002 | Jet Link (
fallenstar) wrote in
makinglies2014-06-25 09:50 am
Entry tags:
Pretty Woman
There were still dying ribbons of pink resting on the horizon when Jet settled in against the outside wall of the strip club. He could hear the bustle and voices of customers coming in for the night around the corner but didn't bother to look. He didn't care.
One, two, cigarettes and two other people stepped into the mouth of the alley. The shorter one turned to face the taller one and wrapped his arms behind their neck to pull the taller man into an intense kiss. They exchanged a few words, the shorter man kissed his friend again then saluted as he turned into the alley and walked up towards Jet.
The red head watched as the taller shadow seemed to hesitate a moment before finally leaving, then turned his attention to the man who'd settled in beside him with his own cig.
"Thought we agreed you weren't gonna hang around out here by yourself anymore."
Jet shrugged. "No one's really around yet. Besides, I got done with my stuff early and decided heading over was easier than hanging around."
Bucky didn't say anything to that, just gave a mildly irritated grunt and worked at the stick in his mouth instead. They were better at silence when it came to those heavier issues like why Jet wasn't supposed to hang around on his own.
Jet wasn't like Bucky, he didn't pack as much punch on his own, though he did have his height. Beyond that, Bucky had Steve who never failed to walk the brunette to and from work like an overprotective watchdog. Jet had been present for the arguments that had ensued about Bucky feeling like Steve didn't trust him to take care of himself, but those arguments had stopped after one night when a customer had gotten really handsy with Buck -more than any other customer before- and after the night when Bucky had found Jet behind the club after that one guy went too far.
That had been over a year ago and where Jet lacked a body-builder-esk boyfriend, he had his own methods of protection. It wasn't even really that he wanted a boyfriend like Steve, he had his classes and his job and plenty of things that made having a boyfriend difficult, but he'd be lying if he said the idea of having someone care that much about him didn't sound appealing.
Too bad he was a stripper and guys like Steve didn't come out of the woodwork very often.
"Come on, we should head in and get ready. You know Jackson hates it when we smell of smoke."
Jet nodded and stomped out the butt of the cig before leading the way through the back entrance and into the backrooms.
One, two, cigarettes and two other people stepped into the mouth of the alley. The shorter one turned to face the taller one and wrapped his arms behind their neck to pull the taller man into an intense kiss. They exchanged a few words, the shorter man kissed his friend again then saluted as he turned into the alley and walked up towards Jet.
The red head watched as the taller shadow seemed to hesitate a moment before finally leaving, then turned his attention to the man who'd settled in beside him with his own cig.
"Thought we agreed you weren't gonna hang around out here by yourself anymore."
Jet shrugged. "No one's really around yet. Besides, I got done with my stuff early and decided heading over was easier than hanging around."
Bucky didn't say anything to that, just gave a mildly irritated grunt and worked at the stick in his mouth instead. They were better at silence when it came to those heavier issues like why Jet wasn't supposed to hang around on his own.
Jet wasn't like Bucky, he didn't pack as much punch on his own, though he did have his height. Beyond that, Bucky had Steve who never failed to walk the brunette to and from work like an overprotective watchdog. Jet had been present for the arguments that had ensued about Bucky feeling like Steve didn't trust him to take care of himself, but those arguments had stopped after one night when a customer had gotten really handsy with Buck -more than any other customer before- and after the night when Bucky had found Jet behind the club after that one guy went too far.
That had been over a year ago and where Jet lacked a body-builder-esk boyfriend, he had his own methods of protection. It wasn't even really that he wanted a boyfriend like Steve, he had his classes and his job and plenty of things that made having a boyfriend difficult, but he'd be lying if he said the idea of having someone care that much about him didn't sound appealing.
Too bad he was a stripper and guys like Steve didn't come out of the woodwork very often.
"Come on, we should head in and get ready. You know Jackson hates it when we smell of smoke."
Jet nodded and stomped out the butt of the cig before leading the way through the back entrance and into the backrooms.

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Gott, the kid is attractive.
He loosens his tie in an effort to make it easier to breathe, only to have hips backed up into his lap and the redhead bending backwards completely double, providing all kinds of wild things to his heretofore disused imagination.
