La Maison 5: Darkness (Complete: mxm BDSM)

Chapter 1.2

A/N: I don't believe any CW are needed here, but let me know if there's something I've missed

"Boys, come and meet Mr. Cartwright." Mr. Brubaker was putting his extra cheerful-but-still-efficient persona on, so Gabriel could almost smell the money on Mr. Cartwright as a result. Brubaker only got that special smarmy way about him when there was potential for investment. "I'm just telling Mr. Cartwright about the current practice sessions. He's very impressed with how hard you boys work."

Mr. Cartwright certainly looked impressed – at something, anyway. His eyes passed quickly over Gabriel's small frame but lit up appreciatively as he spent far longer lurking over Ellis' body. Ellis didn't even try to hide the shudder, and, as if it was a beacon, a man appeared by his side. He was huge – towering above even Mr. Brubaker, who was tall and cadaverously lean – massively muscled and clearly wearing a very expensive bespoke suit; no way anything off the peg would fit someone like him so well. He was also extremely handsome, though his face took on an endearingly puppyish cast when he looked at Ellis.

"Darling, would you like a glass of wine?"

"Just one?" Ellis seemed to ask it but smiled sweetly when the man easily plucked one from the tray of a passing waiter and pressed it to his hand.

"Um, Mr. Brubaker, this-,"

Brubaker ignored Ellis' attempt at an introduction and took the man's huge bicep, guiding him away. "Oh, Monsieur Girard, how wonderful you were able to make our little soiree..."

Ellis and Gabriel took their opportunity and faded away from the side of the creepy Mr. Cartwright.

"What just happened?" Gabriel asked when they'd managed to secure a safe position beside a massive potted plant, which Ellis tipped the vinegary wine into.

"That's my...boyfriend," Ellis smiled, despite the hesitation, leaning gently into Gabriel's side with stars in his eyes. "He knows how much I hate these things, so he promised to look out for me. He can always save me from Brubaker, because he donates a lot, and he knows a lot of other people who do, so he'll be listening to Brubaker being pathetic about the leaking roof in practice room four, or something. He doesn't mind though. Says it comes with the territory."

Ellis shrugged, apparently unbothered by the specifics. Gabriel wasn't bothered either – simply happy he didn't have to flutter his eyelashes and wax lyrical about his 'art' to encourage some philistine to throw money at the Conservatory so they could feel special.

Ellis dragged him to a bench, half hidden by the drapes of the tall window.

"How do you feel?"

"What about?"

"All these orchestral representatives of course? It's what you've wanted from the start, isn't it?"

Gabriel didn't answer for a moment, pretending to think. Really, there was nothing to think about. It wasn't exactly what he wanted. He did want to get a position with an orchestra, but only in that it would allow him to surround himself with what he enjoyed more than anything. If he ever had to get a 'regular' job, he wouldn't be able to play so much. But, and it was a big but, he was beginning to feel done with actual practice. Overcooked. Henry's demands were constant, and Gabriel felt as though nothing he did was ever good enough. He worked hard enough that the callouses on his fingers were growing their own callouses, and it still wasn't enough for Henry.

"Well, I'm sure they'll pick out the people they want to see," was all he said, finally, though Ellis shot him a perceptive look that was crossed between understanding and sympathetic.