InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "That's what you think..."

Etzel: It was predicted that the one-man circus sideshow wouldn't have remembered to call Sean to notify him that he was leaving Ohio -- an Etzel will be an Etzel, as history often suggests. It wasn't really a tragic event, either. It just meant that the driveway he pulled his car into (which, surprisingly, hadn't been in Florida or Tennessee) would belong to an unfortunately empty house. Although Etzel wasn't used to being greeted by locked doors and empty driveways, he had been able to see through the windows that no lights were on inside the house. And for a person who was so afraid of things catching fire, Sean definitely wouldn't leave lights unattended within his own house! This either meant that Sean was sleeping, or had gone somewhere. The Euromutt concluded that no one was home.

Being generally forgetful in the most irritating and unfortunate of ways, Etzel recalled Sean explaining that he did have a job, but he couldn't remember where he had said it was. Perhaps it was at that bar he talked so much about. That was considered, of course, but the fact that Sean owned the bar had persuaded the man to assume that the Leprechaun had a job elsewhere. By the time Etzel remembered that he had a cellular phone, and could very well call Sean to ask him where it was that he worked, Sean had come home anyway. He may have been expecting the other's arrival, or perhaps he had forgotten just as well and was coming home early to welcome Adrian home -- it wasn't really important. The fact was, this had all seemed planned (although he knew it wasn't and couldn't have possibly been anyway). And although Etzel was on the edge of being frustrated, he was too happy to see Sean to let himself get mad.

So instead, he threw his cell phone at the Irishman and forcefully demanded that he approach the house. "...Where do you work, again?"

Sean: Whichever car Sean drove -- Oh yes! That silver SUV type thing, it came down the street with Sean behind the wheel, happily bouncing along to whatever music was playing, usually something hard and rockish. It wasn't until he turned the corner onto the delightfully suburban-looking neighborhood -- which, by the way, hadn't been made aware of the gay couple living in the plain-looking house with one white dogwood tree in the front -- that he realized the car in the driveway was not Adrian's red Jetta. In fact, he didn't know whose car it was. And then, a lightbulb! His best friend, commonly called Bitch, but more legally, Etzel, had come to visit! Oh, Sean was all giddy with smiles, and pulled into the driveway next to the foreign car, all full of hope and not-so-gay hugs.

Of course, that was before the cell phone was thrown at him, which he caught, of course. Over to the blondthing he went, a playful, yet rough, slap to his arm, and a grin. "At me bar, bitch. I gave you the number, I thought? Dirty Mick's.. It's just down the street a ways, in the major intersection." Er.. something like that. Either way, it wasn't long before the both of them were walking towards the door. Was Adrian home? Eh. Unless his car was in the garage.. No. But, of course, Etzel's car was blocking the space for Sean's side of the garage, and that's why he hadn't pulled in.

"How was the drive, then, eh? Been fartin' around out here long enough?" And, yes, it was cold. But a pretty day kind of cold.

Etzel: As soon as he was informed that Sean did indeed work at the bar, a small frown covered the smile that had previously decorated his face. It wasn't disappointing that Sean had a job, it was just disappointing to admit defeat to one's own mind. Etzel nodded, and inhaled in a small 'oh' fashion, as if to say "Yes, you gave me the number, and all of that information - I remember it now." His eyes, however, suggested otherwise. "The drive wasn't that bad. It was long, but not too long. I don't mind that sort of thing, though."

Upon receiving the slap, he narrowed his eyes playfully, but didn't do anything in return. "Be careful, Leprechaun, I know where to hit you." After a minute, Etzel leaned forward to look around Sean and observe the cars in the driveway. "Are you home early or something, or are you planning on going back once the other one gets here?" Maybe the situation seemed confusing to Etzel, or maybe he was just making plans in his head.

It was good to see Sean, though. And it probably wouldn't take him long to start asking about the tartan blanket, either.

Sean: Poor Etzel. Either way, Sean was happy he was there, and as soon as they got into the door of the house, and some lights were turned on, well, there was a big ol' tight hug from the Mick to the Mutt. Yeah, it was pretty endearing, and maybe there was even a kiss on Etzel's cheek. Yep, a manly kinda one.. and that was that. And then, when he'd squeezed enough, and shown enough of his gayness for five seconds, well, he pulled back and went about getting two beers from the fridge.

"Eh, home fer a bit. They're doin' just fine down at the bar and it's only started Happy hour. Fer lunch and to check the mail and such. I don' have to go back, but I thought we'd have dinner and then stop by the place fer drinks. Unless ye've got any objections." Mhm, the brown bottle was handed out, and Sean just about drained half of his in one gulp.

