|
Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Oct 24, 2012 23:50:13 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Oct 25, 2012 1:02:03 GMT -8
Seth grabbed a few scratchy blankets and a couple flat pillows from the supply area, and he and Bryce hurried to the empty apartment to release the scared cat. They got inside, and closed the door, leaving the room almost entirely black. Benji was running laps around the empty living room. Bryce- "I'll let more moonlight in for the moment." He opened the blinds all the way up. Bryce- "Ah, a little better." Bryce carefully set the cat down, and unleashed it from its prison. It was a medium sized Siamese cat with a black face.
Seth- "Aww!" Seth moved to light a candle, and the cat darted for the hall, hiding next to the bathroom door and letting out a little yowl. Bryce- "Wow, so you're just not afraid of ghosts at all, huh?"
Seth- "Mm, not really. I mean, we've never seen them here. I think that guy was right too, I bet they hate fire so they keep away from the candles. How about you?"
Bryce- "It just doesn't seem possible to me. I mean, if ghosts are real, how would fire hurt them? There aren't any stories about that."
Seth- "There's not stories about them smelling like mushroom schnapps either. Go fig." He lit every candle from his pocket, and left them on the counter top, dimly lighting the room with orange. He tossed the blankets and pillows on the floor. Bryce- "Alright. Guess now that we've got this light, I should close these curtains. Don't wanna let wall-crawlers know we're in here."
Seth- "Oh yeah, for sure. Oh hey, that Alex kid told me something-- he thinks people are more likely to get possessed if they're religious. What do you think of that?"
Bryce- "Huh... I guess if possession's gonna be real, and you go with the stories as your guide, the only places that's happened is in religious communities. But, how religious do you have to be, and what religion?"
Seth- "I dunno, he said... he almost got possessed, something to do with hell. Like he had visions of hell, but someone distracted the monster, so he didn't get possessed."
Bryce- "Huh... I dunno what to make of that. I mean I'm not exactly spooky Mulder here."
Seth- "You watched that? How old were you?" Seth flopped on the floor after spreading the blanket out. Bryce- "Uhh it was already in reruns. I think the series was over." Bryce sat Indian style next to Seth on the blankets. Benji came over and rolled around on a pillow. Bryce- "Yeah... Uh, I ... think I need to be unconscious. I dunno about my room right now."
Seth- "Heh, how afraid of ghosts are you? I could stay up for you maybe, if you are."
Bryce- "Oh that's nice. Nah... I think I'm gonna keep taking a chance. It's a whole building full of people to choose from. I'm sure they'll get somebody else first."
Seth- "Hahaha. That's how I think! Plus, we got brave Benji here. Bet he just hates ghosts." Benji rolled happily on the pillows, panting. Bryce- "Yeah... Derek disappeared in a scene earlier tonight. I don't like tip-toeing around his ass."
Seth- "Man, I'm glad we're getting counselors soon. That guy..."
Bryce- "Oh, you think he can't handle it?"
Seth- "I wouldn't blame him, but... yeah, he's pretty on edge."
Bryce- "Guess I'll have to keep an eye out for him." Seth stood up, and pulled the tie off, and kicked his shoes in to the empty room. Seth- "How about that doctor? That was pretty thrilling."
Bryce- "Hahaha! Seriously... Did everybody come down from Capitol Hill?"
Seth- "Birds of a feather I guess. So, anybody your type?"
Bryce- "Hehehe... I don't really have a type." Seth took his shirt off, and tossed it over the non-fiery counter. He wore an undershirt and had a tattoo of a cartoon ghost ala Pacman on one arm, and a series of stars on the other forearm. Seth- "Everyone always says that! Well, I can't blame you, I don't really either."
Bryce- "Well, y'know... if it's a toss up between all the madmen tonight, I think I hit the jackpot, tiger."
Seth- "Oh? I guess I better dispense some coins or somethin'." He laid on his side next to Bryce and tossed a pillow next to himself, displacing King Benji from his throne. Bryce smiled. Bryce- "Don't mind if I do..." He snuggled next to Seth. Seth- "--How about that, we're only reasonably tipsy, and relatively clean, about to engage in pleasant slumber... I can only imagine what sort of sordid activities that new lot are getting up to. That Doctor's going to be glad Facebook doesn't exist come tomorrow."
Bryce- "Hahaha... yeah, death to social media." Seth put an arm around Bryce and sighed into the pillow. Seth- "No more mutant pizzas... sorry Stevie, this is way better." Bryce didn't understand, but he was too cool to ask. Seth closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of Bryce breathing, and Benji tap-tapping around in the empty kitchen. Bryce opened his eyes, and looked at Seth. Seth breathed through his nose slowly, and had a slight orange glow around the top of his head from the candlelight, and dark shadows cast from his eyebrows and cheekbones. He smelled like the strange licorice-y booze and just a little sweaty.
Bryce thought to himself, I hope that cat doesn't curl its whiskers on a candle. We're probably going to wake up looking like Pompeii victims.
|
|
|
Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Oct 29, 2012 0:41:21 GMT -8
This night seemed a bit faster, though there were some sudden starts-- the cat yowling, the dog jumping on someone, a creak or a door closing... Bryce kept being reminded of where he was and feeling awkward but pleasant about it. Seth slept pretty heavily luckily and didn't need to shift around much. He generally kept an arm behind Bryce's head, and sometimes an arm on top of him too. At some point the little dog curled behind their heads to sleep as well. Bryce eventually fell into a deeper sleep and there they remained until... Seth's phone chirped like electronic crickets, and he stirred, reaching for it as Benji yapped. The sky was a royal blue and a vague light from it was already filtering into the empty living room. He turned the phone off and lay flat again pulling Bryce close like he was an extra warm pillow. He still seemed half-asleep. Bryce pushed his way out gently, and sat up. Bryce- "Ahhh why'd you set the alarm man? Where does anybody have to be anymore?"
Seth- "Mm I thought.... should get up when I used to. Gotta... work out..." He sat up stiffly and blinked a few times. Bryce- "How do you feel? Don't you think yesterday was enough of a workout?" Seth stretched his arms and made uncomfortable faces. Seth- "Ugh... I wouldn't have thought it was... but maybe it was. So stiff argh..."
Bryce- "Hmm do you have a candy bar around here somewhere?"
Seth- "Oh, hungry? I think I put a Twix in my shirt pocket over there." He stood slowly, and went over to the kitchen sink and pulled off the saran to splash his face. Bryce- "Okay, that's it. That's what I needed, and now I tell you, I have a secret power." Seth pulled his shirt off to wipe his wet face. Seth- "Secret powers huh?"
Bryce- "Yeah, for sore muscles. I took a massage class at college."
Seth- "Aw yeah! This is what the post-capitalist world is all about, bartering for services. I'm into it."
Bryce- "Yeah yeah, I might want to value those services cheaply, because I only showed up for one day of class, and it wasn't the first one."
Seth- "Well, anything'd be nice I'm sure. Better than Benji running around on top of me all night at least." He came back into the room, tossing the candy to Bryce and laid down on the blanket again, with his shirt off still. Bryce- "Boy, you aren't modest. Not like you'd have to be. Oh that's kinda funny... You wax your body hair. You can see the little stubbles."
Seth- "Ohh... yeah. Y'know, some people are into that. I'm obviously going to grow it in though. What do you think?"
Bryce- "That seems like a pretty extreme thing to do because 'some people are into it', but yeah... whatever you like man." Seth felt like he dodged a bullet. Bryce- "Alright, let's commence to implementing my semi-learned technique."
Seth- "Go for it, sensei." Bryce administered an inexpert massage, which was occasionally annoying but occasionally just what the doctor ordered. He alternated between little karate chops and the more typical rubbing. Seth- "Not bad, worth a Twix I think. I'm not that into Twix."
Bryce- "Maybe I should have charged more." Then-- there came a rapping at the door. Bryce- "Eh..!" He was torn for a moment, between pretending he was just being a post-apoc masseur, and hiding-- and then he went for the other room. Seth- "Aw man..." He tossed the shirt over one shoulder and went for the door, Benji yapping and running around. He encountered a Chantelle.
Chantelle- "Hey... somebody's putting guns in the community center in a cabinet and I thought you should know about that."
Seth- "Oh yeah, I talked to that soldier woman about that. Well that's good, I guess I should go check it out."
