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It's about mid afternoon on another warm day. Bobby's up by the lake in his swim suit, sitting on the pier. For a change, he's not doing any winter sports though his hair is damp so at some point he was in the water.
Alex is out for a run again, because really, that's the primary way he keeps himself fit. Today he's in just his shorts, and considering the weather and how long he's been at it, he's got a thin sheen of sweat over his body. As he sees Bobby, he heads over towards him and lifts a hand with a quick wave. But before there's really any chance to say much, he's kicking out of his shoes and jumping in the lake. A moment later, he emerges, lifting himself at the edge of the pier with his arms spread on it and grinning, "Hey."
Bobby didn't seem to see or hear Alex until jumping into the lake made him impossible to miss. "Hey." he returns, giving him a brief smile. "Out running again? Nice day for it." He's been out long enough his shoulders are getting a bit red from the sun.
Alex climbs up out of the lake, shaking his head and sending droplets of water everywhere, then settles down on the edge of the pier, though facing Bobby instead of the lake. "Careful you don't get a sunburn." he cautions with a gesture to Bobby's shoulders, before adding with a grin, "Yeah, I admit I'm completely addicted to the runner's high. Get me running long enough and I come out of it feeling like I'm glowing. What, no ice park?"
Bobby watches Alex climb out but then looks away as soon as he catches himself doing it. "Hmm?" Glancing down, first left then right, he says "Oh. Guess I forgot to put the cream on." He tilts his head toward the shore where there's a cooler and bag. "Nah, wasn't in the mood. Thought I'd just swim for a change. Maybe I'll do some running next time and see what you're talking about."
"I can get your back if you want to put some on how." offers Alex innocently, not at all having any kind of ulterior motive. Not at all. But he grins and nods, "Swimming is good. As for the running, it might take a few times before you really get into it. The first couple you're likely to just end up sore and tired. It's a little bit of a lifestyle as much as its an exercise."
At the offer, Bobby immediately tenses up and stops moving. He might even be holding his breath. "I…" Pausing, he takes a breath and swallows, mouth suddenly gone dry. "You don't need to do that." he says after a moment. "I'm fine."
"Hey, it's no problem. But if you're fine, fine, just let me know if you change your mind. Sunburns are terrible." Alex's voice is all friendly and warm, even if there's a certain look of mischief in his eyes. He glances aside a bit, eyeing his own shoulders and brushing some drops of water off of it, contemplating his own skin for a moment, "But if you do decide to take up running, let me know. Having someone run with you is motivational."
"I'm fine." Bobby repeats, not looking at Alex. "I don't know if I'm going to take up running. But I'll go running with you if you want. I'm not doing anything tomorrow. Just let me know when."
There's a tilt of Alex's head as he regards Bobby for a moment, brow furrowed, looking a little concerned, "No pressure, man? I mean is everything okay?" He's getting these weird vibes and is suddenly uncertain what's causing them. He makes a vague gesture between them, "But if you do want, sure, tomorrow's good. Are you a morning person? Assuming I don't have anything going on a morning run can be refreshing."
"Yeah, I'm fine." Bobby repeats, glancing over at Alex for a moment. See? He can look at him, no problem. "Sure, the morning is good. It'll be cooler too. Do you go before or after breakfast? Is there a rule or something about it? But any time is fine if you've got something to do then."
Alex still gives Bobby a little bit of an odd look, and suddenly seems a touch uncomfortable, glancing away himself, shrugging slightly. "Er, okay. But saying I'm fine three times in a row sounds like a code for not. But." He shrugs again, "There's a lot of debate about if you should eat or not before you run. If you don't, you should be prepared to go have a big breakfast right after. I like having a bagel with lox and cream cheese before the run, along with a cup of coffee. Some people don't do well running with food. Some people don't do well running without. We'll see!" At that he grins a bit tentatively.
Bobby cuts himself off before saying 'I'm fine' again. Instead, he just sighs ever so softly. "Just something on my mind, is all. No big deal. And nothing you do anything about." he adds with a small shrug. "So we'll run after we eat then. I like bagels too so that's fine."
"Ah, well." Alex nods in understanding, "If you want to talk about it, I'm all ears. But if its private, I understand. Still, I'd like to think we're friends, so if you need something, let me know." With that he nods again and smiles quickly, "Sounds like a plan. I drive into the City every sunday to pick up some bagels and stuff— not as good as fresh, but I don't have time to make the drive every morning— and I keep them a bit hidden so the other students and teachers don't raid my stash. But I'll share with you."
"We are." Bobby's quick to say and this time he really looks at Alex. "I just… don't want to talk about it. And there's nothing you can help with." The offer to share gets a smile. "Thanks." Looking back across the lake, he shifts to a cross legged position instead of letting his legs dangle off the edge. It's a couple moments before he says "If you really don't mind, I could probably use some of that sunscreen after all."
Accepting that, Alex nods his head easily enough, especially when Bobby actually looks at him again, that seems to wipe away the concern. Then when Bobby changes his mind, he grins a bit too quickly, and hops up, wandering over to where Bobby indicated his bag was. Digging around in it a bit, he pulls out the container and wanders back, "And hey, its no problem. What are friends for? Besides, everyone needs a hand with this sort of thing. Well, most everyone. There's probably some mutant out there who can manage to put lotion on their back with reversible joints or something." And then crouching, he squeezes some of the lotion out, rubs it between his hands, and proceeds to start applying it to Bobby's back.
"Probably." Bobby agrees. "Or a talented telekinetic. Maybe Jean will be able to some day." At the first touch of Alex's hand, his entire body shudders and he closes his eyes, hating himself for enjoying the feeling of Alex' touch and that he gave into the temptation despite knowing he shouldn't have.
