|
Post by Cres on May 31, 2006 11:22:25 GMT -5
The apartment was, for once, done up nicely. Chip had made sure of that. He had picked up all the clothes lying about (Dan’s, of course) and moved the dog’s toys closer to the walls so they would be less easy to trip on, and he’d even wiped off most of the dust. It was surprisingly difficult to clean up the place properly, since Dan was more of a messy type, and Chip could never convince him that it was necessary to pick up after himself, or that indeed, all the dust should be cleaned off every now and then. Since the weekend of the beach party, Dan had been even less willing to discuss anything at all, and Chip had been quite reluctant to bring it up with the older man. He knew Dan’s temper, and then again, he felt still rather offended that he was being treated this way.
Of course, he wouldn’t admit even to himself just why it bothered him so much that he couldn’t be sure if Dan had actually done something with the young man he’d found from his best friend's bed, but the truth was that he was offended not only because Dan would not talk with him, but also because the one thing Chip had been waiting for his friend to do for ten years had finally happened – with someone else. And since these feelings he had for Dan threatened to mess things up with Ace, Chip refused to think about it at all. Dan obviously wanted some time out. Fine, Chip would give it to him. The two of them had hardly spoken a word during the last couple of days, and tonight Dan had said he’d be out somewhere for the evening, and it was all too clear that it was because he didn’t want to meet Collie, who was supposed to arrive late that night. Chip had said he’d invite Ace over, and he had. It was supposed to be a nice evening, just the two of them before they’d go together to the airport to pick Collie up. And so Chip had wanted to make the place look its best. Ronny, of course, was still in the apartment. He was lying comfortably beside the TV-set as though, as Chip put it, the TV was a fireplace, and the poor creature thought himself a hunting dog.
“He’s quite lazy for a dog, really,” Chip was saying as he brought in two glasses of wine from the kitchen to Ace. There was a roast coming along in the oven - Chip had decided to cook for them that time. The man glanced at the dog with a certain amount of amusement as he stopped close to Ace. Looking at the blonde again, he grinned. “Though just wait ‘til we start eating. He’ll perk right up.”
Chip offered out the glass to Ace, looking and feeling quite happy. He wasn’t thinking about Dan anymore, and rather concentrated on being excited for Collie’s arrival and Ace being there. As much as he had enjoyed visiting Ace’s home, it meant something to him to be able to bring the boy back to his place. He supposed it was some macho trait left behind by his Italian upbringing; he liked being the “husband” – the provider. Of course, this place wasn’t much anything compared to the fabulous condo Ace’s mom owned, but Chip was hoping to do better. After the next gig would come in, he’d be handed in with nice bunch of cash, and then, maybe he’d buy a fancier place. Dan could keep his scruffy apartment.
It was a mean thought, but at the moment Chip was too upset with Dan to think nicely of him.
|
|
|
Post by Kat on May 31, 2006 12:29:10 GMT -5
Ace grinned as Chip handed him the glass, glancing over at the dog. "Aren't all dogs that way?" Ronny had been quite excited earlier when he'd come in, sniffing him for a few minutes until finally his curiousity had been abated. Then he'd settled next to the tv and hadn't moved. Though he enjoyed animals, Ace wasn't sure if he'd ever want one of his own. He simply wasn't around enough to properly care for one.
"So, this is a nice change though. Having you cook for me. I hope my delicate stomach can handle the outcome." He winked at Chip from his spot on the couch, as he took a sip of wine. Though the apartment wasn't anything special compared to the luxury he was used to, it was nice to be here. Almost as though it was another step in cementing their relationship. One more step would come tonight when they picked up Chip's friend Colorado from the airport. He was quite looking forward to meeting him, after all the only friend of Chip's Ace knew was Dan, while Chip had now met all of Ace's close friends. At least the ones who lived here.
|
|
|
Post by Cres on Jun 1, 2006 2:10:06 GMT -5
Chip gave a laugh at Ace’s jab, knowing it was only a joke. He was quite confident that the boy would like the food, even if he was a little sad that he couldn’t do something a bit more Italian, and fancier, for that matter. But, he supposed, there would be time for that later. Some weekend, perhaps. These weekday evenings tended to be so short. Chip smiled as he sat down on the couch next to Ace, throwing his arm around the boy’s shoulders in the most familiar way, as though he’d been doing so all his life. He extended his feet up on the sack chair, obviously making himself comfortable.
