paradiseblossoms | Aftermath of the previous thread

[He pauses over that particularly nasty bite mark in Dave's neck; there's no doubting that it'll scar, and isn't that a weird pang of something in his stomach that comes along with realizing he'll be looking at that for a long time.]

sORRY, i'M,
tRYING TO BE GENTLE,

[Finally, when he's sure he's cleaned out all of Dave's visible lacerations, he hesitates.]

dO YOU, uM,
tHAT IS TO SAY,
iS THERE ANYTHING, uHH, bELOW THE BELT,

[He feels Tav linger over that one particular mark, the one he thinks feels bad enough to scar, even with his new God Tier powers, and that pretty much clinches it - when Tav asks, he shrugs and shifts a little in the chair.]

[He gives Tav a few suggestive eyebrow raises, trying to ease some of the tension he can feel in the room.]

[Tav freezes, halfway through tossing the last bloody wipe into the garbage under his desk, and it takes him a few tries to frame a response to that. Because as much as that sounds very, very nice, there are several roadblocks in the way. One, the aforementioned tension, which, admittedly, might be eased in the process; and two, the fact that Tav's legs are made of metal.]

oH,
i,
uH,
i,
wELL,

[He stops, runs his hand through his mohawk, takes a deep breath, and starts over.]

yOU SEE, tHERE'S UM,
tHE ISSUE WHERE, mY LEGS ARE KIND OF INCREDIBLY NOT-WATERPROOF,
aND i'D, uM,
i'D HAVE TO TAKE THEM OFF, aND THERE WOULD BE A,
uH,
nOTABLE LACK OF LEGS,

[Dave's eyebrow arches up again, and when he speaks, there's so much sarcasm in his voice, it's nearly palpable.]

[Tav stares for a moment, not sure how to respond, until finally he realizes that this is indeed the infamous Strider sarcasm, and then he's just sort of...relieved. He clears his throat.]

sO YOU, uM,
yOU DON'T MIND, wHAT WITH THE, uHHH,

[His voice drops to a rough whisper, like he's having a hard time saying it.]

sTUMPS

[Dave shrugs - and then winces again, although it seems to hurt less than before. Maybe his crazy healing powers are finally kicking in.]

[He scratches at the side of his head, where the stubble from his last haircut is starting to grow in unchecked, and then smiles, that big, open, goofy Tavros grin. For a moment, he forgets about Gamzee, about the existence of blackrom.]

oKAY, tHEN,
i THINK, pERHAPS, wE CAN,
gIVE IT A TRY,

[Dave rolls his eyes, but there's a grin pulling at his mouth, nonetheless. Maybe there's something to this whole matesprit thing after all.]

[He starts to get up, pauses for a moment, and then continues - very slowly. Jesus, he's gotta be careful how often he does this hatesex thing - it really does a number on him.]

[Tav nods, weird butterflies flipping shit in his stomach, and he stays close by Dave's side on the way to the bathroom, just in case.]

i'M, uH,
WITH YOU ON THAT, bRO,

[They make it to the bathroom, and Tav shuts the door behind them, leaning cautiously against the door so he can watch Dave's movements. He doesn't want him aggravating that rib.]

uM,
bE CAREFUL TAKING YOUR, uH, pANTS OFF,
i COULD, mAYBE, hELP, iF YOU WANTED,

[Dave looks back over his shoulder - man, his skeptical eyebrow is getting a lot of work today.]

[He stays turned away as he carefully strips his pants off, figuring Tav doesn't really need to be confronted with the splashes of indigo fluid dried across Dave's hips and thighs.]

[Tavros draws back, flushing brown, and shakes his head.]

oH, nO, i MEANT,
uM,
bECAUSE OF, yOU KNOW,
yOUR RIBS,,,

[Still turned away, Dave laughs a little, reaching past the shower curtain to turn on the water.]

[The cuts on his body are fading, too, little by little - they look like they were sustained a few days ago now, instead of just minutes. He sticks his hand into the water, testing the temperature.]

