Chapter 6: Chapter Five

Darren felt particularly beautiful that night…and domestic. He was in the bedroom refolding the laundry that the servants had delivered. He hated the way they folded clothes. He had insisted on doing the laundry when they first moved into the complex, but Daniel wouldn’t let him. In Daniel’s opinion, it was servile, and service was provided. Therefore, there was no need for Darren to do work. It still bothered Darren though. It agitated him that someone was touching his man’s clothes while he could put so much love into the task. Moving his hands over the soft tee-shirt he lifted it to his face and inhaled its scent. Daniel’s natural masculine scent wafted from the fabric plus the annoying cleaning products the servants used. It was supposed to smell like sunshine, but it failed miserably. Nothing could replicate the sun. The artificial scent would only depress a vampire even more.

Gathering the tee-shirt and Daniel’s other folded clothes, Darren placed them in his dresser drawers. Next, he began the task of removing the wire hangers from the dry cleaning and replacing them with soft satin cushion hangers. He hated wire hangers, and it had nothing to do with the movie Mommy Dearest. Wire hangers could damage clothes and they were flimsy.

As Darren continued to tend to the clothing, he recalled his mother in the backyard hanging the laundry and him playing with his toys. Such a blissful moment. He remembered how beautiful she was with a scarf over her hair. He had mimicked her with his scarf tied over his hair, though his was black leather and edged with pyramid studs. He had to put his own Darren Hayes spin on it.

Coming to one of Daniel’s white shirts, Darren halted. The servant who delivered the laundry had begged forgiveness for not being able to remove the blood wine stains. Darren assured him that it was all right and gave him some money for his troubles. He knew someone else would have ripped the servant a new asshole for something beyond his ability. Removing the plastic from the shirt, Darren examined the splotches of pink left over from the blood wine. His hand touched the stains, and he thought about finding Daniel laying in the doorway last night.

When night arrived, Darren woke and found an open bottle of blood wine on the floor whose contents had leaked out adding yet another stain to the carpet. He sat in the living room chair watching Daniel until he woke up. He asked him about passing out drunk with the door open and he muttered some incoherent derisions leaving the apartment in the same clothes he had slept in.

The stain on the shirt was more than what it was. It was a stain on their relationship. A darkness that hung like an ever-present cloud reminding them of the daily hell they lived in. If only Darren could reach into Daniel’s mind and find out what was hurting him. He was medicating with the bottle, that much was obvious. Daniel was a man through and through. He had never talked about his feelings and always managed to dance around the subject when the issue of sharing came up.

A mournful sigh passed Darren’s lips. The shirt was ruined and had to be tossed in the trash. As he started to ball the shirt up, he halted as he noticed a red smear on the inside of the collar. Moving his fingers over the smear he tried to rub it out, then he scratched at it with his nails. His mind began to race. One substance that was hard to get out was lipstick. His world began to crumble, his hand shook, and his chest clenched. Was this proof? Was Daniel unfaithful? Pressing his nose to the smear he was unable to detect a scent. If the servants had found a hex bag in the laundry, they would have returned it.

No, no, no, Darren’s mind chanted. He had suspected it and now he was confronted with it. Perhaps Daniel had the hex bag in his closet. He stared at the closet door. Part of him wanted to know, needed to know, but another part of him just wanted to ignore it and blame it all on a paranoid mind. Tossing the shirt onto the bed, he entered Daniel’s closet.

The closets in their bedroom weren’t as big as the one downstairs but it was still big with four sections in each one. It would take him all night to search all the clothing, nooks, crannies, and boxes. Jumping into sonic speed mode, Darren flashed around the closet turning out Daniel’s pockets and shaking his shoes. He was nearly done when he heard Daniel downstairs.

“Darren!” Daniel shouted.

Darren flew out of the closet closing the door behind him and continued to change the hangers of the dry cleaning. He would act as if things had been perfectly normal like he hadn’t been snooping. He hadn’t found anything, but he didn’t get to finish his task. Also, there was the possibility of Daniel having the hex bag on him at that moment.

“Darren! Bring me my goddamn wine!” Daniel’s voice boomed again.

