(no subject)

[honeyandvinegar]

Banner by aliensouldream

Title: High Society (Pt. 25)
Pairing/Characters: Casey, Zeke, a SLEW of OMCs (sorry for that... maybe I'll make a list so people can keep track... I just LOVE OMCs, what can I say?)
Rating: NC-17
Warning(s): None!
Author's Note: Dedicated to the lovely gloryunderhill!
Synopsis: Set during the Great Depression, there's an industry that's ALWAYS successful, and Casey's desperate--and he's starting to like that desperation.

Previous Parts



‘I’m not hungry…’

Noah pursed his lips and thrust the two nickels Casey’s way; he was apparently having none of Casey’s defiance, not now. Zeke stepped away from the rows of food with something wrapped in wax paper. He, too, was giving Casey a stern gaze. “He’s right. Eat something. You’ll need it.”

Sniffing, Casey turned away from Noah and pulled out some change from his own pocket. If he was going to be forced into eating, he wasn’t taking anyone’s money for it. He sighed as he surveyed the choices offered in this automat; it was slim-pickings. While it was open twenty-four hours, the kitchen staff that filled the slots left around ten, leaving the leftovers for late-night snackers and barflies. It was small, only a few closets worth of space to walk around in. They were glad to be here instead of one bustling with patrons, leaving them alone to regroup, talk and go over possibilities on what the hell they could do about their situation… not that Casey was in the mood for it. Noah joined him, biting his lip as he crouched down to look at sandwiches. Casey finally chose a bowl of fresh fruit--something light that wouldn’t disturb his already-quivering stomach, slipped the nickel in the slot and pulled the small drawer open. He looked to where Zeke was standing; he wasn’t eating yet, but grabbing pamphlets, maps and other papers from the large rack on the wall, meant for lost tourists. “Zeke… what… are you doing?” he asked.

“What do you wanna look like: whores on the lam, or idiot tourists unable to find their hotel?” Zeke asked as he went over to the small bench provided, placing the items on his bag.

“Point taken,” Casey said. He sighed and poked at the fruit cup while Zeke began eating.

“Y’know…” Zeke said through his chewing. “…For food that’s been sittin’ ‘round for a few hours… ain’t that bad.”

This made Casey snarl. They’d just been ejected from their home in the worst possible way, and Zeke wanted to blather about automat-fare? Casey bit his tongue and wandered over to the refrigerated drink dispensers. More fruit juice, light, unobtrusive. He then went over to the small bench where Zeke sat and plopped down next to him. Eating with his fingers was something he hadn’t done in a while, but he didn’t care. “What’re we gonna do?” he asked.

“If we pooled our funds, we’d have enough for a hotel room--but that could be risky. We may as well have ‘whore’ written on our foreheads.” Zeke waved a hand at himself, motioning towards his outfit. “I have a tie in my bag somewhere, but…”

“We’d have to use a name. I don’t feel like saying ‘My name’s Casey’ at this point, not with who’s probably out there looking for us.”

“Mob or cops?”

“Both.”

Noah now returned with a sandwich, chewing away. He watched their discussion intently as Zeke sighed and went on. “Okay, so no hotel. But we gotta stay hidden or get the fuck outta the city. I don’t know anyone in the East,” he said.

“Yea, but getting a motel room in some small town in Connecticut would be easier. Somewhere in the country. I dunno,” Casey said. “I have enough money to last for a small while, maybe a few rooms worth and food.”

“Yea, we’ve gotta pool funds. I’ve got plenty myself. So, Connecticut…“ Zeke puffed breaths out in stutters. “We’re only an hour or so from there. But who knows how far they’ll go looking for us…”

Noah cleared his throat, making Casey look up to find him signing. ‘We could go straight up through Connecticut to Massachusetts, or Vermont; it’d be a small haul, but…?’

“What’d he say?” Zeke asked.

“He says we should go past Connecticut. That it’d be a haul, but maybe we could,” Casey translated.

Zeke shrugged, opened his lips to say something then stopped dead. “Wait… how’d he know we were talking about Connecticut?”

Both Casey and Noah froze; they exchanged worried glances. ‘Damn it all…’ Casey thought before taking a deep breath and replying, “Noah can read lips.”

“Read…” Zeke drifted off; the frown on his face was deep, angry. “Wait, wait, wait--what the fuck, he CAN read lips?”

“Zeke… come on, don’t--”

“No! This little… prick, you’re telling me he’s been pretending he can’t understand us when he can? The whole fucking time, are you serious??”

Zeke was getting loud; when he stood up and gave Noah a threatening glare, Casey shot up to stand between them. He did his best to glare back at Zeke, showing defensiveness for his friend. “It’s no different than you and Jose chumming-it-up, with everyone else oblivious that YOU knew HIS language!” he said.

“Oh, yes it IS--Jose didn’t know English, THIS jerk--” he pointed at Noah accusingly. “--He knew what we were saying the whole fucking time!”

“Oh? And what’s the problem with that? Are you afraid that you said some nasty shit about him, thinking he couldn’t understand you…?” Casey stared Zeke down, watching Zeke’s lips purse inwards, tight. “Well, if you did, he knew. And he had the RIGHT to know who used his disability to talk trash about him.”

Zeke now flicked his eyes over to Noah. “I never said word one about you, you jackass. And you know it. TELL Casey that,” he said.

When Casey looked to Noah, he found the boy shaking his head slowly. “’E dinn’t,” Noah replied vocally, best he could.

“Whatever…” Casey said before turning back to Zeke. “That doesn’t matter… now you know. Big damned deal if he wanted to hide that. He didn’t have to tell you or anyone shit.”

Zeke scoffed. “Fine, whatever. I’m glad you two had sweet secrets, that’s wonderful. Anything else?”

“Anything else what?”

“You two’ve been real close, huh? HOW close?”

Casey felt his body go cold. “You… how fucking dare you…” he practically spat. He wasn’t the only one incensed at what Zeke was implying; Noah, red-faced, shoved past Casey to get in Zeke’s face. He began signing as he glared, ending it by pointing at Zeke. Casey hissed and made a derisive chuckle.

“What was that, huh? What’d the moron say?” Zeke asked.

“Why should I tell you?” Casey said.

“Because I fuckin’ asked. Like hell if I’m spending the next few days with you dicks if you’re gonna talk shit about me behind my back,” Zeke said.

