Re: Part 3/?
anonymous
October 15 2012, 02:55:33 UTC
Mowgli woke up in a bed he didn't recognize, and it took him a minute to remember how he'd gotten there. He slid out from between the covers, only to notice that he was wearing a t-shirt that was much too big for him, his underwear, and nothing else. He scanned the room with his eyes, looking for his clothes, and found them neatly folded on a bedside table. They looked washed. Mowgli opened the door to his room and peeked down the hall, before going to the bathroom. He scrubbed his hands, and seeing that the water that dripped off them had turned a dirty grey, he tried to remember when he'd last showered. Washing was kind of a pain in the squat where he'd been living. No one paying bills translated into no running water, apart from the faucet that pirated directly off the city's main line. He didn't understand that very well. What he knew was that their water was limited and cold. So this was ... if they really lived in the same neighborhood, maybe he could ask Kaa to let him borrow his shower sometimes? He wasn't sure how the man would react to that. But at home, he would never have been allowed to put clean clothes on when he was this dirty. Without giving that too much thought, he padded through the apartment in his bare feet and found the kitchen. Kaa was eating scrambled eggs, and looked up when Mowgli walked in.
"It's still early. You slept well?" He asked, taking the rest of the eggs from the skillet and setting them on a plate in front of Mowgli.
"Yeah," said Mowgli, sitting down and watching them steam for a second before upending the ketchup over his plate. "Did you?"
"Not really," said Kaa. "I'm mostly awake at night. Lots to do, you understand," he added, twirling his fork with a crooked grin.
"Oh ... I get sleepy when it's dark. So I don't, really. But Bagheera was like that too." Mowgli said, between bites of food.
"I'm sure he was." Kaa said, in a voice that suggested he meant more than he was saying. "But it's just a habit. Anyone can be alert at night, if they sleep in the day."
Mowgli made a puzzled face at him. "Why would I want to do that?"
"Because," Kaa said, "it's almost a different city, once the schools and offices close. Lights, music, theater ... dancing." He took his empty plate to the sink, brushing his hand against Mowgli's side as he passed. "It's a nightmare and a fairyland all rolled into one. I could show you," he offered, as if it were all just occurring to him, offhand. Glittering, if slightly tired eyes focused on Mowgli from beneath half closed lids, as Kaa regarded him.
Mowgli looked down at his plate and tried not to think about the way Kaa's touch had made his skin tingle. He put more food in his mouth for an excuse to not talk yet, and then swallowed. "There's dancing?" He finally asked.
"Hmm?" Kaa, who had been openly watching the way Mowgli's mouth moved as he ate, tapped a finger against his own lips and smiled a little wider. "Oh, yes."
Mowgli thought that over, curling and uncurling his bare toes unconsciously against the kitchen floor. "You reckon Baloo would let me try it?"
Kaa narrowly avoided saying I don't see why not, (usually something to the effect of "I'm sure your guardian would approve" was a convenient lie) but he realized that in this case, he'd be handing the boy an excuse to go back with Baloo. Who would probably want to avoid any further contact. "You look about ten years old," Kaa said. "I think you should decide what you want to do."
Mowgli ate the last of his egg, and frowned. "Is it dangerous? I want to go."
"A little, yes. But if you do as I say, I think you'll be alright." Kaa walked around the table and rested his hands on Mowgli's shoulders. "Are you still hungry?"
Mowgli shook his head. Then he remembered - "Since I'm not going home first thing in the morning, after all, I was going to ask you if I could have a bath."
Re: Part 4/?
anonymous
October 15 2012, 03:01:10 UTC
Kaa ruffled his hair. "That sounds like an excellent idea." He said, and then promptly changed the subject. "During the day, do you have a way of contacting your friend? I could send someone by, if you think they'd be worried about you." preferably with a convenient excuse for why you won't be coming back for awhile he thought inwardly.
Mowgli frowned. "I think I can probably find him, but I don't know where he is. He moves around a lot. And I don't know if he's looking for me yet."
"Speaking of people looking for you ..." Kaa rested his chin on Mowgli's head for a second before straightening up. "Is there anyone I need to hide you from?"
He could feel Mowgli tense up under his hands, at that. "Do you know Shere Khan?" The boy asked.
Oh, my, Kaa thought to himself, you sure know how to pick your enemies. "As a matter of fact, I do." Kaa said. "But he doesn't stop by very often. You could say we ... don't get along." He added.
Big eyes stared up at him. "Why?" Mowgli asked.
"Why do I know him, or why don't I like him?" Kaa said, returning a question for a question.
"Both," said Mowgli.
"If anyone in this city tells you they don't know who Shere Khan is, they're lying," said Kaa. "As for - let's just say he's the sort to squash a fly with a wooden mallet."
The look of instant comprehension that flashed across Mowgli's face spoke volumes.
* * *
Kaa rummaged around a little in the cabinets under his bathroom sink and pulled out a bottle of conditioner and a bottle of baby shampoo. Mowgli wrinkled his nose at it.
