Vax and Nolan - Gilmore's birthday party
Jul. 30th, 2018 07:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ax_mainSpoiler alert: much to Nolan's surprise, this doesn't involve a shovel talk.
Nolan leaned his shoulders back against the tall windows of his house, watching Shaun and his friends make the most of the evening. An intimate party, Shaun had said, with his closest friends only (for all that Nolan had added Shinobi and Kitty to the guest list); so Nolan had curbed his natural tendency to go all out and resisted the urge to have the entire thing decorated, catered and staffed by a party planning company (whose efforts he would have conscientiously micromanaged). He'd outsourced the food, but had it simply laid out on some tables set up by the poolside bar. Whenever the buffet looked subpar, he handled taking back near empty dishes and bringing new ones out himself.
This was as laid back as a party could be, in the Hamptons, and still deserve the title of party.
He'd spent most of his afternoon making small talk with people, touching base with Shaun, and spending some time with Kitty and Shinobi - when a cannonball contest didn't tear the latter away from him. Now the sun was setting, the karaoke machine had come out, and Nolan found himself able to take a moment for himself, as he watched Shaun and Shinobi perform some kind of k-pop duet he had no idea about. In his floral shorts and white tank top, Nolan had forced himself to dress down for the occasion, and the only accessory he was wearing was the black leather and silver name bracelet Shaun had given him not so long ago. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and proceeded to quickly check his e-mail, while he had a moment to breathe.
Next to Nolan, the shadows seemed to part, like some kind of wispy curtain, allowing a figure to step through, leaning a shoulder against the glass of the beach house as he tilted his head up to look at the stars overhead. "You'd think a bash like this, special occasion, under the stars, your beau nearby, would keep you busy."
Nolan started at the sudden appearance, then relaxed back against the glass - as much as he was going to relax this evening, anyway, and around Vax. There was a mess of reasons to feel awkward around the other boy, so of course Nolan went for the snark, his tone dry but not cutting. "You'd think a bash like this, special occasion, you'd stop trying to give people heart attacks."
Vax gave him a sly grin. “Well, a secretive bloke like you requires a bit of subterfuge, yeah? Emails on your lover’s birthday? ‘S a bit cold if you ask me.”
Nolan locked his screen, and slid his phone back into his pocket, swallowing back the, Good thing I didn't that really wanted to come out. "Shaun doesn't seem like he minds," he answered simply, his smile only slightly brittle. Shaun, after all, was busy enjoying his birthday bash, as he should be.
"No," Vax agreed, looking back at the party - at the karaoke he couldn't quite understand. It made him smile to see everyone so happy. "He doesn't mind. He loves you."
Nolan considered Vax's profile for a couple of seconds. Was that the sound of a shovel talk he could hear coming his way? Nolan was - somehow reluctantly - going to give Shaun's friend the benefit of the doubt. "He does," he simply confirmed, eyes tracking back to his boyfriend and best friend, and their antics as they sang.
It was odd, saying - or even confirming - as much to someone else, someone who didn't know Nolan. But Shaun and Vax were close (very close), and that earned him that truth, of course. It didn't, however, earn him the wonder Nolan still felt at that fact, and while he couldn't quite keep it from his voice, he did his best to.
"Look," Vax offered gently. "I want you to know that Percival and I are happy for you. I know love when i see it, and Shaun is head over heels for you. Anyone who can do that for him gets a star in my book, so to speak, and if there's anything I can ever help you out with, you let me know?"
That... was the polar opposite of what Nolan had expected to hear, and he looked back at Vax with a slightly perplexed expression for a second. "You... I'm glad he has you for a friend," Nolan stated, not quite able to hide the faint surprise from his tone.
"I'm a grade-A asshole," Vax pointed out, turning his head to meet Nolan's eyes, his own gaze sparkling slightly with mischief. "But I know my friends, and I love my friends. And by extension, that means you too. Especially since you love that beautiful man so much you'd invite all of those fucking morons over there into your posh holiday house. I can already see that you're going to regret the cleanup, but you haven't so much as grimaced."
"Ha." Nolan pursed his lips in a very faint grimace. "You didn't watch me during the deck chair trebuchet contest. But that's the beauty of having more money than I know what to do with. I can hire a clean-up company, and buy as many replacement deck chairs as I need." He paused, glanced down at his glass, and then up at Vax again. "But I do love him."
Vax looked at him, quiet for a beat before nodding slightly, a small smile on his lips. "Good."
Nolan huffed out a breath, glanced down at his glass again, and gave Vax a soft-dry smile to match his tone. "Yes. Good." Lingering on the topic seemed like a bad move, especially given the number of pitfalls nearby, so Nolan moved swiftly along. "Have you been enjoying the party?"
