ArchivedLogs:Solid Foundation

Solid Foundation
Dramatis Personae Toru, Trib
In Absentia	2013-07-12 Beginnings -- for real. WARNING: A looong scene, with snuggles.
Location <NYC> Toru's Apartment
If not for the respectable level of clutter, Toru's apartment would almost look like a display model. It's a studio, and one that would be a bit on the cramped side if it wasn't so sparsely decorated, but as it stands it's downright /roomy/. In the living area, the floor is bare, and the far wall has a window with an alley view; against that wall sits a sofa with stripes of varying widths, in multicolored blues, greens and browns. On either side of the sofa are stacks of thick, Japanese-language manga magazines which, apparently having been read by now, are now serving as makeshift coffee tables. Bike hooks drilled into the wall support an expensive-looking bicycle, and a skateboard leans against the wall next to it. The kitchen is separated from the rest of the apartment by a countertop, and it contains your usual kitchen appliances, all of which are pretty clean save for a light layer of dust. The cabinets, if one were to pry, contain no real diningware, but instead a collection of takeout containers and cups. Next to the (all but empty) fridge is a short hallway with a closet on one side, shelves on the other (mostly full of folded pants and shorts), and a bathroom at the end. Toru slept late, today, not waking up until close to noon, and spending the early afternoon on the various frivoloties that make up being alive. Breakfast a few blocks down, a stop for parts at a bike shop, and back home again by midafternoon. Once he gets there, he sends off a text message to Trib with his address and, 'come by whenever if you feel like it, whatever i ain't your boss', and, whether he gets a reply or not, settles into the couch for the all-important afternoon nap. The dangers of keeping the couch in the path of a sunbeam. There was no reply to the text. Perhaps Toru sent it out into the ether. But, in the early evening, a large form appears in the hallway to Toru's apartment, one familiar only to him (at least around here). Trib is dressed in a pair of cargo shorts and a plain blue pocketed t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers that are battered-looking. It's still hot outside, evidenced by the ring of sweat at the collar of Trib's shirt, and the dampness of the hair hanging around his face. In his left hand, he carries a plastic bag that smells like burgers and fries, and it swings idly at his side as he makes his way down the hall, scanning apartment numbers until he reaches his destination. Once there, he raises his half-hand and balls it into a fist that he brings down on the door like a hammer, rattling the wood. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. From inside the apartment, Trib will hear a /thump/, like the sound of a tiny, sleeping Japanese boy falling to the floor after getting abruptly woken up by a loud KNOCKing. A moment passes before he's finally making his way to the door, checking the peephole to confirm that it is, in fact, the only person who has any business banging on his door like that, and opening the door to let Trib in. Today's Toru is dressed in a now-wrinkled navy t-shirt - Taco Night '98 - and gray cargo shorts, bare feet, and trying his best to look /smooth/ through bleary eyes. He does manage a sleepy smile as he lifts a hand in a vague wave, then steps away from the door to give Trib room to come in. "Hey. Lock the door behind you, man, it ain't that great a neighborhood." A /little/ better than Trib's, but only barely. "Man, what time is it, even?" Trib's mouth curls into a smile at the sight of a sleepy Toru, and there's a warmth that flares in his eyes for just a brief moment. "Hey," he grunts, following the younger man into the apartment. He barks a laugh at the request, turning to secure the locks with a wider pull of his mouth. "You're tellin' me. I think I saw a couple of rats in a knife fight downstairs." Once the locks are done up, he comes into the apartment properly, looking around and taking in the minimalist decor as he sets the bag on the counter. "It's about five o'clock," he answers the question, and then he FROWNS around. "Man, you wasn't fuckin' kiddin'. You ain't got shit for furniture." He wrinces, then, and tries again. "I mean, nice couch." "That's just Jesse and Jorge, they're bros," Toru replies, re: the rats, and fusses with his hair for a minute so that it's in that usual semi-stylish mess he likes, and the remark about his decor is just met with a goofy grin. "What? It ain't like I'm ashamed of it or nothin', I just got like, a routine. And my routine ain't ever involved bringin' anyone up /here/ before." He then, a bit abruptly, approaches the counter at a bit of a half-run, so that he can /jump/ up and sit on the edge of it, leaning over to paw through the bag. "But the couch is a little more cozy than your setup, man. Though I did kinda forget, uh.." Frowning a bit, there, he looks Trib up-and-down, looks over at the couch, tilts his head appraisingly. "...Your feet might go over the edge a little." Trib shakes his head mournfully. "Man, it's sad when brothers come to blows," he says, putting his hand over his heart. "Here's hopin' they work it out." His own smile is loose as he leans against the counter, leaving plenty of room for that jump-sit. There are burgers, wrapped snugly in paper, in the bag, and fries that, while not /hot/, are warm and crispy-looking. There are even a couple of apple pies in there. The defense of the couch gets a wry sort of look, and