Friday March 27th 2009
Who: Garret and Declan What: Showering and Boy Talk Where: Declan's apartment When: Midday Rating: PG 13
Still reeling from the suddenness and... intensity of what had just transpired, Garret couldn't hide the grin on his face as he made his way to Declan's apartment. It might have been dreamlike, what had just happened, but he had enough brain power to know that he needed to wash the smell of sex off himself before he ran into either Mal or Rorie. So he needed a shower, and Declan seemed like the least likely person to yell at him.
Garret didn't bother to knock, he simply phased through the apartment door and made his way to the bathroom, passing Declan in the kitchen without greeting. The dryad would follow him to the bathroom, no doubt, eager to hear whatever it was Garret was up to now.
Eager might be a little too much. Declan was definitely curious about what the pathfinder had gotten into that he needed to borrow the dryad's shower, rather that just using the one in the security office. Or his own house. Putting the finishing touches on his lunch, he returned items to the fridge and left the sandwich on the counter for the moment. He made sure there was enough time for Garret to get himself into the shower before knocking on the bathroom door.
--- Stripping out of his clothes, Garret left them strewn about the bathroom and turned the shower on hot, stepping beneath the stream and groaning in mild discomfort and satisfaction. The hot water hitting his "love bruises" stung pretty badly. Letting himself soak a minute, Garret grabbed the bar of soap (Irish Spring, go figure) and began lathering, pausing when he heard the knock at the door. "Get in here already!" he shouted, puling back the curtain just enough to let his voice carry through the steam.
--- Chuckling, Declan opened the door, shaking his head at the mess of clothes on the floor. He quickly stepped inside, keeping the heat in the small room. "Alright, lad. Spill." As he waited for Garret to talk, Dec bent down and picked up the clothes, folding them and setting them on the edge of the sink. Something about them smelled familiar. Musky.
--- "Stop picking up my clothing like a maid!" Garret scolded with a grin, not even having to look out the curtain to know that Declan was tidying up. "Okay, so... first of all, this soap is gonna dry out your skin something terrible. You need to get something with a moisturizer in it. Or maybe buy yourself a gallon of lotion." It smelled nice though, and strong, and that was important.
--- Declan chuckled again, but ignored Garret, continuing to fold his clothes until they were all in a neat pile on the sink's corner. Sitting down on the toilet seat, he watched the shadow behind the shower curtain. "Garret. I have bark. Dry skin is constant for me."
--- "Which is why you need a moisturizing soap!" he said poignantly. "You smell good though, which is a perk. You smell like soap and nature." An interesting combination, to say the least.
"So... you will not believe what just happened to me." After a pause, he admitted "Okay well, you might believe it. Because this is me, after all. But it's so... it's kind of unreal. I met this woman in the cafeteria about... twenty minutes ago. And she just..." Laughing a little, Garret tilted his head back, letting the water run over him. "Grabbed me by the hand and just... fucked me. In a classroom."
--- "So you think I smell good, but you don't think I'm...soft?" Garret really could be a confusing man at times. Shaking his head, he let that go, deciding to focus on the reason his friend was here. He'd...had intercourse with a woman. Not even half an hour earlier. "Oh really?" Obviously Garret was thrilled, so Dec didn't want to ask what his husbands would think when they were told. Then it hit him. Garret wouldn't tell them. That's why he was here.
--- "Yeah." That was kind of a tepid reaction for something so clearly amazing. Garret frowned, waiting a moment to see if more was coming out of Dec. "It was the kind of thing that you fantasize about when you're a kid. Some gorgeous, mysterious woman just... swoops in and gives you a beautiful smile and takes you by the hand and just... blows your mind. And she did, too. Blew my mind." He hummed a little, remembering Shelley's hands, her hair, that look in her eyes... that pulse. God, that had been spectacular.
--- Declan had his one and only and was thrilled with her. Here, Garret was lucky enough to have found two others to share his life with and still he was not satisfied. It broke Dec's heart a little for his friend, to know that he was not so happy. Still, he could share the enthusiasm to a point. "Ye forget," Dec smiled. "It wasna something I ever fantasized about."
