outerfringe | @hardlydead

@hardlydead

[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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[he goes from silence to surprised laughter the second siri starts to answer.]

No, no, I wanna hear what she has to say.

[ david just gives jeff a flat look in the mirror as siri simply announces "i found something on the web", and when he looks down at his phone he snorts. ]

She wants me to make a Pinterest account.

[ okay she also spat out a bunch of google results for love poems that david is now scrolling through, but the thought of reading one out fills him with such a deep and profound sense of embarrassment that david's pretty sure he could never do it. ]

Not sure I ever figured out what the hell Pinterest actually is.

[To be fair, Jeff would also wither in laughing embarrassment if that happened, so.]

Maybe I'll find an Alexa to ask.

[ david huffs out a small, amused noise and shakes his head. ]

Get Google in, form a council.

Besides, you're not a strange British man. You seem pretty normal to me.

[He takes his eyes off the road just long enough to look at David.]

I might not be the best judge.

Obviously not, if you think I'm normal.

[ said with a laugh in his voice, but he's not exactly your average guy. ]

Course, compared to some people we've met...

[ yeah, never mind. on second thought maybe he is normal after all. ]

Normal's relative.

[Jeff's dismissiveness is lighthearted as he eases the car into a parking spot. He indicates a van nearby, looks pleased when he recognizes a couple of band decals.]

Cool to see in the wild.

[ he follows jeff's gaze to the decals and smiles, curious. ]

Band you like?

Yeah. The buddy I was texting before? His group.

[It's enough to make his day, not to immediately make him jump to any conclusions. At least not until he gets out of the car and two tall men firmly in middle age pile out of vehicle to greet him with a hoot and a grin that leave him briefly and visibly stunned.]

[ david gets out of the car too, mostly thinking it's nice jeff's buddy's band has other fans around here, that's cool probably. that's until the hooting and the sudden people and the shift in david is immediate-- he moves to stand in front of jeff, shoulders squared and leaning just slightly forward, clearly ready for a fight. ]

[ then he pegs the excitement in the two men and deflates a little. are these guys friends or... oh. oh shit. his mind catches up before his body does, still ready to throw down even as his mind comes to the conclusion that they're from the band. ]

"Whoa, easy, we're buddies of Jeff's," the guy who seems to own the car says, all good-natured. They're both tall, attractive if slightly unconventional looking, and the guy who climbed out of the passenger's side moves to circle David to grab Jeff in a side hug.

"Uh- Pete, Erik," he'll gesture, still overwhelmed, "David. He's visiting from out of town, too. Uh. Should we go up?" Jeff is asking the group, but he's only looking at David.

David eyes them a little warily, but he relaxes some at the hug — they're friends, it's fine. there's no danger here. It takes him a second to parse the question, but when he does he raises an eyebrow at Jeff with just a little smirk. lightly teasing.

"You sure you got space for everyone?" Mr. 'I totally have a table', but as he says it he gestures toward the building and takes a step in that direction.

"I can sit on the floor," Jeff says dismissively, but he catches that smirk and it's clear that he's swallowing a grin as he leads the way in. Will it fuck up his back? Probably. He'll deal with it later. Pete still has arm slung companionably around him, chatting his ear off on the way.

Erik falls into step beside David, hands in his pockets as they stroll towards Jeff's unit in the complex. "Sorry, man. We didn't know he already had a guest, but we won't be in your hair long."

Jealousy isn't exactly a feeling david is accustomed to, the way it squeezes something in his chest as he watches this guy talk jeff's ear off is almost totally alien to him. he watches jeff's back as they walk and in his mind's eye he can see it, the reminder of good things from before fog making jeff realise that this isn't want he wants-- that he isn't what he wants. makes this urge well up in david to catch him up, put an arm around him too, sorry i'm a fucking mess, sorry i'm still figuring shit out, but i can be so, so good for you if you just let me--

he knows it's irrational, borderline completely fucking insane. knowing doesn't help.

"don't worry about it," he answers automatically, before he's even completely sure what this guy (erik?) just said to him, offering him a friendly smile, "think he'll be happy about all this once the shock wears off."

