Aaron :]

Elder Aaron Jensen from Uganda District 9!! Matching profile pictures with my buddy Eden :]

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Hello! My name is Elder Aaron Jensen, Elder Park's mission companion. I'm excited to join you all!! I'm from Ogden, Utah, so I'm pretty far from home.. but I imagine you all are as well!

I'm not really sure what I'm meant to say on here so I'll just put some of my favorite things I guess. My favorite color is pink, my favorite food is strawberries, and my favorite subject is history. I also like English, and chemistry is pretty fun, too, but I always found the experiments too tedious. I'm glad I don't have to take any more of those classes anymore, because one time I wasn't paying attention and spilled acid on my lab apron, and the teacher was so- uh-..

Sorry, I got off topic there. Anyway, if you all want to know anything about me, let me know!

@elder-edenpark

•••

Hi guys its @kevinpricethebottomisallamerican again uhhh yeah this is aaron be nice to him he was born today ok and thank you to eden for the drawing ofc

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden is still tense, but looks slightly at him over his shoulder. It's too dark to really see.)

"What did you..assume?"

(He sniffles back more tears.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this out loud.)

"That, uh.. that you were making fun of me, when you. Yknow. Kissed. Me."

[elder-edenpark]

(A wave of silence overwhelms the dark room for too long of a moment. Then, a snort.)

"Make fun of you?" (Parker bursts in a fit of giggles, wiping his face with his hands and occasionally sniffing back the snot clogging his nose.)

"By- kissing you?" (The idea is just so silly. It lessens the tension in his hunched up shoulders.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces, cheeks going pink, though it's not noticeable in the dark. He feels like he should feel stupid, but isn't sure why.)

"Yeah. I don't know why I thought that, but. Yknow. Anyway that's why I ran off but I ended up at Gotswana's house and he explained that I was being dumb and probably a little mean so I wanted to come back and say I'm sorry. And that I didn't mind you kissing me." (Now he goes *really* red. He bites his cheek hard enough to draw blood.)

[elder-edenpark]

"-You didn't?" (The words come out faster than he can turn around and pathetically stumble to sit up from his feet, almost falling to the floor. It's cartoonish.)

(His face is less filthy after he wiped it clean, but snot residue still clings to his skin; tears also not completely dried.)

(Aarons face is barely visible in the darkness; Eden makes it his mission to see it from a better view. Taking a step forward to analize his expression more clearly, he squints his eyes. It doesn't help, just makes him more aware of the height difference.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stares resolute and wide-eyed at a spot between Eden's chin and shoulder, as if, if he stays very still, he can ignore the consequences of what he just said.)

"...No?" (It's not a question - far from it - but he says it like one anyway. It feels safer, somehow.) "Is that-"

[elder-edenpark]

"-Good!" (He winces at the volume of his own voice.) "It's- It's good. It's- yeah." (The end of the sentence is exhaled, shoulders finally dropping all the way- relaxing.)

(Park doesn't usually find himself this flustered; it's dangerous. Panicking means stuttering- stuttering means embarrassment. )

"I-I didn't mind either- I- Well of course I did-didn't mind I-I-..."

(He wants to explode- every time he stutters a bigger knot forms in his throat. Words want to come out, but no sound accompanies. Standing there- gaping like a fish- maybe an explosion is the answer.)

"I. Liked- It. So- Um. Yeah." (Maybe the second best thing from an explosion is a hard slap to the face.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

"Good. Good." (Aaron nods, swallows hard. His arms itch with the knowledge that he's messing ip somehow, not getting a hint or cue, but he can't figure out what it is. As usual, his brain decides that the only solution is to talk until he hits on the right thing to say.)

"Am I- sorry, am I meant to do something now? Do you want to hug? Or is this a no-touching situation? Should I leave the room? I feel like if I leave the room that's just as bad as last time but also the context is kind of different so, yknow, but still.."

[elder-edenpark]

"A hug w-wo-.." (Shame trickels down his spine.)"Wo-would be-...would be nice. Yea-yeah." (Affection that isn't purely sexual? For Parker? Baffling. His Shoulders raise halfway fway to his ears again; he waits for Aaron to make a move.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron blinks at him. Steps forward. Hesitates, somehow gets off balance. It takes him an embarrassingly long time to travel the few feet to Parker and hold out his arms.)

(When Eden hugs him, he melts into it immediately, shoulders relaxing for what feels like the first time in days. He buries his face in the other's hair, inhaling. It's nice, soft against his face and a little ticklish. It smells slightly herbal for some reason. Is he being creepy? Probably, but he can't bring himself to care.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Parker squirms around in Aaron's embrace, flushing at the difference in their stature. What does he do with his hands? Where can they land appropriately? No matter the answer- his arms betray him and squeeze around Jensen's torso, desperately attempting to get even closer; he's giddy with endorphins- like he just got under warm covers on a winter night. Only Aaron is 10 times coldee than he is.)

(This hug is lasting quite a long time.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron realizes with a flash of panic that he doesn't actually know how hugs are supposed to *end*. Has he ever hugged anyone outside of his family? He can't remember. Will it look rude if he pulls away? God, he's probably all sweaty from walking. Eden's face is barely at his collarbone. He would have to stand on tiptoe to kiss Aaron's neck. What.)

(Finally Aaron bites the bullet and pulls back gently, keeping his eyes firmly over Parker's shoulder.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden follows Aaron's lead, thankful he took the initiative. If he was in charge, that hug would've lasted much longer; he's never been in such a gentle embrace. Maybe his parents fucked him up, or maybe it was religion- no matter, he's never felt loved. The hug feels like microdosing on affection.)

(Eye contact seems to become more difficult with each beat of his heart- quickly turning impossible.)

"So...-" (He takes a long pause, swallowing back the urge to run away.)

"A...-Are we.." (He can't say it. He can't risk it. Thank god for his stutter- it's less weird that he's taking so long.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron has no idea what Eden is implying, so he takes the most plausible-sounding possibility and runs with it.)

"We're fine. Not fighting. At least, I don't want to fight. Or be angry. Anymore. Unless you want something else." (Something less. Or more.) "We can pretend this never happened." (The running away. The kiss.)

[elder-edenpark]

"Yes-!" (The last sentence barely registers in his mind before he uses the last of his courage in a soft yell and then deflating with a shaky exhale, mind burning with anxiety.)

"I mean- Not yes- this happened- But- Yes i do want- anyth-thing more."

(He uncharacteristically panics, eyes frantically attempting to find Aarons face in the pitch black. The only thing he can do is chuckle nervously- embarrassed by the fact he dared to even imply the other elder could have feelings for him that we're purely sexual.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stands frozen, not wanting to react until he's sure he isn't misinterpreting things.)