Nothing Alex does is inappropriate; he's just a guy helping a guy out. That it takes just a little too long to rub the sunscreen into Bobby's shoulders is just because he's thorough. The shudder does bring a blink, as Alex is unsure why that would be, but he goes with it. "Good point. Or a duplicator. Wouldn't that be the most handy power? You can do your own back, then proceed to do your other own back." He laughs softly, running his hands along Bobby's sides and lower back then, kneading the lotion in until he's finished. Plopping down nearby, he hands the lotion over and turns slightly, "Okay, do me? Thanks man."
Yeah, Bobby knew that was coming. "Sure." he agrees, taking the bottle then turning so he can more easily reach. Squeezing some of the lotion onto a palm, he sets the bottle aside them rubs his palms together. He hesitates before putting his hands on Alex's shoulders and then starting to rub the sunscreen onto them and then down his back.
Facing away, Alex can enjoy it without having to hide it, so a smile touches his face. He doesn't get touched all that often, the environment being what it is, and so someone massaging some lotion onto his back? It makes him sigh a bit, wistfully. Doesn't hurt that the someone is easy on the eyes, either. "Thanks, you're the best. So what are your plans for the rest of the day? I was thinking of trying that fun thing out you mentioned."
With Alex facing away, Bobby can look all he wants though he does regularly looks toward the school to make sure no one's coming this way or appears to be watching. "No plans. I was just going to take it easy today. What fun thing out?"
"I hadn't thought the plan through that far yet." admits Alex with a wry shrug of his shoulders, "Out for drinks at the very least. Music. Something besides being cooped up in the Institute for the rest of the day. I've been avoiding the city a bit since the whole… Incident in the news, but really, I don't want to."
"Oh, that fun thing out. Yeah, sure. We could go to the city and do something." Bobby agrees, sounding distracted. He's already spread lotion all over Alex's back he's still at it. "I haven't gone there either since all that happened. They're going to use it as an excuse to come down hard on them."
If Bobby wants to take his time, Alex is content to let him, oh yes he is. "And oh yes, they are. You can practically taste it in the air. It's all one big clusterfuck. Cop kills a mutant. Mutant kills a cop. A snowball turns into an avalanche and I have no idea where it's going to end. Might not be able to do much in the city soon, so. Should take advantage while we can."
"We can go now if you want." Bobby's hands come to a stop on Alex's back before he drops them a moment later. "Before the traffic gets too bad. Probably better sooner than later, whenever we end up leaving."
When Bobby is done, Alex sighs a little bit once again. But he nods his head in agreement, turning a rueful grin behind him even as he gets up and brushes a few droplets of water off of his chest, "Well, sure. Although hey, that means we put that sunscreen to waste." They totally didn't, as far as Alex is concerned. He offers Bobby a hand to help him up with a smile, "Meet me at the garage in, let's say, 45minutes? Enough to shower and change and all that."
Bobby looks up at Alex then takes the hand and pulls himself to his feet. "Sure, 45 minutes. Change into what though? Where are we going? T shirt place or button down place? I don't have a suit."
"I don't know yet." admits Alex with a grin, "I was going to wing it. Underground or above board? Hmm. Not sure. Button down is safe. Nothing so fancy as needing a suit for sure." He wrinkles his nose, "Don't get me wrong, I look real good in a suit, but I try to avoid wearing them if I can help it. I like being comfortable when going out."
"Button down." Bobby agrees. "And jeans?" He takes the sunscreen and heads over to the stuff he brought, putting the bottle back in the bag before picking it and the cooler up.
"I'm probably wearing slacks, but nothing wrong with jeans. Hey, wear whatever. Its nothing formal, so be comfortable." Alex nods quickly, and smiles, following along, "Hmm. Jazz or something seedier. What are you in the mood for, Bobby? Nothing says you can't have a say in my mad ambitions to have fun before the shit hits the fan."
Bobby doesn't need to think about it. He can do jazz any time. "Let's go for seedier. I'm curious. We can probably do jazz any time, even once things hit the fan." But seedier they could be cracking down on too, depending on where they're going.
"I know just the place." Alex's grin looks positively wicked, and then he waves, and jogs off towards the mansion.
When they meet up to go out, Alex has spiffed himself up. He's got a pair of white slacks, shiny black shoes, and a short-sleeved baby blue button up shirt that's only got the bottom half of the buttons done. To say this outfit is fitted is something of an understatement: if he weighed like an extra pound in either fat or muscle he might not fit into the shirt, and the pants aren't any better. He's done up his hair, donned a mild cologne, and looks ready to party. He makes a sweeping gesture to Bobby when the guy arrives, smiles, then hops into the car which he already pulled out front. "Ready, then?"
Bobby was being totally indecisive about what to wear so kept his door open a crack to spy on Alex and see what he was wearing when he left his room. Accordingly, when he shows up he's dressed in some of the best he has that's still comfortable: black jeans that must be relatively new, burgundy leather ankle boots, and a white silk short-sleeve shirt. While he doesn't have it unbuttoned as low as Alex does, the top few are open. "Ready." he agrees, getting into the passenger seat.
Alex can't help but look Bobby over a bit, but surely that's just a guy sizing up another guy, right? But then they're in the car and Alex is driving along. He takes a moment to turn to his favorite radio station, since it'll be a few more years before someone figures out how to make cassettes work, so for now he has to deal with someone elses taste in music during the drive. As for the drive itself, Alex makes small talk, mostly idle chatter, but any questions about just where they'll end up are kept mum, with a bit of a grin. Soon enough he's pulling into a parking spot, getting out and leading down an alley. There's an unmarked door there with a big guy standing by it, trying to look like he's just casually hanging out and not that he's a bouncer or anything.