“Your poor tummy would die of Mama Rosacci’s foods then, she uses a lot of spices,” he commented and grinned, kissing Ace on the cheek while ruffling his hair with the hand that was wound around the blonde’s shoulders. Then he lifted the glass, filled with red wine, as though offering a toast, and smiled, quite affectionate expression in his eyes. “To your emerald eyes,” he suggested. “They hold me captive.” He restrained the smirk – he usually didn’t speak like that unless it was a joke, but this time he wanted to show he was serious. He loved Ace’s eyes, and didn’t want the boy to think he was making fun of him or something.
|
|
|
Post by Kat on Jun 1, 2006 7:40:34 GMT -5
Ace snuggled into Chip's side, leaning his head on his boyfriend for a moment. He smiled at Chip's comment about Mrs Rosacci's cooking. He didn't really have a problem with the way things tasted, but if he knew that whatever food was in front of him wasn't very healthy, he'd feel sick to his stomach looking at it. But he knew what Chip was cooking and he knew he wouldn't have a problem with it, but he'd still wanted to tease him anyway. He batted playfully at Chip's hand that was ruffling his hair, smoothing it back into place after Chip relented.
When Chip made a toast to his eyes, though, he couldn't help but think about the comment. His eyes had been a sore spot with the blonde for a long time, as not only had his coach expressed an interest in them, but his father had often remarked about them, expressing his own adoration of them. To his surprise, though, he didn't react the way he normally would have. He instead found himself calmly contemplating the matter.
"He used to talk about my eyes." Since he hadn't told Chip much about his father yet, he knew the older male would understand who the "he" was in reference to. "So I always hated it whenever someone would talk about them, because he used to say that my eyes were his favourite part of me. So I guess you could say I've kind of been ashamed of them for years now." He sat up a bit straighter but didn't pull away from Chip. He just didn't want his boyfriend to think that he was falling apart at the memory. "So I guess this means something, you talking about them and me not freaking out and running away. I guess it means I'm starting to get over it."
He turned to look at Chip, his gaze directed to the other's eyes. He raised his glass and tapped it to Chip's. "So here's to my pretty green eyes, and to you, their liberator." He smiled and took a sip of his wine before leaning forward slightly to kiss Chip, wanting him to know that he had truly appreciated the comment and that he hoped continually hearing it from Chip would be enough to bury the pain he associated with them.
|
|
|
Post by Cres on Jun 1, 2006 8:07:43 GMT -5
For some reason, Chip hadn’t expected the conversation to go back to Ace’s coach so soon – but he didn’t mind. He grew more genuinely serious when he spoke, but understood well the importance of how calmly he was talking about it, and how openly, too. All in all, he didn’t feel disappointed for the reaction his words had received, in fact he was happy, because the outcome, after all, was positive.
Somewhat of a lump got stuck to Chip’s throat when their glasses met and Ace said what he did, and everything that followed it. He was certainly not thinking about Dan any longer. No one had really said anything like that to him before. He wasn’t used to getting credit for any help he might do for others, and of course coming from Ace it meant even more. Naturally he knew that he meant a lot to Dan and Collie, but it wasn't like them to exchange many words on that account - and of course, Chip had never had a real boyfriend before, and casual flings hardly bother for heartfelt words.
The older man's brown eyes were very affectionate when he slid his hand on Ace's neck and pulled the blonde in for a decent kiss on the lips. Then he smiled and took a sip of his own glass, as though to seal the toast.
"Your eyes are definitely nothing to be ashamed of," he said gently, his fingers massaging Ace's neck almost absent-mindedly. "I'm happy to hear we're making progress, though." He smiled more widely.
[[Shall I bring in Collie in my next post?]]
|
|
|
Post by Kat on Jun 1, 2006 8:24:58 GMT -5
Ace willingly let himself be pulled forward by Chip and welcomed the kiss, then settled himself more snugly against Chip again. He smiled at Chip's comments and nodded his agreement. "So am I. That was actually way more progress than I was expecting, to be honest. I can't believe I just said all of that without once freaking out, even slightly. Not even internally, and I have a lot of internal freak outs people never even notice because I've gotten so good at covering them up. But this time, it was more like I just got a little sad about it, instead of scared. Being sad isn't all that great either, but it certainly beats scared. Much easier to recover from being sad, when I'm sitting here in your lap." He kissed Chip's neck lightly and laid his free hand on Chip's chest.