Chantelle- "Yeah, I dunno. It feels a little weird to me, but I guess I got cookin' to do. Back to the old grind." Chantelle backed out into the hall and started plodding towards the stairs.
Chantelle- "Later boss!" Seth closed the door, and noticed a lack of Bryces. Bryce poked his head out of the bedroom. Bryce- "Is it gone?"
Seth- "Yes, you poor sensitive soul, the boogey Chantelle is gone."
Bryce- "Hey, she has very scary hair. Don't judge me." Seth hopped up to grab the door frame, trying to test its workout suitability. Seth- "Eh, not strong enough." He hopped down. Seth- "Hey thanks for hanging out with me last night, that was fun."
Bryce- "Oh yeah, no prob. I mean, it's really cool that we got so many gay guys here but... those guys are fuckin' nuts."
Seth- "I might not phrase it that way, but yeah. They're very... odd."
Bryce- "That's generous. Well alright, I guess I'm going to sit around the community center and wait for breakfast. Heyy... I get up there early, I can sign up for some bullshit duty. Great!"
Seth- "See the benefits of getting up early?" He winked and gave Bryce a friendly pat on the back. Bryce smiled. Bryce- "I am going to sleep for at least four hours today at some point."
Seth- "Good, conserve your energy. You might need it, haha." Seth went back to the sink to continue washing, and Bryce wondered if that last line was flirtatious or ominous. They proceeded to the 6th floor thread.
|
|
|
Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Nov 8, 2012 1:22:21 GMT -8
After Jackson and Seth finished moving furniture, Seth offered him a candy bar, and they drank room-temperature Cokes that were stored in the refrigerator ironically. Jackson- "This is actually almost cold! I'm going to pretend that it's colder than it is."
Seth- "Yeah! I thought about storing some pops down in the garage. Used'ta do that back home."
Jackson- "Yeah, that'd totally be worth the trip." KNOCK KNOCK.Seth waggled his eyebrows briefly, and hopped up. Seth- "Boy, I wonder who's come to see my fabulous new furniture?" He opened the door.
Bryce- "Heyy... I heard some furniture moving, and was... uh--"
He noticed Jackson, and gave him a 'what are you doing in here' look. Jackson- "Hey kid. I just helped Seth move his furniture, and now I'm reaping my rich rewards. *SLUUUURP*"
Seth- "Hey yeah, come on in and sit on my newww sofa! I'll share this pop with you. If you don't mind getting cooties or whatever."
Bryce- "Mm.. okay."
Bryce flopped on the sofa. They sat in a row, equidistant from each other, Seth, the axis on which the world revolved. Jackson slurped the pop, and cast his gigantic eyeballs in the direction of the other two men. Jackson- "So, um... Yeah." Bryce looked back, slowly turning his head to face Jackson. Bryce- "Were you gonna offer to start a circle jerk or something?"
Jackson- "...Maybe I'll be hustling along... I uh, y'know. Yeah. Just... it was great talkin' to ya Seth...!" He skittered away before Seth could respond. Bryce- "Oh good, he's totally straight." Seth glanced over slowly. Seth- "...I call his pop."
Bryce- "You're welcome to it. I bet he has some kind of freaky Thailand herpes, but okay."
Seth- "Oh you."
Seth picked up the pop, and started to scoot away from Bryce, now that there was room. Bryce moved his legs up on to the couch, and rested his head on the arm. Bryce- "Ahh.. this is the good life. Hey are we getting the day off because of Jesus?"
Seth- "Huh-- oh yeah! It's Easter. Damn... No, just a coincidence, but good timing I guess."
Bryce- "Oh man. Are we gettin' the day off because we had to kill Abdul yesterday?" Seth winced."I'm sorry, I just wanted to say... I'd *rather* it was because of Jesus..." Seth shook his head. Seth- "Nah, it's okay. *sigh* Oh hey, you go to the doctor yet?"
Bryce- "No... I'm not looking forward to it. He's probably gonna bug me about that-- whatever."
Seth- "I asked 'cause... I think he was totally checking me out. Heheheh."
Bryce- "Ha... man. Yeah, that was the world's weirdest dance."
Seth- "He remembers every moment of it too! He told me." Seth made a "" face. Bryce- "Jesus! How-- how did that come up?"
Seth- "Oh I was just tryin' to be nice, like, ask him if he remembers the party 'cause he was so wasted..."
Bryce- "-and he told you he remembers the whole thing, even though he was sloshing around the environment like sea-sick Morrissey?"
Seth- "Yup, 'a-dick' memory or something."
Bryce- "Like photographic memory? Y'know, if you had one of those, you could be a stone retard, and ace medical school."
Seth- "...Very good point, my man. Good point indeed."
Bryce- "I need... I need more candy in my life. What'ya got? If you don't mind my asking."
Seth- "Oh hmm lemme see..." He rifled through a fancy jar he'd sat on the counter just that afternoon."I got these mini ones... I don't like anything but dark. That good? Got crunch, peanut..."
Bryce- "Oh y'know, damn... I'll take anything. Kinda like straight chocolate, Twix... Twix is probably best, unless there's Rolos."
Seth- "Oh good, I'll know what to get to bribe you." He tossed Bryce a couple mini chocolate bars. Bryce- "Mmm man, I gotta savor these babies."
He unwrapped one, and put it in his mouth, and just sat there, moving his lips slightly, looking at Seth. Seth hopped up on the counter, and smiled crookedly, watching him. Bryce couldn't help but smile, but he tried to keep it subtle, tried to be cool. Seth- "Haha. You're cute." Bryce finally finished the candy. Bryce- "I know, it's one of my talents."
Seth- "So I got you candy, what are you gonna get me?"
Bryce- "Oh I'm gonna get you something. I'm gonna get you something all night long, baby!" Seth laughed. Seth- "What does that even mean?"
Bryce- "I dunno... my seduction skills have fallen flat today. *sigh* I'm going to eat one of these candies, I'm sorry."
Seth- "You tried to seduce someone today?"
Bryce- "Ah geez! You didn't even notice? That's how flat they are. Like flapjacks."
Seth- "Be careful, or Dr. Victor's gonna seduce you. I think he was totally going for it."
Bryce- "You're just trying to fuck with me dude. I mean, we know zombies and ghosts are real, but Draculas are NOT okay?"
Seth- "He was totally giving me the glad eye, I swear."
Bryce- "Now he's trying to seduce you? Keep your stories straight, but seriously, what happened?"
Seth- "Oh well, he's all, checkin' out my tats, and shows me his... Like one that's on his lowwwwer hip. Man. That guy needs to get laid."
Bryce- "Haha! Oh my god. What a guy. That guy is.. some sort of freaky Dracula no question. So as a Dracula, does he have a tattoo of like, bats and stuff?"
Seth- "Close, a crow! And like, some Latin writing stuff and I thought I mighta seen a pentagram."
Bryce- "*sigh* I guess you'd have to be a sorta morbid type to get into the medical profession."
Seth- "You got any tattoos?"
Bryce- "Nah... You got some, don't you? Look at this.. Are you one of those guys who's got some kinda deep meaning for them all? Like, 'the stars represent space...!'"
Seth- "Haha, not really. I wanted to get sleeves done but never got around to it. I just liked... I dunno, cute stuff, like this ghost-" He rolled up his sleeve, "Well now I don't think ghosts are so cute, but I got it 'cause I liked Pacman."
Bryce- "Oh man, video games. Well I wasn't the worst at Pacman but, you gotta be a freak to be really good at that one."
Seth- "I was kinda good when I was a kid, mostly just liked going to the arcade though, ha. Lots of boys, you know. I play some Mario Kart now."
Bryce- "No no, you do not play Mario Kart now. Yup, we're back to analog fun."
Seth- "Ah don't be so dark! They're charging shit, we could get it on like, a DS!"
Bryce- "Hm yeah maybe. Hey... So uh, I dunno. What'dya think? Here we are... end of the world... Reasonably sized gay community... Resources to squeak by for a while... If you were to like, say, somehow, live for five years, what do you 'spose you'd want out of life? Relationships, stuff like that."
Seth- "Wow that's a deep question." He stretched back on the sofa, and put his feet over Bryce's lap to the other arm."Hmm... I hate to say but in the past, I was always most interested in having fun. Just, work whatever job gets you good money, get nice stuff, hang out with people... Now, there's a lot more at stake. You'll laugh if I say I wanna figure out how to cure the zombies, or like, kill the bad guys."
