makinglies | Pretty Woman

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"No! No, this is fine, I was just wondering." Jet looked down a bit, face flushing -although it was easy to hide with the temperature- and he gave Albert's hand a small squeeze. He could hear that tone in Albert's voice, the one that showed up when he wasn't sure if he was doing something right and Jet wanted it gone immediately. In Jet's opinion, Albert was always just right. Nearly perfect (although thankfully not.) Exciting things were what he did with Bucky, they'd go out and get into trouble and drag Steve along. Peaceful, normal...romantic things were what he did with Albert. He couldn't imagine him and Bucky going for a walk through the park unless it was to do something.

He'd never purposefully done nothing but enjoy the company he had and their surroundings before he met this quiet and gentle man and he found he kind of liked it.

"You've got my whole day until eight tonight...I don't care what we do." As long as it was them together. But that part was too sappy and definitely too true for him to mention.

"It will be dark before then, but we can find a cafe for dinner or something. You have work then, don't you?" He sips his coffee after he asks the question, some small feeling of unwelcome unhappiness coiling in his stomach.

He shouldn't have asked, didn't want to know really. He has so many mixed feelings about Jet being a stripper and not one of them has come up in the past several weeks that they've been dating. It never seems the time. It always feels like an unwelcome topic that will spoil both of their moods, especially considering it's how Albert had even come to know Jet existed and was the subject of many guilty nights alone since, but it also caused a jealous temper to rise in the German. He doesn't like the idea of so many other men and women looking at who he's come to term in such a short time as his. Which is an entire other enormous can of worms he can't look at too closely.

But... he'd asked, just the same, and all he can do now is sip his coffee, hold Jet's hand, and hope the younger man doesn't think too much of it.

Whether it's good or not, he doesn't think much of it at all. The way Albert had asked, it didn't say anything to Jet but curiosity. "Yeah, until 2." His smile turned a little crooked. "Then I got a class at 10. It happens like that every now and then." He shook his head and took a sip of his own drink. "And Buck, that moron, he starts at six and gets off ad midnight, but he'll hang around for those two hours and wait for me." Out of context, it simply sounded like a good friend thing to do and it was, but Jet also knew it came from a place of paranoia that he couldn't shake Bucky out of. It put a sour note to the gesture.

But it made him think of how Steve would come to walk them home sometimes, not nights like tonight cause he had a class even earlier, but other nights, and it made him think about Albert in that context. Jet wouldn't want him to do that, Bucky didn't want Steve to do that either, but there was no stopping their roommate when he made up his mind in most cases. Hopefully, Albert never got it in his head.

For a moment, he thought about mentioning how he hadn't seen Albert there at the club since they'd started going out and how maybe he should swing by some night so Jet could pretend he was performing just for Albert, but then his mind flitted back to Steve again and how he never came by the club except to walk them home. He didn't like Bucky's job, but Bucky thrived on the attention and the power in it and Steve liked Bucky happy, it had caused many fights and still did, but they were both too stubborn and too in love with each other to do anything but meet in a stalemate.

What if Albert were like that and he stopped coming by because he didn't like Jet's job? He didn't want to fight with Albert the way his roommates would fight at times. But that was how they'd met, right? He couldn't have that big of an issue with it.

His hand squeezed Albert's. "Hey, Al, I don't think I ever asked, why were you at the club that night, huh? You said before you came back to watch me dance, but that means you hadn't seen me before, right? Did you used to go somewhere else or what?" He couldn't help it, the thought Albert might have frequented a different club to watch a different dancer before he found Jet made the redhead's insides twist with jealousy, but more in a possessive way. If that was the case, it was their loss, Albert was his now.

"That's nice of him," Albert replies to the comment about Bucky awkwardly. He hasn't really met him, per se, but there was once he'd picked Jet up in the lobby of his apartment building and he has to assume the disapproving brunette glaring at him from three stories up the stairwell that he'd only glanced at by accident would have to be Bucky, based on what Jet's told him. Albert gets the feeling Bucky doesn't like him very much, for one reason or another. He tries not to think about it.