--- Garret didn't have to be an empath to catch the extremely low level of shared joy on Declan's behalf. Okay, so maybe Dec wasn't yelling at him, but this wasn't much better. This was making him start thinking again, and thinking was what had made Garret so sullen this morning. Before Shelley showed up.
"Guess you wouldn't have," he agreed, squirting some shampoo into his palm and lathering it through his hair. "Not living in the forest, anyway." It was great that Declan had found his one and only, but not everyone had one. Not everyone just felt complete with a person filling in some void. Garret was definitely not that kind of person. "So anyway. I didn't want them to smell her on me, so..."
--- Nodding, even though Garret couldn't see it, Dec smiled. "Aye, I figured that was why ye'd be here. So tell me about her." He leaned back against the toilet, and got an awful, horrible, hysterical idea. Smirking, he stood, turning to flush the toilet. He hadn't pranked Garret in awhile and had nearly forgotten how much fun it was.
--- "Well... she's kind of... I'm not really sure." Garret wasn't really sure how to describe Shelley, because he didn't know much about her except how her body felt, and he was pretty sure Declan didn't want to hear about that. Which seemed only emphasized by the toilet flushing, and the water's temperature suddenly spiking. "Ow!" he shouted, phasing through the curtain to drip all over Declan's bath mat, his various marks from Mal (and also his nudity) very apparent. Pointing at Declan, Garret shook his head, though he was smiling. "That was not nice," he informed him.
--- Declan was standing near the door, covering his mouth with one hand as he laughed. Suds were dripping from Garret's hair, water still sluicing down his body. Seeing the marks though, made him pause, frowning in concern. Garret's nudity he could look over now, having seen it, but the marks? "I didna realize there was a fight on campus," he said in concern.
--- A fight? Garret frowned a little, confused. What the hell was Declan talking about? He looked down at himself, then noticed what Declan seemed so concerned about. "Oh," he said, wiping some shampoo suds from his forehead before it ran into his eyes. "That's... No, there wasn't a fight on campus. Or anywhere. That's just, um... nothing. Love bites." Now he felt naked. Phasing back into the shower, Garret rinsed the suds off his hair and face. The water was still kind of hot, but it was better than seeing that look on Dec's face.
--- Declan very nearly reached out to stroke one of the bruises, but held off. "Do ye want a healer for it?" Garret wasn't one to normally walk around with marks that vicious. He blinked at what they were. "Love bites? She did that t'ye? How will ye hide that from Mal and Rorie?" Dec wondered slightly why Garret now hid behind the curtain again, but he wouldn't pry.
--- Oh, Declan and his endearing naivete. Chuckling a little, Garret wiped the water from his eyes, then turned off the faucet. "She didn't do it, Mal did. During sex." That last bit was added just in case Declan had any notion that some kind of abuse was going on in Garret's marriage. He wouldn't qualify it as abuse, because abuse was unwelcomed and Garret allowed Mal to do this to him, so it wasn't the same.
Letting the water drip off him for a moment, Garret finally pushed back the curtain and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel from the rack and wiping himself down. "So no worries, aye?"
--- Declan dropped back onto the toilet seat. "You let him do that t'ye?" Apparently the hellhound was more brutal than he'd thought. Garret had made the man sound like a puppy, almost human. "Should I talk t'him? Ye're not a chew toy." Just because Garret said that he shouldn't worry didn't mean Dec would ignore it. He cared.
--- Toweling off his head, Garret paused to peek out at Declan from beneath the damp terrycloth, an eyebrow cocked in intrigue. "What would you say to him, exactly?" he asked curiously. "You gonna tell him to stop letting his husband let him dominate him? I really don't think that will go over well." Shaking his head, Garret wrapped the towel around his waist. "It's complicated, sapling. Complicated and delicate, and it's really nothing so just... let it be, okay? I'm fine, I promise. If I wanted him to stop, I'd ask him to." Of course, Garret wasn't 100% that this was true, but what Declan didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
--- Dec's eyes flared brightly. "Aye. If ye asked me to. I see no reason why ye should be marked so. It shows a lack of respect for ye." He didn't mention calling a healer, because Garret would go to one if he wanted it cleared up. At the request, Dec huffed, not happy but willing to leave it alone. For now.