"I'm not a baby," he objected.
"I know," Kaa said. "But you have bee-youu-tiful hair. If you don't want it to end up as dry as straw, you have to take care of it. If you wash it more than once a week, mostly use water. Otherwise, use these."
Mowgli looked at Kaa's hair. He hadn't really noticed it before, but all of his hair followed the contour of his skull, and ended in little, feathered points around the nape of his neck. It was longish, more so even than his own mop, but it didn't look long, because it didn't fall around his face like a girl's. "What do you do, to get it like that?" He asked.
"Like wha- oh, this?" Kaa's lip twitched upwards. "This takes gel and practice." He said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some shut-eye."
"Okay." Mowgli sniffed at the hair products, and stripped off his t-shirt.
Kaa looked over his shoulder, intending to say something else, but instead he left the bathroom in a bit of a hurry. The door muffled his voice. "Since I'm going to take you around tonight, you're going to need a nap."
Mowgli hmm-ed and didn't really think much of it. There wasn't anyone he'd met, since he left home, who wasn't several different kinds of weird.
Re: Part 5/?
anonymous
October 15 2012, 03:03:40 UTC
Kaa had the most amazing thick, fluffy towels. Mowgli wrapped up, changed into his day clothes, and flopped down on the bed he'd spent the night in. He did want to be awake, come nightfall, but taking a nap wasn't working. It was mid-morning. Sun was streaming in the window, and Mowgli was wide awake. He drew the curtains, bounced on the bed a couple of times, and then buried his face in the pillows. He tossed and turned until he remembered that to sleep, you had to not move. He managed to be still for what felt like a long time, but then his eyes opened again on their own. So Mowgli gave up and hopped lightly off the bed to go see if Kaa was really asleep.
Kaa had indeed been asleep, but when the door of his room opened, his eyelids went up a crack. Without so much as moving a muscle, he watched Mowgli wander cautiously into the dark and stretch his arms out to feel the edge of the bed.
"Kaa?" Mowgli called, in a voice that was barely a whisper.
Kaa didn't answer.
"Kaa?" Mowgli called again, louder this time, as he scrambled onto the bed.
Kaa smiled to himself in the dark, and then let his face settle into a suitably just-woke-up expression, disoriented and almost innocent. "E-yess? Did you need something?"
"I can't sleep." Mowgli said. "I'm not tired."
"Ah," said Kaa. Of course you aren't. He turned on the bedside lamp, which barely gave more light than a night light, and gazed at the boy as he sat up. "Were you trying?"
"Uh-huh." Said Mowgli, letting Kaa gather him into his lap.
Kaa slid his fingers through Mowgli's damp hair, and firmly held his head between his two hands, tilting it upwards so that Mowgli was looking him right in the eyes. "Try now." He said.
"But I'm not even ... laying down," said Mowgli, shifting his weight a little against Kaa's legs.
"You can sleep just like this." Said Kaa. "I'm holding you. Just keep still for a moment and let your eyelids get heavy."
Some part of Mowgli still thought it was funny how Kaa drew out his 's'es. But the more he looked at him, the more he felt like he was sinking into deep, warm water, and before he knew it, he was asleep.
Kaa made a quiet, involuntary noise in the back of his throat, like an "ough" and shifted his hips against Mowgli's body. He was half-hard. The boy had a lazy, trusting smile on his face that almost made him want to fuck him, right then and there. He wouldn't wake up. Kaa knew that someone he hypnotized this deeply could be dropped off a cliff, without it waking them up. He laid Mowgli out on the bed and turned the lights out. There was a rustling of cloth in the dark as he hugged the boy to him, chest to back, heartbeat to drugged heartbeat.
Kaa murmured reassurances, promises, and plans to the boy's subconscious, his devious mind coiling possessively around Mowgli. His fingers stroked over Mowgli's ribs and upper leg as he held him, exploring the shapes of his body with his hands and fitting his own body against it. Only then did Kaa close his eyes again and sleep.
Re: Part 6/?
anonymous
October 15 2012, 03:06:55 UTC
The sound of his phone vibrating against the bedside table woke him. Kaa disentangled himself and closed the door behind him before taking the call. It turned out to be Mang again, which was convenient. "I need someone," he told him in a low voice, far enough away from his room that he couldn't be overheard, "to distract Baloo and Bagheera for a few days. Take Jacala or whoever you need ... and if they're on the wrong track, just let them chase their tails." Kaa paused, listening, and then added, "I already put him under once." He slapped his forehead. "Oh, that reminds me. I need a word with Tabs. Do you know where he'd ... right. Right." Kaa smiled crookedly as he put on his jacket and headed out. The last light of day was disappearing. Thanks to the streetlamps, though, darkness never really fell. Instead, everything was bathed in a warm, synthetically yellow glow. Light slanted into his car as he drove.
