Work Text:
Phoenix could feel his deep sense of altruism from across the floor. In a way, it was comforting. If the man wasn't truly concerned with what he was up to, then he could do anything he liked. He'd tell him he was practicing piano and he would smile back with his soft blond hair framing his face in a way too sweet for the glares he liked to hide behind his glasses.
It was a sort of game they played together. Though they were friends and seemed to enjoy each other's company on a surface level, there was something else untapped, and visceral that sparked below the surface. When Kristoph was drunk enough, he wouldn't stop talking about his romantic endeavours. He was approaching 30 as a single man after all, and he was strikingly attractive in a refined and mature way.
It was amusing to Phoenix, with the role of father pushed onto him at 26. He considered himself out of the game, in a way. He held love for his other affluent friend, but facing him in his current circumstances felt wrong. So he listened with deft ears as he played the ivory with fingers not so deft, and realised these were the only times that Kristoph ever let himself be even an inch more vulnerable and open than any other time.
The only times he'd talk of a personal experience that wasn't an accomplishment of his. The only times he'd let Phoenix play his piano. It seemed to Phoenix that Kristoph was, at least a little and reluctantly at that, starting to enjoy his company.
Somewhere along the line, Phoenix's own reluctance dwindled. He had reliable doubts about Kristoph. He had fair suspicion that it was him who passed that forged evidence into his hands on that day. Time passed in his company didn't stop him feeling that way but even so, on one occasion, he let himself slip.
It was more than just a kiss. He yanked him forward by his delicate pink ribbon. They were both a little drunk. His hair felt slick and smooth exactly the way he imagined it would and his lips were perfectly soft.
There was a sense of accomplishment in ruining his ever-perfect composure for an instant like that. Phoenix looked exactly the same as he did before, but Kristoph was thoroughly dazed.
As much as he learned of how his romantic encounters had progressed, Phoenix had guessed that what he wanted must be something unexpected. Kristoph would never let himself lose complete control of a situation if he had so much of a choice, but like this he could enjoy the unexpected together with a man who trusted him just as much as he did.
Which is to say, not much at all.