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WELCOME TO THE SALTBURNT NETWORK

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[longitudinal]

[ quentin's hands work through koby's cropped hair, nails scratching into the scalp - a deep clean, if koby asks, nothing more - humming to acknowledge he's listening. the morning swim and the hot water have left him amiable and relaxed, muscles tired and stretched. ]

Patchouli and weed is exactly what I'd expect it to smell like. I went to a PT once for a shoulder thing and I left smelling like a cannabis shop. And hush - if I didn't mind doing this I wouldn't. So maybe I want to do it.

[ he scrubs through koby's hair, massaging his scalp toward the end of it, sliding his fingers around the hungover man's temples, the hinge of his jaw, the ridge behind his ear and down his neck. ]

How's that headache of yours?

[kobes]

Why? [koby means for it to come out sharp, a snappy retort, but that’s right when quentin’s fingers have found that place where his jaw meets his neck, massaged away the tension that’s lived there as long as he can remember. so it’s soft instead, unsure, unsteady, footing on a foundation of sand.

swallowing, he forces himself to uncross his arms – body language matters, even naked, especially naked, crossing his arms and scrunching his shoulders telegraphs unsurety, awkwardness, self-consciousness. still, koby can’t quite push himself back into the square-shouldered cockiness, not with the hangover well and truly banished.

so he turns his head, lifts his chin, looks over his shoulder and up at quentin with his wet hair in his face and his big eyes solemn and searching.] Better. Gone.

Maybe I should’ve taken lessons from you instead. [it’s a flirty line, delivered with absolutely zero flirtiness, because koby’s too busy looking, looking, tracing quentin’s features up-close, feeling something (r̶̻̊͋͝e̴̩̖̩͛̊c̷̥̭̱̐o̵̝̘̿̿͜g̷̡̼͓̉̀ṅ̵̳̆̚ị̴͍͖̃͛͝t̸̮͊̆͐i̵̹͕͑̑̕õ̸̭ṇ̶͆̀ḷ̴͑ȏ̶̢̥͛v̷̙̜̘̌e̵̟̊͝ḽ̴̿͐o̸̫̭̗͗͗s̸̪̝̃̄̋s̶̬͐̑g̶̩͎͕͛̋̚r̵̺̚͠i̸̻͗̎ẽ̵̫̘̃̃ͅf̵̬̼̼͌̚͠d̶̛̀͆͜ě̴͚̙̐̄š̷̡̞̹̎̊ṕ̷̱̰͗͠a̵̘̙̬̓͂͂į̷̭͙̇̍̃r̴̥̠̔) in his chest. he swallows hard, exhales, reaches up to push his hair out of his face.]

Thanks.

[longitudinal]

You still could, you know.

[ there's a softness in his voice - a hint of flirty still, but more amused than anything. koby is warm and curious and though he won't say it out loud, feels like an old soul l̴̢̫̻͒͐͝i̵̫̫͋͛͛k̴̺͇͇̽̚e̴̺͙͍͆͝͝ h̵͇͙̠͋͝e̵̟͍̠̒̚'̴̙̘̫̽͘͝s̵̢͖͕̾̚̚ l̵̞͎̽̀͜͠o̴̪̦̽͊v̸̞͖͕̽̀͝e̸̻͚̦̓͋͘d̵̢͕͓̈́͝͝ h̵̝̞̔͆͘i̴̙͕̫͑̾͝m̸̼̟̘͐͑͝ a̴̠͉̔͐͘l̸̺͙͕̈́͆̓l̵̻̺͛́̐͜ a̵̺̦̔͛͜l̵̺̟͕͒͆͛o̵͚͖̿͛͛͜n̵͍̘͓͑̓̚g̸̼͇̈́͋. quentin grins doggishly down at koby and tilts his head. ]

It's no problem. We're saving the earth you know - saving water.

[ but he wants to kiss him - can feel the need to dive in and learn what its like to breathe under water. strange, the way he always goes back to water, but even more strange is that koby reminds him of the lake. water that can be volatile as much as it can be calm, but maybe it's just the alcohol. ]

Did you go to the party last night?