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Leon Burne. I'm going to die in this shit town, aren't I? This love is silent. - T.S. Eliot

[l-burne-blog]

marc–ramsay:

Why? It’s not like we’re fucking or anything. We’re just roommates. 

Please. It can only really end one way. He’ll hit on you, you’ll give in, and that’ll be that.

[l-burne-blog]

marc–ramsay:

He needed a place to stay. Is that so wrong?

I think it is. 

[l-burne-blog]

marc–ramsay:

He’s my friend. That’s it. 

Really? So if I ever came to your place, he wouldn’t be there?

[l-burne-blog]

marc–ramsay:

Levi? What’re you concerned with him for?

I don’t care what his name is, alright? 

He’s closer in age to you and you can be out in the open with him. Why do you think I’m concerned?

[l-burne-blog]

marc–ramsay:

What’re you talking about?

The openly gay one. A Trower. I saw him flirting with you at the bar.

[l-burne-blog]

marc–ramsay:

Been a little quiet lately.

What, that new guy in town not making it noisy enough?

[lily--oshea-deactivated20150810]

“So I got this really really awesome idea to liven things up and everyone can have some fun. Betcha you wanna know what it is.”

[l-burne-blog]

If it’s a potluck, the last girl to suggest that ended up dead.

[ethan-t-dalton]

“Romeo’s so cool he can actually get away with wearing fedoras.”

[l-burne-blog]

Seriously? You named a dog Romeo?

[marc--ramsay]

discussion|| Marcus & Leon

[marc--ramsay]

Marcus didn’t realize how good it would actually feel to have Leon’s lips against his again, and not in heated foreplay. This was sweet. Affectionate. And he could believe that Leon really wanted to have a relationship with him. He allowed himself to kiss him back, savoring the emotion in it. He pulled away for a moment and smiled before burying his face in his shoulder, wrapping his arms around his waist to hold him close.

[l-burne-blog]

Leon was more relieved when Marcus pulled back to bury his face in his shoulder. As much as he enjoyed Marcus’s company, affection wasn’t his style. It was awkward and not as exciting for him as having sex with him was. But he could learn to like it. He wrapped his around around Marcus, letting out a light sigh. “I can do this, alright? We can be us. I can try harder.”

[marc--ramsay]

discussion|| Marcus & Leon

[marc--ramsay]

“Just show me some affection while I’m here, okay? If it’s not just about the sex, show me,” Marcus asked, almost begging. He really didn’t want to lose the potential relationship he could have with the other man. He might actually get what he wanted for once, and he wasn’t going to let go of that anytime soon. “Can you do that, please?”

[l-burne-blog]

“Alright. I can,” Leon answered. He didn’t want to sound too thrilled at the idea of keeping his hidden relationship with Marcus, but he was thrilled. In an attempt to show that he was willing to try to show more affection towards him, Leon leaned forward to place a kiss on Marcus’s lips. It wasn’t meant to be the usual lustful type.

[marc--ramsay]

discussion|| Marcus & Leon

[marc--ramsay]

Marcus didn’t really understand the anxiety Leon felt about being seen in publlic. Sure, Marcus was occasionally  ridiculed, but it wasn’t terribly    emotionally  damaging. But forr whatever reason, Leon was terrifiied, even in this post-apoclyptic setting where being gay was the least of people’s problems. And he wasn’t going to push him too far. After all, he wanted things to change, and he didn’t want to lose Leon by trying to make it happen overnight.

“It makes sense, though. If you join the employees, you get all the best stuff, and you run less risk of being killed.” It waas just logical to asssumee that. But he kknew what Leon waas gettng at. Leon wwas  trying to protect him. That’swhy he came to chhe u on hiim during the Purge. He reached for Leon’ hand wth his free one, removing the cmpress completely frm Leon’s eye.  “Listen. I know we aren’t going to be marching at any Pride parades or anyting, but I just want something more than just screwing you every now and then. I know you hate puttting a label on this, but I want to feel like this is a real  relationship. Can we do that?”

[l-burne-blog]

Leon didn’t know how he was going to respond to Marcus taking his hand. There were too many mixed messages going on. He was just accusing him of killing people like him, then he was taking his hand? But what the other man said was a bit comforting in where the two were heading relationship wise. It wasn’t a ‘break-up.’ There was hope in the question.

“What do I need to do for that?” he asked, looking Marcus’s face over. His eye stung, not sure if he preferred the compress on or off. 

