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The Best Moves
Chapter 8
This is Kalloway's NaNoWriMo Fic.
It has been spell-checked but not edited.
Apologies for all errors.
Feedback Appreciated.

"A little," Matthew replied. The next day was the Remote Transmissions Bishounen and Bishoujo Auction Caper and he already knew it was bound to be abnormal. They were going to stage the entire thing at Rhyn's apartment and then head to Otaku-Nation for the big event. Apparently there were a dozen of them who'd agreed to be auctioned off: Myra, Rae, Nicole, Bradey-chan, Skye, Anna, Billy, Matthew, Rhyn, Ethan, Jameson, and a boy with spiky blond hair that everyone called Strife. Matthew had only met him once in passing, but was definitely curious.

"Well, I don't think the whole thing will be too horrible. Nothing Myra and Rae plan goes too far wrong, too often," Billy said before grabbing a sandwich. It was about four in the morning and no one had wandered into the 24 Hour Coffee Shop in almost a half-hour.

Matthew was a little edgy, but not because of the auction. Instead it was because earlier they had almost gotten to... the good stuff. But Billy had to go to work at that exact second, interrupting them yet again. It seemed as though every chance they had alone was blown by some distraction or the other.

As out of character as Matthew found it to be (he was now using fanfiction terms to refer to himself, something he found both weird and cool at the same time), he wanted to just grab Billy and tell him it was quite time. After all, he only had a month...

Matthew hated that thought though. He didn't want to think about leaving the city, even though he knew he had to. He and Billy hadn't spoken about it at all yet.

"So... doing anything before the auction?"

"Sleeping," Matthew answered before kicking himself.

There was a pause.

"You know," Matthew said quickly, "in your bed. If you'll have me."

"I wish I could kiss you right now," Billy replied, grabbing for his glass of water.

"Nothing naughty while on the clock, huh?"

"I have hopes of continuing the evening's activities," Billy said a moment later. "Are you okay with that?"

Matthew shivered, and not from the cool air circulating in the shop.

"Is it six yet?"

"Not yet," Billy replied, meeting Matthew's gaze.

They'd been almost naked, grinding against one another down in the basement. Matthew was both amazed and yet a little scared by the size of Billy's erection as he felt it rub against his thigh. He couldn't quite bring himself to touch it yet, but Billy had been touching him, stroking him through his jeans. Matthew didn't know such noises could come from his mouth.

It was all he was thinking about as he watched Billy stand to greet a customer and proceed to handle the customer's order.

Why wasn't it six yet? He wanted to go home with Billy. He wanted to ignore the red stoplight that had just caught his eye. He wanted to go forward, to live. He already knew how incredible he could make himself feel. Now he wanted to feel that with someone else. With Billy. Though he'd had plenty of chances and advances from both Rhyn and Ethan, he'd declined them all. Right now he was lost in the euphoria of lust and the beginnings of love - it seemed as though Billy existed just to be perfect for him.

When it finally was six, they left together, hand in hand, almost running back to Billy's house. Halfway there though, Billy pulled Matthew into a service alley and pressed him against the cool stone wall, blocked from the view of anyone on the street.

Billy's lips were on his in a heartbeat, capturing his mouth and refusing to let it go until he'd stolen Matthew's breath away. Matthew always felt weak when kissing Billy for some reason. There was something in the way Billy kissed that Matthew knew that Billy meant it. They both gave themselves over, and easily. Perhaps, Matthew pondered, this really was something cosmically meant to be.

As they kissed, Billy's hands roamed lower, down Matthew's sides to sneak between their bodies. Matthew was a bit aroused already both from the kiss and his line of thought beforehand.

Now Billy was stroking him through his pants, drawing Matthew to a gasping full-hardness quickly.

"Billy!" Matthew gasped once his lips were freed. Instead of answering though, Billy dropped down to his knees and began pulling at the button to Matthew's jeans.

"What are you..."

"Just let me, I need to," Billy replied, pulling down Matthew's zipper and then rearranging the material of Matthew's jeans and underwear enough to free Matthew's arousal.

"Billy..."

Matthew squeezed his eyes shut and did what he could to stay upright as his erection was claimed by Billy's very talented mouth. For all that Billy's tongue could make him feel with just a kiss, the sensation of Billy's tongue on his hardness was downright going to kill him.

"Quiet," Billy whispered, pulling away for a moment before taking in more of Matthew's arousal than he had the time before.

Whimpering, Matthew nodded. He was going to come embarrassingly quickly and he knew it. Billy's tongue kept flicking against that one sensitive spot he had, putting delicious pressure on it and then backing away, only to return for more.

Nothing had felt so amazing. Nothing.

His knees gave out as soon as his orgasm started ripping through his body. He couldn't even watch Billy, didn't see Billy grab him and hold him from falling as he released into Billy's mouth.

