FIC: Intersections

[blueraccoon]

Title: Intersections
Author: rebecca
Pairing: Tony/David
Series: Geometry
Rating: PG
Summary: It makes him wonder how much of David's life he's missed out on.
Notes: Oh my Lord it's done. This fic has gone through about five different incarnations and umpteen revisions and I gave up on it about three times. Possibly more.

My love and endless gratitude to sandersyager, who kept me sane, pointed out when it sucked, and somehow got me through it.

****
It's been a long day--it was supposed to be longer, but they got an unexpected lead that led to an arrest and so it's only ten o'clock, not midnight, when Tony finds a parking spot and heads into David's building. David's not expecting him, he doesn't think, but that doesn't really matter. He has a key and an open invitation.

When he unlocks the door and walks in, the first thing that hits him is the noise level. There's music playing--not David's usual choice, but some kind of hip hop. There's laughter and voices and as Tony looks around, he counts four--no, five people, dancing and holding drinks, with another two people sprawled on the couch. There are a couple bowls of chips and snacks scattered around, and it looks like the party's been going on for a while.

David's dancing with two other people--a tall blond Tony thinks he knows vaguely and a tall black man Tony doesn't recognize at all. There's a short woman with pink hair dancing with a seriously curvy woman, and on the couch are two guys, one tall and lean with dark skin and a shaved head, the other a pale redhead. He doesn't know any of them, and he's thinking he might just do better to leave quietly when David turns.

"Tony!" He disentangles himself from the other two, managing not to spill his drink, and crosses over to Tony, kissing him. He tastes a little like tequila and from the giant margarita glass in his hand, Tony's not surprised. "Welcome to the party. Have you met--no, of course you haven't, you couldn't come with me the last two times these guys had a gig. Let me introduce you." Before Tony can say anything, David's got his arm around his shoulders and is steering him toward people. "Christian you know, I think, don't you? He's the flautist with the symphony and he's the jack of all trades with Belfry. And this is Travis, who's not a musician but we love him anyway."

Christian--the blond--winks at him. "So nice to see you, darling," he says, kissing Tony on the cheek. He's about an inch taller than David, Tony thinks. "I'll get you a drink."

"Ah--you don't--" Tony tries weakly, but Christian's already heading for the kitchen.

"So this is the mysterious boyfriend," Travis says. Tony glances at his clothes--Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Prada--and wonders what this guy does for a living. "Well, honey, it's a pleasure to meet you finally." He holds out his hand; Tony notes the Audemars Piguet watch and whistles to himself.

"Ah--hi," Tony says, trying for a charming smile and shaking Travis' hand. He's got a firm grip, no calluses. "So if you're not--"

Travis grins. "So here we have David, and Christian, and Christian's band Belfry," Travis says. "Amy--pink hair, she's the bassist, and the woman with her is her girlfriend Karen who is also not a musician," he says.

"And on the couch is Kevin--that's the drummer--and Jared--the lead singer and guitarist," David finishes, indicating the black man and the redhead respectively. "They're all over here celebrating the fact that soon they'll be recording a CD."

"And--how do you fit into this?" Tony asks Travis.

"Oh, I'm Christian's partner in gay," Travis says easily. "Isn't that right, darling?" He turns as Christian returns carrying a margarita glass.

"Absolutely." Christian hands Tony the drink and slips his arm around Travis's waist.

"So you two are...together?" Tony asks.

Both of them burst into laughter. "Oh, gods no," Christian says. "I think we'd kill each other if we ever dated. Besides, Travis is happily settled down with a man who could break me in half if he wanted."

"No, he'd just paddle you and not in the fun way, either," Travis says. Tony's sure he looks about as lost as he feels and Travis notices, laughing. "My partner Kyle runs Eden," he says. "Biggest dungeon on the East Coast, one of the biggest in the country."

"Ah. Right." Tony takes a sip of his drink and nearly chokes. "Bit strong," he manages instead.

"Christian," David and Travis both say.

Christian grins. "Hey, none of us are driving." He borrows Travis's hand to look at his watch. "But some of us should be going soon."

