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[ Matt brightens. ]

That's great! [ Fortunately for David, he's nowhere near tipsy enough to try touching his face. ] Please keep me updated on how it goes. You're kind of a scientific trial of one, so not at all scientific ... but still.

Who knows, maybe someday I'll figure out those other effects you wanted.

Of course I will.

[David can't help the smirk that creep across his face again.]

Even if your methods are scientifically dubious.

[ Matt cants a grin back at him. ]

That's actually one of the kinder ways people have characterized my methods. [ Another swig of mimosa. ] So I'll take it.

Well, it helps that you're adorable.

[David says it without thinking, and then blinks a few times and puts food in his mouth in the hopes it'll make him stop saying words. It shouldn't be this hard, they've established a base-level flirtation, but Matt seems genuinely nice. David doesn't want to scare him off, or something. As far as he knows, Matt is just a naive, innocent magic boy, after all.]

[ Matt--both a naive, innocent magic boy and a person whose Noctium Number sits at over two dozen--bursts into bright, pleased laughter.

He thinks adorable is good. Adorable can be sexy, right? He finds plenty of people he wants to sleep with totally adorable. ]

Thanks, [ is where he lands. ] You too. Not that you need help, just--

Yeah.

[David can feel a flush creeping up his neck from beneath his shirt, and he hides it by drinking more alcohol. He swallows, clearing his throat, struggling to form a coherent sentence for a moment.]

I, um, it's. [His eyes press closed for a moment. Focus.]

I'm finding it hard to say real words right now because you're very attractive. So there's that.

[ Matt says, ] Oh.

[ Cool, so is it adorable to be 1000% clueless? Inquiring Matts want to know. He scrubs a hand up his left cheek, rubbing over the hairline scar that sits there, and smiles bashfully. ]

Well ... I think you're really attractive too, if that helps. [ His lips twitch, as he realizes, ] I've never had somebody say it was hard to form words around me before. That's flattering.

[ And way better than "every time I go to see you I tell myself we won't have sex (and then we do)." No offense Simon, he knows you're going through your own stuff. ]

Oh. [David echoes the sound, glancing down at his food for a moment before his gaze darts back up at Matt a few times. He's barely suppressing a smile, which only becomes more difficult as Matt indicates that the feeling is mutual.]

That's...[words,] ...great. I promise I'm not an idiot, oh my god.

[It doesn't help that he's polished off his first glass of mimosa rather quickly and is rapidly becoming buzzled.]

[ Matt can't help another laugh. It's not at David! Really! It's the whole pleasantly preposterous situation. ]

I know you're not an idiot.

[ But jeez, he's gotta catch up mimosa-wise. Matt takes another swallow, getting down to the last fifth in his glass. ]

Thank you.

[David busies himself refilling his glass from the pitcher, but doesn't take a drink just yet, instead sitting back against the booth seat to fix Matt with an intent gaze.]

So in the spirit of you not thinking I'm an idiot...do you...want to hang out after we're done eating?

[ Matt returns David's regard with a curious smile, one that fades into a more solemn expression as David keeps looking at him.

When the question lands, Matt brightens in surprise. ]

Yeah, I'd love to.

Maybe you could come over and see how my design attempts are going? No consulting unless you want to, of course.

[Okay, the way Matt brightens is reassuring. Newly confident, David leans over the table, chin propped in one hand and the other reaching for his glass.]

Yeah, I'd love to see your place. Get a feel for the space.

[Maybe other things.]

[ Matt beams.

And refills his glass.

Some time (and a number of mimosas) later, they've settled up at the fancy diner and wended their way towards Espera Village. Matt doesn't live in the Village, but he's nearby, and it shows in the shape the townhouses on his block are in. They're handsome buildings, but noticeably shabby; many of them are empty. It's all got the look of a neighborhood in the early-middle stages of gentrification.

Matt stops at the gate of one of them. ]

Here we are.

[ The gate has a physical lock, but Matt seems to open it with an app on his phone. There's a short walkway, a teeny scrap of yard, and a tall door with flourishes carved in. As Matt ushers David along, he stands at the door for a moment with a serious expression. ]

To set expectations, [ he says, ] it's a mess. And a work in progress.

[ With that, he opens the door onto a narrow hallway. There's a set of stairs immediately ahead, a living room to the right, and the kitchen and dining area down the end of the hall. ]

[This is a part of Sumarlok that David’s never been to before, and though he tries to act casual about it, he turns his head to look at the sights often enough that it shows. But when they approach a handsome, if shabby, white townhouse, David turns to Matt in obvious, impressed surprise.]

Consider my expectations managed.

[He’s tipsy, head spinning a little as Matt leads him inside. Immediately, David marches right on ahead to peek into the living room.]

Oh, this house has good bones. Lots of potential.

Ah! That's what's been on the tip of my brain this whole time--ever since I moved in. Good bones.

[ Matt trails behind him to the living room, almost as if David's the one giving the house tour.