"I think Scout's still at school.. He wasn't at the bar and I haven't heard from him yet. He might be napping here.. maybe." Mhm. Sean was honestly a pretty bad boyfriend. He wasn't attentive, really, and he hadn't memorized Adrian's schedule when it came to being at home, or work, even though he made the schedule for the bar. If they didn't have the little dry-erase board on the fridge, one for each of them, Sean would never know where anyone was. Quickly, he erased his board and wrote, in blue marker that smelled like blueberries, 'I'm home. And so is Etzel.' HA!

Etzel: "Your markers smell funny," While half-heartedly listening to what Sean had been telling him, despite the fact that he had asked out of pure curiousity, Etzel had begun rummaging about the other markers in the set. After smelling each one, and observing that they all had different, awkward scents that weren't really similar to anything he had smelled throughout his lifetime, he felt it very necessary to relay this information to Sean. He wouldn't want his dear friend to grow ill with some odd sort of chemical sniffing disorder, after all.

"I think drinks after dinner would be good. Before dinner would be unreasonable." After staring at his beer a moment, he fiddled with the bottle-cap [and proved his superiourity in a short amount of time], but ended up setting the bottle off to the side instead of getting down to bottle-tipping business right away. "So, is the bar mostly what you've been up to lately?"

Sean: Mhm. The blue one smelled like blueberries, red smelled like cherries, green was green apple, orange was orange, yellow was lemon, purple was grape, brown was cinnamon, and black was mint chocolate. Adrian had picked them up somewhere.. and Sean liked them, so they stayed in the little mug by the fridge.

"Ne.. They smell fruity, bitch." Most times that curse word was used, it was harsh and angry. But when Sean said it as Etzel's name.. it was sometimes soft, endearing almost. A little nickname not too many people fully understood, Sean being one of those people.

Either way, he'd finished his beer, and, so as not to let the other, untouched bottle go to waste, now that it was opened, well, that would be gone in a few swigs as well. "Aye, then. Dinner then drinks." It was settled, and yes, Adrian would come. No homework or work tonight. "Me bar.. it's another lover, really. M'surprised Scout's not jealous er anythin'.. but so far it takes up all me spare time and money. An' you? Yer throat's not collapsing yet, is it?"

Etzel: It took him a moment to realise that Sean's movement towards the counter he had set his beer on meant that he was more or likely moving to grab at the opened -- but untouched -- bottle. "I was going to drink that, I was just waiting for it to warm up a little bit." Smirking, Etzel shook his head and watched Sean continue to drink the beer anyway. It was clear that Etzel was difficult to offend or anger, he was a generally laid-back sort of person. One example that had been mentioned once before was Sean's nickname for him; he knew that "bitch" wasn't a word usually used in an affectionate or friendly manner, but Sean certainly wasn't using it angrily every time he addressed him with it. And in that sense, Etzel sort of liked the label, so long as it came from Sean's mouth.

"He's probably not jealous because you don't fuck the bar," It was said matter-of-factly, and accented with a shrug of his shoulders, but he was still curious to see what Sean had to say about it. While it sounded harsh, and had the potential to be sarcastic, Etzel still had room to say something worse -- perhaps more along the lines of, "Then again, he's probably thankful that you don't put videos of the bar on the internet." But that was mostly too inconsiderate to say outloud... so instead, it remained a thought.

"Why would my throat be collapsed, Sean?" He inquired suddenly, thinking to himself in an attempt to find possible reasons as to why the question had been asked in the first place. "We don't do anything during the winter, really. But when there are performances, there's enough time for a detox period in between each one. So unless I'm doing something wrong, or not taking care of myself, my throat shouldn't be collapsing..." He eyed the other suspiciously for a moment. "Why, are you looking for it to happen soon?"

Sean: He rolled his eyes, and offered half the beer to Etzel. But, a little shake told him he didn't necessarily want it, and so it was finished, and both bottles clanked as he tossed them into the trash. Ah yes, they were an odd pair. How they'd come to be close, Sean never really understood.. they just had. One day they were strangers, the next Sean was telling him secrets.

"An' who says I don't? Ye never know, bitch. I could hump that bar all day long. 'Course if I did I might have splinters in me dingle, but that, I think, the boy might notice." And, yes, by this point Sean had decided that his darling was still at school. The video that Sean'd put up.. well, it didn't exactly have their names in the credits. There weren't too many shots of faces, except for a few of Sean over his shoulder, and maybe when Adrian sat up or moved or something. What was really distinct were the tattoos. Sean's across his back, that was. And Adrian's.. if his back ever faced the camera. Darling little boy didn't know he was being filmed.. but it'd been sort of a joke. More like.. 'Look I can do it better you losers' to all of the silly people who put their videos up.

