Lloyd Harris (fireme_up) wrote in tiberiusswann, @ 2011-03-08 23:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | lloyd, mal, malakai |
Saturday 25th October
Who: Lloyd & Mal
Where: Flamingo's
When: Saturday night
What: The two finally become acquainted, then Lloyd has a run in with his demon side
Rating: R for violence and swearing later.
After a week running around the world, Mal should have been ready to stay home, instead he found himself wandering around Boston for no real reason Saturday night. He parked the car in a lot and started walking. It wasn't long before he came across a club that was fairly recent, and apparently owned by one of his co-workers. He'd never been, but he was here now. Shrugging, Mal walked in, white button-down shirt over black jeans reflecting the light in the club as he walked around.
Moving to the bar, Mal ordered a drink and leaned against it, glancing around. Not a bad place all in all. An ear twitched as the next act was announced. Feather something or other. Turning to the stage, his normal stoic expression turn into a grin as he recognized the scent of the demon onstage.
Feather was in full force, new song, new set of heels but no less the sass that she brought to the stage. The demon did not know that he was being watched by one of Garret's exes, more to the point the one he mostly cared to avoid him at all costs. It wasn't that he found him intimidating.... okay Lloyd did find Mal intimidating, but right now he had nothing to fear as he stomped it out on stage.
The comedy routine, the dirty song, the eyes flashing around the crowd scanning out weaklings. His diet and exercise regime was paying off - though the dress was still figure-hugging it wasn't as tight and his pudgy belly which everyone seemed to love was no longer needing to be strapped in by a girdle. Waving the crowd goodbye with a flick of the middle finger, Feather stalked off stage, leaving Lloyd to take over as he exhaled a huge sigh of relief that, for another week, the performance was done without a hitch.
Now that was a side that Mal hadn't expected to see. Not at all. It was most definitely amusing and enlightening though. So that was Garret's ex. Garret seemed to love a wide variety of men, and it made Mal wonder why the hound was loved. Nursing his drink, Mal debated going backstage to say hello and congratulations on the success of the club, or to wait until he came back out front.
Lloyd didn't tend to walk out in full garb and so he merely changed, swept a cloth with make-up remover briefly over his face. Took off the fake eyelashes, wig, of course.... his hair was ruffled to fuck but he didn't bother to sort it out before he walked to the front. He needed a drink and they weren't kept backstage for some fucking reason. Still wearing a faded shade of lipstick and the khol of his eyeliner, Lloyd sat at the bar. "Beer, please..."
Mal smiled as Lloyd came out five minutes later. Apparently the performer had perfected the technique of getting out of costume quickly. Picking up his drink, he moved over to where Lloyd was sitting. "Congratulations on the success of your club. Seems to have attracted quite a crowd."
For a moment, Lloyd ignored the fact he felt an overwhelming sense of power sit beside him, until he spoke in that voice and Lloyd got whiplash from turning to see him. Oh shit. Mal. With a face as straight as a ruler Lloyd then regarded him with a smile. "Just the kind of crowd I like. Didn't expect you to be amongst them, though..."
Mal shrugged and smiled. He felt the same shiver go down his spine that Lloyd felt, though for entirely different reasons. The hound knew he needed to be wary of the demon, but he was not one to run with his tail between his legs. "I happened to be in the area and thought I'd stop by."
"Oh. And what do you think of it besides it's successful and having... a varied crowd?" he asked, wondering afterwards whether he should have posed that question to someone who could swipe his pride, ego and confidence in one go.
Mal took a sip of his drink, looking out over the 'varied crowd' that had been mentioned. "I think it makes you happy." Turning back, he arched a brow, questioning, "Shouldn't that be what matters?"
Huh. He'd expect nothing less than such an insightful response from someone who had been around for.... well too many years to count. With a soft smirk forming on his lips the shrink considered this a moment and then nodded. "I supopse you're right. But without the opinion of random people like you, I wouldn't have anybody in here."
Mal chuckled, gesturing to the crowd. "Would you really consider this conglomeration of people truly random?" To his eyes, there were quite a few connections, but neither was he highly experienced in this lifestyle. "Seems to me your work is greatly appreciated either way."