Aggravated, Darren tossed the laundry down and went to the door. “I left an open bottle in the kitchen!” He called before returning to his task. He prayed that Daniel would sit downstairs and nurse his bottle but that was too much like right. Soon he heard him stumbling up the stairs and mumbling hateful words. As much as he tried, Darren was never able to prepare himself for Daniel’s abuse. With every step that Daniel took up the stairs and toward their bedroom, Darren’s body grew tense.

“Who the fuck have you been fucking?” Daniel demanded after opening the door and stumbling into the room.

Darren looked at him and frowned. “What?”

Daniel took a swig of the bottle and moved into the room. “I said, who the fuck have you been fucking?”

“No one,” Darren replied. “You’re mad.”

“You must be fucking someone. You’re not fucking me, that’s for sure.”

“Well, that’s because you’re always drunk,” Darren replied with a shrug. “Don’t blame it on me, love.”

Darren watched as Daniel’s eyes moved over his form and he knew what he was thinking. He was dressed lovely in a pair of skin-tight sateen black slacks, dress boots, and a sheer lace shirt that had a few of the top buttons undone to show a bit of his furred chest. On top of it, he had dolled himself up a bit by curling the ends of his hair up into a pretty bob.

“Where the fuck are you going?” Daniel demanded.

“Out,” was Darren’s simple reply.

“You’re going out to fuck, aren’t you?”

Darren sighed and just shut down as he continued to tend to the clothing. He was not going to entertain Daniel’s bullshit that night.

“You think I’m fucking stupid, Darren?” Daniel crossed the room and stood over Darren making him flinch a bit. “I can smell him all over you. A fucking human.”

Flipping his head up, Darren looked into Daniel’s twisted and fierce face with drool running down his chin. Realization kicked in.

“Oh, I had a meal last night,” Darren replied nonchalantly. “Went hunting.” He continued with his task thinking nothing of it.

“Hunting? Alone?”

“Yeah.” Darren shrugged.

“You fucked him? Didn’t you?”

Darren tossed the slacks he had hung down on the pile of clothes and closed his eyes. He tried to stay calm, but Daniel was being the ever-persistent prick that he always was.

“I didn’t entertain him more than I needed to get what I wanted,” Darren said. “I didn’t fuck him. I didn’t even touch him below the waist.”

“Right.” Daniel’s voice was filled with sarcasm.

“Look, I didn’t fuck him!” Darren snapped. “I don’t want anybody…” He trailed unable to finish his sentence which would have been assuring Daniel that he only wanted him, but he couldn’t tell him that. He had hurt him so much and yes, he still loved him, but Daniel didn’t deserve to hear it.

“You’ll tell me anything,” Daniel mumbled as he sat on the bed right on top of the clean clothes. “Out there fucking and killing up a storm, aren’t you?”

Darren snapped his head around and glared at Daniel.

“You’re all dressed up to the nines, and got a bag packed.” Daniel tossed his head back at the duffle bag sitting at the head of the bed.

Damn, Darren had forgotten to hide that. It was stuffed with items for his dressing room at Raw. Piggles had called him earlier and told him he could come in and get settled. The bag was full of makeup, some spare clothing, posters from their days of being famous, and whatnot.

“I have something I need to do,” Darren replied.

“You mean someone.” Daniel sneered. “Who is he?”

“I told you,” Darren tried to stay calm. “I had a meal last night and that is all.”

Suddenly, Daniel jumped to his feet. His body was hard, tense, and full of aggression. Alarmed, Darren cried out and flew to the wall, with his back pressed against it. He stared at Daniel with his eyes full of fear. He trembled and his mind raced. He was a little human boy again playing with his Star Wars figures a little too loud when his father jumped out of his chair and slapped him across the face.

The two dysfunctional lovers stared at each other. Darren felt weak and afraid. Any minute now, he was going to be hurt. Any minute now the pain would start, and the tears would fall. However, Daniel sat back on the bed and chugged on the bottle of blood wine. Still shaking, Darren felt his way along his dresser making his way to the bed. He grabbed his leather belted coat from where it hung on the closet doorknob and the duffle bag from the bed. On shaky legs, he rushed to the bedroom door. He opened it and started to leave, but Daniel’s words halted him.

“While you’re out there doing whatever it is you’re doing, lose a couple of kilos off that big arse of yours,” Daniel’s words aimed to wound Darren.

