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“We are on the same team, are we not?”
Before Nicolae had said this, Buck was a nervous wreck, and full of abject horror and fear because of the murder that had just taken place. But now… well, now he felt a serenity he had never before experienced. He sits down abruptly, smiling. “Of course.” The guard moves back into place. Nicolae smiles back and continues his speech, then murders Jonathan. Buck sits looking at the table, still smiling a bit. He's never felt so- he doesn't know exactly how he feels. Safe? Compliant? These feelings should scare him, make him question their authenticity. But instead he sits still until he realizes Nicolae has been talking to him.
“They will follow me wherever I lead them. So thank you Buck. Thank you.” He feels him pat his shoulder. Buck is proud of himself for being useful to this man he so respects, but then he sees the terrible act Jonathan had just committed, and this greatly saddens him. How awful. Then guards burst through the doors, and it's all a swirl of movement and people. He heads to the foyer with the others, chats absentmindedly with people until he sees Nicolae heading his way.
“Buck! Are you alright my friend, that was quite an ordeal.”
“I should be asking you that, they were both friends of yours.”
“Yes, it was a great loss. However I cannot let this tragic scene deter me in any way. But I must ask again, are you feeling fine? You don't look steady on your feet.” As Nicolae says this, Buck begins to experience vertigo and suddenly sways a bit. Nicolae catches his arm, then also his shoulder.
“Sorry, I've been feeling kinda loopy since…” Buck slurs. “Maybe I was drugged or something.”
“You must be in shock. I'll take you to the paramedics outside.”
“No. No, don't bother. It'll pass, I'll be fine in a bit.”
“At least sit down somewhere.”
“Where?”
“There's a bench right there.” Buck sits down heavily. He glances around. “Look Buck, I will need to speak to the press, to the government leaders that were in that meeting.” He stares intensely into Buck's eyes. “You will wait here for an hour and a half. You will not leave this bench. You will be happy to do so, am I right in this?”
“Yes. I will wait here.”
“Good.” He pats him on the knee, then swiftly leaves. Buck waits patiently, never once wondering why he is sitting down. When people ask, he says he is waiting for a friend to arrive. He brushes off most people though, ignores further questioning and turns off his buzzing phone. When almost exactly an hour and a half has passed, Nicolae returns for him. “Come Mr. Williams, we are leaving.” He takes hold of his elbow and guides him outside, to a waiting taxi. Buck stumbles onto the seat. Nicolae tells the driver to head to his hotel. He says something else to the driver that Buck doesn't quite catch. Whatever it was, the driver gives a look of sympathy, then speeds away.
Nicolae's hand has moved to firmly squeeze his shoulder, a perfectly innocent gesture of solidarity. However, Buck doesn't ever want this contact to stop, as it's making the vertigo leave. He shuts his eyes and drops his head to rest his chin against his chest. “Cameron? Are you going to pass out?”
“No, I'm just real tired.”
“Oh dear. Well, you will have plenty of time to rest at the hotel.”
“We're staying at the same hotel?”
“Isn't everyone from the conference staying at the Yerkes-Parow, on Washington Street?”
“Uh, no, not me.”
“Ah. We will see what we can do when we get there anyways, yes?”
“Sure. It's not a big deal.”
They shortly arrive at the hotel, and enter Nicolae' s suite. “Come here, you should lie down.” He leads Buck to another room, and to a rather large bed which he helps him get into and lie down. “Feel free to get up when you feel better, my friend,” he says while walking away.
He loosens his tie. Buck closes his eyes and breathes out, sinking deeper into the fluffy pillow. He had intended to think more, but almost immediately drifted off.
The power nap lasted about three hours, and by that time Nicolae had exchanged many emails, texts, and a phone call or three. He was now ready to turn his attention to Cameron Williams, his newest acquisition. /Not yet, he's not mine yet/, he thought. /At least not completely. How can this be remedied then? I need his complete subservience. Why? I like the challenge. He's a smart man, I'd like him by side. Not just because of that though. I enjoy his company, and want to keep him safe from harm in these troubled times./
“Hey.” Buck is standing outside the bedroom. “Are you busy?”
Nicolae turns swiftly towards him. “No, I'm free for now.” He strides to the phone near the door. “I'm going to order in some drinks. Do you like anything in particular?”
“Vodka. Shit! I mean, water. I, uhhh...”
“Cameron, there's no need to be cheap. Vodka it is.”
“That's not… alright, fine.”
Once Nicolae is done with ordering, he goes and leans against the breakfast bar. Buck looks around, then heads to the bathroom to scrounge in the cabinets for pain medication. “Buck, what are you doing?”
“Gonna take some of this.”
“Why, what is the matter?”
“Headache.”
“Maybe you should wait until after we finish the drinks we ordered, it is not safe to mix alcohol and drugs.”
“Oh right.” He comes back into the living area.
“Why don't you sit down, I'll see if I can help.”
Buck didn't know how Carpathia could help with his headache, but he was all for trying. He sits on a stool at the bar and Nicolae puts his hands on his shoulders. “It must be the stress of these past few weeks, making your head all panicked.” He starts to rub them soothingly.
“Hmmm.”
