Polyjuiced (for Markise)

[Markise Sterling]

How many times had Markise considered doing this? Too many to count, he was sure. But Ariel had left and he had always loved Dare, since they were twelve years old. He'd been so patient, and he'd helped Michael so many times knowing that Dare deserved better. He was done being patient. He was going to get through to Dare.

Markise pulled the flask out from beneath his cloak and looked at his reflection in the mirror. Desperate times call for desperate measures. He told himself. Dare was too good, too noble to be swayed by words alone. It hadn't worked at the ceremony, and it wouldn't work now.

This, however, would.

It had been easy enough to brush against Michael in the corridors, to get a loose hair. He'd had this polyjuice potion forever, and he'd intended to use it so he could go out with Ariel back before they'd come out together. The idea of using it for Dare had eaten at him until he'd finally decided.

He took a long drink of the foul-tasting potion and the transformation began. Then he dressed again, in clothes he'd tailored for the occasion, well-fitted jeans, a slim tee with short sleeves and arm-warmers to cover the grotesque Mark that Michael always kept hidden. Yes, Dare would know something was going on, Michael was known for his loose-fitting clothes and general lack of interest in fashion, but his goal was to get Dare's attention. The man was so oblivious anyway that it would never occur to him.

Did he feel guilty? Yes, of course. But it was for the greater good. He popped a piece of gum in his mouth to hide the taste of the polyjuice, then began the rest of the costume. It was so strange looking at someone else in the mirror, but he had to admit that Michael was gorgeous. He just needed a little eyeliner and a sweep of cherry chap stick.

When he was finished, Markise-disguised-as-Michael disposed of his gum and headed for Dare's office. It was so strange to think of him as a professor, but no stranger than anything else that was going to happen. He knocked firmly and attempted not to shift on his feet with nerves.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare was working late tonight, going through his lesson plans one last time, double-checking everything, then triple-checking it. His nerves were drawn tight, the responsibility he had now too much for a simple breathing exercise to fix. Michael had gone home already, his work done, and would have been expecting him soon but for the owl he'd sent not a quarter hour ago telling him that he wasn't finished and he may be quite a while longer.

The knock at the door set his heart racing, and now he pulled deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He was too easily startled now, but he couldn't help it! The temptation to visit the nurse or the new Potions Master for a calming potion had haunted him for hours.

He shook off the thought. Whoever was interrupting deserved thanks. He needed to think about something else, even if only for five minutes.

Dare crossed to the door with long, loping steps, then pulled it open, the immediate surprise on his face doubling with a second look. "Michael," he breathed. His eyes took a slow path down Michael's body, pausing at those strips of upper arm that showed between sleeves and arm warmers, pausing at all his favorite parts of a body dressed to show off rather than to hide. And his eyes. Dare's were riveted. When had Michael learned to use eyeliner?

[Markise Sterling]

"Dare, you're staring," Markise-Michael said. His glossy lips curved, and he felt near to exploding being looked at like that. Any guilt he'd felt before was gone right now. He was the focus and center of Dare's world, in a way he had never been before. "Let me in."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare pulled a sharp breath at the demand and broke his gaze from Michael's face. Then his eyes skated both ways down the corridor before he stepped back into his office, gesturing for Michael to come in. "Do you want to go out?" he asked, his eyes moving back to Michael the second they were both inside. He pulled another breath, then his hand rose to rub at the back of his neck. "You look so amazing, Michael."

[Markise Sterling]

Michael. Markise-Michael's nose wrinkled with displeasure in the moment before he caught himself. "Shhh," he said, stepping closer to Dare. He was taller now, and though it was just a few inches it was so strange being so close again. They hadn't been anywhere near the same height in years. "I want to play tonight," he said. "Just call me love or lover." Love. "I love you." His heart ached for being able to say it!

