(Untitled)

[catlikesmile]

WHO: Neil (CATERPILLAR) and Gabe (CHESHIRE CAT)
WHEN: Tuesday
WHERE: England. On the grounds of the B&B they're staying in, to be precise.
WHAT: Chit-chat.
RATING: PG-13 for an occasional swear or drug reference.

Comments

[off_the_hookah]

It was dark outside, though the light from buildings and street lamps helped to illuminate Neil's way. Even so, He bought a torch along... a flashlight... Neil found himself slipping back into Britspeak more and more now that he was back in Great Britain again. The moon hung low in the sky as a thin, silver crescent, bringing to mind the Cheshire Cat's disappearing smile. The young, Springtime foliage of branches obscured it from Neil's vision as he entered the small copse of trees, looking for Gabe

[catlikesmile]

Smiling just a little bit, Gabe gave a wave and shifted his weight, leaning down to take Neil's hand and help him up. "Here, sit on this one," he suggested, patting a branch like it was a couch or a chair. "There you go. Welcome to my humble tree. Actually the fifth one I've climbed on these grounds. Not pitchy, not a lot of dead branches, just enough foliage cover. Just right."

Gabe was somewhat cheerful, though that was often an easy cover to hide some real stuff going on. Who ever wanted to deal with real stuff anyway? That stuff was boring. Gabe would much rather spend his time having fun.

"So how has your trip been?" he asked him, hooking his arm over a branch above his head, comfortably stretching out just a little bit.

[off_the_hookah]

Settling his tush down on the spot that Gabe had patted, Neil shifted his weight to become more comfortable, letting his legs dangle while one hand braced himself upon the branch. "I love what you've done to the place," he quipped, looking around as if he were inspecting somebody's flat, speaking with an exaggerated, gay lisp. "And the location is brilliant!"

From the pocket of his jeans, Neil managed to rummage out first a joint, which he held out for Gabe before getting his lighter. "It was a trip, alright," Neil said, then pretended to be dumb. "Oh! You mean this trip here. To England. Yeah. So far, it's been great. I'm glad you and the others decided to join me... it wouldn't have been quite the same without you. Now your turn... how are you liking it

[catlikesmile]

Grinning a little bit, Gabe winked to Neil. "Oh, I'm so glad you like it. I just reupholstered this branch." He laughed a bit, and then reached out to take the joint, his eyebrows raising in pleased surprise. "Neil, you shouldn't have. Thanks." He took his lighter, and lit the joint.

"Oh, Neil, you crazy caterpillar," he said, shaking his head a bit and took several quick hits before offering it to Neil. Sharing, after all, was caring. "I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself, and I'm glad we came too. Oh, it's okay."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I kind of am hanging out with the Cheshire Cat more. Not so much on the river, no. I'm just," he shrugged again, leaning back a little bit. The thought of falling if he wasn't careful was never even a concern, as far as Gabe was concerned. Oh, sure, it'd happened once or twice, but that didn't stop his confidence. "I don't know."

[off_the_hookah]

The reaction from Gabe caused Neil to sigh, letting his shoulders sag. There were enough similarities between Gabe's frustration and his own experience with Luke to cause unhealed wounds to flare.

Neil plucked the smoldering joint from Gabe's fingers, took a quick hit and then extinguished it by daintily snubbing it against the bark: he'd save the rest for later. Balancing the joint upon the branch they were sitting upon, he then carefully budged closer to Gabe so he could wrap his arms around the Cheshire Cat and give him a long, comforting embrace.

[catlikesmile]

Sighing as well, Gabe was fairly quick to relax against Neil, resting his head against him. He didn't cry or do anything like that, he just closed his eyes and let himself be comforted. "I just want somebody who's not crazy who'll hang out with me and occasionally let me have sex with them. But no one who's right for me even notices me at all." Gabe was a little bit high, a lot pensive, and fairly upset, which all kind of combined to form this cloud of depression and self-pity. It was not an attractive look at all for the Cheshire Cat, he didn't think.

Gabe sighed. "Okay. I promise I'm not being weird or anything, but... how do I put this." He had to think about it for a second; he glanced up at Neil out of the corner of his eye. "Would you pet my hair? It's a Wonderland cat thing, I swear."

[off_the_hookah]

As somebody who knew the importance of staying true to one's Tale, Neil wasn't freaked out when Gabe asked. Curling his arm around, he lazily scratched Gabe behind the ears, and stared out into the darkness again.

The silence was broken when Neil quietly began to sing, "You can't hurry love, no you just have to wait. She said, 'love don't come easy, when it's a game of give and take...'"

Neil then whispered directly into the ear he was scratching. "Don't make the same mistakes I made."

[catlikesmile]

Gabe's fingers twitched a little, hands flexing slightly, one after the other, a couple of times. It was something he didn't quite realize that he did, well into his subconscious. When Neil started singing, Gabe smiled a little bit, shaking his head a little bit.

"But how many heartaches must I stand before I find a love to let me live again," Gabe responded, likewise in song, his smile fading just a little bit.

"But didn't you have some fun along the way?" he whispered back.