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The boy's just no good. {missedstations x HKitten}

After leaving the restaurant with a smile and brighter mood, he was able to get back to work without a problem. There, he did his job with an uplifted spirit, which reflected in the quality of his work and the speed that he was able to work at. The napkin with Renéâ??s phone number was placed in his breast pocket, a soft reminder that he had something to do after work in the near future. His plan was to call up the other male in a few days, so that he didnâ??t come off as some pervert.

That was his plan at least, but at last, sometimes, plans never went as wished. As he was walking home, living not too far from his work for convenience, he found himself fiddling with his EP. The grocery bags that he had stored in the company fridge were hanging from one hand, while he unconsciously turned the EP on. Before he fully thought about it, he pulled out Renéâ??s number and recited it to the machine. It was, at first, to save the number there, incase he lost the napkin. â??Call.â? he unconsciously stated afterwards, and the faint ringing of a dial tone came through.

Heart slightly hammering, Nathan scold himself for calling at this late of an hour, let alone how soon it was; why, they had only met today! It was midnight, so René must have been asleep, and he was going to get shifted to an answering machine. Calming himself with that, he decided to prepare himself to leave a message. Maybe something about making sure this was the right number and that he gave the right number.

As he prepared himself for such, the fifth dial tone buzzed through his EP, and he was shuffling through his pocket to find his keys. The apartment wasnâ??t new enough that they had eye-scanners or fingerprint scanning, so he had to make due with the simple device.
 
While Nathan had work, René spent most of the day asleep. When he first came home, he left his shopping on the floor next to his fridge – nothing really that could go off anyway – and dropped into bed without getting properly undressed. He usually passed by most of his daylight hours there. By midnight though, he had woken up again and shifted to the sofa, watching some pointless action movie, still a bit out of it. It felt like it was going to be an empty night.

Really, it was good he wasn't working, otherwise he would have missed the call. He reached backwards over the edge of the sofa for the dining table and searched for the phone without looking. It might actually be important. Most normal people didn't call at this time of night.

When he checked the caller ID though, he was surprised. It was the number than Nathan had given him. So soon? He must have made an impression! He was flabbergasted for a while, not even realising that the phone was still ringing. What could Nathan possibly want at this time?

Abruptly he realised that if he didn't pick up, the call was going to go to the answerphone, so he finally hit the answer call button and brought the phone to his ear. 'Hey,' was the only greeting he considered necessary in this situation. 'What's up?' he asked, as if he wasn't surprised at all.
 
After he turned the key and jiggled open the doorknob, Nathan inched into the room and shuffled his groceries around his bag. His foot kicked the door closed, hearing the lock latch together, as he moved over to the kitchenâ??really, it wasnâ??t that farâ??and opened the fridge to place things away. His apartment wasnâ??t that large, consisting of a connected kitchen, dining room, and living room in barely the normal size of a living room, and a door at the further rightâ??the kitchen was to the left. That was his bedroom, which connected to the small bathroom that was just enough for a grown man.

â??Man, youâ??d think for someone in my position, Iâ??d have a little better of a place liveâ?¦â?? he mentally sighed, listening to another dial tone. When the ring cut off midway, he took a breath to leave a message, when a voice drifted through the EP and asked him â??what was upâ??.

It startled him that his mind went blank. â??I-um, hi.â? he stumbled, closing the fridge door and stood up straight, as if René could see him. â??Iâ?¦ hadnâ??t expected for you to pick up.â? the blonde admitted, letting out a chuckle. â??Sorry if I woke you. Guess I just,â? he wanted to say that he had only called to make sure the number was correct, but what came out was, â??wanted to ask if you were free any time soon?â?

Sometimes, Nathan couldnâ??t believe the shit that came out of his mouth. The blonde nervously fiddled with the EP, heart strangely pounding in his ears, and wondering why he had become an adviser. He had earned his schooling through physics and theorizing, and yet, his job was advising on business practices. At least GWC allowed him to work in the labs at time.
 
'No I was up,' René replied. Actually, when was it he knew someone with a normal schedule? Most people he knew worked nights in the same way as he did. He knew very few people in the formal economy.

'Uh, I will be free all of this week.' And probably very busy the week after that, for obvious reasons. For now, he had been planning to spend his time with late night movies and trying to sleep. His ribs were hurting again too. He was comfortable wrapped up on his sofa in a blanket though.

