@hardlydead

[outerfringe]

[One day David simply stops appearing by the fire with the rest of them, and Jeff does his very best to be relieved for him. There are only two real possible reasons for that, right? Either he'd actually died for real, or he'd managed to find a way back home- and either way, it meant that he was out of this place. Jeff tries to be happy for him, and for the most part, he is.

He doesn't think about David at all the first day after he wakes up on the cold floor of the Ormond resort, back stiff and jacket crusted with frost. Instead he's too busy finding his way back to town, organizing arrangements to make it home. His apartment key no longer works, he recognizes none of his neighbors, but his bank account was still somehow in alright standing.

Jeff finds a new place. He does not find a new dog.

He feels weird about creating a Facebook account just to check for David, but he does it anyway. When that comes up fruitless, he thinks a lot about the conversations the two of them had while tucked close together in the dark. Wonders if David would even want to be found by someone like him, to be faced with a reminder of the time they'd spent doing everything they could to simply survive.

Jeff tries to paint but can't seem to pull himself out of severe blacks and reds. Tries to catch up on the music he'd missed from the bands he'd loved but it fails to soothe him the way it had before. He considers a therapist, and then decides that he'd be locked away the second he was candid enough for someone to actually help him.

So he packs some things, books a flight. Finds himself at his fifth seedy pub in three days without much hope - except this time when he says he's looking for David King, the big guy by the bar makes a point of sizing him up. Jeff sets his shoulders, frowns and promises that he's an old friend, but it doesn't seem to affect much the scowl on the guy's face. He says something (that Jeff completely misses, he can barely understand a goddamn thing when people here are drunk and loud), but seems to indicate for him to wait.

Which he does. He parks on a stool with a drink, assumes his most unapproachable aura, and waits. He doesn't know who he's expecting to appear, but it's not David.

There's not a chance it would actually be that simple.]

Comments

[outerfringe]

Yeah. Just not used to it.

[Jeff's voice is light. Still slightly unsteady after the museum, and perhaps he's forcing the mood slightly, but it doesn't make him mean it any less. He's aware that maybe he's speaking too soon, that they scarcely have anything in common besides their time in the fog - but maybe a shared history can trump shared interests.

He's willing to find out.]

When do I get to see your place?

[hardlydead]

[ david has no such worries. maybe he should, but his own concerns centre more around his personal issues. around the idea that inevitably he'll end up pushing jeff away somehow. he's doing his best not to focus on that though. ]

My place? [ he glances aside at jeff and shrugs a shoulder. ] We can go now if you want.

460 comments....

[outerfringe]

[Jeff considers for a split second, as if making sure that he's not overstepping, before he shrugs one shoulder.]

Yeah. As long as you're not worried about me stealing your TV.

they just have a lot of feelings to (not) express!

[hardlydead]

[ david laughs, eyebrow raised when he glances at jeff and gestures with a tip of his head for a slight change in direction. it's a longer walk than it'd be back to the hotel, but they can get a cab or a bus if it's any trouble. david's not really thinking about it. ]

Almost wanna see you try and pull that off.

[outerfringe]

You imagine that? Me smuggling your TV on the plane. With you.

[He follows along for the change in direction, barely seeming to notice.]

[hardlydead]

[ he laughs again, bright and amused at the mental image. ]

"Nothin' to see here," like it's all completely normal.

[outerfringe]

Borrowing your plug converter when we get back to my place. [Jeff exhales a laugh, shaking his head.] Maybe I'll just sell it instead.

[hardlydead]

S'like... Five? Years old. Wouldn't get much for it.

[ he thinks about that for a moment and then looks at jeff with a little smirk. ]

Guess you could buy me dinner with the money.

[outerfringe]

[He pulls a thoughtful face at that remark, lapsing into brief silence as they walk.]

There or here?

[hardlydead]

[ hm. ] Well you know what the food's like there, innit? [ he nudges jeff with his elbow. ] And you bought me dinner yesterday. And lunch. Seems fair if I buy tonight.

[ a little presumptuous maybe, but it's an easy kind of confidence for david. ]

[outerfringe]

[Jeff seems to accept that easily enough, the source of his quiet thoughtfulness apparently something else. He just smiles slightly at that, an indication of agreement, before he picks up again another minute later-]

Could go out when we get back to Canada. Fancy dinner. Or normal lunch, whatever.

[His heart isn't set on it, but he's trying to feel out what David's comfort levels are going to be.]

[hardlydead]

Fancy dinner, huh?

[ the thought of going out makes something seize up in david's throat, a sense of panic warring against something hopeful. thinks about something as small as a hand at his waist or a kiss on the cheek before sitting down and he wants that so much he could scream, a life where even the idea of that doesn't fill him with fear of some nebulous concept of being wrong. ]

[ but he plays it off with a small shrug and a slightly teasing tone of voice. ]

You gonna make me pack a suit, Jeff?