After the third time of getting stonewalled about where they're going, Bobby stopped asking. Getting out of the car, he follows Alex, looking very curious but as soon as he sees the bouncer, tries to at least look casual about it all.
Alex reaches forward and shakes the bouncer's hand; there's something a little odd about just how, so it might be a signal, but then he cocks his head towards Bobby and grins, "He's with me." The bouncer guy nods and moves aside.
Stepping in, music can be heard even though the thick door kept it out, but they're going down stairs into the basement before it can really be made out. Pushing aside a curtain, Alex casually saunters in like he owns the place.
And what a place it is. It's bright and colorful, with lights and bright portraits of current pop icons. And up on the stage is a man dressed as a woman singing her heart out. Aretha Franklin, though she's just starting to be a thing. There's a number of other drag queens around too, milling and laughing. And the place has plenty of people in it. And most of the men are with men, quite obviously. Most of the women are with women. Not everyone— there's more then a few straight couples. Alex glances at Bobby a bit, looking a little hesitant, "Some of the ladies that sing here are amazing."
Bobby watches the exchange with interest and nods to the bounces when he's mentioned. Following Alex inside, he looks around curiously, his fingers already starting to twitch in time with the music. And then he catches sight of who's on stages and stops dead. The other drag queens catch his eye first but as he slowly scans the club, the pairing up of the customers becomes obvious and he swallows.
"Don't worry, they don't bite." Unless you ask nicely. Alex gives Bobby's shoulder a gentle shrug and grins, trying to entice him into movement and towards the bar, "Come on, you look like you could use a stiff drink. They make great martini's here, unless you're in the mood for something else. A screwdriver, maybe? Ooh, a brandy alexander." But he holds back a bit, not going ahead, in case Bobby is freaking out and needing to run real quick.
Bobby hears Alex but he's not really listening, instead watching the men talk, drink, laugh, even holding hands. At the nudge, he blinks and looks over then nods and starts for the bar. "Yeah, sure. A drink." Or two. Probably more.
With a grin, Alex heads over to sit at the bar, and waves for the bartender— a very, very, very tall lady with an adams apple and coiffed brunette hair. Alex smiles with an easy confidence, not seeming nervous in the least by the environment, "A dirty martini, four olives, Honey. Honey, this is Bobby, he's just tagging along to keep me company." He gestures for Bobby with a grin.
Honey is all, "My, aren't you a handsome thing, I could eat you up, but what can I get you, sweetheart?" to Bobby, which is totally going to help his nervousness, right?
Bobby is trying not to stare. Really. "I… I…" Turning to Alex, he asks "What was it you said? Something about a brandy something? One of those if you think I'll like it. A big one."
"And a brandy alexander for Bobby here." Alex smiles at Honey, and she heads off to make the drinks. "A brandy alexander. It packs a punch, with cognac, but some dark cream liquer too. It's sweet and creamy and sharp all at once." At Bobby's staring, Alex just grins a bit more, "It's okay to relax, they're nice. Just people, no different then you and I, not really. And this place doesn't hardly ever get raided — that's why the handshake gets you in the door."
"Didn't say they weren't." Bobby says, looking away from Honey once she moves off to continue to watch the men. He does shoot Alex a glance as he asks "And you're okay with… you know, them. And the stuff they do?"
Soon enough the drinks are delivered, and Alex stirs his with his olives. He lifts it up to take a sip, savoring that, then plopping one of the olives into his mouth. "Sure, why not. Its no more any of my business what they do then its their business what I do. I don't really get why people think they have a right to have opinions on peoples personal lives, anymore then opinions about what you are — race, mutant, whatever — are any more valid."
"It's just… I…" Bobby shuts his mouth when the drink is served and downs half of it in one swallow. "How did you find out about this place? It's not exactly obvious from the street or anything."
The gulping down the drink has Alex reaching out, patting Bobby on the back in a reassuring manner, "Oh, I hang out in the Black Cat sometimes. The last person I dated worked there. Its a sort of everything else bar, everything non-mainstream. Homosexuals, mutants, foreigners. Nice place, classy, but my friend thought I'd like this place's vibe so showed invited me over. The code? Two taps to the wrist when you shake, by the way." He grins, "And I DO like the atmosphere, so my friend was right. I would love to see some drag jazz, but I haven't found a place for that yet."
"Don't know that one either." Bobby mutters, taking another drink though not quite finishing it. "I didn't know there were places like this. Full of…" Them. Now he does finish the drink and sets the glass down. "Music's good though."
Alex swirls his martini again, nursing it slowly as he regards Bobby with a thoughtful expression. He lifts his toothpick of olives and waves them at Bobby a bit, "Hey, want to know a secret? It's not a very juicy one, but it is something that doesn't really get around. For obvious reasons. Have to promise not to tell anyone, hmm?" Not that he really thinks one of Xavier's mutants would, but.
Bobby eyes his glass and picks it up again, tilting it so whatever's left in it will collect at one side. "I won't tell anyone." he says, looking over at Alex. "I can't promise not to…" His eyes flick to Honey. "I mean, Jean. You know."
"Bobby, bobby, bobby. I'm not worried about the telepaths, because… frankly, that's just pointless to worry about. Might as well worry about the sun exploding. I figure any secrets I ever had Xavier got wind of years ago and is just polite about not saying anything about it." Alex tilts his martini back himself, having the last olive, and waves Honey over, gesturing to his martini for a second, and a questioning look turned to Bobby about what he wants. "So, the secret is, I'm one of them. Well, more or less. I still like the ladies."
