Fulda Flirtation

Fulda Flirtation

Posted: April 28, 2006
Title: Fulda Flirtation
Author: Sileya and Decadence
Type: RPS
Characters: Craig/Mark
Rating: R
Disclaimer: We don't know them, and we don't claim to. We just like their faces and names.

Summary: Craig makes a bid for Mark's affections.

*****

Craig sat in the lobby in the VIP section of the hotel in Fulda, Germany. He had been waiting for nearly an hour now, biting his fingernails as he sat on the floor near a potted plant. This was no-fans land, a place of quiet and solitude, and he was glad. After years of flirting like crazy with Mark Ferguson, this year he'd finally decided to make him his. Nothing was going to deter Craig. Nope. Nothing.

As the bell on the lift dinged, Craig prepared to rise and dazzle Mark with his wittiness and well-toned body. That was until he heard the soft, feminine giggle that wafted from the enclosed lift, and Mark stepped out wiping at his lips. Instead of rising immediately, Craig pushed himself against the wall, trying to hide behind the plant.

Mark smiled politely, trying not to laugh, waving at the woman who'd wrapped herself around him in the lift. He was starting to regret his decision to announce himself single and looking. He feared every single woman at the convention was going to be all over him. He turned with a sigh into the VIP lounge, heading to pour himself a drink, wondering if Craig was here yet. It had been too long since he saw his friend.

Waiting until Mark was passing him, Craig stuck his foot out in front of the other man, wondering if he'd see it in time to avoid a fall.

Just by dumb luck, Mark saw movement out of the corner of his eye and he stopped dead in place, looking down to see a very tan, very toned, very *male* leg extending out in front of him. He followed the leg, already swallowing hard, up to tight cutoffs jeans, a light T-shirt and muscled arms up to ... "Craig!"

Craig faked a pout. "Damn it. I wanted to trip you so I could roll around on the floor with you."

Mark blinked down at the slim, tanned face and body that showed off more than a few new muscles. "Done a little working out, buddy?" he asked, offering a hand to help Craig to his feet.

Damn. Mark looked good from below. Craig'd be sure to remember that little fact. He smiled as he took Mark's hand and the older man pulled him to his feet. He pretended to lose his balance, falling against Mark. After mauling Mark to get his balance, he smiled again. "Have to work off my frustrations some way, don't I?"

Mark cleared his throat, a little surprised by his own reaction to this new, utterly delectable and buff Craig. "Uh... Frustrations?" he asked.

"Yeah," Craig teased. "All this unrequited attraction I've been feeling, but with no outlet to pour it into." His low voice placed suggestive tones to the words 'outlet' and 'pour'.

Mark blinked down as his longtime friend, thinking he couldn't possibly be coming on to HIM...could he? He felt himself break into a nervous sweat. "Well, that's...rough, buddy. Can I pour you a drink?" he asked, turning to the table, desperate for a drink and some space. 'This is Craig, for Christ's sake!' he was thinking.

Craig let Mark go, a little disappointed at the lukewarm reaction...maybe even brush-off...that he got. He started to say something as he followed Mark to a table, but thought better of it. Instead, he waved the waitress over and ordered a drink, waiting for Mark to order and the girl to leave before confiding, "After your announcement about your availability, I was actually hoping to find an outlet during this con," Craig blushed wildly.

Mark froze mid-turn, drink shaking in his hand before he set it down and tried to appear calm and collected. "What did you have in mind? A night out on the town with the recently single me?" he tried to joke, but it came out a little lame to his ears.

God - that hit close to what he actually meant. And God - did Mark look shocked. Craig backpedaled a little. "Actually, I was thinking we could hustle together. You with the ladies...me with their gay friends..."

Mark's eyes narrowed as Craig seemed to visibly lose energy, and he wondered why. "Sure. We can do that." Then just to see how Craig reacted, he added, "And if we strike out, we still have each other, right?"

Craig nodded. "Yeah." Shite. Why couldn't he just tell Mark that he wanted him? Just cut the games and tell the truth? He looked up at Mark's gentle brown eyes that stared fondly at him. That was why. He wouldn't be able to stand it if Mark couldn't look at him that way anymore.

Huffing, Mark rolled his eyes and slung an arm around Craig's neck, pulling him close. "Yeah, he says, because I'm such a catch, I'm sure," he laughed.

Craig thrilled at the closeness, the feeling of being in Mark's arms, and he knew his pupils dilated as he glanced up at Mark. "You won't believe how many fangirls I've heard that have been planning to proposition you."

Mark got a look of pure terror on his face before he covered his eyes with his free hand. "Oh God. I'll be swamped. Attacked! I gotta come up with something to keep them off me. You gotta help me, buddy."

Craig poked a finger between Mark's ribs, allowing his hands to linger on the fit torso. "You could just come out to them." He teased. "Granted, you'll have a whole new set of propositions then..."

