Who: Marsh & Sage Where: The vet clinic, Seaview When: Monday night 6/18 Warning: Just mentions of shady things
Sage woke late Monday morning with the overwhelming urge to get into trouble. It was the weirdest feeling, one that first manifested with him drinking a two cups of coffee and having cupcakes for breakfast, though by that time it probably should have been lunch. He drummed on the kitchen counter as his mother bitched about his poor nutrition, rolling his eyes and not even bothering to hide it. It felt good and that was what mattered at the moment. He’d gone so long without feeling good and his night out with Jasper had been just a little taste of what he’d been missing out on. Today felt like a good day to indulge. By two o’clock, he’d had two more sodas and he was bouncing off the walls, playing his drums and effectively making so much noise that his mother shoo’d him out of the house. That was fine. He went for a drive, radio blaring, and wondered if there was an easy way to track down his dealer. It would be nice to get high again, but he’d lost the number when he’d lost his phone. Stupid, fucking fog. He could always text Jasper, see if he wanted to hangout, but it felt too soon. Besides, he could buy himself beer just fine. With a six-pack in his possession, he headed back home to laze around on his bed and play video games.
It was easy to get drunk when all he’d had to eat all day was a couple cupcakes and way too much caffeine. And a dinner of meatloaf wasn’t tempting in the least. Fast food sounded far better, but driving was clearly out of the question, so he set out on foot. He realized his mistake as soon as the sun set and he found himself alone in the darkness of Point Pleasant for the first time since his return home. Sage told himself he could handle this, that there was nothing to be afraid of, but it’d been a struggle even when he was sober. It felt like the shadows were reaching for him, trying to pull him into their black, velvet nothingness, and escape seemed impossible. He was too far from home. He darted into a convenience store, bought himself another six pack of beer and a pack of cigarettes, and decided that between the two he could make it home.
It was a bad idea. Food would have been better. Anything would have been better, but instead he found himself even more drunk, wishing for the high he’d had the other night, unable to find it at the bottom of a bottle. He stood cowering under a streetlight for five minutes, unable to decide what to do, when he spotted the animal clinic. It might have something to take the edge off. And it was closed. No one should be there. Sage crept around to the back door and was surprised to find it open, but didn’t question it. Maybe tonight he was going to get lucky. He held his breath as he tip-toed through the clinic, opening one cabinet and then another. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but thought he’d know it when he found it.
Marsh had now seen first hand how weird some people were acting today. There had been a lot of drunk people out and about for an average Monday afternoon and someone had voiced some concerns that there was 'something in the water again'. Then his dad had called him, worried because his mother had locked herself in the bedroom so that he'd stop interrupting her reading. That in itself might not be too weird but she'd refused to go to work. Whatever the hell was going on, Marsh was just glad he wasn't affected and that those closest to him weren't badly off. Reading had never killed anyone - unless his mother refused to come out for days but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.
It wasn't anything he could help with so he'd spent the day finishing up the clinic, cleaning up whatever was left of boxes and styrofoam and scrubbing down the floors and counters. He was definitely hiring someone for that particular task in the future and he needed to start going through the applications for assistants soon. That was something he could do at home so after a couple of hours at his dad's for dinner he swung by the clinic to pick up the files. Just as he was about to leave again he realized he hadn't set the alarm or checked the windows or the back door. He was already in the car and he thudded his head against the headrest in mild annoyance before he pulled the key out of the ignition. This was why he needed assistants, he was usually a perfectionist but only about select things and he could not afford to be slack now that he'd actually gotten medicine in the clinic.
He didn't love being out and about after dark in Point Pleasant, funny how it was somehow scarier than Africa, so he made a beeline for the door and headed inside, hitting the lights to read the instructions for his new alarm system.
Sage had just found a jar of—of something when the lights clicked on, startling him, and before he could blink the jar was out of his hands, crashing against the floor. It was plastic, so it didn’t break, but the noise it made was almost worse. Sage scrambled to find some place to hide and wedged himself under the counter before closing his eyes. He began to count to five, hoping that by then he’d be invisible, but what if he wasn’t? What if he got caught? His heart was beating so fast that he was sure that alone was going to give him away, that whomever was there would hear it and find him. And the worst part was that he couldn’t watch. The second he opened his eyes, he’d surely give himself away. It was almost worst not to see, to just have to listen to whoever was out there and hope they didn’t catch him.
Marsh froze in the doorway at the clanking sound and for a second that felt like a minute, he wanted to get the hell out of there, visions of all the horrors he knew about bombarding his brain before he managed to push it away to focus. "Is someone in here?" he asked and barely got the words out when a familiar taste filled his mouth in a way that almost made him feel heady. This one he could name and it actually helped to know that whoever - or whatever - was in here was afraid. Human for sure, and terrified. "You're not in trouble, I'm too tired to deal with cops right now" he said hesitantly as he walked a bit further inside. There was something familiar about the taste but he wasn't quite putting a finger on what it was, straining to connect the dots in his head. "But I'm setting an alarm in a second and it'll suck to be in here if it goes off."
Sage pressed his hand over his mouth, as if to reinforce his own silence. He made himself as small as he could, knees pressed to his chest, and sat as still as possible. The only sound was his breathing, though he had the feeling he was trembling. WIth his eyes closed, it reminded him of hiding in the other place, hoping nothing would see him or hear him, and while the threat wasn’t the same, the fear of being caught remained strong. He could not handle being handed over to the cops—they knew him, had records on him, and would love to have something to actually charge him for. As much as he wanted to trust that voice, it wasn’t enough to give himself up. If he stayed invisible, maybe he wouldn’t find him. Being locked inside would be a problem, but one he could solve at a later time.
Marsh stopped where he stood and closed his eyes for a moment, listening as much as tasting. It was getting more overwhelming so obviously his words didn't help. It was probably just some junkie looking for ketamine, that was the main reason for the alarm after all. A desperate and broke cat owner looking for antibiotics seemed a lot less likely but people could be crazy. He couldn't hear anyone but in a sense he roughly knew where the intruder was in the room and that wasn't something he trusted fully nor understood. The taste changed in its intensity and suddenly he was reminded of a man in Limpopo and a certain man at a recent Overlook fundraiser. He couldn't be a hundred percent sure but he was almost certain that whoever was in here was indeed his future music teacher. That complicated things - or made them simpler - he wasn't really sure because he had no idea what his motives were but he strolled a little closer to the table and peeked underneath it, not seeing anyone where he was so sure there was a terrified person. "Sage?" he said after a moment of hesitation. This wasn't a video game where he could try again if one approach failed and he had a miserable image of himself getting gunned down in his own clinic because he didn't know to leave it well enough alone.