[Tav relaxes, realizing Dave isn't angry with him or anything, and advances further into the tiny bathroom, maneuvering until he's seated on the toilet seat. While Dave's testing the water, Tav strips off his own shirt, revealing a torso well-muscled from years of pushing himself around in a wheelchair and training with a lance. It's apparent from the hunch of his shoulders, though, that he's still not totally comfortable being naked in front of Dave (or anyone, for that matter). His pants come next, and then he's sitting there in just a pair of boxers and his legs.]

i'LL, uM,
kEEP THAT IN MIND,

[Dave climbs into the shower and quickly rinses himself off, the water turning an odd deep purple as the last of the dried blood sloughs off him and mixes with Gamzee's indigo. Then, he finally turns towards Tav again, pushing the curtain back so he can see the troll, leaning casually against the back wall.]

[He gestures down at himself, bruises and all. He's always tended towards a leaner build - nowhere near as muscled as Tav, but also not as lanky as John or Gamzee. He lets a hand slide down his torso, heading for his hips.]

[While Dave is rinsing off, Tav stands and pushes his boxers the rest of the way down his hips, tossing them into a pile with the rest of their clothes. He turns at the sound of the curtain sliding back, gaze wandering automatically down Dave's body, which he swears he gets more appreciative of every time he sees it. But it comes with a price; he catches the last of the blood flowing down the drain, remembers that not long ago, he witnessed some things that were very, very uncomfortable.]

uHH,

[His response is cut off by the sight of Dave's hand wandering downward, and even though he's feeling pretty shitty, he can't deny that it's an awfully nice sight. So he nods, still flushed, reminding himself that he and Dave are matesprits, that it'll be alright, and moves so that he's sitting on the edge of the tub. His stomach is churning; this is going to be awkward, and what if Dave sees him with his legs off and decides Tav isn't attractive anymore, that it's too weird?

But no, he reminds himself. You know who wouldn't be having a problem with this, he asks himself? Rufio. Rufio would take his damn legs off and be sexy as hell, all while positively bursting with self-confidence. Hell yeah.

Tav reaches down, carefully, and tugs at the edge of one metallic thigh, carefully angled so the mist coming from the shower stall doesn't get on his prostheses. And after a moment and a hard tug, it comes off, leaving the bare stump of his thigh, which has finally healed after its rather brutal removal. He repeats the process on the other side, and then uses his arms to swivel himself on the edge of the tub so he's facing Dave, lain bare with his heart on his sleeve.]

[Dave slides rather unceremoniously to the floor of the tub, propping his back against the wall so that he's relatively eye-level with Tav. Briefly, he tips his head back to let the warm spray push his hair back from his face, then looks back across at the troll, readjusting his shades.]

[He reaches out, his face serious, and places a hand on Tav's stunted thigh.]

[He struggles to keep his expression completely neutral, and hopes Tav's spent enough time with him to know that he's joking.]

[Tav's gaze follows Dave's descent, and he's grateful to him for putting them on a level with each other. He stiffens, just a little, at the hand on his thigh, and at first, his throat tightens up—until he takes a deep breath, reminds himself that this is Dave Strider he's talking to, and then proceeds to crack the fuck up, dissolving into that ridiculous giggle, much to his horror.]

hAHAHA,
yES, i DID, nOTICE THAT,
fUNNILY ENOUGH,
i, uH,
hAD AN UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT WITH A,
cRAZY CHAINSAW-WIELDING TROLL GIRL,

[Dave feels a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth when Tav dissolves into that fucking giggle, but it fades away as the troll keeps talking, and his grip tightens slightly on Tav's leg.]

oH,

[Tav bites his lip, realizing that Dave doesn't really know the whole story. Absently, his fingers brush across the hand on his thigh, flitting across long, pale human fingers.]

iT WAS, uM,
kANAYA,
bUT SHE HAD TO DO IT, sO, uH,
eQUIUS COULD GIVE ME MY NEW LEGS, yOU SEE,
iT WAS MOSTLY JUST, uH,
uNEXPECTED, pERHAPS,

[Tav shrugs, trying to be nonchalant. It was worth it, after all, even if it hurt like a thousand bitches without anesthetic or even so much as a heads-up. He leans forward, mindful of his horns, and ducks his head into the spray of the shower, wetting down his hair so it hangs in his face. He's already feeling a little better, he has to admit.]