Wiggling away from Craig's fingers but not loosing his arm from around Craig's neck, Mark tsked at the tickling. "Come out to them? And double the number of prospective stalkers? Christ. No, I need to be taken again. That's the deal."

Craig's mind reeled at the thought of taking Mark, but he was pretty damned sure that wasn't what the older man was speaking of. "Um...well...I'm sure there are some ladies around..."

Mark sighed and picked up his drink again, turning both of them to walk back to the big, comfy couch in the back of the lounge. "I don't need another woman. Don't want another woman. Christ, I've got enough baggage already."

"But you need to be taken...um...okay..." Craig wasn't completely sure he understood Mark's reasoning, but he was willing to try. "Taken as in 'part of a couple' taken? Or taken as in 'knees around your ears' taken?" He was thankful for the privacy the lounge offered and the fact that most everyone else was in their rooms resting this time of day.

Caught in the middle of sitting down, Mark hit the couch hard as he jerked his head up in surprise, eyes staring wide at Craig, until Mark blinked. "Uh...well," his wit gathered itself despite his being tongue-tied, and he rallied with, "Why? Are you offering?"

Craig shrugged, not willing to put any offers on the line in case Mark didn't have the same thing in mind. "You do know that you can have both, don't you?"

Mark narrowed his eyes, wondering if Craig was talking about the two options he'd just mentioned, or if he meant women...and men. "Uh...yes?" he said cautiously.

"I've found myself being part of a couple and having my knees around my ears more than once, myself," Craig grinned. He shifted, tugging at his cutoffs. "Was very nice, in fact."

Chuckling, Mark leaned back with a nod. "Well, I guess I should have thought about it and found someone to bring with me. You're right - I'm going to have to deal with a bunch of proposals I'm not interested in."

'Including yours, Parker,' Craig thought. "Maybe Sarah will pose for you. She's always up for a bit of fun."

Mark let his head loll back against the couch and he found himself looking over Craig's body appreciatively. "Sarah's nice enough, but I wouldn't want to kiss her or anything." Mark shrugged. "She just doesn't do anything for me."

"Well - find someone who does," Craig answered in a nearly sullen tone. He was very tempted to sit back and cross his arms stubbornly until Mark had to look at him.

Looking up at Craig's face when he heard the tone, Mark raised an eyebrow. "Got any suggestions?"

"What DOES do it for you?" Craig asked. "Maybe if I had the required standards, I could play matchmaker," he offered reluctantly.

"Well, I like..." Mark considered carefully. What he had right in front of him looked awfully good right at this moment, were he honest. He pushed down that urge. "I like a sense of humor, you know that. And someone I can be comfortable with. Looks are icing."

"Mana?" Craig suggested. "Or even Sala, if you like big guys..."

Mark acted like he was thinking it over while he slowly looked over Craig. "Well, I do like some muscles on a man. So many men are so much smaller than me; I like someone with some bulk. Same with women, actually," he added in a fit of pique. What was Craig trying to accomplish with this?

A wash of confusion spread over Craig's face at Mark's apparent ire. "Okay. Um...well...okay..." He turned straight ahead for a moment, taking a long swallow of drink. "Okay..."

"Shite. I'm sorry, Craig. I'm just really not looking forward to beating off people with a stick. It was bad enough when everyone knew I was married..." And it had been.

"I should keep my nose out of it," Craig admitted. "It's not my place to choose a bed-partner for you anyway."

Mark gazed up at the man standing a few feet away, mind churning with ideas. "What about you?"

"Me?" Craig asked. "What about me?"

"What are you going to do about the droves of fangirls...and boys...that will be all over you this year?" Mark asked.

Craig shrugged. "Same as always...play it up...act like I'm entertaining the idea...go back to my room alone..."

Mark shook his head, not understanding. "Entertaining the idea? And that works?"

"A well-placed smile and a coy look will get you everywhere," Craig answered with a grin.

With a blink, Mark lowered his eyes, and then looked up through his eyelashes at Craig, a slow, sultry smile pulling at his lips.

Craig's heart nearly thundered out of his chest. "Yeah...like that..."

Mark looked up a little more, and his tongue darted out the tiniest bit to lick his bottom lip.

Craig chuckled a little. "Whoa there, big boy. I'm about to get the idea you're trying to seduce me..."

It was easy for Mark to wink and raise an eyebrow.

A wide smile spread across Craig's face. "You big tease."

Mark chuckled and leaned back again, raising his glass in a toast. "So, maybe I haven't lost it, then."

Craig kept the wide grin pasted on his face as he realized Mark was simply trying out his moves. "Nope - haven't lost it at all..."

Mark looked at him seriously. "So, did it work?"

Tilting his head to the side, Craig responded with a tease of his own. "Maybe you should come back to my room and let me show you how much it worked."

