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 Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 6:47 pm
Ever had been expecting a snarky, biting sort of comment, something blowing him off or telling him to shove it or mocking his own decision to drink. When nome came, that actually worried him more than anything else: the water still running, he shifted to peer out at the young man, grabbing for his towel with a flinch and a tightening of his shoulders.
He watched the fumbled first attempt at a swallow, his eyebrows knitting together at the second, and he reached out to flick the water off as Zac finally polished off a third gulp, much more comfortable now.
It was a warning, before he stepped out of the bathroom, both hands wrapped around his towel. Soft. "...um. Zac?" Ever definitely sounded worried.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 6:52 pm
Tired, almost unmasked eyes glanced towards you, he was holding the bottle like a life line, he looked...smaller some how if that was even possible. Tapped out, drained out, all his bravado stripped away for one brief moment, even his eyes... betraying his age, and everything he had seen.
And then he swallowed hard and straitened again, trying to push it all away again, a good and proper General. A brave face, someone to follow into a fight, not the one who stayed after...broken and terrified.
That didn't last long either, he glanced away his face flushing from more than the booze... caught. That was what it came down to. He put the bottle down with exaggerated care and started to stand with a muttered apology, grimacing as he bent at the waist, one hand finding his ribs before he could stop himself.
"I'll leave the things." He said, like nothing had happened, or maybe he just wished it.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 6:59 pm
"Sit down." In uniform, Zac was the general, yes. And Ever had done as he'd asked, when it really came down to it, and had moved with him, very much following his lead. Here right now, though, Zac was a sixteen year old boy, and Ever was the adult. Kind of.
He swiped hair out of his face with the back of his hand, eyes flashing around the room and wishing that he had something distracting or something helpful. But he didn't have anything, other than the vodka and the book in the middle of his bed, the first three still propped up on his bedside table..."Just sit down. I'll order food..."
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 7:09 pm
It might have been the booze, it might have been the tired but for once in his life... by some miracle... Zac listened. You could probably have made convincing arguments about the existence of god based entirely around that momentary, quiet...submission.
He didn't even ask what Ever was ordering, but he did, after a moment for the thought to filter he asked. "Do you need... money?" He said it quietly like he was worried about offending, not even meeting his eyes.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 7:22 pm
"Probably." He didn't know what to order, either. Ever was rarely the one who did the ordering, usually he was sprawled out in bed while someone else -- well. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes, trying to remember where he'd put those menus someone had shoved under his door. People were always doing that...
It didn't take much rooting through his dresser with uninjured fingertips to find four of them: two pizza, a chinese, and a fusion Asian place that looked much too expensive. He cleared his throat as he fumbled to get them off of the wood. "You injured?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 7:33 pm
Zac stood very carefully but he still tapped the bottle with his foot when he shifted to pull out his wallet, the bills were somewhat wanting but he offered what he had to Ever with a tired stare after he was sure the cheep booze wasn't going to spill all over his shoes.
He answered with a shrug...
Was it a no or a 'it doesn't matter', became the question, and from the way he sat back down, and the previous face he'd made it rather answered itself.
"How are your hands?" He asked in turn, still playing dodge the question, questions answered with questions answered with more questions, pro forma.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 7:48 pm
"Zac." It was sharper this time, frustrated. He offered the menus in return for the money, holding them awkwardly between two fingers so they wouldn't touch anywhere more sensitive. Ever swallowed a couple times, his eyes drinking in every inch of Zac, looking for some clear sign of injury.
"You know I'm not stupid." Flighty, yes, but stupid, no. Ever shook his head and went for his phone. There was nothing to see. He'd either have to strip Zac or wait for an answer, and he thought the second option would be better for both of them. "...and I let you look..."
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 7:56 pm
"...you answered the door shirtless and immediately tried to hid your hands... you didn't have a -whole- lot of choice in that..." He countered and then glanced down at the menus.
He stared at them for a long moment before answering as though he were ordering. "Not like your hands." which didn't say how... or what he was trying to hide because his evasiveness on the matter was like trying to nail jello to the wall.
"What do you want?" He asked, he didn't even make an effort to decide, it was unfair of him in his own estimation, but right now he just didn't care.
"...I can put bandages back on those.." He added nodding at the hands.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:14 pm
Ever shook his head impatiently, genuinely not interested in food himself; he dropped the phone down onto the bed next to Zac. If he wanted to be the boss, he could damned well order, too.
"You're not hurt." It was a guess, but not a bad one, probably. Understanding was starting to kick in around the edges, and it only made Ever look more nervous and worried. He stood in front of Zac, arms wrapped around his ribs and hands dangling, somewhat uncomfortable. He didn't know how to broach this issue, not really...
