So Many Striders - Now With Illustrations!

Hal nods at Dirk's words, relieved that he doesn't have to try to explain. If they were in a situation like this and Dirk wasn't concussed, he'd probably be fine with guiding him around, but Dirk is concussed so he's not about to start pushing him around. He waits until Dirk looks settled to move, biting his lip and brushing his hands lightly over Dirk's hair, his shoulders, reminding himself over and over that it's real. He's already through the worst of the episode, and now mostly just wants comfort and reassurance - both of which are things he gets from holding Dirk.

When Dirk's finally lying down on his side, Hal slides down under the covers too. He scoots down a little, so he can tuck his face into the base of Dirk's neck, and wraps his arm tight around him, hand resting in a fist on Dirk's chest, his other hand pressed to Dirk's back. He shuffles his hips closer, until he can tangle his legs with Dirk's, their bodies pressed together. "Mm." He clears his throat. "S'rry."

 

Warm breath on the back of his neck feels nice, soothing and comfortable if a bit ticklish. When Hal gets settled Dirk presses himself back against him a little bit and hopes that the attention is comforting. It feels kind of sad that he can't hold Hal back, but it's fine. It's just, every muscle in Hal feels tense and unhappy and there is very little that Dirk feels like he can do from this position. He hooks one of his ankles around Hal's and runs his fingers over the knuckles of the fist against his chest, hoping it'll help calm Hal down. The tiny voice Hal manages makes him feel fiercely protective and desperately ashamed of himself. "Nothing to apologize for. I want to take care of you, even when I'm the one who causes the issue in the first place. Especially then." He breathes a tiny laugh, more of a puff of air than anything. "You've been taking care of me all day. And just, all the time. I like taking care of you back. Not that I like triggering these situations, ugh. I don't mean to be so thoughtless."

 

Dirk's actions do indeed help Hal, somewhat. They're comforting without being restricting, and that's what he needs. His fist relaxes, loosening, until he unfurls his fingers to rest nearly flat against Dirk's chest. He sighs, then nuzzles the back of Dirk's neck, shifting to get closer, hand sliding over Dirk's chest. "Shhh. Nh' your fault - accident." He rubs his thumb against what he's fairly certain is Dirk's collarbone, then brushes his lips against Dirk's neck. He's warm, and Dirk is warm against him, but his heart is still beating hard from the rush of... what even was it? Fear? Uncertainty? Existential quandary? Probably at least one of those. It's hard to relax again after that, but Dirk being there and saying he likes taking care of Hal is helping. He apparently needs more taking care of than he'd thought.

 

"Well, carelessness maybe. I don't need to be causing accidents left and right." Hal relaxes his hand, if not the rest of him, but his voice seems to be coming back and that's good. Fingers on his collarbone and lips on his neck make Dirk shiver, but he's pretty sure Hal doesn't mean it like that. It feels weird still, to lay still in someone's arms and do nothing, so he fidgets by running his fingers lightly over the back of Hal's hand and wrist. One thing Hal doesn't need is responsibility for babysitting him right now so he's doing his level best to stay awake.

 

The touch to the back of his hand is nice, and Hal is just about as close to Dirk's back as he can be without pressing his dick against Dirk's ass like some sort of inappropriate, silent proposition. He still wants to cuddle closer. He presses a kiss to the back of Dirk's neck instead, as it's right there in front of him and everything. Dirk's skin is warm and soft, and smells nice, which are three things he'd never have been able to pick up on with the basic pressure sensors he had as shades. His body is warming quickly, curled up so close to Dirk's under the blankets, and there's a noticeable temperature difference between his back, especially the back of his neck, and his front. When he breathes out, the air puffs against Dirk's neck and he can feel it on his face. He can feel the end of a scar on Dirk's back with his fingertips and he traces them along it to the other end. He's in his body. He's okay.

 

Blankets and cuddles quickly make Dirk pleasantly warm for once. Kisses and light touches and puffs of breath on his neck makes heat pool in his stomach so that he gasps cool air as Hal plays with him. At first he tries to ignore it, thinking that Hal just needed to be close but now Dirk is pretty sure this is intentionally, well, heated.

