[PRP][PLOT] Coming Out (Menahem + Rhoea)

[Menelie]

Menahem, having finished his shift in the kitchens and showered again (so as not to have a potentially life-altering conversation stinking of sweat and garlic), took a seat in the corner booth at Mojo's, waiting for Rhoea to show. He hoped that he wouldn't bring Tirzah with him. Not that Mena didn't like Tirzah--she was very pleasant company--but he was eager to have a private conversation with his bro.

He ordered two pints from the bartender, and thanked the server who brought them over. He sipped at his and twiddled his fingers nervously. What would he even say? He'd already decided that, one way or another, today was going to be the day he reminded (because he knew he'd told him at least once before) Rho that he was interested in men. Would today also be the day he told his bro that he was interested in him specifically?

Oh, what a mess.

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

Well Rhoea had just had a most wonderful and enjoyable afternoon - why it was so delightful he and his newfound roommate(-with-benefits) Tirzah found themselves accidentally skipping dinner because of it. In fact, if it was anyone but his best bro he was supposed to be meeting right now, he'd probably have skipped leaving his alcove altogether.

But alas... bros before hoes... and all that s**t.

He flexed his arms in front of him before rolling a shoulder as he walked on over, his face very visibly showing him going through an internal monologuing pep talk, deciding how he was going to approach his bud, what topic (you know the one) he was most certainly going to try his best to avoid, what food he was gonna order to go with the meal. His hand clenched into a fist as he nodded with quite the confident grin to himself, gameplay decided, and entered Mojo's.

It didn't take much time at all to find his bro-in-arms (disregarding that recently-relevant pun) in the usual spot towards the back, to which he raised an arm and beamed. He made a playful pass at a waitress while asking for an order of the evening's special and heading on over.

"Eyyy, sup brah. Thanks for orderin' my beer for me!" he grinned, sat on down, and took a hefty swig of it. "How was work? Ya look like ya washed the stank off before coming here."

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Menahem chucked his chin at Rho in greeting, taking another swallow of his beer. "Yeah, same s**t as always, figured I'd clean up in case you brought Tirzah." He coughed. What a lame excuse. "I'd never live it down, y'know?"

"How was your day?" he asked in return. Rho's too-cheerful demeanor suggested that he and Tirzah (he presumed) had passed an excellent afternoon together. How could he tell? Years of observation. He figured that Rho and Tirzah were practically a "thing" now. She'd seemed pretty taken with him.

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

Fair enough point - Rhoea was making an effort to be even more presentable than usual with her around. He smirked before shrugging as he neutralized his expression with a coy, "Who knows~?" and took a more reserved drink this time.

Couldn't drink too quickly this time - he'd learned what could happen when one got drunk without a plan in advance...

His smug demeanor returned as he leaned forward to highlight his daily exploits... minus the juiciest bits, of course. He wasn't going to talk about Tirzah like some random bimbo he'd hooked up with just out of boredom or curiosity... at least without her clear consent first anyways. "Well, after we peaced out from ya, Tirzah wanted a shower... which is fine and all, but, like, I ain't got s**t for a girl to wash with you know? They usually leave before all that, so it, like, hella slipped my mind."

"So then I had the question - who do I ask for girlie soaps? Can't just hit up any ol' female here, y'know how hella awkward that would be? Like nah. No way! But! The thing is, I got a sister right? BAM. Problem solved. Sis looked pretty pissed that we just dropped by on her day off, but, like, how was I supposed to even know it was? We've been gone for like a month at this point."

"Actually... if we hadn't brought back Tirzah... Damn we coulda gotten in HELLA trouble from the guards for leaving for so long without permission..." Especially considering his Gramps and all, it seemed they'd lucked out.

"Whatever. But yeah. So Sis gave her some soap and we went back to my place... and it was musty as ********. Had to open a window. I also noticed how kinda drab it is compared to Las Venus... maybe I should get a plant to spice the place up a bit more? But taking care of it or having to clean more is a major pain and gets in the way of my bulking space..."

He turned to thank the waitress as she set down a lightly-fried half of cornish hen, paired with some steamed potatoes and a fresh, dressed salad, before looking back at his bro and continuing rather nonchalantly.

"But yeah anyways. She took a shower, we banged (plzGaiaPG13), took a nap, and then she wanted to keep sleepin' and bailed on this. Seemed like she was pretty worn out." He finished his recollection with a smug-a** grin, quite confident he was to blame for that, before finishing off his beer and taking a bite outta his meal.