Either way.. Sean was all full of beer, and off he went to sit on the couch, shoes kicked off, completely sprawled out. The clothes he wore, jeans and a blazer and a button-up shirt, well.. they were business casual, and that blazer was now hung over the back of that amazingly soft, big, brown couch.

"Eh.. Dunno. Just wondering if there was anything I should be worried about. With you and the fluid and all. Hell no I don't want your throat to collapse, bitch, I need your throat nice and wide so when you blow me you don't suffocate." And here came a hearty laugh, one of the many running jokes this not so grown up jock still told.

Adrian: "...bitch, I need your throat nice and wide so when you blow me you don't suffocate."

The laugh hadn't really registered in his mind. By then he was shaking with the aftermath of preparing some sort of cocktail of emotions. Adrian had been confused by the extra car parked in the driveway, and didn't really care for the fact that he couldn't recognize it. But he had decided to wait until he got inside to feel anything major.

It was hard to tell, on his part, that he had walked in on the middle of a conversation -- which included a joke, nonetheless -- but he was almost sure that what he had just heard was definitely not something he wanted to visually witness. Noticing that he had failed to shut the door, Adrian rotated his body just enough to grab his keys from the lock and afterwards pushed the door in the direction of its frame with his hip.

Instead of calling out to Sean, though, he stormed down the hall towards their room and dropped his stuff -- including the keys -- in the doorway. He wasn't really in the mood for talking, or doing anything too much more than clinging to one of the pillows on the bed.

Sean: Sean laughed.. and he was about to say something stupid when the door was closed, not so gently, but it wasn't quite a slam, either. Adrian was home! But.. he wasn't.. out here with them? Five minutes passed.. and Sean was nodding along with Etzel. "Yeah.. We really like it here. There's enough space to stretch out. I'm hoping, once I make enough and get the bar settled, to go get some kind of dog.. but I'm not really sure this is the best place for him? Like.. to live in a house with peopl're who're gone so much. Cause with me at the bar and Scout at school.. we're almost never home. And sometimes he sleeps at school cause he's just so busy studying. And.. puppies're like children.. and I dunno. M'not so good with children."

Another five minutes of smalltalk and.. he stood up. "S'cuse me, bitch.. I gotta go say hi to me boy." Mhm. One smile and he was making his way back to the bedroom. Once he was there, of course, with Adrian on the bed, he was completely confused. But, he sat on the side, hand on the boy's back, and there was some patting. "Hey baby, what's goin on? How come you didn't stop to say something to Etzel an' me?" Another couple pats.. and now he was worried, honestly. So.. he lay down, right there next to him, facing him, and pouted. "Scoout.. C'mon baby."

Adrian: A dog would be fine and dandy, and probably wouldn't be that bad off if they got it while Adrian was on a school break... He'd be able to stay home with it that way, and -- well, wait a minute. While it would be ideal for him to spend that time training the dog, and bonding with it, it would be more realistic for Sean to come home to a puppy dragging toys around the carpet and an Adrian curled up on the couch trying to get it to relax. But that wasn't important right now; Sean had come into the room, and had started to touch him. It was hard to resist giving in to other's presence, even if Adrian had been shocked by what he thought had been going on in the livingroom.

"I didn't know that was Etzel's car in the driveway... but if he's blowing you, I don't really want to stop and say hello." He hadn't been crying, but he looked as though he had been holding his breath, or more accurately, stuffing his face into the pillow. "I didn't have a very good day, and whatever's going on... if you guys are just drunk or whatever..." It didn't take him too long to scoot in closer to the older man, but the pillow was still in between them, and rather than making complete eye contact, he nuzzled his nose against Sean's chest.

"I don't know. I didn't expect to come home to it."

Sean: Yes, well.. the dog would have to wait until summer, at least, until the bar was established and everything. Adrian scooted closer and Sean pulled him as he scooted so they were as close as they could be with the pillow between them. And then, well, now he understood it, completely. There was a little sniff at the boy's hair, a kiss on his forehead and another rub along his back. "Baaby. We were jokin', honest. Etzel's not gonna blow me. I'm not gonna blow him, if that's yer next question. We're not drunk.. but we probably will be tonight, and you will be, too." Mhm. Now it was Sean's turn to nuzzle, and try to get a kiss out of the upset, younger man. Oh, just a few pecks around his mouth before he gave up, or got what he wanted. "If ye'd walked in two minutes earlier, or two minutes later.. ye'd've understood. Just bad timing was all, Scout."

But there they rested for a minute, because Sean was sure Etzel could occupy himself with snooping through something or other, he was sure, and because he wanted to resolve things with his very upset partner. "Now, why was your day so awful, hm? An' d'ye wanna come out to dinner with us, or stay here and nap few a bit?"

