fic: (AV) The Night of the Purple Thong (When Titus Met Alex)

[astro_noms]

Title: The Night of the Purple Thong (When Titus Met Alex)
Wordcount: 11,184
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Uh, extreme amounts of schmoop?
Pairings: Alex/Titus, Oliver/Donna (off-screen)

Summary: In which Titus gets molested, meets a girl, and gets a date. Meanwhile, back at camp, Oliver gets lucky, too.



Titus was tired. All he wanted to do was get to the dressing room, get changed into his normal clothes, and get the hell out of there. First, he had to get through the crowd of shrieking groupies who had somehow managed to get past the "authorized personnel only" door. One of them threw herself at him, sending him stumbling backwards until his back hit the wall. She draped herself over him, squealing something in a high pitched voice that made his ears ring. He managed to peel her off him without touching too much of her overtanned skin (seriously, her skin was the color of a traffic cone, which made the magenta dress she was wearing a particularly unfortunate choice) and fled down the hall. Security had finally showed up and escorted the groupies out. Titus could hear the loud shrieking one being congratulated by her cohorts for getting close enough to touch him. He shuddered, and made a note to shower as soon as possible.

It wasn't like they got besieged by crazed groupies everywhere they went. But the previous week, Dirk had been interviewed by Backwash, and ended up telling all of the internet that all of them were single, and very much looking forward to meeting some of the female contingent of their fans. Much to Jimmy's displeasure, they'd had to add extra security, which didn't always work, as evidenced by what had just happened. Titus stuck his hands in his pockets and stopped in his tracks; there was something in one of his pockets. By the feel of it, he had a pretty good idea what it was. Grimacing, he pulled out the tiny scrap of lace masquerading as a thong out of his pocket and stared at it. It was the same bright magenta as the dress the woman had been wearing. He'd been so preoccupied with getting her off him that he didn't even feel her hand in his pocket.

He rounded the corner with the last of the shrieks echoing behind him. The doors of the dressing rooms were just ahead, he was minutes away from being able to get out of there and back to the bus. It wasn't home, but the tour had only just started, so he wasn't actually homesick yet. If such a thing was actually possible when "home" was just a hole in the wall apartment full of crappy second-hand furniture and a bunch of unmatched dishes in the cupboards. Besides, he had Oliver with him, which made any place they were as good as home.

There was a woman standing by the door of the dressing room he was sharing with Dirk, and Titus fumed. He'd have to have a talk with Dave about making sure security was doing their job, keeping the fucking groupies away from backstage.

"You're not supposed to be here," he said, walking up to her. She was a little taller than he was, and she grinned at him.

"Sure I am. David sent me. I mean, our David, not your David."

Titus stared at her blankly. "What."

"Sorry," she laughed. "I'm Alex, from Lasersquad," she held out her hand. Titus reached out to shake it, and froze. He stared at his hand, and the girl—Alex—stared as well. She burst out laughing a second before he snatched his hand back, dropping the lacy thong he was still holding.

"Looks like you and Dirk have something in common tonight," she pointed to the dressing room door. Hanging from the knob was another lacy thong, matching the one he'd dropped exactly.

"What the hell?" Titus looked from the thing hanging on the doorknob to the one he'd dropped.

"Friend of yours?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

Titus made a face. "God, no. One of them tried to tackle me in the hallway. Stuck that in my pocket," he pointed to the thong on the floor. "Either she was here earlier and had more than one to give away, or... they're twins?"

"Maybe they just shop at the same store," Alex suggested. "Look, I came by to talk to Dirk, David wanted me to give him this," she held up an envelope, "but he appears to be otherwise engaged."

Titus didn't even have to strain to hear the pornographic-grade sounds coming from behind the door. "Uh," he said, then shook his head. "I got nothing."

Alex laughed. "Don't worry about it. I've got a couple of people who do this all the time."

"I can give that to Dirk if you want," Titus pointed to the envelope Alex was holding. "You don't have to hang around."

"Trying to get rid of me?"

"No, of course not. I just didn't think you'd want to sit here, listening to that," Titus jerked his thumb at the door. "Come to think of it, I don't want to sit here, either. I can have someone grab my stuff later." He used his foot to kick the thong on the floor off to the side and offered her his arm, motioning towards the exit door at the far end of the hallway with his other hand. "Would you like to grab something to drink?"

Alex gave him a smile and took his arm. "I'd love to. Know any good places around here?"

#

Two stops later, Alex ran into Titus, armfuls of laundry going flying in all directions.

"Hi!" She smiled up at him from where she was picking up socks and shirts.

"Hi yourself," he said, bending down to pick up his own dropped clothes.

"I didn't peg you for the kind to be doing laundry," she said.

"Are you kidding? If I don't do it, no one else will. They'd just keep wearing the same things over and over."

"I know the feeling," she handed him a pair of black jeans she was pretty sure didn't belong to anyone in her band. "I've given up on trying to get them to do their own laundry. It's easier to just make them put everything one place and do it myself."

Later, as Titus was separating everyone's laundry, he held up the pink lacy bra and raised an eyebrow. Unless there was something Dirk wasn't telling him, it belonged to someone on the Lasersquad bus.

Given the ever present Backwash crew roaming around everywhere, he didn't think it was a good idea to walk across the parking lot with a bra in his hand. He stuffed it into his pocket and headed out. Security were doing their job, because there were no randomly wandering fans around anywhere. Titus saw someone from Backwash lurking between the buses and changed direction to walk around the long way. He didn't delude himself that he could avoid them forever—Maddy had been hounding him for a one-on-one sit down with her—but maybe he could stall them for a couple of days at least.

The door to the Lasersquad bus was open, and he walked up the stairs, knocking on the panel.

"Hello? Anybody home?"

There was no one in the lounge, and Titus stood in the kitchen, looking around. There was a fresh pot of coffee on the counter, and the smell was tantalizing. Titus debated pouring himself a cup and was about to reach for one when Alex cleared her throat behind him.

"Titus?"

"Alex, hi." He grinned when he saw what she was wearing—cut off jeans, an old t-shirt, and bright pink rubber gloves that went almost up to her elbows. "Hope you don't mind I came in. I called out, but you must not have heard me."

"Sorry, I was in the back, cleaning up," she held up her pink-gloved hands, jazz hands-style. "Everyone's off somewhere, I figured I'd take advantage and clean." She stripped off the gloves and walked past him into the kitchenette, leaving a cloud of lemon fresh cleaner scent behind her. "Ooh, coffee's ready! You want some?"

He nodded. "Thanks."

"So what brings you to our corner of the parking lot?" She handed him the steaming mug. "There's sugar, and cream in the fridge, if you want some." She squeezed past him and flopped into the armchair in the corner. He added cream to his coffee and took a sip.