Bryce- "Curing the zombies seems pretty freaking hopeless, you gotta admit."
Seth- "Well yeah. But-- maybe we can save the people who are still alive."
Bryce- "Mmhmm. Well, I dunno... what do you think about other stuff though? Like, personal stuff. You actually don't wanna have a relationship or anything like that? Just wanna... do the rounds if you feel like it? Not that there's anything wrong with that."
Seth- "I'm not sure. Maybe, maybe not. It might be nice to be in a relationship, life's a lot different now. Well, what about you?"
Bryce- "Heh. You know what that sounded like to me? That sounded like, when you're talking to somebody who really prefers to keep things casual with everybody, and they get the impression that if they're honest about that that somebody'll be turned off, so they lie about being open to having a relationship just to keep their chances, you know what I'm sayin'!"
Seth- "Ha! Aren't you a judgmental one?" He poked Bryce with a foot."Well, I honestly don't know. I never had a good "LTR" before now, but I wasn't really trying. Gotta admit, shit's pretty different now, right?"
Bryce- "Ehh.. It's weird, I kinda feel like nothin's different." Seth gave him a O__O face."Well I wasn't gettin' shot at by zombies before, but... *sigh* I did spend a lot of time doing this. You know what I mean?" Layin' around on the furniture. Bullshittin' with people."
Seth- "Okay, maybe things aren't too different for you, but... they're pretty different for me. Dig?"
Bryce- "Yeah. Well... either way. Whatever course your sexy adventures take in this new regime, let me just say-- I intend to seduce you, before Dr. Victor does, and if, by some freaky chance, Dr. Victor beds you first, I'm gonna have to get all of Patti's handguns, and use them in succession on my head."
Seth- "... ..."
Bryce- "No pressure or nothin'."
|
|
|
Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Nov 9, 2012 20:29:58 GMT -8
Seth and Bryce returned to his apartment, the sun was beginning to set and the room seemed dim. Benji followed them and ran inside, still seeming nervous from the adventure earlier. Seth started lighting candles. Bryce- "Ah man... geez! What the hell ghosts?! Think that patio's cursed or something?"
Seth- "Hah... not anymore, maybe. He did die there."
Bryce- "How many times does a person have to die?"
Seth- "I don't know... maybe because he got killed by a ghost, he gets to be a ghost. Or.. got to be a ghost."
Bryce- "Does that really get rid of the ghost, or do you think even after that they might come back?"
Seth- "I don't know... well, we'll find out I guess." He picked up a small tray of candles and moved them to his new coffee table, and sat on the couch. Bryce sat on the couch too. Bryce- "Ahh.. I dunno if I'm gonna recover from that one."
Seth- "Scary?"
Bryce- "How.. how do we keep ghosts from getting us in our sleep? Now that I've seen them, they're fairly alarming."
Seth- "Well, both times they went outside, where we don't have any lights. Bet they don't like going near fire, like candles."
Bryce- "Hmm how near is near? Guess there's only one way to find out. Terrible terrible trial and error."
Seth- "It's been a few days, I only ever seen ghosts out there. I mean, there's probably more, but both of those were from people who died in here. I don't know if we'll see more. Hell, maybe they're drawn to me."
Bryce- "*sigh* I don't know... I don't know what to think about any of that. There's stories about some people are mediums, and ghosts might be drawn to them. Y'know, like Whoopi Goldberg in that one movie."
Seth- "I'm sorry you had to see that. Both times."
Bryce- "Oh yeah, like you could've done anything about it. Ha... Do you think you might be a medium? Do you think spooks and freaks are drawn to you?"
Seth- "Not really. I think it was a coincidence. Maybe that first ghost just liked that spot, and then the other guy died there so that's where he showed up. I don't think it's anything special."
Bryce- "Hm... So... I guess, the lesson is-- don't get killed by ghosts, don't get possessed and ax murdered and you won't turn into a ghost."
Seth- "Yup." He put his arm around Bryce. Bryce- "Well now... you um, you wanna pick up our conversation where we left off?"
Seth- "Sure. So it was something like..." He moved closer, and put his hand on Bryce's knee. A Siamese cat suddenly jumped on the arm of the sofa and stared at them. Bryce stared back at it."Aw! That's Bob. He doesn't usually come out."
Bryce- "Ugh... Cat... I'm busy here." He put a fist out, in front of the cat. The cat rubbed against it, and started purring. Seth- "Aww!"
Bryce- "Aw geez." Seth got up and moved to the kitchen. Seth- "I think we need more booze after all that. Want some wine?" Bob the cat got on Bryce's lap, purring. Bryce- "Sure..." He looked at the cat."What's your agenda, cat?"
Seth- "The dogs were barking at the ghost. I wonder if cats know anything too."
Bryce- "I... doubt it. Or if they did know something, I don't think they'd do anything about it."
Seth- "Not a cat fan?" He came back with two plastic cups and a bottle of cheap red from Serious Pie. Bryce- "I guess I like 'em alright, probably better than dogs but... I know 'em well enough to know, they're stupid jerks."
Seth- "Haha aw... You look like you get along with Jenny. I thought you seemed like more of a cat person." He poured the wine, and Bob suddenly ran, skittering across the kitchen tile and into the bedroom. Bryce- "There we go, freedom."
He took his wine in hand and rolled it around in the glass and smelled it. Seth- "You're so fancy."
Seth drank it like it was a glass of orange juice. Bryce- "I was just thinking about what the ghosts smell like. This is sufficiently different to make me not think I'm drinking ghost jizzum"
Seth- "Ewwww! Hahaha..."
Bryce- "Nope, nothin' like that at all. Now, if you get into the mushroom wine, you might lose some people." They sipped their drinks for a moment, peacefully. Seth gave him a sensitive look, and touched his hair, pushing it back from his face. Bryce- "You really do want to continue our conversation from earlier...!"
Seth- "I feel like this is going to summon Godzilla out of the Puget Sound but--" He leaned in for a kiss. Bryce accepted and returned the kiss, touching Seth's face and neck. This time, no ghosts, no rude interruptions.
|
|
|
Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Nov 14, 2012 21:04:39 GMT -8
Bryce leaned back after a few moments. Bryce- "Oh hm, yeah haha.. that's probably a good start... What'dya think man?"
Seth- "Huh?"
Bryce- "Y'know, like... save something for later y'know... seduction... phase one complete! Err, I mean two, I guess we're phase two." Seth leaned back and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, rubbing his forehead.Seth- "Oh.. yeah... sure okay."
Bryce- "What's the matter?"
Seth- "Nothin' haha.. yeah, I forget you're pretty young, huh."
Bryce- "Young..?! What does that have to do with anything?"
Seth- "No no, you're right. I guess... I'm used to hanging out with sluts, hahaha..."
Bryce- "Well, sorry to disappoint." Seth dug around among the couch cushions until he found his shirt.Seth- "Well, you wanna go back to your room or...?"
Bryce- "Nah, we'll hang out. Maybe find out a little about you. I mean, if you're cool with that."
Seth- "Sure, something you're curious about?" He pulled his shirt on, and let Benji jump up on the couch next to him.Bryce- "Ha-ha... I dunno, what do you think? Is there anything I *should* be curious about?"
Seth- "Heh.. Well, I don't know if I'm ready to show you my tell-all yet, but we could get started."
Bryce- "Yeah... well, what do you do in your spare time here?"
Seth- "Haven't had a lot of spare time, honestly. Trying to get this apartment looking like a good place to stay, chatting to people, playing with the pets... I like reading, I usually go out on the patio because that's a good quiet spot, at least from humans."
Bryce- "Yeah the monsters out there... little bit depressing, gotta admit."
Seth- "I could understand that. I guess I'm pretty good at tuning things out. I'm reading this book about spies in Cuba, it's pretty fun. I like that kinda stuff."
Bryce- "Cuban spies huh? You don't think your day to day life is adventurous enough? Well, I guess that's so unrealistic that it makes this seem reasonable by comparison. Those stories.."
Seth- "Yeah, it's like old man books, haha. Maybe it'll give me a good idea. I read a bunch of survival books, and that stuff on the Discovery channel. It came in handy, actually."