Bobby nods to Honey and slides the glass over. "Another please." he tells him. Her. "Well, her control isn't good. She… picked up something from me the other day I really didn't want her knowing." Alex's revelation is just… confusing. "You're one of who?" He looks from Alex to the nearest pair of men and back. "You like girls." He just said so.
"I also like men." explains Alex with a bit of a slow voice, having to sigh a little bit, but its a rueful sigh. He does look a bit nervous about this, but hey. Bobby didn't freak out about being here, and he's a mutant, so maybe he won't freak out too much about this. "I like both. Differently. But essentially the same. How was the brandy alexander?" he wonders.
Bobby is trying to figure out how this works. "It was good, I think." He didn't exactly taste much of it, he drank it so quickly. "You like both. Differently." But the same. "You can do that?"
At Bobby's question, Alex blinks, and laughs softly, nodding his head. When the drinks come back, he again stirs his martini then plops an olive into his mouth, "Well men and women are different. You could say I like people, any people that are interesting and good looking, and the details of what kind of body parts they have don't really concern me. But sure, you can do that. There's probably more like me then there are homosexuals, I think, because those like me can get away with just dating women if they want to. So its easier to hide if you care to."
So bisexual doesn't mean having sex twice a year? Bobby shakes his head, just trying to make sense of something that was never talked about and certainly isn't in any books just lying around on the coffee table. "When…" Coming to a halt, he looks after Honey. Where's that drink? "Did…" Taking a breath, he tries again. "When I… the sunscreen… did you…?" That's perfectly clear, right?
Honey delivers Bobby his drink, winks, then heads off to tend to others.
Alex sort of stares at Bobby for a moment, tilting his head, trying to puzzle through what it is that the poor guy is saying. And nope, Alex's got nothing. He reaches out to give the guy a pat on the shoulder, then reconsiders and lets his hand fall, "Hey, have a drink, and try that again? Signal got jammed there somehow." And so he takes a long sip from his martini before smiling encouragingly.
Bobby takes his glass and takes a more moderate sip this time as he gazes down into the glass. "The sunscreen. Did you…" He makes a vague 'wax on' motion. "/Like/ that?" Head tilted down to study the liquid in his glass, he flicks a quick look over at Alex.
Alex now looks a little bit awkward, and embarassed, "Well… yes. But I didn't mean to perv on you or anything, honest, I was just trying to be helpful." He pauses, and winces as a slight coloring raises onto his face. He has to be honest, since he's already been honest. "Except when I had you do me, to be honest. Er, that was a bit underhanded. Sorry. Yeah, I can't get a sunburn anymore then I can be burned at all."
Bobby lifts his head to look at Alex then drops it again and takes a drink, holding the glass with both hands. He says something but it's mumbled and soft.
Alex leans in, brow furrowed, looking a little concerned. Mumbling isn't exactly good news. "Sorry, man, I didn't catch that. What's up? I mean if I offended you about that, I'm sorry, really I am." He winces again, lifting his martini to take a longer gulp, and even as his voice is starting to soften a little as the first begins buzzing around in him.
Bobby shakes his head, a sharp violent motion. "Didn't." A bit louder, it's still too low to have been heard if Alex wasn't leaning in. "Said…" He takes a slow, shuddering breath. "Said. Me too."
At first Alex doesn't understand, he just sorta cocks his head to the side, putting two and two together and getting three. "You too?" he begins, and then finally the math makes sense and his eyes widen, blinking, "Ooooh." And then he reaches out and lays a hand reassuringly on Bobby's back, rubbing it a bit, "Oh. Oh, well, hey man. It's okay. It really is. This is a safe place, and I'm safe too."
Bobby instinctively tenses at the touch but then puts his drink down and covers his face with his hands, his shoulders beginning to shake as he sobs.
Well this isn't quite how Alex pictured a night on the town going. He just figured he'd shock Bobby and make him laugh about the place, but things have gotten real. Scooting his stool over a bit, Alex reaches to put an arm around the guy's shoulders, squeezing and saying softly, "Hey, it's okay, man. It's okay. I know its hard. Believe me, I do. You'll be fine, and if you need anything, I'm here for you."
Bobby doesn't say anything for a while but slowly he starts to calm down and reaches for a napkin to wipe his face with. He doesn't look up from the bar top but he's not trying to walk away either. "I've tried so hard to make it stop." he says softly. "And it wouldn't. I'd date girls. I've made out with them. I even went to bed with one. But it wouldn't go away. And then Jean found out when… Warren was there. And I asked her to make it go away but she's not trained enough to do that and I knew it but I want it to go away so bad."
Alex nods his head in understanding, sighing, "I know what that's like. When I was in high school I dated girls but couldn't stop thinking about guys, either. In college I tried really hard to ignore the other part of me that kept trying to come out… Then I found places like this and started meeting people like me and … It still took a long time to really come to grips with it." Then he frowns a bit, squeezing his arm around Bobby's shoulders again, "You can't think of changing yourself like that, Bobby. That's so dangerous. You have no idea what you'd come out as on the other side of something like that." He then adds, a touch sardonically with a light grin, "Warren is handsome, and having a guy fly you around is pretty dreamy. Figures it'd be him."
Bobby's shoulders hunch and his head drops lower. "Not just him." he mutters. That position makes it difficult to drink from his glass but somehow he manages to get some without spilling.
"That Atlantean Prince fellow? He's a bit too pretty and stuck up for my tastes, but I can see why he'd get a lot of attention. Of course walking around with practically no clothes on makes it hard to ignore him." He stays close if only so he can continue to hear the poor guy who can't seem to speak very loud at the moment, and grabs his martini and downs it with a long gulp, then plops one of his olives into his mouth.
