would look better that way with stockings and heels.

Ollie would be, if he knew, touched and a little offended that Gael thought he wasn't going to be okay. And really, he didn't know why these moods sometimes hit him like a mack truck. It was, he often thought, one of the consequences of war he didn't understand - how he was suddenly angry or suddenly in misery. He'd been worried about Gael when he'd shown up.

"Well, darling, can you blame me?" Because Gael in a long blond wig, tearing through the Players' Quarter and into the Club District? Everyone alive would look. As for the legs, Ollie looked Gael up and down. "The stockings itch otherwise. You know that." His eyes rose back up to Gael's own just in time to catch a grave sort of look before Gael hid it the way he was good at.

"I'm going to be fine, you know," he said gently. "Just had something of an afternoon. Between Kesha and a shot of tequila, I'll be okay."

"Hardly worried, love." He said, though they both knew that wasn't true. Slipping an arm about Oliver's waist, he pulled the other along as they started walking again.

"You know, you are right. I don't expect you to shave, of course. If anyone is going to be the Lady, it should certainly be me. I have the hourglass shape, and the legs- my legs are just fantastic." He said, running his other hand through his hair. "You'll have to help with a bit of makeup, though. I'm not just I have enough glitter to do Kesha justice, and I must give a Queen her due- don't you think?"

Gael was full of shit, Ollie thought, but it was the best kind of shit, the kind that reminded him that he hadn't entirely isolated himself, and someone had successfully wormed his way in. Maybe, he thought, it was past time to open himself up to more than Gael and his dog.

"Oh no, but I will still be sexier than Pitbull has ever been. But you're right about your legs. They're fabulous, cheri." Truly, if there was any sign that you might have slept with Gael Shaw too many times, it was undoubtedly the moment when French endearments slipped off your tongue. "And we Diamonds always have glitter. They issue it to us on a quarterly basis, along with any updates to the etiquette rules." He patted Gael on the shoulder and looped his arm around his neck. "Don't worry, you'll be so glittery that Kesha herself would be jealous."

"Maybe I should just...shave it all. Luckily I'm not a very hairy man- which means no one needs to shave my ass. But, mm...I could go bald as a new born down there." He had the oils and clippers for it. Plus, honestly, it would help him pull off his planned outfit. It probably said something about him that he'd already had one planned out.

"Bon, cheri, bon. I do love a man who realizes how amazing I am, and has glitter for me. Now, get me home or lose me forever....or however that line goes." He said, leaning into Ollie as they finally made it outside. The day was growing long, but Gael wasn't in a big hurry. "Come on, love, lets go..."

"You'd look delicious," Ollie said, "but if we're removing everything, wax is probably the way to go, darling." True friendship was helping each other with these things and then covering the rest in glitter, obviously.

Ollie smirked, though, as he climbed on his bike and handed Gael the helmet so he could climb on behind him. It wasn't as if karaoke night at Mooseknuckle ended early, he though as he kicked the engine into gear and they tore off towards their apartments.

"Wax....Wax just sounds exciting." It was going to hurt, that was for sure. He didn't mind too much, considering the results would be well worth it. And glitter. Glitter made everything fun. Maybe he should have been born a girl, he thought as they got on the bike. He certainly had some....interesting likes at times. Or maybe he was just more Femme than he ever really considered himself.

They tore off toward their apartments, winding down the roads quickly as Gael hugged Ollie tightly in order to not fall. Admittedly, he was not a big fan of the bike, but he trusted Ollie to not kill him. As soon as they were parked, he bounced off the bike and turned back to Ollie as he held out the helmet.

"Well, the lucky thing about waxing is that it is probably faster. Also, I like to keep it all neat and trimmed, so no real prep work needed." He said, smiling. "I am boring your shower first. Do you have tights? Or do I need to go get some?"

Well, Ollie thought, it wasn't as if Gael didn't like a bit of pain, apparently. And to be fair, it wasn't as if Ollie hadn't known that, really. Sex was rough between the two of them, after all, just not quite as rough as Gael might like.

He slid off the bike, letting the helmet dangle from one hand. "I do not, in fact, currently, have tights, so you'd better bring your own, darling." He knew well enough by now that unless it was an emergency - normally the emergency of his own nightmares - Gael preferred he not rummage around in his apartment. "But then the shower's all yours."

"Give my about ten minutes, My Love, and I should be your blank canvas." He said, leaning in to give Ollie a quick kiss on the cheek before he backed up and turned. Heading up to his apartment, he frowned as he closed the door behind him. He considered his options for a moment, biting his lip a little he ran through a list of possible outfits. He could make himself some hot-pants. But no- he did actually have something better. He'd worn it for a performance piece in an exhibition for the theatre troop.

He could modify it. get rid of the hat in favor of the wig. Not using the red top, and using glitter to help it. He should wax most of his body to get any random hairs, but that should all work. And he had heels to go with it.

Smirking, he grabbed the clothing and packed up a few other items before heading down to Ollie's apartment. Pushing into the door, he sighed dramatically. "Darling, you really have to tell me what you plan to wear. I think I might over dress if I'm not careful."

Ollie was standing in front of his closet staring a bit when Gael burst in, and he raised his eyebrows as Gael came down the hall to his bedroom. His apartment was a few steps above Gael's, though not what anyone would expect the son of Caleb Byrd - who'd given his only son both a Porsche and a yacht for his sixteenth birthday - to live in. The furniture was simple, and largely the sort that you brought home in boxes and assembled yourself.

