[ He should be sleeping, because he has an all day affair with a client the following day, but a little liquor in him and his blood left boiling from a night of dancing with... well. He's feeling restless. ]
You should really party at bars that stay open later.
[ ... Nevermind the implication that he'd have very much stayed out later, dancing and drinking with one particular person. ]
[there was something equal measures thrilling and disappointing about watching steve go that night at lavo. any intentions to keep this strictly professional seemed to be blurring quickly into a dangerously gray spiral of what ifs. he'd laid awake that night, wired up with each and every insidious little thought sucking him like quicksand - further and further into fabricated fantasy. what if steve really did come because he wanted to? what if zemo was growing on him past professional boundaries? what if steve had gone home with him? what if steve felt that same inexplicably magnetic pull of seemingly genuine chemistry between them both?
all summarily shut down with a quick: what if he's just doing his job?
texts like this keep kindling that little spark he can't seem to fully stamp out, putting him squarely back at the long list of scenarios he's cultivated.]
What makes you think I don't? Though, I'll warn you they aren't exactly the kinds of establishments you'll find on any kind of search engine.
[this is where he'd offer one of his catlike smirks. speaking of cats:]
Always. I tell him he is like a cat on his permanent ninth life - a very select and cherished few can keep up with that.
[ The fine line they keep toeing across has begun to blur somewhere between the original e-mail and dragging the man out onto the dance floor in the dim of the club. What had inspired him to join him at he club in the first place, he still doesn't know. Beyond doing his job, beyond any contract or gentleman's agreement, beyond any lick of sense he has. ]
I don't think I'm worried about whether or not I'll find it on search engines. So, next time.
[ A promise he shouldn't make. ]
And maybe next time we limit what Pietro - what was the nickname you gave him? - has to drink. Or at least watch whose pants he puts his hands into. I think the bouncer was ready to party in a different way.
[next time. because of course there will be a next time - now that he's the talk of his circle of friends and half of sokovia he's going to have to rely on steve's services a little longer. but...does "next time" mean the paid kind, or the kind where steve shows up without a word, doesn't ask for anything in return, and kisses him within an inch of his life?
this is complicated by personal investment now. the only question is if it's reciprocated in some fashion.]
Bleskový. Trust me, that is not the first time those two have tangoed somewhere that isn't a dance floor. Or the front door.
[he wouldn't be talking to steve if he didn't, but it's sweet he's asking. or maybe he's just being polite? or...maybe he wants to keep the conversation going. there's too many options to decipher the correct one just yet.]
Safe and sound, I promise. Admittedly I was more worried for you to leave the bar looking quite so enticing. You're alright, then?
[ Maybe too friendly, considering he's sure that Pietro likely dragged that bouncer home with him, what with the way they were attached by the mouth. He can't blame him, and in some way, he's jealous of Pietro's confidence and freedom. It's not something he's ever had.
His second response comes a little later than expected, as he's gotten in and taken a cool shower after a particularly heated evening. He's sure he can still feel the burn of Zemo's lips on his ear, his neck...
[he doesn't want to talk about pietro. frankly, he's not sure he can talk at all when steve goes and sends him another photo that he's sure is meant to be "innocuous" at face value, but it's the kind of photo someone attractive sends someone else while hiding a shit-eating grin because they must know how devastating it is to a mere mortal.
he thinks about sending his own, but it would pale in comparison. that, and he's currently not wearing anything but a robe, hair still damp from his own shower to wash away the sweat and lingering ghost of steve's mouth against his own. what are they doing?]
Ah yes, I'm sure you'd get kicked out of bed looking like that. For shame.
[hopefully he knows zemo well enough to picture the cheshire smirk and lilt of his voice with such obvious sarcasm.]
I think you've unwittingly signed yourself up to be a staple at them in the future. I hope you don't mind.
[ After all, the man is attractive in his own right. He can, in fact, picture the smirk and he can hear the lilting tease in the man's voice. It's nigh infuriating to think he's here in his own bed and Zemo is away in his own. Sure, the man set his limits early on, and Steve shouldn't even be considering it - he never feels this way about a client - but he's also not ready to admit to himself that this? This is more than just being kind to a client. ]
I have more free time than you think, actually. So trust me, I don't mind.
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text, a couple after the surprise night at the bar;
You should really party at bars that stay open later.
[ ... Nevermind the implication that he'd have very much stayed out later, dancing and drinking with one particular person. ]
Did Pietro make it home in one piece?
no subject
all summarily shut down with a quick: what if he's just doing his job?
texts like this keep kindling that little spark he can't seem to fully stamp out, putting him squarely back at the long list of scenarios he's cultivated.]
What makes you think I don't? Though, I'll warn you they aren't exactly the kinds of establishments you'll find on any kind of search engine.
[this is where he'd offer one of his catlike smirks. speaking of cats:]
Always. I tell him he is like a cat on his permanent ninth life - a very select and cherished few can keep up with that.
no subject
I don't think I'm worried about whether or not I'll find it on search engines. So, next time.
[ A promise he shouldn't make. ]
And maybe next time we limit what Pietro - what was the nickname you gave him? - has to drink.
Or at least watch whose pants he puts his hands into. I think the bouncer was ready to party in a different way.
[ A beat, then: ]
...Did you make it home okay?
no subject
this is complicated by personal investment now. the only question is if it's reciprocated in some fashion.]
Bleskový. Trust me, that is not the first time those two have tangoed somewhere that isn't a dance floor. Or the front door.
[he wouldn't be talking to steve if he didn't, but it's sweet he's asking. or maybe he's just being polite? or...maybe he wants to keep the conversation going. there's too many options to decipher the correct one just yet.]
Safe and sound, I promise. Admittedly I was more worried for you to leave the bar looking quite so enticing. You're alright, then?
no subject
[ Maybe too friendly, considering he's sure that Pietro likely dragged that bouncer home with him, what with the way they were attached by the mouth. He can't blame him, and in some way, he's jealous of Pietro's confidence and freedom. It's not something he's ever had.
His second response comes a little later than expected, as he's gotten in and taken a cool shower after a particularly heated evening. He's sure he can still feel the burn of Zemo's lips on his ear, his neck...
Which might be why he sends another picture this time just as he had before. ]
I don't think I look nearly as enticing now. The lights on the dance floor did a lot in my favor.
Thanks for letting me crash your outing, by the way. We should do that again sometime.
1/2
he thinks about sending his own, but it would pale in comparison. that, and he's currently not wearing anything but a robe, hair still damp from his own shower to wash away the sweat and lingering ghost of steve's mouth against his own. what are they doing?]
Ah yes, I'm sure you'd get kicked out of bed looking like that. For shame.
[hopefully he knows zemo well enough to picture the cheshire smirk and lilt of his voice with such obvious sarcasm.]
I think you've unwittingly signed yourself up to be a staple at them in the future. I hope you don't mind.
no subject
Of course, you're under no obligation. I'd never intrude on your limited free time.
[he's hesitating over mentioning payment. it almost feels like it'd be insulting at this point, but he is wondering.]
1/2
[ After all, the man is attractive in his own right. He can, in fact, picture the smirk and he can hear the lilting tease in the man's voice. It's nigh infuriating to think he's here in his own bed and Zemo is away in his own. Sure, the man set his limits early on, and Steve shouldn't even be considering it - he never feels this way about a client - but he's also not ready to admit to himself that this? This is more than just being kind to a client. ]
I have more free time than you think, actually. So trust me, I don't mind.
no subject
I had fun tonight. I mean it.