Disclaimer: I do not own any Queer as Folk characters or have rights to the series. Please forgive any liberties taken.

Chapter 5

Stuart went answer the door while Vince tried to straighten the bed clothes in to some semblance of neatness. He was thankful that the feathers hadn't come flying out of the pillows as they did with some makes of pillow when used rather boisterously to bludgeon someone. Stuart was cursing under his breath at the interruption. They'd been having light-hearted fun, something the two of them hadn't shared in a while. Damn room service, worse timing in the world, he grumbled inwardly. He yanked the door open to find a rather delicious looking blonde guy, with hazel eyes and a chiselled jaw, with his fist raised in mid-air on its way to knock the now vacant door. The hazel eyes gave him an appreciative once over, noting how his dishelved appearance served to make the dark haired guest look extremely sexy. Stuart sighed; Too bad I've got my sights set somewhere closer to home. Where were you last week? he thought wryly to himself.

"Your order, sir" said the blonde, manoeuvring his serving cart into the doorway in a manner that somehow managed to be seductive.

"Thanks. Vince the foods here!" he called over his shoulder, giving the guy the unsaid message of 'back off, I'm taken'. To his credit, the attendant did stop his posturing.

"Will that be all, sir?" He asked politely.

"Yeah. I take it this will just go onto my bill?"

"Of course, sir. Shall I just leave the cart with you sir?"

"Yeah. Thanks again" said Stuart, slipping a twenty-dollar tip into the breast pocket of his staff blazer. The attendant politely turned and left while Stuart pulled the cart into the room and shut the door again.

"He was tasty looking" said Vince's voice in his ear. He hadn't heard him approach. "I'm surprised you didn't just pull him into the room and eat him." When Stuart turned round he saw why the attendant had left so quickly. Vince was now only wearing his trousers, obviously eager to get straight in the shower after he'd eaten. He was a sight and a half. The guy really had no clue what a hunk he could be, or the effect he had on a certain someone.

"If I'd wanted a Tart, I'd have ordered one" was his only reply. Vince had to laugh, Stuarts quick wit never ceased to amaze him.

Vince settled himself into one of the plush armchairs at the small, stylish coffee table as Stuart wheeled over to the table.

"Hey Stuart, what's that?" Vince had finally noticed the glaring metal bucket, capped with a large lid, which sat incongruously upon the trolley with Vince's cheeseburger. Stuart lifted the lid with a flourish, revealing the neck of a bottle submerged in a bath of ice.

"It's champagne my dear" he crowed. He pulled out two flutes that had been hidden from view behind the bucket.

"Hang on a minute, champagne? You can't drink champagne at lunch time. Anyway, it's too expensive; you've spent enough on me already." Vince protested.

"The Edwardians drank champagne with every meal. Churchill had a bottle with breakfast everyday. I can call that blonde back and share it with him if you don't want it. I'm sure I can find some constructive use for it" he teased. Vince uttered a noise of objection. "Oh, so you want some now do you?" Stuart shook the bottle, then quickly and expertly popped the cork with one thumb, covering the majority of the neck with the digit, spraying Vince with the sweet, dry tasting liquid.

"Oi! Stuart! Stop it!" he cried, raising his arms to shield himself as Stuart cackled away and continued to soak him. "Thanks a lot you bastard. Now I'm soaked. Good job I wanted a shower anyway" he grumbled after the soaking had ceased.

"I could always lick it off you" laughed Stuart as he poured two generous flutes of champagne to go with their lunches.

"Piss off!" Vince was already starting to blush. Stuart always new the right buttons to push to make him uncomfortable.

"Here, just shut up and drink it" Stuart said as he handed Vince one of the glasses. He placed his own on the table, along with the bottle of champagne still in its bucket of ice. He took their respective plates and set them on the table too, along with the sets of cutlery provided.

"Dinner is served" he said as he settled himself into the chair opposite Vince.

"A toast" he said, grabbing his glass off the table and raising it above the middle of the table. "To finally expanding your world" he said, smiling brightly.

"To getting out of the scene" retorted Vince as he gingerly knocked his glance against Stuarts.

They downed the champagne and Stuart poured them each another glass as they eagerly ate their meals. Stuart kept sneaking glances at Vince as he attempted to stretch his delicate mouth around the huge burger. He laughed quietly to himself at how child like Vince seemed. Adorable. He sat wondering why it had taken him so long to see what had always been there, and why he still failed to act. He'd never once managed to express his emotions clearly in his life. But he was going to change. He had to, for his and Vince's sake. This trip was the perfect opportunity, away from the judgement and scrutiny of friends and family, a second chance for them both.