Bryce- "So if we need to infiltrate the commies, you'll learn how to seduce their dark skinned women?"
Seth- "Well what do you do, fancy man?"
Bryce- " 'Bout the same. I got a bunch of romance novels... They describe some pretty impressive... fellows, and their lusty exploits."
Seth- "Hah! I could never get past all the weird euphemisms in those. Maybe if I get bored enough. I like to read about guys wrestling Grizzlies or whatever."
Bryce- "What? You don't like to hear about guys wrestling sensitive but tempestuous women with a fierce spirit that could never be tamed?"
Seth- "Hmmm.. maybe you can give me the Cliff's Notes version."
Bryce- "Haha, well. Let's see.. The one I'm reading now is about... Cla..rissa Sterngale, who was born to privilege, but fell on hard times when..."
He described the operatic mis-adventures of Clarissa (?) Sterngale and the lusty pursuit of her by a strong-jawed rake Lionel Brisbane. He made sure to include specific dimensions for Mr. Brisbane's genitals as his memory of the writing could provide.
Seth- "Hahaha wow. So do you identify with the heroines in those?"
Bryce- "Well yeah, y'know. Why not? They only describe them a little bit, you know, yadda yadda big boobies whatever. They're always getting swept up in manly arms and all that."
Seth- "That's cute."
Bryce- "Seriously, huh. Is it cute? What's cute about it?"
Seth- "Oh you know, you're a little sensitive guy. It's cute!"
Bryce- "Huhhh... cute you say. You don't think I'm like, like a little bro or something do ya? 'Cause I am NOT a little bro. I am a raven-haired rogue."
Seth- "Little bro?"
Bryce- "Yeah you know like, sorta 'friend-zoning' but whatever. You don't think I'm some stupid kid right? I tell you..."
Seth- "Why would I think that?"
Bryce- "You said 'cute!' Cute isn't sexy. Sensitive is sounding like 'nice guys finish last.' I tell you, I don't finish last. I am a jongleur of love. Whatever that is. I think that's a tough thing, isn't it?"
Seth- "You worry too much. I just say you're cute, 'cause you're cute. Why isn't cute sexy? I like guys who are different from me. Y'know... you're kinda femme. I like that." Bryce whipped his head to attention.Bryce- "Sayyyyy 'femme?!' How would you think such a thing?"
Seth- "Sorry... I didn't know you didn't... *sigh* Is there something wrong with being femme?"
Bryce- "Well yeah! I'm a gay dude! I'm all about, y'know, dudes! Doin' it! Involving me, because I'm a dude, who would be doing it with dudes!"
Seth- "But you just said you read about the fancy lady heroines and identified with..."
Bryce- "Uh uh! No! Don't even think it! Man... am I not going to be able to tell you about stuff that I think is fun or silly because you'll all be like 'Bryce is a chick!'"
Seth- "Oh come on... *sigh*" He put his head in his hand.Bryce- "Wait wait, I'm sorry... Forget I said all that. Obviously I can't be fussy and defensive if I want to continue my operation of seduction. I gotta play it cool gotta back it up.. just forget I said anything. So Cuban spies huh?" Seth smiled slowly.Seth- "Can I tell you you're cute, and have you know that's something good? I don't wanna offend you. I like you."
Bryce- "Hm, in your head, can cute also include sexy?"
Seth- "Well of course! It's like... charming, appealing.. I can like you in more ways than one. I also think you're sexy, obviously!"
Bryce- "Good good... it's nice to know that we have some mutual sexfulness going on. I can thereby deem, seduction stage two, a success! Mutual sexfulness achieved! Do you think I'm a raven-haired jongleur of love?"
Seth- "I'm not entirely certain what that is, but it sounds good."
Bryce- "Alright. Man you're ... mighty fine. You know that? You probably get dudes all over you, all the time. That's gotta be a little hard to handle."
Seth- "Aw that's sweet. Well, sometimes.. I mean, before, if I went out to a club I knew I could get laid if I wanted to. Whether it was someone that I wanted to get laid by... I didn't do that much lately. You know, it's hard to find someone who you like to be around all the time. I was hanging out with Stevie more than anybody, 'cause he's funny."
Bryce- "So what's funny about that guy? Is he like, schadenfreude fest or does he actually have a bunch of sexist and racist jokes that just work whenever you're in the right company?"
Seth- "Oh a little of everything! He's kinda like... a funny uncle, you know? Sometimes people are funny but it's too specific or about stuff I don't know about, but he can just say silly stuff and it works. Plus, he had a lot of free time, haha."
Bryce- "Yeah, well that's nice to have a friend. I get along with some people but I dunno anyone who entertains me that consistently."
Seth- "Hey so... You wanna go lay down or something? Kinda cold without the heat..."
Bryce- "Yeah! Today's just been... balls. Look at that." The sky outside was an extremely dark periwinkle."Hell yeah, mm... gonna reap the rewards of Jackson's labor."
Seth- "Oh yeah, I gotta talk to that guy and make sure he's not creeped out about circle jerks every time he sees me..."
Bryce- "Hahahaha...! Ahhh.... I like doing stuff like that. It's one of my weaknesses as a jongleur. I can't get that word out of my head today!"
Seth- "Hey I wonder if I can pick you up."
Bryce- "Ha! Knock yourself out, stretch." Bryce got into the position to be bench pressed. "This is so not gonna work." Seth scooped him under the legs, and tried to balance him over a shoulder. Bryce- "Uh! Uh yeah.. that's a little uncomfortable." Seth tried to carry him into the other room."Oh yeah! Yup, here we go, mm-hmm... point proven!" Seth gently dropped him on the bed. WHUMP."Ah see! There we go."
Seth- "That was fun."
Bryce- "Oh well, yeah totally. I was rockin' it y'know. It was like being on an airplane."
Seth- "Maybe you could ride on my shoulders."
Bryce- "Alright-- maybe next time. *sigh* OK get over here and let's get rid of this coldness." Seth kicked his shoes off and got into bed, Benji jumped up as well and ran around, barking.Bryce- "What's so exciting, animals?"
Seth- "I dunno, it's kinda exciting. Woof woof." He grabbed Bryce under the blanket, and squeezed him.Bryce- "Ahh..." He smiled."Okay, you know I find it hard to relax sometimes, but right now? I'll take it."
Seth- "Good. Hey what's it feel like to have long hair? I never had long hair."
Bryce- "Why didn't you have long hair?"
Seth- "I'd look like the guy from Labyrinth. Too wirey. You have nice hair."
Bryce- "Well thanks. Yeah y'know I only have long hair 'cause I'm kinda lazy about cutting it, but I like the way it looks. It's hip right now."
Seth- "Oh yeah. I wonder what's gonna happen... Are people gonna look like Mad Max and get weird punk styles?"
Bryce- "Yeah! That seems like a lot of effort. I bet it doesn't happen. But people do have a lot of time on their hands." Seth held him close. Bryce had his eyes closed at first, relaxing with all his might, which as he said, was not easy for him. A minute passed, and he opened his eyes. He looked at Seth, who had his eyes closed, Benji sitting behind his head and sleeping.
Bryce thought...
"Man... that guy's got big eyes. So many eyelashes.. pretty romantic looking. What am I doing here? How'd I get in this situation? Oh yeah... he's the only gay here who isn't a Dracula or a foul-mouthed misanthrope. Well, I'm a misanthrope anyway. Tch.. look at you, I do not belong here. No question. Beautiful guy, nothin' apparently wrong with him... I am definitely in the wrong place. Maybe he'll turn out to be like.. some kind of psycho partner-beater. I'll have to get a post-apocalypse restraining order on him. No way... More likely the other way around, ha. What a cutie... Too nice. I'm probably gonna get unreasonably outraged about that at some point. "
Seth's eyes slowly opened, and Bryce quickly closed his own, pretending to be peacefully resting.
Seth pushed back Bryce's hair and did that whole cute 'kiss on the forehead' thing. Bryce fluttered inside.
Seth thought as he looked at the 'sleeping' Bryce.
"I hope you will be okay. I don't like that we keep getting interrupted by spooky things. 'Seduce' me, haha. Funny little guy. Man, of course you're gonna hate me calling you cute, 'cause you totally are. Cute, cute.. I can think it all I want in my head, take that! Ha!"
