[PRP] Biding Time [Ever x Matt]

[and be blue]

Room 104 shouldn't have been anything particularly unusual -- just another first floor intermediate room, and Ever didn't exactly seem like the interior decorator type. His door still had a couple faded postcards taped to it, crookedly, old and worn out -- so familiar, by now, that he'd more or less forgotten about them --

But it was the inside that was something else. Matt knocked, and Ever answered, opening the door carelessly. Behind him, the standard-issue bed, with standard issue sheets. A bag, a pile of books, one laptop closed andp ut out of the way.

Behind that, an Iron Maiden, old and rusty, half-closed with clothing poking out of one side.

And next to it, a full-out medieval style rack, adjustable, and currently in a mostly-vertical position, with fresh folded laundry precariously balanced on it.

Ever seemed careless, clueless, indifferent to it all. Used to it enough that, perhaps, he even forgot all the torture equipment was there. He offered a bright flash of a smile as he gestured Matt in. "Juice?"

hanging gallow

 

[stella cinere]

Freshly scrubbed face, some juice and whiskey in hand, and Matt made his way over to Ever’s room to celebrate his win on the tower. Not entirely sure why they were celebrating other than the man had possibly attempted to complete it one too many times but he was not one to argue.

He knocked on the door, waiting before Ever answered it. He grinned as the door opened, holding up the bag with the few bottles in it.

“Yea, I brought some whiskey too.” He stepped in after being gestured, stepping clear of the door he paused. It was about the same size of his but unlike the bare neatness there were various torture devices taking up a bulk of the room. Matt wasn’t entirely sure what to make of them, but he was amused.

and be blue

 

[and be blue]

"Whiskey." Ever wasn't sure if he was supposed to sound appreciative or scornful, and so it came out mixed: a little confused, as he reached out to take the bag from Matt's hand. His own fingers settled lightly into the small of the man's back, just enough to nudge him the rest of the way inward and close the door behind him, a pointed little push to sit on the bed. It would have been better had he a chair, but at least he'd made the bed. Kind of. Roughly.

"Is that what you drink? Because I have a s**t ton of vodka if you'd rather." And several mismatched mugs, sitting next to it. Along with a proper case of cheap cigarettes.

hanging gallow

 

[stella cinere]

“I didn’t want to be rude and not offer some of my own booze at least, sorry I didn’t have anything else.” Matt noting the confused sound in the other’s man voice, it wasn’t meant to say that what Ever had offered was terrible he just felt like a shitty person at least not offering to share in return. Taking a seat on the bed he continued to glance around the room, noting the cigarettes and clothes on the contraption.

“Vodka and oj is fine. I am not picky.” The mismatched mugs were amusing, but then again it wasn’t a surprise to find them in Ever’s room at this point. The entire place was an odd collection so far.

and be blue

 

[and be blue]

"I don't think whiskey and orange is a good mix anyway. Coke, maybe. Ginger ale, for sure." Ever poured even as he said it, flicking a look back toward Matt and offering him one of the mugs. He had an extremely generous pour; the juice was like a faint wash in a pale sea, and Ever, at least, seemed perfectly happy with that. He dropped down next to Matt, stretching his legs out in front of him and taking a generous sip.

"I definitely never had a single person, in my year or so of bartending, ask for whiskey and orange juice. But thank you. I'll save it for classier company." He tipped his mug to clink with Matt's and drank again, following his eyes.

hanging gallow

 

[stella cinere]

Matt laughed only for a moment before shaking his head at the thought of mixing whiskey and oj or anything else.

“No you can drink whiskey straight. Or at least that bottle you can.” He would not mention the cost of the bottle at least, wasn’t the most expensive but it was enough. Taking the mug he looked at the content swirling it for a moment before taking a long gulp from it as Ever sat down next to him.

“Your welcome.” He let the mug clink against Ever’s before taking another long drink from it watching the other hunter, it wasn’t great or at least not the vodka but for whatever reason he was keen on finishing it quickly.

and be blue

 

[and be blue]

"So, Matt." He smiled as he said it, in a slow sort of way -- leaning back onto his elbows with his drinking hanging, already half-finished, from one hand. Ever was neither suave nor hot, so he didn't try. He went for goofy, and achieved it, effortlessly.

