𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑛 𝑂𝑥𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎? ( closed )

[stations]

Who: Jack Townsend & Others
When: May
Where: Thorne, Horizon, Nocwich
What: Catch-All
Warnings: Language, mental illness, probably pit-related trauma things.

𝑆𝑜 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒'𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑
𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑒, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑒
𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑦?
𝐸𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼
𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑛'𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢
𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑑𝑎𝑖𝑛
𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛, 𝐼 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ

Comments

[ushiri]

He squints through all the gesticulating, then comes to some understanding as his expression softens slightly and he sets down his fork.

"Jack, it's fine. I appreciate the apology but, you went through something horrific. And then you had your... Sabine show up almost right after, while you were still recovering."

His brow furrows, and he shakes his head.

"You've had a lot going on."

If Jack had brought this up earlier, like two or three weeks ago, he might've caught the hint of something bitter hiding between Kahlil's response. Now though, he's had time to reconcile the change, to bury deep whatever it was he felt - or thought he felt when he found Jack on the mountain after all those weeks of searching.

It's probably for the best that he took this long to realize and approach him, he thinks.

[stations]

Although the forgiveness is nice and all, the point of this conversation isn't actually his apology. He shakes his head gently.

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, thank you, that's cool and everything, but I-" How to phrase this? How can he eloquently articulate what he's trying to convey here?

After about three seconds of trying to formulate words, he ultimately just blurts out a rather unhelpful, "Why?"

Clarify, Jack.

"I mean, why'd you leave? Do you not like rooming with girls, or did I do something wrong? Because if I did, you'll have to tell me, there's an approximately zero percent chance I'll figure it out on my own."

[ushiri]

The forgiveness was, at least partially, a hopeful attempt to sidestep any more conversation on this topic. But Jack being Jack continues to be endearingly oblivious to what should be obvious to most people. Kahlil gives him a half amused, half sympathetic look.

"I think that... after being parted for such a long time, two lovers would prefer to have a room to themselves, instead of having to bunk with a man who's a stranger to one of them."

He looks thoughtfully for a moment, then waves his hand, deciding this is probably still too vague for Jack.

"It's called being a third wheel. You both deserved some privacy, and I didn't want to accidentally walk in when you might be in bed together."

Is this still too vague? He raises an eyebrow.

"Having sex."

[stations]

It's a testament to their friendship and how well Kyle knows him that he hits the nail completely on the head here. That comment about lovers preferring to have a room to themselves earns a blank stare. The one about being in bed together almost earns a response about how little he actually sleeps.

And then comes having sex, and the understanding visibly dawns.

"Oh, oh shit. No, we wouldn't-" Skrrt, very quickly backpedaling, "I mean, we would. But we wouldn't... do that when you're... Maybe we could do the sock on the door- no, no, that's gross. I don't wanna do that. Satan would probably use it to fuck with me, and also it's just weird."

He exhales slowly, a brand new layer of guilt settling in alongside something else he can't quite name. Disappointment, maybe? Sadness?

"I get it, I guess. It's just... kind of a bummer."

He liked rooming with Kyle. He doesn't have a lot of friends, and he'd gotten used to sharing a place with Jerry back home. It was suprisingly just as easy to do here, with the teleporting ninja. He's gonna miss it.

[ushiri]

And 'sock on the door' isn't a practice he's familiar with, though he can understand the meaning. He lets out a snort. Yes, he agrees that Lucifer would absolutely mess with a marker like that, and also that it's pretty awkward in general.

Bummer. He's always delighted in Nayeshi words, slang or otherwise, and this one he pockets with over-easy eggs and belly button.

He picks all these little pieces of the conversation, so not to focus on the whole - it is a bummer. But also not really. Jack deserves to be happy with the person he loves. And secretly, shamefully, he should be grateful that he didn't do anything in that time when Jack was first returned.

"Is it?" he teases, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. But his features soften again after a moment and he picks at his plate. "I'll miss Rita."

[stations]

It's fine. This is fine. It's not like Kyle's moving away, or anything. He's not going to Solvunn like Jerry. They're not going to stop being friends. They're just... naturally going to see less of each other because they don't share a room anymore. And then naturally drift apart because they see less of each other and Jack is bad at reaching out to people to foster relationships, and Kyle has more important things than him going on, and eventually they'll get to a point where they pass each other in the hallway and do that awkward smile-grimace face at one another like semi-distant coworkers that sort of like each other, which is fine. It's absolutely and completely fine.

Stop freaking out about it and just be normal.

"She'll come visit. Especially if you have food." He answers dimly, scratching at the back of his neck. "So... I guess I'll leave you to it, then. Sorry again for- all that."

It was good while it lasted. Remember that time he rained down gas station hooch all over them, or the time he almost slit Kyle's throat with a box cutter? Good times.

[ushiri]

It's both of them, their issues tossed back and forth like a boiling stone, and now that it comes back to Kyle he can't toss it back, feeling like if he does there's a door about the close behind Jack.

As stubborn and hurt as he (tried not to) feel for weeks, he doesn't want that to happen.

"Did you even have dinner yet?" he asks after a quick pause, nodding at the banquet table.

"Sit. Come out of your love hole, for a second."

Yes, even now he's going to double down on teasing. Giving him a little shit. His smile is warm, though.

He was sent to Thorne for a reason. Part of that reason will always be Jack.

[stations]

Something about this irks him. Something he can't put his finger on, something... subtle, and he's not sure whether it's even something Kyle said, or if it's something about himself. Either way, it sits under his skin like a splinter, and some of that maybe manifests as frustration in his voice.

"I don't have a love hole."

Stubborn idiots trying not to feel a little hurt — apparently that's the theme of the day.

He hesitates, on the cusp of saying no thanks, I'm not hungry, but the concept of it only makes the splinter dig in deeper. He waffles, and then relents.

"Alright, I'll- get something. I'll be right back."

Maybe sitting at the same table while he picks at pudding he doesn't actually want is somehow the solution to whatever's happening here.

[ushiri]

Much doubt, friend.

Kyle is also distracted from actually eating his meal now, continuing to move around some kind of mashed root vegetable around with his fork, gently raking lines across it. He traces a criss-cross pattern.

"Do you both remember the same things from home?"

It's a problem here, sometimes. Not that he's experienced it himself (not here, anyway).