With a sigh, Casey glanced to Noah, who glanced back and shrugged. “He said, ‘I’m not the one lusting after him, you jackass--that’d be you.’”

Zeke was taken aback, showing it by taking one step away and crossing his arms over his chest. He then steeled his jaw, looked at Casey and snarled. “How would he know that?”

Once again, Noah signed frantically. Casey didn’t wait for his approval to interpret for Zeke. “‘Everyone knows; you’ve made it pretty fucking obvious.’”

“Oh. Really,” Zeke said, his voice distant. He scoffed again and rolled his eyes. “Well, as if it matters. After all, I saw what you snagged right before we left. Wanted to make sure you had Cal’s sweet ‘love note’. Yea.”

Casey’s chilled heart began thawing, hearing this. “Let’s… stop this. Now.”

“Why? You don’t wanna face facts, that there you were, saying ‘oh Zeke, I LOVE you!’” Zeke’s voice was sarcastic and cruel in his imitation. “All while you have another dumb fuck waiting in the wings--”

“NO! Because for fuck’s SAKE, Zeke, we’re on the fucking run and we need to come up with a goddamned solution, rather than bicker about this bullshit!!” Casey yelled. He then sniffed and crossed his arms, as well. “And it was you proclaiming love first.”

Noah rolled his eyes, looked down at the floor and held his hands up between them, saying, ‘Enough… calm down,’ with the action. The two boys did so, but continued to stare each other down, making Noah step in front of Casey to get his attention. ‘Seriously--what do we do? Do we take a train? TRY to find a hotel, someplace to stay?’

Casey shook his head. “I don’t know what to do. We don’t know anyone in the city that would take us in. I mean, right, the johns, but like hell if…”

Both Noah and Zeke blinked, waiting through the pause Casey made; his expression at his realization to a possible solution made Zeke clear his throat and ask, “What?”

Just then, the doors opened. The three of them jumped and turned; the instant panic died down when instead of cops or mobsters, two men, drunk as skunks, wandered in. They were laughing so loud, Casey winced. One of them turned his bleary eyes to the boys and smiled. “Oh, hello!” he said. “We’ve come for a bite to eat!”

“Yea. Okay,” Zeke said as the two stumbled over to the food displays.

Their conversing was more yelling, annoying Casey. They needed to wait through their discussions on “where the fuck’s the chicken salad??”, or musing on if they’d had too much to drink or not. It felt like hours before they finally decided that they’d rather spend their coins on more booze and went to leave, but not without giving the boys a cheery, “G’night! Have fun!” Impatient nods and “You as well,” replies were given; when the doors shut, Casey rounded on Zeke. “Zeke--the lockbox. Get it out.”

“Huh?”

This needed to be handled delicately--but quick. “Your lockbox… it has Cal’s key in it,” Casey said.

Zeke went blank-faced and still. A moment or two passed before an incredulous, sarcastic smile exploded onto his face, and he chuckled derisively. “Oh, no. No, fucking, way. You cannot be serious,” he said.

“Zeke… he GAVE it to me in case of an emergency. THIS, I’d say, qualifies.”

“I don’t care what he gave it to you for. There is no way in all blue hell that we’re heading to his place,” Zeke said.

“It’s the only place! Look, he’s not even going to be there--it’s his weekend apartment, and it’s Monday--”

“Oh right, his ‘weekend getaway’. Because everyone nowadays HAS one of those, for fuck’s sake…”

Time was being wasted; Casey grew angry as he stepped closer to Zeke. “Fine. You want to be an asshole about it? Then you don’t have to come-with. You can give me the key and me and Noah can get a warm place to sleep for the night, while you find a corner to stand on for the mob to find you and ‘reemploy’ you at THEIR place, or whatever, I don’t fucking care,” he said with as much acid in his voice as was possible. It didn’t seem to make a difference, as Zeke stood straighter, puffed out his chest and raised his eyebrows.

“No.” he said.

“No?” Casey echoed. When all Zeke did was make an impertinent expression, Casey snarled. “You said… no, you fucking promised, you’d give me the damned thing if I asked for it back--your only concern was me running away without telling anyone. This?? Zeke, be reasonable, for Christ’s sake!”

Noah stepped in then, nodding. “Zeeg…” he said, eyes on the older boy as if pleading.

“Oh, no. Look, I’ll figure this shit out. We don’t have to leave, fuck, no one’s here to bother us--”

“ZEKE!” Casey howled out his name, stunning him into silence. It couldn’t be helped; the stress of their situation wasn’t mixing well with Zeke’s stubborn, jackass behavior. At all. Casey’s breathing quickened as he held out his hand. “You. Promised. It’s our way out, where no one will find us…”

“You can go, fine. I won’t.”

Both Noah and Casey watched as Zeke turned on his heels and grabbed his bag from the bench. He looked flustered and furious as he rifled through it, tossing things out of the way to the floor. Casey’s lower lip shook as the lockbox emerged; Zeke’s hands trembled so badly, it took a handful of tries at the combination before the lid clicked open. In a flick of his wrist, Zeke reached in, snagged the key and held it out to Casey, who took it. A tense moment of silence followed, ending when Zeke slammed the lid open and began picking up his things. Casey licked his lower lip and put the key in his pocket. “Zeke, please. Come with us,” he said in a soft voice. “You need to.”

“I don’t need shit. Don’t need you, don’t need Stephen…”

“Stop it. Please. You know better.”

Zeke finished repacking his things and pulled the drawstring tight to close it. “No, you know what I know? See, this is how things are gonna go: first, we’re gonna get to your sweetheart’s luxury apartment, where he keeps all his pretty, expensive things. Second, you’ll get in touch with him to let him know what happened, and he’s gonna take time out of his busy schedule to come by and console you, all while giving me and Noah a hearty ‘thank you’ for making sure his little boy was safe.” Zeke paused to swallow; his lips trembled into another cruel smile. “Third… he’s gonna tell us that we can stay as long as we like, even me--because he KNOWS I’ll say ‘no thanks’. And that means that you’ll have your safe haven with the rich man that loves you SO fucking much, while me and Noah take off and let you two live ‘happily ever fucking after’.”

The tension in Casey’s stomach grew, making him nauseous. “That’s really… what you think. Isn’t it,” he managed to mumble.