"Our laundry got mixed up, I think," he said, fumbling with his pocket. The hooks of the bra snagged on the fabric and he had to put down the coffee cup to untangle it. Finally, he managed to get it free and held it out to Alex.

"Alex? Teri said you were here, I thought we could sit down and..." Maddy walked straight into the lounge and stopped in her tracks, eyes glued to the bright pink bra dangling from Titus' fingers. Crowding in behind Maddy was one of the other reporters, looming over her by at least six inches. Everything about him said "plucky boy reporter," and the camera in his hand already snapped at least five shots before Alex thought to grab the bra from Titus' hand and hide it behind a couch cushion. She shot to her feet and took a step towards Maddy, the reporter's eyes already gleaming brightly with the thoughts of a breaking story she could file.

"Maddy, whatever it is you're thinking, don't. This isn't what it looks like. Titus is just returning some laundry that got mixed up with his." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Alex knew that no matter what she said, it would probably end up being grossly misinterpreted for the sake of interesting copy. Titus was returning her bra (which it wasn't, it was Teri's, but she wasn't about to point that out, god forbid), which was all Backwash needed to run with it.

Maddy raised an eyebrow. "Sully, why don't you go back to the van and check on those files we're waiting for," she said, and he turned around and fled the bus. Titus made to follow him, but Alex stopped him.

"Don't bother. He's got longer legs; by the time you catch up to him, he'll have the pictures uploaded already."

Titus nodded and slumped against the wall. "What do you want, Maddy?"

"An official statement would be nice," Maddy grinned. Titus thought she rather resembled a shark at that moment. "Barring that, I want a sit down interview with each one of you, today. Let's say an hour each?"

"There's nothing to make an official statement about, Maddy," Alex told her. "Like I said, we got our laundry mixed up earlier." She took a sip of her coffee. "Now, when would you like to sit down for the interview?"

Titus let his head fall back against the wall with a thump. Maddy was in the public eye. There was no way to kill her and dispose of the body without raising suspicion.

"Fabulous," Maddy said. "How about before the show? Lasersquad is playing first," she said to Alex, "so I'll see you in your dressing room, an hour before the show. And then I'll come see you, Titus. Great, see you guys later!" With that, she flounced off the bus.

"You realize that picture will be on the website before the hour is up, right?" Titus said.

"Yeah," Alex put down her mug and sighed. "We're screwed."

Titus cleared his throat. "Want to make the best of it and grab dinner with me somewhere after the show tonight?"

"You're not going to the afterparty?"

"I'd rather have a quiet dinner with you," he said, and was rewarded with a bright smile from Alex.

"Good answer," she said. "I'll see you later, then."

#

Alex ran through the parking lot, late for her interview with Maddy. She'd been on the phone with her mother, and the conversation ran long, as usual. If she was late for the interview, there was no telling how Maddy would exact her revenge.

She had to push past people crowding the narrow hallway, techs and venue crew and the occasional fan who'd managed to sneak in past security. Normally she'd be happy to stop and chat and sign autographs, but she just waved them off with the promise of "later" and kept going. When she reached the door to her dressing room and saw Titus standing beside it, she stopped and smiled.

"Hi," she said as she came closer.

"Hi!" He pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against. "Listen, I hate to do this, but could I have a raincheck on the dinner? Oliver's not feeling very well, and I'd like to stay with him."

"Of course," Alex nodded. "Are you guys still playing tonight?"

"Dave offered to get one of the techs to fill in for Oliver, but he's determined to play."

"If there's anything you need, let me know."

"After the show, we're just going to stay in, I think," Titus said. "But thanks."

"Listen, I've got to go, I'm already late for my interview with Maddy. I'll see you later, OK? Tell Oliver I hope he feels better." Alex opened the door to the dressing room and saw Maddy, seated at a table already. When Maddy saw Titus standing outside, she grinned widely, and Alex grimaced and braced herself, then closed the door behind her.

#

The pounding music was loud enough to drown out most attempts at conversation—not that it stopped people from trying to be heard. Titus could feel the bass vibrating through him, resonating in his ribcage.

"This is a bad idea," he said to Oliver.

"What?" He couldn't actually hear Oliver, but the word was obvious enough that he didn't need to.

"This is a bad idea!" He leaned in and practically shouted in Oliver's ear.

"Oh, come on!" Oliver shouted back. "Just try and relax, have some fun! Mingle!" He pulled away from Titus grinning, and before Titus could reply, vanished into the crowd.

"Yeah, that's what she said," Titus mumbled. Sticking to the walls to avoid the crowd on the dancefloor (and everywhere else), he headed for the bar. If he was going to do this, he needed to not be sober.

When he reached the bar, he spotted Dirk and Ash, talking with someone else. Titus wasn't familiar with everyone on tour yet, but he thought the guy talking with them was from Optimus Bus Corporation. Rupert? Robin? Rusty?

"Titus!" Dirk raised his hand and waved it to get Titus attention. The music here was muffled a bit by the partial wall, no doubt to make it possible for people to order drinks. "Titus, this is Russell, he's from OBC." Russell towered over Titus more than a bit as he held out his hand. Titus shook the hand and motioned to the bartender. Once he had his beer, he leaned against the bar and took a swig.

"What the plan, bass man?" Dirk draped himself over Titus, eyeing the scantily dressed women passing them by. "You gonna let your hair down and party with the rest of us, or are you just gonna drink and sulk? Seriously, man, you need to loosen up a bit. Even Oliver's partying." He pointed out to the dance floor, where Oliver was sandwiched between two girls.

"The one with her hand on his ass, that's Donna," Russell leaned over Titus other shoulder. "Looks like she's got her eye set on him."

Titus glanced from Russell back to the dance floor. Oliver looked like he was having fun, and definitely did not need rescuing. Titus ordered another beer and settled in for a long night. He didn't feel like dancing, and while Dirk and Ash weren't his favorite people ever in the world, at least they weren't strangers.

As Titus watched, Dirk caught the eye of a girl off to the side of the bar. She licked her lips and crooked a beckoning finger at him. Dirk put down his drink and grinned at his bandmates.

"Gentlemen." He saluted them before walking over to the girl and wrapping an arm around her, sliding his hand down to her ass. The girl giggled, her lipgloss sparkling as the lights on the dancefloor flashed. They walked past Ash and Titus and Russell, and Dirk looked back at them over his shoulder. "Don't wait up," he mouthed, miming a fingergun at them, and Titus rolled his eyes.

"Sparkledick rides again, looks like," Titus said, ordering another beer.

"Sparkledick?" Russell asked.

"Oh, man, you don't know about Sparkledick?" Ash sidled up to Russell. "There was this movie, a few years back, Dirk had a part..."

