Striptease
by Heather
“Okay, now we’re moving on to a game called Party Quirks! This is going to feature Greg as the host of the party, and...”
Ryan, Colin, and Wayne tuned out Drew’s usual introduction as they opened up their envelopes to see their quirks. Ryan twitched his lips into a slight smile at his: ‘Mesmerized by body movements.’ He heard Colin chuckling softly and looked over, raising his eyebrows in a silent question. Colin grinned at him, and showed him the quirk with his name on it: ‘Doing a striptease to be the center of attention.’ Ryan smiled in return, feeling a flush creep up his cheeks at the thought. He quickly looked away and grabbed a sip of water, trying to hide his reaction. Lately, it seemed like everything Colin did caused that sort of reaction. It wasn’t just the sexually suggestive games, but everything—the way he looked, the sound of his voice, the way his body moved when he walked, the soft touch of his hand...
“Hello, earth to Ryan!” Drew called, snickering. Ryan looked up and was startled to realize he was the only one still seated. The others were in their positions for the start of the game. With a sheepish grin, Ryan quickly took his place at the end of the guest’s line, accepting Drew’s laughter with his usual good grace. He couldn’t suppress a grin of anticipation as the game began.
Colin moved onto the stage, running his hands slowly over his chest. As his quirk flashed on the monitors, the audience cheered wildly, and there were several wolf whistles. Greg’s jaw dropped as he took in Colin’s seductive look and swaying hips. Colin was wearing one of those brightly patterned button down shirts with the short sleeves, and as Greg watched with a slowly spreading grin, he deliberately undid the top two buttons. Ryan was staring raptly, unconsciously licking his lips, and the first time Drew cued him with the doorbell he didn’t respond at all.
It took Greg opening the ‘door’ in front of him to shake Ryan’s hypnosis. He walked onto the stage, shaking Greg’s hand but still keeping his eyes fixed on Colin. Luckily, his quirk allowed for just such a thing, because he would have been staring no matter what. Colin saw the look, and figuring Ryan was just playing his quirk, he began moving closer, his deep brown eyes filled with seduction. Ryan swallowed and forced himself to blink, trying to remind himself that it was just a game.
Greg looked back and forth between Ryan and Colin, enjoying the show. Colin was making it good, as he slowly undid another button, exposing his white undershirt. He moved closer to Ryan and trailed a finger tantalizingly down his cheek and along his throat. Ryan shivered and felt goose bumps rise on his arms. He fought the urge to wrap those arms around Colin and pull him even closer; reminding himself once again that they were on stage, and Colin was only playing. God, how he wished Colin wasn’t just playing.
Colin rubbed his hands all over his body, throwing his head back with an expression of arousal. One hand traced along his neck, while the other undid two more buttons. His bright shirt was now fully open, and he began to shrug his shoulders, sliding the shirt down his arms. Ryan swallowed hard, feeling his breath catch in his throat.
“Oh, I know...you’re—“ Greg’s guess was cut off sharply when
Ryan clapped a hand across his mouth.
Colin paused, giving him a ‘what the hell are you doing?’ look. He was slightly taken aback by the expression
on Ryan’s face, and the way his friend’s eyes were dilated with lust. **Wow, Ryan’s really getting into the part
this time**
Greg tried to pull away, but Ryan held him still, wrapping a steely arm around his shoulders. Without taking his eyes off Colin for a second, he said, “Don’t guess him yet...I don’t want him to stop.” The audience roared in approval, and Drew nearly fell of his seat laughing. Greg chuckled and shook his head, but didn’t try to guess again. Ryan leaned against him slightly and nodded to Colin to continue.
Shrugging and biting the inside of his cheek in that sideways grin, Colin allowed his shirt to drop, catching it with one hand and whirling it over his head, then flinging it aside. Dressed only in a thin cotton t-shirt and his pants, he hesitated for a moment, and then went for the belt buckle. Ryan’s eyes widened and he licked his lips again, focusing on Colin’s movements. He could see the contours of Colin’s chest through the thin, snug fitting t-shirt, and a hint of chest hair was visible at the v-neck.
