with his jaw clenched, etienne wondered if perhaps he’d overstepped his boundaries. it was one thing to appear at the other’s apartment among company, and yet to have done so unannounced and ALONE - the once thought brilliant idea now quickly souring. and yet, so it seemed, the coaxed laughter from the older was enough to quell his brooding, at least for the time being. “ sneaky ? i’ve been told it’s one of my best attributes, “ the man quipped, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. “ oh, well, “ he began, wracking his brain for anything of use - he’d been hoping the other hadn’t been paying too close attention to his fib, “ i wanted to check on the throwback nights down at movie magic, see what they’d be offering this month. “ the slight pause potentially giving him away, but he paid it no attention. eyes glancing down at the book in hand, etienne nodded, perhaps another time he’d have felt a bit unsettled - the sole purpose for his visit squandered so early on, but he didn’t allow for it, especially after not being turned away. “ from your collection to mine then, hm ? “ etienne hummed, his gaze rising to meet the other’s once more. “ i figure it suits you, i can only imagine the next time i’m here you’ll have even more towers of books scattered throughout the place. you’ll give PAGES AND PAGES a run for their money, i’m sure. “ his assertion bordering presumptuous, etienne offered a tight lipped smile - next time … he willed himself to not roll his eyes at his choice of words right then and there. “ right, “ the man laughed, somewhat apprehensively, as he moved to trail behind samuel. “ i should’ve given you a warning call, “ the man echoed, moving further into the apartment, “ allowed you a bit of time to clean up for me, “ etienne teased, bending slightly to set the book down on the nearest table top. if it was truly bad, etienne figured he would’ve found himself offering to help tidy the man’s place up for him, but it wasn’t necessarily what he’d envisioned when knocking on the door moments prior, nor what he assumed the other may have been expecting from him. “ yeah, a drink sounds lovely. thank you, whatever you’re having is perfect, “ he answered, taking a seat on the couch. with his fingers tapping absentmindedly against his thigh, etienne took a moment to steal a glance over his shoulder at the older, “ that rain, uh, sure came out of nowhere last night, “ the man babbled, a slight grimace washing over his features as he turned back around, willing himself to remain silent.
even though sam felt extremely nervous around etienne he wanted to be around him. some strange pull that he selfishly didn’t want to fight. “i’m curious to know other situations you have to be sneaky” the older male commented with a sheepish shrug. hearing his reasoning for being out and about sam played it off, he knew he was lying but maybe he’d bring it up some other time. nodding slowly sam looked over at etienne and grinned “well I hope to see you there then” that was the truth, sam enjoyed running into the other, it wasn’t often that it was just the two of them around but when it was it was always nice. “yeah, maybe one day you’ll end up having a section of books I’ve given you.” not to sound too hopeful “maybe I should buy a house just to build a library for myself, get all these good books off the floor” he was currently adding that to his master to-do list. “NEXT TIME you’ll have to call before you plan to stop by, I’ll make my place presentable, hell maybe I’ll even put a candle on to make it smell nice” sam moved towards his kitchen, biting his tongue for some of the things he had said. as etienne made himself comfortable, sam found a bottle of wine he had gotten from seb days ago and he opened it, pouring two glasses “oh I know, my window was open and it started pouring in. I’m hoping it rains again tonight, I always sleep better when I can hear the rain” he admitted as he made his way back over to the living room, handing the glass over and setting the opened bottle on the table before taking a seat next to him.