I mean, really attractive.
The pounding in Albert's head intensifies, making him dizzy and short of breath. The lanky stripper placing himself in Albert's lap and planting a light and coy kiss to his cheek makes him freeze up altogether, utterly and completely overwhelmed, with only one thought making it through the muddled mess of hormonal jelly his mind's been made into.
I want to--
But he doesn't let that thought finish, his heart clenching painfully at the somehow familiar but still completely foreign feeling of want. Not sexual, though it started there, but for companionship. The ten ton thought steamrolls his mind and has him bolting for the door, completely undoing his tie and shedding his blazer as he goes because he just can't manage to get a deep enough breath.
I want to get to know you.
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It wasn't exactly unheard of, but that kind of reaction happened more in virginal boys and girls than adult men. Ultimately, it wasn't Jet's problem, he'd give the guy some of the best he had and the poor fellow hadn't been able to handle it. So he moved on.
Although he didn't forget about it. Even if he'd wanted to, Bucky was right there to remind him about it at the end of their shift.
"Wow, Jet, you really chased that guy off, huh?"
Jet smirked and hit him in the arm. "Shut up. Maybe he was married or something and got cold feet. That's what happens when you've got friends who'll buy you lap dances."
Really, Jet had made a pretty good haul off of even just that dance, much less everything else, so he didn't have any second thoughts about it, just dismissed the meeting as he followed a pace or so behind Bucky and Steve as they made their way home.
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He buries his head in the pillow again and doesn't come out until he has to the next day.
The week carries on as normal with classes and work and Saturday rolls around again, only this time instead of Albert getting in extra time in the music lab, instead he finds himself scurrying through the black double doors of the Onyx Club and finding a dim booth to watch from where he won't be seen.
The next week he does the same.
And the next.
He always stays long enough for Jet to dance, eyes transfixed on the way he moves and the grace with which he conducts himself when he knows everyone is watching. And each night the second the song ends, Albert leaves his tip, turns up his collar, and slips out the doors.
There's nothing wrong with watching, he reasons. It's just watching. He's not touching, not pursuing, just observing a talented dancer. Jet's wasted in this place, he decides privately, though he can't quite be upset that he's there at all. Otherwise he wouldn't even know the redhead exists.
Then he has to wonder if this is how stalkers get started and vows not to go in again.
He does this every week.
Only this week, on Sunday, he's agreed to do a favor for the head of the theater department, an old friend from Europe (English though, not German) who's casting the spring musical and needs a pianist for the dance auditions. Albert agreed to it, thinking it would be a nice change to play for something other than grades for awhile.
Considering Jet shows up with the rest of the audition hopefuls, Albert has to wonder if someone up in heaven - or in hell - is mocking him.
He pulls his collar up and his hat down, hunching over the piano so his face isn't visible. He can't bolt now, but god does he ever want to.
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He hemmed and hawed about it so much that even Bucky got tired of him and said if Jet didn't go, he'd toss the red-head onto the stage himself day-of. So Jet practiced and practiced, every time he had a chance, he was dancing.
By the time the day of the auditions came around, he felt like his chest would burst with how hard his heart was beating. What i they thought he was awful? What if they actually liked him? He wasn't sure which option was more terrifying.
The fact the auditions were held with the rest of the hopefuls watching didn't make him nervous, although it was clear how a couple of them got self-conscious from it. Not all of them though, there were plenty of very talented people there and that made him nervous.
Then he stepped on stage.
The lights made everyone else vanish and the second that music started, his nerves didn't matter anymore, he just started dancing. It was going well until he could hear the music strain and break the tempo as the pianist messed up the chords. Annoyance flared through him, but he tried to keep going. After his performance was over, Jet snuck off to the piano to have a word with the pianist. After all, it was amazing how he hadn't messed up once the entire time and only just now while Jet was on.
He rounded the piano, irritation brewing...and stopped short once he finally got a good view of the man. He'd pulled his hat down and his jacket up, but Jet could see the silver hair peeking through and that defined jaw he'd admired for the time he'd been staring at him.