Dirk catches Hal's fingers and laces them loosely with his, encouraging their movement instead of restricting them. "Feeling a bit better?" His voice is meant to sound amused but instead it comes out low and husky. Hal usually seems to like that though, so he goes with it. Slowly, so that Hal can draw away if he wants, Dirk presses his body back into Hal's in a smooth rolling motion, from shoulders to hips. He moves his legs just to feel them move against Hal's, and tilts his head back to get just that little bit closer. He's suddenly glad that Hal is behind him with basically full control over the situation, it's easier to just do things without having to fret constantly about accidentally forcing anyone into anything.

 

Hal is maybe slightly very doing this intentionally. He continues to move his fingers back and forth across Dirk's chest, only pausing briefly to squeeze the fingers between his before going back to tracing the shape of Dirk's collarbone, running around and over a little bump of scar tissue and then back to the collarbone. It feels nice, skin soft and warm, and firm beneath his fingers when he presses lightly against it thanks to the bone so close to the surface. He does indeed like Dirk's voice all low and rough, likes also the idea that it's him who made it like that. "Bit better, yeah. Stay like this though?" Dirk's roll back against him is very nice, although he pulls his own hips back before Dirk can press against him there. He then makes his own voice as low as he can, talking softly into Dirk's ear. "I'm getting at least three dates out of you before I let you rub up against my no-no stick, Dirk." And then bites his lips to hold in a giggle, nosing against the fine hairs at the top of Dirk's neck.

 

Staying like this is fine with Dirk, he's finally comfortable and more than awake right now. He hums in agreement, and at Hal's attention to various bits of his skin. Hal cants his hips away from Dirk and speaks quietly, making him bite his lip hard from the sensation of talking in his ear again.

The words, however, are a completely different story. Dirk embarrasses himself with a little "ah" noise before collecting his wits at actually responding. "Oh, I wasn't aware that there was anything significant for me to rub against at the moment. But fine, I'll keep my fantastic ass to myself. We'll be very happy together."

 

And what a fantastic little "ah" noise it is. He wants to hear it again. Hal grins, pressing his lips against the back of Dirk's neck so he can feel the smile before pulling his head back a little way again, so he can speak. "Everything about me is significant, I'll have you know. And with the greatest of congratulations to you and your ass, may I respectfully inquire as to whether your ass and you are interested in polygamy at all? Just... out of curiosity." He trails the hand on Dirk's chest deliberately lower and to the side, slowly, as if aiming to move it around and get an ass grab in. Which, if Dirk was up for it, he wouldn't be opposed to doing, but he goes nice and slow just in case Dirk and his ass prefer an exclusively monogamous relationship.

 

Hal smiles against the back of Dirk's neck, he's clearly doing his best to be a little shit. Dirk is touch starved and soaking up the attention though so he's willing to overlook it, at least somewhat. "Are you proposing to my ass and I already? My ass may be all about the polyamorus lifestyle but you can't just propose marriage right off the bat. You have to romance the ass a little first. Get it to warm up to you. Put a little work into the relationship." The hand moving down Dirk's chest and onto his side makes his face turn pink, but he presses his back and shoulders into Hal again encouragingly.

 

Shit. Polyamory was what he meant. But he rolls with it because that's what you fucking do, sliding his hand down and over Dirk's ass. He is... not entirely sure how to make an ass grope enjoyable for the person on the receiving end, so he doesn't squeeze hard, mostly just palming it for a moment before sliding his hand back up to safer territory on Dirk's chest. "How's that for romance? Bet your ass is swooning all over the place now. Gonna be begging me for marriage any moment now." He leans in closer with his shoulders, especially the one that's higher up, encouraging Dirk to roll with him. If he wants to.

 

Hal gently palms Dirk's butt and he can't decided if he wants to snicker or make happy noises. It ends up being a bit of both. "Ah! Ahh- haha, my ass is utterly charmed, you are such a gentleman. I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more forceful if you want to get it swooning for you though." Hal leans into him, pushing him into the bed a bit and Dirk rolls with him. He ends up laying on his stomach with one arm partially trapped under his body. This time he does moan quietly while burying his face into the pillow so that Hal might not hear. He really isn't going to be able to do much for Hal from this position, hopefully that's alright.

 

Well. Dirk was certainly enthusiastic to roll over. That is... helpful, and also rather interesting. He should stop thinking about kinks Dirk might be into before they've even gone on a date, holy shit. Instead he sits up, swinging his legs over Dirk to kneel with his ass on Dirk's thighs, and places both hands on Dirk's ass to give it a nice squeeze. While squeezing, he clears his throat, and announces solemnly, "I'm firmly grasping it."

