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 Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2022 6:00 am
Kor and Kraven weren't here today. They had told him to go to Kor's place anyway and hang out. Derek would be home, but Kazuo would be at work. They all stayed over at Kor and Derek's place these days, they said. Everyone had tried to explain the kind of relationship they had with one another. It seemed, between these four men, love just flowed freely. So it was really awkward when he was told to go there and have Derek be with him? Well, from all of their interactions so far over the last few months, Derek wasn't a bad guy at all. Seemed... clingy, but in a way that wasn't overwhelming. At least for them. As River's lilac eyes fell upon Kor's door, having already headed up the stairs through the closed shop (Kor had left it unlocked for him. River, of course, locked it.), he paused. He could just... not be here. Wait until Kor texted him they were home. Kor had said they wouldn't be long... And so, River knocked and hoped Kor let Derek know to expect him.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2022 9:35 am
Derek was... admittedly nervous. He'd known River was coming over but he still wasn't sure where he fell with the other man. He tried hard to make River feel like he was included in things, like he was still wanted... But he felt like all River saw him as was clingy. Derek's biggest fear though was that he thought River might have thought he had taken his place. There was a knock at the door and Derek jumped.... Show time. With a soft sigh to calm his nerves, he got up and opened the door. "Hi..." He offered softly. "Um... If it's unlocked, you can just come in. You don't hafta knock." The blonde immediately back pedaled. "I-if you want. I mean. If... If you feel better knocking, then that's okay? " Could River just... close his head in the door? That would be great. Derek sighed and stepped out of the way, letting River come inside. "Um... They shouldn't be too long." River wouldn't have to deal with him for too long.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2022 5:55 pm
River just held up a hand once the door opened and then ducked his head sheepishly. "Hey." He was going to knock. He didn't live here, and Kor didn't live here alone. Why wouldn't he knock? River wouldn't say anything though, just sort of looking at the floor as he moved inside and took a few steps toward the living room. "Yeah.. They said ah.. less than an hour." Kor was usually not late, so he was learning he could trust him with time management. River pushed some of his hair out of his face before shifting from foot to foot and then started to head to the couch. He settled down on one of the ends, resting on the armrest, and then looked Derek over. "Something about maybe getting pastries." A little shrug to punctuate his point
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2022 9:31 pm
Derek trailed after River at a distance, unsure what to do with himself. "That... That sounds like them. I wonder who's sweet tooth took over this time..." He blinked, watching River watch him. Derek jerked a finger awkwardly towards the kitchen. "You're uh.. welcome to help yourself if you see something you want? I don't think anyone would mind..." At least, he was pretty sure no one would. The blonde shuffled across from the couch, dropping himself into a nearby loveseat. He hoped River didn't think he was avoiding him by doing so... He just wanted the other to have some space. Derek didn't want to make him feel like he was suffocating. God this wasn't awkward... Nope. Not at all.
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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2022 5:41 pm
It earned a huff of a small laugh out of River, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. "My money is on Kor. Man doesn't know self-control when it comes to chocolate croissants. He's probably bringing home at least ..." River thought about it for a moment, blue hair moving to the side as his head canted. "Probably at least three dozen for the four of you." There were no hints of anything but amusement in his gentle, but surprisingly deep voice. He then went to shove his hair from his face again before muttering a curse in Spanish under his breath. He tied it away, the top half, into a messy bun to get it out of his face. "Sorry. The dangers of never cutting your hair." At Derek's prompting, River got up and wandered his way to the kitchen, glancing around at all the little decorations and collections that made up this home. Little bits of all of them. He bit back bittersweet feelings, opened the fridge, and thanked Kor's caffeine addiction there was Red Bull in the fridge. "This isn't yours?" He asked, holding up the can so Derek could see it. "....If it is can I have it?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2022 8:50 pm
Derek snickered. River did have a point... "That's true... Though Kray's sweet tooth when he's trying to quit smoking is something to be feared. I swear I saw him go through a massive bag of lollipops in a matter of days." The blonde sigh. He watched, with a slight tilt of his head as River fought with his hair. "At least yours straight.. I can't tell you how many times the hair ties gotten tangled in my hair before I can even finish my ponytail... It's too long for hair clips now anyway..." Derek said, absently combing a hand through his own hair. "I've got some hair ties around if you need more, or uh... a bigger one like a scrunchie or something." He paused, somewhat awkwardly. "... I can braid it if you want? I've uh... had quite a bit of practice with it." Derek laughed somewhat nervously. "Oh yeah, go for it. Red Bulls and Monster are a bit of a staple around here." Between the caffeine crazed and Derek's early classes... "We tend to stock up on those so you're good to go. We should have other flavors in one of the cabinet's if you prefer those." He leaned over the loveseat back, just watching. "Um... I know this is probably a bit forward, and awkward... and I guess one of those 'Not my house' sort of things but.... You... don't have to ask... If that makes sense? You're welcome here just as much as anyone else... Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if their little shopping trip didn't include bringing back things they know you liked to keep around here."
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 6:38 am
Once Derek had said yes, there was only the sound of the can opening, and River taking a long drink. Those purple eyes darted to anywhere but Derek and landed on the couch once again. He went and settled into the spot once more, taking care to not sit on his hair, and shrugged. "I don't... I'm fine. My hair's out of my face now." The half-up bun was a good solution. "And ....Ah, I know there are things in this apartment that do not belong to Kor, so I... ask." He'd continue to do so, as well. Grabbing a snack, only to have someone be passive-aggressive, or worse, annoyed and not mention it to him because he ate it wasn't something on the list of things River wanted in his life. It was already complicated enough trying to navigate reconnecting with his ex-boyfriend, and one of his oldest friends. The can was settled on Kor's stained, scuffed, and wet-ringed covered table and there was another awkward pause. "....Kor tells me that you're going to school. Uhm. What for?" That was a good ice breaker, wasn't it?