There's the squeeze to Albert's hand, muted through his gloves and the half-dead nerves in his right hand. The question on the heels of the gesture is enough to flop Albert's stomach uncomfortably, make him glad he hadn't gotten a snack with his drink. "No, I don't go to clubs like that usually. I was dragged there by well-meaning coworkers for my birthday."

He scowls a bit, thinking he should have been more vocal about not wanting to visit some glorified den of inequity, how he'd still been loyal to the memory of his wife, but... if he were honest, no matter how that night had turned out, he can't actually be angry. It had brought him to Jet, someone who'd put a little color back into his grey world, and even if he still struggles with certain aspects of their relationship - homosexuality, Jet's job, the age difference, how he still feels a little like he's treading on Hilda's memory - he's ultimately and eternally grateful.

"Before that, I hadn't set foot in a strip club since I was in Europe."

Yeah, that made sense too. He remembered thinking Albert hadn't wanted to be there that night and that was why he'd run, knowing the shy man now, it was more surprising he'd gone in at all, Albert just wasn't the type, that was a silly question.

But, either way, he was glad it had happened. If it hadn't, Jet probably wouldn't have bothered going up to Albert even if he'd spotted him; Jet would have acknowledged how attractive he was and moved on to his next class. Now he had someone to make time for, to dedicate his focus and energy on unraveling so Jet could see all of him and find the knots to straighten out. He wasn't trying to 'fix' Albert anymore than he suspected Albert was trying to 'fix' Jet, but they could help.

The question played at the tip of his tongue, his lips even moving to articulate it, but his voice failed, leaving silence behind. He wanted to get it out there and ask Albert's feelings on Jet's job now, get it out in the open, but he bit it back. Maybe he didn't have to, for as shy as Albert was, he was opinionated and Jet trusted his boyfriend would be open with him if something bothered him. Instead, he turned the conversation to something else.

Europe a far off place only in books and shows and somewhere people like Jet could only dream of visiting, but Albert was from there, he'd come to Jet's cage of his own free will and, as much as Jet loved New York, wanderlust made him wonder how he'd even made that choice.

"Do you think you'll ever go back to Europe? Don't you miss it?"

"No," the answer is immediate and a bit dark. He looks down at his coffee.

"Have you taken recent European history?" He doesn't know if Jet is too young to have a frame of reference on his own for the Iron Curtain or if he'll have to have learned it in textbooks and lectures like most. Honestly he expects Jet not to know about the Wall, or at the least not the effect it had on those forced to live in its shadow. The Cold War for Americans was about nuclear war with the U.S.S.R. The Cold War for East Germans was about preserving their identities, and even after the wall came down, there was still poverty to contend with.

Jet shook his head, but a little thought gave him enough context clues. He'd seen the wall go down, everyone and their mother had seen it, it had been all over the T.V.s on the streets back when he was roughly ten or so.

"You mean cause of the wall, right? But that happened like a decade ago, things should be better, right? And...I mean, I don't know a whole lot about Europe, no, but Germany's just one part right, there's so much more to see."

"It's too painful." He'd be obligated to visit his inlaws. He'd been in contact with them ever since, but there's something terrible about seeing them in person, in knowing he was there with their daughter as she exhaled her last breath, in the feeling he can't shake that he stole their child from them, especially when all they'd had to do was wait a few months.

"Europe isn't like America, you can't throw a stone without hitting another country. It's all very close knit, and if I were to go, there are those I would be forced to visit that I would rather not." He feels guilty for that, so incredibly guilty, because they'd sent him here on their dime. They said she would have wanted him to go through with their plans and move to America and have a life. He's done that, but he could never explain to them that this new life in the new world included a new love, especially not a man so much younger than himself.

He can't say that to Jet, though. That he's ashamed. There's no way to take that well.

Jet shuts up with that and lets the topic drop like a stone. He could understand the sentiment, even if the situation was worlds apart. "Yeah, I get it."

He visited with his mom regularly enough, if sending letters was regular, but he hadn't seen her in years. She's moved to Jersey with her sisters once he'd gotten into a college. He had no reason not to see her except it was too hard for both of them, the awkward space that was the subject of his jailbird father was too big. Besides, she didn't know what he was doing for a living, just that he had a job and it was supporting him.