The world was swimming with white and he lost a couple minutes somewhere during which Billy must have cleaned him up and pulled him back out onto the street.

"Damn," Billy said, his arm around Matthew as they kept walking. "I had no idea."

"No idea?" Matthew asked.

"You were so addictive," Billy replied. "I've never done anything quite like that before. Not out in public..."

"I..."

Billy was kissing him again, and Matthew didn't want Billy to ever stop.

"We need to get home."

Matthew nodded before doing his best to run along behind Billy. The day was going to be warm, Matthew could tell, and beautiful. And he was finally going to step out a live, a little more, at least.

He wasn't going to find himself in a month, but he was doing all he could to build a foundation.

He'd filled an entire notebook already, simply with musings on his not-so-sudden realization of his sexual preference.

Page after page, he detailed his thoughts and sudden confusion over where each next move would lead. He started with Tyler. He had to tell Tyler. He didn't know how to tell Tyler though, and that was the hard part. He honestly didn't know what Tyler thought of people who just happened to be attracted to the same gender as themselves. See, he didn't want it to become his life. It was just one facet of him. Besides wanting to writhe beneath the weight of Billy's body, he was the same person he had been. So hopefully Tyler wouldn't take it so badly.

But there was always the obvious problem, Matthew had realized. If Tyler asked if Matthew was attracted to him, Tyler would know if Matthew was lying when he answered.

Tyler was one of the last things on his mind though as Billy pulled Matthew into the house and upstairs. Billy's room was done in deep blues and had little decoration. Most everything was saved for the basement (to keep the RT crew out of his room, he had explained once), leaving plenty of space for the pair.

Matthew found himself freezing up though as Billy started to undress. He wasn't sure if it was the idea of sex with another man, or just the idea of sex in general.

"Matthew?" Billy asked, his shirt off, standing just a couple of feet from Matthew.

"A little nervous," Matthew replied honestly.

"We don't have to..."

"I want to," Matthew cut in quickly. "Please."

"Sit," Billy said, pointing to the bed. "Watch."

Matthew nodded and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, watching as Billy let his hair down and started unbuttoning his work pants. Matthew loved how Billy looked with his hair down, spilling over his body like a wave of gold. Billy's hat had been thrown just inside the door and his bangs had started to fall back in the correct direction, albeit a bit askew.

Slowly, almost torturously, Billy undid the pair of buttons at the top of his pants and then slid down his zipper. A few coffee stains dotted his pants, despite wearing an apron over his outfit while working. Matthew couldn't help but want to suggest one of his mother's stain removing ideas, but he held it in until it was quickly replaced by something else.

Billy didn't wear underwear.

Instead, Matthew was treated with the knowledge that Billy was a natural blond. A very well endowed natural blond, Matthew noted after another few seconds.

Staring was not quite the term for what Matthew was doing at that moment. It was a combination of staring, need, disbelief, and a billion other things. Part of him wanted to fall to his knees and attempt an imitation of the act Billy had performed on him, part of him wanted to run, and part of him was wondering how the hell something so large was to fit into his body.

And then Billy was very naked and very on top of Matthew, kissing him and starting to pull at his clothing. Matthew moaned, reaching up to wrap his arms around Billy's body, following that beautiful golden hair down to the tips, ghosting over the warm skin of Billy's buttocks.

Billy let out a noise akin to a moan, just softer, as he pulled back and started pulling off Matthew's t-shirt.

"Do you still want to?" Billy asked as he dipped to throw Matthew's shirt across the room at the same time he kissed at Matthew's shoulder.

"Yes," Matthew said softly. He did want. He did need. Within moments, he found himself naked and underneath Billy again, both chilled from his lack of clothing and burning up from the heat racing through his body.

Billy was smiling the next time they managed to look at one another. Smiling back, Matthew felt reassured about the situation. This was something. This was something good. And he wasn't anywhere near as nervous as he'd been. Instead there was a lust and a need burning within him.

Matthew just wasn’t entirely sure what to do though. He felt awkward as Billy kissed him and touched him, not entirely sure just how to touch Billy back but still trying. With a smile on his face, Billy pulled back before dipping down to kiss Matthew’s stomach. Matthew burst into laughter that lasted until Billy grabbed Matthew’s wrists and pinned them against the pillows above using just one hand.

Holding Matthew’s hands, Billy grinned before reaching down to stroke Matthew’s arousal. He held Matthew like that until Matthew was crying out, begging for more yet less at the same time. Matthew was so scared he was going to come too soon and all he wanted was to be perfect for Billy. When he was alone, it never mattered how quickly he came and now it mattered.

“What do you want?” Billy whispered, his lips by Matthew’s ear.

“You.”

Billy chuckled, letting Matthew’s hands go and slipping off of the bed to raid the top drawer of his dresser.