Kaa left his vehicle a few blocks away from his actual destination and covered the rest of the distance on foot. The bar was a quiet little dive attached to a hotel, and it only took him a matter of seconds to scan the place and find Tabaqui. As he'd expected, dark, shifty eyes stared back at him from the farthest table. Tabs stood up, his expression somewhere between surprised and hopeful, and picked his way between tables to meet Kaa.
"Good hunting," Tabaqui said, by way of greeting, knowing Kaa was one of the few people who wouldn't humiliate him for using this form of address.
"Good hunting," said Kaa. "I heard you were back in town."
"Really? How nice of you to visit a poor, hungry ..." he started, but Kaa cut him off.
"Stop it. I can't keep a straight face when you do that." He said.
Tabaqui said nothing for a moment, but his lips twitched a fraction upwards as he turned and walked back towards his table. Kaa followed and sat down across from him.
They talked for over an hour about underworld politics, the far east, and mutual friends. Without Kaa's having to nudge him in any particular direction, Tabaqui volunteered what he wanted to know. In short, Shere Khan had overreached, worn out his welcome, and returned to his old territory to regroup.
Kaa listened with a serious expression, although the look in his eyes was both knowing and fond. Tabs would be anyone's friend for a bottle or two, and a sympathetic ear. Or if he was particularly desperate, in exchange for a couple of cigarettes. Then again ... Tabaqui never judged what you did, only whether you were being clever about it. He had no scruples to speak of and very little self-respect. Kaa liked him because he was cunning, even though he was untrustworthy. If he'd been honest, he would have admitted that he liked Tabaqui in a very "there, but for fortune," sort of way. But he wasn't. Kaa paid for the other man's meal and excused himself, secure in the knowledge that, had Shere Khan been looking particularly hard for Mowgli, Tabs would have brought it up. Everyone who knew Kaa in any detail knew he picked up kids.
Re: Part 7/?
anonymous
October 15 2012, 03:11:30 UTC
When Kaa got back to the apartment, Mowgli was still sleeping peacefully. He hadn't even changed position. Kaa stroked his hair and started massaging his belly and chest. As the boy's mind resurfaced, he shifted his touches discreetly up to his head and shoulders.
"It's time for us to leave." Said Kaa.
"Already?" Said Mowgli, but he rubbed at his eyes and started getting up. "How long was I asleep?"
Kaa grinned. "All day. Come on, get your shoes and we'll be going."
Mowgli blinked, at that, and muttered "golly," but he pulled on his shoes and jacket.
The club turned out to be a big enclosure, with tables and a colorful bar on one end and a big dance floor that took up the rest of the room. Beyond the dance floor, there was a raised stage, with a corner for the DJ and his equipment, and the rest occupied by people twisting and gyrating and dancing as if possessed. Some of the couples wore body paint. A few, on the stage, appeared to be wearing nothing at all. Mowgli's eyes got big as he tried to look at everything at once. The lights were dim, and they kept changing direction and color. There were too many things happening at once! He held Kaa's hand tighter, as several people approached them, but a smile started tugging the corners of his mouth upwards as his body strained to be still, despite wanting to move with the music. Every beat elicited a sympathetic pull in his chest. Every long note made him want to lean into it. He tried to pay attention to the men that were smiling and chatting with Kaa, in ones and twos, but his gaze kept going back to the dancers. He did notice that the one time someone tried to touch him, Kaa stopped their hand with a head-shake and a sly sort of smile. This was by far the strangest he'd felt when he was listening to music. It's like ... it was blossoming inside his chest instead of coming in through his ears. Which kind of made sense, because Kaa had insisted he wear earplugs, this time. He wouldn't have argued with him about it, if he'd realized it was going to be like this. He could feel the music in his ribcage, in his bones, through the soles of his feet - the air was humming with sound. It was everywhere. And okay, maybe his ears weren't made for this. The rest of him definitely liked it. He'd just noticed that there were people in cages hanging from the roof , doing acrobatic flips and sinuous turns that showed off their muscles, when Kaa moved a hand across his field of vision to get his attention and jerked his head back with an inquiring look, as if to say Well? How about it? Mowgli squeezed his hand and smiled from ear to ear. Kaa laughed and ruffled his hair. He typed something into his cell phone one-handed and showed Mowgli the glowing screen.
Want to dance?
Mowgli nodded, so enthusiastically that his hair swished against his cheeks, and pulled off his jacket.
Kaa's eyes sparkled with pleasure in the low light. He pocketed the cell phone, left the coat of his suit on a chair, and led him to the floor. The crowd parted for them. Watch, then do. He mouthed. Then he opened his legs and sank down in such a way that one leg was straight out, and his other heel was touching his haunch. He turned as he rose, passing Mowgli from one hand to the other behind his back, and then reached out to take both of Mowgli's hands loosely at the wrists. Without consciously starting, Mowgli mirrored the movement, the long dip followed by a turn. He knew exactly what to do, even though he'd never done it, and put his hands on top of Kaa's as he finished. He could sort of see, through the corners of his eyes, that people had stopped to see what they were doing, but the direction of his gaze didn't budge. Kaa looked intently at him and moved his hand under Mowgli's. Without having to think about it, Mowgli's hand gracefully turned in the opposite direction to meet him, palm to palm. Two points of contact, and yet, it felt like he had direct current running through his body. They stayed like that for a millisecond, and then Kaa stepped in close and flipped Mowgli over his shoulder. Mowgli knew just how to hold his arms and legs as he flew, and just how to land, and where hands would be waiting for him.