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Menahem sipped his drink as he listened to Rho talk about his day. It was more or less what he'd expected. He chuckled with amusement when he described introducing Tirzah to his sister. What an experience that must've been. His understanding of Alba was that she was not generally here for Rho's antics.

He looked away as Rho began to eat. After his evening in the kitchen he couldn't stomach the idea of eating cooked food, though he was hungry, so he'd ordered a bowl of dried mushrooms and nuts from the bar to nibble on. Menahem also sent up a silent thank-you to Tirzah for "bailing" on them, so he could have a private moment with his bro.

Honestly, Rho's description of his more "intimate" activities didn't even faze Mena at this point. He'd heard it a lot. Though it didn't escape him that he seemed to be describing Tirzah with a lot more respect than his average one night stand. He must really like her. And why shouldn't he? They were a handsome couple, though it panged his heart to admit it.

He paused a long time before speaking. "I, uh....I was hoping we could have a somewhat serious conversation," he said softly, watching Rho's face and body carefully for a response.

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

"Yeah bro, I think I've been reawakened - muscles and curves on a female are def better than those willowy-types." He turned to wave for another round of beers before taking a few hefty bites out of his chicken. The flavor was good, and the skin crisp, but it really just wasn't the same as you'd find in the communal hall. Maybe he'd grown a bit homesick in his time away after all... not that he'd ever admit something like that.

He glanced up at his bro, eyeing his expression, before glancing back down at his food. Something told him he wouldn't like where this was going - the hair on the back of his neck was practically standing up as his intuition yelled 'no thanks'.

"Do we have to?"

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Menahem raised his eyebrows and took another drink. "The longer we wait the more it's gonna suck," he countered. And I've already waited long enough that it's already gonna SUPER suck.

He cleared his throat. "Y'know how sometimes you like, meet someone, and they tell you their name, and then you forget it....and then you keep talking, and you can't ask their name again because now it's been too long and it'd be awkward? It's gonna be one of those conversations." He looked off into the distance and finished his drink, then thanked the server who brought them another round. He waited for the server to leave before continuing.

"You remember when we first started hanging out, and you were telling me about a girl you'd hooked up with, and I said something dumb like, I wouldn't know, and you said that you were gonna set me up with a girl?" He paused to wait for Rho to remember this conversation. "D'you remember what I told you, why you never did set me up with the girl?"

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

He... already did not want this to happen lol.

"Yeah, bro, that's awk as all hell. Can't tell you how many times I've woken up the next day and don't even remember what their name is... except I probably have told ya, huh?" His facial expression and words remained playful, but his tone betrayed the increasing level of awkward he was beginning to feel. Try as he might, he really sucked at hiding his thoughts and emotions. He shook his head, opting for a drink rather than some of his food and avoiding eye contact. "Gonna be honest, no idea. Completely forgot. Also I def kept trying to set you up with some."

"But uh... yeah... I think I get it now..."

"I mean, we looked everywhere for you when the lights went off, y'know? First thing we did. Had to make sure you were safe... And then there you were, more interested in hookin' up with some rando than me."

Was he sulking?

"Guess 'bros before hoes' means jack s**t when you're into other bros, huh?"

Yeah, he was still kind of sulking from that.

He shrugged and let the silence hang as he resumed eating his meal, going for the potatoes this time before they grew cold.

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Menahem flinched, as if he'd been slapped. He certainly felt like it. He blushed hot and red and looked away. "I'm not proud of that," he said softly. He rubbed the back of his head. He'd sort of forgotten about that. He couldn't properly remember what had happened the next day. He'd felt out of control, foggy, as if he were moving under another power. But that wasn't an excuse.

Mena also fell quiet and stared at his drink. This certainly wasn't how he'd envisioned this conversation to go. But what had he expected? He'd definitely expected to be more in control of the conversation--and his emotions--than was currently happening. He expected Rho to be, what? Embarrassed at having forgotten this critical detail? Sure. Flippant? Of course, what else would he be? But hurt? That was the last thing Menahem had wanted or expected. And yet, here he was, clearly hurting.

What could he say? He rested his elbow on the table, chin in his palm, knuckles covering his lips. He wanted to explain himself, how the only reason he wasn't with them in the first place is he wanted to give Rho some space after the night before. Was Menahem hurt that Rho didn't really talk to him for that whole day? Sure he was. But that wasn't really relevant right now. So, he just settled on: "I'm sorry."