he follows Toru's gaze down his body before he, too, glances at the couch. "I've had worse," he grunts. "You see me on those fuckin' cots in the cages? I slept with my feet on the floor, half the time." His eyes crinkle, and he tips his head, as if he might ask something. But, the question never comes. Just the look. Toru pulls out one of the fry containers and settles to chewing on those for the moment, nodding in between bites. "Yeah," he answers with his mouth full, swallows, pounding his chest with a fist before continuing, "Yeah, I guess that woulda been the case." If nothing else, he is noticeably a lot more /at ease/ than he has been, of late, though whether that comes from being on his home territory or from something else entirely is anyone's guess. Another few fries are crammed into his mouth, and he gives Trib another look, head tilted again to one side. This time, he waits until he's actually swallowed his food before speaking. "Somethin' on your mind? There should be some cans of Coke in the fridge if you're thirsty." "I got lots of shit on my mind, Bones," Trib drawls as he moves to the fridge and gets out two cans of Coke, bringing them back and setting one down next to Toru. "'specially lately. But I was just thinkin' that if I'da known this was a sleepover, I'da brought my jammies." His eyes crinkle in amusement as he pops the top on his can, and absently switches it with the one next to Toru. Then he begins digging in the bag, pulling out a burger and fry container for himself, then pulling out the other burger and shoving it at Toru without comment. Pulling the burger over next to him, though he doesn't unwrap it just yet, Toru grins a little sheepishly. "Well, it doesn't /gotta/ be; maybe I was just sayin' that for like, future consideration, yeah?" He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, shakes his head a little, and pulls up that soda can to take a few sips. For a moment, he gets an equally thoughtful look on his face, frowning a bit with his mouth screwed off to one side. A moment of consideration later, he nods just once, almost imperceptibly, and takes another sip from the can before hesitantly adding, "I hung out with my brother yesterday. It ain't like I can't make my own decisions or nothin', but like... sometimes it's easier to talk shit out with someone who knows where you're comin' from, y'know?" Trib grunts as he unwraps his burger, and he gives Toru a sidelong glance. "Seems more like somethin' /you/ should be considerin'," he says, his lip curling into a smile. "I know where /I/ stand on it." When Toru rubs the back of his neck, the big man shifts a bit, and takes a bite of his burger as he listens. "No one knows you like your family," he says softly, when the smaller man finishes speaking. "My granddad -- I could tell him anything." He sounds wistful as he says this, and his eyes darken just a shade before he shakes it off visibly. "So, did it help, talkin' to him?" he asks, genuinely curious. "He give you some sound, brotherly advice?" Toru takes the opportunity to finish off his fries, nodding quietly as Trib speaks and, as he swallows his food, following it with another sip of Coke. The burger is unwrapped, but he doesn't bite into it just yet; instead he just offers another one of his sheepish grins, and lifts a hand to wiggle it in sort of 'eh' gesture. "I'unno if you'd say /advice/, he kinda..." A little half-shrug there. "He pretty much was just like..." Suddenly, he trails off a little bit, and for a minute it almost seems like he's not going to finish the thought; he's got that introspective look again. But eventually he jerks his head up, as if startled, and looks up to Trib. "-- He said he doesn't figure havin' you around is gonna change who I am and I probably oughtta stop worryin' about what he thinks so much." Trib's smile looks more smirky, although there's no smugness in it. He looks at Toru for a long moment, watching him carefully. "Sounds like your brother's got his shit together," he rumbles. Tilting his head down as if looking over a pair of glasses, Toru gives Trib a bit of a /look/. Smirking /just/ a touch, he adds, "I kinda got the impression he wasn't really all that /eager/ to have that kinda talk with his kid brother, though. Not," and here he considers the burger, "that I can blame him. I prob'ly wouldn't either." Burger is chomped and chewed thoughtfully, and he idly sets to swinging his feet back and forth in slow arcs. Trib snorts, and reaches out to swat lazily at Toru's knee. "Naw, I can't imagine it's on the top ten list of talks brothers want to have. But, like I said, he sounds like a smart guy." He grabs some fries, poking them into his mouth and chewing with a thoughtful look. "He older or younger'n you? Sounds like he's older." Toru sticks his tongue out in response to that swat, jerking away /just/ a bit, in played-up surprise. "Yeah he's a smart guy or I wouldn't be talkin' to him, right?" He sounds just a /touch/ defensive on that point, but he drops the tone quickly enough. "He's uh.. five years older'n me? I dunno why they waited so long to have another kid, I guess with Kazuo in kindergarden it made it easier for ma to wrangle another kid." A shrug, there. "I'unno, whatever. Here I am doin' all the talkin' again. You got any sibs?" Another big bite of the burger is bitten off, and he chews slowly while awaiting an answer. "I dunno," Trib says, smirking around a mouthful of burger. "You talk to me, an' I ain't exactly some sort of genius." He seems content to listen, as long as Toru talks, slowly making his way through his meal. He shakes his head