'Anytime then.' He really didn't want to suggest anything. He was excited though. It had been a while since someone wanted to ask him out, rather than just screw him. It had been a while since he had sex with anyone who wasn't paying, who hadn't picked him up from his favourite street corner or one of the bars he frequented. He was perfectly willing to get involved with Nathan purely for the novelty reasons.
 
Like some school boy that was nervously asking the girl he had an extremely large crush on, Nathan stood there with his heart pounding and his mind rather blank. His cheeks had almostâ??almostâ??turned a shade pink, but since it was over the EP, he did feel part of his embarrassment shrink. â??Man, I must sound like a complete loser.â?? he realized, noting that it was a quarter past midnight, and he was calling up someone heâ??d just met.

But when René answered him with a positive reply, he felt his heartbeat pick up once again. It was silly. It was really, really stupid. And yet, it was completely worth the stupid grin he was sporting on his lips like some happy puppy. â??Really? I mean, I hadnâ??t expectedâ?¦â? he had to fake a cough to not appear too eager.

â??â?¦ For you to want to hang out with a stranger.â? Nathan finished, feeling really retarded and really excited for some reason. Not overly, but giddy enough that he was sure heâ??d be smiling for the few minutes after their phone call. Deciding not to look a gifted horse in the mouth, he fished out a bottle of water for himselfâ??rarely did anyone drink out of the tap any more, due to the dangers of the watersâ??and moved to sit on the love-seat couch he had.

This proved to be the first time heâ??d talk to someone naturally like this, like they were his significant other. Calling after work was something that heâ??d seen in old movies and heard that some of his co-workers did with their lovers. Friendship ended once it hit ten at night, the latest. â??Iâ??m off tomorrow, would you like to have dinner at my place?â? he asked before fully thinking of what it implied.
 
Hang out with a stranger? René just had to laugh at that one. This man really had no idea whatsoever – it was both amusing and in many ways pleasing. He would have to try to take as long as possible to disappoint him, because René really was liking this so far. 'Well if you never hang out with strangers, you never meet anyone interesting, right?' he replied to that. And Nathan was interesting. Different. It was nice to meet someone different.

He took long enough to reply to the question that Nathan realised the implication. 'Sure,' he finally replied. Some people might have worried that Nathan was coming on too fast, that meeting someone in their place was too dangerous: but René had enough experience judging people that he decided Nathan was highly unlikely to try and murder him. And hey, more food!

'Want to give me your address?' he asked. Well, this solved one mystery. He knew where this was likely to head now, and it wasn't going to be best-buddies watching football. Not that he liked football anyway.

Of course René knew the implications of dinner in someone's apartment. Maybe not from personal experience so much, but it did often seem to lead to at least snogging, and maybe sex. He definitely wouldn't mind having sex with Nathan. The man was far hotter than most of his clients – not a difficult criterion – and having sex to enjoy it was something he did far too rarely.
 
The blonde left out a puffed chuckle, almost as if his breath escaped him, rather than laughed. â??Thatâ??s true.â? he agreed, knowing that strangers were the first stage of friendship, if anything. His mind had to wonder at the implications that he was giving off though, and when asked for the address, he seemed to stumble for a moment. It wasnâ??t hesitancy, but he truly didnâ??t give it out often enough that he had to mutter a â??One minuteâ?, before shuffling out of his door to look at his apartment number.

â??610, SE of the city.â? really, that was informative. â??Umâ?¦ Itâ??s actually a few blocks south of the restaurant we went to this afternoon. The buildingâ??s an old on, thereâ??s large letters that says â??The Little Benâ?? on its side. Think you can find it?â? Nathan wondered if it was enough information, as he closed the door, locked it, and went back inside with his bottle of water. The room was too quiet for him though, so he moved to turn on the replacement of a television. The Rover was a plastic sphere that was placed on any surface, projecting digital imagines into the open air like a 3-D imageâ??another recent technology that only the higher ups had, and he was given testing units.

Like heâ??d have the money to buy any of these technologies.

Blood still pumping like mad, he realized how he might have sound, and hurried to correct himself. â??But you know, this is justâ?¦ well, Iâ??m just asking, so you donâ??t have to or anything. Not that Iâ??m asking for anything in return either. Justâ?¦ a dinner among,â? strangers would have been a bad way to phrase it. â??acquaintances.â? Nathan justified.
 
Eh, it was probably enough information. ‘If I get lost I can always call you,’ he informed Nathan lightly, committing the instructions to memory. Since the ever so many cataclysms the city had suffered, street names had been rather unreliable, and vague descriptions of locations worked best. Most people navigated by landmarks. René certainly did: his street didn’t even have a name. Describing where René lived was pretty darn impossible. He generally had to walk visitors to his place.

