A Kind Word and a Gun

[SilentWriter83]

Derek dropped his gaze with an amused smile. His shoulders bounced with a quiet laugh. His bright green eyes looked up through thick lashes at Thomas, his amusement still playing on his lips. "Own isle at Walmart, huh?" That was a funny one. He would definitely have to remember that. Derek shook his head lightly and sat back when he was asked about himself. Oh, touchy subject. Derek clicked his tongue and shrugged. "Not much. Big family," he shrugged. There was no way he was divulging who his family was. Thomas would run for the hills after the first syllable. "Big, annoying, Italian family." He took a sip of his drink so he didn't have to speak again.

 

[missbrightside]

"That's not even me being snobby.. Just the facts." Thomas grinned a him, leaning in as the other leaned back. When was the last time he had even done this much smiling, anyway? Quite possibly never.


At first blush it didn't seem to fit, Derek coming from a family like that, but as soon as he pictured it everything somehow made perfect sense. Thomas was glad to be mostly free of his family, but that didn't mean that whole extended family ideal didn't hold any appeal to him. "Has your family lived around here long?" He knew that there were a few families around who had pretty deep roots in this city. Some of them could supposedly trace their line back to the boat that brought their Great Great Who Even Cares from across the ocean. Some of them also supposedly had their hands in the beginning of the city's black market. Possibly some of them were still running the crime syndicate, depending on who you believed.

 

[SilentWriter83]

"Too long," Derek sighed. He leaned on to the tabled and heaved a sigh. "Way too long." There was a time in his life where Derek wanted to leave. It was when he was going to college. He had some sort of fantasy that he could go to a school across the country and not fall into the trap of the family business. That was a few years ago and he had learned since then that once you were in his family, you were stuck in that family. There was no escaping it and once you accepted that, life was a thousand times easier.


The waitress returned with their plates of food. Derek sat back, allowing her room to set the plate down. He muttered a thank you and grabbed his chopsticks. He broke them apart and began to dig in. He hummed in delight. It had been a long time since he'd had anything other than home cooked Italian food, not that he was complaining. His mother was one hell of a cook.

 

[missbrightside]

Thomas tracked Derek's face closely. He could identify that look all too easily. The summer after high school ended he had flown the nest so quickly that there had probably been a sonic boom in his wake. He could only image if he hadn't.


They both cleared out of the way for the waitress to set down their food. He flashed her a grateful smile before quickly turning his attention towards his plate. He nodded in agreement with Derek's appreciative hum. The food was great. "Nothing like Chinese food after dark," he sighed. Taking a sip of his drink, his eyebrows shot upwards as he remembered something. "What were you doing out anyways?"

 

[SilentWriter83]

Derek was glad there were no more prying family questions. Even if he wanted to answer, which he really didn't at all, he wouldn't have been able to tell the kid anyways. Instead they turned their attention to his food. He got a good amount of food eaten when more questions came. Thomas was full of them tonight it seemed. Derek was a little curious as to why the other male wanted to know. It's not like he was anything special really. "Work," He said quickly before taking another bite of food. He hoped Thomas would quit with the questions. He was going to start coming off a rude if they continued, which he really didn't care about in normal circumstances. These weren't normal circumstances either. "What's with the interrogation? What about you mister uniform, tell me about your life," Derek said, turning the tables.

 

[missbrightside]

He blinked, trying to read the other man. He offered a conciliatory smile. "You know it's not the first time somebody's told me that.. But usually it's a little bit later. More towards the stuff about absolute reality." This was generally the part of the conversation that went reasonably well between Thomas and others. How strange... and he couldn't even tell if it was him or not this time. But if this was painful, he didn't honestly foresee it getting much better, unfortunately.


The question threw off any figurative balance he left. "Ahh. Mmmmm." Thomas rotated a piece of chicken on his plate, trying to think of of something that wasn't either too meaningless or too intimate. It took on get than was most likely socially acceptable. "My life.. Imitates art. If I'm sure of one thing. I don't know who those people are that are claiming that it goes the other way but..." He trailed off pleasantly, turning his palms up.

 

[SilentWriter83]

Derek raised a curious brow. Thomas was interesting for sure. He gave strange, poetic answers that amazed yet irritated him. Derek was used to his crude family that blurted the first things that came to their minds. They had no filter whatsoever so interacting with someone like Thomas was welcomed. "That was pleasantly vague," Derek quipped. A smirk played on his lips as they continued to eat. He had no idea how much time had passed since he ran into Thomas. He didn't care to find out. He had other people to collect from but he rather spend his time with Thomas. It was much more entertaining than driving around and scaring old men and women into paying for his families protection. "You got a place to go after this?" Derek asked nonchalantly, picking up another piece of chicken and popping it into his mouth. His green eyes found Thomas's, burning into his with a desire that Derek hadn't really felt towards anyone in quite some time.