"But to the random passer by who believes they'll check out some club to see if it entertains them, it's good to know whether it's... received well. Obviously I don't expect some picket fence family of four to turn up, love it, and make it their weekly watering hole but... at the same time... it's nice to know people are pleasantly surprised by it's.... dirtiness."
Mal toasted Lloyd with his glass. "More people enjoy the dirty side of life than would like to admit to it. You merely offer a place for them to indulge." The demon wasn't quite what Mal expected, but he knew better than to completely relax. Demons had a twisted nature, it was built in.
Lloyd wasn't completely twisted. Of cousre he had been a goth and shot a man during his youth but he had put it down to being in the early stages of adulthood. It had been a difficult start and he was only just figuring thiings out. "I like that word, indulge," he said, drawing out the word. "It's definitely something that people do here...." They were avoiding an elephant in the room and that elephant was wearing a security guard's uniform.
In Mal's experience, demons weren't the best companions. Then again, he'd typically only been around upper level demons that didn't leave Hades. So maybe Lloyd was an exception. "It seems to suit." Mal could ignore the elephant just as long as Lloyd.
Casual conversation could only last so long when they had very little knowledge of each other. Nodding a little he nursed his drink, sipping it to avoid the silence of merely not talking. Though he knew that eventually he'd have to put off the inevitable. "So - tell me," he started, "how are you and Garret?"
Mal arched a brow, sipping his own drink. "I was wondering if you were going to ask or if we were going to avoid it." Though he wasn't a fan of a particular phrase Lloyd had uttered. 'Tell me' from a demon was a command, leaving him with the compulsion to answer. "I'm not really sure. He's at least talking to me."
"Well we could do the skirting dance all night but in reality we both know we have one common denominator and he is quite prominant..." Listening to Mal's reply Lloyd nodded, feeling an energy from the other man that he hadn't noticed before. "That's good, I'm glad." He'd known it wouldn't last long in any case. Rorie may have proven too much of a mismatch but Mal was.... as hard as it was for him to admit, Mal was good for Garret in a fair few ways. "Talking is better than ignoring, especially in his case."
Mal shook his head slightly, glad that the compulsion was gone. "Yeah. Well, he didn't have much choice. I talked my way in and then kept talking. Eventually he started listening. Somewhat."
"If he didn't want to speak to you, he wouldn't. The fact that he allowed you to talk him down basically..." Should he give all of Garret's tells away? Perhaps this one. "It means he still cares."
"I know." Mal tapped his nose. "It's hard to lie to a hellhound, if you'll remember. We can sniff out most anything." Still, he frowned. "I know he still cares. He admitted as much. I just didn't know if he was too angry."
Lloyd gave a small laugh. "He can hold a grudge for many a year, but it's rare that he goes so angry as to never want to talk to anyone ever again." Smiling a little in fondness, Lloyd then downed the rest of his drink. "You been sniffing out anything interesting at the school then, lately?" He was talking as if he didn't still have make up on his face and that Mal hadn't just seen him in dominatrix-style clothing.
Mal nodded at Lloyd's comment. He'd suspected as much about Garret, but it wasn't something he wanted to put to the test just yet. He finished off his own glass, setting it on the counter so it could be picked up. "Oh, I notice things here and there. Nothing too fascinating since I got back though."
Lloyd nodded then laughed. "Makes a change. Usually its falling apart with some sort of drama." The barman asked Lloyd if he wanted another beer but Lloyd declined with a shake of his hair, offering him a small smile. He was tired, so tired. But he had company. "I didn't see you around a while..."
"This is true. Can't have the school without someone nearly dying or breaking up or something." Mal nodded, and gestured with his glass to the bartender, silently asking for another. "I...went out of town for a bit." He wasn't supposed to talk about his work and hoped Lloyd would just leave it at that.
Vague man. Vague answer. Leaving it at that like the hell hound hoped, Lloyd breathed down his nose in a long sigh. "I wish I could go out of town for a bit. In fact I might. Alex is down at Cape Cod, I could.... go for the weekend to save him coming up here and leave Gina in charge." It was now talking aloud.
Mal thanked the bartender and slid over a bill to cover the tab and tip. "You could. The school won't keel over without you there one weekend. And you'd probably enjoy yourself more." Mal took a sip of his liquor, smirking.