Hearing his name was jarring enough that Sage opened his eyes and knew the moment he did so how very screwed he was. The voice had seemed familiar, but he hadn’t been able to place it mid-panic. Now he found himself not two feet from Marsh, who could see him just fine, and he had no good explanation for what he was doing hiding under the counter in the back room of his clinic. “I can explain,” he whispered, his voice slurring slightly. His tongue felt heavy, but it was the least of his worries at the moment. “I was out there, and I needed—I needed to get out of the dark. And the door was open. And I— I dunno. Please, please don’t call the cops. They don’t like me. They really don’ like me, and I can’t—I can’t handle them right now.” He knew how pitiful he sounded, but he prayed that Marsh would give him a break, just this once. If not, maybe he could run. He’d always been good at running.
Marsh wasn't sure why he reacted so slowly because one moment there was nobody there and the next, the moment he said his name, Sage was sitting there plain as day and looking awful. His body wanted to leap back but he just stood very still and stared at the man, wondering if he'd somehow summoned him. But Sage was speaking and Marsh was barely hearing him over the loud heartbeat thundering in his ears and the thoughts racing through his mind. He'd gone a bit wide eyed, and possibly paler than normal though it was probably hard to tell with his tan, and his feet seemed rooted to the spot. Sage wasn't exactly threatening, but he'd just appeared out of thin air like a goddamn ghost. Some of the words filtered through and he nodded before swallowing thickly. "How'd you-" he started, wide eyes slowly narrowing in confusion. "You just- you just appeared."
Sage finally looked at Marsh, really looked at him instead of just staring at his feet, and realized how weird it would be to have someone appear out of thin air. He’d probably freak out if it were him, but Marsh seemed calm, even if a little bewildered. “Yeah,” he said slowly. “It’s something that—that I can do now. Disappear. And reappear.” But only when his eyes were closed, except when he was getting laid, which made zero sense to him so far. He could essentially hide in plain sight, something he’d been managing until Marsh had said his name. “How’d you know it was me?” he asked, rubbing a hand over his face as he looked up at Marsh. He hadn’t planned this, hadn’t even realized this was Marsh’s clinic, so why was his name the one Marsh had dropped?
Marsh's mouth snapped shut when he realized he'd showed his hand without meaning to because yes, how had he known it was Sage? He hadn't, not really, but there was no logical explanation for why he would guess it was him. He took a moment, slowly shifting his position from bending down to actually crouching. "That's something I can do now," he said reluctantly, copying Sage's own words. Now that he was calming down he realized this whole scenario - invisibility aside - was uncomfortably reminiscent of a porn he'd just watched; a hot young guy breaks into another guy's place and gets punished for it in sexy sexy ways. Blood rushed back into his face and the sudden feeling of going from cold to hot was a little jarring. At least it was probably also hard to tell. He tried to puzzle together whatever Sage had been saying, but he'd barely heard it so he felt just as clueless. Something about getting out of the dark? "So you don't normally break into places when you're not teaching music?" He smiled faintly. "You're not here to steal my... -Shit, there's not much here to steal yet." He glanced around. He hadn't brought in the computers yet, most of the expensive equipment was due tomorrow and he definitely had no money in there. That just left the controlled substances that were tightly locked away. "You wanna come out from under that table?"
A little laugh bubbled up at Marsh’s answer and Sage was tempted to ask what had triggered the ability. Had he been sucked through a portal to another world? Or was it just his return to Point Pleasant? That in itself could be a trip for some people. He wanted to know more, but he knew Marsh didn’t owe him that, plus he wasn’t sure he wanted to answer questions about what he could do and it could easily turn into a tit-for-tat. “No, I wasn’t going to steal your—” Sage picked up the container he’d dropped and read the label with a snort. “Stool softeners.” He’d been looking for ketamine, but he decided not to say so. It wasn’t something he’d done before and he couldn’t even explain where the impulse had come from. He’d wanted a high, he’d needed out of the dark, and he’d thought he could hit two birds with one stone. “You really won’t call the cops?” he asked as he slowly climbed out from his hiding place. He felt foolish now, but still jittery with the reckless energy that had brought him there to begin with. He was sure there would be repercussions, there always were, but not knowing what they were made his mind go wild. “I’ll… I’ll make it up to you.”
Marsh straightened up and gave the container a worried look. So he had meant to steal... something? To be fair, he looked very fucked up and this day was something else. "You needed a stool softener?" he asked with a concerned but amused little smile as he took it from Sage and tried very hard to ignore the way he offered to make it up to him. It wasn't the first time he had those feelings overwhelm him, the ones that told him that if he didn't have a moral compass firmly embedded in his brain, he could be such a bad person. He could make Sage make it up to him alright, he could punish him for breaking and entering, he could use the cops against him. Hell, he could probably easily overpower him. These were all fantasies and he could too easily imagine those pretty green eyes when they got red rimmed and hazy. It didn't help, at all, that silky flavor that came from Sage's still heightened worry. It was always such a strange feeling to care about someone's well being while also wanting to hurt them and Marsh swallowed down the unwanted feelings and tried to focus on who he really was. "You can give me a discount on that first music lesson," he said, wiggling the small container. "You'd probably get something a lot more effective than this at the pharmacy."
“No,” Sage laughed, unable to help himself. “They don’t have what I want at the pharmacy” It was a serious situation. He’d been caught breaking and entering—or was it just entering if he didn’t break something to get there? But the thought of going through all that trouble for stool softener meant for dogs was just insane and he was far too drunk to keep a straight face. His brain told him that he should still be scared, that there were serious repercussions to what he’d done, but that little hint of a smile from Marsh sent Sage in the other direction, pushing the line that he’d been walking all day. “A discount,” he muttered, and let his eyes drop to take Marsh in from head to toe. The man really was delectable. A perfect specimen from head to toe, as far as he could tell. Sage was willing to bet his cock was perfect as well. The thought stuck in his head and he licked his lips, unable to clear it. “I’d teach you for free.”