He returned with a container of lubricant and a condom, setting both on the bed, to the side, as he crawled back to kiss Matthew again.

“One last time, are you sure?” Billy asked, his voice a low whisper as he parted Matthew’s legs.

“Billy… Yes.”

The feeling was familiar now, the pressure against his opening and Matthew willed himself to relax as Billy pressed a finger to him, stroking Matthew’s hardness at the same time. Shivers shot through Matthew’s body, followed by intense pleasure. Even the sting he expected at penetration quickly became a good feeling. Matthew was glad he’d tried to train himself quickly to relax and let fingers inside of his body. It was helping now and Billy gave him a bit of a quizzical look.

“I’ve been practicing…” Matthew explained breathlessly. “So you could…”

Matthew lost his words to a kiss. He was addicted to the feeling of Billy’s tongue in his mouth, seeking for something it either never found or always found, Matthew wasn’t sure. Still, it was delicious and Billy’s lips were still on his when Billy’s fingers found the spot that caused Matthew to arch and cry out.

Billy took that as a sign to continue stretching and slicking Matthew’s opening, preparing his tight heat for something more.

Matthew was a little hesitant about the more. Billy was quite well endowed and really, Matthew wasn’t sure that anything of that size would fit inside of him. But he already had self-doubt written in large letters in his notebook and was trying to deal with that issue too. He knew that he shouldn’t dismiss anything until he tried it at least once to see if it would work.

When Billy pulled his fingers free and positioned himself, Matthew shuddered.

“Just relax,” Billy said before pressing forward.

Tears bit at Matthew’s eyes. Despite everything, it hurt. It stung and he didn’t doubt he was probably bleeding ever so slightly. Still, he knew it would get better. It had to. This was Billy who was now raining down kisses and caresses, whispering words or reassurance, as he pressed further into Matthew’s body.

Matthew had never felt so full. He felt as though he might explode, but the fullness was chasing away the pain. Perhaps pleasure could come back into the scene after all, he thought quickly. But at the moment, it wasn’t pleasure he needed, just movement. He pushed down at Billy, just a bit, and Billy opened his eyes to look at Matthew.

“Matthew?”

“Keep going,” Matthew said. “Please.”

Billy nodded, and pressing Matthew’s legs up so he could lay close to Matthew’s body, he pulled back and thrust.

The fullness was still there, but it hinted at something more. It wasn’t long though, before Billy’s thrusts, mixed with kisses, had Matthew amazed at the sudden pleasure. He was getting hard again, he knew, between their bodies as he was taken. He’d lost his erection upon penetration, when the pain had been too great to hold onto arousal.

The rhythm was a slow one, gentle, Matthew thought, compared to what it could be. Billy wasn’t particularly noisy and Matthew was sure that he, himself, hadn’t let loose more than a cry or two.

Still, Billy seemed to be getting more out of the experience. Sweat shone on his body and his expression was one of a man trying to hold back as best he could.

“Matthew, you feel…” he began, only to lose his sentence.

“Whatever you want,” Matthew found himself answering, rocking himself slightly to meet the next of Billy’s thrusts. He wished he had tried that sooner. The little twist had caused Billy’s erection to crash into his prostate, causing Matthew to cry out and rock again, trying to get more.

He lost himself, clawing as best he could at Billy’s back, thankful in his tiny bit of rational thought that he didn’t have any sort of long nails to possibly mar his lover’s skin.

Billy sped up his movements, not holding back as much and finally coming just before Matthew released from his body, hot between them.

They held each other for a few minutes, still joined and neither wanting to let go of the other.

“You tired?” Billy asked as he slid from Matthew’s body.

“A little,” Matthew answered, looking quickly for something to clean himself with. Billy offered a towel a moment later.

“We should get some rest. Tonight is the big night,” Billy said, taking the towel back to clean his own body. “And I get the odd feeling it is going to be quite the caper Myra intends it to be. But she’s a radio deejay and does things like this all the time across the city.”

“Piece of cake?” Matthew offered.

“More like the entire cake itself,” Billy replied, laying down and pulling a blanket over them both.

In a moment of sudden realization, Billy sprang back up and set his alarm clock to give them plenty of time to shower and be to Rhyn’s loft to set everything in motion.

=

They were only a few minutes late to Rhyn's, thankfully, despite sleeping more than an hour past the time Billy had set his alarm for.

Myra smiled at the pair, noting their wet hair and disheveled appearances.

"Time to turn you two into more respectable looking bishounen," she said, stepping over to catch Billy in a friendly hug. That was one of the more amusing things about the RT crew - they all hugged one another on a near constant basis. And sometimes more. Despite Myra and Rae having a seemingly platonic relationship most of the time, other times they were hanging from one another in suggestive ways.

Surprisingly, Myra then grabbed Matthew into an embrace that threatened to force the air from his lungs.