For Colin, it had become a matter of pride. Ryan was daring him to continue, and Colin decided he was going to go on until one of the producers stopped this thing. Slipping his belt free from its loops, he folded it over in one hand and slapped it against his palm, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. The smacking sound as the leather hit his friend’s skin made Ryan catch his breath again. He leaned a bit harder against Greg as his knees threatened to buckle. Greg shot him a bemused look, wondering just how much of this was an act.
Suddenly, Colin darted forward and brought the belt around, landing a stinging strike firmly on Ryan’s ass. Ryan jumped, more from surprise than pain, since it didn’t really hurt that much. Colin was trying to tease him, not hurt him. It was amazingly exciting, and Ryan reached out and grabbed a handful of Colin’s t-shirt, pulling it up out of his pants and exposing some of the soft belly. He pulled Colin close and looked into his eyes with a crazy fascination.
“Do that again,” he invited, his voice low and throaty. Colin just looked at him, confused. He wasn’t sure if Ryan was playing anymore, and the tall guy sure looked serious. He’d never seen Ryan get so deeply into a quirk. Pulling away uncertainly, Colin looked at Greg for help.
“Hey striptease man, get a room!” Greg said suggestively, and Drew buzzed, much to Colin’s relief. Feeling embarrassed now that his quirk was over, he quickly rethreaded his belt and retrieved his shirt from the floor. Ryan continued to watch as the older man returned to his seat, buttoning up the brightly printed shirt. A faint expression of disappointment could be seen on Ryan’s face, before he covered it with his hands and took a deep breath. When his hands dropped, he was fully the professional again, and he slipped back into his quirk, staring at Greg’s movements.
“Ummm...you’re not getting enough at home?” Greg guessed, lifting his hands in confusion. Ryan’s eyes followed the movement raptly, his jaw hanging open. “Oh, you’re fixated on people moving!”
“Close enough,” Drew said, buzzing him out and ending the game. Ryan returned to his seat, glad he was wearing tight underwear and loose pants. ‘Mr. Tricky’ was definitely aware of just how alluring that little striptease had been. Colin was giving him that look that asked what was up, and Ryan grinned nervously at him, trying to act normal. It was hard when all he could think about was what he had just seen. Fortunately, Dan chose that moment to call a break, and Ryan quickly walked off the set, heading for the bathroom. He knew he didn’t have time to...um...wax the javelin, if you know what I mean, so he settled for washing his face in cold water and taking several deep breaths.
//This is ridiculous.
I go through this every time I see Colin, and it’s only getting
worse. I need to tell him how I
feel. I know its crazy, and he probably
doesn’t see me that way, but I have to try.
I’m just too in love with him to keep it a secret anymore, and it’s
killing me to be near him and not be able to touch him. Every time I see him I just want to jump into
his arms and kiss him so hard...damn.
This is not helping. I need that
cold water somewhere else. I wonder if I
could...no, there’s no time. Shit. Okay, keep it together, the taping is almost
over. Let’s see if you can handle
looking at Colin for a little longer without wanting to make mad passionate
love to him. Yeah. That’s really likely.//
Ryan’s heated thoughts were interrupted by a crew guy sticking his head in the door. “Hey, Ryan, we’re back,” he said, and Ryan nodded, taking one last look at his flushed face in the mirror. Shaking his head ruefully, he followed the crew guy back to the stage and took his usual chair. It was going to be another long taping.
* * * * *
Ryan still wasn’t sure how he got through the rest of that taping. He was still so damn aroused from that striptease that every time Colin looked at him with those big brown eyes, he nearly lost it. All he wanted was to finish what his friend had started during that game of Party Quirks, but he knew Colin didn’t feel that way. At least, he assumed Colin didn’t feel that way, because he’d never asked. He’d always been too afraid of risking the friendship. And now he was standing outside the door to Colin’s trailer, trying to gather enough courage to knock.