The change was unmistakable and would have been even if the flavor in Marsh's mouth hadn't changed to go along with it. It was insanely tempting to just push the boy to his knees and pull his cock out, let that fantasy spring to life and take what he wanted. "I might take you up on that," he said instead, ignoring the growing pressure of his jeans and the way his body completely disagreed with his decision to not take advantage of a guy who was clearly wasted and desperate. "Sit down," he said and gestured to a chair he'd placed by the wall, glad he had at least some furniture in there by now. Amused by the way Sage did what he was told only after staring at him with what looked like suspicion, he headed to the cabinets to put the medicine away and start the water, grabbing a paper cup to fill up. "Some day huh?" he murmured as he returned and handed Sage the cup. "Got you all riled up? Drink this."
There was a moment when Sage thought he might get what he wanted, and the thought alone caused his cock to stir, but then Marsh directed him to sit and Sage felt the moment pass. What Marsh might take him up on was unclear, but Sage hoped it was more than just free lessons. He stared at Marsh with narrowed eyes, then did what he was told and took a seat, but only because he told himself the consequences were too great. Marsh could still call the cops on him. He began to pout as Marsh poured him a cup of water, feeling a bit like a petulant child. “Seriously?” he asked, looking down at the water. He didn’t know why he was being so difficult about it. Finally, he took a sip. “It’s been a weird day,” he frowned. “Just been really… restless.”
"People all over town are freaking out, so I'll give you a pass on the entering without permission," Marsh told him gently and that was all it was since there technically hadn't been any 'breaking' with how he'd forgotten to lock everything. "And we'll talk about the free lesson when you're sober," he added with a little smirk. "You might have changed your mind by then. Finish your water." Bossing Sage around felt pretty natural, he needed direction right now and Marsh had something over him that he was desperately not trying to abuse so forcefully helping him would have to replace those annoying urges. "You said you needed to get out of the dark, do you need a ride home?"
Had people been freaking out all over town? Sage hadn’t noticed, but then he’d been drunk for at least half the day. It didn’t seem like the kind of chaos he was familiar with, but these days it took more to rattle him. The bar for weird had been set so fucking high… “Doubt it,” he murmured, pretty sure his offer would still stand, but maybe that was the booze talking. Sage sipped his water, first one little sip, then in gulps, suddenly realizing how thirsty he was. And hungry. That had been the whole reason he’d gone out in the first place. He wanted to be annoyed at being ordered to drink, but it was hard to protest after he emptied the cup. “Do you mind?” he asked, surprised at the offer. Taking him up on it was a blow to his pride, but it was better than having to walk home in the dark.
"I don't mind," Marsh replied and if nothing else, his ego was somewhat boosted by his ability to suppress his dark side. His dick very much disagreed with him but he'd never given into these urges before and he wasn't about to start now. He often wondered what he'd have ended up like if he hadn't grown up with good people around him, learned right from wrong or if he had no empathy. It was a terrifying thought and it always jolted him a little when he could sympathize with people who did bad things. That didn't mean he had to be like them. He would drive Sage home and not take advantage of him but that didn't mean he wouldn't fantasize about it later, about blackmailing him, about the taste of fear and apprehension, that wary look in those pretty eyes. "Have you eaten anything?" he asked because Sage really did look like he was the kind of messed up that would give him a nasty hangover in the morning.
No, but if you come a little closer, I’ll swallow you whole. Sage eyed Marsh as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. Eating. Eating food was the question. He blinked slowly, forcing himself to focus. “I had a couple cupcakes for breakfast,” he said. That was some time ago. Hours and hours. It hadn’t been early, but it had definitely been before noon. “I was thinking about a burger when I left the house, but… I never got there. So, no.” He smiled suddenly, slyly, and batted his lashes up at Marsh. The temptation to flirt was just too strong. “Why? You gonna buy me dinner?” He’d have never posed the question sober, would have never dared, not with a man he’d assumed to be straight, and certainly not one who had such a position of power over him, but for some reason he couldn’t help himself today.
'He wants you,' the dark part of Marsh's mind piped up. 'Can't rape the willing'. It was so tempting to give in, to flirt back, to push Sage up against the nearest wall and take out the sexual frustration that had been building since he came back to the States. Marsh took a deep breath and studied Sage's face. Two cupcakes for breakfast meant he'd just had a lot of booze - and maybe something else - on an empty stomach. That was the very definition of unable to consent and Marsh nodded. "I don't want to have to bring you to the hospital with alcohol poisoning," he said with a little grin. "I think buying you a burger might be a good way to avoid that." He was stronger than this and at least that gave him some pleasure he was otherwise depriving himself of by doing the right thing.
Sage huffed in distaste, his face scrunching up at the thought of having his stomach pumped. That wasn’t sexy at all. And was such a nice guy answer that Sage knew he needed to stop. He swallowed and finally gave a nod. “Okay,” he sighed. “But just so you know, I don’t put out till the third date.” It was like there was a disconnect between his brain and his mouth. He didn’t seem to know what was going to come out of it until he’d already said it aloud. Sage pulled himself to his feet, not at all surprised to find the room was spinning a little, and counted himself lucky that Marsh had found him. Otherwise, it might’ve been tomorrow morning, and wouldn’t that be a shock, to wake up on the floor of a veterinary clinic without even a pet to claim brought him there. “I can walk,” he said, both for Marsh’s own knowledge and as a boost of confidence to himself. He could do this. He could get to the car without making a fool of himself once more.
Marsh almost pointed out that he'd been ready to put out before a first date but he bit his tongue on that and smirked and nodded instead. He felt himself tense up and get ready to catch him when Sage got up, but he was right; he could walk. Sure, he swayed a lot as he did, but he stayed on his feet and that was all that mattered. It wasn't as much hassle to get out of there as Marsh had feared; Sage wasn't bouncing off the walls and doing that annoying back and forth thing a lot of drunk people ended up doing so it didn't take forever and a day to leave. Marsh was the one doing the back and forth, making sure the back door was locked, getting the lights inside, taking care of the alarm finally. When they got to the car he cleared the files off the front seat and ushered Sage inside before rounding the vehicle to get in as well. "Moxies?" he asked as he started the engine. The taste had faded from his mouth now, Sage's emotions were obviously no longer as heightened and that was a relief. He was still sure he'd recognize him by his anxiety alone and that little he could still taste on his tongue.
Getting from the chair to the door was much easier than getting from the door to the car, but Sage tried not to let it show. Inside it was bright and white and clean, everything that the fog world was not. It was easier to keep the fear at bay. But outside it was dark. Marsh was with him, which helped immensely, but Sage could still feel his heart pounding in his chest. He felt better when he was in the car with the doors locked and he slunk down in the passenger seat to watch Marsh start the car before he began to fiddle with the radio. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t his car. They needed music. “Sure,” Sage said with a small smile. He’d expected Marsh to drive through McDonald’s, but Moxie’s was far better. Like a real date, his brain supplied unhelpfully. As soon as he found a song he liked, Sage sat back, his fingers drumming on his knees. Sitting still was always hard, but it felt impossible at the moment.
Marsh didn't mind the radio, he was a radio station surfer when he was driving and didn't always have a set playlist he wanted to listen to. He was amused at how hyper Sage was, curious whether this was the norm or if it was just the antsy vibes of the day. "So what were you looking for?" he asked as he drove. He suspected it was the controlled substances that were locked away but Sage's little burglary trip had obviously not been planned. "You run out of drugs?" It wasn't accusatory, merely curious and he hoped he didn't have a full blown junkie on his hands. It could be hard to deal with people with addictions and he wasn't a fan. Everything about today was weird though, so it was very possible this was out of character for Sage. He hadn't seemed out of control in any way at the cocktail party, but he did have that rolling anxiety and sadness that tasted so sweet so it was possible.
Sage looked over at Marsh and he thought about lying, except he couldn’t think of something plausible that wasn’t the truth. He just didn’t like the way the truth sounded. It painted a picture of himself that he didn’t think was entirely accurate and he wasn’t sure he could expand enough on it for Marsh to get the big picture. Hell, he wasn’t sure what that even was these days. He just knew he wasn’t a junkie. “I wanted some weed,” he admitted. “Something to mellow me out. Calm me the fuck down. I had some, before… before I left. Now that’s gone. I don’t know anyone in Point Pleasant that sells, and—and I thought… you might have something stronger.” He rubbed his hands over his face, then together, unable to stop fidgeting. “It was a bad idea. I know that. I don’t know what i was thinking, except… except that I wanted the escape. But I’m not—I don’t do hard drugs, okay? I know better? Usually? I dunno…” It bothered him that he wasn’t following his own internal set of rules and that he couldn’t explain his reason for breaking them. He’d never had great impulse control, but today it seemed completely absent.
"That's all you wanted?" Marsh asked with some disbelief. "Some weed?" It was legal in Maine but he knew it was expensive from dispensaries and more often than not far cheaper to buy it illegally. "I can hook you up with some weed. You don't want ketamine, trust me. Stick to weed and mushrooms, some stuff that won't land you in the hospital or rehab." He had no reason to think Sage was lying and it should have frustrated him to know he'd snuck into his clinic to steal some very serious drugs - but he blamed the day. Maybe it was just because he liked Sage so far and hoped he wasn't actually like this which was probably not super healthy, but the day had been weird and Sage was absolutely wasted so it was possible.
“I’m clearly in no condition to drive,” Sage pointed out, knowing the logic was faulty. He was too drunk to drive to get weed, so instead he walked somewhere to steal some ketamine? It had been a spur the moment decision, not something he’d actually planned, and clearly a bad one. “I’ve never done shrooms,” he said thoughtfully. “Never wanted to get into anything dangerous or addictive. Or illegal.” Of all the things he’d ever almost done, this bordered on the stupidest. He’d never even shoplifted before, but for some reason thought he could just steal drugs from a vet clinic? Idiot. “Do you smoke?” he asked, raising a brow towards Marsh. It kind of contradicted what he knew about doctors, but Marsh was a vet, so maybe he was different.
"Only when I'm on vacation," Marsh replied. "It's not great for concentrating." He didn't partake often but he wasn't straight-edge by any means. Mushrooms could even be healing in a way. "You know, if you'd gotten your hands on ketamine, you'd have hit the jackpot of dangerous, addictive and illegal." He glanced at Sage with a little grin. "Have you even tried it before?" He obviously hadn't tried it himself, but they'd gotten a very comprehensive tutorial in veterinary school on what abusing it could do to a person, some risk prevention obviously, in case they started sampling their own goods. He pulled up behind a car in line at Moxie's as he spoke and waited for that person to order. "It's probably not the best thing to take if you were already feeling antsy."
“No,” Sage sighed, embarrassment coloring his cheeks. He probably looked like such a loser right now, so desperate to get out of his head that he’d take the first drug he could get his hands on. It sounded like he’d been lucky not to find what he’d been looking for. He didn’t even know what a safe dosage of ketamine was, if there was such a thing. Probably not for humans. “I should probably thank you then,” he said softly. “My self restraint hasn’t been great today and…” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying not to think about what the worst possible outcome. He’d survived the other place. He could handle Point Pleasant, even at night. “Can I have a chocolate milkshake?” he asked quietly. It was more sugar, but it sure did sound good.
Marsh probably shouldn't be buying his burglar a burger and milkshake but maybe it was because he'd met him before, or maybe he felt a little guilty for the dark thoughts still tickling the back of his mind. Either way he let out a little laugh and nodded because he knew damn well how strong cravings got when a guy was uncomfortably drunk. "Yeah, you can have a milkshake. A lot of people had some impulse control issues today. Might be a town thing, see if you feel better tomorrow." If that was why Sage did what he did, then Marsh had a better reason to be lenient with him. "Have you been in trouble with the cops before?" he asked once they were done ordering and were waiting for the food to get ready. Marsh ordered a soda for himself, he'd just had a hefty meal in Overlook so he wasn't hungry.
Sage hated the idea that something was messing with his head again. The worst part was not being able to tell, feeling so himself in the moment that he’d only know something was off afterwards. He knew looking back that he hadn’t been in control when the fog had taken over his brain, but there’d been no talking sense to him until it was gone. Was this one of those moments? He didn’t know if that made it better or worse. “Kind of,” he said, looking away from Marsh, preferring not to see the judgement that would most likely follow. Or the realization. That could be even worse. “Something happened when I was in high school and—I wasn’t charged, but—they don’t really like me. Then about six months ago, there was… I wasn’t myself. Worse than today.” Far more paranoid and far less drunk, if he remembered it right. He’d managed to piss off the one new cop that didn’t already know him by name.
Marsh knew exactly what he was talking about when it came to high school, it was just interesting to hear him say it and he glanced over with a sympathetic look. "If you didn't even get charged then they don't have any reason to dislike you," he said. "And you did show up to their fundraiser." He smiled at that and reached over to nudge Sage in the arm. "So they're obligated to like you at least a little now." He didn't ask why Sage would attend a fundraiser for the police if he had a bad history with them, maybe he'd had the same idea and was trying to smooth things over with them, or maybe he'd had an obligation of his own.
“That’s true,” Sage snickered. “I supported them, so they should at least leave me be.” They mostly did, so long as he stayed out of trouble, and Sage had done a decent job of keeping his head down. He didn’t even have a speeding ticket on his record. But he saw the way they watched him, the suspicious glances that were shot in his direction, even when he wasn’t doing anything wrong. As the only member of the Cooperdale Five to stick around, he’d dealt with it for years and it seemed to fade, until he’d gone missing. Now there were more questions he couldn’t answer, not without looking crazy. “They’ve got a hard job,” he said, half to Marsh, half to himself. “They need answers for things that—that are never gonna make sense. Not on paper. I don’t blame ‘em for doing their job.”
It was cute, coming to the defense of people who had obviously treated him badly and Marsh gave him another warm smile. "Wonder if it's easier or harder for the ones who know not everything can be explained. I don't know how people write it off, all the weird shit that happens. That's stubbornness taken too far." Or maybe there was something else going on, something that affected most but not everyone in town. Marsh now knew he wasn't just some vanilla human, did that matter? Was that why he knew the things he knew and didn't deny them? Sage obviously wasn't one either, he could disappear at will! "Can you control it? The disappearing thing?" he asked out of curiosity but thought better of it as soon as he'd said it. "Don't show me here, I don't wanna freak out the staff."
Sage sometimes envied the people that didn’t know the worst of Point Pleasant. They went through life oblivious, in danger but unaware of it, and thus able to live without that constant fear that shit could blow up at any given moment. The grown ass adults who didn’t know what was up were a mystery to him, somehow living with their head in the sand, refusing to see how fucked up things really were. It was kind of nice to know that Marsh wasn’t one of them. “Kind of,” Sage smiled. “It almost always happens when I close my eyes for five to ten seconds. But my eyes are closed, so I can’t really see it for myself. It’s good for hiding and that’s about it.”
"Guess you need to work on not getting easily startled out of it," Marsh said with a faint smile, then turned as the window next to him slid open and accepted the food. He wondered if Sage was going to make a mess of his car, if he was that kind of sloppy drunk, but it didn't really bother him. He'd had worse things happen in his car that were harder to clean - not this particular car but back in school. It wasn't something worrying about would fix unless he kicked Sage out of the car to eat and he wasn't about to do that to someone who'd admitted to being afraid of the dark. "Here you go," he said as he handed the food over and got ready to drive again, setting his own soda in the little beverage holder. "Do you wanna park somewhere or do you want to go straight home?"
“I don’t have a lot of practice. I’ve only known for, like, a week. And I didn’t go in with a plan,” Sage admitted, then shot Marsh a little smile. “I wasn’t expecting you.” Marsh and his uncanny ability to know it was Sage hiding there, even when he couldn’t see him. It made him think of Jasper’s ability to find anyone and anything. Something had to have clued Marsh in that it was him. That was the only thing that made sense. Sage took the food and milkshake, immediately taking a long sip before answering. “We can park,” he said, thinking that home would suck right about now. He was kind of enjoying himself, despite the awkwardness of the situation. That desire to indulge hadn’t quite died down, though his interest in drugs or alcohol had passed for the moment. “Are you always this nice to people that try to steal from you? ‘Cause I’m open Friday, if you want me to stop by and, I dunno, attempt to take some gauze or something.”
Marsh laughed, easily imagining that scenario and gauze of all things just made it funnier. He made a show of thinking about it, still grinning as he hummed and pondered. "Sounds like a date to me. Same time?" he asked, eyes crinkling when he looked at Sage again. At least he knew he wasn't straight so a flirt like that wasn't going to completely miss the mark but then Marsh always had the option of falling back on 'it was a joke, dude, relax'. People never assumed he was anything but straight and he hadn't exactly flaunted it either.
Sage wasn’t sure if he was joking or not, but he liked that Marsh was playing along. It played into the fantasy that this very hot, intelligent, put together man would actually give him the time of day, though only if he was causing him a mild amount of trouble. “Maybe a little earlier,” he pondered theatrically. “Around eight. I’m a little less jumpy before the sun sets. I’ll be harder to catch next time.” But, oh, how he wanted Marsh to catch him. Second date, he mentally laughed at himself. It was good he didn’t really have a set of rules because otherwise he’d be breaking them left and right.
"Oh, you're gonna play hard to get?" Marsh teased. "You'll have to be a little more sober then." He had intended on calling Sage this week about a potential lesson, even if he couldn't start them right away. The Friday night plan - joke or not - wasn't really destined for greatness since it was his first on-duty emergency weekend but he liked teasing the idea and depending on how Sage reacted to this whole thing when he wasn't drunk, maybe they could actually go on a date. It was probably insane in a small town like this, his family had no idea he was into men as well as women, but damn if those pretty eyes didn't have him kinda hooked already.
“I will be a lot more sober then, thank you,” Sage laughed, though if this was a real thing, if he even dared to show up, then he’d probably have to have at least a shot of something to calm his nerves. Men like Marsh didn’t usually go for guys like Sage, who knew he was a train wreck even on a good day. It was so weird that he was seeing the worst of him, fucked up beyond common sense, yet he still seemed interested. Sage thought Marsh was probably giving him too much credit. He’d regret it tomorrow. But for now, it was nice to buy into the fantasy that this gorgeous man might actually want his company. “If you want me drunk, you’re gonna have to buy me a drink.”