‘I’ve already said yes, haven’t I?’ So why make up all the silly excuses, why tell him that he didn’t have to? He had already chosen to. The justifications were pointless and rather amusing.

‘You shouldn’t lead me on like that, darling,’ he said playfully, stretching out and grinning like a demon at the ceiling. Okay, he had tried not to flirt, not to make any sexual suggestions, but Nathan was making it too easy and far too fun. ‘First you take me out to lunch, then you invite me to dinner the same evening – calling at such a late hour to boot – what am I supposed to think?’ he continued, tone still teasing. It was such a shame he couldn’t actually see Nathan, because he really would have loved to.

‘Either I’m hot, or you’re incredibly bored, and I don’t think it’s the second one…’ he trailed off as suggestively as he could. Oh dear.
 
With the way that René had easily placed out the little facts like that, Nathan couldnâ??t help the hot flush that crossed his features. Luckily, the EP wasnâ??t a form of video calling, so his red face wasnâ??t visible. â??Uhâ?¦â? well, what could he say to that? That the brunette was right? That he was slightly bored, slightly lonely, and thought that René was rather sexy, despiteâ??and he doesnâ??t know if itâ??s a reason or an excuseâ??that he had never looked at another man in similar fashion?

Not that he didnâ??t know how, he justâ?¦ didnâ??t dwell on it.

â??Youâ??re attractive.â? Nathan settled on, the screen flickering before him and changing to a strange movie at the sound of his voice. It recognized a simple statement as a command, and found a movie named after his statement. Soft music drifted into the background, as he rolled his eyes at the flaws of technology.

â??But youâ??re right. I apologize for being round-about. Shall I see you tomorrow around, say five? I shall have dinner prepared by then, unless youâ??d like to aid me in cooking and showing me your culinary skills?â? he teased, but knowing that he had very fill skills himself; it was almost a cry for help. If everything failed, and he didnâ??t get the cooking done in time or it didnâ??t come out right, heâ??d have to spend a bit more of his pocket money to order take-out. And that was something he was hoping to avoid, since it was kind of tacky to invite someone over and have something they could easily eat at home for them.
 
He could just imagine Nathan blushing, and it was so sad that he couldn't actually see it. It must be a lovely sight. Blondes were always so pretty when embarrassed: it was the light skin that did it, that showed it so clearly and so wonderfully. He rather wanted to know exactly how it looked on Nathan. Imagination was sometimes just not good enough.

René almost told Nathan that he knew that he was attractive already, there was no need to beat around the bush with that one. But it did feel rather nice to be complimented, even if it sounded like Nathan did not want to dig his hole any deeper.

'I don't know, I've never cooked anything with ingredients that cost more than a pound...' he joked. It was a bit of an exaggeration, but close enough to truth. René bought good quality food only for special occasions. Heck, he was almost vegetarian because vegetables were just cheaper. 'But I'm sure I can try. You're probably tired from your hard day at work, maybe I should say goodnight?'
 
â??I-.â? he, what? The blonde bit down on his tongue to stop himself from making him look like a further idiot or love sick puppy. Neither of which he would acknowledge that he was. While he hadnâ??t expected to talk to René so soon after they parted, nor had he expected that heâ??d receive the actual person instead of the answering machine, Nathan found that he didnâ??t want to stop talking either. That of course, brought him to the question of what he had to talk about with the other male at this hour.

Realizing that he had stopped abruptly, he coughed a bit to cover it up, before rolling his shoulders. â??Right. Well, perhaps you could come a bit earlier, so we could cook together? Iâ??m sure between two of us, weâ??d use no less than two pounds worth of food.â? he teased, the smile still stretching his lips like each end had a magnetic push against each other.

The background music suddenly gave a little â??thump-thumpâ?? of a heartbeat, before the lyrics of â??Oh, I just want you so badly to-niiigghhhtâ?? came drifting through. Seeing that as a cue from above to cut the phone call short, he knocked the Rover with his foot to jam it up a bit, the blonde cleared his throat. â??Anyways, I better let you go. Iâ??ll see you tomorrow. Night.â? he nearly rushed out, waited a moment to be polite, before hanging up.

