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A Paler Shade of Green	By : Rina76 Category: Angel the Series > Slash - Male/Male Views: 3532 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Angel fandom or any of the characters from the show. I am not making money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
A freshly baked new update for all readers of mine! Much gratitude to the following loyal subjects: Trallala - angst and drama have finally arrived!! LakotaGirl - yay, someone likes the twins XD Thanks so much for your kind words. Please enjoy. I trust that this chapter starts to intrigue the imagination and shows you how things are beginning to move forward with the story :)
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Part 8.
Kylar is disappointed that Lorne didn’t come to his room last night (he stayed awake as long as he could) but the sensitive boy tries not to show it, having breakfast, meeting his tutor for lessons and then starting a sword-fighting session with Wesley and Gunn, focusing on that instead of why his guardian never kept his promise. He supposes that Lorne must have had a very good reason for not being there, however he still missed out on that song he was so looking forward to.
When Lorne finally emerges from his bedroom just after lunch, he spins a vague lie about being tired after his stage performance at the club and having collapsed on his couch, drifting off to sleep without realising it. He still looks exhausted with dark circles under his normally sparkling red eyes so Kylar believes the fib wholeheartedly. Being one himself, Kylar can understand how demanding and mentally draining an Empath’s line of work can get and so he doesn’t question Lorne any further, letting the older man quietly sit and watch the training without bothering him.
Of course, Lorne has already mixed himself up a lunchtime cocktail. He doesn’t think he can stomach food right now, not with his belly still twisted up in knots. The bite mark on his shoulder has turned dark like a bruise but can’t be seen under the long sleeve of his shirt. It twinges every time he lifts his arm up to take a sip of his drink, constantly reminding the guilty male of what he was doing last night with the sharp-toothed Ho’kio twins when poor, unaware Kylar sat up innocently waiting for him. Lorne knows the demonic hickey will go away over the next couple of days but the memory of how it got there never will, nor will the heavy guilt he feels. Where’s one of those brain-sucking bugs when a guy needs them?
He manages to avoid Kylar for most of the day, or rather Kylar is so busy practicing how to stake a vampire with Connor and Angel that Lorne doesn’t need to avoid him. The kid is kept quite occupied doing his own thing and Lorne is thankful for that innate independence, and that he doesn’t need to tell any more lies to the boy. One a day is plenty. Any more than that, and Lorne’s nose will grow bigger.
Soon enough, the sun goes down and after a hastily-eaten snack of salmon sushi, Lorne vanishes into his room to get ready for another show. He does two on weekends - Friday evening and Saturday evening. During the week, Caritas is open on Tuesday (which is Ladies Night – women of all races and species get free drinks the entire night) and then there’s Wicked Wednesdays, where demons and humans alike come dressed in their naughtiest bedroom attire, horns and wings optional. Tonight is just a regular Saturday show performance for Lorne with Broadway tunes, karaoke, fortune-telling and later on, a DJ for the younger club patrons to dance to. Admittedly, he isn’t a huge fan of this electronic techno stuff because it makes his head hurt but the twenty-something crowd love it and they always spend a ton on drinks so he can’t afford to exclude them from his establishment or just cater for the golden oldies. Money is money and making it is the main aim of Lorne’s business. After all, he has staff to pay and bills to keep on top of. Helping people and sharing his psychic wisdom is just something he does on the side. Not that everyone listens to his advice but hey, he tries. It’d just be a shame to let his God-given talent go to waste.
Everyone else in the hotel readies themselves for their nightly activities as well. After a quick cup of warmed pig blood, Angel heads off to a job with Wesley and Gunn to search for a missing young boy who was possibly taken as a virgin sacrifice for a coven of satanic male witches. Fred’s parents are in town so she is having dinner with them and Cordelia has a date with some hunky Spanish soccer player. Cordy still loves the Groosalugg and misses his mighty muscles but he’s off in another dimension being its powerful but fair ruler and overseer of justice. And anyway, what Groo doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
As for Kylar, well, he has plans of his own. Taking a shower, he hides out in his room until he knows that Lorne has left. Then he sneaks out to Lorne’s club. The older Pylean gets a cab there, so he can drink on the way, but Kylar walks, his face shadowed within the hood of his long-sleeved top, hands hidden in the front pouch. Nobody knows he is doing this. Not even Connor. If Connor knew, he wouldn’t let Kylar walk around the streets by himself but the young vampire hunter is out somewhere in the city, occupying himself with slaying. Or perhaps he is meeting his boyfriend for secret sexual intercourse. Kylar is alone but he feels safe enough and is confident in his self-defence skills. Following Connor’s example, he is carrying a knife strapped to his ankle and a stake to the other but Kylar hopes not to use either of them, keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact, taking the quickest route to the karaoke club without anybody noticing him. He knows the way to Caritas because he walked from there to the Hyperion Hotel on the first night he arrived in LA. He has a very good memory for distances and directions, a skill gained back in the wilderness of Pylea.