He remembered finding Bryce, that first day. Him answering the door in such a stupor that Seth had actually raised a weapon, thinking he was a particularly well-mannered zombie.
"Why would you do that to yourself? I don't buy that it was all just 'whatever, I don't care if I live or die.' You're like some little fairy tale waif, wake up to find yourself in a world of zombies. Damn... I'm the first person he saw after. I wonder if this all feels like some strange dream... I hope that isn't why--"
He involuntarily sighed a bit, but played it off like it was out of relaxation.
Bryce's eyes popped open again, he looked at Seth and thought- "Wow, yup, he's still there. What a sight. Wonder is he my arm candy or visa versa?"Seth- "Hey do you want to spend the night again?"
Bryce- "Oh heh... um, yes and no... I really shouldn't while Derek's laid up."
Seth- "Oh? He's feeling well enough to go annoy us upstairs."
Bryce- "That's true. Well that also means he's probably awake enough to be a little bastard to me if he thinks I'm up to no good."
Seth- "Mmm.."
Bryce- "Yeah, yeah they will." Bryce carefully pulled himself up, until he was sitting on his elbows."Ah. I feel like this whole end of the world deal's gonna be more complicated than I prefer, somehow."
Seth- "Oh?"
Bryce- "Yeah. What do you think? Y'know, people's perceptions and stuff like that."
Seth- "Yeah it' feels like... high school or something. Not great. I don't know.. It feels stupid to have to hide being gay, I mean, here? Now? But... I guess it might be necessary. *sigh*"
Bryce- "Well, it won't go on forever. You can bet on that." He sat the rest of the way up, and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked at Seth meaningfully. Seth rolled on his side, Benji getting up and resettling again.Seth- "What's next then?" Bryce smiled.Bryce- "That's for me to know, and you to find out."
Seth- "Hah... it's part of your dastardly game, isn't it? You're like a Backstreet Boys song come to life."
Bryce- "Which one's that?"
Seth- "Oh come on. "Quit Playing Games with My Heart"... that was Backstreet Boys, wasn't it?"
Bryce- "Shit... I'm a Backstreet Boy. Great. I've become my worst nightmare." He got out of bed."What a cruel world."
Seth- "You could be a member of 'NSYNC..."
Bryce- "Well, *sigh* I guess that's what it's come to 'cause, you know what time it is... it's time to say... (He mouthed silently) "Bye Bye Bye."
Seth- "Groan."
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Nov 23, 2012 3:09:25 GMT -8
THE NEXT AFTERNOON: Bryce Kramered in the door, wearing a floppy armed collared shirt, short shorts, and socks. Seth- "Close, but I think you need to be wearing a little bit less to complete your 'Risky Business' costume."
Bryce- "Huh. OK, don't know what that is."
Seth- "Oh man, are you too young for that? Well, trust me, it was a hilarious reference."
Bryce- "Yeah. You don't seem all that old. You sure you aren't just makin' references that are before your own time?"
Seth- "Well, maybe a little. How old are you again?"
Bryce- "Ehh, twenty." Bryce could see Seth starting to do some mental calculation.Bryce- "What's on your mind?"
Seth- "Oh yeah I guess I probably shouldn't do that. But I did forget you were that young. I wouldn't have been offering you so much booze."
Bryce- "You're shittin' me, right?"
Seth- "Well, guess I won't get arrested for corrupting the youth these days. Hey, how ya feelin'?" Bryce walked across the floor and flopped into a chair, draped over it like a coating of apathetic moss.Bryce- "A little better. Crowds, man. What about you?"
Seth- "Oh I'm fine. Well, thanks for asking. Do you think it's weird that I'm fine?"
Bryce- "Should I think it's weird that you're fine?"
Seth- "Of course I wouldn't think that... I can't believe you went out today."
Bryce- "Oh... about that. Huh..."
Seth- "Well, I think you did good. It wouldn't have been even a big deal if it was just you and me. Davin's kind of judgmental."
Bryce- "Huh. I don't know... It's all pretty crazy. I'm kind of in a daze right now. I feel like I should be real worried about something but I don't know... Oh yeah.
Seth, are you gonna try to drive to Everett?"
Seth- "Aw, I don't think that's even gonna be possible, unfortunately. I figure we take Peg out on the bike. I heard every road is blocked. I take her around, show her, and come back. I'm kind of eager to see what it's like out there too."
Bryce- "A motorcycle is gonna get so much attention... Are you sure you really wanna...?"
Seth- "I think we can do it. They're slow. A motorcycle is fast."
Bryce- "I guess... Just, all of that going out there, in that... It's too crazy. Maybe we can figure out how to ... kill street zombies in large numbers, like with bombs or something, and just stealth 'em for a few months until there's less around."
Seth- "Aw yeah, that's a smart idea. I wonder how many we'd have to kill to thin them out. I bet not that many."
Bryce- "Yeah, so just do that for a while before you start running around."
Seth- "Well, I'm sure didn't wanna come in here to talk about zombies." Bryce folded his knees up and embraced them.Bryce- "Heehee... It's easy to forget. It's still jackin' up my mood, I think."
Seth- "Maybe we should take a little nap or something."
Bryce- "Yeah... Yeah okay." He stood, and slightly staggered toward Seth. Seth put an arm around his shoulder and gave him a gentle look."Hey. Wanna go to the bedroom again?"
Seth- "Always." Benji ran around their feet and leapt onto the bed before them, scampering all over the place. Seth opened the blinds to let in the afternoon light. It was not quite golden hour, and the overcast sky cast the room bluish with deep shadows. It nearly stung Bryce's eyes after growing used to the dim candlelight in other places. He rubbed his head and looked around. Seth sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled off a tight knit sweater, (probably a woman's) and kicked off his sneakers. He wore a pair of too short jeans and a pale undershirt. The room was very spare, with only the neatly made bed, a desk with a variety of unlit candles, and a small side table next to the bed with an empty glass of water.Bryce- "Is that light gonna make it hard to take a nap?"
Seth- "Oh, you actually wanted to take a nap?" He smiled.Bryce- "Heehee...!"
Bryce looked out of sorts for a moment. "I just, uh ha.. I was telling the truth when I said my mood was a little... zombified. You know what I mean? Maybe something else could help me forget that."
Seth- "I'll do whatever you like."
Bryce- "Ugh. Maybe you could scrub my brain with a brillo pad, I just can't stop thinking about the strange things people expect you to be able to do right now."
Seth- "Aw. C'mere you.." He laid down with a flop, and Benji skittered over his torso before running down the hall and back again. Bryce went to Seth and leaned on him. Seth put an arm around him, he smelled like bar soap and was very warm. Bryce closed his eyes and snuggled into him. He mumbled-Bryce- "I can't think straight."
Seth- "You don't need to think about anything. You don't have to do anything..."
Bryce- "Yeah but... I mean.. when I'm on the roof and I could see, it's like... I dunno where the spawn point is, they just don't stop."
Seth- "You don't have to go out there again."
Bryce- "Yeah but what about you?"
Seth- "I'll be fine. I've been out there pretty much every day."
Bryce- "Yeah but it's just so, there's just so many of them. It seems too risky."
Seth- "Aw, you're worried about me?" Bryce buried his head and spoke very small.Bryce- "Yeah, just a bit." Seth chuckled quietly and held him close.Seth- "I'll be really careful for you, okay?" Bryce still covered his face and leaned on him a bit.Seth- "Hey come on... I'm not gonna do anything dumb. If it looks too risky, I'll turn right back around." Bryce just nodded and stayed snuggling, silently.
Seth pulled the blanket up with his foot and wrapped it around Bryce. He closed his eyes and outside the world was surprisingly quiet, the wind blew gently and the building creaked slightly with muffled conversation around them from other rooms. Bryce eventually un-buried his head and looked at Seth.Bryce- "Hey... you come here often?"
Seth- "Usually once a day at least."
Bryce- "Hey-o! Wow so.." He unpinned Seth and sat back, arms behind his head looking at him."So you do? Well hm, how does that work exactly?" Seth rolled on to his side, leaning on his hand. He smiled cheekily.Seth- "Oh you're not that young, are you?"
Bryce- "Oh please. I just meant, what's your technique? Y'know... the Little Mermaid, the Stranger, whatever."
Seth- "Haha... Nothing too exotic. How about you?" Bryce sat on the edge of the bed and looked over.Bryce- "Hm, I dunno if we should just talk about things. We should maybe demonstrate for each other's edification." Seth got a slightly uncomfortable look for a moment, but seemed to cover it up quickly.Seth- "Not even gonna buy me a drink first?"
Bryce- "Hah... I don't think we have anything left at our place. Whatcha got in here?" Seth and Bryce split a half bottle of wine, drinking straight out of the bottle. It was a cheap red, but it was one of the few drinks that tasted okay being room temperature.
Bryce smiled.Bryce- "Sir, you've got it goin' on."
Seth- "Well thanks! I feel pretty lucky. I got one of the hottest guys in the building in my room, and he's not even a scary Dracula or nothin'."
Bryce- "Aww.. You think I'm one of the hottest guys?"
Seth- "Uh huh. You're gonna punch me if I say you're cute, so I'll say you're very lovely. You have a nice face." Bryce looked coy and looked at the bottle for a moment.Bryce- "Well you know, the only reason I'm here, because you are *the* hottest guy in the building. Not just 'one of.'"
Seth- "Ohh really? You're gonna give me a big head. A big somethin' anyway, HEY O! Haha... That's sweet. Am I really your type?"
Bryce- "It's hard to say, I don't really have a type but.. If there is an objective standard of beauty in the world, you got it baby."
Seth- "You're too sweet. Hmm..." He leaned over to open the desk drawer with a gangly arm, and pulled out a partially eaten chocolate bar, folded up in its wrapper."--While we're being decadent."
Bryce- "Yes! We will live like kings." (He affected an Orson Welles accent.) Seth broke off a chunk of the dark candy, and held it in front of Bryce's lips. Bryce opened his mouth, projecting his lower lip slightly in that erotical faux-communion scene way. Seth placed the candy on Bryce's tongue delicately and moved in close. Bryce understood what this manuever was going to be about. He faked like he was going to just keep the candy for himself, pulling it into his mouth, then got the kiss. Bryce let the moment last. Nom nom nom. Before finally, breaking away. He looked at Seth with big eyes and demure body language. Seth rubbed his lips together, trying to not smile before unchocolating his teeth. Bryce shifted in his seat a little bit and then reached over and took Seth's face in his hand and kissed him some more.
Seth reached an arm around him and held him close, putting the other hand on Bryce's mostly bare leg and feeling up his soft skin. Bryce kept touching Seth's face, sometimes stroking his hair, his cheeks, his neck, as they kissed. His face was soft but for tiny, light grains of facial hair on his upper lip and chin. These men were eyelashy, and could feel each others lashes trace across their skin as they moved. Seth's hair was coarse and closely cut in the back and his hands were a bit rough but he moved them gently. He moved one underneath Bryce's oversized shirt, and ran it along his side. Bryce likewise started holding Seth more around his bony torso. Seth leaned back a moment, and moved to unbutton Bryce's shirt. Bryce moved to help accomodate and the shirt was quickly tossed on the floor.
Bryce pushed Seth farther onto the bed, and crawled toward him on all fours. He lay down beside him and they got back into it. He tangled his legs with Seth's and groped the man's pelvis. His face was playful but bright red from the shift onto their sides. Seth felt him up, enjoying his soft pale skin and smooching on his neck. Bryce had little muscle tone and was just slightly chubby, perhaps baby fat. His modest body hair was wispy and soft to the touch. Seth found him to seem rather tiny compared to the usual guy he had groped on, and very soft. With the pale skin and black hair and eyelashes, he felt like he was making out with some adorable male Snow White. Bryce felt Seth's sinewy body and the coarse hints of regrowing body hair to be terribly exotic - he's been with guys that had some combination of these things, but - maybe because of the weird new circumstance of the world - he felt like Seth was some kind of beast man, a human goat with a horse-like pelt and muscles. Seth's face looked to him like that of a fallen angel, his bristly hair like a broken crown.
Seth had a hand on Bryce's lower back, above the shorts, and fiddled idly with the waistband before pushing the other man's pelvis against his own. He pulled back a bit and spoke quietly.
Seth- "What do you think?"
Bryce- "This shit be hot to death, kid! What d'you...? Unh... Yeah. Mm hm." Then things happened, as you can imagine.*** Seth- "You like that?" Bryce looked at him.Bryce- "Uh, yeeeeahhhh... That's what I'm here for. Seduction, phase three, complete!"
Seth- "Ooh what's phase four?"
Bryce- "Hm, something to do with robots I think." Outside the overcast sky was turning a creamy gold as the sun began its obscured descent into sunset, and the light was luscious and orange-y, the mythical and fleeting golden hour. Seth touched Bryce's chest gently, both of them too hot and sweaty to want too much contact, but wanting to feel close anyway.Bryce- "Ahh... This is good. I... have no complaints. Well, I should probably go back to my stupid roommates tonight."
Seth- "Yeeeahh... Hm." He rolled on to his back, the strange artistic lighting slicing a bright yellow outline of his profile.Seth- "I wonder if it really would be safer for everyone to have a roommate..." Bryce rolled his head toward Seth.Bryce- "Ohhhhhhh? Goo onnn...!" He was doing somewhat of a Harvey Feirstein impression.
Seth- "Well.. Do you think it's too soon?"
Bryce- "It's just about expedience, and convenience. Safety. It's not like some huge commitment or nothin'. Why... Anybody could do it." Seth glanced back to Bryce, the light catching in one green eye and making it look like an eerie bit of jasper.Seth- "Well, if I had a roommate, they'd have to meet a few requirements..." Bryce got shifty-eyed.Bryce- "Uh oh, here it comes."
Seth- "They'd have to love my pets..."
Bryce- "Mmm... the jury's still out on that one. Ya bastids." Bob's eyes glinted from the end of the hall.
Seth- "They'd have to be at least moderately neat. I don't want any more pizza boob dreams. Better than hellhole, at least."
Bryce- "No pizza boobs. Check."
Seth- "-annndd... mm, look good in hot pants."
Bryce- "Hmm... hey well, I've got 'em. Is it too soon?"
Seth- "I dunno. Maybe... maybe we consider it for a while longer. Yeah ain't that the kiss of death for a relationship usually?"
Bryce- "What's that?"
Seth- "You know, moving in together."
Bryce- "*siiiiigh* Yeah, I think you're right about that one, presidente. So back to the roommates with me?"
Seth- "Well, I'd be happy to have you stay, but I'm probably going to take a nap, so I don't know how entertaining I'm going to be."
Bryce- "Yeah..." He looked into the wall blankly, fingers twitching on his chin as he was lost in thought. Seth got up to retrieve his pants. Bryce followed suit and put his clothes on.Bryce- "Um, well, I guess... I'll see you around, then?"
Seth- "Yeah." He gently pulled Bryce close, and hugged him. "Hey, thanks for today. Not just that, although that was great. Thanks for goin' out, too."
Bryce- "Really?" He looked nervous.
Seth- "Yeah, I'm glad you tried it. That was brave of you."
Bryce- He smiled sheepishly. "I guess so. Weeeeellll.... OK, I go now."
Seth- "OK. See ya." Bryce left and Seth went to take his nap.
|
|
|
Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Nov 25, 2012 19:28:30 GMT -8
The next day...
Seth woke up early to a face full of Bob and Benji. The sun hadn't risen, but the sky was lightening almost imperceptibly. The room was a deep blue like you'd see in a painting. Seth's eyes were wide in the darkness, re-orientation to the new world order still a must on waking these days.
He knew he had to get up early to meet Peg. It would be better to go out with her before everyone was awake, and bothering him with their concerns. He got dressed and put on a scavenged over-sized canvas jacket, knowing how cold it would be this early. He snubbed the snuffling beasts to their great and vocal displeasure, heading to the Comm Center.
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Dec 16, 2012 22:41:27 GMT -8
That evening, Seth and Bryce came into the apartment together to find the animals animalling. They proceeded to human.
Seth moved about the apartment doing typical chore-like activities, such as feeding the cat. It seemed for a moment to be uncannily normal, save for the details of the candlelight, and the refrigerator being used for kibble storage only. Bryce found what was becoming his usual spot on the couch and did his best to relax.
Seth- "So, what's goin' on? You look pretty serious."
Bryce- "Just had a shitty day. Needed to be around someone who is not stupid and not a crazy fucker."