Slumping against the back of the couch with one hand on his stomach and the other still half pinching his EP after turning it off, Nathan released a chuckle if disbelief. â??What are you getting yourself into, Nathan?â?? he mocked himself, feeling giddy and tired at the same time. Bed was in the near future.
 
'Sure,' he said. 'I'll come about four thirty, then.' It was a bit early for him to be getting up at that time, but Nathan was probably worth it. His sleep schedule was strange enough that he did not feel at all hesitant to mess it up further. 'Night.'

René could not stop himself from laughing when he hung up the phone. He was rather pleased with how things were turning out so far. Nothing wrong with making a handsome blonde man a little uncomfortable, no? The song that he had heard over the phone was particularly precious: accidental, he assumed, but nevertheless hilarious. Tomorrow was probably going to be good.

He found, with some amusement, that he was actually hard. It was so rare that hew wanted someone, or that he could populate his fantasies. It was probably so easy because Nathan was not a fellow prostitute, a gangster or a client: the three groups that virtually all of his human interaction consisted of. A child with a new toy, perhaps? Silly to think about himself that way. But still, he did not regret or feel guilty about touching himself. That was rare. Whenever he got together with another whore, there was always an awkward feeling that they were asking too much of each other. It would be a lie to say that he was not longing for something without that.

René, in the end, spent most of the night watching films. The best ones were always late at night: the classics and the ones with higher ratings, the ones that could not be shown during the day. He was always fond of the film noirs and westerns. They were close enough to his life for him to empathise, but far enough so that he could actually enjoy the film. He fell asleep on the sofa eventually, and woke up early. Early for him, that is: it was already 3pm.

Really, he should get used to not sleeping on the sofa: sure, it was comfortable while you were falling asleep, but he usually woke up stiff afterwards. He stretched out slowly, checking the time. His flat was icy cold: he had not switched the heating on so as to keep his electricity bills low. Usually cooking was enough to keep the place warm – it was that small. He put the kettle on, made some nettle tea to sip and warm up a bit. He had an hour until he had to leave to go find Nathan's place. He stripped off yesterday's clothes and looked for a pair of jeans less ragged, socks without holes in them. He stared at his bare torso in his bathroom mirror. The bruises were still there, fading already into greenish-yellows. He frowned at himself, and realised that it would not be good for Nathan to actually see those. They were such ugly things. He did not want Nathan to see and feel disgust.

He washed his face, brushed his teeth. He brushed his hair again and redid his ponytail. When dry, his hair was not as dark a brown as it looked before. Running his hands across his chin he realised that he needed to shave too, so he did that as well. He wondered whether he should dress up or not, so he went for something medium: he picked a dark grey long-sleeved t shirt, and a dark green fine wool jumper over it. If he had a mother, she would probably have said that it matched his eyes. René decreed that he was ready like that. He spent a lot of money on clothes: he had to look good after all.

Boots then, and his coat. It was his only coat, in fact. For once, he put his phone in his pocket, just in case. Then he was out, locking his door. Each of the three locks had their own keys, which were placed in the back pocket. Down the stairs and then into the street. The sunshine made him blink for a bit before he was on the way, walking quickly. He would probably be a little late, he had left it too long to leave the house.

He did however find the building without too much difficulty, even though he had to stop and ask for directions. It was hard to find anything these days. He found the door numbered 610 and knocked twice. He leant against the doorframe as he waited for Nathan to open the door.
 
Nathan couldnâ??t remember when heâ??d fallen asleep, but he did know that he had forgotten to turn off his alarm. So when seven thirty hit, the alarm went of with blaring results. It made him squeeze his eyes shut and curl up in himself, before falling off of the couch. That caused the blonde to jolt awake and realized that the damn alarm had followed him into the living room. The little dog-shaped alarm clock rolled into the living room and spun around the love seat, as it rang loud and annoying bells.

Groaning, he reached out and picked it up, before thumbing the off button and throwing it back into his room without a care to whether or not it was going to be damaged. His body ached from falling asleep on the couch, and he had to remember what he had done the previous night that had led him into falling asleep there. He got home, skipped any resemblance of a meal, and spent a small portion of time talking to René. And then? He had sat there, snuggling a small pillow and nearly squealed like a giddy school girl that had just gotten her first date, until he got so tired, he passed out.

. . .

Great. Well, that was a short and rather depressing trip down memory lane.

Shaking it off, he straightened the couch, before heading into the bathroom connected to his bedroom. Clothes were stripped as he walked, and deposited into the dirty bin inside the bedroom. Nude, he stood inside of the bathroom and began to save his growing stubbles, clearing away the small amount of finely blonde hair growing there. If given time to mature, they would no doubt turn a light hazel, but he was expected to keep a fresh and crisp look for the company.

