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Krispin left him at his front door with a short, teasing kiss and a promise to thread him very soon, and Jintesh sank into his bed with a happy smile for the first time in a long time, his dreams full of green and grey eyes and soft, silver hair.

Jin spent the next day deep in the looms, spinning up a storm of wild story twists for the next part of his game. He found the character Quicksilver taking a larger role than he had before, and he supposed he wasn't really surprised. He was high on the intense feelings Krispin had sparked in him, and Quicksilver was the only way he could express it right now. So the sensual elf's character was fleshed out, given a real personality, and made indispensable in the gameplay.

Only an hour or so from the deadline his boss had imposed, he was finally finished and he wrapped the whole thing together, sealed it tight, and dropped it in his boss' thread-box for retrieval. Then he unplugged himself from the looms and agonised for awhile; should he stay home in case Krispin threaded him, or should he go out to the Fringe? He ached to see Krispin again already, but he was also still flying and he wanted to go out and have fun for a change.

Finally he gave in to his elation and pulled on his coat, heading for the door.

He did the rounds of the club, greeting all the familiar faces, and then hopped up in the dj booth, surprising Laran.

"Jin! Hey, man." Laran pulled off his headphones and turned to look Jintesh over. "After you rocketed out of here so fast the other day, didn't think I'd see you for awhile again. You okay?"

Jin nodded cheerfully. "Yeah. Sorry about that. You know how I get."

Laran grinned. "You look a lot better now. What'd I miss? Something was up on Friday."

"Mmm. I.." Jin paused, tilting his head towards the speakers. "What're you playing?"

"You and your sensitive ears." Laran chuckled and tossed him a disc cover. "Knew you'd like 'em. I was gonna send it to you if you didn't turn up anytime soon." Jin looked the cover over, still listening to the music. "You gonna tell me about Friday? Something to do with that bass player, right?"

Jintesh's head jerked up in surprise. "What? You mean.." How had Laran figured that out?

"C'mon, Jin, you were staring like nothing else. Pretty hard to miss. Hell, you were staring when I first handed you their disc." Laran grinned. "You know I never miss a thing."

Jin relaxed with a return grin, settling back into his chair. He put the disc cover aside to look at later and lit a cigarette. "Yeah, that's just like you, Laran. That bass player.. he keeps turning up in my life. All over the place. And he.." Jin shrugged, taking a deep drag on his cigarette. "He has this effect on me. I don't know. It psyched me out."

"That's why you ran off on Friday?" Laran was switching discs, but his gaze was still on Jin.

"Yeah, I guess. I still ran into him though. And yesterday.." he stopped talking, memories of the day before crowding his mind. Could it really be, that Krispin liked him that much? Could there really be something between them? It had been so long. He didn't know how to be intimate with anyone anymore. But he'd been lonely for such a long time, too, and maybe here was a chance not to be. It sent him soaring, even the hope of it.

"Yesterday?" Laran prompted.

"He.. made me go out with him all day. We had fun. He kissed me. I.." Jintesh pressed his cigarette against his lips, taking a drag while he searched for the right words. "I don't dare hope, but I do. I don't want anything after her, but I want him. Laran, am I nuts?" He raised both eyebrows at the dj.

Laran was smiling slightly at him. "You're about as nuts as they come, Jin." His smile broadened. "And y'know, this makes me real happy to hear. You need to trust people again, not to mention trust yourself. If he can help you do that.."

Jin whacked him gently across the head. "What are you, my therapist?"

Laran laughed. "Yeah, you owe me five hundred credits for my esteemed words. Now make sure you listen to 'em!" He helped himself to one of Jintesh's cigarettes. "What's his name?"

"Krispin. Nice, isn't it?"

"Oh, you got it bad, Jin." Laran avoided Jin's whack this time. "You'd better make an effort and not run and hide from this one, else I'm gonna be awfully disappointed in you."