"Yay, you!" she whispered before pulling away and winking. Then in seconds, she was gone, yelling for Ethan.

"You don't mind it being public knowledge, do you?" Billy asked, taking Matthew's hand and leading him further into Rhyn's place. Bradey-chan skipped over, her hair in tight braids with little beads on them that clacked as she moved.

"Heya guys. Are you ready to be sold to the highest bidder? This is gonna be so cool!" she exclaimed. "There's been such a huge buzz about this, even on the BBs I hang on!"

"BBs?" Matthew asked. He knew he'd heard the term but he wasn't thinking clearly at all at the moment.

"Online message boards," Billy reminded him. "And there is, is there?"

"Yeah, everyone wants a piece of the Remote Transmissions hotties!"

Matthew was suddenly curious if Bradey-chan was capable of speaking without using exclamation points. He was seriously doubting it.

"Come on, it's time to get ready."

Ethan had appeared from the bowels of the loft, clutching an armload of clothing and looking rather disheveled himself.

"But I was talking to them!" Bradey-chan said, pouting before wandering over to where Strife and Skye were engaged in a video game battle. Matthew couldn't tell the game right away, but then realized it was Guilty Gear X2. He smiled, thinking of all the times Tyler had whipped his ass at that game.

"Is she always like that?" Matthew whispered to Billy as they followed Ethan to the back of the loft. It had been sectioned into a large room and then several smaller rooms, none of which had really complete walls and ceilings besides the bathroom.

Billy smiled. "She's a little hyper, that's all. It'll grow on you with time."

"She's exuberant about life because she almost died," Ethan supplied, despite Matthew being sure he'd been out of Ethan's hearing range. "She had cancer as a child and they didn't think she'd live. So she celebrates every day."

Matthew nodded, realizing there was definitely quite a bit about these people he was totally unaware of. But he wanted to learn more. A spark of an idea was forming in his head, but he wasn't quite ready to put more thought into it just yet.

"I didn't know that," Billy said after a moment of quiet contemplation.

"She mentioned it in an article a year or so ago - about anime and game characters with disabilities and ailments," Ethan explained. "But it was buried in the article, so if you didn't read the thing more than once, you probably didn't catch it."

"I think I'm still catching up on issues," Billy shot back. "Too much info at once to digest."

"That's what we aim for."

It was Rae, standing just outside the bathroom. She was dressed as some sort of woodland priestess, but Matthew didn't figure it out until he noticed the pointed ears peeking through her hair. An elf. Well, she certainly looked the part. Real flowers formed a halo that sat on her head and her robes definitely seemed as thought they were made for her.

"You like it?" Rae asked, twirling once. "We all decided that instead of specific characters, we'd just sort of be stereotypes. So I'm the elven maiden."

"And who are we going to be?" Billy asked.

"You'll see," Ethan replied, pulling Billy into the bedroom with Matthew quickly following.

"Boys," Rae tossed off as she headed for the main room.

Ethan just smiled. "Wait until you see what I have planned for you! I'm so excited to see you both all dressed up..."

Billy groaned before sitting down on the bed. Matthew stayed standing. He wasn't quite up to admitting it, but he was just a little sore from the morning's activities. But he knew one thing for sure - he felt a million pounds lighter. As if a little piece of the puzzled had been solved, he decided.

"You first, Billy," Ethan said, throwing the clothes he was holding onto the bed and digging through them. "Head to the bathroom and try to dry that hair of yours. I'll be over in a minute."

Matthew smiled as Billy left. Whatever Ethan had planned had to be something else, something beyond his imagination. He just knew it.

"And you look like the cat who got the canary," Ethan said as he poured himself into Matthew's personal space. "But he is a blond, so I guess you did."

There was no malice in his words, only a kind humor. Ethan kissed Matthew quickly on the cheek before winking and heading off to the bathroom.

Matthew brought a hand up to his cheek, touching the spot where Ethan had kissed him. It had been friendly, he assumed, and perhaps a bit inviting. But as amazingly attractive as he found Ethan, the thought of anything more than Billy wasn't welcome just yet.

Without anything else to do, Ethan walked back out into the main room. Myra sat at a table, jotting something onto note cards.

"C'mere," Myra said upon seeing him. "I need a quick bio for you. Matthew Andersen, age nineteen, American... And that's all I know."

"Um... I don't know what else is interesting," Matthew said after a moment of thought.

"Favorite anime, fave game, um..." Myra bit on the end of her pen, also thinking. She'd gained a pair of cat ears on her head, as well as a tail peeking from beneath the short skirt she was wearing. Thick knee socks over black tights hid the brace that kept her ankle from giving out. She made a cute little catgirl, in all actuality, Matthew thought as he looked at her. It was a neat costume idea. He'd definitely seen enough catgirls on the internet.