"Hey! You're that guy!"
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And then the audition is over and there's a break called. Albert comes back to reality just in time to find the taller man bearing down on him like a stork, looming over the piano bench from one side and causing Albert to duck as if he's been struck.
Scheisse, now he's 'that guy'.
He nearly runs. As it is, he pops up and gathers his music books in a hurry, pulling his hat down over his eyes almost like he could disappear into it. There's a mumbled 'I have to go' and then he's gone, leaving behind a nondescript blue notebook under the piano bench.
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Instead he glanced at the door before turning to look at the piano. A bit of blue beneath the bench caught his eye and he fished it out before returning to his seat. The rest of the auditions went unnoticed as he flitted through the pages in the binder. It was music and notes, some of it printed and some of it handwritten. None of it had a composer listed and based on the how the hand writing on the notes and on the music was the same, he was going to guess that guy had written this. Was it original? He didn't know enough about classical music to tell, but Bucky knew some from an old fling he'd had years ago, he'd told Jet about it. The auditioners were dismissed with a promise of results posted within the next week and Jet hurried home to show his friend the binder.
"Take a look at this, does it look familiar to you?" Jet rudely shoved the binder on top of the book in Bucky's lap once he'd walked in. The other man grunted and made a noise of annoyance before opening the cover to have a look. He'd gotten about half way through by the time Jet flopped down on the couch and he looked up, blue eyes bright with curiosity.
"Where'd you get this from? It's not yours."
Jet shook his head and curled up on one end. "Nope. It belongs to that guy, you know, the one from the club who bolted? He was at my auditions of all things, playing the damn piano. I went to talk to him and he bolted again, but I guess he forgot that."
Bucky looked far off for a moment, considering whether to tell Jet that guy had been coming to see the younger man consistently for weeks...and now he was at their college? That seemed...off. Or it could be a coincidence. There was no need to send paranoia into the picture when he didn't need to; Jet didn't need to think every guy who showed interest in him was a threat. He'd tell him later.
Instead, he flashed a devilish smirk in the red-heads direction. "Maybe it's just you. Something about you just screams 'run in the other direction.'"
"Shut up!." Jet glared and Bucky laughed at him. Then something gleamed in his eye and Jet knew he'd just had an idea, it was one of those faces. "What are you doing?"
Bucky stood and took one of the printed pieces of sheet music over to the piano he'd bought Steve for his birthday only a couple years ago. (It had taken a lot of extra time at the Onyx and months of saving, but he'd finally managed it. Besides, the look on his boyfriend's face had been worth it.) He put the paper on the piano and sat back down, closing the binder and leaving it on the coffee table. "I'm curios to hear this music. Don't tell Stevie where it's from, he won't play it otherwise."
So they waited.
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He flashes a hello grin to both of the other men in the apartment and drops his folio down against the recliner neatly. "Hey guys, what's up?"
The question is dropped as Steve disappears into the kitchen for a moment to retrieve a pop, but he stops short at the sight of music on his usually bare piano. "What's this?"
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Steve's observation received nothing more than a half shrug as Bucky positioned himself so he was sprawling across his seat. "Nothing, really. Just a small bit from this show Jet's trying for. We thought maybe you could give it a shot to hear what it sounds like, whaddaya say?"
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There's nothing notable about how Steve plays piano. It's rudimentary, no chords, just notes, but the melody comes through with a soft and melancholy rhythm that's somehow hopeful even as its sad. When the last note hangs in the air, Steve takes a minute to breathe in slowly before turning to Bucky and Jet. "That's really beautiful."
He can't shake the feeling that whoever wrote this must be incredibly lonely. "What show is it for?"
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Who the hell was this guy?
Once Steve was finished, Bucky stood and bent over to fetch a kiss from the blond as he plucked the paperback up. "It's not. It really belongs to that guy Jet danced for and sent running a few weeks ago. You know, that guy."
He hadn't told Jet about the guy showing up every week to see him, but he'd told Steve, just in case they had to go take care of him or at least scare him off.
"We were curious, so thanks for playing it." He flashed Steve a cheeky smile as he replaced the page in the binder. He was probably in trouble for tricking Steve, but so be it.
