Teenagers Scare the Living Shit Out Of Me etc. etc.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Characters passing by the bulletin board may notice a new message tacked to it!]

Drinking party at the bar at 8pm. Under 21 only. Adults will be persecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Fun and games included, party hats optional. Don’t be late!

[Sure enough, there’s a gathering of teens (and maybe some not-so-teens?) to be found in the bar! While the posting mentions this is a teen only event, adults are in fact allowed as long as they are cool. OOCLY please be aware there are going to be teens drinking alcohol and possibly smoking! Also additionally, please let the teens/players have fun; again, adults are allowed but only if they’re cool enough to play along without snitching them out!

All party game top levels are going to be made under Ahito’s account but please assume ICly that Akira instigated/explained them! Once the game toplevels are up you can also post your own toplevels to mingle freely if you like IDK IT’S A PARTY HAVE FUN]

Comments

[mirristry]

I...

[How does he finish that sentence? Is there even an ending to that sentence that isn't just going to make everything even worse than it already is?

A part of him wants to say "I should go," but that didn't work the first time and he very much doubts that it will work this time either. And, in all honesty, that was what set the slow accumulation of feelings in motion like a snowball gradually growing in size as it rolls down a hill, inevitable and unable to stop itself.

Even if he tries to run away, it's going to catch up to him in the end.]

[troublereduction]

[ The awkward silence hanging between them is probably why Day decides that you know what, he's too sober for this (despite having taken at least a dozen shots or the equivalent thereof at this point). He drinks the cocktail Phil handed him. Not a sip so much as a gulp.

... ]

This is pretty decent.

[ At least it's not an awkward way of breaking the silence? ]

[mirristry]

... I'm sorry.

[It comes out in a rush, breathless and strained, his voice tight with emotion.]

I know you don't... f-for one thing, I'm too old, and...

[... and I'm not going to live for that much longer. That part he knows he doesn't have to say out loud, not to Day.]

... it's just an old man's selfishness. Please... just forget about this.

[He turns away, not wanting to let Day see the tears in his eyes yet again.]

[troublereduction]

[ Oh. Oh no this is going in a way Day wasn't hoping for. He thought it might break the awkward atmosphere, not this. He sets his drink aside because, in true Day fashion, he'd rather have his hands free for whatever he's going to do next.

Which is to say he's going to reach over and try making Phil look back at him. ]

Hey, Phil. Remember what I said 'bout how you'd only be second or third youngest after me where I work? [ Too old, his foot. ] I've got colleagues who're centuries old. 35's small potatoes next to that. And...

[ ...He knows what Phil didn't say out loud to him, and that he'd rather not let anyone else know. So all Day will say, somewhat obliquely, is: ]

I wouldn't still be here if I couldn't love things that will be lost one day. So if you're bein' selfish, I'm bein' selfish too.

[fellheart]

[ oh, he's pretty sure he took some unintentional collateral damage from one of the things day's saying in specific.

breaks another mana rock for his glass, takes a sip. ]

[jokey]

[From the peanut gallery, Akira mimes the wiping away of a single tear... Ah, old man romance. You love to see it.

Also, Akira's whisper-yelling:]

Atta knight. Get your priestess!

[mirristry]

[Silent, he lets Day turn him back around, though he keeps his gaze averted (surely Day's face will be as gentle as ever even as he turns Phil down and he can't bear to see that kindness right now) as he awaits what he thinks is the inevitable rejection.

... except the rejection never comes, and that's enough to get his head to snap up to stare straight at Day, still-teary eyes wide with shock.]

You... what?

[He can't have heard that right. He couldn't possibly have heard that right, because that would mean...]

[troublereduction]

[ And indeed, Day's gaze is as gentle as ever as he confesses (for the third time in his life, and for the second time actually hopeful): ]

I love you, Phil. And I wanna stay with you, for as long as you'll have me. [ As if to say Phil has the option of letting go of his hand, if he ever needs to. One concession to the reality of their situation. ]

[impacter]

[Wow the alcohol sure is getting everybody feeling vulnerable and all full of googoo eyes at each other!!!!!!!!!!

anyway congrats boys, love wins as usual.]

[mirristry]

[It's probably a very fortunate thing that Day is already aware of Phil's propensity for bursting into tears over minor things or else his reaction might be that much more alarming.

Phil opens his mouth like he's trying to say something, only no words come out, just a soft sound that gives way to a hitched sob as the dam finally bursts for real. The tears now aren't quiet, but they also aren't distressed, merely the product of being emotionally overwhelmed. Because, much like no one had ever told Phil he was pretty before, no one has ever said they love him before, either.

Embarrassed, he brings his hands up to try to cover his face as though that will somehow be able to hide the fact that he's crying.]

[leewards]

[Why is he always crying.

