|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2020 2:12 pm
Yu settled carefully onto the floor at Priam’s feet looking thoughtful. “I guess, we all have marks left by other people.” He said twisting to a solemn tone. “I’m glad you don’t hate them? I know you could… let most things heal over, but there would always be a scar I guess. So…. learning to own those marks, that’s, that’s pretty big too.” He rubbed at his arm thoughtfully. He loved this man….respected him, he was like the bright side of a mirror, beautiful and yet still wounded. It probably showed in his eyes, the sort of soft look as he gazed up. He didn’t envy Priam his scars, but he sometimes wished that he had different scars. “… you can… ask about one of mine if you want. It… seems like a fair trade.”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2020 2:45 pm
Priam's smile was kind, appreciative, as he looked down at Yu. He reached for the brush but after taking it from Yu he only set it on the couch next to him. Gently, he placed his fingers atop Yu's scalp and began to massage his scalp. The position was easy; slightly hunched over took the weight off of his protesting muscles and let him stretch a bit, and his fingers were glad to be touching something they couldn't break.
He hummed thoughtfully, as he worked gently at his scalp. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, Yu," he assured. "I'm not telling you to put you in a position where you feel obligated to return the gesture, I promise. I'm telling you because I trust you, and, well, maybe I've kept so many things bottled up for so long that it's nice to let them come out. It's not nearly as embarrassing or horrifying as I thought it would be," he confessed, seeming like he had slipped into a peaceful state, just playing with Yu's hair between lightly kneading his fingers across his scalp.
"Do you have one that you want to talk about?" he asked, but there was no pressure. "Or one that you're proud of?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2020 2:58 pm
The scalp massage was going to be his undoing, he was fairly sure of that, it was ridiculously good, intimate without being… intimate. He gave a small groan at the sensation.
“Well… number one, I need to do this for you some time because hot dang.” He murmured. For the question, he had to pause and think, fingers picking lightly at a stray thread that was starting to show from well-worn jeans fraying at the knee, just a small pick-pick-pick…till it snapped in his fingers and he twisted it there thinking. DID he have any he was proud of? “I might still have a scar on the top of my head, you’ll probably find it if I do…” He hesitated. “I head-butted a guy. He thought he was hot s**t, because he was tall and stuff, and he just grabbed my arm trying to prove he was all badass picking on this scrap of a kid. Said ‘if you’re all that tough, you can shake me off.’ “ He shrugged. “I don’t…really remember what I did, but a friend of mine at the time, he said I grabbed his beard, and just…rammed my head into him hard enough that a few teeth cracked. It was…so dumb, I knocked myself silly and he was just mad as hell, but he let go! So… technically a win?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2020 3:17 pm
The noise Yu made just tickled Priam, who couldn't have gotten the smile off of his face even if he'd really tried to.
"I'll have to look for it," he said, but his movements didn't change and he just kept on with the tender ministrations. "You're very brave, Yu. Very bold! Your poor head, though."
The angle allowed, and his back didn't protest; he leaned forward to plant a gentle kiss atop his head before carefully resuming his hunched position over him. Finally, he reached for the brush and began to gently comb it through the ends. He moved slowly, carefully, keen on not pulling a single hair.
