Chapter Text
“Hey, happy New Year, baby.”
Nasir lets the cooed petname slide and only smiles in return as he strips Chadara’s arms from around his neck.
“Still fifteen minutes to go, Chads. But thanks, you too.”
“I know, I know, just making sure I get to kiss you tonight. The place is so packed I’ll probably just lose you before I have a chance again.”
Finally, she takes a step back in her stilettos and sips a little more of her champagne.
“So anyway, this friend of yours...” she says, leaning against the window frame as she looks around the room again, “You’re still sure-sure he’s gay? Like a definite Kinsey six? ‘Cos damn, I could get used to this.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Nasir says smiling into his orange juice. “Anyway, I thought you were with Ray now? Isn’t it a little late to be chasing after millionaires?”
“There’s nothing wrong with keeping your options open, baby. And not all of us are geriatrics like you, anyway. Honestly, you have to be the world’s most boring homosexual ever.” She tuts and shakes her head, making the silky, fire red locks of her wig swirl gently around her. “And I had such high hopes for you.”
“Speaking of boring homosexuals,” Nasir says peering through the crowd, “Have you seen–”
“Yeah, he was by the bar five minutes ago,” the woman answers with a resigned sigh, taking another mouthful of champagne. “Well, give him a kiss for me too, won’t you? And I’ll see you at work tomorrow, right?”
Wiping lipstick off his cheek, Nasir navigates his way through the throng of people across the sleek hardwood floors until he finally catches sight of the one he was looking for.
The old suit jacket is stretching precariously at the seams around his shoulders, and Nasir makes a mental note to take the man shopping at some point in the near future.
“Hey, handsome.”
Agron turns his attention from the window and gives him a smile.
“Hey, not-so-bad-looking-yourself.”
Nasir leans in and pecks his cheek, drawing an amused look from the man in question.
“And what was that for?”
“Chadara sends her love.”
“Ah.”
“Anyway... I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at a party in here before, so I thought I’d come by and introduce myself. Are you a friend of the host?”
The other man stares at him wide-eyed for a moment, and then his tired smile slowly turns into a grin that is as deliberate as it is knowing.
“More like a friend of a friend,” he says and holds out his hand, “Agron.”
“Steve.”
Agron raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say it, instead just nods his head a couple of times and keeps making the appropriate greeting-related noises. And then flicks the end of the stethoscope hanging around Nasir’s neck.
“So, Steve, what are you supposed to be then? Let me guess... a sexy nurse, huh?”
“A doctor, actually,” Nasir says and narrows his eyes. He straightens the lapels of his jacket and frowns harder at the other man. “And it’s just a white jacket and a stethoscope. I wouldn’t exactly call this sexy.”
“Who says I was talking about the costume?”
Their eyes lock for a moment, but Nasir isn’t going to let Agron’s smirk get to him. Not yet.
“So you here with anyone?” Agron continues nonchalantly, taking a sip of his wine and looking at Nasir over the rim of the glass.
And this time it is Nasir’s time to raise an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Well, our host with the lazy eye is now glaring at me like I’m here pissing in his drink. So I thought I’d better ask in case there’s something I should know.”
“He doesn’t have lazy eye, that’s a costume,” Nasir says and bites the side of his mouth bloody to keep himself from smiling. The last thing Agron needs now is encouragement. “Ever heard of pirates and eye patches?”
“Sorry, my mistake. Clearly I’ve been spending too much time with doctors lately.” Agron shrugs. “He’s still glaring at me though.”
“I’m sure he’s just worried you’ll spill all that red wine on the couch.”
Agron scoffs and then swirls his drink around for a few seconds in the most deliberate way possible over the closest cushion.
“Well, who has white furniture anyway?”
“A rich guy with no pets or godchildren,” Nasir answers deadpan and is finally able to make the other man’s smirk falter. For two seconds.
“Touché.” Agron raises his glass to him with another smile and then carefully places it empty down on the table. “So back to you, Steve. No boyfriends then?”
Nasir shakes his head.
“At all? That’s hard to believe. A guy like you...”