[Dave ducks instinctively out of the way of Tav's horns, reaching up with his other hand to brush idly against the length of one.]

[He pauses, fingers moving idly against Tav's horn.]

[Dave shrugs and pulls his hands back, bracing them on the bottom of the tub and levering himself up to start washing off.]

[He barely stifles a shiver, because hand plus horn plus wet is something that makes him go all weak and tingly and yep he's definitely got a hard-on now, damn it. He shrugs again.]

sHE ISN'T CRAZY, i,
dON'T THINK,
hAHA,
i MEAN SHE IS A RAINBOW DRINKER BUT i DON'T THINK THAT MEANS,
aNYTHING AS FAR AS, uM,
mENTAL HEALTH, mAYBE,
aNYWAY i'M GLAD THAT, sHE AND rOSE SEEM TO BE, uM,
hAPPY WITH EACH OTHER, oR SOMETHING,

[He moves as Dave does, turning so that he's propped with his back against the edge of the back shower wall, still seated on the edge of the tub, and watches idly, lazily, taking in the sight of Dave with water streaming down the planes of his body. Okay, this is...this is pretty nice. Clearly he had nothing to be worried about. Probably.]

[Dave might notice Tav's eyes on him, and his hands might linger overly long as he soaps himself up, just the same way he might arch his back just a little more than is necessary when he rinses the suds from his hair. It kind of makes him feel like he's in a cheesy porn movie, but that's kind of ironically cool, yeah? And there's definitely something enjoyable about seeing how Tav reacts.

He gets all the bits of himself that are easily accessible, then turns and gives Tav those eyebrows again.]

[At this point, he's not even pretending not to stare anymore; his eyes follow the path of Dave's hands, lingering for a long time on the curve of his ass. He really does have a nice ass. Tav jumps, a little guiltily, as Dave turns around, but nods and scoots along the ledge so he can reach his back.

Tavros grabs the bar of soap and lathers up his hands, before reaching up and gently gliding a hand down the curve of Dave's spine, being extra gentle around the partially-healed cuts and scratches, lathering the soap across shoulderblades and then down to the small of his back.]

[Dave crouches, so that Tav can reach all of his back and up over his shoulders, and lets himself...relax. It's been a long time since he could, so he relishes the feeling, crouching there with his hands braced lightly on the floor of the tub.

As Tav works, Dave remembers what Gamzee left him with, at the end, and he speaks after a moment, surprisingly softly.]

[Tav lets his hands wander, oddly pleased by Dave's accommodation, and his fingers are kneading into Dave's shoulders, slickened by soap and water, when Dave speaks up. His hands still, just for a moment, and he hesitates before replying.]

oH, iT'S OKAY, i THINK,
wE'RE SORT OF IN A PILE OF, wATER DROPS, kIND OF,
bUT, uH,

[Carefully, making sure his horns don't get in the way, he rests his chin on Dave's left shoulder, knuckling down his spine gently. If they're going to have a feelings jam, might as well do this properly.]

i GUESS IT'S JUST, uM,
i'M BAD AT BLACKROM AND THAT SORT OF, uHH, tHING,
aND SEEING YOU DOING, uM, tHAT,
wITH gAMZEE,
wAS SORT OF,
uNCOMFORTABLE, iN A WAY,
i DON'T KNOW, iT WAS, uM,
sORT OF STUPID,
bUT IT'S OK, i THINK, nOW,

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