"Sadly, yes," Travis says. "I've got to be on a one o'clock flight to London, which means I'm heading right to the airport from here."

"What's in London?" Tony asks.

"Business trip," Travis says. "It's three days there and then we head to Tokyo for four days."

Tony blinks. "And--what do you do again?"

"Well, my official title is executive assistant," Travis says. "I wanted Lord High Everything Else but my boss nixed it. There was much grumbling about how we didn't live in the Mikado and then we all started discussing what musical we did live in." He grins. "We never did decide."

Tony decides to take another sip of his drink. "Who do you work for?"

"Oh, it's not important," Travis says. "I really do have to go, darlings. Bossman's already cross because we had to leave at one instead of nine." He kisses Christian on the cheek and gives David a quick hug. "Be well, play nice or at least safe, and I'll see you all in a little over a week." He snags a gorgeous leather trench from the coat rack and is out the door before Tony can even respond.

"I think that's my cue," David says, looking out over the room. "All right, everyone, if you're not helping clean up go away." He raises his voice enough to be heard over the music.

There's laughter and some talking, but people start gathering themselves to leave as Christian and David begin cleaning up. Tony offers to help and gets told by David to just relax and enjoy his drink, so he does. The two women leave together, talking about a movie, and the two guys from the couch follow them. All four of them smile and nod at him but don't bother to introduce themselves, for which Tony thinks he's grateful.

When he pokes his head into the small kitchen, David's loading the dishwasher and Christian's putting away food. He seems to know his way around David's kitchen; Tony's not sure what he thinks of that.

"All right, darling," Christian says. "I think now is the time for all good single fairies to depart." He catches David around the waist and kisses him on the cheek.

"You're not good," David says, laughing. He drapes his arms over Christian's shoulders. "You doing okay, Goldilocks?"

Christian smiles. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Neither one of them seems to have noticed him. Tony leans against the wall, keeping quiet.

David runs a hand through Christian's curls. "I worry about you," he says. "Humor me. I'm allowed."

"You sound like my mum," Christian says. "I'm fine, honey. I've got you, I've got Travis, I've got a career--I'm fantastic." He hugs David tightly for a moment. "I walked out on him, remember?"

"I remember what he did first," David counters.

"I'm fine." Christian's voice is unexpectedly firm. "And I'm going to go leave you alone with your gorgeous boyfriend." He kisses David on the forehead and disentangles himself. "See you tomorrow at rehearsal."

Tony ducks behind the corner as Christian leaves, humming to himself. After the door closes, Tony slips into the kitchen. David looks tired, but shakes it off when he sees Tony. "Hey," he says, kissing Tony lightly. "I wasn't expecting you tonight."

"I can tell," Tony says dryly. "You have parties like this often?"

David laughs. "We all needed to blow off some steam, and the guys got some great news, so..." He shrugs. "How was your day?"

"Long, but successful," Tony says. "So--Christian's in a band? Isn't he in the symphony?"

"And the wind quintet," David says. "His band--Belfry--they've been touring the east coast, trying to build up a name and a reputation. They're actually going to be recording a CD soon, but there are a few tracks from performances available on their website and their MySpace page. They're really good, and while I want them to make it, I almost don't because I'd hate to lose Christian in the symphony."

"Are the others all musicians too? I mean, like him?" Tony asks.

David grins, shaking his head. "No one's like him," he says fondly. "No, they're--hm. Amy's an accountant, Kevin's--something with computers, and Jared--I think he's like the assistant manager of a clothing store or something. Christian's the only one who's got a day job as a musician."

"Right." Tony rinses out his glass. He's curious about the context of David and Christian's conversation and what it means, but decides not to ask at the moment. "So I'm guessing you ate already?"

"I did, but there are leftovers in the fridge," David says. "If you're hungry."

"Starved, actually," Tony admits. "Lunch was...many hours ago."

"Help yourself." David kisses him on the cheek. "I'll be in the living room."

