zhampagne | ic inbox

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. ]

[David is pretty sure his ears are burning as he follows Matt upstairs, trying and failing not to check out his ass as he goes. Thankfully, he's saved from spontaneous human combustion by the sight of a room full of lush greenery. David stands in the middle and turns in a slow circle, taking in everything with his arms crossed contemplatively.]

Okay, I'm obsessed with this. All the natural light through the greenery? [His eyes roll back in his head. Drama queen.] Gorgeous.

[ Matt watches David's face with, for the first time today, a teeny amount of apprehension. The other rooms are hardcore works in progress, so unfinished it's hard to tell what he's even going for yet, but this one undeniably has the most him in it. If eyes are windows to the soul, houses must be too.

He grins crookedly at David's assessment--flourishes and all. ]

Glad you like it. Hauling all of these up two flights of stairs was a serious hassle, but I like how it's shaping up.

[David steps close too one of the shelves by the window, bending to inhale the sweet, herbaceous air wafting from the potted herbs.]

I'd say it was well worth it.

[He steps back closer to Matt, wringing his hands together a little.]

I really like your house, Matt. Though we are going to talk about that mattress-on-the-floor situation.

[ Matt's crooked smile has resolved to full-on sunny beaming by the time David delivers his verdict. Though something of its crookedness returns as he comes nearer. ]

We are, huh? I told you, I'm just looking for the right frame. You spend a lot of time in bed.

I don't know what you're implying...

[Matt is definitely coming onto him, right? David hedges his bets, weighing the risk of making a move versus the potential reward, and the champagne tips the scales.

He takes another step into Matt's space, reaches for his hands, almost blinded by the brightness of his smile.]

...But it's all true.

[ Matt chuckles, letting David catch his hands. He laces their fingers together with dreamy concentration. ]

I'd never make implications.

[ He says, unseriously.

Matt ... isn't not coming onto him. It seems like the right time, though if you asked him why, he wouldn't be able to pin it down any more specifically than the feeling he got watching David step closer, lit by sunlight and wreathed in fragrant air. His warmth encroaching on Matt's own in luminous ripples.

Likewise, it seems like the right time for Matt to shift nearer, to incline towards David, to tilt his head very slightly. There's room for this to not become a kiss, but that window is narrower than it was a moment ago. ]

Well that’s no fun.

[Truth be told, David isn’t even sure what they’re talking about anymore, because he’s too busy being mesmerized by Matt’s eyes, caught in a slant of sunshine and almost translucent. He swallows thickly, watching Matt shift a little closer and tilt his head. He’s so pretty.

David opens his mouth, pauses, shuts it, and then purses his lips. He leans in too, half-smiling, and his voice drops to a murmur.]

...I'm going to kiss you now.

[ Matt's surprised into a gust of laughter, warm and noticeably champagne-scented. He's immediately self-conscious about it, because maybe it's not great form to laugh in someone's face at this exact moment? Matt's tongue swipes across his lip. ]

Ah--

Good, [ he says firmly. ] Please do.

[David laughs, a low soft rumble, and nods. Affirmative.]

Okay.

[And now that they're in agreement over the matter, David quits beating around the bush and leans in to press his lips to Matt's, his hands sliding up his arms to rest at the sides of his shoulders. Everything is so warm and green and perfect in this room; he's really glad he waited until now to do this.]

[ The first brush of their lips pulls a little sigh from Matt. A thrum, low in his throat. He tilts his head again, adjusting, his lips gently parting to let the kiss--not deepen exactly, but expand.

He's not conscious of having waited for this. But he's full of the kind of relief, the windup uncoiling itself, that comes after waiting. Matt's arm slides around David's waist, and he shifts forward to bring them flush. ]

[That little sigh makes the hair on David's neck stand on end; his grip curls a little more tightly around Matt's arms for a moment, shifting from one foot to the other to accommodate the way the other man is suddenly pressed right up against him. The fabric of Matt's t-shirt is baby-soft under his fingers, the perfect vintage t-shirt that David wouldn't bat an eye at paying upwards of $500 for.

That's far from his brain, though, replaced by Matt's arm curled around his waist. David makes a soft, approving sound and pulls back with a soft smooch, looking intently into Matt's eyes. Chewing his lip, he says,]

So glad we're in agreement.

Mmhm, [ Matt concurs, returning David's gaze with a slightly dazed smile. At this distance, he can't help noting David's eyebrows. They're truly works of art, they're like, architectural.

Matt's thumb strokes absent circles at the small of David's back. He grabs one more quick kiss. ]

Did you wanna go, ah ... back downstairs? [ he suggests. ] Couch?

[ Or carpet, he's not picky. ]

[David grins as they part, his thumbs gently stroking along Matt's shoulders. The suggestion sends a pleasant curl of warmth through his gut. Being on that couch next to Matt, in whatever way it happens to be, is a really nice thought. He sways a tiny bit, warm and full of champagne.]

Yeah. Yes. Couch...good.

[Yup.]

[ Matt grins, reaching for David's wrist. ]

A lot more comfortable, probably. Let's go.

[ He draws David to the stairs and starts down. But because Matt has no discipline when not explicitly asked to have it, at the second-floor landing he pulls David to him for another kiss. ]

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