Seth- "*laughed* Well, thanks for not thinking I'm stupid or a crazy fucker. I like to hear that. So what happened?"
Bryce- "Nothing exceptional. Just... hella annoying. Hey, you got up at stupid o'clock, does that mean you're going to crash and burn soon? Not like you spent all day sipping Manhattans at the country club."
Seth- "Yeah, I'm probably gonna feel that tomorrow. Maybe I'm still running on adrenaline. I'd like to take a bath... I'll be up for a little bit though." He put down food for the pets. "Hey, you wanna go lay down for a bit?"
Bryce- "Yes. Yes I do." They went to the bedroom, moving candles with them. Pets followed.Bryce- "Having the little dog here... Reminds me of 19th century art."
Seth- "Oh yeah? I don't know much about that. I don't think I've talked about art so much as today, ever."
Bryce- "I don't know much about it either, but like, engravings of dudes in knee pants... Always seemed like they had a small dog around."
Seth- Flopped on the bed. "They're pretty good company."
Bryce- Followed Seth to Pillostan. "Ugh, ugh, ugh. I'm glad to be in here. I didn't have a very good day either, though it feels petty compared to your crazy exploits."
Seth- "Hey everything worked out for me. What's wrong?" He put his arm around Bryce.
Bryce- Bryce snuggled up to Seth, and let out a deep sigh. "Fuckin' people are all on my tits... Stupid Jonah asking me stupid questions, then the worst... Doctor Dracula thought he could ABC after school special my ass into being a productive member of society or something. Holy shit."
Seth- "What? Like, did you fall asleep in the middle of the community center with a sombrero on your head?"
Bryce- "No, but that sounds like fun. Man... I don't know how everyone knows about what I was doing when the shit happened, but it's like they all think I'm gonna die or something. And it's not like they even really care. They just don't wanna be bummed out by it, or have some self-righteous trip about that kinda shit."
Seth- "Yeah, maybe we need to get more pets... Give people something else to think about... Well, I'm sorry you had a hard time."
Bryce- "Well, I wanted to say that to someone, but now I said it, and I guess I don't really wanna talk about it. So..." He hesitated, then continued. "I don't like to think about you going out risking your ass, especially after Sharma got back like that, but... you should tell me about it. I guess I just can't help but be curious about the world out there."
Seth- "Oh yeah, you know it's crazy, but it's not like I go out there by myself, unarmed, like that poor old guy. We found those kids. Now I can't help but wish I could go to every building in the city. Think how many people are trapped. Kinda depressing. I guess we can only do what we can do, right?"
Bryce- "I guess so."
Seth- "They were drinking out of the toilets and I don't even know what they were eating. Pretty sad. Hey, but they're all alright now. Maybe you can make friends with some of them? They're around your age, I think."
Bryce- "Don't ABC me, dude. I got enough friends."
Seth- Seth hit him with a Neil DeGrasse-Tyson pose. "I was gonna ask what you thought about 'em but now I'm not sure I should."
Bryce- "So far all I talked with is that Casey, and he is too desperate. I hope he chills out a bit, because he's super obnoxious. Well, I guess we probably have a difference of opinion there..."
Seth- "Oh, yeah, they're just like little lost kittens or somethin'. I'm sure they'll take it easy eventually. Well, that wasn't really what you were asking about, was it?"
Bryce- "The world. Some weird mummy dudes made a bunch of zombies and ghosts to try to kill everybody. How's that going for us?"
Seth- "Well, we haven't lost anybody yet! Well, at least, not going out... Um... You know the zombies aren't really that big of a deal if you've got a posse and weapons. It's always something new though. That new ghost, or whatever it was... That was freaky shit. It's like, what do you do to forty-five metal stools that are comin' at ya? I feel optimistic though. We got those kids out and nobody got hurt."
Bryce- "But still... You went out looking for ways to get north, and all you found was roads blocked with cars and dead people. You try to come home without incident and we find out there were two buildings right next door with trapped scared people who coulda died without your help, so now you gotta wonder about everything. What do ya make of all that? I mean... What are we gonna do?"
Seth- "Well, we just go around, help as many people as we can, and see what we can find out. We haven't gone to those news studios yet. Maybe we can find out more about those mummies. And then we find them, and we kill them."
Bryce- "Oh, that's all? Nevermind then. I think I'll open a lemonade stand on Westlake. Let the good times roll."
Seth- Seth gave him a look. *siiigh* "You're so negative. I've been out there and I feel confident."
Bryce- "Mm-hm. OK." He pushed his head into Seth's chest and curled up tighter.
Seth- "We can do this. Everybody workin' together. Everything will be just fine."
Bryce- "Mm-hm." They snuggled and rested for a few minutes before Seth had to bug.Seth- "You alright?"
Bryce- "As good as I can be given the circumstances. I oughtta have that tattooed on the back of my neck today."
Seth- "Something I can do to help your circumstances...?"
Bryce "Ohh? Uh... What's that?"
Seth- "I dunno. Anything you wanted me to do to help out? " Bryce pushed back a bit and looked him in the face.Bryce- "Mister president, whatever could you be suggesting?"
Seth- Seth smiled and looked faux-nonchalant. "Oh well, y'know, I wanted to take a bath, and we really should be trying to conserve water... Maybe we could share?"
Bryce- "Well, that does sound sensible. And pleasant. Let's do. " They prepared the bath...
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Dec 18, 2012 1:00:43 GMT -8
Somehow they cobbled together a warm bath, and got in quickly to take advantage of that warmth. They sat at opposite ends of the tub, legs tangling in the middle.Bryce- "Ahhh...." The candle-lit bathroom was extremely dim, so that when the light flickered, it created a natural strobe.Seth- "Hey, this is nice. Don't need as much water to fill the thing up."
Bryce- "We can measure our displacement and junk. Ya never know when you'll need that."
Seth used a bottle of shampoo from the edge of the tub. "Almost seems like we shouldn't have something as high-tech as shampoo, given how things are. Guess some day we'll run out."
Bryce- "I guess so." He drummed his fingers on the surface of the water absently. "Hey."
Seth- Looked at him, face lit strangely by the candles on the countertop.
Bryce- "Uh... I'm embarrassed. Hard to tell in this light, I know."
Seth- "Aw. Why embarrassed?"
Bryce- "Well, because I screwed up so bad the other day. At the thing. We did. That I didn't do so well. That we did."
Seth- "Oh... Aww... Don't even worry about it. You just need practice."
Bryce- "No, I don't know... What if I practiced and didn't figure it out quickly and someone got all bored of me and disappointed because I was a crappy lay and then I had to get ditched or something?"
Seth- "Aw jeez. Well, there's other things to do, you know? Maybe something that takes less manual dexterity, to start."
Bryce- "How would you work your way up to that?"
Seth- "Maybe you could observe, and learn by example?"
Bryce- "Oh? I don't know if that would work, but it sounds fun."
Seth- He took a moment to rinse his hair, by dropping water on his head. He splashed the water in front of him. "Hey come here."
Bryce- "Um... OK." He awkwardly turned around in the tub and slid closer to Seth. Seth put his arms around Bryce and pulled him close, up onto his lap, his wet hands on his torso. Bryce was obviously tense, but still soft to the touch. Seth tried to ease him to lay back against him. He did so.Seth- "So it's been like a week since you met me. What do you think?"
Bryce- "I think... what if it was all a dream? Part of me knows there's no way I'm getting Patrick Duffied, but you came in at the same time as all these impossible things. It's like the OD killed the part of my brain that kept the world right, and eventually it could go back to normal, and you'd disappear with it."
Seth- He rubbed Bryce's arms and shoulders. "Aw, that's kind of cute. That's a hell of a way to meet somebody, huh? Well, obviously I feel real sad for ya, but it's kind of cute too. It's like you're Snow White. I don't know what that makes me in that analogy, but cute nonetheless."
Bryce- "Prince Charming, apparently... Well, that's obviously one more reason to doubt the reality of it all. Snow White's plot seemed like the wish-fulfillment of a crazy person. It's like Snow White was a real person and all the people that came and went in the plot were figments of her imagination."
Seth- "Hm. So would you rather have things be normal? No zombies, no nothin'?"
Bryce- "Just to have it not be like... everybody's dead... Yeah, of course. But it's tempting to feel special just for being here."
