Another Night In (Michael/Dare)

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare looked aside at Michael again, his brow creasing. "I want to help," he said, his voice still soft, but edged with the very beginnings of desperation. "I want to help you be okay with...this," he said, then added silently, whatever this is. Dare's gaze dropped to their clasped hands, and he swept his thumb against Michael's, then closed his eyes as he brought Michael's hand up to his lips for a soft kiss. He couldn't seem to pull away though, and even when he lowered Michael's hand, it wasn't far enough that he couldn't still smell his skin.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael found himself shaking his head again and looking almost guiltily away from Dare. If he didn't understand why it affected him so much, how was he supposed to explain it? And then, how could Dare help? Even the pleasant tingle from the contact of Dare's lips wasn't enough to distract him, however much he wanted to be distracted. He licked his lips and focused his eyes on their hands, on the connection he knew he could trust, even if this felt like too much.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's brow creased further, and he dropped his head a bit, though his hair was too sleep-tousled to provide much cover. "Will you just...talk to me?" Dare asked, tension creeping further into his voice. He stared down at the blankets, as though they might solve at least one of his problems, but he had no such luck. Dare lowered the hand that held Michael's and raised the other to wipe ineffectually at his face. "I don't want to end up...like last time." He didn't want this to fester, didn't want to end up fighting about it a week later.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael hung his head and licked his lips again. He wanted to move on, wanted to try to forget it all had happened, though he knew that it would come back to him again and again. It seemed like forever before he finally opened his mouth, "I woke up...and you..." He couldn't say it, not because he didn't necessarily want to, but because as he thought it he felt idiotic and immature for letting it bother him. "I overreacted," he repeated, sure that that was the answer.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare sighed heavily and lifted his head, glaring off at the bathroom door. He already knew he'd done something, and he already knew Michael thought he'd overreacted. Dare wanted to be patient, wanted to coax everything out of Michael, but his mood was already miserably low, and the persistent ache of his body was stretching his patience into nothing. Dare didn't trust himself to speak, sure that he'd end up snapping right now if he did, so he said nothing, but continued holding Michael's hand tightly.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael cringed inwardly at Dare's reaction and he felt horrible for not just talking, but he couldn't imagine telling him what had happened. Because then Dare would want to know why, right? And Michael didn't know why, so there was no point in telling Dare. Perhaps it would all go away. No, Michael knew it wouldn't, knew that it would come back and that it needed to be worked out, but he couldn't bring himself to talk.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's continued tense silence was doing nothing for Dare's own tension. His hand didn't release Michael's just yet, but it loosened as he continued staring down the door. "If you don't want to talk about it, maybe I'll go get dressed," he suggested, the words not quite as soft and peaceable as he'd meant them. He didn't want Michael to suffer, but his desperation to do something was driving him crazy, and at least a shower would solve one problem.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"I'll be okay," Michael said, though it was hard to believe it himself. Then he paused, before shaking his head and looking back down at their hands. "I'm sorry." He mentally kicked himself over and over again, he felt like a kid, keeping it from Dare, but he didn't know what to say to explain why he was feeling the way he was. All he knew was that it had been a situation he hadn't been comfortable with in the least, and he wished he knew the reason, wished he knew why he had reacted the way he had.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare turned his glare away from the bathroom door, toward Michael now. "Stop being sorry," he bit out. "If you don't want...whatever, then you don't want it, and I'm not going to bitch at you for it, so stop feeling guilty. Whatever happened, it doesn't matter, all right? You're fine, you'll be fine," he said, the words slightly sarcastic. "Nothing happened, and I'm going to take a shower." Dare pulled his hand free of Michael's and threw back the sheets, climbing out of bed and heading toward his bag with no regards toward his condition.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's eyes had been pulled up to Dare's with the harsh sounding words, though they had quickly dropped to their hands, which soon was only his hand, cool in the absence of Dare's. "How can I not feel guilty?" he asked softly, almost afraid to speak after what Dare had said. "I wake up with you between my legs and all but panic...." He pulled his legs up to his chest and kept his eyes away from Dare, fighting away the pain from what Dare had said before he had left the bed.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare made a low noise of frustration, but stopped in his tracks all the same, his back to Michael. Both hands rose, spearing into his hair, but there was nothing that would get rid of the tension! "So what is it you're so guilt-ridden over?" Dare snapped, bending to pick up his bag, then tugging his sleep bottoms back up to his hips. He pulled the bag over his shoulder, then turned, his physical state half forgotten for anger and frustration. "Something happened while we were asleep that we haven't even done awake, and you freaked out when you woke up. Big friggin deal! You can't just shut down getting shocked awake!" Good f~ing morning, Dare thought sarcastically.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael cringed, feeling even worse for what Dare said. Exactly, it shouldn't bother him, there was no reason for it to bother him, so why did it? He kept his eyes firmly away from Dare, staring at the wrinkles in the sheets again as he put his arms around his legs, tucking the edges of his sleeves in his fists. He didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything, praying that, somehow, everything would go back to how it was the night before.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

And Michael was withdrawing even more. "Are you even listening to me?!" Dare demanded. "I told you it's fine and you look like I insulted you!" Dare was too involved in letting out some tension to realize that his stance and the level of his voice were entirely at odds with what he meant. He only knew he'd told Michael that he understood why he'd freaked out. Dare was half a second from storming into the bathroom, but he'd give Michael one last chance.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's eyebrows came together and resisted the urge to apologize again, however much he wanted to. He licked his lips once, twice, and risked a glance over at Dare. The sight made his eyes widen slightly before they moved up to Dare's. "What do I say?" he wondered aloud, confused and hurt and knowing it was his own fault for feeling that way. He felt lost, so caught up in trying to figure out the why behind it that he couldn't think of a way to make things better.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"I don't know!" Dare retorted. He closed his mouth to seethe then, no interest in the moment at taking deep breaths and calming himself. He wanted a shower, dammit! Dare took his minute to seethe, then took one deep breath and spoke again, his voice lower now. "I'm going to go take a shower and get dressed," he said. "I'll calm down, and I'll come back." There wasn't any use trying to be rational right now. "Will you be okay?" Don't give me a blow-off answer. Don't let me have f~ed this up that much.