Remnants of the Earth
EDANITH => Megacities => Tynova => Topic started by: Jenny on May 12, 2012, 06:42:11 am
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When it came to interplanetary travel, Cancer was undoubtedly the place to be. It was the heart of all space ports- the most well known, popular, and crowded, with the most to offer, the least restrictions, and, to top it all off, located on a major trade route. Deciding to go to another planet was not a matter of 'How' just of 'When', and Jaxon's extensive relationships with gangs, pirates, and crews gave him a wide variety of people to jump on with. After all, the easiest thing to do would be to join up with some friends who were planning to pass by Tynova. Jaxon would do just that.
Over the course of those two weeks before leaving, Jaxon managed to find a crew that would take him. He knew them well, since he'd apprenticed his gunning on their ship. And though they were not the safest group to travel with, they were happy enough to see him that, hearing of his search, they offered him a free lift if he'd gun for them again. Grateful for his good luck and glad to run into old friends, Jaxon agreed quickly.
Having the whole trip finalized, it seemed to escape Jaxon's mind for awhile, as he busied himself taking care of whatever he had to do before joining Sassy Juice.
It was a bleak Wednesday afternoon when Jaxon was set to board the ship. It had been raining the entire morning while he gathered his things, and had only quieted when he left home and walked down to the port. On board the ship, time passed in a rush of jokes and stories as he caught up with old friends. One or two members of the crew had permanent residence on Cancer, and there was plenty to discuss. They made a few stops on other ports to do (some very illegal) business, and finally landed in Tynova on Thursday afternoon.
The whole trip, though tedious, had passed quickly. Jaxon was as usual more excited than he'd admit to see Toori again. In a way, Toori had taken the place of many of his friends from the gang who'd since moved on, and he felt that he was probably the only person Jaxon could rely on and speak to consistently. He chalked his excitement up to that- if he really couldn't just smother the feeling.
Just before they arrived, Jaxon had changed out of his typical gunner get-up, which consisted of a rather lightweight, all-black attire with as many straps for guns as possible. He'd been wearing something akin to that when he first met Toori, minus the guns and straps (There was no good reason to walk around Tynova like that). But this time, he settled on something a little more comfortable and simple- a pair of jeans and a snug gray thermal. Jaxon didn't bother to style his hair, which was usually a bit spiky and haphazard, but left it down so it was more or less just a messy blond mop. Nonetheless, he looked good. (Cute, even?) He never spent much time fawning over himself, and that day was no exception. It had hardly taken him ten minutes to get ready and shove his things into a backpack before leaving the ship.
The next order of business would be to find a crew to head back with, but Jaxon wanted to see Toori first. After all, he'd texted him earlier telling him he'd be in around two and it was almost that time exactly. Following the directions he'd been given, it didn't take Jaxon long to find Toori's home. At his doorstep, Jaxon rang the bell and waited patiently, patent grin on his face.
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Toori had been locked up in his workshop all day, and he hadn't been able to concentrate on anything. It was like torture; every time he sat down with something, a blueprint or a part, he couldn't keep his attention focused and kept finding himself glancing out the window. Even when he knew Jaxon wasn't due for hours he couldn't stay focused, and it was bizarre and worrying because Toori had never had that problem before. Toori had always been able to put his complete focus on what he was working to, usually to the point where he tuned everything else out. This wasn't the case now; somehow Jaxon had wormed his way into Toori's mind and become more distracting than theorems and blueprints.
When Toori finally saw Jaxon from the window of his workshop his stomach clamored up into his throat, and Toori stared for a moment before rushing downstairs. He had his hand on the doorknob before Jaxon rang the bell, and made himself count to ten before opening the door, so maybe Jaxon wouldn't catch on to how desperate he looked.
He all but threw open the door to look at Jaxon, and seeing him again was almost like a breath of fresh air, only Toori didn't even know he'd been breathing the same stale air all this time. Toori had considered things to say; he'd prepared witty quips and jokes he knew Jaxon would appreciate, had even thought of a few endearingly honest things to say about how he'd sort of missed Jaxon.
Actually seeing him there, standing before Toori and looking so nice, all of the words dried up in Toori's throat.
"Hey," he managed at last, with a weak smile.
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It wasn't long before the door swung open, and there was Toori.. He was just the way Jaxon had remembered him and imagined him, but much better, because he was really there and it just felt good to see him. There was nothing spectacular or extraordinary about his appearance- he was dressed casually and his hair was a bit messy- but he was still endearing in his own way, even with the weak smile on his face.
"Hey," Jaxon offered in turn, grinning. "Don't look so faint," Jaxon chastised his attitude, inviting himself right into the house by squeezing his way through the door frame. He brushed against Toori somewhat before he was on the threshold. What he could see of the house was nice; simple. He swung around to look at the other. "You look sort of like you have some murderous intent."
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Toori's smile turned a little less terrified at Jaxon's teasing, as he watched Jaxon move around him and into the hall. He closed the door and then leaned back against it, shaking his head.
"It's good to see you too, Jaxon." Toori said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Toori's house was on the small side, but simple and cozy enough to fit Toori's purposes. The house actually belonged to his grandfather, and had for a long time, since before he was married. Toori wasn't really one to be attached to places or homes, but he loved this place. He had been raised here, and his mother had been raised here. It was no space ship, but it Toori loved it all the same.
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Seeing Toori's pose, Jaxon's mirrored it playfully- crossing his arms as well. "You better not try to suffocate me in my sleep or something," he warned with a frown, pretending that he was seriously suspecting Toori of wanting to kill him. He quickly dropped the joke in favor of being honest, though. "It is nice to see you... And I like the place," Jaxon offered as he looked around, trying to find the safe middle road between where he felt most comfortable- complete facetiousness- and sincerity. His eyes lingered on some small details before returning to Toori's. "Where should I put all this?" he asked, lifting up the two backpacks he'd dragged along. Since he'd been gunning, he'd had no choice but to bring the guns with him, too, and they were quite a heavy load.
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Toori rolled his eyes at Jaxon's joke and then pushed himself away from the wall, taking a few steps toward Jaxon. When Jax mentioned the backpacks Toori eyed them as if he hadn't thought about Jaxon having stuff with him. Which, well, he hadn't.
"You can put them in my room. You'll have to sleep on the couch, sorry, we don't have a guest room." Toori explained, motioning for the stairs, "I'll help you." He went to take one of the backpacks and then struggled under the surprisingly heavy weight.
"What did you put in here, rocks?" Toori asked, making a face and looking at the backpack warily, wondering what exactly Jaxon had planned for that had required so much stuff. There was obviously more than just and extra change of clothes in these bags.
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Jaxon shook his head, about to reassure Toori that he didn't mind sleeping on the couch, but he quickly became distracted as the other insisted on taking one of the backpacks. He had been holding it loosely enough that it was easy for Toori to take it without asking. And once he had it, Toori was clearly surprised by the sudden weight. Jaxon laughed at the look on his face as he regarded the backpack suspiciously. "Not rocks, sorry to disappoint," Jaxon commented sarcastically as he reached out and took the backpack from him. He didn't want Toori, twig that he was, to kill himself carrying it. "Don't worry, I'll carry them," he insisted. "I had to bring my guns. I was doing a job on the trip here," he explained, swinging the backpack of artillery over his shoulder.
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Toori jumped at the word guns, his eyes going wide and snapping to the bags Jaxon was carrying. Guns? Sure, Toori knew about guns and had fixed them on occasion, but he'd never had cause to use one, or even to learn how to use one. As much as Toori loved space travel and the idea of pirates, in some ways he was still naive about everything that happened on pirate ships. Of course, he knew everything that happened in theory, but having a bag full of guns that had probably recently been used was very different from studying ancient and modern pirate ships in a book.
"You brought guns?" Toori asked, his voice part awe and part fear and making him sound like he was all of eight years old, confronted with a storybook that was perhaps a little too violent for him.
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With the backpack securely over his shoulder, Jaxon was ready to start moving towards the stairs, but he stopped upon seeing the look on Toori's face. The following question made him laugh-- not mockingly, but warmly. He reached out and ruffled Toori's hair a bit. How could this kid claim he wasn't innocent when he acted like he was eight years old? Regardless, it was of course endearing in that way that Toori was. "Yes, I brought guns," he confirmed, smiling affectionately. "Don't worry, they won't get up and do anything on their own."
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When Jaxon had the gall to reach out and ruffle Toori's hair--like he was a kid--Toori bristled. He also flushed a little, realizing he'd been acting like a kid.
"Yeah, well, they better not," he grumbled, giving Jaxon a glare before leading the way up the stairs.
"My grandfather's room is downstairs. He's asleep right now, you'll meet him later," Toori explained, his tone subdued until he went on, "That's the bathroom, and there's my workshop." He pointed to two doors, one on the right and one on the left, and then started towards a third door at the end of the hall, "And this is my bedroom." He opened the last door, holding it open for Jaxon. His room was on the small side, and mostly tidy. His bed was rumpled and the desk in the corner had papers and bits of machinery strewn all over it, but otherwise his room was simple and plain.
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Jaxon noticed the way Toori's temper flared up, his face flushing with annoyance, but the reaction did nothing to intimidate him, only to make him smile. He hid a laugh behind his hand, only succeeding because Toori had turned away and was striding up the stairway. Jaxon followed, backpacks in tow, and listened absently to the explanation the other provided. If there was anything he was used to, it was being somewhere he wasn't used to. Before he'd had enough money to put down for an apartment in Cancer, he'd jumped from house to house, and when he worked there were many ships he'd lived on from two days to a month.
This was nothing new, except.. It was? Jaxon wasn't completely sure why he found himself interested in everything, interested in seeing Toori's room, when he was usually so completely apathetic to his surroundings, just content to have a place to sleep- anything beyond that was surplus. Stepping into Toori's room, Jaxon's initial feelings were almost apprehensive, even cautious. There was this smaller part of him which respected the idea of Toori showing him something private, recognized it as an act of faith. There was another part of him, much more prominent, which wanted to make a joke of it to pretend that he didn't care the way he did, that he wasn't interested and glad to have Toori around, glad to be his friend.
Naturally, he made a joke of it. "So this is your room?" Jaxon looked around for a moment before his eyes settled on the bed. "I think we could both fit on that bed," he snickered, making his way to it and throwing himself onto it. He rolled onto his back and peered up at Toori playfully.
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"You're sleeping on the couch," Toori bit out, something about seeing Jaxon rolling around on his bed made his hackles rise. He assumed it was his natural affinity for liking things neat. Jaxon, by principal, was not neat. Jaxon left a trail of havoc wherever he went. Jaxon carried around a bag full of guns. Jaxon wasn't neat.
So he assumed it was that, more than anything else, that made him cross his arms over his chest and glare at Jaxon while he rolled around on Toori's bed.
"You're lucky I'm not making you sleep outside."
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Facing Toori's stern glare, Jaxon's smile turned to a pout-- quite prepared to play at being hurt. Yet, hearing the comment about sleeping outside, he turned almost indignant, sticking his tongue out. "You wouldn't make me do that," he retorted, refusing to move from the bed though he knew that was the implied command in Toori's glare. Though at least he was no longer rolling around making a mess, but rather, getting comfortable. He folded his arms, locking his hands beneath his head. "I'm not a dog," he complained.
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Toori raised one eyebrow as he watched Jaxon get comfortable on his bed. There was something distinctly uncomfortable about that. And Jaxon wasn't making a mess, really, so what was it about Jaxon in his bed that was so unnerving?
"You could've fooled me," Toori said, uncrossing his arms just to put his fists on his hips, "Get out of my bed."
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"Hey," Jaxon snapped immediately, "I do not look anything like a dog!" he objected, frowning at that. Of course the comment only made him less likely to obey Toori's requests, and the demanding tone the blond used did nothing to help the situation. "Make me," Jaxon teased, sticking his tongue out again. He was pretty sure there was nothing Toori could do to make him get out of his bed.
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Toori narrowed his eyes at Jaxon, considering this. Jaxon wasn't any larger than Toori, they were about the same height, but Jaxon had the advantage of knowing how to fight. They were actually very similar physically, which Toori had never really noticed until now. It was like the little differences--the way they held themselves, their different levels of confidence, and of course Jaxon's horns and ears--made them seem so dissimilar when really they weren't all that different. That, actually, was a surprising insight into their relationship in general. From the outside they looked like complete opposites: Jaxon was charming and outgoing and attractive, while Toori was withdrawn and shy and unsure. But Jaxon had a way of drawing Toori out of his shell and making him rash and unpredictable, while Toori had been privy to rare moments of vulnerability from Jaxon. And the whole thing felt so right, almost like two puzzle pieces who look completely different snapping perfectly into place.
Toori mentally shook himself from his reverie and decided on a course of action; there was only one way he could best Jaxon in a skirmish: taking him by surprise. Without giving himself time to rethink his actions, Toori launched across the room, leaping onto the bed. He landed on the far side of Jaxon, between him and the wall, and started to push Jaxon towards the edge of the bed.
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If there was one thing in the world Jaxon had least expected, it was for Toori to actually follow up on the challenge (As ridiculous as it sounded). His utter lack of expectation hadn't just stemmed from his own arrogant confidence, but from the fact that Toori wasn't always very playful, and he seemed to be feeling a little petulant on that day in particular.
So naturally, when Toori launched himself onto the bed, Jaxon's error in judgment put him at quite the disadvantage. Completely surprised, he had barely any time to think before the blond was shoving him off the bed. He flailed madly as he laughed, losing his balance and falling backwards off of the edge of the bed. He caught himself, though, when he swung a leg over to ground himself and then grabbed onto Toori's arms.
For what it was worth, Jaxon was gentle (--but forceful) when he pushed Toori down onto his own bed with a laugh, reaching for a pillow to hit him with.
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When Jaxon started to fight back and laugh Toori couldn't help but laugh himself, surrendering as he rarely did to the urge to act like a kid. Jaxon managed to keep himself on the bed and then swung up and pushed Toori back into his pillows. Toori cried out in indignant fury when a pillow whapped him across the face, shoving up at Jaxon. Then he decided to play dirty.
He bucked up to dislodge Jaxon's grip on him and then grabbed Jaxon himself and pulled him down, clamping his teeth around the closest part of Jaxon he could reach (the meat of Jaxon's shoulder). He bit Jaxon hard but released him quickly, laughing a bit maniacally and scrambling out from under him in order to escape retribution.
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Though Jaxon had plans to pursue the pillow fight, the plan was quickly foiled when Toori shoved him and shook him off. He dropped the pillow in reaction, laughing and squirming as Toori grabbed him and pulled him down, not quite knowing what to expect. At the sudden fierce bite, Jaxon let out a surprised yelp- in too much disbelief to stop Toori from escaping. He touched his shoulder and gawked at Toori from the bed.
"Did you just bite me?" he asked incredulously, his body heating up for god-knows-what-reason. Toori bit him. It was... Whatever he thought, dismissing the train of thought quickly because he knew exactly where it was going and Toori biting him had nothing to do with that.
Eager to seek his revenge (And to not think of what had just happened), Jaxon pushed himself off the bed and came at Toori, grabbing him around the middle and throwing him back to the bed. Jaxon followed suit, climbing over him with his knees against Toori's hips. With the thin blond below him, Jaxon smirked and put his hands on his waist, running them up to his ribs and tickling him pitilessly.
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Toori could only laugh in response to Jaxon's incredulous question, making a dash for the door but too late because Jaxon caught him around the middle. Toori bounced a little when he was thrown onto the bed, his breath catching a little in surprise, taking just long enough being surprised for Jaxon to climb on top of him and pin him again. That was totally unfair, how Jaxon kept pinning him so easily, but before Toori could put his mind to escape Jaxon's fingers were running up his stomach and Toori couldn't swallow the little bubble of a laugh.
Jaxon's attack was swift and devastating; within seconds Toori dissolved into embarrassingly high-pitched giggles, kicking and pushing at Jaxon ineffectually. Toori was hopelessly ticklish and the onslaught of Jaxon's fingers robbed him of any strength or brain power left to defend himself.
"No--! Jax--! You bastard--ahah--!" Toori cried, laughing too hard to be really angry, his cheeks flushed and his hair mussed and his fingers fisted in Jaxon's shirt, unable to do anything but push at Jaxon's chest.
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Somehow, Jaxon had known that Toori would be ticklish, at least a bit, and he was satisfied to discover how right he was. Toori immediately burst into laughter, and Jaxon had to, too. Seeing the blond so open and happy, giggling and squirming underneath him... Jaxon felt incredibly, piercingly happy just to watch him. He felt it in the filling of his heart, the knot of his stomach. It was unlike anything he'd felt with anyone else, any other friend, any other person, and while it unnerved him in some way, he couldn't even think to let go of the feeling. Not when Toori was fisting his shirt and giggling.
He continued tickling Toori until they were both breathless from laughing, then, reluctantly ceased in doing so.. His hands came to a stop, palms flat against Toori's ribs which were rising and falling with every desperate breath. Jaxon found himself leaning forward but stopped himself, instead looking at Toori in the silence, only their breathing audible. "You're doing pretty bad at this.. I'm still on your bed," Jaxon said quietly with a smile- his voice almost a whisper. They were close enough that it didn't matter.
