The water's getting higher and i need to breathe

[stableboy]

Daniel really didn't know why he ever let his coworkers convince him to go out to a club. It had never been his sort of scene. He liked the quiet. He liked being outside. Something about being confined in a small, loud building with all that light and noise and bodies crowding in just felt... foreign. Like it was something he never should have found himself in. So while his Vet assistant was off trying to charm the ladies, Daniel was sitting at the far end of the bar, trying to politely excuse himself from a pair of over-zealous young women.

He had been drinking a little too heavily, plagued by that nagging sense of forgetting something so important, but never being able to remember what. It left a hollow in his chest that he tried to fill with alcohol.

Well. At the least it addled his brain too much for him to focus on it well. He was dressed for the occasion, even if not feeling in the spirit of it. His hair just spiked enough to not lie flat on his head, and a pair of well-fitted black slacks that matched the older-styled jacket. He was dressed a little too well, truthfully. It was apparently giving some of the less honest women the wrong idea, and he was desperately looking for a way out, glancing over their heads for any likely person he could latch on to and pretend to know.

Comments

[thenameofamonster]

For Doctor Victor Whale, it was but a typical Friday night. Despite being a prestigious doctor--though perhaps not as grand as he liked to lead people to believe--he still found the time to cut loose and wind down after too many long shifts at the hospital. The best way to do that, of course, was to hit up a club or if he was feeling particularly adventurous, a pub crawl proved to be a great way to spend a night and lose some hours over the weekend.

There was always the option of staying in and winding down that way, but what was the fun in that? He enjoyed his no-strings-attached lifestyle so anything that came from partying was better than spending the night watching movies or porn on the flatscreen. (That made for a better Sunday evening, really.)

The night so far was going well; he pregamed before even hitting up this club so after a few rounds of shots with some chick he thought might be hot, he was in a pretty happy place. This was no exception even after he later accidentally bumped into some guy and spilled his drink in the process.

"Aw, man. You got your shirt in my drink."

[stableboy]

Daniel would take any excuse to get away from the women near him. Whale's tastes might have been pretty broad and loose, but Daniel wanted far away from these particular ladies. They set his nerves on end and he was fairly certain one or both of them was looking for money rather than a hookup. That was not a route Daniel planned on taking.

So when the somewhat more inebriated club-goer spilled his drink on Daniel's clean, white undershirt, he was relieved, not angry.

"Would you look at that. So sorry. Must not have seen you at all. Here let me get you another one."

And yes, that was Daniel unabashedly slipping out and away from the women to grab Whale by the arm, lightly, but enough to encourage him to follow, and leading him to the other side of the bar.

It didn't occur to him it might look like anything other than him escaping their presence.

[thenameofamonster]

"You're such a good man."

Was Victor ever one to pass down free drinks? Hell. No. This guy owed him one, anyway. So what if this guy's shirt distinctly smells like liquor? The loss was totally on Victor's part, and he wasn't drunk enough to even consider sucking his drink out of some dude's shirt. That was borderline weird, even for him.

He wasn't sure what to think of the guy taking his arm, but hey, whatever. It just meant he wouldn't lose him in the crowd. He wasn't particularly picky about who he drank with or hit on as long as they were attractive, so he was ready to potentially roll with this. When they made it to the bar, he leaned against it and waved his glass at the nearby bartender. By now, the bartender knew what he was drinking.

"So do you come here often?" Yes he was going for the cheesiest possible thing to say ever.

[stableboy]

"First time, actually. Not my idea."

He slid money for the drink over to the bartender, getting another of his own. He would worry about the liquor later. For now he just needed somewhere to appear busy until the women who had been vying for his attention got distracted by someone else.

He glanced at his drink and then the bartender a moment before shaking his head and knocking the entire glass back. The pounding in his head from the music was starting to seem a little more distant, at least. Oh. Yes. And letting go of the Doctor's arm was a good idea.

"I'm Daniel." And now that his other hand is free he can offer it for a handshake.

[thenameofamonster]

As soon as his drink was refilled, he was drinking it as quickly as he could. He had to make up for the lost liquor that would've otherwise been in his gut. Apparently he hadn't had enough to drink yet. He hadn't reached the point where he'd blackout, so he obviously wasn't far enough around.

"Doctor Victor Whale." Yes, he had to emphasise the doctor part as he shook the other man's hand. It was something to be proud of, after all. And if Daniel actually was digging him, that'd make him more appealing, right? He truly had a one track mind once he was set on scoring. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I find that this is one of the finer clubs our great city has to offer." Ninety percent of that reason was because he was currently there.