Alex/EMIT`SPEECH - Set.
"Not him." Taking another deep breath, it only shudders a little and Bobby straightens up a bit to finish everything in his glass. He definitely needs it. Since Honey is watching from the end of the bar, she comes over as soon as Bobby looks to get a refill.
The look Alex gives to Honey is all serious, but he gestures at his drink too. She knows that look, so they both get their refills.
Alex purses his lips thoughtfully, "Logan's a pretty well put together guy. I suppose the Professor isn't half bad looking, either, but that's just too weird to contemplate." Apparently Alex feels a need to find out who it is poor Bobby's talking about, if only for professional curiosity.
Two large potent drinks in about fifteen minutes before he ate anything with a good cry thrown in for good measure means Bobby isn't really thinking clearly. Though some, many in this club, might say he wasn't thinking clearly before. He doesn't say anything till the drinks are delivered and Honey heads back down the bar. "I liked putting the sunscreen on you too." he says quietly.
Oh. Oooh. Alex is such an idiot. "Oh right. You mentioned that, I… am sorta stupid." He nods his head and grins, a bit ruefully, and gives Bobby's shoulders a quick squeeze. "Hey, so, you want to go out sometime?" Like, you know, they're doing now? Its said light, though. He's trying to cheer the guy up.
Bobby nods a few times, just quick, short up and down motions of his head that's less a nod and more a Katherine Hepburn impression. "Do… Are…" Sighing, he takes another drink. "Do you… like me? Like, /like/? Or, you know, trying to make me feel better."
"I don't know you very well yet, but I think of you as a friend. So I like you, of course. And you're incredibly good looking. Do I like, like you?" Alex furrows his brow, and has to shrug a little bit, "Maybe. That's the point of going out. To see what happens and if I do. If we do. But no, I'm not trying to make you feel better. Well, I am, but that's not why I asked you out. I wouldn't do that, that's patronizing as hell."
"I don't know how this works." Bobby says, looking back into his glass. "I've never… What do two guys do together?" And then he blushes as he realizes that could be taken other ways.
Lifting his olives up to eat ine, Alex then stirs his martini and shrugs, "Same as anyone else. There's no real difference. Well there is: we don't hold hands in public, if we're out we act like we're friends, unless we're in a safe place like this." He grins, "Otherwise, same things. We go out to a bar and have some drinks. We go to a club and listen to music. We have dinner at a favorite restaurant. Then if we have fun, we kiss and see if there's chemistry there. If there is, great. If not, we part as friends."
"I can do that." Bobby declares, only slurring slightly as the drinks start to hit. Except maybe the kissing part. "So like what we've already been doing."
"Basically." agrees Alex with a grin, "Except for that maybe kissing part. Its one of the key factors how you can tell a date from two people just hanging out, the fact that it ends with tongue."
Bobby looks around at the people in the club. Once he stopped crying, the ones who were close enough to notice mostly stopped looking at them. "Lets go back." he suggests. "I want to get really drunk but I don't want to do it here." Then leaning closer to Alex, he says more softly "I've got some MJ too we can smoke."
That can't possibly end badly. Alex says promptly, "Sure." And he fishes some money out of his pocket, and lays it out for Honey, more then enough to cover the cost of the drinks and a tip.
Bobby knocks back his drink and stands up, steadying himself with a hand on the bar. He doesn't need to go back to the Institute to get drunk since he already is. It's just a fraction of how drunk he needs to be tonight though. "See you later, Honey." he tells the bartender then starts for the door.
Lifting a hand to wave to Honey, Alex leaves his second martini only half drunk; he has to drive, after all. Turning to follow Bobby out, he reaches a hand out to help steady the guy briefly, "Careful there, no falling over on your first trip to a drag bar. It would make the ladies swoon and want to take care of you."
Bobby isn't that drunk! Yet. By the time all three drinks hit his bloodstream, he'll be in the car and on the way to Westchester. "No, don't like ladies. Should eat something on the way back."
"Yeah we'll pick up some take out." agrees Alex with a quick grin, "Come on, let's get home and get you right and truly wasted, Bobby my boy. It's been one hell of a day for you."
On the drive back to the Institute, Alex makes a point to stop at a drive thru and get a bag full of bacon cheeseburgers and fries, because its drunk food, right? He even nibbles on some fries on the drive back, and this time he keeps the small talk to a minimum. But sooner or later, they're up at Bobby's room, with Alex eyeing the other guy carefully to make sure he doesn't fall down or anything. Alex is the one carrying the food, but at the door, he hesitates, "Still want to hang? If you want I can give you your burger and wish you a good night?"
Bobby was happy for the quiet on the drive back, spending most of it slumped in the seat with his eyes closed and head tilted back against it. He wasn't passed out, just thinking. Or maybe less thinking and more feeling. He did speak up at the drive thru to get an extra burger that he could eat in the car. As he steps into his room, he looks back at Alex and clearly holds the door open for him.
With a nod, Alex smiles and heads in then, wandering over to plop himself on the bed with the food by the side, even as he pulls out the fries and inhales one. "How are you feeling?" he asks, sounding a little bit concerned. He's not exactly sure if quiet is good in a time like this. But he has fries and fries make everything better.
Once Alex comes inside, Bobby pushes the door closed and leans back against it so he can lift a foot and remove first one boot then the other. "Okay, I guess." Walking over to the closet, he tosses them onto the floor then tugs his shirt out of his pants and pulls it off over his head. Only when he's reaching for a hangar does he freeze then look over at Alex.
