| Now don't you worry we'll all float on alright | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 22 2017, 10:46 PM (23 Views) | |
| Miles Webb | Nov 22 2017, 10:46 PM Post #1 |
|
Miles had always had a blessed life and that was something he had decided rather than anyone else for him. He had been born a twin, so it was like nature had given him a best friend to always pal around with. Sure he and Lilah argued sometimes and there had been typical kid stuff, but what friendship didn't have that? Some people would try and tell him he had a disadvantage because his parents had divorced and they weren't...exactly the best parents. But Miles had always known he was loved, he had never doubted for a minute that they loved him; it was more just that some days he wished his mom had tried to be less involved in his life and his father had been more. He had been lucky enough to do all right in school and to have been involved in homestays in three different countries, something most people couldn't boast about. He had been blessed with meeting the sweetest man known to the world <i>and</i> managing to keep a long distance relationship going long enough to see Declan move to Texas eventually. The house he had been raised in was paid off, his father had more or less given him the house (well, Lilah too, but Lilah had wanted to try things on her own; she had wanted to make girl friends and chat about cute boys without the weirdness of her brother throwing his two cents in and she hadn't wanted to step on "newlywedded" toes). Sure there were people out there that thought he should bemoan his fate because his parents were divorced and oh, he saw ghosts and he lived in a little town in Texas and more than that he was a <i>gay</i> man in Texas. But there were other still that thought he had it all because he more or less had what everyone wanted: a house to call his own, a decent amount of money with little worry of where more would be coming from, a long term boyfriend, and the confidence to be that gay man in Texas. <p> Miles personally? He just wanted to live his life and maybe count his blessings in a more moderate way. He didn't want to shrug it off, but it seemed almost wrong to think about them all the time. Instead he just settled himself in some days, let himself meditate, and accepted that he was lucky and be grateful for what he had been given. Most of the time he just carried on with his life and was happy. Sometimes people got a little shirty about <i>that</i> too and nitpicked at the silliest little things. Like Declan. They had met by chance in a grocery store in Ireland when Miles' host family had taken him shopping and gotten to talking and they had formed a relationship, a long distance one but it had held strong. People nitpicked that relationships couldn't last like that, huffing and puffing when Miles pointed out that they had dated for about six years long distance. People stamped there foot that they would never last and Miles said he was happier now that Declan was there living with him. People couldn't decide if they were angry because they had been faithful to each other or six of the nine or so years weren't "real". Another people seemed to get riled up about was Miles' job. He didn't know what it was, but people just could not seem to see retail or food service as a "real" job. Miles was a home owner, he had told many of them, how could he own a house when he only worked in a <i>coffee shop</i>? He never told them the house was paid off, that was just borrowing trouble he felt, but he told them that Declan <i>did</i> help with paying for it; it wasn't like Miles just kept him around in a speedo or something for decoration...not that Miles would have particularly minded that. And people seemed to forget that higher positions in coffee shops existed. They seemed to think that all of them were just these little ducklings of coffee slingers. They forgot about the supervisors, they forgot about the assistant store manager. They forgot about the manager until they had need of him. <p> Miles had always loved his job. It was one of those things he had gotten as a young kid, just barely old enough to get work. Man, some days he was honestly surprised they had put up with him as they did; he was sure he had been a typical teen who had known everything there was about <i>everything</i>. They had put up with him saying he was off to England and Italy and Ireland at different points in his high school career. They had put up with him doing stupid shit like just not showing up to work. It had been...not quite like having a family, because it was a job, but it was more than that. He had stayed and grew and he became happier. He found a love for making drinks so people were happy, he found he really liked being able to talk with people about coffees or teas they had brought over, and he had found a decent talent for latte art that had become so popular that parts of his shifts were literally him just trying to make art for people that paid a little extra to have it done. It had seemed only natural that at some point, he moved up the chain of command until he became an assistant store manager. It was one of those things he hadn't planned, really. It was just one day, his boss was talking to him about what the higher ups did for work. Then the next day was his boss saying 'you seem to do a lot of this anyway'. And then before he knew it, he was shaking hands over the new job title and the pay raise. Miles found he loved that too...but while a barista had bad days, it was like an assistant manager had even worse. Miles still loved his jobs, but there was this new found responsibility he felt like he hadn't signed up for. Suddenly he was doing inventory every Sunday they had it since "he didn't go to church" like the manager. Suddenly he was being called at five in the morning because someone had forgotten their keys or someone hadn't shown up. He was this weird middle man where the workers would sometimes glare sullenly at him for something the manager had done but alternately the manager would frown at Miles over something the workers were failing to do. Normally he was able to keep his head afloat; the job wasn't bad, just sometimes it got overwhelming. <p> Like the last couple of weeks. They were in the worst part of the year – students were going back to school, whether high school or college so their staff was fluctuating. It felt like everything had either been breaking or stalling, everything was all happening at once (inventory, orders, shipments, new products they wanted to try), more customers were coming in but so were complaints because there wasn't enough people to help them, and his manager...lord knew what he was doing some days. Technically Miles was only suppose to work forty hours a week, sometimes a little bit more depending on how things got done. The last couple of weeks, he had been closer to sixty because every year around this time some kids just decided to stop showing up. Every time this year, people said they just couldn't work at this or that time. It had fallen to Miles' shoulders to work twelve hours a day...which usually he tried to look at as at least he was making sure things got done. But he was tired. The thought dragged at him when he dragged his feet through the door. He was tired because he felt like he hadn't been sleeping well (of course not, a part of him helpfully supplied; he got tired at work so he drank more coffee, so he couldn't sleep at not, so he was tired at work so he drank more coffee so he) and his stomach felt like it was tying up in knots. That was pretty common too. Stress, Lilah said, he carried a lot of it in his gut. But it was also the fact that when he worked so many hours, he didn't have time to get the food he normally ate. It was always the food at work, which wasn't bad but mostly sweet with some basic sandwiches, or if he felt really daring he could go off the property. Except the problem was that most were fast food places and he had been eating too much organic stuff for his stomach to be happy about <i>that</i>. He pulled himself over to the couch, flopping onto it and hoping that he would have the energy to get up later. The time was almost done, he told himself. He got through this every year just like clock work and things would smooth out. He just had to hold out a little while. |
![]() |
|
| Declan Burke | Nov 22 2017, 10:46 PM Post #2 |
|
Declan had settled quite more happily than he had ever dreamed. He had always followed his ideals and his passions in his life, of course, but at seventeen years old you never quite knew where your life was going to go. Oh, you had your big dreams and your ideas but Declan had a solid enough head on his shoulders to know that things always didn't go the way that you had planned... and they hadn't. He had always had a love and a passion for cooking, but he had thought that might lead him towards being a chef in a restaurant. He had started making cooking videos for a silly bit of fun and because he was practicing his recipes and getting familiar with trying new things. Somewhere along the way, though, it had become fun for him to do that. By the time he was seventeen, he wouldn't say he was famous but he had people who watched him on YouTube, he released videos fairly regularly... and then he had met Miles. Such a handsome young man, the same age as him and with a soft country twang that you always saw in the movies about cowboys. They had talked and talked and talked and, somewhere along the way, they had become more than just acquaintances, more than just friends. Somewhere along the way they had fallen in love and, really, Declan couldn't be more exuberant about that than he already was. From there, he had gone to college for media, finding that he enjoyed it quite a bit, finding it helping him to learn how to film better, how to edit better, how to use better equipment. He still wouldn't say he was amazingly famous, but each year there seemed to be more and more people subscribing to his videos and reading his blog. He had somehow found a calling in his life and he couldn't be happier. And he had found love. How many people had relationships that lasted almost ten years nowadays? Granted, the rates were different per country but... still. It was almost a feat. The fact that they had been together for six of those years living apart had been an even greater one. Most long distance relationships tanked after a year or two, the distance apart being too much. Declan couldn't lie. It had been a trial. Thousands of miles separated them and, even worse than that, the time difference had been atrocious. There had been plenty of days where he had been lying in bed while Miles was up and about, and the same in reverse. There had been plenty of days where they struggled to find a good time for either of them. Shipping gifts to one another could be expensive. Trips to see each other had happened, but they had been very rare because neither of them made the kind of money to just cart themselves halfway across the world on a constant basis. Despite the fact that they were both generally amiable people, arguments still happened and jealousy flared up from time to time. But, in the end, they had managed. The man that he had been dating for almost ten years had asked him to move to the States and Declan had decided to go with it. He missed Ireland some days, but he had found his home. Then again, as completely sappy as it might sound, home would always be where Miles was and not a place. They could uproot this moment and move to Mexico or to Italy or to the Antarctic but so long as he had Miles there he would be content. One of the things that he loved about Miles and that they both had found to be similar in one another was their work ethic. Neither of them were workaholics, but they were still dedicated workers. Miles went to his job almost every single day. Declan spent his days split between filming, editing, writing blogs and with the dogs. It balanced out well. The both of them took a walk every morning after they had woken up and then they spent time separately in meditating and, in Declan's case, in doing yoga. Then it was off to their jobs for the day and they both worked hard in their chosen fields. When Miles came home, it was out for another walk, followed by dinner and whatever else happened for the rest of the evening - with some variations, of course. Miles' schedule fluctuated more than Declan's own did, but he was nothing if not adaptable. They made do and they always made plenty of time for one another and the things that they enjoyed. Or, at least, they usually did. The last few weeks had been... well, a bit lonely. He probably would have gone a bit off the wall if he hadn't had Latte and Angus to keep him busy and to keep him company, because Miles seemed to always be at work. And it wasn't anything new. It happened every year, it seemed... and every year Declan had to be the one to remind him that he was only human and could he please take some time to remember how to be a normal human again. Miles always snorted at him and asked how he was the one scolding him about that. It always worked, though. He perked up at the sound of the door opening, the alarm system chiming softly to announce that it had been opened. Predictably, both of the dogs lost their heads the moment that happened, barking up a storm and rushing to defend the homestead. Declan gave it a few moments to let them excitedly great Miles, to let the pandemonium calm down, and then he stepped out of the small room that had been set up as an office for him. Fora moment, he could only blink as he realized there was no Miles. A few steps into the hallway and then out towards the main room gave him his answer as he saw a foot sticking past the edge of the couch. Completely defeating the purpose of giving the dogs time to calm down, Declan clapped his hands on his thighs, earning excited clicks of nails on the floor as the dogs pranced around him. "Is that Milesy wilesy? Huh? Is he home? Did you say hi to him?" As usual, it got both of the dogs barking, tails wagging in excitement, and he made his way to the couch, eying it and trying to decide if he had room to drop himself down onto it or if that wouldn't work this time. "Don't you look a sight," he said after a moment, taking in the way that Miles was flat out on the couch and didn't look as if he'd be moving anytime soon. |
![]() |
|
| Miles Webb | Nov 22 2017, 10:46 PM Post #3 |
|
He could feel the edges of his tiredness pressing at him in the way it always did. Every time this happened, he told himself not to start falling asleep, but his eyes and brain had other ideas. It was always a subtle thing too, always something he didn't quite notice until he jarred back awake. This time he jarred awake because of two very excited dogs racing to see him. "<b>Hi, guys,</b>" he offered just a little groggily. He gave a sharp huff a second later when Latte practically pounced onto his back. "<b>God, Latte, please, why are you like this?</b>" But the mutt just went back to eagerly sniffing at him and almost racing along his body because god damned if she was excited to always see him every day. Angus, he felt, was always a little bit better behaved, or at least enough that Miles could blindly reach out a hand and pat him, letting himself sleepily rub at the ears. They had just begun to quiet after realizing that it was still Miles and Miles wasn't any different when Declan entered the room, clapping his hands on his thighs and talking to them. "<b>Oh god, Latte! Why,</b>" he yelped out with a groan as she more or less used him as a launching pad to go racing back to Declan. He loved their dogs, he really did, but sometimes owning them was one of the biggest hassles in the world. Of course he said that but he wasn't even humoring the thought of getting rid of them. Latte had been his companion for a few years now, keeping him company while Declan had been off home in Ireland and he was pretty sure Angus had been much the same for Declan. Companion dogs that were sometimes frustrating but what pet wasn't? The one thing he remembered his parents properly teaching him was the fact that pets weren't toys, they weren't a Halloween or Easter or Christmas present or whatever. They were like having a kid and if you got one, it was too cruel to decide later you didn't want it. That and it wasn't like Latte or Angus did anything terrible, just typical dog things. <p> He could hear the sound of Declan moving closer to the couch and he tried to decide if he wanted to roll over. The problem was that even when he decided he wanted to, he was still so tired that the movement didn't quite register with himself. All his body wanted to do was sleep...even when he told himself he couldn't sleep yet. He had work tomorrow and his shift was an odd one, a little bit later in the day so if he went to sleep now, he was going to wake up at some odd time in the middle of the night and then he'd be screwed with being tired all day tomorrow. Finally, he forced himself to shift, turning until he could roll over onto his back. As soon as he did, Latte was back at his side, climbing up onto the couch and him so she could lie on his chest. At least this time she settled down quickly, nuzzling right up under his chin with a huff. "<b>I'm gonna go ahead and assume you mean a handsome sight,</b>" he offered at Declan's words. "<b>A handsome, stunnin', gorgeous sight.</b>" Some would have called the words vain and maybe they were. The fact was that Miles did take a bit of pride in his appearance. He liked the way he looked and he had often tried to maintain that appearance. Did he assume everyone thought he was attractive? No, but that didn't mean he didn't want to do that stuff for himself. And Declan, since Declan seemed to like how he looked too. "<b>'Cause if that's the definition we're goin' with, you lookin' like a mighty sight too.</b>" he raised an eyebrow, eying Declan up and down. Lilah had once said she hadn't realized Declan was Miles' type; he was a bit taller, lanky, and, simply put, a bit of a beanpole. She had always figured he would like someone who looked like himself or who looked like the cute regular of Miles' who always had the dogs with him (and the husband, he had pointed out to her with a small snort), who was tinier and just...a small package of cute. Her words, he had to remind himself. But Miles didn't know if he had a type or not, but he knew that Declan did it for him. <p> He stretched out a hand to the other man. "<b>Ain't you gonna come gimme a kiss, dumplin'?</b>" he asked teasingly. This was his favorite thing since they had started living together. Two, almost three, years they had been physically together and Miles had fallen in love with the idea of being able to get a coming home kiss. Some people said that eventually love faded from the red hot burning of "new" love into something a bit more soft and gentle. The tried and true method of love was a lot more like pulling on old comfy shoes. Personally, he didn't want to lose this. He had been dating Declan for pretty much ten years at this point but they hadn't been "together" for much of it. He liked being able to come home and get a kiss from his boyfriend, he liked getting to steal kisses from him when he was cooking, or getting to be in that last little part of his cooking show with the "boyfriend tested, boyfriend approved" segment. He just loved being able to touch and see and kiss and love Declan like he was <i>suppose</i> to now that they lived together. Even when they had there little tiffs, he was pleased they had never really let it stop them from being physically affectionate with each other. They might be angry enough to go "I'm not happy with you right now", but never once had they kept their distance. When Declan was grouchy with him, he still let Miles hug him and kiss him hello or goodbye or just a simple kiss because being unhappy with each other didn't ruin the love they had. Just like when Miles was annoyed with Declan, he didn't stop the other man from coming into his space. Apologies, Miles had felt, were sometimes a physical thing after all. Sometimes saying the words 'I'm sorry' weren't the best to lead in to things. Apologies started with being able to put a hand on someone's arm and feel them as they assured each other that nothing had changed, they were still loved and they were still important to each other. <p> The problem with lying down and resting for a moment – the thing he had wanted all day for just five minutes – was the fact that his body suddenly decided that that was it. He was done. At least when he had come in the door, he had had some kind of momentum, enough that he could have in theory done at least a few things around the house. But had lied down, he had a warm dog on his chest and a handsome boyfriend nearby. Now he had to contemplate getting up and his feet protested even the thought of it. Even as he thought that, he knew he couldn't lie there the rest of the day, but...He sighed. "<b>I think I'm gonna hit the hay a li'l early tonight.