(no subject)

[iwasmore]

Noah holds his cellphone in hand, staring at the text. Nice linework, it says, with a photo of the portrait he drew hanging on display. He never figured Freddie would ever actually see the picture. It had been one of several portraits he'd done for class, and his professor had chosen it as the one to put in the student gallery. Noah hadn't invited anyone to come see it. He isn't sure why.

It was easy when I had such a good source of inspiration, he'd sent in reply.

It's been two days, but he hasn't received anything in return. And now he's staring at his phone like if he looks long enough a reply will just appear. Instead of calling-- but Freddie had agreed. Noah had been hurt and it's the only reason he suggested not seeing each other anymore, and Freddie had said okay and left. Noah had been bitter at first, that his friendship wasn't worth enough to even try. That he wasn't worth even an argument, that why, of everyone, couldn't Freddie look past what he was?

But now all he is is confused.

Noah exhales, and in the next breath he's outside Freddie's apartment door. Maybe this is a dumb move, or maybe it's dumber not to do anything at all. So he knocks.

Comments

[iwasmore]

Noah laughs outright, feeling a lot lighter than he has in awhile. He really has been carrying this around, and maybe he shouldn't have cared so much what one person thought of him, but he did. And maybe Freddie still won't want to touch him, or be anything but friends, but that's okay. Noah just likes to be around him.

"I do have a camera," he says. "We can do a photo shoot. Something real artsy in black and white. You can wear a beret."

[thisfaceismine]

"What, over my genitals?" he asks, still smirking as he glances down at himself.

When he glances back up again, Noah's still grinning and everything feels a little lighter. He nods over at the sofa as he takes another sip of his wine. "You wanna stay a bit?" he asks after a quick swallow. "Not doing much at the moment, but... I dunno. We could watch TV or something."

Not that Freddie has any idea what they'd watch. He's never been much of a telly person to begin with, but it's either that or sit around staring awkwardly at each other.

[iwasmore]

"Shut up," Noah laughs, and he nods at the invitation to stay and hang out. "Sure, okay." Freddie's apartment still has the generic High Gate furniture Noah remembers from Krem's apartment, and it makes it all feel weirdly familiar. He hasn't really hung out with Freddie outside his bedroom here, so in a way it's just now hitting him, like a weird nostalgic deja vu. But it passes, and he slides down the arm of the couch to flop onto the cushion, holding his wine glass carefully so it doesn't spill.

"Hey, have you seen that show about all the animals in the world that go crazy and start trying to kill people? At first I didn't think I'd like it, because I didn't want them to hurt the animals, but it's actually kind of hilarious and awesome," he says, looking to the TV instead.

[thisfaceismine]

Freddie snorts at that description, pulling a face as he drops onto the sofa next to Noah, immediately pulling his legs to tuck his feet behind his calves and relax back into the cushion.

"That's an actual show?" he asks, still carefully holding his wine in two hands. "Fuck, there are some shit programs, aren't there?" He takes a sip of his drink then as he gets a bit more comfortable. He doesn't even know where his remote control is now that he thinks about it. "What makes it so hilarious?"

[iwasmore]

"It is an actual show," Noah says sagely, and then grins over his wine glass. "But what do you mean what makes it hilarious? Imagine a CGI rabid giraffe. It's so weird." He laughs, and burrows his feet under Freddie's thigh. He kind of wishes he had his sketchbook here so he could draw him again, with his floppy hair and pajamas.

[thisfaceismine]

Noah gets more comfortable, tucking his feet under Freddie's thigh as he leans back into the side cushion.

Freddie responds in kind, shifting to lean against his arm of the couch before stretching out his own legs so they're largely draped over Noah's before takes another sip of his drink.

"A rabid giraffe," he remarks with open amusement before shaking his head. "So what's made them all mad? A drug or something? Or did the binds of their captivity just make them all snap?"

[iwasmore]

Noah shifts his body to fit even better, resting his arms over Freddie's legs except when he's raising one to drink from his glass. It's warm and cozy and just what Noah likes.

