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sixthiterationlogs2016-09-06 07:35 am
thecatinahat) wrote in sixthiterationlogs2016-09-06 07:35 am
and the ground opens up
WHO: Cougar Alvarez
WHERE: The Inn
WHEN: Hours post-quake, September 6th (pre-aftershocks) / September 6th, evening
OPEN TO: OTA / Closed to Jake (cut content)
WARNINGS: Slight injury
STATUS: Closed
cougar's barbershop of necessity
Cougar's beginning to think the boxes that arrive are possibly saving their lives. He wants to pretend they're from a friendly, but he also knows plenty about being used when needed. For all he knows, the boxes are coming from someone like Max, who is keeping them alive because there are nefarious plans in place for them. Unfortunately, Cougar has learned that you use what you need to and if you have to take advantage, you have to turn the tables for yourself.
The barbed wire that he receives in a box is small, but it will do the job. He really only needs it to create a mesh on the ground to catch the eggs in the small coop he's built for the chickens. The chicks are growing by the day and he thinks with another two weeks, they might begin laying their own eggs, which will take him from a production of three a day to twelve. With a dozen eggs a day, he knows that the food situation can alleviate a little and he can hunt less, which is something he's been worried about as the population of animals is only so finite.
He's on the ground looping wire when he feels something beneath him that troubles him.
The ground had moved earlier in the month, he swears, but Cougar is currently precariously positioned under a wooden chicken coop built without much sturdiness and the quake seems to be getting worse and worse. Sharply exhaling, Cougar bolts upright without thinking, the side of his neck slicing hair and skin as it hits barbed wire and makes him roll onto his stomach, deciding to use the very wire he's been hanging for eggs to protect him from anything that might fall during the quake (which is worse than the last).
Palms flat to the ground, he prays to God that nothing too big falls on him, his quiet litany of words keep going until the ground is stable beneath him. Blood, tacky and dripping, is now pooling at his neck and he crawls his way out of the protection to glance in the first water he can find. He lifts up the other side of his uneven hair as he realizes that the wire has taken off most of his hair to the jawline. While he can patch himself up from the wound, he cannot fix the hair emergency.
Which is why, once he's stitched, he finds the kitchen shears and goes to the inn, plonking them down at a table firmly and sitting there, waiting.
Someone is going to need to help cut the rest off and while he feels like a boy in Mama's kitchen again waiting his turn, he knows he cannot keep walking around with a half shorn head. Best to cut it to the curls, again. It will be short and strange, but it will grow properly, then.
the picnic
Jake's birthday is September. Without a calendar, Cougar is left without knowing what day it is, but the weather and other things give enough indications to tell him that summer is fading into fall. The way the sun sets, the temperature of the air, and other clues tell him that either Jake's birthday is about to come or it's passed. Either way, it's a good opportunity for Cougar to try and finally mend the ground between them.
He intends to do more than just mend, of course, but he'll take the small steps if he can't take the bigger ones. He uses the eggs to make meringue cookies, makes a salad with the greens and strawberries, and cooks up a hare before stuffing it into one of the boxes that had brought his items to him. When those are ready and Baby is at his heels, Cougar slips up to collect Jake, trying to tell himself that this will not go badly if he doesn't let it.
With his hair newly shorn, he feels more like a civilian than ever. In the humidity of the wet air, it's already begun to curl the way he hates and the stitches along his neck aren't hidden the way his hair or hat would keep them. He settles, instead, for trying to hide it with the collar of his scrubs shirt, though he has no luck.
He finds Jake, eventually, and whistles for Baby to go collect him at a gallop, yipping away as Cougar closes the distance just a little slower.
WHERE: The Inn
WHEN: Hours post-quake, September 6th (pre-aftershocks) / September 6th, evening
OPEN TO: OTA / Closed to Jake (cut content)
WARNINGS: Slight injury
STATUS: Closed
cougar's barbershop of necessity
Cougar's beginning to think the boxes that arrive are possibly saving their lives. He wants to pretend they're from a friendly, but he also knows plenty about being used when needed. For all he knows, the boxes are coming from someone like Max, who is keeping them alive because there are nefarious plans in place for them. Unfortunately, Cougar has learned that you use what you need to and if you have to take advantage, you have to turn the tables for yourself.
The barbed wire that he receives in a box is small, but it will do the job. He really only needs it to create a mesh on the ground to catch the eggs in the small coop he's built for the chickens. The chicks are growing by the day and he thinks with another two weeks, they might begin laying their own eggs, which will take him from a production of three a day to twelve. With a dozen eggs a day, he knows that the food situation can alleviate a little and he can hunt less, which is something he's been worried about as the population of animals is only so finite.
He's on the ground looping wire when he feels something beneath him that troubles him.
The ground had moved earlier in the month, he swears, but Cougar is currently precariously positioned under a wooden chicken coop built without much sturdiness and the quake seems to be getting worse and worse. Sharply exhaling, Cougar bolts upright without thinking, the side of his neck slicing hair and skin as it hits barbed wire and makes him roll onto his stomach, deciding to use the very wire he's been hanging for eggs to protect him from anything that might fall during the quake (which is worse than the last).
Palms flat to the ground, he prays to God that nothing too big falls on him, his quiet litany of words keep going until the ground is stable beneath him. Blood, tacky and dripping, is now pooling at his neck and he crawls his way out of the protection to glance in the first water he can find. He lifts up the other side of his uneven hair as he realizes that the wire has taken off most of his hair to the jawline. While he can patch himself up from the wound, he cannot fix the hair emergency.