Tony rummages through David's fridge, finding leftover pasta. He heats it up and takes the plate back into the living room, where David's sprawled out on the couch playing Sudoku, and moves David's feet out of the way so he can sit down. It's weird not to be able to turn on the television and he thinks--for the millionth time--that he really needs to buy David a TV.

"I'd never use it," David says, looking up from his book. "You really want to spend a few hundred bucks plus some monthly fee on something that'll only get used occasionally when you're over here?"

"I didn't say anything," Tony protests.

"You didn't have to. You looked at the spot on my wall and you sighed, the way you always do when you're thinking about my sad lack of a television," David says. "Tony, I've never owned a TV. I don't want one now."

Tony sighs and applies himself to his food. At least there's music, he thinks. David's always got something playing unless he's practicing or sleeping, and Tony's known him to fall asleep with the stereo on.

He knows he shouldn't say anything, but curiosity gets the better of him. "I heard you talking to Christian," he says. "In the kitchen. Did something happen to him?"

"His last boyfriend," David says, looking upset. "It--it was a bad situation. It's over now."

"What happened?" Tony asks, his cop senses tingling.

David closes his book. "It was months ago, before I met you. Christian had been dating this guy for a while--four, five months, something like--and they were talking about moving in together. I had never really liked the guy--I thought he was controlling, that he was using Christian, but--" He sighs. "I love Christian. I've known him since he was twenty, and I adore him. But he has, always has had, terrible taste in men. And I guess he just didn't see, or didn't think anything of it. Anyway...they were discussing apartments, and they disagreed, and the guy hit him." David rubs a hand over his face. "He apologized, said it was a mistake, said he'd never do it again, and Christian--well, he gave the guy a second chance."

"Let me guess," Tony says. "It happened again."

"Yeah. Yeah." David blows out a breath. "They were at Christian's place, and he hit Christian again, and Christian told him to get out, and...he beat the crap out of Christian." He looks down at his lap. "Christian called me, once he left, and I called 911 and met him at the hospital and convinced him to press assault charges. The guy ended up going away for a few months, but he was released a couple weeks back. Christian's got a restraining order against him. He doesn't really have faith that it'll work, but at least he has it."

"What's his name?" Tony asks quietly.

David shakes his head. "I'm not telling you."

Tony stares at him. "Why not?"

"It's Christian's business whether he decides to share that information or not."

While Tony considers pressing the issue, he recognizes the set to David's jaw that tells him David's made up his mind on this and there's no budging him. He sighs. "I might be able to help," he says. "I've got contacts, access--"

"Leave it alone, Tony," David says. "I told you because you're my boyfriend, not because you're a cop--excuse me, federal agent."

Tony sighs. "Okay. Fine." He considers looking it up anyway, realizes he doesn't even have Christian's last name or when this happened. He could probably find out--how many Christians can there be in the Baltimore Symphony who play the flute?--but decides, reluctantly, not to.

David goes back to his Sudoku, and Tony thinks for a moment. "So who does Travis work for?" he asks, looking for something innocuous.

"He's the senior assistant to the CEO of some big Fortune company," David says absently. "I forget which one. The guy pays him ridiculously well, but Travis works insane hours, plus all the times he has to fly off to London or Tokyo or--I think it was San Francisco two weeks ago. But Travis loves his job."

"And--he's living with a--" Tony pauses, trying to think of the word.

"Kyle's a professional Dominant," David says matter-of-factly. "He started out as a submissive, trained to be a Dom, and now runs his own dungeon. It's impressive--Stephen was the architect for it, actually, a couple years ago."

Tony shakes his head. "I can't imagine what it's like to have that kind of career," he says.

David grins. "What, an architect?"

"Cute." Tony sets his empty plate down on the coffee table. "I mean--how do you even get into that? Do you wake up one morning and say 'I think I want to beat people for a living'?"

"Ask Kyle," David says. "He never minds talking about what he does or why. I've had a few good conversations with him over it." He tips his head back, thinking. "Actually...Travis gets into town next Wednesday, and next Friday is his birthday party. Want to go?"

"Ah--maybe?" Tony says. "If I--"

"If you don't have a case, yeah, I know," David says. "I'll pick you up at seven otherwise?"