</b>" He had been going to bed "early" since the longer hours had begun to kick in. It had just seemed...natural to do because he <i>was</i> tired, the shifts were long and not exactly a time to whine that he was too tired to do work, and right now he did feel a bit queasy. A helpful voice in his head (that sounded a bit like Lilah) said the nausea was probably because he hadn't been eating enough for his activity levels and he had gone down the route of processed or super fatty foods. Or hell, maybe even just the fact he wasn't getting enough vegetables or some such stuff like that. He told himself that he would sleep it off and have something light in the morning. Except every time morning came, Declan tried to keep him for just a moment to get something decent in his stomach, but Miles said he had to go, he had to go <i>now</i> and he loved Declan, have a good day and he was out the door. It would get better, he reminded himself. "<b>C'mon, Latte, you wanna cuddle with daddy a bit before bed?</b>" She'd probably want to go on her walk, like they always did, but Miles didn't think he had the energy for that right now. |
![]() |
|
| Declan Burke | Nov 22 2017, 10:47 PM Post #4 |
|
Declan could only listen for a moment as the dogs bombarded Miles. Their dogs were, honestly, fairly well behaved.... but only to a point. They were still dogs. They might listen to them in most situations but whenever one or both of them came home it was like the end of the world had just happened and they had been terrified of losing their humans. At least, that was Declan's reasoning. There was no other reason for them to lose their minds so much. Because they barked and barked and jumped and raced about like they hadn't seen whatever human had come in through the door for months on end even if it had only been five minutes. It was the one thing that neither Declan nor Miles had been able to stop and, in the end, they had just given up... partly because it was almost touching in the way that the dogs loved them so much. He felt almost guilty when he heard Miles let out an exclamation of frustration and pain and he knew exactly what had caused it. There was nothing for it now, though, as both of the dogs now danced around him as if he hadn't been home all day and Angus even reared up on his hind legs to mouth at Declan's hand almost as if he wanted to take it and lead it to the couch so that Declan would be able to see that Miles was there. That was another problem he had. Angus was well trained for the most part, but Declan found himself unable to scold him about some things because they were just so endearing. "Did you give Milesy wilesy a proper greeting?" he asked the little golden dog, earning an excited yip from Angus in a way that said he was about to get completely excited all over again. He straightened up, knowing he had better let the dogs be for real this time so that they would calm down. Latte, apparently, had no qualms about walking away from him at that. As he walked over to the couch, so did she. Then she took a leap up onto the couch and curled herself right on top of Miles' chest, as if she belonged there and he had no say in the matter. Declan smiled down at his boyfriend, just taking in his face, the way the glasses rested there, the lines and contours... but he couldn't miss the lines of exhaustion or the dark bags under the other man's eyes either. He put his hands on his hips for a moment. "It sounds like someone is baiting for compliments," he said with a tease. The tease didn't last overly long, however, as Miles turned the words right around and complimented him after he had praised himself. He gave the other young man the fondest smile at that. Truthfully, Declan didn't quite know what his 'type' was. He had dated once or twice before Miles, but there hadn't been much of a consistent theme running through who he had picked. He supposed that Miles was his type, when you got down to it. He found his body and his features attractive, he found his personality one that meshed perfectly with his own, and he loved him. You didn't get much more of a 'type' than that, did you? "Sweet words, but I meant that you look a bit laid flat, a bit under the weather." He didn't quite look ill... but he also knew that it wouldn't take much for Miles to become ill. When you were stressing the body then you were putting a stress on your immune system, after all. "I don't know about that," he said with another tease. "Latte is kind of in the way. And I think I gave you one when you left." Despite his words, however, Declan stepped closer to the couch and he reached out to take Miles' hand. He always marveled a little when he did so. Miles' hand was not that much rougher than his own, but there was a strength in it that Declan always found fascinating. Miles had a sort of a contained strength in him that Declan always marveled at somewhat. It was a strength from the amount of effort he put into working out, yes, but it was more than that; a subtle sort of a thing that conveyed itself through the simplest of things, such as a hand touch. After a moment of contemplation, he walked in closer to the couch and leaned down to press his lips to the other man's. It wasn't the deepest of kisses, but he let it linger for a few moments in contentment, marveling at the fact that they were together. It had almost seemed, for awhile, that they never would be. He was an optimistic and cheerful person to the core, but there had been days where he had wondered if they would ever make it past the long distance, if they would ever spend more than a week or two together at a time. They had been long, desperate moments late at night lying in his bed and he was glad that none of the thoughts had ever come to any vocalization or fruition because this was absolutely perfect - even if there was dog fur tickling against his chin and his cheek as he kissed his boyfriend. Despite his contentment with the moment, a frown crossed his face as he straightened up and as Miles said that he would be going to bed early. "You've been going to bed early every night," he said, trying to keep the pout out of his voice. He knew that Miles was tired. The problem was that Miles just took on too much work and it was always Declan's job to remind him of the fact that he was only one person, that he was only human. It was also going to be his job to make him do things that, right now, he really didn't want to do. "She's says no, daddy, I want to go for a walk." He pitched his voice higher on the last few words, earning an almost immediately explosive reaction from the two dogs. Latte launched herself off of Miles again in a way that made Declan wince and Angus was already at his side in a split second it seemed, leash in his mouth and hind end wagging back and forth. It was cruel of him, of course. He knew Miles was tired, that his job often involved him being on his feet all day. He also knew that Miles would actually feel a bit better for a walk and then Declan could wheedle him into real food before he laid down, which meant he also might be able to wheedle him into real breakfast and into passing work onto someone else for a bit. Declan had started to learn how to play this game. "I'll make you your favorite meal," he promised, by way of apology and bribery. "And cookies," he added for leverage. |
![]() |
|
| Miles Webb | Nov 22 2017, 10:47 PM Post #5 |
|
Through the years of owning Latte, Miles had learned one thing: sometimes it was best to just let everything happen. Sometimes, you couldn't push at a dog or make it stop without hurting it and then...well, maybe he was a bit biased with Latte, because as far as Miles was concerned, she had had a hard life. He didn't want her to slide back into behaviors that were heartbreaking to see and to prevent that, apparently it meant he had to have his kidneys pounced on. Latte did her thing while he heard Angus do <i>his</i> thing and then Declan did <i>his</i> thing, which always seemed to get the dogs riled up more. Or maybe they were just always excitable and no matter what anyone said, they'd do the exact same thing again and again. "<b>Is proper greeting code for 'crush every organ in Miles' body'? Because then yes,</b>" he lifted his voice so he could be heard. Well, he really only had himself to blame for this, didn't he? He only had to remain standing to keep Latte from tap dancing on his body, but instead he had chosen to lie down. Now he was reaping what he had sowed with a cold dog nose being stuck against his neck and claws that were a little too sharp digging into his body. Even as he knew that it was as easy as sitting right back up again, he just couldn't make himself do it for various reasons. "<b>I blame Latte's behavior on you, Declan,</b>" he told the other man, "<b>she was all sweet an' calm before you came along with your chipper attitude and energy. I'll be sending you the bill for my broken ribs.