"Where do you come from?" A raised eyebrow and a tip of his head, drink raised in a distant sort of salute.

hanging gallow

 

[stella cinere]

Matt grinned, watching as Ever leaned back the rather goofy way he went about giving a salute. He took another long gulp from the mug, ignoring the fact that had managed to already drink a quarter of it down.

“As in where I was before Deus? California. Santa Barbara area mostly, doing the usual of attending a college to get a medical degree, what about you?”

and be blue

 

[and be blue]

"...I've actually never been to California." It made Ever blink, considering, his drink gone still for just a moment. At some point, in his time at Deus, it had occurred to him that travel was possible: that he could go just about anywhere he wanted, by simply stepping through a portal. There had been quite a few places he wanted to see.

Then, at some point, he'd gotten to settled in to really leap at the opportunity. He was thinking about it now, and wondering how it was possible he'd forgotten for so long.

"Montana. Notre Dame, Chicago, then I hitchihked to New York for quite a while. That's where I was before here." And then he paused, playing back, assessing. "Med school is the norm? ********, then what was I doing?"

hanging gallow

 

[stella cinere]

“California… nice its laid back or at least some of it is. Spent a lot of time on the beach.” Not that Matt had really lived anywhere else, he had spent most of his life on the west coast it was all he knew. With the portals he could go anywhere, he had gone to a few places but not anywhere far from what he knew. Vegas had been about as far he had gotten east.

“Never been on the east coast really, been to Scotland but that doesn’t count. I mean school as the norm, med school is for over achievers and insanity like me, and you were probably living more of a life than I was before coming here.” Never had he hitchhiked in his life, or lived anywhere for beyond Santa Barbara for long.

and be blue

 

[and be blue]

"It was...interesting, anyway." Ever thought about it with his head cocked to one side and the drink perched on his stomach. Trying to find some kind of way to put the experience properly into words.

"I had an apartment, at least. That's probably why they waited so long to nab me; I was kind of a disaster before, living on the streets mostly. But. Uh. Studio over a Chinese restaurant, it was pretty shitty. The bar I worked at wasn't much better." He flicked Matt a look, serious, as he drank. "Lots of blow in the bathroom, both kinds[. It was kind of amazing."

hanging gallow

 

[stella cinere]

Matt rose a brow as the hunter mentioned about leaving on the streets for a bit of time, it made it glaringly obvious how he had been more of a spoiled kid all his live verses others. Not that he was rich that they threw money around; it was just a comfortable life never wanting for much.

“Sounds… really interesting.” There wasn’t really anything else he could say about it, wasn’t like a sorry would fix s**t either. Instead he finished off the rest of the mug, a little quicker than he probably should have. It would be regret later. He returned Ever’s serious look. “Sounds amazing.”

and be blue

 

[and be blue]

"I don't know about that. Unless you mean it amazes you, in which case, I can believe that." He grinned at Matt as he said it, the mocks-serious expresison melting away. Rolled one shoulder in a shrug and finishe off his own drink, casually. He didn't get up to get more, either; just shook his head a little, resting the empty cup against his knee.

"My great achievement, not sleeping in the subway. It's not exactly med school, right?" His fingers beat out an absent pattern against the mug. "I did get laid a lot, though."

hanging gallow

 

[stella cinere]

“Amazes yes, don’t think I have worked at a place like that.” Matt leaned back on the bed resting in elbow into the mattress returning a grin. Not entirely sure of what to say, not sleeping in a subway was some sort of achievement he guessed. It wasn't as if Matt had anything beyond not completing school, there was no life experiences very little hardship. He had mostly perfect life and ditched it all. Looking at the mug he traced the rim of it.

“I didn't get laid enough too much time spent being a perfect student.” It was the only thing he could think of to say as terrible as it was.

and be blue

 

[and be blue]

"Why Matt, are you hitting on me?" It came out slow, halfway teasing, with both eyebrows slowly creeping upward. He didn't move, even though now he really did want another drink. Instead he sat, still leaning back on his elbows and watching the other man in a distant, thoughtful sort of way.

"I think that was a pass." Which was funny, because it probably hadn't been. But Ever's was, for sure.

hanging gallow