Placing the razor down, he turned on the shower and did quick work there, thinking of what he could make for them. Or rather, what they could make together, that wouldnâ??t kill the budget and/or destroy the kitchen. By the time he was out of the shower and into a pair of jeans and a simple tee-shirt, Nathan had decided that heâ??d have to check the fridge and his cupboards to see what they could make.

There, he noted that his area was a bit better stocked than it had been for quite some time. It wasnâ??t due to any increase of his salary, but it was more because heâ??d gotten better at managing his household. Just a bit though, as he knew he still had a long way to go. Things were still askew, all of which were dealt with today, as he didnâ??t want René to think he was some trashy person.

So by the time he had finished cleaning, he was nearly surprised how perfect timing it was, when he heard a few knocks on the door. Opening it, he offered the brunette a pleasant smile. â??Iâ??m glad you found the right apartment!â? he announced, stepping aside to invite the other male into his rather small establishment. â??Iâ??ve checked the fridge and it seems we have a variety of options. Perhaps something poultry or beef based would be best?â? the blonde felt like a restaurant waiter for a moment, but he was rather excited to have René there, and offered to take his coat for him.
 
They had a little confused dance where René took of his coat and didn't realise that Nathan was offering to take his coat... Such things rarely happened. It ended with René handing over his coat with a slightly embarrassed smile. 'Nice to see you again.'

He stepped into the apartment proper and admired it for a little: it was, of course, bigger than his place considering it actually had rooms, and the furniture was in far better condition than René's. René's was all second hand and occasionally dragged off the skip. (Rich people, the things they threw away!) He noted the gadgets too, linking them to Nathan's job almost instantly. What a funny man, picked up a street walker, invited him home, and left most of his valuables in view. Considering he had found René pondering shoplifting, it was a strange amount of trust. He wasn't sure what to say, really. Nice place and I won't rob you? Hm.

He really wondered what he was doing there. Shouldn't he be keeping to his own station in life? This could only end badly, once everything was taken into account. He should tell Nathan, get kicked out and go home. But while usually doing that wasn't a problem, he found that this time he really didn't want to. Instead: 'I wondered whether I should bring you some roses, but I realised that they were too expensive for my budget,' he joked.

'Well, what else do you have?' he asked, attempting to discover the kitchen.
 
â??A shameâ?¦ you could have just tore a few right off the front garden,â? or whatâ??s left of it. â??And Iâ??d have been thrilled.â? he teased back, placing the jacket onto the hook that was braced against the door. René was rather well dressed for today, and suddenly, he wished he had decided to dress up. Compared to the other male, he really wondered who looked like they belonged in this apartment.

But that wasnâ??t something to dwell on, because while the economic status of things nowadays was a prominent issue, many people only joked about it. They avoided conversations, unless directed at helping one another or themselves, and overall, it wasnâ??t to be thought upon too long. No, that would have caused a bit of a depressing spell. â??Iâ??m not quite sure, as I havenâ??t checked thoroughlyâ?¦ to be honest, I buy things and randomly go through recipes.â?

Nathan pulled out a small book on top of the fridge to show René. It was probably well beyond their years, of which belonged to his grandmother when she had been alive. Little recipes that he had attempted, while there were still a large collection that he had not yet even attempted. Mainly because he was sure that anything beyond two to three steps were going to garner danger for the non-chef.

â??You may go through whatever youâ??d like though, as Iâ??m sure you know a bit more than I do. Me casa es su casa.â? the blonde attempted at the shift in language, as he opened the fridge to pull out two bottled water. â??Water?â? he handed René one, before shuffling through the cabinet under the small island in the kitchen. There, he brought out a few pots and pans, incase they needed any of it. For a moment, as he was taking things out, he felt as if they were a couple that lived together. It was nearing dinner time and like a unit working as one, they were scuttling about to make a meal.

â??Donâ??t think about itâ?¦ shit, youâ??ll do something embarrassing if so.â?? he firmly told himself, as he waited for René to chose a recipe of his liking.
 
He opened the water and took a sip while looking through the fridge. He had no idea at all what the foreign language meant – lucky Nathan, having far more education. Minced beef, some aubergines, eggs... He took all those out. Nevermind the recipe books, the ingredients in the fridge were eclectic enough what it was easier to make everything into a single dish than to look for a recipe including those things. Oh, and salad, he supposed. He could let Nathan do that part, with how reluctant the man looked to actually touch the food.