His movements were calm and focused and it was obvious that he was taking this hair brushing very seriously. Better he do it than Yu, though; he could only imagine the younger man just yanking the brush through his hair to get it done with. Priam couldn't offer much, but if this was the only way he could pamper someone, he was going to savor every little moment he had to do so.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2020 4:22 pm
He half wanted to be impatient with the slow and gentle brushing, he’d have been done with it in maybe a quarter of the time. But... But. It was nice, one of those strange soft moments, so much more precious than clinging to the moments of ‘not awful’. It brought him dangerously close to tears, so he rested his face on the couch beside Priam, all the better to hide my dear. The absurdity of the big bad wolf dialogue so twisted at least made him smile and refocus on how nice - how good this moment was. How MANY good moments there had been. It was unreal in a way. There was still the surety that the ‘other shoe’ would drop. Like maybe Ilya showing up with his records tucked under his arm. Then they’d know he was a thief, a liar, that he’d - He stuffed the thought down as hard as he could. Yes, he was dangerous to be around, but it just meant he’d be the one to hurt the one who hurt Priam. If he was a rabid dog as one of his Fosters had implied, then he’d be their watch dog. “This is, really nice.” He admitted. “I’d um... say I could teach you how to head butt, but it’s really just pick your target and hit them with the hard part of your head, works a lot better than what I did that time. Pretty sure my buddy tried to say it was the dudes teeth that had me bleeding, but he made up a lot of s**t.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2020 6:05 pm
"It is nice," Priam agreed. "Your hair is so soft. I'm a little jealous. But it's taking me forty minutes to get dressed in the morning, imagine how long it would take me to brush my hair."
He sounded like the thought amused him, but in reality he was so glad his hair was short. He couldn't really brush it very well right now, but thankfully it seemed to stay pretty tame so he hadn't had to fuss very much.
He smoothed the top of Yu's had again, as if soft touches could chase away whatever pain he'd felt there before. "Try not to use your head like that, Yu. Unless you absolutely have to. I don't want you hitting the wrong spot and forgetting me."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2020 6:15 pm
“I don’t think I could forget you OR Sterling as long as I’m alive.” He promised, “And we’d help you with your hair, I’d be more patient with yours than mine.” “You ever been so... happy it was a little scary?” He asked softly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2020 7:01 pm
There was some relief at the promise, and Priam managed a few more gentle strokes while he considered his answer.
"Yes," he said after a moment. "Recently, I think. For a long time, I doubted happiness. I was so afraid of it being a trick, of putting my heart and soul into something and wondering when everything was going to come crashing down. It was ingrained in me, that I wasn't allowed to be 'happy', and if I did, I'd get punished for it."
He didn't voice the part where he still suspected his jealous, vengeful ex somehow escaping prison just to meet him on that rooftop, just to hurl him to the ground.
Just to punish him.
He didn't let the silence brew for long and added, "I think, when you're used to hurting, or used to disappointment, it's what your brain does to try and protect you. You can't be disappointed if you expect the worst, right?" It was a rhetorical question and he didn't wait for an answer; he just sighed softly. "...When 'normal' is a state of unhappiness, anything outside of that can be scary. Suddenly, you have something to lose. Suddenly, you're out of your element, and even if it's better, you don't know what's supposed to happen. You don't know if you can lose it." He hummed a little sigh.
"Yes. I've been so happy that I found myself very scared." He was taking his time, carefully working out a little knot. "But only because I had something so precious I was afraid of what losing it would do to me. If that doesn't sound so dramatic. It's all those fairy tales I love so much." He sounded like he was teasing, but there was something just honest about it. He held such stories closest to his heart, and dreamed of a world where all tales had happy endings and true love.
"...Is that what you were thinking, Yu? Or something else?" he asked, still so tender, trying to assure that there was nothing to be ashamed of.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2020 8:41 pm
“No... that’s right... or as close to it as I can think.” He wanted to share more - but he couldn’t. The idea of it made his breath short, seizing in his throat and tripping over the very thought of it like stumbling a long slick stones in a river. It was the fear, but his had jagged edges - the certainty that he could ever last. The surety the best he could hope for was complacency in the face of violence. How to explain where you found your place in the world without ... making them feel less like you recognized how much they had suffered. He loved them so much it hurt at times. “How.... foolish is it... to suggest I’d like to nap with you?” He murmured. What safer more precious thing was there than sharing the vulnerability of sleep?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2020 6:12 am
"I don't think it sounds foolish at all," Priam answered; he had mostly worked out the last of the knots and was still taking his time to carefully brush the last of his hair. "In fact, I'd like that very much. I'm afraid if I nap too much, you'll both be convinced that I'm already a sleepy old man. But if you suggest it, it just sounds charming."
