hardlydead | (( get them drunk on rose water ))

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(( get them drunk on rose water ))

[ crotus prenn is pretty low on the list of places david opts to go exploring or scavenging, not because of anything to do with the place itself, but its inhabitants are both... territorial. and they both give him the wig in massively different ways. unfortunately it's a great place for gathering a ton of different supplies — medical mostly, but who knows what you'll find if you're willing to root around the carnival — and after returning from a few trips out without much to show for it, david feels like he should give it a proper try. ]

[ it's miserable out here, always is. the chapel smells of burned wood even from a distance and the air is cold and damp and yet somehow stale. david shoves his hands in his jacket pockets with a frown — one part thought, one part deep displeasure at being here, but if they run across a killer he'd rather take his chances with the clown than the nurse. so. chapelside of the realm it is. ]

[ billy's fast and not one to take stupid risks too. it's not why david brought him along, but it's a good bit of security if they get caught out. toss his bag billy's way to make sure the stuff gets back to camp and david'll keep the killer occupied. different stakes, but still more or less the same as in trials. ]

God, I fuckin' hate this place. [ he clicks his flashlight on and off like he doesn't already know it works fine and glances billy's way. ] Start with the church, yeah? Probably not much there if anything, but who knows.

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[ david takes the bottle with a nod of thanks, lifts it to his lips and pauses at the question. he'd laugh if he had a sense of humour left in there, but it's taking everything he's got right now to act semi-lucid still. ]

Calvary? [ he gives billy a confused look for his trouble ] Claudette's not gonna make me tip back some nasty herb drink is she?

You’re off the hook until you get back to camp.

[ Billy disagrees, but Claudette didn’t give him a rundown of what to do, and she seemed to think David’s request wasn’t insane. That, or she thought he was going to die and figured his last request should be filled. So: ]

Jeff’s coming. Come on. Let me help you to a pew.

[ The least he can do is get David off the ground, so once again he reaches for David’s arm and goes to heave him upward. ]

[ jeff? david's eyes brighten at his name, relief as much as anything, and it distracts him enough to make david forget why exactly he's been shrugging off billy's touches this whole time. he takes the offer to help him up, clasping billy's arm for stability, billy's grip on his own in turn is secure. warm. sets his skin tingling and before he's even aware of the sensation david-- ]

[ moans. ]

[ it's a quiet, shaky noise. the kind that could easily be taken as pain or discomfort or a million things other than what it is, if not for the way david's eye's widen and he hastily relinquishes his hold on billy's arm to shove him away. ends up falling back on his ass with a grunt of pain but it's preferable to whatever the fuck that was. ]

It's, uh-- [ shit fuck shit fuck shit-- ] S'fine. I'll move myself.

[ Okay, listen. He might only admit it while bleeding out or— trapped in a room with David set on dying for him, but Billy cares about David. Otherwise he wouldn't be here, he'd be pursuing something more hedonistic or antagonistic or just feeling sorry for his dead self all by his lonesome. Billy cares about David. He does.

So, when David groans in pain (?) and shoves him away, Billy stalls, expression pinched and tight and a little angry. He's trying to help. ]

Christ man, what's your problem? [ Did Billy hurt him? He's trying to be gentle. ] You can't even walk. Let me help you.

I can walk. [ he just doesn't particularly want to move, he's already like 1000 degrees, doing anything he doesn't have to right now sounds like hell. ]

[ but, as if to make a point, david pushes himself back up with a grunt. slow to get to his feet, but he manages, if shakily. swaying a little when he stands, but he puts a hand up to stop billy. ]

Just can't-- [ hm. ] Don't touch me.

Okay, okay. [ Billy sounds exasperated, but he doesn't reach for David again. Maybe Jeff can do a better job at making David move his dying body somewhere else. Which is annoying. What can Jeff do that Billy can't?

He almost sits, but opts instead to stand, cross his arms, and watch David. Until he realizes he still has a couple of crumpled cigarettes in his pocket, and pulls one out so his hands will have something to do while he waits for David to die or Jeff to arrive. Whatever comes first.

He's not an animal though. He offers one to David. ]

[ due to a lack of conveyed urgency on billy's part (and frankly a lack of detail), jeff doesn't exactly take his time, but he's in no immediate rush to get to the asylum. from what he can tell, david is fine - a little sluggish at his best guess, from whatever he inhaled, but relatively okay otherwise. just in need of an extra shoulder to lean on back to camp, probably preferably belonging to someone david knows won't mention any of this after they get back.

but he makes good time, despite being left partially in the dark. billy mentioned the church, so that's where he heads, keeping and eye and an ear out for any unsavory characters. sally he can mostly handle, but that clown bastard sparks instant aggression in him for whatever reason. jeff follows the smell of old burning wood, slips into the church through an open archway, and reaches for the flashlight in his back pocket. it's not that dark, but it doesn't hurt to have it ready.

the faint smell of stale tobacco meets him before the sight of billy or david, but it doesn't take him very long to find them either. billy looking a little more frazzled than jeff would have guessed (he was expecting annoyance over anything else), and david—

david looks like he's battling something. a little pink in the face, down the column of his throat, and covered in sweat. he looks like he's just run a killer around for ten minutes and then some, but there are no signs of the clown or the nurse. no blood, as far as he can tell, and aside from the mildly spooked expression, billy seems unscathed. the difference between them is a little alarming.

immediately, jeff moves forward, brushes past billy with a quick pat-squeeze to his bicep (strangely similar to the same way david does sometimes), pushes the medkit he brought with him into his hands. david's jacket is on the floor, jeff notes, as he steps over it to get to david. he shoves his flashlight back into his back pocket, reaches for david and then just kind of. stops, hands hovering near him but not touching him. ]

Hey. [ quiet, direct, maybe with a little unexpected softness as his brows pinch together slightly. ] You okay? Heard you got into some shit.

[ he glances back at billy over his shoulder, eyes narrowed just slightly. not accusatory, just - questioning. ]

How long's he been burning up?

[ david's just barely taken the offered cigarette with a quiet, gruff 'thanks' when his eyes flick up at footsteps in the building and he turns to look at-- ]

[ jeff. god. what a fucking relief. david watches him move through the room, eyes bright and more focused than he's been on anything so far. he looks good, has he always looked that good? probably. the stress of the situation almost visibly eases out of him as he watches the other man approach. (honestly he's more or less forgotten billy's even there.) at the same time though, david feels like he's heating up all over again, feels sweat trickle down the back of his neck and it sends a shiver up his spine in response. ]

[ he's too focused on jeff to think much of it though, a frown on his face when jeff reaches for him and doesn't touch him, barely even hearing the words coming out of his mouth, his gaze falls to jeff's hands. stares at them like he can will them to move just by thinking at them enough — just touch him. please. he's been aching for it since he uncorked that stupid bottle. ]

[ and now jeff isn't paying attention to him? david's tongue flicks out to wet his lips while he thinks, or tries to. he doesn't really get far with that before he's reaching out, one hand to jeff's neck and the other in the front of his shirt to pull him in aggressively for a kiss. ]

[ Billy really doesn't hate Jeff. Honest. The 'being a friend of David's' pushed him into higher esteem than a handful of the other poor souls in the fog, because it's probably increasingly apparent that Billy doesn't like — men. Well, older men. He can shoot the shit with, impress, shmooze, and bite and bark at his peers no problem. Older women too, he can turn on a wide smooth grin; but, men, he turns surly toward.

David has weaseled in, and because of that he's important. Jeff is— a maybe. Billy doesn't shrug off the grip on his arm, but he doesn't melt in relief at the sight of him. Billy's far past thinking someone can waltz in and solve all of his problems.

David though is keyed into Jeff. Eyes on Jeff the moment he walks in. Billy isn't even sure if he hears them talking, he's so fucked up. Time to see what Jeffcan do to help. ]

He's been like this since a little before I mailed you. [ Listen. It's called texting. Feel free to remind him. ] The bottle is over —

[ And that's about when David flings himself at Jeff, and Billy jerks forward too, because who's to say David's eyes aren't going to roll up to face his cranium before he starts groaning like one of that zombie's smaller zombie puppets?

He's nearly convinced for a moment, before he has a front-row seat to David's hand on Jeff's neck, tugging him close to glue himself to his mouth. It's aggressive, there's a lot of mouth, a lot of tongue, a lot of noise, and Billy's no prude, but they're both men and Jeff has a beard, and— Well, something's very wrong.

He acts on instinct, hands gripping each of their shoulders to attempt wrenching them apart. What? ] What? Jesus, get off him!

[ so david's been sweating out an entire swimming pool for at least twenty minutes, if not longer. seems, to jeff, like an important thing to mention - he would have gotten here sooner, shot claudette or lisa a text on the way to try and get a better idea of how to help - but it's not worth chiding billy over. jeff's seen david in far worse conditions, so while there is concern, it's relatively mild.

jeff's eyes shift, already looking for the aforementioned bottle before billy even gestures. orange, right? maybe one of them should grab it - safely - and bring it back to camp so someone with a little more knowledge can figure out what it is and how to combat it, or at the very least, find somewhere to dump it out where no one else can get into it by accident. before he can find it, though—

—there are hands on him. one on his neck, firm and warm, and the other fisted in the front of his shirt and jeff's first thought is that david's going down - billy mentioned he was having trouble standing. instinctively, jeff's hands find david's torso, palms splayed around his rib cage and ready to catch him, brace his weight. he's speaking before he's even turned his head. ]

Easy—

[ but whatever he'd been about to say is immediately cut off and tucked away into david's mouth almost the second he turns to look at him, the hand at the back of his neck pulling him in with almost no effort.

it's... easy, to get caught up. it's david, and jeff's maybe a little more gone on him than he'd readily admit. he makes a soft sound in the back of his throat, just a single low note that sounds more caught off guard than anything else, his fingers flexing against david's ribs. it takes a only a second or two for his brain to catch up, to remember that - they are not alone and that this is unlike david (and himself) to be so openly... affectionate with other people around, and just as billy grips his shoulder, jeff pulls back. pushes gently but a little urgently at david's ribs to try and get a little bit separation, but doesn't take his hands off of him. ]

Uhh.

[ jeff clears his throat, absently swipes his tongue over his lower lip as he looks at david, brows pinching and then lifting. what is going on here. what is going. on. ]

[ if david was in his right mind even a little, he'd be mortified. for a ton of reasons. he's been relatively clear with jeff that this isn't something he's ready for people to know about him, and neither of them particularly want people knowing their business anyway. billy's also... not exactly high on the list of people he'd opt to tell with the vibes he gets off him sometimes. ]

[ so maybe it's a good thing that right now all he can think about is that desperate need to be as close to jeff as physically possible. he makes a noise of frustration at billy's attempt to pull them apart, but his mind zeroes in on jeff's hands on his torso. with his stupid, damp shirt it should be uncomfortable, but the warmth of jeff's hands is familiar and pleasant, sets a now-familiar tingle buzzing under his skin and david groans as he tries to get up close again. ]

Jeff-- [ pupils blown wide and slightly breathless, david stares up at him, lets the hand he has balled up in his shirt go lax but the other stays hooked around jeff's neck. ] Jeff, c'mon.

[ David doesn't even seem to even notice him, content instead to drag his hands along Jeff and groan for more and Billy's brain is about to pop. Jeff isn't any help either.

Listen, it doesn't make any fucking sense.

So: ] Did the— [ He's looking at Jeff now. ] Did the bottle make him queer.

[ jeff goes from shifting his eyes back and forth between david's, trying to suss out what's going on, to whipping his head to the side to look at billy like he's just said the stupidest thing he's ever heard. it's not the stupidest, but it's definitely up there. his brows pinch together harshly. ]

What? [ jesus christ. jeff shakes his head twice. ] No. That's not how—

[ you know what? he's not about to explain how sexuality works right now, but - billy does kind of have a point about the bottle. not that it has anything to do with david's attraction to jeff or - other men, but that it's definitely responsible for david's unusual behavior. not that the source was ever in question, but it does make jeff think about it a little more.

he looks back at david, can feel the heat of his palm on the back of his neck and the way his ribs expand and contract under his hands in a way that's slightly unsteady. is it — is it a fucking aphrodisiac? is the clown out here making— ]

Jesus Christ. Okay. [ it's quiet, said mostly to himself. okay. that's a horrifying thought.

truthfully, this is more than jeff was prepared for. well, no, that's not true. if it was just himself and david, he could probably... handle this. take care of it, so to speak. but as it is, david's showing a side of himself that jeff knows he prefers to keep private, and there's not much to be done here that wouldn't traumatize billy completely, and/or that david wouldn't fucking hate himself for later.

he could send billy back to camp, but jeff's not about to send him off on his own across clown and nurse territory like bait. his hands flex against david's ribs, slide down an inch or two, closer to his waist. jeff looks at billy again. ] ... It's an aphrodisiac.

[ Billy isn’t completely unaware of how sexuality works, but he is completely and utterly unaware about proper and polite ways to talk about it. And listen—he never would have pegged David for a queer. David is… well. David, in some ways, reminds Billy of his old man. Sometimes. The way he carries himself. A man of few words. Billy just assumed…

Well, and they’ve also had a number of casual conversations about fucking women. ]

What? No, he's—

[ And— well, things seem to start to come together. The dilation in David's eyes, the sweating, the way he groaned, no, moaned. And that makes Billy stiffen, face a little red now from adrenaline and embarrassment and... well... not revulsion, per se. There are a lot of warring thoughts going on inside Billy. ]

And you're... going to do something about it?

[ something has to be done. what that something is, exactly, jeff has yet to figure out. there are a couple obvious answers, but most if not all of them are probably better executed without someone else around. especially without billy.

jeff could haul david back to camp like he originally intended to before he had all the details, but what would that accomplish other than pulling a bigger audience? david would hate that, in the aftermath, and truthfully, jeff would too, for different reasons.

moving one of his hands from david's waist up to the side of his neck, jeff looks away from him for a moment and digs his phone out of his pocket. when he speaks, it's directed toward billy, even if he isn't looking at him. ]

I'm just - gonna stay here with him until this shit wears off. [ he's tapping something out with his thumb, probably a text. he's oddly quick about it. ] You should head back. Take my flashlight. Jane'll meet you halfway.

[ not that he thinks billy needs an escort, but it's always better to travel through the woods with a partner, at least in jeff's experience, and he already doesn't feel great about shooing billy out. and out of everyone, jane's probably the last person he has to worry about... hearing what's happened here. she and david are close.

jeff pockets his phone, tugs his flashlight out of his back pocket, and mimes tossing it to billy just so he's ready to catch it. ]

[ david is a little mollified by jeff's hands on him, less aggressive for the moment, but he still makes his attempts to get close. presses himself up against jeff once he's not actively being pushed anymore and tilts his head to press his lips to the hollow of jeff's throat, another just under the edge of his jaw. takes a deep, shaky breath-- fuck, jeff smells good. ]

[ he murmurs something to that effect where his face his pressed against the side of jeff's neck, low and gravelly, the hand that was on jeff's chest now falling to his waist. insistent as he uses that hand to hold himself close, but not forceful. and if jeff can feel that david's at least half hard this close up, don't worry about it. ]

I don't need—

[ Ok, what's worse? The strange world-shattering realization that the closest approximation you have for a healthy male figure is queer and never told you? Or his fucking boyfriend thinking you need a babysitter? ]

Jesus Christ, I don't need to be fucking met halfway.

[ He does catch the flashlight, thank you very much, and he looks ready to continue arguing until David fucking— nuzzles forward. Billy's expression pales, and he backs up, both from the sheer unreality of it all and plain discomfort. Is David the gi— ]

Fucking whatever. Don't— die. Don't— [ Billy stammers until he just quits talking and high tails it out of there. It's good he's so good at planting his feet, because otherwise he might have tripped slowly going through the broken window. But hey, at least he didn't leave in a bigoted tirade! But, he does not plan to go toward the campfire. He'd like to be by himself.

That was— a lot. ]

[ well, this could have gone... better. also could have gone a lot worse, but there'll be plenty of time later for jeff to feel mildly anxious and slightly uncomfortable about billy having witnessed david in a vulnerable state. jeff doesn't know the kid even half as well as david very obviously does, but he does know that billy has a little bit of a tendency to be an asshole, intentional or not. talks a lot of shit, especially when he feels threatened, which jeff doesn't really fault him for, but —

this is probably a lot. jeff just hopes he keeps his mouth shut, at least until this whole thing can be properly addressed.

for now, though, jeff waits until billy's footsteps are distant and tapering before he shifts his attention to david. the hand on the side of his neck shifted around to the back of it at some point, probably when david was leaning and pressing in to be... affectionate, and jeff squeezes lightly, almost as if in acknowledgement. he looks down at the side of david's face, inhales. shifts his gaze out toward the chapel, the damaged pews, the tattered tapestries. jeff's never properly been to church a day in his life. if it wasn't for the fact that he's witnessed many people get slaughtered right here in the middle of the chapel, he'd maybe feel a little guilty— ]

Hey. [ he looks down at david again, smooths a rough thumb behind his ear. his voice is low, quiet, and he braces his other hand against david's ribs, applying gentle pressure in a slow attempt to try and walk him backwards. ] C'mon. You wanna sit down...?

[ billy leaves and he takes the last vestiges of david's self-restraint with him — it might not seem like he's been holding himself back since jeff arrived, but the way his fingers immediately tuck under jeff's waistband when there's no more sound of receding footsteps could hint at how much he's been fighting this. now it's just the two of them... he can't think of a single reason why he wouldn't fully give in to this. ]

[ the way jeff squeezes the back of his neck gets a quiet, shaky breath from him, just on the edge of a moan. jeff clearly doesn't feel the urgency that david does-- he tugs at jeff's waistband, frustrated as if he doesn't understand why he's even still dressed. but they're moving now? that's progress, right? david goes easily in whatever direction he's pushed, assuming it means that jeff will finally give him what he needs. ]

[ at this point he'll do just about anything for it, and when jeff's question finally filters through about five layers of horny incoherence, david nods. murmurs jeff's name insistently again, but he doesn't follow it up, uncertain about how exactly to express his wants and needs in this moment beyond the way he's practically pawing at jeff, desperate for something-- anything more than what he's been getting so far. ]

[ -- jeff said something about sitting, right? david lifts his head, just enough to glance back over his shoulder and see they're moving towards a pew, which is... good? he thinks? but david also has his own thoughts on how all this should go and hastily puts the hand not on jeff's pants on his side. instead of jeff gently walking them back, david insistently shoves jeff toward a seat so he can clamber into his lap once he's sat down. ]

Edited (inspiration struck me ok) 2023-08-09 05:39 (UTC)

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(( get them drunk on rose water ))

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