in response to the question, and lifts a shoulder. "I'm an only child," he says. "My ma and pop didn't get along very well, after he made her name me after his favorite character from some dumbass series of Western novels." He grabs the last of his fries, poking all but one into his mouth. The last gets used as a baton, of sorts, waving around as he continues. "I always wanted a brother, though." "Yeah, but you started talkin' t'me /first/," Toru notes, pointing his burger at Trib. "And yeah I /was/ kinda wonderin' about the name so I guess that explains it. I think the big brother thing ain't all it's cracked up to be, though. I mean like, lookin' back, I was probably like.. a /hella/ pain in the ass as a kid, y'know?" Finishing off the burger, then, in a few large bites, he is at least careful not to choke on it when he swallows, and the food is, once again, followed by a long gulp of Coke and probably finishing that off as well. And then he slides back down to stand on the floor again, folding his arms up behind his head and stepping a few paces away, to turn and look at Trib curiously. "So..." It's accompanied by a curious, if uncertain expression. "Fair enough," Trib says with a chuckle, licking salt from his fingers as the last fry is consumed. Then he's fishing out the napkins that were ignored, and wiping his hands clean before he cleans up. He does it briskly, pulling out the pies and setting them aside as he piles the trash into the bag. "I got new for you, Bones. You're kind of a pain in the ass /now/." He grins. "If you were worse then, I'm gonna nominate him for the sainthood for not killin' you before you got your teeth." That's said with a flex of his fingers. When Toru steps away, Trib leans against the counter, watching him move for the moment. When he speaks, that golden gaze slides up(!) to meet Toru's, and his brow twitches slightly. "So," he agrees with a pull of his mouth to one side. He rubs a finger along his nose, and one eyebrow lifts in his own curious expression. "Where's your brain right now?" "Y'know, I /knew/ you were gonna say that, you dick." Toru sticks his tongue out, but he makes sure to play heavy on the 'joking' tone. So that it's clear that he's. Joking. Arms are dropped, though he does brush one thumb against the side of his nose on that hand's way to hang at his side, and that last question is answered with a sort of helpless little shrug. "It's kinda at... I ain't really sure where to go from where we're at." He sort of just nods a few times, uneasily, hooking his thumbs in his pockets and rocking back and forth from the heels to the balls of his feet. "I mean I assume it ain't gonna hurt your feelings or nothin' if I say I'm still not all that sure I like you /that/ much, yeah? Don't get it twisted, I mean, you're good in my book and all." Striding back over towards the counter, hesitantly, he stops next to Trib, resting an elbow against the counter's surface. "I just ain't sure like. How good. I ain't goin' back on tryin' this out, I mean." Trib returns the tongue-wag, giving Toru an 'yeah, I know' kind of wink. He doesn't move, much, as Toru begins to speak, watching the smaller man with a small, emotionless narrowing of his eyes. When Toru approaches the counter, the big man presses his lips into a line as he considers his words. "We ain't got to go nowhere," he grunts, finally, reaching up to rake his fingers through his hair and push it back from his face. "I told you that. Wherever we go from here -- that's on you, dude." He lifts his eyebrows, and his gaze is warm as he looks at Toru. "If you ain't comfortable with shit, well..." he lifts a shoulder. "I like bein' around you. It don't necessarily have to be in a kissin' an' cuddlin' way." He smiles, then, a weary lift of the corner of his mouth. "Unless that's somethin' /you/ want." It's a hesitant gesture, but Toru, gradually, extends a hand to rest at Trib's side, just above the waist of his shorts, gripping just enough to keep from sliding back off. "Yeah, I know," he half-mumbles, avoiding eye-contact for a moment; he's back to being all sheepish again. "I guess I can't really shake this feelin' like you're /expectin'/ somethin' from me. I mean, you said you ain't and I know you ain't, but it's just. I guess 'cause of this bein' a new thing I'm bein' all second-guessy, and I gotta say I really don't like not knowin' what I'm doing in a situation." That little admission does get a bit of a grin from the younger man, and he tilts his head up to look Trib in the-- face, at least, if not the eyes. "I think I just kinda figure... well like I said the other day, you keep up this 'nice' stuff and every time we do this hangin' out thing I'm gonna be all bashful and stupid. I guess if you're /into/ that it's okay, but from my side it's weird as hell." Trib barks a hard noise at the thought that he's expecting something. It might be a laugh, but it's a little hard-edged. "Bones," he says, reaching up to rub at his eyes for a brief moment. "Just...fucking shut up, for a minute." He continues to rub at his eyes, as if he's suddenly experiencing a headache. Which, given how hard it looks like he's thinking about things, may be a distinct possibility. "I ain't sure what you want me to do," he admits, finally, his tone the tiniest bit weary. "I ain't never tried to date someone new to all of this, an' I don't want to fuckin' fuck things up so that we can't even be /friends/, after." He rubs at his face, stepping back just a bit. Not enough to dislodge Toru's hand, which gets covered briefly with his own. "It's fuckin' weird as hell for me, too," he