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Layle & Keiss [Triple Drabble] Rated T
"A balcony conversation about honesty."
Open, honest conversation didn’t come easily to Layle. Not like it seemed to Keiss, at least. The Selkie had no issue telling him about the various scars across his body, the tattoos he chose to try to cover them, and what drove him to the brink in the first place. It’s admirable. Enviable. He sounds free when he talks, as if he were just discussing the weather, when most would shy away from the topic or pretend the problem never existed in the first place.
“You’re surprisingly honest about this for someone who guards his dumber secrets like his life depends on it.” Layle said, leaning against the balcony while Keiss smoked in the night.
It takes him a few moments to answer. “It’s not a secret anymore. I wouldn’t have told you myself, but you already know so...” He words trail off and he takes a long drag of his cigarette to buy himself time. “...I want to control how people see me. You included.”
“It’s not like I’d see you as any less.” Layle scratches the crystal on his face. “I’m not in a position to judge anyone.”
Keiss offers him the cigarette. “Is this your best attempt at opening up? You have tells, you know.”
The glowing, burning stick in front of him seems tempting not because he’s particularly inclined to smoke, but because he wonders if it would make him a little more personable, too. Some of his previous partners would bond over their vices. Reluctantly, he takes it and tries to imitate Keiss, nearly choking himself on smoke in the process. He drops the cigarette over the edge of the balcony, into the sea of darkness below, and his partner is laughing while patting his back, making fun of him for being a confident idiot.