Between the Roots and Branches [Open to All]

[applesaucemod]

Don't worry, dreamers of Manhattan. There will be no humiliating episodes of sudden-onset-clumsiness tonight - at least, nothing more severe than what you might experience naturally. Your physical and mental faculties will be left perfectly intact. What a treat! And what luck, because if you do lose your footing, it's a long way down to the forest floor.

But hey, who wants to be on the boring old ground when there are so many wonderful treehouses to explore? There are dozens of them spread throughout the surrounding forest, connected by a series of bridges and catwalks (some, admittedly, a bit more stable than others). It's easy to forget - or fail to notice - that there really is no easy or conventional way down to the ground when you're surrounded by such splendor.

The houses' styles range from charming and rustic to modern and sleek, with many falling somewhere in between. There are viewing platforms for bird-watching or simply taking in the scenery (trees, mostly, though if you venture high enough, you'll be treated the sight of the forest canopy stretched across a valley far below). But the insides of the treehouses are comfortably furnished to varying degrees as well, so there's no need to immerse yourself in nature if you'd really rather not. Some are complete houses in their own right, with all the amenities of a Manhattan apartment and then some.

Go for a climb, or kick back and relax. The only enemies you'll find here are other dreamers... and, potentially, gravity.

Comments

[johnny_truant]

Johnny looks over his shoulder, mildly startled, but smiles when he sees Seth there. "Hey yourself," he says, and gestures casually to the space beside him, a loose invitation to sit. "Uh, sorry I haven't... you know, stopped by in a while." Not that he really makes a habit of it, but he knows Seth knows at least a little of what's been happening. "It's been... kind of a weird time."

He doesn't really want to talk about that - at least not without direct questions. "You been okay?" he says instead.

[powerdealer]

Seth definitely feels a bit of relief at Johnny seemingly being pleased to see him, and he heads over to sit next to him.

"I know," he answers with an understanding nod. He doesn't know the details, and he doesn't really know Johnny's side of the story at all, but... Well, he knows stuff's been up. He does probably have a few questions about it all, but he doesn't want to jump right into them. Potentially a heavy topic.

"Um, yeah," he answers, taking a moment to consider what's the most important news. "Daniel's been staying with me for a bit over a week. Platonically." He adds the last bit just to make sure Johnny doesn't think things have progressed on that front any more than they have. Which is to say, no progression whatsoever.

[johnny_truant]

Johnny smirks a little. "Yeah?" He looks back out over the view. "How's that been going?" Maybe it's just as well he didn't visit Seth, if that's happening, or not happening, as it were. "Any plans to get non-platonic?"

[powerdealer]

Seth shakes his head, staring out at the treetops himself, but mostly unseeing. "I dunno, I've been trying to... test the waters, if you wanna call it that. Either he's not interested, or he's really good at hiding it."

He gnaws on his lip, contemplating. It's not like Daniel's ever shown any signs of being homophobic, but he's also never shown any signs of liking guys in general. They've had some conversations that could be classified as flirting, or it could've been meaningless banter. It's hard to say. He sighs and shakes his head again. "I mean, he's a widower for God's sake, he might be done with stuff like that altogether. I just don't wanna make things awkward by asking outright, you know?"

[johnny_truant]

"Mm. Yeah." Johnny shrugs, shifting his position so his feet are dangling over the edge of the platform. He looks mildly at his shoes, the distant treetops below. Heights have never bothered him too much, and this just feels nice and calm.

"I'm not the best guy for advice on this kinda thing," he says. "I don't think I ever took anything slow a day in my damn life." He chuckles a little, self-deprecatingly. "I don't know what to suggest other than maybe get drunk and make a few mistakes. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy you'd lose a friendship with over something like that."

He can understand if that sounds terrifying, of course. Coming out, so to speak, was easy for him in that his first target had basically been wearing a neon sign saying DTF.

[powerdealer]

Seth is going to keep his feet firmly on solid platforms. He doesn't have a big problem with heights so much as he has what he considers a reasonable distrust and wariness with heights. But he's kept to the sturdy structures so it hasn't been much of a problem.