"You're so good for me. I'm so glad you came here this year, I don't know how I'd be coping if I had to go through another year, especially what's bound to be a pretty stressful year, all by myself with no one to run to." He took another sip of wine before laying his head against Chip's shoulder. "I love you."
*Bring Collie in whenever you want! And I forget, how tall is Collie?*
|
|
|
Post by Cres on Jun 1, 2006 8:56:25 GMT -5
[[Ohhhh I don't think I've ever decided on that. Shorter than Chip and Dan, for sure. Maybe around the same height as Ace. Yes. I think that's it. *nods sagely* ^-^]]
Chip had probably never been as happy as at that moment. It kept feeling like every moment with Ace, he felt happier than the last. He wondered if it had an upper limit. And another point, if it was just the first love's high or if it was to last.
"I love you."
Those three words from Ace's lips always made Chip's heart jump a little. He smiled as he leaned his cheek on Ace's head.
"I love you too." The words were a lot easier to say now, and the privacy of the apartment made them even easier. He was just about to open his mouth to say something further, when suddenly a rather loud ring resounded from the door. Chip jumped a bit and glanced over his shoulder to the door, a bit annoyed expression on his face. "Now who could that be?" he said with an aggravated tone. "I didn't invite anyone over and I sure as hell hope Dan didn't either."
The slightly angry tone was there again as Chip mentioned Dan's voice. It didn't seem likely that the two best friends would patch it up anytime soon, even if the rift was by no means fatal to their relationship.
Chip kissed Ace on the forehead and then slipped off the comfortable cuddling position - quite reluctantly. He placed the glass on the TV table and glanced at Ace again, an apologetic smile on his face.
"I'll go see who it is and get rid of them."
He walked to the door swiftly - there was no point delaying, since it would only lead to the unwanted visitor leaving more slowly - and glanced briefly at the peephole. He couldn't see anything - it seemed that whoever was on the other side had his hand over the hole. This made Chip instantly wary. He had his enemies, as did Dan, and a cold hand wrapped around his heart as he realised that this might be more than an annoying interruption - it might turn out dangerous. He glanced back to Ace, though hiding his nervousness and hesitation well behind a smile, and his thoughts went back to the knife he usually wore on his other leg. He had left it off again because of Ace - not wanting the boy to find out about it just yet. His thoughts also wandered to the gun he knew Dan kept in his room. But there was no time to fetch either without appearing suspicious to Ace - in case it was something quite harmless after all.
So Chip turned to the door, preparing for an attack but feigning a relaxed pose as he turned the handle. At least Ronny was there - the dog had perked up at the sound of the doorbell, and had jogged over to the corner of the kitchen. Chip knew he could trust on the dog, at least, if the situation would turn violent. Just as soon as the door was open, Chip relaxed for real, however - and his jaw dropped out of genuine surprise.
A young man was standing in the hallway, his other hand leaning on the door frame and his other hand pulling back from the door as it opened - having blocked the peephole a moment before - in a very feminine sort of gesture. The man was sporting a coy sort of a smile, his head tilted to the side, and he had a rather sizeable suitcase on the floor next to him. He had a mostly creamy white very short cropped hair, with a black strand running in the middle. Most of the black hair was worn in a long ponytail at the top of his head, hanging currently to the right as his head was tilted. He had black and white Scots skirt with very tight-fitting Scots trousers, a white top and a black mocca jacket. He was in a good shape, but one would have certainly compared him to a bird rather than a lion what came to his body structure.
For a moment, Chip could only stare.
"...Collie?" His lips formed the name, and it came out as a whisper, so shocked he was to find his friend suddenly at his doorstep.
In an instant, Collie's face turned into a wide grin and he threw his arms up into the air, jumping at Chip almost like a little girl hugging her dad. He wrapped his arms round the older man's neck and his legs around his waist, and kissed him several times on the forehead, squeeing. Chip fell backward but did manage to keep his balance, automatically wrapping his own arms around Colorado's much thinner, slimmer waist. It was a good thing that the eccentric artist was a lot more delicate and birdlike than Chip was, otherwise they would have fallen pretty badly.
