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Lux creates a group text to text BOTH of them.
Lux:: would it be weird for us three to hang out together?
Mearc:: it'll only be awkward until it's not. if we do the thing more often, it'll be more familiar, and thus not weird.
Jack:: uuuuh?
J:: maybe?
J:: yeah what u said mearcstapa
L:: oh i guess that makes sense
L:: uhhh
L:: you two wanna hang out together...
M:: also, it's been a bit of a Day and i'd like to be around someone, honestly.
J:: oh fuckin same
L:: do i need to beat some fuckers up??
L:: wait well talk in person
L:: umm
L:: you guys could come to my place i guess
J:: if ur okay with that?
M:: address?
L:: give me like.... an hour then yeah
L:: <address>
J:: k :heart:
J:: fuck is that okay to do in a group chat
M:: i don't have an answer to that.
L:: whatever you two are comfortable with
L:: ok fuck im gonna clean see you soon
About fifty-five minutes later, Mearc shows up to the address that he was sent. He has a large plastic shopping bag with him, which has stuff inside.
Lux's apartment is....... not in a good neighborhood. Not exactly the best place to be wandering around at night, and the apartment building looks pretty run down. Some texts are exchanged once they show up, and Lux hurries down to meet them at the front door of the building to unlock it and let them into the hallway. Lux is in a hoodie and rainbow tye-dye tights. They look... anxious, but force a smile when they see Mearc. "Hey babe."
Jack comes strolling up the street a few minutes later, backpack on his back, and texts to let them know he's there.
"Hey." Mearc's freckly redder than usual as he looks around the front of the building, definitely not letting his guard down in this neighborhood.
Lux looks relieved to see Jack heading down the street, ushering them both into the hallway, then towards some stairs. "Um, thanks for coming?" they murmur, fidgeting with a set of keys.
"We could - there's always my place, if you're not...comfortable? I don't mind us all there." Jack's a little fidgety, charcoal lines from his mien flying out every which way, but he gives Mearc a smile and a nod. Still definitely at the 'polite 'cause i don't really know you' stage.
"My place is also available. Though I've been told it looks a little bland." There's a hint of humor and a glance at Lux there. "But...I'd like to see Lux's place, honestly."
"I figured hanging out here would be best for uh... neutral ground? It's fine, really. I mean, you're already here, so leaving would just make it more weird..." They head up the stairs. "Sorry, I'm on the top floor..." It's a looong way up the stairs.
"I don't think you've said anything about my place, should I be offended?" Jack huffs in amusement and reaches out to put a gentle hand on Lux's shoulder. Or their arm, whatever's convenient. "'S fine babe."
Mearc remains behind the pair going up the stairs, because it seems easiest at this point. And if Lux glances back, they might also realize it makes for a good view.
There is a couple nervous glance back, as if afraid they might decide to bail at any moment. They head up for the fourth floor, then down the hallway to fiddle with a lock. "Um... Just..." They grimace. "It's not much. Sooo... like... keep your expectations... low."
Jack slides his hand around to Lux's side and gives them what he hopes is a reassuring squeeze.
"Lux, we're not going to bolt." His voice is low, soft, though he seems to examine the door itself for a moment. Sizing it up. His freckles shift to green.
The locks are are old and shitty. Probably ridiculously easy to pick. They push open the door and step inside, holding the door long enough for them to come in, then closes it behind them.
Not much is an understatement. There's a tiny living room that also serves as a bedroom, which... has pretty much no furniture. There's a small loveseat against one wall that probably came from a second hand store, and a mattress resting on the floor on the other side of the room. No full sheet sets just... a blanket on top of another blanket and a pillow. It's been hastily straightened.
They've clearly attempted to tidy up, but there's only so much you can do in one hour, and it's pretty clear that this place has likely never had a deep clean. Everything is dusty and covered in paint, and there's things stacked up everywhere, though Lux has mostly just... shoved things into piles rather than have it thrown everywhere. There's some painting on the walls, a mixture of paint strokes and spray paint--nothing coherent, just layers of colors and doodles like they just did it when they were bored.
