[Filtered to Herbert West]

[eighttimeshandy]

Herbert. Herrrrrrrrrbert.

I did something stupid.

I did something really stupid, and I need you to tell me how stupid I am.

Help me regain control of my liiiiiiiiife.

Comments

[preanimator]

[Herbert's thoughts are running along rather different lines. After all, for him the possibility of kissing anyone hadn't entered his mind until just a very little bit ago. Yes, he'd maybe started noticing some people less for their minds over the summer, but there was a big leap from that to thinking that he would ever do anything with anybody.

He mimics the taller boy, pulling his own robe off and setting it neatly aside. He finds himself blinking, caught by the way his friend licks his lips. That really shouldn't be quite so interesting as it is, and color rises in his cheeks again as he glances down.

He tries to steady his own nerves as he sits down on the (so typically Eriq) couch next to the other boy, then considers a moment before taking off his glasses and setting those aside, too. It puts the world into soft focus, but that's almost better, easier to handle. The lack of the severe black frames make his dark eyes look that much bigger as he turns to Eriq.]

Are you. Ah. Ready?

[eighttimeshandy]

[The little blush on Herbert's cheeks is an odd boost of confidence, and he nods, licking his lips again. This'll be just like Chicken with Arthur, only more deliberate, he just has to keep that in mind.]

[Wrapping one arm around Herbert's shoulders, he leans in with a soft smile, gently brushing his nose over the other boy's cheek.] I am very ready.

[preanimator]

[It might be like Chicken with Arthur, except Herbert's reaction is very different. Instead of it being a sort of back and forth flirtation, the smaller boy's breath catches in his throat, and he stares at Eriq with the kind of fierce concentration that usually only gets directed at his experiments. With an arm around him, Eriq can probably feel the tension in his shoulders, the quiver in the taut muscle, the heat through his worn shirt.

And then Herbert is turning his head the little bit he needs to and is pressing his lips against the Slytherin's without the faintest idea of what he's doing, but a desperate desire to make it work, to be good at this, to impress his friend and maybe make him want to do it again. There is absolutely no skill involved and far too many intense emotions - when Herbert decides to do something, he does it with a single-minded intensity that can be almost frightening, and he throws himself at it without any thought of the consequences, which is exactly what he's doing now.]

[eighttimeshandy]

[Maybe Herbert's not very good, but Eriq has no way of knowing any different, and the sheer amount of emotional intensity sort of blows him away. He didn't even believe any of that junk about feeling emotions through kisses, and yet here he was, suddenly feeling just a little bit overwhelmed.]

[And really, he had no idea what to think of it, how to respond to it. The best he figures he can do is hesitantly kiss back, bringing his hand up to cup the other boy's cheek as a sign of encouragement]

[preanimator]

[That's good enough for Herbert, who settles his hands on Eriq's chest for lack of a better idea of what to do with them. It feels pretty weird to just press his lips steadily against the other boy's, so he tries to readjust a little, tipping his head slightly one way, slightly the other, trying to find the proper angle. He feels like he should be doing something more with his mouth, but he's not sure what, and he presses in closer, one arm sliding around the taller boy's neck.]