For his part, Chovek didn't seem stupid. For his part, Kyo didn't want to show that he was feeling stupid. While the half-blood barely held onto his fingertips as they walked through the streets, Kyotoshi couldn't seem to orchestrate a way for him to prove that he was not as drunk as he was acting without overcompensating. He wasn't really that out of it, he reasoned, but the conflicting thoughts about the sashaying stranger beside him were making it seem otherwise. As Chovek walked, Kyo felt the alien's hip brush against his own and his footfall faultered again.

There were several schools of interest. They went through the brain like the scattered wanning pools of light from the streetlamps above. What Kyo wanted, physically, could not coexist peacefully with what he didn't want psychologically. The one-night stand was empty, worked for empty people and left them with nothing to add to their nothingness. He didn't want to be like that or be thought of that way, but this was awkward. It could even be that he was misinterpreting Chovek. It could be.

"How far is it?" The half-blood gave his arm a small shake and Kyo looked out of politeness at the face he was avoiding. Chovek smiled softly. Kyo smiled back, but wondered if he shouldn't have.

"Near an hour, maybe two," he meant to stop there, but found himself continueing. "I usually take the train in, y'know? So we'll be waiting on the platform for a while-"

Chovek clucked his tongue inside his his stunted muzzle. It was so strange to see such a familiar body with such an alien feature, and the sound made the fur on the base of Kyo's tail stand up. It didn't show, which was good, but he felt it. "I have an apartment nearby, you know," he rubbed Kyo's knuckles with a thick, soft finger.

Kyo didn't think he was misinterpreting Chovek this time. But where was this going and would he regret it when it arrived there? He stopped walking a moment and stood, ready to shake his head and ready to protest but the half- blood cut him off before he could even begin.

"Nothing will happen unless you want it to," he said calmly, the large lavender eyes locked on him. Kyo felt he was being searched, that Chovek was checking the filed away fears and desires inside the Hekshanian's brain. "You just," he shrugged at his own pause. "You seemed lonely."

He was lonely. He said so, and immediately regreted it, but there it was. A smile came warmly to Chovek's face again and the half-blood caressed the back of Kyotoshi's wrist. Kyo knew he was free to request that Chovek give him back his book and he go home and continue to be lonely for the time being. He understood fully that the rights to saying no were in his own hands. He understood that, but he wasn't going to say no.

Kyo resumed walking, this time with Chovek gently leading and instructing. Their footfall was mismatched still, the pattern changing and breaking, and Kyo continued to watch their feet. This was nervous business, and he'd never done it before. It was different when you were a teenager and nothing lasted more than a month to begin with, he was an adult now and was supposed to know better than to behave like this at all. So what could he do?

Another streetlamp flickered above, the bulb on its way out. Kyo passed beneath it, Chovek coaxing him to turn at the next corner. What could he do? He took in a breath, held it, shutting his eyes and staggering slightly as he tried to walk sightless. He had begun to think, to worry about what people would have to say to him. He thought about his sister, having long left home and harshly disgusted with him. There was Zara, too, vicious and judgemental and still winning his affection. He wanted her to approve of him now that their relationship had ended, but she wasn't interested in what he had to say anymore. He flickered for half a second on his parents- Stopped. His feet continued to move.

They were dead, he thought to himself. All of them, one way or another. Their opinions shouldn't matter, their viewpoints shouldn't have a hold on how he was feeling because they had no place here. Here in the real world, in the world of small stones underfoot on the sidewalk and a misty steamy scent of the nearby river, they were all ghosts who didn't belong.

What was he going to do? He followed Chovek into a small and newly built apartment building close enough to the river to hear the water lapping. He walked through the chrome and mirrored lobby, glancing back over his shoulder at the desk guard. Looked to the high ceiling, to the black and white tiled floor. He put a hand into his jacket pocket, realizing it felt conspiciously empty and remembering Chovek had his book. He'd look everywhere he could but at the alluring half-blood, trying to find his answer. Chovek pulled him into an elevator, the silver doors swaying open with a quiet chime. Kyo stepped inside, and found nothing else to look at.

Nothing, of course, but Chovek.

The doors reclosed, and Kyo felt the skin under his fur grow hot. His face flushed, and he darted his eyes across their cage for something else, something to buy him some time. They came back to Chovek, and Kyo realized there was no point in fighting it anymore. It was obvious the half-blood understood his delemia, reclining nonchalantly against the elevator's handlebars. Chovek slouched, and Kyo felt as if he had been caught on a fishing line, but he didn't mind. He thought Chovek was beautiful, said so awkwardly. The half-blood smiled and canted his head to one side, silver bangs falling across his eyes. With a silent chuckle that barely shook his shoulders, he mouthed back "I know."

The elevator dinged, slowed, came to a stop. Kyo, suddenly shaken and self concious, bolted close to Chovek's side and watched as the metal doors slowly opened. Chovek too abruptly straightened, both at once mature and tensed.