“No, like I said--it’s what I know.”

“Right. Because I’m that shallow, always have been… because I’ve given you all the proof in the whole goddamned world that I’d ditch you, ditch Noah--that I’d leave you all behind for a shot at the ‘rich life’, huh?” Casey said. The tears in his throat made his voice sad and thick as he went on. “Yea, that’s it exactly.”

“You were desperate enough to become a whore to save your life. I wouldn’t blame you for a second if you took off with him, if he’s your shot at getting out,” Zeke stated with a blatancy that stabbed Casey, straight to the heart. When tears finally began to spill, Zeke flinched, but kept staring at him. “I wouldn’t. Okay? Go to him, get yourself a better life.”

“What… wh-what about the last few hours doesn’t convince you that… no,” Casey shook his head quick, feeling dizzy. It was then that Noah, who’d remained silent throughout this exchange, stepped forward again with an even angrier expression. As he stared at Zeke, three firm, distinct motions were made: a finger, pointed to Casey, two hands folded over his heart, then a finger pointed again, this time at Zeke, over and over again. Zeke furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t… don’t even bother, okay--”

“He… LUFFS… yuh! He LUFFS yuh, yuh id-yut!”

“And I love him, but that means nothing! Okay?? Fuck’s sake!”

Noah sniffed, shrugged and grabbed his things. He motioned for Casey to do the same; after a thoughtful pause… fine. ‘What Zeke says goes’ was the general way things went of course, so Casey began snatching his things from the floor. He slung the bag over his shoulder, the case gripped in his hand. Its handle felt hot on his palm; Zeke’s gift, the best he’d ever gotten… “I’d rather have been shit-poor, living in a rat-infested apartment for the rest of my life, if that’d meant I’d been with you,” he said in a murmur before turning away from Zeke and headed to the door with Noah. Noah held it open for him, sending a dark look Zeke’s way before following Casey out into the cold air. Casey walked with a purpose, wanting to get away, get to Cal’s…

Follow me. Don’t let me go. Please don’t let me go…

They were almost to the corner when the sound of a door opening then running footsteps came from behind. Casey stopped and turned, finding Zeke jogging over. Noah stopped with him and they waited until Zeke was there with them again, huffing and puffing. He’d gone from looking like an angry, unapproachable man to a lost little boy as he looked to Casey, his eyebrows creased with worry. “Casey….” he said, but he needed to swallow before continuing. “…I’m just… saying. I’ll be with you, if I’m with you, but I can’t go to Cal’s knowing that you’re--”

“Stop it,” Casey interrupted, stopping Zeke mid-sentence. After a tense moment of silence, he took a deep breath and said, “This is one night only. We leave tomorrow and figure out what to do once we straighten out our funds. Got it?”

Zeke stared at him a moment; his nod showed that he, indeed, ‘got it’. Casey nodded slowly back. “Good. Let’s… get to the next subway station…” he said, wishing that he could grab Zeke and hold him, kiss him and tell him that it’d be all right.

~*~

“Great security they have here,” Zeke said after the elevator door closed. “Is it the doorman’s night off?”

Casey sighed and hit number five. “This isn’t the Waldorf. It’s just… an apartment building.”

“Hmm…” Zeke hummed.

The ride to Cal’s floor was quiet, both Zeke and Casey staring at the numbers lighting up above the door. Noah, however, had grown tired, nearly falling asleep on his feet. He leaned on Zeke, eyes closing, then snapped awake, gasping a little. Casey couldn’t help a grin. “Almost there,” he murmured just as the elevator stopped at five with a ding! Casey stepped into the hall first to lead the way to #506. For a moment he panicked, wondering if Cal had decided to turn his ‘weekend getaway’ into a more permanent residence. Casey swallowed, turned the key in the lock and hoped for the best.

The sight of nothing--just darkness--eased him. Remembering the lightswitch to the left just past the door, he flicked it up and made the first half of the apartment come into view. The living room was still in shadows, but Casey didn’t fight to find more switches. The least amount of attention and showing off that someone was in the apartment, the better. One person had to know, however; as Noah and Zeke looked around, getting familiar with their sanctuary, Casey wandered into the kitchen and looked around. He finally found the telephone on the wall. Sure enough, a paper was tacked up next to it with various numbers, most of them looking like businesses and general services. At the bottom in red ink sat the title ‘HOME’, the number listed next to it. Casey bit his lip and leaned over the counter separating him from the two now in the living room. “Zeke, the clock on the wall…?”

“Um… almost two.”

“Shit,” Casey said. Surely, he couldn’t call Cal this late. He was probably in bed, sleeping soundly in preparation for the workday. “’Can’t call him now. It’ll have to wait ‘til morning.”

Zeke shrugged in a non-committal way and let his bags fall on the floor by the couch. “Do you know where any blankets are?”

“Um, he does have a bed--”

“I’ll take the floor, thanks.”

Casey rolled his eyes and left the kitchen to join them. “I don’t know. I came here for one day, and one day only,” he said.

Sniffing, Zeke ignored this to search around the room. “Case out the closets or something. There’s a throw-blanket here…” He reached to the floor by the couch, where a folded up blanket was sitting. “Lots of pillows, whatever.”

“’K,” Casey said. He wandered down the hall leading to the bedroom, wanting nothing more than to climb onto a real mattress and sleep for days. It was best to stay together, however, so he opened a few doors--bathroom, study… ah. Cal certainly knew how to keep house with all the fluffy towels, sheets and yes, blankets, sitting on shelves folded and orderly. Casey carefully slipped two blankets and a sheet from the top, shut the door and walked back in. On the way, he buried his nose into the soft cloth and breathed in the scent of fresh laundry. Fresh… clean. Something he most definitely wasn’t at the moment. He laid the items on the back of the couch and fiddled with a loose thread on his sweater. “I’m gonna shower before bed. You guys can follow after me,” he said. He moved to Noah, who was already sitting on the couch and taking off his shoes, signing, ‘Shower… want one?’

‘Had one after ‘Petie’,’ he signed with a wry smile, then yawned. Casey nodded.

“I’ll take one after you,” Zeke said. “Does… Cal have a coffee maker?”

“Hell if I know. Look around, feel at home.”