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As Jaxon's hands slowed and then stopped on Toori's ribs, his palms pressed half-into Toori's skin where his shirt had ridden up in the assault, Toori stopped laughing and concentrated on getting his breath back. He was panting, his eyes shining with the exertion, and he could only stare up at Jaxon, surrendering to his whims.
There was a moment where Jaxon leaned forward a little, something deep and intent in his eyes, and it made something flare up in Toori that felt almost like panic. Suddenly Toori's heart rate seemed to speed up instead of slowing down, blood roaring in his ears while Jaxon stared down at him from too close. Toori's flush darkened in the brief seconds before Jaxon spoke, his voice low and devilish, and from this close Toori could see the hint of a pointed tooth in his smirk. Something about that made a shiver run down Toori's spine, the shiver with a stab of real panic following right on its tail.
Toori's fingers loosened in Jaxon's shirt a fraction and then tightened, pushing with renewed vigor as the smile fell off of Toori's face.
"Get off me," Toori said, real panic edging into his voice. He felt the anxiety like a punch to the gut; he didn't know what this was but it was scary, with Jaxon leaning over him and smirking like he was a fairy tale monster, about to devour Toori whole. Toori wondered deliriously if he was going to have a panic attack, right here, Jaxon's knees pressed into his hips and Jaxon's palms searing into his skin. "Get off me."
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As per usual, Toori's actions and reactions threw Jaxon for a complete and utter loop. He hadn't been expecting the blond's expression to fall so suddenly and then to tighten in a mixture of discomfort and almost.. Anger? Or at least, that was what Jaxon mistook it for initially. He couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on before Toori snapped, telling him to get off. Jaxon knew that it wasn't a joke anymore, and he immediately backed off, standing and putting his hands up almost defensively.
Standing there looking at a completely different Toori, Jaxon had no idea what he'd done to earn that sort of reaction. He couldn't help but to feel offended in his confusion and surprise. Did Toori think he was coming onto him and that was why he was angry? The thoughts that were overflowing his head were unbearable and he couldn't deal with them-- They were calling on his deepest feelings towards Toori.
Jaxon locked up immediately, turning away from his emotions at the mere sight of them. His expression went blank as he began to detach. "I'll leave you alone," he said icily, turning and exiting the room with little idea or care as to where he was heading.
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When Jaxon backed off Toori breathed a deep sigh of relief, the panic pulling back a little as Jaxon did the same. It gave him room to breath, to catch control of himself before the panic swallowed him whole. By the time Toori looked at Jaxon again, considerable calmer than he had been moments ago, it was to an eerily blank expression. The panic flared up again, but this was a different kind of panic, sudden and confused and hating that empty expression on Jaxon's face.
Toori heard Jaxon's words like they were another language, from a person Toori had never met, and they took too long to register as communication.
"Jaxon!" Toori called, but he was already gone.
Toori stared at the door for a while, confused and panicked and wondering if Jaxon was ever going to talk to him again. He couldn't imagine what Jaxon had thought-- one second they were laughing and joking, and then Toori had ruined it. Toori wasn't even sure what had happened in his own head, so he couldn't very well imagine what someone else had interpreted it as.
Objectively, he could understand it. Toori had little experience with being close to someone physically, even in the most innocent ways, and his inexperience would make it logical that when presented with an unfamiliar situation he would panic. Really, though, Toori couldn't rationalize the feeling that had rocketed down his spine just before the panic had set in. Jaxon had certainly touched him before, though perhaps not so much, but Jaxon's touch had never before lit anything close to panic inside Toori.
For a long time he lay back on his bed, just where Jax had left him, and tried to puzzle out his own feelings. He wasn't really any closer to a conclusion but he had decided that whatever had happened had been Toori's fault, and when (if) Jaxon returned, Toori would apologize.
It was somewhere to start, at least.
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Outside on the bustling streets of Tynova, Jaxon began to regret his decision to leave. He felt much more uncomfortable, more unwanted on the streets than around Toori. It wouldn't have bothered him before, but he was already on edge and everything felt unbearable.. The people of Edanith were not the most accepting or polite, and he was quickly frustrated with the wary glances or the thoughtless shoves as he made his way around the city. It was that time of day; everyone was in a constant, unceasing rush, and he felt left out- He had nowhere to go or be, and he knew no one personally, except Toori. In spite of that, he spent a long time simply walking aimlessly, trying to keep his emotions and thoughts away.
When he finally landed himself in a quieter section of the city, Jaxon relaxed and stopped walking, resting on a secluded bench. Sitting alone, he couldn't help but to think of what had happened again. He felt partly apologetic, partly upset, and mostly confused. He'd long since established that Toori was not like other people- not simple, not boring, not an open book. And that had pleased him initially. He'd liked when Toori didn't back down from him, played along and yet showed when he was truly angry, got upset, was passionate.. But now that Jaxon couldn't understand Toori and thought he'd done something wrong, it was immensely frustrating.
Nonetheless he wasn't going to leave. What he'd liked about Toori and their friendship still stood. Jaxon didn't know if he had it in him to fix it, to discuss, but he could pretend nothing had happened.
When he returned to Toori's, more than two hours had passed. The door, to his surprise, was open, so he assumed Toori had been awaiting his return and was probably around. He closed the door behind him, leaning against it. "Toori?" he called out.
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By the time Jaxon came back Toori had left his room and was busy fixing lunch, puttering around the kitchen mostly just as something to occupy his hands. After laying on his bed for a long time, Toori had realized with a jolt that perhaps Jaxon hadn't meant to return at all. Then he'd seen Jaxon's packs just where he'd left them and that was slightly comforting; even if Jax did want to leave he wouldn't do so without his guns. That would at least give Toori enough time to apologize, even if Jaxon only wanted to be in the house long enough to take his bags and leave. Just to be sure, Toori had checked that day's departing ships, and no ships were bound for Cancer and taking passengers until late that night. And, he decided firmly, if Jaxon was gone more than a couple of hours he would go out and find him.
Toori's nerves were mostly soothed by this plan and information, but only mostly, so he moved to his desk. He couldn't concentrate enough to work, though, he kept staring out the window and trying to catch a glimpse of someone with horns on the street down below. In the end he left his tools where they lie (his desk even more of a mess now than it had been) and he decided it was time for lunch.
When he heard Jaxon's unmistakable voice his heart stuttered in his chest and he jumped, very nearly burning his hand on the stove. In a moment Toori was out of the kitchen and in the main hall, staring at Jaxon, who was casually leaning back against the door. Toori couldn't believe Jaxon could look so relaxed when they had had something approaching their first real fight, and was so distracted by this thought that he forgot to speak.
"Uh," he said, working a wooden spoon between his hands and hoping he didn't seem as anxious as he felt, "Hey."
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Jaxon didn't know what he was expecting, but this wasn't it. When Toori came in the room and their eyes met, he felt all his frustration and distress just fall away as though it was worthless and unimportant. And it was. It must have been, because no matter what Jaxon wanted to be around Toori, and wanted to mean something to him. This was the first relationship (which he could remember) in his life which he felt so strongly about another person, in a different way than his gang and friends on Cancer. This was something he'd pursued on his own, and he'd put forth a different foot than he did with anyone else- With Toori, Jaxon was just himself.
It all occurred to him in a sudden surge of thoughts that left him feeling raw and open-- too open. Jaxon pushed it away, realizing Toori had greeted him, and began to cross the room. He stopped before getting too close to Toori, almost cautious. He could sense Toori's anxiety and he knew that he didn't want things to be like this- awkward and tense with unsaid words. Though he had planned the exact opposite, Jax found himself apologizing. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly.
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The most incredible look came over Jaxon's face for a moment, some strange mix of relief and awe that Toori couldn't quite rationalize, but in a moment it was wiped clean and Toori wondered if he'd imagined it. Then in another moment Jaxon was walking forward, moving towards Toori but stopping just short of his personal space. There was something immensely comforting about that; though Toori was sure it was just wariness from what had happened earlier, he liked Jaxon right there. Not so close that it made Toori anxious, but he could reach out and touch Jaxon if he wanted to.
When Jax apologized Toori couldn't help it, his eyes went wide. He hadn't been expecting an apology from Jaxon, and he hadn't realized until receiving one how much it meant. Even if Jaxon wasn't particularly at fault in this scenario, it meant that he cared enough to be sorry--if not for any wrongdoing on his part, sorry that the whole thing had happened at all, sorry that Toori had been upset. It was-- a bit overwhelming.
Feeling embarrassingly close to hysterics, Toori swallowed thickly and nodded.
"I'm sorry too," he started, managing to keep his voice level, at least until he continued, "It was my fault, I shouldn't have-- I mean, I'm just, I'm not used to anyone being that close and I just-- I don't know why, I just got-- I freaked out," Toori said in a rush, looking down at the spoon in his hands, "I'm sorry."
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The look on Toori's face spelled trouble, Jaxon thought almost anxiously, expecting the younger boy to burst out into hysterics or something. Thankfully nothing of the sort happened, and he was relieved because he knew that he wouldn't be able to deal with tears. He had always been weak for any show of sadness, and on Toori's part especially. Instead, he received a heartfelt apology, and a minced explanation. Jaxon didn't possess many of the apprehensions Toori had towards other people and intimacy, so it was hard- almost impossible- for him to understand it. Yet, he did feel sorry. That seemed to be enough, even if he couldn't understand why his being close had freaked Toori out.
"Okay, me too," he said with an earnest smile, letting go of his frustration about the 'fight' quite easily. In the silent pause, Jaxon suddenly noticed the wooden spoon, and tilted his head to the side questioningly. "What, were you cooking or something? That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen," Jax teased, snatching the spoon from Toori and wandering off into the kitchen as though nothing had happened. That was probably best, for both of them.
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Jax snatched the spoon from Toori and walked off. For a moment Toori stared after him, wondering if he should accept the offered effort to move on as if nothing had happened, or force Jax to keep talking. Part of Toori wanted to say more--explain better, maybe, ask why Jax had run off instead of asking what was wrong--but a bigger part of him just wanted to enjoy these two days, and he knew there were few things Jaxon liked less than talking about feelings. Toori himself wasn't too fond of talking about feelings, so he followed Jax into the kitchen.
"Hey! I'm a great cook!" He took the spoon back from Jax, glaring at him before turning back to the stove. And this was good, this was easy, much easier than confusing feelings and anxiety. Toori stirred a pot on the stove, where he was making a simple stew. It was one of his grandfather's favorites.
-
Jaxon playfully ignored Toori's claim to being good at cooking, finding himself flourishing rather than withering under the glare that was shot his way. It was much easier to joke around this way than to be sincere, the way they'd been earlier which had just led to fights and apologies. Relieved to have things back to normal, he stood quietly close by, watching Toori stir the soup with interest. Jax himself knew nearly nothing about cooking, and his diet consisted primarily of whatever he could scrounge up at home or on board a ship, and alcohol. It was hardly healthy or interesting and required no cooking.
"What are you making?" he asked, taking a step closer and peering into the pot. Without any regard to the fact he would probably get hit for doing so, he dipped his finger in the stew and lapped at it. His eyes widened immediately. "This is actually really good!" he exclaimed, completely over enthusiastic at the prospect of home cooking. Jax didn't get much of that. Clearly.
-
Toori smacked Jaxon's hand when he stuck his finger in the pot, though too late to actually stop him. Toori eyed Jaxon warily, knowing the simple stew wasn't really worth that much excitement.
"Don't sound so surprised," he said primly, moving to add some herbs he'd chopped earlier, "It's just a vegetable stew. It's really easy to make." Despite Toori's sarcasm and deflection, he was secretly pleased that Jaxon liked it. Honestly, he had made it hoping Jaxon would be back to taste it. It was one of the best dishes that Toori knew how to make. He'd never had a real flair for cooking, but when he'd started taking care of his grandfather he realized that in some ways cooking was exactly like building something. You fix up different parts--or ingredients--and make them fit together in a way that works. Toori could understand that. He could also follow a recipe. He didn't consider himself a chef by any stretch of the imagination, but he could feed himself and his grandfather well enough.
-
Jaxon frowned at Toori's words, pulling a cutesy pout. "Even if it is easy to make, I never have home cooking," he explained in a jokingly mopey voice. Also, he was hungry as hell. He stepped back and leaned against a counter, keeping his gaze fixed on Toori. He hadn't anticipated that Toori would be the type to cook, or be good at it, but then, his lifestyle didn't really leave him with any choice, did it? Jaxon tried to imagine what it would be like to be in Toori's position, having to take care of everything, be responsible for someone else.. He knew that he was too immature to handle something like that, which only made him more impressed by the other. And his cooking skills.
"Can you teach me?" Jaxon asked with a soft smile. He liked to see Toori doing things he was good at, like fixing and building things, and he liked to see Toori proud of himself- wanted to tell him that he was good at everything if it would just make him happy. He was almost ashamed at the sudden burst of affection, and it made him bite down on his lip doubtfully.
-
When Jaxon asked to be taught Toori peered over at him, wondering if Jax was making fun of him. It wasn't that he doubted Jaxon's sincerity, really, he just couldn't see why Jax would have any interest in cooking. After a moment of contemplation and frowning at Jax, he nodded.
"Sure, like I said, it's really easy," he said, taking Jaxon through the process he had already done, explaining ingredients and techniques along the way.
"And now it's almost done, we just have to add the final seasonings," Toori said, opening up a cupboard and taking out a few small bottles, handing one filled with a dark gray powder to Jaxon, "Here, you try."
-
Jaxon listened to Toori explain how to make the stew, sort-of pleased just to hear the other's voice and even a little bit interested in the cooking. It occurred to him somewhere halfway through that it didn't really matter what they were doing exactly, or what they were discussing, but Jaxon was just content. He felt content.
Naturally, he was a little distracted by his own thoughts, so when Toori handed him some seasoning and told him to 'try', Jax blinked and paused. "Okay," he agreed, taking the bottle and opening it. He tilted it over the pot and began shaking it vigorously, wondering how long he was supposed to do this for. Maybe the whole thing had to go in.
-
Toori watched Jax as he opened the bottle and tilted it over the pot, prepared to give instruction if Jax was unsure, but then Jaxon started shaking the bottle. Toori would have laughed if Jaxon wasn't ruining his stew, by the look of intense concentration on Jax's face. As it was, Jax was ruining Toori's stew, so he yelled "no!" and threw his arm out to knock the bottle away from the stew. Unfortunately, Toori was a little too enthusiastic with his movements, and in knocking the bottle away from the stew he knocked it clear out of Jaxon's hand, and watched in terror as is sailed into Jaxon's face. The cap popped off as it came in contact with Jaxon's cheek, dumping the contents of the little bottle down the side of Jax's face as it dropped down to his shoulder and then rolled across the floor.
Toori stared, one arm still outstretched as if protecting the stew, but his eyes were locked on Jaxon as he raised his other hand to cover his mouth. After a silent, tense moment Toori started to snort behind his hand, attempting to control his laughter but ultimately failing and bursting into laughter. The spice was streaked over the right side of Jaxon's face and in his hair and on his shirt, and for whatever reason it was one of the funniest things Toori had ever seen.
-
In all his intense concentration, Jaxon couldn't fathom that he was doing anything wrong as he vigorously shook out the contents of the bottle into the stew. Then, suddenly, Toori yelled at him and threw his arm out, causing the bottle to fly out and hit his face. Jaxon closed his eyes immediately as seasoning covered his hair and face and shoulder, the bottle rolling to the floor. He slowly opened his eyes again, squinting at Toori. Apparently, he had done something very wrong, he thought, looking back as Toori stared at him with one arm outstretched to protect the stew.
The whole thing was a little ridiculous, but Jaxon was too shocked to even say anything.. At least until Toori burst out laughing. He stared incredulously before he, too, began laughing. In doing so, some of the seasoning drifted near his nose and Jaxon began sneezing, too, which really only made the whole thing funnier. He wiped the seasoning off, laughing and trying to stop sneezing, though that was pretty much impossible at this point.
-
When Jax started to sneeze, Toori lost whatever semblance of self-control he'd had, doubling over as he laughed. Toori straightened after a moment, still laughing helplessly but feeling responsible enough to try to help. He reached up, helping to brush the spice out of Jaxon's hair, running his fingers through it before moving to brush off his shoulder.
"God, I'm sorry," Toori said, still breathless from laughter, "You were putting in too much." Saying this only reminded Toori of how funny the whole thing had been and he started laughing again, leaning heavily on the counter to stay upright while he giggled.
-
Having brushed most of the seasoning off his face, Jaxon finally quit sneezing but wasn't quite done laughing. He stopped trying to clean himself up and just laughed openly with Toori at the sheer ridiculousness of the moment. The laughter died into breathless chuckles as Toori approached him, running his fingers through his hair to get the seasoning out. Jaxon immediately fixed his eyes on Toori's face and tensed. He was so close, and Jaxon felt that same urge as before come over him. Quickly, he pushed that feeling away, pretending that Toori's proximity did nothing to him, though it did.
