Beast felt his mouth go dry, and he eyed Laurent, suddenly stiff as a piece of dry wood. “Nice, right?” he asked in the end, making himself smile. He just needed a confirmation of Laurent’s potential interest. That was all.
When Laurent tapped his fingers against the glass, the camera already focused on something else. “Do you think it’s acceptable for two men to kiss that way?” When he looked up at Beast with a tense expression on his face, his eyes seemed even bigger through the glasses.
“Yes,” said Beast right away, drilling his gaze into Laurent. “It’s... a good thing people can be with whoever they want to be with, isn’t it?”
The shy smile on Laurent’s lips made Beast’s heart skip a beat. Score. His initial assumption was correct. He just needed to put in some more effort, and that pretty mouth would be on his cock tonight.
“A very good thing,” Laurent said with a deep sigh. “Can I see it again? How do I make the images stop?”
Beast cleared his throat. “Oh, they are here just for display. So that people can decide which of those... picture machines they want to buy. But we have them at home, and if you want to see men kissing men, then you can once we’re back.” Laurent was also more than welcome to kiss a man. Beast was ready to be the sacrificial lamb for that.
Laurent nodded, finally pulling away from the glass. The traces his hands left on the window had Beast imagining those soft fingers touching him all over. He was sure that even the places on his body that had most nerve damage could take the touch of Laurent’s silky skin.
“Where I come from it was punished,” he whispered, only confirming Beast’s suspicion about some sort of sect. The tactic of not prodding was working then.
Beast nodded to show his understanding. “There are still plenty of places like that, and some idiots don’t get it, but it’s perfectly legal. I mean... I like men too,” Beast said, watching Laurent for any traces of discomfort.
There was heavy breathing, a blush, wide eyes, but no backing away. “Oh,” Laurent choked out in the end. Beast bit his lip and stuffed his hands into his pockets as they approached the drugstore again.
“So... I understand. You don’t have to be ashamed.”
Laurent nodded, but he seemed absentminded. Which likely meant he was actually overanalyzing shit. They returned to the shampoos, where the mood finally became less tense as Laurent started reading the labels one by one.
Beast excused himself to grab the supplies he needed on hand if Laurent were willing to give him a chance. He wondered if Laurent—if something happened—would appreciate flavored lube, or some other fancy stuff, but in the end he picked up the plain one that claimed having no smell, as well as some condoms. It took him more time than it should have to make his choice, but when he returned to the bath product aisle, there was a middle-aged woman with red hair talking lively to Laurent, who stared at her with a polite smile.
Damn it. Beast shouldn’t have left him alone like this.
Like the man on a mission he now was, Beast approached them in quick strides.
Laurent looked up at him, as did the lady, but her smile seemed forced.
“This is my friend, Beast,” Laurent introduced him in that ridiculously polite manner. “He’s helping me shop. And this is,” he pointed to the woman, “Mrs. Avery. She was just telling me about her photography business.”
Mrs. Avery eyed Beast and licked her pink lips. “Yes… So, as I was saying, I’d love you to pop into our store some time for a test shoot.”
“No,” Beast said right away. “He can’t.”
Laurent stilled, sucking his lips in that distracting way, but then finally spoke when the woman glared at Beast. “Yes, I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but my friend just reminded me I’m already engaged with someone else on that matter.”
Mrs. Avery exhaled loudly, as if to signal her disappointment and burden everyone with it. Couldn’t she leave already? “I understand. Keep this in case you change your mind.” She passed Laurent a business card, and he took it with a smile, most likely having no idea what she was talking about.
When she finally left, Beast groaned in relief. “That was close. Do you have photography where you’re from?”
Laurent’s shoulders sagged. “No. Is it a bad thing?”
Beast leaned down to look him in the eyes. “Whoever hurt you could find you through this. She likely didn’t mean any harm, but it’s tricky business to have pictures taken if you’re hiding from someone.”
The big brown eyes went wide, and there it was. Fear. Beast wasn’t happy to be the one to remind Laurent of potential danger, but Laurent needed to be aware that he wasn’t safe when out of Beast’s sight. At least that was what Beast was telling himself, because admitting that he wanted to hoard Laurent’s attention would have been greedy. But then again, wasn’t he allowed to be a bit greedy this one time?