Pixie Dust Presents, part 1
“Two apple martinis, three bud lights, and a double whiskey!” Tommy looked up and smiled when the waiter plopped the tray down on the counter in front of Tommy.
“Let me finish this cosmo and I’ll get that for you,” he said, pouring up the drink before turning to set it down in front of the guy next to the waiter. “Here you go,” he said, taking the money the guy held out.
“So, when do you get off work, cutie?” the guy asked and Tommy smirked at him.
“Late, sorry,” he said, winking at the guy, who smiled back and laid a tip on the counter, winking back at Tommy, who was already grabbing the things he would need for the drinks the waiter asked him for.
The waiter whistled at the back of the guy who walked away. “Damn, new boy, you’ve learned fast!” he said, smiling at him. “I’m Brad,” he said and Tommy grinned, shaking his hand as he put the martinis on the tray.
“Tommy,” he replied. “And hey, I know how you get tips,” he said, only to be interrupted as a girl slid up to the bar. He smiled at her. “Just a second, beautiful, I’m nearly done here,” he said and the girl giggled, turning to her friend as Tommy walked to the wall behind the bar to grab the whiskey.
Brad smirked. “Playing for both teams tonight, huh?” he asked and Tommy laughed, shaking his head.
“Well, I’ll flirt with anybody for better tips,” he said, ducking down to grab the beers. “But I only play for one team,” he said, placing them on the tray.
Brad laughed in surprise. “That wasn’t an answer,” he accused, taking the tray to slip off into the crowd, leaving Tommy to go back to his work.
After the rush between performers, thing settled down, most people watching the show instead of waiting at the bar for drinks. Brad slid back to the bar and put down his tray, slipping around behind the bar to put some money in the register. “So,” he started, looking over at Tommy. “You never did say, you flirt with both teams but which do you play with?” he asked and Tommy grinned.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Don’t bother,” one of Tommy’s fellow bartenders interrupted, coming back to use the till himself. “TommyJoe here is straight,” he said, making a face.
Brad shot Tommy a look then sighed. “Damn, why are all the hot boys straight?” he asked and Tommy laughed in surprise.
“I usually hear women saying the exact opposite,” he pointed out and Adam made a face.
“Cause straight girls like gay boys and gay boys like straight boys. It’s tragic,” he said and Brad nodded.
“Not always, but a lot of the time? I like guys who end up straight.” He nodded at Adam. “Adam generally doesn’t have that problem. He is basically a straight boy who likes guys,” he accused and Adam rolled his eyes. “Well you are! You like sports and cars and you fight people-“
“Only my brother and he doesn’t count as a ‘person’,” he argued, rolling his eyes. “I’m sorry I’m a man, not a boy,” he said, leaning against the register. “Seriously though, as broken as my gaydar is,” he said, looking at Tommy. “I would’ve definitely thought gay.”
Brad shrugged. “I could see bisexual, his pants are terrible so he had to have some straight in him, but fully straight? No straight guy should be that pretty,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Tommy. “Although, I used to be pretty like that,” he said, sighing dramatically as he looked up, forehead scrunching as he tried to see straight up. “My hair, it’s running away far too early,” he said dramatically.
Tommy smirked. “Hey, you are really pretty though, at least you’ve got your face still,” he said and Adam grumbled.
“Fucking pretty boys. I hate you all-“
“Then why did you date me for two years if you hate pretty boys, huh?” Brad asked, and Adam snorted.
“Well I’m not dating gross boys, am I?” he asked and Tommy glanced between them.
“You two are together?” he asked and they both made dramatic ‘ew’ faces.
“GOD no!” Brad said and Adam shook his head emphatically. “I mean, love you to death, honey, and I really was very much in love with you back then, but Adam, I couldn’t sleep with you now if my life depended on it,” he said and Adam nodded.
“God no!” He shuddered. “No, we dated when we were younger. We were together a long time, but I’m pretty sure it was best friends mistaken for first love,” he said and Brad nodded.
“Seriously, Adam’s too much of a boy,” he said and Tommy snickered.
“Ah, and you managed to stay friends after dating and breaking up?” he asked and Adam smiled and shrugged.
“I stay friends with most everybody I date. None of them were love like Brad was, but despite his claims of me being a ‘boy’, I’m a sweet guy, people have trouble hating me and I date the kind of guys who can be mature enough to stay friends-“
Brad snorted. “I can’t find a decent man to save my life,” he said, sighing dramatically. “This ass and face attract the wrong kind of men, Tommy.” He glanced down at Tommy’s ass and hummed. “Well, you sure don’t have to worry about that problem,” he said and Tommy made an offended sound.
Adam grinned. “Aww, I think it’s cute how flat your ass is, ignore him,” he said, patting his shoulder. “My boyfriend’s ass is flat. It’s like back to thighs or something,” he said and Brad rolled his eyes.
“His boyfriend is boring. He’s cute but he is a librarian,” he hissed and Adam shrugged.
“He’s smart and funny and I like him a lot!” he countered, then smirked. “Besides, you’re just bummed my brother is straight-“
Tommy gasped. “Dude, you like his brother?!”
“I DON’T!” Brad argued, glaring at Adam. “We’re friends, he’s straight, his girlfriend is gorgeous, and he’s more of a boy than you!”
Tommy just laughed as they started bickering. He looked up and glanced around to be sure nobody was coming to the bar. “Dude, this one isn’t that impressive, I’m surprised nobody’s come to the bar,” he said interrupting Adam and Brad’s arguments.
Brad scoffed. “And that’s proof you’re new,” he said, petting his head patronizingly. “Lucy goes on before Raja,” he said and Adam grinned.
“Raja is one of my oldest and dearest friends and I swear to God, if it wasn’t for that, I’d want her so bad,” he said emphatically.
Tommy grinned. “I love the sexy queens. They’re always so fun to watch. I was friends with this guy named Lance that, in spite of being straight, did a show out in Vegas for a few years. I’d go see him sometimes and he’d always make me wear full drag makeup, not just my normal stuff, though I drew the line at the clothes.” He snickered. “Sadly, when he and his wife had a kid he decided it was time to hang up the hooker heels, you know?”
Adam eyed him. “You’d be a pretty queen. You just have too many masculine body language traits to break that easily.”
Brad snickered. “You should see Adam in drag-“
“Ew, no he shouldn’t,” he said, giving Tommy a look. “I am the ugliest drag queen EVER!”
Tommy snickered. “You look like Elvis, so yeah, I’d imagine so,” he said, then turned to Brad. “You’d be pretty,” he said and Brad scoffed.
“Bitch please, I’d be gorgeous! I just like my beard too much,” he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Tommy laughed. “I don’t grow a beard, sadly. I grow fuzz. After about a week, I get actual stubble. And nobody can be that lazy for that lo-“ He was interrupted a the music changed and Brad elbowed him.
“And here she comes,” he said. Tommy turned to look out over the floor towards the stage, raising an eyebrow as the queen that came out stopped and shrugged off her glittery robe to reveal her outfit.
Tommy whistled as he looked at the slender, delicate arms, the downplayed ‘cleavage’, the skinny waist made even skinnier by a black and white corset, the ass enhanced by ruffled panties, and the long, long legs clad in fishnet stockings held up by garters. “Damn, I’ve yet to see a queen look like a damn amazon supermodel,” he said and Adam nodded.
“I’m usually the tallest in a room but when he’s over?” He shook his head. “I’m no contest. In flats, bitch is about four inches taller than me.”
Tommy huffed, pouting as he looked up at Adam. “Fucking tall men,” he grumbled, then tilted his head. “Although, I’d be totally level with her not-boobs, so that’s pretty awesome,” he said and Brad laughed, shaking his head.
“I totally like you already,” he said, slapping his ass as he headed back out with his tray to go check on some tables.
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Tommy was closing out the register when Adam tapped him. “Hey, I’m heading out to meet James, can you take a sex on the beach back to the dressing room for Raja? I always take one at the end of the night but I promised I’d pick him up.”
Tommy nodded. “Sure, who’s James?” he asked and Adam smiled.
“Jamie’s my boyfriend. He was doing some computer thing at work so he stayed late and I said I’d pick him up, since I won’t get to see him any this weekend because of the computer thing,” he said, grinning. “He’s so sweet like that,” he said and Tommy smirked.
“Wooohooo, somebody’s getting some later,” he said and Adam scoffed.
“I wish, by pick him up I mean drive him home so he doesn’t have to take the bus and so I get to see him after I haven’t seen him in a week,” he said and Tommy grinned, grabbing the things he needed.
“Awww, he sounds sweet. How long have you guys been together?” he asked, looking up as he grabbed the orange juice.
Adam shrugged on his coat and smiled. “Five months. He’s works at a library and he’s really smart and he has like… future plans and stuff. It’s awesome!”
Tommy smirked. “Alright, go see your nerd boy,” he said, saluting Adam as he headed out with a wave. He finished mixing the drink and shut off the lights behind the bar before making his way towards what he assumed was the door to backstage. He headed down a red corridor, passing a few of the queens half-out of their drag already as they conversed, stopping when he reached the door to the dressing room.
He knocked, waiting for a reply before walking in. “Hey Adam-“ Tommy looked up and the man sitting at the mirror raised eyebrow. “Not Adam, but hi anyways,” he said and Tommy smiled.
“Adam skipped out early to go pick up his boyfriend,” he said, walking over. He set the glass down on the counter, since the man was busy taking the pins out of his wig. “Raja, right?” he asked curiously, receiving a smile.
“Yes, ma’am. Although I’m halfway down to plain ol’ Sutan,” he said and Tommy grinned.
“Tommy,” he offered, trying not to stare, only to get caught.
Sutan smirked as he finally pulled his wig off. “Anything else? Or are you just totally amazed by a drag queen turning back into a guy?” he teased and Tommy ducked his head shyly.
