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[braveoff]

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[braveoff]

[ Drake settles on his side, facing Sharkface with his head propped up on his arm. The touch is welcome, but the other man is tense enough that Drake's going to let him ease up before touching back just yet. ]

It's okay. Tell me more about the jump with those black cliffs.

[requiemshark]

[ Sharkface blinks, surprised. ]

You want to hear about that?

[braveoff]

[ Drake nods, like it's the most natural thing in the world to ask about. ]

Yeah. It's something that makes you happy.

[requiemshark]

[ He doesn't respond immediately, running his fingers along Drake's arm. Breathe, he reminds himself. Just breathe. ]

It was a bad drop. Huge fucking mess. Locals were Insurrectionists, or close to it, and they hated our guts. Command was on this diplomacy kick. Wanted a win they could put in the news. Humanity coming together and all that shit.

[ It's supposed to be a good story, though. And here he is focusing on the bad. Sharkface exhales. ]

Anyway, command told us to drop in, try and get whoever was still alive to an extraction zone. Locals were hiding in these caves by the water. Couldn't land a pelican down there, not with terrain that rough, so we did a free jump. We were expecting shitty weather. Lot of rain, lot of wind. It was gonna be a rough jump.

[ Sharkface huffs, giving Drake a faint smile. ]

Storm broke while we were in the air. Sun came out and those cliffs, man. They were shining so bright you couldn't look at them directly. But I could see them reflected off the water as we were going down. Never seen anything like it. Like an oil slick, shining in the sun.

It was a bad drop all around. But that, that was good.

[braveoff]

[ Drake shifts a little closer during the story, just getting Sharkface used to the proximity. It does sound beautiful, even if it was a bad drop. He had no way of knowing. ]

I didn't mean to ask about a bad one, sorry -- tell me about your favorite? Unless you don't feel like talking anymore.

[ Casually, as if it's the most natural thing in the world, he drapes his arm over Sharkface. Just to see what the response is, if he's ready for a little more contact or not. ]

[requiemshark]

[ Most of the stories he knows are bad, Sharkface thinks. He could tell Drake about his family, but that only ends one way. They're gone. Most people he knows are gone now. Maybe he doesn't have any good stories left.

Sharkface breathes out and leans in to press his forehead to Drake's. It's answer enough, he hopes. ]

[braveoff]

[ It's answer enough. Drake hums softly, leaning into the contact and sliding his hand up the other man's side in what he hopes is a soothing manner. ]

It's okay.

[requiemshark]

[ Sharkface shivers, closing his good eye. He used to be good at this sort of thing, once. Touching people. Knowing how to be around them. How to tell stories that don't end with awful things. He thinks that part of him might have died, and he fears what rose in its place is inadequate to the task.

But it feels good to press close to Drake. To match his breathing.

Sharkface takes a shuddering breath, and then another. Maybe if he stops talking, if he just focuses on the physical, then it won't feel so heavy.

Maybe then it'll be okay.

He squeezes Drake's arm, trying to force himself to focus. It's fine. Or it can be, if he holds it together and doesn't make it complicated. ]

[braveoff]

[ Drake scoots in again so they're fully against each other, and strokes the other man's back in time with their breathing. Slow and steady.

He waits until Sharkface seems to ease up a bit before brushing their noses together, telegraphing what he'd like and waiting to see what he does about it. ]

[requiemshark]

[ Breathe. Stay focused. Sharkface presses his forehead to Drake's and exhales.

Okay. They're okay.

He leans in and kisses the man. Not hard. ]

[braveoff]

[ Drake kisses back, keeping it soft for now even if he can't ignore the thrill that rushes through him at the fact Sharkface initiated. It doesn't necessarily mean anything, doesn't mean he wants any of this, but he seems to be getting more comfortable with it. That's the first step to letting himself enjoy it too, right? ]

[requiemshark]

[ This part is familiar, or it ought to be. He knows how it goes, the give and take of it. He used to like it. Learning how people move, what they liked, how he could make them feel good. It feels harder now. Like something he could do wrong.

Breathe. It doesn’t have to be bad.

Sharkface shivers a little, drawing back to try and read Drake’s expression. ]

Is this okay?

[braveoff]

[ It's a little heartbreaking the way that Sharkface asks that, combined with his overall hesitance. It's like he's afraid of doing something wrong. Drake strokes his back again, bending up his other arm between them to trail his fingertips along Sharkface's jaw. ]

It's good. You don't have to worry so much, just... feel.

[requiemshark]

[ Sharkface shivers, tipping his head back even though he knows it exposes his throat. He watches Drake and wonders what this would be like if it was more of a choice. If there wasn't a quota hanging over both of them. Maybe he could pretend, for a little while. ]

Okay.

[ Just feel. Forget the rest. Sharkface runs his hand over Drake's arm again, then - very carefully - shifts it over to Drake's chest. Resting over his heart. ]

[braveoff]

[ Not too long ago Drake's pulse would have been hard to detect, but now it's beating steadily under Sharkface's hand. He waits to see what happens, what the intent behind the touch was, lying still and patient. ]

[requiemshark]

[ Drake's heartbeat is strong and steady. Sharkface spreads his fingers wide, feeling it out. Memorizing the rhythm. It gives him something to follow, a way to center himself. He thinks that might matter.

Breathe. Okay.

Sharkface leans in and presses his forehead to Drake's. He slides his hand down Drake's chest, over his stomach. And then, slowly, lower. ]

[braveoff]

[ Oh, they're... okay. Drake's breathing hitches in anticipation as the other man's hand slides low on his stomach, his hips just barely rocking forward before he catches himself. Stay still. Don't be so eager. Unless that would help? In the end he bites his lip and steadies himself, leaning into the forehead touch instead.

Part of him is screaming to stop it happening this way again, that it should be mutual, but the rest knows that he can't push and that they need to do this. It'll be okay. ]

[requiemshark]

[ Okay. No mistaking that, is there? Sharkface smiles a little, weakly, and rests his hand on Drake's stomach. Following the line of Drake's hip with his thumb, feeling it out. Slower this time. More careful. ]

Slow?

[ His voice is rough. Sharkface swallows to clear it. His stomach tightens. Drake looks good, like this. Really good. ]

Or - ?

[braveoff]

[ Drake breathes out, then grins sheepishly. It's never taken much to get him going. ]

I'm not picky. Whatever you're comfortable with.

[ His hand slides down Sharkface's back, settling on his waist hesitantly. ]

[requiemshark]

[ That smile is going to do things to him, Sharkface thinks, breathing out slow. He shivers at the touch but doesn't pull back from it. Pieces of it feels good. He bumps his head against Drake's again, gentle, and presses closer. ]

I like it slower.

[ Or he does this time, with this man. It's true, strangely. He doesn't - he doesn't let himself think this way anymore. Doesn't let himself want like this. But he does, now. Does that make it better, or just more complicated.

Sharkface leans in and kisses Drake on the cheek. Light, gentle. And he slides his hand lower, curling his fingers. Trying to catch the moment that Drake's breathing changes. ]

[braveoff]

[ Don't let yourself hope, Drake tells himself, and you won't be disappointed. But it's almost impossible not to when Sharkface shivers and presses in closer, then kisses him on the cheek. It's sweet, and makes him think there's more to this than the quota. That maybe the other man actually likes him a little, even if he's not ready for this to be more than one sided.

His smile broadens a little and he nods -- slower is fine. What he usually prefers, though he doesn't say it. Just closes his eyes and focuses on the touch, on the way his stomach jumps when Sharkface's hand slides lower. And it's still a novelty when his pulse speeds up, breath shuddering as he struggles to keep still. ]

[requiemshark]

[ He can feel everything like this. All of it. The moment that Drake's breathing shifts. How his heartbeat jumps. Sharkface huffs a little, smiling.

Maybe he'd missed this. ]

I got you.

[ He works his fingers slow, feeling Drake out. Pressing this thumb to the head. Slow. ]

[braveoff]

[ Drake makes a vague affirmative sound that's more moan than not, his fingers curling against Sharkface's waist. The truth is that the words are more of a turn on than the touch -- something he's heard so often in that voice, low and honest. ]

Can I kiss you again? Please.

[requiemshark]

[ Sharkface peers at Drake as he works his hand. It feels like there's a whole lifetime of things he's missing, that he never knew in the first place. But this? This feels good. Not much has, recently.

He nods. Leans into it. ]

[braveoff]

[ Fuck, that feels amazing. Drake shudders, leaning in for another kiss. He's a little bolder this time, his other hand cupping Sharkface's jaw and tongue flicking out to tease at his bottom lip. He's behaving otherwise, his grip loose on Sharkface's waist, but can't help encouraging the encounter somehow. ]