Darren stood there contemplating. He could keep going but something in him just couldn’t let this one insult go. Turning his head, he looked at Daniel. Their eyes met and he said, “Funny, you weren’t complaining all the times you were smashing your face between my cheeks.” Then with his signature silky flow of swaying hips, he strutted out of the door leaving Daniel with all of his loathing and self-disgrace.

By the time Darren got to the lobby, he had his coat on and the duffle bag slung over his shoulder. As he walked, he felt triumph at not letting Daniel’s jibes about his ass ruin his night. Truth was, he had a perfect ass. Not too big and not too small. It was round and soft, fitting perfectly in a man’s hands. In their better days, Daniel had commented that his ass was as soft as a marshmallow. Even still, he remembered when Daniel relayed the truth to him that he had homoerotic feelings toward him before he became a vampire.

Back when they were human and doing rehearsals for their first tour, Daniel never paid Darren much attention. However, during the first night of the tour when Darren did his routine with a No. 14 chair while singing “I Bet He Was Cool”, Daniel became a tad bit excited and had to adjust the strap on his guitar to hide the massive hard-on he had. Darren was tickled and couldn’t stop laughing, recalling that when they took a break before the last part of the show, Daniel was in the bathroom for a ridiculously long time. Daniel told him that he wished his face had been the chair.

Anyway, Darren wasn’t about to let Daniel ruin his day and his high self-esteem vibes. In the tunnels, he ran all the way to Raw. He expected the bouncers to give him shit but they ignored him. Once inside the club, Darren didn’t let one belle or beau sang approach him. He jetted backstage only stopping when he reached Piggles’ office. The office was empty, and Darren frowned.

Setting his duffle on the desktop Darren seated himself in the visitor’s chair. The desk wasn’t the only thing in the office that was run down. The cabinets were beaten up and dented, and the ceiling had those foam panels and was stained yellow with water damage. His eyes went to the door behind the desk from which the smell of dirt was trickling. Something else was trickling from it as well. The scent and sound of debauchery. From what he could make out, Piggles was in there with two belle sang. Darren couldn’t resist gagging and honestly thought he had puked up some blood in his mouth. Standing, he prepared to leave, but the door opened, and out came the two girls fully dressed with Piggles closing in behind.

Darren watched as Piggles tugged on his suit jacket looking very smug as the girls left. He then turned to Darren and grinned. Darren’s eyes looked down at his crotch and frowned. A bit of Piggles’ shirt tails was sticking out of his unzipped fly. Looking down, Piggles laughed and straightened himself out.

“Don’t get too excited there, Hayes.” Piggles chuckled. “I’m all spent for the time being.”

Darren’s face automatically twisted in an expression of disgust that he couldn’t resist. He was appalled that Piggles would have any inclination to suspect that he was remotely interested in him.

“I’m…not…” Darren trailed.

“Ah, yeah.” Piggles nodded and sat behind his desk. “I’m not a six-eight skyscraper with blond hair and a twiggy body.” He laughed as he shuffled through his desk drawer. Removing a cigar, he cut the end off and lit it up. The look of disgust on Darren’s face intensified. “So, let me ask you this, Hayes…” Darren wondered what the hell Piggles was setting him up for. “What do two lesbians do on their period?” Darren stared at Piggles like he had grown an extra head. “Finger paint!” Piggles brayed with his jelly body rocking back in the chair. His mouth fell open and he slapped his ham-sized palm on the desktop making it shake, rattle and wobble like it was going to fall apart.

Closing his eyes, Darren tried to scrub out the disgusting imagery that had just invaded his mind. Why the hell did he have to put up with this shit? It didn’t make it any better that Piggles had just been in the room with two females.

“Come on, Hayes,” Piggles started. Opening his eyes, Darren looked at Piggles with a frown still etched on his face. “You used to be married to a woman,” Piggles continued. “You gonna tell me that you let a little blood get in the way of you getting yours?”

Darren sat quietly thinking about how he could answer that. Piggles was an abomination to the male gender. He was indeed a pig just like his name suggested. After rubbing his temple with his fingers and trailing his hand down the side of his face, Darren cleared his throat, sat back, and said, “I respected my ex-wife during those times.”

“Yeah…” There was disbelief in Piggles’ eyes. He then smirked and leaned toward Darren. “Tell me you don’t miss it?”