“Sorry, it’s just really cool, like… your hair’s pretty short, how do you get the wig to stay on?” he asked curiously, then cringed. “Wow, sorry, personal, huh? Ignore me, it’s late,” he said, shaking his head as he turned to scuffle out before he embarrassed himself more.
“Lots of pins,” Sutan answered, then shrugged. “And no, it’s okay, I get it. Not all of us sleep late like me, I forget a lot of people get groggy this late at night,” he said.
Tommy laughed, taking it as permission to stay. He walked back over and hopped up on the makeup counter. “Well, this is my second job, I get up early and stay up late, so I’m sort of a zombie right now,” he said, cringing. “Doesn’t make the girlfriend happy, but she sure as shit likes our apartment.”
Sutan shot him an amused look as he started wiping off all his makeup. “Girlfriend? Damn, you’re telling me a pretty little thing like you likes girls?” he asked and Tommy snickered.
“Everybody does that! What, a guy can’t be pretty and straight?” he defended, earning a pointed look.
“Straight?! I was suggesting bisexual, oh my God, you’re ONLY into girls?” he asked, gaping. “You’re wearing makeup!”
Tommy crossed his arms. “And that automatically makes me gay? Dude, that’s totally stereotyping,” he said earning a shrug and a smirk.
“Well, they’re stereotypes for a reason, aren’t they?” Sutan teased, then laughed. “Man, I bet you confuse the hell out of people out there at the bar, honey.”
“Well,” Tommy gave him a bashful look. “I know how to get tips, and it isn’t by advertising my heterosexuality to the guys who flirt. Number one rule to being a bartender, learn how to flirt for tips. For the boys I pout a little and bat my eyelashes, for the girls I smirk and call them ‘gorgeous’ or ‘cutie’,” he said and Sutan grinned.
“Tricky little bitch, huh?” he teased and Tommy shrugged.
“Did I mention the expensive ass apartment?” he pointed out and Sutan smiled. He had a nice smile, Tommy decided. Tommy felt his phone vibrate and he jumped. “Actually,” he looked at his phone and cringed when he saw he had four missed text messages. “Fuck, I got to go, she’ll be so pissed if I’m late again,” he said, sliding off the counter. “It was nice meeting you,” he said and Sutan smiled.
“You too, honey! Come see me again sometime,” he said, waving at Tommy as he rushed out the door.
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When Tommy had gotten a job at Pixie Dust Presents, he figured he’d make better money for him and his girlfriend. Erin couldn’t keep a job, she just never fit in with the teams wherever she worked. He had made good on his tips the first few nights, he liked his fellow bartenders and the waiters and waitresses, and he liked watching the queens performing between customers.
Erin didn’t like him being gone every night, but he kept reminding her it was that or she got a job and stuck with it.
Tommy was exhausted when he got home. His day job started at nine, meaning he had to be up at six in order to get ready and catch his bus at seven fifty. His job there ended at five, leaving him two hours to get to Pixie Dust Presents and get changed in the back room before his shift started at seven. The club closed at one during the week and he was ready to go by about one thirty. It was a shorter bus home, so he was at home by two thirty and in bed by three if he was lucky. He had once suffered insomnia, but when he worked on about three hours of sleep five days of the week, exhaustion totally killed any sleeplessness he had once suffered.
Tommy was so tired by thursday night (or friday morning, depending how you looked at it) that he didn’t even notice that Erin was in the closet doing something until he was pulling on his most comfy sweatshirt to go to bed. “Hey, look what I bought today,” Erin said as she came out. Tommy looked up and smiled at her, admiring her lacy black lingerie with red trim, though internally he was cursing how expensive it had to have been. “You like it?” she asked, smirking at him.
Tommy nodded. “Looks good, baby,” he said, walking over to kiss her cheek before turning to head back to the bed. “Can you turn off the light when you’re done?” he asked, yawning as he pulled back the covers and practically poured himself into bed.
Tommy moaned happily as he wiggled around to get comfortable, only to be brought back from the edge of immediate-shutdown-sleep by an offended scoff. “Excuse me?! I’m standing here in brand new sexy lingerie and all I get is a ‘great, I’m going to sleep’?!” Erin asked.
Tommy groaned, rolling over to look up at her. “Urgh, what?” he asked tiredly, blinking up at her.
Erin glared and yanked the covers off of him. “Can you really be this stupid, Tommy? What could I possibly be going for modeling lingerie for my boyfriend?” she asked and Tommy groaned, rolling his eyes.
“Erin, please, I’ve got to be up in like... just over three hours. I’ve slept about nine hours out of the last seventy-two-” He was cut off as she kissed him, crawling on top of him. “Erin, no, really I need sleep-”
“No you need to fuck me,” Erin growled, pushing his sweatshirt up to get at the waist of his pajamas. Tommy groaned, whining as she bit his lip harder than felt good. He held his hands up to push her back some, only to wince when he felt her get her hand down his pants and realize he wasn’t even the slightest bit aroused. “Tommy, what the fuck?!” she demanded and he cringed.
“Baby, I’m just too tired-”
Erin gave him a disgusted look and shoved his shirt back down. “God, you can’t do anything right, can you?” she demanded, then grabbed him by the hair, pulling him into a harsh kiss. “Fine, whatever, get me off,” she demanded, pulling his hands to her hips, directing him to push at her panties.
Tommy glared. “Erin, I want to sleep, I’m fucking sorry I have to sleep, but I’m just human-”
“Clearly not enough of one, you never fucking want sex, what kind of man are you?!” she complained as she fell to the side and kicked her panties off herself.
Tommy let her drag him over to her, glaring as he let her push his hands down between her legs. “Well excuse the fuck out of me for being tired after I work two damn jobs while you sit on your ass-”
“Shut up,” she hissed, shoving a hand over his mouth, digging her nails into his wrist until he got busy, following her command. As he fingered her, hoping to get things done fast, she moved her hand and kissed him aggressively, yanking on his hair until he had tears in his eyes and whined. “Fuck, c’mere, baby,” she breathed, rolling onto her back, pulling Tommy on top of her by his hair.
“Erin, I just want to go to sleep, fuck can’t you just do this yourself?” he all but begged, so tired he could barely keep his eyes open.
“Go down on me,” she said and Tommy winced when she shoved at his head. He had worked out that he’d never get left alone if he didn’t just listen. He only hoped he didn’t fall asleep on her and piss her off even more.
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Tommy yawned his way through his entire shift at work, stopped by Starbucks on his way to Pixie Dust Presents, and jittered his way through his bartending shift on a caffeine high. It was Friday night so not only were they open until three, but he had agreed a few days back to clean up and shut down just him and Brad so that Adam could go home right after closing.
“Seriously, I feel bad about pulling this more often than either of you,” Adam said as they were serving last call, meaning he had thirty minutes before he left.
Brad scoffed. “Bitch please, you’re the only one of us managing to keep a boyfriend, like Tommy and I want to fuck that up,” he said, grabbing a few beers to serve to a table of rowdy drunks.
Adam nudged Tommy. “Tommy’s got a girlfriend,” he corrected and Brad stopped to put his hands on his hips and glare.
“So wait, I’m the prettiest one of us and I’m the only one single?!” he demanded.
“Is Cheeks bitching again?” Tommy looked up at the voice and then rolled his eyes when Adam rushed over and nearly knocked him out of the way.
“You’re early! I can’t go for about half an hour!” Adam gushed, smiling brightly before leaning over the counter to kiss the guy sitting there.
Tommy quirked an eyebrow and turned to Brad. “Cheeks is my nickname,” he said, winking.
Tommy snickered. “Seriously, him?” he asked in a lower voice and Brad shrugged, giggling.
“Love is funny sometimes, huh?” he said, and Adam turned back to Tommy, who gave him his full attention as Brad took his tray of beers and left.
“Tommy! This is my boyfriend, James Sato,” Adam said, introducing the short, skinny man wearing a striped, collared shirt complete with a tie, and narrow, professional looking glasses. He had slightly shaggy black hair, but it was about the only thing that didn’t scream ‘data entry’ about the man. “Jamie, this is my new friend, Tommy Ratliff,” he said and Tommy grinned, offering the guy a hand over the bar.
James smiled. “Nice to meet you, Adam got excited about having some help around here, so I heard a lot about you,” he said and Tommy just laughed.
“He literally never shuts up about you,” he said and Adam flushed, ducking his head some when James shot him a look. “Seriously,” Tommy continued. “Keep this one, doubt anybody’s ever been as obsessively cheerful about their boyfriend as Adam. I mistake him for a twelve year old girl some days-"
“Tommy!” Adam hissed, glaring as he hipchecked him out of the way. “Ignore him!” he said brightly. “Tommy, help that guy, I’m good here,” Adam said and Tommy just smirked and saluted him, not at all missing that he was being shut up.
After they finished serving drinks for last call, Tommy worked his way through the crashing of his caffeine high to wash glasses so that he only had to mop after closing. He was exhausted. He was only glad he didn’t have to get up at six in the morning the next day.
“Tommy, I’m headed out. Can you get Raja’s usual drink?” Adam asked coming back from the back with his jacket.
Tommy smirked. “Have a nice date,” he teased and Adam huffed, even if James, who was still sitting at the counter, laughed.
“Honey, please forget you ever met him and Bradley, okay?” he asked, walking around to stand behind James, who just grinned as he slid off the stool and shrugged his jacket back on.
“I really don’t mind, they wouldn’t tease you if they didn’t like you,” he said, sliding his hand into Adam’s.
Adam just poked his tongue out at Tommy over his boyfriend’s head as they started out, making Tommy crack up as he started mixing Raja’s drink.
Brad came back with the mop, smirking. “Did you tease him before letting him go?” he asked and Tommy nodded. “Good! God, I love messing with Adam’s head!”
Tommy just shook his head. “No offense to his guy, he’s a really nice guy seems like, but how did Adam, the most over the top guy I’ve ever met, end up with a… nerd,” he said, scrunching up his nose. “Not that James isn’t attractive, he’s got a really sweet face in a cute and nerdy way, and clearly Adam is crazy for him, but… well if you’re anything to go by, Adam used to date sexy and slutty, not sweet and nerdy,” he said and Brad huffed.
“And who are you calling slutty, whore?” he asked, then rolled his eyes. “I dunno, Adam came in one day talking about a cute guy he ran into at some book store he’d gone to with his brother, someone his brother knew, and when they left Adam’s brother invited the friend to lunch with them and Adam apparently saw the clouds open up and a hallelujah chorus the entire time they were around James, because he never shut up about him and he even sunk to asking his brother about James.” Brad smirked. “His brother didn’t realize he liked him so he just said he worked at the library and suddenly, Adam took up an interest in reading,” he said and Tommy chortled in amusement. Brad shrugged. “Adam basically kept failing to talk about anything of substance to Jamie until he finally caught up with it and asked Adam what the hell he was doing, cause- well, to be fair, he isn’t exactly the type of boy a sexy, fabulous gay man like Adam dates, you know?” He waved a hand. “Anyways, Adam asked him out eventually and Jamie honestly didn’t get it for like… the first month they were dating.”
Tommy snickered. “Well, if I was a nerdy little guy I’d be unused to really hot guys hitting on me, too. Adam’s like… the kind of hot you see in magazines, you know?” he said and Brad scoffed.
“Don’t I know it. That bitch. My hair’s all falling out and he keeps losing weight and getting hotter the older he gets,” he said, grumbling as he started mopping.
Tommy laughed at Brad’s expression and shook his head as he went to take Raja her drink. He knocked before entering, smiling when Raja saw him and turned to make grabby hands at the drink. “Somebody’s thirsty,” he teased and she snorted, rolling her eyes, one of which still had false eyelashes on.
“God, I’m tired.” She took her drink and moaned as she took a sip. “Six shows a week is shit,” she said and Tommy smiled, hopping up on the counter.
Since the first meeting, Tommy had grown to enjoy the nights he got to bring Raja her drink. They always sat and chatted for a few minutes before Tommy left. It was never much of substance, but it was nice to talk to someone new and different. “You’re tired?” he teased, groaning as he leaned back against the mirror, slumping. “I’m exhausted,” he said, yawning. “My triple red-eye from before shift left me a while back.”
Raja hummed, going back to becoming Sutan. “Should sleep more, party less TommyJoe,” she said and Tommy smirked at his nickname she’d started calling him when he mentioned his middle name. “Even pretty little things like you need sleep.”
Tommy rolled his eyes tiredly. “I work ninety hours a week, dude. I don’t have time to sleep, much less party,” he said, yawning.
Raja started. “Ninety hours a week?! What the hell?” she asked and Tommy shrugged.
“I’ve got a nine to five during the week, working here every night of the week and weekend. I think I got like… about twelve hours of sleep this week? I’m wiped. Most weeks I get a good fifteen.” He shrugged. “Last night I was exhausted but my girlfriend wanted me to spend some time with her, so I just put off sleeping really. More of a nap than a sleep.” He smiled at the shocked look on Raja’s face. “It’s cool though, tonight I’ll go home and sleep until my shift starts tomorrow night. Recharge the batteries,” he explained.
Sutan- Raja had finally left the room, almost all of the makeup removed- just shook his head. “Honey, you can’t live like that for long,” he warned and Tommy grinned.
“I’m doing alright. Been like this for about a year now.”
“What about your friends? Family?” Sutan asked. “If you just work and sleep, what do you do about that? Or just taking a breather and having fun?”
Tommy sat up and smiled. “Well, I have fun working here, honestly. And I get to hang out with Adam and Brad between rushes, so that’s cool. I generally call my mom and sister on between my jobs or at lunch or something.” He tipped his head. “I’m thirty, fun ends at thirty,” he said and Sutan huffed.
“You’re thirty?!” He groaned. “You lucky shit, you look about twenty-three,” he said and Tommy laughed.
“You don’t exactly look ancient yourself, dude. Although I guess Raja’s makeup might hide some age,” he said and Sutan leaned back, crossing one long leg across the other, sipping his drink.
“Honey, I’m thirty-eight years old. I’m so old I’m waiting for bits to fall off. I’m sure I’ll be doing upgrades soon enough,” he said and Tommy rolled his eyes.
“You are not that old. Look at you! You look amazing,” Tommy said, ducking his eyes. “Seriously, I’m straight and even I can’t get over your legs,” he said and Sutan smirked.
“Well as short as you are that isn’t surprising-“
“Hey!” Tommy cried in contempt, laughing along with Sutan after a minute. “I’m not short, I’m… petite,” Tommy said, cracking up when Sutan shot him a look.
“Honey, you’re tiny. You’re like a pocket sized goth,” he said and Tommy rolled his eyes.
“I barely wear makeup-“
“Barely my ass! You’re wearing more eyeliner than I thought the human eyelid could handle!” Sutan said and Tommy shrugged.
“Well, I used to be a little metal head. I can’t give it all up. I had to give up my eyebrow and lip ring. The only reason I kept the hair and the earrings is because I work in IT so no customers see me at the ‘professional’ job.” He made a face. “I haven’t played my guitar in months, actually,” he admitted sadly.
Sutan gave him a sympathetic look. “Grownup life hit, huh?” he asked and Tommy groaned.
“I think some days I should just give it all up and join a band again, but my girlfriend wouldn’t ever let me do that,” he said. “She likes her stuff and has a problem keeping a job. I guess she’s hard to get along with unless you get to know her. I work for both of us, though, so it’s alright.”
Sutan just nodded. “You guys been together long?” he asked and Tommy nodded, smiling slightly.
“Yeah, four years.” He looked up and sighed. “Four long years,” he said. “Been through a lot, though. I owe her for really keeping us going when my dad died. I was really messed up for a few weeks and she took care of everything for me. Her name’s Erin,” he said and Sutan smiled.
“You seem to love her a lot,” he said and Tommy made a face.
“I guess, we’re just not really all feely-emotional with each other that much. I doubt I’ve heard an ‘I love you’ in a good two years, really. Not really our way,” he said, then shrugged it off. “Speaking of Erin, I really need to go home,” he added as he slid off the counter.
Sutan smiled. “Hey, come meet me back stage before your shift tomorrow night, I’ve got an idea!” he said excitedly and Tommy gave him a playfully apprehensive look as he waved and left. “Goodnight, tiny Tommy!”
“Night!” Tommy called back, smiling and shaking his head as he tried to imagine what was in store for him the next day.
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“Where are you going?” Erin asked when Tommy came out of the bedroom already dressed. “You don’t have to leave for an hour,” she said pointedly. “I figured we could spend the afternoon together. Hang out closer to work so you don’t have such a long bus ride there and back. Maybe go shopping!” she said brightly and Tommy cringed.
“I’m going in early at the request of one of the drag queens. No idea what she wants, but if I want to get there with enough time to go back before the shows start, I need to leave and catch the bus. The next one won't be early enough, I’ll just get there in time to start working.”
Erin crossed her arms. “So you’re ditching me for a drag queen?”
Tommy sighed. “No, baby, it’s work. She’s the head queen, if I piss her off, there’s no telling what she might tell management, you know?” He walked over and leaned over the back of Erin’s chair to kiss her. “I’d definitely rather spend some time with you, okay?” he asked, kissing her again. “But if you want to go shopping all the time, I need this job.”
Erin just huffed. “Whatever, Tommy. Just get out. And you better be home right after work, I am seriously tired of going to bed alone, damn it,” she commanded and Tommy nodded.
“Alright, honey, I’ll be home as soon as I can,” he promised, grabbing his jacket on the way out.
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When Tommy got to Pixie Dust Presents, he wasn’t surprised to see that the only ones there an hour before everybody was due there were a few of the queens and one bouncer. He nodded to the man on his way in and made his way down the hall backstage towards Raja’s dressing room. He knocked and waited for a ‘come in’ before he headed in. He was surprised to see the man behind the mask-so to speak- fully out of drag when he walked in. “Hey TommyJoe!” Sutan said, jumping up from his spot sitting in front of the makeup counter organizing brushes. He pulled Tommy into a hug in greeting, surprising Tommy enough that he almost didn’t hug back fast enough. “God, you are tiny, I’ve never stood next to you before,” Sutan said, looking down at Tommy.
“Damn, and that’s in sneakers,” Tommy said, looking down at Sutan’s feet. “Fuck, what are you, a tree?!” he teased, winking as he smiled up at Sutan.
Sutan rolled his eyes. “Not my fault you’re the pixie at Pixie Dust Presents,” he countered, turning to pat the makeup chair. “Take a seat! Mama’s gotta do you fast so she has time to get her own face on,” he said brightly.
Tommy laughed and followed his directions. “You didn’t actually tell me what you wanted me here for, so I’m basically trusting you’re not about to like… tranq me and steal my liver,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows as he pulled his feet up onto the edge of the seat, looking at Sutan over his knees.
Sutan smiled brightly. “Your tattoos tell it already, but it’s very obvious you watch horror movies,” he teased, then pushed Tommy’s hair back out of his fair, grabbing a clip to keep his bangs to one side. “No, you’re so fucking pretty, when I saw the boring eye makeup you slathered on, I had to get my hands on that pretty little face!” He turned back to the makeup counter and picked up some newly washed brushes. “Have you ever heard Adam or Cheeks mention what my job was before I got really successful as Raja?” he asked, opening a container as he talked.
Tommy put his legs down and sat up straighter. “No, but I do have a question before you tell me!” he said suddenly. “Why did you and Adam’s boyfriend both call Brad ‘Cheeks’?” he asked. “He said it was a nickname, but why Cheeks?”
