zhampagne | ic inbox

--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. ]

[David lets himself be led downstairs, not bothering to hide the dopey smile on his face until Matt stops on the landing and pulls him in for another kiss.]

Oh—

[He chuckles softly as he leans in. He's a little looser this time, his hand finding Matt's cheek, his lips parting just a little. Now that he knows Matt actually likes him and wants to kiss him more, he doesn't have to be so cautious.]

[ Matt hums into David's mouth, catching his bottom lip in a quick nibble. His hands slide up his stomach, over his chest to curl briefly around his shoulders--

Before he's pulling away with a soft ah and a grin. He doesn't exactly skip down the remaining stairs, but he has that sort of buoyant bearing, confident that David will follow him. Also, he should close the curtains in the living room.

That done (the curtains came with the house, they're mostly beige), Matt turns back towards the doorway. ]

[That grin makes David's heart skip a full beat, and he nearly trips over his own feet as he follows the rest of the way down the stairs. And just in time to see Matt drawing the curtains, the implications of which definitely send blood rushing south. Hands clasped in front of him, he steps into the room and cocks his head at Matt, a smile playing around his lips.]

Aren't you in high spirits. [He's not complaining. It's extremely cute of him. David goes and perches on the couch, and it is somehow even more comfortable than the first time he sat on it.]

Mmmhmm, [ Matt agrees, unbothered. From behind the couch, he stretches out his hand to David, fingers trailing between his shoulder blades. ] It's a nice day.

[ Matt comes around the couch and smiles down at him. That's all the warning David gets before Matt's sliding onto his lap, one arm slung around his shoulder and thighs settling to either side of him. ]

[David feels his mouth go a little dry at the sensation of Matt's fingers on his back, muffled by his thick, fluffy sweater but palpable all the same. He turns his head to track the motion of Matt stalking around the side of the couch like some kind of feline-twink hybrid. He's so dazzled by that smile that he's caught completely off-guard, and suddenly finds himself with a lapful of Matt.]

—Oh. Um, hi. [His hands go to Matt's waist almost without thinking, and suddenly David is unable to do much besides stare up at Matt with barely-contained lust boiling just beneath the surface.]

Very nice day.

[ Matt's smile quirks crookedly as he looks down at him. David's expression is absolutely absorbing, heated and sort of--startled? Like the force of his own emotions is taking him by surprise. It's a lovely thing to witness. Too lovely for Matt to resist if he wanted to. ]

Very, [ Matt echoes, murmured. He lifts a hand to cup David's cheek as he bends down for another, firmer kiss. ]

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