"There are plenty who like two," Alcides said, pulling away from Lucrèce once the conditions were clear. "Find someone who catches your eye, before you catch someone else's. The more forward ones are the rougher, after all, and I want you to last." The man smirked some, turning away from the man to deal with customers. Already, there were some eager to get themselves a room. They weren't there for foreplay, they were there for pleasure.
Daren was glad, as he always was, that they were encouraged to make customers fall in love with them. It lead to loyalty, and a steady income. It meant security. As long as no one ever learned Daren felt the same way… it was a delicate game to play.
"I saw," Daren said, resting his head on Leander's chest in turn. He was glad for the gentleness, as always. "Trying out the new girl, hm? Not thinking of having a new favorite, are you?" Daren was teasing, of course, running one finger over Leander's chest and lightly tapping his nose.
Lucrèce wrinkled his nose up in disgust. He was just beginning to barely tolerate the idea of one, and now two? There was no retort he could think of, so he just pulled his arms to cross over his chest and scanned the room for anyone he didn’t find completely revolting to look at. It looked like there a few younger men, maybe slightly younger than Leander, so he awkwardly approached one of them. His hands trembling against his best efforts.
Leander moved his hand farther up through Daren’s hair now that his head was on his chest, lazily twirling his fingers between the strands. “Mhmm. But no, never. She couldn’t compare to you.” Leander laughed softly at the teasing. The tap on his nose, which he returned by catching Daren’s hand and placing a neat kiss to his knuckles.
The man Lucrèce approached glanced over as he came. He smirked some, looking to who could only be assumed to be his friends and saying something to excuse himself before turning his attention fully to Lucrèce.
"Well hello there, doll," he said, moving to hold Lucrèce's cheek with one hand. "You're new, aren't you? I heard I'd missed quite the sight yesterday for your first night." The man was still smirking some, looking down to Lucrèce's hands when he noticed how they trembled.
"You never even had to try anything of this, did you?" He moved to put his hand on top of the other's, humming softly.
Daren laughed softly as Leander kissed his knuckles, moving to hold the other's cheek before letting his hand trail away to just his fingertips touching his chin.
"I should hope not! I'm sure she could never know just what you like as I do." Daren enjoyed the hand playing with his hair, humming softly and leaning a touch into it.
Lucrèce’s first reaction was to pull away from the hand on his cheek, but he sternly reminded himself that that would likely only lead to more hurt. Whether from this man or Alcides. “Yes. I’m not sure my first night was so spectacular as whoever you heard it from said.” The hesitant, flirtatious lilt he tried to add to his words felt awkward and unnatural in his mouth. He hated it, and he couldn’t make himself do it. At least not so authentically.
Leander felt him lean into the hand in his hair so he kept going. Wanting nothing more than Daren to be happy in his arms. “Not even if I explicitly told her,” he chuckled. He always liked poking fun at his brothers, but this time felt a bit raw. Particularly with the way they left things last night, and he needed some comfort. “Although I admit all it really did was make me want you all the more.”
The man chuckled some at Lucrèce's words, moving closer.
"Well, then, perhaps I could show you a better time of things?" He wrapped one arm around Lucrèce's waist, keeping him close. "It'd be a shame for a lady as pretty as you to go the night alone." The mad at least didn't pick up on how uncomfortable Lucrèce was, or chose to ignore it if he did.
There wasn't really a way Daren couldn't be happy in Leander's arms by this point.
"I'm flattered," he said, letting his hand run over Leander's chest again. He wanted nothing more than to stay like this all night, just talking. Spending time with Leander. He had to talk the other into purchasing him for the night, though, if that were to happen. There was a time frame Daren had to do it in too before he had to move on. He wasn't even allowed to kiss Leander out here, without payment.
Lucrèce stiffened as the man’s arm wrapped around his waist, but of course, there was nothing he could do. Just stifle his frown and follow along. “If you insist,” he replied, hardly able to push the words past his throat. He placed his hand gingerly on the man’s chest like he’d seen the others do. Though that wasn’t to say he welcomed any bit of it.
Leander buried his nose into Daren’s scalp and closed his eyes. Truthfully he wanted the same as Daren, to just spend the night being in each other’s presence, breathing the same air. Close, just so close. He wouldn’t be able to kiss Daren before he paid, though, and privacy seemed more appealing than a place where anybody could see them if they just looked over their shoulder. “What do you say about going to one of those rooms?” It was an actual question. He’d made it clear before that he wouldn’t push Daren into anything he didn’t want to. And he intended to keep that promise.
The man moved his hand from Lucrèce's cheek to rest on top of the one on his chest, chuckling.
"Those are quite… bold, words, from someone who is barely no longer a virgin and can't even lead this conversation. It sounds like I'm more the one convincing you to part with your money than the other way around. Still, the man held Lucrèce close, walking to Alcides.
"Fifty." Alcides looked up, eyebrow raising.
"Base cost is a hundred, sir."
"For a well-trained whore." The man let the humor fall from his voice as he spoke with Alcides, holding Lucrèce to his side still. Alcides considered for a moment.
"Seventy-five, then, for the hour."