Sutan smirked. “Well, the tell-all is the fact the boy has cheekbones like a supermodel, the bedroom-version is that sweet little ass of his,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “I don’t remember if it was me or Adam who gave him the nickname, but my money is on Adam, since when they dated, nobody else was getting the bedroom-version of anything Bradley Bell! Adam’s a lot of things, but one of them is definitely monogamous.” He smiled at Tommy. “Don’t let the hippy exterior fool you, Adam Lambert is a good boy at heart, and his heart is the biggest part of him- ignoring his dick- so he can’t stand the idea of sharing somebody he likes.” He grinned, brandishing a brush. “Alright, tip your face up to me, sweetie, I’m gonna make you all purty,” he teased, earning a bright smile from Tommy as he followed his instructions.
“Alright, I’m assuming you do this a lot?” Tommy asked and Sutan grinned.
“Well as I was trying to say, I was a makeup artist. That was my profession and drag was my hobby. Then eventually drag became my profession and that was that.” Sutan cupped Tommy’s chin, looking at his cheeks as he shaded and shadowed to bring out his cheekbones. “So! You met Adam’s boyfriend, huh?” he asked, smirking. “We Asians are sexy.”
Tommy snickered. “Big difference in you and a tiny little half-Japanese boy, dude. You’re eight feet tall and dark skinned, he’s about five feet tall and really pale for how dark his hair is.”
Sutan rolled his eyes. “We’re still prettier than you,” he said, poking out his tongue playfully.
Tommy giggled at his behavior. “Hey, which of us is the oldest?”
Sutan smirked. “Exactly! Childish behavior keeps us young, honey! It’s the secret to a happy life! That and tons and tons of sex,” he said, grinning impishly. “Close your eyes,” he said, holding Tommy’s face with one hand as he carefully brushed makeup across Tommy’s eyelids. Tommy found it somewhat soothing and calming to sit so still while the unpredictable eye shadow brush swept across his upper lids. A silence fell between them as Sutan worked, but it was far from uncomfortable. Tommy felt so peaceful in the quiet of the dressing room, the only point anchoring him to reality being the makeup brushes and Sutan’s hand on his face.
“My girlfriend wasn’t happy I left early,” Tommy admitted suddenly, not at all sure why he felt like bringing it up. Sutan gave him an understanding look when he opened his eyes again but didn’t speak, clearly waiting for Tommy to continue on his own as he got a different brush from his kit. “She doesn’t like how little time we get together. She wanted to go shopping together before I had to get the bus to work.”
Sutan hummed. “She wants to spend more time together, yet she wants to go shopping when you’re already working two jobs to support you guys, which is why you don’t spend much time together,” Sutan said, not making it clear what his opinion was on the matter, simply stating the facts clearly.
Tommy hummed. “Yeah, I don’t know. I think she gets it sometimes. Other times I think she just can’t really get it.” He shrugged. “It isn’t always bad, though.”
Sutan smiled. “Clearly not, you wouldn’t have been together so long if it wasn’t worth it,” he said, then tapped Tommy’s chin. “Do like this.” He demonstrated opening his mouth like a relaxed ‘O’, nodding when Tommy copied him so he could start painting Tommy’s lips.
Tommy watched Sutan as he worked, only to feel a bit of excitement when Sutan stepped back some and inspected the overall effect. He shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Ridiculous. Simply ridiculous,” he said, then smiled as he grabbed some mousse and rubbed it into Tommy’s hair, blowing it dry so that it was somewhat messy and ruffled, not so neatly brushed aside. He shook his head once more, grinning brightly. “It’s just not normal,” he said simply before spinning Tommy around to face the mirror. Tommy looked at his reflection and gasped, jaw dropping.
He was beautiful.
Tommy smiled brightly and stood up quickly, leaning closer to look at himself. His cheek bones stood out some and his skin looked more like porcelain than ever due to whatever powders Sutan had put on his cheeks. His eyes were a mixture of purples and blacks and grays, all heavily hooded and sultry looking. His eyelashes were long and curled to make his eyes look even bigger. His hair was fluffy and looked very soft. But the thing that stood out most was his lips. Tommy had always heard he had nice lips, but with his lips painted so that the outer edges were nearly black and the plumpest parts of his lips were nearly bright red, extremely glossy and wet looking all over, he looked like some weird gothed out doll.
Only more sexy than scary. “Wow,” he whispered, touching his own cheek in disbelief.
Sutan grinned. “You’re gorgeous,” he gushed, then shook his head. “Honey, too bad you are such a straight guy, because you would be one HELL of a drag queen,” he teased, only to smile when Tommy turned around and threw his arms around Sutan, hugging him as he tucked his head under Sutan’s chin.
“Thank you! I just… wow,” he breathed, laughing a giddy little laugh when he pulled back. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this pretty,” he admitted and Sutan smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
“TommyJoe, you’re a beautiful little thing,” he said, then smirked. “Now, get your sexy little face out there and make lots of tips!” he said, swatting Tommy on the ass as he turned him towards the door. “Tranma’s gotta get her face on,” he said and Tommy smiled, turning back as he opened the door.
“I’ll see you after the show, no doubt,” he said and Sutan just smiled and nodded before Tommy turned and walked out, a new pep in his step as he walked down the hall to go get ready for his shift, feeling better about the world in general than he had in a long time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tommy looked up when Brad came in, only to smile shyly when Brad gaped, dropping his bag as he looked at Tommy. “Jesus Christ, I hate you!” he said, rolling his eyes. “Your face is stupid,” he huffed, grabbing his bag to go take it to the back. Adam just smiled at him when he saw him.
“Awww, you look so pretty!” He reached out and touched Tommy’s hair. “I like it, you’re really hot,” he said, nodding at the doors. “When they start coming in, you better be prepared for every gay boy and straight girl we get to hit on you. Hell some of the lesbians might even flirt with you!” he said and Tommy blushed.
“I’m not that feminine!” he argued and Adam laughed and shrugged.
“You’re really pretty tonight, Tommy. Don’t knock it!”
It wasn’t until later in the night that Brad finally got a few minutes and stopped beside Tommy, watching him work. “Okay, spill. Why did you dress up?” he asked and Tommy raised an eyebrow at him. “All the face shit and the looking stupidly pretty and stealing all the tips,” he said, pouting.
Tommy laughed. “I couldn’t do this, no way. I’m bad enough at my eyeliner I like to do,” he said and Adam nudged past him to get some ice.
“So if you didn’t, who did?” Adam asked and Brad shooed him.
“We’re talking, butt out, pretty boys only.” Brad stuck his tongue out at Adam, who just flipped him off, earning an offended gasp.
Tommy giggled. “It was Sutan. He asked me to come early tonight so I got here about an hour before shift started. He wanted to make me pretty,” he said, shrugging. “He told me he couldn’t resist going back to his makeup artist days with my face.”
Adam smirked. “Don’t blame him, a face like yours? The perfect canvas for a makeup artist! Smooth skin, perfect lips, and great eyes to play with!”
Brad just huffed. “I hate you and Sutan both. I’m supposed to be the prettiest one, damn it!” he said, and Tommy just rolled his eyes.
“Just take comfort in knowing that you have a great ass and mine sucks,” he said with a faux-solemn nod.
Brad just rolled his eyes and smiled in spite of himself. “Well, I do have a great butt, don’t I?” he asked, looking back at his ass.
Tommy just shook his head and shared an amused grin with Adam when Brad bounced off to take some more orders, the pep back in his step.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before he went out, Tommy had slept almost all day, woke up and spent an hour or so just watching TV and cuddling with Erin, and then got dressed, using the makeup Sutan had told him to buy a few weeks ago to make himself look nice, even if it wasn’t Sutan-levels of pretty. When he got to work, he felt like it was going to be a good night.
When he got in a little early, he headed back to see Raja until his shift started. He knocked and heard a few ‘come in’s and opened the door, smiling when he came in and found not only Raja but a few of the other queens already getting ready. “TommyJoe!” Raja said, tossing up a hand from where she was finishing pinning her wig on.
“Tranma!” he remarked, walking over to hop onto the counter beside Raja, smiling brightly as he picked up a tube of lipstick. “Ooh, pretty blue,” he said, and Raja smirked.
“Lemme put it on you then,” she said and one of the other queens whistled.
“Turning TommyJoe into a little drag baby, Raja?” Scarlett asked, walking over to lean against the counter beside Tommy.
Tommy giggled. “She wishes,” he said, then obediently turned to face Raja, who cupped his cheek in one hand and started putting blue lipstick on him.
“TommyJoe ain’t a baby anyways, girl. He’s older than you!”
Scarlett shot Tommy a look. “Bullshit.”
The other queen in the room, Fantasia, walked over and looked Tommy in the face. “No way this child is older than Scarlett, I’m two years younger than her!”
Raja smirked, grabbing some shimmery lip gloss to put on top of the lipstick. “Scarlett is twenty-eight and Fantasia’s twenty-six,” he said and when he finished Tommy smirked.
“I’m thirty,” he said and they both gave him flat looks.
“That ain’t even right,” Scarlett said, shaking her head.
Tommy grinned. “But what about my woman?!” he asked, slinging an arm around Raja’s waist when he stood up. “She looks awfully young too,” he said, winking up at Raja.
Raja just grinned. “You little shit,” she said, swatting at him. “Now shoo, you’re distracting with your pretty little face.”
Tommy slid off the counter and winked. “You know you just want me for my body, baby,” he teased and all the girls laughed at him.
Raja rolled her eyes and swatted his ass as he walked past her. “Oh yeah, honey, I can’t get enough of that flat ass and your skinny little body,” she deadpanned.
Tommy just let out a dramatic sigh at the door. “Sorry ladies, appears my flat ass isn’t welcome anymore, I know you’ll mourn for my absence when all of this is gone,” he teased, gesturing to his face before blowing Raja a kiss and giggling his way out the door.
Scarlett smirked when he left. “Ooh, Raja you got a pretty one,” she teased and Raja laughed.
“I ain’t got nobody, his pretty little ass is straight,” she said, making a face. “God totally hates me, I’ve decided. Drops that pretty little boy in my lap and makes him not like boys.”