Titus left Ash and Russell to their conversation, ordered another beer, and walked over to the other end of the bar and the raised platform in the corner. It looked relatively quiet, a good place to wait out the night before it was time to go back to the bus. He didn't want to leave Oliver alone, just in case, but it looked like he could just relax for now.

He was leaning against the railing on the platform, watching the people dancing below, when he felt someone standing beside him.

"Hi," Alex said, leaning close to him so he could hear her. "Having a good time?"

Titus sighed. "This isn't really my thing," he said. "But Oliver insisted, so here I am."

"And where's Oliver?"

"Somewhere out there," Titus pointed to the dance floor. "He's having a good time, I think."

There was a lull in the music, and the platform behind them filled with people taking a break from the dancing. One of the club's waitresses came by with a tray of test tube shots, and Alex insisted on buying a handful for the two of them. As she downed them in quick succession, she pointed to the dance floor.

"Feel free to say no, but do you wanna dance?"

The alcohol he'd drank so far left Titus with a pleasant buzz, and he found himself nodding. "Sure," he said. "What the hell."

Alex grabbed his hand and dragged him out onto the dance floor. As the crowd closed in all around them, they ended up pressed together. Titus wrapped an arm around Alex's waist to catch his balance, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her head against his. When she spoke, he could feel her breath brushing against his cheek.

"I'd say this evening could have definitely turned out worse." She pulled back and smiled. As Titus tried to think of what to say, Alex leaned in and kissed him.

It wasn't a smooth kiss, or even a comfortable one, crushed together as they were, but Titus gave it his best effort to respond in kind. He stretched up to bring himself up to his full height—Alex still had a couple of inches on him, but loose-limbed as she was, it didn't take much effort to slot their bodies together comfortably. They broke the kiss now and then to catch their breath, but either one or the other kept leaning back in to kiss again and again.

The alcohol buzz made Titus' body tingle—it was either that or the close proximity to Alex and the way she kissed him, gently at first, then more aggressively, biting his lip as she pulled away. His stomach flip-flopped when she threw her head back and swayed in time with the music, her body never leaving his where they were pressed together. He never felt that comfortable on a dance floor, no matter what the music was, and this time was no different. The alcohol helped, though, as did the press of bodies all around him, especially Alex. She swayed with the music, her arms hanging loose by her sides, his arms still wrapped around his waist. When she leaned her head back again, the lights playing over the skin of her neck, Titus took a deep breath and leaned in, kissing the exposed line of her throat. He felt the vibration of the pleased sound she made against his lips, felt her hands come up to run through his hair.

Alex tugged at his hair and he lifted his head to look up at her. She stared at him for a moment and laughed as she swiped a couple of fingers over his cheek, then turned her hand to show him. Even in the dim lighting of the club, he could see the glitter coating her fingers. A spotlight slid over Alex, and he could see she was wearing body glitter. He tried to keep from grinning too widely as he stepped closer to speak in her ear.

"Oliver tried to make me wear some of that before we left, but I guess it's just as good I said no. It would have been way too much with this."

Alex looked over his shoulder and pointed. Oliver and Donna had drifted toward them through the crowd. Oliver eyes lit up when he saw Titus, and Titus himself found himself grinning.

"Hey, you're dancing!" Oliver said, close enough not to have to yell. He ran a finger down Titus' cheek and examined it. "What have you been doing?"

"I'm afraid that's my fault," Alex said. "I overdid the body glitter, and dancing in a crowd isn't exactly conducive to staying clean."

"Where was he dancing, in your cleavage?" Donna raised an eyebrow as she looked from Titus' face to Alex's neck.

Alex's blush was visible even in the dim light of the club. Since they had drifted to the side of the dance floor, they were mostly out of the press of bodies. Donna pushed past Titus to take Alex's hand and pulled her back into the dancing throng.

"Why don't you boys get us some drinks?" She wrapped her arms around Alex and they swayed together as the pounding bass picked up again. Titus and Oliver both goggled at the girls, until Oliver nudged Titus.

"Come on, let's go get those drinks."

"Was Donna dancing like that with you?" Titus asked, looking back over his shoulder as the made their way toward the bar.

"Was Alex?" Oliver swiped a finger over the corner of Titus mouth, coming away with more glitter. "I'm glad you're having a good time," he said as they joined the line-up at the bar.

"What about you?" Titus ran his fingers through Oliver's hair, failing to smooth down the mussed up locks. "Are you feeling OK?"

"I'm fine," Oliver batted away Titus' hand. "Donna's... nice." He grinned. "She's really nice."

Their turn at the bar came, and Titus ordered magical liopleurodons ("clearly, you're not drunk enough, if you can still pronounce it," the bartender told him as he handed Oliver a couple of cocktail umbrellas at his request) for everyone. They carried the bottles back to where the girls were dancing, and gawked some more as they watched Donna and Alex grinding together to the beat.

"Are they..."

"Yeah, they are."

"We should..."

"Yeah, we should."

Donna and Alex joined them in a miraculously vacant booth, and Titus watched with a smile as Oliver presented the cocktail umbrellas to Donna. She put them in her hair, laughing, and leaned in close to whisper something in Oliver's ear. His eyes widened as he listened, and then Donna was standing up, downing her drink and grabbing Oliver's hand.

"Come on, let's give the lovebirds here some time alone," she smirked at Alex and Titus. "You don't mind if I borrow him, do you?" She said to Titus, and he shook his head, looking away from Alex before she saw him staring.

"Have fun," he told Oliver, and watched him follow Donna through the crowd.

"You think he has any idea what he's getting into?" Alex sipped her drink.

"I hope not," Titus laughed. "But hey, we're rock stars, we're on tour, and we're drunk. If we can't have random post-show hookups, who can?"

"We?" Alex tilted her head to look at him through her eyelashes.

"Uh," Titus squirmed. "I mean..." He leaned forward and banged his head on the table. "I blame the booze," he moaned and fumbled for his glass. Lifting his head just enough to drain the glass, he avoided eye contact with Alex.

"Hey," she laughed. "I'm just teasing, relax. Besides," she finished off her drink and slid out of the booth, "I'm the one who was checking your tonsils with my tongue, I'm not exactly opposed to having a good time." She eyed his empty glass. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."

Titus didn't move from where his head rested on the table beyond turning his head to the side so he could watch Alex make her way through the crowd toward the bar. He saw the tall guy who'd been talking to Dirk before—Russell, if he remembered correctly—wrap an arm around her waist, fingers sliding over the bare skin on her back. Russell leaned in to say something, and Alex turned to him, shaking her head. He tried to pull her closer, but she squirmed away from him and pushed past him to get to the bar. He tried again when she was on her way back, but a death glare from Alex made him back off.