 

[missbrightside]

"As long as it's pleasant," Thomas replied sweetly. This meal was shaping up to be much better than he ever would have thought when he was setting out. Not just the food either, though that was pretty great too. "Who's grilling who now, hm?" he said with a cheeky smile, though he didn't mind it. He pulled his drink toward him and took a sip. "Now I don't want to make it sound like my time isn't valuable, but..." Thomas trailed off as the other man caught his gaze. The look stopped him dead in his tracks. "No. Not at all." He slowly smiled, his lip catching between his teeth.


He couldn't imagine that Derek ever had an interaction that didn't go the way he wanted it. He was assertive. That was Thomas's dad's phrasing. "Tom, you need to learn to be more assertive. You'll never get anywhere if you don't learn to assert yourself." He didn't like the look for himself (more like he couldn't pull it off) but he had to admit.. He was starting to appreciate the trait. Maybe good old dad had sort of been on to something after all.

 

[SilentWriter83]

"You do now," Derek smirked. His eyes moved up and down Thomas as if he was double checking his plan to invite him over. It's not like it hadn't been done before, just not often. Derek hated dealing with his family the day after, having to keep their business a secret. Usually he opted for sneaking his bed mate out of his family's compound in the wee hours of the morning. He figured he could do it again. He was pretty much done eat so he called for the check and paid for their meals.


"Let's go. My time is valuable," he smirked. His eyes flashed with mischief as he stood up from the table.

 

[missbrightside]

"Quiet," Thomas chided, grabbing Derek's upper arm. He rolled his eyes, though they were gleaming with amusement. "Cocky fuck," he laughed breathily. He picked up his coat and shrugged it over his shoulders, draping his scarf across his neck. He couldn't even believe he was going to do this. Had he suffered a hard blow to the head recently? Maybe he ran into a pole instead of a person on his way back from work and he was still sprawled out unconscious in the street. Hell, who was he kidding. He'd never been one to turn down an imaginary scenario in the past, why get picky now? "Thanks for the dinner," he said softly, pinning his gaze to the other man. He fixed his collar as he moved toward the door.

 

[SilentWriter83]

Derek snorted a laugh, a spark running through his system at the other males touch. He smirked down at Thomas before leading him out of the restaraunt. His car wasn't far from here as they began to retrace their steps here. "Dinner was no problem," Derek mentioned as they walked. Money was no problem for him, although that was information he would continue to keep to himself.


As they approached his car he grabbed his keys and unlocked it. He opened the door for Thomas, allowing him in the passenger seat. "Are you sure about this?" He asked Thomas, eyes alight with less than pure intentions as he stood between the car door and the vehicle, arms casually propped against each. "Last chance to back out kid."

 

[missbrightside]

Thomas was absolutely freezing as they walked back the way they came, but he was too much in his own world to notice. A thrill of excitement and nerves was charting a course through his veins. This was definitely a new experience, not one that he would choose as a likely pick for himself.. But not unwelcome. He was stuck in a rut. He was way too predictable. He was nowhere near the standard of life that he had set for himself when he was younger. Go on then, he thought. Go on and live your life. What else have you got to do but live?


"That's ominous," he said neutrally, weighing the question, weighing the man himself as they stood close enough that Thomas could feel his heat. He wanted to know what he thought of him, wondered what it was that made his eyes burn like roman candles. He wanted to know everything Derek was thinking. He didn't know any of it. That was... hot? Tempting? Frustrating? A lot of things.


"But you're right. Only one way to find out I guess," he said, and in a rare moment of self assured boldness, crooked a finger to bring the other man closer. Thomas rested a tentative hand on his chest and pushed up on his toes, leaning in for a kiss.

 

[SilentWriter83]

Derek quirked an eyebrow, a smirk sleeping on to his face. In that moment he knew Thomas would be a thrill. He was unlike anyone he'd ever met, a refreshing change to be quite frank. His words made him laugh, his gaze excited him, and his touch had electricity flowing through his veins. It was like two magnets being drawn together. Derek had felt it the moment they met.


