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The man lay on the right side of the bed, watching adoringly as the Boy began to pull on his clothes.
‘That was wonderful,’ he said, staring up at the Boy with something like awe. ‘You’re wonderful.’
The Boy laughed at that, pausing in his attempt to dress to lean over and place a sweet kiss on the man’s lips.
‘You always say that – and strangely, only ever after we have sex,’ he said, his mouth tugging up into a mischievous smile.
The man’s expression faltered for a moment before the warmth returned to his eyes.
‘Then maybe I should say it more often,’ he said in a low voice, reaching forward to tug the Boy closer. The Boy laughed but the sound was muffled as the man began to kiss him, innocently at first, but then steadily filthier, until they were practically rutting against each other on the bed.
An alarm went off on the man’s side of the bed, causing them both to draw back.
‘Why do you have an alarm set for the middle of the afternoon?’ the Boy asked curiously, slightly disappointed that they had to stop kissing.
The man frowned for a moment before reluctantly sitting up and reaching for his own clothes, which were scattered messily around the room.
‘Appointment,’ he said abruptly.
The Boy watched him for a second, puzzled, before shrugging and moving to pull on the rest of his clothes. He paused as he pulled his trousers up, his expression slightly troubled.
‘You – you would tell me if there was something wrong, wouldn’t you, darling?’ he asked, regarding the other man with earnest eyes. ‘If – if there’s anything troubling you. Right?’
The man, who had frozen at the question, seemed to soften at the Boy’s genuine concern.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said softly, moving over so that he was in front of the Boy. ‘Everything’s fine. Everything is … perfect.’
The Boy smiled at that. Leaning forward, he kissed the man softly on the lips, not seeing the sudden flash of despair in the other’s eyes.
The man opened his mouth, about to say something rash and ridiculous when the doorbell went.
‘Oh!’ the Boy frowned. ‘Who could that be? We aren’t expecting any visitors, are we, love?’
‘I-’ the man opened his mouth and shut it abruptly. ‘Let’s go see who it is, shall we?’
The Boy smiled and, nodding, clasped the other’s hand as they made their way towards the front door.
‘Just a minute!’ the man called as the doorbell went again. He moved slowly, almost as if reluctant to answer the door. He paused before he opened it, turning to cast one longing look at the Boy behind him. Then, swallowing, he pulled the door open.
In the doorway was a stocky, thickset man with wild hair and a cigar in his mouth. He was wearing jeans and a plaid shirt, and the moment the door opened his eyes immediately flicked to the Boy, taking in everything from the wide blue eyes to the purpling love-bite on his neck with an assessing gaze. The Boy coloured under the scrutiny but he smiled at the stranger, appearing to like him despite the oddity of his presence.
‘You’re here then,’ the man who had opened the door said in a voice that was part disappointment, part resignation.
The wild-looking man raised a thick, bushy eyebrow.
‘I always am,’ he said, his eyes flicking over to the other for the barest fraction of a second before returning to the Boy. That millisecond’s glance, however, had contained a flicker of disgust that would not be apparent to anyone who had looked.
‘Darling,’ the Boy said in a clear voice. ‘Aren’t you going to introduce us?’
The man cast an almost beseeching look at the newcomer, who sighed. Passing the end of his cigar to the nonplussed man, he moved towards the Boy, his expression strangely gentle.
‘Hey there,’ he said gruffly, ‘I’m here to take you to your appointment.’
The Boy frowned.
‘Appointment?’ he asked hesitantly.
‘Yes,’ the gruff man nodded. ‘It’s time for your treatment.’
The Boy’s expression cleared.
‘Oh,’ he said, pleased. He turned to his lover, who was waiting by the door, his eyes on the floor. ‘Don’t worry, love, this won’t take long. I’ll be back before you know it.’ He went up to the man and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. ‘I’ll be – what – half an hour, an hour?’ He turned to look at the gruff man behind him.
The newcomer nodded.
‘Something like that,’ he agreed.
‘Right.’ The boy beamed and reached towards the coat-pegs for his coat. ‘Everything will be fine, darling, you’ll see. The man-’ he paused and turned, frowning at the newcomer.
‘Logan,’ the man supplied easily.
The Boy smiled.
‘Yes, Logan will take care of me,’ he told his lover reassuringly. ‘He won’t let anything happen to me.’
Logan tensed as the man’s expression changed at that, an almost bitter expression crossing his face at the Boy’s words.
‘You trust him then?’ he asked, his voice harsh. ‘This man, who just walked through the door – whose name you didn’t even know. You trust him?’
The Boy looked at his lover, an inscrutable expression on his face.
‘Yes,’ he said, without hesitation. ‘With my life.’
*
‘I love him,’ the Boy said, a soft look on his face. He bit his lip and cast a shy glance at Logan, who was sitting opposite him in the back of the van. ‘I know what you’re thinking, that I am too young for him, but it’s not that much of an age difference. He’s only ten years older than me.’
