Drake's not about to rush comforting somebody. He only loosens his hold when Jesus lifts his head because he thinks that's the signal the other man is about to pull back... but that bit doesn't happen. Instead they're just very close, and every second that passes without either of them moving away makes that feel more deliberate.
Leaving the arm wrapped around Jesus' middle where is it, Drake reclaims the one around his shoulders to rest that hand on the nape of his neck. He's getting another vibe, that's for sure. There's gentle amusement in his voice when he speaks again, low and soft since they're so close.
"Should I be trusting my intuition again right now?" he asks, looking into Jesus' still very close and extremely blue eyes.
He brushes his lips against Drake's, brief but not particularly chaste. He pulls back to look at him, to be sure it's okay. "Depends. Was it telling you to do that?"
"Yup." The reply comes with a grin, and Drake's thumb caressing the side of Jesus' neck. It's good to know he can still read people -- being around so many outliers lately has shaken his confidence in that arena but Jesus is doing a lot to reassure him he hasn't lost the skill.
Gently, his grip still loose enough to pull out of just in case, Drake tugs Jesus back in for more than a teasing brush of lips. And it's definitely not brief. There's no urgency or demand present, but he teases Jesus' mouth open for a deep, slow, affectionate kiss. One that clearly says 'I like you, and I'm not scared.'
This is not something it would ever have occurred to him to ask for, but he realizes now how badly he needed it.
Telling someone about the Wild Fire virus, and that he has it, is difficult enough. Telling it to someone who had nearly become a Romero had, he'd been sure, been a nail in the friendship's coffin.
When Drake instead kisses him like that, he deepens it further, hand in Drake's hair at the nape of his neck to pull him closer.
There's a huge difference between the situations, in Drake's opinion. His experience as a zombie had been miserable, yes, and he'd taken every possible precaution not to pass the condition to anyone else because of that... but he'd been deliberately turned without consent. In the long run he forgave the scratch because it had saved his life and the information he was able to give and things he was able to do because of that had saved many other lives, but it was still a choice someone else made.
Jesus didn't get a choice, not about catching it or passing it along. He has absolutely no control over the fact that he's infected, if he even actually is here. Either way it's already done in that case and they'll figure it out. They're not symptomatic, which is already a huge step up from how it works in Drake's world, and most importantly? Jesus is worried about what might happen in the long run because he's a good person who doesn't want anyone to get hurt. Drake's very much used to criminal and terrorist zombies who only care about using the virus for their own gain, who infect people to extort them, who murder to stay fed. Jesus is a fucking breath of fresh air, as zombie apocalypse backstories go.
So there's absolutely no reason not to keep kissing, really. The fingers in his hair earn Jesus a little shiver and he does press in, the arm he's got around the smaller man's waist tightening to hold him close.
Drake lets it drag on, sweet and unhurried, until he needs to breathe. At which point he doesn't so much pull back as tip his head forward to break the kiss and press their foreheads together instead, staying right where he is. This is the ideal 'speak now if we're stopping' moment, because much more of this and it'll be far more difficult for him to do so. He will, obviously, but. It's easier to drop from a lower height.
"Actually," his fingertips trail along Drake's scalp. "I was thinking if you don't want to stop here we should find some way to really lock that door."
He doesn't trust it, or that anything will be private in the Down. He knows he's being monitored for how often he comes home and who he takes with him and how often. He knows as much as he's learning to enjoy 'whenever, wherever', it doesn't apply to a place he feels like he's still in a zoo.
Drake hums, the sound somewhere between contented and thoughtful. It's a good point, he heard it, but also that feels really nice-- okay, no, focus.
"I'll get it," he agrees, "maybe text your roommate so they don't worry and break in?"
And then he's getting up and double-checking which way the door opens... out, huh? That's actually easier. Jesus will get to watch him pull his belt off and glance around until he spots a broom in the kitchenette. After testing that it's not going to bend easily he braces it in the narrow doorway and belts it to the doorknob at that angle, so that anyone who tries to pull the door open will find it barricaded.