"Twin Signal, and Guilty Gear X2," Matthew replied. "Need anything else?"

"Perfect!" Myra exclaimed, waving Matthew off. "Just perfect."

He didn't want to ask, really he didn't. Now that he realized everyone was at least partially in costume, he found himself checking out the room to see just who was wearing what.

Bradey-chan, who was now playing as Dizzy in Guilty Gear X2, seemed to be some sort of island or pirate chick. Her outfit showed plenty of skin, more than Myra's did. But Bradey-chan was much smaller than Myra, looking almost like a child underneath the costume. Puberty had definitely not effected her much at all.

Playing against her was Strife, who was wearing some sort of military ensemble or flight-suit. They looked the same to Matthew, who failed to grasp anything involving a series of animes called Mobile Suit Gundam where everyone wore flight-suits and piloted giant robots. Strife had spiky blond hair that bordered on white in places as the result of near-constant bleaching. He was definitely attractive, but not Matthew's cup of tea. Skye, however, seemed to be enjoying his company. She was sitting to his side, cheering him on.

Her costume wasn't apparent yet, but Matthew was distracted just then anyway by Jameson's arrival. Matthew didn't recognize Jameson at first.

"No costume yet?" he asked, pushing back the hood of his dark blue robe to reveal who he was.

"Not yet," Matthew replied, looking at the mage who stood before him. Jameson looked like the perfect spellcaster, besides the fact that he was holding the daily paper in one hand.

"Well, we were mentioned in the daily, even," Jameson said, not realizing the room had gone silent at his return.

"That's why I asked you to go look," Rae said. "I would have, but I was getting my ears put on."

Matthew tried not to snicker at that statement. Even in context it sounded very, very funny.

"Thankfully I don't look too weird in this costume, even for this city," Jameson said, handing the paper over to Rae. "Section C."

Rae snatched the paper away and ran over to the table Myra was at.

"It is about time Remote Transmissions got a little good press," Jameson told Matthew, motioning that they should sit. "If it wasn't for RT, I never would have met Ethan."

Matthew didn't speak, but his expression was one of pure questioning.

"You haven't heard that story?" Jameson asked, settling down on a sofa. Matthew sat down beside him, almost a bit too close. But between the video game and the various conversations going on around them, he had to be close to be in audio range.

"No."

"Well, back when Myra, Rae, and Ethan were trying to get start-up money for Remote Transmissions, they had a small party at the bar a few people from work and I used to frequent. Apparently Rae was dating the owner at the time, so they could do the whole thing for free," Jameson explained.

Nodding, Matthew shifted his weight. The sofa was so dilapidated he feared falling or sliding into Jameson's lap.

"Needless to say, no one I worked with knew what was going on, and all I knew was that one of the people dancing on the bar was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She was dancing to Japanese pop songs that are now a part of my life but sounded amazingly strange back then," Jameson said, smiling. His eyes sparkled in the light, the same color as his robes.

"So my co-workers urged me to go for it and to ask her to dance. I had a few drinks in me by then and went up to her and asked to dance. I didn't understand the hoots and hollers from the deejay or the other dancer at the time, though they quickly made sense. In no time, my co-workers had gone for the night, leaving me alone with this beautiful woman pouring herself over me.

"I was instantly in love. She moved like a dream. And when she finally kissed me, it was heaven. Needless to say, I was a bit disturbed when she started grinding against me and I realized she was a he."

"Ethan," Matthew surmised.

"Ethan. But I couldn't help it. It didn't matter that he wasn't a woman. I wanted him, so I took him home, that night," Jameson said. "And gave RT enough money to start up, too."

Matthew went for the big question. "You aren't gay?"

"No," Jameson said. "Just Ethan-sexual, for the most part. Not that I don't appreciate beauty wherever it occurs."

Smiling, Matthew nodded.

"And that's how I came to be involved with all of this lunacy. It grows on a person though. Some of the most interesting personalities belong to the people here. They have a sense of whimsy in their lives that normal people seem to lose. I know I had lost it, but Ethan gave it back to me."

"Hey guys!" Bradey-chan yelled, popping up behind Matthew. "Who wants to play against me? I so beat Strife!"

"I will," Matthew said.

The next half-hour was lost to the realm of Guilty Gear X2, not that Matthew minded at all. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Skye slipping on a set of wings, which made her white robes so much more understandable.

And then, just as he was finishing up getting his ass handed to him by Bradey-chan for the umpteenth time, Ethan marched out into the main room.

"Attention please, I would like to present to the Remote Transmissions staff International Visual Kei sensation Billy Thompson!" Ethan announced before stepping aside.

