@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

[hardlydead]

[ he turns his head to kiss jeff's shoulder again, pausing with his face against it to snort and laugh quietly. ]

Guess beards are a common factor.

[ he's so funny. ]

[outerfringe]

Oh, alright. We're breaking up.

[Not that they're dating, but it doesn't matter for the purpose of this joke.]

[hardlydead]

[ david shakes his head and shifts his chair so he can squish himself obnoxiously against jeff. ]

No we're not.

[outerfringe]

Already said it. Sorry, too late. [Shifting as if he's trying to nudge David off of his shoulder.]

[hardlydead]

Yeah, I don't agree though.

[ good luck getting him to move jeff ]

[outerfringe]

[THE FOOD will be here eventually]

Is this kind of a 'two yes, one no' situation?

[He's only tokenly trying to push him away, anyway]

[hardlydead]

[ he is ready and willing to miss the food just to annoy jeff into losing this fake argument. ]

It's more of a 'you can't get rid of me' situation.

[ he grins and lifts his head enough to kiss jeff on the cheek. ]

[outerfringe]

You don't know where I live.

[Jeff moves his hand to David's knee, giving it a squeeze to quietly reassure just how much he's joking.] I could make a break for it next time you go to sleep. With the TV. And remote.

[hardlydead]

I'd find you.

[ he says it with a little shrug, confident. is that threatening? nah it's fine. ]

[outerfringe]

[Jeff is just going to kiss the top of David's head, before gently nudging him upright.]

You'd better.

[hardlydead]

[ david smiles brightly at the kiss and straightens up a little so he can look properly at jeff. it absolutely blows his mind that jeff just thinks he's "okay" when david thinks he's gorgeous, but it is what it is. as long as jeff doesn't get annoyed when he keeps saying as much. ]

[ he's pulled out of his second round of musings on jeff's face by the doorbell and david sighs, reluctantly getting up to go get the food. ]

Can you get some plates? They're in the cupboard above the microwave.

[ he points to said cupboard as he goes to answer the door. and if anyone was wondering, yes his crockery is also all cheap ikea stuff. ]

[outerfringe]

Yeah, sure. [Jeff eases himself to his feet, heading to the indicated cupboard and grabbing a setting for them both. The domesticity is comforting, and he makes a spot on the table for David to unpack the food.] So we're not broken up? Just to be clear.

[hardlydead]

Nah, I told you-- [ he puts the bag down in the spot jeff made and starts unpacking containers. ] I don't agree with that idea.

[outerfringe]

[Jeff chuckles at that, inspecting the meals as David unpacks them.] You asking me to go out with you, David?

[hardlydead]

[ david pauses and tilts his head in thought. ]

Yeah. [ it takes him a moment, taking the question more seriously than jeff intended, and he puts down the rice with a nod. ] Guess I am.

[outerfringe]

Alright. Sounds good to me.

[Jeff shrugs one shoulder, leaning over to spoon some of that rice onto his own plate.]

[hardlydead]

You think there's an article or something for that kind of shit?

[ he's getting a couple glasses of water while jeff helps himself to the rice, sets them down and has a seat with a sigh. ]

"Top ten places in Canada to take someone when you're in your mid-thirties and experimenting with finally coming out."

[outerfringe]

Dunno. I'll google it. [Jeff gives him an extremely patient look.] Guess we'll just have to write it if there isn't.

[hardlydead]

[ he makes a thoughtful noise, spooning food onto his plate as he seems to give that some thought. ]

Means we're gonna have to try out a bunch of different things.

[ he glances up from his plate to look at jeff ]

For research, you know.

[outerfringe]

You gonna be okay with that?

[Jeff is watching him, trying to seem as light as possible - but he's curious.]

[hardlydead]

No. [ he wanted to make a joke, brush it off, but it's the kind of thing he should be honest about. ] Not at first.

[ there's a small frown on his face, thoughtful more than anything, and he shrugs a shoulder while spooning some curry onto his plate. ]

Wanna be though. And there's only one way to do that.

[ he's uncomfortably aware of that much, that he's not just going to wake up and suddenly 20 odd years of baggage and internalised bullshit will go away, but there's comfort and safety that he's found in jeff, and security in the idea of being away from home. he can get over the other side of this. ]

[outerfringe]

Okay. Just - tell me, if it starts being too much. I'm not always good at picking up on that kind of thing.

[The last thing he wants to do is drive David away because he assumes things are fine.]

[hardlydead]

Yeah, course.

[ he nods and smiles warmly at jeff ]

[outerfringe]

[jeff returns the smile with a soft one of his own, then turns back to the food - and what he hopes is a safer topic.]

You were right. This is delicious.

[hardlydead]

Place's been open my whole life, feels like. Food's good and the gangs don't bother 'em none.

[ he tilts his head this way and that, thinking. obviously there's more to it to keeping a business running over twenty years, but that's the stuff he knows about. ]