Safe and Sane

David plopped his bony arse down on the couch beside John, handed him a bottle of water, and asked warmly, "How's Jack?"

John eyed David for a bit, and after trying to figure it out on his own gave up and walked over. "Are you free?" For what he didn't say. Because John was a stupid ass that way.

Stuart had just gone under for about a week. Gone under, in his world, meant he'd just spent a week working on an installation. It had involved a lot of heavy lifting and fusing things together, which meant he had just woken up from a fifteen hours' night to recuperate.

Sleeping that long, even after such an exhausting week, always meant that he would wake up restless. Far too restless to wait for the munch to see people, and since Craig would be at work at this time of day, of course he would head for the club and see if anybody was about.

It was sunny but cold, a dry cold that had him stalk from his car to the door, and he sighed happily once he got inside. "The weather almost makes me feel good about not having set foot outside for a week," he told the person sitting in the common area.

Wednesday again, and a happier Wednesday than the previous one. The weather seemed to have warmed up especially for the inauguration, and the evening was mild enough that the cafe had tables set outside for more than just the smokers. A general air of celebration lingered from the previous day, and the cafe owner had decided to celebrate by offering free upgrades to larger sizes of coffee, or free muffins with the smallest ones.

Sugar and caffeine highs all around.

David was in his scrubs. He came into the club, found a lap, and crawled onto it. "Remind me that I'm far, far too old to be pulling triples?"

Dear Mark,

Congratulations you've survived 16 years since I first climbed through your window in my underwear. You haven't been rid of me six. You've also survived since months of being legally married to me.

I have been absolutely, completely blissful since I met you. Not to sound like a bad movie, but you complete me. You do. You're the other half of me, my heart, my lungs, my brain. I couldn't breath without you, my heart couldn't beat.

By which I mean if you die I will find you in the afterlife and beat you about the ears.

Never leave.


All my love, always,
David

Rafe hummed to himself as he wandered into the club, half bouncing along. He grabbed himself a drink before he headed for the sofas, dropping down next to someone with a smile. "Hi." He grinned brightly. "How's it going?"

There was a Thanksgiving theme at the cafe. Wicker cornucopias were on every table, pumpkins everywhere, pumpkin spice offered for lattes, pumpkin pie, muffins, cakes, pecan pie, lots of strong coffee. But the most obvious were the horrified looking cafe workers in their pilgrim costumes.

David was in his scrubs when he came to the club, sprawled full length on the floor of a lounge and asked, nicely, "Remind me why I decided to do this? The glamor?"

David was waiting in the lounge for John at 9. He'd already gone to a room and set it up, but was relaxing out front with juice first. He offered a cup to John when he arrived, "Good morning."

John crawled onto the couch from the end opposite David, then up until he could flop over onto his back and have his head resting on David's thigh. "You need to gain weight," he said conversationally. "Just to make a softer pillow for me."

It was a party. It was a costume party. There was food, there were traditional Halloween games- bobbing for apples, a place to carve jack o' lanterns and way, way too much candy and junk food. A place to dance. There were also a few open play rooms, set up for groups or exhibitionism, but that wasn't the focus of the night.


There were awards for the best costume, for the scariest, the funniest, the most creative, the sexiest.

It was one of those days that made people wonder if fall really was arriving. October, yes, but it was balmy, warm, and bright, with a fresh breeze.

The cafe was making the most of the late warmth, with tables available outside, and a selection of chilled confectionery available at the counter along with the usual muffins and cookies. The cheesecakes were proving particularly popular. And creamy.

David came into the club in the early evening and flopped on the couch. He tilted his head up at an angle, then wiggled to put his head on Ryan's lap. "Ryan, how are you?

The leaves were just starting to change on the trees- it was a beautiful day, really. Crisp, clear, sun shining and just the faintest hint of a chill as summer unfurled into fall. There was soup in the cafe, some chili, in addition to the regular assortment of drinks and snacks.

The lights were up full in the common room. A long table along the wall held a selection of snacks designed to be eaten with your fingers, or fed to someone else. Fairy lights were threaded over the bar, and a selection of vodka cocktails were on offer along with the usual range of drinks and minerals.

There wasn't any particular reason. Just a Friday night as the evenings began to draw in.

David flopped down on a couch, put his head in a familiar lap and asked hopefully, "Pet me?"

Wednesday came round again, and it was a perfectly average day.

No thunderstorms. No extreme heat. No fog. No rain. No themes at the cafe. No special offers. No experiments.

Just a pleasantly warm evening, with the full standard menu on offer.

And three new members of staff working at the counter.

It was Wednesday and munch night, but the cafe had decided to use the steady regular crowd as guinea pigs. They had seven brands of coffee and were offering free samples of them as drip and made as espresso so everyone could give feedback.

David had lost a bet with Mark. He was still fairly sure Mark had rigged it somehow, he just couldn't figure out how. And being as that he couldn't figure out how, he was draped, nude, over a spanking bench. The room was open, fairly public and David was humming and wiggling his bum enticing.

It was like a dunking booth at a faire. Only with spankings.