Mark threw back his drink and stood up, gesturing for Craig to precede him toward the elevator.

Okay...so Mark called him on the tease. He led the way to the lift, pressing the button that would take them both to their floor. That's one thing about the convention planners here at Fulda...all the stars were on the same floor. Exiting the lift, Craig continued to lead the way to his room, pointing out Mark's room that was located handily right across the hallway. "Last chance to back out..."

"Is this what I have to look forward to? An awkward assignation outside someone's hotel room?" Mark asked plaintively.

Craig opened his door, turning to stand in the frame. "Awkward?" He lifted a finely sculpted eyebrow.

"I don't want to get to this point unless I'm with someone I'm really comfortable with," Mark said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his slouchy jeans.

"Well - that eliminates pretty much everyone at this con," Craig chuckled. Stepping back into his room, he held the door open in invitation. "You coming in? Or was that all a ruse to get rid of me?"

Mark walked in and closed the door, leaning back against it. "You're the only one I'm that comfortable with, Craig," he said quietly.

Craig looked at Mark carefully, studying each nuance of his face. "But are you comfortable enough?"

Mark swallowed hard. "For public appearances...or private?" He could admit now that Craig was turning him on and had many times in the past, as well. He hadn't really thought about pursuing it, but since Craig brought it up...

Craig closed his eyes, ending his blatant regard of Mark's features. "So - what you're proposing is a ruse? What do you have in mind?"

Mark sighed. "I don't know what I'm proposing, Craig. I thought...you seemed like..." he shook his head. "I guess I was just reading too much into the banter."

Craig shook his head in nearly a mirror image of Mark's reaction. "No - you weren't," he assured the other man. "But if that's all you want...you need to find someone else..."

Taking all that in, Mark made several connections, including that Craig WAS interested...and he wanted something more than a fake deal for a weekend. "Craig, what do YOU want?" he asked quietly.

"I wasn't going to do this convention," Craig whispered as he stepped back, motioning Mark further into the room. "At least not until I found out you'd be here and that you were available again," he admitted, hoping that would explain what he wanted to Mark. Hoping the other man would understand that he was the reason Craig was even in Fulda.

"Matilda mentioned something about your attendance not being confirmed...you were waiting to see if I was going to be here?" Mark asked, following Craig into the room.

Craig turned when he reached the small sitting area in the room, biting his lip as he nodded.

"Why?" Mark asked softly, stopping a couple feet away.

"Because I've always been attracted to you," Craig offered in a low voice. "Because I've always wondered if there could be more," he added. He barely whispered, "Because I'm tired of waiting for something and wondering if it will ever be mine..."

Mark looked Craig in the eyes, evenly. "Were you going to tell me?" he rasped, realizing if he didn't already love this man as his closest friend, he would now...and he knew there could be more to that love.

"Not as long as you weren't looking for anything more than friendship," Craig met Mark's gaze, not bothering to hide his feelings at all. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable...if this makes you uncomfortable now...just forget I ever said anything..."

Mark swallowed, making his decision, and he stepped up close to Craig to cup his cheek. "The only thing that's uncomfortable after hearing you want me," he said softly, "is the fit of my jeans."

A slow smile spread across Craig's face as he leaned into the touch. "I make you uncomfortable?" he asked, eyes widening innocently. "What can I do to make it better?"

"Oh, yeah, turn on that innocent look. I know you well enough to know it's an act. But it's a cute one," Mark allowed, his lips curling into a smile. He slowly reached for one of Craig's arms, sliding his hand to grasp his wrist, and he moved to press Craig's hand against his considerable erection. "You make these jeans uncomfortable. And for the first time in months, I feel more comfortable than ever. I should have coming looking for you first thing."

Craig flexed his fingers around the bulge in Mark's jeans, moving his hand slightly in Mark's grip. He lifted his other hand to grasp the waistband of the jeans, thumb flicking the button open. He stepped closer, lifting his head until his lips ghosted against the taller man's chin. "You should have looked for me..."

Mark's eyes fluttered down as he inhaled sharply. "Didn't...think you would want me this way," Mark said. "Didn't realize what I felt for you could include this." He lowered his chin so that Craig's lips brushed over his...and he felt like sparks flew.

Craig inhaled sharply at the soft touch of lips, but it wasn't enough. He stood on tiptoe, pressing closer as his hands worked on Mark's jeans, unzipping them and pushing them open until his fingers delved inside and wrapped around hot flesh. His lips teased at Mark's, puckering and releasing, tempting the other man to deepen the kiss and take what he wanted.

With a relieved sigh, Mark's arms slid around Craig and pulled him closer and he pressed his lips against the other man's firmly, tongue parting his lips to slide against Craig's lips. He would be all right. Better than all right. He would be with Craig. And it would be incredible.

*****

THE END

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