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

Rho glanced upwards as Mena spoke before shrugging again, "We both did some things we weren't proud of there. But, I mean, you were safe in the end, so guess that's all that matters, yeah?" He broke eye contact at that before poking at a cherry tomato in the salad for a bit, his appetite somewhat waning from the conversation. That said, couldn't get gains without food, so it was only a few moments before he resumed in fake earnest.

He honestly wasn't intending to come across the way he knew he was - Rho didn't get why it'd irked him so much, and he was at least somewhat cognizant that he was being unreasonable about the whole thing.

But it still kind of upset him, and he really didn't want to talk about it.

"That all? Can we switch topics?"

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

"We both did some things we weren't proud of there."

Menahem felt himself blush again. It was obvious what Rho was talking about, which answered a lot of Mena's questions. Again, this was what he'd expected, but he was still hurt and disappointed. He tried to shake it off. He could mourn about it later.

Now, uh, didn't seem like an appropriate time for a long-awaited declaration of love, but he wasn't finished with this conversation quite yet. He took a long drink of his beer and shook his head. "I got one other thing, might as well clear all the air. I think you know what I'm referring to. All I wanna know is: are we cool?"

There was actually....quite a bit more Menahem wanted to know, but he'd save it for now. He'd carry the memories of that night with him as treasured possessions for a long time, but it wouldn't matter if they couldn't be bros anymore.

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

Rho's fork twitched as Mena kept on about the topic... except that he didn't. He instead switched to the one thing that Rho had managed to temporarily forget about while he was sulking, only to have it be brought right back up. Contrary to what his friend believed, that wasn't what he'd been referring to with his prior snarky comment, but rather the silent treatment he'd given him.

Ah <********... uh..." Well now all his sassiness had been abruptly exchanged with embarrassment, and he could feel everything to the tips of his ears flush slightly. "Can we, like, just pretend that never happened?" Okay shut up Rho. "Like, pretty sure bros ain't supposed to do that..." Shut up Rho. "Even if is was lit..." Shut. Up. Rho.

Okay, Rho shutting up.

He took a sizable drink to do just that.

"Yeah, we cool."

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Menahem went through a whole wave of reactions to Rho's rambling, and he wasn't exactly sure how much showed up on his face. He was sad again when Rho suggested they pretended that it never happened. This had been his expected response, but it still stung.

And yeah, fair point, bros probably weren't supposed to do that for exactly the awkwardness they were now experiencing.

"Even if it was lit..."

Now this sparked more of a return to Menahem's typical personality. A smug little smile crept onto his face. Of course it had been good. Menahem was a very thorough partner.

And then it clicked into place for him--Rho was babbling not because he was ashamed, but because he'd enjoyed himself and didn't know how to process that. Menahem finished his drink, satisfied with this conclusion, and motioned to the bartender for another round.

He felt a wave of relief wash over him and couldn't help himself: he began to giggle. "Great," he said in response, clinking his pint against Rho's. "Now, for the love of Artemis let's change the subject." His whole body language had changed--his posture was more relaxed and he was smiling (with an occasional giggle still slipping out).

Now that this was all out, he wondered if Rho might wingman for him for real, but he figured he'd broach that topic another day.

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

Rho ventured a glance upward as he set his glass down just to see Mena's smug-a** grin looking at him. His face flushed again as he pouted and furrowed his brow. He finished his glass, set it down rather forcefully on the table, and then half-glared at him, "See, THIS is why I didn't want to bring it up! What's so damn funny, huh?" He readily took hold of the new brew and took another big drink from it before continuing to glare forward.

"No, it's not 'great.' You don't get to just bring that up, laugh at me, and then change the subject with such a self-satisfied grin. Oh hell no."

Yes, he was taking this unnecessarily personally, either due to his own sense of pride or the alcohol. Maybe a bit of both. That said, he also really didn't want to contribute anything new. It was a complicated sort of ******** you bro."

That was his masterful comeback as he huffed and glared and probably continued to dig himself into a hole.

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Menahem tried hard, mostly successfully, to quell the giggles. It wasn't even that funny, he was just so goddamn relieved. "You're right, you're right, I'm sorry," he said with an ameliorating hand gesture, trying not to snort. He took a drink of his beer and relaxed back into his seat.

He took a deep breath and blew it out in a happy sigh, cheeks flushed. "Whew....Earthmother's hooves, Rho, I thought you'd never want to talk to me again. By the Earth."

Daisicle