Fantasia clicked her tongue. “And since when has that stopped you, bitch,” she said, earning laughter as they all put finishing touches on their looks.
Part 2
“Let me finish this cosmo and I’ll get that for you,” he said, pouring up the drink before turning to set it down in front of the guy next to the waiter. “Here you go,” he said, taking the money the guy held out.
“So, when do you get off work, cutie?” the guy asked and Tommy smirked at him.
“Late, sorry,” he said, winking at the guy, who smiled back and laid a tip on the counter, winking back at Tommy, who was already grabbing the things he would need for the drinks the waiter asked him for.
The waiter whistled at the back of the guy who walked away. “Damn, new boy, you’ve learned fast!” he said, smiling at him. “I’m Brad,” he said and Tommy grinned, shaking his hand as he put the martinis on the tray.
“Tommy,” he replied. “And hey, I know how you get tips,” he said, only to be interrupted as a girl slid up to the bar. He smiled at her. “Just a second, beautiful, I’m nearly done here,” he said and the girl giggled, turning to her friend as Tommy walked to the wall behind the bar to grab the whiskey.
Brad smirked. “Playing for both teams tonight, huh?” he asked and Tommy laughed, shaking his head.
“Well, I’ll flirt with anybody for better tips,” he said, ducking down to grab the beers. “But I only play for one team,” he said, placing them on the tray.
Brad laughed in surprise. “That wasn’t an answer,” he accused, taking the tray to slip off into the crowd, leaving Tommy to go back to his work.
After the rush between performers, thing settled down, most people watching the show instead of waiting at the bar for drinks. Brad slid back to the bar and put down his tray, slipping around behind the bar to put some money in the register. “So,” he started, looking over at Tommy. “You never did say, you flirt with both teams but which do you play with?” he asked and Tommy grinned.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Don’t bother,” one of Tommy’s fellow bartenders interrupted, coming back to use the till himself. “TommyJoe here is straight,” he said, making a face.
Brad shot Tommy a look then sighed. “Damn, why are all the hot boys straight?” he asked and Tommy laughed in surprise.
“I usually hear women saying the exact opposite,” he pointed out and Adam made a face.
“Cause straight girls like gay boys and gay boys like straight boys. It’s tragic,” he said and Brad nodded.
“Not always, but a lot of the time? I like guys who end up straight.” He nodded at Adam. “Adam generally doesn’t have that problem. He is basically a straight boy who likes guys,” he accused and Adam rolled his eyes. “Well you are! You like sports and cars and you fight people-“
“Only my brother and he doesn’t count as a ‘person’,” he argued, rolling his eyes. “I’m sorry I’m a man, not a boy,” he said, leaning against the register. “Seriously though, as broken as my gaydar is,” he said, looking at Tommy. “I would’ve definitely thought gay.”
Brad shrugged. “I could see bisexual, his pants are terrible so he had to have some straight in him, but fully straight? No straight guy should be that pretty,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Tommy. “Although, I used to be pretty like that,” he said, sighing dramatically as he looked up, forehead scrunching as he tried to see straight up. “My hair, it’s running away far too early,” he said dramatically.
Tommy smirked. “Hey, you are really pretty though, at least you’ve got your face still,” he said and Adam grumbled.
“Fucking pretty boys. I hate you all-“
“Then why did you date me for two years if you hate pretty boys, huh?” Brad asked, and Adam snorted.
“Well I’m not dating gross boys, am I?” he asked and Tommy glanced between them.
“You two are together?” he asked and they both made dramatic ‘ew’ faces.
“GOD no!” Brad said and Adam shook his head emphatically. “I mean, love you to death, honey, and I really was very much in love with you back then, but Adam, I couldn’t sleep with you now if my life depended on it,” he said and Adam nodded.
“God no!” He shuddered. “No, we dated when we were younger. We were together a long time, but I’m pretty sure it was best friends mistaken for first love,” he said and Brad nodded.
“Seriously, Adam’s too much of a boy,” he said and Tommy snickered.
“Ah, and you managed to stay friends after dating and breaking up?” he asked and Adam smiled and shrugged.
“I stay friends with most everybody I date. None of them were love like Brad was, but despite his claims of me being a ‘boy’, I’m a sweet guy, people have trouble hating me and I date the kind of guys who can be mature enough to stay friends-“
Brad snorted. “I can’t find a decent man to save my life,” he said, sighing dramatically. “This ass and face attract the wrong kind of men, Tommy.” He glanced down at Tommy’s ass and hummed. “Well, you sure don’t have to worry about that problem,” he said and Tommy made an offended sound.
Adam grinned. “Aww, I think it’s cute how flat your ass is, ignore him,” he said, patting his shoulder. “My boyfriend’s ass is flat. It’s like back to thighs or something,” he said and Brad rolled his eyes.
“His boyfriend is boring. He’s cute but he is a librarian,” he hissed and Adam shrugged.
“He’s smart and funny and I like him a lot!” he countered, then smirked. “Besides, you’re just bummed my brother is straight-“
Tommy gasped. “Dude, you like his brother?!”
“I DON’T!” Brad argued, glaring at Adam. “We’re friends, he’s straight, his girlfriend is gorgeous, and he’s more of a boy than you!”
Tommy just laughed as they started bickering. He looked up and glanced around to be sure nobody was coming to the bar. “Dude, this one isn’t that impressive, I’m surprised nobody’s come to the bar,” he said interrupting Adam and Brad’s arguments.
Brad scoffed. “And that’s proof you’re new,” he said, petting his head patronizingly. “Lucy goes on before Raja,” he said and Adam grinned.
“Raja is one of my oldest and dearest friends and I swear to God, if it wasn’t for that, I’d want her so bad,” he said emphatically.
Tommy grinned. “I love the sexy queens. They’re always so fun to watch. I was friends with this guy named Lance that, in spite of being straight, did a show out in Vegas for a few years. I’d go see him sometimes and he’d always make me wear full drag makeup, not just my normal stuff, though I drew the line at the clothes.” He snickered. “Sadly, when he and his wife had a kid he decided it was time to hang up the hooker heels, you know?”
Adam eyed him. “You’d be a pretty queen. You just have too many masculine body language traits to break that easily.”
Brad snickered. “You should see Adam in drag-“
“Ew, no he shouldn’t,” he said, giving Tommy a look. “I am the ugliest drag queen EVER!”
Tommy snickered. “You look like Elvis, so yeah, I’d imagine so,” he said, then turned to Brad. “You’d be pretty,” he said and Brad scoffed.
“Bitch please, I’d be gorgeous! I just like my beard too much,” he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Tommy laughed. “I don’t grow a beard, sadly. I grow fuzz. After about a week, I get actual stubble. And nobody can be that lazy for that lo-“ He was interrupted a the music changed and Brad elbowed him.
“And here she comes,” he said. Tommy turned to look out over the floor towards the stage, raising an eyebrow as the queen that came out stopped and shrugged off her glittery robe to reveal her outfit.
Tommy whistled as he looked at the slender, delicate arms, the downplayed ‘cleavage’, the skinny waist made even skinnier by a black and white corset, the ass enhanced by ruffled panties, and the long, long legs clad in fishnet stockings held up by garters. “Damn, I’ve yet to see a queen look like a damn amazon supermodel,” he said and Adam nodded.
“I’m usually the tallest in a room but when he’s over?” He shook his head. “I’m no contest. In flats, bitch is about four inches taller than me.”
Tommy huffed, pouting as he looked up at Adam. “Fucking tall men,” he grumbled, then tilted his head. “Although, I’d be totally level with her not-boobs, so that’s pretty awesome,” he said and Brad laughed, shaking his head.
“I totally like you already,” he said, slapping his ass as he headed back out with his tray to go check on some tables.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tommy was closing out the register when Adam tapped him. “Hey, I’m heading out to meet James, can you take a sex on the beach back to the dressing room for Raja? I always take one at the end of the night but I promised I’d pick him up.”
Tommy nodded. “Sure, who’s James?” he asked and Adam smiled.
“Jamie’s my boyfriend. He was doing some computer thing at work so he stayed late and I said I’d pick him up, since I won’t get to see him any this weekend because of the computer thing,” he said, grinning. “He’s so sweet like that,” he said and Tommy smirked.
“Wooohooo, somebody’s getting some later,” he said and Adam scoffed.
“I wish, by pick him up I mean drive him home so he doesn’t have to take the bus and so I get to see him after I haven’t seen him in a week,” he said and Tommy grinned, grabbing the things he needed.
“Awww, he sounds sweet. How long have you guys been together?” he asked, looking up as he grabbed the orange juice.
Adam shrugged on his coat and smiled. “Five months. He’s works at a library and he’s really smart and he has like… future plans and stuff. It’s awesome!”
Tommy smirked. “Alright, go see your nerd boy,” he said, saluting Adam as he headed out with a wave. He finished mixing the drink and shut off the lights behind the bar before making his way towards what he assumed was the door to backstage. He headed down a red corridor, passing a few of the queens half-out of their drag already as they conversed, stopping when he reached the door to the dressing room.
He knocked, waiting for a reply before walking in. “Hey Adam-“ Tommy looked up and the man sitting at the mirror raised eyebrow. “Not Adam, but hi anyways,” he said and Tommy smiled.
“Adam skipped out early to go pick up his boyfriend,” he said, walking over. He set the glass down on the counter, since the man was busy taking the pins out of his wig. “Raja, right?” he asked curiously, receiving a smile.
“Yes, ma’am. Although I’m halfway down to plain ol’ Sutan,” he said and Tommy grinned.
“Tommy,” he offered, trying not to stare, only to get caught.
Sutan smirked as he finally pulled his wig off. “Anything else? Or are you just totally amazed by a drag queen turning back into a guy?” he teased and Tommy ducked his head shyly.
“Sorry, it’s just really cool, like… your hair’s pretty short, how do you get the wig to stay on?” he asked curiously, then cringed. “Wow, sorry, personal, huh? Ignore me, it’s late,” he said, shaking his head as he turned to scuffle out before he embarrassed himself more.
