"Howdy there, friend! I seem unable to answer at the moment, but you just leave a lil message right here, and I'll get back to you, quick as a bunny hop!"
By Norton's third night on the barge, he still hasn't slept in his own quarters once, despite them now being a lovely flat and not a cargo hold. He hasn't mentioned that change, however. He doesn't intend to start sleeping in his own cabin now if he can help it, but at least he has a place to store his clothes and make himself look presentable for visits.
He knocks on Steve's door at the agreed time and tugs a single stray wrinkle out of his jacket while he waits.
Knowing he was going to have another occupant in his room, Steve took some care in making sure everything looked neat and tidy. Chairs and sofa in the opposite corner arranged just right, no stray dust anywhere, the bed made. That last was the easiest of all. He only ever slept on the one side, when he was here, and certainly didn't move about during his rest. The picture with Russell and Emma remained by his bedside, though he had thought, more than once, of putting it elsewhere. But that was a step in the grieving process he simply could not bring himself to do just yet.
Everything accomplished, he had awaited Norton's arrival by reading another chapter in The Vampire Lestat and downing a goblet of blood. Both items he sets on his nightstand when the knock came. He opens the door with a wide smile, rather calm and content.
"Come on in, Norton," he says, and steps aside to allow him entry. "Nice to be the one givin' the invite for a change, instead of the other way around."
"Oh there's definitely ways around it, if one is clever." Steve explains with an added tease. "But yes, in my case, an invite is always required." He holds up a finger. "If the owner of that home is human."
He moves away from the door, closing it for now. "So I don't think I got to ask: what's the year where you're from? I mean your accent, style of dress--its very unique." Inquires the Texan who never left the country.
"And I'm sure you're one of the clever ones." Norton smiles as if they're sharing a secret.
Norton walks further into the room, but doesn't stray far from Steve.
"I'm from 1955. The accent is public school, and the style of dress is the very most fashionable that the 1950s can come up with. Which is a bit disappointing really, but that's the 1950s for you."
Steve mirrors that smile, even adds in a wink. There were secrets indeed, though ones he wouldn't mind sharing. The expressions shifts to surprise when next Norton speaks because, really, 1950s? That's several decades past his own, and an entirely unfamiliar era.
"True, but if it's all you have to work with..." He trails off into a shrug. "Have you checked out the communal wardrobe, by chance? Something for every taste and era. Of course, I'm sure you're well aware, you've certainly got a figure for classical suits."
"Why thank you," he tilts his chin down in faux coyness at the compliment then slides his hand down the front of his jacket. "I've been told I look good in a suit. And out of a suit."
He lets that statement hang for half a second before moving on with the conversation.
"I have seen the wardrobe, but until I get a better sense of what's fashionable and what's not, I'm sticking to what I know so I don't end up looking like a total ninny." Yunlan said that his clothes were considered stylish, but they looked to Norton like the clothes of an out of work longshoreman who sleeps in a piss-puddle alleyway.
Steve's eyes follow that hand, before looking quickly away. Monogamous. Relationship. He agreed to that, he'll stick to that, but... No harm in looking, is there? Browse the menu, just can't order from it, as the metaphor goes. The conversation is a welcome distraction.
"Fashionable? Here?" Steve shakes his head with a small huff of laughter. "Hardly a notion worth chasing. For one, you're dealing with multiple worlds. For another... Well, I've found to my disappointment that most people don't care what those around them look like."
"Oh, you flatterer," He says. There's a second where he considers leaving it there, then decides to turn it into a joke. "I mean, of course you think I'm charming. Obviously!"
Steve clears his throat, affects the air of a college professor. "Y'see, once you become a vampire, the Cool Sexy Factor immediately goes up by ten. Like one of those old character sheets for the devil's dice game." There was another name for it, just on the edge of his mind.
Norton assumes that Steve means gambling, even though there's no casino game he's heard of that has character sheets. Devil's dice game sounds like something one could call craps, however, especially if one's lost a lot of money playing craps.
"What's it like, being a vampire? Aside from being tremendously sexy."
He can only shake his head with a laugh at that one. Steve has been called many things but 'tremendously sexy' has certainly never been one of them. He considers the question instead. While he had intended to simply leave soon after Norton's arrival, he's finding the company thoroughly engaging. He settles onto the couch, indicating with a nod Norton could sit wherever he liked.
"That's a bit of a broad question. You may as well ask the Grandmaster what its like being so ancient. Believe me, I've tried. Generally speakin', its a sense of power." He waves dismissively, to encompass the entirety of the Barge. "Not here, of course, as I'm practically neutered. But... back home. Everything feels more... more amplified. The freedom to... to experience life as I couldn't before--"
He pauses, smiles with embarrassment. There's usually someone to tell him to hush by now. "I'm sorry, I'm probably veerin' off topic here. What would you like to know about?"
