[PRP] You're Here (Eliott & Horace)

[The Semblance of Unity]

saedusk

Text to: Ellie ☀️
meet me in the parking lot, sunshine

Horace leaned back in the driver's seat, smiling a bit stupidly. They were going to see a musical and Elliot had even texted him about what to wear! It was kind of too cute and maybe Horace was refusing to examine why Elliot had texted him that and why he'd said the second outfit.... with the tighter pants... had looked better. He might have even worn a bit of the same color on his outfit, too.

He snorted, mildly disgusted with how silly he was being.  

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Despite knowing full well Horace was the king of questionable clothing choices, Eli was pleasantly surprised at the outfit he'd picked. Both of them were stylish, he'd been the one to put them together after all, but this one accented his figure so nicely. He did a few easy poses in front of the mirror before swaying out to meet Horace at the car. The pants were definitely tight, but he didn't seem to mind.

"You know, I can drive us occasionally, too," he said as he got in the car, then switched gears and opted for an actual greeting. "Hello, darling," his voice was cheeky but notably affectionate, "I hope you're looking forward to this as much as I am."

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"I know you can drive, but I invited you, so I've got to provide the transportation. But," he shot Eli a grin. "If you wanna ask me out somewhere sometime, you can drive." Eli settled easily into his car, and Horace had most definitely watched him approach. The pants were a huge yes from him. Nice pants, he pinged over and patted just above Ellie's knee.

"Hello, sunshine. You look great, and I'm definitely looking forward to this. I haven't seen a musical in ages." He backed out of the spot and began to drive. "Are you ever in musicals at Rider-Waite?"

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Though Eli didn't directly comment on the whole pants thing, he did look endlessly pleased for the compliment. Both of them, actually. With a wave of his hand, he tried to play it off, but not very hard. Immediately after, that hand went for a pat of his own on the one Horace had conveniently left on his leg.

"Next time I'll invite you out, then. Oh-! I've already got the perfect idea, but don't even ask. It'll be a surprise."

Leaning comfortably in his seat, he switched conversational gears to keep Horace from prying. "Now that you mention it, never. I haven't been in a musical since my California days," he said with a wistful sigh. "Maybe I should give it a try."

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[The Semblance of Unity]

"How cruel," he joked. "Now I really wanna know." He didn't move his hand because, well, Eli was allowing it and he kind of liked it. And if that meant he was driving one-handedly, so be it. At least he'd been driving long enough that it wasn't an issue.

He snuck a glance over at Elliot. "How come not since then?" What was with him and meeting boys from California? "If you were in one, I'd come watch you - it'd be amazing." Horace grinned. "I haven't done any since high school, so I guess I can't really poke at you for it. What's your favorite one? Or five, if one is impossible."

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"No, no, don't even think about prying!" he chided, squeezing Horace's hand like some kind of threat. It was probably pretty ineffectual. "Maybe I'll look into the musical thing, but you better keep that promise."

With a small laugh, Eli looked straight ahead out the windshield in thought. "My favorite musical, though? One is absolutely impossible." Except he paused only a second before answering, "Probably All That Jazz." A lot could be said for something relatable—or something that very well could've been relatable had fate not intervened.

"Now, obviously I like Phantom of the Opera, too. And Sound of Music if we're talking classics." He was flicking open a finger on his free hand as he went down the list. "West Side Story, Moulin Rouge, Rent- Oh, I guess that's six."

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[The Semblance of Unity]

"I solemnly swear to never take my eyes off of you, Elliot Labelle." It sounded super dramatic, which fit Horace just fine. He listened to Elliot with a smile on his face.

"Six is cheating, Ellie. I like Phantom, of course." He grinned, remembering being silly with Eli in other Ashdown. "And Les Miz, oh, I've been meaning to watch Firebringer. It's on youtube, we should watch it sometime. Rent is good, too."

He shot Eli a glance and began to sing, regardless of the fact that the song he chose had been ridiculously overplayed. Horace still liked it. "Five hundred, twenty-five thousand - oh, we're almost there. I think I see a good parking spot - six hundred minutes."

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"Okay, that was just as bad as my little cheat. Interrupting a perfectly good song like that. We're even, Horace." The look on his face only moments earlier said he'd been seconds away from joining in, not that he expected Horace to notice. Keeping his eyes on the road—save a short glance—was just a bit more important. Still, overplayed or not, Eli enjoyed Seasons of Love.

"Actually, you know how I plan on measuring this year?" he asked, playing off of the song. "In how many times we see a musical. I'll count Firebringer, of course."

After they'd claimed their surprisingly decent parking spot and Eli maneuvered out of the car in his too tight pants, he turned to Horace, arms crossed, but in a playful sort of way. "Spending more time together sounds like fun, right?"

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[The Semblance of Unity]

"Oh, do we measure even?" He said with a glance over at those tight pants again. As Elliot got up, so did he, unfolding himself out of the car.

Horace smiled, the movement causing his glasses to rise a bit. "That sounds like it has an 'or else' attached to it. You're lucky I like you, sunshine." His tone was teasing, and he reached out to nudge a piece of hair away from Elliot's face. "We should see the maximum amount possible, starting now." Horace produced the tickets from his wallet.

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If Eli noticed Horace staring—which he didn't, but even if he had—he didn't seem to mind. There were things he was genuinely proud of, even if his deceptively low self-esteem didn't always make it easy, and his body was one of them. Nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide.

"Wonderful!" he nearly exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "I wonder if I could convince Ollie to make us scrapbook pages for our musical adventures. He's quite good at it. He's showed you, right?"

For a short moment, the energy mellowed and Eli's eyes narrowed pleasantly as he let Horace tuck the hair back.

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[The Semblance of Unity]

His thumb brushed Eli's cheek as he pulled his hand back. "Yeah, he showed me. They're pretty awesome, aren't they? I guess we better keep the tickets, then." He paused, thinking.

"C'mon, let's not be late. Once we're inside, let's take a selfie." He grinned at Eli, holding out his hand.

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At first Eli didn't reply, only stood there wearing his comfortable cat sort of look, a small, gently curvy smile on his face. Then, like he hadn't been lost in the twilight zone at all, he grabbed Horace's outstretched hand and led them right through the front door. He only paused a moment to hold it for an elderly couple.

"Hurry, let's do this before my hair gets away from me," he said, pulling Horace aside. "I'm looking fabulous, wouldn't you agree. Instagram selfie worthy."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Sunshine, you always look fabulous." He grinned at Eli, kind of forgetting they were supposed to take a photo. "Like art work, except the kind it's okay to touch." Horace blinked and abruptly remembered to get his phone out.

"C'mere; I promise to try not to shock you." He slid up close next to Eli, holding the phone in front of them. Then, right as his timer was counting down, Horace turned his head and kissed Eli on the cheek. It'd make for a good photo, right? Or something.

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A puffed up Eli said nothing about the compliment itself, but looked pleased to receive it. Horace was already a-ok in his book, obviously, but anyone who fed his ego always got brownie points.

With a cheery smile, he waited for the snap, but his perfectly manicured expression faltered in surprise when lips met cheek. Not a bad surprised nor an offended one, no, just genuine, surprise that melted into something a little softer after the photo had already been 'ruined' by it.

Maybe since this was Horace, he could give him something a bit (hopefully) better than brownie points. Could Eli be blamed for wanting to? His cheek was warm.

"I wasn't even smiling," he said, "The photo is ruined." Except he didn't sound distraught; he was obviously joking. "It's your fault, so you owe me." Then just like that, Eli kissed Horace's cheek in return, this one dangerously close to the corner of his mouth.

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[The Semblance of Unity]

His phone always took a series of picture when using the front=facing camera (it was billed as optimal selfie options) and he couldn't wait to see Eli's reaction to impromptu smooch caught on digital film for all time.

"The photo could never be ruined." He almost said more, but then Eli returned the kiss and it was a quick thing, but something in Horace's chest did an odd little flip. His face burned, but he slid on a quick, almost smirking smile.

"Is that all it takes to not owe you anymore? Easy mode, Ellie. I could get used to that." What was hard mode like?

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