</b>" Latte had always been a happy dog, he could say, but once Declan had moved in, it had been different. Maybe it was the fact that he had brought a playmate for Latte or maybe it was as Miles said: Declan's energy had effected his dog. After all Declan spent most of his time in the house, so Latte was probably bonding with him bit by bit. Or maybe this was just normal dog behavior. <p> He wrapped his arms a bit more around Latte, holding her close and feeling her tail wag against his chest. It was one of the many reasons he was glad he had chosen to have a dog in his life. Before, back when they had had a full house, Miles had been leery of the idea. Animals caused all kinds of problems and maybe selfishly, he hadn't wanted to share a bet because ages ago, he and Lilah weren't old enough for their own pets. When the divorce had come, Miles had been hyper aware of the fact that a pet could be used to buy favor. But then his mom wasn't in the house any more, then his dad was off traveling the world to talk to people like Miles and Lilah and get their stories. Eventually...Lilah left too for school and then her job and Miles had been alone. He had been lonely even when he skyped with Declan every night he could. Finally, a dog just made sense. A dog would keep him company and make it seem like he wasn't so alone when he came home to an otherwise empty house. "<b>Well, maybe it's a sign you gotta be complimentin' me more, huh?</b>" he teased. Except Declan did his fair share, it was just...never going to to be things like "you look so hot". It was softer, gentler. It was coming up behind him on a date night when he was dressing and going 'hello, handsome'. It was laughing at another of Miles' stupid jokes. It was listening to him as he talked about his day. It was just...what they had. He could think of hundreds of things to compliment Declan on – his hair, his eyes, his hands, his accent, that almost lisp – but he didn't <i>need</i> it turned around on him. And then Declan smiled at him and he wanted to say 'see? See? I told you once you have the most gorgeous smile in the world', but he refrained. Maybe in a little bit, when he didn't feel so tired. He gave a deep whining sigh as Declan continued on. "<b>Aw, c'mon now, dumplin'!</b>" he protested. "<b>That's mean. You coulda just gone and said 'it means handsome' and I woulda lived in ignorance and been <i>happy</i>.</b>" Truthfully he knew he probably looked pretty awful. He had just told himself it was because of the fluorescent light in the bathrooms. <p> He pouted as Declan teased him a bit more, saying he didn't know and that Latte was in the way. "<b>Well is that anyway to treat your hard workin' boyfriend? How am I ever gonna get over this hurt?</b>" Even as he said it, Declan was moving closer, took the offered hand and Miles relished the warmth of it. He loved holding Declan's hand. It was stupid and silly, but Declan's hand felt as if it was made to fit in and around Miles', it was the perfect bit of warmth, the perfect feeling of just down right "rightness" of it all. Declan moved closer and Miles' heart picked up a tiny bit. It was the same feeling he got every morning when he woke up next to the other man, the same feeling he got when he came home and the house smelled so wonderful. Would that ever fade away? They had been a couple for so long...and they had been living together for a couple of years now, didn't that mean they were due to not be so into each other? Didn't that mean they would fade into something a little bit less...intense? He didn't want to think about the idea of them becoming like his parents. Finally Declan leaned down to kiss him; not a deep kiss, but it was warm and it lingered enough to make Miles feel content with it. "<b>I've missed you, sunshine,</b>" he said softly. It felt silly to say because they had seen each other throughout the week and they saw each other more than they had when they had been living in different countries. It was just...he had gotten use to Declan by now and he hadn't decided he was tired of him. Maybe that sounded bad, but it was true. Every morning and every night he loved seeing Declan. To not have him laughing and chattering in his ear felt wrong. Not being able to do their routine was more stressful than working so much. He had missed Declan even with getting to kiss him goodbye in the mornings and goodnight as he crawled into bed. <p> Apparently they weren't going to be all happy sunshine rainbows...not that Miles was expecting their lives to be that way. They argued, they disagreed, but he had hoped for a little peace and quiet. He lifted a hand to rub at his face. "<b>I know, I know,</b>" he sighed, "<b>and I'm sorry, I am. I'm just – work's been really hard and I gotta get up early again - </b>" He didn't know what Declan expected him to say, he wanted to point out. He worked in a coffee shop that opened its doors at six and closed at nine; early mornings were expected from their people. And when someone was having to put in extra hours? Why would Declan <i>not</i> expect him to be tired and go to bed early? Or maybe he wasn't saying it from a stand point of surprise, but of just being upset. It ate into their time for each other. He began to shake his head as Declan started speaking again, but it came too late because he finished what he was saying and Latte <i>launched</i> off of him. "<b>Oh god, Latte, why are you this??</b>" He winced, wrapping an arm around his stomach even as Latte just raced over to Declan. Angus was all ready ready, the two dogs so use to their routine that Miles was pretty sure they wouldn't have even needed the words. "<b>Sugar,</b>" he started with a sigh, "<b>I don't think I'm gonna manage a walk today. My ankles have started achin' somethin' fierce and I should rest them before work tomorrow.</b>" That was pretty typical of the job, he had found. He started out the week fine, but as it progressed, his feet and ankles began to find it harder to support his weight. Part of him told himself that walks usually helped, but a louder part said that he could feel his ankles throb in time with his heartbeat. He lifted his other hand to his face, using them both to scrub at the skin. "<b>As sweet and temptin' as that is, I ain't really hungry.</b>" It was the truth and a lie. His stomach hurt, but he couldn't quite tell if he was hungry or if maybe the food he had been eating was catching up with him. "<b>It's only gonna be a couple of weeks longer. Things will settle, just like they always do.</b>" |
![]() |
|
| Declan Burke | Nov 22 2017, 10:47 PM Post #6 |
|
"Depends," Declan responded to the other man's question with a small laugh. "Are we talkin' in dog language or human language?" Because, for a dog, he figured that a proper greeting probably involved something like what the dogs had just done. He had seen Latte and Angus playing plenty of times, had seen them greeting one another when one of them had left and the other had been forced to stay behind. Granted, they didn't crawl on top of one another in the way that they did to their humans but it was similar. They got excited. They rolled each other over in their exuberance. So, likely, Latte considered stepping all over Miles and greeting him so happily to be doing her job and giving him a proper greeting. He could wince along with Miles, though, because he had felt the sharp pain of dog claws and their bony legs many times before. The last thing you wanted to feel after a long, hard day at work was something like that.... but, then again, Miles was at least somewhat used to it. After all, he had had Latte before Declan had even moved out here. He made a small scoffing noise as Miles suddenly said that he blamed Latte's behavior on him. Certainly Latte - and Angus - had changed somewhat since they had moved in together, but that was to be expected. Honestly, Declan had noticed that Angus had actually settled down a bit now that he had someone to play with him when Declan or Miles couldn't. He still needed and wanted plenty of long walks but he seemed to be more willing to take a nap now rather than to try and force a tennis ball into your hands. "Oh, Latte's just a bit naughty," he said, in the way that he always said it whenever he saw her doing something that she shouldn't be. It was more of a joke than a scolding, honestly. Thankfully, Latte had never seemed to bothered by the words that he said. Declan just watched for a moment as Miles wrapped his arms around his dog. Honestly, he was glad that Miles had Latte. They both had been lonely, even when Declan had lived with his family. It was a specific loneliness. They both wanted a companion that wasn't their family and they both wanted each other - unfortunately, they couldn't have one another at the time because money and distance put a damper on those things. Declan had gotten Angus quite a few months before Miles had gotten Latte, but he had talked to the other young man endlessly about how much better he felt, about how many walks he got to take and how much fun it was to watch Angus' whole day be made better just by one silly little walk or toss of a tennis ball. A few months later and Miles had brought Latte home and he had said much of the same thing. They wanted to be with each other, they missed each other, but there wasn't that same crippling amount of loneliness that had been there without the dogs. "Oh, I see how it is," he let himself scoff a little at the other man's words. Truthfully, he had never been a man who gushed out compliments. For him, he just... said things. He would be vlogging and out would come the simple words of 'Miles made this and he did a cracking job at it' or 'somebody's looking handsome today I wonder who it could be'. It often never occurred to him to point blank compliment someone. Some days, he wondered if Miles minded since he seemed to be more straightforward about things. If he did mind, he hadn't said. "You are always handsome, but that doesn't change what I meant," he told the other man honestly. It wasn't so much that he looked bad but you could tell easily that he was worn down. There was just an expression on his face, dark circles under his eyes, maybe a bit of paleness to his cheeks. He just didn't look all that good. Peaky, Declan supposed was the word. "Oh, I think you'll figure out some way to get over it," he told Miles was a smile as the other young man complained and asked if that was any way to treat his hard working boyfriend. He knew Miles didn't mean it, just like Miles knew that he didn't mean it. They