Matthew found himself wondering if his eyes literally could fall out of his head. Billy was dressed as a rock star of sorts. His hair had been transformed into a rainbow of colors, the bangs ratted out to make them spike. Heavy makeup put a feminine edge onto Billy's looks, and an outfit of pieced-together multi-colored vinyl did little to cover Billy's skin. High boots laced up to Billy's thighs though, almost daring the viewer to follow them up and keep going higher to stare at the way the light reflected off the bulge between Billy's legs.

It was a flattering outfit, if nothing else. The top was missing patches of material, showing random skin and the lines of Billy's muscle.

"Holy shit," Rhyn, the cyborg, said softly, interrupting the silence that had permeated the room. "Billy, as much as I don't want to fuck you, I want to fuck you."

Nicole burst into laughter at that, her schoolgirl cap falling from her head as she did so. She bent to pick it up and accidentally flashed half the room.

"That was great, Nicole, do that later," Myra said, making another note. "And Billy, you're going to lose that outfit to one of us if you don't get across the room and quick."

"You don't look like you," Nicole said, still giggling. "Can I be your biggest fan?"

"Sure, if Matthew will let you," Billy replied, winking at Matthew. In all honesty, though Matthew had originally been jealous of Nicole, their friendship didn't bother him at all anymore. He understood they were just playing and that Nicole actually did have another boyfriend who was off at college at the moment.

"Of course you can," Matthew said, setting down his game controller and standing. "Wow..."

"Your turn!" Ethan exclaimed, walking over to grab Matthew's hand. "Come with me."

Matthew shrugged as he was pulled down the hallway. He didn't know how he'd end up, but hopefully his costume wasn't going to be anywhere near as in depth as Billy's was.

"A simple one for you," Ethan said as he pushed Matthew into the bedroom. "It'll be a perfect fit for someone so foxy as yourself."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. He'd never been called foxy before, by anyone. If anything, he was rarely even called attractive.

"You'll just need a change of clothing and a few accessories," Ethan continued, either not noticing or ignoring Matthew's non-verbal comment. He was digging through the clothing on the bed and pulled out something dark grey and shiny. "Perfect! Just perfect!"

"What are you going to do with me?" Matthew asked warily.

"You'll see," Ethan said in a lilting voice. "I'm going to make you absolutely irresistible."

Matthew swallowed hard and began to wonder if he should have taken one of the many chances he had been given to duck out on the entire mess.

=

Otaku-Nation was absolutely packed. The store was still open, but no one was buying anything so much as milling around near the tiny stage that had been erected where the store normally showed videos during the day. The Remote Transmissions crew had snuck in the back entrance, aided by a pair of employees who both were wearing face paint Matthew didn't recognize. He was getting a little discouraged about missing most of the references people were both verbally and visually making and Billy couldn't explain fast enough. That and his tail felt weird.

He'd been dressed up as a foxboy. A foxboy with low-riding pants, high boots, and a shirt that showed off most of his stomach.

But it was all in the name of raising money for friends to continue with their dream, so he was going to go through with it. He just hoped he wouldn't have to wear the furry ears or bushy tail on the actual date. That would be more than a little odd.

At nine-o-clock exactly, the lights dimmed, spotlights came on, and Myra took the stage with a microphone. Matthew had only managed to remember to listen to her radio show once during the last week, but hearing her over the air and hearing her switch to a low, booming sexy voice in person were different experiences altogether. He had a hard time associating the voice he heard with the woman he was peeking through the curtains at.

"Welcome to the First Annual Remote Transmission Bishounen and Bishoujo Auction Caper. We're doing this to make Remote Transmissions the even-more-best anime magazine in Toronto, so be sure to get out your checkbooks and help us out! To help you choose who you'd like to spend an evening on the town with, please take out the programmes the friendly Otaku-Nation staff supplied you with and take a look at tonight's bishies-for-auction!"

Myra gestured to the side of the stage and as theatrically as everyone could, they walked out onto the stage. Rae came out first, to stand beside Myra, and then came Rhyn, escorted by Strife. Following those two was Skye and Anna, who held onto her typical gothy getup. Next were Jameson and Ethan. Ethan was wearing a kimono and partial make-up. He looked female, and Matthew could tell that Jameson wanted nothing more than to grope his lover. Nicole and Bradey-chan were next to last, bouncing out hand in hand much to the delight of some of the boys in the audience. Grinning, they quickly kissed each other on the lips before taking their places in line.

Matthew and Billy were last in line, and the place went quiet as they walked out. Then one girl in the back squealed. Then another. Then the whole audience started yelling and cheering. Everyone bowed and Rae reached out a hand to guide the RT crew back off the stage.

"You've seen 'em, folks," Myra said, grinning. Eleven stunning specimens plus myself. And remember, the Otaku-Nation staff will be handling the final bishie purchases for the evening. Please head right over to the register after winning an auction."

Matthew sat down on a metal chair in the back. He was going to be auctioned somewhere in the middle, he knew, but little more. The only things they'd decided on was that Rae would be first and Ethan would be last, as was Remote Transmissions tradition.

