「 singing in the garden
kiss me on my open mouth
ready for you 」

♫ lana del rey; off to the races

✩ h o n g j o o n g ✩

"Damn that's a nice watch," Mingi said with a huge grin, as Hongjoong handed the watch over. "Shit! This is fucking Rolex! Joong, what if the guy finds you? Bet he's pissed."

"He won't," Hongjoong mumbled, his pink lips closing around a cigarette, as he jumped up to sit on the broad, but empty windowsill. "He said he's not from around here, so..."

The sun was shining the best it could, through the dusty glass of the window that hadn't been cleaned in the three years Hongjoong and Mingi had been living there. Pushing the window open with his elbow, Hongjoong let the smoke from his lips get caught and carried away by the wind, as it stroked his skin with its cooling touch.

"Besides, you know we gotta do, what we gotta do..." he added, eyes staring at the burning end of the cigarette, "We can't live on taking our clothes off for the rest of our lives. No one will pay to look at us, when we're old with saggy tits."

"Speak for yourself," Mingi snorted, lounging in the couch which was way too short for his long body. "Maybe go to the gym with me some day then? Your tits seem a little saggy already."

"Shut the fuck up!" Hongjoong laughed, throwing his pack of cigarettes towards the taller, aiming for his face, but missing. "And I already get plenty of work out!"

"Getting dicked down every night doesn't count though!" Snickering at his own joke, Mingi reached his hand out, as a request for the lighter.

"But it should!" Hongjoong pointed out, flipping the lighter from his own hand to Mingi's bear-sized palm.

A quiet moment laid down over them, Hongjoong staring out the window, and Mingi at the ceiling, as the smoke danced above him. The only sound came from his hand rubbing against the rough material of the old couch, and Hongjoong knew what was coming next.

"Do you think we'll ever get away from this life?" the taller mumbled, his fingertips tugging the frayed edges of yet another hole in the couch cushion.

"I hope so..." A small shrug, almost unnoticeable, fell from Hongjoong's slender shoulders, as he turned his head to look at his dark-haired friend.

"What if we don't? What if this is all we get? Stripping, and stealing from rich guys?" Mingi asked, sucking his teeth, while his own question was once again killing the spark in his eyes.

"Don't go all deep on me now, Gigi, I'm not drunk enough for this yet." Flicking the cigarette butt out the window, Hongjoong sighed, deeply.

"Let's get hammered then," Mingi suggested, rolling out of the couch, "I have to leave for work soon anyway. And you know I need to loosen up before, or I move like a fucking board!"

A few minutes later the two of them sat side by side in the couch, and Hongjoong couldn't help but wonder if this really was all that was left for them; taking their clothes off and sucking dick just to spend their money on discount rum, poured into cheap, non-matching IKEA cups, and chain-smoking cigarettes until their fingertips stank of nicotine.

Playing the doe eyed, heart-on-his-sleeve type of guy, only to fool those arrogant, self-proclaimed kings of the upper class did add some kind of excitement to his life at least. He never charged for sex, he might be a stripper, but even he had some boundaries. Sex was just for the fun of it, and stealing - just for the thrill. And well, because it was necessary.

He usually stuck with just taking a couple of hundreds of dollars, nothing they would notice anyway. All the men had been complete, self-absorbed assholes, but that San guy... He must've been the worst of them all.

Lighting another cigarette, Hongjoong let it hang between his lips as he inhaled slowly. The previous men he had went home with, had all been pretty clear about what they wanted, and that they were absolute pigs. But San had tried his best to make Hongjoong feel special. Desired.

Needed.

But the look in his eyes had said otherwise, and Hongjoong had seen through him within seconds. And that watch sure was nice, San probably had several of them anyway, he wouldn't need it as much as Hongjoong and Mingi did. Or, the money they would get from it, after Hongjoong had sold it - and put it into their savings, which for now was just a box stored away under the bed.

"Almost a shame to sell it," Mingi suddenly said, tapping his finger against the sofa table in front of them, where the watch was lying.

"Yeah... But only almost..."

✩

His every movement was playful and soft like a kitten's, but the look in his eyes was demanding and powerful like a ravenous tiger. The way he would tease the audience - so very slowly let the sparkling, sequin shirt fall down his shoulders, had everyone spellbound.

And Hongjoong was no exception.

Although his night off had been ruined by some rich businessman requesting him for a private show, insisting it had to be tonight and forcing him to get unwrapped from the coziness of his blanket at home, his pouty face had disappeared the second his younger co-worker stepped out on stage.

"You know, staring at him until your eyes pop out, won't make him fall in love with you," Mingi hummed, leaning against the bar behind them.

His eyes rested on his smaller friend for a while, but Hongjoong was too lost in the beautiful sight on the stage in front of them, to even notice the concern. They had gone over this particular issues a million times by now anyway, and nothing new ever came out of it.

It was a hopeless case after all, Hongjoong knew that - he had known that for almost two years now. But that didn't mean he would lose hope as easily, as he had lost his heart.