"I didn't know what you wanted," Alex said, setting down another magical liopleurodon, "so I just got you one of these." She sat down again, sliding close to him. "You wanna dance again in a bit? Or would you rather just get out of here."

Titus choked on the sip of his drink he was taking. Alex pounded his back as he coughed, laughing the whole time.

"Are you OK?" She asked when he stopped coughing and leaned back to catch his breath. "You don't need mouth to mouth, do you? It's been a while since I passed my first aid test."

Titus raised his head slightly and opened one eye to look at Alex. Her expression was halfway between amused and concerned.

"Yes, Titus," she said, shifting so that she was sitting right next to him. "I'm flirting with you. I like you, and it's obvious you like me, and you said it yourself, we're rock stars, we're on tour, and if we can't have random post—" The rest of what she was saying was muffled as Titus leaned in and kissed her, threading a hand through her hair and pulling her closer. He could taste the sweet drink in her mouth, and licked at her lips. As the kiss went on, Alex ended up halfway in his lap, only the cramped space of the booth preventing her from going any further.

"Holy shit, Titus?"

The incredulous sounding voice belonged to Dirk, standing at the edge of the booth. Titus groaned as Alex turned to look at Dirk, eyeing him curiously.

"What's the matter, Sparky," Titus glared at Dirk, "back already? I'd have thought you'd have the stamina to go all night. The girl certainly seemed willing."

Dirk sniffed dismissively. "Pfft, she wasn't worth it. Besides, no one girl can handle the awesome that is me."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Sparkledick." Titus sneered. "Why don't you go and find your wingmen, I'm sure they'll be anxious to get the full report."

Dirk glared at Titus. "At least I have a report to give. What about you?"

Alex cleared her throat and slid off Titus' lap. "I'm bored with this place. Wanna get out of here?"

Titus grinned up at Dirk and then pushed him out of the way, sliding out of the booth. "Your bus or mine?" Alex took his hand and led him away, and he turned back to grin at Dirk, miming a fingergun at him. "Don't wait up," he mouthed, and laughed as Dirk scowled at him.

#

When Titus woke up, there was someone lying beside him, face buried in his shoulder and an arm slung over his waist. For a few moments, he just lay there, trying to make the pounding in his head go away. With the window covered and the curtain drawn, it was dark in the bunk, and he couldn't quite tell whose bunk it was.

He remembered Oliver dragging him to the club after the show. He remembered drinking, and wishing he was somewhere else. He remembered dancing with Alex, and then kissing Alex, and then... Moving slowly and carefully, he lifted the arm that was slung over his waist and rolled the person next to him over. In the nearly complete darkness, he still couldn't see who it was, so he risked pulling the curtain open just a bit to let in some light.

"You're all sparkly," Oliver said, propping himself up on an elbow and looking down at Titus. He leaned in closer and sniffed Titus' shirt. "And you smell really nice, too."

"I told you I didn't need to wear glitter, didn't I?" Titus let the curtain fall, blocking out the light, and rolled over until he was lying face down in a pillow. After a moment, he lifted his head. "When did I get back?"

"You came in a few hours ago," Oliver rubbed his head, and Titus groaned. "And by the way, you suck at sneaking around when you're drunk. You knocked over a bunch of stuff in the lounge."

"That would explain why my shins feel like someone kicked me," Titus grumbled.

"Did you have a good time?"

"I don't know," Titus said, rolling over onto his back. "I can't remember much after we left the club." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I think we kept drinking? I'm not sure."

"Maybe you just need to wake up properly," Oliver said. "I'll go get the coffee started, if you want." He climbed over Titus, propping himself up on his arms when he was on top of him. "I like the sparkles, by the way," he smiled down at Titus. "It's a good look on you." After a brief but thorough kiss, Oliver rolled out of the bunk and headed into the kitchen, leaving Titus alone.

"Well, crap," Titus muttered, pulling a pillow over his face.

#

Alex woke up in her bunk, light streaming in through the uncovered window. She had a headache, and her mouth tasted like something died in it. She staggered out to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, and tried to wash the glitter off her face, but only succeeded in smearing it around. Coffee first, she decided, then she'd clean herself up properly.

As she came into the kitchen, Teri greeted her by handing her a mug of coffee.

"Bless you," Alex muttered, and promptly drained half the mug in one gulp.

"So, did you have fun last night?" Teri asked, grinning.

"Yeah," Alex said, realizing she didn't actually remember much. There were blurs of drinking, and dancing, and more drinking, and kissing Titus... Try as she might, she couldn't remember what exactly happened after they'd left the club. She put the mug down on the table and closed her eyes, resting her head on her folded arms. "Um."

"What?"

"I don't remember what I did last night," Alex said quietly, her words muffled by the table.

"What do you mean?" Teri sat down beside her.

"I mean I remember drinking, and dancing, and making out with Titus, but after that, I have no idea what happened."

"Did you leave the club with him?"

"I think so," Alex looked up at Teri. "Jesus, Teri, I thought I was done with shit like this."

"Hey, you fell off the bad decision wagon once," Teri put a hand on Alex's arm. "I'm sure you didn't do anything too stupid."

"Yeah, because I've got such a good track record." Alex scoffed. She took another sip of her coffee. "Dammit, I wanted not to fuck this one up."

"You really like this guy?"

Alex nodded. "He's nothing like the guys I used to go for." She put down the mug, suddenly pale. "Oh, fuck."

"What?" Teri watched as Alex ran to the garbage in the kitchen, rummaging through it, then got up and ran to the back, checking every garbage container she could find. Teri followed her into the bathroom, where Alex knelt over the upended contents of the garbage can. "What are you looking for?"

"Condoms." Alex looked up at Teri, eyes wide. "What if we had unprotected sex?"

"Then we'll go to an STD clinic in the next town and get you tested. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"No matter how many stupid things I did, at least I remembered to stay protected," Alex said. "What the fuck is wrong with me?"

"Alex, calm down," Teri knelt beside Alex and helped her pick the garbage up. "You don't even know if you did anything."

"I didn't bring him here to hold hands and watch movies, Teri," Alex insisted. "What else would we have done?"

"What's going on?" Jay poked his head into the bathroom. "Are you guys gonna be long?"

"Just... give us a minute, Jay," Teri waved him away. "We've got a crisis on our hands."

"What sort of crisis?" Jay refused to do as he was told.

"What time did you and Marty get home last night?" Alex asked.

"I dunno, probably a little after midnight? Marty wasn't feeling well, so we cut out early." Jay shrugged. "Oh, hey, you're not freaking out about last night, are you?"

"Why, what do you know?" Teri stood up and advanced on Jay menacingly. "If you know something..."

Jay burst out laughing. "Stop worrying, you stayed all night in the lounge, sucking face and making googly eyes at each other."