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He stands and plucks the binder from Bucky's hands. "He comes in the coffee shop sometimes, I'll give it back to him and apologize. Or..."
Steve's attention turns to Jet instead, thinking he could convince the redhead to do it instead. It'd be safe in the middle of the cafe; if the guy made Jet uncomfortable, Steve could be there in less than a minute to break it up, but he has the sneaking suspicion that this guy - despite what Bucky's said - is anyone dangerous. In fact, judging from the music and his stand-offish behavior, he just sounds lonely and shy. On a hunch, Steve looks at the front inside cover of the binder, before placing it in the musing Jet's lap. "Why don't you return it to your mysterious A. Heinrich?"
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Jet opened the cover and looked for the 'A. Heinrich' written in the same handwriting as the rest of the binder. Heinrich, huh? What if he did go and meet this guy? It's not like Steve wouldn't be there to keep watch if need be. Besides, there was something about the guy, something that made him curious.
"I dunno, I guess I could." He looked to Bucky to get his help, but the brunette shrugged while also managing to look like a kicked dog for his reprimand. Jet looked back to Steve.
"When does he usually show up?"
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"Not usually when I'm working but I see him Mondays after classes sometimes. He's always near the fireplace in the big ugly high backed chair in the corner." Usually writing while he has a tea. Steve's never had chance to make him a drink and learn anything about him as he usually comes in for the late night and the guy's already ensconced in his spot scribbling away in a notebook with glasses perched halfway down his nose. Steve always thought he was some sort of professor and gave him his space.
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Instead he thought about the question at hand: was he going to try and approach this guy who kept running off the minute Jet said anything to him? It clearly wasn't just because he'd danced for him if he'd run off during auditions too. Unless, of course, he was afraid people would see them together and somehow know he'd gone to the Onyx. Maybe he had a reputation he was trying to save. Maybe he was a professor at their school and he'd recognized Jet as a student and had run because of that.
That thought--that he viewed Jet as some stigma, a blemish on his good name--just made the red-head mad. Now he had to confront the guy to either tell him off or get a straight story from him.
"I guess I'll go over on Monday, then. Wish me luck, I guess."
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Steve may be more lenient about how protective he is of his friend, but he won't forget what had almost happened in the alley outside the club. He wasn't there, it was Bucky who'd done the real rescuing, but ever since then both of Jet's roommates have been on high alert. No one's going to harm Jet while they're around.
Days later and a weekend gone (where Bucky might note that Heinrich didn't show up to the club for once), the Sparrow's Nest campus coffee shop has its usual quiet murmur of students after a hard first day of the week, all grumbling into their drinks. True to his word, Steve had come in almost an hour early but still missed the silver-haired guy coming in; he's already in his chair when the New Yorker pulls on his apron.
He keeps an eye on their target as he goes about his duties, friendly and polite as ever to every customer until he sees Jet come in. They don't exchange words, just a gesture from Steve towards where Heinrich is sitting and then he needs to go pour more coffee, but the meaning is clear enough. Go get 'im.
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It really only took a moment or two before he decided his feet weren't so icy he had to turn back and made for the little cluster of chairs towards the back of the space. He came up from behind the guy--mostly by design, but it meant he wouldn't be spotted--and quickly plopped himself down in the chair across from 'Heinrich.'
He set his backpack on the floor beside him and began digging through it with only one glance up at the older man to know he had his attention.
"Don't run off this time, Heinrich."
Once he'd grabbed the blue binder, he pulled it out and held it out between them. "You left this. I coulda just tossed it, so do me a favor and answer me this: what's your deal? Why is it that the last two times I've seen you, you've run off like I had the plague. I mean, I know you've been coming to see me dance every week since that first time, so what is it?"
Not that he'd known that before today, but he was just going to act like he had. Truthfully, he'd never noticed and Bucky had only let him know that morning, probably as some last attempt at a warning to be careful.
Either way, he waited for an answer, deciding that if the guy took off now without answering him, Jet would wash his hands of the whole damn thing and forget about it.
