Jealous (Dare/Michael)

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare finally looked up at Michael's movement, though his posture didn't change for some long moments. Then, shoulders still hunched slightly, he forced his hand out of his pocket. "So you...don't hate me for it?" he asked. He could tell Michael was upset, but he wanted to know he hadn't ruined things, that maybe Michael still loved him. Still, he couldn't seem to reach out for one of Michael's hands. His own hung tense, and his fingers twitched, but he couldn't make himself close the space between them. Dare dropped his gaze again, to the safety of the floor between their feet.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael shook his head, "It would take a hell of a lot more to make me hate you." His eyes caught on Dare's hand and he pulled his own from his pocket to take it. He pulled Dare's hand up and kissed the back of it lightly. It would be hard for him to ever hate Dare, Michael couldn't think, or perhaps just didn't want to think, of an instance where he would.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

That contact broke Dare; he took one hesitant step forward, then suddenly closed the space between them, drawing his arm holding the sketchbook up around Michael's back for a hug. "I'm sorry," he said, the words slightly choked, slightly muffled as he spoke them into Michael's hair. "Next time, tell me to shut the hell up. Please." Dare lowered his hand long enough to let his sketchbook drop, then the rose on top of it, and raised his hand again to wipe at his eyes. If he hadn't looked like crap before, he was definitely going to now.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael let out a half choked, stressed laugh at that as he squeezed Dare's hand before pulling his away to wrap both arms around him. He buried his face in Dare's neck and shut his eyes tightly. The contact was such a relief that he forgot to speak, couldn't speak if he had tried to, so he held tightly onto Dare, taking in what reassurance he could while trying to give it as well.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare had been completely serious about Michael telling him to shut up, and he hoped Michael knew it. He didn't want to push the issue when it felt like Michael had forgiven him, though. Dare wrapped both arms tight around Michael, just holding him, breathing him in for a minute before one hand rose again to sift through the hair at the back of Michael's head. He wanted to just stay like this and try not to think for a while, but his eyes flickered open and he remembered where they were. In an open corridor. Dare squeezed his eyes shut again, and his arms tightened further. "I don't want to let go," he said softly. He knew he should, though. He should let Michael go, keep his distance until they were somewhere private.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael shook his head, he didn't want to let go any more than Dare did. He told himself that no one was going to come down that corridor, that they were fine and would notice. You two might learn to lock doors when you're getting...intimate. Dahlia's words floated back to him and with them, the knowledge that she had come in on them at Emilian's without them even noticing. It still wasn't enough to make him pull away, though it did make him think twice about staying there for much longer like they were.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare didn't want to let go, but his mind wouldn't shut up. It kept reminding him that someone could turn the corner any minute, and if they were recognized, it'd probably be all over the school by the weekend. Dare forced his muscles to loosen, forced his arms to drop and his feet to move half a step backward. His chest ached from wanting the contact back; Dare dropped his gaze again, hoping that if he didn't look at Michael just now, the urge would fade enough to be bearable. "We should...go somewhere," he said awkwardly.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael felt cold without the contact, would have felt rejected if he hadn't known that there was a perfectly good reason for the absence of contact. "Where do you want to go?" he asked, bringing his eyes back up to Dare as he shoved his hands in his pockets again to keep from wrapping them around Dare. He didn't particularly care, he just wanted to be somewhere where they could put the awkwardness behind them.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare shrugged. "Somewhere I can sit," he said, returning his gaze to the length of the corridor. He looked for a moment, letting himself see it for the first time, then trying to place where they were. "The Room of Requirement is closer than anything," he suggested. As much as Dare wanted to go outside right now, he wanted more to just relax. He didn't want to prolong things any further than he had to. They could always go back outside later.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael nodded, while he would rather go outside, the Room of Requirement had become a sort of haven. "That's fine with me," he said, bending down to pick up the sketchbook and rose. His eyes caught on the wrinkled edge of the book and he cringed slightly, "Sorry about that, I can get you a new one..." He glanced up at Dare, he hadn't even realized during the walk that he had been doing it.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare shrugged, and his shoulders settled back into their normal position rather than hunching again. "It's fine," he said. "It's just a sketchbook." If the pages were wrinkled along the edge, then they were wrinkled. Dare's mind was mostly on the completed drawings he had; most of them had a blank edge around them, so the drawings themselves should be fine. He didn't figure he'd mind that much keeping the blank edge on whatever else he did.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael looked back at the edge of the book, feeling like he should do something about it anyway. "Are you sure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow up at Dare. "It wouldn't be a problem to get one for you," he said, practically screaming that he was going to get one anyway, if only so that he wouldn't feel so bad about it. He was all but trying to mentally price one he could get.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare shrugged again. "Don't worry about it," he said, looking up from the sketchbook to Michael. His eyes flickered to that raised eyebrow, and one corner of his lips rose a fraction. "Seriously, it's fine. Totally copacetic." It wasn't great, but it was less than he deserved for being such a jackass.

Dare slipped the sketchbook out of Michael's hand and tucked it under his arm, leaving Michael with the rose. "Come on, let's get out of here." Dare gestured down the corridor with a slight incline of his head, then turned to start walking.

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