tampered | When that moment has past, will that friendship last?

When that moment has past, will that friendship last?

When; Evening of the 8th
Rating; PG for language, possibly?
Characters;

illgrowoutofit
Summary; Bros discuss things over dinner, like bros will do.
Log; [Neil still isn't sure what's up, but he knows Stephen didn't ask to have dinner for no reason. He would have just asked earlier, when the invitation was extended, but that would require, well... talking. Which is what he's on edge about now. This seems like it's going to be a talking thing. And things have just started to go back to normal, too. Not that talking is worse than the silent treatment, but still.
He stands, sits, stands, stops off at the bathroom for no reason, and then sits again, tapping his foot agitatedly, and finally pulls out his DS. A few rounds of Tetris can take his mind off of things while he waits.]

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[Well here goes. Stephen can hear Neil pacing, and eventually the familiar sound of the tetris theme from where he's camped out in the kitchen. Okay, so he might have been cooking a little slower than normal, today. But goddamn it, this stuff is hard for him and he needs all the time he can to try and plan it out in his head. He takes a few calming breaths, then takes up both plates of food into the dining room.]

Hey, dude. Uh, it's ready now.

[Oh, good. The waiting was the worst. At least this is actually happening now, whatever it is. And the food is a plus. He snaps the DS shut and shoves it back in his pocket.]

Cool. That smells awesome.

Yeah. New recipe. Hopefully it turned out well.

[He sits down, nervously wiping his palms on his jeans before taking a bite. Fuck this is awkward. What the hell, might as well cut to the chase.]

Look, I don't want to drag this out and make it awkward, man. I know I've kinda been avoiding you lately, and I'm sorry. For that.

[Neil's eyes flash, and then he stares down at his plate, avoiding eye contact like it could kill him.]

It's... yeah. [His mouth twitches, and he clears his throat.] It's, uhmm, cool. I mean, 's fine.

[Okay, so yeah, this is a talking thing. But he appreciates the apology. Probably more than he's letting on.]

Yeah. I was kind of being a jerk. But uh, I had a lot of stuff to figure out and I just needed a little time, to... you know just do that. On my own. But now...

[He can feel is heart pounding in his ears and his throat closing up. He has to say it now. It's now or never. Man the fuck up, Stills. Just fucking say it.]

I'm gay.

[Okay, now there is eye contact. Something sharp and insecure and dangerous plays out in Neil's eyes for a moment, and then he shakes his head.]

No you're not, man. Don't say that.

Edited 2011-08-09 03:22 (UTC)

[Okay, not exactly the reaction he'd been expecting. But he's said it now. There's no turning back.]

Do you think I'd be telling you this if I wasn't 100% certain?

You mean you're... okay. Like, really, actually...?

[He lowers his gaze again, running a hand through his hair and exhaling long and loud.]

Okay. Right, okay. Since when?

Really, actually.

I think I have known, maybe, For a while. But really, when I went home last month, I...

[Deep breath, here.]

I started sleeping with Joseph.

[Neil goes stock-still, his only movement being a hard gulp against the knot in his throat.]

...Okay.

Neil, I...

You're my friend. I really need you to be okay with all this.

[Another long exhale, but this one is softer. His shoulders relax the slightest bit.]

I said okay, didn't I?

Edited 2011-08-09 03:49 (UTC)

Yeah. Okay. Good. I'm glad that's... out in the open. Then.

[Stephen takes a long, shaky breath. His palms are sweating again. He rubs them against his jeans before attempting another bite of food, but all he manages is to push it around the plate a little.]

[Neil suddenly remembers that there is food, and uses shovelling it rapidly into his mouth as an excuse to keep quiet for a while. But silence proves more maddening than talking, so he gives it up.]

You were avoiding me 'cause you're gay?

I wasn't avoiding you avoiding you. I just needed some time. Alone. It's a lot to fucking deal with, alright?

Alright, man, chill the fuck out.

So this isn't about me.

I am chill, for fu-

[Okay. Not helping. He tries one of those calming breaths everyone's been telling him about. This doesn't need to turn into another panic attack. Just... stay calm.]

No, not really.

Okay. Well, good.

[He actually visibly relaxes this time. He's still mostly avoiding eye contact, but much of the tension is gone from his shoulders. He returns to eating.]

This is pretty good.

[He can't help it - a slightly manic laugh bursts out.]

Yeah, uh. Thanks, man. You know. For everything.

For putting up with me.

[Stephen gets a quizzical stare for that.]

N-- uh... nah, man, you're... it's fine. I didn't... do anything.

Thanks, anyway.

[Stephen lets a smile tug at the edge of his lips. He feels like he can breathe properly for the first time in ages.]

Okay. Whatever, man. It's cool.

[He doesn't understand what he's being thanked for, but he'll take it. Besides, something is happening. Namely, things kind of feel mostly back to normal, and that takes up enough of Neil's attention that he can't fixate on how he's still not sure how he feels about some of this.]

Hey, d'you wanna have a bad movie marathon this weekend or something? I kinda wanna see the 1966 Batman again.

Yeah. That'd be cool.

We could do that really bad zombie movie from the 80s, too. I think there's a drinking game.

[Yes, he is trying to keep the subject thoroughly changed. But at least he's calmed down.]

[Okay, so Neil needs to time to think about stuff. Stephen's okay with that. Well, he's not thrilled, but it's kind of what he expected with Neil. There's a reason he wasn't exactly the first person he told.]

Drinking game sounds kind of awesome right about now.

We could do that tonight, then. If that's cool. There's still beer in the fridge, I think.

Awesome. Yeah. Good.

[Stephen gets up pretty damn quickly and heads over to the fridge.]

[Neil deals with the cords and such-- the SNES is hooked up so he has to hook up something that can play movies and switch the TV over to video. When that's done, he goes to pull up the drinking game rules.]

Yeeeeesh. Some of these are fine, but a drink every time someone dies? That's intense.

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