He is curious to see what this establishment of Lorne’s is like. Kylar saw the place only once, when he tumbled out of the portal above the stage, but it was dark, quiet and empty then. He wants to know what Caritas looks like with all the lights on and full of people, full of music. But most of all, he wants to watch Lorne perform, to hear him sing. He doesn’t want to wait for Lorne to get home. Kylar is too full of longing to wait. And what if Lorne becomes tired and falls asleep on the dressing room couch, like last night? Then Kylar will again miss out on listening to Lorne’s magical voice. No, he is getting out into the world and making things happen. As Connor said: Life’s too short to sit around waiting.
When he arrives at the club, Kylar can already hear Lorne’s voice, muffled through the walls. The muscle-bound demon bouncer at the door almost doesn’t let Kylar in, thinking he’s too young, but when the strict security guard takes a second look at the red eyes, horns and green skin of Kylar’s complexion, he assumes the kid must be related to Lorne somehow and so the gigantic bowtie-wearing doorman steps back to usher him through. Inside, it’s dark and smells like smoke and alcohol. Lorne refuses to adopt a non-smoking policy in the club, his little ‘fuck you’ to the rest of the politically correct world and its stifling laws. Actually, it’s a beneficial thing to have such a heavy layer of smoke permeating the air as it covers up the zoo-like animal stench of so many different demon species crammed into one space.
Squeezing through the diverse crowd and avoiding various spines, talons and horns along the way, Kylar finds a vacant spot at the bar, perching on a stool so he can have an unobstructed view of the stage and the dazzling performer on it. Lorne is wearing a powder-blue suit with a crisp white shirt underneath and a navy silk tie to finish the outfit off. He looks classically elegant, the spotlight making his spiky hair glow golden and proving what a shining star he rightfully is.
Though this is a demon-friendly establishment and he doesn’t have to don a disguise here, Kylar keeps his hood up and his face shadowed, not wanting Lorne to recognise him because he might get into trouble. Lorne told him not to come to this place and Kylar knows he is showing punishable disobedience but he is glad he’s here now because just being in the same room as Krevlornswath gives the eighteen year old youth a delightful warm feeling in his tummy. As usual, the sound of Lorne’s heavenly voice transports Kylar into a realm of magic and the younger demon sits there watching in open awe, as if bewitched.
Lorne’s wonderful - talking, joking and laughing with the crowd, a microphone in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other, a cigarette held between his first two fingers. He manages to drink, smoke, chat and sing without spilling anything or forgetting his lyrics or the punch line to any of his jokes. His words are full of charm and humour and his smile dazzles like the sun. Everyone adores him and it makes Kylar feel so proud to know that Lorne is his guardian alone. He hopes for them to be more than that soon and is still patiently waiting for the day when Lorne decides the moment is right. For the time being, Kylar is happy to gaze upon his idol and dream of that moment.
Somebody buys Kylar a drink and places it in front of him but the kid is too enraptured by Lorne’s commanding stage presence to even touch it or thank the anonymous buyer.
Partway through a cabaret performance of ‘Hit the Road, Jack’, Lorne spots a small figure at the end of the bar and his heart immediately leaps into his stomach. Even without seeing Kylar’s face Lorne knows exactly who is sitting there. One Empath cannot mistake another of their own kind. But Kylar should not be here, in a nightclub full of carnivores and cannibals. He should be at home, in bed. Safe. Not sitting at the bar like a sweet cherry waiting to be plucked by clawed, gluttonous hands. Fear mixes with fury, Lorne’s pulse rising rapidly. Kylar promised he wouldn’t come to Caritas. He promised! The brat better have a damn good reason as to why he defied Lorne’s rule and showed up anyway. Trying not to let his emotions show or his voice crack, Lorne finishes the song, smilingly thanks the audience for their applause and gestures for the DJ to play some filler music, quickly exiting the stage to go deal with his disobedient foster-son.
Kylar sees Lorne coming and stiffens on the chair, half in dread that he’s been discovered and half-excited that his guardian is going to speak to him personally. When he reaches the bar stool and the small teenager perched on it, Lorne yanks Kylar’s hoodie down to reveal that angelic face, the older male trying to control the volume of his voice.