[stableboy]

Daniel's brows rose at the emphasis. He was a doctor, too, though he rarely through the term around. Animal Doctor, at least. Made him wonder if Victor was a 'real' doctor, or just one of those men who clung a little too close to that PhD of theirs to make themselves seem more important.

"You're a Doctor?" Leaning on the bar to watch Whale, Daniel barely noticed the bartender had filled their glasses again as he started on what was likely his third too many for his usual limit. These were going to sink in hard and fast soon, because he had stopped watching the numbers after the women had shown up.

"What's your specialty?" A more polite, roundabout way of seeing if he was a medical Doctor or some uppity therapist. Not that there was anything wrong with therapists, or that they were all uppity. But the ones he had seen had all been so.

[thenameofamonster]

It wouldn't matter to Victor if he was still working on his degree and wasn't officially a doctor; he'd still throw that word around. Perhaps he had a false sense of exaggerated importance, or maybe he was just sure of himself. Luckily, he actually was a doctor and he wasn't going to miss this opportunity to set himself as highly on the pedestal as possible.

"Cardiology." He drank some more. The liquor was warming his body and relaxing him in all the ways that made the damaged liver worth it. "More specifically, I'm a cardiac surgeon." It was a shame he didn't know how ironic this was. "You could say that I'm quite talented with my hands."

Oh, Victor. You smug little shit.

[stableboy]

Daniel, slightly naive man that he was, was impressed easily enough. He remembered how difficult Veterinary school had been, it was hard to imagine the full onslaught of a medical degree.

"Heart surgery?" Daniel gives a low whistle and shakes his head, looking down at his glass. "That is impressive. That makes what I do look a little pale, in comparison."

[thenameofamonster]

"Not really. Helping our furry friends is truly a noble cause."

Did he believe that or was he just saying it? It was debatable. As far as he was concerned, they had something in common. Animals didn't talk and neither did patients undergoing heart surgery. In this inebriated state of mind he was in, that sounded like the motherload of chemistry.

[stableboy]

Daniel laughed and shook his head, pushing the empty glass away and rubbing his forehead against the sound of the club around them.

"Not everyone would quite find the two comparative, but I have always been far more fond of my patients than their owners." Did that make him seem strange? It was not as if he did not like people. He was just more fond of the animals that lived with them. Animals seemed like much more honest creatures.

"What is a guy like you doing in a club like this? I always thought surgeons and doctors got their pick when it came to dates."

[thenameofamonster]

"People aren't always agreeable." Victor liked people well enough, for what they were worth. Half the people in this club? They weren't more than they could drink or dance. Although he might've been critical from time to time, but he at least managed a warm bedside manner when he needed to actually interact with patients and their families.

"I could take out any of the girls I wanted." He could at least manage a first date and a few casual encounters on being a doctor alone. He might've been a horrible excuse of a person but he had no complaints. "But sometimes I just enjoy the ambiance here." Or he wanted a hook up that didn't involve directly paying or pretending to listen.

[stableboy]

Well, that was true. People were not always agreeable. Victor seemed to be agreeable enough. And he had given Daniel an excuse to escape those women.

"Women don't quite respond the same way when you tell them you are a vet."

He laughed a bit at his self-depreciating humor and slid his fingers through his hair, spiking it up as he did.

"I only came along at the insistence of a friend. Clubs aren't usually my thing. A little too loud."

[thenameofamonster]

Well, Daniel just gave him a wonderful opening that seemed like a completely good idea. Did he give a fuck about who he fucked? No. The only thing that mattered was that the other person be attractive. Daniel was attractive. A few more drinks and everyone in the goddamn club would be, too.

As far as he was concerned, it wasn't a question of whether this guy would be down for it, because who wouldn't be? He was a cardiac surgeon. That was Spanish for 'take your pants off.' After finishing his drink off completely and shoving the glass away, he leaned a bit closer to Daniel. It really was loud in here. "How would you like leaving this place then?"

[stableboy]

It hadn't even really occurred to Daniel that Whale might be interested in him. It wasn't that he particularly cared the doctor was a man. Gender roles were always somewhat obscure to him. He was somewhat old-fashioned but he was also open-minded. It was an odd combination but it worked for him. That was the price of being an optimist, perhaps.

Either way sex hadn't been on his mind for the night plans, despite his assistant's insistence that he needed to 'get laid'. But getting out of the club very much was on his mind, and he had enough drinks in him that everything was beginning to seem like a good idea. So even if his mind wasn't on sex yet, he wasn't going to be against the idea, when it came up. It had been longer than he could remember since the last time he'd slept with anyone.

"I really would." Sure his enthusiasm was a product of his headache as he slipped off the bar seat with no destination in mind but 'not here'.