"Ohmygod Chip it's been too long why don't you ever call? Eeeeeh!!" Collie enthused, clinging onto Chip, apparently not worried at all that the other man might drop him. He had obviously not noticed Ace yet.
Chip was grinning by now as well, and laughed.
"I do call! You never answer your bloody phone and you know I don't leave messages." He turned around a bit so that he was facing Ace, and Collie had his back toward the blonde. Peeking over Collie's shoulder, Chip grinned over to his boyfriend. "This is Colorado."
[]
|
|
|
Post by Kat on Jun 1, 2006 9:22:36 GMT -5
Ace frowned when the doorbell rang, unhappy with the interuption. He rearanged himself into a more comfortable position alone on the couch as Chip went to answer the door, and took a sip of his wine. He hoped whoever it was wouldn't take long. He didn't notice Chip's hesitation in opening the door, his eyes instead drawn to the dog, who had finally gotten up. So when Chip finally opened the door and whispered, Ace's attention was immediately given to the door. He was a little surprised when he saw what he figured must be Colorado jump on Chip, his eyes widening in interest at the other's choice of attire. Definitely eccentric. Maybe he ought to introduce Colorado to Sparky and Moki, he imagined the three would probably enjoy talking fashion.
Now that the shock of Colorado showing up unexpectedly had passed, Ace smiled but remained on the couch. He didn't want to impose on the reunion. When Chip finally turned to face him, he had an amused smile on his face. "Yeah, I figured it must be. Hi, Colorado, nice to meet you finally." Ace remained on the couch for a moment, taking a sip of his wine before leaning forward to place the glass on the table.
|
|
|
Post by Cres on Jun 1, 2006 9:40:34 GMT -5
Colorado turned in Chip's arms with a bit of a surprised jerk, his eyes suddenly widening as he realised they weren't alone. He flashed a quick smile at first, then turned to look at Chip again, his eyes quite annoyed.
"Why didn't you tell me we had company?" he hissed under his breath to his friend.
Chip grinned back, highly amused over the slight embarrassment he could read from Collie's face.
"Actually," he said, "I had company. You just showed up." He started to carry Colorado toward the couch, but the younger man wasn't feeling so much like going along for the ride now that he knew they had company.
"Oh let me get off, Chip!" he said, squirming a little to get loose, and landing on his feet when Chip did as he was asked. Dusting off his clothes as if to rearrange them, Colorado stood back up straight and looked at Ace. He circled round the couch with a wide smile, offering out his hand. "We meet at last! Ace, right? You know he speaks of nothing else!" He slid down to sit on the couch, quite close to Ace, while Chip leaned his elbows on the backrest just next to Ace's head, grinning.
Ronny, who knew Collie and didn't especially care for him while he didn't have any treats in his hands, trotted past and sniffed at Colorado's leg in passing before going back in front of the TV set and slouching down.
|
|
|
Post by Kat on Jun 1, 2006 9:50:06 GMT -5
Ace couldn't help but laugh a little as Colorado and Chip squabbled. In some ways watching them reminded the blonde of how he acted around his own best friend, Sascha. The only difference being that neither of them would back off from being affectionate with one another if they had company. If anything, it only made them a little more showy. Thinking about his best friend, he hoped Chip would get the chance to meet him soon. Though he may have to invite Chip along to Sweden in order to get that accomplished, unless they agreed to meet somewhere else in Europe. Shoving his best friend out of his head for the time being, Ace accepted Collie's hand and nodded as he sat down.
"Indeed I am Ace. And he has mentioned you a few times, mostly that I should meet you, which I'm quite delighted that I finally get to do. Chip certainly knows how to pick his boys, I suppose." Ace leaned his head back and looked up at Chip, a playful smirk on his lips.
|
|
|
Post by Cres on Jun 1, 2006 10:03:32 GMT -5
Collie grinned and shook Ace's hand energetically, then reached out his hand to run it through the blonde's hair without prior warning.
"Indeed," he said, getting a dreamy look in his eyes as he run his fingers through the blond hair. "Oh I'd kill for this kind of hair! Babe, you have to let me play with it sometime! It's way too fabulous to be left alone!"
Chip smiled down to Ace when the blonde smirked up at him, and planted a kiss on the boy's lips quite spontaneously.