This room, too, has good bones, though they're a bit frillier than the entranceway: lots of decorative molding. There's a mossy green rug on the floor, nothing much on the bare gray walls, and some random boxes. Most importantly, there's a soft leather couch. ]

Everything I've put in here is very soft, which I like? And I think it matches. But beyond that, I'm kind of at a loss.

Very good bones. This crown molding, are you kidding me? It's like a pre-war Parisian apartment, god.

[He sits down on the couch because he's a Taurus and instinctively seeks out comfort, and sighs as he feels the buttery-soft leather with his fingertips.]

You've made a very good start, I have to say. It feels...warm.

[The early afternoon light slanting through the windows certainly helps.]

[ Matt smiles, looking down at him. David does look very comfortable--natural, against the warm leather with the light streaming down. The X number of mimosas in Matt are making a compelling argument for just sprawling down next to him and seeing where that goes. ]

Do you wanna stay down there? Or do you want to see the rest?

We can come back at the end, [ Matt offers, graciously. ]

[Unsurprisingly, David is having a very similar series of thoughts, but Matt makes a compelling point; he does want to see the rest. So he closes his eyes for a moment and then gets up.]

Let’s see the rest first. How many floors is this?

[He will continue to pester Matt with occasional questions about the house as they go, because David is nosy.]

Three, [ Matt breezes as he whisks David towards the kitchen and dining room. The kitchen is small and narrow, the dining area looking more like a nook than a place you'd entertain. Though it's hard to tell because Matt has no table. ] There are also three bedrooms, which is auspicious, but like, I'm not going to need three bedrooms anytime soon, so the top one is where the plants live.

[ At the first landing, there's another small hallway with three doors. Matt heads for one of them, saying, ] There's a bathroom, that's the second bedroom which is slowly turning into the BDSM zone, and in here--

[ He grimaces cheerfully. ]

The mattress isn't going to stay on the floor. I just need to source the right headboard.

[ Matt would love for his bedroom to become bohemian and celestial, but at the moment it's very Sad Boy House. Very little furniture, drawn curtains, a row of boxes where his clothes currently live. The walls are nice, though, painted a rich forest green. ]

[God, this house makes him miss his brownstone in New York. It's certainly the closest thing he's seen since since then, and it makes him feel at once homesick and at home. He follows Matt around blithely, picturing how he would decorate this place.]

A plant room sounds heavenly, [he remarks, following Matt up the stairs. Bathroom, okay, and then—

David's brain goes blissfully blank for a moment, which means he fortunately misses the fact that Matt doesn't own a bed frame. He stares at him, blinks a few times. He said it so casually. What does 'BDSM zone' even mean—]

Uh, yes, sorry, what was—what was that about a 'BDSM...zone'?

--Oh.

[ Matt laughs sheepishly, pulling a bit of a face. On reflection, BDSM zone is a strange way of putting it--like bad sci-fi, or a bad action movie. ]

Kind of a holdover from my old place. We were gonna set up a whole room, so I ended up with more accouterments that I had shelves? So right now all the stuff is just ... in there.

[ He gestures vaguely across the hall. ]

[David tries to be very very cool about this, except he's drunk and there is a flush creeping up his neck from beneath his collar. There is also, Matt might notice, a faint hickey on his throat.]

Oh! Mm, makes sense, yeah. My place in New York's second bedroom was my closet, so I get it. Need somewhere to put...all the stuff.

[God he hates how high his voice gets when he's scrambling.]

[ Matt, in contrast, is like a sexy shark scenting blood; the rising pitch alerts him that something adorable is on the rise. He can't quite tell the direction--whether David is scandalized or intrigued or something else--but he likes it.

(He did catch the hickey, though he doesn't read into it. Nothing he didn't read when David offered to buy him brunch, at least.) ]

Having more space is such a temptation, [ he sighs. ] I'm strongly considering getting a bed with some rings in it.

[ He nudges David with his elbow. ]

Anyway, plant room?

[It's definitely a healthy 70/30 mix of intrigued and scandalized, and there's a vaguely dazed smile on his face, like his imagination has taken that and run with it.]

Mm, yeah, very practical purchase, [he replies with a laugh, nodding for Matt to lead the way.] Please. I'd love to see your plants.

[ That smile definitely has Matt leaning towards intrigue, if he had to guess. Besides which, it's a very nice smile. Puts some warmth in his chest.

Up the stairs they go, and into-- ]

Ta da.

[ Plant room.

It's mostly just a normal bedroom with all the bedroom furniture replaced with plants. That said, Matt has put more time into it than any other room in the townhouse, and it shows. The herbs and flowers are organized into sections and labeled, with little placards that say things like mint, sage, lavender, wine bells. There's a spell configuration sketched on the floor, lots of ancient languages and geometry.

And honestly, this room explains why there's a dearth of shelves in the rest of the townhouse: they've all been repurposed as planters. ]

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