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:29 am
"Mkay..." Derek mumbled, dropping the topic of hair. He had to admit though. He was a bit envious of the other's hair. While still long, at least it seemed easier to handle then his unruly curls. The blonde hummed softly in response. "I can show you who usually goes for what later if you want. Usually no one says anything if we take something, but I see your point." Derek watched River for a moment before dragging his gaze away. He seemed to stare at nothing for a moment before sighing and flopping back into the chair. "Honestly? I wish I knew... I keep changing my major and classes. I just..." He waved a hand. "I don't know what to do. Nothing's really sticking or clicking with me. I've had people make suggestions but..." Derek shrugged half heartedly. "I've thought... about changing it to some Art Major but..." He was sure Kor would have a field day with that one though. He ran a hand idly over his wrist, over the ink there. "He doesn't know I've thought about that one yet.."
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2022 6:38 am
"That..." He nodded a little bit. "I will try to remember everything." River hoped he remembered this entire conversation. God, what he would give to have paper and pen to write things down. Derek spoke about his major constantly changing and River nodded along. "They always say it's alright if you don't know your major. Just say with it. Don't waste money and go into debt for nothing." Of course, he caught Derek stroking his tattoo as he talked about art. Something deep in his chest hurt, then again when he said Kor didn't know without actually saying his name. "You can tell him. He'd help you with things, fundamentals, getting supplies, maybe even homework...." Kor was the artist, after all. Well, so was River, but he was more into painting than anything else. It was a different beast from what Kor did, what Derek would probably be into.
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2022 9:37 am
"I can write it down too, if you want so it's easier to memorize." He had a spare notebook that River could keep. "Might have to give me a day or two to get it made up for you though."
With one last swipe against his wrist, Derek tugged the sleeve of his shirt down and over the ink before hiding his hand from sight in general. He'd hit a bit of a sore spot, he knew. He hadn't meant to, but he did. "... I'm afraid to, if we're being honest." Derek admitted quietly. "I know he'd support me and walk me through things, but I don't want him to feel like I'm taking this from him. I've invaded enough of his stuff... He doesn't have much that is truly just his." It's hard to have something of your own, when there were four people wandering in and out of the house at any given time. Five, if they counted River. "It took him ages to get back into it after things settled down... I don't think I'm interested in tattooing. I just like doodling.. Paint is nice but I'm also horrible at it." Derek shrugged, falling quiet.
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:14 am
"Kor, from what I remember, doesn't think like that. Art isn't something 'his'. He does it, but he's equally as excited for anyone to do it. It's just another form of expressing yourself. Kor would encourage you." River looked Derek over again and then off to the side, hands wringing together now. He was playing with his own fingers for something to do while he talked. As far as River knew, Kor didn't have anything he claimed as 'his'. Other tattoo artists weren't even considered competition to him. "Sculpting's art. Maybe you're good at that. There's a lot of different ways to do art. Spray paint, drip paint, putting balloons on a canvas and popping with darts like in the Princess Diaries.." River shrugged a little and then kind of spread his hands.
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:42 am
"I know..." Derek mumbled. "I just... worry." Derek sighed, gaze drifting back to River. "I dunno if I have the patience for sculpting. I've heard it's a b***h sometimes..." He daid, offering a weak smile before sitting up.
"Uhm... Was there... anything you wanted to.. know, I guess?" River had never asked any questions, just accepted things the way they were. "I.. I dunno. I guess, if I were in your spot... I'd have questions... Or something."
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:49 am
What did he want to know? River thought about it for a while, staying quiet again as he drew his hands into his lap and shrugged. He had questions, probably. "Well..." He didn't want this to be so awkward. "Kor doesn't have any kids running around, does he? I always imagined he would have at least two by now." Even if they were accidents. "Or... any of you have kids?" It was a fair question, he felt. A lot of people were having kids. For all he knew Kazuo wasn't around much because he was taking care of kids. He hadn't talked to the small man much.
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:15 pm
"No... No kids. My mom had me young. I wanted to avoid following in her foot steps there." Maybe someday though. "Though... There was a girl, once. Kor hae thought..." In a way, they all had. "She... left. A while ago." Again. " Kor said she was going through some things. I know it eats away at him though." Derek gave a half hearted smile. Laine was always hard to talk about. With or without Kor around.
"If you mean Kaz though.. Don't worry about him. He's shy, at least in the beginning. He was like that with me in the beginning too. You'll see more od him as time goes on. He also runs a convince store down the way, so he's always got awkward hours.... I can show you where that is somr time if you're curious." A harmless offer, but still an invitation. "What else?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:31 pm
"Oh, there was a girl?" River's eyebrows shot up at that. That was new. He usually didn't take to women like he did men. At least the Kor River remembered. Sure, he'd fooled around, but girls never stayed with him long. He would probably ask Kor about that later. If he remembered. Ah, he ran a corner store. That... was surprising. "I'd appreciate it, thank you." River didn't live near this area, but when he was here, it would be nice to know. Again, if he remembered it. He could probably draw a map. Or a note to himself on his phone. It seemed like something important to remember. Then Derek asked that question and River shrugged a little. "Why doesn't he tattoo?"
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