When Toori spoke again, Jaxon couldn't help but snort a laugh. Seeing Toori giggling and supporting himself against the counter, Jaxon was tempted to join in but instead he grinned, just enjoying the sight as he shook his head. He bent down to pick up the empty bottle, placing it upright on the table. "You should have told me before," he whined, though he couldn't help but laugh.
-
Toori took a few deep breaths, his laughter gradually coming to a stop. He wiped the tears that had gathered from his cheeks, grinning unreservedly at Jaxon.
"Where's the fun in that?" Toori asked, grinning brightly at Jax for another moment before turning back to the stove. He added the rest of the spices, this time without offering any to Jax. Before declaring the stew done he raised the spoon to his mouth, sipping the soup.
"Yum," he said, nodding to himself, "That's it! All done." He moved over to a cupboard, opening it and pulling down three bowls, "Do you think you can handle serving it?" he asked, smirking at Jax.
-
Jaxon smiled back as Toori grinned brightly at him, asking him 'Where's the fun in that?'. He didn't bother to answer, too busy thinking that this was not the introverted and closed off person he'd met and observed three weeks ago when they'd met.. Not the person he'd been waiting for, to smile. He was glad that he'd gotten closer to Toori and they were here now, joking around. Jaxon held back a laugh as he watched Toori put in the rest of the spices without asking his help. It was probably much, much better off that way, he thought as he brushed stray seasoning off his shirt.
When he looked up again, Toori was asking him for help.. Well, sort of. More like challenging him. Had they not just established his incapability? he thought, about to point that out. But upon seeing Toori's smirk and realizing he was being teased, Jaxon lightly elbowed Toori out of the way, "Of course I can." He reached for a ladle which was resting on the counter and took a large helping of the soup. As he raised the bowl, about to pour the soup in, Jaxon accidentally grazed his forearm against the edge of the pot which was very hot. In reaction, he jumped a bit, and there went all of the soup.
Perhaps he shouldn't have been so cocky, he had to think, as the soup splashed on his shirt. "Shiiit!" he exclaimed- flailing- as the hot liquid met skin, mindful enough to place the bowl and ladle down before pulling the shirt over his head. Dripping shirt in hand, he looked up at Toori pathetically.
"Please never let me anywhere near your kitchen, ever again," he managed.
-
Toori stood back and put his hands on his hips as he watched Jaxon pick up the ladle. And all right, so Jaxon hadn't done so well with the spices, but it was understandable that Jaxon didn't know how much spice to add to a stew. Anyone could ladle soup into a bowl, though, or at least that was what Toori had assumed.
Toori, apparently, was wrong.
When Jaxon flailed and cursed Toori jumped, eyes widening as he watched the bowl of soup spill all down Jaxon's front. Jaxon whipped his shirt off and held it out in one hand, and then looked up with the most pathetic expression Toori had ever seen on Jaxon.
"Are you okay?" he asked, eyebrows knit in concern as he grabbed a towel off of the counter and handed it to Jaxon. This accident was less funny, because he knew Jaxon could have been hurt, but he also knew that as soon as the danger passed it would start being.
"Here, I'll take care of this," he said, stepping forward and pulling the wet shirt from Jaxon's fingers. He spared a glance at Jaxon's bare chest, he was thin and pale except for where the hot soup had spilled, which was flushed red, "I'll get you a new shirt too." Toori headed out of the kitchen, but stopped in the doorway, looking over his shoulder with a small smile, "And don't touch the stew."
-
Jaxon nodded absently as Toori asked him if he was okay, laughing a little in spite of himself as he took the towel and ran it down his front. He hadn't been burned, just irritated, because he hadn't spilled that much soup on himself and he'd taken his shirt off so fast. When Toori told him not to touch the stew, Jax looked up to meet his gaze and laughed. "Yeah, definitely not," he agreed easily, finishing cleaning himself off before dabbing at the soup that had spilled on the floor.
Done with the towel, he placed it in the sink and ran some water over it, effectively getting the soup out of it, before placing it down to dry off. He leaned back against the counter, awaiting Toori's return, and found himself chuckling a little, thinking about all the insanity that took place in the kitchen.
-
Toori rushed to put the soiled shirt in the washing machine and then darted upstairs to dig through Jaxon's bags for a clean shirt. He returned to kitchen several minutes later, handing the new shirt to Jaxon. Then he busied himself with the stew, carefully ladling it into three bowls, smiling to himself all the while. He went to a drawer to get three spoons and then handed one bowl and spoon to Jaxon, leaving two on the counter. He picked up one and looked down into it for a moment.
"I'm gonna take this one to Grandfather," he said, moving a few steps towards the door and then hesitating, glancing back at Jaxon. He opened his mouth to say something but hesitated again, closing his mouth and then moving a couple more steps before stopping again.
"Do you want to meet him?" he asked finally, pushing out the question before he could second-guess himself anymore.
-
Jaxon pushed off the counter as Toori reentered the room, immediately taking the shirt and thanking him before slipping it on. He straightened out the shirt and rearranged his messy hair for a moment before turning his attention back on the blond. Toori was (successfully) spooning the soup into the bowls, smiling to himself a bit.. Which naturally made Jaxon smile as well, though he hid it behind his hand, a little embarrassed of how much he was enjoying himself.
When Toori said he'd bring food to his grandfather, Jaxon looked up, his expression serious, and nodded. It seemed like the other didn't want him to meet his grandfather, and he didn't want to push it so he remained silent. At least until Toori offered. "Of course!" Jaxon announced happily, trailing behind Toori.
-
Toori led the way down the hall, his hands tight around the bowl. It wasn't that he didn't want Jaxon to meet his grandfather, actually, he was fairly sure they would get along famously. It was just that Jaxon already knew the extent of his grandfather's illness, and knew exactly how much Toori was affected by it. In some ways, Jaxon knew it better than his grandfather did-- because Toori always attempted to be cheery in the presence of his grandfather. He was apprehensive about Jaxon finally seeing for himself that it was all real, and Toori having to see the sympathy in Jaxon's face as he realized how completely helpless Toori was.
He didn't want to show weakness in front of Jax, but more than that he did want to share this part of his life with Jax, so when he came to the door he knocked twice and then let himself in.
Toori's grandfather was sitting up in bed, his white hair was shoulder-length and pulled away from his face, which was pale and gaunt. He looked ill and too-thin, but his gray eyes (the same shade as Toori's) were bright and cheery.
"Hello, Grandfather," Toori greeted with a smile, "I brought you some stew. And... This is Jaxon." Toori put the bowl on the table next to his grandfather's bed, and then gestured to Jax.
"Oh, yes! Toori's told me so much about you, Jaxon. It's great to finally meet you," he said, his voice low and warm as he smiled at Jax.
-
It wasn't much of a challenge for Jaxon to predict that Toori would be a little uncomfortable about the situation- after all, he had seen that Toori was upset at even the mention of his grandfather, and he knew that Toori wasn't the most open person. Moreover, he was just like Jaxon in that he didn't like to talk about his feelings. This situation mostly had all the circumstances to be discomforting. Jaxon, however, was determined to make it easy on Toori and keep things lighthearted.
As they entered the room, Jaxon's eyes immediately fell on Toori's grandfather. He looked very ill, but that was to be expected, and Jaxon didn't show any signs of pity on his face when he walked over. The actual concept was upsetting, but he knew better than to let himself get wrapped up in it. No one would benefit from that. He smiled at the greeting, striding over and bowing his head slightly. "It's nice to meet you," he returned, "I hope not everything Toori said was bad," Jaxon added, laughing. "He hates me a bit, even though I'm such a good friend that I helped make dinner. I was a huge help, actually...." he smirked, elbowing Toori playfully.
-
Toori's grandfather's eyebrows went up at Jaxon's words, glancing over at Toori with a smile.
"He hates you, eh? I never got that impression from him. It's always Jaxon this and Jaxon that," Toori's grandfather smirked at Toori, who was starting to flush.
"Grandfather!" Toori said in the same scandalized tone he used with Jax, blushing in embarrassment, "Jaxon was not a huge help! He spilled a whole bottle of seasoning and a bowl of soup!" Toori crossed his arms over his chest, vaguely aware that he was tattling on Jax like a six-year-old, but too irate to care. Toori's grandfather laughed, reaching out to pat Toori's side, and Toori relaxed a little. He was still embarrassed, though, because he hadn't said anything bad about Jax to his grandfather, though in retrospect he realized he should have. Those things just hadn't seemed important.
-
Jaxon tilted his head to the side curiously at Toori's grandfather's words, surprised to hear them, though he hardly had time to form any thoughts or even remark on them before Toori was squealing and blushing in embarrassment. Jaxon snorted a laugh at Toori's tone and childish behavior, finding it incredibly endearing. He smiled as he watched him, not even vaguely offended by the 'not a huge help' comment because he was still too oddly touched at the thought of Toori talking about him, of Toori thinking enough of him to do that.
"He's right," Jaxon said with a grin, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly at the memory, "I did spill the soup.. However--" he started, chuckling. "The seasoning was all Toori's fault. He knocked it out of my hand. And got it all over me. He's very violent, I think you should to teach him a lesson about anger management."
-
Toori's grandfather watched the exchange with interest, seeing the way Jax looked at Toori and the way Toori blushed and bristled. He thought perhaps there was more under the surface here, but he knew his grandson so he knew Toori was not the most observant of people, at least when it came to things that weren't machines. He picked up the bowl of soup and tasted it, smiling.
"Well, whatever happened to it, it's delicious. Thank you, both of you," he said, and Toori returned his smile, "Anger management, hm? Well, Toori's always had a bit of a temper." Toori bristled at this, but didn't object, "The only thing that would ever calm him down when he was younger was a book on space travel theory or a spare engine part." Toori's grandfather chuckled.
-
Jaxon smiled cheerfully as Toori's grandfather tried the soup and thanked them, telling them it had turned out well. All in all, he was glad that he hadn't managed to do anything too horrible to the stew- even if it meant getting seasoning all over his face.
Hearing about Toori as a child immediately caught his interest, and Jaxon listened with a grin. He wasn't surprised that Toori had been interested in science and engineering since he was young, but it still entertained him to imagine the other as a child, reading about advanced subjects. He was probably a very serious kid.
"Good tip," Jaxon commented with a nod, "I'll just have to bring around some interesting books to win back his favor when I upset him.." he paused then, realizing he hadn't thanked Toori's grandfather yet. "Thank you for letting me stay at your home, by the way," he said sincerely, putting on the charm. "It's very kind of you to have me,"
-
Toori jumped a little when Jax thanked his grandfather, looking over and narrowing his eyes, suspicious of this uncharacteristic politeness from Jaxon. Jaxon never used his charms for anything but making trouble.
"Oh, you're welcome! Honestly, I was just surprised Toori had someone he liked enough to invite over! And a space pirate, to boot." Toori's grandfather winked at his grandson, "It's no trouble at all, really. It's so refreshing to have some noise in this house again." Toori smiled a little at this, before they were interrupted by the beep of an alarm.
"Ah. Time for medication." Toori's grandfather said, frowning slightly now.
"I'll do it," Toori said automatically, any trace of a smile gone from his face as he crossed the room and opened a box with a medical insignia on it. His face was carefully shuttered while he prepared the medicine in a slim device, and then crossed the room to hand it to his grandfather. They were both grim as he took the device and pressed it to the side of his neck, and with a hiss the medicine was injected. Toori watched as his grandfather's back straightened a little and then he shuddered, a reaction to the medicine that Toori had seen happen hundreds of times.
"We'll--" Toori said after a stretch of silence, "Leave you alone to rest." Toori's grandfather nodded, and didn't offer goodbyes, his shoulders tense and his mouth pinched. Toori couldn't bring himself too look at Jax while he led them out of the room.
-
As Toori's grandfather spoke, Jaxon found himself unable to stop from smiling along. His grandfather was very likeable; he seemed like an honest-to-god good person, and pretty cool to boot. Jaxon felt glad to have met him and been able to speak with him, even if Toori had been apprehensive about it. He didn't have much of a family these days, so it was nice to be around a familial type of mood. "Don't worry, I may be a space pirate but I won't make any trouble," Jax promised, smile still gracing his face.
As the beep sounded, the mood in the room seemed to drop, and Jax's expression changed to one of confusion, though it didn't take long for him to figure out what was going on.. Toori's grandfather said it was time for his medication, and Jaxon pursed his lips. He felt like he should have left the room, but nobody made any mention of it so he stayed quietly, his gaze fixed on the floor. Jaxon felt sad and a little uncomfortable in a way he was not quite familiar with, being that he'd never had to deal with ill or elderly people. But regardless of it, he gave a cheerful goodbye and another thank you before leaving, trailing behind Toori.
Outside, Jaxon read the tension in Toori's shoulders easily, knowing that he was upset. He refused to give into it, for Toori's sake. "Your grandpa seems like a really great man," he said sincerely, falling into step next to Toori. "I hope I get to talk to him again soon." Having said that, Jaxon switched onto the next subject expertly. "Maybe someday you'll get to meet my gang back on Cancer. They're as close to family as I'm gonna get," he said, feeling like he should give a bit of himself after what had just happened. "But they'd drive you crazy.. And probably hit on you."
-
Toori shrugged at Jaxon's commentary on his grandfather, feeling like he couldn't manage to speak about that particular subject just now. He somehow felt more raw with Jaxon here to see it all, the dark circles under his grandfather's eyes and the medicine that always hurt, it was somehow much more difficult to disconnect from the whole thing when Jaxon was here too.
Toori was glad for the sudden topic change, glancing over and frowning at the suggestion.
"What, a whole gang of people who act exactly like you? I don't think so," Toori said without his usual vitriol as he entered the kitchen and sat down at the table to eat. He stirred his soup, chewing on his lip for a moment before he said something he usually wouldn't, "But if they're your friends, I'd like to meet them."
-
Jaxon chuckled at Toori's comment, even though he noticed it was lacking the bite that his words usually had, he pretended he didn't. As they entered the kitchen, Jax picked up his bowl of soup and followed Toori to the table. He sat down across from him and lifted up his spoon, eating quietly as he listened to Toori speak. The sentiment he offered was sincere and not snappy at all. Jaxon decided to run with it, figuring that Toori wasn't in the mood to joke around anymore.
"They're more than my friends," Jax said honestly after he swallowed, placing his spoon down and leaning on the table with his elbows. His expression went thoughtful as he considered everything they'd done for him. "They're family, and they're good people. I don't think anyone would believe me if I told them that I was on my last limb, lying in an alley, and I was saved and taken in by a gang...But then I've never bothered trying to tell the story. I guess most people don't understand gangs are sort of just like families. Loyalty's the most important thing."
-
Toori listened intently as Jaxon spoke, and then nodded when he was done. Toori thought that Jaxon didn't often speak about himself or his past, but he seemed to make an exception where Toori was concerned. Jaxon didn't seem to mind too much when it was Toori that was listening, and Toori had to admit (at least to himself) that it was nice, being the one that listened to Jaxon. He almost wished he had more truths to offer in return, because beside the story about his parents, Toori didn't think he had any secrets or even amusing anecdotes to share, whereas Jaxon seemed to have been all over the galaxy and experienced so much.
"It's understandable that you would be attached to someone who helped you out, no matter who they are," Toori said, "And your family doesn't have to be whoever gave birth to you. It's whoever takes care of you." Toori looked up at Jaxon then, and his smile was slightly sad.
-
Jaxon nodded slowly at Toori's final words, smiling in much the same manner. "You're right," he agreed before taking another spoonful of soup . He ate, quiet and content with the silence, until it occurred to him to speak again. "The gang is broken up now," he explained, leaning back in his seat. His bowl of stew was nearly empty and he wasn't very hungry anymore. Chalk it up to the rollercoaster of emotion Toori put him through.
"I mean, they were always older than me and now they're too old to be messing around. They weren't a street gang of kids, but a big syndicate really, and the leader has a soft spot for runaways.. He thought I was one." Jaxon chuckled a bit at the memory. He'd awoke in an undecorated, small room, in a bed that smelled like laundry and a bit like clover. He turned on his side and looked outside the window. Nothing seemed familiar, but he was distinctly numb. It didn't bother him, he felt completely detached as he stood and exited the room. The first person he ran into had indifferently shouted down the hall- 'Boss! He's awake!'
The 'boss's first words had been, "What did they do to you, your parents?" A pull of his cigarette and, 'You're a runaway, right?'
The flashback had been unexpected; Jaxon spent almost no time reminiscing, especially on the first year of his time in Cancer when he had been all but a robot. "Anyway, I told him I didn't remember a thing, but he didn't throw me out. I still don't understand it. He was never a fan of strangers, or kids."
-
When Jax fell silent and returned to his bowl, Toori did the same, thinking the conversation was over. But then, Jax started to speak again, and Toori looked up, faintly surprised. Jaxon explained his gang on Cancer, and Toori couldn't help but smile when Jax chuckled. Toori watched with interest when Jax fell silent again, staring off into space and losing himself in his own mind like he very rarely did. He didn't make a sound as he assumed Jax was remembering something, probably from his early days as a gang member, but Jax didn't seem upset or bothered by remembering this; whatever he was remembering was a good memory. Toori didn't want to intrude on that.