But this wasn't what he wanted for their date, both of them stuck in the barbs of memories. He'd been so eager to change the subject from something that might be awkward, that he hopped the fence into a subject without looking first.

"Sorry." It was heartfelt, even if it was hurried and quickly followed by another change of subject with hopes of a better outcome. "It's getting cold as hell, why don't we find somewhere with a heater for a little while?"

That went ever so well, Albert sighs, dropping his cup of dregs into a trash can as they pass. "No, I should be apologizing. It's been over ten years, I shouldn't be so tied up over it."

But he is, and he's not going to be able to change quickly. It was a huge change to date Jet and he's not sure he can handle that much more in quick succession.

"We can go somewhere warmer. Maybe a movie, or we could eat something." Or I don't live too far by subway. but he doesn't say that. He can't, even if they've been together for awhile now. It's too forward, too presumptuous, and he doesn't want Jet to read anything into it. He finds the redhead attractive, sinfully so if he had to admit, but he doesn't want him thinking all his interest is just his body. It may be what piqued Albert's interest to start, but he genuinely likes Jet, wants to hear everything about him, wants to hear from him every day. It brings color into his world and that's worth everything.

He smiles a little, the soft one he gets when he's trying to be whatever Jet saw in him on that day outside the coffee shop enough to give him a chance. "We can talk about happier things. For example, I don't even know when your birthday is yet."

Jet doesn't give a response to that, it's too much of an invitation to open the subject back up and he's trying to avoid that. It's the smile, instead, that brings a brightness back to Jet's expression. He still hadn't figured out what that smile meant just yet, but he knew he liked seeing it there on Albert's face. He liked seeing Albert smile at all.

"It's still a couple months away, February 2nd. I'll be turning twenty-one. He says it with a smile, but it dampens a little with a note of exasperation. "Bucky'll..probably want to try and take me drinking, but...well, maybe we could do something instead? Don't really care what, we could sit around and try not to freeze to death with a cupcake and that'd be fine by me."

His best friend was well-meaning, he knew Jet's hang-ups, but he was of the mind Jet ought to face them head-on instead of slide around them. He also thought it was a complete tragedy that Jet was the only one in their little household who didn't know the 'joys' of booze. Jet figure he was fine without them.

Something occurred to the redhead that made his smile brighten by ten.

"At least I got to spend your birthday with you this year, I'm gonna have to wait a long time for the next one. Promise, I'll think of something better than what you got pulled into last time."

But, on the subject of where they should go... Jet glanced around and pointed to a little joint tucked away in a corner, unassuming on the busy street, but clean. "Let's go in there, they've got a mean burger they can grill up."

"You don't want to go out with your friends? I thought the 21st birthday bar-hop was a big deal in America." He'd even had an offer to take them all out on the tip of his tongue before Jet continued; he certainly could use the brownie points with Bucky.

Jet goes on to mention Albert's birthday though and the older man reddens. He may not have wanted to be there that night, but he's certainly grateful for it considering what it had turned into and a repeat performance wouldn't exactly go amiss. Far from it, in fact. But how many people had gotten birthday lapdances from Jet Link at the Onyx Club? How many men and women had seen those long legs and gyrating hips and thought they wanted a piece of that ass to manhandle and the very idea makes him a little ill. He'd much rather Jet think up something on his own.

He says none of this, instead letting Jet lead them along to the hole in the wall burger joint he seems to have recognized and trying to find his appetite that seems to have fled. "That's fine. And I'll do better than a cupcake in the cold."

"Yeah? I'll hold you to that." Jet smirked, but as they were crossing the street, it dimmed a little. Albert had asked him about turning 21 and the infamous reason it was such a big deal and Jet had definitely heard him, but he was definitely holding off on answering.

They got inside and were seated and had a chance to order drinks and food before they were left alone again and Jet's lack of answer felt like a giant elephant on the table in front of them. He could play it off, make something up that might sound a little out of character for someone like him (because someone like him ought to be excited to bar hop) but it had been too long to play it off as nothing. But what he'd tell Albert was a bit of a big deal to share.

