[TAZ] i know i like to draw that line when it starts to get too real

[monstertea]

The problem isn't that the kid is too young to walk himself home, it was the neighborhood. Taako doesn't live in the slums, but his neighborhood isn't really a place for kids to wander around alone, either. Especially a boy detective who does't know how to keep his nose out of other people's business. That's why he's stuck with the kid in the first place, or so he reminds himself when his brain starts to think too fondly of him.

He walks at a languid pace next to Angus, knowing but not acknowledging that he's in no hurry to go home. "You keep working on that mage hand," he says as they walk through a neighborhood much nicer than Taako's. "Just don't go trying anything fancy on your own, little dude." It's a historic area where buildings have been converted into homes and quickly filled by the hoity-toity type of people who like white picket fences and employ other people to take care of their homes. It's easily the nicest foster home Angus has been in yet. So Taako could have dropped him off at the corner, it isn't a neighborhood that sees trouble. He tries to avoid run-ins with Angus's family, but he always has an excuse to see him to his door. At least with this neighborhood he has the easy excuse that it's just interesting to look at the houses, to answer Angus about what each building used to be. Yeah, he knows shit, too. He's just trying to remind the kid that he isn't smarter than him, he's not trying to impress him.

Comments

[solarisirius]

"Oh, good god no," Kravitz says, looking like he'd just eaten a lemon. Or several lemons. Like, a whole basket of lemons. "I'm guessing you've never seen a corpse before, there isn't anything even -slightly- attractive about them." Yes, he realizes that Taako is kidding, but lord that's a disgusting thought. He distracts himself with lightly brushing his fingers over Taako's ear, rather enjoying the way the elf shuddered at the brief, accidental contact when he was fixing his hair.

[monstertea]

"Can't say I've had as much experience with corpses as you." Taako's eyes flutter closed at the touch. Why wasn't he all over Kravitz again? Something about body drawers or a date or something? Right, Kravitz was being all gentlemanly with wanting to take him out first. "Sure you don't wanna make that coffee a, uh, breakfast date?" he asks, slipping his hands under soft hair to lightly stroke the back of Kravitz's neck.

[solarisirius]

Oh, that's certainly nice, and the stroke of Taako's hand over the back of his neck sends a very telling shiver down his spine, one that the elf can probably feel considering how close they are. It sounds like the other is rather eager, and he has to admit that he feels the same way. "I could be persuaded to make it a "dinner is just in a few hours" date," he says, voice low and intimate.

[monstertea]

"Hell yeah," Taako murmurs. Consent given, he throws all pretense of being coy to the wind, wasting no time. In the blink of an eye he's pushing Kravitz back against the wall, pressing their bodies together. He's half on tip-toe, half pulling Kravitz down to meet him for a kiss that's as hot and heavy as it is needy.

[solarisirius]

Kravitz is thrilled that Taako accepts his offer so readily, and then is completely fucking surprised when he's immediately pressed against the wall they're standing next to. Sure, he'd been entertaining the fantasy of exactly that happening, but it's still not something he's exactly prepared for, which leaves him unfortunately unable to kiss back for a precious few seconds. But Taako takes advantage of that and manhandles him down to make up for their height difference, and he's warm and soft and smells so very, very nice. His arms wrap around Taako's waist, and he kisses back enthusiastically as soon as he's able, every bit as hot and needy.

[monstertea]

He gives a soft noise of approval at the arms around his waist. Though Kravitz is solid in every way that Taako is soft, he's so pliant under Taako's guidance. He'd have no argument for Kravitz pushing back, but this is an area he's happy to take the lead in. He tangles his fingers in soft hair at the nape of his neck, slipping his other hand under his collar to find smooth skin to explore. He wants to savor the moment as much as he want to rush for more.