rumbles, squeezing his hand once before removing it. "'Cause I really like you. Pain in the ass an' all." While it isn't like he wasn't /aware/ of that fact, the admission of 'like' still, somehow, provokes a /blush/ from the younger man, along with a brief flash of a surprised expression. And a slight reddening to the blush. Gripping Trib's side just a bit, he shakes his head a few hurried times, and mumbles some apologetic-sounding noises until he can work himself up into actual /words/. "No, no, you're right, I'm just-- maybe I'm tryin' to fuck it up all like, subconscious or somethin'" He starts to step away, though before removing his hand he gives a little tug, then heads over to sit on the couch, curled up against one arm of it. "I always ruin shit by overthinkin' it, that's my problem," his tone is one of disbelief, but it's directed at himself. "Forget I even said anything." Trib's expression softens a bit, at that blush, and there's a corresponding flush that works its way through his own ears, and into the borders of his face. "No, I get it," he says. "It's new an' scary, an' sometimes it's easier to fuck it up yourself an' say 'well, that went like I thought it was gonna.'" He rolls his shoulders. "I ain't sure why, but it is. I've done it." That gentle tug is enough to get Trib following Toru to the couch, where he sprawls against the opposite arm. "But don't give yourself shit for thinkin' about it," he rumbles, when he's settled. "You /should/ be thinkin' about it. It's not a bell you can fuckin /un/ring, yeah?" "Ngh. Too late, shit given and received," Toru mumbles, his head tilting back. The couch is perhaps a bit surprisingly comfortable! A little flat in some places but overall, not bad. There's also a wide empty gap in the middle, now, between the two men, which Toru side-eyes for a moment but ultimately ignores for now. "I'd say maybe I oughtta just stop talkin' entirely but..." He gestures to the mostly-empty living room. "...that works a little better if you've got like, a TV. Maybe I oughtta get one when I move." His expression softens just a touch, head turning to look Trib over. "I mean if I'm gonna be havin' company it might be a little more hospitable than like... here's my place, there's the couch." "Well, don't do it no more," is the advice from the other end of the couch. "You'll just make yourself fuckin' crazy." Trib's sprawl means that his legs are closer to Toru than the middle of the room, and he jiggles a toe thoughtfully, watching the smaller man across that gap. "TV's obnoxious," he drawls, his eyes half-lidded as he rolls his gaze along Toru's frame. "Unless it's the fights, an' those cost money to watch." He rolls his head to one side, and his arm drapes along the back of the couch lazily. "Besides, it ain't like you're borin' me. You got shit to work through." At the moment, Toru is a bit physically withdrawn, almost like he's /avoiding/ touching Trib for.. some reason or another. He steals the occasional glance over that way, but otherwise he's just nodding silently as the other man speaks, mumbling the occasional agreement. "Well, part of the problem is like..." There, biting his lip, he sucks in a sharp breath between his teeth before /taking the plunge/. "...all a-sudden you got me feelin' like I gotta /impress/ you. Like, for real, not like... how I'm usually impressive." And just as abruptly, he starts to scoot his way down the side of the couch, turning so that he can rest his legs along the empty bit, and lean back against Trib's. "And that's got me feelin' like you shouldn't have to deal with my shit." Trib's chin lifts at the admission, and he tips his head to one side as he shifts to give Toru more support with his leg. "Do you feel like you /gotta/?" he wonders, chewing gently at his lip. "Or like you /wanna/? 'Cause that's two different things." Toru opens his mouth, /intending/ to answer the question just about immediately, but then he shuts it again and stops, actually giving it a moment of thought. "More, um. More like I want to, I guess." He's blushing again, and his hand brushes through his hair, scratching at it almost as if trying to get something /out/, in the process he turns his face away so that Trib can't see his /face/ which is. Pretty red. "Well," Trib rumbles, after a moment, his tone warm and odd-sounding. Like he hasn't spoken in a while. And, if Toru looks when he shifts slightly, the skin on the big man's leg has pebbled. His hand comes off the back of the couch to still that scratching, falling lightly on top of Toru's. "I guess that's somethin'." It takes a minute, but Toru does finally calm down on the scratching, his hand flattening against his head for a minute and gradually sliding down to his lap. "Yeah, I guess so," he murmurs quietly, turning to look back to Trib only when he's reasonably sure his face has calmed down a bit. Twisting his torso a bit, then, he moves to lean against Trib's /chest/, and slides a hand down Trib's left arm to grip his hand. "Hey, can I ask you somethin'?" He'll continue, though, without waiting for permission. "What happened to your /hand/?" The other one, one presumes. Trib is solid to lean against, and he shifts his weight to make it more comfortable for both of them, curling an arm lightly around the smaller man. When Toru's hand slides along his arm, his skin jumps, and he chuffs a laugh in response. "It happened when I got my mutant ability," he says after a moment. "Bunch of kids in my neighborhood dared me to eat a light bulb, 'cause we'd seen some dude do it at one of them sideshow things." He curls fingers around Toru's hand, and