"What's that little smirk for?" Lloyd grinned, the side of his mouth curling into a sly smile of his own. "Do you know something I don't? I'll have you know the fun we have is entirely innocent, unlike the fun you like to have with my ex-fiancée."
Mal couldn't help but chuckle. "Right. The fun between a dragon and a demon is entirely innocent. Nice try though." He wouldn't have said either race if the club had been quieter. As it was, the crowd was cheering on whoever was onstage doing a bad cover of some cheesy song. "I'll say nothing about my fun," he grinned, sipping his drink.
"I already know your fun," Lloyd sniggered, though he had to ask. "How'd you know that Alex is... what he is? Is it because you are what you are?" Stupidly attractive with a great body that Lloyd could never compete with. Fucking Greek fucking.... grumbling silently, Lloyd took a deep breath once more.
"Oh, Lloyd, you don't know the half of it." Mal flashed a cheeky grin, setting his glass on the bar and playing with the rim. "As for Alex," he paused and tapped his nose. "He's not the first I've met. Not to mention, you should know how hard it is to keep secrets there."
Ok this was dipping into uncomfortable territory. Returning the cheeky grin but not quite feeling it, he chose instead to focus on the Alex part of the conversation. "I know. But still... it's odd having other people know about him being... dragonesque. Don't tell Garret?" he requested. "I don't want him to... feel weird."
Mal wasn't feeling that comfortable either, but he made sure Lloyd didn't know it. Grateful for the change in topic, he followed the lead and focused on the demon's current lover. "One, I won't tell him. But why is it odd for you to have others know what he is?"
"It's not weird," he countered, just as the next act burst onto the stage to do their thing. "I would love everyone to know I had such a wonderful beast fall in love with me... but Garret.... his name for me is Dragon. I wouldn't.... " With a tiny breath he debated whether telling Mal this would be detrimental. But to hell with it. "I don't want him to stop calling me that and I know he would if he found out."
Mal nodding, a knowing smile crossing his face. "Ah, I get it." Leaning his back against the bar, he idly watched the next act. Too many sequins in his opinion and he wondered how the hell that man was walking in platform heels. "You still love him, don't you?"
That was a given and it wasn't rocket science so Lloyd focused on the rest of the beer in his glass. "Of course I do. I was with him for five years, almost six if you count TJS. You can't just stop loving someone."
Mal shrugged. "I've seen people fall in and out of love so fast that I started to wonder if it was real." The guy on stage did a sassy turn and came perilously close to falling. Lucky save, maintaining balance. "So it wouldn't really surprise me if you fell out of it with him. Of course, given who it is, doesn't surprise me you're still in love with him, either."
That was it. Lloyd shot Mal a glare, almost a warning, but he was too deep into this converastion already to try and change topics. "It has nothing to do with who he is, but what we were. If people fall out of love so fast then they were not truly in love. It lasts for years. It makes letting go hard, even after decades.... even when you..." No he would not be going there tonight, no thank you. "Just down your drink or something."
Mal could smell the change in moods. Lloyd was most definitely getting annoyed. While that would normally not stop Mal, he was talking with a purebred demon. He would be wise to watch his step. He arched a brow as Lloyd started to say something interesting and then broke off. Then there was that damned compulsion again. Frowning, he turned and picked up his glass, chugging the rest of the scotch.
Lloyd watched Mal down his drink with a curious and angry expression, wondering exactly what had compelled him to do it. "I was just joking..." he mentioned, eyes scanning him. Something was niggling in the back of his head, something he was missing.... maybe he should try it. "Get me a beer."
Mal held back the growl in his throat. So Lloyd was just like the others. Figured. "Sure. In a bit." The hound was smart enough to find the holes in commands. Lloyd would get his beer alright, just as soon as Mal felt like it.
Lloyd did not know what this was but his instincts were telling him to push it. He sensed Mal's anger and reluctance, and something else fell into place. Hell hounds and demons. The family stories and history. "You were a slave weren't you?" he asked bluntly, catching the barman's interest as he passed.
Mal nodded once, sharply. He wasn't willing to talk about it and wouldn't unless commanded. "Beer for the owner," he ordered, putting just enough emphasis on the last word for Lloyd to understand the meaning.
As tempting as it was to manipulate this newfound power, especially over Mal, Lloyd pushed down that weird desire. He was not that demon, he had not been raised to be that demon, he would never give in to it.... to a certain extent. Frowning at his empty glass Lloyd took a breath. "Tell me about it." Mal needed to talk about it and Lloyd could listen.