Jaxon came back to the present eventually, giving Toori a cursory explanation of what he must have just been remembering. Toori nodded and was silent for a moment, contemplating, before he smiled.
"He must have been won over by your excessive charms." Toori said, arching one eyebrow at Jax.
-
Jaxon chuckled a bit when Toori mentioned his 'excessive charms.' He certainly did have a tendency to be excessive about his flirting when he was with Toori. But back then, he hadn't had much charm or much interest in flirting. He hadn't had much interest in anything- he clearly recalled sitting in his room at the boss's house staring out the window for hours on end, doing nothing.
Having reflected on that, he replied, "I don't know about that." For once, he felt more like it was the time to be sincere rather than fool around and try to change the subject. After all, since Toori had given him so much of himself, let him see so much of his own life, Jaxon wanted Toori to have something of him, too. "I wasn't much of who I am now, that year. I barely had even feeling," Jaxon explained. "But I had the gang. And their excessive charms set the bar," he smiled. "I hope you get to meet them, eventually. You might get dizzy from all the charm in the room," he added sarcastically.
-
Toori leaned his elbows on the table and put his chin in his hands, finished now with his stew and turning his full attention on Jax. He wasn't so surprised to find out Jax didn't used to be so outgoing, whatever happened to Jax it was obvious that just losing his memory had been traumatic, not to mention the reason he'd lost his memory in the first place. Toori knew all about that; losing your memory after experiencing something traumatic. But Toori at least had always had someone to tell him what he couldn't remember, someone to hold him when the nightmares got bad and someone to tell him it was all right that he couldn't grieve. He hoped Jaxon still had someone like that somewhere, hoped that Jaxon would find someone like that eventually, someone who could make him feel better about the gaps in his memory.
"You'll have to take me to Cancer, someday," Toori said, smiling a little at the thought, "I've always wanted to go there, since I was young. Maybe I could come and visit you there."
-
When Toori expressed an interest in coming to Cancer, Jaxon was embarrassed that he had to hold back the enthusiasm he felt at the idea. Instead he nodded, smiling at the blond. "Anytime you want," he agreed with another nod. He didn't know why he was so excited. Probably, he thought, because the gang was so important to him, and Toori was too, now. He wasn't accustomed to caring this much, to wanting to share this much, but he knew that he wanted Toori to see his home. Toori would appreciate Cancer. As for the gang.. Jaxon thought it would either be very funny or very disastrous to place Toori with them. He wondered what they would think of him-- more than that, what they would think of Jaxon actually bringing someone around to meet them. Jaxon didn't recall ever introducing a friend to them. They were his only friends, in all honesty, and his family.
Thinking that he'd probably said enough about himself, Jaxon felt himself naturally inclined to ask Toori questions about the frontier and Tynova, but he also didn't want to pry. "Considering it's my real home, I really dislike Tynova," he said instead, wondering if Toori would offer his opinion too.
-
"I like it here," Toori said, shrugging a little, "But then... I've never known anything else." Toori laughed a little, glancing away and considering that. Sometimes the streets were a little crowded for Toori, but other than that he liked the city.
"I've always liked being here, so close to the shipyards. If I hadn't left the frontier I never might have had the chance to learn as much as I have about ships." Toori paused, wondering if he shouldn't say that, if that meant he preferred losing his parents because it had given him more opportunity.
"I mean, not that I... Not that I wanted to come here. Not that I wanted to..." Toori said awkwardly, shifting a little and glancing away, looking uncomfortable.
-
Jaxon nodded along as Toori spoke about Tynova, interested to hear his opinion and feelings toward the place. He wasn't surprised when Toori said that he enjoyed living in the city because it gave him opportunities to learn more about his passion.. In fact Jaxon thought that made perfect sense, and as well, he found Toori's optimism (per se) about the situation to be impressive. Thankfully, he hadn't taken the words the way Toori assumed he would, the way he clearly thought they had sounded, but Jaxon quickly caught on and understood his upset when he began to flounder, looking away uncomfortably.
It struck him to see Toori upset and struggling with his words like that, and Jaxon wanted to make sure he knew that he was not misunderstood. He knew that Toori would never even imply what he thought he did. "I know what you mean," he said calmly, calm enough for the both of them he hoped. "I'm.." Jaxon paused, thinking over his words carefully, "You made the best of things. There's nothing wrong with being glad you had this opportunity. I know you're not glad about what happened."
Jaxon smiled reassuringly, if not a little sadly, "I envy you. I'm just not like that. I didn't make anything good of what happened, I just avoided it and got angry. After all that, I'm not even a decent person," he said it with a bitter laugh. It was a soft spot, one he rarely even approached. Jaxon had his doubts about himself. "I was in a gang and I'm a space pirate. I hurt other people for personal gain."
-
Toori smiled when Jaxon reassured him, feeling something in his chest loosen knowing that Jax had known what he had meant. It was convenient, to say the least, having someone around who could speak Toori's language. Sometimes he felt like a foreigner in his own city, when nobody seemed to understand him or be able to communicate with him adequately, but something about Jax made him completely fluent in Toori. Toori was hard-pressed to not be impressed by this.
When Jax went on, his words slowly making their way down into genuinely sad territory, Toori's heart ached for Jaxon. At first, Toori floundered a little, as he was unfamiliar with the concept of comfort and was unsure how to go about it. He was even more unfamiliar with wanting so badly to comfort someone, with looking at someone who was sad or angry and feeling that exact same feeling mirrored in yourself, for the simple reason that that person was feeling it. He felt that way about his grandfather, of course, but this was different. Jax was different.
After perhaps slightly too long, Toori reached across the table and put his hand soundly on Jaxon's.
"Hey," he said softly, "You made the best of things," Toori smiled a little at turning Jaxon's words back at him, "And you're one of the most decent people I know." Toori gave Jax that same small smile, holding onto his hand for another moment and giving it a squeeze before letting go. He didn't really want to let go of Jax's hand, but he was still unsure about physical proximity from earlier and he didn't want to cross any boundaries.
"Though," Toori said with a laugh, "I don't really know many people."
-
A silence settled over them, and Jaxon couldn't help but feel regret that he'd spoken at all as he cast his gaze down. He had never said something of the like before, though he'd thought it to himself time and time again. Saying it out loud, it felt stupid. Whether it was stupid or not, though, Jaxon knew it was the truth.. He'd always had mixed feelings about the things he did on Cancer and as a pirate- known that it was not noble or brave and that he could be doing better, could be a better person. But he had always smothered those feelings, buried them deeper than almost any other because it was hard for him to accept that he hated himself, at least a little bit.
And right now he hated himself for speaking. Jaxon was about to get up and walk away- just to not have to look at Toori as he changed the subject, but then a hand landed on his. He looked up, surprised and a little vulnerable, as Toori spoke to him gently. Relief swept over him as Toori assured him, not of his own worth but at least of Toori's opinion of him. As Toori squeezed his hand Jaxon felt his chest tighten as if Toori was squeezing his heart instead. He disregarded it pointedly but still squeezed back.
Then Toori's hand was gone. Jaxon feigned indifference, but he wished it had lasted longer. "Thanks," he said simply, torn between wanting to tell him to forget he ever said that and apologize for saying it. Jaxon did neither. "Don't meet too many people, okay? I don't want you changing your mind on me," he laughed.
-
Toori rolled his eyes and shook his head, folding his hands together in front of him in order to curb the desire to reach out and grab Jaxon's hand again.
"Yeah, well, at least I can assure you that that's unlikely." Toori said, looking down at his hands, wondering if he should say more. A true friend would be able to, to assure Jaxon that he was a good person and a good friend, but Toori didn't know how to do that. Toori couldn't even say for his own mind what made a person good, so how could he judge that for anyone else? And how could he tell Jaxon that he was Toori's best--no--Toori's only friend? The only friend Toori'd ever had who didn't lament in his abnormal tendencies or take it as a challenge, try to 'cure' him or mold him into a model citizen. Jax took him at face value and didn't question it, even tolerated Toori's more extreme reactions, and didn't ask for anything in return. Toori wasn't sure he deserved it, but Jaxon's friendship had quickly rocketed up to the most important thing to Toori.
But Toori had no idea how to begin saying all of that. He had no idea how to be that honest.
He stared down at his hands, hating himself and his inability to speak even his own language. Surely Jaxon deserved a better friend.
"I won't change my mind about you," he murmured, blinking in surprise a moment later because he hadn't meant to say that out loud.
-
Jaxon smiled slightly as Toori continued to assure him so determinedly, slowly feeling the weight of his self-hatred roll off his shoulders easily, like water. He was surprised by the ease with which his bad feelings dissolved under Toori's words, and he was sure that only Toori could have done that for him. If he were alone with these thoughts, it would spiral out of control as it always did, until it all became anger and frustration. He wouldn't be able to deal with it.
But somehow, having Toori sitting there, listening to him and caring and telling him that he was worth something, was more than enough to give him peace of mind. Jaxon took a deep breath and felt himself calm down. He hadn't even realized how wound up he'd become.
He looked up from where his eyes had been fixated on the ground when Toori spoke again. What he said was surprisingly honest, though murmured almost shyly. Jaxon smiled, gaze falling from Toori's eyes to his folded hands. Why did he want so badly to touch him?
"I'll try to behave for you so that you won't have to," he said, noting the tightness of his chest with wariness. "I wouldn't want to lose you."
-
Toori laughed a little awkwardly at that, the knot of insecurity in his chest loosening a little. Despite how often Toori worried that he was a bad friend to Jax, Jax had never given Toori any indication that he felt the same way, and that was reassuring. He almost wanted to bring it up-- wanted to tell Jaxon how insecure he felt all the time, but what if pointing out his own shortcomings just alerted Jax to their presence? What if up until now he just hadn't noticed, and Toori voicing his concerns was the thing that finally broke into Jax's mind and made him realize what a mistake this whole thing had been? As much as he wanted to be honest and forthcoming with Jax, he wanted to keep his friendship even more.
So Toori kept mouth closed and glanced around, searching for some topic of conversation.
"So..." Toori started, finally glancing over at Jax, "Was there anything you wanted to do today?"
-
Jaxon couldn't help but smile at Toori's unsure laugh and topic change, feeling more comfortable now that things were finally getting out of uncharted territory. Feelings weren't exactly his forte, and though he liked that he could be honest with Toori, he also liked that they could joke around and just enjoy each other's company.
He was grateful for the change in topic... The question, however, he didn't quite have an answer for. Jaxon made a thoughtful sound and leaned back, crossing his arms. He wasn't exactly the expert on how to have fun in Tynova- he had barely spent any time in the city over the past three years, and when he did, it was all business.
But there was one thing that was pretty much universal fun-- at least to Jax. "Like I said last time.. We should go to a bar," he said with a nod, even though he knew Toori would shoot the idea down. "Or a club! Okay, I know what you're thinking.. But you'll have fun! At least after a couple of shots.."
-
When Jax suggested a bar, Toori tensed up immediately. Despite the uncomfortable topic Toori was very glad for the distraction from his less-than-comforting thoughts.
"No," Toori said passionately, putting his hands palms-down on the table, "No no no. No a thousand times. I will not have fun, and I will not drink, and you will get drunk and leave me behind and-- and-- and with my luck some lady will try to take me home!" Toori finished his spiel with a flourish of a hand gesture, then pressed his palms back into the table to cover just how agitated the idea made him, "Seriously. I'm not going." He glared across the table at Jaxon, hoping the other caught on to how serious he was. He suspected there were a great many things Jax could convince him to do, but going to a place where the only thing to do was either interact with other people or get drunk was not one of them.
-
Jaxon was tempted to burst out laughing at Toori's passionate and animated refusal, but instead he worked to keep his amusement hidden and put on a pout. "Aw, you're no fun," he whined, leaning forward and perching his chin in his hands as he looked at Toori with his best puppy-dog eyes. He was hoping that pity would get Toori on his side, but that didn't seem to be working. All he was met with was a glare from Toori. "Okay, okay, I get it," he sighed, putting his thinking face back on to search for some kind of a compromise.
"What if..." he started as an idea came to him, "We drink here? We can go buy stuff and just bring it back." He didn't know why he was so dead set on getting Toori drunk.. Probably because he was sure that Toori would be very amusing.
-
Toori frowned and narrowed his eyes at Jax, considering this plan. It wasn't much more appealing than the bar idea, as Toori wasn't very fond of drinking in the first place.
"Why do we have to drink at all?" he lamented, giving Jax his own pleading face, "Why do we need alcohol to have a good time?"
Toori had drunk before, a few times in school he had done so with some friends, and he'd never had a good time. That could have partially been because the times he did drink or got close to drunk some sort of terrible drama took place, and Toori had to either clean up afterwards or was part of the drama himself. And furthermore he just wasn't fond of feeling so far away from himself, feeling so out of control and with no filter between his brain and his mouth. He didn't like the idea of being so vulnerable.
-
Jaxon laughed at Toori's pleading face, leaning over the table to ruffle his hair playfully. "Come on, loosen up. You'll have a good time," he assured him for what must have been the millionth time. He sat back for a moment before standing, figuring that he shouldn't give Toori too much time to ponder the idea and start dramatically rejecting him. "Did you have some kind of a traumatic experience while drinking?" he asked with a laugh, looking over his shoulder at Toori as he walked towards the door. "Don't worry, you're with your knight in shining armor now! I'll protect you,"
-
"I will not have a good time," he insisted, standing up after Jaxon did without really thinking about what he was doing, more concerned with finishing their argument than any ingenious maneuvers on Jaxon's part. He followed Jaxon over to the door, scowling at him all the way.
"I have had several traumatic experiences while drinking, and they have all convinced me that nothing good comes from a group of rowdy, intoxicated people. It's a recipe for disaster and hurt feelings." Toori stopped, realizing he was getting into the territory of things-he-never-ever-talked-about and decided to switch gears, "You're certainly no knight and I'm pretty sure trying to get me drunk is the opposite of protecting me. How about this? You get drunk, and I'll stand by with the camera and take incriminating photographs."
-
Jaxon chuckled lightly at Toori's words, amused and not at all surprised by how dismal his attitude towards drinking and partying was, or how pessimistic he was about the prospect of the two of them getting drunk together. Unlike Jaxon, Toori hadn't used drinking and hanging out at bars as a way of bonding.. For him, it probably seemed completely meaningless, and Jaxon was completely aware of that. But for Jaxon, it was one of his favorite ways to waste time, the first thing he did with his friends when he got home and the last thing he did before he left to go on a job. And it wasn't sureness that drinking would be fun that kept Jaxon pushing it, but probably just stubbornness.
At the comment about incriminating photographs, Jaxon laughed heartily. "See, there you go. You have the idea. Blackmailing me will make the experience worthwhile," he said in a matter-of-fact tone as he exited Toori's home and stepped outside. "Lead the way to the nearest liquor store," he requested, gesturing for Toori to take the lead.
-
It was only when Jaxon told him to lead the way to the liquor store that Toori realized he was halfway out the door. He flushed slightly, embarrassed that he had been so carried away by arguing with Jax that he hadn't noticed where Jaxon was leading him. After a moment of glowering at Jax he sighed, grabbing his keys and wallet before locking the door behind them.
"I have to get groceries anyways," he grumbled darkly, stalking off down the street without waiting for Jax to fall into step beside him. The grocery store was only a block or two away, but if Jaxon wanted a real liquor store he might be out of luck, because Toori had no idea where to find one.
-
Jaxon smirked at Toori's embarrassment that he seemed not to have realized where he was being led, half expecting the other to get upset and storm upstairs (which probably would have amused him). Instead Toori took off down the street, grumbling about groceries. Jaxon laughed and hurried to catch up, falling into step beside Toori and throwing an arm around his neck playfully. "Though it suits you, you shouldn't be so grumpy," he scolded, narrowly resisting the urge to mess up Toori's hair again. He released the other as they walked into the grocery store, grabbing a basket from the floor. "What do you need?" he asked, swinging the basket back and forth.
-
"I can be as grumpy as I want," Toori replied snottily, not caring that he must sound like a little kid, and a bratty little kid at that. When Jax grabbed the basket Toori took it from him, still irritated that he had been led so easily out of the house and into plans that involved drinking.
"Groceries," he said, leading the way down the produce aisle and picking over a few vegetables. He led Jaxon around the store like this, picking out things here and there to feed himself and his grandfather for the next few days. By the time they rounded on the alcohol aisle Toori was still acting grumpy, but it was mostly just that--an act. The truth was, he was having fun, no matter how much he would deny it if anyone said as much. He liked this, just walking around with Jax and talking and joking, it was easy the way it never was for Toori.
-
Jaxon snorted out an incredulous laugh at Toori's poor attitude, knowing that it was (most likely) an act- And an amusing one at that. He grinned, following the other after he took the basket and began walking down the produce aisle. "Don't be too specific," he warned sarcastically, trailing behind and observing Toori with amusement as he picked foods out and put them in the basket.