It wasn't long before they were both full and their plates and the bottle were empty. They both sat lazily in their chairs listening to the background music still pouring through the sound system. By this time it had shifted to a Placebo album and was currently playing the title track 'Without You I'm Nothing'. How sadly appropriate, thought Vince. He stayed where he was a moment, stealing an eyeful of the dozing Stuart, worrying to himself about the last few days. So much had happened, so much had changed. He didn't want to create false hope for himself, but during these last few weeks, especially the past few days, he thought he had seen something different in the way Stuart had been acting. I'm just fooling myself, he thought dejectedly.

"I'm going for my shower now" he stated, heaving himself out of the too comfortable chair before he fell asleep. He grabbed himself a pair of clean boxers, navy silk, on his way to the en suite. He closed the door firmly behind himself and quickly stripped off the last of his clothes. He looked briefly at himself in the mirror and still failed to see anything worthy of attention. He touched his chest briefly, feeling the stickiness of the champagne that had dried there. He'd missed days like these, where it was just the two of them, when they could just be themselves and be together. He climbed into the shower-bath and pulled the curtain across before turning on the hot water tap. He liked his water hot enough to scold.

It wasn't long before he'd finished. He reeked of the complimentary soap and shampoo, a vanilla scent which reminded him of home and the shampoo he used to get cheap on discount from work. He let the water cascade down his back and his arse one last time before he shut off the water and reached for his towel which was handily at waist height just inside the curtain. Hang on a minute, he thought, suddenly confused, I left my towel on the floor. He noticed that the towel was being offered to him by a hand attached to an arm protruding around the side of the curtain. He hastily grabbed the soft, fluffy towel and wrapped it around his waist before angrily sweeping aside the curtain.

"What are you doing in here, Stuart?!" he demanded angrily. He wasn't just embarrassed, he was pissed.

"I needed a piss. And then I thought I may as well wait the few minutes until you'd finish so I could use the shower" Stuart explained. This did fit with the fact that he was wearing nothing but a white towel that matched Vince's. Vince inwardly groaned when he realised Stuart had stripped naked less than ten feet from him and he'd missed it. he was so disappointed he forgot he was angry with Stuart in the first place.

"Alright. Well I'm going to go get dried off and then I'm going to bed" he said. He scooped up his clean boxers and his discarded trousers and underwear. Stuart watched him leave, silently appreciating the dripping wet view. The truth was that Stuart had followed him into the bathroom not long after he'd got into the shower and had quietly spying on him. Seeing his silhouette while he bathed was better than nothing at all. That view and seeing Vince dripping wet as he climbed out of the bath had unfortunately made him a little too excited for his own good, but Vince hadn't seemed to notice.

Stuart made sure the door was locked before shedding his own towel and stepping into the bath. He pulled the curtain closed and turned on the hot and cold water for the shower fixture. He liked his water to be just above body temperature, like a lover during sex, heated but human. He washed himself thoroughly before her decided to deal with his erection. It didn't take too much to get rid of it, just the image of Vince wet and glistening and the remembered sensation of brushing close against him on the plane and the sweet, cinnamon taste of his lips. He almost sobbed after he shot his load. I'm such a sad bastard.

By the time he'd finished his shower, dried off and gotten his own boxers on, black cotton, Vince was already asleep. He was curled up in the middle of the huge bed instead of on his side, obviously having shifted in his sleep. The room was darkened somewhat by the blinds that Vince had drawn across the large windows and the clock read 3:15pm already. Stuart was tired and frustrated and depressed, but he still marvelled at how sweet Vince looked when he slept, how carefree. When he was awake, Vince nearly always had a worried frown on his face. Stuart walked round to his side of the bed, lifted the thick duvet and slid in. He admired the line of Vince's shoulders and the way his back curved since he was facing away from him. Stuart shifted in the bed, onto his side and nestled himself against Vince's sleeping back. he was too tired to care what Vince would think in the morning if he woke up with Stuart still spooning him. He wrapped his arm across Vince's chest and nuzzled his face in his the dark blonde, slightly damp hair. The familiar scent of vanilla comforted him and he fell asleep listening to Vince's breathing.

((sorry, no shower scene lol. I'll be including one later perhaps, although I think it may be a little too reminiscent of the StuartNathan shower scene in the series.

This chapter took me a little longer than I intended, but I hope all the re-working paid off and you like it.))