Long time no f~ (Ariel/Markise)

[Markise Sterling]

Ariel's fingers were distracting, especially when Markise was trying to carefully think through his words. "I was thinking about finding..." Markise's tongue slipped across his lips and he glanced down, bracing himself before looking back up at Ariel. "I was thinking of finding a gay club to go to, somewhere I could just go crazy and it wouldn't get back here." If he did it right, anyway. "I'm pretty sure I could find my way through London without getting lost, and I have that zapping spell now..." Markise looked out into the trees again, refusing to let himself show anything of his knowledge that he was being manipulative. If Ariel didn't want to escort him for safety, he'd go alone.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

"Oh yes, so that you can get yourself sent to the ministry," Ariel said, rolling his eyes. He firmly ignored the bitter idea that if Markise did it than he would be dancing with other guys. He didn't want to think about that, so he just kept it out of his mind. "And do they seriously have gay clubs?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He had no idea, just what his brother had talked about.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise had meant to protect himself from getting mugged in an alley, but Ariel's response was far too hope-inspiring to pass up an immediate response. "They do in New York," he said definitely, "and California." Though he'd never actually been to one in California. He hadn't had any sort of chance to find one there, all things considered. "London is big enough, I'm sure they've got some." And he wondered what the differences would be, aside from the accents.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel had never imagined there would be clubs for gay people. As far as he was aware he was the only gay guy in his old school, and that probably included the girls, too, so he didn't have a very accurate idea of how many there actually were in the population. "I didn't realize there were enough to have a club," he said, realizing as he did that he had come very close to saying enough of us.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise nodded against Ariel, his hands beginning to move against that smooth back again. "There's a whole subculture, counterculture, whichever it is." He wasn't really sure which word to use, but it was something like that. "Out of a hundred people, like 5 are gay, but you know, there are lies, there are damn lies, and then there are statistics, right? I don't know how many people are in London, but it's got to be a lot." Markise pressed another kiss against Ariel's jaw. "You know I didn't mean a club like a Quidditch fanclub, right?" Markise asked at last, just in case.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel nodded, too lost in thought to make a snippy comment about it. His school hadn't been very large, maybe four hundred on a good year. But if there were supposedly five in a hundred...then that would have been around twenty people. And the school was small enough that it felt like everyone knew everyone else, and by the time someone graduated, they did know everyone. He wondered now if the twenty people associated with that four hundred were in the school, or if somewhere else had extra. If they were in the school, who were they?

[Markise Sterling]

Markise couldn't stop himself from smiling then. One of his hands slid around Ariel's side, then slowly up to his chest. "I figured I could go and get out, not have to hold back for a night. I'm really looking forward to it." And yet he still hadn't mentioned Ariel coming with him, though that was his eventual angle. Markise let his last words settle for a bit, pressing a teasing kiss to Ariel's jaw, then went on.

"I'd prefer it if you tagged along," he said. "I wouldn't expect you to dance or anything, but you could always watch." Markise swept his fingers suggestively against Ariel to tempt him. "But you don't have to, it's just a suggestion." Markise had a feeling that an invitation would have meant an instant no, but hoped this could work.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel felt like he had to, though there was always the chance that he would go and get jealous of Markise dancing with someone else. But that was better than not going and being plagued with the what ifs, though, wasn't it? "I'll think about it," he said eventually, already resigning himself to the fact that he would probably end up going to the club at least once.

[Markise Sterling]

"Thank you," Markise said softly. It was all he'd really hoped for. Ariel had showed up at the Bloody Mary that first night that Markise had gone, so why wouldn't he try to follow Markise to London? He'd far prefer that Ariel just went with him in the first place. He didn't have any firm intentions to get Ariel to dance, but if it helped Ariel loosen up a little and introduced him to the idea of having fun, it would be worth the trouble, right? Markise tipped his chin up and pressed his lips to Ariel's, done with conversation for now. Ariel had given him just what he wanted today, and Markise didn't know how it had happened, but he was afraid it would end if he let it keep going.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel felt instant relief wash over him at the end to conversation. He knew that there were plenty of times during it that he could have said something to completely reverse everything he had fixed. He also knew that his patience would run out soon enough and he wouldn't watch his words as well. So he took the kiss gratefully and parted his lips against Markise's.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise wanted this kiss, and he took, though for the first time it wasn't hard and half-starved. It was strange kissing Ariel like this, slowly, savoring him the way he'd only ever kissed Dare before. But there was no forgetting whose arms he was in, no losing the heat in his blood. Markise couldn't for the life of him understand Ariel. He had so much that he bottled up, so much that nobody saw. Nobody but him. Markise deepened the kiss.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel let himself explore without the desperate need of the other kisses he had shared with Markise. He wasn't anywhere near caught up on his years but he still didn't feel desperate for contact and pleasure like he had been the first couple of times they had been together. The kiss was still deeply pleasurable, and Ariel soon found that he was almost able to enjoy even more of it because the haze didn't immediately enter his mind.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise sighed into the kiss, reveling in the pleasurable hum of his blood. He wanted to slide his hands up into Ariel's hair and toy with it while they kissed, but his hands were buried beneath the layers of Ariel's shirt and cloak. If he brought his hands out, the cocoon they'd formed would be broken, and if anyone saw his hands, they could recognize the gloves he'd been wearing, or at the least, that his hands weren't as feminine as the rest of what showed. So he kept his hands down beneath the cloak, letting himself slowly trace the muscles of Ariel's chest and back.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel moved his hand up underneath Markise's shirt and coat as far as it would go, about halfway up his back, before trailing down to tease at the edge of his pants then farther to round over him and pull him close. He didn't think about anything else except the feel of Markise against him and slowly forgot that they were still by the lake.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise made a low, breathy sound of pleasure, letting the kiss go for just a few more moments before he forced himself to break it, speaking lightly between nips and kisses against Ariel's lips. "We should go... find that room," he suggested. Any empty room would do, actually, but Markise was feeling penned-in, a first when the outdoors had become a strange haven for him. Markise knew that they'd managed before, but he was beginning to feel edgy for having been in a potentially visible space for so long.