“What the hell are you doing here, Kylar? I told you never to come to this place!”
“I just wanted to see you,” the boy answers innocently.
“How did you get here?”
“I walked.”
“You walked?” Lorne glances around but can’t see Connor or any of the gang anywhere. “Alone?”
“Yes. I remembered the way.” Kylar’s self-reliant Pylean pride makes his chin lift up. “I am not a child. I did not need an escort.”
“That’s not the point, you little idiot!” Lorne hauls him off the seat and pushes him into a private corner, his actions rough with anger. His red eyes glare furiously into Kylar’s wide, shocked ones.
“You could have gotten yourself killed, you stupid, stupid boy,” Lorne hisses fiercely, his clenched fingers bruising the teen’s narrow shoulders. “I told you to stay at the hotel! You swore to me you would and I trusted you. You are so fucking grounded for this, young man! You hear me?”
Not expecting such an angry reception from his normally gentle care-taker, Kylar trembles and gives a tiny whimper, as if he’s going to cry, and Lorne immediately regrets his harsh words, letting go of the boy’s upper arms and taking a step back.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. I’m sorry,” Lorne repeats in a hasty apology, holding both his hands up. “I didn’t mean to grab you or snarl at you. But you don’t understand…this place is dangerous. And I’m not just talking about the unstable portal over the stage. The types of demons that come here… I know what they’re capable of and I just don’t want you getting mixed up with them, that’s all.”
Lorne’s forehead is wrinkled in anxious unease as he tries to get his point across “Look around, Kylar. Can’t you see how everyone is staring at you?”
Kylar hesitantly sweeps his gaze about the club. Now that he’s not focused on Lorne and his arresting stage presence, he finally notices how many other demons have fixed their eyes on him. And it’s not like when Lorne looks at him. When Lorne looks at him, Kylar enjoys it. It makes him feel good. Feel special. This kind of unblinking, intense staring, from so many greedy pairs of eyes, makes the hair on the back of his neck prickle in warning. It’s the same feeling he used to get on Pylea right before a snarling Drokken or some other savage beast launched itself out of the bushes and came charging towards him, intent on ripping his frail frame into pieces of wet flesh and cracked bone.
Suddenly, he realises that that’s exactly what could happen to him here too. It’s a different dimension and a whole new world, much more advanced and free than Pylea, but there are just as many vicious creatures here as there are on his home land and Kylar is nothing but prey to them.
Finally understanding why Lorne wouldn’t let him come here before, the inexperienced youth whispers in dismay, “You were trying to protect me.”
“Exactly. My job is to take care of you and I can’t do that if you won’t listen to what I say. Dammit, Kylarkmar - you have no idea how much I worry about you,” Lorne despairs, smoothing back the boy’s hair and cupping his all-too-innocent face. “If you got hurt, my little zucchini, I don’t know what I’d do. I’d never, ever forgive myself.”
Realising that he’s made a grave mistake in coming here against Lorne’s wishes, Kylar is about to apologise tenfold for not listening to his concerned custodian and for betraying his trust but before he can get a word out, two dark shadows appear in front of him, one either side of Lorne. The older Pylean senses them too, turning around and quickly dropping his hands away from Kylar’s face.
It’s the Ho’kio twins. And they’re smiling. But not in a pleasant, friendly manner, more like in utter wickedness, their identical black eyes glinting with mischief and lust. Kylar doesn’t know who they are but he can instantly sense that they mean trouble, their sexually predatory presence overwhelming and frightening to him.
“Who is this, Lorne?” The fully-male half of the pair is speaking, his low voice curious and attracted. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“No,” Lorne answers frigidly, his heart starting to thump in unease. “Go away. We’re trying to talk here.”
“About what?” The slim-hipped hermaphrodite chimes in, sounding inquisitive.
“None of your business.” With a cautioning hand on Kylar’s shoulder, Lorne tries to keep the kid in the shadows but it’s no use because the twins have excellent night-vision and can see for themselves exactly how gorgeous Kylar is and why Lorne would want to hide him.
“Ah, so THIS is the one you tried to turn us down for.” Guessing the truth, the prettier demon brother leans in and tilts his head intently at Kylar, silken jet-black hair slipping over a pale shoulder banded with strips of leather. “We don’t blame you, Host. He’s…”
A pierced ebony tongue flicks out, slithering quickly across Kylar’s smooth youthful cheek and then back again.
“…delicious.”
Kylar can’t move. He is frozen in shock and fright.
