by neko

"What did you think?" the boy returned, gently. "Certainly you didn't expect everyone in an all-male theater group to be completely straight, did you?"

"Well, no - I mean, I guess I... er..." Rob broke off uncertainly. Hesitating a moment, he asked frankly, giving up, "Who?"

"That," Ecstasy laughed, "you'll find out on your own."

They headed up to the showers soon afterward to clean up. Rob was less than impressed at the idea of shared bathing, but there was really nothing he could do about it. Besides, Ecstasy had promised that most of the others were down at a rehearsal, so they might even have the place to themselves.

Somehow, the thought of being alone and naked with him wasn't that reassuring.

"Just wait until you see the tub! It's almost the size of my room!" his guide chirped happily. "We'll just shower and wash up first, then soak for a while, okay?" He didn't wait for an answer before unbuttoning and pulling off his shirt.

Again, Rob found himself staring as Ecstasy carefully folded the garment and placed it on the counter. The sweet voice broke him out of his trance.

"Do you need some help?"

"No! No, that's okay." Rob fumbled unsuccessfully with his own clothing before delicate hands batted his away.

"Let me get that." His shirt was opened and the hands had moved to his pants before he could think enough to react.

"Really," he stressed, moving away, "it's all right." Ecstasy simply shrugged and stepped into the the shower.

Rivulets of water soaked through flame-coloured waves and carressed soft, pale skin. Blushing, Rob quickly moved to his own stall.

 "Ohh!" Ecstasy moaned as he lowered himself into the tub. "there's really nothing like hot water and jets to relax you after a hard day. Well, except maybe a good masseuse with nice, strong hands." He giggled cutely.  He was, Rob reflected, probably the only person who could giggle cutely after saying that.  Certainly the only man.

"Ah," Rob murmured noncomittally, then paused, recalling something. "I shouldn't get my watch wet. I'll just go put it back with my clothes."

"Okay."

As he approached the counter and his things, however, he caught voices from one of the showers.

"Please?" asked a soft tenor.

"Not here, Brother,"answered the slightly deeper tone he recognized as Monologue's. "We have to be careful around our guest."

"Don't worry," came again what he assumed to be Soliloquy. Rob's ears perked at the secretive dialogue. "Besides, didn't you promise to relax me earlier?"

"Yes, but -"

'Drugs?' Rob wondered, nervous again.

"So, relax me. Please, Brother, do it. I need it. Take me..."

"Soliloquy..."

Rob stood still a moment, shocked, before a gasp and answering groan spurred him into action as he spun on his heel and headed back to the bath.

"Hi! I was just wondering if you'd gotten lost." Ecstasy paused. "Um... You still have your watch..."

Belatedly, Rob realized he was still holding the timepiece. "Oh... I guess I forgot..."

A strange expression crossed Ecstasy's face as he whispered, "He must have found those eighty cents..."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." The slender boy smiled. "So, tell me about this book of yours."

'Why am I /doing/ this?' Rob wondered again as he sat on the cot that had been brought out for him. Ecstasy was very nice, but he certainly /seemed/ to be like /that/. And then there was the matter of those twin brothers... Was that what Ecstasy had meant about him finding out for himself? He remembered hearing that relationships of that sort were usually abusive. Soliloquy had sounded demanding and in control, for all that he was the supposedly submissive partner. But he recalled the possessive look in Monologue's eyes when introducing his brother.

Rob didn't know how much more of this he could take, and it was only the first day. He was shocked, confused, and trying to look anywhere but the beautiful boy sprawled half-naked on the bed reading from a script.

He was desperately searching for something to do when a knock sounded at the door. At Ecstasy's call to enter, a slender Japanese youth stepped in. Delicacy, Rob's mind supplied.

"Hi, D, what's up?" Ecstasy set aside his script and sat up, not bothering to get a shirt.

"Narcissism and I want to go dancing tonight, and we were wondering if you two would like to come." At Rob's obvious reluctance, he added, "There's a new band playing at Velvet Night tonight. The Gentry, I think. They're supposed to be fairly good."

Rob had heard the group before, and they were good. Ecstasy looked delighted, and he could find little excuse to squelch that enthusiasm. Besides, it might be nice to get out and do something normal.

"All right."

"Great! Meet us down in the lobby in about twenty minutes, okay?" Delicacy nodded to himself and left, closing the door behind him.

"This'll be fun! I haven't been to the club in so long. What's this 'Gentry' group like, anyway?"

Velvet Night was one of the hottest nightclubs in town, its good music and large dance floor as popular as its dimly lit sofas. The varied crowd it attracted had lined up all the way down the block, and for a moment Rob regretted his decision to come along. Narcissism, however, led them directly to the front door, where he spoke quietly to a young man in a black t-shirt with the word 'SECURITY' across the chest. The man smiled and let them in.

"What was that all about?" Rob asked once they were inside.

"That," Narcissism answered with a slow smile, "was Daryl. I just asked him what time he gets off work - eleven o'clock, it seems - and whether he would be joining us for a drink or two."

"Are you two friends or something?"

"Before five minutes ago? Never met him."

Ecstasy laughed at this and led them to a table at the edge of the floor. As the next song started up, he stood and pulled Delicacy over to dance with him.

"Cute little thing, isn't he?"

"Huh?" Startled, Rob realized he'd been caught staring. "I guess. Is he always like this?"

"Oh, yeah. Always letting you know what he wants and begging if he doesn't get it." He grinned at the older man's blush and continued, "He's as sweet as he looks, too."

That certainly answered questions he might have had about the boy, and Narcissism, too. He stuttered for a moment, searching for something to say, until his companion rose to join the two already lost in the music.

Ecstasy had just turned his back to his partner, placing one hand behind the slender neck as he nuzzle his cheek. As the taller man approached, he lifted the other hand to his shoulder, rubbing lightly. Narcissism cupped the boy's rear, thrusting gently against him. Delicacy's hand trailed to his hip and the three of them fell into a smooth rhythm of timeless movements.

From where he still sat at the table, Rob was amazed they were still clothed. The carressing hands and grinding hips left little to the imagination. He could swear that some of the other patrons were drooling.

Was this /normal/ for this place?!

As the song came to a close, Ecstasy kissed each of his companions before walking back to the table. A thin layer of sweat covered his exposed skin, making him glow in the low light. He smiled, innocently sensual, and held out a hand.

"Dance with me?"