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]

How about "Never Have I Ever?" Or truth or dare, where if you don't want to do it you have to take a drink? Or two truths and a lie...

[This is definitely very sleepover.]

[pruning]

[He doesn't know what that first one actually includes, but he knows he wouldn't like it, already. That leaves the other two...]

If I must indulge you, I suppose it will have to be truth or dare. [sigh...] In the cabinet over there by the lamp, there is something to drink.

[the disney villain lamp...]

[dtective]

[Hah! He knew D would see it his way.]

Great! Man, it's been so long since I've had a good drink...

[He squeezes D's hand lightly without thinking, standing to go fetch the alcohol and letting their fingers slip away.]

You can go first, so start thinking of whatever you want! For a dare. [He's not a wuss who picks truth first, after all. He'll get them whatever the drink is and some glasses...]

[pruning]

[Ah, squeezing his hand... perhaps truth or dare is not so juvenile after all...

Just kidding, it is. He likes the little squeeze anyway, though. He's watching Leon to make sure he doesn't throw something around and break stuff in the cabinet, and really not thinking about a dare at all.]

Oh— Well. I suppose you ought to... pour the drinks?

[he's never been to a slumber party fuck off]

[dtective]

Yeah, here.

[He will pour for each of them and then set the bottle aside, leaning back on the couch.] So, if you won't tell the truth or do the dare, you have to take a drink! Otherwise, you get a pass. It'll be fun! Less awkward, too.

[pruning]

[Um.... hmm.]

Ah. No— that was it. My dare.

Your turn.

[dtective]

Huh?

[That catches him totally off guard.] No, wait... I think you're missing the point.

[pruning]

I asked you to do something and you did it. What could I possibly be missing?

[dtective]

You're supposed to make me do something embarrassing, or risky, or something like that! What fun is it if you ask me to do mundane things?!

[pruning]

[He genuinely has to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from immediately saying, you embarrass yourself without my help. He's trying.]

You should be the one going first, then.

[dtective]

Fine. Truth or dare?

[pruning]

[Ha... truth...]

Dare.

[dtective]

Okay, I dare you to... [He stares across the room, looking for inspiration.]

Lick a chair?

[pruning]

[What the fuck........]

No, thank you. [He will take a drink instead. Isn't this a great game??]

[dtective]

What the hell's the point of a game if you're not going to put the effort in to play?! I may as well just drink from the damn bottle!

[Actually, maybe he will.]

[pruning]

The option to refuse was in your rules! [NOT... EXACTLY. And don't drink from the bottle, no—] We don't need to play a game like children.

[dtective]

[Then he'll just drink from his cup... grumpily.]

I was trying to bond with you or something! You don't exactly make it easy, you know.

[pruning]

[bY TELLING HIM TO LICK A CHAIR]

Why don't you ask, instead of pretending your only interest is in these asinine games?

[dtective]

Every time I try to ask questions, I make everything worse!

[That just sort of blurts out. But... it feels forced! Not that games like this aren't. He wants an easy route to turning things naturally back to where they had been before. So that maybe they could have gone into weird hand holding then, and moved on without as much arguing or chasing or worries.

He sighs and drinks more from his cup.]

[pruning]

[Ah... well now he's looking down at his drink instead of at Leon. Hmm. That's...]

You ask odd questions, sometimes.

[That's all he's got... He'd like them to be closer, he thinks. No, he would, of course he would, but opening up is so impossible so much of the time.]

I have not been very cooperative, besides... [ssssip]

[dtective]

...I know. With all of the crap that's going on, how could I ask normal questions?

[He's odd, sure... And D's not cooperative all the time, but Leon falls silent at that. At least for a minute, he does. He leans forward, setting the cup down and tracing his finger around the rim with a sigh.]

I don't know what I'm thinking anymore. It feels like you're driving me crazy. I'm not mad or anything, I just... [Another sigh.] I don't know, D. Everything's changed since I met you.

[How's this for asking questions, spilling his guts out again... Hand holding is nice, the little things are nice, but between language learning and being useless, he can't take another thing not solving itself sooner.]

[pruning]

[Yes, most of that isn't questions, that's fine... He supposes that's fine. Once again, however, he finds himself unable to think of what he should say. It's not like he doesn't understand this feeling - he does and that makes it even harder to say something. If they could handle themselves like adults, without playing games or resisting each other at every turn, perhaps—

Well, perhaps they would still be in LA, for a start. The shop itself has stayed the same, but that's the only thing. And even now, he wants to withdraw away from this, keep it all at arm's length and his feelings to only himself. It would be easier, in the end.]

Selfishly, I left you behind. And now selfishly again, I would like to understand.

[Hmm... that works.]

I told you it was a comfort to have you near. [He says, TO THE WALL] Do you not feel the same?

[dtective]

...I do feel the same.

[He looks over at D at this. Maybe, again, he should do and say whatever the hell he wants and stop worrying about it. Maybe that's what he's been telling D to do all along and he should just do the same.]

But it feels like it's more than that. A comfort sounds like a luxury. But when you left, I didn't know what to do. Nothing mattered but finding the answers around you and catching up to you. They said it was out of my jurisdiction, and I just...

[More heavy feelings... why this. He puts a hand up to his head.] I left my job, D.

[That doesn't sound like normal comfort, does it?]

[pruning]

[No, it sounds a little crazy, but who is he to judge at this point. It's all he can do to stare back at Leon, blinking himself out of it long enough to lean forward and put his own drink on the table as well.]

You left much more than that. [Might as well get that out there. He's... guilty? He didn't feel that before, but this is more heartfelt than Leon just yelling at him, so here they are.] Your home, Chris...

[All for him. To hand him that picture? And whatever this is - staying.]

I am sorry if this hasn't lived up to your expectations.

[no.... this isn't feelings at all... damn it D]

[dtective]

...I don't know if I even had any expectations.

[D won't look at him too much, it seems, and so Leon takes advantage of that to watch him for a while. He thinks he's realizing now, after multiple incidents here and all of the words from his co-workers back in LA, how important D is to him. It's not like he's family necessarily, because that more feels like something he separated himself from long ago. Other than Chris, who he of course misses. This is...]

It didn't matter as long as I caught up with you. I'd figure out the rest. [He looks away now, sinking further into the couch.]

Now I just keep getting caught in these stupid thoughts. I want to touch you and make sure you're still there. ...Things like that. [He's ashamed of all of this, but at the same time, he's so tired.]