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"Thank you." Albert's voice is a soft murmur, or at least that's what he intends. Instead it comes out harshly and he immediately regrets even saying that much and has to swallow down the desire to bolt. And oh Gott he knows about Albert revisiting the club. Had he seen him? He must have. How could Albert have even thought he was going to be sly about this? What was the point? He'd just wanted to watch, but then there'd been that audition and now Jet is looking at him with those brown eyes, hard and angry but still curious and Albert's heart is pounding fit to burst and he can't breathe.
"I-I..." It's more than a wheeze than a word, but Jet's cornered him and there's no way he can just run now.
"I..." He clutches the corners of the binder, sharp edges digging into his fingers.
"I didn't know how to talk to you." You're so bright, how could I talk to you?
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"Like a normal person, not some guy creepin' around and giving my roommates stalker vibes."
He was still confused as to why this guy would want to talk to him, but he was curious too and he didn't seem so bad now that Jet had gotten more than two words out of him. The younger man leaned back in his chair and relaxed a little more, hoping that would make it feel less like an interrogation.
"You invite me to a public place and start talking. We're in a public place, so now you just gotta do the talking." He hesitated a moment and glanced away before looking back, his tone going softer by degrees. "What's the 'A' stand for?" He gestured to the binder for context.
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Silence reigns awkwardly for a long moment, then Albert looks down, unable to keep up eye contact, but still he doesn't run. "I never meant to be creepy or scare you, I just..."
He swallows. "I've never felt-" No, that's wrong. That's awkward and creepy too. "I've never seen anyone dance like you." Better.
Another beat.
"Is Jet your real name or a stage name?"
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He sat up a little more, that curiosity causing all of his attention to be on the other man. "My turn. You wrote all of that in that binder, right? Are you a musician? A professor here or something?"
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Somehow Jet's easy to talk to and Albert's nerves abate enough that he no longer looks like he's about to run for the door at any moment. "You're a student here, aren't you? Are you studying dance?"
Something about the way he asks hints that he may be disappointed if that's not the case.
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"Yeah, I am, to both of those. And for the record, you're not that old, I've met older students than you so it's nothing to be all embarrassed about." Although, none of those students had been nearly so attractive to Jet. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he'd found someone so attractive; his strong jaw and shoulders, his peculiar yet fascinating eyes, even the sound of his voice...it left Jet staring a little too long.
"Anyway...I know why you ran from me in the auditions...why'd you freak out so bad the night your friends bought that dance for you. I didn't think it was that bad." He said it with a bit of a playful smirk, but he was honestly curious.
"Are you married or something?"
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And then that inevitable question and he seems to sag just a little, though the German never actually moves. His eyes fall to the carpet and a cloud seems to roll over his expression.
"No," he says softly, barely a noise over the general static of the cafe's patrons. "I was, once, but not anymore."
She's gone, buried, and yet here Albert is chatting up someone barely over half his age. What is he doing? It makes him feel sick at himself, his so long held grief warring internally with whatever spark Jet's reawoken within him, a battle that only throws him in a trench of guilt from which he can find no escape route.
Albert rises from his chair, picking up his bag and sliding the binder into it. "I'm sorry for the way I've acted. Thank you for returning my music; I won't bother you again."
It's better this way. He's better alone, where he won't be confusing bright and talented men with his emotional baggage.
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"Hey! Would you stop doing that? It's rude to just get up in the middle of a conversation like that."
Why did he care? He clearly said something to upset the guy, he should just let it go and let Albert vanish, he didn't have a stake in this...yet something that had been in Albert's tone and his eyes when he'd talked about his dead wife made Jet want to stay where he was, it made him want to reach out.
Bucky would call him insane. Maybe he was.
"You were talkin' to me just fine, so now why're you running away from me?"
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"I'm not-" He lowers his voice, somehow seeming small despite his broader frame. "I'm not running, I'm saving you the trouble. I can't do this, be around you without-."
His mouth goes dry, realizing the cafe's gone quiet and every pair of eyes is turned on them, including a very reproving piercing set of blue ones from behind the counter. Albert pulls his collar up around his neck tighter. "I shouldn't feel what I do and I shouldn't have bothered you."
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