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"I love you too," Dare said, the words almost breathless. What was this? What had come over Michael, and why in hell was he questioning it? Dare stepped forward, his gaze moving over Michael's face as both hands slid around his waist. There were differences, but he couldn't put his fingers on them. Something in Michael's eyes, a mixture of sadness and joy, something in the tension of his muscles that were different than his normal tension. "What's wrong?" he asked.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise felt like he could cry, and he reached up to dab at his borrowed eyes with the edges of his arm warmers. "Nothing, I just... I love you so much." And he'd waited forever to hear the words back. It felt so good having Dare's arms around him again. He pulled a slow breath and let his own hands move, let them slide up Dare's arms, over his shoulders and around to the back of his neck. "I want to go out," he said. He wanted to stay here and ask Dare to make love to him, but he would cry so badly. He needed to do what he'd intended to. There would be time for that.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"Are you sure?" Dare asked, his brows drawing together. "We don't have to, we can just go home. I'm done with my work." He was close enough, anyway. Michael was so much more important than obsessively rechecking details he'd already checked. Dare pulled Michael closer and leaned in, nuzzling lightly against that spot beneath Michael's ear. "You used my shampoo," he observed softly, breathing in the familiar scent. "You look good."

[Markise Sterling]

Markise let out a low squeak of surprised pleasure and his hands tightened against the back of Dare's neck. You still use my shampoo, he wanted to say. He'd given it to Dare years ago to help with the unruly mess of curls he'd had, and after all this time, even after Michael, Dare still used his favorite shampoo.

"We can't go home," he said breathlessly. Oh, how he wanted to skip to the end. "I dressed up for you. We're going clubbing." As much as he wanted Dare, it went so much past the physical. Yes, he loved the way Dare's muscled legs looked in those skinny jeans he wore and he loved how gentle those large hands could be, but he loved Dare. "I'm taking you to a new club." One where they wouldn't be recognized.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's lips curved, and he nuzzled further into Michael's thick hair. "Only because you got so dressed up," he murmured. "Is there a reason for all this?" Did Dare really need a reason? The easy answer was no. He wouldn't argue any of it. He'd wanted to see Michael in short sleeves for years, but he hadn't been willing to ask him to and have him be uncomfortable all night. His hands slid down into Michael's back pockets and pulled him close.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise could hardly breathe for all the contact, and it was everything he could do not to say f~ it all, let's skip the club. Dare had to be able to feel how much he was affected, and for once he almost wished he'd gone with Michael's habitual loose trousers after all. "I want to go," he lied. "Later, I promise. I want to dance with you."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare nearly refused. He knew how easy it could be to convince Michael to wait just a while longer, but it wouldn't feel right doing that in his office, where students would be coming to visit him. He let out a low groan that was nearly a growl of disappointment, then forced himself to pull back, his left hand taking Michael's right. He slid their fingers between one another and looked Michael over again before leaning close one more time to whisper suggestions for later into his ear.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise nearly melted into a puddle right there. First the intimacy of having their hands linked together and now such wicked little suggestions. He couldn't help himself. He whispered his own suggestions right back, then gave a glittering smile and turned toward the door. They had to go before he changed his mind.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare groaned with the thought of Michael's suggestion and that broad, teasing smile that seemed so out of character. But he followed eagerly, his classes forgotten for the silent promises that had been made.

The club was crowded, a sea of bodies pressed against one another, each moving with its own purpose to a collective beat. It was nothing like Popstarz, nothing like the Bloody Mary. It felt more like the club he and Markise and the group had gone to at SWIM. It was surreal, and it called back parts of him that had grown and shifted or faded and died away.

The energy infected him, and he pulled Michael through the crowd, finding them a spot on the dance floor that was large enough to press together as they danced. He couldn't keep his eyes off Michael. There was something so different tonight. "Dance with me, lover," he teased.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise-Michael beamed. He neither knew nor cared how Michael danced. He was giving himself a night of memories made real and dreams made possible. His arms rose up in the air as he moved, and for once, he let himself move close enough to Dare for their bodies to brush against one another. He felt more free than he ever had before.