irisnetwork | un: j.griffin

Well, you seem genuinely confused about how anyone else was perceiving you. I'm updating you on it.

[ And also he's trying to get over his own bafflement at apparently having been wrong? He's not quite at the part where he believes that. ]

And I guess it doesn't really matter anymore because we're elsewhere now, but maybe it's a reference.

[Aaaaand now he's scowling.]

I asked why people assumed I was into street fights. You told me it had to do with the way I look. I can't do anything about that. Then you started accusing me of shit I don't even think. Kinda starting to sound like maybe the problem was you for assuming in the first place,

The way you acted didn't exactly do anything to lesson the rumor level, sorry.

[ James has never been one to take accusation well, even if it's deserved accusation. Thus he ends up snapping back before he even knows it. ]

[There's absolutely no point to this conversation. Not a single point. They've graduated and they've left behind everyone from their high school and Keith is never going to see them again. But the way James keeps at this is starting to become genuinely irritating and he pushes the door open with enough force that the handle slams against the inside wall.]

I kept to myself and didn't bother anyone. You're the one who started harassing me, so if you want to start talking about shitty behavior, why don't you start with yours.

Edited 2019-03-04 01:40 (UTC)

[ James flinches just the smallest bit at the slam of the door and he's mad at himself for it the second after. ]

I tried to make friends with you when you came!

[ He says it with a bit too much force and then takes a deep breath. He doesn't need to be yelling. He doesn't need to act like that was important to him. ]

And you just immediately brushed me off, like I was dirt.

[There's just the tiniest pause as Keith shoots him yet another incredulous look over his shoulder like this is the stupidest thing he's heard all day. He has no idea why James has apparently been grudgewanking about their first encounter (an encounter so unmemorable to him that it's taking a couple of seconds to even recall this particular day in middle school), or why he feels the need to yell about it.]

Seriously?

[Incredulity fading fast, his brow furrows even further in obvious disgust.]

I just transferred to a new school district and wasn't feeling great about it and you got mad because I wasn't immediately kissing the ground you walk on? Fucking hell, James. You really have some nerve to be telling me I'm the one with a shitty personality.

[ James hates that look Keith is giving him. He hates it with an intensity that he can't quite describe. It gets right under his skin and poisons his whole bloodstream. Whatever Keith sees in him right now, it's something only Keith can see. Nobody else would ever give James these eyes. And he loathes it, loathes that when Keith looks at him like that, he can't brush it off. It stuns him into silence for a moment. ]

I-- I at least make an effort.

[ Unlike you. ]

An effort to what? Pretend you're nice when you're just am asshole in disguise?

[Perhaps he's going too far with this here, but Keith honestly does not care at this point. But he does continue to walk into the far end of the room.]

You really had those idiots fooled.

[ You really had those idiots fooled.

It rings in his head, for reasons entirely different than what Keith intended. It rings in his head because he remembers every time he's forced himself to laugh along with things against better knowledge and judgement and how bitter it had tasted in his mouth. He remembers every time waving goodbye from school muttering a word or another about 'family time' and then spent hours and hours learning about a world he'd never be able to tell anyone about.

This isn't what Keith is saying and even in his irritated state of mind James knows it isn't, but it's so easy to scratch at his mind and lay those memories bare. ]

I wasn't lying about my friendships.

[ Not about that. If nothing else.

James takes a moment before he picks up walking and following Keith again. ]

[Keith comes to a stop at the area lined with floor mats for hand-to-hand combat training. In the corner there are some targets for practicing kicks and punches, but they're not here for that, so those get ignored entirely. He stretches his arms one after another to loosen up a little.]

Yeah, right. Not like you ever showed them your nastier side. You think your friends would've liked you if you told them everything they were ever good at was just a fluke?

Edited 2019-03-04 02:36 (UTC)

[ James has caught up with Keith just in time for that comment and it has him looking at Keith, gaping. ]

What? It's-- it's not, they're nice people, they try really hard, what the fuck??

[ James is stuck on thoughts of himself and others now, thinking of himself as special and then trying not to, hovering in his bedroom. It doesn't click for him why Keith is bringing up this example. Not yet. ]

Yeah. What the fuck. You took the question right out of my mouth.

[Not the most helpful explanation here, but Keith rolls his eyes, giving his legs a quick stretch as well.]

[ James was a little too caught up in his general anger and bewilderment to follow suit in stretching himself, but the conversation has reached a weird smaller standstill now so he finally does the same.

And while he does it, Keith's meaning finally does catch up to him. His reply is not nearly as enraged-sounding this time. ]

... it's because you didn't look like you were ever putting effort into anything. Or did you? Did you just hide that too like everything else?

[ In a way that'd almost be relatable. ]

[There's an eyeroll at that.]

The hell does that have to do with anything? You were an asshole for saying it.

[ James considers that for a moment. Definitely a longer than appropriate moment.

But maybe, just maybe, what he says makes up for it a little: ]

Yeah. I was.

[ Because they are supposed to be roommates and not make that horribly awkward and because... well, framed the way Keith did now, James can see why it hurt. ]

[The acknowledgement surprises him, admittedly. The lack of an apology to accompany that however is the least surprising thing in the world. Keith sighs deeply, then just adopts a fighting stance, raising his arms and staying light on his feet.]