A muscle in his jaw clenched and Mal turned to give a glare to Lloyd. "Some things humans won't want to hear." He jerked his head to indicate the rest of the crowd. At this point, he knew he wouldn't be able to get out of telling the demon, but he for damned sure would minimize just how many people heard.
It was only fair. Mal had probed and drawn out sensitive information. Mal should return it. Giving him a brief nod Lloyd told the barman to have the beer himself before he lead the hellhound to one of the VIP booths up nearer the stage where they could talk in private. Settling down, Lloyd waited for Mal. This would perhaps even things out. "You can ask me any three questions you want to after you tell me about this. I understand this is more sensitive information than I gave you earlier, it's only fair."
Mal followed Lloyd away from the bar to the booth, seething the entire way. He knew, he knew he should have just walked away. Demons were all alike, himself included. Now he was paying the consequences.
Settling into the seat across from Lloyd, he waited. "So what is it you'd like to know? The innocents I was forced to kill? The way I was made to mate with several bitches and barely made it out with my hide intact? Or the way I was made to serve the demons who owned me, both as myself and as a human?"
With a soft, rueful smile Lloyd swirled his glass. "I only wish to know what you wish to tell me. I'm not here to be a judge, Mal... but understand my interest. I'm a psychologist. I am a demon. I am also the ex lover of the man you're in love with and who I happen to still immensely care for. It is, unfortunately, my nature to be nosey with you. But I'm not going to ask for the world I only want to help. You've already given me more than I thought you would."
Mal leaned back against the seat, glowering. "Yeah well, you said tell you about it. Unfortunately, that order encompassed the whole thing. I only mentioned a few and I'd rather leave it there if you would." Mal much preferred being under the protection of Hades himself, but that wasn't as easily done here in this plane.
Appearing to consider this, Lloyd eventually nodded. "Seeing as I have no intention of 'owning' you we can leave it there. I don't want to press too much and I know you're already had enough of even thinking of it but still I would like to know. And - a deal is a deal. Three questions."
Mal crossed his arms over his chest. Lloyd had to be playing an angle. In his experience, everyone was. So what was Lloyd's? His nose wasn't telling him anything, but that didn't mean Lloyd wasn't hiding it. He'd said three questions. "What's your angle? Why do you care?" It may have been phrased as two, but it was definitely meant as one question.
Thrown a little by this Lloyd's nose wrinkled in confusion. "I have no 'angle'.... whatver that is. I care because as I mentioned before I'm a psychologist, no naturally nosey, you're in love and loved by my ex fiancé and..." That was why he was caring on the outset, but not why he felt compelled to help him. "I know what it is to not want to be defined by what you have done in the past.... I just wanted to get to know you better. And it's one of my annoying habits to care about people."
Mal nodded. He was still wary, but he could smell the truth of what Lloyd said. "Alright, as long as you don't try to psychoanalyze me." He wanted to demand that Lloyd leave the private parts of his life private, but he doubted that it would do any good. It seemed to be in his nature to poke and prod. "I haven't really told Garret about what I've told you."
"I know," Lloyd said matter-of-factly. It wasn't rocket science. If Mal had worn down his walls and defenses, telling Garret what he had just explained to the demon, he would not have had as hard a time doing it just now. "So. You have more questions?"
Mal rolled his eyes and turned to look at the stage. "Why am I not surprised," he muttered under his breath. He took in what was happening on stage before looking back. "At the moment, I don't have any more. At least nothing major. So I'll take a rain check on the final two."
"Fair enough." Lloyd leant back in the chair, watching his colleagues perform. It made him proud and a small smile formed on his lips. "I thought the bakery was my big venture, but this turns out to be.... a lot bigger with a lot more glitter. I've come a long way from being the stuffy shrink Garret turned up to see...." Talking aloud to himself when he had company. Not his best move.
Mal snorted. "I'm having a hard time imagining you as a stuffy anything." Once again, the hound found himself wondering why anyone would wear six inch stilettos. Sure they did great things for the legs, but it was awkward enough walking on two feet. Four was much more comfortable.
