Collateral

He could not be mad at Klaus. After all, the guy was working himself to the bone. Apparently, being rich didn't mean sitting on your butt, by a pool, eating ice cream or something. But Jake had to admit that he felt restless without being able to talk to the guy. He had wanted to call a few times but felt guilty at the thought that Klaus was getting too little sleep as it was.

A week was not that long. More than half of it was gone, anyway. Sunday, Klaus was going to be back.

And then what? They were going to have plenty of crazy sex. That was for sure. But after that? More crazy sex perhaps. Jake groaned and buried his face in the pillow. He was going to have to jerk off again, he thought his dick would be raw by Sunday if he wasn't careful.

The cheerful chime of an incoming message made him jump and hurry for the phone.

"I am sorry we cannot talk. I gave Hans your number. I thought you might like to talk to him. And here is his."

Jake sighed. But it was nice of Klaus to think that he was bored. And as he was a gamer, maybe he could convince Hans to play online with him. That was a good plan for killing time. So, without thinking too much, he called Hans.

"Hey, good morning cutie, thanks for calling," Hans's voice came through, friendly and energetic.

"Hey, man. Oh, shit, sorry. It's like six o'clock where you live, right?"

"Seven, actually, but don't worry. I'm an early riser."

Jake could hear someone else's muffled voice somewhere in the background.

"When is a good time to call? And sorry again. It sounds like you have someone over."

"Yeah," Hans said happily. "A very special guy."

Now Jake could distinctively hear someone kissing. Good, now he was ruining others' fun because he had none. He felt pretty much like an ass.

"Sorry about that," Hans came back. "This guy is just too kissable."

Hans obviously wanted to brag about his boyfriend. And Jake didn't mind. Actually, he was pretty interested.

"Would you guys be interested in some PvP? You name the hour. Or maybe your boyfriend is not into that?"

"Stephen? Oh, he is. But he is not my boyfriend. Just some crazy awesome one night stand."

Now Jake could swear that sound was a well-aimed pillow smack over Hans's head.

"Well, like 7 or 8 one night stands, to be fair, although I'm not counting the times we did it and it was not during nighttime," Hans joked again.

"9 nights," Jake heard someone yell in the background.

"Wow, like coup de foudre or something," Jake remembered Klaus's words from that night. He had even looked it up on the Internet.

"I guess you could say that. And how are you? Did Elsa still behave like a frozen bitch around you?"

Jake roared with laughter. The sudden image of Klaus singing Let It Go, while extremely careful about his gloves was making him hysterical.

"But I suppose not," Hans supplied his own explanation, while Jake was trying hard to regain his breathing. "What did you do to the guy, Jake? Be honest. Where do you keep your kryptonite and what is it?"

"What do you mean?" Jake managed to speak again.

"Come on, don't be a teaser. Klaus is smitten with you."

"He is?" Jake could feel the bubbly excitement growing inside his chest.

"Well, I don't recall ever hearing him say that his lover must be getting bored and that he needs to do something about that. Or use any occasion to mention you, completely out of the blue."

Jake's ears twitched.

"Like what? Tell me."

"Swear you're not going to be a kill stealer and we can negotiate something," Hans teased.

"Come on, man. You know I'm good. No kill stealing, I promise."

"Well, for instance, just yesterday, one of his business associates, a woman in her late sixties, mind you, complemented him on his looks and told him he should be named the most beautiful man in the world. He thanked the lady and told her promptly that she would be wrong, because he had already met the most beautiful man in the world, and he found he had nothing on that guy. Guess who he was talking about? Should I give you a hint? His name starts with J."

"He didn't," Jake protested, but his entire body was starting to get warmer and warmer.

"Oh, yes. And he even dared to insult my beloved to my face."

"Oh, shit," Jake murmured. "What did he do?"

"I introduced Stephen to him. And he just said, while still shaking his hand: My Jake is cuter."

"Fuck me," Jake mumbled.

"I suppose he did plenty of that, right? He had that 'I fucked all night' look all over him when I went to welcome him at the airport."

"I don't know if I'm supposed to tell," Jake smiled. "But, yeah, he did."

"I'm glad for you. You sound pretty happy," Hans commented.

"I think I am," Jake admitted.

