Week 1: Tino/Gilbert

"Perfect. Then I will meet you in the lobby around seven-thirty." Tino's eyes swept appreciatively up and down Gilbert's body, noting the towel's position. He winked. "Have a good evening."

(I totally get the hectic thing, just not so extreme... I hope your husband is okay!)

Gilbert smiled crookedly. "I should get cleaned up and dressed then. I'll be in the lobby at severn-thirty."

He took one last look at the other male as he left the sauna.

(Thank you dear, he is fine. Let me know when it is 7:30 LOL)

Tino made a satisfied sound and made himself at home on the sauna bench. It had been a while since he'd gone on a date date, and any date with Gilbert was likely to be interesting. The guy oozed charm and self-confidence, and as cocky as he was, he seemed like fun. He was a welcome break from the tedium of the Finn's real life.

When a group of stodgy-looking gentlemen with graying or absent hair marched in to disturb Tino's relaxation, he took his leave to prepare for a night out.

(Hmm... Nowish works!!!! If you want to start? If not, yours truly shall oblige!)

(hmmm...might as well now. )

Gilbert felt a bit rushed as he made his way past boring business men into the lobby. He looked at his watch and realized he was actually a few minutes early--something he hardly ever accomplished. Taking a deep breath in, the albino straightened his black button down shirt and checked to make sure his silver cross necklace was turned to the front.

He grinned at a woman eyeing him over. He felt good tonight--the young man from the sauna had been both intriguing to look at as well as to speak with. He hadn't been this enthused over a date for several years.

Tino practically fell out the door of his room and rushed around a couple snogging and making ridiculous faces at each other to reach the elevator. He poked the ground-floor button impatiently until the doors closed and finished dressing as he headed down. By the time the doors opened again, he'd gotten his shoes on and had finished buttoning his shirt. A brief check in the reflective panel beside the elevator buttons, to fix his mussed hair and make sure the deep red of his shirt had the desired effect on his violet eyes, and he was trotting across the lobby to greet Gilbert. Five minutes late.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, I lost track of time. I get so easily distracted sometimes... You haven't been waiting here long, have you?" Tino smiled at Gilbert apologetically.

Gilbert turned and took in the sight of the young blond man in front of him. My my, he did look good in red. He felt his cheeks heat slightly and prayed silently they didn't blush. His skin hid nothing about his blood.

He smiled at Tino, warm with a slight crooked angle. "I wasn't waiting long. And don't worry, I am almost always about five minutes late myself, so I don't judge so much." He placed his finger tips together in front of his shirt. "So, where is this great place?"

Tino laughed quietly as the colour spread across Gilbert's face. "Okay, good. I hate making people wait. I'm usually very punctual. Being late drives me nuts... So I'm glad you haven't been waiting long. Shall we?"

Tino headed toward the doors of the hotel. "It's not great or anything, it's just a place..." Most of his favourite places had been eliminated off the bat because of the risk of running into clients. "I suppose it's nice enough... Would you rather take a cab, or walk?"

Gilbert chuckled lightly as he followed the other male. "Well, I am sure it will be great since you are suggesting it. I like walking, but it really is up to you."

He let his eyes trail down to the young man's ass as he followed. He pulled his eyes back up slowly, attempting to look less egger. He wondered where they were going. He knew of a few local places--some of which didn't have the best reputations (or the best reputations depending upon how you looked at it). He'd found you could tell a lot from where someone suggested for a dinner date.

"So...you never told me what you do for a living Tino." Though, he had his suspicions.

"Good. Walking it is." Tino continued down the sidewalk, looking back over his shoulder at Gilbert. "I need to stretch my legs a bit. It's not too far to where we're headed."

When Gilbert asked about his job, Tino replied casually, "I'm an accountant." It was his go-to career whenever he was asked, because for some reason, no one ever asked for details if you said you were an accountantM
It saved him from having to formulate elaborate lies on the spot.

"Oh I have a good friend who's sister and husband have their own accounting firm. BNJ Accounting. They had another friend partnered with them and they used all three of their first name initials, but now 'N' no longer works with them. So I guess the N is like 'and' shortened now. Are you a PA or CPA?"

Gilbert smirked as he followed the young man. He made strides to catch up with him and walk beside him, putting himself on the outside closest to the street and traffic. It was old fashioned, but he almost always did that with his dates, no matter what their sex.

(Btw, BNJ is real. *Total dork*)

Tino twitched slightly and gave Gilbert a peculiar sideways glance. This threw him for one, and he cursed internally. "Does it matter?"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Of course not. I was just trying to make confersation." He looked away as they walked. Clearly, this was not the subject to broach at this time. He kicked a small pebble along the sidewalk.

"So, huh. Have any family?"

Tino relaxed a little as they changed subject, but found himself unsure about how to answer the next question. "Well, I am an only child... My parents live in Finland, so I don't see them much anymore... Not that that matters, because they generally prefer not to see me." Tino stared at the sidewalk. "Most of my 'family' consists of friends. And my dog. The lady of my life."

"You said you have a brother?" He lifted his eyes again, smiling.

The white-haired man chuckled lightly. "Yes, my younger brother. But his dogs like me more than he does."

He placed his hands in his pockets as they rounded a street corner. "My closest friends are my drinking companions--and really, we aren't very close." He walked with a long stride. "My Gilbird is my best friend."

