anddowntothesea | OPEN - And every love will always bring me down to the sea

He's been meaning to do it since he got back into town but, for various reasons, it's been put off. Still, it now looks like he doesn't have work this week, so he's really got no excuse. The boat herself had a fresh coat of paint not so long ago, so that'll keep, but the sign hasn't been touched since before his father died. His Ma always says that the devil finds work for idle hands.

He's set up on the deck of the Ariadne, stripped down to tank and holed jeans, hair pulled back from his face as he sketches in pencil. He's settled on letting that he likes and now it's just a case of making it fit. And if he's a little pre-occupied, and if he has to restart letters a few more times than he'd like, then he figures that he's not entirely to blame.

He sings to himself while he works, scraps of songs that his Ma used to sing to him and Gale when they were younger; she'd stopped singing by the time Connor was born. But Gabe's feeling okay today, with the sun on his shoulders and a paintbrush in his hand, on his boat, on the water. Yes, life is sometimes baffling, but there are plenty of reasons to be grateful.

ooc: find Gabe on deck of the Ariadne down in the harbor. If your pup is Siren Cove born and bred, feel free to assume a relationship - just let me know! :D

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He watches the shadow come across Davin's face and almost regrets asking. He sets down the brush and gets up, coming to lean against the rail beside Davin. He doesn't put his arm around him but he bumps his shoulder against Davin's.

"I'm sorry for your troubles, man."

"Aye, I'll be alright," Davin assures him, giving him a resilient smile and knocking his shoulder in return. "What doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger, right?"

He reaches up to brush his fingers idly against the faint, silvery scar at his temple. "I'm feelin' like that's gotta be true."

"Yeah, but it's better to have not gone through it at the start," he says, scratching his jaw. When Davin draws attention to the scar, Gabe leans in, looking at without touching. "What happened?"

Derek flinches slightly at the question, because he's never had to tell anyone what happened. He doesn't go anywhere, and everyone in town knows. It was all over the news.

"Uh, well. A bunch o' stuff," Davin says with a humorless laugh, brows furrowing as he looks down at his hands. There's a phantom ache in his fingers and he remembers what they looked like, all broken and purple. "But back in May me an' a friend were kidnapped."

It sounds so weird to say out loud, that he was kidnapped. It still doesn't really feel real. He shivers, remembering the chill of that warehouse, and instinctively presses himself closer to Gabe. "It was... rough. But we made it out."

Davin presses closer and, without thinking about it, Gabe lifts his arm and drops it around the younger man's shoulders. Things might have changed between them but not so much that he can't offer a little human comfort when it's needed.

"I'm sorry, man."

"It's okay," Davin says, smiling over at Gabe when his arms go around Davin's shoulders. It's comforting, and yeah, they have a bit of a history, but they're friends. At least, Davin thinks they are. "I'm pretty tough, y'know. Takes a lot t'keep me down."

"Good," says Gabe, letting him go, hands hanging between his thighs for a second. "What else has been going on? It can't be all bad."

"No, it isn't," Davin tells him, feeling a little awkward about having been so close only after Gabe pulls away. He shakes it off easily enough and pulls his tank out of his waistband once his skin starts to feel a little sensitive from the sun and pulls it over his head. "Uh, well. I got a whole new staff at the shop. A great group o' guys that I get along with, for the most part. So that's good."

He bites his lip, cheeks going slightly pink as he ducks his head to hide a smile. "An' I'm seein' someone. It's goin' pretty well, I think."

"A whole new staff, huh? That's got to be exciting," says Gabe. When Davin mentions seeing someone, he brightens, pleased for his friend -- which he supposes is a good and healthy indication that they were never meant to be. "Tell me more."

Gabe's reaction pleases Davin, and he gives him a big smile. He knows that it isn't always easy to be friends with someone you've hooked up with. Davin has a few acquaintances that he's friendly with when he sees them, but the only person he's really been able to develop a bond with has been Coop. And maybe now, Gabe.

"Yeah, James Thornton. Do ya know him?" Davin supposes that he would have at least heard of him, growing up in Siren Cove. "We've been together since February."

Gabe has been working on building bridges since he got back into town. Naked or not naked, he always had a good time with Davin and he doesn't see why that should change. His eyebrows raise at the name, though.

"We don't exactly move in the same social circles," he says. "But, yeah, I know the name."

"Neither did we," Davin says with a laugh, because that's for certain. "We met while he was workin' on a case, an' he was kind of an ass at first. Well, he's still kind of an sometimes, but he won me over."

Davin's tone is obviously fond, and he bites his bottom lip to keep from grinning as he looks over at Gabe with a shrug. "I wasn't expectin' it, but he asked me out. Goin' on six months now an' I haven't messed up yet, so that's good."

"Man, that's awesome," says Gabe, clapping a hand between Davin's shoulderblades. God only knows when he'll be ready to feel like something could last long term again, but he's so pleased for Davin. "I've been...seeing a lot of people."

Davin laughs at that, cutting Gabe a look and knocking their shoulders together. "I know how that goes. But I'm still the best ya ever had, right?"

He's teasing, and he gives Gabe a wink. "C'mon, it's okay. Ya can admit it."

OPEN - And every love will always bring me down to the sea

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