open

[heirlift]

Who: John and you
When: April 13th
Where: ye olde generic yet well-patronized tavern
What: John turns 20... again. He gets treated to a penis cake. Come wish him a happy birthday and have some cake.
Warnings: none, other than phallic pastries.

At the end of the day, John is pretty used to Weird Time Shenanigans. So to be transported back in time by barely a week before his birthday doesn't really set him off course that much. A little disorienting, sure, but nothing he can't handle. It certainly helps him get settled a little, and being who he is, it doesn't take him long to get along with his coworkers. There's some pranking back and forth, a little japery, and despite his general discomforts, it all feels... pretty okay. Ish.

Okay-ish except for the part where he lets slip that his birthday is coming up again and he jokingly wonders if that makes him technically 21 since, from his perspective, it hasn't been anywhere close to a year since he last celebrated his birthday.

It doesn't really seem to matter, because some of the other guards sharing an off-shift with him take it into their own hands to drag him into town and down to the tavern, where he repeatedly denies their offers of cheap booze, and tries his best to at least seem like he's having a good time. Because it seems like they are, at least, and it's pretty nice of them to throw him a birthday party when they barely know him. Some part of him can even appreciate the birthday boy crown made out of old parchment. And even when they bring out the crudely-but-lovingly made penis-shaped cake (why though) he tries to appreciate it, though a part of him is waiting for the other shoe to drop. His prankster's gambit can only take so many hits before it's totally depleted...

"You guys really didn't have to..."

Oh, but they did. And there's just enough to go around not only for the birthday boy and his guests, but everyone else in the tavern, too.

Comments

[shenunigans]

There is something familiar about the unnaturalness of it all, even if it's comfortably unlike Dave's planet. He's glad for the lack of heat and fire, really.

"You're doing the right thing, to be honest. I've gotten myself ass-backward lost in this place enough, and I'm here all the time doing shit for cash." It's much easier to send some broke loser to run around and chase mushrooms than it is to do it yourself, of course.

He kindly omits the amount of time he's spent here just rubbing one out.

"There's a pretty cool pond up ahead, if you're into that. There's also a rock Matthew Mcconaughey, in terms of both appearance and acting range." He's only really glanced at it, never getting the chance to get too close or hang around it. He remembers where it is, because there's a trail of ever-increasing pink flowers that smell amazing. Dave jerks his head in the general direction of it, then starts to walk that way anyway.

If John follows, Dave will lead them to a pond, hedged in by a vast growth of fragrant, pink flowers. There is indeed a rock, whether it resembles any actor is hard to say, but Dave will sit on it.

[heirlift]

"I'll be the judge of any McConaughey likenesses," he mutters under his breath. Actually, he's not even sure if he still liked Matthew McConaughey or not; he hasn't had a chance to find out. It turned out though, once you grew up, you stopped liking the stupid stuff you did when you were a kid. Except for your stupid best friend. As it is, John is practically attached to Dave's hip; he's not scared, he just really, really does not want to get lost alone out here. And also maybe he wants to see this weird looking rock.

The pond is actually more breathtaking than he thought; the rock, not so much. It just looks like a rock. But at least John is immediately entranced by the flowers. Plants weren't really his thing, they were Jade's, but three years on a space boat together, and you kind of absorbed some things by pure osmosis. If nothing else, he thinks she'd like to see them.

"Alright, I give your rock a 2 out of 10. It's got a rugged McConaughey-esque charm, but that's where the similarities end." After he's gotten a good look at the flowers (not knowing exactly what he's looking at), he wiggles his way onto the rock next to Dave, giving him a playful shove. "Kind of surprised there's no one else out here. This is... nice."

What he wants to say is that this seems like a good place to make out or more, but he doesn't want to give Dave the wrong idea. But it is true.

[shenunigans]

It is a good make out place. It's also a great place for some private time. Surprisingly, not many people seem to venture here, which makes Dave really glad that John can see it too. You wander into enough psychedelic bushes, you start to question reality a little.

"You go out into the forest, you find a cool rock for your friend and this is the appreciation you get." Dave says with a grunt as he digs himself down onto the rock to stop himself from falling off the rock. He takes a moment to absorb the sights and the sounds and the smells of the forest.

In a way that would totally be weird any other time, Dave feels comfortable enough to rest his cheek on John's shoulder. The flowers smell nice, he smells nice, Dave feels warm and comfortable and it's probably because of all the booze he drank.

"Sorry this birthday sucks, dude."

[heirlift]

"Don't be. It's not like it's your fault. Heck, if I could blame it on you, it'd probably be easier."

He finds that he doesn't really mind the proximity, and lets Dave just rest there. It is rather balmy, maybe from the tree cover, maybe there were some... natural springs nearby or something. John doesn't know about those kinds of things. He just knows how he feels in the moment, and that's surprisingly nice, given everything. Nice enough to give Dave's knee a jocular pat.

"Hey, it's kind of nice having someone here for it though. You know?" He breathes in heavily, taking in the scent of the flowers, and the water, and the forest in general. "It gets kind of lonely sometimes."

Not just here, but back home, too.

