Unveiling

[Existentially Odd]

Tom\'s head tilted as he watched Reed pull away completely, surprised because... well, he hadn\'t expected his tease to go like that at all.  He\'d anticipated being growled at, ground into and maybe even begged (yeah, he liked the begging bit alright), but his friend didn\'t look in the mood to do any of those things.  He didn\'t look happy at all, in fact and the longer Tom watched him, the more obvious it became.

Still, it wasn\'t like he hadn\'t dealt with an angry Reed before.  He laughed off the comment but had a very serious answer for it regardless.  "Not can\'t.  I just... don\'t want to," he shrugged, grinning approvingly at his buddy.  "Shit\'s boring as hell without you," he said offhandedly, stepping back and under the spray.  He began soaping properly and adjusted the taps but found he was fighting a losing battle - the water was definitely going cold.

[Trillian]

As Tom stared at him, Reed stared back and soon enough Tom had an answer as he always had an answer and then continued to shower.  Reed, who wasn\'t in the mood after being worked up (and then down), was feeling like the shower water - first heated, then cooling down.
 
I\'m just tired
 
Yeh, tired, that was the reason, that would work.  The flight had tired him out.  Fuck that shit, he knew it was crap, but he clung to it as a desperate man would for an easy explanation.
 
He stepped out whilst informing Tom:  "You\'re fighting a losing battle," because he could feel the water turning tepid.  He realised that his words could also mean for his state of mind as well, but that shit was way too deep so shook his head (much like a dog) and then grabbed a towel to finish the job properly.

[Existentially Odd]

The vampire raised his eyebrows as Reed went past him with a snippy comment, wondering what he was talking about.  He didn\'t even contemplate that the mortal was talking about the water, he thought maybe he was warning Tom not to bother trying to cheer him up because he was beyond that.

Well, he\'d see about that.

Once he\'d finished washing away soap - from bits that had been cleaned thoroughly just a short while before he went to pick Reed up from the airport (and therefore didn\'t need another clean but it had been habit to do so... and some parts had build up that needed to be rinsed away, anyway) - Tom turned the water off and joined his friend outside the stall.  He grabbed his (still damp) towel, watching the brunette thoughtfully.  He was certainly getting the cold shoulder so he wasn\'t quite as confident at dispelling the bad mood as he had been.

"Ready for bed?" he asked, thinking Reed was tired and being fussy, as they all had a habit of being after an international flight.  It was nothing unusual, but the fact that there weren\'t four other guys here to deflect the crankiness made it more noticeable.  He guessed.

[Trillian]

"No," Reed replied succinctly, not looking at Tom as he rubbed the towel across his hair and then his skin, drying himself thoroughly and without fuss.
 
What\'s going on with you?
Sleeping when you still have time to kill?
You have a fucking day of sleep and you want more?
 
"There\'s a lot of night left," he said after a long moment, then frowned at his buddy.

[Existentially Odd]

Tom grunted, raising his eyebrows and avoiding making the point that he believed Reed was in need of a nap.  He treasured having his head attached to his body, after all.  "So you want to go out, then?" he queried, wanting clarification before he advanced the conversation.

He was becoming exceedingly cautious as they went along, realising that perhaps he\'d completely lost the insinuation that he wanted to go to bed with Reed - and not for sleep - somewhere along the way.  What the fuck did he care whether it was night or day?  His house was completely sun proofed, time passed without him knowing exactly when it was - and he\'d been surprised to find himself up in the daylight more and more often, after he\'d spent nights alone and doing nothing but sleeping - and he hadn\'t thought Reed wanted to venture into the city.  He\'d cartainly made a lot of noise about hating it last time.

[Trillian]

"No."
 
He didn\'t want to go out, not in this city.  He was grumpy now about being stuck in this house while Tom turned into Not-Tom and there was no place else to go that didn\'t involve leaving himself prone to all the other freaky night-creatures that lived here.
 
Was that how this city had started?  A few more than usual had settled down, which attracted more and more until vampires like Tom felt at home with others of his kind?
 
He finished drying himself and left the bathroom, telling Tom he\'d be unpacking.

[Existentially Odd]

Tom melodramatically contemplated the ceiling, with outstretched arms and a \'Why me, Lord?\' expression that didn\'t bear any more than an antagonised growl - low in his throat so Reed wouldn\'t see how frustrated with him he was getting - before he grabbed his clothes and followed his friend out of the bathroom.
 
"So you want to unpack - then what?" he asked, trying to remain calm but it was apparent his patience was wearing thin. "Cos\'... y\'know... you\'re my guest and all and what you say goes! If you tell me you want to ride around on my bike for three hours, you can do it; if you tell me to go buy you a three course meal of steak and bat droppings, I\'ll do it; if you tell me to take you to the highest point in the city and blow you, I\'ll do it... but you gotta\' give me some idea what you want, dude!" he declared exasperatedly, watching Reed\'s meticulous movements closely.

[Trillian]

Reed ignored Tom until the last suggestion came,
 
blow me?
 
causing him to hesitate for a moment, surprised by what the other had said before dismissing it as usual Tom bullshit.  It was weird having Tom bouncing around him, calling him a guest and demanding to be given orders.
 
"The bike sounds good," Reed said as he picked up a trio of folded t-shirts and transferred them into a drawer.  He didn\'t look at Tom as he said this, waiting until after the shirts were put away before he stood up straighter and looked at his buddy.  There was still more to unpack but he figured that the vampire might have something to do or say in the face of Reed\'s anti-social behaviour.

[Existentially Odd]

Tom\'s jaw set and he stalked out of the bedroom (flinging his clothes ruthlessly onto the bed as he did, not caring that he was naked as he prowled around).  He went to the lounge room, where he kept his keys in a crystal bowl on an end table, for it was the mid-point to most directions and doorways in the house.  He snatched his bike keys up and strode back down the hall to his room, where he dangled them sharply in Reed\'s face.

He realised then that he hadn\'t moved fast enough to stay ahead of his hurt that his friend wished to leave his presence already; neither had an answer to the dilemma that that caused inside him arisen in his haste.

"Here," he barked, expecting the mortal to snatch the keys away and make a hasty retreat and not wanting him to but unwilling to say so.  He was a guest and cranky, after all; he needed to be appeased.

[Trillian]

Reed snatched them as predicted, but he didn\'t make a hasty retreat.  Instead, he got angry and got into Tom\'s face.
 
"What the fuck is up with you, man?" he said, frowning and spreading out his arms, the hand that didn\'t hold the keys was palm out in a gesture of appeal.  "I don\'t know how to act with you hovering all over me and fucking... storming around."

[Existentially Odd]

Tom frowned through his glare, taking an unsteady step back and ruffling a hand through his hair, the other attached to his hip.  He tried to think of something argumentative to say, but found that he was done with avoiding shit and couldn\'t even bring himself to prolong the antagonism.  Not that he couldn\'t be bothered; he didn\'t want to fight with Reed.  It took him a few moments of silence to process that little realisation (and quite a lot of hair pulling, too).

"I\'m sorry.  I don\'t want to make you.... I don\'t wanna\' upset you.  Fuckit," he swore softly, worriedly, both hands now dropping to his hips and his shoulders drooping marginally.  "I just want you to be happy, that\'s all.  I\'m glad you came, I like having you here, I want you to be happy here," he said honestly, voice still low and serious.  "I know it took a lot for you to come because you hate this place but I\'m just so grateful I feel like... like I should make it up to you or something.  Thank you.  And so far I\'ve done a fucking shit job," he laughed ruefully, "so I dunno\' how the fuck to make it better now, except by giving you whatever you want."

[Trillian]

Reed stared at Tom like he\'d just grown two heads.
 
he\'s babbling sensitive new age shit
he loves me, man
no way he\'s Tom
I hate committment
you both hate committment
sounds like he wants more out of me regardless
 
Reed didn\'t know what to say.  He continued to look at Tom and then finally tore his eyes away so he could look back at his suitcase.
 
could just throw all my shit back in here
leave take off go away exit outta here
 
"I should finish unpacking, then," Reed said in a voice that sounded like a lot of punch had been taken out of it.  Tom had smacked him in a sensitive place and Reed didn\'t really have enough in him to retaliate.  Driven by the statement he\'d made, he returned to putting his clothes away, as though Tom had just said the most normal thing on the planet.