 

Dirk does not know what he expected, but still manages to be surprised when Hal just takes hold and digs in. He starts and squeaks in surprise, which only pushes his ass into Hal's hands. His trapped arm gets free, but he just restlessly twists the sheets in his fingers. It looks nice; would look nicer with a hand around his wrist. Fffuck, he needs to stop thinking like that or things will get awkward fast. The blanket is gone but the cool air against his skin feels pleasant now, helps him keep his head. "Fast learner, senpai is so proud."

 

"Blushu." He says it in the same solemn voice, then ruins it by snickering uncontrollably, leaning forward slightly as he does. This pushes his hands down firmer against Dirk's ass, and he acts like it was on purpose by kneading it slightly with his fingers. It's actually kind of fun to do, and although he bets it would be even better without Dirk's pants in the way he's not going to bring it up. "So," he says, after several firm kneads, "is senpai noticing me now? Am I a good kouhai?" Digging for praise? Hal's not digging for praise. You're digging for praise.

 

Hal leans over him and pushes his hips even more firmly again the mattress. It feels amazing in that its his ass, and its holding him down, and forces some friction against the quickly developing situation in his pants. His breathing gets heavier than he'd like, but hopefully its not noticeable from behind. "Ah- A good kitten mmh- more like, kneading me like that." Wait, is that what Hal likes? He's always... Hmm. "But yeah, momma cat and milking jokes aside, you're doing good Hal. My good, smart, talented kohai. Noticing you, s-so much."

 

... Ha. Fuck. Hal jerks his hands back and falls to the side off Dirk, sat up and knees pulled up to his chest, blushing furiously. He's, well, there's activity where there shouldn't be, not this early into their whatever-this-is anyway. He's well aware that growing a stiffy is a perfectly normal, ordinary, biological thing to happen, when presented with uh, arousing stimuli, but it's also not particularly polite. "I think. Maybe I should stop doing that, actually. For now." He swallows. "I mean uh, you didn't do anything- everything's good, I just. Mm." Well, that was deeply informative.

 

The words are hardly out of Dirk's mouth before Hal practically flies off of him. Hands pressing him down and legs gripping his thighs disappear to be replaced with cold dread at what he'd apparently done wrong. Hal curls up like he hasn't done in ages, not touching Dirk at all anymore. The aforementioned pants situation and the likelihood of him getting dizzy prevent Dirk from sitting up right away and assessing the damage.

But then Hal speaks, and Dirk can hear the flustered blush in his voice. The speaking itself is a surprise, and he's still a bit concerned, but instead of panicking he turns his head toward Hal and puts his hand where Hal could reach it easily. "I didn't do anything, what, wrong? Did I do something right then, maybe?" A little too right it seems. He speaks softly, smiling but trying not to make it look at Hal's expense. "It's okay. I was, er, also kind of. Mn." He reaches down and tugs the blanket back up over his waist before twisting to lay mostly on his side. "I could kiss you, or we can stop, if you want."

 

Well at least Hal isn't alone in his current situation. He reaches out for Dirk's hand, lacing their fingers together and scooting closer, rubbing his thumb against the side of Dirk's hand. "I... guess something right would be a way of putting it, yeah. Something right that I didn't expect to have quite such an. Effect." He drags his teeth briefly over his lower lip, squeezing Dirk's hand. "We can kiss. I like kissing. I just... am not ready to involve crotch stuff in anything yet." He's barely touched himself there, let alone being ready for Dirk to- okay, thinking about Dirk touching him there is not helpful when trying to reduce the problem rather than add to it, got it. "You feel up to sitting up, or should I lie back down? On our sides is probably best if the latter considering..." He gestures vaguely with his free hand. "Yeah. I mean, as fun as it is to climb on top of you it's probably not ideal right now."

 

Dirk watches Hal bite his lip and wants to do that for him, but that's his boner talking. "You don't have to kiss me if you aren't into it dude. And no, I won't touch any part of you that you're not ready for. D'you want me to do a lot of asking if this or that is okay? I can do that, and encourage you to say no when necessary." God, maybe kissing more isn't a good idea, he is already, er, rather worked up and Hal acting so sweet and shy is seriously getting to him. But... cuuute... and mmm, climbing on top of... Stop it Dirk.

"Laying on our sides would be easier for me I think, but I'm kind of letting this be your show. Right now I'm down for whatever you want to get up to in this department." Christ, sound more eager to smear yourself all over him Dirk, that's not creepy at all.