both knew each other quite well enough by now to know when they were teasing or being serious. Besides, Declan had certainly never let something like a dog sprawled across a body stop him from claiming a kiss when he wanted to. And, right now, he very much did want to. He held tightly to the other man's hand, feeling the strength of it, the way that he had callouses from actions at his job - just as Declan had callouses from cooking so much - and just marveled at the warmth and the feel of it. The kiss was nothing different from a hundred other kisses that they had shared and yet, just as before, his heart leaped with the kiss, he felt the warmth spread through him and he felt an utter sense of contentment - a feeling that all was right with the world. It was something he had experienced plenty of times before, particularly back when they weren't living together. Whenever Miles would visit or Declan would visit him, there would be this feeling of perfectness and rightness. It was only ever there when Miles was around, quickly dissipating when the other man was gone. Now, it was there all the time and he never got enough of it. "I've missed you too, darling," he told the other man, honestly. Declan had grown used to having Miles home generally around the same time each week. Now, however, their routine and their lives had just been thrown into utter chaos and there was very little to be done about it. They saw each other, but it was so quick and different from long walks and long meals that they both had grown accustomed to. "You know, sweets, you're only human," Declan finally said after a few moments. He wanted to protest even further but he had learned how to handle things with Miles over the years. Protesting wasn't going to get him anywhere. Forcing the issue in a way that left Miles with very little way to argue it was generally the way to go - because Miles pretty much wanted his routine and his time to himself back, he just didn't know how to say no. Whining that Miles was busy would just make him irritable. Telling him that he had booked a short vacation or that he wanted to go camping? Miles was easier to sway that way. He was easier to sway in other ways, too. He had yet to figure out if Miles knew what this tactic was or if the worrywart side of his brain took over and made him so focused that he didn't even realize it... but Declan had used it before and it always worked. He wasn't against using it again. Like right now. He let the dogs be happy and excited - because they helped him get Miles to agree to things, too - and he stood over his boyfriend, frowning a little at the sigh. Then he gave a long, hard sigh of his own that sounded completely fake to his own ears. "I don't think I can handle them both by myself, or two walks, tonight either. I was hoping..." He didn't quite groan, but he shifted a little in a way that suggested he was putting a little bit of pressure on his back. It was probably wrong to guilt Miles like this - he was tired, after all - but he knew from experience that Miles would feel better after a walk and it was the way to get the ball rolling on relieving his stress and getting him back into routine. "You wouldn't let me make you a good breakfast this morning," Declan pointed out with another bit of a pout. "You're gonna be all skin and bones and as skinny as me if this keeps going on for a couple of weeks." And he wasn't going to let that keep happening. Honestly, Declan didn't think most of the people at Miles' job were taking advantage of him but... they did seem to forget he was human and had human limitations. Miles never said no, so they just kept saying "go" without pausing to think about it. |
![]() |
|
| Miles Webb | Nov 22 2017, 10:47 PM Post #7 |
|
Miles gave Declan a look, one the tried to be flat and unamused but couldn't quite hold it because his lips were twitching just a bit too much. "<b>I bet if I say 'dog' you're going to say it's totally exactly that and if I say 'human' you're going to say 'how human-centric, Miles'.</b>" That was a phrase he had been hearing a lot of these days, though he was pretty sure it wasn't suppose to be geared towards dogs. It was more, he thought, geared to the paranormal community of the world. There were a lot more wereanimals these days and things like vampires and mermaids and the Fey that had traveled over to America. Hell, he was pretty sure if anyone had heard him talking like that, they probably would have given him a look he may or may not have deserved. Then again, maybe Miles was pretty human centric. All he did was see ghosts, so he wasn't "not" human, so he could tease his dog and ask her if he was being human centric and be comfortable in the fact that she couldn't tell him that wasn't an okay way to use the phrase. "<B>She is the naughtiest dog in the world,</b>" he declared, pitching his voice high and light as he grabbed Latte's cheek fluff and moved it around. The dog squirmed on top of his chest, wriggling and rolling on top of him as if he were a pile of grass. It was what he had told her for a good couple of years when she had first come home with him. She was a naughty dog, he said, but always light and playful so she might not be hurt by the words. After all, she had been pretty much on her way to being a feral dog when he had gotten her, so she hadn't known any better really. The only thing that had really saved her from being truly feral, he was sure, was the fact that she was so young when she had gotten picked up. Not enough time on the streets to develop all the instincts, but just enough to make her a challenge. Like how no rodent in their backyard was ever safe from her mouth. <p> Latte dropped her head against his chest, squirming until she could tilt back and lick at his chin whenever she wanted. For Latte, that was an awful lot, though. He pressed his face against her fur as Declan scoffed and said he saw how it was. "<b>I think you're just sayin' that. You don't see nothin',</b>" he teased. It had always been a weird thing for Miles to...well, not really understand, but he had always thought things were suppose to be different. When two people were in love, they were suppose to be always complimenting each other, right? Just little things said throughout the day and when they stopped doing that? Well, they were no longer in love, weren't they? But then Miles had never been all that "up to date" on flirting, he had been told. He had had plenty of men (and women, which was what had convinced him it must be true) tell him that he was being a tease or sending the wrong signals all because he happened to be nice. They told him to stop flirting if he wasn't going to do anything with it...but Miles had always been left confused because, as far as he knew, he was just trying to be friendly and share interests with the people he saw as friends. Compliments, he found, of a romantic nature were more just watching someone and saying things plain and simple. He had stared at Declan before over Skype and when Declan had questioned him, he had just always said something like 'your eyes are beautiful', 'you have the nicest smile I've ever seen', 'you're accent is the cutest thing in the world'. It was always plain, simple, and not at all grandiose. They even took Miles by surprise sometimes. He never really sought out to tell someone how nice they looked or anything, it was just a feeling of the moment. Meanwhile Declan seemed to be the flip side of things; he didn't gush either, but his seemed to be more focused on skills...but no less casual. He gave a loud sigh, which made Latte lick at his chin again. "<b>Well that's a lie, but I appreciate the clear effort to make me feel better,</b>" he said primly. He was trying to ignore the other meaning, he knew. If he acknowledged it, it felt like he was admitting defeat and...well, Miles knew that if he admitted defeat, the bone wariness would get worse and if he wasn't careful, he might start crying. There had been days when he was stressed like that before. <p> "<b>This betrayal will wound me so deeply. I am forever scarred,</b>" he said dramatically. He paused, scrunching up his nose. "<b>I was gonna say that I wouldn't ever get over it until some handsome man came to heal me of my wound, but I think I'm stuck with you so.</b>" He squeezed the hand he held. There were some friends of Miles that had a different sort of relationship with their partners, he had found. Not inherently bad, but sometimes he saw them tease each other about how they were going to leave forever or they were going to find someone else. It had always left almost a metallic taste in Miles mouth just watching them because it had been uncomfortable. Miles had always likened it to the fact that his friends had never had to be parted from their partners before; they hadn't had to live years without them and to comfort themselves with the fact that one day they would be together. They had <i>always</i> gotten to be together. Miles and Declan? Most of their lives had been apart. Miles couldn't imagine saying he was leaving Declan forever even as a joke. The most he could see doing was saying he was leaving, then picking up Declan to spin him around and say he had all his bags packed right in that moment. But then maybe Miles was thinking he was a lot more special in his relationship than others. People tended to do that, right? They thought they were so unique and so special, but in truth they were pretty average. It didn't matter for Miles. A lot of things didn't matter for Miles when he kissed Declan. All that <i>did</i> matter was the feel of Declan's lips, the gentle touch of his hands, just the feeling of <i>rightness</i> that he was given. When Declan said that he had missed him too, used that little term of endearment, Miles almost melted into a puddle. "<b>I'm sorry,</b>" he found himself saying, "<b>I should try and be home more. I just-</b>" It was another obligation, the terrible thought came to him. He needed to be home more, he needed to be there for Declan and the dogs and everything...but thinking of it like that made him feel as if he was being pulled a bit more apart. Work had all ready gotten hooks in him and was pulling him in one direction, now he had made another obligation for himself. Even if he loved Declan, there was a part of him that wondered when there was going to be time for just <i>him</i>. <p> He was quiet in the face of Declan's point. He was right, he supposed, though Miles had never protested it before. Mostly he had kept trucking along in the name of it being his job. "<b>It's my job,</B>" he finally said, "<b>and I have to make sure the work gets done.