There's a two doors--one leads to a tiny kitchen that has a stove that... probably doesn't work, an empty fridge, and bare cabinets save for some half eaten snack foods. The other door leads to a bathroom that has paint stains everywhere.
...Definitely the home of someone with depression and no idea how to take care of themself.
Mearc takes in the whole sight slowly, his freckles flickering between colors rather rapidly. He really doesn't say anything for a moment, but does step inside a couple steps, untying and removing his boots and setting the shopping bag down.
"He's right." Jack gives Lux a quick kiss on the cheek and kneels down to take his boots off once he's inside. "We're not gonna bolt. I brought beer, wasn't sure what you drank, Mearcstapa...? But I can put it in the fridge?" Sure, he's looked around the place quickly. And decided that any semblance of normalcy's the best way to go.
Lux tosses the keys aside into a backpack that's resting on the floor, then stuffs their hands deep into their hoodie pockets. "Uh, yeah, so... Make yourselves at home... You guys can sit on the couch, I can chill on the floor?" They puff out a breath. "A beer if good." It's very clear that they never have people here, cause they don't seem to know what to do with themselves. "I have... uhh... soda and water, too..."
"Water is fine." He sets down his messenger bag as well, beginning to walk into the apartment a little more, for a closer look.
It's shitty beer, that Jack pulls out of his backpack, and he hands one to Lux before starting to bring the rest of the twelve-pack into the kitchen. "Where's your cups, I'll get water...?"
"Cool cool cool," Lux mutters jitterly, nudging their own sneakers off. They take the beer and pop it open to sip from. "Uh... cabinet beside the fridge, I think?" There's all of three plastic cups up there, along with a couple plates. None of which match.
They pull a laptop off of the top of a pile and move to hook it up with some wires to a TV that is screwed to a wall. "I got Netflix, if you guys want to watch something?"
"I'm going to be honest here. There's a part of me that wants to take all of this and start putting it in order." He lets out a tiny laugh with no real humor. "But that feels like it could definitely be...um. Invasive? Intrusive?"
Jack comes back with a cup of water for Mearc and a beer for himself. "I eh...mmm. What he said." He sits down carefully on one side of the couch and opens his beer.
"Oh. Uh..." Lux frowns, looking around a moment. "Erm... A little? But uh... If that'd make you two feel better, I guess...?"
"Lux. Darling. Hummingbird. Do you feel happy, safe and comfortable here as it currently stands? Or does the condition of your home cause you anxiety and stress? Because if this is sincerely how you prefer to live, that's not my business. Not our business. But I think...it might be good, to set things up so you can have a place you enjoy coming home to."
"...You sure you're not a Spring?" Jack gives Mearc a glance. "You said it better that I ever could. It doesn't...seem like you're happy like this, babe. And not just 'cause you might worry about what we'd think and say."
Lux blinks slowly, looking between them, back and forth. They don't seem to really... get it. "Uhhh... I mean... I guess I'm just uh... used to it? It's not... bad? I don't really stay here very often, anyway. Just like... to sleep... So mostly I just, uh, turn off while I'm here..."
Mearc takes that glance from Jack, not quiet making eye contact, but offering a little bit of a smile. "But...does any of this actually make you happy, or proud to call this your home? It could. Ideally, it should. I know how you've talked about how excited you are at the idea of dancing yourself a neon Hollow. But you could also have a bright warm mundane home, one that reflects the things you like and care about most. And again, this is the sort of thing you can tell us to fuck off with. I'm talking from a good deal of experience here, because my first apartment was also a mess. A different kind of mess, a mess that manifested differently. But. I had help along the way, in learning how to make a place a home."
"I don't...think I've got anything to add that's not gonna make me sound like a fuckin' hypocrite. Except...if you want the help, you've got it right here. You deserve a place you're excited about, that makes you feel safe. Hollow or not."
The Bright One's lights flicker and dim a little as their brows crease together. "...I... ...No?" They grimace, looking increasingly uncomfortable. "No. It doesn't make me happy. I just--figured that wasn't a think that was possible. Or that--" They cut themself off, lips pursing. Their tone gains a defensive edge to it. "Look, if you want to clean, then whatever. Do what you want."
