[About half an hour later, have a Hank knocking at the door with a care package in a bag: bottled water, Tylenol, and a thermos with a hangover remedy from the aunties.]
[he's actually not NEARLY as bad as he thought he'd be, since last night had consisted more of arguing with Lowell and sulking than actually drinking. He did not, however, get much sleep, so it's probably easy to mistake him for being hungover, as bleary-eyed as he is when he pulls the door open]
[Hank looks just as wrung out, having had her sleep just as troubled. She walks in, and wants to just hug him okay again, but doesn't feel like she can just yet, so instead she glowers at him and reaches up to catch his chin, turning his head this way and that.]
Yyyyyeah. You look like shit. C'mon...brought over a couple things to help, 'kay?
I'm not hungover. [He smothers a yawn behind one hand as he nudges the door shut behind her and follows her inside] Just didn't get much sleep last night...what'd you bring?
Tylenol, water, hangover remedy. [gestures with the bag as she heads for the living room.] Didn't sleep much myself. [She looks up, concern in her usual scowl as she peers at Joe.] You ai'ight?
[Thankfully, he's had time to clean up the mess of beer cans from the living room. He shrugs a little, stuffing his hands in his pockets. There are no words for how much he hates there being awkwardness between them even for a second]
[Smirks a little and snorts] Hello, Captain Obvious.
[She hates the tension just as much, and after busying herself with taking everything out and setting it on his ramshackle coffee table, she finally can't deal with it anymore and crosses over to him. She wants to kiss him, hold him like she usually does...and yes, even with that hangdog look, she'd love to take him to bed. Instead, she just opens her arms and lifts them, silently offering a simple hug if he wants one.]
[He looks at her for a moment, then bends down to wrap her up in a crushing hug, easily lifting her off her feet, given how tall he is and how petite she is. He buries his face against the curve of her neck and releases a breath that damned near feels like he's been holding it for hours]
Please don't ever piss me off like that again. It sucked.
[Hank does the same, assuming that she has been, at least in some small part, been forgiven. She lets him heft her up, liking how delicate his size makes her feel and hides her own face against his shoulder. Strong as she is, capable and endowed with mystical power, she doesn't really feel safe unless she can let him wrap her up just like this.]
Fuckin' right it did...I swear. [Blinks hard, hidden as she burrows closer to him] I'll never do it again without you knowin', I promise. I'm so sorry, baby...
[He nods a little, falling silent for a moment, just holding her tighter]
I didn't handle it right. I guess...I can kinda see now why my folks were worried about me moving out here. [He doesn't want to set her down just yet, so instead her carries her over to the couch and sits down, setting her in his lap] I mean, it turned out all right, 'cause I have a job and buddies who'll stay up with me all night just to hang out when I need 'em, but you know, what if I didn't have all of that, and it didn't work out with us? I'd be stuck here with no one.
[He sighs a little and tangles his fingers lightly through her hair] I guess what I'm saying is, we're both young and still figuring out who we are, and I should've been more...something. Understanding, I guess? Not instantly jumped on the 'me me me' train. I still think I had a right to be pissed, but I could've...not been such a dick.
[Hank has absolutely no problem being held for a while, so she lets him, and shifts to straddle his thighs so she can face him while they talk and touch him at the same time, hands wandering idly to run through his hair or smooth over his shoulders as she speaks and listens.]
You had every right to be that pissed, I don't fuckin' blame you. What I did...I get it. And you ain't the only one I hurt, I still ain't talked to Harper. [Sighs and shuts her eyes, leaning into his hands in her hair kind of like a cat being stroked] She was drinkin' when it happened, and...I dunno. What I did was real 'me me me,' so I get it. I didn't stop and step back. I just...dove in.
Truthfully, Joe? She kissed me first, and...it felt good. I kissed her back...because I had to know if it was a fluke or not. [She pauses, then smiles a little and bites her lower lip, walking her fingers up his chest slowly, voice softening just a little.]
I wonder if that's what it's like...when you kiss me.
[And Lowell's pervy ramblings from last night run through Joe's head and make him blush. He tries to shrug it off.]
I dunno...maybe? I don't...I mean, Harper's your friend. [He would normally have said 'our friend' but at the moment, yeah, he's just not so sure] You...I mean. I don't want you to not be friends with her or anything, cause, wow, that would be so far beyond dick behavior. And I keep saying the wrong thing. What I mean is, I get it, and I'm not mad anymore, and you should talk to Harper and work things out, and...I don't know, I guess if you wanted to...you know. [Oh, poor blushing boy] With her. I'll be okay with it.
[Before he can get mad, she leans over and kisses him, because he needs to be kissed hard and long and deep because they're okay again and he's *not* breaking up with her and it's either kiss him or cry, and she doesn't want to cry. So kissing it is before she draws back to meet his gaze with her trademark "you're a fucking idiot" look.]
The whole point of all this wasn't to ask for permission to cheat on you. I'm bein' honest about something I'm goin' through, something that happened to me. [She pauses, huffing a little and rolling her eyes upwards because she doesn't know how to say this, not really. At this point, she kind of wishes Aunt Mimi were here to be blunt and adorable on her behalf.]