[solarisirius]

All things considered, when it comes to this sort of thing, Kravitz does tend towards the passive; it's not as if he isn't giving back as good as he gets, but he wouldn't be giving back if he wasn't getting if you get the drift. Above everything else, he wants his partner to be comfortable, and currently, Taako seems more than comfortable to take the lead, kissing him thoroughly as playing with the loose hairs that have started working their way free of his ponytail, adventuring beneath the collar his shirt to further explore his neck. It all makes him feel a little lightheaded, but in the absolute best way possible, and it encourages him to kiss back harder, to incorporate his tongue into it, to tug Taako just that little bit closer using the arms around his waist.

[monstertea]

Taako happily allows himself to be tugged closer, the cool room feeling hotter with their shared body warmth. He parts his lips for Kravitz's tongue, rewarding him with a soft moan. His mouth is warm and sweet and for all the things Taako wants to do with him, he could easily get lost in kissing him. Kravitz gives as well as he gets, though, and it leaves him wondering what else he an give well.

[solarisirius]

Eventually, because he is in fact not a lich, Kravitz has to draw back to get some air in his lungs, and he's looking a little frazzled, a little ruffled, but also definitely pleased. "Well," he says, clearly at a loss for what to do now that he's had the breath kissed out of him by such an amazing elf. "I'll admit, this isn't what I was imagining would happen when I decided to hire a landscaper, but I can't say that I'm complaining."

[monstertea]

"I'd be insulted if you complained," Taako replies with a breathless laugh. He is plenty pleased with how things have progressed. He had hoped to tease Kravitz while he was over, but he had thought anything more would have been pushing it. So to say he's pleased is a bit of an understatement. "I'll admit, I didn't think I'd be kissing you in the creepiest part of your house, but it's kind of hot in a last-place-you'd-think-to-make-out-in way." He leans up, pressing a kiss to the corner of his lips. "Would definitely not be hot if there were any, you know, bodies down here still."

[solarisirius]

It makes Kravitz tingle all over in the most pleasant way to hear that Taako is also as happy about the turn things have taken, remaining pressed close to him as he speaks. "I'll have to make sure not to run you off, I think you're the only person on the planet who isn't some kind of weirdo who would find anything alluring about this." He savors how close the elf is, and when he presses a kiss to the corner of his lips, it's enough to make him smile. "There's no bodies here except for you and I, and the last time I checked, we were both alive and kicking."

[monstertea]

Taako almost laughs at the thought of Kravitz running him off. He's the one who's worried that Kravitz is gonna run off. Sure, he has some commitment issues, but he's not just looking for a fuck buddy. Unfortunately, if his commitment issues don't run guys off then just him being himself tends to do the job.

He gives a contemplative hum at Kravitz's comment about them being alive, moving his lips to his neck, finding his pulse to press his lips to. "Mm, yep, got a live one here."

[solarisirius]

Kravitz nearly jumps out of his skin when Taako presses his lips to his neck, right over where his pulse is hammering away like he's just run a marathon. It's a little embarrassing, because of course Taako will be able to tell that he's close to cardiac arrest at this point, but mostly it just feels wonderful and he hopes he smells alright. "Good, I was worried," he says in a slightly strangled voice. "Um, not sure how long that's going to continue to be a Thing if you keep doing that."

[monstertea]

Taako chuckles against his skin, inhaling the soft scent of him. Kravitz's pulse is racing and Taako's ego swells because, yeah, he did that. "Sorry," he says as he draws his head away, feigning sheepishness. "Just had to check for myself."

[solarisirius]

"No need to apologize, it's just uh, been a while," Kravitz says, looking embarrassed, but it isn't like he's gotten laid since he was a young hot musician. Morticians aren't exactly at the top of most people's lists, after all. "We should go back upstairs."

[monstertea]

Taako slides his arms away, dragging his hands over his shoulders and back down to his chest. "In the interest of full disclosure, my dude, it's been a bit for me, too," he says, smoothing Kravitz's shirt before slowly pulling away. After a moment's thought, he leads the way back to the stairs; he hasn't really given Kravitz a chance to admire the flattering view of him from behind, after all. The extra sway of his hips isn't just to tease, either. He's having a damn good day.

