[The ring skips the surface a bit after he throws it, before disappearing down to sit among the rocks - new and forgotten. Jules stares after it for a long beat, before looking sidelong at Dom again. Again, Jules isn't the smoothest at this - at apologies:]
[ Something's happening in the silence, Dom staring off and shifting like he's overcompensating, trying to hide something. An emotion, perhaps, or a whole cocktail of them. It's been a fucked up time. This has been such a fucked up place. It's going right back to that when this necklace comes alive, but for now — Dom feels the relief that things might be okay for a while and isn't sure what to do with that. Let alone when it's thanks to Julian. ]
… Yeah, [ He clears his throat. ] We're good. Thanks, Jules. It... it means a lot.
[Julian lets that sit between them, moving a little closer to Dom. He claps his hand against his back, and at first that's all that is. But then it becomes a sling around his shoulder, pulling him in. Closest thing to an upfront hug you'll get out of Julian when he's sober.]
[ The clap on his back is one thing, and then the next one has him staring, dark eyes caught with a blank uncertainty that eventually becomes a question: do I deserve to mean anything?
Jules could be saying that just to win him over. This whole thing might as well have been a play to rope Dom back into the group so they have their third witch to try again, or try something new. Just like Theo could be an impostor trying to steal Dom away from his loved ones, wearing his boyfriend's face as the lure. Everything and everyone could be awful — and Dom does give into that mentality too often — but now he walks the path where something good gets to feel real. In no small part because he hears it in Jules' heart.
Dom shifts, uses both arms to close the link that Jules wouldn't. A hug that lasts a few wordless seconds before he pulls away with a deep breath, hand on his shoulder. ]
[In those few seconds, Jules gets to feel something there too - it'd be evident that he liked it even though he doesn't make an effort to keep Dom close. But it was appreciated, even if he doesn't quite know what to do next. He wants to be a good leader, a good friend. All of his choices lately have been messing that up - he can't protect people by isolating them, he can't protect them with his actions alone. He has to trust them too. And now he's trusting Dom.
[ Something breaks, but it's good — Dom's smile reaches his eyes, looking off at the lake and where he remembers the ring hitting the water. His hand slips away to adjust the stupid necklace again, once more grateful that it wasn't one of the silver ones, though he'll be even more grateful once he gets rid of the fucking thing. ]
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... We good?
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… Yeah, [ He clears his throat. ] We're good. Thanks, Jules. It... it means a lot.
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[Julian lets that sit between them, moving a little closer to Dom. He claps his hand against his back, and at first that's all that is. But then it becomes a sling around his shoulder, pulling him in. Closest thing to an upfront hug you'll get out of Julian when he's sober.]
I'm glad. You - you mean a lot to me, bro.
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Jules could be saying that just to win him over. This whole thing might as well have been a play to rope Dom back into the group so they have their third witch to try again, or try something new. Just like Theo could be an impostor trying to steal Dom away from his loved ones, wearing his boyfriend's face as the lure. Everything and everyone could be awful — and Dom does give into that mentality too often — but now he walks the path where something good gets to feel real. In no small part because he hears it in Jules' heart.
Dom shifts, uses both arms to close the link that Jules wouldn't. A hug that lasts a few wordless seconds before he pulls away with a deep breath, hand on his shoulder. ]
You too.
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But it's scary and hard, so:]
Wanna go have a couple beers?
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Yeah, man. Sounds good to me.