"Sorry if I'm messing up a moment here, but when you say that I'm getting, like, five different possible meanings, and I'm really not good enough at this kind of thing to figure out which one is right-"

[elder-edenpark]

"I- I don't-"

(A wave of nausea washes over Parker. He can't. This is too sudden, too serious, too risky- too much. Every huff of breath feels like a knife twisting in his brain; he is overwhelmed by all the microscopic changes happening around him.)

(This isn't his first rodeo, though, so based on his last similar experience- the best he can do is focus on something and go for it.)

(It just so happens that the only thing he can concentrate on is not being misunderstood by Aaron, and since words are failing him- this concentration latches to the next best solution- his lips.)

(Much like he had done before, Eden yanks Aarons head down with both hands and smashes their mouths together- though less sensual and more hurried. The most he can manage is a closed-mouth kiss, one that makes both of them slightly lightheaded. Is this better than words?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron's eyes widen in shock. He stays stock still through the kiss, not even breathing, world narrowing to the press of lips and fingertips. He stays frozen as Parker pulls away, making eye contact for the first time since he barged in.)

"Can you do that again?" (He speaks before he can think better of it, then clamps his jaw shut, stomach tightening in a full-body wince. That is not what you're meant to say when one kisses you.) "Only if you want. Obviously. But you initiated so it seems like maybe you do? Wait-" (He holds up his hand, something occurring to him.) "Does this mean Gotswana was right, then? About you... uh, liking me?" (What is he, 13?)

[elder-edenpark]

(Parker doesn't wait until the anxiety of romance settles in his stomach again. If this isn't a dream, if the boy he dreamt of marrying really wants to kiss him, then he needs to act fast. Save the mental breakdown for later- action time.)

"Yes-" (He's barely holding it together. Harris is right- Parker really is a crybaby.)

(Eden snaps himself out of his own mind and complies with Aarons request, hands still cradling his face. The kiss is less sweet and more desperate- He fears he might wake up alone in their dorm, drenched in sweat and smelling of weed.)

(He pulls away, only to hug Aaron's neck, clinging to him.)

"A lot."

(He buries his face in the others' collarbone.)

"So fucking much."

[elder-aaron-jensen]

"Oh." (He should say something more than that, but his mind is genuinely blank, replaced by a glow of happiness in his gut.) "Oh. Good." (He smiles like an idiot - his real one, the one that looks more like a grimace to other people.)

(Is he meant to say something now? If it was up to him, he'd just keep kissing Parker. He's been spending way too much time *not* doing that.)

"I'm sorry if I'm being weird. I'm happy. Really happy. I promise."

[elder-edenpark]

"Aaron." (Is this reality?)

"Baby." (The petname is experimental, almost a whisper. He's used it before- but never like this.)

(It's so painfully normal, rehearsed- like sucking the spoon after you take a particularly nice bite of ice cream. There's nothing more natural than this.)

(Parker has never been a man of many words, relying on actions to accurately explain his thoughts and feelings. He takes his boyfriend's (is he allowed to call him that?) hands in his and guides him to the edge of Jensen's bed, slowly lowering himself onto the mattress and taking Aaron with him.)

"Baobei.." (Eden wants him- he needs him.)

(He lays himself on his back, locking his arms around his lover's neck. The second his head hits the bed, it's like a flashbang of fatigue all bursts out at once- to be fair, he is still a little high.)

"Mmm..-Baby..."

(The stress from his body dissipates- this position is dangerously comfortable. He can't remember the last time he was this relaxed. Aaron's name is chanted like a calming mantra in the space of his brain.)

(Carefully, he urges Aaron to let his body fall on top of his- the pressure adding even more serenity.)

(It's a little quiet.)

(Is that- snoring?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron tries his very best to stay awake, but the late hour, his earlier foray into the village, and the emotional roller coaster of the day all combine into a wash of exhaustion that breaks over him with a soothing pressure.)

(Normally he sleeps screwed up in a ball, hands tucked under his chin. Nothing else ever feels *right*. But here, with his head tucked into Parker's neck, knees bracketing the other's thighs, he finds that he can drift off just fine.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden is still tense, but looks slightly at him over his shoulder. It's too dark to really see.)

"What did you..assume?"

(He sniffles back more tears.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this out loud.)

"That, uh.. that you were making fun of me, when you. Yknow. Kissed. Me."

[elder-edenpark]

(A wave of silence overwhelms the dark room for too long of a moment. Then, a snort.)

"Make fun of you?" (Parker bursts in a fit of giggles, wiping his face with his hands and occasionally sniffing back the snot clogging his nose.)

"By- kissing you?" (The idea is just so silly. It lessens the tension in his hunched up shoulders.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces, cheeks going pink, though it's not noticeable in the dark. He feels like he should feel stupid, but isn't sure why.)

"Yeah. I don't know why I thought that, but. Yknow. Anyway that's why I ran off but I ended up at Gotswana's house and he explained that I was being dumb and probably a little mean so I wanted to come back and say I'm sorry. And that I didn't mind you kissing me." (Now he goes *really* red. He bites his cheek hard enough to draw blood.)

[elder-edenpark]

"-You didn't?" (The words come out faster than he can turn around and pathetically stumble to sit up from his feet, almost falling to the floor. It's cartoonish.)

(His face is less filthy after he wiped it clean, but snot residue still clings to his skin; tears also not completely dried.)

(Aarons face is barely visible in the darkness; Eden makes it his mission to see it from a better view. Taking a step forward to analize his expression more clearly, he squints his eyes. It doesn't help, just makes him more aware of the height difference.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stares resolute and wide-eyed at a spot between Eden's chin and shoulder, as if, if he stays very still, he can ignore the consequences of what he just said.)

"...No?" (It's not a question - far from it - but he says it like one anyway. It feels safer, somehow.) "Is that-"

[elder-edenpark]

"-Good!" (He winces at the volume of his own voice.) "It's- It's good. It's- yeah." (The end of the sentence is exhaled, shoulders finally dropping all the way- relaxing.)

(Park doesn't usually find himself this flustered; it's dangerous. Panicking means stuttering- stuttering means embarrassment. )

"I-I didn't mind either- I- Well of course I did-didn't mind I-I-..."

(He wants to explode- every time he stutters a bigger knot forms in his throat. Words want to come out, but no sound accompanies. Standing there- gaping like a fish- maybe an explosion is the answer.)

"I. Liked- It. So- Um. Yeah." (Maybe the second best thing from an explosion is a hard slap to the face.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

"Good. Good." (Aaron nods, swallows hard. His arms itch with the knowledge that he's messing ip somehow, not getting a hint or cue, but he can't figure out what it is. As usual, his brain decides that the only solution is to talk until he hits on the right thing to say.)