‘I wasn’t thinking that at all,’ Logan said evenly. The van jerked, causing both he and the Boy to bounce. Logan frowned and nodded at the Boy’s shoulder. ‘Seatbelt, Charlie.’
The Boy frowned before laughing.
‘Logan, I do believe you’ve forgotten my name!’ he said, smiling.
Logan gave him a searching look.
‘Yeah,’ he said after a moment. ‘Perhaps I have. There are a lot of them.’
The Boy cocked his head, puzzled for a moment, before shaking his head and smiling again.
‘The treatment won’t take long,’ he said, as if assuring himself. ‘I will be out of there in no time.’ He looked up at Logan from under his floppy brown hair. ‘You said so, didn’t you? That it wouldn’t take long? It’s just that I don’t want him to worry.’
Logan gave him a grim smile.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said gruffly. ‘It will be over before you know it.’
*
The Boy blinked, opening his eyes slowly. A young, bespectacled man was leaning down over him with a warm expression on his face. The Boy felt his own mouth slide up to match the smile.
‘Hello,’ the Boy said. ‘Did I fall asleep?’
‘For a little while,’ Hank said gently, with a small nod of his head.
‘Oh.’ The Boy paused for a moment, taking that in. ‘Shall I go now?’ he asked.
‘If you’d like,’ Hank said pleasantly, inclining his head once again.
The Boy gave him a pretty little smile, before his bright blue eyes moved vaguely away as he slowly climbed out of the Chair.
‘Goodbye, Hank,’ he said, smiling, before turning and walking away.
Hank watched him slowly make his way out of the room. The moment the Boy was gone, his face lost its pleasant warmth and was instead filled with something almost like sadness.
‘Goodbye, Charlie,’ he said.
*
Logan paused outside the door, taking a moment to surreptitiously straighten his shirt and rub at his face, before raising one hand to knock.
‘Come in,’ came a cold, clear voice.
Logan quickly opened the door before turning and shutting it firmly behind him. He turned back around and found himself facing a beautiful blonde woman who was busy scrutinising the papers on her desk.
‘Ah, Mr. Howlett,’ the woman looked up from her desk. ‘How can I help you?’
‘Frost,’ Logan grunted in greeting. The woman gave him a look. ‘Miss Frost,’ he corrected with a roll of his eyes.
‘I trust the assignment went well?’ Miss Frost – Emma – got up from her seat and walked around to the front of the desk.
‘I guess,’ Logan shrugged and scratched his chin, unsure how to broach the subject.
‘But not one hundred percent satisfactory,’ Emma said shrewdly, her words more of a statement than a question.
‘No,’ Logan admitted. He paused before steeling himself, turning to look Emma right in the eye. ‘I don’t think that Charlie should see Mr. Smith again.’
Emma took this declaration in her stride, her expression unchanging. She didn’t look at all surprised.
‘I see,’ she said at last. ‘Care to tell me why?’
Logan shrugged.
‘Just a feeling,’ he said, folding his arms.
Emma raised an eyebrow.
‘I’m sorry, Mr. Howlett, but I am not about to terminate what happens to be a highly profitable series of assignations with a very wealthy client on the sole basis of your feelings,’ she said coldly. ‘Now, I will ask you again. Is there a reason for your anxiety or am I to assume that this grievance is just the result of your feelings for your Active clouding your judgement?’
Logan forced himself to not grit his teeth.
‘He was agitated,’ he said at last. ‘Even Charlie noticed – said that several times he seemed on the verge of speaking only to clam up tight.’ He paused. ‘I think he’s about ready to spill.’
Emma straightened up at that. The expression on her face was grim.
‘Mr. Howlett,’ she said coolly. ‘Are you sure about this?’
Logan nodded slowly.
‘Yeah,’ he said, letting out a breath. ‘Yeah, I am. He was getting too close to Charlie. Too involved. The guy’s becoming dangerous.’
‘And what would you suggest?’ Emma asked, watching him keenly.
‘That we terminate his contract with Charlie,’ Logan answered immediately. ‘Permanently.’
Emma leaned back against her desk, deep in thought for a moment. Then she straightened up and gave him a brisk nod.
‘Very well,’ she said. ‘I will have Hank delete Mr. Smith from the client list. Have security follow up with our now-former client, if you would, Mr. Howlett. We can’t have him take it into his head to make trouble for us.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘That would be very … unwise.’
‘Yes, Miss Frost,’ Logan said obediently, relieved despite himself that Emma had listened to him. ‘I will see to it right away.’ He turned to leave.
‘Oh, and Mr. Howlett?’
Logan paused and slowly turned back around.
Emma was back behind her desk, once more intent upon her papers. She glanced up at him as he waited.
‘I don’t think that Mr. Smith is the only one who is getting too close to Charlie,’ she said evenly. Her gaze turned hard. ‘See that it doesn’t go any further.’
Her gaze followed Logan as he shut the door close behind him.
Logan paused outside the door, taking a moment to gather himself once more. A wry smile twitched at the corner of his lips. Taking a long look around at the Dollhouse, he shook his head and started to walk.