his lips quirk into a twist of a smile. "It was goin' all right, until my ability kicked in, an' my hand turned to glass. Shattered those two fingers an' part of the hand." He lifts their entwined hands as if inspecting it. Or maybe he's looking at Toru's hand. "It was healed up just fine, when it reverted back, but it was fuckin' scary before that." Toru almost /recoils/ a little at that story, his face twisting into a look of, well, shock. "A fucking /lightbulb/? /Fuck/, dude! I'm surprised it didn't fucking kill--" Stopping abruptly, he frowns a bit at himself, and his face falls a bit. "...God I just sounded like a parent, that's disheartening." He shakes his head a few times, shifting his position a bit to get a little more /comfortable/, and grips Trib's hand a little more firmly. "That's, uh.. I guess at least it worked out mostly ok except for the whole. Missin' fingers thing. Yeah?" His free hand comes up to run over his hair, brushing at it a bit, then finds its way to Trib's shoulder. "I guess I'm not really sure why I expected that not to be a gruesome story somehow." "Oh, I fuckin' thought I was goin' to die," Trib says, accomodating the shifting with small rolls of his torso. "It burned like fire all the way down. Which I guess was my ability kickin' in." He shrugs; an unsual seismic ripple that rolls through his body. He chuckles at Toru's self-horror, and he chews on a thought before he delivers it. "It's okay," he announces. "You can talk to me like that, when I need it. When I /need/ it," he emphasizes with a chuckle. He pulls their joined hands up to his chest, and looks down at Toru with that same half-lidded stare. "It's only a pain in the ass when I need them fingers," he says helpfully. "Which means I am /fucked/ for knittin' or video games. But it wasn't /that/ gruesome," he offers. "There wasn't no blood. Just..." he breaks off, wrinkling his nose. "Okay, maybe it was a /little/ gruesome." "Man, and here I was hopin' for a pair of socks, too." Toru lifts a bare foot, shaking his head a few times. /Disappointed/! "Dude, I'm barely an /adult/, I ain't ready to be yer /dad/." He chuckles a little at that, squeezing Trib's hand gently for a moment, and squirms around a bit. Having a /little/ bit of a hard time getting comfortable; the position is a little more awkward than he'd expected, but he's stubborn enough to try and make it work. "Anyway, no blood's always a plus, right?" He licks his lips a little nervously, not entirely /subtly/, and moves his free hand to loop around Trib's neck, using it as support to pull himself up into the man's lap. "...Is this okay or is my bony ass gonna be a hassle?" "Well, I could probably make you a pair," Trib drawls, his expression one of lazy amusement. Or something. It's hard to tell. "But you won't get 'em 'till /next/ Christmas." He echoes Toru's chuckle, and when he begins to shift his way into his lap, the big man -- well, he doesn't /help/, but his hand is there to support that bony rump as it makes the transition. "I ain't lookin' for a dad, Bones," he rumbles, now that the younger man is oh so close, and there's the smallest shake in his body that wobbles his voice. He licks his lips in an unconscious mimick of Toru, and he nods at the question; suddenly unable, it seems, to form words. His jaw works, and when he speaks, his voice sounds a bit rougher than usual. "It's just.../fine/." Toru notably does not blush this time, but a quick series of expressions cross his face in rapid succession - confusion, fading into curiosity and then a slow look of realization. Whether he's realized /accurately/ or not, he's not going to come right out and /ask/, but he does, very hesitantly, instead suggest, "Sh.. should I maybe move?" A bit of red does slowly start to creep up his neck, and he gulps just a little bit, heart racing suddenly. It isn't quite discomfort, but it's definitely uncertainty, there, at best. "Or um. Give you a minute Jesus I'm sorry I wasn't really -- thinking." Trib's face is a bit flushed, and he shakes his head, his arm tightening a bit around Toru's waist, and his fingers firming their hold on his hand. "W-we're good," he says, closing his eyes briefly. "I just..." his mouth quirks to one side, in a tilted grin. "Like the way you fit here," he finishes, the color deepening in his face. "A lot." That explanation doesn't do much to calm Toru down; if anything, his pulse just quickens even more. Mouth open, just a bit, to assist with breathing, he nonetheless does /try/ to make himself breathe more slowly. It's just nerves, on his end, but he's got a lot of them. "I-- I figured /that/ out," he stammers, punctuating the sentence with a nervous laugh that goes on for /just/ a second too long; his free hand snaps to cover his mouth and force him to /stop/, while his face just gets that much redder. Muffled through his hand he hastend to add, "I'm-- I'm sorry I'm not laughing /at/ you I just--" Breathe. Breathe. Hesitantly, hand is pulled away, though now he's not sure what to /do/ with it. "--can't really. Think of any way to make this situation better." Trib seems amused by Toru's sudden nervousness, although the color in his own face doesn't seem to be fading any time soon. He chuckles along with Toru's nervous laughter, and when that hand comes free, he releases their entwined hands to reach up and catch it. "Breathe," he murmurs, and brings Toru's palm to his mouth so he can press his lips there softly. There's a bit of a mischevious smile at the admission of Toru's lack of ideas, and one might think he's about to say something really naughty. Instead, he has