“Hah… thanks, but I doubt that’ll happen…” With that, Zeke sauntered into the kitchen to search for the appliance. Casey pursed his lips, raised his eyebrows and walked back to the bathroom, where he’d wash away his and Zeke’s first time. As uncomfortable as it’d been, walking all over the city with his body still stimulated and--messy, he felt sad that it ‘had to go’.

~*~

A coffee maker had, in fact ,been found. Though Casey still wasn’t thrilled over the beverage, he poured himself a mug and shuffled into the living room where Noah was sitting, sipping the tea he’d managed to come across in the cupboards. Casey smiled weakly at him as he sat on the other end of the couch and turned to face him. “Figured you’d have gone to bed already,” he said, annunciating the words with his lips, instead of signing. He was simply too tired; judging by Noah’s half-lidded eyes and his shrug, he was ready to drop off at any moment himself. Still, he put the mug down on the coffee table, placing it on a provided coaster.

‘I just need a little down-time. Let it sink in,’ he replied once his hands were free.

Casey nodded. “Yea.”

Silence fell; Casey kept sipping, staring into the dark pool of liquid under his nose. Noah cleared his throat, making the boy look up. ‘He just acted like that… because he loves you. He sees Cal as a threat--’

“I know,” Casey interrupted, looking away. The impatient huff Noah made had him look back and groan, deep in his chest. “I know.”

‘Sorry. You…’ Noah paused, bit his lip, then continued. ‘I’ll understand if you decide to stay with Cal. I don’t know if I’d turn that down, myself.’

Casey smiled again, wider this time. ‘No. I won’t be doing that,’ he said, going back to signing.

‘You’re sure?’

‘I’m sure. We’re in this for the long haul.’ Casey paused to shrug and cluck his tongue. ‘Cal… he’d make life easy, yes. But after everything, I don’t think we’d make it. Starting out with a whore-client relationship isn’t the most solid ground to base a REAL one on.’

Noah smiled back and nodded, then asked, ‘You and Zeke… did you?’

Knowing that a blush was creeping over his cheeks, Casey made a sheepish smile and nodded. ‘Yes,’ he replied.

“Mmm,” Noah hummed and raised his eyebrows, then returned to signing. ‘As long as you’re happy, I’M happy.’

Happy. That seemed like such a stupid notion that any one of them would feel any elation whatsoever with what was happening, but… in a way, Casey was. At least when it came to finally being with Zeke. And for now, they were in a safe place together, where they could rest up, relax and get everything sorted without worrying that the police--or worse--were going to barge in and take them away. Though Zeke was absent at the moment, Casey needed to ask, ‘Did you see anyone--did anyone get out that you know of?’

To Casey’s delight, Noah nodded. ‘When the lights went on and off, I went out in the hallway, just to see what was happening. Jamie and James had just been showering, and they were already dressed when it happened. I think they went out through James’ and Danny’s room to their fire escape. Henry had been in a room with a John, ran up to the bedrooms half-naked. But he got out, too--went through my window, tried dragging me out with him. But… I waited.’

‘Waited? For what?’

Noah pursed his lips then signed, ‘You. I knew you guys were upstairs and would be coming through soon. And I figured… that YOU wouldn’t leave me, so I couldn’t.’

Casey felt his eyes water. ‘That’s why we headed to your room. I couldn’t have left you behind,’ he said. Noah wore a weak but grateful smile as he put a hand on Casey’s ankle and squeezed it lightly. Casey smiled back, then stopped. ‘But wait… Danny?’

Noah’s expression deflated. He stared at the floor as he signed, ‘He’d been downstairs, I think. I… didn’t see him.’

It’d been too optimistic to think that all of them could have escaped. There was the secret doorway in the back, but Casey hadn’t seen anyone come out in their running behind the buildings. His mood went further into despair, thinking about what everyone else--Helen, Alice, Sam, Oscar… Stephen… were being subjected to. ‘I suppose we’ll never be seeing them again,’ Casey sadly signed.

‘No. Probably not,’ Noah replied.

The reality of their situation was starting to cave in on Casey, making him tear up. Noah joined him; he moved closer to Casey, curled along his side and slung his shoulder around him. The throw blanket was pulled over them in one swoop of Noah’s arm.

‘Let’s rest. We’ll figure everything out tomorrow with Zeke.’ Noah yawned and closed his eyes. Casey nodded and tried to do the same, but sleep wasn’t going to come easy tonight…

Moments later, Zeke emerged from the bathroom. His opening and closing the door made Casey open his eyes. Noah, never disturbed by noises, kept sleeping, grunting a little as Casey moved against him to watch Zeke walk in. Gorgeous, as always; bare-chested, hair wet and tousled; if Casey was just a wee bit more out of his mind, he would’ve had him all over again, right then and there. “Hey,” he whispered.

Zeke looked over and made his way around the couch. “Hey,” he said back as he began unfolding blankets and throwing pillows upon the floor. “You guys comfortable up there?”

“Yea, I guess.”

“’K. I’ll set up shop down here.” Zeke continued with his blanket-bed set-up, blank-faced and quiet. Once he had everything down, he lay down upon it and tugged the sheet over himself. All was silent, the perfect setting for sleep--finally--when Zeke cleared his throat. “Thanks, Casey.”

“For what?” Casey asked.

Zeke swallowed and smacked his lips. “We did need a ‘safe-spot’, and this… happens to be it,” he said. “As much as it’ll pain me to do, I’ll thank Cal when you call him tomorrow.”

A small smile rose on Casey’s lips. “Well, you’re welcome, I suppose.”

“But really… don’t go with him. Please.” Zeke gave Casey a hard look, eyes continuing to plead his case. “I want you to stay with me. Even if I can’t give you much, I want--”

“Enough. I already told you--I’m with you, and Noah. That’s final.”

Though Zeke still looked insecure, he nodded. “’K.”

Casey pursed his lips and turned his head to look at Noah. He didn’t want to rouse or startle the boy, but Zeke needed insight as to what had gone on tonight. No one said they needed to wake up at the crack of dawn the next day, and sleep was too elusive, anyway. Being as careful and gentle as he could, Casey slipped away from Noah, propping the boy’s head up with his hand to stuff a pillow under it, where his shoulder had been. All Noah did was smack his lips and curl into it, not waking. Casey smiled, placed a kiss on his temple and slid to the floor. “Noah told me--he’d seen everyone… but Danny… get out,” he said.