And catch Alex staring appreciatively, but then when caught, Alex coughs and glances away and eats a french fry. "First time I told someone I felt like I was put through a clothes dryer on hot." he admits with a wry grin, "So its pretty normal if you're feeling … drained. Hell, whatever you feel is perfectly normal, no matter what it is. That's sort of the point."
Bobby looks at Alex a moment then turns back to hang up his shirt. "I don't know how I feel." he says just standing there, his back to Alex. "I don't know how to deal with this. I don't know how to act. I don't even know if I should put my shorts on. Or a shirt. I don't want you to think…" Trailing off, he shrugs.
Alex frowns a little bit, "Here, let's make this easy." He gets up and goes and sits on the chair and turns so his back is to Bobby, "You get comfortable. Put something on you want, whatever you want, whatever you're comfortable in. I'll sit here and eat my fries. There's no pressure, there's no wrong thing to do here. Right now we're just two friends sitting around, hanging out, having some drinks or smoking, maybe talking, maybe not. Nothing needs to be any more complicated or weirder then that."
And yet it is. So much more complicated and weirder. After a moment, Bobby takes his pants off and folds them over a hanger before grabbing a pair of gym shorts to slip on. His standard wear for his room pretty much year round since he never gets cold. "If you want to go change and then come back…"
Alex glances down at his club fair, and he laughs easily, rising up and nodding, "Actually that's a good idea. Don't eat my burger while I'm gone." He flashes a grin, then heads out and is gone for a couple minutes. On his return, he doesn't let himself in, but knocks. He's in a pair of gym shorts himself, with a thin, fitted white tank top. It's not exactly modest, but its how Alex goes casual.
Bobby goes to open the door instead of calling. He's not in a calling mood. While Alex was away, he got the booze out and two glasses, both full, as well as an ashtray and a baggie of plant matter and rolling paper.
Alex can't help it, he looks Bobby up and down real quick, and bites his lip, but smiles and then makes his eyes be good and look Bobby in the face, then heading in. With a grin he heads for the food, "Did you eat my burger?" See he's trying to make this be normal. Everything's totally normal.
Bobby is trying very hard not to check out Alex. Even harder than he normally would. At the question, he shakes his head and walks over to the bed where he spread out the burger wrapper to dump some fries on. "Did you know?" he asks abruptly. "About me? Is that why you took me there?" Does everyone know?
"I had no idea." says Alex immediately, no hesitation or sign of deception, "I thought it would embarass you and make you laugh, and I was hoping if you took it chill I could open up and tell you about me. Not because I suspected anything about you, I seriously had no idea, but because…" He shrugs, "It's lonely living a secret. I figure if there's any chance of someone accepting me for who I am, its my fellow mutants who are used to prejudice of another kind." He lifts up his hamburger, unwraps it, and goes for a big ol' bite.
"Yeah." Bobby breathes and glances down. Very lonely. "I'm sorry I…" You know, lost it. Picking up a fry, he nibbles the end off then reaches for his glass to take a drink.
Alex can't exactly not look at the hot guy without a shirt, so he looks, but he tries not to let his eyes linger too long. Bobby's not a piece of meat, and this is probably the wrong time to be hitting on him. "Hey, don't worry." He shakes his head then, going for another bite, letting that silence him as he thinks on how to express his next thoughts and finally saying, "Look, no one's going to understand what you're going through like me, and even I'm lucky because I still like women, so even I can't totally get it, but I mostly can. So don't worry about it. You've got nothing to apologize for."
Bobby reaches for his burger and t akes a bite when Alex does. He just nods at what's said then sets burger and glass down so he can stand and walk over to the desk to start rolling a joint. "Guess I can't keep pretending." he says eventually. "You know, Jean knows. The Prof probably knows though he never said anything. Everyone in that club knows."
"No one in that club has an idea who you are, and they didn't actually know. Not everyone there was homosexual." counters Alex with a gentle tone, "But yeah I assume the Professor knows everything. I don't even bother worrying about keeping secrets from telepaths. Inconvienent of them. But… look at it this way. You can be yourself now. Around those who know at least."
That's assuming Bobby wants to be himself. He just grunts and licks the end of the paper before folding it over. Lighting a match, he lights the joint and takes a toke, holding the smoke in as he offers it to Alex.
Taking another bite, Alex puts the burger down, chewing as he takes the joint, and after he finally swallows, he takes a long, slow hit, holding his breath and handing it back. And holding his breath. And holding his breath. And finally, slooowly, letting it out through his nose. "Anything else you want to know? I mean I had to figure this out without really having anyone to talk to."
Bobby exhales a cloud of smoke as he takes the joint then takes another drag before handing it back. Heading back to the bed, he sits down and waits a bit till he exhales. "Don't know what to ask." But then he asks "Is there a cure? A way to fix it?"
It doesn't take a lot of time for deep breathing to cause Alex's head to start spinning, even if only a little bit. After his second hit, there's a small, steady smile on Alex's face, even if he isn't totally wasted or anything yet. And, being on pot, he is a lot less good at not checking out Bobby's chest. Nipples. Stomach. Arms. Neck. Jaw. Things. But he tries to keep the checking out brief. "I don't think so, sorry." He shakes his head, "Its possible a telepath could do it, I guess, if its just in your mind, but I don't think it is. Its bodies. I don't think a telepath could change who you're attracted to without maybe destroying you. It seems… dangerous."
Bobby has another bite of burger and a couple fries before returning for the joint again. On top of the booze, he's already starting to look a lot less stressed in general. Taking a third toke, he sets it down in the ashtray for Alex to decide if he wants another or not. He holds it for a long time before exhaling up toward the ceiling, swaying slightly as he tilts his head back. "I saw that."