another press of his lips into Toru's palm, and he murmurs the words against his skin. "It can't get no better, right now." Somehow, Toru manages not to fidget his hand out of Trib's grasp. For a minute he did, indeed, expect a slightly dirtier suggestion, but what he does get just provokes a wide, sort of goofy grin, and a burst of goosebumps along his arms and legs. "Dammit," he mumbles, biting his lower lip just a bit, but he's still grinning. "That is pretty much the fucking like-- /cutest/ goddamn thing." Looking into Trib's eyes, there's a bit of hesitation there, before he slides his hand away from the larger man's lips, brushing his thumb against them as he slides it up Trib's cheek, holding it gently as he leans in to give him a proper kiss; one quite a bit less /tentative/ than the one the other night. Trib looks up as Toru slides his hand along his cheek, and the kiss is clearly unexpected, given the way his eyes widen slightly before he presses into it. His arm snakes more firmly around Toru's waist, pulling him against his chest just a bit tighter as he holds the kiss for a long moment. There's the faintest ghost of his tongue against the barrier of Toru's lips, then he's breaking it off, a shiver rolling through his body. His own grin is goofy, now, and his golden gaze a smokey amber as he regards the smaller man, reaching up to slide his thumb along Toru's lips. "Guess I was wrong," he rumbles shakily. "That was definitely better." Gulping quietly, Toru's grin falters just a touch, his chest heaving with deep, heavy breaths. He closes his eyes for a moment, tilting his head forward to press his forehead against Trib's, resting nose-to-nose. "The last thing I wanna do is like..." a hand gestures in a vague downward direction, then moves around to seek out Trib's hand, interlocking fingers snugly. "...keep you, uh... y'know... but I don't know if I'm good to do that much..." Head tilts down just a moment for a brief kiss, only pulling away again so that he can continue, "...I just guess I've missed /this/ more'n I realized." "Bones." Trib's rumble is soft, and firm, and his smoky gaze crinkles a bit at the edges. "Don't worry about it." He squeezes his fingers around Toru's, and lifts his chin to capture that brief kiss with a small smile. "This is more'n enough for me." "Well, then you gotta longer fuse than I do." The double-entendre is /not/ intentional, and Toru either doesn't notice it or opts not to draw attention; either way, his statement is punctuated with another kiss, which he's content enough to maintain while his free hand slides up to run fingers through Trib's hair, other hand gripping Trib's larger hand a bit more firmly. "What, you're done already?" Trib's tone is lightly teasing before he's silenced by the kiss. One that he returns with more heat, lazy though it seems. He tilts his head, leaning into the hand in his hair, and his fingers tighten gently around Toru's as he subtly shifts the smaller man's weight just the tiniest /bit/. His breathing is a bit ragged by the time their lips part again, and he closes his eyes briefly as he sags back. "Oh, man," he rumbles. "It's been a long time since I fel -- done /that/." He opens his eyes, smoky warmth finding Toru's and locking there fondly. "Told you we didn't need no TV." Breathing roughly himself, Toru grins widely, moving in for just /one/ more little peck, squeezing Trib's fingers once more. He shifts his weight a little bit, though he remains seated where he's been moved, and leans in against Trib's chest, his head resting against the man's shoulder while fingers toy with his hair. "Well, y'know, sometimes I have dumb ideas." And another little squeeze, there. "I guess I'm just a little slow to warm up. Even in this heat," is added, as an afterthought, along with another little grin. The hand around Toru's waist slides up his back, beginning a slow circling along the ridge of his spine, and Trib turns his head to rumble a chuckle against his forehead. "I don't know how dumb your ideas are," he chuckles, sliding his hand around to Toru's ribcage and splaying his fingers there. "I kind of thought your last one was pretty fuckin' good." He shifts his head just a bit, to catch Toru's mouth in a brief, breathless sort of kiss. "Don't you know slow fires burn hotter?" Toru lets out a little half-yelp, half-laugh at that remark about his idea, rubbing at the nape of Trib's neck lightly, though it turns into a firmer sort of grip when Trib leans in for that brief kiss. He's tempted to try to steal a bit more contact, but for the moment, at least, lets it go when Trib pulls back. "I think I mighta heard that somewhere, but I ain't much for campin'," he replies, in a little attempt at humor. "Anyway I think I said /sometimes/ I have dumb ideas." Sliding his hand from Trib's hair down to the man's chest, he nudges gently, looking back up into Trib's eyes, a slightly serious expression on his face now. "So you didn't really say one way or another if you're gonna stay the night." "Really?" Trib seems surprised at the admission about camping. "A city boy like you? I bet you pitch a tent real good, though." Trib's eyes crinkle at the doube entendre, and he shifts his weight so that Toru fits more puzzle-like into the curve of his body. He doesn't answer the question immediately. His smoky gaze is studious as he looks at Toru, and it's clear he's weighing something. "Yeah," he says finally, exhaling shakily and dipping his chin to touch his forehead to the smaller man's. "I'll stay." Another laugh is barked out at that double-entendre, Toru grinning and shaking his head a