"Am I- sorry, am I meant to do something now? Do you want to hug? Or is this a no-touching situation? Should I leave the room? I feel like if I leave the room that's just as bad as last time but also the context is kind of different so, yknow, but still.."

[elder-edenpark]

"A hug w-wo-.." (Shame trickels down his spine.)"Wo-would be-...would be nice. Yea-yeah." (Affection that isn't purely sexual? For Parker? Baffling. His Shoulders raise halfway fway to his ears again; he waits for Aaron to make a move.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron blinks at him. Steps forward. Hesitates, somehow gets off balance. It takes him an embarrassingly long time to travel the few feet to Parker and hold out his arms.)

(When Eden hugs him, he melts into it immediately, shoulders relaxing for what feels like the first time in days. He buries his face in the other's hair, inhaling. It's nice, soft against his face and a little ticklish. It smells slightly herbal for some reason. Is he being creepy? Probably, but he can't bring himself to care.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Parker squirms around in Aaron's embrace, flushing at the difference in their stature. What does he do with his hands? Where can they land appropriately? No matter the answer- his arms betray him and squeeze around Jensen's torso, desperately attempting to get even closer; he's giddy with endorphins- like he just got under warm covers on a winter night. Only Aaron is 10 times coldee than he is.)

(This hug is lasting quite a long time.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron realizes with a flash of panic that he doesn't actually know how hugs are supposed to *end*. Has he ever hugged anyone outside of his family? He can't remember. Will it look rude if he pulls away? God, he's probably all sweaty from walking. Eden's face is barely at his collarbone. He would have to stand on tiptoe to kiss Aaron's neck. What.)

(Finally Aaron bites the bullet and pulls back gently, keeping his eyes firmly over Parker's shoulder.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden follows Aaron's lead, thankful he took the initiative. If he was in charge, that hug would've lasted much longer; he's never been in such a gentle embrace. Maybe his parents fucked him up, or maybe it was religion- no matter, he's never felt loved. The hug feels like microdosing on affection.)

(Eye contact seems to become more difficult with each beat of his heart- quickly turning impossible.)

"So...-" (He takes a long pause, swallowing back the urge to run away.)

"A...-Are we.." (He can't say it. He can't risk it. Thank god for his stutter- it's less weird that he's taking so long.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron has no idea what Eden is implying, so he takes the most plausible-sounding possibility and runs with it.)

"We're fine. Not fighting. At least, I don't want to fight. Or be angry. Anymore. Unless you want something else." (Something less. Or more.) "We can pretend this never happened." (The running away. The kiss.)

[elder-edenpark]

"Yes-!" (The last sentence barely registers in his mind before he uses the last of his courage in a soft yell and then deflating with a shaky exhale, mind burning with anxiety.)

"I mean- Not yes- this happened- But- Yes i do want- anyth-thing more."

(He uncharacteristically panics, eyes frantically attempting to find Aarons face in the pitch black. The only thing he can do is chuckle nervously- embarrassed by the fact he dared to even imply the other elder could have feelings for him that we're purely sexual.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stands frozen, not wanting to react until he's sure he isn't misinterpreting things.)

"Sorry if I'm messing up a moment here, but when you say that I'm getting, like, five different possible meanings, and I'm really not good enough at this kind of thing to figure out which one is right-"

[elder-edenpark]

"I- I don't-"

(A wave of nausea washes over Parker. He can't. This is too sudden, too serious, too risky- too much. Every huff of breath feels like a knife twisting in his brain; he is overwhelmed by all the microscopic changes happening around him.)

(This isn't his first rodeo, though, so based on his last similar experience- the best he can do is focus on something and go for it.)

(It just so happens that the only thing he can concentrate on is not being misunderstood by Aaron, and since words are failing him- this concentration latches to the next best solution- his lips.)

(Much like he had done before, Eden yanks Aarons head down with both hands and smashes their mouths together- though less sensual and more hurried. The most he can manage is a closed-mouth kiss, one that makes both of them slightly lightheaded. Is this better than words?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron's eyes widen in shock. He stays stock still through the kiss, not even breathing, world narrowing to the press of lips and fingertips. He stays frozen as Parker pulls away, making eye contact for the first time since he barged in.)

"Can you do that again?" (He speaks before he can think better of it, then clamps his jaw shut, stomach tightening in a full-body wince. That is not what you're meant to say when one kisses you.) "Only if you want. Obviously. But you initiated so it seems like maybe you do? Wait-" (He holds up his hand, something occurring to him.) "Does this mean Gotswana was right, then? About you... uh, liking me?" (What is he, 13?)

[elder-edenpark]

(Parker doesn't wait until the anxiety of romance settles in his stomach again. If this isn't a dream, if the boy he dreamt of marrying really wants to kiss him, then he needs to act fast. Save the mental breakdown for later- action time.)

"Yes-" (He's barely holding it together. Harris is right- Parker really is a crybaby.)

(Eden snaps himself out of his own mind and complies with Aarons request, hands still cradling his face. The kiss is less sweet and more desperate- He fears he might wake up alone in their dorm, drenched in sweat and smelling of weed.)

(He pulls away, only to hug Aaron's neck, clinging to him.)

"A lot."

(He buries his face in the others' collarbone.)

"So fucking much."

[elder-aaron-jensen]

"Oh." (He should say something more than that, but his mind is genuinely blank, replaced by a glow of happiness in his gut.) "Oh. Good." (He smiles like an idiot - his real one, the one that looks more like a grimace to other people.)

(Is he meant to say something now? If it was up to him, he'd just keep kissing Parker. He's been spending way too much time *not* doing that.)

"I'm sorry if I'm being weird. I'm happy. Really happy. I promise."

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden is still tense, but looks slightly at him over his shoulder. It's too dark to really see.)

"What did you..assume?"

(He sniffles back more tears.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this out loud.)

"That, uh.. that you were making fun of me, when you. Yknow. Kissed. Me."

[elder-edenpark]

(A wave of silence overwhelms the dark room for too long of a moment. Then, a snort.)

"Make fun of you?" (Parker bursts in a fit of giggles, wiping his face with his hands and occasionally sniffing back the snot clogging his nose.)

"By- kissing you?" (The idea is just so silly. It lessens the tension in his hunched up shoulders.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces, cheeks going pink, though it's not noticeable in the dark. He feels like he should feel stupid, but isn't sure why.)

"Yeah. I don't know why I thought that, but. Yknow. Anyway that's why I ran off but I ended up at Gotswana's house and he explained that I was being dumb and probably a little mean so I wanted to come back and say I'm sorry. And that I didn't mind you kissing me." (Now he goes *really* red. He bites his cheek hard enough to draw blood.)

[elder-edenpark]

"-You didn't?" (The words come out faster than he can turn around and pathetically stumble to sit up from his feet, almost falling to the floor. It's cartoonish.)