“Lots of pins,” Sutan answered, then shrugged. “And no, it’s okay, I get it. Not all of us sleep late like me, I forget a lot of people get groggy this late at night,” he said.
Tommy laughed, taking it as permission to stay. He walked back over and hopped up on the makeup counter. “Well, this is my second job, I get up early and stay up late, so I’m sort of a zombie right now,” he said, cringing. “Doesn’t make the girlfriend happy, but she sure as shit likes our apartment.”
Sutan shot him an amused look as he started wiping off all his makeup. “Girlfriend? Damn, you’re telling me a pretty little thing like you likes girls?” he asked and Tommy snickered.
“Everybody does that! What, a guy can’t be pretty and straight?” he defended, earning a pointed look.
“Straight?! I was suggesting bisexual, oh my God, you’re ONLY into girls?” he asked, gaping. “You’re wearing makeup!”
Tommy crossed his arms. “And that automatically makes me gay? Dude, that’s totally stereotyping,” he said earning a shrug and a smirk.
“Well, they’re stereotypes for a reason, aren’t they?” Sutan teased, then laughed. “Man, I bet you confuse the hell out of people out there at the bar, honey.”
“Well,” Tommy gave him a bashful look. “I know how to get tips, and it isn’t by advertising my heterosexuality to the guys who flirt. Number one rule to being a bartender, learn how to flirt for tips. For the boys I pout a little and bat my eyelashes, for the girls I smirk and call them ‘gorgeous’ or ‘cutie’,” he said and Sutan grinned.
“Tricky little bitch, huh?” he teased and Tommy shrugged.
“Did I mention the expensive ass apartment?” he pointed out and Sutan smiled. He had a nice smile, Tommy decided. Tommy felt his phone vibrate and he jumped. “Actually,” he looked at his phone and cringed when he saw he had four missed text messages. “Fuck, I got to go, she’ll be so pissed if I’m late again,” he said, sliding off the counter. “It was nice meeting you,” he said and Sutan smiled.
“You too, honey! Come see me again sometime,” he said, waving at Tommy as he rushed out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Tommy had gotten a job at Pixie Dust Presents, he figured he’d make better money for him and his girlfriend. Erin couldn’t keep a job, she just never fit in with the teams wherever she worked. He had made good on his tips the first few nights, he liked his fellow bartenders and the waiters and waitresses, and he liked watching the queens performing between customers.
Erin didn’t like him being gone every night, but he kept reminding her it was that or she got a job and stuck with it.
Tommy was exhausted when he got home. His day job started at nine, meaning he had to be up at six in order to get ready and catch his bus at seven fifty. His job there ended at five, leaving him two hours to get to Pixie Dust Presents and get changed in the back room before his shift started at seven. The club closed at one during the week and he was ready to go by about one thirty. It was a shorter bus home, so he was at home by two thirty and in bed by three if he was lucky. He had once suffered insomnia, but when he worked on about three hours of sleep five days of the week, exhaustion totally killed any sleeplessness he had once suffered.
Tommy was so tired by thursday night (or friday morning, depending how you looked at it) that he didn’t even notice that Erin was in the closet doing something until he was pulling on his most comfy sweatshirt to go to bed. “Hey, look what I bought today,” Erin said as she came out. Tommy looked up and smiled at her, admiring her lacy black lingerie with red trim, though internally he was cursing how expensive it had to have been. “You like it?” she asked, smirking at him.
Tommy nodded. “Looks good, baby,” he said, walking over to kiss her cheek before turning to head back to the bed. “Can you turn off the light when you’re done?” he asked, yawning as he pulled back the covers and practically poured himself into bed.
Tommy moaned happily as he wiggled around to get comfortable, only to be brought back from the edge of immediate-shutdown-sleep by an offended scoff. “Excuse me?! I’m standing here in brand new sexy lingerie and all I get is a ‘great, I’m going to sleep’?!” Erin asked.
Tommy groaned, rolling over to look up at her. “Urgh, what?” he asked tiredly, blinking up at her.
Erin glared and yanked the covers off of him. “Can you really be this stupid, Tommy? What could I possibly be going for modeling lingerie for my boyfriend?” she asked and Tommy groaned, rolling his eyes.
“Erin, please, I’ve got to be up in like... just over three hours. I’ve slept about nine hours out of the last seventy-two-” He was cut off as she kissed him, crawling on top of him. “Erin, no, really I need sleep-”
“No you need to fuck me,” Erin growled, pushing his sweatshirt up to get at the waist of his pajamas. Tommy groaned, whining as she bit his lip harder than felt good. He held his hands up to push her back some, only to wince when he felt her get her hand down his pants and realize he wasn’t even the slightest bit aroused. “Tommy, what the fuck?!” she demanded and he cringed.
“Baby, I’m just too tired-”
Erin gave him a disgusted look and shoved his shirt back down. “God, you can’t do anything right, can you?” she demanded, then grabbed him by the hair, pulling him into a harsh kiss. “Fine, whatever, get me off,” she demanded, pulling his hands to her hips, directing him to push at her panties.
Tommy glared. “Erin, I want to sleep, I’m fucking sorry I have to sleep, but I’m just human-”
“Clearly not enough of one, you never fucking want sex, what kind of man are you?!” she complained as she fell to the side and kicked her panties off herself.
Tommy let her drag him over to her, glaring as he let her push his hands down between her legs. “Well excuse the fuck out of me for being tired after I work two damn jobs while you sit on your ass-”
“Shut up,” she hissed, shoving a hand over his mouth, digging her nails into his wrist until he got busy, following her command. As he fingered her, hoping to get things done fast, she moved her hand and kissed him aggressively, yanking on his hair until he had tears in his eyes and whined. “Fuck, c’mere, baby,” she breathed, rolling onto her back, pulling Tommy on top of her by his hair.
“Erin, I just want to go to sleep, fuck can’t you just do this yourself?” he all but begged, so tired he could barely keep his eyes open.
“Go down on me,” she said and Tommy winced when she shoved at his head. He had worked out that he’d never get left alone if he didn’t just listen. He only hoped he didn’t fall asleep on her and piss her off even more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tommy yawned his way through his entire shift at work, stopped by Starbucks on his way to Pixie Dust Presents, and jittered his way through his bartending shift on a caffeine high. It was Friday night so not only were they open until three, but he had agreed a few days back to clean up and shut down just him and Brad so that Adam could go home right after closing.
“Seriously, I feel bad about pulling this more often than either of you,” Adam said as they were serving last call, meaning he had thirty minutes before he left.
Brad scoffed. “Bitch please, you’re the only one of us managing to keep a boyfriend, like Tommy and I want to fuck that up,” he said, grabbing a few beers to serve to a table of rowdy drunks.
Adam nudged Tommy. “Tommy’s got a girlfriend,” he corrected and Brad stopped to put his hands on his hips and glare.
“So wait, I’m the prettiest one of us and I’m the only one single?!” he demanded.
“Is Cheeks bitching again?” Tommy looked up at the voice and then rolled his eyes when Adam rushed over and nearly knocked him out of the way.
“You’re early! I can’t go for about half an hour!” Adam gushed, smiling brightly before leaning over the counter to kiss the guy sitting there.
Tommy quirked an eyebrow and turned to Brad. “Cheeks is my nickname,” he said, winking.
Tommy snickered. “Seriously, him?” he asked in a lower voice and Brad shrugged, giggling.
“Love is funny sometimes, huh?” he said, and Adam turned back to Tommy, who gave him his full attention as Brad took his tray of beers and left.
“Tommy! This is my boyfriend, James Sato,” Adam said, introducing the short, skinny man wearing a striped, collared shirt complete with a tie, and narrow, professional looking glasses. He had slightly shaggy black hair, but it was about the only thing that didn’t scream ‘data entry’ about the man. “Jamie, this is my new friend, Tommy Ratliff,” he said and Tommy grinned, offering the guy a hand over the bar.
James smiled. “Nice to meet you, Adam got excited about having some help around here, so I heard a lot about you,” he said and Tommy just laughed.
“He literally never shuts up about you,” he said and Adam flushed, ducking his head some when James shot him a look. “Seriously,” Tommy continued. “Keep this one, doubt anybody’s ever been as obsessively cheerful about their boyfriend as Adam. I mistake him for a twelve year old girl some days-"
“Tommy!” Adam hissed, glaring as he hipchecked him out of the way. “Ignore him!” he said brightly. “Tommy, help that guy, I’m good here,” Adam said and Tommy just smirked and saluted him, not at all missing that he was being shut up.
After they finished serving drinks for last call, Tommy worked his way through the crashing of his caffeine high to wash glasses so that he only had to mop after closing. He was exhausted. He was only glad he didn’t have to get up at six in the morning the next day.
“Tommy, I’m headed out. Can you get Raja’s usual drink?” Adam asked coming back from the back with his jacket.
Tommy smirked. “Have a nice date,” he teased and Adam huffed, even if James, who was still sitting at the counter, laughed.
“Honey, please forget you ever met him and Bradley, okay?” he asked, walking around to stand behind James, who just grinned as he slid off the stool and shrugged his jacket back on.
“I really don’t mind, they wouldn’t tease you if they didn’t like you,” he said, sliding his hand into Adam’s.
Adam just poked his tongue out at Tommy over his boyfriend’s head as they started out, making Tommy crack up as he started mixing Raja’s drink.
Brad came back with the mop, smirking. “Did you tease him before letting him go?” he asked and Tommy nodded. “Good! God, I love messing with Adam’s head!”
Tommy just shook his head. “No offense to his guy, he’s a really nice guy seems like, but how did Adam, the most over the top guy I’ve ever met, end up with a… nerd,” he said, scrunching up his nose. “Not that James isn’t attractive, he’s got a really sweet face in a cute and nerdy way, and clearly Adam is crazy for him, but… well if you’re anything to go by, Adam used to date sexy and slutty, not sweet and nerdy,” he said and Brad huffed.