Seth- "Well, I hope we can help you feel normal sometimes." He put his hand on Bryce's ribs.
Bryce- "Mm... That feels normal enough, haha." Bryce relaxed a bit more. Seth slowly moved his hand lower. Bryce let out a little moan of pleasure.Seth- "Now you don't have to take notes, but maybe just observe." He ran his fingers over Bryce's belly on the way, and lightly felt up his euphemism. ***
Bryce- Bryce fell back on his duff and slid back to the other end of the tub. His head fell with a deep exhale. "OMFG yeah. Is this the oval office or what?"
Seth- "It is kind of oval, isn't it? That's a good one." He washed his face with a couple splashes of water. "I liked that, you're really cute."
Bryce- "Mm... And of course, you're the sexiest thing since sliced sexybread. Thanks." He lolled his head on his shoulders and ran his fingers through his hair.
Seth- "Phew, let's get outta here before we freeze." He hopped out of the water and stood outside the tub, drying off in the candlelight.
Bryce stared at Seth's junk like a creepy sexodaemon in the dark room.Seth- Seth seemed oblivious to the appraisal. "Hey want to spend the night? It's nice to have someone to hold. I really liked that the other night."
Bryce- Bryce shook his head and started to get out. "Uh, hm. I dunno. How serious were you about tryin' to be semi-closeted here? Those dudes I room with aren't total idiots... But yeah, I'd like that too."
Seth- "Mmm... I guess I'm caring about it less and less the more monsters I fight. Maybe just for a nap... Hey c'mere." He helped Bryce out of the tub, and wrapped him up in the towel like a Bryce burrito. He hugged him playfully, and it became especially apparent how much taller he was than Bryce, about half a head taller. He could easily wrap his arms over the top of Bryce's shoulders without raising them much.
Bryce felt weird about it, but let himself be manhandled. Oh man, so emasculating... But comfy.
They finished getting ready for bed, the room was cold and they quickly dove for the blankets, shuddering. Benji barked and ran around on top of them. Bryce trapped the dog under the blankets.Bryce- "Hey. Hey! Knock it off, ya freakin' dog. Ya freakin' dog!"
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Dec 21, 2012 3:52:34 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 2, 2013 1:23:34 GMT -8
A day after the time warp began...
Seth woke up to see Bryce curled up on a chair near the bed. Bryce- "Good morning, sunshine."
Seth- "Hmm, looks like I've got sexy gremlins busting into my room at night. What's shakin'?"
He sat up in the bed and stretched sleepily. Bryce looked sheepish for a moment, then smiled. Bryce- "Hey, I was in here last night....
Bryce- "You know, yesterday was fucking insane. I feel like we all aged six months during it. The CEO of Amazon tried to eat Steve Urkel so they shot him in the head, shoved him out the window, and set him on fire. We had a Satanist over for brunch. Patti singlehandedly extincted the Canadian goose for our delectation. And Anna ransacked the twinkie factory to seal that deal. Oh, and some crazy shits went out after dark on a crazy voyage for flippin' protein powder."
Seth- "Yeah, I don't even know man... That Satanist was pretty cool anyway."
Seth- "Hey think we'll find the secret clue to find the mummies today? I bet we will find something!"
Bryce- "Ugh. I don't know. How far away is this damn place anyway?"
Seth- "It's down by the science center, that tacky old building with all the windows. See, all these studios got the kid's video right? There's gotta be some clues. Even like, an envelope with an address, you know?"
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 2, 2013 1:51:23 GMT -8
Bryce- "That's even farther away, in territory we don't know anything about!"
Seth- "We'll get to know it then! I could go by there on a bike first and check it out on my own if you're worried about it. Peg and I got a good lay of the land that way last time."
Bryce- "Never mind. It's just... it's even farther than those meatheads went last night. I don't know. Forget it."
Seth- "Everything's worked out so far, hasn't it? I'll be fine, don't worry."
Bryce- "An impossibility, but I'll do my best..."
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 18, 2013 15:20:26 GMT -8
Another day... Seth and Bryce got back to the room. It occurred to Seth that they hadn't seen Emmett in the hall, so he must have gone into Derek's apartment. Bryce- "Hurry! Let's get out of this hall!" Luckily no one could lock their doors, since no one had the room keys-- or was it so lucky? Seth slipped in the apartment with Bryce trailing after, Benji yapping just once before he seemingly kept his little doggy mouth shut. Seth closed the door behind them, and stood in front of the door a moment.
Bryce- "Whew."
Bob- "WuOW."
Seth latched the skinny door chain, and shrugged with a tired smile to Bryce.
Seth- "Well... what a day. Wonder what's next?"
Bryce- "Do we even wanna find out? Suicide pact, right now."
Seth- "Oh you're so grim. It'll be fine... Guy like that will get all wound up and spin himself out crying in his pillows or whatever. Emmett said he's a counselor, bet he'll know what to do."
Bryce- "Ugh. Hope so..." Bryce flopped his arms like a bird and twirled in place for a moment before hitting the couch, then sat back up again on the edge of the cushion, arms wrapped around himself in a nervous pose.
Seth sat next to him, and put an arm around him loosely.
Seth- "What do you think? Might be a good time to switch rooms...?"
Bryce- "I shoulda done it a long-ass time ago. Now it'll be too suspicious and I'll have Derek being a creepy weirdo on my shit. Oh, man, I just CAN'T!"
Seth- "*sigh* It's not really any of his business where you sleep at night. I think it's probably a good idea to not go there tonight at least, if you don't want to get creepy weirdo-ed."
Bryce- "Yeah, I think I'll sleep upstairs with plenty of witnesses, but right now, I just ... I'm going crazy!" He grabbed Seth and squeezed tight.Seth- "Aww.. Hey c'mon, it's okay..." He hugged Bryce back, and put his head on Bryce's shoulder. Bryce kissed his temple.Bryce- "I don't know. Should I just become a karimsidol vampire and hunt down all that's left of that shit? Or help Ibi grow more plants and just blaze every day?"
Seth- "Hey hey hey. Someone advised that one time... Well, we all gotta do what we can to make it through, right? I'd rather have you lightin' up every day than something else. Maybe we can hit up a pharmacy?"
Bryce- "Yeah, maybe. Jesus. Dunno." He leaned back on the sofa with Bryce, hoping if they relaxed physically, it might relax weary brains as well.
Seth- "So other than the wicked herb, what do you think could help you right now?"
Bryce- "Mm. Um. This." He rolled over onto Seth and started groping his body and kissing him....
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 23, 2013 23:43:48 GMT -8
SOME TIME LATER... Bryce and Seth came into the room, and only had long enough to exhale deeply when a knock sounded at the door. Seth- "Go figure." (He answered the door.)
Emmett- "Hey, I'm sorry. We should maybe talk about the situation in there."
Seth- "Oh, yeah, come on in." He went in. Bryce was standing nearby and cocked all the eyebrows. Seth- "Oh, Emmett, Bryce here is my assistant. Is it OK for him to stick around for this?"
Emmett- "Mm... Maybe not. Confidentiality. I have to be careful choosing my words with even you, given that."
Bryce- "Good, yeah, I'm fine. I'll leave." He did. Seth went to sit on the couch and Emmett followed. Emmett- "I feel like I have failed. That guy is still quite upset."
Seth- "Oh gosh, you shouldn't feel bad. You just got here. I didn't even know you were a counselor. It was real nice of you to volunteer, especially with that nightmare. Well, what should we do then?"
Emmett- "I think it would help the community to have a policy in place, something like a corporate sexual harassment policy, to make it clear that hurtful language won't be tolerated. I don't have the wisdom to say what a punishment should be, but people should know that civility is important...
While you'd think that those kind of rules would breed resentment, studies showed they usually did have a calming effect on workplace hostility."
Seth- "That's a good idea! I should bring that up with the council in the morning. It really should be treated like a workplace, shouldn't it? Well... what about Derek then? Do you think he'll cool off with some time alone? Ione seemed kinda... weird. Hope they're okay."
Emmett- "Ione? Well, it's hard to say at this point. I'd err on the side of leaving him with a sympathetic ear, and I'll keep checking in as I can..."
Seth- "OK, let's do that. Thanks for all your hard work! I'm sure it'll settle down real soon..."
|
|