Jeff is thrilled to see the guys. Delighted, really, but he wishes they'd called, wishes they hadn't shown up with warning while he and David were trying to navigate the confusing waters of their own relationship, because how much time did they have, really? They'd have to return to their lives and jobs sooner or later, and as much as he's sure they can survive long distance if they can survive the fog...

Well. Jeff treasures the guys, but it doesn't feel like there's a timer ticking down, not the way it does with David, and he wants every second he can get.

"Hope so," Erik says, and he's giving David another sort of appraising look at the sound of his accent. "How'd you two meet, anyway?"

oh. somehow it never occurred to him that that's a question he'd have to answer... ever. on top of everything going on in his head, it throws david off, makes him pause in silent panic, shaking his head when nothing comes to mind.

"it's a, uh... long story." that's a normal thing to say right?

Pete gives David a curious look, before his eyes flick to Jeff's back - and then he shrugs. "No, it's cool. None of my business anyway."

It's about this time that Jeff's door unlocks and he nudges it open, laughing at some joke Pete has spent the entire time winding up. He'll turn to usher everyone inside, eyes briefly meeting David's, and he'll mouth sorry at him.

that doesn't exactly feel like the successful social interaction he was going for, but the guy decides to leave off the topic so david will take it as a win. they're going to have to figure out what to say to that at some point but that can come after whenever david gets a chance to process the fact that he's 90% certain these guys know they're together and he doesn't really know how to act.

he shakes his head and pats jeff's arm as he passes him to go through the door, it's not his fault, and gives everyone a thoughtful look.

"Drinks?" he could really do with a beer.

"Oh, shit. We brought some, left it in the trunk-"

"We've got plenty," Jeff says, and there's a quiet smile on his face that David will probably be able to read: it would be loud joy from anyone else. As annoyed at he is by the intrusion, there's no hiding the fact that he's pleased, too. "Help me carry?" he'll ask David, then disappear into the kitchen.

david smiles back, always warmed by jeff's little smiles, and follows him through to the kitchen and leans back against a counter while he waits for jeff to get the beers for them to bring out.

"You okay?" he asks, genuine concern in the tilt of his head. this is a lot very suddenly, he wouldn't be surprised if jeff was at least a little overwhelmed.

"I think so?" It's a lot, all at once, enough that he's a little staggered by it. Rationally, he knows he's an alright dude, but it's still sometimes hard to understand why first David and now the guys would both travel, just to see him.

He steps in closer, passing David two of the drinks. "Uh. They're together. Probably. Been an on/off thing for like... a decade?" Jeff hadn't really faced much adversity for his brand of quiet bisexuality, but he guesses it still made sense he was closest to the two in the band that were out and proud about it. "Not saying anything about us, just letting you know."

david breathes a soft, quiet laugh and shakes his head at 'probably', but he nods in understanding. "Think that fella I was talkin' to probably guessed," which makes sense. why else would some random british dude be out here, staying with jeff?

it's totally fine, he's not freaking out even a little. sweaty palms? a little heat under the collar? never.

he pushes away from the counter, brushing right over that with a shrug, "anyway I'll sit on the floor, yeah? You'll do your back in."

"He won't say anything if we don't," Jeff says with a one-shoulder shrug. At least, he really hopes he won't, because the point here is to slowly expand David's comfort zone, not shove him abruptly outside it.

The next comment distracts him, though, and he shakes his head no. "You're a guest. I'm Canadian. Fuck no you will not be sitting on the floor." It may be the firmest Jeff has ever been about anything.

david pulls a bit of a face like he wants to argue, but he's not sure he's ever heard jeff take such a firm tone with him in all the time they've known eachother.

"Fine," he relents, "but when your back's killing you tomorrow you're not gettin' any sympathy from me."

(spoiler alert: yes he will.)

Jeff does look a little privately pleased at the way David acquiesces. "Think I'll manage," he says, glancing at the door to make sure it's still closed, before he steps in a little - like he's not sure if he should offer a kiss or not before they go back.

no subject

activating siri just to find out her response is super underwhelming lmao

i did the same thing...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject