( mostly closed )

[ettersberg]

Who: Thomas Nightingale (ettersberg) & various
What: dinner dates, accidentally stumbling about questers, a month in the life of one (1) thomas nightingale
When: january
Where: olympia
Warning(s): n/a (will warn in subject lines if anything comes up)

[ starters in comments. hit me up via pm or at abiosis if you'd like to do something! ]

Comments

[enarms]

[ ah. oh, God, he really does keep managing to follow the sorts of lines that send Thomas off somewhere he'd rather not be.

John sits with it a second. then: ]

Thomas, look, I really -

[ saying any of the things that come to mind out loud would once again cross the lines of highlighting vulnerability, and defeat the object of speaking at all. jesus christ, he's no good at this. ]

... It's fine. If you want to talk about this. I'm happy to. But if it's a difficult topic, we can try it again another time.

[ he isn't here to upset him, but every new turn in the conversation seems to be fraught with potential mines and avoiding them is proving impossible. he is more than happy to talk, to listen, but if Thomas came here expecting a pleasant evening and what he's getting instead is the slow drag of retrospection— ]

[ettersberg]

[ the words bring thomas up short and for a moment, he seems a little lost for words. when he shakes his head, it is rueful more than anything, not a rejection of john's words at all. ]

I apologise. [ his lips quirk a little. ] Magic in England has had the easiest time of it in the last few decades. [ he has not had the easiest time. magic and the nightingale are not synonymous, not even in england, but close enough. ] I don't mind the questions.

[ he doesn't. he lives with the knowledge of what happened every day. it isn't something he's likely to forget, but he's far better these days than he once was.

he reaches for his glass, taking a sip of wine. ] But perhaps it isn't the lightest of topics. [ an out, if john wants it, because john did not sign up for this, did he? the loss that still eats at thomas. ]

[enarms]

[ it's not that he wants an out. it's that they came here to eat and drink and flirt a little, and what they're doing instead is - well. it's something that requires more trust than that. or at least to not be sat across a table from each other, plates of food in front of them. ]

It doesn't bother me. I'd like to talk about it. It's - I don't know, it just feels a bit impersonal.

[ John gestures helplessly to the table in front of them, expression apologetic, like the setup distances them and he's sorry he misjudged. like he can't give enough of himself to conversation with dinner in the way.

and here John's own experience comes into play. there's a date and there's friendship, and he very rarely finds them bleeding together: to be sitting across the table from Thomas now, knives and forks and wine between them, is a whole different beast to sitting comfortably in armchairs or closer around the table, whisky or beer or tea at the ready, listening intently and talking in return. ]

[ettersberg]

[ it hasn't felt impersonal to thomas, not until now — there's intimacy in proximity, yes, but also in words, in shared experiences. but he can see john's point, the physical divide between them. he takes another sip of his wine first before he inclines his head in acknowledgement, almost in agreement. ]

We can talk about it later, should it come up again.

[ it is not a topic he enjoys so much that he will fight to continue talking about it. later — over a drink, perhaps, or in some other setting. likely over a drink, he thinks. ]

[enarms]

[ and now he feels like he's turned something that was progressing just fine on its own into something significant and, now, interrupted. John's brow crumples, frown almost immediate‐ and he reaches out to take a large mouthful of wine.

after it's swallowed, face pinched against the taste of the too-large gulp of something that's supposed to be savoured: ] Sorry. Jesus. I'm— Usually better at this.

[ it's just that this particular set of circumstances have never aligned before: a conversation between friends on a date, the date being with a man, the conversation between friends being about magic, being about loss, being held on another world after their own have been consumed... take your pick. he's about as out of his depth as you can get. ]

[ettersberg]

[ that gets — well, not a laugh from thomas, not really, but at least a huff of air that isn't entirely unlike the not-quite-laughter coming from john earlier.

for nightingale, the line between friendship and dating is not a strict one. he has been friends with many men he could have seen himself bedding or dating or all of the above. friendship and love are on the same spectrum, aren't they? and sexual interest is not the same as either of them, but it goes well with them, thomas has found. ]

I don't think I'm particularly skilled in this regard, either, so it's quite all right.

[enarms]

[ the huffed breath catches John's attention, brings it back up to Thomas, and it only takes a catch of his eye to have John smiling back. okay. okay. if he says so, alright. ]

I don't know. You're doing well today.

[ navigating the various misadventures John's been on in the last ten minutes with grace and charm, bravo. ]

[ettersberg]

[ thomas isn't so sure. who brought up war and indicated past trauma most recently in the last ten minutes? him and him again. is it truly so strange that john is feeling a little at odds? ]

A well-crafted illusion. [ he says after a moment, not without humour. it's mostly meant as a joke. ]

[enarms]

[ it's a little too close to home for him to allow himself to acknowledge the room for deeper meaning, and so he accepts it for the tone it arrives in and parries lightly with a joke of his own. ]

Hardly fair. Only one of us is magic.

