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 Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 1:44 pm
Jace grumbled. "What's wrong with that? I'd still be resting. And I could just go to sleep when I got tired, I'd already have all my blankets and pillows. And maybe I'd go to sleep and dream about everything I just studied, so it sticks better."
What genre? He didn't have a genre in mind, he didn't know what he wanted. He pulled Holden a little closer, like he could squeeze a movie title out of him without having to pick a genre. It was a gentle equivalent to what he might do to Xander, except he'd have jabbed Xander in the side instead.
"Horror," he said impulsively, as if to prompt Holden to choose a movie on his own by nature of giving bad suggestions.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 1:54 pm
Horror, not what he expected but, then he could be scared and... “We, can watch horror.” He said carefully. “There was a new series on Netflix actually, I saw an add for it. It’s based on a Manga I think, called ‘sweet home.’, I think it’s supposed to be scary AND sad? I haven’t read it though. I could sit through it with company!”
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 2:35 pm
Jace squinted at him; he hadn't meant horror, he just expected Holden to protest. "...All right, fine. We can try it. Horror isn't supposed to be sad, though. If I look over and you're weeping about some monster's sad backstory, I don't even know what I'll do with you. If it's too scary, we're turning it off. I'm not going to be responsible for you getting nightmares."
Jace's nightmares usually involved his mother screaming at him, or disappointing the family, or his father completely abandoning him, or everyone leaving.
Monsters really didn't seem that scary to him at all so he didn't expect that much from it.
...But Holden seemed excited, and since they'd started walking he'd been sneezing less.
Still cold though.
Pizza and hot chocolate and warm blankets could help that.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 2:46 pm
“If it’s too scary we’re turning on a Christmas movie,” Holden said and stuck out his tongue. “Not one of the Christmas Romcoms though, those are always the same plot.” Not that regular Rom-Coms weren’t but…Christmas ones just seemed extra cliche sometimes. “Also hot chocolate means I won’t have to use your poor neck to warm my hands,” Holden said wickedly. “Or your sides…” His eyes sparkled with mischief at the thought. Truthfully Holden was normally quite warm himself and had more than once been used as a hand warmer, even if it was just someone they vaguely knew running up to put hands on his cheeks. Q’s long fingers sometimes placed quite deliberately on the back of his neck to make him squeak in protest, and normally in some form of ‘punishment’ for Holden teasing or playing innocent when he’d clearly been up to something.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 3:04 pm
"If you're looking to warm up, I don't think putting your hands on me is going to help. I'm ******** cold," he muttered, shivering into his coat. It was hardly for emphasis, he was cold.
Except for the side smushed closest to Holden, that part of him at least stood a chance against the frostbite they were clearly facing.
"Besides. You know I'm not ticklish, so if you're trying to get me to make the same hamster squeaks you do when you're sneezing snowflakes, it's not going to work."
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 3:34 pm
Holden stuck his tongue out and bumped his shoulder into Jace again. “Well, since I am apparently a good space heater maybe I can warm YOU up instead.” He offered. “As long as you don’t tickle.” He added with a stern expression on his face. “Tickling is unacceptable and I will bite.” He nodded.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 3:42 pm
Jace drew out a long, "Hmm," like he really needed to consider it. "With that little hamster mouth? Your teeth don't even look that scary. Besides, I can't imagine you with your mouth wrapped around me."
Wait.
No.
No, that's not what he meant. No, he knew exactly what that sounded like and that was not what he meant.
"Biting me!" he said, with such ferocity that he sounded like he was suddenly shouting at Holden.
"I can't imagine you biting me! You wouldn't bite me. Like, on the arm. With your teeth. With--" he was flustered and red, furiously red, and all of his words were interrupted by a violent sneezing fit--that couldn't have come twenty seconds sooner??? For real???
Just ******** kill him; he sneezed so hard he nearly threw himself off balance--which was great, because the only thing that would be better than dying would be falling flat on his a** and then dying.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 3:47 pm
Holden blushed a red so furious that even the cold couldn’t hide it, but oh… well yes that was an image wasn’t it! He almost let go of Jace, to give him space, but then there was the sneezing, and Jace’s feet sliding out from under him. He tried to catch him in turn as best he could while simultaneously protesting. “I wouldn’t bite you THERE! I mean…I would the arm…maybe!! If you were tickling! EEEEP” Sliding and slipping feet, catching his balance and then catching a boot heel on a particularly well-clumped bunch of snow and tipping backward arms still wrapped around Jace like the world’s most awkward grapple hold, which meant he pulled Jace down right on top of him in a snowbank. … he sneezed Stupid little hamster sneezes.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:04 pm
No, no, no, no, no.
Jace had specifically said he wouldn't let Holden fall, and now--worse than that, he had fallen. And Jace had fallen right on top of him. His face was inches away from Holden's, and he wrinkled his nose at the flurry of snowflakes, and then--too ashamed to look him in the eyes--let his head hang.
His hair fell, close enough to tickle Holden's nose, which probably didn't help the sneezing problem they were both having. Somehow, he'd kept the sweets safe. Somehow, he hadn't spilled the last sip of his coffee.
Somehow, he hadn't spontaneously combusted from shame.
He needed to say something. He needed to do something. Needed to save face.
If his mother saw him like this, she would run him over with her car and leave him there to think about how he had disgraced the family name.
Okay. Something reasonable. Something Xander would say, something to make all of this weird tension disappear, something to make all of the embarrassment go away.
"...Your...teeth...are really white."
He didn't move. He was straddling Holden and his knees were getting cold from being shoved in the snow. While dying from the third wave of shame to hit him in fifteen seconds, he realized that Holden must be cold.