"Yeah, you know I'm trying. Now play me some good music. I'm actually here to have fun for a change." Jintesh favoured Laran with a broad grin. It felt good, sharing his good mood with someone. Especially Laran. Laran was the closest thing he had to a best friend, and he knew the dj worried about him more than he let on. He wanted Laran to know he was feeling positive for a change. And he appreciated Laran's encouragement.

Then he closed his eyes, stopped thinking, and gave himself over to listening to the music.

He cursed himself when he got home, though, for the message light was flashing on his data-thread. He sat down in front of the machine and pressed the play button while he pulled off his boots.

"Tesh! What, don't tell me an old stay-at-home like you actually went out to party?" Krispin laughed, sticking his tongue out at the camera. "Never mind. I'm glad you actually ventured out into the great unknown. I'll thread you tomorrow, 'kay? Don't miss me too much!" He winked, and then cut the thread.

Jin sighed, then grinned. It was enough to even hear Krispin's voice. He told the data-thread to save the message for good, rather than erasing it. Then he played it three more times before he climbed into bed.

Five days went by, and the data-thread was strangely silent. Jintesh finally got around to changing its calltone, so that it would please his ears when Krispin threaded him, but he didn't get a chance to hear it. He brooded around his apartment, spun his way through the looms for hours on end, and slouched back and forth between his kit and his kitchen. Where was Krispin? Why hadn't he threaded like he'd said he would? Had he had a sudden change of heart? Was this all some great game to mess with Jin's mind that he had finally grown tired of? Jintesh didn't want to doubt Krispin like that. He didn't want to think that the boy was not sincere. But he couldn't help that niggling, vicious part of his mind that constantly assured him that the whole world was out to get him and that he couldn't trust anyone.

Jintesh was deep in the looms and almost didn't hear the knock at the door. He was searching out something -- anything -- about Krispin. His full name, where he lived, his data-thread, anything. Every kind of information about the boy, no matter how small, seemed to be hidden better than anything he'd seen. He couldn't help but wonder why, as he tried to crack open the city credit records and find some reference to Krispin there. He had to be in there. Everyone had a credit record.

Then the soft knocking intruded upon his conciousness and with a start, he pulled the plug and sat up. He shook his head, phasing back into reality as he walked to the door.. and tried not to think about who might be on the other side. Had Krispin finally come to see him? Did he dare hope? He hastily twisted the doorknob.

The face that greeted him was not Krispin's, but rather that of Taisho, the lead singer of Krispin's band. He blinked, staring in surprise. Taisho hadn't noticed him yet; he was looking down the corridor at something Jintesh couldn't see. Why was he here? Had something happened to Krispin? Then Taisho turned to face him, meeting his confused gaze. The singer's dark brown eyes were intense and full of emotion, though what emotion it was, Jin did not know.

"I'm sorry to intrude upon you so suddenly." Taisho's speaking voice was deep and soothing, a counterpart to the raw, angry voice he sang in. "But he's been clinging to me all night and calling me 'Tesh'. I suppose you could pervert my name in such a way, but I don't think it's me he really wants."

"I.. what do you mean?" He was talking about Krispin, Jintesh could figure out that much. But beyond that, he had no clue what was going on. For a moment he had thought that perhaps Taisho had come to fight with him over Krispin, but even in that regard his words made no sense.

Taisho shrugged his shoulders slightly and turned to look down the hallway again.

"Krispin! There's someone here you'd like to see."

"Awesome!" Krispin's exuberant voice bounced down the hall to them, followed by the boy himself. "Tesh! It's you!" Jintesh could only grunt in surprise as Krispin flung himself gleefully at him, arms wrapping around his waist, head burying in his chest. Long silver hair flew in his face and he brushed it away, his arms moving of their own will to wrap around Krispin in return. Then he looked up at Taisho incomprehendingly.

"What's going on?"

Taisho looked both amused and sad. "He's flying high. He took my share tonight as well. He probably won't come down until midday tomorrow. And right now, all he seems to want is you." Taisho's eyes flickered, and Jintesh recognised the emotion in them, finally. Loneliness. "Take care of him for me, Jintesh. I can't unless he wants me to." He turned and walked away down the hallway.

