( pushing his own coffee towards caleb, to offer out the cup. it's still a good two thirds off the way full, and he definitely doesn't mind sharing. he's used to it, with nick. )
You said it can be informative. I want you to tell me something about me that isn't just how I'm currently feeling.
( because it sounds like a fun game to play, and caleb's clearly down to go for it since he's here. why not fuck around with an empath, what could possibly go wrong? )
It's just the color your feelings are to me. Everyone's got a color, Nick's green— plant green, specifically.
[ he's actively digging to get at the feelings underneath the initial layer of aloof chill, and there's a lot he recognizes, plus he has enough context to know where it's coming from; the william thing was a whole nightmare and caleb didn't even try to look into it. ]
Right... uh. You're particular about who you care for, but the people you do care about are yours and you're super protective. So, given all the shit that went on, you're pissed off. But it's all pretty well-covered. On the surface you're just chill and wanna keep things easy.
( none of that is wrong, but it's not necessarily a secret either; nick knows how picky oliver is with people, who wouldn't be pissed? and since caleb knows nick, he might have heard all of that from nick himself. he's--curious, as to how it works, what caleb sees aside from blue.
tries to cover it by thinking about how stupid hot caleb is, just to see how he reacts to it. like. look at him: he's built, he has a cute face, he looks like he could probably bend oliver in half if he really felt like it which is clearly a turn-on. just the kind of person oliver likes to bend over and fuck into the mattress, take him apart bit by bit. )
[ caleb gets very immediately flustered, blushing up to the tips of his ears. oliver is hot and pointedly not a patient, so he didn't think to put up his professional wall before coming today. ]
It's a bit like synesthesia, except it's not something I see or hear, it's a different sense altogether. I just feel like, like I feel my own stuff, and I kinda conceptualize it using shapes and colors to make it easier to understand. Like... curiosity is prickly, and jealousy is heavy and kinda sticky. But also every person feels things a little differently, so it's colored differently, I guess?
Like... like you thinking I'm hot. It feels different coming from you than for other people, and also, there's like, very calculated mischief there.
( caleb blushes, and oliver's half smile turns into a full on smirk. very pleased with himself, but he holds back from trying to make it worse. even if now that he's thinking about it, he can't really stop thinking about it. like how do you stop thinking about how hot someone is once you've started? it's too hard, so why bother. )
Sorry, I just can't help myself. Being in sex-city makes it real hard to remember there are things beyond being horny and getting laid.
[ though it's very difficult to keep oliver's feelings at bay. the blush isn't going anywhere any time soon, but he takes another sip of coffee to cover for it. ]
( because clearly this is the best way to get to know someone, right? oliver takes caleb's hand in his own, grips lightly onto his wrist and uses his other hand to run his fingers over the inside of caleb's. hums soft, before he's tracing his index finger against the line curving around his thumb. )
You've had a lot of experiences in your life, complicated ones, ( running his finger up to where his palm meets his wrist, before he's tracing back over the same line. ) and you're very independent. You like to be able to take care of yourself.
( back down, to the bottom of his palm where it meets his wrist. ) You've had a lot of shit beyond your control happen, that've effected you deeply. ( back up, closer to his fingers. ) Your love life is a little complicated right now. Boyfriend troubles?
( down a little lower, tracing across his palm. )
You're complex; life has thrown a lot of shit at you, but you power through it, even if it sometimes breaks you so completely you don't know if you'll ever recover. Those experiences have made you want to be a little more self-reliant, you and your boyfriend were together, for a while, but shit happened and made staying together more difficult. Heavier.
[ none of what oliver is saying is wrong. the boyfriend stuff is particularly on point, he misses adam very much. ]
I found out I was changing people's feelings without meaning to... Adam knows I'm an empath, but having an output made shit very scary very quick, so I didn't tell him. By the time we broke up it felt natural.
[ he's not super torn up about it, but he still thinks about adam all of the time. ]
[ caleb leaves his hand right where it is because this feels like some kind of dare and he's kind of competitive. ]
That's not really it. I love Adam, but I couldn't know if he loved me or if— it felt like I was holding him back. He had this trip to France coming up, and he was reluctant to go, but he had to, because he was gonna love it. But yeah, I super need therapy.
Not every big life experience is worth it. Sometimes it's better to strengthen bonds you've already got. Because coming back and remembering everything you could have had's depressing.
( another bite of scone, before he reaches for the coffee to wash it down. )
My boyfriend disappeared on me. We'd just signed a permanent contract. He was a bit ahead of me, and was hiding a ton of shit but now who knows when I'll figure out whatever secrets he was keeping. He was supposed to take care of me, and now I've gotta figure out what I'm going to do without him.
I'm sorry he disappeared. My first sub got designation switched, and it's cool because he makes a great dom, but we can't really hang out as much anymore.
( shoving the last of the scone in his mouth, before he's standing up. that edge of mischief never quite goes away, and it's pretty clear oliver is playing. even if he isn't being dishonest. )
We can hang out. Talk about whatever. Who was your sub?
