004: My love & loathing always collide [ VIDEO ]

[saxophone]

»VIDEO
[ Misery enjoys company, but Gren has discovered that he lacks the associations to coordinate such an affair. The realization hit him hard after a recent fallout with a friend that brought his numbers down to 2, and that’s including a fifteen year old acquaintance that he just likes to harass. His social standing is pretty abysmal at the moment which is disappointing considering just how outgoing and personable he actually is.

He acknowledges the lack of effort on his part, but now he’s willing to give it a good honest try now that he’s no longer fussing over the friend he lost. It still hurts, but he’s found distractions in work, his music, a cute guy, and now in the pages of a sketchbook.

He’s not an artist by any stretch, but he enjoys the odd doodle from time to time. It’s been good enough to charm an ancient, reticent type so Gren figures it could work on others too.

The feed starts on a curtain-esque black, sweeping mass that is soon revealed to be the drape of Gren’s hair as he leans over his phone trying to stabilize it. Once it’s secure he backs away, sits down, and settles himself in the frame. ]

We good? Okay... Hey.

[ He smiles and grabs a black sketchbook that was sitting just out of frame. ]

So, I’m doing portraits for anyone who wants one. I’m a musician, so this isn’t exactly my thing, but I do enjoy it at times. Just don’t expect the greatest quality. I think it’ll be a fun way to get to know some of you more and you get a little something out of it, too. This is what you can expect. Quality will vary, sorry.

[ He flips open the sketchbook and turns it to the camera. The first image is of a handsome dhampir in a horrendous hat. ]

Cute guy, cuter in person.

[ He turns to another page. It’s a woman. Her name is written in cursive and beneath that there’s a small heart. A sweet, little detail that no longer bears any meaning. The sketch is old. Gren’s smile falters and he turns to the next page without a comment. The next image, well... ]

This is Sora the Soaring Menace laying eggs upon the public for absolutely no reason. That’s me being assaulted.

Comments

[v_hunter_d]

[ D steps back, his arms come up into a fold and he watches Gren focus on the other options available. There’s quite a selection and they are all.. quite expressive. For himself, however, he would prefer something akin to what Gren’s picked out for himself. The second frame, however, gets a small snort from D.

He looks past the frame and onto the shelf where he focuses on the different options. He’s quiet as he thinks about the old paintings and photographs that he’s seen in his time, in his world, worlds away from where he stood now. His lips part and he unfolds his arms to pick up a small frame with an opal decoration surrounding the cut out for the picture.]

This one.

[saxophone]

[ He returns the soy frame to the shelf and takes a look at the opalesque one that D’s holding. He smiles, appreciating D’s good taste. In frames, at least. It certainly beats his taste in his old world’d clothing and his taste in humans. His taste in the latter was rather questionable. ]

It’s nice. Where will you put it?

[v_hunter_d]

[ D softly exhales, his eyes move back to the frame in his hands. He’s about to move soon but he imagines some place he can look to the picture often. ]

By my bed, I imagine.. [ Unless he can find some place better. He sets the frame in the cart. ] I’ll need to find a place to live.. first.

And a bed to go with it.

[saxophone]

[ In a smooth motion Gren drapes an arm across D’s shoulders. He then fishes out his phone, thumbs to the camera app, and lifts his phone to take a picture of them. Afterwards he pulls away and snags the silly soy frame from the shelf again. It has a purpose now and he settles it into the cart with the others. He’s certainly soy into D. ]

Let’s go look at the beds.

[v_hunter_d]

[ D focused on the camera, a small furrow shadows his brow, but otherwise his expression is unremarkable. There was part of him that wondered if he would disappear through the lens like so many Nobles before a mirror. But he knew he wouldn’t.

Afterward it was a small venture toward the bedding section, being that they were close enough on the aisles full of blankets. ]

There’s so many to choose from.

[ So, he’s unsure. Not that he has anything against beds but .. he’s been known to sleep on hay, the ground, couches, … nothing too luxurious for the dhampir. ]

[saxophone]

[ This particular section served as a hub for every imaginable bed related need. Bed frames, mattresses, and displays with full spreads that featured all of the comforter sets and duvets the store had to offer. The displays combined all the available products in a way that not only made good use of the space, but it also created an inviting and cozy atmosphere. The lighting was a bit lower and warmer and the tiled flooring that ran through the aisles from earlier now transitioned into industrial carpeting striped with bars of beige, burgundy, and navy blue.

Gren had already ordered his bedroom set and mattress and it had been delivered to his new apartment earlier in the day, but he still needed proper bedding for it. ]

You have to test everything out.

[ As he spoke the suggestion he stepped out of his shoes and slipped them into the bottom section of the cart. He then approached a bed made with a duvet that he had been eyeballing. He patted the rumply material before settling down on the edge and bouncing lightly. ]

This mattress is nice. Firm, but just enough give.