Unjustified use of past tense.

[A beat.]

C'mon. Show me what you got already.

[ James is admittedly relieved to get out of the conversation and into... whatever this is. The whatever is most definitely his own fault, but their bedroom conversation seems unreasonably long ago now. ]

Gladly.

[ He shifts his feet, getting himself into a more secure position, and tries to ban their talk from his mind entirely. Distractions aren't needed if he wants to prove a point here. Time to summon up Judo classes from days long past.

He's mostly done non-fighting work-outs through high school because it was better to flexibly plan his study time around, but he knew he'd never be able to allow himself to forget combat basics.

When he moves in for an attack, it's at least obvious that he fought before. ]

[There's only so much a conversation can accomplish and Keith's no longer interested in dealing with words anymore. Letting it go in favor of just pushing James around for a bit is a far more satisfying prospect than pointless banter about middle school.

Surprisingly, Keith recognizes the style of approach from childhood judo classes of his own -- something his dad had sent him to in order to work off some of his energy. Those classes were a long time ago though, and he's since adopted a more fluid style of combat. Something that'd probably make a professional judoka cry, but might win him the approval of an MMA fighter.

There's no hesitation. James moves in, and Keith simply pivots and throws out a quick kick to zone him out. Keep him out of grab range. Another kick to advance and drive James back towards the wall, followed by a quick grab of the shoulder and hip. Pushing forward to tip the other off balance, there's a quick sweep of his foot for a take down.]

Edited 2019-03-04 03:49 (UTC)

[ James avoids taking the fall, but he does so narrowly. Keith's style is... all over the place, way too creative for James to judge. He's used to fighting people who stick to the judo handbook just as strictly as he does and he's good at working within that framework. Keith is... something else entirely.

Something that has James on the defensive far more than he'd like, spending a ridiculous amount of energy to simply stay on his feet. He manages to get himself back into a more favorable position, manages to hold up a little, land a few movements on Keith....

And yet in the end, it's all over far more quickly than he'd like. ]

[James isn't bad -- Keith can tell that much pretty readily. Technique is there, execution is there, it's just an utter lack of flexibility or perhaps just general inexperience sparring with people who are proficient in martial arts other than judo. He grits his teeth as he maneuvers himself out of various grabs with hard elbow jabs to the ribs. Seeing an opening, he seizes it quickly, ducking down on one knee to yank James over his shoulder and rolls him onto his back. A moment later, Keith pins down both shoulders, pressing them firmly into the mat while sitting on the other's hips.]

You done now?

Edited 2019-03-04 04:15 (UTC)

[ He certainly is done. There's no way he can recover from this position that has him so firmly put in place. James stares up at Keith with grit teeth for a moment, unwilling to speak. Keith is heavy on him and he's way too aware of the other's power this way. Who allowed Keith to be this muscular anyway?

Eventually, James nods.]

I'll rematch you when I've gotten back into fighting properly.

[This is getting a dubious look at first, like he half expects this to be some dumb ploy on James' part. Get him to lower his guard maybe before trying something dirty; it's not like this guy has historically accepted defeat with any kind of grace. As such Keith stays put for a long moment,putting more weight on his hands to pin shoulders down even further.]

Will you now.

[ It reminds James a little of that time Keith hit him - or rather, that time Keith tried to beat him up in front of everyone. Pinned below Keith, helpless and losing. Only this time there's nobody else here, only this time there are no punches coming, only this time he got himself into this mess and he can only stare up at Keith defiantly as he simply lets him pin him down. ]

I will.

[ This might not be a public humiliation, but that's no reason for James to just let it stand.

After a pause, he adds: ] Your training really paid off.

[The defiant light in James eyes whenever they fight is just about the only time Keith actually finds himself relaxing around the other boy. There's a stripped down honesty in the anger that James can't pretty up and pretend doesn't exist for the sake of his plastic mask and seeing it is satisfying. It makes a corner of his lips turn upwards slightly,

That is, until the next part of what James has to say. Then he's just left feeling like he's missed his footing. Sure, he'd just said that James was an asshat for always brushing of his successes as flukes, but he wasn't expecting a change in rhetoric any time soon. His eyebrows lift, betraying his faint surprise before Keith can think better of it.]

Oh.

[Just that. This ineloquent little 'oh' until he kicks his brain back into gear. He doesn't need to put any weight on a tiny concession here, does he? James is a person with an endless supply of platitudes he doesn't mean. It's just how he is. And Keith is a person who doesn't have the time of day for those.

He gets off, dusting off his hands when he stands back up on his feet.]

You know playing nice now isn't gonna make me go easy on you, right.

[All the same, he holds his hand out to James to help him up. Take it or leave it, he doesn't care.]

[ That moment when Keith comprehends with James just said and they're just looking at each other in the world's most compromising position seems to stretch on forever, and James isn't sure how much more of it he can take. Keith's weight on top of him is starting to feel not threatening but intimate and James doesn't want any part of it. He almost sighs in relief when Keith finally gets off, though he can only get as far as to sitting up on the floor until his opponent throws another curve-ball his way.

That sure is an extended hand. The whiplash of being roommates with Keith is truly never-ending. James only takes a second to decide that he'll take Keith's hand. Good sportsmanship and all that. ]

It better won't. Otherwise what would even be the point of challenging you to a rematch?

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