Alex puts on an innocent look. He's pretty good at innocent looks. Usually. Not when his mind starts swimming. He does reach out for the joint, and takes another long puff before placing it, maintaining the innocent look while holding his breath as well as he can. Finally, "Mmm. Saw what? I don't know what you're talking about." He smiles, a bit too much, and takes another big bite of his burger, almost done with it as he is.
"Saw you looking at me." Bobby looks at the joint and mentally shrugs. Maybe two more puffs so putting it out now would waste some. Taking it again, he takes another drag then puts it back by Alex, nodding for him to finish it. Sitting on the bed, he literally waits till he needs to breath before exhaling.
Taking the joint, Alex gives a helpless shrug and actually does look apologetic, "Sorry. You're incredibly good looking, you have to know that, even if you don't want to… have the feelings you do. People have to check you out all the time." Then he puffs on the joint, finishing it off and holding his breath as he leans back on the bed, propping himself up on his elbows, and sorta lounging there while he soaks it up. Finally another slow exhale through his nose, "Man I haven't had any of this in years."
Bobby sits there blinking at Alex a couple times before shaking his head. "S'ok, don't mind if you look." What someone else feels doesn't bother him. Just what he's feeling. "I'd read things in the paper. I knew it wasn't just me. But it felt like it was."
Still, Alex tries not to stare. But with permission? And high? Its a bit hard. "This was such a bad idea." he remarks, not saying what, though, and he has to laugh at that. But he nods his head in a somewhat exaggerated way, "Oh, I know exactly how you feel. I knew I wasn't alone, but I was also certain I was. What the head knows and what the heart knows don't always match up."
The burger is finished in another couple bites and washed down with some whiskey. "I just wanted to be normal." Bobby says quietly, pushing a couple fries around. "Pretended to like girls. But no matter how hard I tried, it didn't work. Kissing them was nothing. And going to bed with one, I had to think of…" Not finishing that thought, he picks up a couple fries and eats them. "I never have though. Not with anyone. Not even a kiss."
Alex blinks a little bit, watching Bobby for a long moment, "You haven't what, though? With no one?" He might be having a little trouble following along, but he's trying. "I understand the desire, but really, Bobby. You're a mutant. Normal's out the door. You can blink and freeze a lake solid. You're amazing. This is just something else about you. Yeah, its something else for those ignorant fucks to give you shit about, but they're ignorant fucks."
"With… someone not a girl." Bobby clarifies then looks up at Alex. "The most I ever did was touch someone. On the back, rubbing sunscreen on them. It was nice." He nods a few times, agreeing with himself. It was nice.
"Oooh." Alex nods his head slowly, and then suddenly grins, as he gets a great idea (terrible idea) and doesn't at all have a need to hold back (he should totally be holding back). "Well, if you wanted to see what its like? We could kiss." Getting high with the newbie was a terrible idea, he knows it, but, Bobby's there being all seriously hot and he's high.
Bobby opens his mouth to say something then shuts it again. "Uhh…" Dropping his head into his hands, he rubs his eyes and takes a breath. "I… You sure?"
Sitting up, Alex rolls his shoulders, then pushes up to stand. Ooh, standing while high. He can do this. So he wanders over, and reaches down and runs a hand through Bobby's hair, tapping his head, "Hey, we're friends. My first kiss of a guy was bad. Really confused me. Let's make that not happen. Get up here, let's see what we can do about those lips of yours." That little place in the back of his head is like nooo, but Alex is totally ignoring it.
Bobby just watches as Alex comes over then looks up at him. Ambivalence, thy name is Bobby. Hesitantly, he tries to stand, managing it after a couple false starts but ending up on his feet. That's as much as he can manage though, standing there looking at Alex and swallowing nervously.
Alex hesitates, finally thinking better of this, with that ambivalent look on the other guy's face. "Ookay, maybe this isn't a good idea after all. Look, you've had one hell of a day, and we're high, so we're not making good judgement here, and you don't look at all like you're in a place where you'd be into this."
Bobby reaches out to grab Alex's arm. Actually, he kind of hits it before managing to grab it. "No. If I don't now I never will." It's why he got high, after all. Alcohol wouldn't have been enough on its own. "Can… Can you take your shirt off first? I just…" He makes a vague motion between the two of you.
There's a lingering look of concern, but then soon enough, Alex is nodding. He reaches down and snags his shirt, peeling it up and off of him— it wasn't really covering much, but hey, if the shirtless guy wants to be on equal footing, who is he to argue? The shirt's dropped away. Alex can't help but flex for a moment there, and then he has to get a good look at Bobby before the high makes him grin. It is a very nice view. So, without hesitating, Alex steps forward, reaching a hand up to slip around Bobby's neck, and lean in for a kiss. He's not aggressive about it, instead he's tender and persistent. His soft lips parting and tongue slipping out to encourage Bobby to open up— and he fully expects it'll take a bit for Bobby to take that step.
Bobby looks at Alex as the shirt comes off but he just stands there, looking. As Alex steps forward, he tenses up but doesn't react otherwise. Then there's a hand on the back of his neck, followed by lips against his. He doesn't return the kiss at first and Alex can feel him shaking slightly, despite the pot. But then he does try, putting a hand awkwardly on Alex's hip and kissing him back tentatively. He almost jumps at the feel of Alex's tongue and would have pulled back if not for the hand on his neck. It was just startlement it seems since after the initial reaction, he doesn't try to stop anything. In fact, he steps forward so they're touching and his lips part just a fraction.