[ He then lies down and fans his arms out, grazing the the duvet with the palms of his hands as his arms lazily sweep up and down like a bed bound angel. ]

Can you picture me on this or does it look like a landfill of knotted up garbage bags?

[v_hunter_d]

I am seeing you now… on it. [ D’s answer was unimaginative. He walks over toward the corner of the bed and he puts his hand down on it. He softly clenches a fist and he tugs gently on the duvet. The cover was a stormy-grey, it reminded him of thunder rolling in fast. He liked it. ]

Does it feel nice?

[ He wasn’t as enthused about testing everything out, but he did give the comforter a nice thoughtful touch. Gren, however, looked like he was game for a long evening of bed hopping, D was more than content to live vicariously through him as he did so. D was certain anything here would be better than what he’s accustomed to. ]

[saxophone]

[ With his thorough textile inspection complete Gren sits up and scoots down to the corner of the bed where D is standing. His feet lower to the floor and his knees serve as brackets that enclose the other’s form between them. It wasn’t long since their last physical touch, but Gren already needs more. He aims to explore the composition of textures that make up D’s shirt and his hands move to do so. They brush along soft ripples of cotton, bands of leather, and loops of metal that cool the warm pads of his finger tips. At the cusp of the neckline Gren’s fingers fill the spaces of D’s exposed skin, relishing most in the texture there.

The exploration is quick lest anyone catches them again, but by the end of it Gren wraps his arms around D’s center, presses a cheek to his torso, and transforms the bold display of affection into a more innocuous hug. ]

Mhm.

[distantone]

[ He stands still, watching as Gren slips closer to him on the bed and the sight warms his blood. The bed, the environment, the public display was what both made this moment arousing and tender. He’s never been like this with anyone, responded like this, to anyone, allowed himself to be like this with anyone.

D’s arms wrapped around Gren and he leaned his head down to press his face to the silk strands of Gren’s hair. He closes his eyes and pulls in a breath. His human was his first love since that of his mother.

These thoughts helped this moment become as tender and sweet as they were as well. The human compassion, acceptance, and passion given to D was precious to him. Something he wanted more of. ]

[saxophone]

[ He smiles as he’s enfolded in D’s arms and canopied by the thick drape of his hair. The comfort of it feels phenomenal and Gren is reluctant to pull away from it, so he doesn’t. His arms instead tighten to press them even closer as he speaks against D. His voice is muffled by the folds of cotton that brush against his lips, but he's sure that the other will still hear him. ]

I already have a bed at my new place... If you moved in with me we could just go home and get in it.

[ He’s joking, but voicing the idea revealed its appeal to him. ]

[distantone]

[ D’s heart palpitates, his human’s words were only warming him more. Though, there was a nagging caution that prickled at the back of his neck. Not to mention the thought of upsetting Gren with Lefty again — if the parasite dared to surface without invitation, that was.

It wasn’t as if Lefty wanted to upset Gren, he had admitted to liking the human, after all. D presses his lips into a gentle kiss on top of Gren’s head and he gently massages his hands on the human’s back. He wasn’t sure if this was an appropriate window to voice his own thoughts or not, after Gren talked about moving in together he thought it would be a fair place to ask about the status of their relationship. If they were monogamous or if Gren still wanted to date.. other people… or

D tensed, the very thought about this was making him uncomfortable. All he knew was what he wanted.. and that was to be with Gren. Maybe he should just let Gren talk about what changes, if any, he wants in the relationship. ]

[saxophone]

[ Gren’s pressed close enough to not only hear the change in D’s heartbeat, but he feels it, too. He isn’t sure how to interpret it as, unsurprisingly, D doesn’t voice an actual response. The kiss and the hands against his back leads Gren to believe it was positively received, but shortly after Gren feels the other tensing within the tight ring of his arms. He finds the procession of body language unintelligible and it deprives the contact of its previous comfort so he decides to gently pull away from the embrace. ]

I’ll keep this one in mind.

[ He pats the duvet cover, getting back on task and rising to stand on his feet. Quietly, he surveys the area for his next target. ]

[distantone]

[You should have said something, you Dolt. The intrusive voice was ignored and D follows after Gren. He twists his feet to turn toward a nook within the bedding section and a throbbing discomfort brought his morbid curiosity toward the section that was separated by an archway that resembled a starved mouth.

He knew, without knowing, what he would find there and when he saw the set of coffins for sale inside the nook he wasn’t surprised. It went along with the blood bank for the vampires. An accommodating attribute of this world. ]

[saxophone]

[ Gren glances over his shoulder to watch D wander off into something Gren had assumed was part of the Halloween decor. Curious to see what the other found he follows after D. ]

...Wow, so you guys actually sleep in those?