He could run the brush through all of Yu's hair without it snagging, so he laid it down on the couch next to him. "Come try my bed. The room you two got ready for me is perfect in every way. The temperature is nice and cool, so I alaways get to sleep under the blankets. The memory foam has been divine for my back, and I don't think Sterling left a single pillow back at my house. Very good for nesting." Which, Priam was rather unashamed to do when he didn't have to lay there like a mummy. Penny was very good at fluffing up the blankets and walking in circles to make sure she found the perfect spot, and Odie could lay anywhere, often on top of her or with a gentle head on Priam.
"We'll have to sneak there so the dogs don't see us, or they'll race us for the middle of the bed," he said, but clearly seemed fond. "Will you help me over there?"
He didn't like to ask, mostly because he didn't want to seem like he needed more help than they could give; if he could do it on his own, he would. He didn't want to take advantage of their kindness.
But.
They had been open with each other, and he argued that taking a nap together was the same closeness as an arm wrapped around him to help him up.
Which, now that he was really thinking about it, actually sounded very nice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2020 9:49 am
He’d never nested, hell he still hadn’t looked into how much even a low end new bed would cost. But the idea of trying out Priam’s was delightful. He felt a bit ashamed at how much temptation that added. “I will help you whenever you need it.” He said and carefully got to his feet. “I can… drop some peanut butter in their bowls to distract them first, if you think it will give you a better chance at prime territory too?” He offered with a grin. “Normally when they visit me they just … lay on top of me in the middle of the bed, though somehow I always end up bent around them in the end. He was amused in truth by how determined the ‘horses’ could be. Oreo still seemed to rule everything though, which was likewise charming.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2020 10:56 am
Priam laughed softly. "I hope Sterling has taken a picture of that. They really seem at home here. I think we'll be able to sneak out without them noticing, I know Oreo's got them watching for birds." He stretched a little, peering into the distance just to see the three of them still eagerly watching out of the window.
He shook his head, mindful not to strain it any more than he had. His back was sore and it felt like there was a little fire burning at the base of his back. He sucked in a breath to prepare himself to get up. His knees hurt already, his hips felt like brittle glass.
"Can I hook my arm around you?" he asked, sucking in a breath as he tried to push himself up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:26 am
“Any time.” Yu said quickly moving to offer aid. “I’ll carry you if that wouldn’t be uncomfortable or like, undignified.” He was shorter in height yes, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t carry Priam for at least a little.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2020 5:43 pm
Resting against Yu, Priam sighed contentedly and shuffled with him back to the bedroom. "If my back would let me, you don't know how charming an offer that sounds. It's only undignified if I flop like a fish. Otherwise, I think it's very romantic. There are few I'd trust to hold me. I've developed a strange fear of falling to the ground, you know. Even from just a few feet up."
He hid the actual fear he felt creep through his bones when he said it by smiling and leaning against Yu until they reached the bed. He sank down onto it slowly, scooting over and drawing back the blankets invitingly, gently fluffing up the pillows as best as he could.
His body was protesting silently, and he could feel a sore, stabbing pain shooting from his shoulder to the tips of his fingers. It ached just to reach up and take the glasses off of his face, and rather than folding them neatly and gently set them down, he tossed them as best as he could to the bedside table just to get them away from him.
"Come, you'll be on my good side. I'm not much for cuddling now. Do you want to hold hands?"
In the distance, the distinct jangle of collars, like the dogs had just realized that no one was in the living room and were about to begin their investigation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2020 5:52 pm
Yu paused to take up the glasses and fold them more neatly, setting them down so they seemed like they would be easy to reach later. “Do you need anything before I join you? I don’t mind getting up but, I just... want you to be comfortable.” “I can’t blame you for being afraid of falling, I should have thought of that.” He admitted. He did cautiously reach to take a hand though. “You let me know if I need to move too, if if I can make you more comfortable? “
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