Mearc gives Jack a small look. "We can do your place next. And then maybe I can get both of you to help me make my place feel less...sterile. More like a home, also. Or...not. I don't know. Sorry, I probably shouldn't have said...anything." The confidence wavers pretty quickly, as Mearc stares at the abstract blob of boredom painting.
"Oh, we're calling me out, too?" Jack grimaces and takes a drink. "...But yeah my place could probably use a little help. An' if we're all fixing each other's shit this's less like an intervention, right?" He nudges Lux's arm gently in an attempt at humor. "We don't have to do any of it now, though. 'Kay? But it is possible, to have a place that's...that feels good, to be in. Or so I've heard. Even if you're just sleeping here. "
"No, ugh..." Lux grimaces again, rubbing their hands over their face. "Uuuugh..." The arm nudge makes their hands drop, now looking guilty for having snapped. "...How about this. You both let me paint a wall in your place, and you can... do whatever you want here? I was going to paint you a huge painting to put in your place anyway, Mearcstapa."
"It's not about what I want to do here. It's about what you need. Like, for example...imagine like one of those big trash cans like for yard work, right? Over in the corner by the kitchen. You'd only have to take out the trash once, maybe twice a week, but you'd have a clear place for it to go. With a lid."
A pause. "And...yes, a painting would be very nice. And it would make it feel real. Like..." He almost seems to swallow the end of that thought, whatever it is, chasing it with a sip of water.
"'Whatever we want's not...the point," Jack agrees. "What...hmm. If this place could have anything. What would you want it to have? Even shit like Christmas lights, or a fucking fancy chair, just...anything. What would you wanna have?"
Lux looks over into the directed corner, blinking a few times. "Oh. Uh... Yeah, that actually sounds like it'd be pretty useful... I'm not very good at keeping trash from piling up." They sigh, shifting their weight nervously. It looks like they want to ask what Mearc was about to say, but lets it go instead, looking to Jack. They sip the beer, sitting down on the floor in front of the loveseat, turned to face them. "Hmm... Christmas lights actually... would be really cool. Just, like... everywhere. I like bright lights. And a lot of color." They fidget with the beer bottle. "...I guess if I'm going to have people over, maybe uh... a bigger couch."
"...Not that that is probably possible, to carry up so much stairs..."
"Something more like a futon might be doable. And maybe...trace the ceiling with, like...ropes of LED lights?" He points along the tops of the walls. "In all different colors? That might be something cool to do. I mean, if you're into that. I'm just throwing out ideas."
"I'm one hundred fuckin percent sure we could find people to carry a bigger couch up these stairs. And if you wanted, you could paint while we did shit like clean, and make the whole place colorful on purpose. Brighter lightbulbs're easy to come by, maybe get a floor lamp or two? Futon could be nice, if you didn't wanna get a bed frame and a couch, yeah." Jack purses his lips a little as he looks around, already starting to play with options in his head.
Lux tilts their head back to look up at the ceiling, lips twitching upwards. "That'd be... fucking awesome. We should totally do that. I can steal a shit ton of lights. And yeah, maybe a futon would work better..." They look back to Mearc, then reach out to take his hand to squeeze. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be a jerk. I appreciate you two trying to help. I really do. Change is just... hard." The beer is set aside so they can reach out to Jack's hand too, squeezing it.
"Steal? I can buy the lights." He squeezes back gently. "I'd like to give you a present like that."
"Get the fuck up here." Jack grins and pulls them toward the couch. "I don't mind being squished if you don't?" He glances at Mearc for confirmation.
"Change fucking sucks. Even when it's good change. And...yeah I'd pitch in too. Or for something else, if you want that to be your thing. Either way, gift. Yes."
"Okaaaay, fine. You can get them. Just... no green, okay?" They lift his hand to kiss at his knuckles, a second before Jack tugs them. Their lips quirk upwards, not needing to be told twice. They climb up to squeeze in between them, wiggling in to a comfortable spot squished up against them both. "I'll try. That does sound kind of nice. I don't really feel like I... deserve anything like that, but I'll try. Just... patience? Please?"