(His face is less filthy after he wiped it clean, but snot residue still clings to his skin; tears also not completely dried.)

(Aarons face is barely visible in the darkness; Eden makes it his mission to see it from a better view. Taking a step forward to analize his expression more clearly, he squints his eyes. It doesn't help, just makes him more aware of the height difference.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stares resolute and wide-eyed at a spot between Eden's chin and shoulder, as if, if he stays very still, he can ignore the consequences of what he just said.)

"...No?" (It's not a question - far from it - but he says it like one anyway. It feels safer, somehow.) "Is that-"

[elder-edenpark]

"-Good!" (He winces at the volume of his own voice.) "It's- It's good. It's- yeah." (The end of the sentence is exhaled, shoulders finally dropping all the way- relaxing.)

(Park doesn't usually find himself this flustered; it's dangerous. Panicking means stuttering- stuttering means embarrassment. )

"I-I didn't mind either- I- Well of course I did-didn't mind I-I-..."

(He wants to explode- every time he stutters a bigger knot forms in his throat. Words want to come out, but no sound accompanies. Standing there- gaping like a fish- maybe an explosion is the answer.)

"I. Liked- It. So- Um. Yeah." (Maybe the second best thing from an explosion is a hard slap to the face.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

"Good. Good." (Aaron nods, swallows hard. His arms itch with the knowledge that he's messing ip somehow, not getting a hint or cue, but he can't figure out what it is. As usual, his brain decides that the only solution is to talk until he hits on the right thing to say.)

"Am I- sorry, am I meant to do something now? Do you want to hug? Or is this a no-touching situation? Should I leave the room? I feel like if I leave the room that's just as bad as last time but also the context is kind of different so, yknow, but still.."

[elder-edenpark]

"A hug w-wo-.." (Shame trickels down his spine.)"Wo-would be-...would be nice. Yea-yeah." (Affection that isn't purely sexual? For Parker? Baffling. His Shoulders raise halfway fway to his ears again; he waits for Aaron to make a move.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron blinks at him. Steps forward. Hesitates, somehow gets off balance. It takes him an embarrassingly long time to travel the few feet to Parker and hold out his arms.)

(When Eden hugs him, he melts into it immediately, shoulders relaxing for what feels like the first time in days. He buries his face in the other's hair, inhaling. It's nice, soft against his face and a little ticklish. It smells slightly herbal for some reason. Is he being creepy? Probably, but he can't bring himself to care.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Parker squirms around in Aaron's embrace, flushing at the difference in their stature. What does he do with his hands? Where can they land appropriately? No matter the answer- his arms betray him and squeeze around Jensen's torso, desperately attempting to get even closer; he's giddy with endorphins- like he just got under warm covers on a winter night. Only Aaron is 10 times coldee than he is.)

(This hug is lasting quite a long time.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron realizes with a flash of panic that he doesn't actually know how hugs are supposed to *end*. Has he ever hugged anyone outside of his family? He can't remember. Will it look rude if he pulls away? God, he's probably all sweaty from walking. Eden's face is barely at his collarbone. He would have to stand on tiptoe to kiss Aaron's neck. What.)

(Finally Aaron bites the bullet and pulls back gently, keeping his eyes firmly over Parker's shoulder.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden follows Aaron's lead, thankful he took the initiative. If he was in charge, that hug would've lasted much longer; he's never been in such a gentle embrace. Maybe his parents fucked him up, or maybe it was religion- no matter, he's never felt loved. The hug feels like microdosing on affection.)

(Eye contact seems to become more difficult with each beat of his heart- quickly turning impossible.)

"So...-" (He takes a long pause, swallowing back the urge to run away.)

"A...-Are we.." (He can't say it. He can't risk it. Thank god for his stutter- it's less weird that he's taking so long.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron has no idea what Eden is implying, so he takes the most plausible-sounding possibility and runs with it.)

"We're fine. Not fighting. At least, I don't want to fight. Or be angry. Anymore. Unless you want something else." (Something less. Or more.) "We can pretend this never happened." (The running away. The kiss.)

[elder-edenpark]

"Yes-!" (The last sentence barely registers in his mind before he uses the last of his courage in a soft yell and then deflating with a shaky exhale, mind burning with anxiety.)

"I mean- Not yes- this happened- But- Yes i do want- anyth-thing more."

(He uncharacteristically panics, eyes frantically attempting to find Aarons face in the pitch black. The only thing he can do is chuckle nervously- embarrassed by the fact he dared to even imply the other elder could have feelings for him that we're purely sexual.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stands frozen, not wanting to react until he's sure he isn't misinterpreting things.)

"Sorry if I'm messing up a moment here, but when you say that I'm getting, like, five different possible meanings, and I'm really not good enough at this kind of thing to figure out which one is right-"

[elder-edenpark]

"I- I don't-"

(A wave of nausea washes over Parker. He can't. This is too sudden, too serious, too risky- too much. Every huff of breath feels like a knife twisting in his brain; he is overwhelmed by all the microscopic changes happening around him.)

(This isn't his first rodeo, though, so based on his last similar experience- the best he can do is focus on something and go for it.)

(It just so happens that the only thing he can concentrate on is not being misunderstood by Aaron, and since words are failing him- this concentration latches to the next best solution- his lips.)

(Much like he had done before, Eden yanks Aarons head down with both hands and smashes their mouths together- though less sensual and more hurried. The most he can manage is a closed-mouth kiss, one that makes both of them slightly lightheaded. Is this better than words?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron's eyes widen in shock. He stays stock still through the kiss, not even breathing, world narrowing to the press of lips and fingertips. He stays frozen as Parker pulls away, making eye contact for the first time since he barged in.)

"Can you do that again?" (He speaks before he can think better of it, then clamps his jaw shut, stomach tightening in a full-body wince. That is not what you're meant to say when one kisses you.) "Only if you want. Obviously. But you initiated so it seems like maybe you do? Wait-" (He holds up his hand, something occurring to him.) "Does this mean Gotswana was right, then? About you... uh, liking me?" (What is he, 13?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden is still tense, but looks slightly at him over his shoulder. It's too dark to really see.)

"What did you..assume?"

(He sniffles back more tears.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this out loud.)

"That, uh.. that you were making fun of me, when you. Yknow. Kissed. Me."

[elder-edenpark]

(A wave of silence overwhelms the dark room for too long of a moment. Then, a snort.)

"Make fun of you?" (Parker bursts in a fit of giggles, wiping his face with his hands and occasionally sniffing back the snot clogging his nose.)

"By- kissing you?" (The idea is just so silly. It lessens the tension in his hunched up shoulders.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces, cheeks going pink, though it's not noticeable in the dark. He feels like he should feel stupid, but isn't sure why.)