Zeke blinked profusely; a swallow rolled down his throat. “Shit,” he muttered.

“But--who knows, maybe he got out? And Stephen told me about the money he kept in his safe. Helen’s instructed to escape with it and use it for bail, court costs… whatever,” Casey said. “Stephen told me he kept enough to use for others’ bail, so maybe…”

The laughter coming from the hall outside made Casey stop speaking; Zeke lifted himself up onto his elbows and stared at the front door, jaw set. It didn’t matter if it was another tenant. For all they knew, mobsters told really funny jokes. Casey waited for the voices and laughter to fade, but they only grew nearer and nearer, until…

“Fuck!” Zeke hissed at the sound of the lock coming open.

More panic churned in Casey’s belly as the door opened. The light wasn’t turned on, but he could see who it was; ‘Cal…?’ he thought. A relief-filled smile came over his face and he moved to stand, but he stopped when he saw someone else come in with him.

“And IF he knew, you’d be out of a job, now, wouldn’t you?”

The small stature of the boy shutting the door behind them was familiar. It made Casey dart his eyes down to his lap, then back up again, just in time to see Cal move in on his ‘friend’, a hand slapped over his shoulder upon the door, leaning in… “Ahh, but that’s the fun of it. The risk.”

“Oh?” The boy chuckled and leaned in to kiss the man, hard and long. Casey’s eyes widened at the sight of hands coming around Cal’s waist to his back, clenching upon the fabric of his shirt. It was pulled out from its tucked position, all for the young man to reach under it to Cal’s bare back. It made the man moan and deepen the kiss, then grab the boy’s hips to turn him away from the door.

“Come… bedroom,” he said between kisses.

Fury began creeping into Casey’s bones. He sniffed with anger as he stood. “Hello, Cal.”

To say that Cal and his ‘friend’ were startled was an understatement. The man jumped and let go of the boy, all to whirl around on his heels to face Casey. “Ca… Casey! What… what’re you…”

“Surprise.”

“Wh-What…” Cal now looked around the shadowy living room. When he saw Zeke throwing daggers at him with his eyes, he swallowed. “What IS this??”

“Wait… ‘Casey’?” the young man at Cal’s side said with recognition. “No. Not the one…”

Casey next shot his eyes over to the new face. “Not the one… what?”

A scoff and a smile came from the boy. “Oh god. You’re the whore.”

“Sasha…” Cal said in a shaky voice.

“Oh, you KNOW about me?” Casey practically spat. “And who are you?”

Sasha sighed dramatically and walked over, removing his fancy jacket. “Nobody in particular, really. I’m just as big a secret as you are,” he said. With a flourish, he tossed the jacket on the couch--where Noah was sleeping. The action woke him up, however; he gasped loudly and sat up quick, causing Sasha to jump in shock. “Oh!” he said, looking upon the startled, confused boy who stared back at him with an incredulous expression. Sasha turned back to Cal and smirked. “Another one. That makes three. What HAVE you been up to, Calvin Jessup?”

Cal was a mess, full of darting eyes and nervous twitches. Casey swallowed, the action making his throat sore. “So… do you tell everyone of your exploits, Calvin? Who else knows about the high-priced whore you rent out whenever you can?”

“Casey,” Cal said, eyes set on the floor. He crossed his arms and gnawed at his lip. “What… what are you doing… here?”

“I have a key--remember?” Casey replied.

“Yes, but what are--why aren’t you at Stephen’s?”

A sarcastic smile came on Casey’s lips. “Oh, you know--one of the reasons you GAVE me the thing to begin with, as a ‘just in case’ things fell apart and I had to run. Only Zeke and Noah lucked out in getting away, too.”

Cal’s lips parted, his jaw dropping slowly. “Stephen’s… got busted? Cops?”

“You give random boys keys to your apartment? Oh dear,” Sasha interjected. Casey shot him a death-glare.

“Stay out of this,” he warned.

Sasha rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m not saying anything out of turn. I’m sorry that you didn’t know about me, but I suppose Cal didn’t want to tell you.”

“Yea. Sure he didn’t. He just wanted me to drop everything and come live with him, all while he’s with OTHER boys half his age,” Casey said.

“Oh, Cal, come on! You didn’t!” Sasha said, turning his attention back to the quivering with nerves man. “What IS it with you and these ‘hero fantasies’?”

“Sasha, please… please, c-can you just…” Cal motioned to the hallway. “Go into the study, let me… talk to him.”

Sasha sighed, threw his hands up and let them fall in a slap at his sides. “I suppose,” he said in a lofty voice before leaving the room in a flounce.

Now ‘alone’ with the man, Casey crossed his arms around himself tight. “Is he a stage actor? He has drama in spades, doesn’t he?” he said.

Cal looked away from the floor and glanced to each of the boys, finally settling his eyes on Casey. “Sasha… he’s my bosses’ son,” he said. “We’ve been on and off, for… for a while now.”

“Funny, you never told me about him. But he seems to know all about me.”

“Yes, I told him. I should’ve told you--”

“And you warned him about me. That’s fucking rich.”

Casey and Cal looked to Zeke, who was lighting a cigarette and shaking his head. Cal spluttered a moment. “How--would you know that?”

“I told him. It seems I can be a tattletale, as well,” Casey said.

“It’s none of his business what I--Casey, look--”

“None of his business? And what ‘business’ is it of Sasha’s, knowing about ME?” Casey interrupted to say, growling the words. “Not to mention that I should have known about him, as well.”

Cal’s nervous expression faded a little as he tightened his jaw. “Why? I had no claim to you, as you always reminded me. You were everyone’s lover, something I had to watch every single time I’d show up!” he said. “It didn’t matter how I pled for you to LEAVE that place, you wouldn’t, not for me or anyone else!”

“I had your key. You told me that I’d always have a safe haven with you, a place to ‘run to’ when things got bad. So what if I’d shown up alone, needing you, and there you walk in with another boy that you ‘love’??” Casey retorted; Cal scoffed.

“I don’t ‘love’ Sasha. He’s just…”

“A lay?”

“Zeke, shh…” Casey hissed, but Cal glared at the young man.

“Stay out of this,” he warned.

Zeke smirked and snorted, but said nothing, allowing Casey to get to the matter at hand. “You could have told me. You could have been honest. I never lied to you about what I was doing; for fuck’s sake, like you SAID, you’d see it for yourself,” Casey said. “So don’t lump me in with you in the ‘deceit’ category. You lied--I didn’t.”