They look between the two men. "So... bad day. Do either of you want to talk about it?"
Mearc exhales slowly. "Uuuh. Ended up in a dick measuring contest with a vampire?" He cuddles into the pile, touching Jack incidentally, then pulling back with a bit of an apologetic look. "But the other vampires, who know I'm a changeling, didn't tell her about that. So that was a thing. Also...I had a long talk with Wren's girlfriend last night that went weird."
Jack twitches in surprise at the touch, but gives Mearc a little 'oh no, it's fine' look and handwave. "Wren...she's your work partner, right?"
Lux frowns at the mention of dick measuring with a vampire. "Definitely coming back to the dick measuring, but what about the conversation was weird?"
"I, uh. Employed use of an Autumn contract, with her consent, to help make it easier for her to talk with me. And apparently when it wore off, she ended up crying in the bathroom and Wren had to go get her. I think I messed up. No, honestly, I think I fucked up."
"Easier, how? 'F she wanted you to do it, doesn't sound like you fucked up, necessarily."
Lux grimaces. "Ah... fuck. That does sound messy. But... I don't think you fucked up. You gave her the choice to do it, right? And--maybe she was upset when it faded, and that's understandable. I can imagine it was a shock to feel it all returning. But maybe after she calmed down, it offered some... clarity?"
He gives Jack a small look. "Dunno if you know Wren's girlfriend, Charlie. She has...pretty paralyzing anxiety. Regarding almost everything. So I offered to eat her fear as an appetizer before we sat down to dinner. So that she could think straight."
"So all her shit came back after...fuck. Probably a hell of a panic attack." Jack grimaces, and takes a drink of his beer. Like he knows what it's like to have delayed processing like that, or something.
"But yeah, still don't think you fucked up, by offering. Sometimes...shit's got unintended consequences, even if both people agree to it." He's certainly not looking at Lux while he speaks.
Lux also conveniently glances away, for a second or two. Then tilts their head to kiss Meac's cheek, squeezing his hand. "You shouldn't blame yourself. It's not a bad idea, really. To eat someone's fear so they can try to talk through stuff. Was it a good conversation, at least? Before her fear came back?"
"It was, but it also really showed me a side of Wren I've never had to be party to before. It...provided deep context. Which is probably a good thing to have, but also a bit of a paradigm shift. We haven't been involved in one another's personal lives, much."
"'S that gonna change your relationship with Wren at all? Seeing that side of her?"
"Really? I thought you two were pretty close..." They frown. "Have you spoken to Wren or Charlie since?"
"Wren, some. Charlie, not so much." There's a pause. "I haven't told her about this, explicitly, yet, either."
"Makes sense, if you don't talk personal shit. D'you think you might, now? After seeing her interact with Charlie?"
"You haven't told Wren that you ate Charlie's fear, or... about you and me dating?"
"About dating." It's quiet, a little nervous. "We haven't talked about much personal stuff. A large part of it is me trying to respect the fact that...it's always seemed like Wren's nervous about being known. I haven't wanted to dig past her boundaries and upset or hurt her. Every time I get to see pieces of who she is and what she's hiding...it feels a little like a gift. I cherish it, I hold onto it, and I don't ask for anything more. But this thing with Charlie, it's different, because she's showing more of it, in more ways. I gave Wren some advice on the situation, after my talk with Charlie, and it felt weird to do so. We talk security. Not...matters of the heart."
"...You want some advice, or just to talk about it?" Jack sits back against the couch a little, to see Mearc better.
Lux considers that a moment, but waits for Mearc's answer to Jack's question.
"I don't know. It's not a big deal, and I probably should stop talking about it." His shoulders round, freckles almost entirely red.
"Seems like it's a deal worth talking about, though yeah? If it's weighing on you . It uh...might be worth talking to Wren. About how your relationship is changing - and whether you and her want it to change."
