open post v2.0

[gotup]

action/text/pictures/whatever I'm easy

something less lazy coming in another two years

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[myheartglows]

[ tony stares at simba's proffered hand for too long, uncomprehending almost, before he halfheartedly shakes it and pulls back too fast. ] Fee-fi-fo-fuminize your toilet, got it, [ he mumbles. he flicks his eyes across the water. ]

[gotup]

Just as long as I don't have to climb a beanstalk to get there.

[He offers Tony a small smile, testing the waters, so to speak.]

I was serious about you helping, by the way. If you don't mind.

[myheartglows]

[ tony's bangs lie flat, dripping over his eyes which are locked on the water. ] Yeah, [ he croaks distantly, then finally slicks his hair off his face and straightens. he hasn't smiled back. ] Maybe not in the pool.

[gotup]

[He hesitates for a moment before he wraps his hands around Tony's waist and picks him up, setting him on the edge of the pool. Stepping closer, so he fills Tony's line of sight, he gently puts his hands on his shoulders.]

Hey. I didn't know, okay? I'm sorry.

[myheartglows]

[ "what're you–whoa! whoa," tumbles out of tony's mouth as he's picked up and moved, his hands clamped around the gion's arms. once he's put down, a puddle on the asphalt immediately spreads around him, stretching out far.

hands still on simba's arms, tony sits, befuddled and wary. ] It's ... fine. It was fair retribution. [ he awkwardly pats simba's arm. ] No harm done. Promise. Just a ... thing I have.

[gotup]

Then we've both got our things.

[He grins wryly at Tony, squeezes his shoulders softly, like he's still trying to reassure him.]

I'll be more careful in the future.

[Because if he has issues Tony doesn't know about, there's a pretty good chance the reverse is true, and he doesn't want to inadvertently do anything that might hurt him again.]

[myheartglows]

[ tony drops his eyes. they pause before they swing back up above simba's head. right. naked gion. ] Navigating social land mines with a new roommate, yaaay, [ tony jokes weakly. ]

[gotup]

[He pats Tony's shoulder before he lets go.] You didn't kick me out for dropping you in the water, so I think we're doing okay so far.

[Taking a couple steps back, he holds his breath and squats to dunk his head in the water again, staying there longer this time. When he comes up, his fur is soaked, and he grabs the bottle labeled body wash and starts lathering up his body, politely turning away from Tony.]

Never had a roommate before, [he adds over his shoulder.] So you'll have to tell me when I do something wrong, okay?

[myheartglows]

Okay, [ tony whispers, uncharacteristically quiet, now unabashedly watching simba's face. he clears his throat. ] Shampoo's makin' a break for it. [ he motions to the bottle that fell in with him drifting away. ]

[gotup]

[He reaches out and snags the bottle of shampoo, setting it back down on the concrete with one hand while he keeps lathering. By now, fluffy piles of foam are starting to appear on the surface of the water around him. Right now, he seems blissfully happy at the prospect of finally getting clean.]

What's that glass thing you had back there? [he asks, just to make conversation without falling into awkward silence.]

[myheartglows]

[ tony grabs the bottle, holds it between his legs, his feet and calves still hanging in the water, and flicks the cap open and closed with his thumb and a frown. ] Glass thi... Oh. Tablet. It's like a ... handheld computer.

[gotup]

[There's a break in the conversation as he drops down to rinse the first batch of lather off, and then he starts a second round of scrubbing.]

...You're gonna have to go more basic than that.

[myheartglows]

[ the look of longing on tony's face when simba reemerges is wiped out by another frown, this time stumped. ] Uhh, tiny smart machine? Touch screen to do stuff? About as basic as it gets.

[gotup]

But what kinda stuff does it do?

[He furrows his brow, confused.]

[myheartglows]

Whatever it's ... programmed to–you really have been living under a literal rock, haven't you? [ tony studies him, thoughtfully squinting. ] How long were you lone-gunning it?

[gotup]

Years?

[He shrugs.]

Didn't keep track. Sometime before the guerrillas started hiding from the Russians in the mountains.

[In other words, more like decades.]

[myheartglows]

... The Soviet-Afghan War. That was in the 1980s. It's 2008. You're telling me you were out there in your own private Man vs. Wild episode for thirty years? [ tony's face might get stuck like this. ]

[gotup]

[Well, at least one of them seems casual enough about it.]

Time flies when you're having fun.

[He is completely and totally deadpan, why did you bring this crazy lionman back to your home?]

[myheartglows]

[ tony huffs and leans back on his hands, shampoo bottle abandoned, mentally chewing on this new morsel of info. ] Well, you might've missed a few things being a cave-cat. Internet not least of all.

[gotup]

Internet?

[He tilts his head, curious, and keeps scrubbing.]

[myheartglows]

A global network. It's, uh... [ tony circles a hand, searching for the right words to simplify it, but even the simple explanation would go over simba's head. ] ... easier to show than tell you.

[gotup]

Hm.

[Rinse, rinse, now he sits down at the side of the pool, his back to Tony.]

Later. You promised to help with my mane, remember?

[myheartglows]

[ a fleeting smile ] Technically, a promise never happened. [ then tony straightens with a regal, haughty air. ] But since I am such a generous man, I will bestow upon you my touch.

[gotup]

[Tony can't see him roll his eyes with his back to him, but it's not hard to guess that's what he's doing.]

How kind of you to stoop to performing manual labor for my sake.

[It's remarkably easy to fall into a pattern of banter with someone he's only really known for two days, and strangely, it makes him feel more comfortable and grounded than he's felt in a long time.]

[myheartglows]

[ hiding another smile and already rubbing a glob of shampoo between his hands, tony instructs, ] Eyes closed, [ and smooths both hands along simba's scalp, back with the grain. while one hand massages the shampoo into a lather with little circular scratches, tony hands simba the bottle over his shoulder. ] Here. Get the front. 'M not giving you a reach-around.