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One by One or The Gauntlet
They entered a dream space of absolute light and insanity, and pounding bass. Daniel looked instantly in his element, a fluorescent drink in his hand in a very tight black shirt and skinny, skinny jeans.
"You would think he went to gay bars in his spare time," Khalid mused as they watched him seduce their mark, pulling him by the hips towards him.
Daniel didn't look like himself, obviously, but with the mirrors everywhere, they caught flashes of his lips curled into that infamous and predatory grin.
Connor took a deep breath and shrugged. "He looks like he's having fun," he said, moving out onto the pulsating dance floor and moving in with Daniel.
They kept the mark enthralled while they kissed, deep, Daniel mussing Connor's hair and Connor pushing up Daniel's shirt.
--
Daniel rolled up in the red and white convertible. "Come on, love," he trilled, and Connor rolled his eyes and hopped easily in the passenger seat. Daniel leaned in for a kiss, but Connor pushed him away with a smirk.
"My dad had a car like this," Connor mused, touching the cracked leather seat.
Daniel turned on the music, bobbing his head easily. His shirt was open at the collar, and Connor spied bright green hightops on his feet.
"Are we back in the eighties or something?"
Daniel just smiled and turned up the music, and they drove off into the sunset. Connor kept his hand on Daniel's thigh.
--
Limbo. What was it, in a man's subconscious?
Daniel had been locked in his brain for 3 days, which was something like 50 years, to hear his doctor. Connor had no idea what he would find as he slowly opened the door of the small cabin; the only one for miles in this desert.
Daniel looked up; he looked the same as he always did. Connor stood at the door, and he nodded for him to come in.
"Tea?"
"Daniel?"
Daniel looked past Connor to the open door. "No, I don't think..." He looked at Connor. "Is that my name?"
Connor sat down, and Daniel poured him a mug. "Yes, your name is Daniel..."
---
Connor woke at dawn, every day. He watched the sunrise, went for a jog, and then went back to work.
When he jogged, he would jog by many empty things; empty office buildings, empty malls. He could imagine he was the only person living at dawn.
When he returned, Daniel would always be asleep, and wouldn't wake for hours. The world filled up, and Daniel would leave. He would come back with the sunset at his back, with dinner, sometimes without.
"What happened?"
Connor looked up to see a gun in his face.
"Are you dreaming?"
Connor slowly raised his hand, but Daniel just stared.
"Are you dreaming?" Daniel voice was tight.
"Why would I dream a world where you didn't love me?"
Daniel brought the gun to his own head. "And that's where you're wrong," he whispered, pulling the trigger.
Connor grabbed the gun from his hand and shot himself.
They woke up, staring at each other.
"Do you?"
"Would it make it easier?"
"I'm not sure."
--
Connor tapped his foot along with the band on stage, turning to drink down his Newcastle Brown.
"Would you mind if I bummed a smoke?"
The man who asked was handsome, with straight cut bangs and blue-grey eyes, but when he smiled, his imperfect teeth stared Connor straight in the face.
"Yeah, no problem," Connor said, handing his pack over.
The other man settled next to him, and ordered his own beer, a Fat Tire.
Connor bothered with his cigarettes, and turned his attention back to the band on stage.
"What are you waiting for?" the man said to the back of his head, and Connor turned and blinked at him.
"I'll go home with you, all you have to do is ask."
Connor looked at the man's full lips, at his nervous tapping fingers, at the promise of broad shoulders.
"Do you generally come to dive bars to pick up lonely guys?"
"No, but did it work?"
Connor stood up. "Why don't you come find out?"
--
The day Connor broke Daniel's nose was by any means a normal day. Daniel was a dick, Connor was a bore, and everything was normal.
Until Daniel decided to make a crack about Connor's last girlfriend. In a strange turn of events, Daniel had to forge her for a job that didn't involve Connor.
"The damn town bicycle, she was," Daniel said.
"I'm sorry, what did you say," Connor said, voice soft.
Daniel raised his eyebrow. "What, are you going to protect her virtue or something, Sir Connor?"
And Connor flew across the room, grabbing Daniel by the collar. "Choose your next words carefully."
Daniel smirked. "Your girl was a slut..."
And so Connor broke his nose.
Connor pulled Daniel toward him. "Okay, back front side side front back, you got it?"
"Vaguely," Daniel replied. "Are you leading?"
"Well you don't know the damn dance, right? Then I'm fucking leading."
"Language, darling," Daniel said, following Connor.
"See, it's not so bad," Connor said once they had found a rhythm. Daniel just nodded. "You're not bad."
"Mm, we took dance at school. It were mandatory." Daniel took the chance to dip Connor, grinning at him. "Still not bad?"