"Lead the way."

Okay. Maybe his choice of words this evening were more than a little misleading.

[thenameofamonster]

It was quite alright that Daniel's mind wasn't there yet, because Victor's was and in moments like this was tact truly anyone's forté? It was completely unnecessary; keeping his hand on Daniel's lower back while making it through the crowd should've been enough. Maybe. Victor had no way of gauging that at the moment, not when he was contending with half the city to get to the exit door.

Once they made it outside it was much quieter, save for the resonating sound of the music from behind the door. It was a tad chilly outside, so Victor had no intention of staying out. Hailing a taxi would be no issue, at least. But first things first. "So, my place or yours?" Or they could make out against the wall over there. He wasn't too picky.

[stableboy]

Naive though he might have been, Daniel wasn't dense. 'My place or yours' only came about in so many situations, and the hand on his back had not at all been a necessary gesture. Perhaps less surprisingly, he didn't really have a problem with that. Maybe his assistant was right. Maybe he did need to get out more.

Either way, he hailed them a cab, watching it approach before glancing over at Victor again.

Someone probably should have told him not to go home with strangers. But where was the fun in that?

"Yours." Mostly because his own was currently occupied by a rabbit, two dogs and a rather talkative parrot, and dealing with that wasn't something he wanted to get into right now.

[thenameofamonster]

Excellent. Victor preferred going to his own place. It was rude to not offer the option, but at least with going home he didn't have to worry about any surprise partners showing up during. A situation like that would suck and the third party being interested in joining in was something that would only happen in his dreams. It was best to not even get in a situation where that was possible, but he was never that great at making good decisions in general.

"Alright. C'mon." As soon as he was in the taxi, he scooted to the middle seat and leaned forward to tell the driver his address. At this time of night it wouldn't take too long to get to his flat. Perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes if the driver didn't intentionally take a long time. Either way, it was like an eternity.

Once the taxi was in motion, he leaned back against the seat. He almost considered telling Daniel about the sweet jacuzzi he had on his balcony, but casual conversation wasn't something he wanted anymore. No, he was just going to glance over at Daniel to get eye contact before leaning over.

[stableboy]

Really, this wasn't something Daniel usually did. Pick up a stranger at a bar and go home with them? It sounded like a recipe for disaster. But he always felt like something in his life was off. Out of place or missing, and he had never really given it his best efforts to fix that. Which meant most nights he sat at home with his rescued animals to keep him company, and his assistants were right. It was a lonely life, and a dull one. So maybe this risk, this strange little switch up to his ordinary life, was exactly what he needed.

Either way, Daniel was just drunk enough to take the lean for the invitation that it was and meet Victor half way. He was a little too drunk to do it with much finesses or skill, but there was definitely going to be some form of kiss going on here, and he was going for it.

He was often accused of being old-fashioned, but Daniel was an open-minded guy, and the fact that Victor happened to also be a guy wasn't going to stop him from enjoying the strange turn his night was taking.

After all, why not?

[thenameofamonster]

Strange was what Victor liked best, in more ways than one. He liked strange so much, in fact, that he had a global map in his office at the hospital. Coloured push pins marked various capitals and if clients asked, yes, they marked countries he'd visited. But the truth was, very rarely did he have time to leave the city, much less the country. The visiting he did was a different kind entirely.

For those keeping score, most of New England and Western Europe were marked.

That wasn't too important right now. Skill didn't either; it was completely unnecessary when all the alcohol made everything fucking fantastic anyway. Had he been sober, this experience might've been completely different. It'd be less sloppy, but he should at least be given credit for not missing Daniel's mouth. It helped that Daniel met him halfway. Victor couldn't just kiss him. Patience wasn't his thing, especially when inebriated. In the midst of it, he firmly set his hand on the middle of Daniel's thigh.

[stableboy]

Daniel just hadn't even been trying. He probably could have charmed a woman into his bed with next to no effort at all, the way he treated the people around him. He just hadn't had the heart for it. This wasn't about romance though, and he doubted Victor minded that, much. Still, Daniel wasn't going to slack off just because he had had a few too many drinks for one evening. This had not been what he had in mind for a night of 'letting go', but let go he had. In fact he was full on diving head first into this, ignoring the fact that they were in the back of a cab and likely had something of an audience.

Daniel's hand instinctively went to Victor's shoulder and he took the kiss for all it was worth. Sure the end result was sloppy and a bit overly energetic, but it certainly didn't lack enthusiasm.

If he had been sober, none of this would be happening. But since he wasn't and he had already tossed caution and sense to the wind, he might as well go all out. So Daniel wasn't just kissing, either, and he wondered how close to getting kicked out of the cab they might get before they arrived at Victor's place.