“Yes, I omitted a few things--”

“You LIED, Cal!”

“FINE! I lied, I’ve been seeing Sasha on and off for over a year since I started working for his father! But it’s nothing!”

“Oh?” Casey said. He nodded to where Sasha had gone. “And does he know that?”

“Yes!”

Everyone fell silent at hearing Sasha’s calling out. Cal, looking pained, took a deep breath. “Sasha. Please…” he called.

“Sorry, sorry…”

“Well, good. I’m glad to know that you dabble in meaningless relationships--like the one you’d had with me,” Casey said.

Cal’s look softened. “Casey… no…”

“‘No’ what?”

“You don’t have to believe me… but I do care for you, I do love you. It’s just…” Cal ran his hands through his hair, tugging at the strands and stretching his forehead as he went on. “…What was I to do? You were never going to leave Stephen’s, not for me or anyone else. And I--”

“Sorry, but I’m starving,” Sasha interrupted, passing through to head to the kitchen.

“Sasha. I mean it,” Cal said through gritted teeth. Casey held up his hands and raised his eyebrows.

“No, let him stay. In fact… Sasha?”

“Hmm?”

“What HAS he told you about me?”

The boy sighed as he searched the cupboards. Finding a box of crackers, he took them down, opened them and picked up a plate from the counter. “He DID say that he cared for you, a great deal. But I can tell you where it comes from, if you’d like to know.”

“Yes, please--give me some insight to this mess, won’t you?” Casey said.

As Cal slumped against the wall, staring into space, Sasha continued making his snack, complete with a cream cheese spread. “Like I said before--Cal here, he has a hero-complex. He gets off on that sort of thing,” Sasha explained. “When it comes to you, you’re the boy he wants to ‘save’. I never knew it went so far as to him giving you a fucking key, but hey, whatever floats his boat.”

Casey flicked his eyes over to Cal, who looked ready to cry. He almost--almost--felt sorry for him, but he turned back to Sasha. “Then who are you to him?”

“Me? I’m the rich boy fetish, the son of his boss. I’m the thrill, the ultimate taboo when it comes to high society. Something, I myself admit, can be very, very exciting,” Sasha said. He licked a dab of cheese from his thumb and shrugged. “Cos’ you see, I’m supposed to be dignified, not take it up the ass by a grown man.”

“I see. So…” Casey pointed at Sasha. “You’re the illicit love affair, and me…” Casey next pointed to himself. “…I’m the charity case.”

“Yea, pretty much. I don’t say that to hurt you. It’s simply the truth,” Sasha said.

“Oh no, really, I appreciate the bluntness. The honesty,” Casey said, emphasizing the last word as he shot his eyes over to Cal. “But it’s all right. Really. It is. I wasn’t planning on staying, with or without another lover in the picture.”

Cal finally looked up, blinking wildly. “What?”

“Yea. I realized not too long ago that it wouldn’t work. It doesn’t make sense, starting a relationship in a whorehouse,” Casey said. “You can try and say you’d have ‘made it work’, but really, Cal… really.”

“No. No, Casey, I would have.” Cal stood away from the wall and waved a hand to Sasha. “Me and him… tell him, Sasha, this isn’t a ‘thing’.”

“No, it isn’t,” Sasha said, shrugging listlessly. “Hey, chopped red peppers would go great with this…”

“And you think that makes things better?” Casey said. When Cal only frowned with confusion, Casey rolled his eyes. “If you can carry on with some other boy without a care for him, who’s to say I’d be any different if I were to become your lover?”

“Sasha knew--he understood that I loved you!” Cal said. Zeke scoffed.

“Yea, while you fucked him.”

Cal couldn’t help from stalking over and leaning over the couch to look at Zeke fully. “You--you shut up, you bastard,” he said.

“Don’t tell him to shut up. He’s only being honest, where you weren’t,” Casey said.

“Okay, so does that mean that you never loved me, as well?? When you fucked other men, the countless Johns, had YOU lied when you said you loved me?” Cal spluttered.

“I’d never declared ‘love’. DID I love you? In a way, as I’d told you. But for god’s sake, Cal…” Casey, feeling tired and done began picking up his things. “…I was in love with your romanticizing, the way you wanted to care for me. You were a lovely man that treated me so good, so much better than any other client. But I’m not a grown man. You knew full-well that I didn’t actually know what I wanted. I never, ever lied to you. You did, to me.” Casey next looked to Zeke. “Come on. Let’s go find somewhere else to stay tonight.”

Cal’s lower lip trembled as Casey signed ‘let’s go’ to Noah, who nodded sadly and stood up. “No… Casey, don’t leave. It’s dangerous, the cops…” Cal said. “Think of me what you will, but I don’t want you to get hurt!”

“Too late for that.”

“No--Casey…” Cal looked to the hallway, then back to him. “In private. Please. Grant me that.”

Though Casey owed this man absolutely nothing, he paused to think. Cal--he was a stupid, stupid man whose dick led him around, not his brain. ‘He wouldn’t have rented boys if he had any sense,’ he thought before nodding. “Fine.”

“Casey--” Zeke went to say, shaking his head, but Casey made a weak smile, went over to him and squeezed his hand.

“I’ll be right back,” he said. “Okay?”

Though Zeke looked unsure, he made a quick nod; before he let Casey go, however, he leaned down, gave him a light kiss then stood straight again. Cal watched the exchange with his lips in a tight, thin line. Casey sighed and stepped away from his friends, all to follow Cal into the den; once inside, Cal shut the door behind them. “Casey…

“How old is Sasha, anyway?”

Cal paused, blinked then replied, “Um… nineteen.”

“You’re sure of that?” Casey said in a cold, suspicious tone. When Cal’s face went stoic, almost annoyed, Casey sighed and shrugged. “Well, at least you’re consistent…”

“Casey, I’m sorry,” he said.

“For what?”

The man took a deep breath and let it out in a hard huff. “I never meant to hurt you. Think what you will--if you’d told me yesterday that you were coming to stay with me, I would have told Sasha we couldn’t ‘play together’ anymore and had you as my one and only,” he explained, sounding sincere. It wasn’t enough, however.

“You’re making me sound like a chess piece,” Casey said. “One you fight to claim and put on your side to keep.”

“That’s not it at all…”

Casey shook his head slowly and stared at the small painting on the wall--daffodils--just above Cal’s shoulder. “It wouldn’t have mattered to me if you’d had someone else, Cal. You were married to a woman when we first met, and it didn’t bother me one bit. Well… I wasn’t proud of myself, sleeping with a married man, but…” The boy rolled his eyes and huffed out a sigh. “I’ve said it a thousand times in the last ten minutes: you lied. THAT… is what hurts the most. That and being made to feel ‘special’, when I’m just another boy you fuck.”

“It was never that. Never,” Cal said. He took a step forward; his hands rose up from his sides but stopped halfway when Casey gave him a stern look.

“Don’t try to hold me and make everything better, Cal. It won’t work.”

Cal bit his lower lip and let his arms fall back down. His arms crossed, eyebrows raised. “Zeke kissed you. Does that mean…?”

“Yes.”

“Even after the things I told--”

“Stop it. Stop it, now. I got the details about what went on with him and Marty and he was NOT what you thought he was. And no, I’m not filling in the blanks for you. Just know that what you’d heard was idle gossip, nothing but,” Casey said.

Looking more and more defeated and downtrodden, Cal rubbed his lips as he shook his head. “Casey… when I first saw you at Stephen’s, I was instantly attracted. After a few times, getting to know you, being so damned intimate with you, I was driven mad. I wanted nothing more than for you to give that life up, to come be safe--with me.” Cal swallowed and made a deep, pensive expression towards the floor. He was most definitely honest, now--all too late, but he was. “That was my problem. I fall in love too quickly, too easily, and… well…”

“I know you mean this, Cal. But it doesn’t change anything. I’m letting you talk, we’ll say our goodbyes then me, Zeke and No--”

“What can he give you, Casey? Hmm?” Cal snapped. “Go on and think I’m a jackass, but I’m being that jackass for your own sake. If he cares for you, loves you, then fine--wonderful. But ‘love’ doesn’t put a roof over your head or keep you safe.”

Casey’s lips parted slowly. “Who says that my only criteria in being with someone is so that I can be ‘safe’? Or made rich, as I would’ve been with you? That’s… an incredible insult.”

“Insult? I didn’t… Casey…”

“Yes, insult. You may as well cuddle me up in your arms and pooh-pooh me, saying that I need you, because I can’t take care of myself. Well, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Cal… but when I leave here tonight, I’m going to do my best to take care of myself, and Zeke. And yes, Zeke will do the same for me, AND himself. So on with Noah,” Casey said. “And we will make it… much better and much easier than I would have been, being here with you.”

Cal scoffed and finally looked Casey in the eye. “Now you’re the one insulting me.”

“No, I’m not insulting you, Cal. Let me clarify what I mean by asking… when was the last time you sold your body?”

“Um… what?”

“Go on, answer.”

“Never. I’ve… Casey--”

“How about lived in a dirty, run-down apartment? Have you ever done that? And meals--have you ever not eaten for two days straight until you start seeing colors? Who‘s beaten you bloody lately?” Casey asked. When all Cal could do was stare at him, Casey sighed. “You don’t know what it’s like in those situations. Me, Zeke and Noah--we do. ALL of us back at Stephen’s did. It made us appreciate what we had a lot more than someone who’s always HAD it would.”

This made Cal stare at him, looking thoughtful, until he sighed and looked away. “Sasha was right, saying what he said--that I’ve been making a terrible fetishist out of myself, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t--or DON’T, love you,” he said. “But I suppose any begging for you to stay here with me would be a waste of breath, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes,” Casey replied.

Cal paused then nodded ruefully. “So be it. It’s my own goddamned fault.”

“Well… yea, it is,” Casey said. He couldn’t help feeling sorry for the man, who yes, loved him. Casey believed he truly, honestly did. But there was a difference in pure love and the desire to, or the fetish of love through sex. Casey stepped closer to Cal and got in his line of sight to get his attention. “I don’t think you’re a bad person, Cal. There were many men I met that were nasty, even vicious, but I still wouldn’t call them ‘bad people’. Perhaps bad at being people, but there’s a huge difference there.”

“You don’t need to say all of this. It’s all right,” Cal said. “I knew, all along. Which is why…”

The pause that followed made Casey frown. “Why what?”

Cal’s eyes went alert in looking head-on to Casey. “You DID get away with everything, right? Everything important?”

“What, money and such? Yes, luckily--”

“And the gold?”

Casey stilled. In all the confusion and panic, he’d forgotten all about Cal’s present. “Yes… yes, it’s in my bag. I hadn’t even thought about it…”

Cal nodded briskly. “Good. Good. That should help you.”

“Yes.” Casey’s voice was a whisper. “So… this… is why you’d gotten it?”

“As I said when I gave it. Reality, and all. I wanted you to have something secure, something to help you… in case of emergency,” Cal said. “And--in case of this.”

Realization hit Casey in a wave. Cal had owned a conscience about his hiding things from him. It made Casey nod and say, “Thank you.”

“Mmm,” Cal hummed and looked away again. “Just--just be safe with it, especially after cashing it in. Do you have any sort of--I don’t know, special box or…”

“Zeke has a lockbox, yes.”

“Good. Use that.”

Casey nodded again, bit his lip and looked to the door. “I should probably go, then.”

“Casey, it’s nearly three in the morning--you CAN stay. All of you. Zeke, Noah… please. Be reasonable,” Cal said. Casey smiled warmly.

“Not after this, Cal. We can’t.”

Biting his lip, hard, Cal frowned and looked away. “So be it.”

“All right.” Casey sighed and went to Cal to give him a small hug; the man’s arms jerked around Casey, as if he was ready to close them in on Casey and make him stay put at any moment. Cal held back, however, and let Casey go when he made to step away. “Thank you, Cal. I do mean that.”

Cal made a solid nod. “I never wanted to hurt you, like I said.”

“I know. I’ll say that you ARE a hopeless romantic,” Casey said with a fond smile. “The chocolates, the roses...”

“Roses?”

“Yes. The ones you sent me, just today.”

Cal frowned. “I didn’t send any roses…?”