"Yeah. I don't know why I thought that, but. Yknow. Anyway that's why I ran off but I ended up at Gotswana's house and he explained that I was being dumb and probably a little mean so I wanted to come back and say I'm sorry. And that I didn't mind you kissing me." (Now he goes *really* red. He bites his cheek hard enough to draw blood.)

[elder-edenpark]

"-You didn't?" (The words come out faster than he can turn around and pathetically stumble to sit up from his feet, almost falling to the floor. It's cartoonish.)

(His face is less filthy after he wiped it clean, but snot residue still clings to his skin; tears also not completely dried.)

(Aarons face is barely visible in the darkness; Eden makes it his mission to see it from a better view. Taking a step forward to analize his expression more clearly, he squints his eyes. It doesn't help, just makes him more aware of the height difference.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stares resolute and wide-eyed at a spot between Eden's chin and shoulder, as if, if he stays very still, he can ignore the consequences of what he just said.)

"...No?" (It's not a question - far from it - but he says it like one anyway. It feels safer, somehow.) "Is that-"

[elder-edenpark]

"-Good!" (He winces at the volume of his own voice.) "It's- It's good. It's- yeah." (The end of the sentence is exhaled, shoulders finally dropping all the way- relaxing.)

(Park doesn't usually find himself this flustered; it's dangerous. Panicking means stuttering- stuttering means embarrassment. )

"I-I didn't mind either- I- Well of course I did-didn't mind I-I-..."

(He wants to explode- every time he stutters a bigger knot forms in his throat. Words want to come out, but no sound accompanies. Standing there- gaping like a fish- maybe an explosion is the answer.)

"I. Liked- It. So- Um. Yeah." (Maybe the second best thing from an explosion is a hard slap to the face.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

"Good. Good." (Aaron nods, swallows hard. His arms itch with the knowledge that he's messing ip somehow, not getting a hint or cue, but he can't figure out what it is. As usual, his brain decides that the only solution is to talk until he hits on the right thing to say.)

"Am I- sorry, am I meant to do something now? Do you want to hug? Or is this a no-touching situation? Should I leave the room? I feel like if I leave the room that's just as bad as last time but also the context is kind of different so, yknow, but still.."

[elder-edenpark]

"A hug w-wo-.." (Shame trickels down his spine.)"Wo-would be-...would be nice. Yea-yeah." (Affection that isn't purely sexual? For Parker? Baffling. His Shoulders raise halfway fway to his ears again; he waits for Aaron to make a move.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron blinks at him. Steps forward. Hesitates, somehow gets off balance. It takes him an embarrassingly long time to travel the few feet to Parker and hold out his arms.)

(When Eden hugs him, he melts into it immediately, shoulders relaxing for what feels like the first time in days. He buries his face in the other's hair, inhaling. It's nice, soft against his face and a little ticklish. It smells slightly herbal for some reason. Is he being creepy? Probably, but he can't bring himself to care.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Parker squirms around in Aaron's embrace, flushing at the difference in their stature. What does he do with his hands? Where can they land appropriately? No matter the answer- his arms betray him and squeeze around Jensen's torso, desperately attempting to get even closer; he's giddy with endorphins- like he just got under warm covers on a winter night. Only Aaron is 10 times coldee than he is.)

(This hug is lasting quite a long time.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron realizes with a flash of panic that he doesn't actually know how hugs are supposed to *end*. Has he ever hugged anyone outside of his family? He can't remember. Will it look rude if he pulls away? God, he's probably all sweaty from walking. Eden's face is barely at his collarbone. He would have to stand on tiptoe to kiss Aaron's neck. What.)

(Finally Aaron bites the bullet and pulls back gently, keeping his eyes firmly over Parker's shoulder.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden follows Aaron's lead, thankful he took the initiative. If he was in charge, that hug would've lasted much longer; he's never been in such a gentle embrace. Maybe his parents fucked him up, or maybe it was religion- no matter, he's never felt loved. The hug feels like microdosing on affection.)

(Eye contact seems to become more difficult with each beat of his heart- quickly turning impossible.)

"So...-" (He takes a long pause, swallowing back the urge to run away.)

"A...-Are we.." (He can't say it. He can't risk it. Thank god for his stutter- it's less weird that he's taking so long.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron has no idea what Eden is implying, so he takes the most plausible-sounding possibility and runs with it.)

"We're fine. Not fighting. At least, I don't want to fight. Or be angry. Anymore. Unless you want something else." (Something less. Or more.) "We can pretend this never happened." (The running away. The kiss.)

[elder-edenpark]

"Yes-!" (The last sentence barely registers in his mind before he uses the last of his courage in a soft yell and then deflating with a shaky exhale, mind burning with anxiety.)

"I mean- Not yes- this happened- But- Yes i do want- anyth-thing more."

(He uncharacteristically panics, eyes frantically attempting to find Aarons face in the pitch black. The only thing he can do is chuckle nervously- embarrassed by the fact he dared to even imply the other elder could have feelings for him that we're purely sexual.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stands frozen, not wanting to react until he's sure he isn't misinterpreting things.)

"Sorry if I'm messing up a moment here, but when you say that I'm getting, like, five different possible meanings, and I'm really not good enough at this kind of thing to figure out which one is right-"

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden is still tense, but looks slightly at him over his shoulder. It's too dark to really see.)

"What did you..assume?"

(He sniffles back more tears.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this out loud.)

"That, uh.. that you were making fun of me, when you. Yknow. Kissed. Me."

[elder-edenpark]

(A wave of silence overwhelms the dark room for too long of a moment. Then, a snort.)

"Make fun of you?" (Parker bursts in a fit of giggles, wiping his face with his hands and occasionally sniffing back the snot clogging his nose.)

"By- kissing you?" (The idea is just so silly. It lessens the tension in his hunched up shoulders.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces, cheeks going pink, though it's not noticeable in the dark. He feels like he should feel stupid, but isn't sure why.)

"Yeah. I don't know why I thought that, but. Yknow. Anyway that's why I ran off but I ended up at Gotswana's house and he explained that I was being dumb and probably a little mean so I wanted to come back and say I'm sorry. And that I didn't mind you kissing me." (Now he goes *really* red. He bites his cheek hard enough to draw blood.)

[elder-edenpark]

"-You didn't?" (The words come out faster than he can turn around and pathetically stumble to sit up from his feet, almost falling to the floor. It's cartoonish.)

(His face is less filthy after he wiped it clean, but snot residue still clings to his skin; tears also not completely dried.)

(Aarons face is barely visible in the darkness; Eden makes it his mission to see it from a better view. Taking a step forward to analize his expression more clearly, he squints his eyes. It doesn't help, just makes him more aware of the height difference.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stares resolute and wide-eyed at a spot between Eden's chin and shoulder, as if, if he stays very still, he can ignore the consequences of what he just said.)