"You'd be surprised... I'm sure Garret could tell you some stories, too. Oh this was the time Lloyd was worried we'd be arrested for groping in an alley, oh this was the time Lloyd tried to make a penis cake look like a bunny..." He grinned. "Look at me now. Queen of my own gay empire. It's rather odd." Turning back to Mal, he said quite honestly, "You're less dickish than I imagined you to be."
Mal cocked his head to one side, very much a hound as he listened to Lloyd talk about himself. "You tried to make a penis cake look like a rabbit? How'd that turn out?" Returning to a more human posture, he shrugged and said casually, "It's not wise to be an ass to someone who could kill you."
"Wise. But I hope that doesn't mean you're a dick to Garret," Lloyd observed, setting Mal with a particular Look. "He doesn't deserve it. Though he can be an ass himself he doesn't possess the strength of a hound."
Chuckling, Mal smirked a bit. "I keep him annoyed enough to not be bored. I frustrate and probably piss him off at times, but I'm not a dick." His smirk deepened before he added, "At least...not that kind." As far as he knew, it was truth, though since Garret hadn't talked to him for awhile, the hound wasn't entirely certain where he stood anymore.
As the girls completed their performances on stage Lloyd downed his drink and stood. "Apologies, Mal... as much as I think this conversation is healthy I need to tend to the girls backstage I'm closing up tonight- should we perhaps meet outside?" He didn't see why they should cut the evening short.
Mal leaned back in his seat for a moment, trying to dissect the comment. "Is that an order or a request?" He was actually enjoying the conversation now that the involuntary actions had ceased, but a hound couldn't be too safe around a demon.
Lloyd chuckled a little at Mal's suspicious nature. "It is a request. I'm not forcing my company on you if you don't want to continue talking to me, truth me told I find you interesting and it'd be good to get to know you... entirely up to you. If you decide yes, I'll be outside in half an hour locking up the place."
Mal nodded slowly. "I'll think about it." He didn't want to say anything just yet about what he'd do since he was mildly amazed the demon was giving him the choice. Rising from the seat, he returned to the bar, paying his tab all the while trying to figure out what he wanted to do. Half an hour later found him outside, leaning against the wall near the door, waiting.
Drag queens always had been and always would be, high maintenance. So it was around forty and not thirty minutes later that, after the remaining staff had filtered on out the main doors, that Lloyd had finally been able to start locking up. Grabbing his bags and things together Lloyd noticed that the side door was ajar and sighed. He could lock that from the outside. Tugging it to and shutting the padlock, Lloyd walked down the small steps which lead into the alley at the side of the club. It was past one am, a group of city youths were hanging around. Though Lloyd tried to skirt past them his exaggerated eyelashes and crimson pout drew their attention.
"Hey! Tootsie!" Apparently they were drunk too. Ignore them, ignore them.... "Why don't take your girly ass back to your Momma?"
"Yeah tell her to try again, she did you wrong!"
Oh funny, you little bastards... Lloyd kept walking at his steady pace, hands in his pockets to hide the bright pink nails which would only draw more abuse. It didn't stop them.
"HEY! You hear me? We don't want you or your filthy kind around here, freak! Don't you fucking ignore me!"
Do not reply, Lloyd, do not turn around and give them the satisfa...
Lloyd was struck to the ground by a blow to the back of the head. The hit would have surely crushed a man lesser than him, some poor human, and it certainly fucking hurt him. The tell tale trickles of blood seeped down his back. That just made him angry. If he'd been human... another whack of a lead pipe struck his ribs and now the 'men' decided to try their luck with their feet too. Despite the onslought Lloyd scrambled to his feet, the men backing off a second to watch him drag his sorry ass from the ground.
"You wanna fight me?" The main dickhead taunted him, swirling the pipe drunkenly in his hand. "You wanna fight me?" He swung the pipe to Lloyd's legs, making the demon cry out again. One of the men grabbed his hair and another punched him in the stomach. "Fucking fight back you faggot!"
The pipe was swung again but this time Lloyd grabbed it, tugging the man towards him with such force that he was almost thrown from his feet. Lloyd's hand wrapped around his throat, the pipe was discarded, and rage was all that the demon felt. With his eyes a jet black Lloyd growled in a voice so carnal and deep he had never spoken in it before. "Say it again."