Connor raised an eyebrow at him. "Better than not bad," he murmured, letting himself be pulled up and then kissing Daniel, holding onto his lapels.
Daniel pulled back, eyes wide. "Oh...oh."
"Let's go over the steps once more."
--
The house stood at the top of a very tall hill, and inside the house, there sat a chair.
"This is not kosher," Connor muttered, staring at the chair.
"I think it's...a puzzle? A hint?"
"We're controlling the space, Daniel, how...what does this mean?"
"This whole house can be the safe..." Daniel stepped forward and sat down on the chair.
It promptly collapsed underneath him, and a hole opened up where the chair had been, and Daniel went screaming down.
Connor rolled his eyes, rolling up his sleeves and flinging himself down the hole.
"We're late, we're late, for a very important date!" Daniel called to Connor, doing a slow somersault in the air.
Connor just sighed. it would be a long way down.
--
Daniel sat up, rubbing his face. Connor pulled him back down, straddling him as he continued beating him to a pulp.
Daniel finally grabbed a hold of Connor's wrists, squeezing them and pushing him back. His momentum sent them flying to the ceiling, and Connor yelled in frustration.
"STAY DOWN!"
"STOP FIGHTING IT!" Daniel roared in response. "It's finished."
"Fuck you, we are getting out of this, if it is the last thing we do," Connor hissed back as Daniel tossed him to the opposite wall. Connor crashed through the wall, landing on the floor in the other room.
Daniel swam over to the other room. "Now will you listen to me?"
"Not if we were the last people on earth."
"WELL GUESS WHAT, WE FUCKING ARE!" Daniel grabbed the ceiling fan and swung himself around, catching Connor's jaw with his foot.
Connor crumbled and Daniel hopped down to scoop him up.
"This doesn't mean you lose," Daniel said softly.
"Of course it does," Connor muttered back. "You were right."
"You would think he went to gay bars in his spare time," Khalid mused as they watched him seduce their mark, pulling him by the hips towards him.
Daniel didn't look like himself, obviously, but with the mirrors everywhere, they caught flashes of his lips curled into that infamous and predatory grin.
Connor took a deep breath and shrugged. "He looks like he's having fun," he said, moving out onto the pulsating dance floor and moving in with Daniel.
They kept the mark enthralled while they kissed, deep, Daniel mussing Connor's hair and Connor pushing up Daniel's shirt.
--
Daniel rolled up in the red and white convertible. "Come on, love," he trilled, and Connor rolled his eyes and hopped easily in the passenger seat. Daniel leaned in for a kiss, but Connor pushed him away with a smirk.
"My dad had a car like this," Connor mused, touching the cracked leather seat.
Daniel turned on the music, bobbing his head easily. His shirt was open at the collar, and Connor spied bright green hightops on his feet.
"Are we back in the eighties or something?"
Daniel just smiled and turned up the music, and they drove off into the sunset. Connor kept his hand on Daniel's thigh.
--
Limbo. What was it, in a man's subconscious?
Daniel had been locked in his brain for 3 days, which was something like 50 years, to hear his doctor. Connor had no idea what he would find as he slowly opened the door of the small cabin; the only one for miles in this desert.
Daniel looked up; he looked the same as he always did. Connor stood at the door, and he nodded for him to come in.
"Tea?"
"Daniel?"
Daniel looked past Connor to the open door. "No, I don't think..." He looked at Connor. "Is that my name?"
Connor sat down, and Daniel poured him a mug. "Yes, your name is Daniel..."
---
Connor woke at dawn, every day. He watched the sunrise, went for a jog, and then went back to work.
When he jogged, he would jog by many empty things; empty office buildings, empty malls. He could imagine he was the only person living at dawn.
When he returned, Daniel would always be asleep, and wouldn't wake for hours. The world filled up, and Daniel would leave. He would come back with the sunset at his back, with dinner, sometimes without.
"What happened?"
Connor looked up to see a gun in his face.
"Are you dreaming?"
Connor slowly raised his hand, but Daniel just stared.
"Are you dreaming?" Daniel voice was tight.
"Why would I dream a world where you didn't love me?"
Daniel brought the gun to his own head. "And that's where you're wrong," he whispered, pulling the trigger.
Connor grabbed the gun from his hand and shot himself.
They woke up, staring at each other.
"Do you?"
"Would it make it easier?"
"I'm not sure."
--
Connor tapped his foot along with the band on stage, turning to drink down his Newcastle Brown.
"Would you mind if I bummed a smoke?"
The man who asked was handsome, with straight cut bangs and blue-grey eyes, but when he smiled, his imperfect teeth stared Connor straight in the face.
"Yeah, no problem," Connor said, handing his pack over.
The other man settled next to him, and ordered his own beer, a Fat Tire.
Connor bothered with his cigarettes, and turned his attention back to the band on stage.
