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[braveoff]

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[braveoff]

"Nah, wasn't him," Drake answers, looping an arm around Jesus' shoulders. They're not in a rush, right? He'll get his coat and winter stuff on in a minute. "You're gonna roll your eyes if I tell you. Does it still make me a stereotype if I never did anything about it?"

[hippie_ninja]

"Depends. Who was it?" This is going to be good.

[braveoff]

"Oh, nobody famous. Just a friend I had a little thing for." He pauses for dramatic effect, then shakes his head at how ridiculous it sounds. "...in prison."

[hippie_ninja]

Jesus grins with all his badge bunny mischief. "Who was it and what did you like about them?"

[braveoff]

It doesn't really play into that fantasy if there was no cop involved, Jesus... but Drake tugs on his beard for that grin anyway, expression thoughtful.

"I'd never really had friends before. Either not for long or not that I could trust, so I figured it'd be the same inside. Keep my head down and nobody would notice me or care what my deal was, just like always. That mostly worked for about a month? Then one dinner Vic comes over to my table and sits right across from me, tosses a candy bar on my tray, and says if that doesn't cheer me the fuck up he's gonna stab me so I get a vacation to medical and he doesn't have to see my mopey face for awhile."

Drake's lips quirk up in amusement at the memory. "He was joking. And the rest is kind of a long story, but he's the first person I can remember that gave a shit at a point where it didn't matter anymore what I admitted. And he was ripped... at some point I figured out that wasn't just a platonic observation."

[hippie_ninja]

"Yeah? You like that kind of thing?" Jesus, who is also very ripped, teases.

He's flirting hard tonight, and he hasn't even had anything to drink yet.

[braveoff]

"I might have a type... a little bit of one, anyway. He was ex-military and pretty fucked up from it, but even with a fake leg would run circles around half the block."

There's definitely a handful of similarities that apply to all the guys he's been interested in. But the physical ones are coincidental, in Drake's opinion. His grin softens.

"More than that it was 'cuz he cared, I think. There haven't been many people I can say that about, especially back then."

[hippie_ninja]

The teasing melts off into something softer. "I'm glad you had him. It must have been a tricky thing to figure out there, though. That you go both ways."

He tugs Drake's hand to lead him to get his coat.

[braveoff]

"Not really?" Drake shrugs, letting Jesus lead him back towards the door where his boots and coat are so they can head out. "Nobody messed with me, so it was just something new I learned about myself."

[hippie_ninja]

"I wish it went that smoothly for me when I realized I was into men," he grimaces. "It took me a while to be okay with it."

[braveoff]

"Can I ask why?" he asks, straightening up from getting his boots on and grabbing his scarf and hat to bundle up a little more. "The Jesus thing was a joke that stuck, right? Or were you religious?"

Cw homophobia, abuse

[hippie_ninja]

"No, no," a chuckle. He's respectful of others' beliefs but he is a sacrilegious little gremlin, too. "I never went to church. Maybe twice with different foster families. No, I just got beat up a bit when foster brothers suspected. So then it was better to just keep it quiet, keep it to myself until I was out of the system. At least that's what I tried to do. Got to senior year of high school that way."

Re: Cw homophobia, abuse

[braveoff]

"I'm sorry. What happened senior year?" He's pulling his coat on now, and then leaning down to say goodbye to Sable so they can leave. "If you're cool talking about it."

[hippie_ninja]

"It's ancient history," he waves the notion away that he might be bothered. "What happened was I went to a football game and sneaked back into the locker rooms with one of the players who'd been put on the bench all season. We were friends. I thought...I thought we were friends. I sucked him off, he gave me a handjob. We never spoke again. But it was a good night."

[braveoff]

Does the story just end there? Drake straightens up to regard Jesus, waiting to hear if there's anything else with a tiny worried furrow in his brow.

[hippie_ninja]

It does, at least as far as Jesus has ever told it, but when Drake looks at him he balks.

"We'd been friends since sophomore year. I'd noticed him... I think he 'noticed' me back. But he kind of panicked after we actually acted on it. His parents weren't exactly... well they didn't like that I was from the group home. And a boy." A small, wan smile. It's how those things went.

[braveoff]

There are a lot of ways it could have meant Jesus' life becoming suddenly and dramatically terrible, but 'could've been worse' doesn't mean that how it went doesn't really suck. He nods sympathetically, remembering what high school had been like for him. Losing friends, especially because of things you can't talk about when you didn't actually do anything wrong, feels like the end of the world at that age. It wasn't his identity behind his issues, though. No wonder it took Jesus longer to accept himself -- it's not like anybody else ever had.

Drake steps forward as if he's reaching for the door, but takes one of Jesus' gloved hands instead.

"You were kids, and he still liked you enough to do something he was scared of. I hope he got to a place he thought back on it as a good night, too. And turned out even half as great as you." He nods towards the door, giving his friend's hand a squeeze. "C'mon. Gonna let me show you off somewhere?"

[hippie_ninja]

He leans up to kiss Drake, deeper. "Yeah. Show me off all night, babe."

He likes the thought of that, even if they are in a city where public displays of affection are just common.

He leads Drake out.

[braveoff]

They are common here, and Drake knows that on some level he's lucky to have skipped the 'hiding his sexuality' phase... but it was mostly because he couldn't have any relationships until after he'd died. He's not about to complain about getting a second chance to maybe live for himself, even though it's been difficult in a lot of ways. This? Isn't one of them.

He keeps hold of Jesus' hand until they're outside and not worrying about fitting through doors, and can instead drape his arm over the other man's shoulders. Obviously no one will give them a second look for it, but hopefully it still matters that he does.

"So are we sticking to LIER bars? Or just rolling the dice?"

[hippie_ninja]

Here he has a plan, too. He wraps his arm around Drake. "I haven't been to an Up bar since that date with Midnighter. I thought we could try one."

[braveoff]

"A different one, and it has to be new to both of us?" That'd narrow the options significantly, so Drake wants to make sure he has the criteria right. He's worked at several and hit a few others over the years, though admittedly he hasn't gone to a straight up bar at all since Val got sober. Clubs, sure. Restaurants, mostly to treat Padmé. But a bar in the Up that neither of them have been to yet... hmm. He glances in both directions when they hit the corner, thinking. "What's tonight's vibe? I've never hit anyplace in the red light, but if you want someplace more chill were you thinking more cocktail lounge or shots and pool tables?"

[hippie_ninja]

Jesus is an easy man to snag the attention of: just name a game. He looks up at the thought, but no, he reminds himself. "Something laid back," he decides. "But yeah. Somewhere new to both of us. I haven't been really drunk in years, you know that? That's what I want tonight."

[braveoff]

Drake didn't know, but he can guess why. It wouldn't be safe, right? There's something about Jesus deciding on getting wasted with him, and out in public at that rather than somewhere that feels secure to start with... he turns them towards the outskirts. Sounds like they're looking at neighborhood bars in the more residential areas, and he's got a few ideas.

"What're you like drunk?" he asks curiously, since he's never seen it.

[hippie_ninja]

"I do stupid things," he admits with a laugh. "I climb things, I try to show off if there's a guy around I like. So you'll have to watch me. Sorry, babe."

He's only half-joking.

[braveoff]

"So I've just gotta come up with some kind of incentive to keep you on the ground with me? Even drunk I'm not sure I could keep up with you climbing." It's like Jesus doesn't even have to look for handholds, honestly. The smaller man is bafflingly fast. But on a more serious note... "I owe you way more than one night of lost impulse control. Get as blasted as you want."