My goodness, does Day have a kink for tears?]

[troublereduction]

[ Look Ithaqua surely you understand some of the appeal of a man who will cry when bullied-- ]

[troublereduction]

[ It's a good thing he does, because instead of panicking like this the first time this happened, Day lets out a small laugh, both fond and wry. He should have expected this, huh.

Day reaches over with his hands to try and wipe at Phil's tears, and leans down a little to press a kiss to the top of his head. He means it. ]

[mirristry]

I-I'm sorry, I...

[He realizes belatedly that it probably looks like he's upset with the entire idea given how hard he's crying right now-- that in a way he might seem like he's the one doing the rejecting when in reality that couldn't be further from the truth. There's a part of him that's still afraid to believe this is all real... until he feels Day's lips brush his hair, putting the last remainder of his doubts to rest.]

... I love you too...

[He'd never had the courage to say those words either to Mileena or to Ix. But somehow now, in this moment? He finds they aren't difficult to say at all.]

[troublereduction]

[ That's...

Even though he's been trying to be better, some things won't easily go away in two months after years of bracing oneself against disappointment. Keeping his expectations low is second nature by now; bracing himself for the moment his hand is let go is a habit; knowing he will not be chosen is simply as inevitable as endings. Like how he's the morning mist in most people's lives, he was ready to keep loving quietly, in his own way, without expecting anything in return.

But things like this—the people who have thanked him for his efforts, showed him care and consideration, and now someone saying they love him back—remind him that here, he is more than just an agent of destiny. And maybe this is why Day laughs so joyously, almost like he could cry too, as he wraps his arms around Phil and pulls him into a hug.

Yes, someone loves him too. He is not the morning mist. ]

[mirristry]

[And this time Phil actually steps closer, leans into that hug and wraps his own arms around Day to embrace him in return. The tears now are ones of pure joy, the smile on his face probably the single most genuine one Day has seen on his face yet. At last, after so many years of heartache, of never having the hope of being anyone's first choice, he is loved by the person he loves, and it's such a wonderful and amazing feeling that he thinks his heart might burst.

Maybe it's selfish. No, it almost definitely is. But this is something that's his and his alone, and he wants to take it and hold it tight and never let it go for as long as this world sees fit to allow him that much. And for once? He delights in this selfishness, in this thing he desires so much for himself that he would fight for it until his dying breath.

Because is it really selfishness when Day is holding him just as tightly?]

[troublereduction]

[ Phil looks wonderful painted in joy, Day thinks. He wants to keep giving Phil as much joy as he can, and maybe one day Phil will be able to find serenity within himself. A meaningful happiness after a lifetime of disappointment and digging the hole for oneself.

He leans down to whisper in Phil's ear, just a thing between the two of them: ]

We'll do more later, 'kay?

[ Because they're already as grossly PDA as is, and Day would rather they get to bask in finally being together without everyone else's eyes on them. The things Day wants to do are not ones he wants to share with anyone else, either. ]

[mirristry]

[No sooner do those words leave Day's mouth than Phil becomes painted in scarlet as well, his cheeks flushing bright both at the implication itself and the realization of just how much he wants that "more" that Day is offering so freely.

He opens his mouth, then closes it again and just nods silently, too shy to give an actual voice to his desires yet wanting to make them clear nonetheless. It's a strange and almost unsettling thing, being allowed to hope - to look forward to something - like this, and he lets that thought roll around in his mind for a few moments until it finds a place to settle.

The warmth that spreads through him now can't be entirely attributed to the alcohol...]

[troublereduction]

[ Does it make it better or worse that Day's reaction to Phil's response is to laugh, low and pleased? Ah, Phil is cute. He hopes he'll get to see more of it and keep it to himself. The idea that he will remain in Phil's heart is almost too much.

He leans down to press a quick kiss to Phil's forehead—more gross PDA, but an innocent one, and one he wants to get in because he can't contain all this affection for Phil completely. ]

[mirristry]

[Phil allows it, burying his face in Day's shirt to hide his luminescent blush. The kiss is very much welcome; it's the having an audience part that he's not wild about either. Still, he can hold out for a little while longer, though that may be a challenging task with the way his imagination has already started meandering down previously untrodden paths.

He'll just have to make sure Day understands exactly what he's responsible for later.]

[lustro]

[ LOVE ENDURES ]

[fellheart]

[ what is in this booze tonight, is every pair going to confess or do something dramatic or open in public at this party? ]

[troublereduction]

[ Blame whoever thought an honesty charm was a good idea at a party with booze. ]

[impacter]

[1) wow all the easts are really a mess huh. note to self: drag phil to emotional regulation magic practice

2) lol. lol. 35 as old. Lololololol oh honey.

Anyway get his ass Day!]