"What are you waiting for?" the man said to the back of his head, and Connor turned and blinked at him.
"I'll go home with you, all you have to do is ask."
Connor looked at the man's full lips, at his nervous tapping fingers, at the promise of broad shoulders.
"Do you generally come to dive bars to pick up lonely guys?"
"No, but did it work?"
Connor stood up. "Why don't you come find out?"
--
The day Connor broke Daniel's nose was by any means a normal day. Daniel was a dick, Connor was a bore, and everything was normal.
Until Daniel decided to make a crack about Connor's last girlfriend. In a strange turn of events, Daniel had to forge her for a job that didn't involve Connor.
"The damn town bicycle, she was," Daniel said.
"I'm sorry, what did you say," Connor said, voice soft.
Daniel raised his eyebrow. "What, are you going to protect her virtue or something, Sir Connor?"
And Connor flew across the room, grabbing Daniel by the collar. "Choose your next words carefully."
Daniel smirked. "Your girl was a slut..."
And so Connor broke his nose.
Connor pulled Daniel toward him. "Okay, back front side side front back, you got it?"
"Vaguely," Daniel replied. "Are you leading?"
"Well you don't know the damn dance, right? Then I'm fucking leading."
"Language, darling," Daniel said, following Connor.
"See, it's not so bad," Connor said once they had found a rhythm. Daniel just nodded. "You're not bad."
"Mm, we took dance at school. It were mandatory." Daniel took the chance to dip Connor, grinning at him. "Still not bad?"
Connor raised an eyebrow at him. "Better than not bad," he murmured, letting himself be pulled up and then kissing Daniel, holding onto his lapels.
Daniel pulled back, eyes wide. "Oh...oh."
"Let's go over the steps once more."
--
The house stood at the top of a very tall hill, and inside the house, there sat a chair.
"This is not kosher," Connor muttered, staring at the chair.
"I think it's...a puzzle? A hint?"
"We're controlling the space, Daniel, how...what does this mean?"
"This whole house can be the safe..." Daniel stepped forward and sat down on the chair.
It promptly collapsed underneath him, and a hole opened up where the chair had been, and Daniel went screaming down.
Connor rolled his eyes, rolling up his sleeves and flinging himself down the hole.
"We're late, we're late, for a very important date!" Daniel called to Connor, doing a slow somersault in the air.
Connor just sighed. it would be a long way down.
--
Daniel sat up, rubbing his face. Connor pulled him back down, straddling him as he continued beating him to a pulp.
Daniel finally grabbed a hold of Connor's wrists, squeezing them and pushing him back. His momentum sent them flying to the ceiling, and Connor yelled in frustration.
"STAY DOWN!"
"STOP FIGHTING IT!" Daniel roared in response. "It's finished."
"Fuck you, we are getting out of this, if it is the last thing we do," Connor hissed back as Daniel tossed him to the opposite wall. Connor crashed through the wall, landing on the floor in the other room.
Daniel swam over to the other room. "Now will you listen to me?"
"Not if we were the last people on earth."
"WELL GUESS WHAT, WE FUCKING ARE!" Daniel grabbed the ceiling fan and swung himself around, catching Connor's jaw with his foot.
Connor crumbled and Daniel hopped down to scoop him up.
"This doesn't mean you lose," Daniel said softly.
"Of course it does," Connor muttered back. "You were right."
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Daniel looked past Connor to the open door. "No, I don't think..." He looked at Connor. "Is that my name?"
Connor sat down, and Daniel poured him a mug. "Yes, your name is Daniel..."
and I was yanked into a surreal mystery, and I loved it.
I don't know if you've ever had one of those weird dreams when you wake into another one (I did this once, and it was pretty scary when I recognized what was happening), but that's what this felt like. That feeling was cemented with this exchange:
"We're controlling the space, Daniel, how...what does this mean?"
"This whole house can be the safe..." Daniel stepped forward and sat down on the chair.
The difference between this and my experience was that Conner and Daniel had someone along for the ride with them, and that, at times, seemed to make it fun--tense and hellish when it got bad, but overall, an exciting experience.
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I don't get this piece at all, I'm sorry. But I have just got home from a nine hour work day at my first coding job in five years and I'm brain dead. :(
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(a friend of mine is doing nanowrimo and sending out installments of his novel as he writes them, and one of the main(ish) characters is an asian virologist named daniel, whose chief characteristics seem to be "acting like a dick" and "trying to get the main character to like him" and "being kind of endearing despite the dickishness". so i had a brief adjustment reading this, because i expected connor to be a journalism student named ben.)
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Intriguing!
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I liked it! It was surreal and twisty and a bit like going on a fast ride. (And yeah, I shipped it).
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I don't know what happened, though I have a few hints and theories...
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