April 1947: Care to go to China? For the Cupbearer

[mrwaverly]

"Bastard!" Alex cried out as his shirt cuff button was neatly sliced off. He and his lover, Ganymede, were in the gym practicing knife fighting with Nepalese style kukri blades. Though the ones Alex was using were standard army issue for the Gurkhas serving in the British army. They had slightly less reach and were just a bit heavier than the ones G was using. "That was a good shirt."

Alexander was wearing a white shirt and gray slacks. He was out of military uniform and working now for the SIS after the victorious end to the war. His lover was currently giving him a refresher course in knife fighting. The sleeve of his shirt was hanging loose now around his wrist. It was the second button to go in this little game they were having. The first was the top collar button of his shirt. "You're determined to get me naked, aren't you?"

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[the_cupbearer]

"You'd be tempted, I'd actually do it," Ganymede murmured, but did his best to keep the black bloom of temper reined in. It did him no good to be wondering about doing the man harm, especially in front of his lover. He followed Alex through the apartment, coming to a sudden halt as he was arrested by the view from their bedroom, staring out at the port skyline below them.

"My god," he whispered, sitting down quickly on the edge of the bed as his sense of balance wobbled from the sudden shift in perspective, showing just how high they were. "This is all for you, Alex. All from the work you've done." He huffed out a little laugh.

[mrwaverly]

Initially, he'd thought that being sent to Hong Kong might be a way to keep him out of sight and out of mind. Somebody high up seemed to think him worth it though. After he was able to get his jaw off the floor he answered, "I never even aspired to anything like this." He'd been building a modest career for years. "It makes me a little nervous."

[the_cupbearer]

"But you're here now," Ganymede murmured, winding his arms around Alex when he'd recovered enough to stand and come up behind his lover, chin resting on Alexander's shoulder. "Don't be nervous, love. Your work has gotten you this far, people must be happy with it."

Ganymede was thrilled for Alex that he'd been promoted to such a high position, and squeezed his arms gently, a reminder of the embrace he held. "The view from here is almost as magnificent as you are."

[mrwaverly]

He leaned his head to rest against Ganymede's. After a moment he broke into a smile, "You're right, of course," he laughed. "Not that you're biased or anything. "It means so much that you're here with me." The doorbell from their flat rang, followed by some muffled barks. "Our boy is here." Disraeli had to take the long ride in the plane in his crate and go through a medical examination before he was allowed to be brought into Hong Kong. Initially they had been worried about being separated from their pup. "He's going to go nuts in this place."

[the_cupbearer]

"Not biased at all," Ganymede murmured, kissing Alexander's cheek before he let go to answer the door. Disraeli was bouncing in his crate, ready to get out and see his humans; Ganymede knelt by the couch to open the carrier and got a yipping, excitable corgi in his lap for his trouble.

"Hello, boy," he laughed, letting Diz lick his face happily.

[mrwaverly]

Alex followed G into the living room. He laughed, watching the two of them together. Diz's ears pricked up when he heard his other human come in the room. He was off like a shot, showing off his herding dog roots by racing around Alex's ankles, much to his delight. Diz danced on his hind legs until Alex bent down and picked him up. He was treated to the same exuberant face washing G had been.

[the_cupbearer]

"You were right, he's happy," Ganymede murmured, scratching gently between Disraeli's ears.

"Now everything's all right. Now that we're all here."

[mrwaverly]

"Indeed," He laughed. Having their pup there made it feel like home. Diz wriggled out of his arms finally, and Alex let him down to explore their new home. By the time the dog was done, he had looked at every corner and sniffed every inch of the fancy flat.

[the_cupbearer]

"Speaking of, though," he hummed, rising and following Alexander through the flat, "We've yet to do our own more...thorough exploration."

Ganymede wound his arms around Alex, turning to face the man and pushing his hair back from his face, delighting in the way his partner's smile lit his eyes. He kissed Waverly full on the mouth, holding nothing back out of worry or concern over propriety: this was their home, their place to be free from the constraints of the world they lived in.