"I know," he mumbled back, sucking his lower lip in to lick the taste of alcohol off it. "And fucking him hard, until he comes four times in one night won't do it either, apparently."

"Thank you, I've noticed," Mingi said, pulling a disgusted grimace. "Walls are thin, man, why do I have to keep saying that?"

"Tell that to Yeosang, he's the loud one after all."

✩

"You were amazing tonight," Hongjoong smiled, as he caught up with Yeosang in the hallway backstage of the strip club, swallowing the "as always" that was tickling in his throat.

He knew he should stay away, but he just couldn't. Yeosang always had him coming back for more, even after the countless times the younger had made it clear he only wanted sex, and nothing else. And it hurt, when everything was what Hongjoong wanted them to be.

"Thanks," the younger smiled, briefly biting his lower lip as his eyes scanned Hongjoong from head to toe. "You look great. Are you going on tonight as well?"

"Not on stage, but I have some private show I need to do before I can go home."

Small drops of sweat were decorating Yeosang's glowing skin, almost making him sparkle in the soft light around them. This boy was everything to Hongjoong - glitter and gold, and his smile like a ray of sunshine in the overwhelming darkness of Hongjoong's life.

Hongjoong hooked his finger around the collar of the shirt Yeosang had thrown on after his show, but left unbuttoned, pulling him closer - their lips gently brushing against each other. But the distance was still there, as Yeosang never kissed on the lips. Not when sober at least.

"Mmh, will you be thinking of me meanwhile?" Yeosang asked teasingly, sticking his tongue out to run against Hongjoong's lower lip, leaving him longing for more.

"I'm always thinking of you, baby," Hongjoong whispered, leaning in to kiss the younger's soft neck. "I'll call you later, okay?"

The heavy scent of Versace Eros hung around him, even after Yeosang had walked away, causing Hongjoong to feel both complete and absolutely incomplete at the very same time. The private show needed to get over with real quick, as Hongjoong could only think about the younger brunette, and the need for feeling of his soft skin against his own.

Chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling in each of the VIP rooms, dimmed down to give a warm glow over the black and gold interior. Hongjoong ran his fingers through his hair, licked his lips and checked if his outfit was sitting just right - before slowly opening the door, letting the chandelier glow cling onto his every move.

Not many things could surprise Kim Hongjoong, and he didn't let his guards down this time either - although he surely was taken by surprise when he saw the man waiting for him in the leather couch inside the VIP room.

"So, we meet again," San smirked, leaning forward with his hands folded in his lap.

"I'm sorry, have we met before?" Hongjoong asked, ready to receive an Oscar for his fantastic fake smile.

San's brows furrowed, clearly not amused by Hongjoong's obliviousness.

"Give me back my watch," he simply stated, eyes cold, but he did lean back in the couch to let Hongjoong straddle him.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." The sweetest voice rolled over Hongjoong's lips, as he slowly started to unbutton his shirt.

"You really think I'm going to believe that?"

"Well, it's the truth so, believe what you want then."

Tension was filling up the room; San was seemingly both furious and turned on at the same time, something Hongjoong wanted to take advantage of the best he could. He swung his arms around San's neck, as he slowly started to grind against him, pulling both of them straight back to the night before.

"Touching costs extra," he murmured, as he felt San's hands stroking his back.

"You don't think I can afford that?" San scoffed, tip of his tongue brushing against Hongjoong's earlobe. "I could buy you for the rest of your life, if I wanted."

"Is that so?" Hongjoong scoffed back, leaning backwards to let the shirt slip down his arms and onto the floor.

San's chest was raising and falling with fast pace by now, and his eyes were hungrily watching every little move Hongjoong made over him.

"Yes," he then said with a small groan, the moment Hongjoong decided to move closer, their clothed private parts rubbing against each other.

Hongjoong smirked at the distress on San's face, something he soon had to regret. Only seconds later, he felt just as lost and confused himself, when San grabbed him and held him tight. His one hand closed together in a fist in Hongjoong's hair, and the other in a firm grip around his hip, making them move their bodies at the same pace.

San tugged Hongjoong's hair, pulling his face down, to have their foreheads against each other. His warm breath was tickling Hongjoong's lips, as both of their breathing became heavier. He never let any customers touch him like this, not even if they were willing to pay for it. They could stroke his back, pet him, those kind of things. But nothing like this.

The leather couch under them was creaking, as their movements became even more intense, as if they were fucking with their clothes on. Hongjoong's arms were around San's neck again, both of his hands diving in and out of the soft, dark hair while their lips were teasingly dancing in front of each other.

But suddenly, he felt himself being pushed away, shoved onto the couch. San stood up, tugging his shirt back in place, and glaring at Hongjoong from over his shoulder.

"But why should I waste any more money, on a dirty slut like you?" he said, walking out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

Hongjoong slowly sat up, ruffling his hair around and chewing his lip - confused on what had just happened. But just as easy as a shrug of his shoulders, he had shaken the confusion off of him.

"Guess you don't want your watch back then," he snickered to himself, picking his shirt up from the floor and leaving the room as well.