outerfringe

[This is stupid, maybe. Irresponsible, for sure. He nudges David again, trying to get him to look his way, and if he does Jeff will simply slant another kiss against his mouth.

He likes him, and it feels nice, and does it have to mean more than that in this exact moment? Is there something wrong with chasing whatever comfort they were allowed?

Either way he keeps it brief, even if he doesn't pull back far.]

Dogs. You're getting one, yeah?

[ snort ] Never gonna hear the end of it if I don't.

[ fine he'll look at jeff now that he's done (outwardly) panicking. it's just a lot when you're in a hellish murdergame dimension designed to feed off your suffering and also technically still in the closet okay. ]

[Jeff isn't the smoothest person in the realm, but other peoples' anxieties have always been a lot easier to handle than his own. Whatever just happened was weird and kind of surprising and also extremely pleasant. A bid for human connection that maybe the both of them need.

David's looking at him now, not scurrying away, and Jeff reaches over, drops a hand to rest against his knee. Touch for the sake of touch, nothing titillating, no acknowledgement needed.]

Damn right you won't. [He'll look away, breaking eye contact but letting his hand linger.] Entity really needs to drop us some marshmallows.

[ david looks down at jeff's hand against his knee and smiles a little, something small but nice and kind of intimate in a tiny way? it's soothing, he finds. when he looks back up at his face david still very much wants to kiss him, but maybe that's a bad idea. or a bad idea to be made sober at least. ]

[ he'll think about it. couldn't not if he tried anyway. ]

You sure you want that? [ he raises his eyebrows, turning his head to look at the fire. ] Probably be fuckin'... Finger mallows with bones for sticks.

Maybe we can sneak one of those birds out.

[Sober, Jeff might mean the crows. As drunk as he feels right now, his hand flexes on David's knee and he laughs to himself.]

Big vulture, you know. Spitroast it over the fire. Claudette can find something to season it with, maybe.

[ why is it always the cowboy realm people want to steal stuff from. david laughs, soft and quiet, with a shake of his head. trying to ignore how nice that hand on his knee feels lest he make a fool of himself again. ]

Imagine trying to sneak one of those fuckers out of there. We'd get torn to shit.

[Jeff, meanwhile, is trying to ignore how nice the sound of David's laughter is in his ears. He picks the stick back up, resumes his odd little doodles.]

So... exactly the same as every other trial.

[ he pauses at that, quiet for all of a second and then laughs again ]

First trial where one of us got killed by the birds though.

[He's trying not to think too hard about the Artist here.]

Risk/reward, man. I'll make some jewelry out of the feathers.

[Jeff is actively cracking himself up.]

What are you gonna make me?

[ he leans a little toward jeff when he asks, nudging him lightly with a dumb smirk ]

[Jeff casts a sidelong grin at him, leaning in to nudge him back.]

Dangly earring, maybe. Mite-ridden vulture feather goes with basically everything, right?

Great. Real Boy George look.

[ he'd hate it so much but he'd probably wear it all the time. ]

Dunno. Think you could pull it off.

[This is the dumbest conversation he can think of having, but he's still openly having a good time here.]

Maybe a necklace. Wear it as a threat to the other birds.

I'd wear a necklace.

[ david's still smiling, still amused at this stupid conversation, but also genuine. at least drunkenly so. he certainly thinks he'd wear the fuck out of a vulture feather necklace if jeff made it for him. ]

Yeah? Alright. Good to know.

[He releases his knee after another little squeeze, but just so he can take the stick, add what might be a little necklace to the David he doodled. It's extremely messy, scratched into the dirt and illuminated only by firelight, but he's hoping it gets the point across.]

[ aw he misses that hand on his knee, but the doodle is cute. as messy and scratchy as it is, it's extremely charming. part of david wishes he had a way to take a picture. ]

So, necklace for me. What're you gonna make for yourself?

[Jeff shifts slightly, crossing his legs and leaning forward in a way that results in his leg bumping up against the side of David's. It would be a casual and believable accident if they were like, fourteen.

He's pretty much out of space to add anything else in this little patch of dirt, but he's still contemplating it.]

Dunno. Hair piece, maybe? Seems easy enough.

[ if they were fourteen and hadn't just had a totally awkward and failed kiss, maybe. yeah. but david's more than okay with it, a hand falling to jeff's leg for leverage when he turns to look at him properly, considering this ridiculous hair piece. ]

[ he starts to lift his other hand to jeff's hair, but something about it feels kind of invasive and he stops mid-motion, instead changing tack to lightly tug a lock of his beard instead. ]

Could make it a beard piece, start a new fashion.

[Jeff is used to things being sort of awkward. It didn't really lessen the fact that he'd enjoyed it. And he's pretty certain David did, too; you don't stay this physically close to someone if you didn't, right?

How much can he blame on the empty bottle beside them?]

Probably overdue for a trim, honestly.

[He touches David's wrist, pressure gentle but firm, before slicing bluntly to the heart of it with a courage definitely aided by the drink.]

Are things gonna be too weird later if I kiss you again?

[ david pauses at the touch, expression a flicker of surprise for a second before it fades with the widening of his smile and a shake of his head. ]

Doubt it.

Alright.

[Relief registers briefly in his eyes.

He squeezes David's wrist in his hand, before turning his head to bump another kiss against his mouth. It's slightly clumsy, if only because the angle is sub-optimal, but as long as David doesn't push him away outright, he lingers there.]

[ david does what he can to make it at least a little less clumsy; he's not super coordinated right now, but he tilts his head to meet jeff for that kiss, putting his hand to rest lightly at the side of his neck. ]

[It's been a long time since he's participated in alcohol fueled making out, but Jeff isn't angry about it. David is warm, his hand is comfortable at his neck, and he shifts to angle himself better.

He doesn't mean to do it, and isn't quite sure why, but he laughs abruptly into the kiss, right into David's mouth. He'll be mortified later, and for now he's reaching to catch his shoulder, apologetic.

The smooching part isn't funny. The circumstances kind of are.]

[ the laugh gets a mumble in return, something along the lines of an amused "shut up" against jeff's lips. at least it doesn't send him into another freakout, all things considered it feels like a pretty solid assumption that jeff is into this right now. he could laugh too, truth be told. what a stupid series of events. ]

[The fact that David doesn't freak out is a bonus. Jeff smiles into it despite himself, sliding his hand carefully up the other man's forearm, before he takes a breath and leans back with a look on his face that's fond enough that it'd surprise even himself.]

So.

[Quietly.]

Just a necklace? Bird's got a lot of feathers.

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