Marsh liked the idea of Sage drunk and pliant but in that same way he liked the idea of him in pain and scared. It was a hot fantasy and knew better than to act on it without a whole lot of consent talk and safeguards in place. "I'll keep that in mind," he murmured as he pulled over, killing the engine but leaving the radio on. He looked at Sage then, getting a better idea of his face, of what his face might look like when he was in the throes of ecstacy - or on that opposite end of the spectrum. "For real though, I'll buy you a drink sometime - if you still want to when you're sober," he said. It was probably weird that he found a traumatized and messed up guy to be good company but it tasted so good and aside from those two things, Sage was really nice to be around and look at.
Sage knew the answer was yes, he’d be fucking nuts not to want a drink with him, and he didn’t have to wait until he was sober to figure that out. He’d wanted him days ago, when he’d gotten his number for guitar lessons, but that hadn’t seemed like a possibility at the time. It was just a fantasy to entertain him when he’d doubted he’d even follow through with the lessons. But with all the teasing set aside, the offer was still out there, and Sage would be a fool not to take it. “That would be a yes,” he snickered between bites of his burger. Good God, he’d been hungry. He was going to owe Marsh so much for tonight. More than a music lesson. A number of lewd ideas of how he could pay Marsh back came to him and if it wasn’t for the fact that Marsh had pointed out he might be acting weird today, he would have acted on them now. That and the fact that his mouth was already full. “I’ll text you,” he said after he swallowed. “Tomorrow. When I’m sober. And horribly hungover.”
Marsh would believe that when he saw it, he had a feeling that Sage would feel awful about tonight when he woke up and might even ghost him out of sheer embarrassment. He hoped not, he was going to hunt this guy down if he had to and get that damn date. "You've still got my number," he murmured with a little grin, reaching for his soda to drink some of it as he watched Sage devour his burger. "Nobody's around now, you can do that disappearing thing on command?" He didn't want Sage to disappear, not at all, but he had to admit he was curious. How many people could do that? It still felt like it had to have been a trick of the eye when it happened earlier, but he knew better. He'd seen strange things before - just most of them weren't terribly benign.
Sage still had Marsh’s number. He couldn’t remember his last name, so he’d been filed under ‘Marsh Hot Vet’. It felt like that needed to be expanded on, so it was something more like ‘hot vet who put up with your shit’. But that was a lot to show up on a caller ID. The question made him smile and Sage set his burger aside so he could reach out and take Marsh’s arm by the wrist. Sage closed his eyes. “I’m sure there’s a better way to do this. Some kind of a trigger that’s not just me closing my eyes. But I don’t know what it is yet, so this is the only reliable way to make it happen.” He’d barely finished speaking when he disappeared, though it didn’t feel any different to Sage. He could still feel Marsh’s skin under his hand. The radio still played. And when he spoke, he still heard his voice. “The first time it happened was on accident. I don’t really know how to stop it from happening, but I know I can.”
At first it was hard to focus on anything but Sage's warm hand on his arm and it was oh so tempting to just kiss him right there when he closed his eyes. Only then the temptation literally disappeared in front of his eyes as Sage went invisible. Marsh could still feel his grip, could still hear him talk and could still taste that faint silky taste of his emotions. "And you've only been able to do this for a week?" he asked, the awe he was feeling evident in his voice. "You have no idea why?" Maybe Sage knew and much like Marsh he just hadn't felt like getting into all the details of it. They hadn't exactly had a good chance to talk about it when it first happened but it was different now, things were calmer, Sage wasn't scared and Marsh had gotten his thoughts under control for the most part.
Sage didn’t know if it had been a week exactly. Maybe it had been longer than that. He sometimes felt like he’d lost his sense of time when he had nothing to occupy it. Days passed and he had nothing to show for them. They all ran together into one huge lump of lingering depression with only specific events sticking out. “Jacob noticed it that weekend that no one could sleep,” he said, lightly brushing his thumb over Marsh’s skin. It was nice to touch him, to have him as an anchor when he was floating in the dark. Now that he had food in his stomach, the world didn’t seem to spin so much, but he felt exhaustion creeping up on him. It didn’t help that his eyes were closed, but then thinking of that place would always keep him awake. Fear crept back in quickly, along with the need to see, to make sure it was just him and Marsh and that nothing was waiting for him just beyond the glass of the window. Sage blinked open his eyes, seeking confirmation before daring to speak. “I got it from being stuck in the other place.”
It was bizarre to feel Sage's touch when he couldn't see him and Marsh was glad he'd had a warning he was about to disappear or he'd have been freaking out by now. He was relieved anyway when Sage reappeared though his words only made him question it all more. He almost asked about 'the other place' what that meant, but he had no idea if Sage in any state to talk about it - or if he was actually low key tripping on something right now. "You should tell me all about that when I buy you a drink," he said instead and that rise in fear in Sage was hard to miss with the ability Marsh had. "Doesn't seem like you like being able to do this."
“It reminds me of… some really dark shit,” Sage said quietly. “I’m not sure I’d be a lot of fun for that conversation. And if you don’t think I’m crazy now, you will then.” Even though he barely knew Marsh, Sage wanted to avoid the look of pity that came from someone who thought he’d lost his mind. It was upsetting and frustrating and a little bit maddening. They thought he’d cracked, and maybe he had, but not for the reasons they assumed. Getting stuck in another dimension was enough to mess with anyone. “There are things around here that I can’t really explain. Things that happen. You made it sound like you believe some of it, but…what I’ve got’s a lot to swallow.”
"You just turned invisible right in front of my eyes," Marsh reminded him. "I believe in a lot of stuff because it'd be stupid not to." He was well aware of Sage's hand still resting on his wrist and he was in no rush to make him move it. "You think you'll be willing to tell me all about it when you're sober?" A lot was lost in detail and truth when alcohol got involved and when he himself was sober, Marsh preferred his company the same way. He definitely didn't want to hear any of this stuff from Sage in his current state and since he'd never really met him sober he couldn't help but wonder just what he was like that way.
Sage had to admit that the disappearing trick was pretty hard to deny, but getting stuck in a portal world still sounded far fetched. It wasn’t a conversation he wanted to be sober for, but he wondered if that was the only way Marsh would believe him. Otherwise it would come across as some drunken tale, either exaggerated or made up entirely. “Yeah. If you really wanna know, I can do that,” he sighed, then gave Marsh’s wrist a squeeze before pulling his hand away. He wanted more of that touch, wanted to crawl into Marsh’s lap and take advantage of his warmth, but he was feeling more exhausted by the second and that would take more energy than he had. Instead, he laid his head against the headrest and sipped his milkshake. “You’re really nice, you know that?”
Marsh hummed at that, smiling faintly. "Through concentrated effort and a sheer force of will," he replied. "I can be a dick sometimes." He thought everyone was capable of both though some leaned more heavily in one direction over the other, but he'd long since given up on the notion that he was a Good Guy. He could be, he tried to be, maybe because he was so intimately familiar with his own darkness. "You look beat," he added. "You want me to drive you home now?" It was probably best to get his address before Sage ended up passing out in the passenger seat. Marsh wasn't sure he'd be happy dragging his passed out body into his own place and he couldn't let him sleep in the car - not in this damn town.
“Bet you’re still hot,” Sage mumbled as he closed his eyes, a little smile curving on his lips. Dicks could still be hot. Hot dicks. He began to giggle, certain that Marsh was a hot dick with a hot dick. Fuck, that was a nice visual. Marsh’s question barely filtered in and he opened his eyes, trying to remember where home was these days. “Yeah, that’s… probably a good idea,” he laughed softly. “My home or yours?” He’d take any bed at the moment. Maybe he could go see Jacob. Connor would probably kick him out though. Or at least make him sleep on the couch. There would be no drunken make out sessions, which was no fun at all.
Marsh just grinned and shook his head at Sage's antics. He was aware that he was attractive but it always weirded him out a little when people told him that. "Yours," he said firmly, even if the temptation was still there. Then he wondered if Sage's home life maybe wasn't great and he was sending him home to suffer. He didn't know what exactly was going on with him, just that he was deeply unhappy and scared but maybe that had to do with that other place he mentioned. "You've got a place where you can sleep, right?" God, was he going to end up with a stray on his couch? He sure as hell was not pulling this pretty, drunk boy into bed with him, not tonight.
“Yeah,” Sage sighed, then rattled off his parent’s address. “It’s in Seaview. It’s the house with the black Explorer out front.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket and jangled them, giving him something to fidget with. He needed to move back out of his parent’s house, but that required a job, and it was this whole big, depressing thing that he couldn’t seem to make happen. “I had an apartment,” he said, feeling a little like he needed to explain himself. “It wasn’t big, but it was mine. You have an apartment? Or a house? I bet you have a house.” Marsh seemed like one of those put together guys that had a house with a lawn and maybe a dog. He was a vet. He had to have a pet.
Marsh wouldn't have a damn thing if not for his rich parents and he knew it. He was fresh out of training and not making a lot of money yet but yes, he had a house. It made him feel transparent and predictable so he tittered softly and nodded. "Yeah, I got a nice little two bedroom in Black Cove. It's kinda like a warehouse right now, boxes everywhere." He'd been too busy setting up the clinic to really focus on home and given how little time he spent there on average, maybe he should have just gotten an apartment. He was thinking of the future though, whatever that might hold, and an investment was always wiser than renting. "Not a great place to crash yet."
“That’s down by the beach, right? Can you hear the water?” Sage thought that might be nice. The worst thing about his parent’s home was that he sometimes thought he heard the train at night, running down the tracks towards Cooperdale Tunnel. He knew that wasn’t the case, that the tracks hadn’t been in use for years, but he still swore he heard it. It had been why he’d been so eager to get out of there in the first place. “I know how that is. I’ve got boxes all over my room. I can’t find anything. Some of it they got rid of. I’m just glad they kept my guitars. And my car. That would’ve really sucked.”
"Yeah, by Sand Beach," Marsh replied as he started toward Seaview and questioned yet again just what had happened to Sage. He might not want the details while he was drunk, but it sounded like he'd really been gone - and gone for a while - if his parents had gotten rid of some of his things. "How long were you away?" he asked and whatever place Sage had been in was starting to sound more and more ominous. Had it been a real place or a state of mind; had Sage gone on a drug bender making his parents believe he wasn't ever going to straighten out; or had they not known where he was. He hoped Sage would still want to tell him when he was sober because he was already dying to know.
“Something like… like five months, maybe? I left in January and came back in May,” Sage said, his eyes out the window, looking into the darkness. He wrapped his arms around himself as he remembered the cold over there, the feeling that he could never get warm. It gave him an appreciation for the sun that he’d never had before. Nights used to be fun, a time to run wild in the darkness, but now… now it felt like it was the darkness running wild, stalking him. Waiting. Sage shivered and when his heart began to race, he closed his eyes and took slow, deep breaths. There was nothing out there. Not tonight. Not here. “We didn’t expect to come back,” he finally said. “None of us did.”
Marsh could taste something again and although he wasn't sure what it was exactly, he could guess just by Sage's demeanor and the way he seemed to shrink a little into the seat. "Hey," he said warmly, reaching out to give Sage's arm a little squeeze. "You came back." It might not be a big thing in the way of reassurance but it was something. "And you're gonna text me tomorrow to set up a date." It was hard not to ask a million questions but he meant it when he said he wanted the story from Sage when he was sober. It would probably make more sense that way.
The touch brought Sage’s attention back to Marsh and he blinked slowly, feeling very much like he’d just slipped from one reality to the other. Marsh’s hand was solid, anchoring him to the here and now, and the past faded out of his vision and back into his nightmares. “Yeah,” he said softly, then again with a small smile. “Yeah, when I’m sober. And have a brain. We’ll set a date.” And even though he knew that Marsh wanted answers about things he’d rather not talk about, he was so caught up in the word ‘date’ that the rest of it didn’t matter. For whatever reason, a gorgeous man wanted to see him again, even though it was clear he was an absolute mess. Sage didn’t understand it, but it felt like a win.
"I thought your friend was your boyfriend," Marsh told him with a little smile. "He was very snuggly with you." It was cute and Marsh kind of wished he had friends like that, who could so effortlessly be affectionate and unafraid of touch. Most of his friends were straight guys or girls who thought he was straight, none of them was too cuddly. It seemed nice and maybe if he spent more time with other bi or gay people that could change. "Are you guys always that close or just when you're drunk?" He didn't mind it, obviously, but it was a little bit amusing - and cute.
“He was very drunk. Even more than I was,” Sage smiled, remembering how Jacob had draped himself on Sage when he’d been talking to Marsh. “I think it’s a little of both. We’re both touchy-feely people, and it’s worse when we’re drunk, so, you know… we kinda…cuddle, I guess.” He shrugged, vaguely aware that most guys his age didn’t cuddle with other men unless they were dating, but having a hard time explaining it. It wasn’t sexual. It could be, but it wasn’t. “He’s got a boyfriend. A very serious boyfriend. And even if he didn’t, we’re not—not compatible. I don’t think. Pretty sure.” He knew for a fact that he couldn’t give Jacob what Connor did, and he kind of got the feeling the same was true in reverse, though he didn’t know it with the same level of certainty. Jacob wanted a dom, something Sage was very much not. But that was okay. He’d never seen them as more than friends, regardless of the fantasies that occasionally played out in his mind.
"It's sweet," Marsh murmured as he started looking for a black Explorer now that they'd reached Seaview. It might not be easy to see a black car in the dark so he kind of hoped that Sage wasn't too drunk to point out when they were close. "You'd be cute together," he added as he looked around. "But then you couldn't go on a date with me." He honestly had no idea if Sage might change his mind when he was sober, or if this was a terrible idea in the first place, he just couldn't help himself. "His boyfriend doesn't mind the snuggling?" he smiled as he asked, making it obvious he didn't find that weird, more adorable than anything, but then he probably wouldn't mind watching those two make out.
“We’d be a fuckin’ mess,” Sage snickered, shaking his head. “I’d rather go with you.” He loved Jacob; they’d bonded over a loss of innocence and tragedy and a fear so strong he doubted it would ever lose it’s hold on them. Sometimes secrets like that blew people apart, but it had just tied them closer together. But he wasn’t in love with Jacob, and he knew that they had too much in common to ever be anything more than friends. Even drunk, he knew it wouldn’t work. “I dunno what Connor thinks. I dun think he minds? I’m sure he'd tell him if it wasn’t allowed. I wouldn’t wanna get him in trouble. He might like it though. I dunno.” Thinking about Connor punishing Jacob was a bad rabbit hole to go down at the moment, and he tried to push it away, rather than think about ropes and cuffs. His attention turned back to Marsh and his head cocked to the side quizzically. “Would you mind the snuggling?”
That phrase 'I'd rather go with you' gave Marsh a little thrill and he didn't quite pick up on the implications of Jacob's relationship, his mind too busy picturing a little more than snuggling. He had to consider Sage's question for a second because context was key. He wouldn't be averse to watching two people make out if he was attracted to them and these two guys were undeniably attractive but he also knew it could come with complications in certain circumstances. "If everyone is into it, I wouldn't mind it at all," he replied. "But you know, it depends on a lot of things. You've gotta be in the right mood for that kinda stuff." Which was probably too serious a topic for someone he hadn't had a first date with yet and who happened to be probably too drunk for a serious conversation so he laughed. "I think I'd like watching you snuggle with your friend." It sure as hell would give him something to jerk off over tonight.
Sage wasn’t in the habit of making out with Jacob. They’d never done more than drunkenly kiss and even that was limited since Jacob had started hooking up with Connor soon after his return to Point Pleasant. That didn’t mean Sage hadn’t thought about more, but the more he got to know what Jacob was into, the harder it was to picture them enjoying themselves together. It did make him curious though, about what it was like. “I could get into that,” he snickered, his mind wandering. “I could get into a lot of things.” Why was the idea of Marsh watching him and Jacob so fucking hot? It should have made him uncomfortable, but in his current state it just made him aroused. “That’s definitely a mood,” he muttered, then blinked when his car came into view. He’d forgotten that was the goal, to get him home and in bed. It was just too bad that Marsh couldn’t join him. “That’s me,” he said, nodding towards the car.
Marsh felt a strange mix of regret and relief, he was enjoying himself but he knew his resolve was weakening with every second he spent with this chaotic boy with his dick-sucking lips and chaotic range of emotions that all seemed to taste oh so good. He made a mental note of pinning the location on his phone maps so he'd have an easier time of finding it again; just in case they really did have a date and not in any kind of stalkery way. He pulled up behind the Explorer and turned to face Sage properly. "So, you gonna be good? No more breaking and entering?" he asked teasingly.
“Do you want me to be good?” Sage smirked before he could think better of it. “If this was my punishment, I don’t know that I have a lot of incentive.” He wasn’t even thinking about how much trouble he could have gotten in, how most people would’ve called the police, or how even worse, what might have happened if he got his hands on the drugs he’d been looking for. Even the fear he’d been plagued with most of the evening felt far away at the moment. Instead he was thinking about how he’d like Marsh him to punish him, though again, if he enjoyed it, it was probably ineffective.
Marsh had to laugh, it wasn't a very effective punishment, Sage was right about that, but Marsh hadn't exactly been looking to punish him. He wanted to help him and that urge had been stronger than his base instincts to take advantage. "This was a second chance," he corrected him and that smirk was going to do him in, he was sure of that. He considered his next move, probably not for long enough but enough that he could at least say he'd thought about it. Reaching over he hooked his hand around the back of Sage's head and pulled him in for a quick, but intimate kiss before pushing him away again. "Text me tomorrow," he said with a smirk of his own. "Now get the hell out of my car."
Sage inhaled as Marsh pressed a kiss to his lips, cutting off the gasp of surprise as his eyes fell closed. That one little action made him want to melt, to crawl into Marsh’s lap and show him just how good he could be when he wanted to be. And then it was over, leaving Sage’s heart pounding in his chest, his cock needy now that it had been properly woken. He knew exactly what he’d be doing once he collapsed into bed tonight. “Yes, sir,” Sage grinned, teeth biting into his bottom lip as he exited the car. His eyes stayed on Marsh as he stumbled around the car, then gave him a tiny wave before heading up towards the house. The sooner he could get to bed, the sooner he could let his fantasies take over, though now that he’d had a taste he doubted they would hold a candle to reality.