little. "Unbelievable," he murmurs, but he pulls his head back just a bit to bring it back in for a gentle headbutt. He also, however, notices the hesitation, and his expression shifts to one of concern; a small frown, his grin fading a bit, eyebrows tilting upwards. "Hey, you don't gotta, if there's something you have to do." Squeezing Trib's hand reassuringly, though after the squeeze his hand goes a little limp. "I mean y'don't-- you don't gotta rewrite your routine or nothin' on my account, it's cool if you gotta go." "No, it ain't that," Trib says, shaking his head softly. "I don't got any place to be or nothin'. I just want to make sure you want me to stay 'cause /you/ want it, an' not 'cause you think /I/ want it." His smile tips lop-sidedly, and he picks up the hand squeezing where Toru left off. "Do you want me to stay the night?" he asks, then holds up his half hand in a palms-out salute. "I swear I'll behave myself." He smirks. "Mostly." "Oh! Well, okay then." Toru shakes his head a few times as well, waving his unoccupied hand dismissively. "If I didn't want you to stay I wouldn't-a asked." His expression is just a /touch/ on the concerned side for another moment or so, though, but after a moment he forms his thoughts. "Anything we've like, done so far..." He gestures a bit with his hand as he talks, using it as a sort of means to illustrate his point. "...any of that kinda stuff, I'm pretty much gonna be okay with. 'Cause /I'm/ okay with it and not 'cause I think you want me to be." He frowns a little. "What I mean is... I mean I totally appreciate you bein' cool with me, um, needing a little time but like... you don't have to worry about freakin' me out if you wanna like... make out. Or whatever. That's on the table, okay?" "Okay," Trib says, his eyes warming. Then he's shifting his weight, rolling so that the pair of them are stretched out along the couch. Toru will likely end up a bit sprawled over the boxer's torso, and the hand that was on his back slides down to hold him in place with the only other available (bony) hand-hold. "So, let's start with makin' out, an' we can negotiate the whatever at a later date, yeah?" "Yeah." Toru nods, offering an actual genuine /smile/ as opposed to his usual cocky grins, and wriggles around to try and help Trib get comfortable while he stretches along the couch. It's roomy enough, width-wise, but is indeed just a little on the short side. Toru is only too happy to sprawl atop the larger man, who he finds not /quite/ as physically comfortable as the couch, though perhaps a bit more psychologically so, and his free hand slides down to cram under Trib's back, squished between the boxer and the couch cushion perhaps a little awkwardly. "I just sorta figure it's gonna get boring if we gotta negotiate this far every time we hang out when maybe..." With a thoughtful expression, he tilts his head up to kiss Trib's jaw experimentally. "...I'm startin' to think it might be nice, after all, if you kiss me first instead-a the other way around." Trib is definitely less cushy than the couch, being all bulky muscle under the fabric of his t-shirt. Still, he softens a bit when Toru tries to find a comfortable spot, and his chest vibrates as he chuckles. "This is the only time we're negotiatin' makin' out," he says wryly. "Anythin' else, we can talk about when we need to." He chuckles again as Toru kisses his jaw, and his grin slips into that mischevious tilt. "Oh, yeah?" he asks, and with a roll of his torso and a firm push with his supporting hand, his mouth is on Toru's in a heated kiss that lingers long enough to definitely be entering make-out territory. Toru is actually taken a bit by surprise when Trib kisses him - perhaps he wasn't expecting the suggestion to be acted on so quickly - but he recovers soon enough, actually groaning a little bit against his lips. That hand that had snuck under Trib's back is pulled back out, and the other grips Trib's for support as he shifts around a bit, bringing a leg over Trib's waist to straddle him a bit, his unaccompanied hand sliding up the man's chest... but a moment of thought has him continuing the movement up to the collar of Trib's shirt, gripping that a bit firmly, and otherwise letting gravity help him press - almost hungrily - into that kiss. Toru's reaction gets an approving sort of growl from Trib, and his hand slips from rump to thigh as the smaller man re-positions himself. His fingers press firmly into the ropy muscle there, and he help gravity by raising his head to press just as hungrily back. When it finally breaks, he drops his head back with a happy sounding grunt. "Damn, Bones," he rumbles, chuckling a little bit. "That shit'll make me dizzy." He sounds anything but unhappy about it, and his hand strokes along Toru's thigh gently. "In a good way," he adds, eyes crinkling. "Definitely better than the gettin' punched in the head way." When the kiss breaks, Toru slides his head down to Trib's shoulder, panting a little bit and tugging gently at his shirt collar. "I kinda.. maybemighta gone a little overboard," he grunts between breaths, nuzzling up against the larger man's neck, breath hot against exposed skin. "I didn't-- I wasn't expectin' you to do that," he admits with an audible grin, his voice cracking just a bit at the end. "Sorta got caught up and fuckin'... I should probably be a grownup again," and this confession comes with an exasperated sigh. "I keep thinkin' like maybe I'd be okay with goin' further but I dunno how much of that is me wantin' to do that, how much is me thinkin' /you/ want me to and how much is me thinkin' with my dick. So, uh..." Tugging at that shirt collar again, he moves his head so that he can look in Trib's eyes again, looking a little sheepish. "...can you think of somethin' boring to talk about? 