Who: Dannny, Doody, Combeferre, Kit, Link and Tracy What: Class Where: The room they use for class When: Now Rating: TBD Status: Closed
Danny flopped into one of the couches at the back, propping up the collar of his jacket. He had the book on mechanics he was reading with him. He nodded his head at Link and Tracy but didn't say anything. Why would he? They were Doody's friends, not his. Doody had new friends and didn't need him anymore.
Danny pulled out his comb and started to fix his hair. Thinking about it made him feel even more depressed. He was alone. He had no friends. And no girlfriend.... or boyfriend here. He might have told Combeferre he was doing alright but he really wasn't.
--
Doody hesitated outside the door. Should he go in? He really should. It would be safe to be around Danny with other people, and he’d be fully clothed in class. He took a second to get that image out of his head (by thinking about the sound his dad’s glass eye made when he took it out). He pulled a face and stepped inside, glancing around. He saw Danny, combing his hair, and nodded slightly, dropping into a seat on the other couch and thinking about his dad’s eye again.
“Hey!” Tracy said. “So glad you came.”
Doody smiled slightly. “Kinda boring here, might be fun.” He tried not to look over at Danny.
--
Danny froze for a moment when he saw Doody walk into the room. And then the only acknowledgment he made of the fact he was there was a nod of his head.
Link smiled widely. "Yes, it's great to see you, Doody."
Danny pocketed his comb and opened his book, starring at it intently. Danny wasn't going to watch Doody show off how he had made friends and didn't need him. He would see if he could find a car like Combeferre suggested and spend his time working on that. He didn't need Doody. Not at all. And definitely not in the way he had been thinking about him lately.
--
Doody snuck a glance over at him. Danny looked pretty annoyed. He looked away quickly, and was glad to see Combeferre and another guy come in. Combeferre smiled when he saw him.
“Hello, Doody, welcome. Glad you joined us. I mentioned today we’d be looking at Shakespeare, and well, we have an expert on the ship. This is Christopher Marlowe, who is also a playwright, and who knew Shakespeare.”
Kit grinned. “Call me Kit. My plays are good too, by the way. He wasn’t the only one working back then.” He winked teasingly at Combeferre. “Anyway. So yes, dirty Shakespeare.” He rubbed his hands together. “Apparently they leave that bit out when they teach you. Madness. He was filthy.”
--
Link looked up when Combeferre walked in with the other man. He had met the other man before.
Danny glanced up. Kit was the guy who was with one of his lookalikes. Danny swallowed. He had been hiding a part of himself for a long time now and he was starting to get fed up with that. But it was still a big thing to admit, even to yourself.
--
Doody tilted his head, looking at the guy. “He seems kinda boring,” he said with a shrug.
Kit grinned. “He isn't. I'm man enough to admit he was better than me. At writing, anyway.”
“Don't sell yourself short. Faustus…” Combeferre said with a smile.
Kit smirked. “Thank you. Anyway. So, Will. He wrote an entire sonnet that's basically about his cock.”
Tracy giggled. “What?”
--
Link looked at Tracy and then back at Kit. "Really?"
Danny raised an eyebrow but remained quiet, avoiding looking at Doody.
--
“Well that and his lover’s c-an’t say that word any more,” Kit said sheepishly. “Though will had plenty of puns on that word too. Anyway. This sonnet, 135, is written to the Dark Lady.”
He pulled up his iPad and started to read, giving it the necessary bawdy inflections.
“Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will, And Will to boot, and Will in over-plus; More than enough am I that vexed thee still, To thy sweet will making addition thus. Wilt thou, whose will is large and spacious, Not once vouchsafe to hide my will in thine? Shall will in others seem right gracious, And in my will no fair acceptance shine? The sea, all water, yet receives rain still, And in abundance addeth to his store; So thou, being rich in Will, add to thy Will One will of mine, to make thy large will more. Let no unkind, no fair beseechers kill; Think all but one, and me in that one Will.”
Doody raised an eyebrow. “Seriously, he wrote a sonnet to a chick about his dick?” He asked, disbelieving. “Just all about how much he wanted to get with her.”
Kit nodded. “What else is poetry for?” He asked with a grin.
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Link's cheeks tinged as he listened to the sonnet. Kit was right. It was pretty filthy.
Danny put his head down and started to doodle on some paper he had hidden in his book. He didn't want to be thinking about dicks right now.
--
Tracy giggled, her cheeks flushed. “It's dirtier than rock and roll. And adults think that's filthy.”
Kit nodded. “Yes. It is. He was brilliant, and moving, and can write the most inspiring or beautiful lines you've ever heard. And he was also very smutty.” He grinned. .
“Yeah like - I watched a movie and it had that really romantic one - about love not altering?” Tracy said.
Kit smiled. “Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests and is never shaken.”