Then again, Jet had a feeling about Albert, one that told him he wanted this man in his life as long as he could keep him and to do that he had to be honest.

He reached for his napkin to fiddle with between his fingers. "To be honest, drinking's not much of an appeal to me in general. Steve and Bucky can drink and have booze in the apartment all the time, I could have some if I wanted, but I don't." His bangs fell into his face a bit and he shrugged. "See, when I was a kid, my Pa lost his job and it really shook him. He thought booze would be the best way to forget how worthless he was, but when he got drunk...well, he got mean." Jet looked up, fingers still twisting the abused napkin, but he smiled. It wasn't as bright as his usual smiles, but it wasn't forced at all. "He's in jail now, nothing to worry about, but it definitely put a sour note on the idea of drinking."

"Ah." It's not a dismissive noise but rather one of acknowledgement and Albert realigns his role in whatever prospective birthday plans he'd been entertaining. Instead of a benefactor to win the favor of Jet's friends, he's now to be the protector, the pariah for Jet to save face. He imagines Jet's roommates will be disappointed, but if Albert needs to monopolize Jet's time to keep him from being forced into a miserable night, so be it. It works out for him best anyway. "Well, tell them you'll be busy then. I have ideas."

Not really, not yet, but it's a few months off and he has time to think of something dramatic. It's a little funny just how much he wants to impress the redhead in front of him, especially now that he's shown this vulnerability, trusted Albert with a piece of himself. Overcome with a still-novel sense of warmth in his chest, Albert reaches over and takes Jet's hand in his glove clad fingers.

Jet's fingers abandoned the misshapen napkin so they can link with Albert's fingers instead. The fact Albert had reached out instead of pulled away like in Jet's worst imaginings the last thirty seconds had provided him, sent a wave of relief through him. And his boyfriend's suggestion about his birthday plans replaced that sunshine-bright smile Jet had had outside.

He didn't know what 'plans' might be in the works in the older man's head, but Jet didn't find he was too worried about them. In fact, he half wished it was February already so he could just have that day already. He'd been pretty alright with going one day at a time, but with Albert, he found he was looking forward a lot more recently.

Jet squeezed Albert's hand a moment and looked back down to the napkin, embarrassment flaring. "You know...I'm really glad you fumbled that note and made me scare you off. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have found someone I'm so comfortable being around. Besides, it makes for a pretty damn good story, too." He looked back up with a smirk.

"A story, hm? Is this something you're telling people?" He's not sure how he feels about that to be honest, but he likes Jet smiling and he likes being the one to cause it so he teases just a little more, trying to keep the sun in the sky for a little longer.

Thoughts come with what Jet said though, memories of how this all started, of how lonely and empty he'd been when Jet had quite literally danced into his life. He'd thought he'd never feel happy again, that he'd had it and lost it and that was it for him, nothing to look forward to but sending other people's tokens of love and hoping to reflect just a little of that feeling. Instead he found a new capacity for joy, a new lust for life where he started looking forward to things again, started expecting, anticipating, wanting, living. Even his music has improved, nearly all his professors making comment on it on his most recent midterms. All because of this one bright ball of sunshine that had decided to take a chance on a broken man and piece him back together.

Albert squeezes Jet's hands back, a soft smile sliding over the teasing one as Jet smirks at him. It's soft and humble, nothing biting like his usual rough demeanor, but gentle and kind and forever grateful for the new life that Jet had granted him.

"I'm glad too."

"Nah, not right now at least. Maybe in a couple years." His smile faltered as his brain caught up with his mouth and realized what he'd said. Years. Okay, way to presume and shoot way ahead there. He...definitely wanted that to be the case, but he also didn't want to scare the guy off; they'd only been together, what, weeks? And Albert seemed skittish enough as it was.

Luckily, a distraction in the form of their waitress coming their way with plates provided itself and Jet was quick to cut off any reaction from his boyfriend with that. "Hey, there's the grub! Just in time, I'm starving."

Smooth.

Hopefully he could just get through the rest of this date without eating his other foot too.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Pretty Woman

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject