Prepared
Title: Prepared
'Verse: The Effect
Pairing: Ethan/Dan
Rating: slash - soft
Author's Note: I haven't decided whether I actually like this piece or not...
Ethan, Keith, Adrian belong to guiltycross. Dan, Graham, Chris, Brooklyn belong to me.
Their relationship was unusual. Unlike most couples, they went for days at a time without so much as talking on the phone, let alone actually seeing one another. They were busy, their schedules were tight, and they had both agreed early on that if they were going to attempt this thing, they couldn't get upset about these stretches of 'alone time.'
They attempted to make the most of the time they did spend together. So when Ethan called Dan up to cancel their plans, after four days of keeping to their own schedules, and right before Ethan's departure for a business meeting in New York, the other man was reluctant to let go of the little time he could spend with him.
Ethan came home from his meeting and after-meeting-work at around one in the morning. The television was still on in the lounge room, Chris sprawled on the sofa watching an action movie. He turned his head to watch Ethan enter, and flashed him a grin that looked suspiciously like a leer. There was no one else awake, and Ethan wasn't in the mood to put up with Chris, so he nodded to the younger man and turned down his wing of the house.
He opened his bedroom door and flicked on a lamp, already in the process of removing his suit jacket. Daniel was curled up in his bed. Ethan took a moment to shake off his initial surprise, and then reached out to push a strand of hair away from his forehead. Dan shifted, murmured something in his throat, and opened his eyes. He smiled sleepily up at him.
"Hey." He reached up, circling his arm around his neck, bringing him down to plant a tiny kiss on his cheek.
Ethan ran his fingers through his hair. "I thought we agreed to cancel tonight?"
Dan yawned and nodded. "Yeah. I just thought it'd be a waste. Do you mind?"
"Not at all. Let me get ready for bed." He smiled at him, and turned to his bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He stared into the mirror, poking a finger at what was either a shadow or a wrinkle. A tilt of his jaw confirmed to his intense relief that it was only a shadow.
He returned to his bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt along the way. "I'll have to be up at-" He cut himself off. Dan was fast asleep. Ethan smiled. Changing into a pair of sweatpants, he turned off the lamp and climbed into the bed, sliding behind Dan and reaching his arms around him. Dan sighed, leaned back into him, and slept on.
The following morning, Dan woke up with sunlight in his eyes. He yawned, stretched, and turned, expecting to find Ethan there. The bed was empty, save for a folded note on the pillow. He reached for it with a frown, opening it and skimming the few brief lines.
'I didn't want to wake you-you looked so peaceful.
I'll see you next week.
--Ethan'
Dan sighed, dropped the note, and crawled out of bed, wandering moodily into the kitchen, where Graham was seated at the table. The younger male paused, spoon halfway to his mouth, and blushed.
"Good morning," he mumbled shyly.
"Morning," Dan replied. He sat down, pulling a knee to his chest.
Graham swirled his spoon in his cereal for awhile in silence. Then he cleared his throat. "Ethan had to go to the office first thing. He said to tell you if I saw you." He paused again. "His flight doesn't leave until ten. Maybe you can make it."
Dan grinned. "Thanks, Graham." He flew from his seat and back to Ethan's wing of the house, stripping off his shorts and pulling on his jeans from yesterday. After a moment's contemplation, he pulled on a sweater of Ethan's as well. He slipped on a pair of shoes, ran his fingers through his hair, and was out the door.
He parked a little recklessly, checking his reflection in the visor mirror. "Maybe I should have showered…." he mused out loud, but got out of the car regardless. He strode through the revolving glass doors of the looming building and headed straight towards the front desk, where a young woman sat in reception.
"Hi there. My, you're looking fabulous today-" His eyes skimmed the woman's nametag. "Beth. Is Ethan in?"
"Mr. Valente? He left for the airport about fifteen minutes ago." She smiled shyly up at him.
Dan's face fell. "Oh."
"Yes," someone else spoke up, a handsome man with slicked hair and an absurdly expensive coat. "Valente is on his so-called business trip. He certainly has a habit of mixing business with pleasure." He looked him up and down. "Would you be one such pleasure?"
Dan stared at him for one excruciatingly long moment. Then he turned around, and walked out the door.
"It's a pity," the man sighed. "Somehow, Valente gets all the pretty ones." He eyed the woman at the counter. "The pretty interns too."
His business trip had been mostly boring. Old men arguing over things Ethan had no real interest in. He was utterly grateful when the taxi pulled up, and his luggage was carefully stowed away in the trunk. The driver was given his address, and after what felt like an eternity, Ethan was home again. He tipped the cab driver generously, and dragged himself inside.
Graham was there almost immediately, handling his luggage and chattering at him. How was the trip? Did the conference go well? Do you need anything? Are you feeling jetlagged? Ethan managed a few polite, but tired responses. Then Keith came by, looping an arm around Graham to pull him away.
"Easy there, kid. Welcome back, Ethan. Graham, Brook needs you in the kitchen, can you go help her?" The younger male nodded and hurried off. Keith grinned at Ethan, who smiled back. "Go take a nap or something, you look like shit," Keith told him, slapping him on the shoulder.
"Thank you," Ethan said wryly, but was more than happy to oblige. As soon as he was in his bedroom, he stripped down to his boxer-briefs and crawled into bed. Strange, even after a week, he thought he could still smell the faint, lingering scent of Dan. He smiled as he fell asleep.
When he woke up, Brooklyn had prepared supper, and they all sat down to dinner together. He briefly summarized the conferences so as not to bore them. Chris, anyway, was more interested in what he did after work, which Ethan had to sadly admit was not much of anything. And to which Chris teased him about getting too old for the night life.
He waited until the evening before calling Dan. Settling down into his study, he picked up the phone and hit the number 9 button on his speed dial. The phone rang five times before his voicemail picked up. "You've reached the voicemail of Dan Oakley. There are a lot of choices in life. You can now choose to either leave me a message, or hang up. Both decisions have their results: I will either call you back, or I won't. The choice is now yours to make. Choose wisely."
Ethan stared at the phone, bewildered. He'd never even gotten Dan's voicemail before, the man always answered his phone. And what kind of goofy voicemail message was that, anyway? There was a prompting beep, and Ethan swiftly turned to his most charming tones.
"It's Ethan. I've just returned from my trip. Please call me back when you receive this message." He paused. "I hope to see you soon."
He hung up the phone and turned to find Graham waiting anxiously in the doorway. Ethan raised his eyebrows. "Graham? Is something wrong?"
"I wasn't sure… if I should tell you or not," he began nervously, twisting the hem of his shirt.
"Tell me what?" Ethan asked carefully. His hand was clenching the phone. He barely noticed it.
Graham took a hesitant step forward. "Well. I went to my After M meeting this last week, like usual. But… it wasn't open. And there was a note on the door saying the meeting was cancelled for the week, but it's not like Dan to cancel his meetings. And I tried to call, but he won't pick up his phone."
Ethan thought it over. "Well," he began calmly, "if he won't answer his phone, what do you propose we do?"
The young male sighed and shrugged. "I don't know." He paused. "Did he catch up with you before you left?"
"Catch up with me?" Ethan echoed.
Graham nodded. "Well, you left early that morning and when he woke up I told him you might still be at the office and maybe he could catch up so he left to see if he could get to you before you left and say goodbye I assume." He took a deep breath.
His dark head shook. "No, I never saw him." He tapped his fingers against the surface of his desk. "Well. Perhaps he'll call back. Until then, there's little we can do." He smiled broadly at Graham, rising from his seat to usher him out the door. "He's probably just tired of me."
"No!" Graham protested. "That couldn't be true."
Ethan tried to make his smile more pleasant than he felt, because truthfully, he felt a little queasy. "I think I'll retire now. It's been a long day."
Graham nodded, turning to go. He swiveled around briefly to glance at him, his eyebrows crinkling slightly. "I'm glad that you found someone to be happy with, Ethan." He paused. "You are happy, aren't you?"
He shrugged, more uncertain than he'd like to admit. "Happiness is one of those things that becomes less attainable the more you try to achieve it." Which wasn't really an answer, and they both knew it, but Graham let it slide. He bade him a goodnight, and disappeared, leaving Ethan to take a long, hot bath and eventually climb back into bed. Alone. And what he'd thought was Dan's smell he thought now more strongly resembled his own.
Ethan spent the next day in the office, though his mind was mostly elsewhere. By the time five o'clock rolled around, he had accomplished little. But, he reasoned, there wasn't much point in remaining there when he could get no work done. He slipped his coat on, gathered his things together, and went down to the elevator.
He was almost out the door when a young woman at reception, an intern named Beth, hurried over to him. "Mr. Valente," she called out. He stopped, turning elegantly on the balls of his feet, and smiled graciously at her as she caught up to him. "Mr. Valente, you said to tell you if Mr. Bancroft showed up, right?"
Temporarily forgetting to chide her for using formalities, Ethan nodded quickly. "When was he here? Did he do anything?"
She shook her head. "No. I mean, yes, sort of. I think. Maybe." She blushed. "Excuse me, I'm sorry. He was here the day you left for New York, not long after you had left yourself. When I told him you weren't there, he was about to leave. Well, I'm not really sure if it's important or not."
"If what's important?" he pressed.
"Another young man came in. He never gave his name. But he was looking for you too. And when I told him you were on your business trip…" Her blush deepened, and she lowered her voice. "Mr. Bancroft implied that your trip wasn't business-related."
Ethan knew enough of Adrian to understand what Beth meant. He rubbed his forehead, massaging out the tension. "I see."
"The other man didn't say anything. He just left. I-I'm sorry. I wasn't sure if it mattered."
He flashed her a reassuring smile. "Thank you, Beth. I will see you tomorrow. Have a lovely evening." His steps were somewhat quicker as he walked out the door.
He had only ever been to Dan's apartment once, and he hadn't been invited inside. But it was his only option, as far as he saw it. The building was a nice one, unlike many in Los Angeles. The doorman greeted everyone passing in. Ethan approached him.
"Hello. My name is Ethan Valente, I'm a friend of Daniel Oakley's," he began.
"Mr. Oakley didn't say he was expecting anyone," the man said with a frown. "I'll go ring him. One moment, sir." He turned around and slipped inside the building before Ethan could say anything, pushing the button for Dan's room and waiting, receiver to his ear. Ethan shifted his weight from foot to foot, unable to hear the conversation, though he could see the man through the glass door.
He hung up the phone and pushed the door open. "Third floor. 304 is the room number. The elevator is right through there, sir."
"Thank you," Ethan told him, walking inside. He took the elevator up alone. It dinged quietly, sliding open on the third floor, and Ethan looked around. 302 to one side, 303 to the other. He walked down the right hand side of the hallway, and found room 304. Standing there, he tried to gather himself together, smoothing down his shirt, adjusting his jacket sleeves. Then he knocked.
The door popped open. "Hey," Dan greeted him cheerfully, though his tone contrasted his appearance. Unshaven, shadows under his eyes, his hair limp and unkempt. "Come in. I'm sorry, it's a bit of a mess. Hold on, let me get rid of that," he picked up some books and notebooks off the sofa. "Have a seat, make yourself comfortable. Would you like something to drink? I'm afraid I haven't gone grocery shopping in awhile. I might have some coffee or tea to spare. Or some beer. Well," he laughed, "maybe not." He disappeared into another room, what looked like an office space.
Ethan stood uncertainly in the doorway, before stepping in and closing the door shut behind him. "I called you. Did you get my message?"
"What's that?" Dan called from the other room. "Oh. No. My phone, the battery's completely dead, won't charge at all. I've been meaning to get a new one, but I absolutely dread going to those electronic stores. They start talking, and I just about lose my head in all the technobabble. All I need is a battery, stop trying to sell me a three thousand dollar gadget that I'd never use!" He chuckled, reappearing in the door, and gestured at him. "Aren't you going to sit? I'll make tea."
"No, that's not necessary," Ethan said, crossing over to the sofa and sliding down to the cushions. He sank a bit lower than expected, as the soft cushions gave way under his weight. Shifting, he scooted a bit closer to the edge. "Graham was worried. He said you cancelled your After M meeting."
"Ah, yes," Dan said, nodding and sitting down in a chair across the room. "Dentist appointment." He bared his teeth, flashing his pearly whites. "Only time I could get in. Forgot to mention it the last time we had a meeting. Felt awful about it, but there you have it."
Ethan sighed. Either it was all a misunderstanding, or Dan was, for the first time since Ethan had met him, lying. "My receptionist said you stopped by the office before I left," he tried. "I'm sorry I missed you. I heard you also met a rather rude business nemesis of mine."
"You have a nemesis?" Dan asked with a grin. "That's so superheroesque."
"The point is," Ethan said, "I hope you didn't believe anything he may have said."
Dan laughed again. It sounded wrong to Ethan's ears. "Of course not. I don't even know the man."
Out of the corner of Ethan's eye, he saw Dan's cell phone resting on a bookshelf. He could just make out the numbers on the screen, telling the time. He lowered his eyes back to the floor, realizing something. "Your phone rang," he said quietly. "A phone doesn't ring if it's off. It also doesn't display the time if the battery's dead." He lifted his eyes back up to meet Dan's. "You've never lied to me before. But you're quite good at it."
"I don't think this is going to work out," Dan said simply.
"Why?" Ethan demanded. "Because of something my rival said? I don't even know what he told you!"
Dan pulled both knees up to his chest, holding them there with his arms. Ethan had never seen him look so vulnerable before. "He said you used your business trips as excuses to sleep around. Then he implied that I was, I don't know, one of your man whores."
"And you believed him?" Ethan asked, disgusted.
Those pretty blue eyes met his, ice-cold. "I was prepared to."
"Why?" He allowed a little bitterness to creep into his voice, mingling with the desperation.
Dan suddenly flung himself sideways in the chair, hooking his legs over the arms and stretching the upper half of his body back over the other side. "Well, doctor, when I was a little boy, I had this rocket ship, and I loved it so much I decided I wanted to be an astronaut, but my dad threw it away and I guess I've harbored some resentment over that ever since."
"Stop that. Just be honest."
Dan snapped back into an upright position, turning his accusing eyes on him. "You be honest! Have you ever slept with someone you didn't care about?"
"I-"
"And have you ever slept with someone on one of your business trips?"
"Not-"
"What about one of your housemates? Chris? Seth? Graham?"
"Dan!"
"Well?" Dan raised an eyebrow.
"Whatever I may or may not have done, that's all in the past," Ethan began. "But for your information, no, I have never slept with any of my housemates. What kind of a man do you take me for?" He paused, Dan didn't answer. "I'm sure you've done some things you regret."
"You mean some people," he murmured. "And no, I haven't. Except for maybe the phase I went through in college where I wore eyeliner. I sort of regret that."
"Dan, be serious."
"I am serious! I might even have pictures somewhere."
Ethan rose from his seat, crossed the room, and crouched down in front of him. "I don't sleep with people on my business trips. Yes, I have had flings, but not in a long time. I would never sleep with anyone else while in a relationship. And I would never hurt you."
He smiled down at him, reaching his hand down to stroke through Ethan's hair. "Yeah?"
"Yes," Ethan said firmly, taking that hand to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on the inside of his wrist. "Do you trust me?"
Dan's smile widened. "I'm prepared to."
'Verse: The Effect
Pairing: Ethan/Dan
Rating: slash - soft
Author's Note: I haven't decided whether I actually like this piece or not...
Ethan, Keith, Adrian belong to guiltycross. Dan, Graham, Chris, Brooklyn belong to me.
Their relationship was unusual. Unlike most couples, they went for days at a time without so much as talking on the phone, let alone actually seeing one another. They were busy, their schedules were tight, and they had both agreed early on that if they were going to attempt this thing, they couldn't get upset about these stretches of 'alone time.'
They attempted to make the most of the time they did spend together. So when Ethan called Dan up to cancel their plans, after four days of keeping to their own schedules, and right before Ethan's departure for a business meeting in New York, the other man was reluctant to let go of the little time he could spend with him.
Ethan came home from his meeting and after-meeting-work at around one in the morning. The television was still on in the lounge room, Chris sprawled on the sofa watching an action movie. He turned his head to watch Ethan enter, and flashed him a grin that looked suspiciously like a leer. There was no one else awake, and Ethan wasn't in the mood to put up with Chris, so he nodded to the younger man and turned down his wing of the house.
He opened his bedroom door and flicked on a lamp, already in the process of removing his suit jacket. Daniel was curled up in his bed. Ethan took a moment to shake off his initial surprise, and then reached out to push a strand of hair away from his forehead. Dan shifted, murmured something in his throat, and opened his eyes. He smiled sleepily up at him.
"Hey." He reached up, circling his arm around his neck, bringing him down to plant a tiny kiss on his cheek.
Ethan ran his fingers through his hair. "I thought we agreed to cancel tonight?"
Dan yawned and nodded. "Yeah. I just thought it'd be a waste. Do you mind?"
"Not at all. Let me get ready for bed." He smiled at him, and turned to his bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He stared into the mirror, poking a finger at what was either a shadow or a wrinkle. A tilt of his jaw confirmed to his intense relief that it was only a shadow.
He returned to his bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt along the way. "I'll have to be up at-" He cut himself off. Dan was fast asleep. Ethan smiled. Changing into a pair of sweatpants, he turned off the lamp and climbed into the bed, sliding behind Dan and reaching his arms around him. Dan sighed, leaned back into him, and slept on.
The following morning, Dan woke up with sunlight in his eyes. He yawned, stretched, and turned, expecting to find Ethan there. The bed was empty, save for a folded note on the pillow. He reached for it with a frown, opening it and skimming the few brief lines.
'I didn't want to wake you-you looked so peaceful.
I'll see you next week.
--Ethan'
Dan sighed, dropped the note, and crawled out of bed, wandering moodily into the kitchen, where Graham was seated at the table. The younger male paused, spoon halfway to his mouth, and blushed.
"Good morning," he mumbled shyly.
"Morning," Dan replied. He sat down, pulling a knee to his chest.
Graham swirled his spoon in his cereal for awhile in silence. Then he cleared his throat. "Ethan had to go to the office first thing. He said to tell you if I saw you." He paused again. "His flight doesn't leave until ten. Maybe you can make it."
Dan grinned. "Thanks, Graham." He flew from his seat and back to Ethan's wing of the house, stripping off his shorts and pulling on his jeans from yesterday. After a moment's contemplation, he pulled on a sweater of Ethan's as well. He slipped on a pair of shoes, ran his fingers through his hair, and was out the door.
He parked a little recklessly, checking his reflection in the visor mirror. "Maybe I should have showered…." he mused out loud, but got out of the car regardless. He strode through the revolving glass doors of the looming building and headed straight towards the front desk, where a young woman sat in reception.
"Hi there. My, you're looking fabulous today-" His eyes skimmed the woman's nametag. "Beth. Is Ethan in?"
"Mr. Valente? He left for the airport about fifteen minutes ago." She smiled shyly up at him.
Dan's face fell. "Oh."
"Yes," someone else spoke up, a handsome man with slicked hair and an absurdly expensive coat. "Valente is on his so-called business trip. He certainly has a habit of mixing business with pleasure." He looked him up and down. "Would you be one such pleasure?"
Dan stared at him for one excruciatingly long moment. Then he turned around, and walked out the door.
"It's a pity," the man sighed. "Somehow, Valente gets all the pretty ones." He eyed the woman at the counter. "The pretty interns too."
His business trip had been mostly boring. Old men arguing over things Ethan had no real interest in. He was utterly grateful when the taxi pulled up, and his luggage was carefully stowed away in the trunk. The driver was given his address, and after what felt like an eternity, Ethan was home again. He tipped the cab driver generously, and dragged himself inside.
Graham was there almost immediately, handling his luggage and chattering at him. How was the trip? Did the conference go well? Do you need anything? Are you feeling jetlagged? Ethan managed a few polite, but tired responses. Then Keith came by, looping an arm around Graham to pull him away.
"Easy there, kid. Welcome back, Ethan. Graham, Brook needs you in the kitchen, can you go help her?" The younger male nodded and hurried off. Keith grinned at Ethan, who smiled back. "Go take a nap or something, you look like shit," Keith told him, slapping him on the shoulder.
"Thank you," Ethan said wryly, but was more than happy to oblige. As soon as he was in his bedroom, he stripped down to his boxer-briefs and crawled into bed. Strange, even after a week, he thought he could still smell the faint, lingering scent of Dan. He smiled as he fell asleep.
When he woke up, Brooklyn had prepared supper, and they all sat down to dinner together. He briefly summarized the conferences so as not to bore them. Chris, anyway, was more interested in what he did after work, which Ethan had to sadly admit was not much of anything. And to which Chris teased him about getting too old for the night life.
He waited until the evening before calling Dan. Settling down into his study, he picked up the phone and hit the number 9 button on his speed dial. The phone rang five times before his voicemail picked up. "You've reached the voicemail of Dan Oakley. There are a lot of choices in life. You can now choose to either leave me a message, or hang up. Both decisions have their results: I will either call you back, or I won't. The choice is now yours to make. Choose wisely."
Ethan stared at the phone, bewildered. He'd never even gotten Dan's voicemail before, the man always answered his phone. And what kind of goofy voicemail message was that, anyway? There was a prompting beep, and Ethan swiftly turned to his most charming tones.
"It's Ethan. I've just returned from my trip. Please call me back when you receive this message." He paused. "I hope to see you soon."
He hung up the phone and turned to find Graham waiting anxiously in the doorway. Ethan raised his eyebrows. "Graham? Is something wrong?"
"I wasn't sure… if I should tell you or not," he began nervously, twisting the hem of his shirt.
"Tell me what?" Ethan asked carefully. His hand was clenching the phone. He barely noticed it.
Graham took a hesitant step forward. "Well. I went to my After M meeting this last week, like usual. But… it wasn't open. And there was a note on the door saying the meeting was cancelled for the week, but it's not like Dan to cancel his meetings. And I tried to call, but he won't pick up his phone."
Ethan thought it over. "Well," he began calmly, "if he won't answer his phone, what do you propose we do?"
The young male sighed and shrugged. "I don't know." He paused. "Did he catch up with you before you left?"
"Catch up with me?" Ethan echoed.
Graham nodded. "Well, you left early that morning and when he woke up I told him you might still be at the office and maybe he could catch up so he left to see if he could get to you before you left and say goodbye I assume." He took a deep breath.
His dark head shook. "No, I never saw him." He tapped his fingers against the surface of his desk. "Well. Perhaps he'll call back. Until then, there's little we can do." He smiled broadly at Graham, rising from his seat to usher him out the door. "He's probably just tired of me."
"No!" Graham protested. "That couldn't be true."
Ethan tried to make his smile more pleasant than he felt, because truthfully, he felt a little queasy. "I think I'll retire now. It's been a long day."
Graham nodded, turning to go. He swiveled around briefly to glance at him, his eyebrows crinkling slightly. "I'm glad that you found someone to be happy with, Ethan." He paused. "You are happy, aren't you?"
He shrugged, more uncertain than he'd like to admit. "Happiness is one of those things that becomes less attainable the more you try to achieve it." Which wasn't really an answer, and they both knew it, but Graham let it slide. He bade him a goodnight, and disappeared, leaving Ethan to take a long, hot bath and eventually climb back into bed. Alone. And what he'd thought was Dan's smell he thought now more strongly resembled his own.
Ethan spent the next day in the office, though his mind was mostly elsewhere. By the time five o'clock rolled around, he had accomplished little. But, he reasoned, there wasn't much point in remaining there when he could get no work done. He slipped his coat on, gathered his things together, and went down to the elevator.
He was almost out the door when a young woman at reception, an intern named Beth, hurried over to him. "Mr. Valente," she called out. He stopped, turning elegantly on the balls of his feet, and smiled graciously at her as she caught up to him. "Mr. Valente, you said to tell you if Mr. Bancroft showed up, right?"
Temporarily forgetting to chide her for using formalities, Ethan nodded quickly. "When was he here? Did he do anything?"
She shook her head. "No. I mean, yes, sort of. I think. Maybe." She blushed. "Excuse me, I'm sorry. He was here the day you left for New York, not long after you had left yourself. When I told him you weren't there, he was about to leave. Well, I'm not really sure if it's important or not."
"If what's important?" he pressed.
"Another young man came in. He never gave his name. But he was looking for you too. And when I told him you were on your business trip…" Her blush deepened, and she lowered her voice. "Mr. Bancroft implied that your trip wasn't business-related."
Ethan knew enough of Adrian to understand what Beth meant. He rubbed his forehead, massaging out the tension. "I see."
"The other man didn't say anything. He just left. I-I'm sorry. I wasn't sure if it mattered."
He flashed her a reassuring smile. "Thank you, Beth. I will see you tomorrow. Have a lovely evening." His steps were somewhat quicker as he walked out the door.
He had only ever been to Dan's apartment once, and he hadn't been invited inside. But it was his only option, as far as he saw it. The building was a nice one, unlike many in Los Angeles. The doorman greeted everyone passing in. Ethan approached him.
"Hello. My name is Ethan Valente, I'm a friend of Daniel Oakley's," he began.
"Mr. Oakley didn't say he was expecting anyone," the man said with a frown. "I'll go ring him. One moment, sir." He turned around and slipped inside the building before Ethan could say anything, pushing the button for Dan's room and waiting, receiver to his ear. Ethan shifted his weight from foot to foot, unable to hear the conversation, though he could see the man through the glass door.
He hung up the phone and pushed the door open. "Third floor. 304 is the room number. The elevator is right through there, sir."
"Thank you," Ethan told him, walking inside. He took the elevator up alone. It dinged quietly, sliding open on the third floor, and Ethan looked around. 302 to one side, 303 to the other. He walked down the right hand side of the hallway, and found room 304. Standing there, he tried to gather himself together, smoothing down his shirt, adjusting his jacket sleeves. Then he knocked.
The door popped open. "Hey," Dan greeted him cheerfully, though his tone contrasted his appearance. Unshaven, shadows under his eyes, his hair limp and unkempt. "Come in. I'm sorry, it's a bit of a mess. Hold on, let me get rid of that," he picked up some books and notebooks off the sofa. "Have a seat, make yourself comfortable. Would you like something to drink? I'm afraid I haven't gone grocery shopping in awhile. I might have some coffee or tea to spare. Or some beer. Well," he laughed, "maybe not." He disappeared into another room, what looked like an office space.
Ethan stood uncertainly in the doorway, before stepping in and closing the door shut behind him. "I called you. Did you get my message?"