No one was at the door. It closed again, and the cage resumed its climb.

Flattening his back to the wall, Kyo let out a laugh and fumbled through his pockets again, still finding nothing. He shut is eyes and tilted his head back. Beside him, he could hear the half-blood let out a sigh. Chovek's arm crept slowly about his waist and Kyo let it be. The ascent slowed. Kyo spoke, his eyes still shut.

"I've never been good at flirting."

"You're doing fine."

The elevator dinged again, and this time Chovek tightened his arm about Kyo's waist and pressed him forward. Eyes opened now, Kyo left the elevator at the half-blood's instruction, the two making their way down the hall to Chovek's residence.

Although Chovek never really objected to showing himself off for the men he met, it became tiring after a while. There was only so long one could smile warmly, touch gently and speak quietly before the energy began to leave them. It had been a long day dancing, and he didn't mean to spend hours playing games meant for kids.

It was in the elevator that he'd finally been able to relax. Kyo was tense, the blonde seemed like he'd always be tense. The honesty in it was refreshing, and Chovek drank it more readily than any mug of chai. When there wasn't an open street to compete with, when there wasn't a cafe where he had to turn up his charms and insinuations, Chovek could slouch and smile honestly and begin to meet this new friend.

He'd noticed the Hekshanian was trying desperately not to look like he was after sex. Leaning against the interior of the elevator cage and sighing, Chovek thought about how this was good. It meant, if anything, they could come to a mutual agreement that there should be nothing worth regreting and no need to avoid one another later on. The blonde was attractive, Chovek would not have picked him out otherwise. Chovek himself was attractive, and it was unlikely that Kyotoshi would have gone with him if he weren't.

With nothing else to look at, Chovek caught the blonde exploring his features with his eyes again. He tilted his head and smiled, and Kyo's face flushed. It wasn't that he was being devoured visually, it was more that he was being considered. Chovek noticed that whenever the blonde was caught, he guiltily began to search his pockets. Pressing the paperback book he had taken from his newfound companion tight to his side within his jacket, Chovek chuckled to himself.

Abruptly, awkward and clumsy, Kyotoshi muttered something. Chovek took a moment to catch and translate it. "You're really beautiful." It was a mixture of alcohol, nerves and desires which brought that phrase tumbling out. The half-blood laughed quietly to himself, knowing that slouched against the elevator wall was hardly the most attractive position. Playfully, he responded without speaking, moving his lips to form the words. I know.

The elevator came to a sudden halt, jolting the immature flirtations out of both of them. Jostled into the real world for a moment, startled into emberassment and some sense of shame, Chovek pressed against the back of the elevator. Likewise suddenly guilty, Kyo leapt and stood against the wall next to the slightly shorter half-blood, the rough fabric of his brown duster pressing against Chovek's coat. They were both, Chovek thought, suddenly self concious of being seen acting like teenagers. It was a fun game to play, but they'd stopped now, in case someone else was joining...

But the elevator doors opened and shut, and no one joined them in the steel cage. A breath of tension passed from Chovek's muzzle and he slumped against the cool metal. The game finished, he abandoned the pretenses. He understood why Kyotoshi had followed him. Kyotoshi understood where they were going and what could occur. Feigning innocence was neither attractive nor required at this point. The half-blood wrapped an arm around the Hekshanian's thin waist, feeling the angular shape of the man's hipbones through the fabric. A slight blush coloured the blonde's face, showing through his light fur. If it was originating from drinking or fantasizing, the distinction could not be made. Eyes closed, the Hekshanian seemed to be carefully pacing his breathing. Chovek relaxed, listening to the sounds of the elevator ascending.

Between the clicks of the floors passing below, Kyo spoke. "I've never been good at flirting."

Four, five, six, seven...His floor. Chovek guided the other male forward, out of the elevator. Kyo's steps were hesitant, just the least bit paranoid. He was beginning to sober, beginning to rethink his actions. Having been with Hekshanians this long, Chovek understood their dual nature. They were not intentionally duplicitious, but if Chovek allowed him to, Kyo would be gone without even the slightest semblance of sociality. As they stepped into the long hallway, the half-blood gave his companion a knowing, patient smile. "You're doing fine."

Keeping one arm around the blonde at all times, Chovek coralled him towards the beige painted door at the center of the hall. 804, with the smell of sandlewood permiating the walls and ceilings of this floor. In spite of his large hands, he deftly flicked through a small keyring and brought up one small silver key to unlock the door. Kyotoshi was shuffling now, his body language a mixture of wanting to back out and wanting to proceed forward. Chovek gave his side a soft stroke, feeling the muscles tense in response. If he understood the psyche of men like Kyo, the blonde would be on the verge of a nervous and halting laugh. It was better, Chovek knew as he closed the door behind them, that he should get it out immediately. Finally releasing Kyo's waist, now that he had caught the Hekshanian behind a closed door, Chovek gracefully took a step back. Kyo looked lost, standing alone.