"That's what they're trying to figure out," he says, absently stroking his thumb through the hair along Freddie's leg, and up and down the bone. "It's not captivity, though, because it's all animals. So like, one of the funniest ones were these rabbits, jumping out and attacking people. It was just like in that movie, the old British one, uh." He pauses and laughs. "You should know it, right?"

[thisfaceismine]

For a moment, Freddie's tempted to feign ignorance, eyebrows raised as he looks at Noah. Just because he's British doesn't mean he has to know every last bit of pop culture to come out of his terrible country, does it?

But he actually does know what Noah's talking about, largely due to a mate of his back at uni and he replies, "Holy Grail," he says, voice deadpan as he points his foot to give Noah's stomach a playful jab with his toes. "Monty Python. Do they people all die then? Killed off one by one by rabid animals?"

[iwasmore]

Noah laughs at the look Freddie gives him, head falling back a moment, a soft oof in the middle when he gets jabbed at. He tries and fails to stop smiling and grabs Freddie's foot to keep it still.

"Holy Grail, yeah. But no, not everyone dies. A lot of people do, though. I guess it's sort of like a post apocalyptic show. Oh man, what kind of post apocalypse would you want to live in?" he asks. "Natural disaster, rabid animals, or...zombies?"

[thisfaceismine]

It's a strange question, not one he's ever considered before, though maybe that's strange in a place like this one which might very well turn post-apocalyptic at a moment's notice. Before quietly going back to normal once more.

"Is 'none of the above' an option," he replies after a moment's though. Noah's hand is warm on his foot and he keeps it there as he takes another sip of wine, making a noise as he swallows, remembering something. "Fucked a zombie hunter a few months ago, actually. She was surprisingly normal considering."

[iwasmore]

Noah begins to stroke up and down the sole of Freddie's foot. Not light enough to tickle, but soft enough to be just a tease of a foot rub. He freezes, though, at Freddie's statement, wine glass halfway to his mouth.

"Wait-- a zombie hunter? Was her name Beth?"

[thisfaceismine]

Though not quite a massage, it does feel nice and Freddie smirks a little, wiggling his toes like that might encourage Noah to keep going. But Noah goes still a moment later instead, blue eyes falling wide.

"You know her?" he asks though he isn't all that surprised. Everyone seems to know nearly everyone in this place. And Noah's a pretty social guy. "She was doing a show a a pub awhile back and we started chatting. Went back to mine after. Bit of an experiment on her part, I think, but the sex was good."

[iwasmore]

"Yeah..." Noah tries to figure out why it's so weird to hear. Is it because it's hard to imagine Beth in a sexual way? Is it because it's Freddie, because one of his friends slept with someone he's also slept with? Is he jealous? He doesn't want to be. It shouldn't make him uncomfortable, so he just takes a long sip of wine and tries not to let it be. "She's a friend of mine. She's a really good singer."

Noah rubs Freddie's foot again with the pads of his first three fingers, up and down. "I thought we were gonna watch TV."

[thisfaceismine]

Noah doesn't respond for a moment, long enough that Freddie definitely gets the impression he's said something wrong.

He frowns a little, curious as Noah appears to mull it over and then takes a huge sip of his wine, nearly finishing off the glass in one go. He's still got a hand loosely curled over Freddie's foot and Freddie wiggles his toes again, a reminder that he's still there before Noah seems to get the message.

"This seems a more interesting topic just now," he says, still watching Noah carefully. "You're not going weird on me because I fucked a girl, are you? I've told you before I go with both, haven't I?"

[iwasmore]

"What? No," Noah says, a little offended Freddie would even think that. For one thing, it would make him a huge hypocrite. For another, he'd like to think his own pettiness doesn't involve biphobia. "I like girls, too, remember?"

"And I'm not getting weird," he adds, finishing his wine and setting the empty glass on the end table behind him. He knows that's not exactly the truth, though, and obviously he's crappy at hiding it. He turns his attention on Freddie's foot, rubbing it with both his thumbs in a lame attempt at distracting him from the topic. "How's this?"

[thisfaceismine]

Freddie does remember, but he's still watching Noah carefully, brow furrowed because he's clearly uncomfortable about something. Maybe because Beth's his friend? After all, it's not as though Noah doesn't know that Freddie sleeps around a bit.