Adrian: "It just kind of feels like there's always someone who wants to be pitied as the person with the worst life. What's so great about being bad off? I mean, I... I've always tried so hard to make it sound like I had a wonderful life because that was what I wanted. But lying doesn't do anyone any good." It was much more comfortable once he could cling to Sean, instead of being on the bed with just the pillow. Alone was a feeling that Adrian had never particularly enjoyed, and after discovering Sean at Vonnegut, he was sure he'd never really be fond of it again (whether or not he'd have to deal with it, though, wasn't really something he had control of until he really met Sean). "I don't want to talk about today right now. Etzel's waiting."

The kisses had been appreciated, at least enough to persuade the smaller of the two to return each of them. "I'll go to dinner with you guys, I guess... Where are we going?" He hadn't ignored the promise of getting drunk that evening; instead, he considered it silently, and decided it sounded like an appealing idea.

Sean: Sean did listen, and he held his boy close, once he'd pulled the pillow out of the way. In all honesty, Sean had been pretty lonely his whole life. Adrian knew probably the most about him that anyone did, but it wasn't because Sean had told him. It was because Adrian stuck around and observed him and.. so he knew who Sean was by the things he did on a daily basis, and only a few snippets from his past. No, Sean wasn't into talking about who he was, or where he'd been. And.. now wasn't the time to start. Either way, he'd had his hand on the back of Adrian's neck, just rubbing him there as he spoke. "Well.. later, yeh? Later, baby." And, yes, there was another kiss, with Sean's hand on Adrian's jaw, and after that, they were sitting up and getting ready to go back out and be social, though Sean wouldn't have minded just.. laying back there with him for a while.

"Dinner.. Dunno. Haven't given it much thought, really. Maybe somethin like Olive Garden.. or whatever the bitch wants." Mhm. When Adrian was up, of course, Sean had pulled him over by the hips and just.. touched him on their way out of the room. "Ay, Bitch, where ya wanna eat, eh?" Yep. They were out in the living room now.. and,that was that.

Etzel: Usually, he wasn't one to enjoy being left alone when there was company to be had, but it was different when the possibility of conflict was present. So rather than sticking his nose where it didn't belong, Etzel had stretched out on the couch and took it upon himself to see what Georgian television had to offer him. Now, of course he was curious to hear what was bothering the infamous Adrian, but he knew very well that it was none of his business. Still, that didn't keep him from keeping the volume on the TV somewhat low.

He browsed the channels slowly -- at least at a pace that would allow him to learn what they consisted of while covering a reasonable amount of ground at the same time. It seemed, though, that he wasn't able to make a complete round through all of them by the time Sean called his pet-name out into the open. But the Euromutt wasn't about to complain. Remaining in his comfortable lounging position, he allowed his head to loll to the side to welcome the two.

"Did you say Olive Garden?"

Sean: Yess.. out they came, Adrian looked like he felt better, and Sean was reluctant to actually let him go too far, which meant he had his hand on his back, his pinky looped through a beltloop.. cause otherwise it would've been his hand on his ass.. and that.. well, playing grabass in public wasn't his idea of a fun fun time. Well. Not right now anyway.

Annyway. "Well it seems somethin' perked yer ears. Yeh.. I said Olive Garden. But ye'd better get yer ass up before I choose somewhere else." Mhm. It didn't take long for them to get ready, Sean in his blazer, and all of Etzel's important things from the car were brought inside.. and, well.. off they went in sean's suv thingy. And, yes, as they drove, he held Adrian's hand across the little console space, and kidded around with Etzel.

"So.. ye bring yer fancy shoes, bitch? Ye know we're goin' to a place where fancy shoes are pretty much mandatory. They might kick ye out if yer not dressed appropriately.."

Etzel: Etzel wasn't sure he'd enjoy being taken somewhere else for dinner if it was because he hadn't pushed himself up from the couch in a certain amount of time, because that sounded like some form of cruel and unusual punishment. But if acting quickly and doing what he had been asked would be rewarded with food that was always interesting at least to look at, then why not at least give listening a genuine try? He couldn't be sure that Sean wouldn't pull some sort of unseen strings and make it known that all the time spent in the bedroom with Adrian had only benefited the "demise of Etzel's sanity" plan, but he could certainly trust the Irishman.

Well, at least until he brought up the shoes. "Aww, come on, Sean..." This time, his tone carried a bit of something different, perhaps distress? He wasn't hurt, it was just difficult to tell whether or not Sean really meant it or not -- and at times, Etzel struggled to understand the fact that others simply could not understand that he had no use for shoes. "I didn't bring them and you know it. Besides, I've been in Olive Garden before, and they didn't say anything about it. And they won't this time, either." No, but they'd probably give him odd looks. The boots were a lot different than the 'boots' that most people would be used to seeing in Olive Garden.