Re: Part 8/?
anonymous
October 15 2012, 03:13:31 UTC
This time, he took a step forward, and Kaa took a step back and spun him. Mowgli could see the room going by in a blur, lights and eyes and people, but he was inside the music. His body moved rhythmically, tracing shapes and marking beats and twisting around his agile partner, and Kaa was with him turn for turn, all hands and glowing eyes and long, serpentine movements. Mowgli didn't see when the rest of the people joined them, nor did he care. It was magic and speed and light and exhilaration ... and his muscles ached when they finally slowed down. It was just as well, because he felt like he was in a dream. This didn't seem real. But things that weren't real didn't hurt.
The music wound down even more, and Kaa drew Mowgli to him in a hug, taking very small steps. They stopped when the music paused, and walked back to their table. It wasn't until Mowgli sat down that he started being able to feel his skin again, and not just the blood humming warmly underneath it. He was covered in sweat. Kaa went to the bar and brought him back a thick, white towel. Mowgli wiped it over his face and draped it loosely over his shoulders. He pantomimed opening a cell phone, and Kaa handed it to him. Mowgli tried to type, but his hands were completely uncoordinated, so he gave it back and pulled Kaa close.
"I'm really thirsty!" He said, hoping Kaa could hear him over the music, even though he was too out of breath to talk loud.
Kaa typed something into his phone and held it out: I'm not surprised. What would you like?
Mowgli thought about that. "Cream soda?" he asked.
Kaa frowned a little. I don't think they have that. How about fruit juice?
Mowgli pouted for a second, to underscore that he'd actually wanted cream soda, and then said "Okay."
Kaa made a sign to one of the waiters, ordered, and a few minutes later they both had drinks.
Whatever it was that Kaa was drinking, it was electric blue. Mowgli's drink was big and yellow, with white froth on top, and turned out to be pineapple juice. He sucked several big mouthfuls of it through his straw and gulped them down, while Kaa sipped disinterestedly, with one eye on the boy and one eye on the crowd. His expression softened when he turned his attention back to Mowgli.
Once he stopped being so thirsty, Mowgli realized he needed to pee. He stood and said "I'll be right back."
Kaa raised an eyebrow at him and typed ?
Mowgli jerked his head in the direction of a sign on one of the doors and added "I need to use the bathroom."
Kaa held a hand up. That is not a bathroom. He typed. I'll show you where.
They crossed the room and went through a door next to the stage, that led to a row of dressing rooms. At the end of the hall, there was a bathroom.
Re: Part 9/?
anonymous
October 15 2012, 03:28:10 UTC
When Mowgli came out, Kaa was waiting for him. He was feeling kind of unsteady on his feet, so he grabbed Kaa's hand and sort of leaned on him, and Kaa steered him down another hall and into one of the rooms. Inside, there were chairs, a bed, a long table with a mirror, a closet, and lots of drawers. But Mowgli wasn't paying that much attention to his surroundings.
You can take off your earplugs now. Kaa had typed. The music isn't nearly as loud after midnight.
Mowgli blinked at the screen before fumbling for his earplugs. Kaa was right. He could still feel the sound vibrating a little in his body, but not like before. He pocketed them and sat down.
"This place," Mowgli said, "I can't believe it's real."
Kaa smiled. "You like it?" he said, drawing up a chair next to Mowgli's.
"Do I ever." Mowgli said. "Can we come here a lot? Is it expensive?"
"Not really. That is," Kaa said, shifting Mowgli into his lap, "... not if you're a dancer."
Mowgli hugged onto him and scooted farther up his legs as Kaa stroked his back. "You touch me a lot." He said. "It feels funny."
Kaa's breath caught for a millisecond as Mowgli's hips rocked forward and resettled. "Funny good?" He asked, voice soft and dark. "Or funny bad?" His hands paused.
Mowgli shifted his weight again. He wasn't sure how to answer that. "You don't have to stop," he finally said.
Kaa's legs tensed and relaxed under him. He moved one of his hands to Mowgli's hip and started tracing circles through his clothes. "It feels less strange when you touch back." He said.
Well, that ... made sense. Mowgli wasn't sure why it hadn't occurred to him before. Maybe because when other adults had touched him, it wasn't an invitation to be touched. Was it? But if it wasn't, that was hardly fair. He rested his hands on Kaa's shoulders for a minute, and then thought of the way Kaa had stroked his neck in the car, and started running one finger tentatively over a long muscle that went from behind his ear to a hollow in the base of his throat. Kaa made a thin, inarticulate sound that Mowgli could feel under the pads of his fingers, and his eyelids went down until they were almost closed before he blinked them up again. Now this, Mowgli thought, was even better than tickling Baloo. He sat up straighter and tried with both hands. This time, Kaa really did close his eyes, and sort of nuzzled him with his upper body.
"You feel marvelous," he murmured, pleasure rubbing against a ragged edge of desperation as he spoke. One hand slipped under Mowgli's shirt and started doing what he'd been doing, through his clothes, directly against skin. Mowgli's stomach tightened, but he didn't scoot away or tell Kaa to stop, because it felt - nice. It kind of made him want to squirm, but instead, he tried to see if he could get Kaa to. As Mowgli's hands started moving over him with more determination and purpose, Kaa sucked in a breath between his teeth and swallowed hard.
Mowgli looked at him. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"Wrong?" Kaa echoed, as if he didn't have the faintest idea what Mowgli was talking about. "Nothing at all." He said, in a very innocent voice. "Let's just say you ... surprised me."
Huh. Mowgli smiled a little, and shifted his weight forward suddenly so that he was lying flat against Kaa's chest. The hand that had been rubbing his back went further up his shirt and tightened around him. With his other hand, Kaa started tracing the skin directly above the line of Mowgli's jeans. Mowgli really did sort of jump, at that, and they both stopped for a second. But he was okay, and to prove it, he reached up and started touching Kaa's neck again.
"Hold on," Kaa said, "I'm going to pick you up."
Mowgli put his arms around Kaa's neck and held on with his knees. Kaa lifted him easily, crossed the room, and lay down on the bed with the boy on top of him. When he tried to roll off, Kaa came with him, and Mowgli found himself under the man with his legs spread open. Kaa pinned him with part of his weight, playfully, as if he were trying to hug him with his whole body, and massaged his hands against Mowgli's back and thighs.
"I am?" Kaa asked, as if he somehow hadn't noticed. "I am," he admitted, smiling, and took most of his weight off Mowgli. "Do you like being held down?"
"What a weird question." Said Mowgli. "I ... um." Kaa had started rubbing his hand against the inside of Mowgli's leg again.
"It's still early. You slept well?" He asked, taking the rest of the eggs from the skillet and setting them on a plate in front of Mowgli.
"Yeah," said Mowgli, sitting down and watching them steam for a second before upending the ketchup over his plate. "Did you?"
"Not really," said Kaa. "I'm mostly awake at night. Lots to do, you understand," he added, twirling his fork with a crooked grin.
"Oh ... I get sleepy when it's dark. So I don't, really. But Bagheera was like that too." Mowgli said, between bites of food.
"I'm sure he was." Kaa said, in a voice that suggested he meant more than he was saying. "But it's just a habit. Anyone can be alert at night, if they sleep in the day."
Mowgli made a puzzled face at him. "Why would I want to do that?"
"Because," Kaa said, "it's almost a different city, once the schools and offices close. Lights, music, theater ... dancing." He took his empty plate to the sink, brushing his hand against Mowgli's side as he passed. "It's a nightmare and a fairyland all rolled into one. I could show you," he offered, as if it were all just occurring to him, offhand. Glittering, if slightly tired eyes focused on Mowgli from beneath half closed lids, as Kaa regarded him.
Mowgli looked down at his plate and tried not to think about the way Kaa's touch had made his skin tingle. He put more food in his mouth for an excuse to not talk yet, and then swallowed. "There's dancing?" He finally asked.
"Hmm?" Kaa, who had been openly watching the way Mowgli's mouth moved as he ate, tapped a finger against his own lips and smiled a little wider. "Oh, yes."
Mowgli thought that over, curling and uncurling his bare toes unconsciously against the kitchen floor. "You reckon Baloo would let me try it?"
Kaa narrowly avoided saying I don't see why not, (usually something to the effect of "I'm sure your guardian would approve" was a convenient lie) but he realized that in this case, he'd be handing the boy an excuse to go back with Baloo. Who would probably want to avoid any further contact. "You look about ten years old," Kaa said. "I think you should decide what you want to do."
Mowgli ate the last of his egg, and frowned. "Is it dangerous? I want to go."
"A little, yes. But if you do as I say, I think you'll be alright." Kaa walked around the table and rested his hands on Mowgli's shoulders. "Are you still hungry?"
Mowgli shook his head. Then he remembered - "Since I'm not going home first thing in the morning, after all, I was going to ask you if I could have a bath."
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Mowgli frowned. "I think I can probably find him, but I don't know where he is. He moves around a lot. And I don't know if he's looking for me yet."
"Speaking of people looking for you ..." Kaa rested his chin on Mowgli's head for a second before straightening up. "Is there anyone I need to hide you from?"
He could feel Mowgli tense up under his hands, at that. "Do you know Shere Khan?" The boy asked.
