|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 9:13 pm
"Other things..?" He was pouring another glass for himself but instead of diving right in he leaned up to snatch the Calla Lily. He was wary of it, some thing touched by the magic of the town, and he was so so careful after meeting Pax and Smol.. He turned it over in his hands, brushing his fingers over the never wilting leaves, and gave it a thorough look. Perhaps the alcohol had made it slip to the back of his mind that they were supposed to have a talk-
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 9:41 pm
Jeremiah could not quite say why he kept the flower. Why he placed it on his piano in a vase without water. Perhaps it was just a reminder that nothing was what it seemed, that magic existed, that his life was changed and the calla lily was the night it started. He let out a snort, hand reaching to touch the calla lily Algie was holding and then sliding to press fingers to his wrist a moment. They were two drinks in but that was not a point where the other would forget details. "Alg," his voice was soft, "I mean us." His fingers that were on Algie's wrist slid to his elbow and then up to his neck to rest there a moment. From there he was raising his hand up to fix Alg's glasses - they were just slightly crooked from their jostling each other earlier.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 9:57 pm
"Hrm," A grunt was such an eloquent response but he actually was blanking on how to start this conversation. His eyes dropped to the flower again after his glasses were fixed before he leaned to put it back where it had been. "Not at the piano?" Why did that matter? It really didn't. He may have been delaying because he didn't know what to say.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:03 pm
"Well sitting a the piano isn't comfortable. So, yes, not at the piano." Jeremiah closed the cover over the keys. Palms pressed flat to the lid, he pushed himself up to stand and then held out a hand for the other to take. Once it was taken, he would tug Algie up with him and over to the couch. It was not like he did not have experiencing herding the other, pulling someone difficult tops from him. This was them - not other people - and would require a different approach.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:15 pm
Algie, as ever, was led but made a point to clench his pipe in his teeth and snatch up the bottle and his glass in his free hand before Jeremiah pulled him away. They were set beside the couch before he sunk into with a small noise. He was still quiet, paying more mind in his buzz to how comfortable he was and that he had somewhere to set his pipe aside. And that he could take another sip before he even attempted talking. azuredreams like pulling ******** teeth
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:21 pm
Jeremiah's own glass was carried over as well, set down next to Algie's. Once he was sure the other was settled he sat down himself. Kind of. Instead of just sitting, the silver-haired man was turning his body to throw his feet up on the couch and putting his head in Algie's lap. There was some level of pain and irritation that came from laying on his back with the burns but that did not matter, not now. (Never mind that because it was two people on the couch his feet were slightly over the arm of it.) Then he was wrapping fingers, once again, around Algie's wrist and setting the hand in his hair. Yes, Algie, all the hair petting. It would make talking easier.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:24 pm
Alg huffed at the other, shifting as close as he could to the arm because Jeremiah didn't seem to quite fit laying like that. His hand settled in the other man's hair and ran through it lightly. "You're an idiot.." He grumbled and moved to flick the man's nose, "That can't be comfortable."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:30 pm
There it was again, a slight feeling of discomfort. It was entirely different than the pain of his burns. More like that unsettled feeling he got right before a case was going to go a bad direction. Not terrible, just worrisome. Then he noticed Algie's hand moving, a familiar motion that he was about do something to Jeremiah (smack, flick, hit), and raised his hand up to grab his wrist and stop him. His thumb pressed to Algie's pulse point. "I'll shift position if it gets to be too much, Alg." He let out a huff. "... and no flicking my nose, it's still a bit tender." Those bruises of his were just starting to turn an uglier green-yellow at the edges.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:33 pm
"Mmm hmm," his hand slid away for his glass for a sip before he set it down again, "You're entering the hobgoblin complexion stage." One hand went to the hair, the other settled on Jeremiah's chest over the steady thump of the other's heart. Silence.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:41 pm
"... you're one to talk with all the punching, head slapping, and nose flicking." Not that that had been limited to when they had been young hooligans. "Though I admit I am looking the part." Jeremiah was smarter now, in his old age, to not get beat up anymore than necessary. His heart was beating steadily, if a little bit faster than normal. It was an odd counterpoint to the flutter in his stomach when Algie rested a hand over his heart. "Algie." A pause, then a soft sigh. "Alg, I want there to be something here." Jeremiah was watching the other intently as he worked through the thoughts and feelings in his head that he frequently had trouble getting out. "More than there already is. We've toed this line for years. This thing between us."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:54 pm