[outerfringe]

[Jeff's casual consideration of David is no match for David's lifetime of playing things off, and he just snorts at the question despite himself.]

Nah, nothing like that. [It's not like he owns a suit himself.] Bet I could find an Olive Garden somewhere in Canada.

[hardlydead]

[ david bows his head with a quick, soft huff of a laugh. ]

Infinite breadsticks for two. Romantic.

[outerfringe]

I mean.

[Jeff shrugs one shoulder, the sidelong glance he casts David's way sincere.]

Could be.

[hardlydead]

[ he's not looking at jeff, probably for the best since if he was that would almost certainly colour his cheeks a little, but david does smile quite genuinely at that. even as his reply is a simple and sarcastic little: ]

Fuckin' better be.

[outerfringe]

[It seems like a confirmation, or at least as close to one as Jeff is comfortable pushing to get. He snorts at the sarcasm, dropping his hands into his pockets. Content to make the rest of the walk in silence, if David doesn't initiate another conversation first.]

[hardlydead]

[ david's content to walk in silence too — generally unless there's some unanswered question hanging in the air, jeff's easy to just be around in mutual quiet. it's why david was perfectly happy to share the bottle that lead them here in the first place. occasionally, maybe, he'll point something out if it seems interesting, exchange a few words, but otherwise after some undisclosed amount of time they're walking up to a block of flats just the other side of the city centre and david leads jeff up a couple flights of stairs and down a balcony to his flat. ]

[ he hesitates with the realisation that this is a relatively small thing, but it brings jeff into his world in a way that is uncomfortably real, lets him see a side of david that isn't necessarily made up for the outside world. it's a brief moment, but it's very much there before he opens the front door and flicks the light on, holding it open for jeff as he steps in. ]

[ there's a little shoe and coat rack right by the door, and it opens up straight into the living room, which is well put together in the sense that most of the furniture was clearly bought from one place. sofa and armchairs around a coffee table in front of a tv, open plan kitchen with a breakfast bar doing its best to separate the two spaces. little mess, but only because david doesn't seem to have enough stuff or actually spend enough time here to make any. ]

[ the only things that really even point to it as his on a first glance are tucked on top and in the back corner of a book shelf. a couple of trophies, a watercolour pad that's collecting dust, and copies of the iliad and the aeneid he hasn't opened since uni. ]

[ welcome. ]

[outerfringe]

[It's not usually in Jeff's nature to be nosy, but he has to admit that part of him wishes he could snoop. David has always been honest in a way with him that he's appreciated, but it was hard sometimes not to regard him like a piece of artwork: easy enough to admire at a glance, but requiring some real examination and contemplation before Jeff feels like he's showing proper appreciation.

He hesitates at the door, like he's not sure if he's meant to remove his shoes or not.]

It's a nice place.

[hardlydead]

Cheers.

[ david raises his eyebrows at the way jeff hesitates at the door, is he waiting for an invitation? he toes his own shoes off and hangs his coat up, clearly it's not something he thinks is worth mentioning either way, and looks over at jeff. maybe a joke will help. ]

Unless you're just bein' polite. Then fuck off.

[outerfringe]

[David removes his shoes and Jeff relaxes very slightly, doing the same with his boots. Away go his own coat and flannel, leaving him in a graphic t-shirt featuring what seems to be some sort of happily demonic blue heeler.

Very solemnly:]

I mean it. Door's just the right size for getting the tv out, too. Nice.

[hardlydead]

[ that gets a laugh out of him and david shakes his head, stepping over to jeff. a small, slightly fond smile on his face as he puts a hand on his hip and leans in to try and draw him in for a kiss. he just really wanted to kiss him a bunch of times while they were out and he needs to fix that, thanks. ]

[outerfringe]

[It's easy to lean into the touch, and- well, it's comforting, too. As much as the walk helped to put him at ease, there's something grounding about physical touch, and so when it's offered to him-

Jeff tries not to seem pathetic about it, tries not to scrunch himself closer so much to give himself away entirely, but there's no hiding the way he catches the side of David's face and kisses him almost greedily.]

[hardlydead]

[ david makes a soft, sympathetic noise. slips his hand around to jeff's back to pull him in closer and lifts the other to cup the side of his face, kissing him back with a similar energy. just desperate to offer him at least a little of whatever he needs. ]

[outerfringe]

[Jeff crowds David just slightly, knows for a fact that other man won't let himself just be bowled over, and uses his free hand to just touch him. His arm, his chest, content just to feel David warm and alive and breathing under his fingers.

He's smiling a little when they part, though he doesn't realize it - and he doesn't go far.]

You get better at that? Or maybe I just missed it that much.