[DRP] Little Things (Shiloh & Jamie) [FIN]

[Melancholies]

Subtle

Having a boyfriend, he discovered, really wasn't so bad.

Not that he expected it to be bad in the sense that he wouldn't enjoy it, but because he had been nervous. The confession had been all 3AM drowsiness and open hearts, and by the time morning had rolled around he found himself gripped with anxiety. Except nothing had changed, nothing was wrong, no one was treating anything any different. It felt the same. They were friends.

Friends that could hold hands and cuddle and stuff sometimes if they wanted to. That was nice.

The most awkward part was coming out to Jamie's parents about the whole thing, except the longer they put it off the more he felt like they didn't have to tell them. Or well, that there was nothing to tell. There were a lot of subtleties lingering around the room—their room—that already painted a picture. It was waking up and seeing their wallets next to each other on the bedside table and their shoes side by side next to the door and the fact that half of Jamie's closet had been neatly commandeered by his own clothes.

Also the fact that there was a turtle in here, much more normal than Jamie's fish, and she sat in a tank at the far end of the bed.

Their room, he reminded himself.

"I think we were already dating." He tells Jamie as he flips through his wallet, grimacing at all the cheesy photographs that were crammed in it. He never thought of himself as photogenic, but apparently his "This-World" counterpart was.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Subtle

It made no sense to even pretend at surprise or ask something like you think so? The signs were all there and that was enough. Jamie was still wearing Shiloh's oversized pants to bed, even now.

"That's a cute one," he said instead, pointing out a photograph while leaning heavily against his shoulder and watching. He put his hand in the way so Shiloh couldn't keep flipping in that determined way he did. Determined to make it so Jamie could barely see all these great pics Too fast, Beaumont!

"Y'know... I think you're right." he said, only then relinquishing his photo-block. With a small huff, he flopped away and began crawling to the edge of the bed to hover over the turtle tank. "There's no way you'd finally get a turtle only to keep her in my room instead of yours." And Junior had been there since the beginning, since they crawled their way home that night. They'd both been too tired to notice.

"Hi, Junior," he greeted her, head over the edge of the bed now.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Subtle

There was a soft huff of something that sounded like it wanted to be irritation, but it was probably just a feeling of minor inconvenience at best. "Whatever..." He enjoyed looking at the pictures because he enjoyed looking at Jamie, but looking at photos of this universe's "him" was still slightly unnerving. He lacked the dark rings under his eyes, looked like he had his life together...

"Your hair is really long in a lot of these too." He noted duly as Jamie flopped away, missing the immediate warmth of him at his shoulder.

Junior seemed content to sit in the substrate of her tank. The terrarium was impressive and looked extremely pricey at a glance, but a closer observation would reveal a lot of DIY-handmade components. Condensation clung to the upper parts of the glass, a thermometer inside reading out sixty percent humidity exact. Junior was pleased, if not ignorant to Jamie's greeting.

"I'm still mad you can't own sliders in this stupid state." Shiloh abandoned the wallet on the bedside table before joining Jamie in a similar fashion. Now both of their heads peeked over the edge, and the plant life in Junior's cage seemed to shift slightly at his attention. "I mean, I get the invasive species thing, but that ain't their fault. They did nothing wrong." Reaching down, he wiggled his finger at the tank and the plants wiggled back. Junior seemed immensely curious in this.

Shiloh smiled.

"Painted turtles are pretty though." Painted wood turtles, to be exact, not that Shiloh would discriminate; but that's just what Junior was.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Subtle

"Do you think it would be cute if I grew it out that long?" It was already significantly longer than it had been when they first met, but Jamie never humored the idea of letting it get super long like it was in the photos. "It wouldn't be too much?"

There was a small part of Jamie that worried it might look too feminine or silly or maybe just downright wrong. It didn't matter that the Jamie from the photos looked cute. What if it was a fluke? He might grow his hair out and realize it was an absolute disaster. Or maybe he was simply too harsh on himself. That was entirely possible.

"Look, Shiloh, she sees you!" he exclaimed with a giggle. "A slider would've been super cute. Could you imagine Junior with red ears? Honestly, though, I think she kinda suits you." He rolled on his side to look at Shiloh instead of their shellchild. "Painted. You're the most artistic guy I know. Wood. You're practically a tree. Turtle. I mean that one's obvious. It's perfect."

Melancholiessss

 

[Melancholies]

Subtle

He kept wiggling his finger, a smile coming to his face. "Christ, where have you been all my life, huh?" He said this with utmost sarcasm, but it was obvious that he was amused. "Bet'cha could've figured out my entire childhood if you had the chance at this rate. You see any other abstract connections in the day to day?"

He bumped their shoulders together, knocked their heads together at the same time. He couldn't help himself from lingering there for a second.

"I think you'd look real cute." Junior was perplexed by the sudden stillness of the plants, and her maw gaped open and closed a few times in abject confusion. It made Shiloh laugh—light and innocent and genuinely from the heart—"But like, honestly? You'd look cute whatever you did. S'long as you were happy."

saedusk

 

[Melancholies]

Trust

Shiloh was outside in the backyard, marveling the sun. The snow was still a gentle blanket on the ground, but the sky was blue and endless instead of the same dreary gray. He wasn't dressed well for the weather—he was still in his pajamas actually—but he had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders for necessary warmth.

He was thinking.

"Hey, Jame?" The door was cracked behind him as he called into the house, "Can you come here for a sec?"

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Subtle

"Oh, I was there," he assured. "Waiting for you under your bed. You never found me." All of this he said with a straight face as he was met, literally head on, by Shiloh. A small crack formed in his serious mask, one that crept and crept until it split his lips right into a grin. Jamie was always bad at keeping the smiles away when Shiloh was involved.

Even if he was trying to banish his insecurities at the same time.

"I'm pretty happy right now." To emphasize, he gently nuzzled his forehead against Shiloh's "Maybe I'll give it a try, though... Maybe."

Melancholies

 

[saedusk]

Trust

"Okaaaay!" Jamie called back from the living room where he too was conveniently swaddled in a large, fuzzy blanket. With his parents out for the day, he'd commandeered the living room for netflix on the big screen. Popcorn would come later, as soon as Shiloh decided he was done sunbathing.

Only his socked feet were visible as Jamie scurried over and poked his head out the door. "What's up?"

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Trust

Tiny frost dappled plants budded up around his toes. He wiggled them. They wiggled back, and he was content by this affirmation. He looked behind him when he heard Jamie's voice, head craning backwards further and further until he flopped onto his back, staring up peacefully.

"There's something I wanna teach you." He blinked a few times, "I think it's real important, but you can't tell anyone. It's... dangerous too." despite the warnings, he seemed calm, not terribly serious.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Trust

For a moment, Jamie considered Shiloh as he laid there. What would've been a fluid move to join him outside became a minute's worth of gathering his blanket up from around his feet and shuffling, plump and awkward shaped, out the door. He managed to get it closed behind him before joining Shiloh on the ground.

"Teach me what?" he asked, then paused. Shiloh seemed casual, but Jamie could tell what he had to say meant something. Trust was a special thing.

"I won't tell anyone. Or... if I think there's someone I can tell, I'll ask you first. If it's something really dangerous, well... it might be better to keep it between us, though."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Trust

Shiloh nodded.

"It's a drawback that Nobles have, I guess. It's a spell." He was still staring at the ceiling of the back patio awning. "When you use it, a noble has to do whatever it is that you ask. Like..." he took a deep breath, "Anything. Anything."

He sat up, hugging the blanket around him closer. "I want you to know it just in case. In case another noble starts ******** s**t up, or in case like... you gotta use it on me for whatever reason." Only then did he finally look over at Jamie.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Trust

When Shiloh sat up, Jamie moved closer, too. They were a bundle of blankets, squished together as much as they could be. "Anything," he repeated, his breath a low sigh. "That could be... really scary."

Jamie looked steady when he nodded, though, and their eyes met. "I promise I won't use it unless I really need to. But if... someone else tried to use it on you..." He shook his head.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Trust

"I dunno who else knows it, but I'm willing to bet none of the other nobles do. The newer ones like me, I mean." Ezra, Melany... well, Melany didn't seem to be involved in court at all anymore, so maybe she didn't, but he still wasn't sure about the Burning Man. "Liam was the one who taught it to me. Made me tap dance on his table." He laughed at the memory, obviously amused, obviously embarrassed.

"I'm more worried about keeping it on the down low, y'know? I don't want everyone figuring this thing out, but I think it's still important to know. Especially since you're not a noble. S'not like anyone could use it back on you." He cleared his throat.

"Anyway, it goes like this," He dropped his voice to a whisper, "Grant that I may never prove so fond to trust a man on oath or bond. It's from some play or some s**t." Even the mention of the words made his mind buzz softly, "And then you follow it up with the request. I'm not kidding when I say it could be anything. You could make someone kill someone, or themselves, or—"

He cut himself off.

"But I know you won't abuse it. It's called the geas." Despite the gravity of the situation, he looked a tiny bit playful, "Wanna see for yourself?" A nice follow up to "you could make me murder someone" if there ever was one.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Trust

"He made you tap dance on the table," he repeated, sounding incredulous. "He couldn't have just, I dunno, told you instead of using it on you?" Jamie only assumed Liam's purpose had been to prove the spell's legitimacy and prepare Shiloh for what it felt like, but it still made him poof his cheeks out indignantly.

"I definitely won't abuse it!" he assured, still ruffled. It was times like this when Jamie sounded the most genuine. "But are you... sure you want me to test it out on you? It doesn't like... hurt or anything, does it?"

Eyes wide, Jamie's hand found its way out of the blanket to settle atop Shiloh. Or at least atop of the blanket that Shiloh was somewhere beneath, as well.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Trust

"He made me tap dance on the table." He affirmed, still just as lighthearted and silly to contrast against Jamie's ruffled aggression. "It doesn't hurt, no. It just feels like... an unscratchable itch I guess? It doesn't really bother me any unless I resist it."

He shrugged.

"I won't make you, I'm just sayin. I trust you." He shuffled a little, "Like, magic stuff aside, if I'm bein' stupid or stubborn... or doing s**t I shouldn't be, I want you to check me, yeah?"

He leaned his blanketed mass against Jamie's, greedy for warmth.

saedusk