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( pushing his own coffee towards caleb, to offer out the cup. it's still a good two thirds off the way full, and he definitely doesn't mind sharing. he's used to it, with nick. )
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So, I'm supposed to tell you what you're feeling?
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( because it sounds like a fun game to play, and caleb's clearly down to go for it since he's here. why not fuck around with an empath, what could possibly go wrong? )
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[ he knows he can pick up feelings other than whatever's on the surface, but he needs to focus. ]
You're blue, by the way.
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delicious. empty carbs are the best. )
What's that supposed to mean?
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[ he's actively digging to get at the feelings underneath the initial layer of aloof chill, and there's a lot he recognizes, plus he has enough context to know where it's coming from; the william thing was a whole nightmare and caleb didn't even try to look into it. ]
Right... uh. You're particular about who you care for, but the people you do care about are yours and you're super protective. So, given all the shit that went on, you're pissed off. But it's all pretty well-covered. On the surface you're just chill and wanna keep things easy.
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tries to cover it by thinking about how stupid hot caleb is, just to see how he reacts to it. like. look at him: he's built, he has a cute face, he looks like he could probably bend oliver in half if he really felt like it which is clearly a turn-on. just the kind of person oliver likes to bend over and fuck into the mattress, take him apart bit by bit. )
What's it look like?
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It's a bit like synesthesia, except it's not something I see or hear, it's a different sense altogether. I just feel like, like I feel my own stuff, and I kinda conceptualize it using shapes and colors to make it easier to understand. Like... curiosity is prickly, and jealousy is heavy and kinda sticky. But also every person feels things a little differently, so it's colored differently, I guess?
Like... like you thinking I'm hot. It feels different coming from you than for other people, and also, there's like, very calculated mischief there.
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Sorry, I just can't help myself. Being in sex-city makes it real hard to remember there are things beyond being horny and getting laid.
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[ though it's very difficult to keep oliver's feelings at bay. the blush isn't going anywhere any time soon, but he takes another sip of coffee to cover for it. ]
... unless someone's horny around me, I guess.
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( important distinction to make here, while oliver drops his eyes down to watch caleb's throat bob when he swallows the coffee. )
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[ oliver is being very distracting, and caleb has no idea of what to do about it. ]
... did you wanna talk about something else?
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( talking about caleb is the distraction he's going for, thanks. not for any specific reason, just because it's fun as fuck to fuck with people. )
I want to talk about you.
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[ he knows oliver is trying to fuck with him, but he's not getting like, malice from him, so it's fine. ]
What do you wanna know?
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( holding his own out palm out, for caleb to put his into. so he can check out the lines on his palm. )
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[ he holds out his hand. ]
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( because clearly this is the best way to get to know someone, right? oliver takes caleb's hand in his own, grips lightly onto his wrist and uses his other hand to run his fingers over the inside of caleb's. hums soft, before he's tracing his index finger against the line curving around his thumb. )
You've had a lot of experiences in your life, complicated ones, ( running his finger up to where his palm meets his wrist, before he's tracing back over the same line. ) and you're very independent. You like to be able to take care of yourself.
( back down, to the bottom of his palm where it meets his wrist. ) You've had a lot of shit beyond your control happen, that've effected you deeply. ( back up, closer to his fingers. ) Your love life is a little complicated right now. Boyfriend troubles?
( down a little lower, tracing across his palm. )
You're complex; life has thrown a lot of shit at you, but you power through it, even if it sometimes breaks you so completely you don't know if you'll ever recover. Those experiences have made you want to be a little more self-reliant, you and your boyfriend were together, for a while, but shit happened and made staying together more difficult. Heavier.
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I found out I was changing people's feelings without meaning to... Adam knows I'm an empath, but having an output made shit very scary very quick, so I didn't tell him. By the time we broke up it felt natural.
[ he's not super torn up about it, but he still thinks about adam all of the time. ]
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( oliver puts caleb's hand down--drops it onto his thigh, before he's leaning back over the table to grab another corner of the scone. delicious. )
Maybe you need to talk to someone.
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That's not really it. I love Adam, but I couldn't know if he loved me or if— it felt like I was holding him back. He had this trip to France coming up, and he was reluctant to go, but he had to, because he was gonna love it. But yeah, I super need therapy.
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( another bite of scone, before he reaches for the coffee to wash it down. )
My boyfriend disappeared on me. We'd just signed a permanent contract. He was a bit ahead of me, and was hiding a ton of shit but now who knows when I'll figure out whatever secrets he was keeping. He was supposed to take care of me, and now I've gotta figure out what I'm going to do without him.
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I might actually be too vanilla for threesomes. I've never had one.
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( shoving the last of the scone in his mouth, before he's standing up. that edge of mischief never quite goes away, and it's pretty clear oliver is playing. even if he isn't being dishonest. )
We can hang out. Talk about whatever. Who was your sub?
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