--- Padding over to Declan, Garret touched his face gently. "You're sweet," he said with a small sigh. "But most of the world doesn't live in the fairytale romance that you and Keely have. Sometimes you have to do things you don't like in order to make someone else happy. You and Keely are the same, so you understand and appreciate what the other needs. It's instinct to you. Not everyone gets something so simple." Stroking Declan's cheek with his thumb, Garret gave him a small smile, then padded through the bathroom door and into the bedroom. "I'm stealing clothing," he announced over his shoulder.
--- As much as he liked the touch, Dec frowned at the words that came with it. "Just because I got lucky does not mean that it can't happen for anyone else. Why would ye want to settle for being unhappy?" It was something he couldn't understand, and something Garret didn't seem inclined to answer. Sighing, he followed, having to actually open the door before leaving the room. "My clothes? Will that not give a different impression?"
--- is available --- No matter how Garret explained it, he knew Declan wouldn't understand. He couldn't. He couldn't possibly understand or appreciate Mal without knowing him, and so few people really knew Mal. Besides, how could you explain to someone that bruises on his body were equivilant to holding hands and butterfly kisses?
"I'll lie." That was the bottom line, and there was no use in beating around the bush. It wasn't that Garret was opposed to telling Rorie and Mal the truth... just not now.
--- "Oh." Declan wasn't sure what he thought about Garret being quite so comfortable with lying to his partners. "I left me lunch on the counter. Do ye want anything?" It struck him that he'd been a terrible host, not offering Garret the most basic of courtesies.
--- Declan had allowed him use of his shower, the freedom to walk around naked, and he wasn't protesting to Garret stealing his clothing. He could not have been a better host if he'd offered to hand feed him grapes.
"I'm good," he said, rifling through Declan's drawers and pulling out a pair of jeans. Size 32 waist. Perfect. "Actually, I kind of skipped lunch, but... oh, she gave me the best piece of cheesecake I have ever eaten, Declan I swear to you this was beautiful. I would have gladly lost a foot for it." Stepping into the jeans, he purred, remembering the velvety smoothness of the dessert on his tongue. "Hey these are really comfortable, what brand are these?"
--- Declan nodded, heading down the hall to the kitchen to make a couple more sandwiches. "Then, I'll make ye lunch." He perked up at the mention of cheesecake though. It was super rich, but oh man, it pleasured him right down to his roots. "You'll have t' bring me a piece. And the jeans? Depends on what pair ye're wearing." Most likely he'd bought them from Old Navy years ago. Use did wonders to soften fabric.
--- "I dunno they're... blue. Old Navy I think." It was very likely Declan wouldn't be getting these back. Nor this shirt, which was a very pretty green and soft as a pile of baby ducks and smelled like laundry detergent and fabric softener and Declan's own smell. Garret felt pretty. Man pretty.
Heading into the kitchen, Garret hopped up on the counter beside where Declan was working, letting his feet swing a bit. "I should tell Wesley what happened," he mused, swiping a piece of cheese and taking a bite. "He'll appreciate its glory. You really don't understand how impossibly amazing what happened to me is. Boys cream themselves just thinking about shit like this."
--- "Likely." Dec didn't go for expensive like Garret, but he did try for quality and comfort. Old Navy was good about that usually. Glancing at his friend, Dec nodded approvingly. "Looks good on ye."
He wasn't phased by the cheese thief, instead just cutting more slices of the incredibly sharp cheddar. "Tell me what is amazing about it."
--- Laughing a little, Garret shook his head. "I don't know if I can. I mean... if you get it, you get it. And if you don't, I dunno if I can make you get it. But I'll try." Chewing, he contemplated a moment. How could he make an innocent dryad understand the glorious male fantasy shared by men worldwide?
"Okay," he said after a moment, sitting upright a bit. "I think I've got it. Okay, so... imagine that you're not with Keely. You're just you, single. And you're not doing something particularly special, you're just being ordinary and doing some mundane task. And then all of a sudden, this strikingly beautiful woman comes up to you, and she saw you and she thought that, just by looking at you, you were so manly and irresistable that she can't help herself. She doesn't know you, she's never met you, but just seeing you has driven her so crazy, she has to fuck you. Like she has to. You are so attractive that this woman wants to give herself to you out of sheer need and desperation." With another stolen piece of cheese, Garret winked. "That's the fantasy."