"Wait!" Jin called after him desperately. He wanted to say.. something. That he understood the loneliness, the pain. That he was sorry; he hadn't asked for Krispin to crave him instead of Taisho. That perhaps they could look after Krispin together, or..

But as Taisho turned back and patiently waited for him to speak, he couldn't find the words. He did understand the loneliness, but he didn't want to share it anymore. He was sorry, but he had been wishing for Krispin to crave him instead of Taisho, even if he'd tried to deny it. And if Krispin didn't want Taisho around tonight, it would only upset the singer worse to be near him. Jintesh wasn't going to lie to try and make him feel better. He hated it when people did that to him, so he refused to do it to others.

"What is he on?" he asked instead, running his fingers through Krispin's hair. Krispin was still clinging happily to his waist, seemingly content for now to just be holding on to the person he'd wanted all evening.

"Haze. He'll come down fine." Taisho left him gawking and vanished down the hall. Jintesh stared down at the petite figure holding him so tightly. Haze? Haze was the extremist's drug, for the hackerjunkies and the obsessed loomgangs and the most down and out street sleepers. It was the highest high one could find, the cheapest high one could find, and from what he'd heard, the most damaging high one could find.

"Tesh!" Krispin was raising his head, his smile wide. He reached up to take Jin's face in his hands, caressing his cheeks gently, and then he was kissing him, excited, passionate, his tongue teasing and writhing inside Jintesh's mouth, his teeth nipping and playing with Jintesh's lips. Jin let himself be kissed, let himself respond, and felt the first ripplings of desire inside himself. Yet his mind was still dazed, wondering. Krispin was so beautiful, so alive, so breathtaking. How could this perfect boy be a Haze addict? If what he'd been told was true, Haze was not just a recreational drug. It was the more vicious kind of drug, the addict's drug that forced you back for more, again and again.

Cold fingers slipping under his shirt snapped his mind to his current situation and he pulled back in surprise, breaking the kiss. Krispin blinked up at him.

"Come inside, Krispin, people will stare." Jintesh used the excuse to pull free from the boy's grasp and usher him into the apartment, closing the door behind them. Truthfully, he doubted people in this area would raise an eyebrow even if they had wild sex out in the hallway. But that didn't mean he wanted to do it.

"It's much more cozy in here," Krispin agreed, bouncing about the room, examining everything he came across. His eyes were wide and wild, his hair a tangled scream of curls, and no matter how high he may have been, he looked gorgeous. Jintesh closed his eyes and rubbed them with both hands. What now? He finally had Krispin here, after so many days of waiting, and craving him, and all he wanted to do was run and hide.

His bass guitar twanged and he opened his eyes. Krispin was sliding the strap over his shoulder and fiddling with the knobs, and he watched as the boy started playing.

"Where were you, Krispin?" He sat down on his bed.

"Huh? When?" Krispin continued to play, his whole body moving to the sound of the bass, his hips swaying in a manner that made Jin's mouth dry all of a sudden. He looked away.

"Yesterday. The day before. The last five days. You said you'd thread me.." Jin trailed off as soon as he heard the whining, lonely sound in his voice. Not again. He didn't want to be like this again; attached to someone, desperately wanting and needing them near him all the time.

Krispin continued to play. "We were.. oh, yeah. We hadta go intercity and play for these bigass company guys. Taisho said they might even sign us up and pay us to play." His face lit up for a moment. Then he frowned. "I ran out of credit. That's right. I was trying to thread you from those stupid expensive publicthreaders and I couldn't afford it. Don't know why they make intercity threading so expensive." His grin returned. "It's okay, you're here now, right?" Suddenly the bass was discarded in favour of Jintesh, and Jin found the boy sitting beside him on the bed, thigh pressed up against his own, leaning towards him expectantly. "Did you miss me, Tesh?"

Jintesh stared into his mismatched eyes. He took a deep breath. "More than I ever wanted to, Krispin." He voice was hoarse, and he licked his lips.

