just look at that doggy in the window ...

[swatwithdragons]

WHO: Lance Blackthorn and OPEN
WHAT: Shelter shenanigans.
WHERE: The animal shelter.
WHEN: All of the last week--Wednesday 30 March to Wednesday 6 April.
NOTES: Feel free to treat it like a semi-party post! Visit the people who work there, meet a roomie to talk about the possibility of a furry friend, happen to meet someone there waiting for the bus,

Comments

[polarisation]

It was Monday afternoon when Sefton returned to the shelter. He had been spending an inordinate amount of time there whenever not working at the hostel. Last night, he had gone to Tim's barbecue, and some days before that to check on his house downtown. Otherwise... much of his time had been spent near (but not always with) Lance. It was still all too much to process: Lance's betrayal, death, revival, Sefton's power setting itself back in reaction. He knew practically none of it had been Lance's fault (heck, most of it was Sefton's), but the confusion was still too strong to pull away from. If he tried for any length of time, it only hurt even more. Lance's own distance didn't help much either.

There was something Sefton had been working up to, though. Something he wanted to ask. It was important, at least to him, especially after he had begun to analyze what Lance meant to him. If nothing else, Lance was most definitely his friend and there was something that needed to be addressed. Hopefully it would help him start to work through

[swatwithdragons]

Lance was in the kitchen, making dinner on auto-pilot. Well, making something that he could put aside and eat later. He wasn’t really paying that much attention. At Sefton’s greeting and question he blinked, glanced down at the rice in his hands and then glanced up again.

He wanted to talk? Now?

… Well. There was no better time, he guessed, and if Sefton was coming to him it must be beyond important. Besides, there were some things Lance needed to say as well, things that Sefton was sure to have noticed.

“Sure,” he said quietly, putting down the rice-ball and wiping off his hands. “What is it?”

[polarisation]

Sefton fidgeted, placing his shoulder against the door frame before moving instead to the bar to sit down. Lance didn't look to be in the greatest shape (not that he ever did lately) and he hesitated

[swatwithdragons]

... That's what Sefton wanted to talk about? Lance blinked, startled and baffled, leaning back against the counter with the towel still in his hand. "You're asking about my names?" he asked uncertainly.

And which one he 'preferred'? He'd explained this, he thought, hadn't he? It wasn't a matter of preference, really. "Wataru's my birth-name," he said, still trying to figure out what Sefton was really wanting. "But I use Lance because it's just easier, in a place that's mostly English."

[polarisation]

Nodding to the question, Sefton looked down toward the countertop before he continued. "Not all the time, though," he said. "You don't use it all the time here, and... that's not an answer," he added to the end, shooting Lance a quick look. "Doesn't matter if it's mostly-English here. D'you... like it?"

[swatwithdragons]

Another blink. "Because some people here are Japanese, and that's near enough to my culture that there's little relative difference."

And then he frowned. "I ... guess?" If he didn't like it he would've chosen something else to use.

[polarisation]

This was not going as Sefton thought it would. Lance didn't seem to get what Sefton was trying to do. He fell silent for a moment, brow furrowed, trying to decide if he should keep going or simply back off. How was he supposed to make Lance understand his point?

"A while back," he began hesitantly, "you told me you do a person justice by using their real name. I... I was wondering if I could do something like that," he continued in a mumble. "But only if you like the name."

[swatwithdragons]

He had? He had. Lance vaguely remembered that, while trying to cheer the kid up about having his name outed.

"I ... didn't realise you'd taken that to heart," he said after a moment's silence, not answering the question in the least. The thing was, he did like his birth-name. It was just ... weird, having it used without having a boatload of titles attached to it. At least with Ichigo and the others it was just a matter of culture--it was politically suitable.

If Sefton used it, what would that mean? Or if he let him? Suddenly uncomfortable, Lance looked away. "If you want. I don't mind."

Except there was something about it that he did, and he wasn't even sure what it was.

[polarisation]

'Taken it to heart' was one way to put it. It had been more like applying words to Sefton's usual thought process, though it was an incomplete way of describing it.

He fidgeted, watching Lance's reaction. He didn't know what he had been expecting. Permission was great, sure, but the reticence that it came with wasn't very reassuring at all. "You sure?" he asked. "I mean, I don't wanna..." He trailed off, making a vague gesture as if that could complete the sentence for him. Make you uncomfortable, turn things more awkward, do something wrong.

[swatwithdragons]

Lance looked back at him, blinking. "Yes, I don't mind. I mean I ..."

He shrugged and made a gesture as if he was about to wave his hand dismissively, but then didn't. "I don't introduce myself in different ways in order to pigeon-hole people. It's just a ... political thing. Call me whatever you want."

Political thing, right. Like when he told Some he could call him whatever Some wanted. (That had been for Some, though, who had been so clearly unnerved by the idea of many names. It was different.)

[polarisation]

"I wanna call you what you wanna be called," Sefton replied. It wasn't automatic, but something thought-out. Much as it unnerved him that Lance seemed to be taking it less than well, he wasn't going to let it make him back off. It was with a quiet determination that he held himself; he didn't want to risk it and mess things up if he dropped the subject.

[swatwithdragons]

"I don't have a preference," Lance said with a slight frown--not in annoyance, just in thought. Mostly. Something about that rang untrue, but he wasn't sure what it was.

"I've never thought about it before." Not in depth, at least.

He was at a loss for what to say. Sefton's stance and quiet determination made it clear that this was something he not only wanted, but wanted Lance to want too. The only thing was, Lance didn't know what else to tell him besides 'yes'.

[polarisation]

"Oh," Sefton said quietly. He wanted to ask why, to know how someone could have so many names and not think about what was preferred (Sefton himself preferred his own name, which was part of the reason he found hiding it so important), but it seemed like something Lance didn't even know. Instead, he stayed quiet for a moment, then moved on to ask, "Are you... thinking 'bout it now?"

[swatwithdragons]

"... I guess so." He kind of had to, didn't he, given the subject matter? Except that part of him didn't want to. There was a reason he avoided this sort of introspection.

... He'd also promised not to lie, so many months ago.

With a sigh he reached up to run a hand through his hair, leaving it in there. "I just. Is there something else you want from me? Regarding this, I mean?"

What do you want to know, Sefton, and why?

[polarisation]

Sefton flinched away from the way it was worded. Did he want something? Yes. Was he allowed to ask for it? Probably not. But he was going to anyway, for whatever reason, he was going to ask.

"You use my name, so I thought... I should use yours. 'Cause it's important," he murmured.

[swatwithdragons]

"I've said you can," Lance pointed out, still unsettled, still confused. "You just ... sounded like there was something more you wanted with that."