His own pulse thudded gradually louder in his ears in his nervousness. It wasn't discomfort so much as being completely at a loss. For all the mess of thoughts in his head, for all the busyness in his brain, he couldn't work out the right things to say or find the words without feeling like an utter twit. "I-" He probably had always wanted it, since some stupidly young age, since he realized he hated every girl that talked to Jeremiah and even more so hated any guy the other man would be civil to. But in his amazing skill in compartmentalizing, had boxed it up when he thought the friendship would be in jeopardy. "I don't know how." It actually near choked him in anxiety and embarrassment to admit it. Algie had never dated, even after the other had gone off to America. He hadn't even tried. It seemed like a lot of damn work with no guarantee of lasting pay off. Why gamble on something that wasn't a sure thing? His risk taking days ended when Jeremiah left. azuredreams when u discover he was a bit more effected by that than you realized
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:06 pm
Jeremiah knew there was blame with him. That Algie was like this, that Algie had compartmentalized it until it was just a friendship because if it was anything more maybe it would disappear on them. Except that Jeremiah had left when he could have made a move. It weighed heavily on him now especially with everything that happened. The what ifs. They could not be lingered on because if he did he would never be able to banish the guilt. The pain of laying like this helped distract from the ache in his chest, the heavy weight there had nothing to do with Algie's hand on his chest. How long had he wanted him? Probably from the moment he realized that Algie's eyes were just that perfect shade of green. A little too much for him to handle. He always liked the things that were too much to handle."I admit," he was covering Alg's hand on his chest with his own, "that I am part of why you can't." His free hand was smoothed across his face. "I like my life here, I like what I made of myself, but I can't quite ..." A deep, shaky breath. "It's years late, Alg, but I'm sorry I left you behind."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:19 pm
The truth was that even if Jeremiah felt there was blame with him leaving, Algie didn't. As much as he could create and pick apart a character on paper, he couldn't do it for himself. The fact that Jeremiah was apologizing for it was absolutely ridiculous. "Don't apologize for something like that-" He snorted, "-life happened. You left. We stayed in touch.. it's fine. My own social decisions are my own." Because he didn't put together his mild abandonment issues, didn't realize that Jeremiah was the only person who didn't have expectations that he was required to meet, just knew that he'd never made the effort to reach out to anyone else and that he'd simply become compliant in being the operational adult he was supposed to be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:34 pm
He raised his other hand to poke at Algie's cheek. "I can still apologize and have regrets. I should have just ..." Not the place, not yet - not for that particular story. "... but I'll let it go, yeah?" The only person he would slip into something of a less proper way of talking with. Algie was the only person for a lot of things. Several of which he was not comfortable with truly admitting. Never mind that he had hurt Algie in some way made his heart ache. Jeremiah would forever be making up for it. That just was who he was. "I needed to get that out there because it's been eating at me since Sunny pulled me through my bloody phone to the beach and then to the other beach." The finger that poked changed to a hand pressed to the other's cheek. "I had time to think while I was there and ... one of those things was that it's not so much that I want you in my life that I need you in it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 8:51 am
"I told you I'm not going anywhere," There was exasperation in his voice at any insinuation he wouldn't be a part of Jeremiah's life, "And I did come to goddamn America for you." The pink in his cheeks was more so when he huffed and puffed, but only when he was drinking, "Dad's probably better off, to be honest, without me dragging around his house." Things hadn't been the same with his parents after he'd denied them a grandchild. It wasn't that they did anything wrong, or treated him like they loved him any less, but he felt like he'd broken something between them somewhere. After his mother died it was something that couldn't be repaired anymore. "But it's stupid of you to regret the direction your life went. Or mine. So I don't want to hear about that crap anymore." His hand settled over Jeremiah's on his cheek, "And I'm here stuck in this insane town with you. And I'm sure if you migrate to some equally insane town across the country or in ******** Guatemala or somesuch, I'll dog along with you there too." Algie got a terrible grimace, "But I hate the heat so please, no."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