"I've never been good at parties," Vax admitted, looking back at his friends. "Especially in a place like this. But yeah, it's a good time. Maybe I'll even have some of Vex's brownies - if they last the next hour or so. I take it you're not a fan of losing control?"
"Whatever gave you that idea." Nolan's dryness has gone up a notch as he answered, but it was all aimed at himself. "But actually, I'm taking some medication that doesn't work well with alcohol." Or hash. Not that he would have drunk a lot if it wasn't for that, but he had gotten quite good at working up a decent buzz while still retaining control, since he had met Shinobi.
The first couple of times out with his friend had been brutal, and Nolan had learned that lesson fast.
"Sorry to hear that," Vax murmured, his voice lowering in respect to whatever illness might require medication. "Is it serious?"
"Nothing worth dampening your party spirit over," Nolan answered on the light-dry same tone. He was hardly going to tell Vax about it, and he wished the other boy had simply assumed 'painkillers', which had been what he had been banking on - or any other number of drugs that did not work well when combined with alcohol. "Or lack thereof," he added, lips curved in a faint sardonic smile. "I'm sorry the setting isn't working for you. I'd apologize, but..." He looked around, shrugged. "I love this place."
Vax looked around. "It's better now that the sun's going down. Ever since I got my powers, I feel... naked in the sun. It casts shadows, but nothing deep enough to hide in, especially on the beach. It's too open. Too..." He didn't know how to explain.
"Vulnerable?" Nolan offered. He hid behind layers of soft snark, himself, and would absolutely feel naked without it. It also wasn't at all what he'd expected to hear; usually people who had a problem with the setting had a problem with his money.
"Something like that," Vax agreed.
"Well, at least you'll have a lot of shadows in very little time," Nolan remarked, glancing at the setting sun.
"The best thing about each day is that it's followed by night," Vax agreed. "Are you going to try your hand at singing?"
"I'll do everyone a favor, starting with myself, and stay away from the microphones," Nolan replied, amused by the question. "Are you?"
"Oh, I don't give a damn about sparing anyone's eardrums," Vax grinned slowly. "I'm thinking 'Moonlight Shadow' by Mike Oldfield. Once I'm properly hammered, at any rate."
Nolan smiled in appreciation of the choice. "I'll cheer."
"I'll be holding my breath," Vax hummed happily, then gave a brief salute before slipping back into the deepening shadows.
Now that was one dramatic exit, and since it came without startling Nolan, this way around, he was able to actually appreciate it. He raised his glass in the direction of the shadows, then finished it, and pushed off the wall to head back towards the bar.
Nolan leaned his shoulders back against the tall windows of his house, watching Shaun and his friends make the most of the evening. An intimate party, Shaun had said, with his closest friends only (for all that Nolan had added Shinobi and Kitty to the guest list); so Nolan had curbed his natural tendency to go all out and resisted the urge to have the entire thing decorated, catered and staffed by a party planning company (whose efforts he would have conscientiously micromanaged). He'd outsourced the food, but had it simply laid out on some tables set up by the poolside bar. Whenever the buffet looked subpar, he handled taking back near empty dishes and bringing new ones out himself.
This was as laid back as a party could be, in the Hamptons, and still deserve the title of party.
He'd spent most of his afternoon making small talk with people, touching base with Shaun, and spending some time with Kitty and Shinobi - when a cannonball contest didn't tear the latter away from him. Now the sun was setting, the karaoke machine had come out, and Nolan found himself able to take a moment for himself, as he watched Shaun and Shinobi perform some kind of k-pop duet he had no idea about. In his floral shorts and white tank top, Nolan had forced himself to dress down for the occasion, and the only accessory he was wearing was the black leather and silver name bracelet Shaun had given him not so long ago. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and proceeded to quickly check his e-mail, while he had a moment to breathe.
Next to Nolan, the shadows seemed to part, like some kind of wispy curtain, allowing a figure to step through, leaning a shoulder against the glass of the beach house as he tilted his head up to look at the stars overhead. "You'd think a bash like this, special occasion, under the stars, your beau nearby, would keep you busy."
Nolan started at the sudden appearance, then relaxed back against the glass - as much as he was going to relax this evening, anyway, and around Vax. There was a mess of reasons to feel awkward around the other boy, so of course Nolan went for the snark, his tone dry but not cutting. "You'd think a bash like this, special occasion, you'd stop trying to give people heart attacks."
Vax gave him a sly grin. “Well, a secretive bloke like you requires a bit of subterfuge, yeah? Emails on your lover’s birthday? ‘S a bit cold if you ask me.”
Nolan locked his screen, and slid his phone back into his pocket, swallowing back the, Good thing I didn't that really wanted to come out. "Shaun doesn't seem like he minds," he answered simply, his smile only slightly brittle. Shaun, after all, was busy enjoying his birthday bash, as he should be.