“You didn’t?” Casey asked. At Cal’s shake of his head, it was Casey’s turn to frown. “But they arrived right before we opened tonight, with a note--saying that you’d ‘miss me’, ‘good luck tonight’…”

“Good luck tonight?” Cal echoed. After a small moment of silence, Cal’s eyes narrowed. “Casey, do you have this note?”

More realization began creeping its way into Casey’s brain. “Yes. In my jacket pocket…”

“Show me.”

Casey nodded and followed him back out to the living room, where Zeke, Noah and Sasha were standing around, looking awkward and uncomfortable. Zeke groaned and glared Cal’s way. “Are we done now?”

Casey ignored him for the moment, choosing to head over to his jacket and dig into its pockets. The card was drawn out with trembling fingers and handed over to Cal. Casey glanced to Noah, who looked incredibly perplexed.

“No, this isn’t my handwriting.” Cal looked away from the card to Casey. “But I think it’s obvious as to what it means.”

“What are you talking about?” Zeke said. He looked to Casey. “What is that?”

“The card, the one that came with the flowers tonight,” Casey replied.

“Ooh, what’s this--a mystery?” Sasha asked.

“Someone didn’t like the goings-on at Stephen’s, apparently,” Cal said, handing the note back to Casey. “I’d bet a lot of money that whoever sent this was the one to blow the whistle.”

Adrenalin coursed through Casey’s body as he stuffed the note in his jacket pocket again, buttoning the flap closed to prevent its loss. “Come on, Zeke--Noah. We’re leaving,” he said in a shaking voice. He grabbed the rest of his things and turned back to Cal, gnawing his lip. “Thank you. Again.”

“Yea,” Cal said, his brow furrowed as if he were ready to cry. Casey wanted to hug him again, but didn’t dare--especially when Zeke reached his side and gave Cal a look.

“Bye,” he said in a cold voice.

“Take care of him, Zeke,” Cal said in a blurt. It made Zeke pause, blink wildly, then nod.

“Good luck, boys,” Sasha said past a mouthful of cream-cheesed crackers.

~*~

Casey made a sad frown as he felt Noah’s weight grow. The poor boy could barely walk on his own at this point, needing to lean on Casey as they went. “Zeke, we need to stop,” Casey said to the young man a few paces ahead of them. “Really, we do.”

A groan escaped Zeke’s chest as he stopped and turned to them. “Where?”

“I don’t care. A hotel, whatever.”

“We haven’t even counted our cash yet. A hotel room might cost us half the pot, pooled and everything.”

Casey wasn’t about to say, ‘No, it’s okay, I’VE GOT A BAR OF GOLD in my bag!’ right here and now, where late-nighters were still coming across their path every now and again. It was a wonder that they hadn’t been held up at knifepoint yet, or picked up by the police, or… Casey shuddered and moved to the corner of a nearby alley, where he moved the sack of rocks Noah had become to the wall, letting him lean on it. They were in shadow, offering a moment of hiding. Zeke joined them, staying in the streetlight. “Zeke, come away from the light, someone will--”

“We’ll look more suspicious, trying to hide in an alley,” Zeke said.

“Hey!”

Zeke and Casey turned to the depths of the alley, startled by the voice from behind. Casey felt Zeke’s hand fall on his shoulder in a show of protection. They’d expected a policeman of course, but found an old, grizzled man, with a matted beard that reached his chest, clothes tattered and torn. “You boys… got any spare… change?” he asked, coughing hard in between the words. Casey went still, but Zeke nodded and reached into his pocket.

“Last dime,” he lied, handing it over to the poor soul, who smiled wide.

“Thanks, young’un,” he said, then left the alley in a shuffle.

“’Probably heading to a twenty-four hour bar…” Casey muttered.

“Let ‘im. I’d do that, too,” Zeke said. He then relaxed his shoulders and looked around. “We can head down Fifth, find a quiet, non-flashy hotel, I guess…”

“Zeke, we don’t have to worry about money, all right?”

Zeke cocked an eyebrow at him. “With all the cash you’ve spent on candy and cigarettes? How much could you possibly have?”

“Plenty.” Casey took a deep breath and went to continue talking, but stopped dead when he looked around Zeke’s arm to see a car, moving down the street slowly… crawling. “Zeke, outta the light…”

While Zeke gave him another perplexed look, Casey shuddered violently when the car stopped; he saw the window on the passenger side go down. “Shit--” Casey blurted, then grabbed Noah’s arm. The boy groaned loudly in protest. Zeke finally turned his head; he stiffened.

“Run--go!”

Before Casey could follow the instruction, a sudden, distinct laugh came from the car. “Tyler, my boy--where the living hell have you been all night?”

Casey, Zeke and Noah all turned back around; Casey felt his jaw drop at the sight of Danny, sticking half his body out the window, wearing the usual goofy grin. “D-Danny?”

“Lemmee guess--drank your cab fare… again?” Danny called out.

“Um… yea. Yea, we did,” Zeke called back.

“Well c’mon, hop in. Again.”

Feeling shaky with relief, Casey nudged Noah, who finally looked up and towards the street where Casey pointed. The boy gasped as he followed Casey over; Zeke opened the back door and climbed in, waving at Casey. “C’mon,” he said.

“Who… who’s our driver?” Casey asked as he helped Noah in; he couldn’t see past Danny and the darkness to the driver’s side, making him suspicious.

“Our best buddy, Xavier, of course.”

“Xavier…?” Casey finally entered the car and looked over the back of the front seat. Sure enough, the familiar face of Danny’s ‘favorite’ was looking back at them with a smile.

“Hallo, boys!” he said in a cheery voice.

“Shut the fucking door, let’s get moving,” Danny said in an urgent hiss. Without pause, Casey did so; the car left the curb and on they rode. Danny turned fully, eyebrows raised. “We’ve been casing out the whole fuckin’ city for hours now.”

“Where are we going?” Casey asked.

“Casa del Madison,” Xavier said. Zeke frowned.

“Madison Street?”

Danny chuckled a little. “No. Xav’s place. That’s his last name, apparently.”

“What--what’s going on?” Zeke asked. “Danny, what do you know, is--”

“Wait ‘til we’re home,” Danny interrupted, then turned back around. “I’m fuckin’ paranoid that the whole city’s bugged.”

Casey and Zeke exchanged looks, then hunched down a little lower. Noah didn’t need to do so, as he was slumped over Casey’s shoulder completely, fast asleep.

~*~