"Well, it's not so much him I'm worried about as it is my own embarrassment," he answers with a smile and a shrug. Daniel might not make a big deal about it, but Seth would be even more awkward and unsure how to act if he made his interest known and it wasn't reciprocated. "Besides, getting drunk and making mistakes seems to have me end up with you, not him," he adds jokingly. He doesn't really consider those occurences to be mistakes, though. At worst they caused some awkwardness, but that was mostly his own fault.

"Nope, think I'll just continue my tried and true method of saying fuck-all and just waiting to see what happens," he decides with a sigh, before deciding to bring the topic around, looking over at Johnny. "What about you and Gabe? Wanna tell me what's up on that front?" he asks mildly, voice softening a little. He tries to make it clear that not talking about it is in fact an option.

[johnny_truant]

Johnny snorts at Seth's evasion of his advice, is about to roll his eyes and argue, but the question pulls him up short and he falls silent for a few moments. He knows he's not required to talk about it but he knows, too, that he probably should.

"It's... complicated," he says, like no fucking duh. "What do you already know?"

[powerdealer]

"Uh," Seth considers, leaning back a little. "Well. Gabe came by, said I'd given terrible advice in saying he should tell you how he felt, and that you'd left, because he told you he loved you. That's it, really."

It's kind of tricky to include the 'Gabe implied it's my fault you left', without implying that himself.

They got kind of distracted after that point, and then, well, Seth was dealing with too much of his own shit to inquire further. Or at least to inquire further specifically from Gabe.

[johnny_truant]

"Jesus," mutters Johnny, rubbing his hands over his face. He had no idea that had happened, fucking great. "Fuck, I'm sorry. It's not your fault at all. He shouldn't have acted like it was."

He doubts Gabe still thinks that, he was probably just hurt. Which means Seth having been put in that position is also Johnny's fault. Great.

"I just wasn't... ready to hear that," he says vaguely. "I mean, I'm still not, I get by most day by pretending it didn't happen, not thinking about it, I don't know." He shakes his head, frustrated. "I don't want to talk about that. That's my problem. It's good he told me, and it probably would have happened with or without your advice, so."

He sighs and leans down, holding his head, bracing his elbows on his knees.

"I was a fucking child and I ran, and I'm back now, and we're figuring things out." He lifts his head enough to look back out over the treetops. "That's about it."

[powerdealer]

Seth shakes his head a little at the apology, as if to say, don't worry about it. Seth didn't really think it was his fault, or rather he assumed it was one small piece of a larger issue that would've still been an issue without his involvement. The fact Gabe blamed him enough to tell him so was what hurt, really.

He listens quietly to Johnny's explanation, though he straightens up a little at Johnny saying he's back, presumably at the house, not just with Gabe. Seth didn't know that, but then, Johnny probably didn't want visitors anyway, so it wouldn't have made much difference.

"Well, I don't blame ya. It's a scary thing to deal with," he answers finally. Even more scary when the other person in question is a literal archangel. Seth is having problem enough not feeling inadequate next to Daniel, and he's at least human. And Seth doesn't know if Johnny's ever been in a serious relationship with anyone, human or celestial, though he's got the impression he hasn't.

"And hey, if you do want to talk," he adds, reaching out to rest his hand on Johnny's shoulder for a moment. "Or get drunk. Or, yanno, whatever you need."

[johnny_truant]

Johnny makes a slumping gesture halfway between a nod and a shrug, sinking down to rest his elbows on his knees. He breathes out slowly.

"Drunk sounds good," he says. "Yeah, sorry I haven't... been by. When I left I just kinda wanted to stay away from everyone, and now... I'm like, easing back in, or whatever."

He picks at a loose thread from the seam of his jeans, eventually plucking it out, balling it up and rolling it idly between his fingers. He lets it drop, watches into the branches below.

"You should talk to Daniel," he says after an extended moment. It's abrupt, and uncalled for, really, but after very nearly fucking up so much with Gabe he's not going to just sit and let Seth blow this. Possibly talking to Daniel would be blowing it, but - apparently talking is what healthy people do. What are they if not comrades in climbing that ladder out of their respective pits?