"Good. It was about the damn time for him to settle down."

"Oh, it's not like that," Jake said. "He told me we would break up."

Hans remained silent for a moment.

"He did? That is rather strange."

"I mean, I suppose he doesn't want me to get all clingy and annoying. It's okay. I mean, you warned me, too, right?"

"I guess," Hans sighed. "But I've known Klaus all my life. I don't remember him ever being like this. He might have changed his mind."

"I can assure you he didn't. He was pretty clear about it, too. Like he always is. You know. Serious."

"Well, I will not fight you over this. But are you really sure, Jake? And how do you feel about it, by the way?"

"It doesn't really matter. It's not my choice, anyway."

"Hmm, I beg to differ. If you managed to make the almighty Ice Lord swoon over the mere thought of you like a schoolgirl, you can change his mind, too."

"He's just a horny bastard," Jake searched for an explanation.

"Horny? Maybe. But Klaus is the kind of guy who sets his sex schedule so that it doesn't interfere with his important business deals. I'm telling you, Jake. Whether you want to or not, you are already changing him. He is sharp like always, but he even smiles from time to time now. When he speaks of you."

"He's only been there for like four days or so. How did you see all this?"

"Because I have spent part of my time this week helping him with this business project. He practically begged me to get involved so he could finish early and head back to you."

"Are you recording this? Did he ask you to tell me all this? Because he seems like a totally different guy."

"No joke, Jake. I mean it," Hans's voice turned serious.

"Okay," Jake said slowly. "I trust you. You're a cool guy. But wait, isn't he stealing you away from your boyfriend?"

"I got Stephen to help, too. He's a lawyer, so he has assisted me in the document review, double checking Klaus's attorneys. So it's just an occasion for us to spend more time together. Hey, let's talk more a bit later? Now we have to get ready to finish our review and report back to Klaus before noon."

"Sure thing," Jake said.

After bidding goodbye to Hans, Jake fell into a deep sleep. In the morning, he felt like he was walking on cloud nine.

***

He was just finishing his work on Friday, when he was called over by one of the guys from his brother's gang.

"Diaz wants to see you," the man spoke, giving him a dark look.

He just nodded. Most of the time, he had no idea what these guys were thinking or doing. But he had felt like the little kid who was just allowed, sometimes, to play with the grownups, whenever he was with them.

"Now," the man added, seeing that he made no sign to move.

"Okay."

They walked in silence all the way. From time to time, he stole nervous glances in the guy's direction. What was his brother planning now?

"Hey, little bro," Diaz welcomed him and gestured for him to come closer. "Why didn't you tell me Nazi boy was out of town?"

"You didn't ask," Jake answered, feeling defensive and taking in the gang gathered around them.

"Playing smart again?" Diaz frowned.

"No," he shook his head quickly. "I just didn't think it was important enough that you would want to know that."

"We could have come around and played in that big ass pool," Diaz grinned, and the others laughed.

"It's not like I am in charge of the place. There are all kinds of people there. I don't order them around and decide who gets to get in."

"Look at you ... You're like a little dog," Diaz grabbed his nape and shook him. "You could, though. You just don't have the balls."

He looked down, staring at his sneakers and not knowing what to say.

"But that's not why I called you here. I sent for you because I must take care of you, seeing how much of a weakling you are."

"What?" Jake's head shot up.

Everyone laughed again and Diaz gestured for one of the guys. The man made way to show Jake a laptop set on an old table.

"Nazi boy thinks we can't Google him," Diaz said with satisfaction.

Jake approached the open laptop with dread deep inside his soul. He blinked a few times, unsure of what he was seeing.

"What's this?" he turned to look at Diaz.

"Are you dumb and blind too? Can't you see? Dude's a fag!"

Jake placed one hand on the edge of the table to keep his balance. His blood rushed to his feet, and he felt his stomach twisting. He took another look at the screen. The picture showed Klaus, in his usual business attire, apparently laughing and having fun while another handsome man was holding one hand on his arm and was looking at him with dreamy eyes. His eyes traveled lower. The page must have been translated as he was just able to make out the strange wording. But he could understand quite clearly what past flame and rekindling meant.

"I don't get it," he whispered, his eyes suddenly were blurry and hard to focus.

"Your master, the dog owner, is a homo, little bro."