It's not going to stop anybody determined, but neither would the door itself, honestly. They're not solid in the down -- this is as good at they're gonna get.
It would at least hold a walker or two off for a little while, which is not necessarily a good way to gauge privacy but is enough that when Drake comes back over he kisses him without any hesitance.
"Thanks," he murmurs, and starts to pull Drake's shirt off.
The enthusiasm is very much appreciated, and Drake chuckles softly as Jesus tugs at his shirt. No argument from him. He lets the other man help pull it up and off and as soon as he's free of it is reaching to divest Jesus of his own, the energy between them now light and playful. As if they weren't just talking about some pretty terrible worst case scenarios.
"What do you like?" he asks curiously, stepping back in to steal another kiss once both their shirts are off. It's fun to just find out, but a year and a half in Duplicity has him used to establishing ground rules. "And can I take your hair down?"
Drake quirks an eyebrow at 'typical' because even if Jesus has only ever had the most boring sex possible... everybody's got favorite things, right? Maybe he needs to be more specific?
"We don't have to get kinky," he clarifies, tugging the tie out of Jesus' hair and running his fingers through it, "but you must have preferences."
Another kiss, this time guiding Jesus in with a gentle grip on his hair. When it breaks this time, Drake stays close, murmuring against the other man's lips.
"I'm also cool just figuring them out for myself."
He recognizes what he's doing: Drake offered him a safe place, offered him protection from a law Jesus is powerless to fight, and Jesus's instinct is to withdraw hard. Don't offer details, don't offer preferences. Be amenable, have no preferences, be whatever is needed.
It's an old habit. It's a bad one.
"I like bottoming," he makes himself say, makes himself be honest. Drake has more than earned it. "I like it a little rough. Nothing crazy, but I like having little marks."
From people he likes, anyway. The strangers he's hooked up with to meet quota were strictly to the point, no kissing and no lingering reminders.
That's fortuitous. Drake isn't willing to actually hurt anyone, but he's also into a little bit of an edge. Knowing his partner is going to feel it the next day and leaving harmless reminders like hickeys or scratches. He had to be so careful for so long to mind his nails that it's freeing to not have to worry about things like that anymore... he nods, pleased with the honest answer, and pulls Jesus in tight against him. Far less gentle now that he's been given that hint.
"Nothing crazy," he echoes, before abruptly shifting his grip to lift Jesus off the ground just slightly. That lets him turn and toss the other man onto the nearby bed, climbing on to pin him there with a grin. "I can do that."
Then they're kissing again, Drake bracing himself on one arm as he drags his other hand down Jesus' torso, nails catching slightly over his ribs and skimming teasingly low on his stomach towards the fastenings of his pants.
He laughs as he hits the mattress, hooks his thumbs in Drake's waistband and pushes down. Without unfastening them they aren't going far, but it's the act that conveys the eagerness in him. He'd tear Drake's clothes right off if he could.
"Don't go easy on me," he warns, and nips Drake's neck.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2022-09-21 05:00 am (UTC)Leaving the arm wrapped around Jesus' middle where is it, Drake reclaims the one around his shoulders to rest that hand on the nape of his neck. He's getting another vibe, that's for sure. There's gentle amusement in his voice when he speaks again, low and soft since they're so close.
"Should I be trusting my intuition again right now?" he asks, looking into Jesus' still very close and extremely blue eyes.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-21 02:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-21 03:27 pm (UTC)Gently, his grip still loose enough to pull out of just in case, Drake tugs Jesus back in for more than a teasing brush of lips. And it's definitely not brief. There's no urgency or demand present, but he teases Jesus' mouth open for a deep, slow, affectionate kiss. One that clearly says 'I like you, and I'm not scared.'
no subject
Date: 2022-09-21 04:12 pm (UTC)Telling someone about the Wild Fire virus, and that he has it, is difficult enough. Telling it to someone who had nearly become a Romero had, he'd been sure, been a nail in the friendship's coffin.