"I mean. Not...injured." Obviously Zac was hurt, it was just -- a different kind of hurt. And he was the kind of buttoned-up, tight-lipped son of a b***h who'd never admit it. "We could exchange truths, if you want."
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:19 pm
"...I have a broken rib... and I was thrown into a wall." He said quietly, but it didn't even begin to scratch the blankness that had taken over once bright eyes.
"I'm... just tired." he added rubbing the butt of his hand hard into his eyes, like it explained everything, but he looked diminished again as he did so.
"Exchange...truths?" He said carefully arching an eyebrow. The -idea- interested him, as dangerous as it was.
Ever remained elusive, he'd tried so hard to bucket him and come up empty every time, he didn't... he didn't understand Ever, because he didn't fit the ridged molds he had formed in his assumptions about so much of humanity.
".... sure....why not."
His gaze drifted, tired and heavy, too tired to think about the give and take of it. Why not.... he'd not used those words in such a situation since he was in grade school.
What could it hurt...foolish dangerous thought that it was.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:24 pm
"Do you want to stick around here, or do you want me to get dressed...?" He hesitated. The idea of fighting with a real fly, with torn fingers, was a horrfying idea -- but his eyes flicked up toward the bag anyway. It might be worth risking it, anyway, if it would put Zac a little more at ease. If the young man felt awkward on Ever's bed, on Ever's territory.
"...um. Or order food first, anyway." At the very least he could put on a shirt. Just thinking about getting dressed had made him realize how potentially awkward this was -- and also how skinny he looked. He wasn't vain, generally, but at the same time...it diminished him. Ever eased away to fish through his clothes for something clean. "Then we can work out the rules."
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:35 pm
"Here..." he answered almost without a pause to think. "...here, I ... don't feel like going out. I've had enough 'out' today. I'll order it if you pick it..."
He wasn't sure he could eat a lot right now all the same. The idea of food was just... he could still half smell the room he'd found Uranophane in, and that was the least of his worries... she was safe, she was alive.
"What kind of rules..." He asked twisting one distracted hand through his hair... his fingers snagged the small braid that was ridiculously worked into his bangs, constant but strange.
"Is this...like truth or Dare or... something I don't know about yet..."
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:40 pm
"I don't know. Ahm." He paused with the shirt in his hands, flicking Zac a look, and fidgeted for a moment before he pulled it over his head. Not an easy feat: he struggled to tug cloth over his head without touching it with palms or the insides of his fingers, winced as it scraped across his injured cheek, and sat beside his bag once he was done, staring up toward Zac.
"We'll make up the rules." His mind had gone absently back toward the first week or two at Sovereign Heights, the games counselors had worked their fresh new faces through in an attempt to build camaraderie. Most of them had mocked the fun behind their backs; Ever, on the other hand, had enjoyed it a bit too much, and the idea made his lips twitch into a crooked sort of smile.
It had been his first time really interacting with so many different people. In retrospect, he'd probably made a colossal a** of himself. "Just order pizza, it's cheapest and fastest and keeps a couple days."
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:38 am
Arms folded over his chest for a moment, like body armor the way he held them, curled over them like not only could he gingerly protect his weakest points but that he would lean back away from the injuries, mental or physical, that he was trying to protect himself from.
Even with Ever sitting he still watched the white haired young man like he was half expecting him to jump up with a knife, but he did at last sit down and fumble in his pocket for a phone. Not the trac phone either, it was still a piece of s**t but it was a personal piece of s**t...
It also had a 'skull panda' cell-charm swaying back and forth between you.
The phone came to rest on his crossed legs after a moment, un-dialed. Logical questions in the situation might have been "what do you want on your pizza, but what came out instead was.
"...Why do you care?" His shoulders had slumped and he looked rather like he'd just 'given up' on some battle he had been loosing since at least when he walked in the door. He sounded utterly confused, lost... like he couldn't quite fathom the why of it, why stop him from leaving, why ask that question... why offer anything.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 6:48 am
Ever hadn't gotten up off the floor; he sat with elbows on his knees and hands dangling, forcing himself to look up at Zac and not focus on his somewhat-dwindled alcohol supply. He hadn't even gotten to the question asking yet, and already this was exhausting.
That question, though, didn't just take him by surprise -- it blindslided him, and then it stung as much as anything the senshi had done to him did. It got under his skin and rankled, made Ever's eyes go wide and then his teeth set, sending his aching jaw a buzzing and his eyes finally flashing away from Zac.
The fact that Zac asked hurt, and it also pissed him off. Ever had to chew on a sharp answer before it escaped to taint the room around him. When he finally spoke, it came out quiet, restrained. "Ouch, Zac."
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