#greatdividcs

"i'm falling...i told myself not to, i told myself to bury my feelings. but, i wasn't strong enough."

his ears were hot. his ears were so hot he could probably heat a small apartment with them, which was ironic because his actual apartment was always freezing and he'd spent weeks knitting this scarf when he could have been knitting himself literally anything useful, but he hadn't, because link had mentioned being cold once in a group chat and his brain never stood a chance after that. "if it unravels, bring it back. i'll fix it. i mean, i'll try to fix it. i'll probably make it worse. but i'll try," kavi said. he'd never been able to successfully restore a project once it was officially 'done', but the uneven ends were bound to cause some trouble, and no one should wear a raggedy scarf out in public.

he's pretty sure someone's trailing him, but he can't be certain if it's reality or paranoia creeping in on him again. so, he picks up the pace, throws a glance over his shoulder. still there. he keeps walking, hands shoved into pockets, head tilted downward, feet pulling him quicker and quicker with an almost sort of reckless abandon.

he's asking for trouble.

and then he bumps right into them. not the gentle sort of bump that might spill your coffee or cause you to drop a few papers, but the kind of bump that knocks their heads together and sends the other one into the wall, brody practically on top of them. he regards the other with wide, apologetic eyes. "i'm sorry, so sorry... is that blood?"

zion notices someone flirting with julian and immediately hates how much it bothers him.

they're not anything to each other, just people who have crossed each other's paths a few times (zion's band on jules' radio show, julian being at a festival for work, and now here at this bar). it feels like some sort of invisible string of fate, but he doesn't want to examine that too closely, preferring to go with the flow. however, when the other person is basically throwing themselves at julian, something sinks in the pit of zion's stomach, like maybe he's missing some great opportunity. or, worse, like julian owes him some sort of loyalty by having crossed paths with him here when zion thinks about them the way he does.

when the offending party walks off to approach the bar (likely to return, given their body language), zion watches until they are out of earshot, and he leans into julian. "i can get lost if you want?" he suggests, hiking a thumb over his shoulder. "i'd hate to, uh... impose." why'd his voice crack?

barrett starts looking forward to interactions with zane more than he should.

is this even the sort of atmosphere bear would normally be in? no. he'd been brought here the first time by older brother chris, but it was zane that kept him coming back (even if he wouldn't admit it). there's something about that tough exterior, the aura that still lingers about him. people want to know him despite those abrasive edges and bear's just a man after all.

he finds it all too easy to slide up to zane with casual confidence, "don't look too excited to see me." it's a joke as the other man's expression remains neutral if not permanently impressed with his disdain.