[marc--ramsay]

discussion|| Marcus & Leon

[marc--ramsay]

“It’s not  a bullshit idea,” Marcus started, “How am I supposed to know how you feel unless you tell me? All I can gather from you is that you like to fuck me. You don’t show me affection, and you treat me like I’m some sort of blemish you need to hide.” He glanced down at Leon’s wrist, focusing in  on the burn scar. “And now you’ve joined  the mayor who is sending people like you to kill people like me. How is that supposed to take all of that?”

[l-burne-blog]

Leon groaned. He didn’t want to put a label on anything, but he felt that Marcus was at least a little more than just a fuck-buddy.  “It’s not that I’m hiding you because you’re you. If there was any other man I was with, you can bet your ass that they’d be treated just the same. I care about you, Ramsay. But it’s not like I can just run out with you in public and not expect to get my ass attacked for it.”

And now you’ve joined  the mayor who is sending people like you to kill people like me. “I’m not going to kill people. Do you think I joined this to save my ass?”

[marc--ramsay]

discussion|| Marcus & Leon

[marc--ramsay]

Marcus didn’t really know what to say. He didn’t disagree with Leon completely. It never really felt like an honest relationship. They couldn’t see each other outside the confines of Leon’s house. Marcus had to climb the fence at ungodly hours at night, for Christ’s sake. But that didn’t make it feel any better. It still hurt feeling like Leon didn’t see this as more than just a glorified booty call. “Does it really mean nothing, then? What am I to you?”

[l-burne-blog]

“I didn’t mean it like that,” the teacher huffed. “You don’t mean nothing to me. I don’t know where you got that bullshit idea.” Well, it was clear that it was through what he said — but Leon didn’t want to admit that. He was too prideful to admit his mistakes, not even if it meant that the relationship between the two men would be safe.

[marc--ramsay]

discussion|| Marcus & Leon

[marc--ramsay]

Marcus swallowed at the last bit. It was one thing for Leon to refuse to acknowledge their relationship to other people. It was another thing entirely to bring the relationship itself into question. He held the pack to Leon’s eye, but Marc’s face fell, no longer in anger. He was disappointed. Heartbroken. “Debatable? What’s that supposed to mean?”

[l-burne-blog]

“Don’t look at me like that,” Leon said, feeling guilty when he saw how heartbroken Marcus felt. He didn’t mean it as harshly as it came out. “I mean that, you know — it’s not like this felt like a real relationship. I’m sure you know that.”

[marc--ramsay]

discussion|| Marcus & Leon

[marc--ramsay]

“So you just pick some unsuspecting girl to claim as your own? Do you realize how fucked up that is?” Marcus asked, crunching the cold pack more before slapping it on Leon’s eye a little more roughly that he should’ve. He couldn’t help it. He was pissed. “You don’t need a girlfriend. Doesn’t matter what he says. You sound like a fucking school kid trying cigarettes because a bully said so.”

[l-burne-blog]

“Well, I felt I didn’t have any other — FUCK.” Leon cursed in pain when Marcus slapped the cold pack to his black eye. Goddamn that hurt. It was one thing to be verbally aggressive, but he didn’t need to flat out smack that cold pack to his face. What bullshit. “What am I supposed to say? Oh, I’ve been taken by a man for the past few years? Which was debatable to begin with?”

[marc--ramsay]

discussion|| Marcus & Leon

[marc--ramsay]

“Jie?” Marcus asked, but his voice cracked a little. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Did Leon just admit to kissing someone else? And someone he worked with? He was trying to keep from shaking. He exhaled sharply and let Leon’s chin go, immediately opening up the first aid kit and grabbing a cold compress pack. Roughly cracking it to get the cold out. He needed something to keep himself from blackening the other eye. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

[l-burne-blog]

Leon could tell that Marcus was irritated with what he said the moment his voice cracked. That much was obvious to him.  But what was he doing wrong? He was telling the truth.

“The guy pretty much threatened me. Said I needed a girlfriend, so I just said I had one. Turns out they’re engaged. How the hell was I supposed to know? And I couldn’t fucking back out of it once we got there.”

[marc--ramsay]

discussion|| Marcus & Leon

[marc--ramsay]

“I’m not sure I can do that. But I’ll do what I can.” Marcus gestured for him to sit on the couch. He retreated to the bathroom to retrieve a first aid kit. Once he had it, he returned and sat across from Leon. “Tilt your face toward me, okay?” He held a hand under Leon’s chin, trying to get a good look at it. “Please, tell me. Who is ‘he’ and why is he so angry at you?”

[l-burne-blog]

Leon just listened to Marcus’s orders, leaning forward so that Marcus could get a better look at it. “You know that Ren guy? The one that people said shot up the hospital over that other bartender?” He cleared his throat. “I kissed — You know that Asian girl at the bar? Starts with a J. She apparently got engaged to him.”