Stepping closer, so their chests brush against eachother, Alex keeps hold of the skittich guy's neck, but tenderly, thumb tracing along the little hairs at the beck of his head. When Bobby's lips part, Alex's tongue rubs along them, pulling away only to lightly suckle on his lower lip before kissing again, tongue coaxing but warm, inviting. If Bobby wants a kiss, Alex is gonna stick it out until he gets a real one, even if the poor guy needs some leading into it. His other hand comes to rest upon Bobby's side, rubbing his skin, trying to sooth him.
The hand on Alex's hip slides around till it's flat against the small of his back. Impulses warring within him, Bobby's make soft noises that even he probably doesn't know what they mean. But the pot makes it easier to give in to the less stressful and more pleasurable options so the tension starts to melt away and his other arm goes around Alex to feel the skin of his back. And he opens his mouth to let Alex in as he begins to enjoy what's happening more than fearing it.
Alex gently pushes Bobby back, walking him to the wall, then leaning his body more firmly into the younger man's. He tilts his head to the side, working his mouth upon Bobby's, teasing with his tongue, the kiss heated but slow; and when Bobby finally starts giving in, Alex makes a pleased noise of his own because he can start kissing more because it feels good and so does the hot body next to him, and less trying to coax Bobby out of it. He doesn't get aggressive, but he does get a lot more into it then.
Bobby's arms around Alex tighten as the kiss heats up but then he moves his hands to Alex's hips to gently push him away as he turns his head to the side. He's breathing hard, almost panting, as if he had been running a marathon.
Alex breaks the kiss then, since he got a real one out of it, so he lets his hands fall down and step away. His breath isn't exactly easy either, and there's a slight flush over his features. He does lift a hand up and rest it upon Bobby's chest, his expression… uncertain, as he regards the other man. "Bobby?" he asks softly, but is then a bit uncertain what it is he should ask.
Bobby leans his head back against the wall as he catches his breath. He glances down at the hand on his chest but doesn't try to move it or anything. "Just… gimme a minute."
That response does have Alex flinching ever so slightly, so he pulls his hand away, and tucks both hands into his pockets. There was alcohol around here, right? So he goes and grabs up his drink, and takes a biiig drink, uncertain. He's never taken a guy's tongue cherry before, and really isn't quite sure on the proper protocols involved. "Right. Of course." he agrees though.
Bobby half reaches out as Alex moves away but then lets his arm drop. "That was better than the best thing I ever did with a girl." he says softly. "And I really wish it wasn't. But I don't want to stop and it's not because I'm wasted."
Alex's expression turns sympathetic, understanding, "It was good when you let it be." he agrees, even if its a bit more opinionated then only an agreement usually is. "I'm sorry." He does sound like he means that at least, "I wish I knew how to make this part easier for you, I really do, but I don't know how. I know you're not ready at all to even kind of accept this, so… no pressure from me, honestly."
Bobby doesn't know how either. "Would…" Closing his eyes, he takes another one of those deep breaths to steady himself. "I know it's a lot to ask but would you stay here tonight? Just to sleep? I don't… I'd like…" He trails off, not knowing how to explain it. "I understand if you'd be uncomfortable."
That question surprises Alex, but he doesn't reallyeven think about it a long time, "Sure. Of course." He pauses, glancing around, "Do you mean…" A glance at the bed, and a gesture at the floor, "I mean obviously you're talking sleep and I totally understand you don't want to be alone so I'm not suggesting anything, but I also don't want to make any assumptions by what you'd rather have, … uh, how much nearness to make you feel comfortable." But he shakes his head, "But seriously, Bobby. I went through this years ago. I'm here for you, you don't have to worry about me being uncomfortable."
"The bed's not very wide but I don't mind if you don't." Bobby answers after a few moment's of silence, opening his eyes to see Alex's reaction to what he's avoiding coming out and asking.
Alex nods, and without any real hesitation, he takes a final gulp of the alcohol, sets it down, and goes to he bed. He throws the top cover back and since its not really warm, just sorta climbs over onto the edge of it, and lays down, propping his head on his elbow. "Come lay down, then. It's been a big day for you as I said. Hell, if you need some company tomorrow too? Let me know. This will all get better, but I know it doesn't feel like it at all right now. I'm not saying it'll ever get easy, people like us— special, powerful, important people" And not weird, perverted, strange, at all, " we don't get the easy lives. But together we're stronger. Come lay down."
Bobby stays where he is and watches Alex. When it's suggested he come lay down, he nods but still stays where he is, trying to work up the courage to move. If he didn't want to as much as he didn't want to, he'd stay there forever but after a bit, he takes that first step and after that, the others are easier. Like Alex, he downs what's left in his glass first then turns the light off. He sit son the edge of the bed then lies down, his back to Alex.
The guy didn't ask for it, not really, but Alex scoots a bit closer, and then, there's an arm draped over Bobby's body. That probably will make him tense, but Alex figures, it'll go away in a few minutes, and having a warm body holding him might be what he needs. Alex hopes. He might be wrong, but he goes for it, anyways.
Bobby does tense up but he doesn't say anything and slowly relaxes after a couple minutes. And then he even slides back a little so his back is pressed against Alex's chest. Being held is exactly what he wanted even if he couldn't say it.
Nestling in behind Bobby, Alex is warm and solid, and even if he's just gonna sleep there, he tries to be those things for Bobby. Warm and solid. He even reaches his handa round until it finds Bobby's, and tries to slip fingers around it to give his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Goodnight, Bobby." he breathes softly back there, his voice soft, content, relaxed.
"Night Alex." Bobby replies, his hand closing around the other man's. And between the alcohol and the pot, it doesn't take him long to fall asleep.