for Daniel - Truthplot

[will_you_see]

Alcuin had hardly left his home for the past day, having been lost in a very thick fantasy novel he'd found on the bookshelf. It felt very strange to pick up works of fiction these days, for fear there might be some character that seemed eerily familiar

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[theunascended]

Daniel had been spending most of the morning in bed. It was one of the bad days. The days when he remembered waking up in bed with Vala, William in his own bed, and things had been wonderful. He still hadn't added another room to this hut and now it looked like he wouldn't have a reason to.

His head jerked up from his book when he heard the knock and he got up slowly. He wasn't sure he wanted to talk to anyone right now, but he still wanted to see who was talking to him.

He smiled when he saw Alcuin. "What are you doing here?"

[will_you_see]

Alcuin intended to say simply that he wanted to say hello, and check how Daniel was doing, but what he heard himself saying instead was, "I couldn't stand the thought any longer of your being alone and sad. I came to offer you a massage because I thought you might like to be touched."

[theunascended]

Daniel's mouth opened. He meant to say that it probably wasn't the best idea, but what came out instead was, "I'd like that very much." He stepped back and opened the door for Alcuin. "Come on in."

[will_you_see]

Alcuin was still shaking the surprise out of his thoughts from his own response, but he simply walked through the door, looking over his shoulder at Daniel as he did. "How are you today, Daniel?"

[theunascended]

"I'm...here? It's not one of my best days. Not by a long shot." He led Alcuin to the bed and stretched out on it, sighing a little. He wasn't sure why he was confessing his sins now, but, then, it was Alcuin. Maybe that was reason enough. "But I'm glad you came by."

[will_you_see]

"It's my intention to make it a little better," Alcuin said with a hint of a smile. "If you do want a massage... undress to your comfort? And we can talk or not, to your liking."

[theunascended]

"You are...one of the best people I know," Daniel said with a soft smile. He didn't have much on. Just a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, so he tossed off his t-shirt and sprawled on the bed.

[will_you_see]

Alcuin pulled a small bottle of coconut oil out of his pocket, and sat down on the bed beside Daniel. "It... makes me happy, to hear you say that," he admitted. "Are you comfortable?" He smoothed oil over his palms.

[theunascended]

"Yes. Just looking forward to this. It's...been a very long time since we've done this." He'd missed it. A part of him really did miss this.

[will_you_see]

"I had the impression that you wished me to keep some amount of distance," Alcuin said quietly as he smoothed his hands over Daniel's back. He'd missed it, too.

[theunascended]

"It's harder with you," Daniel said before he could stop himself. He sighed and tried to relax into Alcuin's hands. It was easier than he might have thought, even with the things that kept slipping out of his mouth.

[will_you_see]

"What is?" Alcuin asked, genuinely curious. Though he did at least doubt that Daniel had intended a double entendre. He spread his palms and kneaded into the tense muscled at Daniel's shoulderblades.

[theunascended]

Daniel groaned. "Doing this. With you. I don't know where you fit. I never have. But it's easy, at the same time." He knew where Jack fit. He loved Jack and knew that they would never be in a relationship. Guy was the one he could have fallen in love with. Vala was the one he was in love with and who didn't remember him.

He'd never understood just what Alcuin was to him. It had ended in the disaster of a date but also non-disasters of more intimate kinds.

[will_you_see]

"I was always under the impression that we had extraordinarily bad timing," Alcuin said. He paused, and then added with a earnestness that surprised him a little, "Also I think there was a limit to how much you might care for me."

[theunascended]

Daniel let out a deep sigh. "There's not. That's part of the problem. What do I do with you when I'm in love with her?"

[will_you_see]

Alcuin sighed softly. "Love as thou wilt, Daniel," he murmured, which was not exactly an answer, but the best he knew to offer.