When he finally did knock, there was a long pause, followed by a muffled shout of “Come in!” Ryan entered, and looked around in confusion, not seeing Colin. Then his friend stepped out of the bathroom door, dressed only in a pair of jeans, still rubbing a towel in his hair. Ryan’s jaw dropped and he stared helplessly, unable to look away. Colin’s skin was still flushed and damp from the shower, and the jeans left very little to the imagination.
“Um...Ryan?” Colin asked, waving his hand in front of Ryan’s face. Jumping slightly and shaking himself, Ryan giggled nervously and rubbed a hand across his eyes. Colin was giving him that confused, slightly uncomfortable look again, and Ryan looked away, trying to pull himself together.
“Look,
“Okay, what’s up?” Colin asked calmly, still giving Ryan a confused look.
“I...” Ryan paused, not sure how to put this. Without thinking, he looked at Colin again—and was lost. Staring into those dark, intense eyes, he could only speak the simple truth. “I’m in love with you, Colin. I love you.”
The words hung in the air, and Ryan swallowed nervously. Colin wasn’t smiling. Ryan wasn’t sure how he had envisioned the ideal reaction, but it had definitely involved Colin smiling.
“What?” Colin’s eyes were wide with disbelief, and his question had a shocked, almost angry ring to it. Ryan felt his stomach flip over and he rubbed absently at his midsection, trying to get that scared flutter to quiet down.
“I...you heard me. I love you. I think I always have.” Ryan cut himself off, knowing that when he was scared he tended to ramble. Colin was shaking his head, and he still wasn’t smiling. The flutter of fear in Ryan’s stomach got worse.
“No. You can’t...just...no. I’m not hearing this,” Colin said, his face tense with anger and shock. “I mean, what the hell do you think you’re playing at here, Ryan? You think you can just say something like that and it’ll be okay? How the fuck am I supposed to respond to that?”
“I don’t know,” Ryan said, twisting his hands together nervously. He could feel his throat getting tight at the angry, closed expression on Colin’s face, and he tried again to explain his case. “I just...I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer.”
“Well you should have!” Colin exclaimed, waving his arms for emphasis. Ryan took a step back, biting his lip miserably. “All this time I’ve tried so hard to convince people I’m straight...well no wonder they always thought I was a fag! Apparently I’m the last one to know about you!”
Ryan blinked at Colin’s words, shaking his head in panicky denial. “Nobody else knows—“
“Bullshit! Everyone knows! Why the hell do you think we get all those letters asking if we’re a couple?” Colin replied, cutting him off.
“He’s right, you know,” said Greg, who was standing in the corner of the trailer. Ryan looked at him in confusion, wondering just when the hell Greg had arrived.
“Yeah, you are SO fucking obvious, Ryan,” Drew chimed in from his place on the couch. Ryan whirled to stare at Drew, and then looked around again, wondering who else was going to suddenly appear in the trailer. Colin advanced on him, shaking a fist.
“I don’t ever want to hear you say you love me again, Ryan! In fact, I never want to see you again! Get the fuck out of my life!” Colin snarled, and pushed Ryan forcefully through the open door.
Landing hard on his ass, Ryan could only stare helplessly as Colin turned his back and slammed the door. He could feel the first tears coursing down his cheeks and he reached out to where Colin had been standing with trembling hands.
“No, Colin, please...please…”
* * *
“Colin...please...no...” Ryan sat bolt upright in bed, shaking, tears in his eyes.
“What’s the matter, babe? Did you have a nightmare?”
Turning to his partner, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief and dove into the waiting arms for a welcome hug. Burying his face against the soft neck, Ryan closed his eyes and concentrated on the touch. Pulling back slightly, he framed Colin’s face with both hands and kissed him fiercely. Surprised and confused, Colin nonetheless returned the kiss passionately, wondering what had gotten into Ryan.
Touching his forehead to Colin’s, Ryan said, “You wouldn’t believe the dream I just had...”
* * *
Finis