A Very Special DitL

[der_umgekehrte]

Who: Bruce Stildyne and YOU
What: That Awkward Moment when you come out via a newspaper article rather than talk to people
Where: All over town (and open to network messages)
When: Sunday of the Very Special Breach
Warnings: Massive cliche and occasional hallmark-level hamfistedness.

Comments

Hoffman Household - Breakfast

[stildyne]

As he waited for breakfast at the dining room table, comics open in front of him, he didn't draw any particular attention to the little notice buried in the 'community' section. It was near a crossword puzzle, though. He'd see what happened.

Re: Hoffman Household - Breakfast

[expectremorse]

Kathy was out shopping with the kids for Mark Hoffman's nephew. He's up late-coming down wearing a pair of very conservative pajamas and angling through the crowd for breakfast cereal.

He pours himself a cup of coffee and stifles a yawn, "...Morning."

He picks up the paper, flipping it open to browse, "...How's things?"

Hoffman Household - Breakfast

[stildyne]

"Not bad," Bruce said lightly. "Tried to go for a jog, roads are too icy. I'll have to burn the holiday pounds off when I get home, or nobody will think I run a gym. That bake sale's going to be a torpedo to the exercise regimen, let me tell you."

Re: Hoffman Household - Breakfast

[expectremorse]

"Yeah but think of the soccer moms and college co-eds interested in you pal." He flips it open to the games and ads, shrugging, "...You should grab one of these personal ads."

Out and About - Christmasery

[stildyne]

He wasn't the type to sit still during vacation-- he had to get out and about through town. He'd give to charity, greet people he knew, grab seasonal baking from all the local shops, and do his last minute shopping.

Visiting Friends

[stildyne]

And of course he'd drop in on the households of people he knew, to run errands, do favors, and be generally charitable, as usual.

Visiting Friends

[can_has_vodka]

"Heyyy! It's the bravest guy in town. How do you feel?" Arkady was out front in a too-large Santa suit, making a snowbunny as tall as her trashcan. Its nose was starting to wiggle.

Visiting Friends

[stildyne]

The tips of his cauliflowered ears went red. "Miss Collins," he said, resorting to formality-- he usually called her 'Arkady.' "That's really not fair. The repeal was put through a few months ago. I'm not like the marines who came out when it was still on the books. Besides, we have a disabled vet in town."

Nervousness made him chatty. "It's 2011. I came out, I didn't scale Everest."

Visiting Friends

[can_has_vodka]

"Eehee. But I bet he doesn't blush as good as you!" She beams. "No, it always takes guts to come out of any closet in a small town. We do have the Model Couple up on the hill, but they're somewhat insulated.

"Anyway, I'm always for people being true to themselves."

Though something he said caught her attention. "A disabled vet? I haven't met him yet."

Cafe - lunch (and messages here)

[stildyne]

He didn't check his messages until lunch. But with a cup of coffee and a sandwich in front of him, he flipped open his phone to see what was up.

Re: Cafe - lunch (and messages here)

[itstopped]

Felix had been at the cafe all day. It was warm in here, and the cash he'd made yesterday was enough to keep him in coffee throughout the morning. He even still had enough for a cheap sandwich.

Of course, he'd had plenty of time to read the paper, and sitting at the corner table, crutches propped against the wall, he spotted Stildyne as soon as he walked in. It wasn't hard to recognize him; the ex-Lieutenant Gaeta knew most faces in the town, and certainly the other military men. "Very brave of you," he hailed Bruce -- although it was entirely impossible to tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

Cafe - lunch (and messages here)

[stildyne]

Gaeta was pretty much an unknown quantity to Bruce. He shrugged. "It was the earliest convenient time." After all, he wasn't in the little village often-- just for the holiday season, visiting friends.

Re: Cafe - lunch (and messages here)

[itstopped]

Felix shrugged as well, toying with his coffee. "Of course," he agreed, in exactly the same tone. He glanced over the paper again, idly rubbing his knee, right above the spot where his leg ended.

But after the brief pause, he spoke up again -- in a slightly different, if equally difficult-to-read voice. "I waited until after they gave me my Purple Heart, anyway. I figured there was no way they could deny me my honorable."

Elsewhere

[stildyne]

Where do you want him? Mugged by Christmas spirit or anti-Christmas spirit, awkwardly stumbling into other Very Special Stories... anywhere!