"No," Vax agreed, looking back at the party - at the karaoke he couldn't quite understand. It made him smile to see everyone so happy. "He doesn't mind. He loves you."
Nolan considered Vax's profile for a couple of seconds. Was that the sound of a shovel talk he could hear coming his way? Nolan was - somehow reluctantly - going to give Shaun's friend the benefit of the doubt. "He does," he simply confirmed, eyes tracking back to his boyfriend and best friend, and their antics as they sang.
It was odd, saying - or even confirming - as much to someone else, someone who didn't know Nolan. But Shaun and Vax were close (very close), and that earned him that truth, of course. It didn't, however, earn him the wonder Nolan still felt at that fact, and while he couldn't quite keep it from his voice, he did his best to.
"Look," Vax offered gently. "I want you to know that Percival and I are happy for you. I know love when i see it, and Shaun is head over heels for you. Anyone who can do that for him gets a star in my book, so to speak, and if there's anything I can ever help you out with, you let me know?"
That... was the polar opposite of what Nolan had expected to hear, and he looked back at Vax with a slightly perplexed expression for a second. "You... I'm glad he has you for a friend," Nolan stated, not quite able to hide the faint surprise from his tone.
"I'm a grade-A asshole," Vax pointed out, turning his head to meet Nolan's eyes, his own gaze sparkling slightly with mischief. "But I know my friends, and I love my friends. And by extension, that means you too. Especially since you love that beautiful man so much you'd invite all of those fucking morons over there into your posh holiday house. I can already see that you're going to regret the cleanup, but you haven't so much as grimaced."
"Ha." Nolan pursed his lips in a very faint grimace. "You didn't watch me during the deck chair trebuchet contest. But that's the beauty of having more money than I know what to do with. I can hire a clean-up company, and buy as many replacement deck chairs as I need." He paused, glanced down at his glass, and then up at Vax again. "But I do love him."
Vax looked at him, quiet for a beat before nodding slightly, a small smile on his lips. "Good."
Nolan huffed out a breath, glanced down at his glass again, and gave Vax a soft-dry smile to match his tone. "Yes. Good." Lingering on the topic seemed like a bad move, especially given the number of pitfalls nearby, so Nolan moved swiftly along. "Have you been enjoying the party?"
"I've never been good at parties," Vax admitted, looking back at his friends. "Especially in a place like this. But yeah, it's a good time. Maybe I'll even have some of Vex's brownies - if they last the next hour or so. I take it you're not a fan of losing control?"
"Whatever gave you that idea." Nolan's dryness has gone up a notch as he answered, but it was all aimed at himself. "But actually, I'm taking some medication that doesn't work well with alcohol." Or hash. Not that he would have drunk a lot if it wasn't for that, but he had gotten quite good at working up a decent buzz while still retaining control, since he had met Shinobi.
The first couple of times out with his friend had been brutal, and Nolan had learned that lesson fast.
"Sorry to hear that," Vax murmured, his voice lowering in respect to whatever illness might require medication. "Is it serious?"
"Nothing worth dampening your party spirit over," Nolan answered on the light-dry same tone. He was hardly going to tell Vax about it, and he wished the other boy had simply assumed 'painkillers', which had been what he had been banking on - or any other number of drugs that did not work well when combined with alcohol. "Or lack thereof," he added, lips curved in a faint sardonic smile. "I'm sorry the setting isn't working for you. I'd apologize, but..." He looked around, shrugged. "I love this place."
Vax looked around. "It's better now that the sun's going down. Ever since I got my powers, I feel... naked in the sun. It casts shadows, but nothing deep enough to hide in, especially on the beach. It's too open. Too..." He didn't know how to explain.
"Vulnerable?" Nolan offered. He hid behind layers of soft snark, himself, and would absolutely feel naked without it. It also wasn't at all what he'd expected to hear; usually people who had a problem with the setting had a problem with his money.
"Something like that," Vax agreed.
"Well, at least you'll have a lot of shadows in very little time," Nolan remarked, glancing at the setting sun.
"The best thing about each day is that it's followed by night," Vax agreed. "Are you going to try your hand at singing?"
"I'll do everyone a favor, starting with myself, and stay away from the microphones," Nolan replied, amused by the question. "Are you?"
"Oh, I don't give a damn about sparing anyone's eardrums," Vax grinned slowly. "I'm thinking 'Moonlight Shadow' by Mike Oldfield. Once I'm properly hammered, at any rate."
Nolan smiled in appreciation of the choice. "I'll cheer."
"I'll be holding my breath," Vax hummed happily, then gave a brief salute before slipping back into the deepening shadows.
Now that was one dramatic exit, and since it came without startling Nolan, this way around, he was able to actually appreciate it. He raised his glass in the direction of the shadows, then finished it, and pushed off the wall to head back towards the bar.
