Only lonely hid the morning from the stars

[discursivedream]

The dream has a double advantage over madness as an instrument of doubt: first, the extravagance of dreams can exceed the absurdities of madness, and second, the habitual nature of dreams makes the suggestion that one might be dreaming much less fantastic than the idea that one might be mad. - Foucault and Derrida: The Other Side of Reason by Roy Boyne

It was always so easy--laughably easy--to gain attention.

They came to him, tumbling over themselves and lapping at his heels like puppies. He only had to open his mouth, to smile, and he would have an audience.

And today, on this beautiful, sunny autumn day, how could he do anything else? Attending class would be unimaginable. Teaching class was barely tolerable, and only because he'd taken the class outside. Never mind that his class had ended twenty minutes ago. The group of rapt young listeners had doubled, hanging off his every word as he expounded upon morality and governance, philosophy and politics, all with the reckless confidence of a young man who had never known war or loss or any real privation.

They worshiped him. He made it seem like a discourse, but he led every question, meandering at first and then rising, amplifying their energy and feeding it upon itself, whipping them into a frenzy of inspiration and rage.

And lust, to be sure. Gabriel had nothing planned once his class was done--and it was long since done now. Several of his front-row listeners were passably attractive. There was a pretty young redhead who blushed whenever she met his eyes. A shy, handsome young man who hadn't yet grown into his own shoulders. Gabriel was deciding between the two of them--maybe both?--as he spoke, when he noticed someone else near the back of the crowd who watched him intently. Gabriel cast him a smile like a lure, with enough shine to hide the hook, and then paid him no more attention as he wrapped up his lecture and dismissed his listeners. The young and energetic ones would stay a few minutes more, pressing him with questions and vying for his attention, but Gabriel had no more than a passing interest in those. It was the stranger with the intense eyes who had caught his interest.

Comments

[troublesmaker]

Niall didn't intend to drag it out any longer than necessary. He'd gathered a good sense of Gabriel already. This wasn't the sort of boy to go scampering to the authorities like a rat. Which wasn't to say that Niall found Gabriel particularly loyal, either. But he was the negotiating type, the type to blackmail rather than tattle. Niall could work with that, if it came to it.

Down to the secrets, then. He wet his lips with a sip of whiskey. "That mate of mine tells me you're sympathetic to the Republican cause. All sorts of fancy words about freedom and what. Now we're all wondering if you're interested in a patron. All that you've been doing for free, but more of it, with steady pay and regular calls from yours truly, if you can stand to see this mug every couple weeks."

[discursivedream]

Oh. Oh.

Gabriel's mouth watered. He swallowed as his cock gave an interested little thud. Every couple of weeks sounded like just the right intervals to make him constantly yearning to see Niall again, and that offer...

Everything clicked into place, or at least as much as Gabriel needed to stop feeling frustrated about being strung along.

His ability to enthrall and sway a crowd, weaponized. Niall was right, wooing co-eds was a waste of his talents. But he'd never before been offered a job to put those particular skills to actual purpose, or at least not one he'd accept--PR rep sounded so dull, after all.

It wasn't the ideal of being offered top dollar for his art, but it was--in its own way--better. More fascinating, and there'd be enough time for his art on the side.

It was everything he could do not to accept on the spot.

The specific salary didn't matter. They'd pay him, at a minimum, enough for him to survive and to remain available to their purposes--no second job necessary, unless it was somewhere with a lazy schedule and a large, talkative clientele. And they'd probably pay him enough to hold his interest and to keep his loyalties from wandering. He might as well drop out of school--grad school had been getting boring, and part of him had always been waiting for a more interesting opportunity to come along.

"Yes," he said, betraying the resolution he'd only just made about not accepting on the spot.

[troublesmaker]

Niall's eyebrows lifted a touch in surprise. He had expected Gabriel to accept the offer, but the speed of the decision was more than he'd anticipated. He'd pegged Gabriel as one to play coy, or to make a list of demands, or to at least insist on a number before giving his word. Not that this turn of events was in any way a disappointment. The sooner he secured Gabriel's employment, the sooner he could get out of this shithole town and back to Belfast, in the thick of it.

With a smile, he picked up his glass and raised it in toast again. "A deal, then," he said. "I think it'd be best to talk further details someplace more private than this, so let's put business aside for now, what d'you say?" Under the table, his knee more or less accidentally brushed Gabriel's thigh.

[discursivedream]

The gentle, almost accidental brush to his thigh was such a coy toeing of the line that it immediately made Gabriel want to push that line.

He settled his hand on Niall's upper thigh, barely an inch from his crotch, while outwardly reflecting casual, lazy challenge. They'd both done plenty of coy flirting. Niall had his consent and cooperation in terms of business, and the details could be negotiated later.

What remained, now that the initial stage of business had been settled, was pleasure. A little bit further and Gabriel would know if Niall was as aroused as he was by their interplay, but he stopped just short of that. They both enjoyed the game far too much for that. A little advance, a flirtation, and then retreating enough to force an advance in return. It was a game of chicken, both of them seeing how far they could push without having to yield.