"Do you think it's not... just you respecting her boundaries, but also, like..." They squint in thought. "Like, you've had this professional relationship for so long, and in the field you two rely on each other--you're always on when you're together. And this is kind of scary because it creates a layer to your relationship where you're... like... vulnerable? And less knowledgeable about? And you're afraid of her seeing that? And seeing that vulnerability in her too, cause you need to be able to rely on each other."
"Also, no sorry. We want to help." Mearc gets nose booped.
He exhales slowly when booped, almost like a deflating balloon. "I think you've sort of nailed it. I just...I'm used to her knowing me in the areas where I'm useful."
"Mmm." Jack doesn't really have anything to say to that, so he drinks instead.
Lux grins smugly, just for a moment. "I'm pretty smart, sometimes!" They sober into a more serious expression. "It makes sense, though. You're used to you two being the perfect team. And... you're a fixer. And I don't know Wren that well, but I have a feeling she is, too. She probably is feeling a lot of similar ways? So maybe like... try not to focus so much on trying to fix her relationship, and like... let her know that she's not alone."
"I'll try that. Thank you." He nods, his freckles normalizing again.
"And for what it's worth, it's okay to decide that you don't wanna be involved in her personal life, if that crossover's too messy for you."
They smile warmly at Mearc. "No problem." They nuzzle into his hair a bit, then nods. "Yeah, that too. If you two decide that you want to keep things strictly professional, there's nothing wrong with that."
"Mm. If I can be useful to her outside the professional, I'd like to be. But yeah, that's what happened with Wren. Someone else's turn to share?" Blatant attempt to change the subject says what?
"I'm just dealing with being on strike at PTC, 's nothing special." Jack shrugs. It's an equally blatant attempt to not turn the focus onto him.
"I'd just... talk to her and see how it goes. One step at a time." They turn their attention to Jack then. Sorry Jack. They wrap an arm around his shoulders to pull him in closer. "You know, Mearc could probably give a good perspective on your fear... If you're feeling up for it, I mean."
"Oh, you know. Fear of the unknown, feeling guilty about all the staff who didn't really have the choice to strike. That sorta shit. Plus we're all gonna deal with the fallout from the fashion show walkout too, so." You know that thing that people do, where they say shit without feeling it? Under the guise of 'talking about it'? Yeah. He's doing that.
Mearc listens to all that, tilting his head to one side. "That sounded more like you were listing off the daily specials at a diner, than talking about your feelings. And I know I have no room to talk, when it comes to feelings, but it was blatant."
"Uh... yeah. That." Lux pokes Jack's cheek. "Neither of us are gonna judge you."
"I mean I already told you most of it." Jack pokes Lux back. "It's...mm. I don't know how to...'s just stressful. We're trying to get support, and we're all still working our other gigs, but...I dunno how it's all gonna end. Or if it's all gonna end. They tried to pull this shit a couple years ago, 'n hired a bunch of interns to get around union rules, and it all got figured out then, but...fuck. Between this and the fashion show, that's two walkouts in a fucking week. 'S unheard of. And I dunno what's gonna happen if PTC doesn't give in." He shakes his head and finishes his beer.
Mearc nods. "Right. That's all still factual data, not...internal processes and emotions, beyond uncertainty."
"I knooow, but Mearc is an Autumn. He gets fear. Or he'll just tell you to talk to a Spring." Lux grins affectionately. "Either way, not bad advice." Their fingers start toying with Jack's hair as they lean back against the Hunterheart.
"I uh...don't do the emotions thing, very well. But..." he takes a breath. " It's only been three days, standing on that picket line, 'n I'm already exhausted. And I'm the one who got us all here, I staged the goddamn thing, and if I'm...if I can't 'be strong', or whatever the fuck..." Another grimace.
"It sounds like you feel you have a duty to uphold, because you're feeling guilty. Is that right?" The question is gentle, even if the wording cuts right to the heart of things.
Lux frowns, continuing to pet and try to comfort while Mearc goes for the jugular.
"I mean of course I've got a 'duty to uphold', wouldn't be a very useful member of the fuckin local if I didn't stand up for our rights." He scoffs a little and wraps his arms around himself.