'You got any onions?' he asked as if this situation was perfectly normal, as if it wasn't the first time he had been here. 'Oh, and potatoes, I suppose.' Staple food.

He tried a few drawers before he found the one with sharp and pointy knives, and found a chopping board. 'Can you hand me a bowl as well?'

Well, he did know this part almost as well as sliding his hands down someone's pants. He was actually a pretty good cook, with most of the recipes he knew picked up from people he had met or lived with, shared meals with. Maybe his life had been hard, and maybe sometimes pretty damn painful, but it hadn't been that bad of a life: friends came and went, but he'd known some people that had genuinely cared for him. Some moved on, moved out, others stepped on the wrong side and got killed sometimes. He'd even experienced the ridiculous irony of having a john fall in love with him. Of course it didn't work out.

'Wouldn't I make a cute house-husband?' René joked as he washed and then began to slice an aubergine.
 
Placing his water bottle down, he made a faint â??humâ?? sound, before heading towards the dry food storage. The drawer was opened to reveal where the onions and other ingredients were, that didnâ??t need to be in the fridge. Taking out a rather large onion and a few potatoes, he placed them on the counter for René. â??Shall, I help peel them?â? he asked, finding the peeler in one of the drawers. It was obvious that he didnâ??t cook often, as he didnâ??t even know where his things were in the kitchen.

Once the peeler was in hand, he picked up the potatoes one by one and began to take the skin off of them, before rinsing them. Rather focused on the task, the blonde hadnâ??t even noticed how pathetic he looked. It took nearly all of his concentration just to do a simple, yet unused to, task of the kitchen. So when René joked about being cute and a house-husband, he had nearly taken a large chunk of his finger with the next peel.

â??What?!â? his voice was instantly lowered, as soon as his ears rang with the volume of his surprise. â??Er, sorry. Itâ??s not every day you hear someone say that. You seem like you would be.â? he covered up, chuckling a bit, as he finished up the potatoes and moved to help chop and mince the onions. When the other male asked for the bowl, he took another minute to remember where it was, before finding it in another drawer. Really, the kitchen was not that big, but he truly didnâ??t know where things were.

There was no other exchange coming from him for the next few minutes, as they worked in silence, and he did as asked. The salad was next prepared, as he washed the cabbage and lettuce, before shredding some cheese and fishing for the croutons. It was a bit more before he parted his lips to speak, just to break the tension, if anything. â??Soâ?¦ how was your night? I hope I hadnâ??t disturbed your rest overall?â?
 
He laughed so hard at Nathan's reaction that he had to put the knife down before he cut himself. Really, Nathan was something. Coming out with ridiculous statements was getting very amusing. (Not that René would mind being someone's house-husband, he just knew that it was incredibly unlikely to ever be in a long term relationship with someone who would have a high enough wage to support two people. What could possibly be wrong with a life of sex and cooking?)

He finished slicing the aubergines into thin strips, then made a batter with an egg and some flour. He put a frying pan on the hob, covered its bottom with oil and waited for that to heat up. 'Mashed potatoes or fried?' he asked Nathan, considering. Frying everything was not that healthy, but it was tasty!

'No, you didn't disturb me...' He coated the first piece of aubergine in the batter and then put it to fry. 'Can you do this?' His plan was to make a sort of meatballs with the beef, onions and whatever spices Nathan had, and then fry that too. It was a quick and tasty meal, and the best part about it was that it stood pretty well for a couple of days, so if you didn't finish it all could always use it for lunch or dinner the next day.

He was increasingly noticing that Nathan was not actually that competent in a kitchen – another amusing thing about his host. How did Nathan feed himself again? It was probably one of the miracles of the world, that a man could live alone, unable to cook, and not die of starvation. René had always found kitchens an excellent place to hide in. No one really wanted to bug him while he was playing with sharp knives.
 
â??Mashed, I suppose.â? he answered, placing the sliced up potatoes into a pot of water on the stove. Once the led was on, he left it there to boil, as he stepped over to the other male and nodded at the question. Could he do it? Of course he couldnâ??t, but he wasnâ??t going to say that out right. Pressing his lips together, he tried to aid as much as he could, if not observe and then do it. In truth, he had no idea what was going on, so the first thing he did was basically drop a slab of meat into the batter, and then flopped it into the frying pan.

