Welcome to Gaia! ::

Dustin was lucky -- or, perhaps, Ever was -- that Zac was out. It meant that Ever was on his own, 'packing boxes' for their move, which meant mostly sprawled out on the bed and reading one of the books that he was meant to be putting away. Much of the apartment was empty, by now. Sheets gone. The kitchen totally packed up. The closets almost empty, just a few garments hanging crookedly here and there.There were just the small details left.

The knock, however, lifted his head and made Ever frown, squinting around for a clock and finding none. Already packed, that. Well s**t.

There was just a little bit of a delay, then, as he marked his page and struggled up to his feet, grumbling and limping his way toward the door. Unlikely it was Zac, since Zac never forgot his keys. A landlord? A lost Lieutenant?

At least his expression relaxed as his eyes settled on Dustin, leaning in the open doorway. The alcohol came off of him in waves, and Ever definitely recognized that smell. Familiar and strangely reassuring. He made an amused noise. "Well. Too drunk to get to your own apartment?"

At least Ever didn't look offended; he stepped out of the way as Dustin eased past, hesitating just a moment before he nudged the door closed and followed, shoving his hands in his pockets. The place really was a wreck, and Ever wasn't doing much to fix it. Oops. At least Zac was on the ball.

"We're moving out." It came out dry, his head cocked to the side, trying to remember if there even was any booze left. No. One of the first things he'd packed up, so that they'd definitely had it at the new place. He'd been drinking there just the other night --

"New place Zed figured out. There might be some openings if your living situation's still a problem." It could have sounded priss, proper, out of another mouth. From Ever, it was still just a little bit sarcastic.

Oh. Well. Attractive young men hadn't exactly been throwing themselves at Ever, recently, and it was enough of a surprise that he took exactly a half step back -- a half step back that put his spine against the door and kept him from retreating any further. It definitely wasn't a bad surprise, and while he caught Dustin's wrists before they could go anywhere else...he didn't drive him away, either.

"You're going to get yourself in trouble, honey." It stuck in his throat a little, lacked his usual glib attitude. He should have tossed his head, maybe, or raised an eyebrow and grinned. Instead, he just looked distracted.

His shirt bunched under Dustin's touch tugged and folded over his navel, and for a moment -- longer than he would admit later, but briefer than he'd remember -- Ever just let it happen. Unfamiliar mouth, an unfamiliar touch, an edge of fervor and frustration that he definitely didn't get often out of Zac. Dustin was tall, too, leaning against him in a way that made Ever's heartbeat pick up and his passive acceptance turn to something else.

It was just a kiss. Admittedly a fierce kiss, hungry on both ends. Not like kissing a stone one bit.

But then the fingers brushed lower, against the waistband of his pants, and Ever finally caught himself. Too far, that, his hands tightening around Dustin's wrists to pull them up and away, and his chin finally lifting to break the kiss so that he could work to catch his breath.

Crap.

For some reason, chewing on his answer to that question all Ever could think of was Drew calling him whipped -- and the fact that, well, it was kind of true. Weirdly true. He closed his eyes and set his head back against the door for another moment to gather himself. It'd be so easy to just say <******** it and dive in --

"Yeah, sorry. Unless Zed's down for getting in on this action, I have to play monogamous." Was it 'playing', though, if it was true? He cracked his eyes and peered down at Dustin's face. "You want another drink, though, since you're here? Or coffee, maybe..."

"It's, um. Zed's managing it. It's for all the costumed coworkers, if you catch my drift." Ever just needed one more lingering moment: drawing in a breath, and swiping at his hair before sliding away toward the kitchen. Where, of course, all the coffee was packed up. And the liquor too, he thought, unless he could finda forgotten beer can or two.

s**t.

"...how about tea instead?" This came out slowly, and he moved to grab the teapot [one thing still definitely unpacked] to start boiling water whether Dustin said 'yay' or 'nay'.

He knew how to brew a cup of tea, at least; hot water on and two mismatched mugs set aside, bags propped up in them. Ever leaned in the doorway and considered Dustin back -- his expression distracted, and it was hard to tell exactly what kind of distracted it was. Regret? Thought? Disappointment?

"Zed's the GK, so he runs it. I think we could set you up, if that's what you need. Though, you said you were, staying with someone...?" He folded his arms, slowly, and shot one look back. No water boiled that quickly. He could dream, though.