Jay stared around them, eyes wide with shock. "I thought you were joking…" He breathed. While Lou may have fit in, Jay did not. He was in jeans and a t shirt and jacket, along with makeup. The jeans would have been weird enough, but makeup, on a man, in the 1900's? Unheard of. He bit his lip slightly, swallowing hard and trying to let this sink in. "Oh my God…" He sat down, putting a hand to his forehead, eyes still wide in shock and amazement.
Lou was cut from his happy explaining and soon concern flooded his face.
“Do we need to go back?” he asked worriedly. “I can take us to right when we left, you can go on your way, act like it never happened…”
(can the people from the past like…see them and interact with them and stuff??)
Jay shook his head quickly. "No, I wanna stay, this is…this is amazing, I just…it's a lot to take in." He gave a weak smile, still staring around with wide eyes, taking in everything.
(Yeah, they can. I was just about to include that)
Lou was taken aback by his response, then suddenly grew extremely conscious of people looking their way.
“Here,” he muttered, pulling Jay aside. “Let’s do this… elsewhere.”
He shifted into a nearby alley, the dark night seeming even darker as the shade of the building shielded them from the moon.
“I’m sorry,” Lou muttered, irritated with himself. “I should have prepared you, or whatever. I’m really sorry.”
(kk)
Jay nodded a little bit, taking a quick breath and looking up at Lou. "I just…I can't stay here. Not looking like this." He gestured to his face. "Men in this time… didn't dress like this or wear makeup or…or flirt with other guys the way I do." He shrugged his shoulders slightly.
Lou chuckled. “I know, I get it. Believe me.”
He smiled, his eyes locking on Jay. “I’m so surprised. You’re taking this unusually well.”
Unless he’s acting, he thought. Unless he’ll leave right when we get back.
(I'm not going to be super active tonight, sorry)
Jay shrugged. "I'm still waiting for the shock to sink in, and then I'll probably have a breakdown or something." He laughed a little bit, looking up at Lou.
(That’s alright)
Lou chuckled softly. “Don’t worry. I can jump us back anytime. Heck, I can jump myself back to a time and decide not to show you if you really do want to… forget everything.”
Lou almost made it seem like he was saying he could make Jay forget him, if he wanted to. In which case, he could. He could simply jump back to the day at the coffee shop, and leave. Just like that. And everything would carry on the way it would.
Jay frowned a little. "I don't want to forget, Lou. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm just saying that it's… it's a lot to take in." He swallowed, looking up at Lou. "Although…did you only kiss me to distract me?" His question was a little hesitant.
Lou froze, wondering for a moment if that perhaps was the reason he had. He shook his head, narrowing his eyes. “No. I can say that’s for sure.”
He adverted his eyes from Jay, instead having them wander to the sky above. “I just… I wanted to? I don’t know. I don’t even have an explanation for myself. But it certainly wasn’t done as anything other than a gesture of what I was feeling.”
Jay studied him for a moment, then nodded a little. "Alright." he leaned back against the wall, eyes flashing around the alleyway, around everywhere he could see. "I'd love to…explore here." he said softly. "But not dressed like this. I'll be beaten in the street for it."
“Well, if I jump us back, get you some clothes, we’ll lose no time at all,” Lou said, smiling at the idea. “Literally. And I have some stuff at my place you might be able to wear… it’s up to you.”
Jay smiled lightly. "Sure." he replied, looking up at Lou. "Let's do it." he bounced on his heels, excited for this. He was still waiting for it to sink in, since half of him was still convinced that this was all just a strange, strange dream.
Lou nodded, although it seemed solemn. He continued to get in his own head, imagining all the ways Jay could just… leave once they got back.
Lou hesitantly put his hand on Jay’s shoulder, his hand timidly resting there. With a sorrowful smile, he jumped them back.
In an instant, they stood in Lou’s doorway. The familiar image of the dimly lit house, and the warm air coiling around the two washed over.
Jay took a deep breath, looking up at Lou. He gave a soft smile. "So. Let's see those clothes." he said, cocking his head at Lou. He had no idea if this was a dream or not, but he was going to enjoy it regardless.
Lou was extremely reassured by the smile Jay gave him, and Lou happily took his hand as he lead him to his room. Bean was laying on the bed and woofed softly as his tail wagged furiously. Lou patted him on the head, walking straight to his wardrobe on the other side of his bed.
He began to shuffle through clothes, finding a black button-up and a pair of grey slacks.
“This work?” he asked, turning around with the clothes draped across his arms.
Jay looked at the clothes, and nodded. "Yeah, that should work." he shot Lou a quick smile, reaching out to take the clothes. "Although it might be a bit big."
Lou returned the smile. “See how it works. If you’re gonna be difficult, I’ll make you wear a suit.”
He snickered sarcastically. “The bathroom is just down the hall toward the living room. Or my closet is right there. Or you can change here and I’ll go wait for you in the living room.”
Jay chuckled. "What, you don't want to watch?" he teased, winking at Lou and examining the clothes. "And these will work." he sighed. "Though I need a wipe of some sort to get the makeup off."
Lou rolled his eyes with a smirk. “I’ll go get you one. Now change, so we can go explore.”
He called Bean and the pup jumped from the bed, his collar jingling. Lou glanced back at Jay for a moment before closing the door.
He slid down his hallway, grabbing a few sets of face wash and cotton pads. He had no clue how makeup worked, so he pretty much just grabbed whatever.
He knocked on the door when he was done, his hands full of whatever he could find.
“Ready?” he asked from the door.
Jay had just finished putting the pants on when Lou knocked, and he was working on buttoning his shirt. "Come in!" he called back, still buttoning the shirt. He took the supplies from Lou. "Thanks." he started working on scrubbing the makeup off.
“Well you certainly look wonderful,” Lou said. “Say, I kind of like you better without makeup.”
Lou moved around to his bedside table, putting back on his round glasses. It was wonderful to see clearly again.
Jay smiled happily. "Thanks." he replied, throwing away the used supplies and finishing buttoning up the shirt. "Well. Ready to go when you are." he looked at Lou with a happy smile.
Lou turned around, fixing his glasses. “Alright then.”
He held out his hand and took Jay’s, smiling and focusing back to the time they had left.
They appeared in the same dark alley, the sounds of the city flooding their ears. Lou’s smile widened.
“I haven’t spent much time here in ‘05, but it seems nice,” he said. “Where shall we go?”
Jay nodded, then shrugged. "I don't know. What would you prefer to do?" he asked, looking over at Lou with a grin.