"Deal."
"I think that is a wonderful idea," Daren said in turn. He kept himself tucked close to Leander's chest, holding himself back from taking a deep breath. He would never turn down an offer to go to a room together- he didn't care what they did, if they made love or talked or just sat together, and time 'stolen' with his love was enough for him.
He pulled away some to see Alcides busy talking to a customer buying Lucrèce, letting out a small breath. It was someone he'd heard had a tendency to go cheap and go hard. Poor Lucrèce…
Lucrèce couldn’t keep the disgust out of his face any longer, wrinkling his nose up as the man pulled him against his side and walked towards Alcides. He instinctively pulled against the man’s hold on him in minuscule movements. He knew it wouldn’t help much, but the small attempts felt better than just letting this happen.
“Wonderful,” Leander purred right back, reluctantly abandoning his hand from Daren’s hair as he stood. “I’ll be right back,” he promised, and made his way towards Alcides. A frown washed over his face as he saw the man Lucrèce was with. He’d heard the same thing as Daren, whether from pillow talk or a passing comment among the men he waited with he couldn’t remember.
“Can I convince you to let me take her?” The question was for both the other man and Alcides, since the deal had already technically been made. It was all he could do at this point to keep his brother safe. If either of them said no…
“I’ll take them both.” He threw his head over to gesture towards Daren too.
The man just held Lucrèce closer as he tried to pull away, looking through his pocket to count out the money. He looked up as Leander spoke, frowning.
"Sorry, she's-"
"No money's been given, yet. How much are you willing to pay?" Alcides was here to make money, not care where it came from. The man's eyebrow raised, holding Lucrèce closer to himself.
Daren was watching all of this, confused. Why was..? If he did that, they'd actually have to do something with Lucrèce, in his mind. It felt like Leander was going to ruin their time… he wouldn't say a word, though, even if it hurt.
“A hundred-fifty for her-“ Leander gestured towards Lucrèce-“and the standard hundred for that one.” He looked over at Daren again, catching the look of confusion in the other’s eyes, and sending a quick apologetic glance back. Until he returned his attention to Alcides again and started shuffling through his wallet to make sure he had the right notes for payment. He did, he realized with relief. “What do you say?”
Lucrèce stared daggers into his brother. He hated Leander, but at the same time he was saving him yet again. Still, he’d rather have taken his chances with the cheapskate. His face was burning red with a mixture of hot anger and embarrassment under the paint.
"Deal." Alcides had to admit, he was surprised Leander was willing to pay so much for Lucrèce. He was a regular, after all, and had always focused on just Daren. He wasn't one to ask questions, though, just take the money.
"But-!"
"And you'll be getting any other fine lady for the same price for your cooperation," Alcides said in turn. The man closed his mouth then, looking indignant. He let go of Lucrèce, though, pushing him towards Leander with a huff before turning to leave.
Daren moved to stand once he saw money being exchanged, moving over to Leander's other side. He rested his head on the other's chest, letting him lead the way.
Leander caught Lucrèce by his upper arm, holding him slightly more forcefully than he would handle Daren. Perhaps to subtly answer his brother’s glare, or to feign that he didn’t care about Lucrèce as much as he cared about himself. Most likely it was some combination of the two.
He nodded his thanks to Alcides before wrapping his arm around Daren’s shoulders and leading the men in his care towards an open room.
As soon as the door closed behind the three of them, Lucrèce was the one to talk first. “What the hell was that?”
Leander let go of Lucrèce’s arm, but continued walking alongside Daren until he sank down on the bed and pulled the man into his lap. “I’d accept a simple thank you, you know.” He barely even looked at his brother to answer, who was standing on the other side of the room with his arms crossed.
Daren looked between Leander and Lucrèce as they came to the room, keeping close to Leander's side. He stiffened some when Lucrèce spoke to his brother the way he did, looking between them again. He curled up just a touch when he was pulled to Leander's lap, nuzzling close. He didn't let himself be as intimate as normal, still not knowing what was going on.
"What's… going on?" He asked, looking between the two.
Lucrèce looked at his brother, who was looking right back at him, after Daren asked the question. He shrugged and shook his head a little in a wordless answer. I don’t care what you say.
“He’s…my brother,” Leander finally answered after a long moment of consideration. It wasn’t exactly safe to tell Daren the truth, he knew, since there was no definite way to make sure that he wouldn’t tell Alcides the next chance he got. He trusted Daren, though, and he hoped the connection he felt between them was mutual. “I, ah, I paid for him because I didn’t want…I mean—you can’t tell anyone. Please.”
Leander was lucky it was. Daren took a small sharp breath, thinking over everything he knew. It would make sense… but then, that would mean Alcides had been the one to…
"I, I won't," Daren said softly, looking back at Leander. He took the other's hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. He could never betray his love like that. He didn't hide away, though, looking at Lucrèce.
"It's a good thing you have your brother to look out for you, you know. That man you were talking with, he's known among us as… rough. He always comes in to get whoever he can for the cheapest he can."