[ His tone is inquisitive rather than judgmental. He bypasses D and approaches a coffin, reaching into it to feel the soft, plush lining. ]

Do you want one?

[distantone]

No.

[ D hadn’t let Gren wait too long for a response to the question. There’s a harshness to his expression but also a sadness that shadows his brow. He slides his feet back and his arms cross in defense. ]

Though. Vampires do use those.. are in favor of them.

[saxophone]

Hm.

[ He hears D, but his mind is wandering a landscape invoked by the sight of the coffins. It has less to do with vampires and more to do with his own death. He wonders if that’s something he should share with D. Does it even matter?

Using the step provided Gren climbs into the coffin and lies down. His hands come to rest on his stomach and his eyes close. It’s comfortable. ]

I’m dead in my world.

[distantone]

[ The news breaks D’s focus on his current thoughts and he focuses back on Gren. He steps into the room, loathed to do so, but does for the sake of closing the distance between the both of them. One’s mortality is a precious gift but he too can understand how fearful and undesirable death is for those with such short lives.

The humans have a hunger themselves for the longevity of life the vampires have and the vampires covet the humans for their gift of death.

Natural death, that is.

D watches Gren in the coffin and knits his brow before he reaches in and touches Gren’s hand. There was nothing he could say to change what Gren knows. What he may yet return to. All he can do is be here, now, with him. ]

[saxophone]

[ Gren opens his eyes when he feels D’s touch, but their focus is aimless as they regard the empty space above him. Death does not frighten me. He recalls his own words. You’re lying. And the truth, spoken by Faye, that trailed assuredly behind them. His feelings surrounding death are… complicated, bittersweet. It’s a daunting prospect that entices him all the same. When he died before it was a relief and when he dies again… well, he can’t imagine how that’ll be.

He looks at D now.

Things have changed a little. ]

[distantone]

[ D stills, waiting for the other, watching him. Maybe this was something cathartic to him, maybe it was a joke, he didn’t know what it meant that Gren took to laying in a coffin. Following up the action with those words, those telling words. Did Gren remember his death, did he want to talk about it, did he wish he never knew about it?

Questions, assumptions, ideas, they all were a waste of his energy. Gren would have to share that information with him, if he so chooses, but D wouldn’t pry. He didn’t want to. Death wasn’t something he presumed to be easy to talk about. Or desirable to talk about.

Neither alive or dead… you are the distant one. The words, what sort of manner were they given to him in? A gift or with malice? D would cease to exist one day, someone would kill him, surely.. but would that be on this world, or would he be sent back home to do it? ]

[saxophone]

[ He finally sits up and begins to climb out of the coffin, gently bracing himself with D’s arm as he does. He pats the spot that he held, a gesture of thanks, and then walks out of the area.

D seems quieter today and Gren wonders if his earlier reaction to his hand was bothering him in some way. So he speaks up, randomly, with some reassurance. ]

I’m dramatic. The hand thing wasn’t that bad.

[distantone]

[ D follows Gren out of the segregated room of coffins and back into the broader shop. The sudden attention back to Lefty has D turning his palm into a gentle fist. ]

It didn’t bother me. Your response was.. appropriate.

[saxophone]

So, you’re okay?

[ Gren glances down at D’s fist. His eyes don’t linger and they quickly climb the length of D to recapture his eyes. ]

You’re quiet. More than usual, I mean.

[distantone]

[ He can’t imagine just how quiet he had to be in order to get questioned for being more quiet than usual. Honestly, Gren was right. He was being quiet, but only because he didn’t want to say something stupid, or say something wrong.

Maybe he was already saying things wrong, or doing things wrong.. ]

You’re right. I..

[ He exhales with his eyes lowering to Gren’s shoes. ] I .. have never been in a relationship and.. I’m having .. thoughts and I don’t know how to .. resolve them.

[saxophone]

[ This is it. D’s over him and he’s been struggling with how to break it to Gren. Was all of that affection inspired by guilt? He recalls the way D’s body tensed shortly after he joked about living together. Gren nods, understanding what it meant now.

His hands slip into the front pocket of his hoodie and his fingers, now a little sweaty, interlace as if to grasp for comfort. ]

What thoughts?

[distantone]

[ D shakes his head, he shouldn’t ask for it, he should .. wait for Gren to initiate anything further, he should just be happy where he’s at.. but he said he would be honest with Gren, and he wants to be. ]

I have been trying to figure out if I.. can ask you something, .. Though, I am grateful for the time we have together.. I wonder if you would want it to be more exclusive?

I have no interest in being with anyone else. I wondered.. though, if that was what you would .. want? [ He’s struggling… nearly fumbling over his own words. ]