"What's that?" Dan called from the other room. "Oh. No. My phone, the battery's completely dead, won't charge at all. I've been meaning to get a new one, but I absolutely dread going to those electronic stores. They start talking, and I just about lose my head in all the technobabble. All I need is a battery, stop trying to sell me a three thousand dollar gadget that I'd never use!" He chuckled, reappearing in the door, and gestured at him. "Aren't you going to sit? I'll make tea."
"No, that's not necessary," Ethan said, crossing over to the sofa and sliding down to the cushions. He sank a bit lower than expected, as the soft cushions gave way under his weight. Shifting, he scooted a bit closer to the edge. "Graham was worried. He said you cancelled your After M meeting."
"Ah, yes," Dan said, nodding and sitting down in a chair across the room. "Dentist appointment." He bared his teeth, flashing his pearly whites. "Only time I could get in. Forgot to mention it the last time we had a meeting. Felt awful about it, but there you have it."
Ethan sighed. Either it was all a misunderstanding, or Dan was, for the first time since Ethan had met him, lying. "My receptionist said you stopped by the office before I left," he tried. "I'm sorry I missed you. I heard you also met a rather rude business nemesis of mine."
"You have a nemesis?" Dan asked with a grin. "That's so superheroesque."
"The point is," Ethan said, "I hope you didn't believe anything he may have said."
Dan laughed again. It sounded wrong to Ethan's ears. "Of course not. I don't even know the man."
Out of the corner of Ethan's eye, he saw Dan's cell phone resting on a bookshelf. He could just make out the numbers on the screen, telling the time. He lowered his eyes back to the floor, realizing something. "Your phone rang," he said quietly. "A phone doesn't ring if it's off. It also doesn't display the time if the battery's dead." He lifted his eyes back up to meet Dan's. "You've never lied to me before. But you're quite good at it."
"I don't think this is going to work out," Dan said simply.
"Why?" Ethan demanded. "Because of something my rival said? I don't even know what he told you!"
Dan pulled both knees up to his chest, holding them there with his arms. Ethan had never seen him look so vulnerable before. "He said you used your business trips as excuses to sleep around. Then he implied that I was, I don't know, one of your man whores."
"And you believed him?" Ethan asked, disgusted.
Those pretty blue eyes met his, ice-cold. "I was prepared to."
"Why?" He allowed a little bitterness to creep into his voice, mingling with the desperation.
Dan suddenly flung himself sideways in the chair, hooking his legs over the arms and stretching the upper half of his body back over the other side. "Well, doctor, when I was a little boy, I had this rocket ship, and I loved it so much I decided I wanted to be an astronaut, but my dad threw it away and I guess I've harbored some resentment over that ever since."
"Stop that. Just be honest."
Dan snapped back into an upright position, turning his accusing eyes on him. "You be honest! Have you ever slept with someone you didn't care about?"
"I-"
"And have you ever slept with someone on one of your business trips?"
"Not-"
"What about one of your housemates? Chris? Seth? Graham?"
"Dan!"
"Well?" Dan raised an eyebrow.
"Whatever I may or may not have done, that's all in the past," Ethan began. "But for your information, no, I have never slept with any of my housemates. What kind of a man do you take me for?" He paused, Dan didn't answer. "I'm sure you've done some things you regret."
"You mean some people," he murmured. "And no, I haven't. Except for maybe the phase I went through in college where I wore eyeliner. I sort of regret that."
"Dan, be serious."
"I am serious! I might even have pictures somewhere."
Ethan rose from his seat, crossed the room, and crouched down in front of him. "I don't sleep with people on my business trips. Yes, I have had flings, but not in a long time. I would never sleep with anyone else while in a relationship. And I would never hurt you."
He smiled down at him, reaching his hand down to stroke through Ethan's hair. "Yeah?"
"Yes," Ethan said firmly, taking that hand to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on the inside of his wrist. "Do you trust me?"
Dan's smile widened. "I'm prepared to."