"Yeah, well, you didn't seem to like her very much the other day. You can yell at me all you want, but Maggy is still sweet and expects people to be her friends, and I don't want you breaking her."
Sorin found himself even more agitated when Gideon pulled out his book and went about ignoring him all together. There was a tight anxiousness in his chest that only seemed to build, and his strumming fingers picked up their pace.
"We'll have quiet time later," Sorin snapped. "First we're going to break this tension even if I have to get creative about it."
After his impetuous, impassioned words, Sorin sort of stalled out. The way he figured it, they could start throwing punches, fuck against the wall, or laugh at each other. He valued his ability to blend into groups and break tensions, but there was something about the two of them that refused to let it happen. Deciding submission was always a viable option, he stood.
"I'm changing into something more comfortable. I feel constricted." He summoned clothing from the bedroom so neither of them would have to move, and then unabashedly stripped off his robe and shirt. He wasn't the least uncomfortable with his body, of course, but he recognized changing while another stayed totally clothed as an act of vulnerability. As he reached for his belt, he said, "You don't have to watch unless you want to."
He neither hurried nor teased as he lowered his zip and stepped from the dress pants. As he donned the tee shirt and jeans, he moved with the same efficiency. And when he was finished, he felt strangely better in his breathable clothing and with the act of submission out of the way. The nasty coiling in his chest had eased.
"I feel better," he finally said. "Maybe you should try it."