When they turned into the alcohol aisle, Jaxon moved ahead and grabbed two bottles of the same liquor off the shelf. The bottles would be more than enough, judging by their alcohol by volume content and the fact that one of them would probably be a complete lightweight. "Whatever you do," he started, turning to face Toori and gesturing with the bottles in hand, "Do. Not. Throw. Up." he threatened, grinning. Jaxon stepped closer to place the bottles in the basket. "I'll pay," he offered suddenly as they approached the registers, taking the basket back from Toori.
-
Toori frowned while Jax seemingly selected two bottles random, giving them only a cursory glance before deciding on them. He raised an eyebrow.
"I'd have to be drinking first in order to get sick," he pointed out, "And I don't intend to drink at all." He knew Jax was assuming that Toori would start drinking at some point, and Toori knew as well that this was likely, but he would hold out as long as he possibly could. Hopefully, he could wait until Jax was too drunk to notice that Toori was only pretending to drink, and then act a little tipsy and convince Jaxon that they had both gotten smashed and had a good night.
"Hey, you don't have to--" Toori protested when Jax offered to pay, but it was halfhearted at best, and he relented when Jax took the basket and headed off towards the cashier. The truth was, Toori didn't really make that much money-- not when you factored in the cost of the house and food and his grandfather's mounting medical bills. Sometimes he worked extra shifts at the store not because he loved it (though he did love it) but because he needed the money.
-
Jaxon all but shushed Toori as he began to object, his mind already stubbornly set on paying. He wasn't sure why he'd suddenly offered and why he was so determined to-- he hadn't really thought about it, and it wasn't out of pity though he knew that Toori probably didn't make much and had to take care of his grandfather.. It had just felt right, and he hadn't really thought before speaking. He tried not to think too much about it as he watched the woman at the register scan and bag their food, deciding to start up a casual chat. After they paid, Jaxon took the bags and led Toori back outside.
"So, you think you're not going to be drinking, huh?" he asked as they began the walk back to Toori's home. "Trust me, that won't work," he assured him with a grin, thinking about how he could get Toori drunk easily. His best bet would probably be a game of machine gun shots, with some kind of embarrassing ultimatum for the loser. The last time he'd played that, a guy had ended up in a dress and makeup. It probably wouldn't get too embarrassing at Toori's, but Jaxon would try to make it good enough that he wouldn't want to lose.
-
"Hmm," Toori said noncommittally, sure Jaxon was also formulating some kind of plan to ensure Toori would drink. He would probably bribe Toori with something or turn up his own incriminating evidence or something equally malicious. However much Toori was sure Jaxon had a good heart, he was equally sure that Jaxon wouldn't flutter an eyelash at playing dirty. Toori wouldn't have batted an eyelash either, actually, but he didn't have the practical experience that Jaxon did. Lying and cheating was practically in Jaxon's job description.
They walked quietly the few blocks back to Toori's house, Toori letting them in when they got there and then leading the way through to the kitchen. He started putting away groceries, setting the two bottles of liquor out on the table and eyeing them whenever he walked past.
-
Jaxon followed Toori quietly as they walked back to his home, a small smile on his face. Though it was silly, he was looking forward to drinking with Toori, and regardless of how stupid their plans were, he felt content to be around the other, to be doing anything with him. He felt good; comfortable. As they entered the house Jaxon handed the bags back to Toori and headed to the kitchen, taking a seat at the table as Toori put the produce away.
Watching the other, Jaxon immediately noticed the wary way that Toori regarded the alcohol every time he passed it, and smirked a bit. "Do you know anything about drinking games?" he asked, pulling the bottle to him and analyzing it as he awaited Toori's reply. His bets were on "no" and "we're not playing any games".
-
Toori's eyes narrowed at Jaxon, watching him casually inspect one of the bottles with an air of nonchalance. Toori didn't answer right away, preferring instead to focus on putting away the end of the groceries and leaving Jax in suspense.
"I know enough about drinking games to not participate in any," he said, crossing his arms over his chest, "And if you--we--are going to drink then we should do so up in my room." He supposed the best strategy was to go along with Jax, because the more he actively resisted getting drunk the more Jax would be determined to get him to do so. And if--if--Jaxon managed to get him to drink, the last thing he wanted was to wake up his dying Grandfather in the middle of the night because he and Jax were too drunk to keep their voices down.
-
Jaxon kept his eyes trained on Toori expectantly as he awaited a reply, though it seemed that the younger boy wouldn't be gracing him with one. He placed the bottle down on the table beside the other and crossed his arms, about to remark on Toori's ignoring him. But before he could, Toori put away the last of the groceries, turned, and answered him-- as anticipated, with some comment about how he wouldn't play any. "Booooring," he said, sticking his tongue out at the other.
When he said they should head upstairs, Jaxon picked up the two bottles and smiled mischievously, grabbing Toori by the wrist as he walked by and dragging him upstairs. Seeing his room again, Jaxon had a brief flashback to what had happened earlier, but he swallowed his feelings, determined to maintain that he was not upset about that. He sat down on Toori's bed with a smile. "So I was going to suggest machine gun shots, but I'm guessing you don't have any shot glasses, let alone ten. How about something simple.... questions? We'll take turns asking each other.. If you must pass, you have to take a drink."
-
Toori could barely register Jaxon's evil smirk before he was dragged upstairs; he considering pulling away and standing at the bottom of the stairs with his arms crossed over his chest until Jaxon promised not to get him drunk, but decided against it. Jax would probably pout. Toori was dragged upstairs and then released when Jax got to his room, and he watched Jax flop back down onto his bed with a frown. This was why they had fought earlier, but this time Toori would be more careful. He didn't want to see Jaxon make that blank closed-off face again.
Toori watched Jaxon closely as he spoke about drinking games, not knowing what 'machine gun shots' were but not wanting to ask.
"What kind of questions?" he asked, not wanting to agree to something that would require him to tell Jax embarrassing things. Knowing Jax, though, that was probably exactly what he had in mind. He wanted to toss the bottles out the window and be done with the whole thing, but in the spirit of not pissing Jax off any more than he already had today he decided to play along, for now.
-
Jaxon took note of Toori's petulant expression and held the bottles to his chest, anticipating that the other would try to get rid of them or something, which he just wouldn't allow. "Questions..." he paused thoughtfully. "..That would be embarrassing and we wouldn't want to answer. You know, so that the other person has to drink. They have to be hard questions," he explained. "Or, we could do 'never have I...' You know, never have I.. Dyed my hair pink. And neither of us would drink. Because we haven't. Or maybe you have?" He laughed and tilted his head to the side questioningly.
Realizing that Toori was still on the opposite side of the room, Jaxon scooted to the far end of the bed, giving a little gesture for the other to join him. He placed one bottle down on the floor and opened the other. "Either way. Mix it up, if you want. You can go first- Ask me a question, or anything."
-
Toori's shoulders slumped a little at Jaxon's explanation, as it was exactly what he had suspected. He hesitated when Jax gestured for him to join Jax on the bed, but after a moment let out a put-upon sigh and crossing the room, sitting on the edge of the bed. He eyed the bottle in Jaxon's hand warily, then sighed again and sat on the bed properly, facing Jax.
"Anything, huh?" he said, smirking a little and tapping his chin thoughtfully. He'd have to think of something that would make Jax regret he had ever started this game. He took a good minute to think of a question, and when he did his eyes lit up and he looked over at Jax. "Never have I been naked in public."
-
When Toori (at last) joined him on the bed, Jaxon smiled widely as he turned towards him, glad that he was being more cooperative. He watched as Toori's expression slowly grew plotting, a smirk crossing his face. Jaxon chuckled a little, trying to contain his amusement at the look of concentration on Toori's face. He knew if he started teasing the other now that there would be no drinking games. After a moment's pause, Toori's eyes lit up and he looked back at him excitedly. Jaxon grinned, just as excited to hear what he'd come up with.
'Never have I been naked in public.' He gaped a little before laughing, surprised that Toori would say that. "Public, like, do pools count--" Jaxon laughed again at the memory of all the things he shouldn't have done in public, "Okay, fine." He lifted the bottle and took a long gulp before handing it to Toori. "Okay.. Never have I.. Kissed a guy." At this, Jaxon reached for the other bottle and took another shot with a smirk.
-
Toori watched Jax drink with satisfaction, though his satisfaction was short-lived when Jax fired a statement back at him. Toori's face fell and he froze for a moment, considering his options. Jax probably thought he had never kissed anyone, no matter their gender, and probably thought Toori was a virgin as well. Neither of those were true, but Toori wasn't sure he wanted Jax to know that. He considered lying, saying he'd never been kissed, but he reasoned the truth would surprise Jax more, so he decided go for it. After a silent moment he raised his bottle to his lips, flushing slightly while he took a drink. He swallowed thickly and then coughed, making a face at the strong taste.
"Ugh," he said, and then looked back up at Jax with a smirk, "Never have I kissed a girl." Toori countered and pointedly did not take a drink.
-
Jaxon was surprised when Toori took a shot, since he'd fired the question mostly out of curiosity, not out of a desire to make the blond drink. It wasn't as though he spent his time pondering Toori's sexuality; the fact of the matter was that Jaxon didn't care much about sexuality. He would go for anything he found attractive, but he knew other people were different, more rigid with their standards, and Toori was.. Well, Toori liked guys, and that was confirmed when he didn't drink at the wonderful statement 'Never have I kissed a girl.'
He considered that for a minute- Toori had never kissed a girl. But he'd kissed a boy. Boys? More than one? he quickly caught his mind wandering in an unfavorable direction and stopped himself. He took a shot. "Jeez, that was a trap, you know I'm a slut," he joked, laughing. "Never have I.. texted someone and asked them what they're wearing," he said, knowing that they would both have to drink. He winked at Toori before taking a shot.
-
Toori was glad when Jaxon didn't seem to get too stumped at his own question, he only looked at Toori curiously before speaking again, talking lightly like none of it mattered. Toori was glad for that; he hadn't really been concerned about not being accepted by Jaxon, but it felt good all the same. When Jaxon told his never have I, Toori couldn't help but laugh. Somewhere inside he was a little flattered that Jaxon remembered their stupid idle conversations, not that he would ever tell Jaxon that.
"That's cheating, you can't ask things you already know," Toori complained, but he was smiling as he said it and then took a drink anyways. And, all right, maybe he was starting to have fun, but he knew that had more to do with talking to Jax than anything in a bottle.
"Never have I..." Toori licked his lips, looking down at his bottle and trying to think of something, "Been to Cancer," he finished lamely, frowning a little at his own lack of imagination.
-
Jaxon laughed a bit as Toori accused him of cheating, before shrugging and putting on his most innocent of expressions. He'd already drank more than Toori, but he was starting not to care very much about that, or anything at all, really. He was enjoying himself, he liked being around Toori, and the alcohol was making his head just a fuzzy mess of good feelings. "You suck at this game," Jaxon moaned at Toori's next statement, sighing before he took a shot. "I've already taken twice as many shots as you," he added, frowning slightly. "No more cheating!"
He took a moment to think of what to say, leaning back on his palms and balancing the bottle between his legs as he stared at the ceiling. He didn't want to cheat, but he also decided he wasn't going to do anything that would make him drink. When an idea finally came to him, he focused his gaze on Toori again. "Never have I fantasized during class." (And that was sort of cheating anyway, since Jaxon couldn't remember his high school years. He had the eerie feeling that he probably had, though.)
-
Toori noticed Jaxon was starting to be a bit more dramatic than usual, and assumed that was the influence of the alcohol.
"It's not my fault I'm much more boring than you are," Toori said with a sigh, and the only change he felt from the alcohol was the uncomfortable burning in his throat. When Jaxon asked his question Toori frowned, considering it.
"You probably don't mean fantasizing about the school blowing up or what was for lunch, huh?" Toori asked with another sigh and then considered the question seriously. He had to think about it, he knew that wasn't something he had done often at school, but then-- He remembered. He'd had the same history teacher as his first boyfriend and his notes were always lacking in that class. Toori flushed at the memory, and not from the alcohol, and then knocked back a shot. The burn was slightly less this time, and Toori reasoned that the less time the alcohol spent in his mouth, the less it would burn. He'd just have to drink faster.
"Never have I skipped class," Toori said, and then added, "Or work."
-
Jaxon chuckled at Toori's question, shaking his head. He watched with interest as the other paused, seeming to actually consider the question before his face flushed and he suddenly took his shot. This made Jaxon smile with amusement, though at the same time it had his thoughts going south, wondering what it was Toori had fantasized about, and why. What made him tick. He almost had the gall to ask, but he still had control over his words, if not his thoughts about a cute teenage Toori.
The next statement seemed as though it should have gotten him, and Jaxon thought that Toori was probably certain it would have. But Jaxon didn't drink to that. He'd never had a formal job, and everything he'd done for his gang had been basically obligatory, whereas everything he'd done as a space pirate he'd signed up for himself because he'd wanted to do it. There had never been a good reason for him to skip. "Nice try," he teased, sticking his tongue out at Toori.
"Never have I been attracted to a very attractive space pirate who came in my shop for repairs," he said jokingly, knowing Toori wouldn't drink to it but it was worth saying just because it sounded so ridiculous that it made him burst out laughing.
-
Toori raised an eyebrow when Jaxon didn't drink, because he'd had Jax pegged as the sort to shirk his duties. He supposed, though, on a space ship there wasn't really anything else to do except your job.
At Jaxon's next question Toori rolled his eyes, not finding it nearly as funny as Jaxon, who was laughing so hard he nearly lost his grip on his bottle. Toori considered drinking, if only because he knew it would shock Jaxon and it was a little bit true-- Toori had been attracted to Jaxon, but only physically. Jaxon didn't know Toori had a thing for the dashing space-pirate type, and if Toori had his way Jaxon would never know.
"You wish," he said finally, deciding that while the shock on Jaxon's face would have been very funny, it wasn't worth sharing that particular piece of personal information. Toori didn't drink, but smirked as he thought of a perfect counter-question.
"Never have I hit on the guy I wanted to fix my spaceship within two minutes of meeting him," Toori said with a smirk, not taking a shot at this because, obviously, he'd never had to hire anyone to fix something of his.
-
It was probably-- no, definitely the alcohol, that caused Jaxon to find himself so funny. Normally, he wouldn't have found his statement so entertaining (and he would have been aware of the value of keeping a straight face while telling a joke). But he was at least somewhat drunk, so he kept on laughing at his own joke until Toori refused to drink. "Liar," Jaxon snapped playfully, catching his breath from his laughter.
Hearing the next statement, Jaxon laughed immediately. It was a good counter, he had to admit, and took a shot without complaint. He wouldn't, however, drop the subject too easily. He scooted forward, moving into Toori's personal space carelessly and leaning forward. "Don't act like you didn't like it," he teased in a whisper before leaning back. "Never have I been treated to dinner by a handsome space pirate."
-
Jaxon laughed, again, and Toori raised his eyebrows. Jaxon seemed to laugh a lot when he was drunk, or at least on his way to being drunk. Toori was starting to feel the alcohol himself, as his mind became a little bit fuzzy, but not enough to impede his judgement.
Toori couldn't help but laugh as Jaxon scooted forward and whispered, Jax was not half as smooth as he thought he was, and Toori reached out and playfully pushed at Jaxon's shoulder. When Jaxon came up with the next question both of Toori's eyebrows went up, and he made a show of thinking about it.
"Hmm..." he said, tapping his chin again, "I don't know about handsome. I was treated to dinner by a mildly attractive, fantastically annoying space pirate though. Does that count?" Toori smirked, rubbing his thumb over the lip of his bottle for a long moment before shrugging and taking a drink. He hadn't had as much as Jax, wasn't taking big shots like Jax was, but he was well prepared to blame the alcohol for the 'mildly attractive' comment.
"Never have I flirted with a stranger," Toori said, well aware it was a bit of cop-out but he had realized already he was horrible at this game.
-
Jaxon quirked a brow in reaction to Toori's pensive expression, waiting expectantly. Of course, he didn't really expect Toori to drink to that easily, but he was more joking around now than actually playing the game strategically. When Toori spoke, Jaxon nearly burst out in complaint as he said that he wasn't handsome. But Toori kept speaking, so Jaxon kept his mouth shut and let him finish. It turned out to be worth it- though the mildly attractive comment seemed more like a slip up than anything else, it still made Jaxon smile, clearly pleased. "I'm more than mildly attractive," he corrected, though he left the annoying alone, mostly accepting it as true. He watched with a grin as Toori drank to it.
As Toori brought up flirting with strangers, Jaxon frowned and drank. He had already had a good amount, and soon it would catch up with him, he was sure. He was impressed that he could still form coherent thoughts at this point. "Never have I told my friend repeatedly that I wouldn't have fun drinking with him and argued with him and then had fun drinking with him anyway," he said, realizing after it was out how completely and utterly malformed and convoluted his own statement was. He laughed, "I don't even know what I meant, so if you don't drink, I won't blame you."
-
Toori laughed at Jaxon's statement, mostly because of how utterly trashed Jaxon sounded already. He knew what Jaxon meant, though, and smiled over at him.