There went self restraint and common decency in public. Flying off, far away from him.

[thenameofamonster]

Victor could care less about what the cab driver thought about the happenings in the backseat; the guy was getting paid to drive and surely he was used to people providing their own entertainment. He'd have to be stupid to not expect it, right? As if there was even an alternate scenario when picking up two people from a club.

Okay, so maybe the driver hadn't expected this but Victor ran out of fucks to give the moment he changed out of his scrubs.

There wasn't such a thing as too energetic, though. Well. There was, but things as they were now suited Victor just fine. This just meant that Daniel was into it. This was a good thing; no one wanted a starfish in bed. That was just plain boring. Meanwhile, his hand moved upward. His coordination was off, but he was managing.

[stableboy]

Coordination or not, it had been a long time since Daniel had gotten involved with anyone. Longer than he really remembered or cared to think about. So if his leg shifted a bit under that touch, well, that wasn't really his fault.

If nothing else, it was encouraging a lot more of an active response from Daniel. He was in full make-out mode. The hand on Victor's shoulder moved to the back of his neck, and he was definitely trying to take that kiss to a deeper level, pulling Victor into it more. He had never actually done this with another man before. But how different could it be, right?

It was still sex. And at least on a kissing level it was the same. Tongue. lips and teeth, in this case a bit sloppier and with some occasional speed bump interference.

His free hand pushed up under Victor's shirt, determined to find something to occupy it with, and now they were being pretty damn unsafe because Daniel had not bothered with a seat belt. On the bright side it made all this touching a bit less awkward to arrange.

it's funny 'cause we're talking about boners in class

[thenameofamonster]

This was going places. It was going places and it was awesome. Victor forgot he was in the backseat of a car all together. He was far too focused on everything that was happening. Daniel was touching him and his hand felt warm against his chest. It was hardly anything yet, but it was getting there and that was what mattered.

Victor was on par with Daniel in terms of fervency and he hardly noticed any interruption the ride itself caused. He was preoccupied with shifting into a more comfortable position. With moving his hand farther up and setting it firmly over Daniel's dick. Maybe he would've considered trying to coordinate himself enough to actually unbutton Daniel's pants.

But then the driver hit the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. Victor wasn't wearing a seatbelt either, so the abrupt stop in motion jerked him up and he hit his head on the seat in front of them.

[stableboy]

Daniel didn't fare any better, smacking into the driver's seat and putting a hand to his head the moment he managed to be back in his own seat again. Was that really necessary?

He had just been starting to really get into that. The kissing had almost gotten to a more coordinated point, and Victor's hand had felt like it was on its way to a very good place.

What, even gentlemen still enjoyed sex. Daniel was a man. He had needs that had only been filled by his hand for quite a while now. Victor was interested. There was nothing wrong with any of this, other than the very unexpected and sudden stop.

Were they there already?

[thenameofamonster]

It was completely unnecessary; it wasn't like there was traffic around to contend with. The driver was simply a dick, as far as Victor was concerned. One look out of the window told him they were in front of his building, at least. After pulling his wallet out from the inside pocket of his blazer and tossing a bill to adequately cover the fair at the driver, Victor leaned over Daniel to open the door.

"We're here."

In case he hadn't grasped that on his own. The logical thing would be to let Daniel get out of the cab first. But did Victor think of that? No. Instead, he all but stumbled out of the car and nearly tripped over the curb. After steadying himself, he heads for the lobby door. Sorry Daniel, he wasn't ever good at being a gentleman.

[stableboy]

Daniel bids the driver a good night before following Victor out of the cab and up to the building, glancing around their surroundings for some vague notion of where they were. Honestly it was a good thing the Cab had stopped when it did. Much longer and he wouldn't have been very pro the idea of relocating.

It was a somewhat embarrassing thought. He was nearly willing to just go right to it in the back of a cab. Alcohol really did bring out the worst side of him, apparently.

But now they were at Victor's place and only a bit more of a walk, theoretically, to his bedroom. Assuming they got that far.

[thenameofamonster]

Victor at least had the sense to glance behind him to make sure Daniel was still there and not passed out on the ground or something. That would've sucked ass and put a damper on his plans. He liked his hand and all, but it really wasn't the same, and hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

The trip to his flat wasn't too bad, at least. The elevator was working, so getting to the top floor took no effort at all. Had it not? Victor would've probably opted for screwing in the lobby. That might not have pleased the doorman on duty, so it was lucky for him that it didn't have to come to pass. It must've been some sort of miracle though; Victor actually behaved himself all the way to his floor.