Oh, my, Kaa thought to himself, you sure know how to pick your enemies. "As a matter of fact, I do." Kaa said. "But he doesn't stop by very often. You could say we ... don't get along." He added.
Big eyes stared up at him. "Why?" Mowgli asked.
"Why do I know him, or why don't I like him?" Kaa said, returning a question for a question.
"Both," said Mowgli.
"If anyone in this city tells you they don't know who Shere Khan is, they're lying," said Kaa. "As for - let's just say he's the sort to squash a fly with a wooden mallet."
The look of instant comprehension that flashed across Mowgli's face spoke volumes.
* * *
Kaa rummaged around a little in the cabinets under his bathroom sink and pulled out a bottle of conditioner and a bottle of baby shampoo. Mowgli wrinkled his nose at it.
"I'm not a baby," he objected.
"I know," Kaa said. "But you have bee-youu-tiful hair. If you don't want it to end up as dry as straw, you have to take care of it. If you wash it more than once a week, mostly use water. Otherwise, use these."
Mowgli looked at Kaa's hair. He hadn't really noticed it before, but all of his hair followed the contour of his skull, and ended in little, feathered points around the nape of his neck. It was longish, more so even than his own mop, but it didn't look long, because it didn't fall around his face like a girl's. "What do you do, to get it like that?" He asked.
"Like wha- oh, this?" Kaa's lip twitched upwards. "This takes gel and practice." He said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some shut-eye."
"Okay." Mowgli sniffed at the hair products, and stripped off his t-shirt.
Kaa looked over his shoulder, intending to say something else, but instead he left the bathroom in a bit of a hurry. The door muffled his voice. "Since I'm going to take you around tonight, you're going to need a nap."
Mowgli hmm-ed and didn't really think much of it. There wasn't anyone he'd met, since he left home, who wasn't several different kinds of weird.
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Kaa had indeed been asleep, but when the door of his room opened, his eyelids went up a crack. Without so much as moving a muscle, he watched Mowgli wander cautiously into the dark and stretch his arms out to feel the edge of the bed.
"Kaa?" Mowgli called, in a voice that was barely a whisper.
Kaa didn't answer.
"Kaa?" Mowgli called again, louder this time, as he scrambled onto the bed.
Kaa smiled to himself in the dark, and then let his face settle into a suitably just-woke-up expression, disoriented and almost innocent. "E-yess? Did you need something?"
"I can't sleep." Mowgli said. "I'm not tired."
"Ah," said Kaa. Of course you aren't. He turned on the bedside lamp, which barely gave more light than a night light, and gazed at the boy as he sat up. "Were you trying?"
"Uh-huh." Said Mowgli, letting Kaa gather him into his lap.
Kaa slid his fingers through Mowgli's damp hair, and firmly held his head between his two hands, tilting it upwards so that Mowgli was looking him right in the eyes. "Try now." He said.
"But I'm not even ... laying down," said Mowgli, shifting his weight a little against Kaa's legs.
"You can sleep just like this." Said Kaa. "I'm holding you. Just keep still for a moment and let your eyelids get heavy."
Some part of Mowgli still thought it was funny how Kaa drew out his 's'es. But the more he looked at him, the more he felt like he was sinking into deep, warm water, and before he knew it, he was asleep.
Kaa made a quiet, involuntary noise in the back of his throat, like an "ough" and shifted his hips against Mowgli's body. He was half-hard. The boy had a lazy, trusting smile on his face that almost made him want to fuck him, right then and there. He wouldn't wake up. Kaa knew that someone he hypnotized this deeply could be dropped off a cliff, without it waking them up. He laid Mowgli out on the bed and turned the lights out. There was a rustling of cloth in the dark as he hugged the boy to him, chest to back, heartbeat to drugged heartbeat.
Kaa murmured reassurances, promises, and plans to the boy's subconscious, his devious mind coiling possessively around Mowgli. His fingers stroked over Mowgli's ribs and upper leg as he held him, exploring the shapes of his body with his hands and fitting his own body against it. Only then did Kaa close his eyes again and sleep.
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Kaa left his vehicle a few blocks away from his actual destination and covered the rest of the distance on foot. The bar was a quiet
little dive attached to a hotel, and it only took him a matter of seconds to scan the place and find Tabaqui. As he'd expected, dark, shifty eyes stared back at him from the farthest table. Tabs stood up, his expression somewhere between surprised and hopeful, and picked his way between tables to meet Kaa.
"Good hunting," Tabaqui said, by way of greeting, knowing Kaa was one of the few people who wouldn't humiliate him for using this form of address.
"Good hunting," said Kaa. "I heard you were back in town."
"Really? How nice of you to visit a poor, hungry ..." he started, but Kaa cut him off.
"Stop it. I can't keep a straight face when you do that."
He said.
Tabaqui said nothing for a moment, but his lips twitched a fraction upwards as he turned and walked back towards his table. Kaa followed and sat down across from him.