Tracy sighed. “Mmm. Yeah. That one.”
Kit grinned. “It's a bit good. He's such a show off.”
--
Link looked at Tracy and smiled. He remembers watching that movie with her. "Yeah, it is a good one."
Danny was listening, just not looking up. He was drawing a car engine on the paper.
--
Kit grinned. “Interesting. The movie, the couple in it. Man and woman?”
Tracy nodded. “Yeah…”
Doody could feel the hairs on his neck stand up. He didn't like that question.
“Because that sonnet is lovely and it starts out ‘let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments.’ But he's not trying to get into a woman's skirts with that sonnet. It's written to the Fair Youth, who had ‘a Will’ all of his own.”
Doody paled, feeling panic rising inside him. He couldn't look at Danny. He just couldn't.
--
Link nodded his head too. "Are you saying that Shakespeare was gay?" He didn't care at all, he was just curious.
Danny glanced up for a moment. He didn't say anything.
--
Doody could feel his palms sweating.
“No, not gay - that's a word that came after our time and refers to someone who is only attracted to and loves men. The closest term would be bisexual. Because he was definitely wanting to be in that woman's skirts in the other one. He was very much interested in both men and women.” Kit smirked. “And that's not speculation.”
Doody never wanted to run from a room more than he did right at that moment. But he couldn't.
--
Danny looked back down at the book. So.... There it was. The thing he had been hiding from for so long. Even from himself. He was..... Bisexual. He swallowed. It was odd hearing someone talk about it so casually. Like it wasn't a big deal.
..... Which it wasn't here. Why should he care? He was attracted to guys and girls. There. He had admitted it. It felt slightly liberating but mostly terrifying. Then again, what did it matter here. No like he had any friends to care about that."
--
Doody glanced over at Danny. He wasn't looking up at anyone. Doody really wanted to know what he thought because … well. Maybe he was a little like that. He didn't know. He looked down at his hands.
“Wait,” Tracy said. “What do you mean, it's not speculation?”
Kit smirked. “Well I never got a sonnet, the bastard never wrote me one. But he was one of my lovers, yes.”
--
Link smiled. "It must be nice to be able to talk about it more freely now. At least almost everyone on this ship doesn't care. If only it was like this everywhere."
Danny glanced over at Doody for a second. He wondered if Doody would care. Not that he cared what Doody thought. He didn't. At all.
--
Kit nodded. “If only. Really impresses my current lover, though, which helps. He's a playwright from your time who likes knowing he's better than William Shakespeare at some things.” He grinned. “It is nice, though. Very nice.”
“Have any of you seen a play of will’s?”
Tracy shook her head. Doody felt kit looking at him and shook his too. “Uh, no.”
--
Link shook his head. "No, I haven't."
Danny glanced back at his book and shook his head, not meeting Kit's eyes, worried if he did the other man would somehow just know and expose him. And he wasn't ready for that. He might have finally admitted it to himself. Admitting it to others was entirely different.
--
“Well I think maybe combeferre should show you one. Because on the page they're dry and impenetrable but when you see them performed… They're amazing. I'll have a think. See which one you might enjoy more. A comedy, I think.”
Tracy nodded. “Sure. Might be fun.”
Doody fidgeted in his seat, wanting to get away so badly. He felt like everything about him was really obvious. And he hated that Danny might be thinking he wasn't … Like, normal. Or whatever. He just wanted Danny to like him. Not like that. Okay, maybe a little like that.
--
Link nodded his head in agreement with Tracy. "Yes, it might be."
Danny wondered how Kit was so confident and okay with being okay. He actually envied the other man. But Danny had lost the only friend he had here already. If coming out meant he'd lose the friends he had at school too.... Well he didn't want to risk that.
--
Combeferre nodded. “That sounds good.” Gavroche would probably join them. He liked the theatre.
Doody didn't pay attention much when they were talking about the plays. Combeferre suggested they watch a version of one of kit’s plays, too, but he didn't care. He was just glancing at Danny every now and then. God he'd missed him. He was just … So cool. And … Yeah. Just so cool.
“That was fun. Thanks kit. Come back any time you like.”
Kit smiled. “Just say the word. Nice to meet you all.”
Doody looked up, getting to his feet as Tracy and link walked out with kit and combeferre.
--
Link smiled. "Nice to meet you, too," he said. He took Tracy's hand and left with her.
Danny stayed where he was for the moment, not in any rush to leave. He didn't have anywhere to be. Doody was probably going to hang out with the others.
--
Doody hesitated, walking slowly past Danny. He paused eventually and turned to him. “Hey,” he said awkwardly.
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Danny looked up at him with a puzzled look on his face. "Hey," he said. He looked down at his doodle again. "Thought you'd be gone with your friends."