“You're very tense, just try to relax.” He takes off Buck's suit jacket, slinging it over a nearby chair. “Your body needs to relax, it's begging you to slow down. Just listen to my voice and feel the movements of my hands.” Buck couldn't even think straight he was so content. /Is this what heaven feels like? Heaven… wait, what was he so worried about earlier? Something about Nicolae and his new friends./ He would have been trying harder to remember, but his brain feels like it's made of damp wool. /Speaking of Carpathia, he must have left, since he wasn't right behind him anymore./ A few seconds later though he returns with their drinks and pours two glasses. “Noroc!” Buck stares confusedly. “Oh right, it's cheers in America, isn't it?” Buck grabs a glass and clinks it with the other man's.
They drink for a while, and the night slips away. Carpathia has an arm around Buck's neck, and is regaling him with a story from his teenage years. His accent has gotten stronger with the alcohol content, but he isn't much affected otherwise. Buck, on the other hand, is pretty buzzed. Nicolae finishes, “And then there were no more plastic bags in that store for like, a month.”
Buck laughs harder than the story called for, and Nicolae knows then that it is a good time to put his plan into action. His hand reaches up to ruffle Buck's curly hair, chuckling along with him. He keeps it there though, and starts stroking his hair and head in a gentle manner. “Ah, Buck, you make me so happy. It is so good to have you as my friend. However…”
/Where is he going with this?/
“Perhaps we could be something closer than friends.” He puts his other hand on Buck's face and leans in very close.
/Oh God, what? What is he thinking? I'm not going along with this. No way- Why is he looking at me like that? Oh gosh his eyes are so beautiful./ Nicolae leans in fully and presses his lips against Buck's gently.They're still looking at each other, and Buck gets the feeling that the Romanian can see into his mind, discover his innermost emotions and desires. He winks and Buck pulls away, wide eyed.
Carpathia is smirking, and says, “Would you like to stop?”
“No! I mean, no please. Please keep going.”
“Are you sure Cameron? If you're uncomfortable-”
“No! Nicolae, I'm fine, go ahead.”
“I just want to know if you can handle this, how far do you want to go?”
“Oh. I've never done, ya know, with a guy, at least…”
“I understand. We don't have to do that.” When he says these last words he lifts his hand slightly, barely noticeable. Suddenly Buck is more than a little turned on, and shifts in the chair. There's an electric sensation running up his spine, he needs to do something, desperately. The beautiful eyes are piercing, he can feel his heart pounding in his ears, and now he knows what that something is.
“Nicolae, I want-...” he says breathlessly.
“What, dear one?”
“Pleeeaase.” Buck whines.
Carpathia raises an eyebrow.
“I need you, need you to do it.”
“Yes?”
“Just. Just fuck me, please Nicolae. Need you so bad.” Now under normal circumstances, Buck would realize that this desperation was unbecoming, that he was too drunk to make informed decisions about his personal life. However these circumstances were anything but normal, and Buck simply threw pride to the wind for the time being. After all, he was positively drowning in lust, he figured he deserved a break from inhibition for once.
Nicolae stands up and pulls Buck to his feet. He takes his hand and leads him to the bedroom. When they're both on the bed, he faces Buck. “Remember when I told you that you are under my protection?” He nods. Carpathia continues, “I meant that sincerely Buck. I want you to feel safe with me, to trust me. You understand?”
“Yes, I trust you. You won't let anything happen to me.”
“Of course not.” He smiles and quickly pulls off both of their ties, then starts unbuttoning Buck's shirt. They kiss again, passionately, Cameron clutching onto Carpathia with both hands. He nips at Buck's lips, and then his neck. He pulls Cameron's shirt off, then quickly undoes his own.
Buck's pants are incredibly tight now, constricting his skin. He wriggles out of them after undoing the zip. Nicolae is more graceful about taking his off, and folds them neatly. He leans over Cameron and Cameron realizes that Nicolae had gone commando for the day, seeing the man's blond hair isn't just on his head. So he looks up again to find him staring, like a snake stalking a mouse. His blond hair has fallen over his forehead; he would look endearingly sweet, if not for the fact that he was naked.
“Buck.” He holds his face, running a thumb across his jaw. He leans over him, forcing Buck to lay down, then pushes his hips against Buck's and grinds down.
“Oh God!” Cameron moans. He loves the friction, but would rather do this without underwear, so he shucks and tosses them onto the floor without hesitation.
“Nicolae is fine, but I do appreciate the sentiment.”
It takes a few seconds for Cameron to discern the meaning of this coy statement, but when he does, he finds that he may have more of a problem than he'd originally thought. He thrusts up against Nicolae and tries to come up with a journalist-worthy reply. “So you're saying you wouldn't be opposed…”
Nicolae looks down at Cameron with a serious but pleased expression. “Do you feel the need to worship, my dear Cameron?”
He doesn't know how to respond aloud coherently, so he nods, albeit rather sheepishly.
“This is a side effect of your nature, your nature as a Christian, that is. At your essence, you feel the need, the longing, to submit to a higher power. However, I am not a merciful lord, and I refuse to go easy on my devotees.” Buck's eyes widen, what is the getting into? “It's alright my dear Buck, after all…” He chuckles fondly. “We are on the same team.”