"You're ignoring the second half of that. Do you regret the walk out? If you knew what would happen next, would you have avoided it?"
Lux frowns a little, sitting up some so they can wrap both arms around Jack to squeeze. "It's pretty fucking understandable to feel guilty, Jack. You've got a lot on your shoulders right now."
"No, I'm just fuckin scared that other people are gonna get sucked into my fuckups." He reaches for his beer bottle and goes to take a drink before remembering it's empty, grunting in annoyance, and setting it back on the floor. "I know there's gonna be blowback, and I can't control who's gonna get hit the worst with it."
"Aha." Mearc nods slightly. "It sounds like you feel helpless, in the face of a situation you feel responsible for sparking. Is that accurate?"
Lux frowns when Jack reaches for the bottle, hesitating a moment before continuing to rub at his back. "It's also, like... not all your fault, you know. Even if you set things in motion, you're not the only one on strike... They chose to do it too."
Jack sinks down into the couch a little, when Mearc says 'helpless'. It's enough of an answer, even if he doesn't respond to him directly. "I'm still the fucking face of it all. I'm the one who gave the interview, I'm the one who organized both walkouts. That shit's still on me."
"That is a lot to carry. Pretty stressful to manage." Validation? Maybe that's useful here.
Lux falls quiet, expression turning more guarded. They look to the side, staring at a random spot on the ground for a moment. "Yeah... that's... that sucks."
"I'll be fine, it's...it'll fuckin be what it's gonna be. I'll deal. You want another beer, Lux?" He starts to stand.
"It's something that you should not have to deal with. It is a shitty situation, and the blame for it really lies with PTC, not on you."
Lux drops their arms to let Jack get up, leaning back into the couch. "Yeah, sure," they mutter in reply to Jack, running a hand over their buzzed head. "Mearcstapa is right, though. You just... tried to stand up for what is right, that's all."
Jack mutters something unintelligible as he stalks off toward the kitchen to get the beer. He sighs when he returns, and flops down on the couch again, taking a long drink.
"Yeah, I know. Wish it didn't feel so fucking shitty to do it. Still afraid I fucked everything up."
"To do what is right, even in the face of your fear...that's important. That's...good." It's a word Mearc often dances around and avoids, but he uses it here with emphasis, with meaning.
"Yeah. He's right. I'm sure it'll be worth it," Lux says softly, picking at a stray string poking out from a tear in their jeans. "I'm sorry... that it really sucks, right now."
"It's fine. I'll figure it out." He's drawn his knees up to his chest, wrapping an arm around himself and looking very small. His mien steadies a little, whatever feelings that were close to the surface successfully shoved back down, for now.
Mearc doesn't say anything, sort of pulling back. "Sorry."
Oh no. Awkward silence. Lux stares at the floor for a few seconds before clearing their throat. "Uhh... Soo... What happened with the vampire, Mearcstapa?"
"Yeah." Jack lets out a breath (of relief?) and looks in his direction. "What happened?"
"Uhh. Posturing, mostly. She was trying to signify to the others in the room that she's important, by being...I don't know, loud-overbearing-fake nice? Cloying, but trying to imply I had no right to be there, trying to make me feel like a lesser of hers. I'll admit, it was a beautiful lesson in vampire culture and vocabulary relating to it."
Lux looks over at him, brows knit in concern. "You're not... getting too close to them, are you? I don't want them to start seeing you as a threat..."
Jack/Calamity (Eliot-they/them)Today at 7:30 PM
"Oh she sounds like a piece of fucking work." Jack frowns with Lux. "You said you were working with vampires, right? Like...just as a business thing."
"There were vampires at the protest, you know. Helping with the protest. There's a lot of them who are, quite honestly, easy to relate to as you would any other person, whether mortal or Lost. But you're right, this one was, um. A bitch."
Mearc? Swearing twice in one night?
"Is that the woman who fingergunned you? She was a vampire?" Lux blinks in surprise to hear Mearc curse, then their lips twitch. "Huh, well... How did the others react to her?"