"I do, don't I?" he commented on what Ace had said. Then he straightened up and remembered that the door was still open and Collie's suitcase standing in the hallway. He glanced behind him toward there and made a move to push himself off the couch. "Shall I get your things in, Col?"
Collie, who had been quite absorbed with Ace's hair, looked up in surprise, then grinned.
"Oh, don't worry - my driver's bringing them up shortly. They seemed to have some sort of an issue with the elevator, though. Something about it being too small and having to make two rounds."
Chip turned his eyes on Collie with the most exasperated look he could muster.
"Please tell me you didn't bring the whole house?"
Collie feigned an offended look.
"Of course not! Just the most necessary. Oh! Which reminds me, I have so many new dresses and things, you absolutely must see - maybe I'll even convince your lovely-locks here to try on some as well." He returned his attention to Ace with a happy sort of a smile. "You know, with the right kind of make-up, you could get so much more out of those eyes of yours."
Chip covered his grin behind his hand. Collie was the only male he knew who actually wore make-up - not the girly kind of make up, of course, but what he liked to call "Movie-Make-Up". It was Colorado's firm belief that no movie star ever went anywhere without a decent layer of make-up, and he was not about to be any worse than them.
|
|
|
Post by Kat on Jun 1, 2006 10:19:18 GMT -5
Ace was caught off guard when Collie ran his hand through his hair, but he smiled and laughed. "Be careful with that, my stylist will kill me if anything happens to my hair. He's very protective of it." That wasn't a lie, his hair stylist did spend a lot of time perfecting Ace's hair every two weeks, trimming it and re-hilighting if necessary. He'd have to bring Chip and Colorado down to his salon to meet the man.
He smiled when Collie mentioned bringing his things, very well understanding the other's need for clothing. He also had a bad habit of bringing too much clothing with him on trips, but he had a hard time deciding what to wear, especially since he had so much clothing and usually ended up buying even more while away. When Collie mentioned getting him to try on some of things he grinned, his eyes looking over the other's body. "Well, we are roughly the same size, so you won't have to do much convincing. I have to admit I quite enjoy playing dress up and to be honest, nearly one fifth of the my wardrobe is actually women's clothing. I'm actually wearing women's jeans right now." He stuck out one of his legs, modelling the pants.
When Colorado mentioned his eyes he looked at Chip briefly and smiled, even more grateful now that Chip had mentioned them earlier. He looked back at Collie and grinned. "You're totally right about that. One of my cousins back home in Sweden, Mia, used to use me as one of her models while she was in school for hair and make-up. She took a lot of portfolio shots of me. Speaking of which I should get my hands on those and show you sometime," he glanced back at Chip and winked, "I make a very convincing girl."
|
|
|
Post by Cres on Jun 1, 2006 10:36:10 GMT -5
Colorado was visibly excited when Ace revealed also liking women's clothing. He squealed a little and clapped his hands excitedly, his eyes glimmering happily.
"Oh, you've really hit the gold mine with this one, Chip!" he enthused. "We're going to have so much fun together. We absolutely have to go shopping together and get something matching, we'd look so fabulous on the mohawk boy's arm here." He nudged Chip with his hand, clearly referring to the hairdo that had become Chip's most notable characteristic.
Chip made a face.
"Where have I got myself into?" he asked in fake desperation, gazing up to the skies as though pleading for help. He was actually pretty amused, and liked how Ace and Collie seemed to be getting along. He, too, took notice of the mention of Ace's eyes and guessed that it was lucky that he had come to make the mention earlier, to prepare Ace. Collie had no knowledge of Ace's rough past, and he wasn't very careful with anything he said or did. "You sure need to get those pictures to me, though," he told Ace. "Though you had best be careful - I might get all enthusiastic and start making you pose for me regularly." He winked, guessing that Ace would likely not mind the idea at all.
At that point there was noise from the hallway, and soon enough two men appeared, carrying several bags and suitcases of various shapes, sizes and colours - there was even one women's handbag with bright pink flowers on it. They were clearly having trouble carrying it all at once, and Chip could well see why they would have had trouble coming up on the elevator. The elevator was spatious only for two men without luggage, and this looked more like a caravan load than luggage, in Chip's view. Of course, he had sympathies - he liked to pack in loads as well, but Colorado really took it over the top.