[ettersberg]

True.

[ the joke settles something inside thomas that the awkwardness of before had kicked up, not quite an insecurity but a worry. he finds himself smiling back before sipping some more of his wine, finding his glass nearly empty.

so he takes the lull in conversation as an invitation to refill their glasses. ]

The only thing missing now is a game of rugby on. [ he remarks after a moment, letting his gaze take in the pub. it'd be possible, wouldn't it, to pretend that this is london instead of a whole other planet. thomas doesn't allow himself the luxury. ]

[enarms]

[ John's mid-mouthful when Thomas brings up rugby, and he swallows it down with an indignant look. ]

If there was rugby on, we wouldn't be drinking wine and eating steak.

[ it's said with the offended mock-disbelief of a die-hard fan faced with the ludicrous reality that anyone could even suggest that one could possibly sit and eat a pleasant meal when one ought to be sitting haphazardly on bar stools, swigging beer and groaning at missed opportunities to score. it's play, and John sustains it just long enough for the fun to settle before he casts an almost unconscious glance over his shoulder at where a TV would sit perfectly over the bar. if this were London, if they were home. ]

Would be good though, wouldn't it. I wonder how many people here even know the game.

[ there are plenty of Earthlings here, from who he's met. but so many are American, and scattered all over times. not that promising, really. ]

[ettersberg]

[ for a moment, thomas remains impassive. one might even think that he is not so invested in rugby that it matters to him whether he has food and wine while watching or whether he can focus wholly on the game.

then, a moment later, that expression breaks and he laughs. it's a rare thing, startled almost when it comes out. ]

Quite right. [ he admits a moment after. ]

If I were a younger man, I'd suggest starting a team.

[enarms]

[ Thomas' laughter is met with a grin, and lightness it brings gives John plenty of room to parry back, half-frowning through his smile. ]

Oh, sod off. If you can patrol the red light district, you can play a game of rugby.

[ettersberg]

[ thomas does, in fact, box regularly, so he is in very good shape for someone his age. even for someone his apparent age. ]

In patrolling I have the benefit of magic.

[ but he is still smirking just so, undercutting the weight of his argument. ]

[enarms]

And you're telling me you've not got a spell ferreted away somewhere in there for cheating at rugger.

[ come on now, do you think he was born yesterday?

whether or not John truly expects such a spell actually exists (he doesn't) or that Thomas would actually use it (he doesn't) or that he'd even need to (who knows? but not as a fitness aid, John has personal experience of that much), isn't the point. the point is, this back and forth is good fun. ]

[ettersberg]

I could have.

[ john is right, though: thomas would not actually use it eve if he did. though he's quite certain he could think of a spell — a shield spell, maybe, making him virtually untouchable. ]

[enarms]

Course you could.

[ and here John finds himself settling into the old ease of flirtation, equal playing field restored, and it's good. the current bubbling along at the meeting of streams: friendly banter and the idle catch of something else. ]

i know nothing about rugby, NOTHING

[ettersberg]

I do have an idea or two, in fact.

[ thomas allows himself to keep grinning. ]

me TOO let's never research this and pretend we did

[enarms]

Go on, then. Regale me.

[ it's notable, and John's enjoying how it lasts. it's nearly enough to make him feel smug. ]

perfect

[ettersberg]

There are spells, for example, for propelling an object through space. And others to fix it in place.

[enarms]

[ — hang on, that startles a laugh out of him. ]

That's dirty. You could fix the ball so nobody else could move it?

[ettersberg]

Easily.

[ seeing john laugh feels like an accomplishment, though john's more forthcoming with the expression than thomas himself. ]

We used to practice it on apples. If done well, they stay in place even when hit with a baseball bat.

[enarms]

[ that's incredible. if anyone had said that to him a couple of hours ago, with magic a far away unfamiliar and uncomfortable reality of this new world, he would've scoffed. now, at least in present company, it's something real and substantial, and the idea of apples kept magically still against the impending force of something as everyday as a baseball bat -

calling it "magical" is a waste of words, but John's touched by something of what it might be like to feel the bright awe associated with the stuff. there's smothered joy layered into his voice. ]

Jesus. The ricochet on that must've been fun.

[ hit at an apple expecting it to fly or explode and it just stands still, all that force has to go somewhere. ]

[ettersberg]

I'd be happy to demonstrate, if you'd like to try it for yourself.

[ another glance around. ]

Another time, that is.

[enarms]

[ John's grin takes on a slanted edge. what are the bloody chances that he'd come out of this with an offer to play with some magicked items and be excited about it. ]

Another time. Alright.