Not wanting to talk, he leaned back and attempted to peak around the edge of the curtain to watch just what was going on.

"First off, we have Rae of the House of Elnoir. She's just your average elven priestess, complete with an arsenal of mid-level spells," Myra said, checking her note card as Rae slid across the stage on the slippers she was wearing. "During the days she enjoys the same things we all do, anime, manga, and video games. She loves Gackt and helping people through crises! What will the bidding start at? Do I hear one-hundred dollars?"

"One hundred!" a male voice called from the audience. "Go Remote Transmissions!"

Myra and Rae both laughed.

"I'm worth more than that!" Rae shot back, thwapping the wand she was carrying against the palm of her other hand.

"Two hundred," another voice yelled.

"We have two hundred!" Myra announced, motioning with one hand to up the amount a bit more. "Bid higher or I'll leave Rae here to heckle you all."

Instead of heckling though, Rae whipped off her outer robes to reveal a green bodysuit that hid little.

"I'm a fighter-mage," Rae said, once handed the microphone. "And I know we'll have a good time."

"Five hundred!" The voice was female and it caused Skye to peak out around the curtain.

"I know her," Skye whispered to no one in particular.

Rae ended up going for a more-than-respectable seven hundred dollars. At that point no one was too sure exactly what was going to happen, besides the fact that if they all went for that sort of money, Remote Transmissions was golden for a little while.

After Rae left the stage, Myra flipped through her note cards and smiled.

"Next up, we have Rhyndine O'Malley, the technical genius behind getting Remote Transmissions from our brains to your brains. And believe it or not, he's a robot!"

Rhyn bounded out and started doing the robot dance.

"Two hundred!" one girl called from the front, reaching up to try to touch Rhyn.

"Well forget the bio then," Myra said, winking as she threw Rhyn's note card behind her. "We have two hundred dollars all for a good cause - bringing you the best information we can, right to the space where you keep magazines in your bathroom."

Even the people behind the curtain started laughing at that. Matthew had to admit that Myra had the ability to sell things, even if her ways were a little eclectic and overly truthful.

Two women ended up fighting over Rhyn, driving his going-price up to nine-hundred-sixty-dollars and forty-three cents, the entire balance of the one woman's checkbook.

For a moment, Matthew felt bad about these people giving all the money they had just for a date. Still, it was their choice. And no one who seemed to be bidding looked as if they couldn't actually afford it.

These people had come from the many realms of fandom for the same purpose - buying themselves both a date and a fuzzyy feeling inside for helping something they cared about: Remote Transmissions. It was definitely cool to see such an event in motion.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let's give it up for Strife, staff writer for our one true love, RT!" Myra yelled, motioning for Strife to come out. He walked out with a bokkan, a Japanese wooden practice sword, and did a quick series of moves. Matthew smiled as he heard the cheers afterward.

"Strife enjoys the little things in life, like Final Fantasy Seven and medieval weaponry, so if you want to be his Tifa, or his Sephiroth, start bidding now!"

Myra's enthusiasm was growing infectious. She was basically jumping up and down in place, motioning broadly. It was as if her physical handicap had vanished once she fell into her role as emcee and auctioneer. If nothing else, it was a trip to watch just her.

"One hundred dollars and thirty seven cents," a girl in the back cried, holding up the money in one hand.

"One-fifty," someone else broke in.

"We have one-fifty for your very own fanboy for the night. Expect theory, tips, tricks, and maybe a little game play," Myra said before twirling the mic ever so slightly on its cord. She was a show-woman, that was for sure.

"I'd pay more than that for him," Anna said in a loud whisper from across the room and all eyes turned to her. "What? I would."

Before long the Remote Transmissions Bishounen and Bishoujo Auction Caper was drawing to a close, with just four of the crew left to go. Myra had already auctioned herself off, with Rae's help, for the most impressive sum so far. Even Jameson hadn't quite gotten close to the amount she drew.

It was put into perspective though when Rae came back and said that she was sure that the winning bidder was someone Myra worked with, or for, not a fan.

"Next up on the block is Remote Transmissions' special guest for the evening," Myra cried, waving back at the group. "Matthew Andersen, a visiting American with a thing for pretty boys with long hair no matter what the genre."

Matthew blushed as he walked out, almost forgetting that he was supposed to be putting on a show. He turned, shook his rear ever so slightly to cause the tail to swing, and then made a mental note to make sure Myra was... Well, she technically was right, but Matthew wasn't expecting her to use his info in that sort of way.

"Two hundred!" a male voice yelled enthusiastically. Matthew paused and tried to seek out the prospective buyer but the lights were in his eyes and he couldn't see much past the edge of the stage.

"Two fifty," a female voice shot back. From there, the bidding war began. Matthew hadn't even expected another boy to try to buy him, but it was definitely flattering and odd at the same time.

