A Good Deal

Chapter 5

Changing the record to something else, he could feel the cat staring at him from the floor. He didn't know what to make of it though, since it wasn't a look he received. It had his stomach tightening, though, whatever it was and it felt like every hair on his body was standing on end. Shaking the feeling off, he set the needle down and returned to the floor, holding out his hands. Husk stepped forward and they reset their basic position. "Remember, step with your left first." He stepped back and the cat followed him, stepping into the space he'd cleared. After a moment or two he decided to test if teaching the cat another thing was fine this soon by pausing until they were off beat. Angel watched his partner's ears as they started to express first the frustration at the pause, the continuation, the realization, and then another bout of frustration. The feline flattened his ears against his head and Angel had to heavily resist the urge to laugh. Finally, the cat pushed him to speed up until they were back on tempo again and the ears came back up.

"L'hai fatto apposta, testa di cazzo." There was a slight growl in the words and he couldn't hold it in anymore. Bursting into a fit of laughter, he leaned his head on the cat's shoulder until he could catch his breath.

"I wanted to see if you could spot the difference. I didn't think it would make you quite so mad." The song changed, shifting from the slightly more upbeat sound he had been using to a much softer, smoother sound. He kept his head against his partners shoulder and subtly guided the cat into a slow rocking motion. Using his feet, he guided the feline to where he had to move until he felt Husker had it mostly down. They slowly danced in circles and he found himself closing his eyes and just breathing. After a moment, he felt Husk lean his head against his own and felt the breath from a silent sigh. Sure, he still had a lot to teach the cat, but right now this was all he wanted, and they had time. He could hear the end of the song coming, and he knew that meant the end of the record, and he hated that. "There's not a chance you'd be willing to keep practicing with me for a little longer, is there?" Of course there wouldn't be, because he had no real reason to stay. He didn't let himself get his hopes up, instead he started thinking about what else he could do with his off day. Shopping was definitely an option, but only if he could convince someone to come with him. He didn't want to be alone.

"Sure there is. How the hell else am I supposed to learn?" The rough gravel had the man's chest rumbling as he spoke, or maybe it was something else, but either way it made his heart race. The song ended and they stopped moving, but they didn't change positions. "You know, you haven't made a single sex joke today and it's kinda weird." The forced out a laugh and he pulled back to look at the cat. Those gold and black eyes could mesmerize him.

"I wonder, Husky, do your eyes glow in the dark." The man gave him a skeptical look and he smiled. "Cause I could really use a nightlight in bed." The older man immediately pinched his side while he laughed, which just made him laugh harder. "You can't ask for it and then get mad when I give it to ya. That's not how whores work!" Husker rolled his eyes in response.

"I just meant you've been acting weird as a whole, it wasn't a challenge to see how bad your pick up lines could get." Angel gave his partner a fake gasp and put a hand on his chest as he pretended to be insulted.

"If I were wearin' pearls, I'd be clutchin' them." He said the words but even he couldn't keep a straight face for it.

"God, you're such an old man." He pushed the cat away and crossed his arms.

"Says the actual old man." He eyed the other man. "You're older than me, so how can you say I'm the old man here?" Husk shrugged and rolled his hands as he thought of his response.

"I'm only... what? Five years older than you?" Angel ran through the math quickly and frowned. The man was younger than his brother by a single year in reality. The problem was that they'd died almost forty years apart. Another thought occurred to him that made him a bit depressed and his smile faded.