"So, we didn't—"

"No," Jay shook his head. "But next time you want to being a guy over, take it to your bunk, OK? Seriously, it was disgustingly schmoopy. I mean, schmoop is good, just so long as the rest of us don't have to see it."

The garbage was all cleaned up, and Teri pulled Alex to her feet. "Come on, let's get you some breakfast."

"I'm not sure I can handle any food right now," Alex groaned. "Actually, I'd really just like to curl up and die."

"Come on, greasy breakfast food is the best remedy for a hangover. You'll feel better when you've eaten."

"Just let me get cleaned up a bit, OK?" Alex grabbed a facecloth and wiped at the glitter on her face. With a little soap, she managed to get herself cleaned up pretty well. She pulled on a faded college t-shirt and a pair of jogging pants, grabbed her darkest sunglasses, and headed out to catering.

When they reached the catering area, Alex stopped in her tracks. "Oh, no."

"What?" Teri turned back to Alex. "What's wrong?"

"I should have just stayed on the bus," Alex pointed to the table where Titus and Oliver were sitting. "I'd really rather not do this right now. I'm gonna go back to the bus."

"No, you're not. You guys had a bit too much to drink last night, but you didn't do anything stupid, so there's no reason to hide from him. God knows you need a good guy after the losers you've dated before—"

"Hey!"

"Oh, shut up. I'm right, and you know it. Now march your ass over there and talk to him." Teri gave Alex a shove, and they were close enough to the table that by the time Alex regained her balance, she was right beside it.

"Alex, hi," Titus smiled up at her cautiously. He was wearing an oversized pair of sunglasses and nursed a cup of coffee, the plate of food sitting almost untouched in front of him.

Alex sat down across from Titus, and nodded to Oliver. "Mornin'."

"Hi!" Oliver smiled. "I think I need more coffee," he said, despite the almost full cup in front of him. Before Alex or Titus could say anything, he was gone, leaving them alone.

"Is everyone trying to get us together?" Alex asked, and Titus laughed, then winced.

"I think so. Next time, I'll have to ask them to make sure there's less alcohol involved."

"Next time?"

"Uh, I mean, if you think there's going to be a next time?" Titus grimaced and pushed his coffee cup away, then pillowed his head on his folded arms. "I really need somebody to just put me out of my misery right now."

"Tell you what," Alex said. "Why don't we cash that dinner raincheck tonight, after the show? Nothing fancy, just a dinner."

Titus looked up at her. "That sounds good."

"Great. I'll find out if there are any restaurants we can go to. We can have a nice dinner, talk a little bit. Take things slow."

"That sounds really good." Titus smiled.

"What sounds really good?" Teri came up to the table, carrying a plate for herself and one for Alex.

"Nothing," Alex said, hoping Teri would for once not press the matter.

"Whatever," Teri shrugged and put one of the plates down in front of Alex. "Here, eat. It'll make you feel better." She looked across the table to Titus and his plate of food. "Seriously, dude, this is just what you need for a hangover." She was gone before Titus could answer.

"I think that's a definite yes on people matchmaking," Alex laughed and took a bite of her scrambled eggs. Titus picked at his food gingerly, but they both cleaned their plates just before Jimmy and Nigel came up to the table.

"There you are," Nigel said to Titus, standing behind him, arms crossed, towering over Titus. "Time to get going."

Jimmy took up his post behind Alex, glowering at the back of her head. "Do you mind?" Alex glared at him over her shoulder. "I'm not finished with my breakfast."

"We'll get you something at the next rest stop. We need to go so they can clear up."

"Fine," Alex sighed and stood up. "Hey, got a pen and a piece of paper?"

Jimmy patted his pockets and came up with a scrap of paper that appeared to be a wrinkled receipt, and eventually a pen. Alex scribbled her phone number on the paper and handed it to Titus. "I know I'll see you tonight, but just so you have it." She darted in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before letting Jimmy herd her away.

"If you don't move, I'm gonna carry you by the scruff of your neck," Nigel threatened Titus, and that was enough to get him moving. He tucked the piece of paper with Alex's number into his pocket and walked back to the bus with a big grin on his face.

#

"Alex, coming to the party?" Jay pulled back the curtain of Alex's bunk, and startled her enough that she poked herself in the eye with a mascara brush.

"Ow, goddammit. Jay, how many times have I told you not to do that?" She wiped at her eye with a tissue.

"Jeez, sorry," Jay held up his hands. "Are you coming to the party? We're just about ready to go."

"No," Alex shook her head. "I'm going to dinner."

"Ooh, a date! With Titus, I assume?"

"Fuck off, Jay. Who said I was going with anyone? Why can't I just do out to dinner by myself?"

"Because you're wearing your good underwear," Jay reached under her shirt and snapped the strap on her bra. "Plus, if you were going out on your own, you'd just pull on a hoodie and a baseball cap and make an incognito run for pizza or something."

"Fine, whatever, yes, I'm going to dinner with Titus." Alex glared at Jay, who grinned at her.

"Alex!" Teri's yell echoed through the bus. The bathroom door slammed open and Teri stomped out, hair dripping shampoo onto the floor. "You used up all the hot water! What the fuck, Alex, we talked about this!"

"There'll be more hot water in a few minutes," Jay told her. "Alex needed to make herself pretty for her date with Titus. I'll go put on the tea kettle so you can rinse your hair."

"Thank you, Jay. I'm glad some people here have some consideration for others," she gave Alex a pointed look. "Where are you guys going?"

"Will you guys stop acting like this is a big deal?" Alex threw up her hands. "It's just dinner, for fuck's sake, nothing more."

Teri shook her head. "Riiight." She looked over the clothes scattered over Alex's bed. "How many times have you changed your outfit?"

"Four," Alex said, glaring at Teri, who cracked up enough for her towel to start slipping. "Shut up. And fix your towel. Nobody wants to see your naked ass. Again."

"Aww, don't be like that," Jay said. "I like seeing her naked ass."

"I'm sure Marty will be happy to hear that," Alex said, fixing her lipstick.

"I'm allowed to look, as long as I don't touch," Jay said. Teri grinned at him and wiggled her butt in his direction.

"You can look all you want, sweetie." She turned to Alex, and pointed to a top lying on top of the pile of discarded clothes. "Wear that one. It makes your rack look awesome."

Alex stared up at her, mouth open wide. "What makes you... Oh fine," she glared and pulled the curtain shut, changing shirts. Outside, she could hear Teri and Jay laughing. "Shut up, the both of you." She looked down at herself when she had the shirt on. Teri was right about one thing. Her rack looked awesome.

There was only so much primping she could do, and it was getting late. Bracing herself for another round of ribbing, she pulled back the curtain and headed out.