'Cause I got nothin'." Trib is chuckling through most of this speech, although it seems to be sympathetic. It only wavers when Toru's breath hits his skin, and causes it to jump in response. "It's probably all of those," he says with another chuff of laughter. "I mean, I'm right there with you." He shifts his weight, and makes a show of thinking up a boring topic. "I can tell you about my dad's novel," he says with a wrinkle of his nose. "It's all cowboy shit, an' borin' as all /fuck/." He frowns. "Only you might not want to kiss me again, after, so maybe not." Cringing a little at that suggestion, Toru shakes his head a few times, briskly. "No, that's-- that's too much." He is teasing, to an extent, but. Cowboys. "Yeah, okay, my turn." He makes a bit of a show of trying to come up with something, his free hand still playing with the shirt collar, he hums a bit and finally, "Y'know, I actually was kinda startin' to think about looking into moving into your building, but it'd probably be sorta weird now. There's a place in the East Village I'm sorta looking at, but it might be outta my range. Then again, at this point I may just stay here." Trib laughs along with the tease, reaching up to stroke a thumb across Toru's jaw. "Yeah, that's kind of what I figured," he says. "My dad's novel bores me to fuckin' /tears/. I wouldn't do that to you." He chuckles, and shakes his head. "Yeah, livin' in my buildin' might make things a bit awkward," he says slowly. "An' the East Village is a nice place to visit, but you gotta have the bucks if you wanna live there." The final option gets a smirk, and he jostles his torso a bit, jiggling the younger man. "Y'mean right where you are now?" he teases. "You could do worse. At least the foundation's solid." Holding onto Trib a bit firmly, Toru lets out a little yelp of surprise that turns into a laugh, but he shakes his head a few times, sticking his tongue out. "Hey, hey, I thought we were tryin' to /avoid/ that," he nonetheless snickers, relaxing a little once he gets over that initial surprise. "You get provokin' me I won't be held accountable for my actions, y'know." Hand trails down Trib's chest again, gently squeezing a pectoral muscle, eyes watching Trib's face for a reaction. "I mean, if I'm in your building I don't necessarily gotta come by all the time. We can just pretend like we aren't both right there, yeah?" Trib smirks at the warning, and his eyes flare with smoky heat for a moment when Toru's hand finds his chest and squeezes. His own hand drifts back down over the ridge of Toru's spine to a place /he/ can squeeze lightly. The suggestion gets a long look, and there's a slow blink as the big man considers that. "Yeah, that's not gonna work." He says, narrowing his eyes as he offers a lopsided smile. "I think I'd fuckin' /feel/ you right there. An' I couldn't pretend I didn't." His eyebrows twitch as he considers that seriously, and his smile fades into one less playful. "But I could definitely /try/." That line of thought gets Toru blushing again, offering a similarly lopsided smile. "I guess that's a good point, I didn't think about that." His exploratory hand retreats just a bit, sliding down to Trib's side in search of someplace a bit less provocative to rest, and he taps against it gently. "Honestly, it probably wouldn't be a big deal if I stay here. I mean... like I said before, it was really more of a paranoia thing than anything, y'know? Probably if it gets to the point where anyone /would/ be huntin' me down at home... well, at that point we'd all pretty much be fucked, yeah?" Not exactly the most comforting of thoughts, and while he doesn't seem too troubled by it, he does squeeze Trib's hand gently. "And there are a couple places I can fuck off to if I really gotta." "I don't think the cops are gonna come lookin' for us," Trib offers. "You an' me --" he grimaces, and rolls his eyes. "Well, /you/ blend into a crowd pretty fuckin' easy. You could probably give 'em the slip, if it came to that." He shakes his head, his jaw setting a bit. "But I don't think it's gonna come to that," he says, not sounding as confident as his words. "But yeah. If it did come to that, a fair number of us would be fucked right proper." He shifts his weight, craning his head to catch Toru's gaze. "If you need to fuck off on account of the heat bein' on, I understand that," he says slowly. "But if we're still goin', you gotta at least drop me a text, so I know you're okay." "Yeah, 'course." Toru nods, though his tone suggests that he may not have actually thought about that last thing, before. "I mean, like you said, it probably won't happen, but if it does." He slides his free hand under Trib's back, hugging him a little firmly, and almost doesn't say anything more, but finally feels that he needs to clarify, "I actually kinda.. I didn't mean just us guys who were at the fight thing but y'know, mutants in general. Way things're goin'..." Shaking his head, he rests it against Trib's shoulder again, squirming a bit to shift himself downwards so that he can more comfortably use Trib's chest and shoulder as a makeshift pillow. "Bathroom's past the fridge if you need it," he mumbles, closing his eyes and settling in. "And some blankets." A yawn, there. "If you get cold." Curling up just a little bit, he turns his head down, buring his face just a bit into Trib's shirt, and letting out a quiet little sigh as he settles in for a sleep.