"I'll drink, but it's because I pass." Toori said with a cheeky smile and then took a gulp. He was having fun, much to his own surprise, and the pleasant floaty feeling of being buzzed was nice. This wasn't like Toori's other drinking experiences, for one, he wasn't surrounded by a group of hormonal teenagers, and for another, he actually liked spending time with Jaxon. He thought he'd be having fun with or without the alcohol, but he couldn't deny that the alcohol made this a little more fun. Or, actually, he could deny it, and would, but it was true nonetheless.
Toori tried to think of another question but gave up with a sigh, "I can't think of another one, I'm awful at this. You ask another one."
-
If Jaxon hadn't been as drunk as he was, he would have been a little terrified by his own thoughts... When Toori laughed and smiled at him, Jaxon found himself thinking about what a nice smile the blond had, what a nice laugh. And he was eerily okay with that, as ridiculous and unwelcome as the thought was-- or at least would have been. Right now, it wasn't. Jaxon just felt good; warm and bubbly and happy, and if his mind kept circling around Toori, he wouldn't bother to beat himself up over it. (When he was more sober, he would blame it on the fact that he was a horny drunk and Toori was the only other person around.)
Suddenly, he realized he hadn't been listening very much, and he was grateful when Toori reminded him of the game. "You are awful," he agreed, trying to set his mind to coming up with another statement as he ran a hand through his hair. "I can't think of anything," he whined, momentarily very upset by this before he changed his mind altogether. "Okay, screw the game. Final shots." Jaxon took another gulp before putting the cap on the bottle and placing it down on the floor. He then proceeded to fall back on Toori's bed, looking up at the ceiling. He wasn't tired, he was just a little tired of things spinning around.
"Hey, you're like, my best friend, Toori," he announced.
-
Toori watched Jaxon, amused, and glad he had enough of a mind to be amused at Jaxon's drunk antics instead of being that far gone himself. Jaxon seemed content to talk, being as dramatic as possible before calling off the game and taking one last shot. Toori obediently took another drink from the bottle before screwing the cap back on (and noticing vaguely that it was a lot harder than he remembered to screw the cap onto a bottle) and placing it next to Jaxon's bottle. He also noticed that Jaxon's bottle was only half-full, whereas Toori's bottle was closer to three-quarters full, and he couldn't help but smile at that. He hoped Jaxon wouldn't throw up in his bed.
Jaxon flopped back on the bed and when he spoke again, telling Toori he was his best friend, Toori didn't know whether to laugh or blush. Honestly, he was touched, no matter how drunk Jax was. He knew Jax wouldn't lie about something like that, and as much as he had suspected that was true for himself, that Jax was Toori's best friend, it felt so good to hear it went both ways. After a moment Toori sighed, and then shuffled over to lay on his side next to Jaxon. He curled one arm up under his head and was not as careful about maintaining distance between them as he should have been.
"You're my best friend too," Toori said quietly, opting to be honest and more than willing to blame that honesty on the alcohol, "I never really had one before. Or, should I say, never have I had a best friend?" Toori gave a little hiccuping laugh, "But we put away the bottles."
-
It certainly meant something that Jaxon- even while drunk- was still perceptive enough about Toori and Toori's feelings to be worried by the silence and eventual sigh. Even though his mind could barely focus on a single thought, Jaxon nonetheless began to wonder if he'd said something wrong. Assuming he did almost instantly, he was prepared to sit up again, deciding to apologize to Toori (for what, he didn't even know), but then the blond was suddenly next to him and everything was right in the world. Jaxon rolled onto his side to face Toori with a content smile, glad that he didn't say something wrong, glad that Toori was so close.
His smile only widened when Toori told him that he was his best friend, too, punctuating his words with a hiccuping laugh which Jaxon was hard pressed to deny was incredibly cute. "I've never had a best friend like you," he managed, though even he didn't know what that actually meant... All he knew was that the closer he came to Toori, the more he wanted to kiss him. He scooted just a tiny bit closer, running his hand through the other's hair idly. Something stopped him from going further, though.. He just knew that he couldn't just do it. It wouldn't be okay, and it would screw things up. He felt frustrated at this thought, unsure why he wasn't letting himself do this if he so wanted to. He toyed with a strand of Toori's hair, not even realizing the pout on his own face that clearly said 'I want something I can't have'. Realizing he hadn't said anything else, Jaxon managed to murmur, "You're too cute for your own good."
-
At Jaxon's reply Toori frowned a little, wondering what that meant. It could be a compliment, but it could also mean that Toori was a horrible best friend and Jaxon had never known anyone to be such a horrible best friend. He didn't think that was what Jaxon meant, but it was hard to be sure, and when Jaxon didn't elaborate Toori's suspicion only heightened.
Toori had no idea what Jaxon was up to when he scooted closer and had even less of an idea when Jaxon's fingers carded through his hair. Normally, Toori would have backed away from such obvious affection, but the alcohol weakened his reserve and where he would have panicked he just just sighed a little, and not unhappily. Truthfully, Jaxon's fingers just felt nice.
When Jax spoke again, his voice quiet, Toori couldn't help but blush. He frowned, realizing Jaxon was pouting at him and Toori couldn't fathom why. He turned his head into his arm, hiding his face from Jaxon. Jaxon was probably just flirty when he was drunk, and would compliment anyone who would listen.
"Jaxon," Toori admonished quietly, "Don't." He was really objecting to the compliment more than their proximity or Jaxon's fingers in his hair, because he didn't really want either of those things to stop.
-
As a blush spread across Toori's cheeks, Jaxon smiled a little, felt his chest tighten with that familiar sensation that he too often smothered with denial. The fact of the matter was, he was too drunk to resist the feeling of infatuation that swept over him when he saw Toori hide his face cutely.. It would have taken too much effort and self-control and discipline that he wasn't capable of displaying while drunk, so he didn't even bother trying. He just kept his eyes on Toori, a smile on his lips.
Though Toori admonished his behavior, he also didn't move away, and Jaxon found that interesting, deciding that he wouldn't either. He stayed close and gently pushed his hand through Toori's hair again, focusing on the feeling of the soft blond strands passing through his fingers. "Sorry," he offered quietly after a moment. "I'm not annoying you, am I?" he asked, amused by his own tone of concern. Usually, Toori would be jumping to call him annoying and he would be agreeing. Now Jaxon just wanted Toori to tell him that it was okay for him to be around, to be close.
-
When Jaxon's fingers moved with more intent Toori couldn't help but relax, surrendering to the feeling of someone else's fingers on his scalp. It was strangely comforting, and suddenly Toori felt completely at ease here, despite (or perhaps because of) how close Jaxon was and how intimate this felt. Toori thought that if this was what having a best friend was like, he was never giving Jaxon up.
Jaxon apologized, and Toori smiled, hoping Jax couldn't see the smile where his face was still pressed to his arm. Usually Jaxon did things without a thought for the consequences, and hardly ever apologized for his own actions, but this apology didn't sound strange. It was nice, seeing this soft, tender side of Jaxon that Toori had never witnessed before. He could get used to this Jaxon.
"You're not too annoying," Toori said, his voice muffled by his arm. Toori felt loose-limbed and relaxed in a way he hardly ever felt; there always seemed to be something that Toori could find to worry about, but the alcohol had pleasantly dimmed those thoughts and left Toori's mind blank and comfortable. Toori turned his head a little, just enough to peek out at Jaxon, who was still very close. Then he closed his eyes and made a small pleased sound in the back of his throat.
"Don't stop," he said, his voice now muffled by his arm and by how relaxed he felt, "Feels good."
-
The muffled reassurance Toori offered had Jaxon chuckling a bit, with relief, and with amusement as well. He knew that Toori was only kidding when he said that he wasn't too annoying, and if Toori was capable of joking with him right now, then everything must have been fine. He was glad for that, because he was certainly not drunk enough to be okay with making him uncomfortable, though he was drunk enough to take the moment at face value and not want it to stop.
As Toori turned his head to look at him once more, Jaxon immediately registered the look on his face as one of contentment and he smiled lightly, his hand still smoothing through his hair. Toori closed his eyes and made a pleased sound, and Jaxon's stomach was in knots again. No longer under Toori's scrutiny, Jaxon let his eyes follow every sharp line and delicate slope of Toori's face which was visible to him, eventually falling to his lips as he spoke, telling him not to stop- that it felt good. He almost sighed from the frustration he felt bubbling up inside him, but he managed not to somehow.
Instead Jaxon allowed his hand to stray closer to Toori's cheek, fingers grazing skin lightly as he brushed away any strands that lingered on his face, pushing them back with the next stroke of his hand. Toori's ear and neck were completely bare and visible to him now, and Jaxon did sigh at the sight. Toori was so open and vulnerable at the moment that it seemed wrong to him to feel the way he did. "Are you tired?" he asked, trying to get his mind off his pounding heart and the warmth spreading up his neck.
-
Toori felt sleep pulling at him like an anchor, its tug gentle but relentless, and Jaxon's fingers didn't help any. His hand strayed from Toori's scalp down to the sensitive skin on his neck, and Toori sighed a little at how nice that felt. Jaxon's hand was gentle and not exactly soft, but rough in a way that was just as nice. It took him a moment to register Jaxon's words as a question, and Toori hummed in the back of his throat.
"I'm just... Closing my eyes... For a minute..." he explained, his voice slurred by sleep and making it fairly obvious that Toori was about a minute away from falling asleep.
If he was awake enough to do so, he would have marveled at this moment; Jaxon bare inches away, his hands on Toori's neck and in his hair, and Toori, not only allowing it but encouraging it, it wasn't a situation Toori had ever anticipated sharing with Jax. Hell, it wasn't a situation he had anticipated sharing with anyone. Toori was happy here, happy to be so relaxed in his bed surrounded by Jaxon's smell, happy in a way he hadn't been in a long time, maybe forever.
Soon the anchor-pull of sleep became too relentless and Toori's breathing evened out as he slipped into unconsciousness.
-
Jaxon smiled a bit as Toori slurred out something about closing his eyes for a minute, well aware that the other would be asleep soon in spite of his words. Though he was enjoying the moment, he was still relieved that the other was going to sleep. He didn't trust himself much at this point, knew that he could only control himself for so long. He kept up stroking Toori's hair until he knew the other was asleep, his breathing even and silent. He paused. "Asleep?" Jaxon whispered just to be sure, running his hand through Toori's hair one last time before dropping his palm on his shoulder blade.
Jaxon watched Toori for a moment or so before scooting away and getting off the bed to turn off the light. He hesitated then, considering leaving and going downstairs. But he couldn't bring bimself to do it. Jaxon made his way back to the bed and felt his way on, ending up closer than he'd been before. His head pillowed by his arm, Jaxon closed his eyes and fell asleep thinking of Toori's smile.
-
Toori woke up slowly, and the first thing he registered was how warm and comfortable he was. He couldn't recall feeling so great in his own bed before, but he didn't question it as he floated in the pleasant stretch between asleep and awake. He slowly became aware of a stripe of heat over his belly and a similar heat stretched all along his back. It wasn't unpleasant, and in his half-awake state he didn't question that either. It wasn't until he stretched a little and shifted back into the heat that he realized something was amiss.
Someone made a sleepy sound, like a grunt, and Toori knew he hadn't made that noise. Just after the noise the stripe of heat over Toori's stomach curled more insistently around him and Toori realized it was an arm. Toori froze and his eyes snapped open as this realization washed over him; he wasn't alone, and Jaxon was spooned up against his back. Toori didn't dare move a muscle as Jax shifted closer to him and then settled, seemingly still fast asleep. He desperately beat back the panic that struck him, he was unsure why or how he had ended up like this and for a terrifying moment he thought maybe they had done something.
Toori took note of all his arms and legs, and with a glance down ascertained that he was wearing clothes, though they were the clothes he had worn yesterday. Jax had one of his legs wedged up between Toori's and they felt hopelessly tangled, but Toori could feel that Jax was still clothed as well, which was an immense relief.
Suddenly he remembered what had happened; nothing they would regret, though there was a fuzzy part at the end. Had he really fallen asleep so close to Jax? Had Jax really been stroking Toori's face?
These were good questions, but not good when Toori was still wrapped in Jaxon, so he extracted himself as carefully as he could manage. Jaxon, thankfully, was still sleeping soundly as Toori slipped out from under his arm and got out of bed. He spared Jax a cursory glance, Jaxon was still sprawled on the bed and looked curiously like he was missing something, but Toori didn't dwell on it as he bolted from the room and into the bathroom.
While in the bathroom he decided that 'not dwelling on it' was the perfect course of action here, and on that note he went downstairs to start on breakfast without going back to his bedroom.
-
Fifteen minutes or so after Toori left the room, Jaxon himself began to awaken. He reached out sleepily, expecting, for whatever reason, to find something there. When he didn't, he rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in his arms with a sleepy groan. He felt as though he'd slept for ages, and slept well at that, but he had the familiar headache that always followed a night of drinking, and felt distinctly like something was missing. Opening his eyes slowly, Jaxon lifted his head and pushed himself to sit up and look around. Toori.
The memory of the previous night rushed back to him suddenly, surprising him and making the throbbing of his temples distinctly stronger. He winced in what was some mixture of embarrassment and regret, hiding his face in his hands. What had he been doing last night, acting that way around Toori? Jaxon was well aware that he was an incorrigibly horny drunk, handsy and careless, and he rarely went home alone when he drank a lot-- always found one person to mess around with.. But not the way.. Not the way it was with Toori, he thought pointedly. He'd not been looking to have sex with Toori when he touched him or acted the way he did. He'd just been doing what he felt was right, saying whatever came to mind.
And that was significantly more terrifying than the idea of having sex with Toori. If he'd had sex with Toori, it would have seemed normal to him, and he'd know exactly how to go about it. After all, it had happened before; getting carried away with friends while drinking... Jaxon would just wake up, make some cheeky comment about how good the sex was, and then thrown in a good-natured tease just to assure the other that nothing had changed, they were still just friends (friends who couldn't keep it in their pants).
This was so different that it left him reeling, and Jaxon suddenly realized on top of it all that he'd never, not once slept in the same bed as another person like that, not preluded by sex or anything, but just because he wanted to. And he'd enjoyed it; remembered waking up at some point and getting closer to Toori and holding him in the haze of half-sleep.
Jaxon's stomach plummeted with discomfort, but he refused to follow the logical thought process that would let him know exactly why he had acted the way he did. Instead he focused on the now. He could hear sounds coming from the kitchen downstairs, the familiar smell of breakfast wafting up to his nose. He opened his eyes and dropped his hands, taking a deep breath. They had fun last night, before things got weird. And they'd only gotten weird because he was drunk, because he cared about Toori as a friend, and Toori made him feel affectionate sometimes. That was it.
Having assured himself in some way, Jaxon made his way to the bathroom and washed up. He had a terrible case of bedhead, but didn't waste his time with it. He'd shower, later. When he was done, he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. Seeing Toori, Jaxon remembered more of his thoughts from last night convening with his sober thought. Toori was his friend, he reminded himself. His best friend. He wouldn't let things get weird.
"Hey," he greeted cheerfully, putting forth a great effort not to sound as affected as he was.
-
Toori threw himself into making breakfast, first he made a bowl of oatmeal and brought it to his grandfather and then started in on making something for him and Jax. It was easier this way, to turn his full attention on something else, than to think about waking up this morning and falling asleep last night.
Of course, it was impossible to not think about it, about how warm and safe he'd felt, how comfortable. Toori had never expected to feel so comfortable in someone else's arms, and though he knew-- he knew that kind of thing usually meant something, something big and scary and romantic, there was no reason to believe that this time. He and Jax were friends, and it was easy, and Toori knew what they wanted from each other and it had nothing to do with sex.
And it wasn't as if last night had had anything to do with sex, either. It was just sleep. Toori thought if anything he should be grateful for the good night's sleep, he had never slept in the same bed as anyone else, and now he could see the appeal. There was certainly something comforting in sleeping with someone at your side, knowing when you woke up in the middle of the night that you weren't alone. Sometimes Toori dreamed of fire and screaming, dreams that didn't make sense but left him shaking and sweating in the middle of the night, and with Jax at his side the dreams left him alone.
When Jax walked into the kitchen Toori jumped a little, not expecting him so soon, but smiled brightly when he saw him.
"Good morning!" Toori said, sticking to his plan to not speak about what had happened, "I'm making pancakes. And there's coffee." He gestured to a carafe on the counter with an empty mug already sitting in front of it, waiting for Jax.
-
Though tense upon entering, Jaxon started to calm down when Toori spoke, comforted by his happy greeting; it seemed like a reassurance that everything was okay. Everything was okay, Jaxon decided. Last night would only be a big deal if he made a big deal out of it. And there was hardly a need for that. He promptly shoved down the memory and all the feelings and thoughts that had accompanied it.
"Look at you, slaving over breakfast," he teased as he crossed the room, picking up the carafe and pouring himself coffee. He didn't bother asking about sugar or milk, as he liked coffee best when it was black. He took a seat with the mug and drank from it like a man dying of thirst. The caffeine was always a great help with the headache business, and besides that, he loved coffee. "You're the best mom," Jaxon said with a chuckle, watching Toori cook with amusement.