Another quick swallow and Noah's finished off his wine, reaching to set the glass aside before returning his attention to Freddie's foot. He lets out a soft grunt of appreciation, shifting a little to give Noah better access though his eyes remained narrowed.

"It was just the once," he says, like that might placate Noah somehow. "Haven't seen her since, really. Why's it bother you so much?"

[iwasmore]

Somehow hearing it was just one time makes it worse. Maybe it's because since he met Beth, when she was frantically looking for Daryl in the nightmare Darrow, he's always attached her to him. But it's pretty shitty to judge her for casually sleeping with someone, if that's even what's made it weird. "I don't know," he says honestly. "It doesn't bother me, I was just surprised to hear it."

"I guess," he says at length, "maybe it's sort of weird to know I've slept with someone who slept with another friend of mine, who sort of feels like a sister." He makes a face, but he smiles, after.

[thisfaceismine]

Freddie considers that a moment before his lips tug into a sort of grimace as he nods.

"Weird how everyone in this city knows everyone else, isn't it?" he says, once again wiggling his toes to remind Noah of where his hand is. "Should I ask for a list of people you consider family so I know not to fuck them?"

[iwasmore]

Noah goes back to rubbing Freddie's foot, making a tsk sound at how demanding he is. He moves his hands up, giving attention to Freddie's ankle and calf.

"No, geez," Noah says, blushing a little. "My immediate family, anyway, they wouldn't. They're all already in relationships. Like, pretty much monogamous, I think." He can't really see any of them sleeping around, not with a stranger at least.

[thisfaceismine]

It's no professional massage, but it's certainly nice all the same, especially when Noah's hand wanders a little higher up his calf. It's not exactly a sexual touch, but it very well could be in time.

"You think," Freddie says because that doesn't sound very certain at all. In his experience, people are often monogamous right up until the moment they aren't. But Noah's spoken enough about his friends to have a decent idea of who to avoid. At least those Noah lives with. He flexes his foot then, sinking further into the cushions as he keeps his eyes on Noah. "We good then?"

[iwasmore]

Noah rolls his eyes, but smiles a little. "Yeah, we're good." He's not about to argue the probability of one of his friends sleeping with Freddie, he knows they wouldn't unless they broke up with their partners. They just aren't like that. He scoots a little closer and moves his hands to Freddie's other foot, giving it the same attention.

"Anyone here I should avoid hooking up with?" he asks in turn, but it's more of a joke than a question. He doesn't exactly see himself sleeping with anyone else.

[thisfaceismine]

Noah switches his attention to Freddie's other foot so Freddie tucks his now-free one under Noah's thigh for warmth.

"You think I actually have friends?" he asks with a faint smirk. "That's generous." He pretends to consider it then before shaking his head. "N'aw, you can fuck whoever you want, mate. Wouldn't mind joining in if you think of me, though."

[iwasmore]

"You still want to...sleep with me?" Noah asks with a soft, nervous laugh, ducking his face to hide his smile. He was so happy Freddie wanted to be friends, but if Freddie still wants to be intimate that must mean he trusts Noah. He hasn't messed up everything, after all.

He goes back to rubbing Freddie's foot, but pauses. "Wait, you don't have friends? Because you don't want them, or like...?" He shakes his head, unable to figure out why Freddie wouldn't have any beyond just refusing to have any.

[thisfaceismine]

"Well, that's what we do, isn't it?" he replies, a bit confused by Noah's question. Freddie's had friends he hasn't fucked, but they're fairly few and far between. Back in England, has far more that he's only fucked once or a handful of times, though he supposes not many of them would ever call him a friend, really.

So he answers only with a shrug. "Just don't," he says easily, ignoring the way it makes him sound and feel a bit pathetic. "Don't make a very good one, do I?"

[iwasmore]

"We don't have to," Noah insists, his face heating up, because the way Freddie says it makes it sound like it's a chore, or expected. That's kind of mortifying. The last thing he wants is for Freddie to think he's, like, obligated, or that's the only reason Noah likes him. "Do you think that's all I like?"

His face falls, slipping toward downright sad. "I mean, I thought I was your friend." He pauses and tries to smile, but it comes out wobbly. "Now that you aren't mad at me."