--
Danny didn't seem all that happy that he'd stopped. But Doody missed him.
“Kinda hungry. I was going to go get some food.” He shouldn't be doing this but… “Wanna… I mean. If you're hungry too…”
--
Danny looked up at him again. "You want to?" he asked. "I... Uh... Yeah. That's cool."
--
Doody nodded. “Yeah. I mean. If it's not … Weird for you…”
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Danny shook his head. "It's not weird for me. You just seemed more interested in hanging out with them lately. Which is.... Whatever, you can do what you want."
--
Doody blinked. “I - well I thought you know. After … The stuff … That you might … Find it weird. So I … Yeah. I was just … I wasn't sure you wanted me around.”
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Danny blinked too. "You thought i wouldn't want to hang out anymore? You're a T-Bird, Doody. And we stick together. We look out for each other. We have each other's backs."
--
Doody smiled slightly. “I - yeah? Sorry I just - I thought you'd want to like … I don't know. But I do want to hang out with you still.”
--
Danny stood up and closed his book. "Come on. I'm starving," he said. He patted Doody on the back. "I've missed hanging out with you."
--
Doody smiled, thinking about his dad's eye again as Danny touched his back. It was fine, he was just panicking.
“I've missed hanging out with you too. We should go for a beer too. One beer,” he added, grinning.
--
"Yeah, last time was pretty cool but not so much in the morning," he said. He walked out of the room, toward the kitchen.
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Doody grinned. “Like one old fashioned maybe.” He followed Danny, feeling both great about being with him and terrified he'd .. Give something away.
--
Danny was glad that Doody wanted to hang out with him again but also worried Doody might figure it out. Especially if Doody was into guys too. Though if he was..... It would make Danny's life a lot easier. He could tell him and maybe they could hook up and it would be really ho-
He cleared his throat. "Yeah. That sounds....cool."
--
Doody headed into the kitchen. “Pizza?” He suggested. They were pretty easy to cook.
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Danny nodded his head, rubbing his stomach. "Yeah, pizza works," he said. He grabbed two sodas from the fridge and handed one to Doody.
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Doody shoved the pizza in the oven and took a soda. “Thanks, man. So um. What have you been up to?” He asked.
--
Danny shrugged. "Not much." He had spent a lot of time using the weights he had taken from the gym. "You?"
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“Same. Playing a bit. But yeah. Not much.”
He sipped his soda.
--
"We should watch a movie sometime, maybe," he said.
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Doody nodded. “Yeah. We have to watch some of that Agent Carter show.”
--
"Yeah. She's hot," he said. Though so was Steve. He was definitely hot too.
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“We should do it today. Like. Get the drinks and go watch it?”
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Danny nodded his head in agreement. "Sounds cool."
--
Doody smiled. “Yeah. Cool.”
--
"So why did you come to class today? Get bored too?"
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Doody nodded. “Yeah, I did.”
He'd gone because he missed Danny, though he couldn't say that.
“Wasn't that bad though.”
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Danny nodded his head. "Yeah. He wants me to through mechanics and stuff with him sometime."
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“Yeah?” Danny said. “That'd be more interesting than Shakespeare. Even dirty Shakespeare.”
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"Yeah. Cars are more interesting than any poetry," he said.
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Doody nodded. “Yeah. Definitely. Kinda miss working on Kenicke’s.”
--
"Oh yeah, you mentioned he got one. Combeferre said I might find one. If I do we can work on it together."
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“Yeah? Like this thing would just give us a car? Huh. That'd be fun.”
He moved to the oven. “Pizza’s done.” He took it out and cut it into slices before bringing it to the table.
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"Yeah. I'm gonna take a look around later, see if I can find anything."
Danny's stomach rumbled when he smelled the pizza and he practically inhaled the slice.
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Doody sat down across from him and devoured a couple of slices before he spoke again.
“I'll come with you. I mean. If you want.”
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Danny nodded his head. "Sure. That sounds good."
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Doody smiled. “Cool. And … You know. You can come hang out with the others whenever you want. They're kinda cool. There's lots of music all the time. It's fun.”
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"Yeah?" He wasn't sure the others liked him very much. "Don't want to be like....invading your turf or whatever."
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Doody laughed slightly. “Dude I am nowhere near cool enough to have turf. It's fun. Come if you want, or whatever. If it's not your thing or like, you don't want to hear me attempt to play guitar then I get it.” He smiled.
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Danny grinned at him. "Yeah, okay. I'll tag along the next time you're going."
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Doody smiled. “Cool. Maybe tomorrow. We’ll watch some Agent Carter today.”
--
"Yeah. And look for a car," he said. He finished off another slice of pizza.
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Doody nodded, his mouth full of pizza again as he finished his last slice. He leaned back in his chair and licked his fingers when he was finished. “I needed that.”