"Sure," Tony says. It could be fun, he supposes. "Do we need to get Travis a present?"

David nods. "Yeah. I've already ordered it. I went to thinkgeek and bought him a bunch of caffeinated things--shower gel which he'll never use, mints, some drink he might use, and a couple other odds and ends. Travis will love it, Kyle will hate it. I would have done the coffee of the month club, but Travis is picky about that."

"With the hours he works, I'm not too surprised," Tony says.

"Travis is...think Abby's caffeine intake," David says. "Possibly more."

"David, I don't think it's humanly possible to ingest more caffeine than Abby," Tony says skeptically.

"Possibly," David concedes. "But it's at least as much." He shrugs. "Not really important."

"No, not really." Tony rests his hand on David's ankle. "You want to go to bed?"

David smiles and puts his book down. "Sure."

****
Tony forgets about the party until he's driving home from work on Friday and David calls him to find out if he's working or not. Tony's tempted--very, very briefly--to say he can't make it, but he's realized over the past week that he doesn't know much about David's friends, even though they've been dating for almost six months at this point. It's not like he's ever tried all that hard to integrate himself with previous girlfriends' social circles, but David's...

David's different.

He gets home in time to grab a quick shower and change into something a little more casual before David picks him up, and even has time to grab a sandwich; he has no idea what food will be at Travis's place and isn't willing to risk starving. He's considering having a beer when the door buzzes.

"Hey," David says when Tony answers it. He's looking particularly good tonight, in a blue turtleneck and dark jeans. The stones in one of his bracelets and his rings are green and blue, and the stud in his ear is mother-of-pearl.

"Hey yourself." Tony kisses him, barely managing to pull back before it turns into something they can't finish. "We, ah, ready to go?" he asks, taking a deep breath.

David smiles and traces a finger down the side of Tony's face. "Yeah," he says. "C'mon, let's go."

They take the Metro; Travis is apparently only a couple blocks away from the station and parking anywhere in DC is always a bitch. Tony's not sure what he's expecting as they turn the corner and David says "That's the house," but the sleek, three-story white house isn't it. Very modern, from the outside, and easily worth 1.5 million, probably closer to two.

"Nice place," he says as casually as possible.

"Isn't it?" David's voice is amused, and Tony has the feeling David's not buying the act. He smiles a little ruefully and squeezes David's hand as he rings the bell.

A moment later, Travis answers it. He's wearing green shimmery vinyl pants that make his legs look ten miles long and a tight white long-sleeved t-shirt. Tony thinks that the man's got to be six-four and if he weighs one-sixty it's a miracle. He wonders briefly if he can count Travis's ribs--and then he gets distracted by the tiara. Not sure what to say about it, he keeps quiet.

"Darlings," Travis says, hugging them both and knocking the wind out of Tony. "It's so wonderful to see you. Come in, come in. Most people are in the kitchen or the den but we've got a few in the hot tub on the roof."

David laughs. "Love the tiara," he says, kissing Travis on the cheek.

"Isn't it divine? Christian gave it to me. For the birthday queen, of course." Travis grins. "So. Drink? Food? Tour of the place?"

"Drink," David says. "And then maybe a tour, if you want, Tony?"

"Sure," Tony says, looking around. He gets impressions of hardwood floors and modern furnishings, mostly in glass or metal with some dark leather. There's art on the walls, and Tony's got enough of an eye to know it's pricey stuff.

"This way." Travis ushers them into the spacious kitchen, where a few people are playing cards at the table, and gives Tony a beer and David a rum and Coke. "Now, let me show you around."

The house is gorgeous, Tony thinks. Plenty of space, stylish furnishings--there's a very minimalist feel to it, despite the books everywhere. The master suite is, frankly, amazing, with a sunken tub big enough for two and a shower Tony wishes he could have. He's envious of the home gym on the third floor, as well, and the roof deck with hot tub.

"Feel free to jump in if you're so inclined," Travis says, gesturing toward the tub. "There's plenty of towels."

And apparently no bathing suits required, Tony thinks, noticing a naked man getting out of the tub and reaching for a towel. "Ah--I think I'll pass," he says.

