To Sleep Perchance
Apparently Daniel's insomnia is contagious. Here I am up past my bedtime and staring at the computer screen, willing it to give me some form of distraction so I can start to get sleepy and finally nod off. It's not my fault, or at least I didn't intend to wind myself up like this but with no Leo to scold me for being a drama queen, I have regained my royal title except with red eyes rather than tantrums.
I'm almost too embarressed to say what exactly wound me up, because I know I am just being stupid and thinking things over too much and if self-consciousness was a sin I'd have secured my place next to old Lue himself the way I can get sometimes. It wasn't anything big, because it never needs to be, but it started out with me looking for Wally's leash.
I turned the living room upside down, looked in the front hall and about ten closets and no luck. Wally followed me around the whole time, whining and wagging his silly little tail at me, do you know how much pressure it can be to have this little creature so dependent on me and so certain that I can hang the moon? ** LOL ** Finally I went to ask Daniel if he remembered where I had set it down and found the guestroom empty. Not entirely empty because his stuff was still by the bed, most of it clothes casually tossed onto the suitcase. But no Daniel taking a nap or reading in the chair and for a moment I wondered if I had fallen into an alternative dimension where Daniel was invisible. I wandered back into the hallway and that's when I heard the sounds of movement coming in through the guest bathroom, muffled by the wooden door but not silent by any means. I am not exactly investigator material, it would seem.
I hesitated for a second, not wanting to interrupt Daniel's afternoon ablution, but a second listen convinced me he didn't have the shower going. I moseyed over (Hi lq :P) and discreetly tapped on the door.
"Hey you decent in there, mate?" I called out through the door. There was a pause in the commotion inside and then Daniel replied: "Just a sec."
I fidgeted for a moment and then the door swung open a foot, the bathroom's warm mirror lights falling into the hallway. Daniel leaned against the door's edge, clad in naught but one of the fluffy white towels my maid puts in the bathroom closet, wrapped neat around his trim waist. The question I had meant to ask stuttered and died unspoken as I couldn't help but stare at what was in front of my eyes. It shouldn't have mattered; I'd seen Daniel in various forms of undress hundreds of times but that was back when we were both younger and I grew used to his leanness, learned to ignore the attractiveness of the clean lines that made up Daniel's form. But now, years later, that leaness is still there and that grace which Daniel carried so casually combined with a new element to a lethal degree. I vaguely remembered Daniel talking about boating and building his studio but here in front of me was the hard evidence: subtle muscle defined his long arms and accented his chest, making it perfectly clear that he was no stranger to a little strain and sweat. Here was a brand new Daniel, one that I couldn't take for granted to no longer tempt my libido and reason.
And further evidence of this new danger came from the fact that Daniel was standing there, arms casually crossed, watching me. In the past, Daniel had been blissfully oblivious to my occasionally hungry stares and flirtations, which was something of a safety net, but now I was left dangling over a thin wire because Daniel was very clearly aware of me staring at him. I will tell you now that the only thing that stopped me from fainting was the fact that he gave no indication that he disapproved of my staring. I bit my tongue, trying to think of some way to save myself from utter humiliation, and tried to look away from Daniel's bare skin, with silvered scars here and there but his tan hadn't suffered from the lack of sun here. If I hadn't been so abruptly turned on, I probably would have been annoyed since one thing about Daniel hadn't changed and that was his ability to make flaws look good. Me, the slightest wrinkle or spot and I look like a has-been but Daniel's various scars just give him character. Twice-lucky bastard.
Anyway, by looking at the carpet I managed to ask Daniel if he'd seen Wally's leash and Daniel said he thought he saw it in the kitchen but that was yesterday and I nodded along while having a silent argument with my hands that they better behave themselves or else because I don't exactly need them to sing and I made that clear to my itching fingers. The minute Daniel gave me his thoughts about the missing leash, I do believe I can describe my exit as fleeing. I just threw myself back down the stairs and decided I could walk Wally without a leash since he's such a good boy and I was going to take him for a treat and get myself a coffee and I was gone the rest of the afternoon.
How do I get myself into these situations, I ask you?
-D
I'm almost too embarressed to say what exactly wound me up, because I know I am just being stupid and thinking things over too much and if self-consciousness was a sin I'd have secured my place next to old Lue himself the way I can get sometimes. It wasn't anything big, because it never needs to be, but it started out with me looking for Wally's leash.
I turned the living room upside down, looked in the front hall and about ten closets and no luck. Wally followed me around the whole time, whining and wagging his silly little tail at me, do you know how much pressure it can be to have this little creature so dependent on me and so certain that I can hang the moon? ** LOL ** Finally I went to ask Daniel if he remembered where I had set it down and found the guestroom empty. Not entirely empty because his stuff was still by the bed, most of it clothes casually tossed onto the suitcase. But no Daniel taking a nap or reading in the chair and for a moment I wondered if I had fallen into an alternative dimension where Daniel was invisible. I wandered back into the hallway and that's when I heard the sounds of movement coming in through the guest bathroom, muffled by the wooden door but not silent by any means. I am not exactly investigator material, it would seem.
I hesitated for a second, not wanting to interrupt Daniel's afternoon ablution, but a second listen convinced me he didn't have the shower going. I moseyed over (Hi lq :P) and discreetly tapped on the door.
"Hey you decent in there, mate?" I called out through the door. There was a pause in the commotion inside and then Daniel replied: "Just a sec."
I fidgeted for a moment and then the door swung open a foot, the bathroom's warm mirror lights falling into the hallway. Daniel leaned against the door's edge, clad in naught but one of the fluffy white towels my maid puts in the bathroom closet, wrapped neat around his trim waist. The question I had meant to ask stuttered and died unspoken as I couldn't help but stare at what was in front of my eyes. It shouldn't have mattered; I'd seen Daniel in various forms of undress hundreds of times but that was back when we were both younger and I grew used to his leanness, learned to ignore the attractiveness of the clean lines that made up Daniel's form. But now, years later, that leaness is still there and that grace which Daniel carried so casually combined with a new element to a lethal degree. I vaguely remembered Daniel talking about boating and building his studio but here in front of me was the hard evidence: subtle muscle defined his long arms and accented his chest, making it perfectly clear that he was no stranger to a little strain and sweat. Here was a brand new Daniel, one that I couldn't take for granted to no longer tempt my libido and reason.
And further evidence of this new danger came from the fact that Daniel was standing there, arms casually crossed, watching me. In the past, Daniel had been blissfully oblivious to my occasionally hungry stares and flirtations, which was something of a safety net, but now I was left dangling over a thin wire because Daniel was very clearly aware of me staring at him. I will tell you now that the only thing that stopped me from fainting was the fact that he gave no indication that he disapproved of my staring. I bit my tongue, trying to think of some way to save myself from utter humiliation, and tried to look away from Daniel's bare skin, with silvered scars here and there but his tan hadn't suffered from the lack of sun here. If I hadn't been so abruptly turned on, I probably would have been annoyed since one thing about Daniel hadn't changed and that was his ability to make flaws look good. Me, the slightest wrinkle or spot and I look like a has-been but Daniel's various scars just give him character. Twice-lucky bastard.
Anyway, by looking at the carpet I managed to ask Daniel if he'd seen Wally's leash and Daniel said he thought he saw it in the kitchen but that was yesterday and I nodded along while having a silent argument with my hands that they better behave themselves or else because I don't exactly need them to sing and I made that clear to my itching fingers. The minute Daniel gave me his thoughts about the missing leash, I do believe I can describe my exit as fleeing. I just threw myself back down the stairs and decided I could walk Wally without a leash since he's such a good boy and I was going to take him for a treat and get myself a coffee and I was gone the rest of the afternoon.
How do I get myself into these situations, I ask you?
-D