"...No?" (It's not a question - far from it - but he says it like one anyway. It feels safer, somehow.) "Is that-"

[elder-edenpark]

"-Good!" (He winces at the volume of his own voice.) "It's- It's good. It's- yeah." (The end of the sentence is exhaled, shoulders finally dropping all the way- relaxing.)

(Park doesn't usually find himself this flustered; it's dangerous. Panicking means stuttering- stuttering means embarrassment. )

"I-I didn't mind either- I- Well of course I did-didn't mind I-I-..."

(He wants to explode- every time he stutters a bigger knot forms in his throat. Words want to come out, but no sound accompanies. Standing there- gaping like a fish- maybe an explosion is the answer.)

"I. Liked- It. So- Um. Yeah." (Maybe the second best thing from an explosion is a hard slap to the face.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

"Good. Good." (Aaron nods, swallows hard. His arms itch with the knowledge that he's messing ip somehow, not getting a hint or cue, but he can't figure out what it is. As usual, his brain decides that the only solution is to talk until he hits on the right thing to say.)

"Am I- sorry, am I meant to do something now? Do you want to hug? Or is this a no-touching situation? Should I leave the room? I feel like if I leave the room that's just as bad as last time but also the context is kind of different so, yknow, but still.."

[elder-edenpark]

"A hug w-wo-.." (Shame trickels down his spine.)"Wo-would be-...would be nice. Yea-yeah." (Affection that isn't purely sexual? For Parker? Baffling. His Shoulders raise halfway fway to his ears again; he waits for Aaron to make a move.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron blinks at him. Steps forward. Hesitates, somehow gets off balance. It takes him an embarrassingly long time to travel the few feet to Parker and hold out his arms.)

(When Eden hugs him, he melts into it immediately, shoulders relaxing for what feels like the first time in days. He buries his face in the other's hair, inhaling. It's nice, soft against his face and a little ticklish. It smells slightly herbal for some reason. Is he being creepy? Probably, but he can't bring himself to care.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Parker squirms around in Aaron's embrace, flushing at the difference in their stature. What does he do with his hands? Where can they land appropriately? No matter the answer- his arms betray him and squeeze around Jensen's torso, desperately attempting to get even closer; he's giddy with endorphins- like he just got under warm covers on a winter night. Only Aaron is 10 times coldee than he is.)

(This hug is lasting quite a long time.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron realizes with a flash of panic that he doesn't actually know how hugs are supposed to *end*. Has he ever hugged anyone outside of his family? He can't remember. Will it look rude if he pulls away? God, he's probably all sweaty from walking. Eden's face is barely at his collarbone. He would have to stand on tiptoe to kiss Aaron's neck. What.)

(Finally Aaron bites the bullet and pulls back gently, keeping his eyes firmly over Parker's shoulder.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden follows Aaron's lead, thankful he took the initiative. If he was in charge, that hug would've lasted much longer; he's never been in such a gentle embrace. Maybe his parents fucked him up, or maybe it was religion- no matter, he's never felt loved. The hug feels like microdosing on affection.)

(Eye contact seems to become more difficult with each beat of his heart- quickly turning impossible.)

"So...-" (He takes a long pause, swallowing back the urge to run away.)

"A...-Are we.." (He can't say it. He can't risk it. Thank god for his stutter- it's less weird that he's taking so long.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron has no idea what Eden is implying, so he takes the most plausible-sounding possibility and runs with it.)

"We're fine. Not fighting. At least, I don't want to fight. Or be angry. Anymore. Unless you want something else." (Something less. Or more.) "We can pretend this never happened." (The running away. The kiss.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden is still tense, but looks slightly at him over his shoulder. It's too dark to really see.)

"What did you..assume?"

(He sniffles back more tears.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this out loud.)

"That, uh.. that you were making fun of me, when you. Yknow. Kissed. Me."

[elder-edenpark]

(A wave of silence overwhelms the dark room for too long of a moment. Then, a snort.)

"Make fun of you?" (Parker bursts in a fit of giggles, wiping his face with his hands and occasionally sniffing back the snot clogging his nose.)

"By- kissing you?" (The idea is just so silly. It lessens the tension in his hunched up shoulders.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces, cheeks going pink, though it's not noticeable in the dark. He feels like he should feel stupid, but isn't sure why.)

"Yeah. I don't know why I thought that, but. Yknow. Anyway that's why I ran off but I ended up at Gotswana's house and he explained that I was being dumb and probably a little mean so I wanted to come back and say I'm sorry. And that I didn't mind you kissing me." (Now he goes *really* red. He bites his cheek hard enough to draw blood.)

[elder-edenpark]

"-You didn't?" (The words come out faster than he can turn around and pathetically stumble to sit up from his feet, almost falling to the floor. It's cartoonish.)

(His face is less filthy after he wiped it clean, but snot residue still clings to his skin; tears also not completely dried.)

(Aarons face is barely visible in the darkness; Eden makes it his mission to see it from a better view. Taking a step forward to analize his expression more clearly, he squints his eyes. It doesn't help, just makes him more aware of the height difference.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stares resolute and wide-eyed at a spot between Eden's chin and shoulder, as if, if he stays very still, he can ignore the consequences of what he just said.)

"...No?" (It's not a question - far from it - but he says it like one anyway. It feels safer, somehow.) "Is that-"

[elder-edenpark]

"-Good!" (He winces at the volume of his own voice.) "It's- It's good. It's- yeah." (The end of the sentence is exhaled, shoulders finally dropping all the way- relaxing.)

(Park doesn't usually find himself this flustered; it's dangerous. Panicking means stuttering- stuttering means embarrassment. )

"I-I didn't mind either- I- Well of course I did-didn't mind I-I-..."

(He wants to explode- every time he stutters a bigger knot forms in his throat. Words want to come out, but no sound accompanies. Standing there- gaping like a fish- maybe an explosion is the answer.)

"I. Liked- It. So- Um. Yeah." (Maybe the second best thing from an explosion is a hard slap to the face.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

"Good. Good." (Aaron nods, swallows hard. His arms itch with the knowledge that he's messing ip somehow, not getting a hint or cue, but he can't figure out what it is. As usual, his brain decides that the only solution is to talk until he hits on the right thing to say.)

"Am I- sorry, am I meant to do something now? Do you want to hug? Or is this a no-touching situation? Should I leave the room? I feel like if I leave the room that's just as bad as last time but also the context is kind of different so, yknow, but still.."

[elder-edenpark]

"A hug w-wo-.." (Shame trickels down his spine.)"Wo-would be-...would be nice. Yea-yeah." (Affection that isn't purely sexual? For Parker? Baffling. His Shoulders raise halfway fway to his ears again; he waits for Aaron to make a move.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron blinks at him. Steps forward. Hesitates, somehow gets off balance. It takes him an embarrassingly long time to travel the few feet to Parker and hold out his arms.)

