90s sadness and gay???

[dtective]

[By this point, Leon has lost track of how long he's been searching for Count D. It became an obsession that only grew with time, and now he couldn't keep to one spot anymore. Not while D was still out there. Across cities, across countries, he probably looked insane to everyone around him. But they didn't know the half of it! Sometimes even Leon wasn't sure he understood what he was doing.

Right now wasn't the time to doubt himself, though. He'd hoped that this lead would get him even an inch closer to his goal, but he hadn't counted on spotting him in the streets. It had to be him. He'd seen him turn and look at him, and those eyes—]

Wait! Stop right there!

[He doesn't hold back, shoving his way through the crowded streets and keeping his eyes locked on him. It doesn't work, because of course it doesn't, and his steps slow in his confusion. His heart is beating way too fast, his stomach sinks, and for a moment he's sure he's lost his one chance.

But something catches the corner of his eye, and his instinct tells him to turn. He reaches out, grabbing the first wrist he can and meeting D's eyes with his own.]

...Found you.

Comments

[dtective]

[Leon may be trying to help here, but he's still dense in a lot of ways. Because D hasn't mentioned any nervousness and has only encouraged relaxing since the picnic, Leon only assumes he's handling this better than him. He'll learn, slowly... maybe.

For now, he notices that straying... Is he getting a full massage here?? He blinks a few times as the pain of that knot eases into feeling better. Hmmm.]

Yeah, that's what they say... Here's hoping. [He doesn't want to be stuck and useless for too long. There's a small pause, and it's a little too hard to stay completely silent about the whole massage thing.] You're pretty good at that. [shhh]

[pruning]

[This might be a full massage, even if the angle is a little off because of the couch in the way. That's fine. He's good at it, apparently—]

Thank you. [That's all he'll say about that comment, mercifully. He could cut this short and consider Leon relaxed enough, but honestly he would rather keep putting his hands all over him, so that's what he's going to do. At least he's doing something somewhat productive, moving right along to a different tense spot.]

You've been pushing yourself too hard. [He means that as an idle observation, but it turns out it's sort of his fault Leon has gotten to this point, so... hmm. His touches pause for a moment, then continue.] It's quite a mess.

[dtective]

[He tries to sit to make it easier on D, and he's kind of wondering if he should stop him, but it's not like he asked him to do this, so he can't mind too much, right? Besides, it feels good. He has to keep telling himself this every few seconds so it doesn't get weird.]

I don't know about that. [Pushing himself too hard?? Gosh, he never does that. Following someone across the world and sleeping on streets is totally normal and not over the top at all.]

I'm always a little tense. [A little, he says.] Shouldn't you be the one who's tired? I wouldn't be able to do it. Running away like that...

[Thinking no one was on his side but two people... Dealing with his dead father... That's a lot to deal with, too. He's thinking about it now that he's deflected worries about himself.]

[pruning]

[A little... what a liar. D hums again, trying not to let his surprise at that question seem obvious. If he tenses up while literally touching Leon to relieve his tension, how embarrassing would that be?? He can't have that.]

I... [Hmm. He could say any number of things here about how he's perfectly fine, but it isn't and hasn't been, and he suddenly isn't sure he's fooling anyone anymore. Especially Leon. So...] I am very tired.

However, I have been tired for quite some time. [He punctuates this with a little squeeze not meant to be part of his massage, like that will make lighter the reality of what he's saying. The family business is a real drag.] So it is not entirely thanks to you.

[dtective]

[This still seems so surreal. They hadn't been arguing all that much at home, before this all happened, but it still felt strange to be this serious. Especially when it was something so sad. The fact that others could see it better than he could, when he was there by his side all along...

He stares down at his hands in his lap, fingers curling a bit over his knees.]

So I'm only part of the problem. Gee, thanks. [He's light about saying that, too, though. He can be tiring, he guesses... It's completely fair if D is tired.]

But I can't give massages or anything like that, sorry. [He can't even return the favor... It's getting to him a little.]

[pruning]

[All of this opening up is well outside D's comfort zone. He can blame Leon up and down, but even just now - he says this isn't entirely Leon's fault and thinks that might make him look a little less down, but Leon calls him out on the opposite point. D has no idea what he's doing, in the end. How is he meant to do this with manners, without putting up walls again?

The same issue he's already struggled with returns - Leon isn't simply part of the problem, but... it's a bit much to say he's something of a solution, too. That's really...]

I've only asked you to stay. [soooo...] And you have. Your presence is...

[something gay tbh, he can't go on.]

[dtective]

[Asked him to stay. Hm, well... yes. Leon blinks at that, reaching back to touch D's wrists lightly, so he'll stop. He leans back completely and tilts his head back so he can stare up at D.]