Happily, Matthew found himself selling to one of many female voices for an amount that rivaled Jameson's going price. He'd originally been scared that he wouldn't sell and that Myra would have to keep lowering his starting price until someone bit.

"Now it's time for our Angel of the Silences, Skye Tomison. Skye likes a date who tips well and the works of Hayao Miyazaki. Who can go wrong with that?" Myra asked, watching as Skye glided across the stage, her wings sparkling under the lights.

Matthew found himself missing the bidding war for Skye as he was pulled into Billy's arms.

"Yay you," Billy whispered, clutching Matthew tight to him. "I guess I'm next."

Matthew nodded, holding onto Billy as well until Skye stepped backstage with a smile on her face, pointing at Billy.

"You're on, rocker boy," Skye said quickly. "Then Ethan, wherever Jameson dragged him off to..."

"Employees bathroom," Rhyn commented, looking rather bored.

"Thank you, Remote Transmissions fans and lovers of pretty boys and girls. We have just two more of our staff to send your way, but they're the two you've been waiting for. First is rock star extraordinaire, Billy Thompson. Fangirls, you may know him for his intellectual discussions of all things yaoi and yuri, and fanboys, you may know him for his bad habit of recommending anime involving two or more women naked in bathtubs."

Everyone was cheering as Billy hit the stage.  One of the Otaku-Nation employees had cued music and Billy started dancing, albeit a bit oddly. Still, he fell into a rhythm that had more than a handful of bidders cheering wildly. Even Matthew felt the urge to run out and grind his body against Billy's, to a degree, dancing was almost like sex, especially, Matthew decided, with Billy.

"Five hundred!" a girl in the audience yelled almost instantly, before Myra went over to dance behind Billy, beginning a rather ridiculous conga-line looking series of moves from them both. Whatever they were doing, it was memorized, not random.

"Seven hundred," another woman, older, answered from across the room.

"Seven hundred, do I hear seven-fifty?" Myra begged, motioning to the audience to up that bid and up it now. "This is for Remote Transmissions!"

"Eight hundred and Sailor Moon fansubs," a male voice cried out, voice breaking midway.

"Nine hundred and a full set of Fushigi Yuugi DVDs," the first girl countered.

"That's a deal," Rae said to herself, grinning. And that is exactly what Billy was sold for. The winning bidder couldn't stop squealing as she headed over to the counter to pay at least the cash part of her auction and make arrangements to deliver the rest.

Without introduction, Ethan took the stage, walking daintily to the middle to stare at Myra. There was silence before just about everyone started throwing out bids.

A pair of men in the front row was giving Ethan the sort of look that Jameson must have. Absolute incredulous awe mixed with about a gallon of lust.

"Without E-chan, there would be no Remote Transmissions," Myra began, ignoring the cries from the audience. "Since the day I met him, I knew he was special. So whoever would like Ethan to be theirs for the evening and help out RT, bid high!"

There was near-chaos. The bids flew left and right, from men and women alike. All the time, Ethan just stood there, demurely, taking perhaps three steps the whole time. And then he reached up and brushed his hair back from his face, revealing his too-green eyes to the audience.

"Two thousand dollars!" a woman cried out, oblivious to the fact that bidding had gone higher than that.

Myra had stopped talking. Instead she was just watching the crowd, listening, and attempting to point and repeat bids. Finally it had come down to a war between just two people, a man and a woman.

Most of the audience had turned to watch the pair, who were standing near one another. Matthew couldn't see either of their faces, but from their voices he could tell that each was intent on winning a platonic night with Remote Transmissions' playtoy.

Finally, the woman shook her head. She couldn't beat the man's bid of five thousand dollars, nor did she want to.

"Five thousand dollars?" Myra squeaked, pointing at the man. "You sure?"

The man nodded. "Five thousand."

Ethan knocked his hair aside again before walking over to Myra and whispering something to her. Myra nodded.

"Going, going, gone! Sir, won't you please come up here. Ethan would like to congratulate you and give you a bit of a thank you gift for helping out Remote Transmissions. And even though the auction is over, Otaku-Nation is open until midnight just for us. So mingle, shop, and pick up the new issue of Remote Transmissions on your way out!"

No one made so much as a move as the winning bidder made his way up to the stage. Myra offered him a hand, but he declined, gracefully scaling the stage in one move.

"Thought so," Matthew heard Ethan whisper before throwing himself into the winning bidder's arms and pressing their lips together.

Jameson dropped the carryout cup of soda that he'd been clutching. Thankfully it had a lid on it and Skye snatched it up less than a second after it hit. Her waitress skills were sharp, that was for sure.

Even Myra seemed speechless, staring as the rest of the audience did for just a moment before she found something to say.

"Don't you wish you'd won?"