Mal didn't bother checking a watch. He didn't bother wearing one since he knew just what time it was. Lloyd was such a woman, it seemed, taking his time to get his shit together. Pushing away from the wall, he started to walk towards the parking lot but paused, hearing something. Ears twitching, he caught wind of the conversation and sighed, moving to the alley. He wasn't concerned about Lloyd; he could take care of himself.
Of course, the humans couldn't. Rolling his eyes, he moved down the alley, seeing Lloyd with his hands around one's throat and the other raising pipe behind Lloyd's back. "Fuck," he growled. "Lloyd, put the asshole down!"
Blood was dripping from Lloyd's nose, his eye bruised and though he heard the other men gasp in surprise as their 'leader' choked in the demon's grasp. Though he heard Mal's voice he did not heed the words. This fucker was going to pay. "Say it again... tell me how wrong you think I am..." Whilst the man tried to speak Lloyd's hand was getting hotter and he could feel the other man's heartbeat. He wanted to boil him. True enough the man began to yell.
Mal jogged around Lloyd, smelling flesh starting to burn. Not much, but it was enough to a sensitive nose. "Lloyd," he spoke, much more firmly. Sure it wasn't a wise decision from hound to demon, but the mortal didn't need to die. "Put him down. This isn't the time or place." Mal knew how to kill people, ways to do it and the best way to avoid getting caught. In an alley behind a popular club with witnesses, not a smart choice. He reached out to grip Lloyd's wrist, the heat not bothering him at all.
Finally the demon acknowledged the hound's prescence but probably not in the way Mal would have hoped If Lloyd wanted to boil this man's insides then he would. The sound of his strangled cries was like music, his friends backing off in a panic not sure whether to intervene or run and save their hides. Lloyd's eyes were not just black, they were chasms. "If you're not going to kill the rest then sit down."
Mal glared at Lloyd, dropping his hand from the demon's arm. He picked up two of the men by their collars and carried them over to the third member of their little party. With eyes glowing red, more from fury at Lloyd than the humans, he warned the men from even thinking about saying anything. Then told them to run. They spared a last glance for their friend before turning and beating a hasty retreat down the street. Coming back before Lloyd, he growled low, thoroughly unhappy, and sat on his heels.
Taunting the man in his hold like a bird surveying its prey, Lloyd smiled at him. "Feel the burn...." Organs turning to mush, blood as hot as lava, brain swirling into nothing but matter like a witches' brew... this man was going to pay for what he had done, beating a demon the way he had. Demon. The thought kicked somewhere in Lloyd's brain and he visibly flinched as if the real part of him had just realised what was happening.
Mal was sitting on the side, grumbling, but he couldn't stand this. Lloyd didn't say how long he had to sit, so after a moment, he jumped up, forcing his hand from the guy's throat and catching him as he collapsed. "Dammit, Lloyd," he growled. "Knock it the fuck off!" He held the man in his lap, trying to sniff out the damage. Still alive, but only just. He needed a hospital and soon. "They're just human."
The moment the human was out of Lloyd’s grasp his eyes returned to normal and he seemed to spark back to his usual self. Panting and hurting Lloyd looked to the man in Mal’s arms, watching as he writhed in pain. The pain Lloyd had caused him. The man was an ass but he didn’t deserve that. Staring at them Lloyd then dropped to his knees beside them, bringing out his phone. “I didn’t... fuck the phone’s broken...” The bastards had smashed that as well as his ribs.
Mal reached into his pocket, keeping one hand protectively on the man in his lap. Flipping it open, he dialed 911, giving concise directions to the location. "You might want to leave. I'll make sure the paramedics take him, tell them I just found him this way." He was still angry with Lloyd, fighting with his own temper. As the owner of the club, Lloyd would most definitely be asked questions when this was investigated unless Mal could convince them it was a random guy just dropping to the ground.
“I – okay...” Lloyd nodded stepping back. He’d done enough damage and he didn’t need to stick around to see him. Fuck it was his club, the guy had been fucking boiled next to his club what the fuck was he going to do?? Turning, Lloyd scurried off, face filled with mixed make up and blood as he scrambled to his car.He couldn't get the rush of his demon self out of his veins, the control he'd experienced was such a high combined with the panic and guilt for what he'd just done. It was a terrible combination, dangerous. As Lloyd forced hismelf to concentrate on driving he could only think of home.