-
Toori raised an eyebrow at Jaxon's sarcastic comments, most of his attention on the griddle. He didn't want to burn anything, but that didn't mean he couldn't snark right back.
"I thought you were the mom," Toori said, casting a quick smirk at Jax while he took a momentary break from babysitting his pancakes to refill his own coffee cup. He added a couple of spoonfuls of sugar from a jar sitting open near the coffee, stirring it a few times before taking a sip.
"And you shouldn't tease the hand that makes you pancakes," Toori said, waving his spatula in a mildly threatening way.
Toori was slightly surprised at how quickly they had both sunk into this, pretending nothing had happened, and Toori supposed nothing had happened. Maybe Jaxon had been so drunk that he didn't remember any of it, maybe Jaxon had woken up in Toori's bed and assumed Toori had crashed on the couch. It was a reasonable line of logic, but Toori would be slightly disappointed if it was true. No matter how awkward the waking up had been, Toori still felt like he had shared something special with Jaxon last night. It was rare that Toori felt at ease so close to someone, and he hadn't forgotten how well he had slept with Jax curled around him. For some reason, he wanted Jax to remember that too.
-
Jaxon chuckled as Toori accused him of being the motherly one, throwing a playful smirk over his shoulder before coming closer to refill his cup of coffee. He noted that it was distinctly easier to speak to Toori when he didn't have the other's attention. With Toori's gaze on him and not the food he was cooking, Jaxon felt like squirming. "I think I lost that title when we realized I can't cook," he remarked, looking down at his coffee and smiling lightly at the memory of their cooking incident the previous day. He raised his mug to his lips, taking another sip or two before putting it down and leaning on the table sleepily, resting his head in his hands.
"Sorry, mom," Jaxon corrected at Toori's threat, laughing as he waved the spatula menacingly. He rested his face in his palms and closed his eyes tiredly before rubbing his face. He still had a slight headache from last night, and he was hardly a morning person. It took him hours to feel 'awake', though the caffeine was helping.
"You didn't throw up or anything, right?" he asked, gazing up at Toori again as he began to wonder how the other felt. "You look like you feel fine, actually. And even though you passed my question last night, I'm pretty sure you had fun too. See? My making you drink wasn't the end of the world after all," he teased.
-
Toori tensed up a little as Jaxon brought up last night; he couldn't help it, thinking about how maybe Jax didn't remember it, but those words meant Jaxon did remember it. At least part of it. Toori forced himself to relax and pretended he just had his attention focused on the pancakes.
"I'm fine, no sickness," he said, and then shrugged, "Maybe I had fun, but it wasn't because of the alcohol. I didn't even drink that much." He paused, and then glanced over his shoulder at Jax, "How do you feel?" Jaxon looked all right, if not a little tired, and Toori wondered if Jaxon had had that much to drink. He couldn't remember, exactly, but Jax couldn't have had that much to drink. Maybe he did remember the whole thing. Toori couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing, couldn't decide if he wanted to bring it up or not.
-
Jaxon nodded as Toori started to agree, telling him that he felt fine and that he hadn't drank too much. It was probably better that way, Jaxon thought. After all, his goal hadn't been to get Toori completely trashed and have him wake up at four in the afternoon with a lampshade on his head. And even if Toori thought the alcohol made no difference, Jaxon knew better. Sometimes having a few drinks was good just to loosen up, and it made things that would otherwise be boring more interesting or at least funnier... Last night had definitely been interesting, he'd admit. And surprisingly Toori didn't seem too wigged about it-- the conversation was all in all completely normal.
"I'm fine, just tired," he replied, finishing off his mug before refilling it. Peering at Toori over his mug as he drank the coffee, he wondered if it was worth discussing last night anymore. Probably not, he decided. "Anything you had in mind to do today?" Jaxon asked.
-
Toori came close to visibly relaxing when Jaxon changed the subject, talking about plans for the day. If Jaxon remembered what had happened, he didn't seem worried about it nor did he want to talk about it, which meant Toori was probably just over thinking it. After all, Jaxon was the one who got drunk all the time, Toori would easily concede that Jax was far more versed in drunken etiquette than Toori was. Maybe that was something Jax had done with his gang friends, getting drunk and sleeping together, maybe it was something Toori would never understand.
"Um," Toori said, taking a large plate out of a cupboard and beginning to place the finished pancakes, "No fixed plans, no. Unless there's something you wanted to do...?" He trailed off, placing a plate stacked with pancakes in front of Jax and then moving around the kitchen to get the butter, syrup, even some fresh fruit he'd bought that store yesterday.
-
Jaxon hid an amused smirk behind his hand as Toori carefully placed the pancakes on a plate and gathered all the condiments, even putting out fresh fruit. It was endearing, how Toori was so focused and thorough about serving breakfast. And it looked good, smelled good. Jaxon hadn't noticed how hungry he was until the stack of pancakes were in front of him. All but drooling, Jaxon realized he was hardly listening to Toori as the other sat at the table, giving him that expectant look. "You're spoiling me," he laughed as he poured syrup over the pancakes and took a bite. Typical space pirate etiquette-- Jaxon didn't finish chewing before he was poring over Toori's cooking skills. "They're so good," he said through the mouthful of pancakes.
He washed it all down with another long drink of coffee before speaking again. "I could show you the guns I brought, if you're interested. Oh, and I wanted to see what Tynova's got to offer in terms of weapons these days. It's been awhile since I've added to the collection, maybe I could pick something up."
-
Toori blushed a little and smiled when Jaxon complimented him, putting syrup and fruit on his own pancakes before digging in more politely than Jax had. He listened to Jaxon's suggestion, frowning a little as he considered it. He waited to swallow before responding.
"Yeah, that sounds like fun," he said, but pinned Jax with a glare, "As long as they're not loaded," he warned, because he wouldn't put it past Jaxon to hand an engineer with no combat experience a loaded weapon.
"I know the guys at the weapons dealer down by the shipyard," he added offhandedly, turning his attention back to his plate, "We do repairs for them sometimes. I could probably get you a discount."
Mr. Bensis usually handled the weapon repairs, and Toori wasn't resentful about that, because honestly he was a bit nervous around weapons. But Toori, being the junior member of staff, was always the one hauling the weapons to and from the weapons dealer, and as such had developed something of a rapport with the staff. He was almost positive the offered discount had been a joke-- Toori's nervousness around guns evidently showed on his face--but he didn't think it would be unreasonable to ask for a favor.
-
Jaxon waved his hand dismissively at the comment about the guns not being loaded. If his mouth hadn't been completely full of food--as he had been shoveling pancakes in- he would have told Toori that he was a trained professional and that there would be no real threat even if the guns were loaded.. Not that he would hand Toori a loaded gun. He imagined the sight, and was torn between amusement and intrigue; decided that maybe he would hand Toori a loaded gun just to see him freak out. It would be risky, but what was safe and fun?
Having swallowed down the huge mouthful of food, Jaxon returned to the topic at hand. "Really?" he asked eagerly, feeling himself get more excited at the prospect of getting some new weapons. If the price was knocked down, Jaxon could get a good few. "That sounds great," Jaxon said with a rare burst of sincere enthusiasm. He took a smaller bite of the pancakes and a sip of coffee. "I've been thinking, new machine pistol. Have you ever fired a gun?" he asked, smirking a bit. He couldn't imagine that.
-
Toori couldn't help but smile at Jaxon's excitement, wondering if that was the same way he looked when he talked about mechanical things. When Jaxon mentioned firing a gun Toori's expression immediately turned sour, and he sighed before answering.
"A couple of time, but not-- Just to make sure it was working. I didn't like it," he said, turning his frown back down to his plate. He didn't say that he'd made Mr. Bensis test most of the weapons, and the only ones he'd shot for testing purposes had been either old-fashioned or nonlethal, stun guns and the like. "I'm not a big fan of weapons."
-
Jaxon's smirk only grew as Toori's expression soured. He certainly hadn't expected Toori to be interested in weapons or guns, but the frown on his face.. Jaxon could guess that the blond disliked them altogether. And Toori's words only confirmed that, effectively distracting him from the meal altogether and causing him to put down his fork for the first time. "Why?" he asked, trying to think of a reason why Toori would dislike them. "Well, aside from them being dangerous. Which isn't really a big deal," he added dismissively. "They're really interesting, especially when you consider all the modifications. I've seen some really interesting bullet work in Aedolis; you can get explosive ammo, even bullets with spinning razors that can open once they hit the target. Those do some serious damage--" Jaxon paused, realizing he was rambling somewhat. And they were eating. Most people didn't like to think about having a razor-edged bullet lodged in one of their extremities while eating.
Defeated, Jaxon went back to eating. "I just mean, don't take it at face value. It's more than just a pistol!"
-
Toori's eyebrows went up at Jaxon's passionate defense of weaponry; he was halfway between horror and amusement when Jax described obscenely violent bullets. Explosive ammo. Razor-edged bullets. Just hearing those descriptions had Toori tensing, violent and bloody images running through his mind and suddenly he didn't have much of an appetite.
"I don't see how you can describe razor-edged bullets and go on about dangerous things not being a big deal," Toori said, a slight edge to his voice that he swallowed back with effort, "I mean," he continued, slightly less tense now, "I can appreciate guns from a mechanical point of view. Just don't expect me to shoot any."
-
Jaxon laughed a little as Toori pointed out the plain contradiction in his words... Everything he'd described was very dangerous, yet he was also claiming that the danger wasn't a big deal. It didn't need to be said that Jaxon had a subpar understanding of danger and fear. The fact of the matter was that Jaxon was very accustomed to the everyday danger of being a space pirate. The possibility of injury or death had never struck him as something to worry over; fear was absent in his mind. When he had just arrived on Cancer and become part of the gang, he was thrown into some terrible situations, come close to losing his life multiple times a day, but had been so desensitized then that he hadn't cared about the possibility of dying. A few times, he had wished he would die. Now things weren't like that, but Jaxon had never learned the fear of danger and he wouldn't.
"I might have to make you shoot a gun," Jaxon decided with a laugh, taking a few bites of his food. Toori would probably kill him if he handed him a loaded gun, though. "But mechanics are good too. I'll show you how to take apart a few of my guns and put them back together. I've got it down to a science."
-
Toori rolled his eyes, taking a last bite of his pancakes before pushing the plate away from him.
"You'll make me shoot a gun when hell freezes over," he said, and the glare he sent Jaxon was almost a challenge as he stood and started to clean up. He made his way over to the stove, clearing away the dishes he'd used and taking them over to the sink, rinsing them meticulously.
He knew that telling Jaxon he wouldn't do something was the perfect thing to say to make him annoyingly persistent on making that exact thing happen, but still. Lying outright wasn't in Toori's nature. He wasn't really that against learning to shoot a gun, after all, if he was ever going to end up on a pirate ship he'd probably have to learn. It was just that he had a completely rational fear of being killed by one of said weapons. Toori knew better than most how easily things could malfunction, wires could cross or circuits could overload and the very thing you're using to defend yourself explodes in your hand.
-
Jaxon raised his eyebrows in mock surprise at Toori's dramatic claim, prepared to tease him though he couldn't manage to come up with anything witty enough and just ended up laughing. Toori's words, in all their ridiculousness and comical value, only made Jaxon want to toss a loaded machine gun at him-- though he wouldn't actually do that. He decided, stubbornly of course, that he would make Toori shoot a gun at some point. When it was appropriate. In Toori's house? Not very appropriate.
As Toori began clearing the table, Jaxon picked up his own plate and carried it to the sink. He would have offered his help, but Toori seemed so focused on getting everything cleaned as thoroughly as possible that he decided not to bother. Instead he placed the plate down and leaned against the counter beside him. "You don't trust me?" he teased playfully. "I wouldn't let you get hurt."
-
When Jaxon asked if Toori trusted him, Toori stopped what he was doing, putting down a plate to turn and give Jaxon his most deadpan stare. For a moment, he just stared, his face utterly serious, then he sighed and shook his head, turning back to the sink.
"Of course I don't trust you. And of course you would let me get hurt," Toori said, the ghost of a smile around his lips while he spoke. That wasn't necessarily true, he did trust Jaxon-- to a point. He did not trust Jaxon with a gun in his hand. Or at least, he didn't trust that being in the same room as Jaxon and a gun wouldn't result in some form of injury.
"I think in the name of my own well-being, I shouldn't be around you when you're around guns," Toori said snootily, still smiling slightly as he looked resolutely down into the sink and not at Jaxon.
-
Jaxon stared back at Toori expectantly, pretending that he was waiting impatiently for the other to say he trusted him. Of course, he knew Toori better than that, and whether or not the blond really did trust him, he would never say it that easily. So, the staring was really only a matter of waiting for a snarky comment. And it came just as expected. When Toori asserted that he did not trust him and that he would let Toori get hurt, Jaxon played along and gaped dramatically. "Not true!" he disagreed, shaking his head. In the back of his mind, he knew it really wasn't true, games aside. He wouldn't let Toori get hurt. It sort-of came with the package of being friends with Jaxon; he had a tendency to be overprotective. Toori was no exception to that rule. If anything, he would have to deal with much more mothering from Jaxon than anyone else. Jaxon didn't have any other younger friends, or friends who weren't involved in gangs. In other words, Jaxon viewed Toori as the one who actually needed the protecting.
"I resent your distrust," he whined childishly, running his hand under the water for a second before playfully flicking some droplets at Toori with a grin.
-
Jaxon gaped at him dramatically, and it suddenly got a lot harder to force his smile. Even though Jaxon was playing at being dramatically hurt, Toori knew it was a game and knew it meant that really, Jaxon didn't question his trust. That Jaxon knew how often Toori refused things that were actually true. It was comforting, and another way this friendship was different from any Toori'd had before; Jaxon seemed to understand Toori's curious opposite-language. Toori knew he did it, knew he probably shouldn't, knew the reason that nobody wanted to be his friend before Jaxon was precisely because he was so contrary. But Jaxon hadn't been like all of those people. He'd taken Toori's attitude as something of a challenge, and maybe Jaxon didn't really understand it yet but he was trying and that meant the world to Toori.
"Resent it all you want," Toori said, startling a moment later when he was sprayed with cold water, "Hey!" he cried, ducking out of the line of fire (or water, as the case may be). In retaliation Toori scooped up a palmful of water and tossed it into Jaxon's face
-
Jaxon couldn't help but burst out laughing at Toori's absolutely startled expression, his amusement only growing as the blond cried out and ducked to avoid the water. Being so entertained by it, he hardly saw it coming when Toori filled his hand with water and tossed it at his face. For a moment he stopped laughing to gape at Toori, uttering a shocked "How dare you!" but Jaxon couldn't hold the expression for long before he laughed again, wiping the water off his face. He was just content to fool around like this. He felt completely carefree around Toori, which was something new for him. Even if he feigned that he took nothing seriously, even if he made a joke of everything and teased everyone, usually Jaxon's mind was on more serious matters, or it was all a front to make him seem happier than he was. With Toori, he was happy.
He reached forward and placed his hand in the steady stream of water from the faucet before waving his hand to splash water on Toori's shirt. Jaxon then proceeded to scurry across the room to save himself from what he knew was coming.
-
"Okay, that is it!" Toori said, after water streaked down the front of his shirt, putting his hands on his hips and watching as Jaxon ran away, the coward. After a moment he sprung into action, tearing off after Jaxon. He caught up to him at the foot of the stairs, throwing his arms around Jaxon's middle and twisting, following him down to the floor. Then Toori rolled, and ended up sitting on Jaxon's chest, flushed and grinning.
"I should drown you," he said, glaring down at Jaxon, and realizing too late that they had been in a similar situation yesterday, and that had resulted in Jaxon leaving the house for hours. Toori felt a little burst of awkward embarrassment, but no panic, or at least not yet. He didn't want to get up suddenly, either, and make the situation any more awkward, so he did his best to pretend he hadn't remembered yesterday.
-
Jaxon scrambled out of the kitchen, trying his best not to laugh as he ran from Toori, as he didn't want to incur the other's wrath any more than he already had. He made it to the foot of the stairs before Toori caught up with him, and he was half-expecting to turn and find the blond with a mug full of water, ready to pour it on him. Yet as he turned he was surprised to instead feel arms around his waist, pulling him back and effectively taking the breath out of him as he reached for the banister but ultimately failed to keep himself upright. Before he knew it, Jaxon was on the floor, laughing and looking up at Toori who was seated on his chest. He felt something stirring deep in his belly, and he was more than grateful for the distraction when Toori spoke.
At the drowning comment, Jaxon laughed harder, a little breathlessly. "Drown me? In the sink? Because I don't think it's big enough. Maybe we should take this to the shower," he teased, intentionally suggestive though clearly more playfully than anything else. With that, Jaxon pushed himself up and grabbed Toori, flipping them over so that the blond was face-down and Jaxon was pressed against him, pinning him to the floor and holding his arm to his back. "I think you forget that I know how to fight," he said, grinning victoriously at the swift change in position. Though, even as he pinned Toori down, Jaxon only twisted his arm back loosely, certainly not enough to hurt and easy to overthrow.