[solarisirius]

Honestly, Kravitz is going to need to start wearing foundation or something to hide how much Taako makes him blush. It's like he's constantly finding ways to fluster him (not that it's particularly hard). His heart skips another few beats when his clever hands slide over his shoulders and down his chest in what may or may not be intended to be a very seductive caress before adjusting his shirt. And then he's swinging his hips as they go up the stairs and hnngh if he was Catholic he'd be at confession for a month. "Um, did you need to get pictures or anything of the spaces outside before we made our way out?" he asks.

[monstertea]

He pauses once he's upstairs, taking in the look on Kravitz's face. His reactions are nothing short of flattering and Taako is eating it all up like he's starved for the attention. He loves being the center of attention, especially from someone equally attractive. "Nah," he says with a shrug. "The pictures you took were good enough, I just wanted a better sense of the area and what we were gonna be starting out with. We don't turn much down but it's always a good idea to have a proper look-see first."

[solarisirius]

"What kind of stuff makes you turn people down?" Kravitz asks, genuinely curious. He was at least partially concerned that the plethora of dead plants in the smaller of the two courtyards would be enough extra work that they'd fuss at him, charge him extra, or straight up turn him down until he cleared it out himself.

[monstertea]

Taako falters, not quite sure himself. When it comes to the attitude of customers, it's pretty clear why they refuse to work with certain people, but he never questions Merle if he decides to turn something down otherwise. "Hmmm, things like having to deal with like, a bunch of concrete," he says, sounding disinterested to hide that he's talking out his ass. "Or like, when it's clear the whole problem with the yard is just that the people never bothered to take care of it in the first place. Repeat customers are great and all, but not when they're just too dumb to take care of some grass."

[solarisirius]

Kravitz can't tell that Taako is bullshitting, but even if he could, he'd probably still believe him. Those sound like more than acceptable reasons to turn down someone's job. "Well, hopefully I won't turn out to be one of the latter. I haven't tried my hand at this before, so I may end up being a menace to these poor plants," he sighs. Once they're back upstairs, he turns off the lights leading down in to the basement and shuts the door firmly behind him. "It's still a little too early to eat dinner, but I think I have a nice bottle of wine around here if we wanted to pregame."

[monstertea]

"You're fine so long as you don't start thinking you know everything," Taako assures him. "That and people who insist on things their lawn just won't do are the worst. Well, I think the worst are the ones who wanna micromanage, but I just leave those people to Merle and Mags." At the mention of wine he perks up, clasping his hands together in front of his chest. "Now we're talking. I bet you got some good wine, too, nothing like the cheap shit I usually drink."

[solarisirius]

"Who's Mags?" Kravitz asks, leading the way back to the kitchen, whereupon he motions to the bar stools that set up against the far side of the island. "Please, have a seat." There's a little wine cooler under the counter, for all that he doesn't drink too much, and there's a nice, light red in there that was a birthday gift not too terribly long ago that he thinks should be fine. Pulling the bottle out, he keeps it in hand before finding a wine opener in one of the drawers, removing the cork with casual aplomb and no real apparent effort. From there, it's just a manner of grabbing a couple of glasses and filling them, handing one to Taako and keeping one for himself.

[monstertea]

Taako scoots the stool closer to the island so he can lean on it while he sits, legs crossed. "Magnus," he says with a sigh. "Don't you dare let anyone know I called him that, I'll never hear the end of it." He accepts the glass of wine with a murmur of thanks, taking a hearty sip. He usually goes for darker reds himself, but it's good. Clearly a matter of difference between what the grocery store stocks and whatever snobby winery this comes from.

[solarisirius]

"My lips are sealed," Kravitz says, miming zipping his mouth and throwing away the key. Of course, he immediately takes a sip of his wine, which kind of ruins the illusion of having his mouth zipped shut, but whatever. "I'm assuming he works for Dirty Plants also?" The flavor of the wine is sweet on his tongue, nice and smooth, and he's glad that it's not something stronger; he's not really in the mood to get tipsy.