Solo [Loveless]Conflict of Interests

[Halin'a]

89 Summer, 514AV "Busy night tonight, hm?" Halin'a turned on his stool to see Brett, another worker, grinning at him. Halin'a returned the grin. "Busy nights are a curse and a blessing," he reminded the other worker. Brett rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah-- we all know your little spiel," he said crossly. "But we all need the money, Halin'a. We can't just turn down clients because we're afraid they're going to get a bit more aggressive than we bargained for." Halin'a refrained from pointing out that he could still see the bruises ringing Brett's neck from a customer who got "a bit more aggressive" than expected. Something told him that it wouldn't be appreciated. Instead, he offered Brett his glass, letting the other man take a heart swig from it before taking it back. Brett wandered off shortly after, and then Halin'a was distracted by a man and woman approaching him. Straightening his shoulders, Halin'a smiled politely at the approaching couple. "Can I help you?" The woman grinned. "Not us, no. But you can help our friend-- you're a worker here, right? A prostitute?" Halin'a nodded, and the man was the one to point out their friend-- a young man who couldn't have been more than eighteen. "He never had the pleasure of a woman's body, cause he don't want a woman. He wants a man." The man spit out the last word in a way that made Halin'a tense defensively-- there was nothing wrong in seeking pleasure with another of the same gender, in his opinion, but he knew that a lot of people didn't feel the same. Still, the Ethaefal brought himself back under control. "I can assure you that I have the necessary parts," he said; if his tone was a bit cooler than usual, then oh well, they could deal with it. "I assume you'll be paying for him?"

[Halin'a]

They did; once the money had changed hands, Halin'a followed the couple over to the other man. "Hi," he said, offering the man a smile. "I'm Halin'a; your friends told me that I may be able to help you." The man seemed surprised, looking to the couple, who shrugged and grinned before clapping him on the shoulder and leaving. The man-- actually, he seemed too... innocent, young, maybe, to be called a man-- flushed and turned his attention back to Halin'a. "I'm, uh-- I'm Narin." Halin'a let his smile change to a soft one, hoping to put Narin at ease. "It's nice to meet you," he said sincerely. "Do you mind telling me about yourself?" Hopefully it would help Narin calm down; it was always better when clients, especially male ones, were enjoying themselves. Halin'a got paid either way, but he didn't like leaving clients unsatisfied. They spent several minutes chatting before Halin'a finally suggested moving their conversation upstairs; the boy's nerves seemed to return full-force, however, when Halin'a shut the door behind them. "I've never-- I mean, I--" "Hey, it's all right," Halin'a said soothingly, stepping towards Narin. "It's perfectly fine to be nervous-- and we won't do anything you don't feel comfortable doing, all right?" That was Halin'a's biggest rule: if he or the client was uncomfortable with some act, then that act was not performed. No exceptions. That seemed to help; Narin offered Halin'a a sincere, if shaky, smile, and they spent the next several minutes chatting before heading upstairs.

[Halin'a]

WARNINGHere is where things start getting a bit more hands-on; obviously I will not become explicit, and will be cutting to black once things get past a certain point, but I just figured I'd put this warning out here just in case. Once the door was locked behind them, Narin seemed nervous again, but Halin'a simply smiled and moved to sit on the bed, patting the covers beside him. "Come sit by me," he coaxed. Carefully, Narin approached the bed, perching on the edge gingerly. "What I said downstairs still applies-- if you're not comfortable with something, we won't do it," Halin'a reminded him, and that reminder seemed to work for Narin, who relaxed until he was more sitting and less poised-to-run. "All right," he agreed. "What did they hire you for?" Halin'a huffed out a laugh. "They just paid me; no one pays me to do a specific thing, especially if they're paying for someone else," he told Narin. "They just paid me for my time, really. What we do is up to you." Narin was quiet for a moment, before offering, "I've only kissed before," his voice shy. "And only a couple of guys." Halin'a offered a reassuring smile. "I can do kissing," he said agreeably. "Do you want to kiss me?" Narin's gaze dragged down Halin'a's body and back up again, the human taking his time looking at the Ethaefal. When Narin met Halin'a's eyes, he nodded and licked his lips. Halin'a took the action for the answer it was and leaned forward slowly, giving Narin time to change his mind; the other man didn't, however. He met Halin'a halfway, and very eagerly, forcing a soft sound of surprise from the Ethaefal's lips which was quickly swallowed by Narin. For an inexperienced kisser, the human was a good one; Halin'a didn't do much kissing in his line of business, as most clients preferred to get straight to the "good stuff," but to Halin'a, kissing was just as good as what came after. The two men spent several moments simply trading breaths and spit, exploring the way the other responded when one would nip at their lower lip, suck it into their mouth, run their tongue along the seam of their lips. Narin was the one to finally escalate things, reaching for the hem of Halin'a's shirt and tugging gently. Halin'a broke the kiss long enough to strip himself of his shirt and help Narin out of his; however, before he returned to their previous activity, Halin'a stopped him with a hand on his chest. "How far do you want this to go?" he asked, his voice soft but firm. Narin contemplated that for a moment. "Not all the way. I want to... save that," he said finally; Halin'a nodded in understanding. He reached for the waistband of Narin's pants with a small smirk on his face. "Well, I guess I'll just have to enjoy what I can with you."

[Halin'a]

Afterwards, Halin'a and Narin laid on the bed simply trying to catch their breath. "Certainly one of the more... ah, energetic nights I've had since I started here," Halin'a said, laughing slightly. Narin flushed. "Sorry, I just-- Um." Halin'a snickered. "It's fine; nice change to have a partner who doesn't just grunt and thrust." That got a laugh from Narin, which brought a smile to Halin'a's face. "So, you said you were saving-- any man in particular?" Narin's face went soft and fond, and it made Halin'a's chest ache, though he pushed it away. "Yeah. He's-- he's great. Good with his hands-- not that way! Or at least, I don't know... He might be..." Narin's face slackened, and Halin'a had to snap his fingers in Narin's face to get his attention back. "Sorry. But yeah, he's great. Good-looking, but more than that, he's a good guy. Like, as a person, y'know? He's sweet, and generous, and just... A good guy." Narin's smile had gone a little dopey, and Halin'a couldn't help but chuckle. "Sounds like it," he said with a smile. "Just-- when you get him, remember to do that thing with your tongue, and show him what I did with my fingers. He'll love it, guarantee you." ~~~~/*\*/*\~~~~ After Narin left, Halin'a took his time going back downstairs; he didn't want to go back to where he would be just a warm body for any potential clients, judged like a horse for breeding. He knew that was the life of a whore, but it had never weighed on him as heavily as it did now. Narin was obviously in love with his man, and Halin'a was willing to bet good money that this man would-- if he didn't already-- love Narin back. Halin'a didn't have anyone like that. Not now, not when he'd lived in Syliras for fity-five years, not in Leth's realm or in his life before that. He didn't have anyone who spoke about him with such reverence, who he could speak about in the same manner. It was better when he was in Leth's realm, but even then he'd felt the touch of loneliness that came with not being able to share a life with that special someone. It wasn't even the physical aspect of it that Halin'a craved; it was the emotional closeness that he wanted. It was the emotional closeness that he would probably never get.

[Okara]

Grades and Awards   Halin a Please deduct Spring 516 living expenses from your ledger and resubmit for grading. Please edit your post in your grade request to reflect that it has been graded. PM me with any questions.