That was... unexpected. Taken aback by the interest, there's several blinks as he processes exactly how to respond.
"An alternate outlook comes close..." He pauses, reclines back onto the couch more comfortably, watching Norton with equal fascination. "Lemme ask you somethin' first. When did you know you were..." Christ its been months and he still hesitates on the word. "...Gay?"
"No one has ever asked me that. It's like everyone assumes I came out of my mother like this. Maybe I did."
And because he's never been asked that, he has to think about the answer. There was no sudden revelation or day or event he can point to.
"I was educated at a boys' public school, so I knew very early on that I thought other boys were appealing and I was known as the school tart. I also assumed that once I had a more thorough exposure to girls, I'd begin to find them stimulating and that I would turn heterosexual like all the other schoolboys. It didn't happen. I suppose my life would have been much easier if it did, but I can't begin to imagine a life where I'm me and also heterosexual."
Steve listens without interruption, thinking back to his own school days. He's almost jealous, but past was past.
"It's... possible. A tragic life, but it could be done." He says after a time. It's painfully obvious he's speaking from his own experience. "That's what I was gettin' at. My father was the most fundamentalist preacher I ever knew, and he would not tolerate any deviatin' from what he called "normal". So I ignored any desires I had that weren't what he'd approve of. Married young, as he had, and for years, I convinced myself I was happy. The fact my wife and I developed a crush on the same man in our congregation should've hinted at how bad things were. But I was... distracted by other things."
Starting an anti-vampire war for instance. But he'll skate right on past that one for now.
"Being a vampire is like full id amped up to a thousand. All urges, sensations... In a way its like bein' born again." He smiles ruefully. "Only with a lot more inclinations towards sinnin'."
"I've never thought of it as sinning. Not really. Maybe a small sin, like taking the Lord's name in vain but, golly, everybody does that sometimes. My own father would probably disagree, however. He's a vicar and there was one time early on when I was at Cambridge and I came home to visit between Easter term and Michaelmas, and for those few weeks the sermons suddenly had a lot to say about Sodom and Gomorrah and sexual propriety and the blessings of marriage and I'm certain it was his way of expressing concern and trying to put me back on the straight and narrow. It didn't work, obviously, but I didn't visit very much after that. Strained silences, pointed sermons, and my mother spontaneously bursting into tears wasn't fun for anyone."
He leans forward a little further. "But if you ever want to be led into temptation and not delivered from evil, I'd be happy to help. I don't mind a bit of biting. It sounds as if you have a lot of catching up to do."
That was a lot of tragedy all at once and yet surprisingly he didn't mind hearing it at all. Norton was an amazing orator with that mellifluous accent he'd always had a fondness for. Just as he started to say something, anything to keep the conversation going, even if touching on their terrible pasts, Norton's leaning forward and Steve's doing the same.
He tells himself he'll stop this before it goes too far, because Pagan and their agreed upon terms, but...
"Somethin' tells me you'd be real good at the tempting part. Ain't even gotta try." He reaches up, tracing his fingers along the side of Norton's throat, until he's cupping his neck in his hand. He doesn't pull him closer though, not yet. "Do vampires exist in your world?"
Norton hums and tilts his head to lengthen his neck for Steve's fingers. This probably isn't entirely safe, but he can't bring himself to worry about that too much. He was willing to take risks while he was alive, so now that he's dead-ish and resurrectable on the barge he sees no reason not to let his propensity for taking risks grow to fit the circumstances.
"If vampires do exist, neither I nor my organization has ever encountered them. There are some aliens who drink blood, but they're not nearly as attractive."
Aliens. Organization(???). Aliens who drink blood. Things that certainly pinged his curiosity and need to investigate further. But damn if he wasn't distracted by Norton's nearness and those delightful sounds he made and his, well, everything.
"You really are the worst, you know that?" He says with half-smile. It comes out as a compliment though as he pulls Norton in for a kiss. Light and gentle at first, holding back, but that lasts only a second before he's pulling him closer, his opposite hand winding around Norton's waist, eagerly deepening the kiss as much as Norton would permit.
"So I've been told," he murmurs low as his lips brush Steve's. Norton doesn't just permit the kiss to deepen, he encourages it, opens his mouth and darts his tongue against Steve's, and after a few seconds of that, crawls onto to Steve's lap to press him against the couch.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Steve's Cabin
He knocks on Steve's door at the agreed time and tugs a single stray wrinkle out of his jacket while he waits.
no subject
Everything accomplished, he had awaited Norton's arrival by reading another chapter in The Vampire Lestat and downing a goblet of blood. Both items he sets on his nightstand when the knock came. He opens the door with a wide smile, rather calm and content.
"Come on in, Norton," he says, and steps aside to allow him entry. "Nice to be the one givin' the invite for a change, instead of the other way around."
no subject
He looks around the tidy cabin. Very nice, more stylish than he expected. He notes the picture by the bed but says nothing about it for now.