He leaned down, pressing his lips against Thomas's. It was a rather tame kiss at first. Their lips molded together easily, soft against each other, but Derek didn't stop there. His hands fell from the car, one coming to cup the side of Thomas's cheek and neck, the other tugged on his waist to pull him closer. He tilted his head slightly, deepening the kiss as their lips moved in synch. Derek expertly slipped in his tongue without permission, entangling it with the other males. He tasted every in of him, a soft rumble in his chest as the thrill of their encounter shimmied up his spine.

 

[missbrightside]

Their lips folded together, soft and neat at first, like a clean shirt, and then with more daring and urgency, like a hand of poker. Thomas's hand, at first barely grazing Derek's chest, posed as question as it lingered over the other man, became more insistent, fisting itself around a handful of fabric. Under his knuckles he could feel the solidity of Derek, the anchor of the hand on his waist.


Thomas broke away from Derek, waiting for his mind to catch up with him. Something had moved in him, something from his bones that was dormant. A potential chemical reaction waiting to ignite until all the atoms were in line. "Yeah, I'm sure," he said. It came out a ridiculous half whisper, somewhat breathless, and he wasn't sure if it sounded more Scarlett O'Hara or Sasha Grey. The thought made him giggle even more ridiculously, nose brushing against the crook of Derek's shoulder. "Sorry. I'm a mess..." And he couldn't promise that he was likely to pull it together soon. That would be miraculous timing after years of waiting.

 

[SilentWriter83]

This kiss was...electric. The man really couldn't think of another adjective. That's all he could feel as they touched; electricity. It ran up his spine and settled between his legs. Thomas was something else entirely. He'd known it when he'd met him and he was only verified in his thoughts now. He'd never felt this sort of rush when he chose a lucky guy or girl to accompany him home. There was always that primal instinct, lust, that filled him with a form of what he was feeling now. After missing Thomas all of his previous encounters seemed watered down.


Derek took a step back, his smirk returning. "Oh this is just the beginning," he chuckled. There was a new light in his eyes. Hunger for the male before him burned in his eyes as he guided him into the passenger seat and shut the door. Derek went to the drivers side of the car and slipped inside. One hand went to the wheel as he started the car. As they pulled out of the parking space, his free hand fell to Thomas's thigh. Derek didn't even glance at him for confirmation. He didn't need to.


The driver was silent but his excitement was building. He pressed a little harder on the gas than he normally did. They arrived to his family's compound, the gate opening automatically thanks to a small transmitter every member had in their cars. Derek drove through the plan, the ownership of wish was thankfully obscured by the night time. Nearly everyone in the city knew what their home looked like. It was notorious and their name was stamped on the front gate. Nighttime made it harder to recognize, which prompted these late night adventures he had with strangers.


Derek parked in his driveway. His own home was a few miles from the main home. He had wanted his privacy so he had a three story home built just for himself on the edge of the property. He got out, being chivalrous ebough to open the car door for Thomas.

 

[missbrightside]

Derek placed his hand on Thomas's thigh. He felt the touch most everywhere it wasn't, everywhere else where he was much too far away. He looked down at it, then over at Derek whom he scrutinized for a few minutes uninterrupted by petty things like eye contact or trying not to look creepy, before looking back at the hand on his leg. He had nice hands, Thomas decided. He didn't know what the criteria for that was exactly. He was no expert on palm to finger ratio. But not being able to think about anything else when you had one on you had to be a qualifier. And if you happened to be thinking about how you wouldn't mind putting a couple of those fingers in your mouth, well that would have to be near definitive judgement. 


They pulled off the main road onto a private one, and then into a driveway, and Thomas realized that they were in a rather different place then where they'd started off. There were worse places to live, he supposed. The convenience of being near everything in the city, yet being able to retreat back home and feel completely immune to intrusions... Like he said, there were worse places. He smiled privately as Derek opened the door. The guy was either actually the biggest cheese, or secretly sugar sweet somewhere in there, and Thomas didn't know which it was. Hopefully he would figure it out while he had the chance.  


"Yours?" he asked, nodding to the house, naturally moving closer into the other man's orbit. As soon as Thomas asked the question, he wished he didn't, because he didn't know what Derek was thinking. He didn't want Derek thinking he was thinking anything that he wasn't. Because he wasn't. Thinking anything, that was. He was just asking because he wondered, no other second secret implication that everyone would probably notice except for him because he (wrongfully, apparently) tended to assume that people just said things as they meant them. Woefully, he rarely over thought his comments until after he said them.