They talked for over an hour about underworld politics, the far east, and mutual friends. Without Kaa's having to nudge him in any particular direction, Tabaqui volunteered what he wanted to know. In short, Shere Khan had overreached, worn out his welcome, and returned to his old territory to regroup.
Kaa listened with a serious expression, although the look in his eyes was both knowing and fond. Tabs would be anyone's friend for a bottle or two, and a sympathetic ear. Or if he was particularly desperate, in exchange for a couple of cigarettes. Then again ... Tabaqui never judged what you did, only whether you were being clever about it. He had no scruples to speak of and very little self-respect. Kaa liked him because he was cunning, even though he was untrustworthy. If he'd been honest, he would have admitted that he liked Tabaqui in a very "there, but for fortune," sort of way. But he wasn't. Kaa paid for the other man's meal and excused himself, secure in the knowledge that, had Shere Khan been looking particularly hard for Mowgli, Tabs would have brought it up. Everyone who knew Kaa in any detail knew he picked up kids.
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"It's time for us to leave." Said Kaa.
"Already?" Said Mowgli, but he rubbed at his eyes and started getting up. "How long was I asleep?"
Kaa grinned. "All day. Come on, get your shoes and we'll be going."
Mowgli blinked, at that, and muttered "golly," but he pulled on his shoes and jacket.
The club turned out to be a big enclosure, with tables and a colorful bar on one end and a big dance floor that took up the rest of the room. Beyond the dance floor, there was a raised stage, with a corner for the DJ and his equipment, and the rest occupied by people twisting and gyrating and dancing as if possessed. Some of the couples wore body paint. A few, on the stage, appeared to be wearing nothing at all. Mowgli's eyes got big as he tried to look at everything at once. The lights were dim, and they kept changing direction and color. There were too many things happening at once! He held Kaa's hand tighter, as several people approached them, but a smile started tugging the corners of his mouth upwards as his body strained to be still, despite wanting to move with the music. Every beat elicited a sympathetic pull in his chest. Every long note made him want to lean into it. He tried to pay attention to the men that were smiling and chatting with Kaa, in ones and twos, but his gaze kept going back to the dancers. He did notice that the one time someone tried to touch him, Kaa stopped their hand with a head-shake and a sly sort of smile. This was by far the strangest he'd felt when he was listening to music. It's like ... it was blossoming inside his chest instead of coming in through his ears. Which kind of made sense, because Kaa had insisted he wear earplugs, this time. He wouldn't have argued with him about it, if he'd realized it was going to be like this. He could feel the music in his ribcage, in his bones, through the soles of his feet - the air was humming with sound. It was everywhere. And okay, maybe his ears weren't made for this. The rest of him definitely liked it. He'd just noticed that there were people in cages hanging from the roof , doing acrobatic flips and sinuous turns that showed off their muscles, when Kaa moved a hand across his field of vision to get his attention and jerked his head back with an inquiring look, as if to say Well? How about it? Mowgli squeezed his hand and smiled from ear to ear. Kaa laughed and ruffled his hair. He typed something into his cell phone one-handed and showed Mowgli the glowing screen.
Want to dance?
Mowgli nodded, so enthusiastically that his hair swished against his cheeks, and pulled off his jacket.
Kaa's eyes sparkled with pleasure in the low light. He pocketed the cell phone, left the coat of his suit on a chair, and led him to the floor. The crowd parted for them. Watch, then do. He mouthed. Then he opened his legs and sank down in such a way that one leg was straight out, and his other heel was touching his haunch. He turned as he rose, passing Mowgli from one hand to the other behind his back, and then reached out to take both of Mowgli's hands loosely at the wrists. Without consciously starting, Mowgli mirrored the movement, the long dip followed by a turn. He knew exactly what to do, even though he'd never done it, and put his hands on top of Kaa's as he finished. He could sort of see, through the corners of his eyes, that people had stopped to see what they were doing, but the direction of his gaze didn't budge. Kaa looked intently at him and moved his hand under Mowgli's. Without having to think about it, Mowgli's hand gracefully turned in the opposite direction to meet him, palm to palm. Two points of contact, and yet, it felt like he had direct current running through his body. They stayed like that for a millisecond, and then Kaa stepped in close and flipped Mowgli over his shoulder. Mowgli knew just how to hold his arms and legs as he flew, and just how to land, and where hands would be waiting for him.
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The music wound down even more, and Kaa drew Mowgli to him in a hug, taking very small steps. They stopped when the music paused, and walked back to their table. It wasn't until Mowgli sat down that he started being able to feel his skin again, and not just the blood humming warmly underneath it. He was covered in sweat. Kaa went to the bar and brought him back a thick, white towel. Mowgli wiped it over his face and draped it loosely over his shoulders. He pantomimed opening a cell phone, and Kaa handed it to him. Mowgli tried to type, but his hands were completely uncoordinated, so he gave it back and pulled Kaa close.
"I'm really thirsty!" He said, hoping Kaa could hear him over the music, even though he was too out of breath to talk loud.