With a fluid, trained motion from dancing, Chovek gestured towards a black cotton-covered couch behind the yellow furred nervous almost-stranger. "Please, make yourself comfortable." Kyo glanced around almost too quickly, once over his right shoulder and once over his left, backing up to the couch and shakily taking a seat on the edge of the cusions. Chovek did not leave him time to brood. He understood his guest's vice of choice by now, understood that for Kyo to be at ease in unfamiliar territory it would help. With a short bow, he asked softly if his companion would like anything, to which Kyo readily responded that yes, please, he really would.

Backing towards the kitchen, his tridactyl feet brushing against the dim grey -blue carpet as he went, Chovek kept his eyes trained upon Kyo. The nervous blonde watched him back, ocassionally flashing his attention elsewhere in the room out of politeness or self-conciousness. The walls, the pictures, the sandlewood smell and the slightly cool tempurature- he kept shifting from right to left for a hand to lean his chin upon. Chovek, bowing so slightly before the kitchen, allowed his loose coat to slip from his shoulders and down his back, pooling about his feet. Kyo's attention was sudden and rapt. With one graceful kick, he pushed the coat aside and retreated to the kitchen. That nervous laugh he had earlier anticipated cut through the room, stopping short as though the owner were ashamed it had ever escaped him.

Chovek knelt before his small and sparse liquor cabinet, retrieving a bottle of imported rum. By the scent on the Hekshanian's jacket, he would at the least drink it with appriciation. Once Kyotoshi would stop feeling guilty for his infatuation with Chovek, once he would stop questioning his motives in coming here, once he would simply allow himself to exist peacefully with his own contradictions, he would be a much more managable guest.

He knew this.

He'd seen it many times before.

Putting a kettle of water on to boil, Chovek took a small glass from the cabinet above the sink, turning the blue and white glass about in his hand. A double shot-glass might be too intimidating or suggestive to a scrupulous visitor, but Chovek trusted that Kyo would be able to tell the difference between hospitality with unwashed glasses and nefarious plots to bed him. He was old enough, he was experienced enough. He had come this far, and Chovek had allowed his personality to flicker through their conversation like light through slow-moving fanblades. There would be no surprises. There would be no shock. Both had some idea of what to expect.

Kyo kept his eyes averted to the far wall as Chovek returned, the shotglass in one hand and the bottle in the other. The skin on the blonde's face flushed bright as the half-blood entered the room, despite his eyes remaining locked on a wall of old, framed photographs. Aware of his nudity and its effect on his guest, Chovek took care to sit precariously on the very edge of the couch away from Kyo, setting the bottle and shotglass with exaggerated cautious display between them. He waited a moment, as was customary.

As was customary in his visitors, Kyo did not thank him first, taking a shivering hand to the bottle and glass in one go, grasping the two in a show of spider-like dexterity of his right hand. Eyes on his knees, the Hekshanian poured himself the full double shot and rapidly threw it back. His claws curled under- but, Chovek noted with some satisfaction, he did not pull a face. A quick shake of the head, Kyo poured himself another shot and took it quicker than the first. In the midst of pouring himself a third, Kyo managed to muster the courage to at least thank his host while making eye contact, even if it was in a barely auidabe voice. But the nervous shake had left his hands, and his taut and scared expression was beginning to soften again to stupid and unabashed honesty.

With a canted head and a faint smile, Chovek returned the thanks, standing and touching Kyo's arm as he went to retrieve the hot water. The Hekshanian watched him go this time, less denied obsession now and more curiousity.

In the kitchen, as Chovek poured the hot water into a mug for himself and added a small circular packet of herbal tea, he listened to the sound of glass clinking lightly on glass in the other room. Kyo's fear and anxiety were fierce adverseries, and to go to war against them he was taking habit and intoxication to fell them. Men like Kyo, they never managed to last very long. They existed to push the opposing forces that created them into such a submission that they became one-dimensional. But, he thought, Kyotoshi seemed only a little different. Maybe different enough that their friendship would be lasting. For the moment, though, he was ready to allow his guest to drain his alcohol to combat the fear hanging over his head.

It was fine, the half-blood thought to himself. Kyo seemed to be the kind to prefer talking in any case. Taking the mug in both hands and returning to the living room, he sat beside the blonde this time with ease. The Hekshanian glanced at him, the blush about his face remaining unchanged this time. As he finished a last shot and clumsily set the bottle and glass aside on the floor, he began to fumble for words. At least this time, Chovek thought, the hesitation was less because he regretted what he was about to say before he said it.

"Thanks. Seriously, thanks. I'm sorry."

"The pleasure's mine." Chovek liked the blonde's local accent. It was more pronounced when he was drunk and at ease. "So, tell me, what took you so far out tonight?"

And so, with a degree of fumbling, the conversation began.