"Good." Krispin grinned, smugly satisfied. Then he kissed Jintesh, picking up where he'd left off at the door, intense and forceful. His lips were soft and damp, his tongue sweet-tasting as it explored Jin's mouth, and his fingers were sliding under Jin's shirt again, no longer quite so cold. They ran over the bare skin of his stomach, around his too-prominent ribs, up his tense back and along the ridges of his shoulderblades.

Jintesh broke the kiss to take a deep breath; his body was quivering, his groin was stirring with pleasure, and he wasn't sure he wanted to go where Krispin was taking this. Krispin gave him the chance to breath, but then he found those lips upon his again, and the fingers beneath his shirt were toying with his nipples, twisting and teasing them until they were hard.

Jin broke the kiss again. "Krispin, don't.."

But Krispin took advantage of the moment to yank Jin's t-shirt up and over his head, cutting off whatever he was saying. He tried to resist and found himself entangled in the material, his arms twisted, his face covered by it. He swore, and Krispin laughed. Then the t-shirt was gone, and he was barechested and shivering in front of the boy.

"What.. what do you want, Krispin?" he asked, although he was afraid he already knew the answer to that.

"You, of course." Krispin gave him a sultry smile, then surprised him by pushing him backwards against the bed. But as the boy climbed on top of him, he reached up and grabbed his wrists, one with each hand, holding Krispin away from him.

"Not now, Krispin. You're flying high as a streambike with wings. I don't want.. can't you wait until you come down?" Jin's body was wired from the touching, the kissing, his cock growing harder the more Krispin stayed near him, but he didn't want it like this. He wanted Krispin to desire him because he was him, not because Krispin was high on some insane drug and it made him horny.

"Aww, but that'll ruin half the fun, Tesh." Krispin spread his arms wide, forcing Jin's arms apart as well, and their faces came close together, almost touching. "You know you want me. Why don't you let me make it fun for you?" Krispin shifted his head slightly, his tongue slipping out to caress Jin's ear, down to his throat, along his shoulderblade.

Jintesh groaned. "Krispin.." he tried to protest, but that gentle tongue was making it so hard to think. Of course he wanted it. He was male, as she'd so often reminded him, and no matter what he might think of his grand morals and ideals, the simple effects of lust debased him to an animal. "Why do you do this to me?" he managed to beg, his fingers loosening their grip as Krispin's teeth latched onto his nipple.

"Because you want me to." Krispin giggled, the movement vibrating against his nipple. He groaned once more, staring at the beautiful, perfect boy who was ruining him all over again. Krispin sat up, sure now that he had Jintesh where he wanted him, and slowly removed his vest, his hands sliding over his own skin, caressing, making it almost a dance.

Jintesh reached up slowly, much as he wanted to hold out, and touched the milky white skin of Krispin's bare chest. He ran his hands over his stomach, across his nipples, wondering how the boy stayed so soft and sleek.

Krispin moved close to kiss him again, forceful, demanding, rubbing his body against Jintesh's in a writhing, fluid motion that all but made Jin want to come in his pants right there and then. Maybe it would be easier that way, too.. then this daze of desire might let him go long enough to resist.

He closed his eyes, and Krispin's lips moved away again, sliding down his chest, as the boy's long fingers tugged at the buckle of his belt, pulling it undone and unzipping his jeans before he was even barely aware what was happening. His cock throbbed harder, glad to be free of confinement, and he lay still as Krispin tugged off both his jeans and his boxers and discarded them. He heard a rustling of fabric, but he refused to open his eyes. Let the silver-haired freak do it his way; let him do whatever the hell he wanted. Jin was losing himself to the pleasure, but be damned if he was going to make it any easier for Krispin.

Krispin's weight suddenly pressed against him, the boy lying full length on top of him, and he felt heavy breathing in his ear.

"I want you to fuck me, Tesh." Krispin voice was quiet, breathy, and sensuous. He snapped his eyes open and stared disbelievingly into the hazy pair of eyes watching him.

"Fuck me. I want you to take me."