“Get away from him!” Shoving at the seductive whore’s flat chest, Lorne stands defensively in front of Kylar, shielding him. “Don’t you dare touch him again, bitch.”
“Come now. We won’t hurt him,” the dominant Ho’kio entices in a deep, provocative purr, looking Kylar over as if he’s a new toy. “We only want to play.”
“He’s not yours to play with.”
“You won’t share? Not even if we say please?” The transgendered twin hugs the bigger one around the waist, batting those eyelashes prettily and beguilingly at Lorne in a mock-begging gesture. “We could have a lot of fun together – me, you, my brother and your sweet little friend. The only thing better than a threesome is a foursome.”
Lorne tightens his jaw, forcing words out through gritted teeth. “Shut your mouth.”
“That’s not what you said to me last night,” the partially-female demon slyly replies, licking a pair of glossy black lips. “You tasted good, Host. Did you like the taste of me?”
“Did we wear you out enough?” The more masculine Ho’kio taunts Lorne, pulling his smaller sibling closer and suggestively stroking one narrow hip, very close to its groin. The androgynous creature emits a soft clicking hiss, baring petite fangs and rolling wantonly into the touch.
“Or would you like a repeat performance?” The larger male’s glittering midnight eyes slide hungrily over Kylar’s lean figure. “Perhaps with your boy watching us this time?”
Knowing that he’s screwed (in a bad way), Lorne growls to both of them, “Back off, you ruthless pair of predators. You say one more thing and I will cut your fucking tongues out.”
The demonic duo smirk at each other, not worried in the least. They know about the club’s sanctuary charm and how everyone is safe from harm inside it.
“But you wouldn’t do that. You like our tongues. I know you liked mine.” The pretty one flickers it tauntingly at Lorne’s face like a snake. “Especially when I slid it right up your-”
“I mean it!” Lorne snaps, pointing at the exit and ordering coldly, “Get the fuck out of here. Now. Or I’ll have security throw you out.”
“Fine, we know when we’re not wanted,” the muscular demon grants in disgruntlement, starting to draw his slender sibling away by the arm. “Come on, my twin. Let’s go. Even the two of us combined cannot compete against a child of such colourful, captivating beauty.”
“No, we can’t,” the dark-featured hermaphrodite resentfully returns, sparing a last envious glance at Kylar’s rich burgundy lips, shiny berry-red hair and velvety violet-shaded eyes of crimson. “I hope you know how lucky you are, little spawn.”
Pouting, the feminine-faced demon and his/her bulkier brother leave the club in cat-like strides, going to find another sex partner to satisfy their never-ending hunger.
Wiping his wet cheek with a shaking hand, Kylar now greatly regrets leaving the hotel. Lorne was right.
He never should have come here.
“Stay right there, mister,” Lorne orders Kylar, jabbing a pointy finger to the spot as if it’s a Naughty Corner. Kylar obeys, too shocked to move anyway. Or even to think. Pulling out his cellphone with a clenched jaw, the older Pylean calls one of his most trusted friends.
“Angel, it’s me. Are you busy right now? Great – I need a huge favour. Can you come down to my club, collect Kylar and take him home for me? He’s not supposed to be here.” Lorne frowns as the vampire responds. “No, it’s not your fault, Angel-cakes. You’re weren’t meant to be supervising him. He just snuck out on his own.”
The short-haired Empath gives Kylar a chastising look and then sighs, rubbing his face in exasperation and weariness. “Okay, thanks. See you soon.”
A firm hand on his arm, Lorne escorts Kylar to the front of the club where they wait for Angel’s sleek black convertible. It arrives within minutes. The adults have a private word while Kylar gets into the back like a badly-behaved child. He knows that if he was still a slave, this is the point where he’d get taken home, brutally beaten to within an inch of his pitiful life and locked up in chains without food or water. Instead, Lorne just leans into the car, quietly tells him to go back to the hotel with Angel and stay in his own room until Lorne gets back.
“We’ll talk about this later, sweetie, okay?”
Kylar doesn’t even answer, just turns his head away from Lorne’s troubled gaze.