Which is why, once he's stitched, he finds the kitchen shears and goes to the inn, plonking them down at a table firmly and sitting there, waiting.
Someone is going to need to help cut the rest off and while he feels like a boy in Mama's kitchen again waiting his turn, he knows he cannot keep walking around with a half shorn head. Best to cut it to the curls, again. It will be short and strange, but it will grow properly, then.
the picnic
Jake's birthday is September. Without a calendar, Cougar is left without knowing what day it is, but the weather and other things give enough indications to tell him that summer is fading into fall. The way the sun sets, the temperature of the air, and other clues tell him that either Jake's birthday is about to come or it's passed. Either way, it's a good opportunity for Cougar to try and finally mend the ground between them.
He intends to do more than just mend, of course, but he'll take the small steps if he can't take the bigger ones. He uses the eggs to make meringue cookies, makes a salad with the greens and strawberries, and cooks up a hare before stuffing it into one of the boxes that had brought his items to him. When those are ready and Baby is at his heels, Cougar slips up to collect Jake, trying to tell himself that this will not go badly if he doesn't let it.
With his hair newly shorn, he feels more like a civilian than ever. In the humidity of the wet air, it's already begun to curl the way he hates and the stitches along his neck aren't hidden the way his hair or hat would keep them. He settles, instead, for trying to hide it with the collar of his scrubs shirt, though he has no luck.
He finds Jake, eventually, and whistles for Baby to go collect him at a gallop, yipping away as Cougar closes the distance just a little slower.
no subject
The words feel stuck in his throat, like he has to dislodge them out.
"I made you think I wasn't interested," is what he says, quiet. "And I was wrong to do it."
no subject
"You don't—" he starts, but Cougar cuts him off and he closes his mouth to let him say what he wants to say. Cougar actually being in the mood to speak is rare enough that he's learned to shut up whenever it happens so he can make the most of it.
He shrugs in response to Cougar's pseudo-apology, uncomfortable with the whole subject being brought up again when it upsets him still. "It's fine."
no subject
It gives him a chance to measure his words, figuring out the ones that will work the best. "You were right." Historically, it always works to start with those. "You will be there while I have nightmares, you will be there when I am a cruel man or a guilty man or when I am at my worst. No matter what, you will be there," he says. He feels an idiot for not having seen that.
Breathing in sharply, he hands over the plate and napkin. "I hurt you," he says quietly. "I'm sorry."
no subject
"Of course I will," he interjects, frowning. "You're my best friend." The thought of not being there for Cougar is impossible to reconcile, really. There's no other option. No matter what happens between them, they're in it 'till the end.
He holds out his hand to accept the plate, feeling something under his ribs clench when Cougar actually apologizes. Figuring the silent treatment for almost a month was enough punishment, Jake makes himself smile a little. "It's okay," he says, deciding to let it go. "I forgive you."
no subject
He hands over the plate before making sure that it's on the blanket before he eases himself an inch forward, his knee touching Jake's now as he works through the words in his mind.
"Jake," he starts, swallowing back his worry. "Quiero más."
no subject
"Cougar—" he starts, cutting himself off when Cougar's knee presses into his, and he continues to speak, the soft Spanish washing over him. Jake may claim he doesn't speak any Spanish, but he speaks enough to know what Cougar is saying, and his chest clenches even tighter.
"For how long, this time?" he asks, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. How long will it take before Cougar's Catholic guilt makes him want to push Jake away again, before he pulls away and makes Jake doubt himself again?
no subject
Swallowing back his fear that he might have lost his chance, he doesn't press forward, but neither does he back away. Jake needs to know he's serious about this.
"You gave me a month to think of what I want and how I acted," he says. "If yes, it will be until you are done with me." Or until he dies, somehow, but he doesn't speak that out loud. "Because I won't leave you either, Jake," he vows. "I'm sorry that I am..." Difficult, he doesn't say, but his expression says it. "But you're right," he says roughly. "You will be there for me. Which means I will be there with you. And I want you," he adds, like it's simple. "All of you. And in return, my offer is everything I am."
Inhaling sharply, he feels raw. That's everything he can offer. Himself, his heart, his body. If that's not what Jake wants, then it's not and he will have to mend.
no subject
Torn between wanting to do literally anything he can to make Cougar continue with this, to make him happy, to make him want Jake enough that he won't ever leave, and yet also wanting to punish him more for being so cruel like a petulant teenage girl.
"Okay, John Legend, dial it back a little," he jokes, ducking his head a little to hide the bashful smile that's insisting on tugging at his lips. It's easier to hide his smiles now that he's grown a full beard; he should have done this years ago.
Glancing up at Cougar through the slightly-smudged lenses of his glasses, Jake feels something in his chest loosen, a painfully tender ache picking up beneath his ribs. Cougar looks so scared, like he wants to bolt, like Jake is holding the keys to his future happiness and he doesn't know what he's going to do with it.
Reach out to slide his hand over Cougar's knee, apparently. Jake's always been a sucker.
"Okay," he says, squeezing his big palm over Cougar's knee. "You're still kind of an asshole, but okay."
no subject
Those fingers that have been on Jake's back slide into his hair now, pre-emptively, dragging blunt nails over his scalp to scratch before around to his beard to cup his cheek in anticipation.
no subject
no subject
He takes his time and closes his eyes, offering all of himself as he'd promised, lower lip rustling up against the bristle of a beard when he parts his lips for something deeper, cupping Jake's neck for firm leverage. With a good roll of his hips, he manages to find and evict some more space between them, rolling them so that Cougar can be on the bottom, staring up at Jake.
All his power given to him, he eases back breathless, and stares up at him. "Convinced?"