Tino laughed. "That's why dogs are great. They love you no matter what."

The Finn had to pick up his pace a bit to keep up with Gilbert's stride. "But you're sort of a lone wolf, then? With the exception of your Gilbird? No girlfriends... Or boyfriends?"

Gilbert wondered how he should explain it, but decided to stick with the blunt truth as usual.

"Well, I have a pretty regular group of sex partners. If you are meaning to actually take someone out on dates...no. That doesn't happen often anymore. It usually happens that I get a call when I am wanted, and visa versa."

Gilbert sighed a little at this. It was supposedly a bachelor's dream life, but he must be getting old or something. He was pretty much tired of it.

He shrugged. "Really I haven't been taking advantage of my connections recently anyway. I supposed it is becoming tedious."

Sighing, Tino nodded. "I know exactly how you feel. You'd think getting what you want, when you want it, would be the perfect way to live. No strings, you're free to do as you please, no worries. Then you take a step back and realise just how alone you really are."

"I've tried the relationship thing so many times, and it just...never works. Life just gets in the way. They leave, usually upset or downright angry, and I feel like it wasn't even worth trying."

As lonely as he'd made himself, Tino had learned to accept that anything more than 'casual' was out of the question. Things got complicated when people found out about his chosen lifestyle. To him, it was just business, but to an actual relationship partner, it was betrayal.

"I've only attempted the relationship thing a few times myself...and I..." He didn't know how to go on. It just seemed like those he actually cared for on a deeper emotional level loved someone else before he got there. Story of his life he guessed.

"Well, it is nice to have someone to talk to who understands. My friend Francis doesn't get why I'm not appreciating the lifestyle as much anymore. My brother--well I love him--but I couldn't speak with him about this. He's never had any relationship but the one he has with his long term boyfriend. I think he thinks I am a man whore." Gilbert chuckled at this.

He watched his feet as they scuffed along the sidewalk. He was enjoying Tino's company. Perhaps they could be friends eventually.

"Hey," he looked to the young man walking beside him. "You said your life gets in the way of relationships. Are you too busy for one? Or just emotionally unavailable?"

Tino felt a comfortable understanding with this person he'd met in a sauna. It was nice to feel like there was someone who knew what he went through and could sympathise, though he felt bad that someone so genuine and kind had to suffer the same fate as someone like him, who brought it upon himself.

"I...am..." He paused with a sigh. "It's a combination of things, really. Usually, after a while, my job gets in the way, or things just sort of fall apart. I guess you could say I am emotionally unavailable. There was this one... This one person who I thought was perfect for me. And I thought we could make it work, and I'd finally found someone I could be with, you know? Until one day, he--" Tino stopped and tried to clear the damp blurriness from his eyes, taking a moment to calm down. "I haven't had a real relationship since."

"I'm so sorry to dump that on you. It's not exactly the sort of lighthearted material one expects."

Gilbert stopped walking and looked to his companion. He reached out his hand to touch the other man's shoulder, but halted in mid air. He withdrew slowly, casting his gaze down.

"Uh..." He crinkled his nose, then placed his hand under Tino's, barely touching. Screw it. Sometimes humans needed to touch.

"I'm not uncomfortable with this talk--at all--" Gilbert emphasized. "But would you rather talk about this in private? Most people would."

"No, it's fine. I just thought you might be uncomfortable." Tino cleared his eyes and smiled, perfectly normal (for appearances) once more. He rested his hand appreciatively against Gilbert's. "I need to get over it eventually, right? I just hate that he manages to get to me like that. It doesn't seem fair that he gets to move on and I'm a mess whenever I think about him."

Gilbert nodded, then took a second before he curled his fingers around Tino's. He pulled him lightly to get them walking toward the restaurant again.

The white-haired man found he was walking closer to the other. Part of it was because they were touching, but part of it was because--at least for Gilbert--something had changed. He'd seen something within Tino he doubted most saw, and that was often more intimate than any sex could be.

"So, is he with someone else now?"

Tino gave a small smile and squeezed Gilbert's fingers gently. It had been such a long time since anyone had touched him in a completely innocent way and even longer since someone had tried to comfort him. He was already calming down, relaxing, and he didn't care about the moment of sudden vulnerability. Gilbert didn't seem like the type to take advantage of such a thing.

The Finn considered. "I honestly have no idea. I really don't think so, but it's been a while and he was a great guy, and I can't imagine he'd stay single for long. He was such a gentleman..."

"Hmm" the albino nodded as they walked along. He wondered who this man was. He wondered what he looked like, what he acted like, and how long Tino's relationship with him lasted. He didn't ask this though, it wasn't really his business after all.

"I know this one guy who thinks he is a gentleman. But he's a prick. Personally I don't feel you get to call yourself a gentleman just because you can play the piano and look down your nose at others." He glanced over to Tino and grinned. "But maybe I'm just biased. We fought a lot when we were younger."

Tino laughed. "Ah, the childhood enemy... No, that doesn't make you a gentleman. What made him a gentleman was that he opened the door for people, and would give up a seat on the train for a lady, and help me reach things that were too high for me to get, and he always walked on the outside of the sidewalk..." He gave Gilbert a sideways glance. "That sort of thing. And he never forgot a birthday, or an anniversary..."