“And who are you calling slutty, whore?” he asked, then rolled his eyes. “I dunno, Adam came in one day talking about a cute guy he ran into at some book store he’d gone to with his brother, someone his brother knew, and when they left Adam’s brother invited the friend to lunch with them and Adam apparently saw the clouds open up and a hallelujah chorus the entire time they were around James, because he never shut up about him and he even sunk to asking his brother about James.” Brad smirked. “His brother didn’t realize he liked him so he just said he worked at the library and suddenly, Adam took up an interest in reading,” he said and Tommy chortled in amusement. Brad shrugged. “Adam basically kept failing to talk about anything of substance to Jamie until he finally caught up with it and asked Adam what the hell he was doing, cause- well, to be fair, he isn’t exactly the type of boy a sexy, fabulous gay man like Adam dates, you know?” He waved a hand. “Anyways, Adam asked him out eventually and Jamie honestly didn’t get it for like… the first month they were dating.”
Tommy snickered. “Well, if I was a nerdy little guy I’d be unused to really hot guys hitting on me, too. Adam’s like… the kind of hot you see in magazines, you know?” he said and Brad scoffed.
“Don’t I know it. That bitch. My hair’s all falling out and he keeps losing weight and getting hotter the older he gets,” he said, grumbling as he started mopping.
Tommy laughed at Brad’s expression and shook his head as he went to take Raja her drink. He knocked before entering, smiling when Raja saw him and turned to make grabby hands at the drink. “Somebody’s thirsty,” he teased and she snorted, rolling her eyes, one of which still had false eyelashes on.
“God, I’m tired.” She took her drink and moaned as she took a sip. “Six shows a week is shit,” she said and Tommy smiled, hopping up on the counter.
Since the first meeting, Tommy had grown to enjoy the nights he got to bring Raja her drink. They always sat and chatted for a few minutes before Tommy left. It was never much of substance, but it was nice to talk to someone new and different. “You’re tired?” he teased, groaning as he leaned back against the mirror, slumping. “I’m exhausted,” he said, yawning. “My triple red-eye from before shift left me a while back.”
Raja hummed, going back to becoming Sutan. “Should sleep more, party less TommyJoe,” she said and Tommy smirked at his nickname she’d started calling him when he mentioned his middle name. “Even pretty little things like you need sleep.”
Tommy rolled his eyes tiredly. “I work ninety hours a week, dude. I don’t have time to sleep, much less party,” he said, yawning.
Raja started. “Ninety hours a week?! What the hell?” she asked and Tommy shrugged.
“I’ve got a nine to five during the week, working here every night of the week and weekend. I think I got like… about twelve hours of sleep this week? I’m wiped. Most weeks I get a good fifteen.” He shrugged. “Last night I was exhausted but my girlfriend wanted me to spend some time with her, so I just put off sleeping really. More of a nap than a sleep.” He smiled at the shocked look on Raja’s face. “It’s cool though, tonight I’ll go home and sleep until my shift starts tomorrow night. Recharge the batteries,” he explained.
Sutan- Raja had finally left the room, almost all of the makeup removed- just shook his head. “Honey, you can’t live like that for long,” he warned and Tommy grinned.
“I’m doing alright. Been like this for about a year now.”
“What about your friends? Family?” Sutan asked. “If you just work and sleep, what do you do about that? Or just taking a breather and having fun?”
Tommy sat up and smiled. “Well, I have fun working here, honestly. And I get to hang out with Adam and Brad between rushes, so that’s cool. I generally call my mom and sister on between my jobs or at lunch or something.” He tipped his head. “I’m thirty, fun ends at thirty,” he said and Sutan huffed.
“You’re thirty?!” He groaned. “You lucky shit, you look about twenty-three,” he said and Tommy laughed.
“You don’t exactly look ancient yourself, dude. Although I guess Raja’s makeup might hide some age,” he said and Sutan leaned back, crossing one long leg across the other, sipping his drink.
“Honey, I’m thirty-eight years old. I’m so old I’m waiting for bits to fall off. I’m sure I’ll be doing upgrades soon enough,” he said and Tommy rolled his eyes.
“You are not that old. Look at you! You look amazing,” Tommy said, ducking his eyes. “Seriously, I’m straight and even I can’t get over your legs,” he said and Sutan smirked.
“Well as short as you are that isn’t surprising-“
“Hey!” Tommy cried in contempt, laughing along with Sutan after a minute. “I’m not short, I’m… petite,” Tommy said, cracking up when Sutan shot him a look.
“Honey, you’re tiny. You’re like a pocket sized goth,” he said and Tommy rolled his eyes.
“I barely wear makeup-“
“Barely my ass! You’re wearing more eyeliner than I thought the human eyelid could handle!” Sutan said and Tommy shrugged.
“Well, I used to be a little metal head. I can’t give it all up. I had to give up my eyebrow and lip ring. The only reason I kept the hair and the earrings is because I work in IT so no customers see me at the ‘professional’ job.” He made a face. “I haven’t played my guitar in months, actually,” he admitted sadly.
Sutan gave him a sympathetic look. “Grownup life hit, huh?” he asked and Tommy groaned.
“I think some days I should just give it all up and join a band again, but my girlfriend wouldn’t ever let me do that,” he said. “She likes her stuff and has a problem keeping a job. I guess she’s hard to get along with unless you get to know her. I work for both of us, though, so it’s alright.”
Sutan just nodded. “You guys been together long?” he asked and Tommy nodded, smiling slightly.
“Yeah, four years.” He looked up and sighed. “Four long years,” he said. “Been through a lot, though. I owe her for really keeping us going when my dad died. I was really messed up for a few weeks and she took care of everything for me. Her name’s Erin,” he said and Sutan smiled.
“You seem to love her a lot,” he said and Tommy made a face.
“I guess, we’re just not really all feely-emotional with each other that much. I doubt I’ve heard an ‘I love you’ in a good two years, really. Not really our way,” he said, then shrugged it off. “Speaking of Erin, I really need to go home,” he added as he slid off the counter.
Sutan smiled. “Hey, come meet me back stage before your shift tomorrow night, I’ve got an idea!” he said excitedly and Tommy gave him a playfully apprehensive look as he waved and left. “Goodnight, tiny Tommy!”
“Night!” Tommy called back, smiling and shaking his head as he tried to imagine what was in store for him the next day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Where are you going?” Erin asked when Tommy came out of the bedroom already dressed. “You don’t have to leave for an hour,” she said pointedly. “I figured we could spend the afternoon together. Hang out closer to work so you don’t have such a long bus ride there and back. Maybe go shopping!” she said brightly and Tommy cringed.
“I’m going in early at the request of one of the drag queens. No idea what she wants, but if I want to get there with enough time to go back before the shows start, I need to leave and catch the bus. The next one won't be early enough, I’ll just get there in time to start working.”
Erin crossed her arms. “So you’re ditching me for a drag queen?”
Tommy sighed. “No, baby, it’s work. She’s the head queen, if I piss her off, there’s no telling what she might tell management, you know?” He walked over and leaned over the back of Erin’s chair to kiss her. “I’d definitely rather spend some time with you, okay?” he asked, kissing her again. “But if you want to go shopping all the time, I need this job.”
Erin just huffed. “Whatever, Tommy. Just get out. And you better be home right after work, I am seriously tired of going to bed alone, damn it,” she commanded and Tommy nodded.
“Alright, honey, I’ll be home as soon as I can,” he promised, grabbing his jacket on the way out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Tommy got to Pixie Dust Presents, he wasn’t surprised to see that the only ones there an hour before everybody was due there were a few of the queens and one bouncer. He nodded to the man on his way in and made his way down the hall backstage towards Raja’s dressing room. He knocked and waited for a ‘come in’ before he headed in. He was surprised to see the man behind the mask-so to speak- fully out of drag when he walked in. “Hey TommyJoe!” Sutan said, jumping up from his spot sitting in front of the makeup counter organizing brushes. He pulled Tommy into a hug in greeting, surprising Tommy enough that he almost didn’t hug back fast enough. “God, you are tiny, I’ve never stood next to you before,” Sutan said, looking down at Tommy.
“Damn, and that’s in sneakers,” Tommy said, looking down at Sutan’s feet. “Fuck, what are you, a tree?!” he teased, winking as he smiled up at Sutan.
Sutan rolled his eyes. “Not my fault you’re the pixie at Pixie Dust Presents,” he countered, turning to pat the makeup chair. “Take a seat! Mama’s gotta do you fast so she has time to get her own face on,” he said brightly.
Tommy laughed and followed his directions. “You didn’t actually tell me what you wanted me here for, so I’m basically trusting you’re not about to like… tranq me and steal my liver,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows as he pulled his feet up onto the edge of the seat, looking at Sutan over his knees.
Sutan smiled brightly. “Your tattoos tell it already, but it’s very obvious you watch horror movies,” he teased, then pushed Tommy’s hair back out of his fair, grabbing a clip to keep his bangs to one side. “No, you’re so fucking pretty, when I saw the boring eye makeup you slathered on, I had to get my hands on that pretty little face!” He turned back to the makeup counter and picked up some newly washed brushes. “Have you ever heard Adam or Cheeks mention what my job was before I got really successful as Raja?” he asked, opening a container as he talked.
Tommy put his legs down and sat up straighter. “No, but I do have a question before you tell me!” he said suddenly. “Why did you and Adam’s boyfriend both call Brad ‘Cheeks’?” he asked. “He said it was a nickname, but why Cheeks?”
Sutan smirked. “Well, the tell-all is the fact the boy has cheekbones like a supermodel, the bedroom-version is that sweet little ass of his,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “I don’t remember if it was me or Adam who gave him the nickname, but my money is on Adam, since when they dated, nobody else was getting the bedroom-version of anything Bradley Bell! Adam’s a lot of things, but one of them is definitely monogamous.” He smiled at Tommy. “Don’t let the hippy exterior fool you, Adam Lambert is a good boy at heart, and his heart is the biggest part of him- ignoring his dick- so he can’t stand the idea of sharing somebody he likes.” He grinned, brandishing a brush. “Alright, tip your face up to me, sweetie, I’m gonna make you all purty,” he teased, earning a bright smile from Tommy as he followed his instructions.