David laughs. "Not tonight. So where's everyone?"

"In the den. Come, I'll take you." Travis shows them downstairs to the basement, which is part library, part media center. There's a pool table around which a few people are playing a game. Others are playing some video game--Wii golf, it looks like--and there are people just hanging out and talking, as well. Tony glances around and notices Christian's one of the pool players.

"So where's your daddy?" David teases, slipping an arm around Tony's waist. "Or should I say, where's the daddy you live with?"

Travis rolls his eyes. "I do not have two," he says. "You've never even met my boss."

"Honey, I don't need to know your boss to know he's your Dom in every way except sexual," David says, smirking a little.

His words startle Tony a bit. Isn't it--well, always sexual? It's not like the dynamic between himself and David lasts outside of the bedroom, but David's acting like it's perfectly normal.

He's still mulling it over a bit when Travis breaks off the banter to wave someone over. "Speaking of," he says, laughing. "Daddy, say hello to David and his boyfriend Tony. Darlings, this is my partner Kyle."

Tony's not sure what he expected from a professional Dom, and he decides that Kyle's either exactly it or completely not. He's about six feet even, Tony thinks, and he could almost have stepped out of a military recruiting poster. Pale blond hair cut short, ice-blue eyes, and the body of a serious weightlifter--he stops shy of being too muscled, but Tony has no doubt this guy could bench-press him if he wanted. There's something else, too; there's a sense of presence, of something that's vaguely familiar, but he can't place it.

"Hi," he says, shaking Kyle's hand, relieved when it doesn't turn into a bonecrushing contest. Kyle clearly knows his own strength. "You have a great house."

Kyle grins. "We like it." He gives David a hug before resting a hand on Travis' back. "Did you get anything to eat? Most of the food's in the kitchen but there's stuff down here, as well."

"We will," David says. "Are there brownies?"

"You're asking me if we have brownies? Darling." Travis gives David a reproachful look. "We have brownies. We have cookies. We have Adam's raspberry chocolate torte. Stephen said he'd bring cake when he got here. And I think someone brought baklava."

"Please take some when you go," Kyle says. "Otherwise we'll have a house full of sugar."

Travis gives him a wide-eyed look. "This is bad?"

David laughs. "How old are you again?"

"Twenty-seven, thank you," Travis says, grinning. Tony blinks; he hadn't thought Travis was that young, not with the job and the money he clearly has. He looks it, sure, but Tony had figured he was one of those guys--like Stephen--who just looked young.

Tony hears laughter and turns to see the pool game breaking up and Christian raising his arms in triumph. Either no one's good at the game, or Christian's got hidden skills, he thinks.

"Darlings!" Christian comes over to them, kissing David on the cheek. "There's been a call for the lyrics game, are you in?"

"Absolutely," Travis says immediately. "Anyone else?"

"Ah--what's the lyrics game?" Tony asks, feeling a bit lost.

David grins. "It's a team game--this many people, we'll probably have three. Someone tosses out a word, like 'blue' or 'rain' or whatever. You get a certain amount of time to come up with as many song lyrics as you can involving that word, and then each team gets to sing their lyric. The last team standing wins. And obviously, once a song's been used another team can't use it."

It sounds pretty awful to Tony. "I think I'll pass," he says. "I'm not much for song lyrics."

"Do you mind if I play?" David asks.

"No, go for it," Tony tells him. "I'll--ah--"

"I'll keep Tony company," Kyle says, rescuing him. Tony gives him a grateful look and Kyle grins.

David kisses Tony on the cheek. "Have fun." He gets dragged off with Christian and Travis into the group of people and Tony watches them for a moment before turning to Kyle.

"You hungry?" Kyle asks. He doesn't seem to mind at all that he's just been saddled with a friend's boyfriend he doesn't know at all. "Most of the actual food's in the kitchen. Snacks and stuff are down here."

"I'm--" Tony stops. "I heard of brownies?" he asks, giving Kyle a hopeful grin.

Kyle laughs. "Upstairs. C'mon."