"Yeah was she a bitch 'cause that's just how vampires are or...do they have the same standards, where that shit's concerned?"
A nod at Lux's question. "The others in the room showed her some disdain, and one of the vampires who I've spoken to a little more openly actively refused to inform the less civil one of what I am. Which was nice, and not something I had actually expected."
"That is good," Lux says with a relieved nod. "Do they all know about us? What we are?"
Jack gestures to Lux as he drinks, like he also wants to know the answer.
"Well. Apparently when one of the Fae-Touched becomes a vampire--and that's a thing that can and does happen--they can retain a limited capacity to pierce the Mask. So their society as a whole has knowledge of us, though individuals don't necessarily. The ones I've been talking to, most of them have the word 'Changeling' at least, though not all really have a grasp on what it means."
"....That is fucking weird." Lux blinks slowly. "Huh. I guess becoming a vampire isn't enough to break oaths? I guess it makes sense..."
'S real fucking weird. Wonder what happens if a full-on Changeling becomes a vampire - if it can even happen?" Jack shudders.
"No data yet, and I'm not offering myself up for the experiment." Mearc winces at the thought.
"Ugh, fuck no." Lux pokes their tongue out, then shakes their head. "I know you'll be careful, but ugh, I can't help but worry about you, Mearcstapa."
"Shit yeah please don't do that. I'm glad some of 'em seem...decent. And like they're willing to protect you from the not-so-decent ones."
"I'm still not completely sure if it was protection, or sticking it in the eye of the rude one. But I'll take it." He laughs, relaxing back into the couch.
Lux snorts softly, shaking their head. "Yeah, if it helped you... Whatever." They pause, looking between them a moment. "Do you guys want to just... chill, for a while? We can watch something? And I promise I don't mean that Netflix And Chill." Their lips quirk.
Jack snorts and kisses Lux on the cheek. "Netflix and chilling's good with me. Maybe we can order food at some point, too...?"
"Curling up together to watch Netflix sounds pretty good. Jack, just to be clear, are you alright with incidental touching? Or even, for that matter, platonic cuddling, with all three of us here? I know...it can be a little awkward, but just...relaxing into it seems like a more potentially beneficial response than flinching away every time."
"Honestly, I would fucking love to cuddle you both without having to worry about... like... you two not wanting to touch each other. But I also want you both to be comfortable." They lean forward to drag the laptop closer, poking at it to bring up Netflix.
"Uh -" Jack blinks. "Yeah, that's - yeah. 'S not a problem at all. I'm not...super used to cuddling, and shit, with people, so if I make it awkward that's why. 'S not 'cause I'm uncomfortable." Probably. Who's to tell the difference?
Mearc smiles. "Then let's just all cuddle up on Lux, like good human blankets."
"Fuuuuck yes! That is, literally, a dream come true." Lux makes grabby hands at them, shoving the laptop aside so they can pull both in against--and probably a little on top of them, sprawling out contently. "Mmmm. Hot boyfriend blankets."
Jack gets a little scribbly blush at the word 'boyfriend', and drapes himself over and against Lux. And nuzzles the side of their neck for good measure. "As long as I don't have to pick what we're watching."
Mearc, meanwhile, ends up more across Lux and Jack's laps, curling in against them comfortably. "I might fall asleep, honestly."
"How about something super chill? Like a documentary or something. That way you can just sleep or zone out if you want to." Lux ends up clicking through some saved art history documentaries until they find one they haven't watched yet, turning it on. Once it's started playing they wrap an arm around each of them. One hand playing with Mearc's hair, the other caressing Jack's lower back. "Thanks for coming over. I know it's been kind of weird, but... I think I needed this."
"Mmmm same...." Jack mutters, and kisses Lux's neck softly. He's not entirely sure where to put his hands, but eventually rests one on whichever of Mearc's limbs is closest to his own lap, and throws the other around Lux. "'S good to be here."
When Lux is looking at the screen of art documentaries, Mearc suggests one on forgeries, because Mearc. He doesn't seem to mind Jack's hand on his arm, offering a soft smile. "This is...definitely a very good night. Thank you."
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