He wanted to groan, wanted to stick his head in the snow, but instead he carefully adjusted himself so he could stand. Once, he slipped, and almost fell back down on Holden, but he caught himself and carefully wrapped his arms around him, just picking him up and trying to brush the snow off of him even as he held him, nearly bridal style.
"...Don't look at me, close your eyes," he commanded, almost rudely, so embarrassed and flustered that his face was burning red. "We're almost home."
He wasn't going to slip on ice again if he stomped so hard he broke it.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:28 pm
The world was so much warmer when you were blushing this hard. And to be carried like one of the romantic novels he totally didn’t read. “Thank you, so are yours.” - ok, yes that was the perfect thing to say in response to a compliments Not knowing what else to do he put arms around Jace’s neck and pressed his face there. Surely there must be a reason they did that in the movies, maybe it made him easier to carry? Oh, though it just confirmed how nice Jace tended to smell. Oh dear. But at least that meant he was complying and not looking at Jace “Thank you.” He murmured again.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:39 pm
"I don't know what you're thanking me for, I dropped you. You're covered in snow."
Holden's arms around his neck didn't quite relieve his weight, but it made Jace feel a little better that if something happened, maybe Holden could catch himself before Jace dropped him.
Jace, who was stomping home, determined not to let any ice get the better of him. Again. His house was in sight, and he could see the sidewalk well enough that he wasn't worried about hidden patches of ice.
He didn't put Holden down, just in case, even when he reached the door. He fumbled for his keys and managed to pull them out, sort of blindly stabbing at the door until he felt the key slide in and he managed to unlock it. He went into the house sideways, shuffling so he didn't hit Holden's head on the door and then, finally, seemed like he was willing to put him down.
Now that his head wasn't going to explode from embarrassment. Probably.
"Do you need a change of clothes? You can grab something out of my room, I'll make that hot chocolate."
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:52 pm
“To be FAIR, I am the one who took us both out, I didn’t exactly let go.” He mumbled into Jace’s neck. “I think I’m alright.” He added “Are you though? I swear you went knee down in a slurry puddle.” He added embarrassed. Part of the back of his own leg was damp but it wasn’t as though he had the height to wear Jace’s pants. “I’m sorry that I took us both down into a squish snow pile. I very much prefer piles with blankets, plushes and you involved… I mean, well you were involved in the snow, but way fewer blankets and… and uh…. uh, did I say plush? I should have said movies.” He was blushing still, maybe harder, he wasn’t sure. God he couldn’t stop adding to the list of vaguely naughty things that were being said today. He made a small keening embarrassed sound into Jace’s neck, treating him like a stuffed animal into which he could bury his embarrassment and Freudian slips.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:23 pm
Jace wasn't sure what to say for a moment; in the back of his mind he could hear Xander, rolling with laughter, and he could hear Q quipping something dramatic.
Neither could know. Ever. He wasn't usually this much of a disaster, he didn't know what had gotten into him.
Holden's breath was both warm and cool against his neck and it sent a shiver down his spine that he wasn't quite sure how to explain.
"I mean, I'm changing out of these clothes anyway, I want something softer. I might have something that can fit you. Like. From middle school," he teased, but the reality was that he knew he had plenty of sweat pants that could just be rolled up if need be. It didn't occur to him to put Holden down; instead, he balanced carefully and toed off his snowy shoes before carrying Holden right into his room. Finally, he sat him down on the ground, making sure both feet were solid before he let go. He was shrugging off his coat and scarf; his sweater was still dry and warm. The bag of sweets from the café were set on his dresser, and he pulled it open to draw out a pair of socks, the smallest sweatpants he could find, and a sweater that was almost small on him. He pressed them into Holden's hands.
"Seriously. If we're going to watch a movie, we have to be comfortable, and if you drag your wet self into my bed and thaw there, there's no way I'll enjoy it. So I'll just--" He grabbed a pair of sweats and fresh socks for himself. "--Go put these on, and you change in here, and when you're done, come out and get your hot chocolate. We can throw your clothes in the dryer if we need to."
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 7:08 pm
Holden was pretty sure he’d be blushing forever, but he appreciated it all the same. “Are these from middle school then?” He teased. “Will I remember them?” He ducked his head and hugged the clothing. “I’ll be right back, we can put everything in the dryer- if your mother is is upset I’ll tell her I tripped and knocked us both into a puddle.” He offered that with a smile because at least she seemed unsure what to do wiith Holden’s brother, and by extension- Holden. Not that that would save Jace long term, but sometimes short term helped. “Then we can warm up with movies and blankets... if that’s still okay.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 8:21 pm
"Of course it's okay. That was the whole reason we came here. And look, you're not sneezing anymore."
Neither was he, but he was already pretending like he'd never been shooting out snowflakes.
"Anyway, Mom's working a big case, she's going to be gone for a while." For as much as she was at the office, he wondered why she didn't just live there. "Dad might be home tonight, but he won't bother us. He probably won't even know you're here," he shrugged. "Unless Xander's involved, he doesn't really care what I'm doing. You could probably spend the night and he wouldn't have any idea."
It was just the way things were, and it was so normal that Jace almost sounded like his father's general disinterest in everything he did wasn't something that fed into his need to impress his mother and his need to push himself harder.
"So don't stress about giving her some story."
He moved to the doorway, hand hovering on the doorknob. "See you in a minute," he said, because the wetness was starting to make him feel all slippery, and if he was uncomfortable he knew Holden must be too.
"And don't snoop through my things," he said, but if he cared that much or didn't trust Holden he wouldn't have left him in there alone in the first place.
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