he wasn’t particularly worried about adan’s reaction regarding the pendant. the only thing that could realistically go wrong is adan finding it an incredibly stupid thing to put forward and turning it down on principle. he can’t say he hasn’t thought of that and he can’t say he hasn’t considered alternatives. because, yes —– he’s invested an awful amount of time into making sure the necklace would be something as aesthetically pleasing as it is practical. yes, he’s made use of all the little things that he’s picked up over the years ( hopefully he doesn’t delude himself when he thinks that this is just how he operates and that adan isn’t the only person he has a collection of details on ). but that doesn’t mean that, at heart, it’s not a gesture akin to a safety warranty. he can’t die. apparently. ( it’s still a bit in the works. ) but those around him are still open and vulnerable ; somehow, that’s even worse.
“ are we? ” he questions, the corner of his mouth tipping upward as he finds himself especially enthralled with adan’s reaction and all the little shadows and flickers in his expression pertaining to it. “ i must’ve forgotten the magical necklace you gave me at home. ” it’s a jest, of course. he’s not good with receiving gifts ( not that he’s really had many exhibits of this caliber in his life to begin with ) and he’s quite content with having it stay that way. he finds value in other things, quicker to nourish the soul and the mind instead. he doesn’t know what path adan wants to tread with this pendant, but he does have the patience to find out, his gaze dipping toward the motions adan’s fingers bring about as his hand gently curls back around the necklace. at this point, he almost expects adan to reject it, but to be greeted with words that indicate otherwise isn’t that surprising either.
there’s a beat of unwavering silence, perturbed only by the sound of tires rolling along the pavement as a lone car passes by outside. it’s not that he doesn’t want to, but there’s definitely something … curious in the layers of that request. jaime is sufficiently attuned to his own feelings and thoughts to recognize an agitated elephant in the middle of a china store when he sees it. so, in a less pretentious, less metaphor-filled way of putting it —- he knows his sentiments toward adan have overstepped the line of friendship a tiny bit and this … is definitely not going to help it. ( survey asks: should it be helped? tune in to find out. ) he offers a nod in response and, at the very least, knows they’re not going to do the whole troy and gabriella, titanic thing, but beyond that, he doesn’t pour much thought into it. he releases the clip at the back of the chain and encircles adan’s neck with it, twisting it toward the front so he can actually see what he’s doing. there’s nothing particularly intimate or magical about trying to clip the chain and not quite managing ; it’s annoying. and it requires a bit of his focus as he tries to close the damn thing, not really aware of how much closer he’s gotten to adan in a bid to get upclose and personal with the clip at hand. or, well, he’s not aware at first — since that tide is quick to turn when he feels adan’s breath paint along his cheek and, all of sudden, it does become really intimate. ( somehow, more than all the other times they have literally danced the devil’s tango. to put it nicely. ) he manages to successfully secure the clip, an unknown kind of morbid curiosity lifting his gaze for a peer through his lashes. “ there. ” he sighs out — heavily. “ if you lose it, i’ll sell all your clothes. ” he takes a much needed step back and twists the necklace around until the pendant is finally to the front.
they’re back to normal ... as normal as they can be for two best friends, a vampire and some kind of immortal witch who’d seemingly go to the ends of the earth and above the mortal planes of existence just for the other. and yet —— it’s not quite the same. they’ve been through a lot, fighting tooth and nail to find their own place in this life, perhaps more so surviving than truly living, and it would only make sense for their dynamic to change, develop, and mature. though it seems like it has jumped a few steps, diverting them off the path they’ve been so accustomed to all their years spent together, and adan can’t quite recognize where they’re going, but it feels familiar. safe. he’s grown to understand that it’s the default feeling of their relationship and he’s already past the point of being terrified of letting people in — right now, it’d concern him more if he had to let him GO.
the air surrounding them is electrified and the weight of the silence lingering in this massive yet empty house is even heavier right this moment. however, there’s no slow motion or hair standing up on his arms —— on the contrary, the hot breath invading their space should feel more suffocating than anything and adan’s strengthened hearing keeps catching noises outside the house that irk him to the bone, not to mention the way jaime is taking his time to clip the necklace around his neck almost makes his skin tickle. still, adan manages to drown all of it out, taking notice of how much annoying of a task jaime has been unloaded with and it makes him laugh. there’s a quip or two on the tip of his tongue, but he holds them back as his friend finally SUCCEEDS at his mission and adan casts his gaze on where the pendant is resting in between his collarbones, warm and soothing in contrast to his cool skin. it’s to no one’s surprise that when jaime takes a step back, adan takes two further, wrapping him in his embrace to show his affection the only way he knows how ( it has made him think as to why jaime is usually the victim of it and after weeks of thorough and agonizing reflection, he’s sort of figured it out ). “ hey, don’t even think about it. there are other ways to see me naked. ” he feigns annoyance with a swat at the back of jaime’s head, almost a ploy to rest it at the nape of his neck, sinking his fingers into a patch of his hair. they’re not that much apart now and it leaves adan’s eyes wandering from jaime’s pendant to his own, back to soft brown eyes and the slight curl of his lips, and all he can feel is RELIEF. for someone who talks all the time, he’s quite stumped, but he does manage out a thank you that extends far more than just for the necklace and in the blink of an eye, perhaps a clouded judgment or his guards crumbling down, he takes a bold step, a moment of truth and declaration that yes, adan does, indeed, act first before thinking. he curls the index finger of his free hand around jaime’s belt loop to pull him even closer and their lips meet. not for the first time, but it’s certainly a start of something new.