"And what's that got to do with me?" Jake said defensively.

"Are you stupid, for real? He might want to grab your ass."

The gang laughed again.

"Now seriously, did he touch you?" Diaz's hand came to rest on his nape again.

Jake felt like he wanted to throw up.

"No, what the fuck!" He shook off his brother's grip. "And even if he is gay, just look at these guys! They're high class, not street trash, like me!"

Diaz watched him, his eyes narrowing to slits.

"Chill, little bro. I just thought to warn you, in case he tries something."

"He has no reason to do that," Jake blushed. "He's got like supermodels to fuck. Would you fuck some ghetto girl after having playmates lining up to your bed?"

That argument had the power to put Diaz on the right track, it seemed.

"I guess not," Diaz shrugged. "So, did you catch him banging someone? Maybe we could dig up some more dirt on him to use."

Jake stared at his brother in disbelief. Diaz thought himself smart, to be capable of standing a chance to go up against Klaus.

"I told you. I barely see the guy. But thanks for the warning, I guess."

"You don't seem that grossed out seeing that you're under a homo guy's roof."

"What's that gotta do with anything?" Jake shrugged. "His money is good, right?"

Diaz grinned, showing teeth.

"Right. Right, just don`t sell yourself and us out at the same time, little bro, okay?"

Jake wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

"I can kick his ass if he tries something," he set his chin high.

"I suppose a pansy ass like him doesn't have it in him to fight for real."

"Some say that five Wanderers got it good from him one night," one of the men talked.

Jake froze.

"Wanderers are pussies. But that's just trash talk. Some idiots think this Metzger guy is the shit or something. So they just invent stuff."

Jake hoped it wasn't visible the way he exhaled in relief.

"Anything else?"

"What? In a hurry to get back to that cool ass house?"

"No. I'm just tired. I worked all day at the construction site."

"Hey, we worked too. Come. Drink a beer. And don't forget where you come from, all right?"

He just nodded. He didn't want to spend time with the gang. Ever since he had met Klaus, his life had been completely different. And he liked it. But he could not say no. Not to his brother.

***

He got back late that night, murmuring some excuse to Agnes and headed to his room. And then, he started searching. If Diaz who had the Internet skills of a monkey, could Google Klaus, so could he.

He stared into the phone screen, finding multiple hits. That man had never looked bad in his life. At least, what the image search could return showed only his good side. Who was he kidding? There was no bad side for Klaus.

He hesitated for a couple of seconds, and then he went for it. Boyfriends, relationships, anything the tabloids could feed him, he began devouring it. At first, he felt at ease. It was just natural curiosity, right? But soon, his thoughts began shifting, and he became more and more uncomfortable in his skin.

What was Klaus doing with a guy like him? When he had said supermodels, he had done it just to prove a point to Diaz. But Klaus had, indeed, dated guys modeling for underwear, cologne, watches, and all kinds of stuff. And those were not the only ones. Fashionable celebrities, hip entrepreneurs and even a few actors had gone through Klaus's bedroom.

And they were all amazingly good looking. If Klaus wanted to have a calendar with beautiful men for each year of his life, he could probably make that happen, just by rounding up the guys he had slept with.

The more frustrating part was, however, how tight-lipped everyone was about their relationships and ending things with the man. Tabloids did their fair share of taking pictures and whatnot, but there were no details, otherwise. Jake had at least half of brain and he knew what speculations were.

After two hours, he felt depressed. Klaus had come into this shithole, found nothing better to do, and decided to pick up a stray from the streets, for no other reason that he needed to get his dick wet. Jake was nurturing some stupid feelings, and the guy had been clear about not getting involved. And that was leaving him with a nasty emptiness inside his chest and a bad taste in his mouth.

What was he hoping, anyway? Nothing, he hurried to reply. He had said something stupid, and Klaus wanted to hear that again, but, otherwise, he knew very well where he stood. Soon enough, he was just going to be one in a string of lovers, and not even special in some way. Actually, he was special. In a bad way. He was, clearly, the only one without a pedigree.

"Fuck," he murmured and closed all the tabs on the browser.