In the kitchen, Tony ends up getting a plate with two brownies, some pasta salad, and a sandwich. Kyle takes some of the pasta salad as well and the two of them head back downstairs to take seats in the library. "So I hear you're a federal agent?" Kyle asks.

Tony nods. "NCIS, yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't--"

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service," Kyle says matter-of-factly. "You like it there?"

"Yeah," Tony says, smiling a little. "Yeah, I do. And you...run a dungeon." He tries to keep his voice as casual as Kyle's, but doesn't quite manage it.

"I do," Kyle says, taking a bite of pasta salad. He swallows and shrugs. "It's really not that strange. People need a place to let off steam, and if their own personal lives are unsatisfactory, they find other outlets. I provide a safe one for them."

"Yeah, but--how do you get into that?" Tony asks. "I mean--how do you decide you want to run a dungeon?"

"Most of my staff will do this for a few years and then either go back to grad school, or finish grad school, or find a different job," Kyle says. "Not too many of us are in the business as long as I've been. I started as a professional submissive working for Mistress Bella--up in New York, she runs Purgatory--and after a couple years I apprenticed with her to learn how to become a Dom. I switched roles, went back to school, got my MBA, and a few years ago moved down here to set up Eden."

"Okay, but--" Tony pauses to take a bite of his brownie and then has to stop because he thinks he might finally understand Abby's claim that chocolate can be better than orgasms. "Um. Wow. What was I talking about?" he asks, finally swallowing.

Kyle laughs. "Adam's brownies can have that effect on people."

"Yeah. Wow." Tony shakes his head. "Anyway--why did you get into this field in the first place?"

"I needed a job," Kyle says, grinning. "I was already into the lifestyle, and I was a psych major in college with no real idea of what I wanted to do. My boyfriend at the time knew Mistress Bella and introduced me. We talked and she hired me. I didn't mind being a submissive, but I discovered i was good at being a Dom, and I enjoyed it, so I stayed in the business. There aren't many men as professional Doms, and there are plenty of people--women and men both--who want to play that fantasy."

Tony nods, taking another bite of his brownie. "I guess that makes sense," he says. Across the room, he looks up as people start erupting into bits of song. "Does this happen often?" he asks warily as Christian and someone he doesn't know jump to their feet, dramatically singing something Tony doesn't recognize but sounds sort of Broadway-esque. They get laughter and a couple of cheers before taking their seats again.

"Often enough," Kyle says. "You get used to bursts of song and dance if you spend enough time with musicians and theater folk. Christian and Travis are always doing it, and if David's here he's with them. You haven't noticed it?"

"I, uh, haven't spent much time around Christian or Travis," Tony admits, looking down at his plate. "Normally if David and I are hanging out with friends it's Joshua and Stephen."

"That explains why we haven't seen you here before," Kyle says. "One of the reasons we got this house is because Travis loves to entertain, and he's got people over for dinner a couple times a week. We're always feeding Christian, for example, and David tries to come over as often as he can manage it. There's talk of getting together a weekly game night--poker and pool, mostly."

There's no condemnation or accusation in his voice, but Tony winces inwardly. "I like pool," he says. "And poker, although I'm better at pool."

"You should ask Christian for a game," Kyle suggests. "He loves pool."

"Sure, maybe, after--" Tony turns in time to see David dip Christian back, pretending to kiss him as they're singing.

"They don't mean anything by it," Kyle says.

"Yeah, I know." But Tony doesn't turn back to Kyle until David sets Christian on his feet and they take their seats again.

"I'll be right back," Kyle says as the doorbell rings. He gets up, leaving Tony to finish his food and watch the laughter and singing. A couple people there he recognizes from the other night at David's--Kevin and Amy from Belfry, he thinks. Everyone looks to be having a great time.

It almost makes him want to join the game--almost--but then Kyle's coming back the stairs followed by Joshua and Stephen; Tony gets up to hug them both. "Good to see you," Joshua says, clapping him on the back. "What--oh, they started the lyrics game, didn't they?" he asks, nodding at the burst of Les Mis coming from the group.