</b>" He wouldn't say that it <i>wouldn't</i> get done because they had some good people working for them. It was just more that at certain points of the day, he was it. He was the person. If the next shift needed something, he had to provide. He couldn't just wave a hand and say 'I'm only human'. Besides a lot of the people that worked at the shop were kids who had classes and finals to worry about. If he hadn't wanted the responsibility, he shouldn't have become an assistant manager...right? Except every time he had to put in more and more hours, he found himself wondering why exactly he was still doing this. Sometimes he found himself thinking he didn't get paid enough for any of this. He snapped back into focus when Declan gave a hard sigh, saying that he didn't think he could handle the dogs by himself. He pushed himself half up off the couch, staring at him with wide eyes. "<b>Is your back hurting you, sugar?</b>" He couldn't hide the worry from his voice because...well, normally Declan had other indicators that his back was hurting. Normally, he would have groaned getting up or he would have been mentioning idly the day before he was feeling sore. He had done none of those things – what if it had come on suddenly? Shit, he couldn't handle that. When Declan told him he had back problems, Miles had shrugged a little and mentally told himself didn't everyone. But then Declan had said he had gotten <i>surgery</i> and that was an entirely different; that was scarier, that was potentially "never better". As much as Miles just wanted to go to bed and forget about the day, he couldn't just leave the dogs to Declan when his back was hurting. Declan then continued on and Miles lifted a hand to rub at the back of his head. "<b>Well I had to be out the door really early, y'know, it ain't exactly fair to have you makin' me breakfast when I'm right out the door.</b>" He couldn't stop his laugh at Declan's words and the pout. "<b>I think I got a while before that happens there, sunshine.</b>" He shifted the dog up so he could pat his stomach. He wasn't fat, though he had certainly had some people think so. It was more that he had a stocky body that held muscle and weight differently. The thing was he had found out he didn't exactly "slim" down, he was just....stocky. Still, though, he doubted he was going to be skin and bones any time soon. |
![]() |
|
| Declan Burke | Nov 22 2017, 10:48 PM Post #8 |
|
"How'd you know?" Declan asked the other man at his words. Truly, it wasn't a phrase he thought he had uttered maybe more than once or twice in his entire life. Maybe in the near future it would be one that came up more and more as the world changed. Declan could admit he had never given it much thought. He supposed that was the "human-centric" side of him. He'd never been anything but human so he only thought like a human. Then again, that was probably thinking about everything far too much for a joke about a dog. At least, he thought so anyways. He smiled a little as Miles pitched his voice higher and told Latte that she was the naughtiest dog in the world, which only excited her more. Which told Declan that he didn't mind being tromped all over by the dog, because now she was rolling and squirming all over Miles' chest in happiness as she tried to reach his face. "Is that true, Latte?" Declan asked, pitching his own voice higher and using the tone that he always used with the dogs. "Are you the naughtiest dog in the whole wide world?" He could admit that Latte liked Miles better than him, but that was just the nature of the thing. Miles had been the one to take her in and raise her, while Declan had taken Angus in and raised him. Both of the dogs had adjusted and adapted to each other and to their new humans but Latte was always going to go to Miles first and Angus to Declan. Despite that, though, he knew Latte liked when he talked to her. It was probably much less lonely for the dogs now that they were together and Declan was home most of the time. "Do I start with your eyes or your muscles or your perfect hair?" Declan asked the other man, only partly teasing. Some days, he realized he should compliment Miles more. It wasn't that he didn't it was just... a thing that happened. He told the other man he was handsome. He said he looked good in that jumper. He told him he did a good job on fixing the light in the bathroom. Little things that showed he paid attention and that he cared but maybe they weren't compliments that people wanted to hear. Maybe Miles wanted to hear more about how his muscles looked or how nice his eyes were, the way the glasses framed his face or the way his hair looked good for him. Relationships weren't about compliments and the like, he knew, but they were about making one another feel better and feel good about themselves, to feel wanted, weren't they? Maybe Miles was also only half kidding and he would like more compliments here and there. "I mean, they're all of them quite a wonderful thing you know," he said, honestly. Maybe, once, there had been things that he looked at Miles and said no, it's not quite my thing, not quite what I find attractive, but he didn't have those feelings anymore. He just saw Miles as this whole, perfect package nowadays. "Latte, can you believe what he just said?" Declan asked the dog at Miles' sighed out words. He reached out to lightly pinch at Miles' nose. "Excuse you, I meant what I said. I don't think I've ever looked at you and not thought how handsome you are." His words slid out of the high pitched tone that he used for the dogs and into one of fondness. It was true. Certainly there were times he looked at Miles and thought 'oh he looks tired' or 'he looks ill' and the like but he had never once stopped thinking of him as handsome throughout that. "Ouch! Now you've wounded me," Declan said with the most hangdog expression that he could manage. "Latte, listen to him. How can you lay there knowing what he's saying to me? I thought we were friends, Latte." He knew Miles didn't mean it. Miles had made it quite clear many times that he liked several of Declan's assets and that he found him handsome after all. It was just a tease and Declan could appreciate the tease. He had seen couples who never seemed able to tease each other and have easy banter in the past and it always confused him. If you always thought that your significant other was saying things for real, did you not know them that well or were they actually saying things that were that harmful all the time? And, if so, why would you stay with them in either way? Declan could only shake his head over it. He smiled as Miles squeezed his hand, however, and he squeezed it right back. He couldn't honestly say that Miles had never said anything hurtful - they were human, hurtful things were said sometimes despite best efforts - but he usually never said anything that was meant to hurt Declan. And if it did hurt him, he stopped. That was the key, he figured. They listened and paid attention to one another. They didn't joke around about hurtful or offensive things, just teased one another within their limits. It helped too, he supposed, that the kisses were so wonderful. All he could, sometimes, was just sigh into the kisses because they felt so good and so right. What more could a man want than that? When Miles apologized he reached out to put his fingers to the other man's lips momentarily. "I understand, sweets. I really do. I worked other jobs before. I know how it gets." It wasn't like Declan had always been making money off of his channel, after all. He had needed to supplement that with other money, had needed to work and earn money to go visit Miles or to take Miles out when he visited, to earn money to move. He understood what it was like to be tired and to not want to do anything but come home and be alone for a few minutes. Nobody ever believed that Declan liked downtime because he was so chipper and chatty, so bouncy, but everyone needed some of that time. Even extroverts like himself. "It doesn't stop me from missing you but I always miss you when you're away," he said. Oh, he enjoyed having his private time fora bit and in getting work done but by the end of the time he was ready to see Miles again. Declan gave a sigh at Miles' argument. "Within reason, sweets. You're only human kind of, ehm... implies that eventually you have to take a break." That was what he had never understood about America. They just pushed and pushed their workers until there was nothing left of them. How much better would they work if they had another break or they had a few days off to recuperate from a hard week? Maybe he was just biased because he wanted Miles to have more breaks. The truth was that Miles could probably even stop working - he had money, Declan was pulling in a pretty good living from his channel by now, but neither of them wanted to take that step for a variety of reasons - mainly because Miles actually did like his job. He felt more than a little guilty when Miles sat up somewhat on the couch, looking at him with almost panic stricken eyes. He knew it was the only way to get Miles to listen to him and actually try to take the dogs for a walk and get back into his routine but that didn't stop him from feeling a bit of a cad for doing it that way. "Ehm, a bit, yeah... and I was doing a lot of baking today." Not that that was any different from normal but baking implied a lot of bending over to do this or that - never mind that Miles had redone the kitchen for him and gotten a higher oven for him like he'd had back in Ireland. "But a short walk with the two of us... the dog would probably be okay with that." He didn't mention that they'd been on two walks already today and were more than content at this point. He shook his head a little at Miles' words. "I like making you breakfast and I want you to eat before work." He worried all day when Miles didn't do that and when he forgot the food that Declan was pressing on him to take for his lunch. More than once Declan had gotten in the car and driven to Miles' work just to make sure he had something in him. "Besides, I like to cook." An understatement and they both knew it. It was rare that he didn't want to cook for the both of them. He only pouted harder as Miles laughed at him. "If you keep skipping meals it might happen sooner!" Not likely, but that didn't stop his worry. He wanted him taken care of and healthy. |
