back nextIt had been three days since Salem confirmed that he and Dirt were, in fact, boyfriends. Dirt was still having a hard time believing it. He kept thinking maybe it was just a weed-induced dream. And it wasn't like much had changed between the two of them. They still acted pretty much the same with each other--rather antagonistically, especially Salem. He'd tease Dirt at every opportunity he saw, just like always. Admittedly, Dirt was pretty happy for it. He never liked big changes, and so the fact that their relationship didn't seem to be changing despite having a new label was a relief.
However.... and he hated to admit it, but.... he was missing what he'd had with Brian. When he and Brian were together, every moment with him felt so tender and full of love. Dirt had always felt like he was glowing when they were together. Brian seemed to look at him differently after they started dating, looked at him like they were the only person in the world. They could always feel the love in his gaze. But with Salem, he wasn't.. sure. Maybe he was just feeling like he loved me when he was super high, but now he doesn't really feel the same anymore but doesn't wanna say anything and hurt my feelings?
Well that's stupid. Salem didn't seem like the type to do something like that. He'd almost certainly tell Dirt if he didn't actually love him, or whatever. How do we know that, though? This is his first time in a relationship! Hey, good point! This WAS Salem's first relationship! So maybe the fact that he wasn't exactly all lovey-dovey with Dirt right away was indicative of that, hmmmm? Brian had been in tons of relationships before Dirt. I guess so.. Still, Dirt missed that lovey-doveyness that he'd had with Brian. And like, he FELT all mushy n shit towards Salem, but he was nervous about showing it, since Salem wasn't.
And at least we got the first 'I love you's out of the way... Yeah! Salem LITERALLY said he was IN LOVE with Dirt, like, RIGHT AWAY, like that was the FIRST thing he'd said! Very powerful, if you think about it. Lol.. yeah :)
Dirt was just laying A-posed on his bed, zoning the fuck out thinking about all this, when Salem burst through the door, startling him. "AH! Fuck! You scared me..." Dirt said, jumping.
"HEHE!! Loser! You didn't hear my bell?" Salem teased, and then jingled his little bell with his finger.
"I was lost in thought," Dirt said.
"What are you, a poet? A... a... phliosopher?" Salem mispronounced.
Dirt chuckled. "A what?"
"A PHLIOSOPHER!!! A GUY WHO THINKS ABOUT STUFF!!" Salem yelled.
"You mean a philosopher?" Dirt corrected him.
"WHAT EVER!! God, you're such a scorpio!" Salem complained, but there was a smile undercutting his remarks. He got on Dirt's bed with him and hugged one of their arms, nuzzling his face into their shoulder. Dirt wanted to lean down and kiss Salem's forehead, or maybe even his lips, but he got all nervous like some kinda idiot. Hey :(
Instead, he said, "What about what I just did was scorpio-esque?"
"Just like, being annoying," said Salem. Dirt GUFFAWED.
"What!! Do you even know shit about astrology or do you just go, 'ugh! you're such a ''whatever the persons sign is''! when they're being annoying?"
"Yes," said Salem, not really answering the question. Dirt just laughed. "But also, scorpios are known to be annoying, is the thing. For example, virgos are NOT annoying!" he said with confidence.
"Oh, because Sarah's a virgo?"
"Precisely! And she has never annoyed me, not even ONCE!" Salem proudly declared, "Unlike you who annoys me on a daily basis..."
"If I annoy you so much then why are you dating me, huh? Why are you all cuddled up to me right now, then?" Dirt asked like a joke, like he was going on with the bit, but also he WAS feeling a little insecure about it and wanted to know...
Of course, Salem was committed to the bit and said, "Funny prank!" He squeezed Dirt's arm as he said it, and then kissed his shoulder.
Dirt laughed, and flipped over onto his side so he could pull Salem in for a hug. "That's a pretty stupid prank," he said. While Dirt did wish that Salem would be serious with him, he supposed he understood. The other day, Salem had told him "irony is [his] coping mechanism" so it was obvious to Dirt that he just wasn't comfortable with the mushy stuff, and was hiding his feelings behind jokes. Dirt supposed he couldn't blame him.. Even though he yearned for Salem to say something genuine for once...
"No, it's a cool and awesome prank and I'm owning you so hard right now," Salem replied, nuzzling his face into Dirt's chest and purring. Like, yeah, it was pretty funny. Like the jokes were good, it wasn't like Dirt was mad, and it wasn't like he didn't understand that it was all a joke.. It just also would have been good if he could say something that wasn't a joke, and not have to be stoned out of his mind to do so.
Dirt kissed Salem on the forehead, expecting another teasing jab of "you're gay," or something of the like, but instead, Salem's purring got louder as he tilted his head up to kiss Dirt on the lips. Dirt's shoulders relaxed--he didn't even realize they'd been tensed--as he put a hand, gently, to Salem's cheek, kissing him back with passion.
Salem hooked his arms around Dirt's back, his hands resting on their shoulders, and the tenderness in the way he kissed Dirt like... like it was obvious, like it was the only thing to do, made Dirt forget all the insecurities he had about their relationship. No matter what jokes Salem used to cope with being in love for the first time, the fact was that he WAS in love, and when they kissed, Dirt realized he had nothing to worry about.