"Ooooh be careful, careful!" Colorado called out when he noticed the men, and got up quickly, making his way to the door. "There are some very very valuable things inside, including a few presents," he threw a little naughty look back at Chip and Ace before turning his attention back to the driver and his helper, "and I shall never forgive you if you harm them!"
The men glared at Colorado rather bleakly, with the obvious look of "we're doing our best, you know, you might consider packing less next time". Chip laughed and looked at Ace with a glimmer in his eyes.
"Be careful," he said, "you might end up leaving with half of the insides of those bags. Colorado tends to exaggerate with presents. Me and Dan nearly suffocated into all the presents when he once came back from holiday in France."
"I do not!" Colorado protested while ushering the men with bags over to a clear place in the room, making sure they put every item down very carefully. "I only as much as I hold love in my heart," he smirked, "and I suppose I just love you and Dan very much." He blinked and looked around. "Speaking of the gruffer, where is he?"
Chip got more serious and leaned his bottom to the couch, crossing his arms over his chest. There appeared a scowl on his face again.
"He went out," was his short-worded reply. It was clear he was still rather miffed with Dan.
[[well I really have to go now, so I'll leave it here... but I think it's only good I don't go on, to let Ace put in a word every now and then, hehehe.]]
|
|
|
Post by Kat on Jun 1, 2006 11:02:28 GMT -5
Ace nodded when Collie mentioned going shopping. "There are a lot of shops on Church Street you'll like, I think." Church Street was the main strip of the gay neighbourhood in the city, with many eccentric and funky shops. He and Sparky liked shopping there together. "Oh and speaking of clothing, I have to introduce you to one of my best friends, Sparky. She's my seamstress. She's looking to get into the fashion school in the fall, she makes a lot of funky clothing. I think you'd enjoy some of her things, she'd enjoy you at any rate."
When Chip mentioned the pictures and having him model for Chip, he smiled playfully. "I'm sure we could spend some time at your studio with a camera or two." The distraction of the men arriving with Collie's things then occured, and Ace laughed when Chip mentioned his friend's love of giving out presents. He often found himself buying things for his own friends while away, enjoying being able to share his wealth.
When Collie mentioned Dan though and Chip appeared a little upset, Ace kneeled up on the couch and leaned his arms on either side of Chip, his head pressing against Chip's arms. "It's better off that he's out, this way we can like, all make out wildly in the apartment with no interuption." He looked up at Chip and winked, hoping he could manage to distract his boyfriend away from the topic again. He didn't want Dan to ruin the night.
|
|
|
Post by Cres on Jun 2, 2006 21:35:19 GMT -5
Collie's brow had curved up a little at Chip's blunt reply. When Ace wrapped his arms round his boyfriend and continued, however, he smirked and came up to Chip as well, curling his arms round his best friend's neck, pushing his hip right up against Chip's hip.
"Yes, we'll be all over you now," he said, winking to Ace as he leaned his head on Chip's shoulder.
Chip had had to smile when Ace had spoken up, recognising the cheering attempt, and appreciating it. When Collie strapped himself on him as well he had to smile even wider. He leaned back to wrap his other arm round Ace's shoulders and put his other arm round Collie's waist.
"I feel so loved." He looked at Collie's driver and the other man, who were both standing a little aside. The driver especially was looking rather embarrassed. "Oh, come now, Stuie, Jamie, it's not like you haven't seen all kinds of stuff with Colorado before." He glanced at Ace and nodded toward the men. "These are Stuie, Collie's driver, and Jamie, his... wait, what was the official title again, Cols?"
Colorado sized Jamie up with a smirk while the older man - rather handsome and obviously more comfortable with the situation than the driver - smiled a bit. He was fairly young, not older than thirty-five for sure.
"Oh, I call him personal assistant these days," he said, then looked at Ace to explain to him; "I used to call Jamie a butler, but that just seemed somehow so... old fashioned and distant. I mean, when you think about a butler, tell me you don't think of an old English bloke like Alfred in Batman. Speaking of Batman, what are you two doing for Halloween? Please tell me matching outfits?"
Chip laughed.
"I am sorry to disappoint you, my friend," he said. "Ace here is going as Egyptian Pharaoh and I just couldn't come up with anything adorable to match that." He winked to Ace. "So I'm doing Samurai instead."
|
|