![]() |
|
| Miles Webb | Nov 22 2017, 10:48 PM Post #9 |
|
"<b>It's 'cause in addition to seein' dead people, I'm also able to see things that have yet to happen. Some might say that it's just 'cause I know you. Others would be wildly inappropriate and suggest that I'm just guessin', but they'd all be <i>wrong</i>.</b>" Maybe he shouldn't be joking about the idea of human centric. Some days it felt kind of like that was a thing. After all, hadn't he heard Marc talking about how it was hard for his family friends and even himself to get medication because they were all werewolves that worked the drugs through their systems faster. It seemed awfully human centric for them to be stuck with all these things that were all right for humans, but few else. But then Miles found himself flip-flopping, wondering if he wasn't putting a little too much thought into something that was suppose to be a joke. Then again, he had never felt right making jokes about things that could be potentially serious issues; it always left a bad taste in his mouth and it felt like he was just encouraging the idea that he was just some kind of hick that was of the wrong mind set. Thankfully Latte squirming on top of him was a good distraction, which only got worse as Declan made his voice higher in that way that drove the dogs <i>wild</i> because he always did it when he asked if they wanted to go for walks or if they wanted to eat. One paw flailed out, clocking him in the jaw. "<b>Well right now she's next heavy weight champ, jeez!</b>" But he couldn't be mad. There wasn't a whole lot of things Latte (or Angus) could do that made him well and truly upset. How could he have gotten a dog in the first place if he was set to be angry at every little thing a dog did that might have caused him discomfort? Sure, he could get annoyed but...how could he be mad at a dog for barking when that was what a dog did? How could he get mad at a dog for flailing about when humans were equally guilty of that? <p> "<b>Well now I know you're havin' me on, 'cause you're the one with perfect hair.</b>" Miles could never forget that first thing he had ever said to Declan was that his hair was perfect. It had been true, though when Lilah saw pictures of Declan she had asked what about it was so perfect. For Miles, it had just been...he thought Declan was handsome and his hair <i>had</i> looked nice and Miles just...blurted it out. That was how he complimented people, apparently. It was, he had been told, one of the only ways someone could realize he was flirting with them – he was just generally a nice person who was generous with telling people he liked them, but it was when he just stopped and blurted things out that it meant more. Like with Marc, he had been happy and content telling him that he really liked his dogs and he was liked cats too but had never gotten them; to most people the casual talk had been flirting. But it was Declan where he just had to stop and tell him his eyes were beautiful, his hair was perfect. It had always been odd when people seemed to think that he should be expecting the same from Declan, but he had always pointed out they were two very different people and he had learned to read the signs of what Declan meant in his actions. After all, he would take Declan thanking him for fixing the fence and how nice it was to have over Declan waxing on that his eyes were the bluest eyes he had ever seen. "<b>Well it's good to know you like the packagin' as well as the content,</b>" he grinned at the other man. It wasn't like he took great effort to look the way he did. Most of it was genetics, for better or for worse– the blond hair, the blue eyes, the height, the general stockiness of his frame – and some of it came from work – the muscles, the leaner bit of his body. It wasn't like Miles obsessively worked out or ate healthy because of the outward results; it had all been for how it made him <i>feel</i>. He liked eating healthy because it made him feel more energetic and lighter, the working out made his mind feel more at ease with himself. It was as he said to Declan – it was just packaging. He liked that Declan could appreciate the outside bit and he would be a bit said if he didn't, but the most important thing was that Declan liked who he was. "<b>I don't think she can believe her ears,</b>" he said gruffly as he vigorously ruffled Latte's furry head just behind her ears. He scrunched his nose up as Declan pinched it. "<b>Baby, you've seen me when I'm sick and dead tired, I really doubt ya looked at me and thought I was handsome then.</b>" It was a gentle tease but it was true, he imagined. Because there had been times when Declan was sick and tired and hurting and Miles hadn't thought <i>he</i> was handsome then. It wasn't like he had recoiled at the sight but the natural thought wasn't "you're handsome even as this" but "my poor boyfriend is sick/tired/hurt, I should fuss". <p> "<b>Didn't I warn you when we got together that I was prickly as a porcupine?</b>" he drawled the words out, his accent thickening a bit even as he didn't mean to. Not that Declan ever seemed to think it made him sound like a hick, but it was the principal of the thing. "<b>She knows which side of her bread is buttered.</b>" He paused, then looked down at the dog. "<b>Yeah, how <i>can</i> you just lie there knowing what I'm saying?</b>" Latte was a loyal dog, but she now had two humans living in her home. Originally, it would have been all about Miles – Miles who took her for walks, Miles who fed her, Miles who played with her, Miles who fixed all of hurts and soothed all the scares. She was loyal to him because she loved him and that was just how she knew to love him. She liked everyone, but she had come to adore Miles for those reasons. Now that Declan was here, though? She had someone else who did all those things and Miles wouldn't say it was <i>only</i> Declan doing it. It wasn't like he had fully replaced Miles and Miles was snubbed, but Declan was home pretty much consistently with the dogs and he was as energetic as they were so there was lots more play time. He wouldn't say that Latte had put everything into Declan, it was just...probably from a dog stand point, Declan was the boss because he did so much for her now. He was distracted by the feel of Declan's fingers on his lips. Part of him knew he shouldn't be trying to distract from all this, but almost instinctively, he lifted his hand so he could hold Declan's there as he kissed the fingertips. "<b>Still ain't exactly fair to you or the dogs.</b>" Part of him felt like it was cruel to think, but some days he felt it was easier before Declan moved there. Of course he preferred having Declan with him, but before Declan had lived with him, it had been Lilah. Lilah was his sister, he hadn't felt...well, obligated to be home more, he hadn't felt guilty about working all the time because they had spent their entire lives together. For Declan, it seemed unfair to be working so much. Or maybe it felt unfair to work so much at a job that most people thought were a bunch of high schoolers looking for pocket change. "<b>I miss you all the time.</b>" He had never thought of them as one of "those" couples that waxed and mooned over being separated for a matter of minutes, but he did miss him. It wasn't grandiose, it was just 'I look forward to seeing him'. Miles could go out with his friends or run a few errands and he wouldn't die of loneliness, but he was always so glad to come home to him again. <p> He glanced away as Declan pointed out that eventually he needed to take breaks. "<b>I take 'em, but work's gotta get done first.</b>" It was something he had always prided himself on. Even when he had felt worn out and just not "on point" with work, he had always made sure his work was done. He remembered ages ago now, his boss had asked him once how he managed to do stuff when he wasn't "feeling it" since everyone else meant they were just short of being more useful staying home. The way he had always seen it he was being paid to do his job, so he would do it. He just did everything that <i>needed</i> to be done out of the way so he could just do nothing the rest of the shift; lazy productive. The problem was that this time of year and his position meant there was very rarely any end to work. He shooed Latte back onto the floor, sitting up so he could put his feet on the ground. His ankles protested that too. "<b>Well, if you think that's gonna help you, of course we should do it.</b>" A part of him wailed that he didn't want to go, he wanted to stay home and lie down. A part of him hoped that Declan did his little 'ehm, ah' thing and finally decided that maybe he would just sit in his chair and that would help. But Miles knew that Declan would want to take that walk and Miles knew he would go with him. Declan seemed adamant about this walk, though. "<b>And I like havin' breakfast, but not when I'm leavin' the house at four in the mornin'.</b>" He gave Declan a small grin. It wasn't fair, no matter what Declan said, to have him get up just because Miles had to go and get ready for an opening shift at the shop. "<b>I like that you like cookin'. If you didn't, I might not be quite as lucky,</b>" he grinned ruefully. It wasn't that Miles hated cooking. He had been a "bachelor" in certain terms since he was about fifteen; always on his own for meals because his mom had left after the divorce and his dad was off writing crime books where the crimes had happened. He <i>had</i> to learn to cook. It was more that there were days like today where he just didn't want to cook or he got home and he just didn't even want to think of the effort that went into cooking. He didn't hate it, but it wasn't a love for him – it was a necessary thing that just..existed. Plus his food never tasted as good as Declan's. He snorted a tiny bit. "<b>I ain't skippin' meals all that much just 'cause I opt not to have dinner, sugar.</b>" He ate at work...but most of the time it was food he didn't <i>want</i> to eat. It was sandwiches from work that came frozen and he wasn't entirely sure it was all real food. It was walking to the Subway place next door where he had vegetables that had been fresh once or the burger joint just a couple more blocks down. He ate, it just...always left him feeling like he had a lead ball in his stomach. His sister had visited him once or twice and said the food tasted fine to her and she never seemed to feel like she was sweating bullets from eating a burger. Not that Miles felt that way <i>all</i> the time; he loved himself a burger and fries on the occasion. It was more these weeks when all he had in his life were these places. It made him feel...gross. |