(When Eden hugs him, he melts into it immediately, shoulders relaxing for what feels like the first time in days. He buries his face in the other's hair, inhaling. It's nice, soft against his face and a little ticklish. It smells slightly herbal for some reason. Is he being creepy? Probably, but he can't bring himself to care.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Parker squirms around in Aaron's embrace, flushing at the difference in their stature. What does he do with his hands? Where can they land appropriately? No matter the answer- his arms betray him and squeeze around Jensen's torso, desperately attempting to get even closer; he's giddy with endorphins- like he just got under warm covers on a winter night. Only Aaron is 10 times coldee than he is.)

(This hug is lasting quite a long time.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron realizes with a flash of panic that he doesn't actually know how hugs are supposed to *end*. Has he ever hugged anyone outside of his family? He can't remember. Will it look rude if he pulls away? God, he's probably all sweaty from walking. Eden's face is barely at his collarbone. He would have to stand on tiptoe to kiss Aaron's neck. What.)

(Finally Aaron bites the bullet and pulls back gently, keeping his eyes firmly over Parker's shoulder.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden is still tense, but looks slightly at him over his shoulder. It's too dark to really see.)

"What did you..assume?"

(He sniffles back more tears.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this out loud.)

"That, uh.. that you were making fun of me, when you. Yknow. Kissed. Me."

[elder-edenpark]

(A wave of silence overwhelms the dark room for too long of a moment. Then, a snort.)

"Make fun of you?" (Parker bursts in a fit of giggles, wiping his face with his hands and occasionally sniffing back the snot clogging his nose.)

"By- kissing you?" (The idea is just so silly. It lessens the tension in his hunched up shoulders.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces, cheeks going pink, though it's not noticeable in the dark. He feels like he should feel stupid, but isn't sure why.)

"Yeah. I don't know why I thought that, but. Yknow. Anyway that's why I ran off but I ended up at Gotswana's house and he explained that I was being dumb and probably a little mean so I wanted to come back and say I'm sorry. And that I didn't mind you kissing me." (Now he goes *really* red. He bites his cheek hard enough to draw blood.)

[elder-edenpark]

"-You didn't?" (The words come out faster than he can turn around and pathetically stumble to sit up from his feet, almost falling to the floor. It's cartoonish.)

(His face is less filthy after he wiped it clean, but snot residue still clings to his skin; tears also not completely dried.)

(Aarons face is barely visible in the darkness; Eden makes it his mission to see it from a better view. Taking a step forward to analize his expression more clearly, he squints his eyes. It doesn't help, just makes him more aware of the height difference.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stares resolute and wide-eyed at a spot between Eden's chin and shoulder, as if, if he stays very still, he can ignore the consequences of what he just said.)

"...No?" (It's not a question - far from it - but he says it like one anyway. It feels safer, somehow.) "Is that-"

[elder-edenpark]

"-Good!" (He winces at the volume of his own voice.) "It's- It's good. It's- yeah." (The end of the sentence is exhaled, shoulders finally dropping all the way- relaxing.)

(Park doesn't usually find himself this flustered; it's dangerous. Panicking means stuttering- stuttering means embarrassment. )

"I-I didn't mind either- I- Well of course I did-didn't mind I-I-..."

(He wants to explode- every time he stutters a bigger knot forms in his throat. Words want to come out, but no sound accompanies. Standing there- gaping like a fish- maybe an explosion is the answer.)

"I. Liked- It. So- Um. Yeah." (Maybe the second best thing from an explosion is a hard slap to the face.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

"Good. Good." (Aaron nods, swallows hard. His arms itch with the knowledge that he's messing ip somehow, not getting a hint or cue, but he can't figure out what it is. As usual, his brain decides that the only solution is to talk until he hits on the right thing to say.)

"Am I- sorry, am I meant to do something now? Do you want to hug? Or is this a no-touching situation? Should I leave the room? I feel like if I leave the room that's just as bad as last time but also the context is kind of different so, yknow, but still.."

[elder-edenpark]

"A hug w-wo-.." (Shame trickels down his spine.)"Wo-would be-...would be nice. Yea-yeah." (Affection that isn't purely sexual? For Parker? Baffling. His Shoulders raise halfway fway to his ears again; he waits for Aaron to make a move.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron blinks at him. Steps forward. Hesitates, somehow gets off balance. It takes him an embarrassingly long time to travel the few feet to Parker and hold out his arms.)

(When Eden hugs him, he melts into it immediately, shoulders relaxing for what feels like the first time in days. He buries his face in the other's hair, inhaling. It's nice, soft against his face and a little ticklish. It smells slightly herbal for some reason. Is he being creepy? Probably, but he can't bring himself to care.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden is still tense, but looks slightly at him over his shoulder. It's too dark to really see.)

"What did you..assume?"

(He sniffles back more tears.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this out loud.)

"That, uh.. that you were making fun of me, when you. Yknow. Kissed. Me."

[elder-edenpark]

(A wave of silence overwhelms the dark room for too long of a moment. Then, a snort.)

"Make fun of you?" (Parker bursts in a fit of giggles, wiping his face with his hands and occasionally sniffing back the snot clogging his nose.)

"By- kissing you?" (The idea is just so silly. It lessens the tension in his hunched up shoulders.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces, cheeks going pink, though it's not noticeable in the dark. He feels like he should feel stupid, but isn't sure why.)

"Yeah. I don't know why I thought that, but. Yknow. Anyway that's why I ran off but I ended up at Gotswana's house and he explained that I was being dumb and probably a little mean so I wanted to come back and say I'm sorry. And that I didn't mind you kissing me." (Now he goes *really* red. He bites his cheek hard enough to draw blood.)

[elder-edenpark]

"-You didn't?" (The words come out faster than he can turn around and pathetically stumble to sit up from his feet, almost falling to the floor. It's cartoonish.)

(His face is less filthy after he wiped it clean, but snot residue still clings to his skin; tears also not completely dried.)

(Aarons face is barely visible in the darkness; Eden makes it his mission to see it from a better view. Taking a step forward to analize his expression more clearly, he squints his eyes. It doesn't help, just makes him more aware of the height difference.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stares resolute and wide-eyed at a spot between Eden's chin and shoulder, as if, if he stays very still, he can ignore the consequences of what he just said.)

"...No?" (It's not a question - far from it - but he says it like one anyway. It feels safer, somehow.) "Is that-"

[elder-edenpark]

"-Good!" (He winces at the volume of his own voice.) "It's- It's good. It's- yeah." (The end of the sentence is exhaled, shoulders finally dropping all the way- relaxing.)

(Park doesn't usually find himself this flustered; it's dangerous. Panicking means stuttering- stuttering means embarrassment. )

"I-I didn't mind either- I- Well of course I did-didn't mind I-I-..."