"What else, with this bunch?" Kyle asks. "You going to join them?"

"Me, nah," Joshua says. "I'll go say hello, though."

"I will too," Stephen says. Tony watches the two of them go over to the group, where there's a round of hellos and hugs and kisses. They seem to know everyone, which makes Tony wonder--again--how much of David's life he's missed out on, and why.

He crosses over to the group, and David grins at him. "Come to join our madness?" he asks.

"Nah," Tony says. "But I'll watch."

"C'mon down here." Somehow they make room for him on the couch and Tony squeezes into a corner, David half on his lap and half on the arm of the couch. Stephen sits on the floor, and Joshua takes a seat on the other couch.

"So who's next?" David asks, an arm draped around Tony's shoulders.

"You are," Travis says, grinning. He's sprawled across three people's laps and somehow manages to look bonelessly content.

"Ah. Right." David glances at the list someone's holding. "This one?" he asks, pointing to an entry on the page.

"Only if you sing it," the man says, laughing.

"I sang last time," David protests. "Make Kevin sing."

"I'm a drummer, not a singer," Kevin says. "You sing."

David rolls his eyes, but slides to his feet and takes a very serious pose before beginning to sing--Tony blinks. "Shakira?" he says under his breath.

Christian laughs and leaps up, joining in on the next line. David catches hm and the two of them do a tango, Christian dipping back so far his free hand brushes the floor. He pulls himself upright easily and kisses David on the cheek.

"Hey, Blondie, when do we get to see you in the bustier?" Amy asks.

Bustier? What the--"Six weeks," David says. "Can't wait to see me out of my clothes, can you?"

Amy snorts. "Right, because I get so turned on by seeing you in stockings and a garter belt."

"I thought it was the part where he spent the whole time groping me," Christian says, laughing.

"What the hell?" Tony asks under his breath.

David sinks back down on Tony's lap. "Every Halloween there's a charity performance of Rocky Horror," he explains. "A bunch of us musicians got together a few years ago, with some help, and started it going. I play Frank and Christian plays Rocky."

"Oh." Tony tries to picture David in the outfit and can't quite manage it.

"I have pictures somewhere," Travis says. "After the game I'll find them for you."

David laughs. "Speaking of, are we actually going to finish the game or are we calling it a draw?"

"I think you don't have any more lyrics," Christian challenges.

"Slander!" David holds up the piece of paper. Only about half the entries are crossed out. "We can finish later. Let's go have cake and presents."

"And coffee!" Travis says, getting to his feet.

"I'll second the coffee," Stephen says, getting up.

Tony heads up to the kitchen with everyone else. There's a pause to sing a rather harmonious rendition of Happy Birthday and then Stephen serves up dark chocolate rum cake to everyone.

Someone puts on music in the kitchen, some club thing Tony doesn't recognize, and the next thing he knows he's in the middle of a kitchen full of people dancing--mostly while they're eating cake. David grabs Tony's free wrist and pulls him into the mass of people, dancing with him, and it's natural at this point to just go with the flow and let himself move with David.

He glances around and sees Stephen dancing with Joshua, pausing every now and then to eat a bite of cake. Travis and Christian are dancing in a way that would be a prelude to sex in anyone else, but they're both laughing.

It feels...good to be here like this, Tony realizes. With David's friends, in his life in a way Tony hasn't been before. He thinks about it, wondering why that is.

"Thought it was going to end," he murmurs to himself. And it's true. Why bother integrating himself into David's life when things won't last?

Except...Tony shakes his head inwardly. For someone who's supposed to be a detective, he's awfully clueless sometimes.

"What's that, baby?" David asks, running his fingers through Tony's hair.

Tony shakes his head and sets down his plate, pulling David a little closer. "I like your friends," he says. "They're insane, but I like them."

David laughs. "You should spend more time with them," he says. "See if you still like them after the fourth time Christian's cleaned your clock at pool or Travis just won't sit still."

"I want to," Tony says, surprised by how much he means it.

"Yeah?" David asks, smiling.

Tony smiles back. "Yeah," he says, and he leans forward and kisses David.