Welcome to Gaia! ::

At least he'd gotten some of the usual Zac out of it. For another moment there was an honest, genuine, befuddled edge to his expression -- and then Ever melted into a smile, because he just couldn't help falling into the comfort of that verbal sparring.

"You must not have done it right." Because, naturally, Ever would have done a good job. But instead of giving Zac a chance to reply, he went digging for mor truths to offer up. "Okay...ah."

It would have been easier if they'd been asking questions, but then he would have had to come up with the right ones and...and that was hard.

"I have three older brothers. They're all bigger than me." Was that one or two? he hesitated, and then shrugged. One, probably. "I've never seen Star Wars, which has horrified most of my, um. My exes."

...oh. Oh, well, that was a problem. The smile, so recently rekindled, slipped off his face and left Ever looking a little lost, himself. He wasn't sure he was equipped to deal with that kind of problem, or that kind of soap opera, but after all the pushing and prodding to get Zac to spill the beans, he damned well had to try.

"...which one?" No, that wasn't all that helpful; he didn't think he knew any of their names. So he shook his head and added quickly onto the tail of it. "I mean, was she...there?"

He didn't tease, thank god, just sat and considered Zac, arms folded over his stomach, digging for the right thing to say and having an impossibly hard time with it.

Three sharp knocks at the door saved him from himself, and also about made him jump out of his skin. Ever drew in several deep breaths through his nose, to his feet before the man proclaimed that he had pizza, and immediately went fumbling for the cash Zac had given him.

It was a break in the rhythm of their conversation, one that gave both a chance to breathe and gather thoughts, Ever fumbling awkwardly to pay the guy and probably not tipping very well. He closed the door with a foot and about dropped the pizza onto the bed, wincing. Hot. Hands.

Ever's eyes had mostly been on a wonderfully underdressed Tony at the time; he'd missed out on the importance and the trouble of that battle. There had been lava and monsters and mostly it had been a really cool dream; even now, it flitted in the edges of his memory, only the word 'leopard' making him twitch a little with surprise...

"It's just hot. The box." He dropped down to sit next to Zac, shaking his head and cracking it inward to peer in at the pizza they'd ended up ordering. Whatever it was, he'd reach for a piece, fumble to take a bite.

"...and the pizza, too." Mumbly, around his mouthful, he shook his head and finally met Zac's eyes again.

"I'm not lying. It's...it's just really not that bad." He shook his head, surprisingly serious about it as he devoured his own piece of pizza, fast enough that he didn't dribble down his front or into his lap, though he did hiss and fidget as it got in between his fingers.

Pizza gone, he levered up with his elbows to go for napkins, rooting through the paper bag that had come with their pizza. He could wait until the rest of it cooled off. Or maybe even until it went cold.

"...anyway, broken rib's worse. I've been there." He tossed half the stack of napkins at Zac before stepping toward the bathroom. He wanted to wash his own hands. "Didn't haul my a** to the clinic until a few days later, either."

"...gave you one, about that broken rib." He had, too, and he sounded almost smug over the sound of running water as he rinsed his hands down yet again, hissing as he spread more of the antiseptic over them. Maybe Ever should have let Zac wrap them up after all, protect tender fingers from the world around them.

"Um. The other one..." He hesitated, licked his lips, and then made a noise. "I'm fluent in French. And I speak a little Spanish and Italian, too. I can read Latin."

Ever came out, after a moment, with his hands curled into a towel and his eyes just a little tense, considering that with a brightening expression on his chest. "I've played chess a couple times." But not enough to be good, no matter how much he wanted to be good -- and his face made it clear he did.

This time, when he sank down onto the bed, it was slower and more gentle, legs stretched out in front of him. He needed to offer something serious up, it seemed, in order to get Zac to offer the same. But he just didn't think he had anything special enough. Ever's life was too simple.

Except for one thing. He made a sound and rolled a shoulder. "I, um. I slept with a teacher, at Sovereign Heights." There was an awkward sort of pause, achy, maybe, and then he pulled a face. "He was a jackass. I miss him."

Awkward. He fussed with his towel, shifted, and then shrugged -- a sharp gesture, distracted, distant, leaning back to nab a piece of pizza. But that wasn't fair. And this would count as a truth, wouldn't it...?

"...yes. He moved. Left quietly so it wouldn't make, you know, a fuss." No big noise. No fuss. No one knowing exactly what had gone down. It probably made it easier to find a new job, if no one had any idea...he set the pizza on top of the towel, trying to process the sudden explosion of information between them.

"I was eighteen, it was legal anyway." He waved that off, eyes lifting up onto Zac as he took a bite. "Your mentor was the one with all that blue hair?"