Once the door was unlocked though? That was when Victor decided it was a great time to kiss Daniel again, and also try to decide which surface in the flat to use.

[stableboy]

Daniel managed to behave himself as well. He had even nearly managed to regain some of his composure by the time they reached Victor's door.

Composure that was useless and tossed aside the moment they entered the door and Victor was kissing him again

In spite of himself, Daniel made a sound like a groan into the kiss and pressed back, not at all focused on flat surfaces so much as he was the uneven surfaces of clothing and skin.

Already he was back to working on pulling off Victor's shirt. It was in Daniel's way and needed to go.

takes shit seriously 2k13

[thenameofamonster]

Oh, that shirt could go alright. Victor worked with Daniel in getting that pesky clothing off of him. There were several directions that this could go in. There was the coffee table, the couch, the floor, the wall--but that was probably a really horrible idea. And then there was the giantass bed down the hall. Well. The bedroom would be the more comfortable place. Victor decided he'd get them there eventually.

He closed the distance again to kiss Daniel once more. Victor wasn't too worried about getting his clothes off just yet, as he was more focused on getting his hands on Daniel's bare ass. He was a surgeon and good with his hands, so it didn't matter if Daniel was wearing the tightest pants known to man or something that wouldn't actually crush his balls- he was going to succeed. It was pretty much a fact. So once he accomplished what he set about doing, he squeezed and pulled Daniel's hips against his.

Never takes shit seriously

[stableboy]

Shit, well. Things weren't going to be boring, at least. It was good Victor seemed to know what he wanted, because Daniel had had enough alcohol to make thinking more than a step ahead short out his brain. Instead of trying, he let that pull forward inspire him, moving forward a few steps until Victor was caught between Daniel and the back of the Doctor's couch.

It gave him the extra stability, at least, to encourage Victor with a forward arch of his hips, now a bit irritated with his own clothing choice. Pants were suddenly one of the more irritating creations known to man and they needed to be gone. The generally reserved veterinarian was not nearly so quiet or prone to stick to the sidelines when it came to the bedroom.

He gave a lopsided grin, one hand on the back of the couch and the other working at his own pants, rather than Victor's. It made sense in his head. These were familiar. He knew how to get them off. He had decades of practice taking his own pants off. Strangely, he could not remember a time when he had needed to take anyone else's off of them.

Thinking made his head hurt, so he shut it off with another kiss. Did strangers usually kiss this much when sleeping with someone they picked up at a bar? He shouldn't dwell on that too long or he'd remember he knew absolutely nothing about Victor beyond that he was apparently a Doctor and he had very nice hands.

What is serious even

[thenameofamonster]

If anything, this made things easier for Victor. He was used to removing other people's clothes, so in that regard it was a bit weird. But honestly? He didn't care, as long as clothes came off. For a moment, he simply leaned against the back of the couch and watched Daniel work off his pants. This was entertaining for about five seconds, until he was reminded that not doing anything was the last way he wanted to spend his night.

He needed to move things along more quickly. This was a drunk hookup, not the aftermath of some cheesy candlelight dinner where he had to 'attempt' to listen to everything some chick had to say. Seriously. Thank god it wasn't one of those times.

Victor kissed back immediately. Maybe he didn't always make out with strangers as much as this. Maybe that was a lie. Either way, he liked Daniel's mouth well enough. He was really liking Daniel a lot right now. So much, in fact, that Victor decided to be a bro and help him out. After a moment, he pulled his hands up to rest on Daniel's hips, then moved his hands up Daniel's sides in a manner where the shirt caught on his wrists. Eventually, he'd actually be assisting with getting that shirt off.

Not something we are.

[stableboy]

Daniel helped in slipping out of his shirt when it got to that point. His body pressed fully up against Victor's for a short moment and then his impatience caught up with him and he was pulling at Victor's shirt, fighting to get it off too.

Hey, he was allowed to be a bit hormonal when his inhibitions were shot. Sex was somewhat universal and he had not had any for quite some time. That, and it really didn't seem fair for him to be naked when Victor was clothed. Victor might not have been concerned with getting his clothes off, but Daniel certainly was.

[thenameofamonster]

This was progress, so Victor had no complaints whatsoever. He shifted to assist in the removal of his shirt. Once that was off, he glanced back to the couch he'd been leaning against then to the end of the hall. Time for a change of plans. The bed seemed much more inviting than the living room.

"We're going. This way." Clearly he was the most articulate person in the world after having had so many drinks. He curled his fingers around Daniel's wrist and led him down the hall. Once he made it to the edge of the bed, he kissed the other man again while finally having the sense to start undoing his own pants.