(He wants to explode- every time he stutters a bigger knot forms in his throat. Words want to come out, but no sound accompanies. Standing there- gaping like a fish- maybe an explosion is the answer.)

"I. Liked- It. So- Um. Yeah." (Maybe the second best thing from an explosion is a hard slap to the face.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

"Good. Good." (Aaron nods, swallows hard. His arms itch with the knowledge that he's messing ip somehow, not getting a hint or cue, but he can't figure out what it is. As usual, his brain decides that the only solution is to talk until he hits on the right thing to say.)

"Am I- sorry, am I meant to do something now? Do you want to hug? Or is this a no-touching situation? Should I leave the room? I feel like if I leave the room that's just as bad as last time but also the context is kind of different so, yknow, but still.."

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden is still tense, but looks slightly at him over his shoulder. It's too dark to really see.)

"What did you..assume?"

(He sniffles back more tears.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this out loud.)

"That, uh.. that you were making fun of me, when you. Yknow. Kissed. Me."

[elder-edenpark]

(A wave of silence overwhelms the dark room for too long of a moment. Then, a snort.)

"Make fun of you?" (Parker bursts in a fit of giggles, wiping his face with his hands and occasionally sniffing back the snot clogging his nose.)

"By- kissing you?" (The idea is just so silly. It lessens the tension in his hunched up shoulders.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces, cheeks going pink, though it's not noticeable in the dark. He feels like he should feel stupid, but isn't sure why.)

"Yeah. I don't know why I thought that, but. Yknow. Anyway that's why I ran off but I ended up at Gotswana's house and he explained that I was being dumb and probably a little mean so I wanted to come back and say I'm sorry. And that I didn't mind you kissing me." (Now he goes *really* red. He bites his cheek hard enough to draw blood.)

[elder-edenpark]

"-You didn't?" (The words come out faster than he can turn around and pathetically stumble to sit up from his feet, almost falling to the floor. It's cartoonish.)

(His face is less filthy after he wiped it clean, but snot residue still clings to his skin; tears also not completely dried.)

(Aarons face is barely visible in the darkness; Eden makes it his mission to see it from a better view. Taking a step forward to analize his expression more clearly, he squints his eyes. It doesn't help, just makes him more aware of the height difference.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron stares resolute and wide-eyed at a spot between Eden's chin and shoulder, as if, if he stays very still, he can ignore the consequences of what he just said.)

"...No?" (It's not a question - far from it - but he says it like one anyway. It feels safer, somehow.) "Is that-"

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden is still tense, but looks slightly at him over his shoulder. It's too dark to really see.)

"What did you..assume?"

(He sniffles back more tears.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this out loud.)

"That, uh.. that you were making fun of me, when you. Yknow. Kissed. Me."

[elder-edenpark]

(A wave of silence overwhelms the dark room for too long of a moment. Then, a snort.)

"Make fun of you?" (Parker bursts in a fit of giggles, wiping his face with his hands and occasionally sniffing back the snot clogging his nose.)

"By- kissing you?" (The idea is just so silly. It lessens the tension in his hunched up shoulders.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces, cheeks going pink, though it's not noticeable in the dark. He feels like he should feel stupid, but isn't sure why.)

"Yeah. I don't know why I thought that, but. Yknow. Anyway that's why I ran off but I ended up at Gotswana's house and he explained that I was being dumb and probably a little mean so I wanted to come back and say I'm sorry. And that I didn't mind you kissing me." (Now he goes *really* red. He bites his cheek hard enough to draw blood.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Happy Pride Month, Elder Jenson!!!

Thank you, this is my first Pride that I can actually celebrate, not that my family isn't supportive but they wanted me to stay safe and all, but it seems like everyone here is super accepting, or most of them at least!! Happy Pride to everyone!!! :]

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden is still tense, but looks slightly at him over his shoulder. It's too dark to really see.)

"What did you..assume?"

(He sniffles back more tears.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron winces. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this out loud.)

"That, uh.. that you were making fun of me, when you. Yknow. Kissed. Me."

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-edenpark]

(Eden hunches into himself, nodding and pointing to the laptop. His face is still turned away from the other; he's an ugly crier.)

"'m sorry." (That's all he manages to whisper. Why is he the one sobbing when he isn't the one who got kissed? Pathetic, huh?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron swallows, moving across the room to push the laptop shut. He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.)

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I was the one who made assumptions again, I shouldn't have jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that's not fair to you or myself but I was just really confused and, uh, surprised and it was easier to just. Assume." (Somewhere along the way this became an apology, but he couldn't stop the words from coming if he tried.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-edenpark]

(Park stiffens, taking his fingers off his shirt and raising a shaky thumbs up. He doesn't know why, but it feels impossible for him to even attempt to speak right now. Everything is too much, and he is too dumb to deal with it. He always has been.)

(Bringing down his trembling hand, Eden hugs his knees; turning his head in any direction that will block his face from Aaron's view.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron nods, still unsure what he should be doing, but grateful that Eden doesn't seem angry.)

"Do you want me to get you anything? Leave? Turn off the movie?" (He says the last after hearing Marilyn's voice, still muffled under the covers of the bed.)

(After speaking with - outside sources - he's now pretty sure that, at the very least, Eden wasn't making fun of him with the kiss. But he's still not convinced that it was... well. The point is that he isn't about to do anything that could be interpreted as coming on to Parker.)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark

[elder-edenpark]

(Aaron slowly opens the door to their dorm, peeking his head inside. Parker is sitting starfish on the floor, sweaty, hair tussled and shirt open. The second he hears a slight creak of the floorboards, he slowly moves his head in the direction of the noise; making eye contact with Aaron. And, of course, his natural reaction is to fumble so hard into getting up to button his shirt he falls back to the ground; deciding he'd rather button it up there.)

"Im sorryhh...hgh...." (He groans, apologetically, trying to make himself smaller, to climb into himself and never leave. For the first time in his life, Aaron sees Parker being actually shy. Is that sniffling?)

[elder-aaron-jensen]

(Aaron frowns. His instincts war between wanting to comfort Eden and wanting to stay far away, so he settles on standing there dumbly, staring.)

"Are you.. alright?"

[elder-aaron-jensen]

Aaron say goodbye to one of your shirts.

What? What are you talking about? Is someone in my closet? Who keeps sending these weird questions??

[elder-harris]

Eden is high and um... missing you. I'm just giving you a heads up. Don't get too surprised when you come back to your room.

[elder-aaron-jensen]

If he ripped one of my shirts or something, he can just tell me.. I won't be mad, maybe a little upset depending on what shirt it is, but definitely not angry at him! And I'm about to get back, anyway, so I'll see for myself.

@elder-edenpark