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[outerfringe]

open post for jeff

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[hardlydead]

Huh.

[ he tilts his head, thinking about that. he kinda thought he was just gonna walk jeff into the woods and put the moves on him, which seems like an intensely creepy way to think about it once it goes through his head, but... talking. sober. he can do that. ]

Don't usually chat without a healthy dose of social lubricant.

[outerfringe]

You just wanna make out again, then?

[Jeff seems unbothered by the concept. (Any annoyance that flickers across his face is purely a byproduct of the fact that the phrase 'make out' feels like an extremely teen girl thing to say.) Sure, he'd like to talk to David more, just because he felt comfortable around the guy - but if that wasn't in the cards, he'd manage.]

[hardlydead]

Well, yeah.

[ said as though he might as well have just said "duh" instead, and he steps a little closer to jeff. mostly just because he doesn't like having too much space between them, he's decided. ]

But if you wanna chat, we can. Might as well see if you can stand a conversation with me sober, eh?

[ definitely 100% a joke ]

[outerfringe]

[Jeff raises a hand when David closes that distance between them, touches it to the other man's arm. He's not exactly sure what the rules are here, but he's doing his best to read David's personal comfort levels.]

Tell me the truth - would you actually wear a feather earring?

[hardlydead]

[ the touch to his arm gets a little smile, and david responds by gesturing to a tree with a broad trunk and a brief touch to jeff's waist to nudge him in that direction. they can sit there, and maybe jeff won't notice how uncharacteristically sheepish david is if his attention is elsewhere. ]

If someone made it for me, yeah.

[outerfringe]

[There's something profound about the gentleness of David's little smile and the touch to his waist, and Jeff gives him an unreadable look at he leads them both to that tree. He sits down, tucking himself against some of the roots, and then raises an arm - as if indicating for David to sit against him here.]

Alright. You still like big dogs?

[hardlydead]

[ david plants himself down next to jeff with a soft grunt. ]

Yeah.

[ he turns a bit so he can face jeff and gives him a thoughtful look, trying to come up with a question or something of his own, but, uh. now he's a bit distracted picturing jeff and a big dog and it's adorable. puts a little smile on his face. ]

What's it I said? Big slobbery babies? Love 'em.

[outerfringe]

Yeah, I think that's the phrase you used. [It's a perfect descriptor of his own dog, at least. Jeff couldn't begin to argue if he'd wanted to.] Think you're on the hook for getting one, too.

[hardlydead]

That's right.

[ he laughs just a little at the memory of being bullied into getting a dog, not that it was much work on jeff's part. ]

[ idly, mostly for something to do with his hands, he takes jeff's wrist and traces the tattoos on the back of his hand with a thumb while he talks. ]

You'll have to come meet 'em, obviously.

[outerfringe]

Where do you live, anyway?

[It's an abruptly strange thought to have, the idea of actually visiting one of the other survivors out in the real world. He can't help but wonder a bit what it would be like. Would the shared memory of a place like this create an unbreakable bond, or would conversation just be too painfully awkward to bear?

He watches David's finger trace ink on his hand like he's minorly enthralled by it.]

[hardlydead]

[ there's something a little soothing about just feeling along jeff's tattoos, the way the skin is raised where there's ink is just enough tactile sensation for david to stay engaged instead of zoning out. ]

Manchester-- It's up north.

[ he doubts that means anything to jeff, but who knows. ]

[outerfringe]

[Jeff leans in, just enough to follow what David is doing more closely. It's - soothing, in such a weird way.]

Can't say I've been. It nice?

[hardlydead]

Depends on who you ask.

[ he smirks to himself and shakes his head. ]

Dickheads from London and the like are always down on it, but fuck 'em. It's a good city.

[outerfringe]

You ever been to Canada?

[Jeff pulls his hands back, just enough to shrug his jacket off. He offers them to David again, casual, rotating his wrist to display a tattoo.]

[hardlydead]

[ he smiles a little at the gesture and resumes his touching. he doesn't really know why he's so fascinated by jeff's tattoos — he has his own, there's nothing surprising about them — maybe it's just an easy excuse to touch him. ]

Couple times, yeah. Found out my French i'nt good enough for them snobs in Quebec.

[ it pissed him off at the time, but in hindsight it's pretty funny ]

[outerfringe]

You can speak French?

[That's aggravatingly sexy, even if the remark about Quebec makes him snort.]

But yeah. Quebec is - something.

[hardlydead]

[ he makes a small noise to confirm, not thinking much of it. rich kid privilege, everyone learns french in school but he forgets his education was better than most. ]

Yeah, they didn't like me. Course that's kinda the case in most places.

[outerfringe]

[Ormond's high school in the 90s hadn't really given any of its students a jumpstart on life.]

What? Why? They intimidated?

[hardlydead]

I, uh...

[ hm ]

Bit of a troublemaker, me.

[outerfringe]

[The way he laughs is surprised, not mean.]

Somehow feels like an understatement.

[hardlydead]

It is.

[ but he's not planning to elaborate. ]

What about you? Travel much?

[outerfringe]

Nah. I mean- back when I was a roadie, yeah, but I wouldn't say I really ever saw the sights.

[But he would've followed those guys anywhere.]

[hardlydead]

[ his fingers travel lazily up jeff's forearm, still tracing shapes and the like with a light, gentle touch. ]

Sounds like it was a good time though.

[outerfringe]

Yeah. It was alright for a while.

[To his great embarrassment, goosebumps ripple briefly up his arm. He's not used to particularly gentle touches these days, and he's concentrating hard here, like he might commit this to memory.]

Turned into a bit of a homebody after that.

[hardlydead]

Mm. Old man and his dog.

[ he's teasing, but even so there's something deeply fond about the way he says it, and maybe a touch envious too. it sounds so calm and david's never known what that's like, never known peace and quiet aside from moments like this. ]