I'm...99.9% sure I'm bisexual. That's a thing. And if you're cool with that, life can go on. As for Harper...if you are okay with me and her hooking up on occasion? That's fine. But don't give me that free pass unless you mean it. I love my homegirl, but you...Joe, someday I'm gonna fucking marry you. Not her. I won't sneak
( ... )
[There's that suggestion again, but where he could roll his eyes when it came from Lowell, it makes him blush furiously coming from Hank]
I get it, babe, I do. I'm totally okay with you being bisexual. I mean...hell, fine, I'll say it: it's hot. And if you mean that--you love me, you want to be with me, stay with my, marry me someday when we're not eighteen and broke as shit--I want that. I just want you to be...you know. I want you to be sure, and know who you are.
[Okay, so Aunt Mimi was right. Grinning, she kisses Joe again, drawing back just enough to look him in the eye...and she's sure. She's sure she'd like to call Harper and make amends by taking her to bed properly, with Joe's blessing, she's sure she'd like to try and make her dream a reality...and she's sure of one more thing.]
[He wasn't really expecting that, honestly, given that his apartment is kind of a craphole, and he knows Hank likes living with Mimi and Kiki, so he blinks a little and stares for a moment]
...Seriously? Baby, you don't have to do that. I forgive you. We're good. We're better than good. Really.
[About half an hour later, have a Hank knocking at the door with a care package in a bag: bottled water, Tylenol, and a thermos with a hangover remedy from the aunties.]
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Hey. [steps back to let her in]
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Yyyyyeah. You look like shit. C'mon...brought over a couple things to help, 'kay?
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Yeah. I'm fine. Just tired.
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[She hates the tension just as much, and after busying herself with taking everything out and setting it on his ramshackle coffee table, she finally can't deal with it anymore and crosses over to him. She wants to kiss him, hold him like she usually does...and yes, even with that hangdog look, she'd love to take him to bed. Instead, she just opens her arms and lifts them, silently offering a simple hug if he wants one.]
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Please don't ever piss me off like that again. It sucked.
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Fuckin' right it did...I swear. [Blinks hard, hidden as she burrows closer to him] I'll never do it again without you knowin', I promise. I'm so sorry, baby...
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I didn't handle it right. I guess...I can kinda see now why my folks were worried about me moving out here. [He doesn't want to set her down just yet, so instead her carries her over to the couch and sits down, setting her in his lap] I mean, it turned out all right, 'cause I have a job and buddies who'll stay up with me all night just to hang out when I need 'em, but you know, what if I didn't have all of that, and it didn't work out with us? I'd be stuck here with no one.
[He sighs a little and tangles his fingers lightly through her hair] I guess what I'm saying is, we're both young and still figuring out who we are, and I should've been more...something. Understanding, I guess? Not instantly jumped on the 'me me me' train. I still think I had a right to be pissed, but I could've...not been such a dick.
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You had every right to be that pissed, I don't fuckin' blame you. What I did...I get it. And you ain't the only one I hurt, I still ain't talked to Harper. [Sighs and shuts her eyes, leaning into his hands in her hair kind of like a cat being stroked] She was drinkin' when it happened, and...I dunno. What I did was real 'me me me,' so I get it. I didn't stop and step back. I just...dove in.
Truthfully, Joe? She kissed me first, and...it felt good. I kissed her back...because I had to know if it was a fluke or not. [She pauses, then smiles a little and bites her lower lip, walking her fingers up his chest slowly, voice softening just a little.]
I wonder if that's what it's like...when you kiss me.
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I dunno...maybe? I don't...I mean, Harper's your friend. [He would normally have said 'our friend' but at the moment, yeah, he's just not so sure] You...I mean. I don't want you to not be friends with her or anything, cause, wow, that would be so far beyond dick behavior. And I keep saying the wrong thing. What I mean is, I get it, and I'm not mad anymore, and you should talk to Harper and work things out, and...I don't know, I guess if you wanted to...you know. [Oh, poor blushing boy] With her. I'll be okay with it.
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[Before he can get mad, she leans over and kisses him, because he needs to be kissed hard and long and deep because they're okay again and he's *not* breaking up with her and it's either kiss him or cry, and she doesn't want to cry. So kissing it is before she draws back to meet his gaze with her trademark "you're a fucking idiot" look.]
The whole point of all this wasn't to ask for permission to cheat on you. I'm bein' honest about something I'm goin' through, something that happened to me. [She pauses, huffing a little and rolling her eyes upwards because she doesn't know how to say this, not really. At this point, she kind of wishes Aunt Mimi were here to be blunt and adorable on her behalf.]
I'm...99.9% sure I'm bisexual. That's a thing. And if you're cool with that, life can go on. As for Harper...if you are okay with me and her hooking up on occasion? That's fine. But don't give me that free pass unless you mean it. I love my homegirl, but you...Joe, someday I'm gonna fucking marry you. Not her. I won't sneak ( ... )
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I get it, babe, I do. I'm totally okay with you being bisexual. I mean...hell, fine, I'll say it: it's hot. And if you mean that--you love me, you want to be with me, stay with my, marry me someday when we're not eighteen and broke as shit--I want that. I just want you to be...you know. I want you to be sure, and know who you are.
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I'm so sure, I wanna move in with you.
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...Seriously? Baby, you don't have to do that. I forgive you. We're good. We're better than good. Really.
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