![]() |
|
| Declan Burke | Nov 22 2017, 10:48 PM Post #10 |
|
"Where's all these powers coming from, huh?" Declan demanded, teasing Miles. He knew about the one power, of course. It had unsettled him more than once in the past. He was pretty sure, though, that Miles would have mentioned if he actually had some other type of power. It was interesting that he even had what he had. Back home, Declan wouldn't say it wasn't known. It was. Ireland was different from America, though; different creatures, different levels of acceptance, different powers. It had never affected him or his family and so Declan honestly hadn't thought about it all that much. He knew it existed, but it had never really outwardly touched him. Not until Miles had just commented one day that there was a ghost sitting on the edge of their pool. Some days it was easy to forget that Miles had any sort of power at all and then things like that happened. Overall, he wasn't too bothered by it most days but there were some days he could admit that it sent a little chill up his spine to hear Miles mention things like that. Declan winced as Latte responded to his questions by flailing her body around, trying to find the position that best suited her needs to be able to see Miles, to stay on Miles, but to look at Declan as well. One of her paws smacked right into Miles' jaw and it made Declan wince. He had been on the receiving end of plenty of things like that from the dogs and he knew it never felt wonderful. "Is that true, Latte? Has our training finally paid off?" he asked the dog, teasing both her and Miles even though he knew that he shouldn't really get the small dog riled up more. "Latte! Heavyweight champion of the whole world!" He reached down to ruffle the dog's fur, wincing as she wriggled all over Miles' chest in a way that couldn't possibly be comfortable. Declan gave a laugh. "You've always said that." He well remembered that day, how that was the first thing that Miles had ever said to him. He had laughed then as he laughed now. It was something that he never thought of. He woke up, he swept his hair to the side; sometimes he put product in it to make sure that he maintained the look. Mostly he just wanted his hair to sit nice and neat and not have to fuss about it. Miles, though, loved it. Declan couldn't quite understand why but then... that was just relationships wasn't it? He liked things about Miles that the other young man just gave him strange looks for or shrugged it off. Miles liked his hair and he should just be glad that Miles did and leave it at that. Just like he should leave the fact that Miles complimented him more in general terms, while Declan tended to compliment him more in thanks and appreciation. Neither of them seemed bothered by the way things were and so stressing about them wasn't going to get him anywhere. If Miles were unhappy, then it would be an issue but he seemed more than pleased to hear Declan thanking him ecstatically for some new kitchen equipment or for fixing a leaky faucet. "Ehm, I think I've made it very clear that I like both of them," he told the other young man in a tone that was half teasing and half scolding. He had been taken with the way that Miles looked right away - they both had - but when he had talked to Miles more and more it had only made him more and more attractive. He liked Miles' general laid back nature and his drive for his jobs. He liked Miles' way with the dogs. He liked Miles' worrying and fussing in his ways. He just... liked most everything about Miles and he didn't think many things would change that. "How dare you speak like that in front of her?" Declan mock scolded him again, reaching out as if to cover Latte's ears. She looked at him quizzically in response to his actions and he smoothed his hand over the top of her head for a moment. He placed both of his hands on his hips at Miles' words. "Sometimes I have. It, ehm... it hits me sometimes. Even when I shouldn't be thinking about it this part of my brain just says 'he's so handsome'." Maybe not often, no. When Miles was sick or exhausted it was usually worry and sympathy that he was thinking and feeling. Once in awhile, though, the thought of 'he's so handsome even like this' would filter in even when he knew he had better things he should be thinking about at the time. "Maybe I thought I could change you." He reached out to lightly pinch Miles' nose again, showing that he didn't mean it in the slightest. In truth, he had never once thought of Miles as prickly and he knew that the other man knew that. Truth be told, they were both rather generally laid back in terms of letting things get to them. They could be excitable (in Declan's case) and a constant worrier (in Miles' case) but for the most part they were both very calm and collected about things. That wasn't to say they didn't argue or get grouchy. They were only human after all. Declan paused and then gave a loud, dramatic sigh. "I thought we were friends and here she goes, just abandoning me the moment that you come home." Which was no surprise. Latte had been suspicious of Declan at first. She had gotten better the more times that he visited, but he couldn't visit constantly like they had wanted and so it always took awhile for her to renew her trust in him. It had only been when he had finally moved in and stayed there that she had fully gotten used to him. Now she was excited to see him... but Declan would never be Miles and he knew it. Declan gave a small smile as Miles pressed light kisses against his fingertips. He moved his hand up to brush away a few strands of Miles' hair from his forehead, gently stroking along his forehead and down to his jaw. "Life isn't fair, you know." They had both known that the moment that they started dating. And, sometimes, Declan was the one busy. He was filming his episodes. He had gotten a call to do a TV spot and had to fly to Ireland. His back was hurting so their plans were messed up. Life threw these obstacles at you and you just had to deal with it. Declan gave him a small smile at his words. "There's nothing better than when you come home," he said, simply. It wasn't that his days were dull or lonely, because they weren't... but there was just always that thrill and happiness when Miles walked in the door and Declan was filled with the feeling of rightness and knowing that Miles was home. "I'm of the opinion that you gotta get taken care of first," Declan told him. He would always tell him that. Whether or not Miles listened... well. Sometimes the only way Declan could make sure he took care of himself was if Declan visited his work. The other man would take a break then and he would eat whatever Declan brought him. He tried to do it fairly often, but he didn't always have the time in his schedule. It looked like he was going to have to write it into his schedule so that he could make sure that at least Miles was eating when he was working these long days. When Miles shooed Latte off of him and then sat up with a groan, Declan winced somewhat - both at the noise and that he had been the not so subtle cause of it. He always felt guilty when he played up the back issue - probably because he so rarely did it. It was just... he knew Miles would hurt, but equally he knew he would feel better for the walk and it would help get him somewhat back on a routine. Declan would just feel internally guilty about it for awhile. Both of the dogs seemed to sense that they were going to get what they wanted, the sound of nails against tile clacking every which way even before either Miles or Declan had made a move for a leash. "Maybe I'll make you things before bed that can store and heat up easily," he said. It would be one way to counter Miles' tendency to not eat because he would feel bad Declan had done it and eat it because of that guilt. Maybe not the best way to feed your boyfriend but Declan would take what he could get. Declan laughed and grinned at him. "You lucked out dating a cook," he told the other man. But, then again, Declan had lucked out in being with someone who knew about taking care of a home. Not that Declan was helpless, but there were some things he didn't quite know how to do and having someone who knew how to do them... well, it was very helpful. "You just said you don't eat breakfast either," Declan pointed out with a small noise, similar to a 'harrumph'. He wanted Miles to be healthy and skipping meals wasn't going to make him healthy. He resolved to find more ways to get better food into Miles on a regular basis even when he protested. "Let's take these two for a... walk," he waited before saying the word and watched both heads turn towards him in a predictable fashion that always made him laugh. "Then we'll get you taken care of proper." |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Plainview · Next Topic » |






12:56 PM Jul 11