-
Toori had just opened his mouth to retort when Jaxon grabbed him, and he let out a surprised yelp instead. He wasn't sure why he was so surprised; he knew Jaxon was the better fighter and surprise could only go so far. Jaxon flipped him easily and pinned him, holding one of Toori's arms behind his back. Toori's face was pressed into the floor and Jaxon was weighing him down, but really, Jaxon wasn't any bigger than Toori was. Toori swore under his breath as he struggled against Jaxon, bucking and trying to knock him off balance. He was caught up in this game; in wrestling with Jax, and not thinking about anything else. If he had been thinking about anything else there probably would have been a repeat of yesterday's freak out, but thankfully this wrestling was less intimate.
Toori managed to get his arm out of Jaxon's grasp and used it to push himself up, back into Jaxon and then spinning around, slipping out from under Jaxon and turning on him again. He pounced again, knocking Jaxon back but not pinning him, just knocking him back enough to get a good grip on Jaxon's shirt. Toori yanked up the shirt and lowered his head, his mouth hovering over the tender skin of Jaxon's belly for a bare second before he pressed his lips down and blew a loud, wet raspberry just above Jaxon's navel.
-
Jaxon grinned widely as Toori struggled beneath him, refusing to acknowledge where his body pressed against the other's and the way it was making him feel, but focusing solely on the adrenaline rush of wrestling with Toori and the fun they were having. It was all just good-natured fun, he convinced himself, in spite of the disagreement of his heart and stomach.
When Toori finally managed to shrug him off successfully, Jaxon was too caught off-guard to hold his own and was knocked back. He was hardly expecting it when Toori pulled his shirt up and blew a raspberry on his stomach, and after staring for a moment made a loud sound of indignance. "Toori!" he squealed in disbelief, before grabbing his arm and licking a long stripe down his forearm in equally immature retaliation.
-
"Gross!" Toori cried when he felt Jaxon's tongue on his arm, yanking it back but too late, for it was now covered in Jaxon's saliva. He reached forward, wiping his arm across Jaxon's cheek and neck in an effort to wipe off the spit. Then he sprang up, laughing, and bolted up the stairs before Jaxon could react.
He felt a little ridiculous, running around and screaming and laughing like a four year old, having fun in a way he couldn't remember having. He didn't actually remember having fun like this as a kid; maybe that's why it was so much fun. It still felt like the first time. And Jaxon... Well, Toori was starting to learn that he could have fun doing anything with Jaxon.
-
[ oops ]
-
Jaxon made an agonized sound in complaint, hurriedly wiping the moisture off his neck and cheek. He was entirely prepared to give Toori the noogie of his life in retaliation, but he was much too slow and Toori was already dashing away and laughing. Jaxon, in spite of his disgust was still incredibly amused and he grinned as he pushed himself up and hurried after Toori, running up the stairs.
It seemed that Toori was making a beeline for his bedroom, but Jaxon caught him before he could get there, grabbing him by the shoulders and pressing him to the wall in the hallway. He panted, trying to catch his breath as he looked at Toori. Their proximity threw him, making him forget exactly what his plan was, having Toori pinned to the wall. He figured the only way to remedy the awkwardness of the situation now was to make some snide comment. And that he did. "You're gross." Okay, maybe not snide-- more like immature.
-
Toori was well on his way to his bedroom, planning to hurl himself inside and lock Jaxon out, but he didn't quite make it. Toori gasped and with a thump his back was against the wall, two hands strong on his shoulders and Jaxon, Jaxon's eyes and Jaxon's face so close. There's a moment where Jaxon doesn't do anything, just looks, and Toori curiously notices, not for the first time, that Jaxon's eyes are very blue.
Then Jaxon speaks, and shatters the strange calm of that moment. Toori makes a face at Jaxon's snipe, realizes how childish and ridiculous they're being, and bursts out laughing. It's all too much, Jaxon's face serious as he tells Toori he's gross, and Toori blowing a raspberry on Jaxon's stomach not too long ago, it's all too silly and Toori just laughs. He can't remember the last time he laughed as much as he'd been laughing these last two days, and he thinks that maybe he hadn't laughed at all until Jaxon waltzed into his life.
Eventually, Toori stops laughing, sagging back into the wall and panting.
"You sure showed me," Toori said, grinning widely up at Jaxon.
-
When Toori started laughing in his face, Jaxon frowned, but upon realizing how absolutely childish he was being- throwing Toori's insult back in his face- he soon joined in as well. He let his hands fall from Toori's shoulders as he laughed, somewhere in the recesses of his mind wondering why he had never yet had a friend that made him feel the way Toori did. He'd had so much fun since he'd come to Tynova- fun he hadn't even expected to have with anyone, ever, let alone in Tynova and doing the silly things they had been up to. But then, Toori was always surprising him.
As their laughter subsided, Jaxon smiled at Toori fondly. "I think we showed each other," he said with amusement, as his gaze fell to Toori's still-wet shirt. He huffed out a little laugh, letting himself lean against the wall next to Toori. "I think a shower would do us good," he concluded. "Still wanna drown me?"
-
Toori looked over at Jax, smirking, "Of course. I always want to drown you for one reason or another." He grinned and waved a hand dismissively, closing his eyes and tilting his head back against the wall.
Then Jaxon's last couple of sentences registered. As it hadn't been accompanied by an over-the-top leer or ridiculous flirtatious comment, Toori assumed that it was the unfortunate context of Jaxon's shower suggestion that made it, well, suggestive. And as this was rare-- a comment out of Jaxon's mouth that hadn't been meant sexually, but could be read that way, Toori decided to take advantage of the opportunity.
Toori opened his eyes and looked over at Jax with a sly smirk and one eyebrow raised.
"Did you just invite me to go shower with you?" Toori asked, dropping his gaze to Jaxon's feet and then slowly looking back up, giving Jaxon what could appear to be a thorough once-over. Then he made a split-second decision to go for the gold and licked his lips, lowering his voice to a faux-seductive tone, "Because I just might say yes."
-
Jaxon hadn't realized the sheer suggestiveness of his own words, primarily because his intention had been so far from what the statement had implied. When he said 'us' he'd very literally meant two separate showers. And even after speaking, his mind didn't even pick up on the implication... At least until Toori pointed it out. Jaxon almost gaped at this suddenly flirty side of Toori, though he quickly caught onto the fact that the blond was doing it just to toy with him. It was funny, though, not just because it was so uncharacteristic of Toori, but funny because it begged the question: Did Toori think it would embarrass him to be called out on his accidental innuedo?
It didn't embarrass him at all, in fact. Jaxon all but blossomed as Toori gave him a once over and licked his lips. He was aware that Toori was just mocking him, but Jaxon enjoyed flirting, maybe a little too much, and even if it was under the pretense of humor. He pushed off the wall with a little smirk, coming closer to Toori. "Is that so?" he asked, closing the distance between them so that they were almost touching. He leaned forward to playfully whisper in Toori's ear, "I don't know if you could handle me, cutie." Even though he was joking, their proximity was real-- Jaxon could smell Toori, feel his warmth, and he was afraid of how much he didn't want to move away.
-
This wasn't how Toori had planned this to play out.
Actually, he realized suddenly, he hadn't planned this at all, he'd just acted on instinct an the fun, playful attitude they had going. That was a bit strange, wasn't it? Toori couldn't remember when flirting had come naturally to him, even if it was the playful, joking type.
Still, though, Toori hadn't expected his flirtations to backfire on him, but backfire they did, as Jaxon leaned forward and whispered in his ear. Toori tensed and flushed, freezing for a moment before pushing Jax away from him. He took care not to push violently like he had yesterday, just giving him a playful shove that was followed by a disbelieving laugh.
"You are ridiculous," Toori said, trying to sound dismissive and judgmental but mostly failing, mostly because of the blush that was spreading down his neck, "And I call the first shower!" He said, only pausing to (very maturely) stick his tongue out at Jax before dashing across the hall into the bathroom and slamming and locking the door behind him.
-
Jaxon laughed as Toori pushed him away, a little shakily and not very sincerely, since the laugh was mostly a concentrated effort to pretend that he hadn't just been getting into their joke like it was reality. He blamed it entirely on himself- Toori had encouraged him, yes, but Jaxon didn't have anyone to blame for why he got so close, why he enjoyed getting so close, and why some part of him was wishing they weren't just kidding. It was absurd to him, only made more absurd by his pleasure at seeing the flush on Toori's neck and face, the lack of bite in his tone.
The more distance was put between them, though, the more Jaxon eased, able to shove down his feelings which too often seemed uncontrollable around Toori. He took a step back himself, laughing sincerely as Toori stuck his tongue out and ran away. Jaxon let himself fall back against the wall once more for a few minutes, listening to the shower run before heading downstairs to wait his turn in the living room.
After they'd both showered and gotten ready, Jaxon decided to call up a friend of his who he knew was in Tynova for business, to see if he could hitch a ride back with his crew. It turned out they would be leaving sooner than later, around four or five, and Jaxon agreed immediately, not seeing many other options. After all, the whole thing was rather convenient since the weapons dealer that Toori knew was around the same area as the space port, and he could leave once they were done.
When they arrived, Jaxon was immediately overcome with excitement. Of all the places he had been to buy new guns, he decided that he might like this one the best. It was large, well-organized, and well supplied. As well, he immediately hit it off with the staff when they began to tease Toori for coming to buy a gun and then, when they realized that Toori was not buying a gun, Jaxon joined in teasing Toori for his wariness. Teasing Toori aside, though, Jaxon was drawn into many conversations with nearly all of the men there and ended up showing many of his own weapons, as well as discussing adjustments or modifications that were available. He left the place with ammo, two new guns, and plenty of enthusiastic goodbyes from the friendly and rather funny workers.
Jaxon and Toori walked together to the space port in amiable silence, stopping a little ways from the crowded entrance to say their goodbyes comfortably. He paused before speaking, unsure of what to say, all of a sudden realizing that there was a part of him that didn't want to leave at all. The feeling he had around Toori was similar to the way he'd learned to feel around the gang- comfortable, happy, content, like he was at home. He'd never liked Tynova, but he liked being around Toori. Yet at the same time, he felt increasingly silly because they'd already spent almost two full days together.
As always, Jaxon grappled for an appropriate sort of joke. "Don't miss me too much," he smiled.
-
The rest of the day seemed to fly by, and Toori felt curiously disheartened when he learned Jaxon had to leave soon, but didn't mention his feelings. Jaxon had a job, after all, and it was still amazing to Toori that Jax had come all this way just to spend time with him.
At the weapons dealer, Toori grudgingly put up with the teasing, i.e. he stood aside with his arms over his chest wearing a grumpy expression. The only reason he allowed it at all was because they were customers, and Toori was supposed to be nice to them. Needless to say, though, he was glad when Jaxon got distracted conversing with a few of the staff and selecting purchases. Toori started talking to the one mechanically-minded member of the staff, getting into a thrilling and heated debate about the new fleet of magically-fueled ships. Toori has always been rather excitedly anti-magic, and was always glad to trot out the myriad of reasons why he was right.
This time was no different, and when Jaxon called him over because he'd finished with his purchases Toori felt like no time had passed at all. He said his goodbyes to the staff, and then followed Jaxon out of the shop. He realized this meant Jaxon's trip was officially over, and found himself unable to wipe the frown from his face.
They gradually stopped walking and faced each other, and Toori blanched when he realized he had no idea what to say. Thankfully, Jaxon spoke first, and Toori smiled halfheartedly.
"Don't worry, I won't," he replied, just like he had for the last two days, but that wasn't what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Jaxon how much fun he'd had, how much he would miss Jax when he was gone, but for all that he wanted to he couldn't open his mouth. After an awkward moment he looked away, shifting on his feet awkwardly and wishing to be anywhere else, just not here, on the noisy docks, trying to figure out how to say goodbye to his best friend.
"Well," he said finally, frustrated with himself, "I'll text you." Toori was prepared to leave it at that, to turn away and go home, but he looked up at Jax and hesitated.
-
Jaxon's lips curled into a grin at Toori's snappy reply, mostly satisfied with that. Mostly Yet couldn't deny that he wanted something more. He just didn't know what that was, all he knew was that Toori wanted it too, if the frown and fidgeting was anything to go by. It was painfully endearing to watch, and Jaxon quickly realized exactly what he wanted as Toori promised to text him.. He wanted to hug him. Which was stupid, he mentally amended. He didn't just hug people, Jaxon made a point of thinking to himself. He'd never really hugged a friend, not to say goodbye and certainly not just because he wanted to--Who in their right mind would try to hug a gang member? And only a few times had he given his closest friend Cass a sort of half-hug/clap on the back, such as when he'd found out he was engaged.
In some ways, Jaxon felt it was okay- this urge to hug the hell out of Toori before he left (He'd hugged Cass before, and Toori was his best friend now, he assured himself calmly)- and in other ways, he knew it was a little much. He was torn, indecisive, but it was the look on Toori's face- unsatisfied and frustrated- that made Jaxon decide to do it, because that look said very plainly that they both wanted more before he left. As well, he didn't know when he would be back. He did it so he wouldn't regret it.
Of course, he wouldn't do it without the safety net of a joke. "Don't worry, I wouldn't leave my adorable wife without a hug," he said with a laugh, closing the distance between them and putting his arms around Toori. He'd planned to give a squeeze, maybe pick Toori up just to upset him.. But he ended up just hugging him close, curiously unsettled by the sincerity yet comfortable. Happy.
-
Jaxon made some flippant joke about a wife, and Toori didn't really listen, assuming that was it, that was goodbye, but a moment later Jaxon's arms were closing around him. At first he tensed, unable to stop the apprehension that was easier to him than breathing, his arms limp at his sides and Toori's eyes widened. He realized if he had no idea what to say he was completely lost when Jaxon hugged him. For a moment Toori panicked internally, alarm bells going incessantly inside his head, and then he remembered last night. Last night, falling asleep next to Jaxon and waking up with Jaxon all around him, how comfortable and wonderful that had been.
And, Toori told himself, if you can do that without freaking out (too much), you can do this. So Toori relaxed by degrees, lifting his arms to curl around Jaxon's back and lowering his head to press his face into Jaxon's neck. Now that Toori was determined not to panic, the hug was actually very nice, and comforting in a way that made him feel less helpless about Jaxon's departure. He sighed as the end of the tension left him, surrendering himself into the hug.
"I'll miss you," he said quietly, sure he was only able to speak because he wasn't look at Jax.
-
Jaxon considered for a moment that he'd read the signs wrong as Toori tensed and froze in his arms, remembering with uncomfortable clarity the moment when Toori had lost it the previous day. But before he could worry too much, Toori curled his arms around him and Jaxon felt his chest tighten at the feeling, at having the other so very close, and so responsive. He had to hold his breath as Toori pressed his face into his neck and sighed, trying to keep some semblance of calm though his heart was pounding. He swallowed down the feeling and exhaled slowly, letting his eyes close as he tried to enjoy the moment without guilting himself out of whatever it was he was feeling.
When Toori spoke, Jaxon blinked his eyes open and sighed, resting his chin on Toori's shoulder. "I'll miss you too," he returned, any trace of a joking or playful tone gone from his voice. He knew he would miss Toori, and he didn't know how busy he would be as a member of the new crew. He didn't know when he would come back. "I wasn't just drunk when I told you that you're my best friend. I meant it," he pointed out, hugging him just a little tighter.
-
Toori felt something clench in his chest when Jaxon spoke, returning Toori's words and then saying more, simultaneously telling Toori that he did remember last night and that he meant it. Toori took a deep breath as the clenching feeling turning into something unfurling, expanding in his chest and making him feel heavy. He swallowed thickly, feeling a bit overwhelmed, unsure of what to say or what to do. He didn't want to pull away from the hug, that seemed like the worst idea, but Jax had a ship to catch ad Toori had to go home.
Toori moved his arms down slowly, reluctantly, and then took a step back, gently pulling out of Jaxon's arms without looking up.
"Yeah, well, I meant it too," he said after a moment, frowning at himself and still unable to look up at Jax, "You should go before you miss your ship." Toori said, wondering for a moment if he shouldn't prolong the hug and make Jax late on purpose, make him stay another night. But, no, Jaxon had a job and leaving tomorrow wouldn't be an easier than leaving today. Toori steeled his reserve and looked up, forming the brightest smile he could manage.
"Have a safe trip."
-
Jaxon loosened his grip on Toori slowly, allowed the blond to move out of his arms though he wanted to keep him close, as close as possible. He wished they had more time, and simultaneously wondered how in the world two days hadn't been enough time. How much time would satisfy him? They were all questions too uncomfortable to pursue and he dropped them in favor of focusing his attention entirely on Toori. The frown on his face tugged at Jaxon's heart sharply, immediately making him want to joke or tease, anything to make Toori smile. But he knew why Toori was upset, and he was too. Neither of them wanted to separate. That much was ridiculously obvious.
He nodded at Toori's comment about missing his ship, casting a glance at his watch. It was almost time. Jaxon turned his attention back to Toori as he smiled brightly at him, and he smiled back. "Okay. Text me," he added, before finally a simple, "Bye." With that Jaxon turned and headed towards the space port, feeling heavy.