The oil sparked outwards, causing him to jump backwards and watch it for a moment. It hissed and sizzled like it was angry at him, like he dared to do such a thing. â??Is it supposed to do that?â? the blonde asked, finding a spatula in one of the sliding drawers. Pressing it against the floating concoction, he hoped that René would tell him when it was done or not, since he had no idea what looked done; unless it was burnt crisp.

Yes, sometimes, the fire alarm was the dinner bell for him.

After a few moments, the stove proved to be a rather strong one at that, as the water for the potatoes started to boil. The steam pumped out of the pot and pushed at the lid. It caused him to reach over and lift the lidâ??afraid it was going to pop offâ??only to throw the thing across the kitchen. â??SHIT!â? he drew back his hand and furiously shook it, as it had been burnt from the metal handle. A complete and utter fail for him, and he suddenly wished he hadnâ??t asked René to come early to witness his stupidity.

â??Um, sorry. Sometimes, itâ??s an adventure cooking.â? Nathan muttered, blowing at the steamed water so it didnâ??t overflow. â??Do you cook often?â? he asked, just to make conversation and to divert the brunette from his mistake. Was the meat done, he wondered, poking at it.
 
René lowered the heat on the stove, and immediately the water was boiling a little less vigorously. 'You might want to put your hand in cold water, or it might blister.' Steam was nasty for burns, but he was still having difficulty not giggling.

'You are thoroughly incompetent. How the hell do you stay alive?' he asked lightly, trying to not show Nathan his smile. He just couldn't resist asking the question after this. 'I wouldn't let you anywhere near my stove...' he trailed off. Maybe he'd let Nathan wash the dishes. Maybe.

'Get out of my way, I'll sort this out.' He was subtly nudging Nathan out of the way, taking over all the dishes. The aubergines did not need long to be done: only a few minutes each piece, and he put them on a little pile on the plate. The meat did not need too long to be done either. Since it was beef, all it needed was to heat thoroughly, and could still be rare in the middle. 'It's done when it stops spitting, you see... Also you can tell when it does not break apart if you press it, see?' He demonstrated, despite the fact it was probably lost on Nathan.

'You can mash potatoes, right?' he wasn't sure if Nathan could, but it was worth trying... 'Do you have butter, or?' A lot of people didn't: it was simply too expensive sometimes.
 
Thereâ??s a long pause for him, as Nathan easily allowed René to take over. In fact, he was relieved of it, as he was sure he was doing something wrong. At the question, he chuckled and rolled his shoulders, while moving to place his hand under the running water for a minute. Just a minute though, as he didnâ??t want waste water; especially since it was part of rent, and he didnâ??t want rent to go up.

â??I buy things that are easy to cook, and often times eat junk for lunch.â? unless he was being particularly lazy, and skip lunch altogether. It wasnâ??t a good habit to do, but that was only once every so often, so he wasnâ??t too worried. After all, there were people living on less than a missed meal, so heâ??d live as well.

Half staring at the way that René was cooking, he raised his eyebrow. The blonde wouldnâ??t say he was completely lost, but he wasnâ??t sure what he was looking for as the brunette showed him how it looked when the food was done. â??I have some butter, I believe. Saw it on sale a bit ago and got it, though I have no idea what Iâ??d have used it for.â? when one saw a good sale on something so expensive, it was a good idea to get some, if one could.

Pulling out a small bar of it, he sliced a chunk off and placed it on the side, before picking up the pot with gloves this time, and drained the water. Once done, he placed a bit of milk into the potâ??he knew that muchâ??and added the butter. A large spoon was used to beat the thing until it was well mashed. As he did so, it was obvious that he must have eaten somewhat well, as his muscles were not lacking. The biceps flexed nicely, while the triceps contracted, and then vice versa.

â??Youâ??re very apt in the kitchen. If I could, I would snatch you up as my cook.â? he teased, lightly laughing to push the somewhat seriousness of his words. The little silver earring on the table that held the Rover began to buzz slightly, making itself known to them from the kitchen; not that the living room was that far from them. Ignoring his EP, he continued to watch René as he finished up with the aubergines. Work, if it was work, could wait for another day, as he had his day off with aâ?¦ friend.
 
The frying was done soon enough, so he turned off the hob and found two plates to distribute the meat and aubergine between them. The oil needed to cool before they cleaned up, and at home René would reuse it anyway, rather than throw it away. Just the little things that saved a tiny amount of money every day. He used teabags at least twice too.