"Well, love, it's not as if I could outshine you in my wildest dreams." Red silk shirt, apparently, though, he thought, pulling it out of the closet and tossing it on the bed. With....hm. "Silver or gold glitter, darling?" Because somehow he'd become the kind of man who'd acquired glitter coated denim in both shades, and somehow he expected that might be Gael's fault too.

"Isn't there a hat that goes with that?" He asked as Gael tossed his own outfit on his comforter. "And you realize you're nearly going to be as tall as Sanchez in those shoes?"

"Gold goes with red, love." He said as he pulled his shirt off after depositing his things on the bed. As for being as tall as Sanchez, Gael shrugged. It wasn't really his big concern for the night- though it would be fun to watch Sanchez's face when he saw them. "And yes, there was a hat, but I'm not playing the part of a drugged out, trans-nun. So, I left it at home. And if you ask nicely, I might even let you fuck me with the heels on." He smirked at that, biting his bottom lips for a moment before slipping into the bathroom and turning on the shower.

Gael shucked off the rest of his clothing, before checking himself off. In generally he kept his body hair trimmed and tamed- if only because he was admittedly a little vain.

Well, it was long enough to wax, and not too out of control. "Hey, you have the wax right? Because I think they'd object to me showing up naked asking for it." He said before turning to get in the shower.

"Metallics are neutrals, darling." But he still tosses the black jeans coated in gold glitter onto the bed before turning back to catch that smirk. "Oh, I have to ask nicely now?" He drawled, but it was nothing more than a tease.

"Wax is under the sink," he called out, though. "Right door. Oh, and you'd better close the door all the way. Banner's into hair removal." Mostly Banner was into Gael, and most other people he'd ever met in his life. But especially Gael.

Gael rolled his eyes a little as he showered quickly. He washed his hair before scrubbing down. A few minutes later he was out and drying off as he shut the door and tended to the business of removing hair from both his legs and nether regions. It stung, when he pulled, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it might be- though it did take him a good 15 minutes for his pubes alone. And then the legs was another 15.

"Hey," he said, poking his head out. "I am going to need you to check my back side. Also- should I wax the pits? I'm considering going just....completely hairless. That seems like a viable option." He said, smirking a little.

Ollie's dog beat his tail against the floor as Gael poked his head, giving the Heart a worshipful gaze, but Ollie just laughed as he fastened his glittery pants. "Sure, I've got you," he said, and twirled his finger indicating Gael should go back in the bathroom and let him in.

Banner stayed put, but only because of the look Ollie gave him. He might not use that squadron commander face on anyone but his dog these days but at least, he thought, it still worked. On a dog.

"You might as well go all out," he said as he slathered wax on the patches still left on Gael's back. "Besides, the lingerie's going to look better that way, as you aren't a psycho trans nun after all."

Banner would get to jump all over him soon enough, Gael thought as he winked at the dog. Not that the dog understood what a wink meant. And with Ollie's help, he finished peeling off the last of the hair on his body, before looking himself over in the mirror.

"I look hot, maybe I should just....always do this. Who needs pubes anyway." He wasn't entirely sure that the point of them was, other that to hide things. "Smooth as a baby's butt, as they say. I am definitely getting laid tonight. Come one, lets go. I need to get into my clothing before Banner looses his mind and can't hold it in anymore."

And then- they needed to do makeup, because those bruises across his abdomen seemed to glow brightly against his pale skin. Maybe he'd leave them visible, and just claim it was makeup for effect. Mm.

"Come on," he said, finally pushing out of the bathroom and turning to the dog to share some love before going to find his clothes. It was probably better to just not waste too much more time.

"Well, not you, darling. And you look absolutely edible." Almost tempting to not go out at all, but that would be a waste of good costume lingerie, Ollie thought.

And going out would probably be good for him - more than Gael. It was, after all, why he'd burst in with the suggestion in the first place. He knew his moods, and knew the ones it was best not to leave alone in the dark to wallow.

"Hardly anything stops you from getting laid," he said. "But I have to admit you're extra irresistible like this." He gave Gael a more than admiring look before he picked up his shirt and slipped into it, buttoning it most of if not all the way.

"I know," Gael said with amusement as he started to pull on his clothing. A waist cincher, and then a garter belt. He tucked himself back as he situated the underwear, trying to give himself as feminine a look as he could. Then the stockings- which too the most care to more put a run in them.

But after that he stood up right and did a little turn for Ollie's enjoyment. A bulky pearl necklace choker and very vivid red makeup later he was carefully putting on a blond wig.

"How do I look? I didn't go...over board did I> I feel I might over over done it."

Edited 2017-07-12 18:31 (UTC)

There were several reasons Gael was the Deck's premiere actor - and Ollie was fairly sure he would have done well in Hollywood eventually, too - but chief among them was that Gael? Knew exactly how to put on a show.

He grinned though. "You can only overdo it when doing Kesha. Her Majesty would accept nothing less." They definitely weren't taking the bike with Gael in that, though. Which was just as well, if Ollie was going to drink - he'd feel compelled at the end of the night to leave it at Mooseknuckle, and then he'd have to pick it up in the morning. "As it is, darling, she'd want to steal your whole look."

Gael had thought about it, really. He'd had several people around him while in school who had offered to act as his agent, or wanted to cast him in one thing or another. A part of him had desired to chase that course in life, but the outside world offered him something small compared to the risk he could cause to his home. For all his skill at acting, Gael didn't put it past people to aggressively attempt to discover just where he'd come from. Eventually there would be more questions than he could reasonable dodge.

"Oh, of that I am sure. Now come on... lets go. I need to wow the world before I disappear into the night." He said, smirking as he slipped on the heels and pulled his coat...cloak...whatever someone wanted to call it over his shoulders. "I plan to bring the house down tonight."