--- Declan silently put the sandwich together. Several layers of turkey and cheddar mixed together with freshly slice tomato on the side. Just in case Garret didn't want it. All the while, he listened, trying to understand. Maybe he needed to start thinking about fantasies.
--- Watching Dec, Garret studied a moment, then shook his head. "Nevermind," he said finally, grabbing the sandwich once Dec was done with it. "Being irresistable is probably meaningless to you, so it's... well nevermind. Thank you, by the way. For this."
--- Dec smiled. "Ye're already irresistable, so I at least can understand that part o' it." He didn't care to think of himself as attractive, no matter how often Garret tried to convince him. Why would anyone, male or female, pull him into a room?
--- Taking a very big bite of sandwich, Garret scooped Declan with his foot, pulling him into his grasp. His leg grasp. "Fanks," he said while chewing. "Buh I wouldn' consider myshelf irreshishable. Maybe.... handshome. An' maybe she just' knows I'm easy. She did shay she'd been askin' about me."
--- Declan chuckled, moving into the embrace without complaint. "I would. How many times have I tried t' resist ye and failed?" Reaching to the plate for the slice of the tomato, Dec set it on top of Garret's next bite. "Have a slice. Ye'll live longer."
--- Swallowing, Garret set Declan with a look. "Plenty," he said simply. "Because if you hadn't, you and I would be a whole lot more naked right now." Though the truth of the matter was, Garret had backed offf trying to seriously hit on Declan. He didn't want to cause more problems between him and Keely.
Garret liked tomatoes. So he gladly picked up the offered slice with his teeth, sucking it into his mouth like a slurped strand of spaghetti. "Mmm," he moaned playfully, letting tomato juice run over his lips.
--- Declan didn't see why Garret would want to hit on him so much when he had two men at home who loved him. There was nothing Dec could give him that he couldn't get from Rorie and Mal, as far as the dryad knew. Rolling his eyes at Garret's show, he set another slice in the same spot, finally reaching out for his own neglected meal.
--- "Why are you feeding me?" Garret asked after he'd swallowed. "You're always so... I don't know... accomodating for me. Not that I don't appreciate it, but why do you do it? I don't think I've ever done anything for you to warrant how sweet you are."
--- "Is there a reason why I shouldn't?" Dec bit into his sandwich, licking a smear of ranch dressing from his lip. In Declan's mind, Garret was a fabulous friend.
--- If Declan thought Garret was a fabulous friend, then Declan needed better friends. "I can think of about a billion reasons," Garret scoffed, taking another bite so Declan couldn't expect any explaination from him. It almost pained him the way that Declan thought about him. It was just so... wrong.
--- Declan enjoyed the friends he had. Garret had helped the nervous dryad so much and he couldn't think of a way to repay that. He would though. "Then tell me." Dec took another bite and waited patiently.
--- Taking his time in chewing, Garret watched Declan, hoping he'd lose interest in the question and give up. But of course, Declan wasn't going to give up that easily. So finally Garret swallowed, and released his hold on Declan so he could slide off the counter. "I really ought to get going," he said evasively, finding himself a bit trapped between the counter and the dryad. "I'm late clocking in from lunch and I gotta go spill coffee on my clothing, so..."
--- Declan set his sandwich down. He could finish it later. "Do ye not want me to be so friendly towards ye?" Was that it? Had Declan overstepped his bounds to his friend? He'd hate to think so. He truly love the rapport they'd developed.
--- Exhaling, Garret groaned a bit. "I don't... I really don't know how to answer that." On the one hand, their friendship was great. Garret trusted Declan, and there were so few people that he really trusted. But on the other hand, their friendship had landed Declan in trouble before, and considering Garret's track record with people, and their lives, how long would it be until Declan's was damaged? Or would it ever be?
"I think you think too much of me, sapling. And maybe one day it's going to hurt you. Case and point, the way you reacted when I told you about Shelley, you kind of... and when you saw the bruises and scratches, that face you made was just... I mean I don't know. Maybe I'm not the right kind of friend for you." He shrugged. "Maybe I'm too much."