“Miss what?” Darren was growing annoyed.

You are reading story Sanguine Symphony at novel35.com

“Pussy.” Piggles chuckled. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like dick too, but nothing can trump the pussy.”

“I don’t miss it, no.” Darren shook his head.

“Come on,” Piggles probed deeper. “You can’t tell me that you don’t get tired of taking it up the ass all the time, cus I know tall tree ain’t letting anyone ride his back.”

“Okay, Piggles,” Darren looked directly into Piggles’ eyes. “My personal life is not up for discussion. I love Daniel and would never betray our relationship and the trust and bond we have by kissing and telling.”

Piggles was silent as his beady little eyes observed Darren. Darren could feel that he wanted to push a little more just for the hell of it. Piggles was an asshole, chauvinistic, prick and it was obvious to Darren that he desired him. By closing the door on his personal life, Darren was disallowing him to get off on the juicy details.

“Now, you called about my dressing room,” Darren stated, keeping the conversation on a professional level.

“Yeah.” Piggles grinned and stood. “Right this way.”

Grabbing his bag from the desktop, Darren tossed it over his shoulder and followed Piggles. They traveled a few feet away to a room at the end of the hall. On the door hung a dry-erase board that had his name scribbled on it in blue marker that had obviously been drying in the process. No painted star on the door or his name on a plaque. This was just fucking depressing and ghetto as fuck. It was literally worse than the hole in the wall that he and Daniel played at in Brisbane where the stage was no more than a five-by-five square with the bar jammed right next to it.

Twisting the doorknob, Piggles pushed the door open and stood aside. Darren cringed as he pushed past the grotesque man not wanting to touch him. Stepping into the room, Darren immediately got the whiff of piss hitting his nose. Looking around, he spotted a dark area on the worn-out burgundy carpet in the corner. Obviously, someone or something had pissed there. Darren supposed it was one of those old stains that remained wet and mucky. His eyes moved over the rest of the carpet. It was bare in places showing the padding and concrete floor beneath it. There was a couch in the room made of faux leather. It was cracked and exposed the threads and cushion beneath. The vanity was ancient with some of the light bulbs around the mirror burnt out with the paint chipped, and there was a metal locker-style cabinet that was leaning. It was just completely fucking pathetic.

“All right, Hayes,” Piggles spoke. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Darren felt Piggles leave and he just sighed. Starting at the bottom again. Tossing his bag on the couch, he slipped out of his coat and tossed it over too. Closing the door, he examined the walls scribbled with names in marker. Someone named John had put his number on the wall and assured everybody that he gave the best blow jobs. Shaking his head, Darren just dipped into the bag and pulled out his posters.

There was a poster for every album and single Darren and Daniel put out. Darren unrolled the poster of their black and white debut album. He and Daniel had fought right before the shoot. Daniel looked pissed off and Darren was caught in the middle of an eye roll. He didn’t even know what they had been arguing about. Something trivial and stupid no doubt. With tape and poster in hand, Darren set to decorating the walls like he was a kid in the seventies decorating his bedroom. Some fucking light might be able to shine into his gloomy ass existence. The posters reminded him of a past he needed to return to and were very encouraging.

Around the room, Darren moved as he tried to cover up its ugliness with memories. Hanging the last poster, he smiled. It was the “I Want You” single cover. He was standing up and Daniel was sitting down in this sort of weird futuristic artsy chair that looked like someone had unfolded some sort of creature’s ribs. They wore these kinds of jackets and pants sets that reminded him of astronaut outfits. His hair was in twisties, and Daniel’s was beautifully tousled. He remembered looking at the cover and lusting at Daniel sitting there with his long, elegant legs spread apart. He wanted to crawl between his thighs, push him back on the chair and have his way with him.

Smiling at the naughty thought, Darren had to admit to some of what Piggles was probing about. Though he didn’t miss being with women, he missed the feeling of being inside someone. It was a man thing. Once a man had been inside of someone, male or female, they would always lust after that feeling. Daniel was the only man he had been with. The very first time they had sex, he offered to mount Daniel who laughed and said, “Darren, that would be like a midget riding a Clydesdale.” So, he’s been on the bottom ever since. It didn’t really matter to him. He could assume whatever position in bed as long as he loved the person.