'Sure, if you pay me. It would be a nice job!' he replied, grinning. Truth be told, if he ever could get a decent job he would like something to do with cooking. But he also knew that unless he could disappear entirely from his current life, it was impossible. He was twenty one, had no references, and had never had a formal job. Not only that, but he had no doubt that the gang that officially offered him protection would take a dim view of his career change. To start anew he would have at least leave the city, but he couldn't afford that either.

'Alright, that's done. You done with the mash?'

He looked for the right cutlery. He added extra pepper to his share – he had always liked it more peppery than anyone else, and was at least conscious that other people didn't appreciate it. All that was left was to do was to find a place to sit and eat.
 
A sharp nod to answer if the potatoes were done, he moved to scoop a hearty amount onto their plates. If they wanted more, they could get some, as he left it on the stove with the setting on â??warmâ??. There were only two stove rings, so he didnâ??t think it was a good idea to keep the oil pan on the other one, incase heâ??d need to cook again or something. But when he thought about it, he had no idea how to get rid of the oil, so he just left the pan there and thought to deal with it later. Later, when René wasnâ??t watching him and think him stupid if he screwed up.

â??So, you never told me what you do now. Night jobs, maybe? Seems like youâ??re free in the mornings.â? he noted, picking up his plate and handing René a fork. There was two places they could sit, at the outer edge of the island counter, or at the love seat. The better option would have been on the island counter, but without thinking, he moved himself towards the couch and sat himself. There, he pressed off his EP and tapped the Rover to get some random movie playing.

It was one he didnâ??t know, but it was obviously a romantic movie. Scooting over, he made room for his home-date to sit, as he sliced into the meat and took a bite. The flavor rushed to him and made a small flip happen to his stomach. â??Oh godsâ?¦ man, this is good!â? perhaps it was a simple meal, but really, it was good. Either he needed to learn how to cook and eat better food outside, or René was an excellent chef. Probably a mixture of both. â??Whereâ??d you learn how to cook like this? Were you a chefâ?¦ er, ARE you a chef?â?
 
'I usually work from about 8pm,' he said, avoiding the question a little. He then was usually out until about five, unless he found a john that wanted him for the night. It was always a risk to go with someone, but he could always charge far more for a night than for a quick fuck in an alleyway. So it was often worth it, but sometimes things went wrong.

René did not hesitate to join him, placing the plate across his thighs and getting comfortable. 'Practise, mostly,' he said. 'I picked up a lot from my foster homes, and the people that I lived with. This was from Hattie, she was a pretty nice woman.' A whore who had given him a place to stay when he first left home, and taught him the basic tricks of the trade. 'She was from Eastern Europe, I think, I don't know why she called herself that.' Probably to run away from someone, or something. You never knew.

He didn't tell Nathan about his dreams, of course. This was not the time or the place, and that would probably mean that he needed to tell Nathan why it was that it was impossible. He wished he was chef. Maybe once he was too old to work the streets, he could try to get a real job. His pimp probably wouldn't care then. For now, the gang got too much money out of him.

'Eat before it gets cold,' he told Nathan, and followed his own advice.
 
Seeing that the other male didnâ??t outright deny him an answer, but didnâ??t directly answer it as well, Nathan allowed the conversation to be dropped for the time being. Or rather, it seemed like he dropped it and continued eating, while in fact, his mind was just taking time to digest the possibilities. He had to wonder what René did, because for all he knew, he could have invited some hitman into his house.

But the brunette didnâ??t seem like some crazy killer, so he voted that idea out. At the same time, his mind whirled with the other ideas, and finally, settled on the fact that René might have avoided the subject because he didnâ??t have a job. The question remained on how the other male had a place to stay and a phone at that, but at the same time, he could understand if someone was living on the last of their money. â??Umâ?¦â?

Nathan didnâ??t know what to say for the moment, so he stuffed another bite into his mouth. He didnâ??t know René enough that heâ??d ask for the other male to move in with him, but he wasnâ??t sure how to help someone if they needed help. â??You know, if youâ??reâ?¦ jobless at the moment, I can see what I can do in the company I work at. Weâ??re hiring a few people here and there at the bottom line for secretary work and the likeâ?¦â? there was a pause, as he remembered that the brunette didnâ??t seem like he had well education.

He didnâ??t think that as an insult, but considering the lifestyle and whatnots, heâ??d be right to assume that more than 80% of the world now was uneducated. Statistics said it was 90%, but heâ??d like to think more were given opportunities.
 
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