My presence is what?

[Go on, finish it, he's watching.]

[pruning]

[Oh— well now he's tensed up. Just a touch to the wrist makes him feel like he's trapped here until he gives a real answer. How terrible!!]

That is, you see... [He looks... studiously off to the side, since Leon is staring at him like that.

There is a considerable pause. May the earth open up beneath his feet and swallow him whole, to deliver him from his preteen-level embarrassment.] ...comforting?

[Remember when that was the whole problem before??]

[dtective]

Whoa, are you actually embarrassed saying something like that?

[He can't help it... He's never noticed the Count avoiding his gaze so much, and now he'd struggled to say even that? Leon laughs, pretty pleased by this. He even wraps his fingers a little more around D's wrists, as loose as the grip actually is.]

So that just means I have to bug you all the time! Guess you're really not getting rid of me, huh!

[pruning]

[sTOP good god, he can't take this. This vice grip keeping him here against his will!! It clearly isn't his own choice that he's standing here frowning off to the side and not trying to pull his hands away at all.]

Your habits haven't been excused yet! [The BOTHERING... don't bother him on purpose!!] I am not—embarrassed. Don't flatter yourself.

[dtective]

Are you sure about that? You can't even look at me!

[He's teasing, he has the nerve to tease after the Hand Holding Incident. Thankfully, he stops staring at D after that, sitting back up and releasing his wrists to point at his shoulders instead.]

Anyway, since you're comforted and all, that means you can keep going.

[He likes it, thx]

[pruning]

[He can look at Leon!! He's look at Leon right now, frowning more pointedly to prove it. But Leon has already stopped looking at him, making this all useless...

It takes him a moment to slide his hands back into place and keep massaging, but he's doing it! And it takes only another moment after that for him to lean down to speak in a low voice next to his ear.]

Your hands are still clammy from earlier. Was it such a shock to you?

[This is the best course of action to take, he can feel it.]

[dtective]

[Well that sure makes him tense up again immediately. Immediately, he presses his palms flat on his pants to try and wipe away any clammy-ness...]

What?! They're not clammy! You're imagining things!

[pruning]

[Successfully distracted from his own teenage behavior, great. He squeezes his shoulders again, leaning a little more to witness this obsessive hand-wiping. Ha...]

Am I? I had quite a while to think about it while you were making wrong turns on the way home.

[dtective]

S-shut up! I got us back, didn't I?!

[Ugh, no, his shame... The leaning just makes it worse. He leans forward a little to try and escape him, but not his hands— damn it, D, cut it out!!]

It's weird we were holding hands in the first place...

[pruning]

[No, come back here, there is no escape.]

You didn't think so at the time. [Or did he... probably, but he didn't complain about it, so D is in the clear.]

[dtective]

I said it was weird, not that I minded it.

[Don't even start this with him!! They'll embarrass each other all day, even with D giving him a massage? This is also weird.]

[pruning]

[Gay semantics!! This isn't weird at all.

D leaning so far over the back of the couch is a little weird, but more in the sense that it's physically uncomfortable.]

In that case, I haven't the slightest idea why you would bother complaining.

[dtective]

I wasn't complaining...

[He kind of was, a little, but actually he just wants to know WHY!! It's there, in his own heart, but it's too difficult for him to just out and say it, or realize it, or anything. Also, at this point it feels like D's about to fall over the couch if he leans anymore, so Leon gives up with a sigh.]

I thought you had more of a personal bubble than that.

[pruning]

[He won't fall, he'll just hover there vaguely before he straightens back up again. But he's not pulling his hands away yet...

Leon seems to have forgotten the times D tried to keep him overnight. Hmm. That's fine.]

You've been wrong before.

[dtective]

[He thought that was a joke.........]

...So are you gonna wanna do that again? [Smooth, he's smooth, don't look at him just massage him.]

[pruning]

[Was it though.... was it?? How can he massage him when he's faced with that kind of bumbling idiot question? Somehow he's managing while processing that.]

I would not mind it. [understatement....]

[dtective]

[Would not mind it... Leon wouldn't mind it either. So he just stares down at his hands in his lap again pondering this.]

What does that mean...?

[He mumbles that pretty quietly because actually he didn't mean to say it aloud at all... What an idiot.]

[pruning]

[This is ridiculous, and yet D is still part of the problem. Using adult words is so hard!!]

Would you like to, on occasion, hold hands?

[Spare him.]

[dtective]

Sure.

[ WAIT ] Hang on! When you ask it like that, it sounds...!

[ no mater how you look at it, isn't this kind of like asking him out?? He doesn't know how to react to that, he just answered without thinking! ]