Gazing around, he felt better. Not great, but better. Music was around him and in him. He needed to create, and the moment was now. It was in his soul, it needed to get out like a monster clawing at his flesh.

Tapping his fingers on his thigh as he continued to gaze at the poster he began to sing. It felt alien, he had to admit. He hadn’t heard his singing voice in years. It was on the higher side, though he could go low too. His voice had been likened to Michael Jackson and Prince, and Rosie O’ Donald compared it to George Michael. All great men whom he had idolized.

“Well, you know every time I look at that expression printed on the page, I think I hear you

Whispering the magic and the compliments I need so badly

So, baby come on, yeah, so baby come on

Now I've been running circles around the notion that you'd find me baby, one day maybe

But all the psychic powers of suggestion I've been sending your way

 

So, can't you hear me say?

I want your arms all around me

I want your face, yeah, all around me

I want your perfume, all around me

I like the way you move

And do the funky groove.”

Darren didn’t know why he picked to sing “All Around Me,” at that moment, but it was a fun song that could pick anyone’s mood up. He recalled the routine he and his backup singers did during The Future of Earthly Delites tour. He was dressed up in a white satin jacket and a black shiny vinyl top looking like some freaky doctor in a gay triple X feat about to perform the ultimate enema. His girls wore black vinyl miniskirts, matching bralettes, and vinyl coats edged in fur. One wore a blue coat and the other wore pink. Hey, it was the nineties.

Anyway, Darren really showed his true colors during that routine and actually throughout the entire show. He was beautifully queer sashaying and prancing around. All of that repressed sexuality oozed from his pores and unknown to him, Daniel’s bicuriostiy had been piqued.

Darren was thrusting and bumping his hips now fully alive in the privacy of his dressing room. His hips swiveled seductively, and his feet glided as his svelte frame twisted and turned. The entertainer in him had been ignited once again and not a damn thing was going to stand in his way. Clapping his hands on beat, he launched into the little rap part of the song that was just so damn ridiculous and entirely him.

“Like cold chardonnay, chilled for a day

You’re smooth and crisp and on display

Like Cartier, Armani, like TAG, Gucci, Versace

In the middle of the night, you're a kiss so long

You're the only good thing when all is wrong

You're a magic time-reversal clock

You're the fries on the side with a cherry on top

You're sleek, velvet, gold lame, patent leather, enchanté

You're a legend, you're a glamor queen

God, I'm running out of words, but you know what I mean...”

Then, just like during the tour, he burst into a bit of Donna Summers.

“I feel love, I feel love, I feel love.”

Spinning around Darren faced the door, but it wasn’t just the door that was there. Piggles was filling up the space and licking his hoggish lips as his gluttonous eyes devoured his beauteous form. There was no telling how long he had been standing there and no doubt he had been homing in on Darren’s ass while he danced, bounced, and jiggled around. Since he was engrossed in his merriment, Darren hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t alone. He was not pleased. He did not want to be an unwilling participant in a fucking jerk-off session.

“Can I help you?” Darren snapped with his irritation clear and present.

“Yeah…” Piggles grumbled dissatisfied that the show was over.

“What is it?”

“The king wants to see you,” Piggles smirked. “He got a studio set up and he’s there now. Come on.”

“Yeah, sure,” Darren replied hotly. “Next time knock.”

“Oh, simmer down, Hayes,” Piggles chuckled. “Ain’t like I never seen you jiggle and jerk around a stage.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Darren responded as he pulled his coat on.

Damn, he was going to see the king…He had honestly put on the wrong shit that night. Standing there, he paled. So much for feeling beautiful. He already had Piggles ogling his ass and now he was no doubt going to have to deal with the king lusting after him.

Fuck this, Darren thought as he buttoned his jacket and tied the belt. Looking at Piggles he saw the disappointment on his face, and he smiled triumphantly as he followed him out. Jerk off to this you pathetic bastard. Of course, though, he was going to see the king. Therefore, his triumph was going to be short-lived.

 

---

 

Other Sites:

You can find story with these keywords: Sanguine Symphony, Read Sanguine Symphony, Sanguine Symphony novel, Sanguine Symphony book, Sanguine Symphony story, Sanguine Symphony full, Sanguine Symphony Latest Chapter