[shenunigans]

Warmth is starting to bubble rapidly in Dave, only temporarily paused by the part of his brain that feels genuine concern for his own comfort. Urges push past reason and he allows himself to indulge in the feeling.

It's not just a result of flowers, but they certainly magnify things he's been feeling. Loneliness, attraction, mild sexual frustration- living in a sex paradise as a sexless, awkward virgin coming to terms with your sexuality leads to an array of pent up sensations. He's fought off feelings like this for John before. Quietly. Without even realising it himself, for the most part. First came being threatened and disgusted by his own sexuality, then came acknowledging that John would never swing that way. Not for Dave, not for anyone.

Which is fine, really. Dicks and friendship didn't mix, and Karkat was much more open to experimenting with feelings.

But now they're here, together, in sex paradise and Dave is starting to feel things he buried down in a box years ago. John is cute, John makes him feel good, John is built and the little deviant in Dave wants to feel something other than a hug or a shoulder shove. When John doesn't shy away from closeness and touches him back, he needs to restrain the urge to move in for a kiss. If anything, the fear of rejection is the most powerful weapon he has against whatever happens to be happening inside him.

"Yeah." He says, tone uneasy and the slightest bit strained. "I don't think I appreciated a dense population while I had the chance. I thought I was so cool and edgy with my teen misanthropy phase but I kind of like, I dunno. People. Being around people. Different people, too. The meteor fucked me up and I had, what- five? Five-ish people. Must have sucked with three." He says with a shrug against John. "The universe is great and all, but it's no Earth. Earth was really going somewhere, I think. The internet was taking us wild new places, music was getting worse, they started making those superhero movies and I never got to see where they went with it. Hoo boy. I'd do anything for a computer and some WiFi around here."

He's just rambling for the sake of it now.

[heirlift]

If asked, John would say that Dave's rambling was just one of those things, and maybe it was kind of annoying, but you learned to tune it out? But if you really pressed him, he might admit that it was kind of endearing. For someone who tried so hard to pretend like having feelings was below him or whatever that whole deal was, the rambling gave away a lot more than he probably realized.

At least to John, it does. He always could kind of pick out the real emotions, if he was listening closely. This very moment is no different, but... somehow, it still feels that way.

To say that John had never had a single sexy thought about Dave would be a lie, but it had only ever been those weird involuntary types of thoughts, where your puberty-addled mind sort of goes off on its own, and then you feel weird afterwards and wonder if you should say anything or keep it to yourself, and decide that the latter is probably the best course of action. Because it would be weird otherwise. Right? ...right?

He does find that he's tuning out Dave's rambling though, mostly in favor of letting that hand sit on his knee and idling rubbing circles with his thumb, while wondering if that weird sort of spark he's feeling is just because he's lonely, and Dave is here and cute and warm and soft, or if there's really something worth exploring. It scares him, just a little, but it entices him even more. Eventually, he wrenches his gaze up, though going from a thousand-yard stare at the ground to focusing on his friend is a little disorienting. That's the only reason he can think of for feeling so suddenly flushed.

"Oh. Yeah, the internet was kind of wild, huh?"

[shenunigans]

Eventually, the sensation of John's thumb rubbing over his knee is enough to bring his rambling to a less organic stop. He had words on the tip of his tongue, ready to sass John out for not really paying attention, but they fade into his thoughts and pretty much disintegrate. Dave breathes in deep, trying to clear his mind with fresh air and filling his nostrils with the goddamn flowery smell. His mind is now pretty much 100% fixated on John, the shape of his jaw, the way his hand feels on him, the way his neck is so close to Dave's lips he can taste it.

Actually, he may very well be tasting in. In his idleness, he's managed to press his lips against his nice, soft, neck nook (trolls have all but ruined that term, and yet..). Despite being aware of it, Dave is reluctant to draw his lips away. If anything, they just travel upward, so he can catch the lobe of John's ear in his teeth to give it a quick nibble.

He sees practically nothing wrong with this, so much so that his hand dips to rub circles over John's thigh, much less innocuous than a hand on the knee.

For once, Dave actually can't find a damn thing to say. There's still a sentient, non-John-obsessed part of him that is absolutely terrified of garnering a disgusted, disinterested reaction from John.

[heirlift]

The only response John can come up with, initially, is a sharp exhale. That's-- certainly, by most definitions, Dave is definitely kissing his neck. Moreover, John is definitely enjoying it, and tilting his head to one side, inviting more attention, as he slips his arm around Dave's back and shifts to give him a little better leverage. It also gives way for him to reach up and tangle his fingers in Dave's hair. So this is how it's going to go, huh? It doesn't even feel entirely wrong, to see where this might lead. It feels bizarrely natural. More so than it should.

"If you're trying to make up for the lame birthday..." he starts, then trails off briefly, wondering if he actually wants to discourage this. Hm. No, maybe he doesn't. "Then I think you're on to something."

It's like some part of him doesn't believe that these are actual words coming out of his own mouth. Did being here in this strange world for such a short time already have that much of an impact on him? Does it even really matter? More pressing is if he should reciprocate, or just let Dave do his thing, or were they supposed to trade off, and how would he know when it was time?