Lucrèce frowned. “I see,” he muttered. It was some luck that he somehow chose the worst man in the room to approach. Perhaps it had been good Leander had been there, then. Though it didn’t help his pride much having to be saved. “But I wouldn’t have even been here for it to happen if you would have gotten me out last night.” He narrowed his gaze to glare over at his brother.
“If you keep going on like that, I’d say you’re just a waste of my money,” Leander retorted, but he didn’t focus on Lucrèce for very long, turning his attentions onto Daren instead. “Thank you, my love,” he hummed and tilted Daren’s chin up with his hand so he could trail light kisses down his jaw.
Daren leaned into the kisses with a soft breath, his head resting easily in Leander's hand. He raised his own to gently hold the other's arm, keeping close. He couldn't hold back one last snapping remark, though.
"If he were to get you out of here by stealing you, he'd get himself with a collar around his neck." He opened his eyes to glare at Lucrèce.
"And there's no way Alcides is going to think of selling you." Or Daren, for that matter. The man would have asked long ago if he had thought Leander would have been able to get him out of there.
Lucrèce glared back at Daren, but he knew the other man was right. Leander was right too, but he still couldn’t help thinking to himself that it would serve his brother right to be put in a collar after supporting this place. He stayed silent he wasn’t particularly in the mood to continue the argument. Not with Leander or the only man who he’d formed somewhat of an alliance with.
He let out a bored sigh, turning his attention down to examine his nails as if they were more interesting than they really were. Deep down he knew he would rather be here instead of with another customer.
Leander slowly, bit by bit, trailed his lips closer to Daren’s mouth until he was done talking, and then properly kissed him. Leander would make it last, savor every moment since he knew they couldn’t go any farther with Lucrèce there standing awkwardly in the corner.
Daren let his eyes close as Leander kissed him, wrapping his arms around the other. He didn't much care what Lucrèce thought- Daren had done much worse in front of others before, he could enjoy a kiss with his lover. He wanted it to last, too, to forget for a bit where they were, or what he was. To forget the collar around his neck if just just for a moment.
Lucrèce eventually sank down the wall to sit on the floor, and leaned his head back to rest his eyes. He hadn’t realized how tired he really was until now: the one moment of peace he’d had all day since that morning. He had quiet too, apart from the sounds of Leander and Daren across the room. He supposed he should be grateful to Leander for all of it. Mostly for the hour not spent with the man he’d approached. Lucrèce even began to doze off. Not completely, but just the partially conscious haze between sleep and awake.
Leander held Daren on his lap with one hand in the other’s waist, and his other hand buried in his hair, twirling his fingers between the strands like he’d done earlier. For a while he could practically forget his little brother was even in the room. All that existed was himself, Daren, and their familiarity with each other. A part of him—a large pet of him admittedly—wanted so badly to steal Daren away from this place. While it was fun to dally with some of the other ‘ladies’ sometimes, Daren was why he always came back.
Daren relaxed into Leander's hold as the other played with his hair, pulling away from the kiss for just a moment so he could properly wrap his arms around the other's neck. He tucked himself against Leander's chest, pressing small kisses to his jaw. He wanted nothing more than for Leander to steal him away, too, but… they couldn't do that. Even if somehow Daren could manage to do something so he was put up for sale, there was no guarantee Leander would be able to buy him. It… hurt. It hurt to know that there was a pricetag on Daren's love, that he couldn't just give it to Leander. That sometimes, Leander either couldn't or wouldn't pay for him.
Leander hummed approvingly when Daren began pressing kisses to his jaw. He tilted his own head up a bit in invitation for his love to continue, content there for some time until he braced both hands on Daren’s waist. Gently guiding him down on the bed with Leander propping himself up over him. “You know I would keep going if my brother wasn’t in the corner,” he said in a low voice. Just quiet enough not wake Lucrèce. “It would be a bit awkward, I think.”
"A bit awkward indeed," Daren said softly. Still, even with the slight teasing tone, he looked up at Darn with so much adoration. He moved one hand from around Leander's neck to gently cup his cheek, offering a small smile. He moved to gently kiss Leander once more, eyes slipping shut. Even just the gentle way Leander treated him was enough to make his heart and breath flutter.
“Mhmm,” Leander hummed back into the kiss, his eyes falling closed right after Daren’s. He smiled at the flutter he felt in his companion’s breath. Just the edges of his lips tilting up against Daren’s mouth.
He kept Daren and Lucrèce safe in the room as long as he could, as long as his money paid for. Still, he didn’t have enough in his wallet to keep them for any longer. No matter how much it hurt to abandon now two people he cared about.
“I’m sorry,” Leander mumbled when he knew someone would be knocking on the door any moment, laying beside Daren and brushing his fingers lazily through his hair.
Daren was half curled up next to Leander, head tucked against his chest.
"I know you do what you can," He said, looking up. He pressed a small kiss to Leander's lips, wrapping his arms around the other in one last hug.
"It's more than I ever thought anyone would give me," the man mumbled, voice soft as he admitted this. "And I'm so grateful for this…" Daren moved to pull away, then, standing and going over to wake Lucrèce up properly.
"Lucrèce," he said softly. "It's time to go, times almost up."