“No boyfriends. But I should warn you, my fiancé is around somewhere. And he’s a Marine with a temper, so I’d keep your hands to yourself if I were you. He can get a little...territorial.”
Agron rolls his eyes, and instead of pulling away only adds a second hand on Nasir’s skin. “Don’t worry. I’m sure I can take him if it comes to that. Sounds like a useless wimp, anyway.”
“And when you say ‘take him’, are we talking about a... threesome?”
Agron’s hands freeze on the lapels of Nasir’s jacket and he looks up.
“I don’t...” Agron stares at him bemused for a second. “I mean how would that even...” And then he scratches the back of his neck and starts laughing softly. “Sorry, babe. I think I even confused myself there for a second.”
Nasir chuckles along with him and then leans closer, slipping his hands between Agron’s jacket and the starched shirt. The man’s skin feels warm under the cotton and he still smells of sandalwood like always and it’s so familiar that it probably shouldn’t be a turn on anymore, but it is. Then again, they still have six months’ worth of catching up to do; that’s probably the reason.
Probably.
“So what are you supposed to be anyway?” he says tugging at the loosened tie, deciding a distraction is in order, “A casual James Bond or something?”
Agron swats Nasir’s fingers away and adjust his tie. “Sorry but I’m afraid this is the best you get when you invite a guy to your costume party with only a couple of days’ warning.”
“Chadara would’ve lent you that gladiator outfit. I told you.”
Agron shakes his head and pokes him in the chest. “And I told you, I’m not here just for you to perv on, mister. I’m more than just a piece of ass, okay? And it’s freezing outside.”
“Well, you could’ve always put on your dress blues. Get that Officer and a Gentleman vibe going.”
But Agron just smirks and pokes him harder for that. With one hand. While the other one is straying significantly lower despite Nasir’s best efforts to keep it above waist-level.
“A, I’m not in the fucking Navy, babe, so that reference won't work. And B, again, I’m not here for you to perv on. The uniform’s meant for serious occasions, not for foreplay.”
Nasir peels Agron’s hand off his ass for the eighth time and opens his mouth to give his rebuttal, when the sound of raised voices behind them interrupts him. And then Agron finally pulls away and glances somewhere behind Nasir’s back.
“They’re getting ready for the fireworks, you should go. No point in coming to a party in a penthouse without taking advantage of the view.”
But Nasir stays where he stands and looks at him carefully, reading his face and wiping the mirth off his own for a second. “Will you be–”
“If a little sensory overload is the worst of my problems, then yeah, I think I’m all right,” Agron says and tucks some more hair behind Nasir’s ear, giving him his best reassuring smile. And they both know that’s not the whole truth, not by a mile, but they also know that that discussion will keep for another day.
Today’s for fun only.
“But really, you should go,” Agron says. And then he’s smirking again. “And give a kiss to our host for me; poor man’s dying out there. I’ll be fine on my own for another fifteen minutes.”
Nasir looks over his shoulder again, following Agron’s line of sight, and watches the stream of people slowly making their way out into the terrace.
“Nah, I don’t get what the fuss is about anyway. It’s just fireworks; you’ve seen them once, you’ve seen them all.” He grins and tugs at Agron’s tie again. “And anyway, I still have my work cut out for me here.”
“Work?”
“Yeah, need to find a way to convince you to come home with me tonight, don’t I?”
And he’s pretty damn certain he will never get tired of seeing that smile. Ever.
“Oh, I think that was a done deal the moment you walked over. Steve.”
“That easy, huh?”
“Nothing wrong with easy,” Agron says, “And who knows, maybe we could even convince that fiancé of yours to join us.” He winks. “And put on his uniform.”
“Okay, people, here we go! Everybody ready?...”
“So, do you think we could...?”
“Good thing I parked close.”
“...Eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two...one... HAPPY NEW YEAR!”
The elevator doors close behind them just as the people start cheering outside. And the next thing Nasir knows, his back hits the paneled wall with a fair amount of force, leaving him with just enough air to be able to mumble a half-muffled “Happy New Year” against Agron’s lips.
Happy New Year, indeed.