“Alright, I’m assuming you do this a lot?” Tommy asked and Sutan grinned.
“Well as I was trying to say, I was a makeup artist. That was my profession and drag was my hobby. Then eventually drag became my profession and that was that.” Sutan cupped Tommy’s chin, looking at his cheeks as he shaded and shadowed to bring out his cheekbones. “So! You met Adam’s boyfriend, huh?” he asked, smirking. “We Asians are sexy.”
Tommy snickered. “Big difference in you and a tiny little half-Japanese boy, dude. You’re eight feet tall and dark skinned, he’s about five feet tall and really pale for how dark his hair is.”
Sutan rolled his eyes. “We’re still prettier than you,” he said, poking out his tongue playfully.
Tommy giggled at his behavior. “Hey, which of us is the oldest?”
Sutan smirked. “Exactly! Childish behavior keeps us young, honey! It’s the secret to a happy life! That and tons and tons of sex,” he said, grinning impishly. “Close your eyes,” he said, holding Tommy’s face with one hand as he carefully brushed makeup across Tommy’s eyelids. Tommy found it somewhat soothing and calming to sit so still while the unpredictable eye shadow brush swept across his upper lids. A silence fell between them as Sutan worked, but it was far from uncomfortable. Tommy felt so peaceful in the quiet of the dressing room, the only point anchoring him to reality being the makeup brushes and Sutan’s hand on his face.
“My girlfriend wasn’t happy I left early,” Tommy admitted suddenly, not at all sure why he felt like bringing it up. Sutan gave him an understanding look when he opened his eyes again but didn’t speak, clearly waiting for Tommy to continue on his own as he got a different brush from his kit. “She doesn’t like how little time we get together. She wanted to go shopping together before I had to get the bus to work.”
Sutan hummed. “She wants to spend more time together, yet she wants to go shopping when you’re already working two jobs to support you guys, which is why you don’t spend much time together,” Sutan said, not making it clear what his opinion was on the matter, simply stating the facts clearly.
Tommy hummed. “Yeah, I don’t know. I think she gets it sometimes. Other times I think she just can’t really get it.” He shrugged. “It isn’t always bad, though.”
Sutan smiled. “Clearly not, you wouldn’t have been together so long if it wasn’t worth it,” he said, then tapped Tommy’s chin. “Do like this.” He demonstrated opening his mouth like a relaxed ‘O’, nodding when Tommy copied him so he could start painting Tommy’s lips.
Tommy watched Sutan as he worked, only to feel a bit of excitement when Sutan stepped back some and inspected the overall effect. He shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Ridiculous. Simply ridiculous,” he said, then smiled as he grabbed some mousse and rubbed it into Tommy’s hair, blowing it dry so that it was somewhat messy and ruffled, not so neatly brushed aside. He shook his head once more, grinning brightly. “It’s just not normal,” he said simply before spinning Tommy around to face the mirror. Tommy looked at his reflection and gasped, jaw dropping.
He was beautiful.
Tommy smiled brightly and stood up quickly, leaning closer to look at himself. His cheek bones stood out some and his skin looked more like porcelain than ever due to whatever powders Sutan had put on his cheeks. His eyes were a mixture of purples and blacks and grays, all heavily hooded and sultry looking. His eyelashes were long and curled to make his eyes look even bigger. His hair was fluffy and looked very soft. But the thing that stood out most was his lips. Tommy had always heard he had nice lips, but with his lips painted so that the outer edges were nearly black and the plumpest parts of his lips were nearly bright red, extremely glossy and wet looking all over, he looked like some weird gothed out doll.
Only more sexy than scary. “Wow,” he whispered, touching his own cheek in disbelief.
Sutan grinned. “You’re gorgeous,” he gushed, then shook his head. “Honey, too bad you are such a straight guy, because you would be one HELL of a drag queen,” he teased, only to smile when Tommy turned around and threw his arms around Sutan, hugging him as he tucked his head under Sutan’s chin.
“Thank you! I just… wow,” he breathed, laughing a giddy little laugh when he pulled back. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this pretty,” he admitted and Sutan smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
“TommyJoe, you’re a beautiful little thing,” he said, then smirked. “Now, get your sexy little face out there and make lots of tips!” he said, swatting Tommy on the ass as he turned him towards the door. “Tranma’s gotta get her face on,” he said and Tommy smiled, turning back as he opened the door.
“I’ll see you after the show, no doubt,” he said and Sutan just smiled and nodded before Tommy turned and walked out, a new pep in his step as he walked down the hall to go get ready for his shift, feeling better about the world in general than he had in a long time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tommy looked up when Brad came in, only to smile shyly when Brad gaped, dropping his bag as he looked at Tommy. “Jesus Christ, I hate you!” he said, rolling his eyes. “Your face is stupid,” he huffed, grabbing his bag to go take it to the back. Adam just smiled at him when he saw him.
“Awww, you look so pretty!” He reached out and touched Tommy’s hair. “I like it, you’re really hot,” he said, nodding at the doors. “When they start coming in, you better be prepared for every gay boy and straight girl we get to hit on you. Hell some of the lesbians might even flirt with you!” he said and Tommy blushed.
“I’m not that feminine!” he argued and Adam laughed and shrugged.
“You’re really pretty tonight, Tommy. Don’t knock it!”
It wasn’t until later in the night that Brad finally got a few minutes and stopped beside Tommy, watching him work. “Okay, spill. Why did you dress up?” he asked and Tommy raised an eyebrow at him. “All the face shit and the looking stupidly pretty and stealing all the tips,” he said, pouting.
Tommy laughed. “I couldn’t do this, no way. I’m bad enough at my eyeliner I like to do,” he said and Adam nudged past him to get some ice.
“So if you didn’t, who did?” Adam asked and Brad shooed him.
“We’re talking, butt out, pretty boys only.” Brad stuck his tongue out at Adam, who just flipped him off, earning an offended gasp.
Tommy giggled. “It was Sutan. He asked me to come early tonight so I got here about an hour before shift started. He wanted to make me pretty,” he said, shrugging. “He told me he couldn’t resist going back to his makeup artist days with my face.”
Adam smirked. “Don’t blame him, a face like yours? The perfect canvas for a makeup artist! Smooth skin, perfect lips, and great eyes to play with!”
Brad just huffed. “I hate you and Sutan both. I’m supposed to be the prettiest one, damn it!” he said, and Tommy just rolled his eyes.
“Just take comfort in knowing that you have a great ass and mine sucks,” he said with a faux-solemn nod.
Brad just rolled his eyes and smiled in spite of himself. “Well, I do have a great butt, don’t I?” he asked, looking back at his ass.
Tommy just shook his head and shared an amused grin with Adam when Brad bounced off to take some more orders, the pep back in his step.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before he went out, Tommy had slept almost all day, woke up and spent an hour or so just watching TV and cuddling with Erin, and then got dressed, using the makeup Sutan had told him to buy a few weeks ago to make himself look nice, even if it wasn’t Sutan-levels of pretty. When he got to work, he felt like it was going to be a good night.
When he got in a little early, he headed back to see Raja until his shift started. He knocked and heard a few ‘come in’s and opened the door, smiling when he came in and found not only Raja but a few of the other queens already getting ready. “TommyJoe!” Raja said, tossing up a hand from where she was finishing pinning her wig on.
“Tranma!” he remarked, walking over to hop onto the counter beside Raja, smiling brightly as he picked up a tube of lipstick. “Ooh, pretty blue,” he said, and Raja smirked.
“Lemme put it on you then,” she said and one of the other queens whistled.
“Turning TommyJoe into a little drag baby, Raja?” Scarlett asked, walking over to lean against the counter beside Tommy.
Tommy giggled. “She wishes,” he said, then obediently turned to face Raja, who cupped his cheek in one hand and started putting blue lipstick on him.
“TommyJoe ain’t a baby anyways, girl. He’s older than you!”
Scarlett shot Tommy a look. “Bullshit.”
The other queen in the room, Fantasia, walked over and looked Tommy in the face. “No way this child is older than Scarlett, I’m two years younger than her!”
Raja smirked, grabbing some shimmery lip gloss to put on top of the lipstick. “Scarlett is twenty-eight and Fantasia’s twenty-six,” he said and when he finished Tommy smirked.
“I’m thirty,” he said and they both gave him flat looks.
“That ain’t even right,” Scarlett said, shaking her head.
Tommy grinned. “But what about my woman?!” he asked, slinging an arm around Raja’s waist when he stood up. “She looks awfully young too,” he said, winking up at Raja.
Raja just grinned. “You little shit,” she said, swatting at him. “Now shoo, you’re distracting with your pretty little face.”
Tommy slid off the counter and winked. “You know you just want me for my body, baby,” he teased and all the girls laughed at him.
Raja rolled her eyes and swatted his ass as he walked past her. “Oh yeah, honey, I can’t get enough of that flat ass and your skinny little body,” she deadpanned.
Tommy just let out a dramatic sigh at the door. “Sorry ladies, appears my flat ass isn’t welcome anymore, I know you’ll mourn for my absence when all of this is gone,” he teased, gesturing to his face before blowing Raja a kiss and giggling his way out the door.
Scarlett smirked when he left. “Ooh, Raja you got a pretty one,” she teased and Raja laughed.
“I ain’t got nobody, his pretty little ass is straight,” she said, making a face. “God totally hates me, I’ve decided. Drops that pretty little boy in my lap and makes him not like boys.”
Fantasia clicked her tongue. “And since when has that stopped you, bitch,” she said, earning laughter as they all put finishing touches on their looks.
Part 2