Chapter Text
The room was a hot dark haze, pierced by flashing lights in a thousand dazzling colors, bouyed by the scent of sweat and perfume and spilled alcohol. A steady throbbing beat hammered in Lock's chest and coaxed his body to move in rhythm. It was an overstimulation of the senses, made manageable only by the drink he'd just finished and the feeling of a familiar body against his own.
There was no privacy on the dance floor, but they might as well have been alone. The darkness shrouded them, and though his tail and elbows brushed against the sea of people all around them, they were as anonymous as if they walked alone through the forest's deepest hollows. He dug his nails lightly into the small of Aylin's back and felt him shudder like a leaf in a breeze. His other hand drift lower, grabbed him just below his scut, and pulled him nearer, their thighs slotted side by side as they moved and swayed.
Aylin's lips brushed his cheek; hot breath stirred his hair. Lock's blood pounded in his ears as Aylin turned and put his back solidly to Lock's front. There was something intoxicating about this—not quite exhibitionist, but definitely beyond the comfortable boundary of their usual private moments. An inch this way, a step that way, and they would practically be having sex on the dance floor. They wouldn't be the only ones. Lock turned his eyes away from a pair of young women with their hands up each other's tops and buried his face in Aylin's throat, where the smell and heat drew him in without censure.
Time blurred. The music turned and twisted in on itself, never quite ending, the beat chaining itself one to the next until his mouth was dry and his bare torso slick with sweat. Aylin's skimpy top was soaked through. It stuck to him like a second skin, pulled so tight Lock could see his nipples plainly through the fabric. When the music changed, he lifted his arms over his head, and his chest bounced with every step. Another wave of heat stung Lock's skin, borne of more than mere exertion. He put his hands around Aylin's bare waist and pulled him closer.
"It's hot," Aylin said loudly into his ear. His voice was but a thread beneath the tapestry of sound. He wound his arms around Lock's neck and kissed him, slow and grounding. When they parted, Lock licked his lips and tasted something sweet, tropical. Mango?
"Yeah," he stammered. His tongue felt thick and stupid in his mouth. He blinked away a little of the haze and let Aylin hold him, resting his brow against his lover's hair. "Wanna get out of here?"
It was something he'd heard someone else say an hour or so ago. He'd already forgotten who. Aylin smiled at him, eyes knowing, and slipped a hand down his spine to give his tail a gentle tug. "Yes, let's."
They worked their way through the crowd somehow. Through the side door marked with a restroom symbol, down a narrow hall that pulsed with music and neon lights, past more than a few couples—even a throuple—caught in the heat and clamor of the moment. Lock shut his eyes and let Aylin lead him out onto a balcony overlooking Solution 9. From here the furthest skyscrapers were shrouded in a purplish haze, and the false sky overhead was dimmed and speckled with the counterfeit stars of another world. He sucked in a breath of cool, clean air and wiped sweat and paint off his face with his sleeve.
"That's better."
Aylin tsked and reached out, brushing his thumbs beneath Lock's eyes. "What a mess."
Lock grinned crookedly. His heart still squeezed in his chest whenever Aylin touched him like this, tender and amused. "Sorry."
"I knew you'd forget about the makeup. Silly man." When he judged Lock's eyeliner to be tidy, Aylin cupped his face instead and drew him in again. Lock went happily. He pressed Aylin against the wall and covered him with his body, bare stomachs together, and finally worked a hand between them to flirt with the hem of his crop top.
"Oh—sorry. Didn't know anyone else was out here."
A frisson of alarm shocked Lock's hands back to himself. He cleared his throat and glanced over his shoulder, but the newcomers were already retreating to the other side of the balcony, hiding themselves behind a screen of flowering vines that tumbled from the rooftop. He wasn't sure if it was a live plant or synthetic, but it smelled sweet enough. He caught a glance through the petals of a tall hyur and a dark, slender viera before Aylin was pulling him in again.
Without the veil of sound and shadow inside the club, some of Lock's boldness waned. Still, he kissed Aylin eagerly, arms around his waist and tongue in his mouth to catch the last dregs of his cocktail on his tongue. Aylin pushed his painted fingertails through his hair, scraping lightly against his scalp, and he shivered.
"I think," Aylin murmured at last, lips bruised to a dark rose, "I've had enough dancing for tonight."
"We won't be missed?"
"Please. It's so dark they can barely see each other." Aylin stepped back a little, eyes running up and down Lock's body. Most of it was certainly on display right now. He never would have been brave enough to wear something so revealing and ridiclous if it weren't for this special occasion. He sucked in his tummy a little, tail curling shyly against his ankles, and Aylin poked him in the navel. "Stop that. I can't take my eyes off you."
Lock's face burned. "Likewise."
"Hmm." Aylin's ears flicked slightly—in pleasure, Lock thought, but then his eyes slanted sideways, too, in the direction of the flowering vines, and Lock realized there were… sounds… coming from that way that he'd been too distracted to notice. He blushed and pulled Aylin in again for a lingering kiss.
"Shall we take our leave?" he whispered when they finally parted some minutes later. Aylin's face was peony-pink by now, nearly swallowing his freckles with its glow.
"Please."
Lock took his hand and pulled him back toward the door. Behind it, the beat still throbbed, heady and addictive. His conviction wavered. "Come on, then. Maybe… maybe just one more dance?"
Aylin's brow arched high, but he was smiling. "All right. For you, beloved."
Lock squeezed his fingers and stepped into the sound.