"I wish somebody would tell me what in the fuck is going on here." The man in the ragged, bloodstained white suit stopped to lean against a wall, adjusting his open collar. Underneath, scratches and bruises abounded, and he looked the sort who'd been through the wringer, as a stray animal, with a curious sort of detachment
(
Read more... )
Comments 112
Explanation time, then. "You're in a magical trap shithole." Granted, not a very good explanation, but can beggars really be choosers?
And it doesn't take much scrutiny to see what, uh, magical effects the place has already had on this stranger's pants, either.
"Survivors of what?"
Reply
Nick took a time out mentally from bitching to evaluate the other man in turn. Little roughed up, but nothing as wild as he'd expect for someone still vertical three weeks after hell broke loose. Pretty attractive, too.
Whoa, he didn't just. No.
"Survivors of the goddamn apocalypse. You are one, don't worry, you look good. Must be a crack shot."
He did, however, catch the other man looking, and flashed an instinctive inviting grin. "See something you like?"
Reply
Huh. Apocalypse. Zombie apocalypse, judging by his earlier comment? It would explain the biting. ..... Cool. Wesley can play along with that. He grins a bit despite himself - crack shot isn't the half of it. "Sure - I'm the best."
And- whoa, nelly. More experienced with the wily ways of the hotel regardless, even a decade in this place wouldn't make Wesley immune to the airborne aphrodisiacs. The look he's suddenly getting certainly doesn't help, not when it's plastered over a face like Nick's. He licks his sore bottom lip, rather more uncomfortable in his worn jeans now than he was a couple minutes ago, and halfway torn between wanting to bolt over protestations of his heterosexuality goddamnit and absolutely not caring anymore. He's been around, awhile. "Yeah, I might."
Reply
"Maybe I'd like to see that sometime," He purrs--oh god there's something wrong here, is he flirting?--yes, maybe he's flirting. He's been through hell and back, he's sore and tired and really, really hard, and he's been three weeks without an opportunity to sleep eight hours, let alone use a bed for any other purpose. And this guy - whatever his name is, doesn't matter - he's clean and handsome and, from the look of his package, equally interested ( ... )
Reply
He was new - that was obvious enough. And that the drugs in the air were having an effect on him... well, that was obvious, too. Alison wasn't affected at the moment, by some unfathomable mercy of the hotel; but then again, she didn't necessarily need to be.
Her smile was more like a smirk, confident and unconsciously sensual. "Welcome to the Love Hotel," she told him wryly. "You should get used to it; you'll be stuck here indefinitely." Not that that was all that bad, depending on whom you asked. She didn't seem to mind, by looking at her.
Reply
Wait, there was always a catch.
"...Stuck here? --oh, no, I don't think--I mean I'm more the wandering, roguish sort, untethered by petty restraints." Like responsibility, and the law.
"You get it, right? I can't be stuck here."
Reply
She leaned one hand on the wall, the other running loosely through her hair, tugging it back from her face slightly. That smirk hadn't left her lips.
"This place doesn't seem to care who we are. It seems to have a mind of its own. Don't ask me how it works."
Magic is the common belief, but Alison's still not sure it's what she believes. There's no question that something does control the hotel, however, and she's had to accept that.
Reply
"What're you smiling at?" He made no attempt to conceal himself, making temporary fists instead, not at all happy with how events were unfolding.
Reply
"Nick?" Oh god, you have no idea how happy Ellis is right now. You know how dull this place is when you just hang out day after day, listening to sounds he'd rather not have to put up with all day long. Brothels weren't his scene.
Plus, he'd been worried about the others, so it was a relief to hear that voice. "Hot damn! I was wonderin' if you were gonna show up or not."
Hadn't noticed the boner yet, sorry.
Reply
"Overalls!" It was impossible to disguise the warm tone, and he didn't even try. Being alone was suicide, and Nick had this almost unhealthy passion to stay alive, so any of his teammates was a relief, but particularly one who was inclined halfway to be reasonable. Or at least listen to him.
"You wouldn't believe--I woke up in bed with a lady I didn't know, but no hangover, I haven't seen a single walking sunnvabitch corpse here yet--I don't have any guns, either..." His patter wasn't as smooth as usual. Something was wrong.
Had Ellis always looked that ...attractive? Hoboy.
"You're not hurt, right?"
Reply
Ellis hadn't grinned this much since... well, he didn't know when. He missed his familiar little group. If Nick was paying attention, it was probably hard to hide the way his expression had warmed up. Especially since, hey, he wasn't poking fun at him for something... yet. Just talking and Ellis listened, nodding along here and there, maybe... frowning a little.
Just in worry, Nick sounded... weird. But he did believe him. He'd seen weirder things happen all over this joint. Turning that frown to a more reassuring look, he reached out to give the man a quick pat to the shoulder ( ... )
Reply
"Okay, well, no zombies. That's a good thing." He licked his lips--because they were dry, he told himself--glanced around again, and moved nearer to one of the doors, risking a look inside. Empty. Not that he didn't believe the younger man, of course.
"A brothel, you don't say?" He asked, "What was your first clue?"
He was picturing Ellis on his knees, he was picturing him on a bed on his back, face to face, he was ...
"Look, get in here, huh?" He stepped into the room, giving himself another swift mental kick. "I don't like feeling so exposed." Oh god damnit.
Reply
And that was finding the others, even if she was in a state. "Nick?" There was a relief at the sight, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Boy, I am glad to see you. I was starting to think I was here alone."
Reply
Acting natural by looking everywhere but at her, he answered, "Yeah, we got separated somehow. And they took my guns, the assmonkeys. --Are you okay?" He paused for just a fraction of a second too long before adding, "Because I don't have a med kit to waste."
Reply
"I'm fine. They took my guns too though... anything I had to defend myself with. But... I've seen people around, Nick. I don't think the infection has spread here?"
Reply
"--look, just don't wander off anywhere," He turned back to her, no longer able to resist denying himself the look of her, and it wasn't just because she was beautiful, it was because she was damn competent and she was making him feel better about being here, and he really wanted to touch her.
He put a hand on her shoulder, telling himself it wouldn't go any further while he knew he was just testing the waters and hoping it would, "If it is safe here, I'm glad you made it."
Reply
Leave a comment