║ eighty-fifth stanza ║ action

[mumbled_truth]

[ at the library | open ]

[ As Todd goes about his business today, he's in a particularly foul mood. He's clearly annoyed with some of the library's more demanding individuals, going so far as to outright snap at people - clearly, he's far more willing to assert himself verbally than he typically is.

You probably won't be inclined to ask him for help after one of these displays. You might wonder what the hell is going on if you've ever so much as glanced at him before. ]

[ in the city | open ]

[ It's not quite the end of his shift, but he's had it with dealing with people. He's stalking through the streets with a furrowed brow and a frown, glaring at anything that happens to place itself in his immediate line of vision. He doesn't glance around, as he's clearly not interested in anything going on around him. He's interested in getting home as quickly as possible, and far away from people. ]

[ at the apartment | justin & neil ]

[ Todd's arrival home is punctuated by a slamming of the door. His coat is unceremoniously thrown on the table nearest the entrance with little regard for whatever else may be on the table, and then he stomps his way through to slump on the couch.

He's not doing anything just yet, simply... death glaring at the wall. ]

Comments

[mumbled_truth]

[The glare moves slowly from the wall to Neil. The darkness in his eyes doesn't waver - he doesn't smile, even at the sight of Neil, which would normally make him light up like nothing else could.]

Fine.

[He spits it out in one short, venomous syllable.]

[had_not_lived]

[See, now, that is deeply worrying. Looking perplexed, he folds himself onto the other end of the sofa.]

That doesn't sound fine.

[mumbled_truth]

I said I'm fine, and I am.

[And now he's just getting testier.]

Why can't you ever just leave me alone?

[had_not_lived]

[Neil flinches. There's something vicious in that; even if the words recall a conversation years past, the tone is utterly different. This isn't lack of confidence, this is... what?

It's real anger, and Neil doesn't understand why.]

Because if something's wrong I wanna know about it.

[So he can fix it. Because, you know, he loves you, Todd. Is that a problem?]

[mumbled_truth]

Of course you do.

[That is more than simple irritation indeed; there's absolute simmering rage behind it.]

You need to know everything. I can't even write something without you digging it up and doing whatever you feel like with it.

[And his eyes narrow, that glare now aimed squarely at Neil.]

You can't handle there being any part of my life that you don't know about or have some kind of control over.

[had_not_lived]

[Oh my god, that hurts. Neil bites his lip.]

That's not true!

[Or is it? To a certain extent, Todd's not wrong; but it's not about control, it's about not wanting the other boy to bury himself in uncertainty. And at this point, to an extent-- at least as far as Neil sees it, which might not be the full picture-- it's become a bit of a game.

He doesn't even do anything, with those rejected poems. He smooths them out and stacks them somewhere, because someday Todd might regret having judged them so harshly.]

Where'd all this come from?

[He stands up, a note of desperate accusation in his voice, because this makes no sense. It's sudden. There's no curse, as far as he can see, so it's not easily brushed aside.]

[mumbled_truth]

[When Neil stands, Todd eyes him mildly for a moment, and then looks at the floor.]

It didn't come from anywhere.

[He still doesn't look at Neil. He's just fuming.]

It's how it's always been. Maybe I'm just sick of it.

[Any part of Todd that's not currently affected would be screaming right now. But there is no unaffected part that has any say in anything.]

[had_not_lived]

[He's torn between being absolutely crushed and inexplicably angry-- more at himself than anything, though it's hardly fair of Todd to come up with this out of nowhere, if it's been bothering him so long.]

Fine.

[Maybe they don't talk about their relationship much, but he'd at least have thought they could trust each other. He stands there for a moment, breathing hard, heart pounding (and isn't that a cruel joke, right now?) before stalking down the hallway and slamming the bedroom door.]

[mumbled_truth]

[Watching that happen, Todd doesn't move or seem to care at all.

He's just happy to be alone.]