When Drake instead kisses him like that, he deepens it further, hand in Drake's hair at the nape of his neck to pull him closer.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-21 05:00 pm (UTC)Jesus didn't get a choice, not about catching it or passing it along. He has absolutely no control over the fact that he's infected, if he even actually is here. Either way it's already done in that case and they'll figure it out. They're not symptomatic, which is already a huge step up from how it works in Drake's world, and most importantly? Jesus is worried about what might happen in the long run because he's a good person who doesn't want anyone to get hurt. Drake's very much used to criminal and terrorist zombies who only care about using the virus for their own gain, who infect people to extort them, who murder to stay fed. Jesus is a fucking breath of fresh air, as zombie apocalypse backstories go.
So there's absolutely no reason not to keep kissing, really. The fingers in his hair earn Jesus a little shiver and he does press in, the arm he's got around the smaller man's waist tightening to hold him close.
Drake lets it drag on, sweet and unhurried, until he needs to breathe. At which point he doesn't so much pull back as tip his head forward to break the kiss and press their foreheads together instead, staying right where he is. This is the ideal 'speak now if we're stopping' moment, because much more of this and it'll be far more difficult for him to do so. He will, obviously, but. It's easier to drop from a lower height.
"Should I back off?" he asks, voice a low rumble.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-21 07:01 pm (UTC)He doesn't trust it, or that anything will be private in the Down. He knows he's being monitored for how often he comes home and who he takes with him and how often. He knows as much as he's learning to enjoy 'whenever, wherever', it doesn't apply to a place he feels like he's still in a zoo.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-21 09:59 pm (UTC)"I'll get it," he agrees, "maybe text your roommate so they don't worry and break in?"
And then he's getting up and double-checking which way the door opens... out, huh? That's actually easier. Jesus will get to watch him pull his belt off and glance around until he spots a broom in the kitchenette. After testing that it's not going to bend easily he braces it in the narrow doorway and belts it to the doorknob at that angle, so that anyone who tries to pull the door open will find it barricaded.
It's not going to stop anybody determined, but neither would the door itself, honestly. They're not solid in the down -- this is as good at they're gonna get.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-21 10:18 pm (UTC)"Thanks," he murmurs, and starts to pull Drake's shirt off.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-21 10:35 pm (UTC)"What do you like?" he asks curiously, stepping back in to steal another kiss once both their shirts are off. It's fun to just find out, but a year and a half in Duplicity has him used to establishing ground rules. "And can I take your hair down?"
no subject
Date: 2022-09-21 10:49 pm (UTC)"Take it out, pull it," do whatever you like with it. "I'm still figuring out what I like. Everything I did back home was sort of...typical."
no subject
Date: 2022-09-22 12:14 am (UTC)"We don't have to get kinky," he clarifies, tugging the tie out of Jesus' hair and running his fingers through it, "but you must have preferences."
Another kiss, this time guiding Jesus in with a gentle grip on his hair. When it breaks this time, Drake stays close, murmuring against the other man's lips.
"I'm also cool just figuring them out for myself."
no subject
Date: 2022-09-22 12:20 am (UTC)It's an old habit. It's a bad one.
"I like bottoming," he makes himself say, makes himself be honest. Drake has more than earned it. "I like it a little rough. Nothing crazy, but I like having little marks."
From people he likes, anyway. The strangers he's hooked up with to meet quota were strictly to the point, no kissing and no lingering reminders.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-22 01:02 am (UTC)"Nothing crazy," he echoes, before abruptly shifting his grip to lift Jesus off the ground just slightly. That lets him turn and toss the other man onto the nearby bed, climbing on to pin him there with a grin. "I can do that."
Then they're kissing again, Drake bracing himself on one arm as he drags his other hand down Jesus' torso, nails catching slightly over his ribs and skimming teasingly low on his stomach towards the fastenings of his pants.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-22 01:15 am (UTC)"Don't go easy on me," he warns, and nips Drake's neck.