And, on top of it all, Klaus had no problem with flirting with some guy, like right now. He had seen the date in that article. It had been published this week. That means that Klaus had decided he was not going to go many days without fucking something. The guy in that picture was handsome, too. Jake had nothing on that guy.

Maybe it was for the best if he just left. Of course, not without telling the guy, because he didn't want to cause trouble for his brother. Also, because he wanted to confront Klaus. The man always said he never lied, but that shitty picture proved the exact opposite. Klaus had promised just before he left that he was not going to fuck around.

He was not going to be the guy who got fucked on the side. It was true that he had no experience with this sort of relationship and everything, but he was sure as hell, not going to be kept as a fuck toy, and used only when there was nothing better available.

The decision was a good one. It was making him feel like crap, but it was a good one. All he had to do was to wait now, for Klaus to come back. It was going to be nasty, and he was probably going to regret everything, but he still had his pride. He was not ready to let go of it, just because Klaus was good at fucking. Or because he was taking Jake to nice places, and promising him that he could go to school and get a diploma. Or because he was so handsome. Or because he was talking to him and making him feel good about himself.

Or because Jake was terribly, hopelessly, stupidly in love with him.

***

He had gotten the message and now was waiting in Klaus's room. It was the best course of action, seeing that he needed to get out of there and fast, and not just dally around, once he had that ugly conversation with the guy.

"No come back this time?"

He read the second message.

"Okay. Come home already."

He hit send and waited.

"Someone is impatient."

What could he reply to that? Klaus was playing him, like the fool he was. He could hardly wait to get this conversation over with, call it quits on this whole relationship or deal, whatever it was and get the hell out of this place. There wasn't another message, and he chose to remain silent. Standing by the window, he began tapping his foot. His palms were getting a bit sweaty, so he began to wipe them against his jeans. Those had to be given back, too. He didn't need anything from the guy.

The limo stopped in front of the house, and Jake could feel his heart seem to skip a beat at the sight of the man. Klaus was looking sharp as always, no one would have thought he was coming back from an exhausting business trip.

No moment like the present, he drew a deep breath. When the door opened, he was ready.

"Knock knock?" Klaus said, a small smile spreading across his lips.

He had to take some of the things he thought back. Klaus was a tad tired, but even that made him look good. He was tired in an aristocratic way or something, the tiniest shade of dark under his eyes, and nothing else.

"Hey," he spoke, suddenly not knowing what to say.

His throat was dry, yet he could feel cold sweat pouring down his spine. Klaus's smile began to falter, and the man placed his briefcase on a chair, then leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, and taking a long good look at Jake.

"To what do I owe this very cold welcome?" Klaus asked.

"You should know!" Jake lashed out, but immediately felt like clamping his hands over his mouth to keep from saying anything more.

Klaus frowned.

"Maybe I should, but it looks like I am at a loss right now. Please enlighten me."

Jake was stealing nervous glances around the room.

"You know," he said again.

"You are testing my patience, and I just returned from a long trip with one single wish in mind."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Like being welcomed properly by my lover. After that little movie you sent me, I was hoping to find you in more suitable attire and sprawled on the bed. Definitely not to see you so passive-aggressive and ready to fight."

"Maybe someone else could do what you want better than me," Jake mumbled. "Like that Sebastian dude."

"Sebastian?" Klaus seemed surprised.

"The guy you fucked while away," Jake said. "You can be a cheater, I don't care. But don't be a fucking liar, okay?"

Klaus sighed.

"Although I must admit that I find this little jealousy scene cute, I am quite affronted. Your accusations are false. Anything else?"

Jake could not believe what he was hearing from Klaus. This guy thought he was stupid.

"Do you really think I'm retarded? I saw you! In the newspapers online!"

Klaus's frown deepened now.

"You are the one who is insulting the other here, Jake. Do not make the mistake to anger me. You have three seconds to get naked and in bed. Otherwise, I will be very mad."

"Be mad. I don't care. What you gonna do? Beat me up?"

"You know very well that I am not against physical punishment. One. I will make the seconds longer, to give you time to reflect on whether you want this to be my welcome home party or not."

"You cannot do this! You cannot treat me like this!"

"I can and I will," Klaus took off his coat and placed it on the back of the chair. "Two," he added as he began pulling at his tie.

"I cannot believe you! Will you just beat me because I think you're a cheater?"