[Existentially Odd]

The expression on Reed\'s face was
 
aghast
 
enough to make Tom wither inside. He walked back to the bed, leaving Reed to fill his cupboard with his clothes and feeling like he\'d been kicked in the balls. He pulled his jeans on without underwear, just because he felt he needed the protection, the barrier, and fast. He sat on the bed then, leaning casually against the headboard and staring at the television, taking a moment to register through his thoughts that it was focussed on the bathroom doorway.
 
He really was fucking things up. He wanted to be closer to Reed, to sire him and share a lot of years together, having fun, but the minute he\'d said something akin
 
not even akin, a far distant cousin to what you really want and feel but on the same family tree and... it was enough... even so far away... not even close to grandma vampirism and inviting Reed to come play on your team for eternity
 
to how he felt, his buddy had clammed up and gone all... stiff. There was an air of awkwardness about them, thickening the atmosphere of the room and making him hate the fact that he\'d ever even opened his mouth. The worst part was, the only way to fix it (as far as he saw) was to explain... and he was fucked if he was going to continue in that vein tonight.
 
Reed had just got off the plane, had just set foot in his home for the first time and he (like a fucking moron) had been hinting that he wanted stuff from him on a more permanent basis from the get-go. He hadn\'t been able to specify but he was beginning to see how that was bad. That Reed had got... some sort of other impression
 
because vampirism was the logical conclusion and he should\'ve figured it out? You fucking idiot, review! You said you were glad he was here and talked about him having a room in your house. He thinks you want to have his babies or something and he has no fucking clue what to do with that - or you. You freaked him out!
Ohhhh.
 
and was now just waiting for... a proposal of marriage or something? Fucking hell. He flicked through the cameras and took them out of their zoomed modes one by one, altering the perspective he\'d previously gained on Reed\'s luggage into an overall view of the room and them in it, not really watching but waiting for his friend to say something or do something instead. He\'d obviously done enough talking for one night (or ten).

[Trillian]

Reed finished packing in silence, feeling like he was under the microscope and being very tense because of it.  Self-awareness was a real bitch when all he wanted to do was relax.  He\'d come here looking forward to spending time with Tom and hanging out, chilling out, only to find Not-Tom had invaded his buddy and wasn\'t going to leave anytime soon.
 
Was it this city?  Was there something here that affected supernaturals?  Like a chemical in the air that made them want to grab a partner and settle down?  He wouldn\'t\'ve believed it if Tom hadn\'t been acting so... well, funky.
 
He finished unpacking, hefted his suitcase into the closet and shut the door, felt a lump in his jeans pocket and wondered what the hell it was, and ended up fishing out the keys to Tom\'s bike.  Ah.  Habit had taken over and he\'d shoved them into his pants to get them out of the way.  He used them as an excuse to approach Tom now, and handed them to him.
 
"Not really in the mood for a bike ride, to be honest," he said, offering a tiny and very uncertain smile.
 
Please?
can we just go back to being normal?

[Existentially Odd]

Tom gave a small smile and took the keys, tossing them onto the bedside drawers near his left hip.  "No problem," he said casually, clearing his shirt and underwear off the bed with a swipe of his leg and indicating the area beside him with a thumb as he said, "you should probably rest a while anyway.  I would\'ve been paranoid about you operating my delicate machinery so soon after getting off the plane.  You\'d probably drive it on the wrong side of the road and crash or some shit

and die... yep, you\'d die
Fuck, stop it!

so I\'d have had to go with you anyway," he said, managing a laugh that sounded casual.

He averted his gaze to the television, watching as it switched from cameras to cable and some stand up comedian started making jokes about fast food.  He wanted to turn the lights out - he had a switch for them all built in beside him, as well as in the wall near the door - but wasn\'t sure that that would relax Reed, either.