[mrwaverly]

He was expecting the kiss and didn't mind at all. If this was going to be their new home, they would have to be comfortable in it. He slid his arms around his partner's waist and kissed him back thoroughly. "We haven't even properly christened the bed yet," he joked.

Their flat was high enough up they could make love standing in front of the windows and not be seen unless someone was looking in their direction with a telescope. Which would be highly unlikely.

[the_cupbearer]

"This is true," Ganymede laughed. "Do you want to christen the bed first?" he asked, unafraid to be standing where they could see out, not having to hide away from windows and doors.

[mrwaverly]

"Yes, I think I would like that," Alex said. With the last of the daylight pouring in through the windows, bedroom door open, strange place. It would have made him felt someone exposed, uncomfortable. But if this was going to be their home, he should be comfortable. They were in a place where they would be relatively safe.

[the_cupbearer]

Ganymede smiled, and tugged him backwards towards the bed, falling back in a lazy sprawl with Alex on top of him, not having bothered to close the door or draw the windows. He tousled his lover's hair in pulling him down close.

"Love you, Alex."

[mrwaverly]

Diz was easily distracted with a toy. Alex fell onto the bed in a heap on top of G. Smiling, he kissed him, blissfully uncaring about the windows or the door.

"I love you, G," he kissed him freely, with an ease he hadn't had for a long time. Since India, actually. Alex playfully undressed his lover, pulling off his shirt and dropping it on the floor.

[the_cupbearer]

"So all this time," he murmured, letting himself be undressed and popping loose the button on Alex's trousers with a twist of his hand, "All I needed to do was get you off that island."

Good to know. Ganymede won't forget the information.

[mrwaverly]

"Well... yes, actually," he laughed. Away from the oppressive British propriety, Alex could be himself. "As much as I love my country, I really don't like to live there." He stripped off his own shirt and it joined G's on the floor. "Being here with you, reminds me of India. My love, you make me feel young again."

[the_cupbearer]

"You are young," Ganymede laughed, leaning in and up and kissing Alexander.

"Let's get comfortable," he chuckled, rolling them over and freeing his hair from the braid he'd kept it in. "This is our place now."

[mrwaverly]

"Younger then," Alex said, helping unplait G's hair, running his fingers through G's hair to loosen it. Sometimes it seemed that they kept coming back to age. G would never look a day over his mid-twenties and at a stretch early thirties even though Alex knew that his lover was older by far than he could ever hope to be. Here he was looking at the downside of his forties and heading rapidly to his fifties. There were some days he felt every year of his age and then some. But not right now. Not in this exotic place that would be their new home. G made him feel happy. They divested each other of their clothing, getting comfortably naked.

[the_cupbearer]

"I love you more than I can say," Ganymede murmurs, comfortably sprawled on Alexander and across the bed, taking his time cataloguing his lover's features.

"You're beautiful, and smart, and...mine," he chuckles, kissing his partner's cheeks, and mouth, and over his heart. "Thank you for bringing me here, love."

[mrwaverly]

"I love you too," Alex said. "Thank you for coming with me. I couldn't imagine being so far away from you ever again." He toyed with a strand of his lover's hair.

[the_cupbearer]

"Never again," Ganymede murmured, hiding his face against Alex's neck and shoulder, holding his body close and molding against it. "I lost you once. Once was enough."

[mrwaverly]

"Agreed," he said tangling his fingers in G's hair again. "Never again." Alex snuggled against his lover. "Not as long as I draw breath."

[the_cupbearer]

Ganymede was only too happy to snuggle and press himself tightly against Alexander as if afraid he might simply disappear: he rarely felt so compelled, but the sudden relaxation of the tension he'd carried since leaving England had left his nerves oddly jangling.

"This is good. Being with you, and not hiding it."