@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]

What kind of place you thinking for dinner?

[It's not real concern; Jeff is just taking this excuse to peer critically at him.]

[hardlydead]

Dunno. [ he's sleepy amd recently fed, the reality of what going for a meal actually means hasn't quite registered. ] Don't even know what kinda places are around. [ ... ] Or what you like really.

[outerfringe]

Decent Thai place not far from the theater. You like spicy, right?

[jeff's phone lights up; he's been paying more attention to it in the past two hours than he has the total of the past three days.]

Could be nice.

[hardlydead]

Sounds good.

[ his lazy smile slips into a small frown and he glances at jeff's phone. ] Everythin' good?

[outerfringe]

Yeah.

[he grins slightly down at it.]

Finally got in touch with some old friends. It's - nice, I guess.

[hardlydead]

[ oh. david smiles again, good for jeff. ]

Yeah? That's good.

[outerfringe]

Yeah. It's surreal.

[he's reaching for his boots after he heads over to the door. there's a surprised lightness in the words.]

[hardlydead]

From when you were a roadie?

[ david gets up to get his shoes too, both curiosity and the fact he's happy for jeff evident in his voice. ]

[outerfringe]

Yeah. Didn't talk much after I stopped, but - I don't know.

[He glances up, weirdly embarrassed.]

They were my best friends, I guess.

[hardlydead]

Glad you found 'em again.

[ he puts a hand on jeff's bicep, gives it a light squeeze. ]

[outerfringe]

Kind of frightening. Not used to having so much luck go my way.

[But it's a gentle deflection, and he's covering David's hand with his own for a lingering moment before he pulls open the door.]

[hardlydead]

Owed a good month or two at least, after the last however many years.

[ david says it with a shrug as he heads out, turns to face jeff and back up a few steps so he actually has space to leave. he knows he's ludicrously biased, but he kind of thinks jeff really only deserves good things. he's a good man, that's how it'd work in an ideal world. ]

[outerfringe]

Yeah. You get that?

[Jeff locks the door after them, leading them to his car.]

Could just park behind the theater and make out. Like teenagers.

[He is really worried about overwhelming David here.]

[hardlydead]

[ did he get that? more than he deserves, that's for sure. got to come back and get right back to it, a couple of friends who held on to his stuff. and now jeff's... well if just the ease of getting back to his life was more than he deserved, this is a lottery win. ]

We could. [ he raises his eyebrows, just a tiny bit amused. he's not worried about the movie. if anything, dinner's where the concern is. ] If you wanna make out we could just stay in.

[outerfringe]

Can't tell me that.

[Casually as he eases his car out of the apartment's parking lot.]

I'll never leave the house again.

[hardlydead]

I think I could live with that.

[ is he joking? who can say. ]

[outerfringe]

Sure.

[Said with a little smile his way. mostly he's silent when he drives, and he only really has one genre of CD, but he'll keep the volume low for David's sake.]

You buying my popcorn?

[hardlydead]

[ oh he definitely appreciates the low volume ]

Thought you wanted to be the gentleman today.

[outerfringe]

[It's good music Brent]

Damn. You got me.

[The parking lot is pretty bare at midday. Jeff parks and doesn't quite hazard a kiss, but he does reach to grab and squeeze David's hand.]

[hardlydead]

[ oh-- here they are. david turns his hand in jeff's grip, gives it a little squeeze in return before he slips out of the car. this is fine, it's just seeing a movie. people do it all the time. no big deal. ]

[outerfringe]

[The movie itself is... fine. Both underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time. Jeff doesn't love when the theater plunges into darkness, but he's ready for it, and it merely a frownworthy moment that passes.

They're not the only ones in the theater, but it's close. One of the bit characters is a Scouser, and halfway through Jeff will lean in close to murmur very solemnly-]

Sounds just like you.

[hardlydead]

[ the dark is somehow something he completely forgot about and david takes a deep breath when the lights dim, reaches over to put a hand on jeff's arm for that point of contact. ]

[ he wouldn't call it a good movie, but it's the kind of dumb action bullshit david loves, almost meditative in the say he can just watch it and not think for a while. quietly enjoying it for what it is when jeff speaks up and david chokes on his drink in his outrage. ]

Don't you fuckin' start.

[ he's not mad, but also how dare you jeffrey. ]

[outerfringe]

[He briefly touches David's back when he starts choking, shoulders shaking in the kind of silent laughter that absolutely gives him away.]

Too late, I think.

[hardlydead]

[ david shakes his head with a sigh, tilts his head toward jeff so he can keep his voice hushed. ]

You're a menace.

[outerfringe]

[They're in the back of a mostly empty theater - so Jeff is just going to pull David's hand to his mouth, kissing the back of his knuckles.]

Gotta keep you interested.