"Now, remember, if you're going to put out on the first date, you're going to need these," Jay took her hand and slapped a couple of condom packets into her palm.

Alex felt herself blushing. "Just because you're a manwhore, Jay, doesn't mean the rest of us are going to be the same way."

"And yet you're putting them in your pocket instead of leaving them behind," Teri raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you do, be safe, OK?"

"Yes, mother, I'll be safe." Alex shook her head. "Don't you guys have lives of your own to focus on instead of mine?"

"But we love you, Alex," Jay wrapped an arm around her. "We want you to be happy. If it means making sure you get laid, well, it's a big responsibility, but someone's gotta do it." He kissed her forehead. "Just have fun, OK?"

Alex hugged him one armed and headed for the door. The last thing she heard was Teri yelling "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Laughing, she shut the door behind her.

#

"So where are you guys going?" Oliver lounged in Titus' bunk, picking through the shirts Titus laid out on the bed. "Anywhere special?"

"There's nowhere "special" to go around here," Titus pulled off the third shirt he tried on and threw it on the bed. Oliver picked it up and started folding it. "Besides, it's just dinner."

"Sure it is," Oliver sat up and eyed him from the bunk. "If it was "just" dinner, you wouldn't be standing here, changing clothes like a teenage girl before her first date."

Titus pulled the next shirt down over his head and sat down on the bunk. "I just really like her, you know?"

"It's OK, you don't have to explain," Oliver smiled. He picked through the shirts scattered around him. "Dude, don't you have anything that isn't black?"

"I like black," Titus said. "Here, hand me that one," he pointed to the dress shirt hanging up on a hook in the back of the bunk.

Oliver picked it up off the hook and sniffed at it. "It's clean?"

Titus nodded. "I washed it today," he grinned proudly. He grabbed it from Oliver and put it on. "And hey, it's not black!"

"Yeah, charcoal grey is such a dramatic departure for you," Oliver rolled his eyes. "Here, wear a tie," he handed Titus a tie off another hook.

Titus knotted the tie neatly and glanced at the clock. "Shit, I'm going to be late! What do I do with my hair?"

Oliver sighed and got to his feet. He ran his fingers through Titus' hair, mussing it up. "There you go. Now go, have fun."

Titus grinned at Oliver. "Thanks. You going to the party?"

"Probably. Donna asked if I was going." He grinned. "Who knows, we might both get lucky tonight."

Titus frowned. "Oliver, you know I—"

"Would you stop, please? You don't have to babysit me all the time, and I'm certainly not going to fly into a jealous rage because you want to go out to dinner with a pretty girl."

Titus wrapped himself around Oliver in a tight hug. "You're the only pretty girl for me," he said into Oliver's shoulder and sprang back out of reach before Oliver could smack him. "I'll see you later, OK?" He grabbed his jacket and headed to the door.

"Hey," Oliver called out. Titus turned back and Oliver tossed him something. He caught the box and looked at it.

"Breath mints?"

"You never know," Oliver winked. "Best not order anything with onions, either."

Titus rolled his eyes. "Anything else, dad?"

"Yeah," Oliver said. "Take these too, just in case."

Titus caught the foil packets and shook his head. "Seriously?" He held up the condoms, while Oliver snickered. Sighing, he stuck both the breath mints and the condoms in his pocket and left, the sound of Oliver's laughter following him out into the parking lot.

#

They'd agreed to meet at the restaurant, to minimize the chances of running into Maddy or her people. There was no way to avoid fans or the press entirely, but after getting grilled for an hour earlier that afternoon, they didn't want to make her job any easier.

They made it to the restaurant at pretty much the same time. Titus held the door open for Alex and guided her through the people—a lot of them techs and crew from the tour, Titus realized, and so much for anonymity—waiting for takeout orders with a hand on her back.

The hostess took them to a table—they had a choice of nearly the entire restaurant, owing to the late hour, and they chose a table in the corner, away from the front door. There was the usual restaurant stuff, drinks—iced tea, the real stuff, made with actual proper tea and sugar and lemon slices, for Alex, a glass of Coke for Titus—and breadsticks and menus. Titus had no idea what either one of them ordered, or what they talked about while they waited for the food.

"Hey, is that..." Alex leaned into him discreetly pointing to a table further along the back wall. "Is that Linus? OBC's manager?" There is a tall man sitting in a booth, and he sure looks like Linus. There are papers scattered all over the table in front of him, and Titus has seen Dave at it often enough to recognize a band manager at work. Linus wasn't working, though. Instead, he had his nose buried in a book. Titus laughed when he saw the unicorn on the cover.

"Now that," he said, "is a man without fear."

The waited brought their food over—spaghetti and meat sauce for both of them. They ate in silence for a while. Finally, Alex put her fork down.

"I'm glad we did this," she said. "I'm not usually one for quiet dinners, but this is nice."

"Well," Titus said, swallowing the last mouthful of pasta. "It gives me a chance to make a good impression."

"You've already made an impression," Alex laughed.

"Yes, the Night of the Purple Thong," Titus rolled his eyes. "I wanted to make a better one."

"You did that the other night," Alex sipped her wine, and it might have been just the light from the candle on the table, but Titus thought she might have been blushing.

"OK, you got me," he grinned. "I just wanted a nice quiet evening with you. As much as fighting off groupies and uh, grinding together on the dance floor are fun, I wanted something a bit more..."

"Intimate?" Alex asked just as he said the same thing.

"Yeah," Titus took a gulp of his wine.

"Well, I'm glad, whatever your motives were. I've kinda wanted to meet you for a while," Alex said.

"Personally, or professionally?"

"Both, actually. You're an awesome bass player, Tim makes me listen to your stuff all the time. Plus, you know, you're pretty easy on the eyes." This time she was blushing, he could see it even in the dim light. "God, I feel like such a fangirl," she drained the rest of her wine. "You must think this is so lame."

"Not at all." They reached for the bottle of wine at the same time, Titus' hand ending up over Alex's. Neither moved their hand for a while, until Titus finally pulled away, clearing his throat.

"For what it's worth, you're the nicest fangirl I've ever had dinner with." He grinned. "You're the only fangirl I've ever had dinner with, but I'm sure you'd be the nicest even if there were more."

"Oh, I bet you say that to all the girls," Alex laughed. She poured wine for both of them. "That wasn't the first time we'd met, though," she said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. We met a couple of years ago, when Counterfeit launched Bedlam. I think David introduced us, or maybe it was Dave. All I remember is being told to "mingle, dammit!" and the rest of the evening is kind of a blur."

"I think I remember that," Titus nodded. "Dave was freaking out about getting us the proper exposure," he made finger quotes around the words, "and meeting all the execs."

"Yes!" Alex said. "David did the same thing."

"They're good guys, though," Titus said. "We wouldn't be where we are without Dave."

"So, how bad was your interview with Maddy the other day?"

"I think I managed to keep from putting my foot in my mouth," Titus said. "There were a lot of really silly questions, about half of them were from the fans. You know, what's on your favorite mix CD, who's your favorite James Bond, that sort of thing."

"Connery," Alex said. "Although I have to say I'm partial to Daniel Craig and his tiny, tiny swim trunks," she laughed.

"Other than that, it was pretty much fluff. I'd like to think it went better than Dirk's did. Maddy managed to keep herself from asking too many questions about my love life."

"Did she—"

"She tried, but I told her it wasn't up for discussion. You?"

"She complimented me on my choice in lingerie," Alex said, leaning towards him. "Do you think if we tried really hard, we could manage to avoid her for the rest of the tour? She doesn't strike me as the kind of reporter to let something like this go."

"Not a chance," Titus shook his head. "Did you know she posted the pictures Sully took? I checked the Backwash site after the show."

"What?" Alex's fork clattered to her plate. "I'm going to kill her."

"Relax, it's all strategically cropped and blurred. All you can see is my hand with that damned pink bra. She blurred the background, so you can't see whose bus it is. There's no story, just the picture added to the gallery."

"Well, at least there's that," Alex sighed. "What do the comments say?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Titus shook his head. "There's someone on there claiming his father works for a crime lab. Apparently he snuck into the office and ran the picture through an enhancement program, to unblur the background. According to this kid, it's the Punctuality bus, and you can see Jeff is the one holding the bra."

Alex burst out laughing. "Seriously? How do they come up with this stuff?"

"There were a couple of replies, asking for proof. But his dad came back into the office and he didn't have time to save the enhanced pictures, so we're all just going to have to take his word for it."

"Man, I hope my brother doesn't show that to my parents."

"Older brother or younger?"

"Younger," Alex smiled. "Jamie's twenty. He's in a band, too."

"Hoping to turn professional?"

"Nah. He's super smart, studying biochemistry. Playing in a college band is his way of rebelling, but I think he's probably going to stay in academia for a while."

"At least he's got an appreciation for music. What does he play?"

"Lead guitar," Alex said. "Vocals, too, when the occasion calls for it."

"So he won't be following in big sister's footsteps?"

"No, thank god. My mother has a hard enough time dealing with me doing this, if Jamie tried, she'd seriously freak out." Alex sipped her wine. "What about your parents? What do they think of Titus Casey, bass player?"

Titus paused, trying to decide how much to tell her. "I was an only child, and my parents died just before I graduated from high school."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It was a long time ago, I've made my peace with it," he shrugged. "After that, there wasn't anyone whose opinion I needed to consider when I made my choices."

"Sorry," she said again. "It was a stupid question."

"No, it's OK. Oliver's been the closest thing to family I've had for a long time. And he must approve, I guess, since he's in the band, too." There was no need to go into detail on that subject. Not yet, anyway.

Alex laughed. "Which one of you joined the band first?"

"Oliver joined up first, kind of by accident. And then he practically twisted my arm to get me into the band as well."

"How exactly does one join a band by accident?"

"It's a long story. There was a battle of the bands, and the prize was time in a recording studio for the winner. There was something about a flaky guitar player, who left the band, I think. Oliver was working in the studio at the time, and I'm still not exactly clear on how it happened, but they asked Oliver to join to replace the guy. Then the bass player quit, Oliver gave me the puppy dog eyes, and I couldn't resist."

Alex laughed. "Are the puppy dog eyes that potent?"

"You have no idea," Titus said. "The things he could do if he wanted to... How'd you get started playing?"

"My boyfriend in high school had a band. It was terrible, actually. But they all had a lot of fun, so I got curious."

"Did you join the band?"

"God, no," Alex laughed. "It wouldn't have worked anyway, I broke up with him before I had any idea that singing was what I wanted to do."

"What happened?"

"I walked in on him and one of the cheerleaders one night," she said.

"Oh, sorry."

"No, it's OK. She was very... bendy. It might have been too much of a draw for him to refuse." She laughed, and Titus laughed with her. "After I went to college, I got into the music scene a bit. And there was a band looking for a singer, so I auditioned, and I got it. We actually got pretty good. My parents let us play at my brother's sixteenth birthday party."

"That's pretty cool of them," Titus said.

"They weren't going to, but Jamie threatened to not accept his scholarship and go on the road with me if they didn't."

"That's certainly one way to get what you want."

"I'm just glad I wasn't there for that discussion," Alex said. "My dad doesn't like when people try to go against him. Military man, and all that."

"Your father's in the military?" Titus stiffened, and forced himself to relax before Alex noticed.

"Well, former military. He's retired now, but it's kind of hard to shake that attitude, you know?"

Titus hesitated. How much could he tell her? "I know," he said. "I served a few years, myself." There was no harm in telling her a little.

"Why'd you leave?"

"Medical reasons." Well, it wasn't a lie, exactly.

"Well, I for one am glad you ended up here," she poured more wine in her glass, emptying the bottle.

Just them, the waitress came to clear away the plates. "Can I get you anything else? Dessert, coffee, more wine?"

"Should we order some more?" Alex asked, leaning in and whispering conspiratorially. "We could be rebellious and stay out late and drink too much."

"Didn't we do that last night?" Titus grimaced. "I need to be awake in the morning, run herd on the guys to get them to the station on time." He turned to Alex. "You don't mind cutting the evening short, do you?"

"Not at all," Alex smiled and turned to the waitress. "I think just the bill, please."

Titus pulled out his wallet, handing the waitress his credit card. Alex reached for her own wallet, but Titus stopped her. "I did the asking out, I'll do the paying."

"You should at least let me pay half," Alex protested.

"Tell you what, you can pay next time, OK?" Just as he'd hoped it would, that made Alex smile. At least it looked like she was open to there being a next time.

The waitress came back with Titus' card and the receipt, and headed over to Linus' table. The restaurant was empty, nearly empty except for their two tables and a couple of others. One of the waiters was collecting the burned out candles and clearing the tables.

"It looks like they're getting ready to close up, we should probably get going," Alex said. "Fancy a walk before turning in for the night?"

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and watched Linus gather up all his papers and his unicorn-bedecked novel before leaving. He gave them a nod as he walked past their table.

"Think he'll say anything to anyone?" Alex asked.

"Nah, I don't think so," Titus shook his head. "And you know what, I'm not going to worry about it if he does."

"Damn straight," Alex nodded. She slid out of the booth and stood up, pulling on her jacket. "Shall we?"

Titus put away his credit card and put on his jacket. "Let's."

They walked back towards the buses slowly, taking their time. A burst of laughter sounded behind them, and they turned to see Linus leading their waitress in the opposite direction, his arm around her waist. He was bent down to her ear, saying something that had her laughing merrily.

"I for one am glad he's having fun," Alex said. "I hope David relaxes now and then on the tour. I swear, that guy is a workaholic."

Titus offered her his arm and she snuggled up to him, weaving a little in her path. She peered at him from under the hair falling over her face.

"I think I'm a little drunk," she said, giggling.

"That's all right," Titus said, laughing with her. "So am I."

Somehow, the walk back seemed a lot shorter than the walk the other way had been. They were standing by the Lasersquad bus, with Alex leaning against it. "I had fun tonight," she said. "Thanks for taking me out."

Titus knew he should say something, but he just kept staring at her.

"Titus?" The brief touch of Alex's hand on his cheek was wonderfully cool. He leaned into the touch slightly before catching himself.

"Sorry," he shook his head. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking what?"

"That'd I'd really like to kiss you right now," he blurted out before he could stop himself. Alex didn't say anything for a long time, and Titus mentally kicked himself. "Sorry, I shouldn't— We're supposed to be taking it slow. Goodnight, Alex," he turned to go. He hadn't gone one step before he felt Alex's hand on his arm, stopping him. He turned back to her, not sure what to say.

"Alex?"

She pulled him back to her and he braced his hands on the side of the bus to stop from crashing into her. This close, their bodies inches apart, the smell of her perfume was intoxicating. He closed his eyes and let his head fall forward, their foreheads touching. He felt her hand—gentle and soft—on his cheek and opened his eyes, pulling back far enough to be able to look at her. She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and looked up at him expectantly. There was a small smile playing on her lips and he leaned forward to catch it before it disappeared.

He kissed her softly, almost chastely, not sure how far he could go. She kissed back, softly as well, and he could taste just the barest hint of the red wine she'd drunk with dinner. Alex scratched her nails across the back of his neck, and he bit down on her lip, shuddering lightly. Alex arched up under him, one hand on his neck, the other on his back, pulling him closer. Pressed up against her, he didn't need to brace his hands on the side of the bus anymore, and he took advantage of that, sliding one hand under her jacket and around her waist.

Alex was warm and pliant under him, the hand on the back on his neck pulling him closer still, until he was crushing her lips with his, his fingers on her waist scrabbling at the hem of her shirt, searching for bare skin to touch. She groaned softly into his mouth, catching his lip with her teeth, pulling back to catch her breath.

"I feel like any moment now, my dad's going to flip the porch light on," she laughed, leaning in and kissing him again, so that half her words were spoken against his skin. Her hand on his back slid around to his arm, squeezing his forearm.

"You don't have any overprotective bandmates in there, do you?" Titus looked to the door of the bus, half expecting it to open any moment now.

"If any of them are back from the party already, I doubt they're still conscious enough to care," she laughed. "What about you? Anyone waiting up to make sure you get back safely?"

Titus thought of Oliver, hugging him and sending him off to dinner with Alex. He shook his head. "No," he said. "No one who can't wait a little while longer." He kissed her again, sliding a hand under her shirt to splay his fingers on her back. She purred into his mouth, her hand sliding from his arm to his waist, under his jacket.

Titus caught himself sliding his hands up Alex's sides and pulled back from the kiss. "We should probably call it a night," he said, his breathing ragged. Alex slumped against the side of the bus, leaning her head back, exhaling sharply.

"That's probably a good idea."

"Hey, we've got the whole tour ahead of us, right?" He smiled into her hair, breathing in her perfume.

"There is that, yes." Alex pulled back to look him in the eye. She leaned in for a kiss, soft and chaste again. "Goodnight?"

Titus made himself keep the kiss from turning too heated. "Yeah," he breathed against her lips. "Goodnight." He watched Alex shiver as he pulled his fingers out from under her shirt, letting them graze her skin. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "'Night, Alex." He forced himself to start walking away from her. "I'll see you later." He kept walking, eyes straight ahead, no matter how much he wanted to look back. He knew there was a ridiculous grin on his face, but he didn't care.

The walk back to the Unicorn Murders' bus was a short one, and he took the steps up at a jog. The lights were off, but he could tell someone was sitting on the couch. Two steps forward, and he knew who it was.

"Oliver?" Another two steps and he was kneeling in front of Oliver, brushing hair out of Oliver's face. "Are you OK? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Oliver laughed, a nervous, fragmented sound.

"What happened?" Titus peered up at Oliver. "Have you been drinking?"

"No, I haven't— Well, yes, I had a couple of drinks. It was a party! I couldn't not drink, it'd be weird, you know, everyone else was drinking, and it was an awesome party, you would have liked it!"

"I'm sure I would have," Titus smoothed down Oliver's hair. Even in the dark lounge, he could tell it was sticking up, mad scientist-style.

"Well, until Dirk started being an asshole and hitting on all the girls. And then he started chatting up Donna. He was being his usual sleazy self, and I went over there to make sure he wouldn't make an ass of himself."

Titus could see where this was heading. "What happened?"

"She kicked him in the balls!" Oliver sat up straight, grinning wildly. "He went down like a sack of flour, it was awesome."

"No, really, Oliver, tell me how you really feel," Titus said, laughing. Dirk's womanizing ways were well known in the band, and less than appealing to everyone but Dirk, who seemed determined to take advantage of his "I'm in the band" status.

"Anyway, after she kicked him, she just grabbed my hand and dragged me away from the party. And then we, uh..."

"Say no more," Titus held up a hand. He got to his feet, clapping Oliver on the shoulder. "Come on, you need some sleep. We've got that interview tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah," Oliver said, nodding emphatically. "You don't, uh..."

"What, mind? You do what you want, Oliver, and never mind about me, OK?"

"OK," Oliver got to his feet. "How did your date go?"

Titus grinned. "It went really well," he said. "Alex is..."

Oliver wrapped himself around Titus in a tight hug. "I'm glad."

"Come on, time to sleep," Titus returned the hug and herded Oliver towards the bunks. "Is everyone else back?"

"Zach and Ash, they're already asleep. I don't know where Dirk is."

"Of course not. Well, I'll find him in the morning." Titus undressed in the dark and crawled into his bunk. "Goodnight, Oliver."

"Titus?" Oliver's voice sounded less cheerful than a minute ago.

"Yeah?"

"Can I..." Titus could tell Oliver was standing right beside his bunk. He sighed and moved over, making room.

"Come on in," he said, holding up the blanket.

"I don't want to sleep alone," Oliver said, curling up against his side, muttering sleepily into the pillow."

"OK," Titus pulled the blanket up around Oliver. He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Oliver wasn't the only one who didn't want to sleep alone.

Comments

[out-totheblack.livejournal.com]

I like.

[wtfbrain.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm looking forward to posting more of these.