Kaa typed something into his phone and held it out: I'm not surprised. What would you like?
Mowgli thought about that. "Cream soda?" he asked.
Kaa frowned a little. I don't think they have that. How about fruit juice?
Mowgli pouted for a second, to underscore that he'd actually wanted cream soda, and then said "Okay."
Kaa made a sign to one of the waiters, ordered, and a few minutes later they both had drinks.
Whatever it was that Kaa was drinking, it was electric blue. Mowgli's drink was big and yellow, with white froth on top, and turned out to be pineapple juice. He sucked several big mouthfuls of it through his straw and gulped them down, while Kaa sipped disinterestedly, with one eye on the boy and one eye on the crowd. His expression softened when he turned his attention back to Mowgli.
Once he stopped being so thirsty, Mowgli realized he needed to pee. He stood and said "I'll be right back."
Kaa raised an eyebrow at him and typed ?
Mowgli jerked his head in the direction of a sign on one of the doors and added "I need to use the bathroom."
Kaa held a hand up. That is not a bathroom. He typed. I'll show you where.
They crossed the room and went through a door next to the stage, that led to a row of dressing rooms. At the end of the hall, there was a bathroom.
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You can take off your earplugs now. Kaa had typed. The music isn't nearly as loud after midnight.
Mowgli blinked at the screen before fumbling for his earplugs. Kaa was right. He could still feel the sound vibrating a little in his body, but not like before. He pocketed them and sat down.
"This place," Mowgli said, "I can't believe it's real."
Kaa smiled. "You like it?" he said, drawing up a chair next to Mowgli's.
"Do I ever." Mowgli said. "Can we come here a lot? Is it expensive?"
"Not really. That is," Kaa said, shifting Mowgli into his lap, "... not if you're a dancer."
Mowgli hugged onto him and scooted farther up his legs as Kaa stroked his back. "You touch me a lot." He said. "It feels funny."
Kaa's breath caught for a millisecond as Mowgli's hips rocked forward and resettled. "Funny good?" He asked, voice soft and dark. "Or funny bad?" His hands paused.
Mowgli shifted his weight again. He wasn't sure how to answer that. "You don't have to stop," he finally said.
Kaa's legs tensed and relaxed under him. He moved one of his hands to Mowgli's hip and started tracing circles through his clothes. "It feels less strange when you touch back." He said.
Well, that ... made sense. Mowgli wasn't sure why it hadn't occurred to him before. Maybe because when other adults had touched him, it wasn't an invitation to be touched. Was it? But if it wasn't, that was hardly fair. He rested his hands on Kaa's shoulders for a minute, and then thought of the way Kaa had stroked his neck in the car, and started running one finger tentatively over a long muscle that went from behind his ear to a hollow in the base of his throat. Kaa made a thin, inarticulate sound that Mowgli could feel under the pads of his fingers, and his eyelids went down until they were almost closed before he blinked them up again. Now this, Mowgli thought, was even better than tickling Baloo. He sat up straighter and tried with both hands. This time, Kaa really did close his eyes, and sort of nuzzled him with his upper body.
"You feel marvelous," he murmured, pleasure rubbing against a ragged edge of desperation as he spoke. One hand slipped under Mowgli's shirt and started doing what he'd been doing, through his clothes, directly against skin. Mowgli's stomach tightened, but he didn't scoot away or tell Kaa to stop, because it felt - nice. It kind of made him want to squirm, but instead, he tried to see if he could get Kaa to. As Mowgli's hands started moving over him with more determination and purpose, Kaa sucked in a breath between his teeth and swallowed hard.
Mowgli looked at him. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"Wrong?" Kaa echoed, as if he didn't have the faintest idea what Mowgli was talking about. "Nothing at all." He said, in a very innocent voice. "Let's just say you ... surprised me."
Huh. Mowgli smiled a little, and shifted his weight forward suddenly so that he was lying flat against Kaa's chest. The hand that had been rubbing his back went further up his shirt and tightened around him. With his other hand, Kaa started tracing the skin directly above the line of Mowgli's jeans. Mowgli really did sort of jump, at that, and they both stopped for a second. But he was okay, and to prove it, he reached up and started touching Kaa's neck again.
"Hold on," Kaa said, "I'm going to pick you up."
Mowgli put his arms around Kaa's neck and held on with his knees. Kaa lifted him easily, crossed the room, and lay down on the bed with the boy on top of him. When he tried to roll off, Kaa came with him, and Mowgli found himself under the man with his legs spread open. Kaa pinned him with part of his weight, playfully, as if he were trying to hug him with his whole body, and massaged his hands against Mowgli's back and thighs.
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"I am?" Kaa asked, as if he somehow hadn't noticed. "I am," he admitted, smiling, and took most of his weight off Mowgli. "Do you like being held down?"
"What a weird question." Said Mowgli. "I ... um." Kaa had started rubbing his hand against the inside of Mowgli's leg again.
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