"What did you have in mind?" Gabriel drawled. His hand on Niall's thigh was an open invitation, a challenge, and a threat. He took another drink of his beer and set the glass down, eyes lingering on the dark beer for a pause and then flicking to Niall in order to catch him looking, in order to tip him off guard and force a quicker answer.

[troublesmaker]

Niall was indeed looking, caught in the act of admiring the way Gabriel's collar bone peeked out of his shirt and gave way to a long white throat. Niall had already decided he would be putting his mouth there, that his teeth would graze the sharp angle of it before he'd soothe it with his tongue. He was hyperaware of Gabriel's hand on his thigh, mere centimeters from an erection begging for his attention.

He believed that his face betrayed nothing but mirth. He was wrong. The hunger shone clear in his icy blue eyes when he met Gabriel's gaze. Niall drained his glass and discarded what was left of his cigarette in it, careless.

Leaning in, he knew that the movement would be just enough to give Gabriel's fingers some idea of his heavy length. "It's cozy back here, innit?" he said. "I was wondering what else you can do with that mouth of yours."

[discursivedream]

When he felt the firm, familiar bulge of an erect cock brush his fingers, Gabriel took it as an invitation. His fingers strayed more boldly, tracing the shape of him beneath the cloth and sliding down to find his balls. The size of him was impressive, enough to make Gabriel’s cheeks tingle with a blush and his thoughts linger on what it would be like to be fucked by a cock like that. He’d never let anyone fuck him, but when Niall looked at him like that, Gabriel couldn’t help but feel... curious.

At Niall’s suggestion, Gabriel smirked at him, not nearly entranced enough to crawl under the table for him. On this floor, under this table? It might be clean for a pub, but Gabriel wasn’t about to risk getting someone’s discarded gum in his hair from the underside of the table. He might be willing to suck cock on a fairly regular basis, but not unless he was getting plenty out of it. Like his undergraduate college tuition, or similar sponsorship. “I’m not sure what you mean.” He was perfectly aware of what Niall meant. His smile was more challenge than coyness, though his tone was guileless. “Maybe you could demonstrate?”

[troublesmaker]

Ultimately, Niall needed nothing from Gabriel but the agreement to the deal that he'd already received. It was a bonus, really, to get anything more out of it. Gabriel only needed to do his job to earn Niall's favor, and Niall saw only minimal potential in securing Gabriel's loyalty with sexual manipulation.

Still, Gabriel's fingers exploring the length of him left Niall weak and needy. He was such a beautiful boy, a Baroque painting come to life. Niall wanted him every way he could have him, and more importantly, wanted him now.

"Suppose I could," Niall breathed, feigning disinterest but not very well. He seemed to realize it, too, and sighed with longing. "Don't take me for a man who gets on my knees for nothing. It's just that it'd be a pleasure to worship at the altar of one such as yourself."

And with a devilish smile, he ducked under the table.

[discursivedream]

Gabriel was surprised and delighted when he all at once won their little game. He'd thought Niall would string him along for another hour, teasing back and forth and upping the ante every time until they were both flushed and naked and still dueling more with words than with the swords between their legs.

Gabriel was used to winning such things, for he--from his experience so far in life--never wanted anyone as much as they wanted him, which meant he could take as much as he wanted and still leave his partners eager to give.

He spread his legs for Niall, sliding down a little more in the booth. It was true, he didn't think that Niall was a man who got on his knees for nothing, and it bolstered Gabriel's confidence higher than ever that this beautiful, dangerous man with a smile like a shark wanted to kneel before him. He had no concerns at all about the shark's teeth, certain that they would never be turned against him.

Resting his hands on his thighs, he watched Niall, letting his new business partner do all the work.

[troublesmaker]

It was no simple achievement, a man of Niall's stature squeezing himself beneath a table. Settling there between Gabriel's legs, Niall found himself with hardly an inch to move in any direction. Still, with his arms draped over Gabriel's thighs and his head bowed low, Niall took his time with it. He tugged Gabriel's belt loose with a delicate touch, as if untying the bow on a gift. Then he unwrapped the gift itself, freeing Gabriel's cock from its confines and taking it between his fingers.

"Oh," he breathed, his awe unrestrained. It was a cock as beautiful as its owner, he could see even in the dim light. "What a lucky bastard am I. You're worth the pain in the neck I'll have tomorrow."

Then he stopped talking and put his mouth to better use, wrapping his lips around the thick head of Gabriel's cock.

[discursivedream]

As much as Gabriel liked hearing Niall's rumbling Irish brogue, he also thought that this was a much better use of that mouth. Those lips. Gabriel grinned as he watched, riding the little thrills of adrenaline and desire that he felt when he looked at Niall.

He felt worshiped like this, and what a gift that was from a beautiful young trickster.

Eyes low-lidded and lips curved in a contented grin, Gabriel curled his fingers around Niall's jaw and brushed his thumb along the line of Niall's cheekbone. He liked feeling the way it moved beneath his hand, as Niall worked to please him even despite the inconvenience of their current circumstances.

"Fuck," he breathed, biting down on his lip to keep back a laugh--or a moan. He wasn't quite sure which one would come out, if he let it. "I could listen to that voice of yours all day. But I do think I prefer this use of your mouth."

He rolled his hips forward, taking more, because polite blowjob etiquette wasn't half as interesting as challenging Niall to see what would happen.