"If so, it must be terribly inconvenient for any aspiring vampire burglar."
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He moves away from the door, closing it for now. "So I don't think I got to ask: what's the year where you're from? I mean your accent, style of dress--its very unique." Inquires the Texan who never left the country.
no subject
Norton walks further into the room, but doesn't stray far from Steve.
"I'm from 1955. The accent is public school, and the style of dress is the very most fashionable that the 1950s can come up with. Which is a bit disappointing really, but that's the 1950s for you."
no subject
"True, but if it's all you have to work with..." He trails off into a shrug. "Have you checked out the communal wardrobe, by chance? Something for every taste and era. Of course, I'm sure you're well aware, you've certainly got a figure for classical suits."
no subject
He lets that statement hang for half a second before moving on with the conversation.
"I have seen the wardrobe, but until I get a better sense of what's fashionable and what's not, I'm sticking to what I know so I don't end up looking like a total ninny." Yunlan said that his clothes were considered stylish, but they looked to Norton like the clothes of an out of work longshoreman who sleeps in a piss-puddle alleyway.
spongebob voice: ten...years...later
"Fashionable? Here?" Steve shakes his head with a small huff of laughter. "Hardly a notion worth chasing. For one, you're dealing with multiple worlds. For another... Well, I've found to my disappointment that most people don't care what those around them look like."
no worries!
"I care. And, for the record, I think you look absolutely charming."
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Steve clears his throat, affects the air of a college professor. "Y'see, once you become a vampire, the Cool Sexy Factor immediately goes up by ten. Like one of those old character sheets for the devil's dice game." There was another name for it, just on the edge of his mind.
no subject
"What's it like, being a vampire? Aside from being tremendously sexy."
no subject
"That's a bit of a broad question. You may as well ask the Grandmaster what its like being so ancient. Believe me, I've tried. Generally speakin', its a sense of power." He waves dismissively, to encompass the entirety of the Barge. "Not here, of course, as I'm practically neutered. But... back home. Everything feels more... more amplified. The freedom to... to experience life as I couldn't before--"
He pauses, smiles with embarrassment. There's usually someone to tell him to hush by now. "I'm sorry, I'm probably veerin' off topic here. What would you like to know about?"
no subject
"No, do go on. The freedom to experience life...why wasn't that possible as a human? Is it because of a physical change or a change in outlook?"
no subject
"An alternate outlook comes close..." He pauses, reclines back onto the couch more comfortably, watching Norton with equal fascination. "Lemme ask you somethin' first. When did you know you were..." Christ its been months and he still hesitates on the word. "...Gay?"
no subject
"No one has ever asked me that. It's like everyone assumes I came out of my mother like this. Maybe I did."
And because he's never been asked that, he has to think about the answer. There was no sudden revelation or day or event he can point to.
"I was educated at a boys' public school, so I knew very early on that I thought other boys were appealing and I was known as the school tart. I also assumed that once I had a more thorough exposure to girls, I'd begin to find them stimulating and that I would turn heterosexual like all the other schoolboys. It didn't happen. I suppose my life would have been much easier if it did, but I can't begin to imagine a life where I'm me and also heterosexual."
no subject
"It's... possible. A tragic life, but it could be done." He says after a time. It's painfully obvious he's speaking from his own experience. "That's what I was gettin' at. My father was the most fundamentalist preacher I ever knew, and he would not tolerate any deviatin' from what he called "normal". So I ignored any desires I had that weren't what he'd approve of. Married young, as he had, and for years, I convinced myself I was happy. The fact my wife and I developed a crush on the same man in our congregation should've hinted at how bad things were. But I was... distracted by other things."
Starting an anti-vampire war for instance. But he'll skate right on past that one for now.
"Being a vampire is like full id amped up to a thousand. All urges, sensations... In a way its like bein' born again." He smiles ruefully. "Only with a lot more inclinations towards sinnin'."
no subject
He leans forward a little further. "But if you ever want to be led into temptation and not delivered from evil, I'd be happy to help. I don't mind a bit of biting. It sounds as if you have a lot of catching up to do."
no subject
He tells himself he'll stop this before it goes too far, because Pagan and their agreed upon terms, but...
"Somethin' tells me you'd be real good at the tempting part. Ain't even gotta try." He reaches up, tracing his fingers along the side of Norton's throat, until he's cupping his neck in his hand. He doesn't pull him closer though, not yet. "Do vampires exist in your world?"
no subject
"If vampires do exist, neither I nor my organization has ever encountered them. There are some aliens who drink blood, but they're not nearly as attractive."
no subject
"You really are the worst, you know that?" He says with half-smile. It comes out as a compliment though as he pulls Norton in for a kiss. Light and gentle at first, holding back, but that lasts only a second before he's pulling him closer, his opposite hand winding around Norton's waist, eagerly deepening the kiss as much as Norton would permit.
no subject