As Angel drives him home, the eighteen year old youth remains silent in the back seat. It’s actually the first time he’s been in a car but he barely notices or cares. Tears are rolling down his face. He doesn’t seem to be aware that he’s crying, just keeps numbly staring out at the passing city scenery, the breeze ruffling through his rippled hair. Looking in the rear vision mirror, Angel sees the boy’s tears, quizzical and concerned about what’s happened but he doesn’t ask. It’s not his place nor is it his business. It’s between Lorne and Kylar. Being a dad himself, Angel knows how difficult it can be dealing with teenagers, although Kylar never struck him as the rebellious type before. Ah, well. It had to happen sooner or later. Lorne will just have to accept that Kylar is maturing and allow the boy room to grow, allow him to make mistakes and let him learn from them. No matter how much grief or angst Kylar’s search for independence may cause, no matter how often they fight or argue, no matter how much they hurt each other with harsh words or actions, Lorne has to stay strong and continue loving the kid anyway.
Because that’s what fathers do.
………
A couple of anxious hours later, Lorne returns back to the Hyperion. He doesn’t want to face Kylar after all the shit that went down in the club but knows he has to. Heading upstairs with a stiff drink, he is alarmed to discover that Kylar isn’t in his room. Using his Empath abilities to search the hotel, he can’t locate Connor’s aura either and comes to the conclusion that the two boys have gone out together. Without asking Lorne or telling him where they’re going. Despite not being exactly thrilled by this, Lorne can identify with Kylar’s rebellion; the boy is upset with him and wants to show that by running off in the middle of the night with his best friend to play defiant teenagers. Though Lorne is at least thankful that Connor is with Kylar and will protect him from harm, part of the older demon is extremely worried about Kylar’s mental state, thinking that the kid shouldn’t be out in public with all those unresolved emotions whirling about in his sensitive head.
Another more selfish part of Lorne is overwhelmingly relieved that Kylar is not there and they don’t have to have that awful talk about what Lorne did with those Ho’kio brothers last night. He was an idiot to think Kylar wouldn’t find out and should have just been honest with him this morning. Kylar still would have been hurt by the truth but at least he’d know that Lorne didn’t lie to him. The lying is what has upset Kylar the most. And the boy has every right to feel that way. Nobody likes being lied to and Lorne shouldn’t have done it, especially not in his position of responsibility and knowing all the trauma poor Kylar has been though in the past. Kylar’s only just learned how to trust and Lorne has already shattered it, like stomping on a fragile-shelled bird’s egg. But in spite of his green skin and horns, Lorne is still only a man and as everyone knows, men tend to make mistakes.
Big, huge, fucking stupid mistakes that he should have known better than to let happen in the first place. He shouldn’t have let those manipulative black-eyed bastards seduce him. He should have been stronger and stood up to them, instead of giving in to their calculated caresses and poisonously alluring tongues. Any fond feelings he may have developed towards them vanished when they opened their treacherous mouths and blabbed. Hell, it’s too late to do anything about it now. It’s done, his dirty secret is exposed, and all Lorne can do is try to keep the fallout to a minimum. When Kylar gets back from the game parlour or wherever he’s sulkily disappeared to, Lorne will sit him down for a long, painfully-truthful and embarrassing discussion about how guardians and parental figures aren’t perfect and that sometimes they have adult needs which drive them to do silly things. Lorne isn’t sure how much Kylar actually knows about sex but he ought to bring it up and sort out this issue so that it won’t damage their relationship in the future. Kylar is a sweet, sympathetic kid. Over time (and with bucket-loads of apologies), he will surely come to understand and forgive Lorne for this one little incident.
Hopefully.
Unbeknownst to him, Kylar and Connor are not at a game parlour, nor are they at the movies. They are out hunting. As soon as Connor had returned from secretly seeing his boyfriend Sebastian for a bit of mid-week lovemaking, Kylar had gone to the auburn-haired slayer and declared that he was ready to hunt. That he wanted to put all his training to use, earn his keep and slay something. He said he was sick of sitting around while other people got to go out and do things. Sensing the anger seething inside the normally-peaceful young demon, Connor agreed to take Kylar on a search for vampires, knowing that the best way to release rage was to unload all those furious feelings into acts of violence. It might be crude but Connor knows from experience that it works. He’s always much calmer after a kill. And by the looks of Kylar and his burning hell-red eyes, he needs some serious calming. The green-skinned teen won’t tell Connor why he is so uncharacteristically angry, but Connor gathers that it must be Lorne’s fault somehow because when he asks if Lorne is okay with them going hunting, Kylar curtly replies that he doesn’t give a flying fig what his guardian thinks.
So, here they are in a seedier area down town known as a preferred vampire feeding ground, armed with stakes and keeping an eye out for any unusual activity or lurking figures. Although he’s only ever killed once in his life, when he had no other choice, tonight Kylar is in the mood to do it again.
And this time he’ll take great pleasure in it.
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A Paler Shade of Green