--- Declan shook his head. "No, ye're just the right kind. The right amount." He settled his hands on Garret's thighs, holding him in place while giving him that bright Irish smile. "I was worried for ye. About what ye'd tell yer family, and how ye've been treated. But I will no' step in unless it's warranted. I just want ye t' know I have yer back."
--- Nng, those hands on his thighs. Garret remembered those hands, and it definitely wasn't helping him behave right now. Neither was the close proximity, or the honey sweet words Declan's soft lilt was speaking. This was the start of another kind of porno: Girl porn. "You can have my front too," he replied easily, before his brain could stop his mouth.
--- is available --- Garret had helped Declan grow from a sapling to the solid tree he was now. Sure there was still room to grow, but he was young yet. Hearing the smooth reply, Declan chuckled, leaning forward to press a friendly kiss to Garret's mouth. "Aye, I know."
--- "Mmm," Garret hummed, letting his eyes close into the kiss, however brief it was. There was just something about Declan. "Yeah, you know," he said dryly, opening his eyes and giving the best annoyed look he could muster for Declan. "You know you're damn lucky I'm barely a good person, because I have such an urge to take advantage of you right now, baby." Putting a hand on Dec's chest, Garret pushed him back a bit, giving himself enough room to move around the other man and head back to the bathroom for his clothes and shoes. "And believe me," he added, walking backward so he could point a finger at Declan, really drive the point home. "You would love the advantage I take!"
--- Declan smiled, not at all offended by the way he had to be pushed back. He leaned against the counter to watch Garret leave, calling out his own retort. "Last I checked, Garret, we both loved it." Chuckling, he reached over and picked up his sandwich.
--- Phasing through the bathroom wall, Garret gathered his articles of clothing and stepped into his shoes, debating his retort. The difference between himself and Declan was that, if Garret had decided to pursue further into that kiss, he could go home and his boys would understand. Might not appreciate, but they'd understand. Declan, however, would face a redheaded fury not seen since Carrie White.
"I guess so," he decided finally, coming out of the bathroom (using the door properly this time). "We'll always have that random path in the forest, won't we?"
--- is available --- Declan gave little happy murmurs as he enjoyed his sandwich, crunching happily on lettuce leaves and cheese. Yum. When Garret came out, Dec's mouth was full and he looked like he was doing his back chipmunk impersonation. "Umm.. Mmhmm," he nodded, his mouth full.
--- Rolling his eyes, Garret pinched one of those overstuffed cheeks. "You're just like Rorie sometimes," he teased. "Anyway. I need to head out before I get fired or something." Not that he thought for a moment that he would get fired, but still, he had to at least put in an effort. "And while you have your mouth full and therefore can't protest, don't worry about me. I insist that you don't, and your quiet indicates that you agree wholeheartedly. No no, don't speak," he insisted, putting two fingers on Declan's lips. "Don't ruin this beautiful promise. I'm so glad that you've agreed with me."
--- Well now wasn't that just something! Dec frowned, pursing his lips at Garret and chewing furiously so that he could swallow. He even shook his head no to the promise and the bloody fool wouldn't take it. So Declan decided he'd solve this one way or the other. He stuck out his tongue and licked Garret's fingers, finally swallowing the overly large bite. "No, I willna stop! Devilish man."
--- "Ew," Garret grimmaced, wiping his fingers on his (well Declan's) jeans. "And now you're like Mal." Blech, with the licking. "I'm sorry baby but it's too late. You've already promised, and a promise is a promise. And I do so thank you for it." Scooping up his neatly folded clothing into his arms, he pecked a small kiss to Declan's nose. "Away I go. Thank you for the shower, and the sandwich..." He grabbed it from the counter and took another bite, looking around to see if there was something left behind. "And just for being lovely. You're beautiful. I love you. Don't ever change."
--- Dec started to chuckle, but then frowned at the comparison, not entirely certain it was a compliment. "I'm no' sure what t' say t' that." Either way, what Garret said next melted Dec's heart a little. "I love ye, too. Don't ye change either. Not for anyone."
--- Declan's instructions made Garret pause. "Everyone changes," he said after a moment. "Sometimes it's for the best." Giving the sapling a saucy little wink, he headed through the front door. Declan was going to worry about him, he knew that much. And he loved the man for it.