"Shit. I didn't even.. want this." His voice cracked over the words as Krispin's fingers wrapped around his cock. "Why? Why don't you just do it to me? What difference does it make?" Krispin squeezed the head gently, caressing it, and he whimpered.

"Because that's how I want it, Tesh." Krispin slid sideways, moving his body to lie on the bed, only his hand remaining where it was, teasing Jin's cock, the touch slight, promising more but not giving it. Jintesh growled, anger mixing with his desire. He wanted Krispin, so badly.. he was almost beyond caring how. Why had he let this boy drive him to the edge? And what did it matter anymore? Why didn't he just give him what he wanted? Maybe then he'd go away and leave him alone.

"Damn you to a thousand agonising broken threads, Krispin." Jintesh pushed Krispin's hand away and rolled over on top of the boy. Burying his face in a tangle of silver hair, he reached down between Krispin's cheeks and found that the boy had already lubricated himself, slick and waiting. He sighed and gave in, pressing his cock slowly into that tight, moist space, sliding it as deep as he dared.

"Hard, Tesh. Fuck me hard and fast." Krispin's slightly muffled voice reached his ears, full of longing. He grunted. The intense delight of being completely surrounded by Krispin was breaking over him like waves, again and again, and he began to move his hips in time, in and out, rough and quick just as Krispin had asked.

Krispin, for his part, was pressed against the pillows, his knees underneath him, pumping to meet Jin's thrusts, his sighs and moans deep and sultry as they escaped from his mouth. Jintesh blinked sweat from his eyes and noticed one of Krispin's hands creeping down between his legs. He followed it with one of his own hands, and pushed Krispin's aside, grasping the boy's cock and pulling it in time as he shoved harder inside him.

He was soaring. All of his agony, his mental torture, the pain he put himself through, it was all gone for these few desperate moments. There was nothing but absolute gratification and he adored it. He shoved harder, deeper, seeking more of it, and it peaked, a sudden burst of sublimity that drowned his entire body inside, forcing a hoarse yell from him as he thrust still faster for a moment. He heard Krispin moaning, and then the feeling fled as quickly as it had come, making him wish for it back, and he collapsed onto the smaller boy beneath him.

They lay like that for several long minutes, panting, until finally Krispin raised his head slightly. "Get off, Tesh, you're heavy."

"Sorry." Jintesh rolled off and sprawled on his back on the other half of the bed. He stared at the ceiling above him. Krispin snuggled up to him, one hand lying possessively on his chest, and without thinking he wrapped his arm around the boy, pulling him closer still. He felt a tear roll down his cheek and wondered why he was bothering to cry. It didn't really matter, did it? Besides, he hadn't exactly tried too hard to stop Krispin. It was only sex.. who knew, maybe Krispin wouldn't even remember it come morning.

But he would. He closed his eyes and gladly succumbed to the sleep that was creeping up on him.

The soft plunking of his bass guitar woke him several hours later, and he groaned and rolled over, slowly opening one eye and then the other. He was alone in his bed, the covers pulled up around him, and Krispin was sitting across the room, the bass resting in his lap. His eyes were closed, a faint smile on his face as he pulled gently at the strings, playing a soft, melancholic riff.

He was beautiful. He was unique. And Jintesh wished he was anywhere but there. What was he supposed to do, to say, to this wild, wonderful creature who so completely tore him to pieces? He felt broken again. It'd been so long since he'd felt broken.

"Tesh? You awake?" Krispin was peering over at him and he forced his eyes to focus on the smiling, happy face.

"No." He rolled over and pulled the cover protectively closer.

"You sure?" Krispin's tone held a teasing note he didn't want to hear in his current mood, and then the boy was sitting on his bed, reaching over to tickle behind his ears.

"I'm sure!" He squeezed his eyes shut. "Just.. go away, Krispin. Leave me alone, okay?" He pulled the cover over his head. For some reason, Krispin didn't push him any further, and after a moment his weight moved away from the bed. The bass guitar began to play again, the same soft, sad riff as before, and Jin sighed with relief, thankfully sinking back into sleep.