Work Text:
Papillon was getting annoyed with this group of random people he just met. The girl (he already forgot her name, he really needed to pay attention to someone talking to her so he could figure out the name situation…) kept insisting and rushing things at an impulsive rate that was getting severely annoying. His tolerance for them gets lower and lower as minutes pass by.
Who barges into a conversation and asks, no demands, for a way into the catacombs from a stranger anyway? Desperate calls for desperate measures I guess. People will go to desperate measures if there is a need for it if a situation calls for it.
The only person of this raggedy trio he did know the name of was George for some reason. George interested him. He came along this journey even after the multiple times he has heard the guy say “I'm not going” or “I shouldn't be here.”
Yet he is here. George kind of interested him a slight bit. He wanted to talk to him? But he also did not want to talk to him personally. Or, well, any of this weird trio thing they got going on. He would like to get out of these catacombs, snatch his friends, and leave.
It's been hell the short amount of time they've been down here. You can't blame him for being a bit petty with the people that got him and his friends involved in this voodoo shit. Which was way worse than that weird cult group they passed and seen multiple times even before these people barged into his life.
This little tour, adventure, or whatever it's called needs to be over. That's what it felt like a stupid tour adventure thing. In the beginning, it was bearable, but they definitely got into some shit they don't want to be involved in. Papillon and his friends were definitely underqualified for some of the shit that's happening.
Guiding and getting around is what they can do. They can tell stories about the catacombs and bits of information but dealing with freaky voodoo shit? Nope. Nu huh. Sign them out (they couldn't back down now, I mean does it look like they got a way out?).
If they knew what they were getting into you can bet your ass off they would have said no. Still though besides all this voodoo shit and being in hell thing George really does interest him. A tidbit.
They were all mostly just sitting around in the meantime. While the girl, whose name he heard is apparently Scarlet, figured something out.
He sat separated from them all. He was close enough that he could hear what they were saying but far enough so he could see everyone and keep an eye on them. He was mostly watching Souxie and Zed. You have to keep an eye on your own, right? Either you do or nobody will.
Plus it would be a little awkward staring at the people he's not that close with. Might be a little weird to make eye contact with them. Especially George, who he noticed was looking at him. He wasn't going to confront him, why would he? It's kind of funny to see how he looks away so fast.
Maybe he likes having the attention on him like this too. Maybe he likes seeing George focus on him. Just maybe he was interested in George.
Papillon could feel the burn of George's gaze. He could see in the corner of his eye George sitting next to Scarlet and Benji who were no longer conversing more so it was just light conversation now. I guess they figured a rest was needed with all the adrenaline having drained from everyone.
He wanted to see what he had to do to make George crack. There wasn't much he could do since they were stuck in the catacombs, but he could do little things. See how long George could handle it before he does something.
And he knows George will do something. He could see it in his desperate eyes. Desperate to get out and to get Papillon to himself even if just for a second.
Papillon guesses this is what people meant by ‘love at first sight’ and having a ‘connection’ with them or something.
He shrugged to relieve his shoulders and tried to get into a more comfortable position. He could still feel George watching his every move.
He ruffled his hair, pushing it back out of his face before looking around and making eye contact with George in the process. He didn't look away immediately as that would have felt more awkward to him. Like he got caught doing something he shouldn't. He just gave a small smile and looked away before he could see what George does.
“What are you two doing?” He asks in English his accent dripping from his voice. He doesn't fully know why he was speaking in English when he wasn't talking to the other three in this small and cramped room. Maybe it was just on instinct with the whole speaking English almost the whole time so the other two could understand them.
Or maybe it is something involving George? Did he want to get George interested in what they were talking about? Maybe he did, and he didn't realize, so his mouth moved faster than his brain could even think.
“Just talking, we're huddling up 'cause we're cold,” the French answer shook him out of his head. He nodded, and he could understand why they were doing that. It was a bit chilly, surprisingly. He lets them go back to their own thing.
He was surprised to hear shuffling footsteps coming closer to him. He looked up, and the next thing he knew, George was next to him. He sat down, which made it easier, so Papillon didn't have to crane his neck to look at him. Even if George found Papillon incredibly pretty when looking up at him.
“Hey,” George said simply as he sat down. He was wringing his hand unconsciously.
“Bonjour,” Papillon said simply. He was thinking of the reasons George was sitting next to him so randomly. He could think of a lot of reasons but one stuck out to him. Maybe George thought of something when he was doing all the staring. When he was staring at Papillon so deeply, almost as if he was trying to figure out a puzzle.
“You okay?” George asks after a few seconds of silence between them.
“Yeah,” Papillon said with a heavy tone, leaning back against the steady stone wall. “Why wouldn't I be?”
“I don't know. You just don't look okay? And I know we're trapped down here, so of course you wouldn't be okay, but. How are you feeling?” He was staring at Papillon with such intensity, and the only other word he could explain George's gaze was care.
“Ah,” he says, slightly caught off guard. “I'm doing… okay right now considering everything,” he shrugs. He is doing okay right now, surprisingly, with everything that's happened.
“That's good” he trails off, his words cut off almost as if he was going to add on but decided not to.
Papillon decided to let George have his peace and not ask what he was going to say. George will say it if he wants to at his own pace. He'll give him the little time they have.
“So, why are you here? I mean here talking to me” Papillon clarified. “You could be talking with either of the people you actually know and not one you just met recently in a life-threatening situation.” He asked, an insecure tone slipping out but also confident as well.
He could guess why he was here but he wanted to hear him say it. Watch him fumble over his words. He likes watching people get flustered? Shy? Whatever it is he finds it nice to see such emotions directed towards him. That he was the reason they were acting like that. The attention is a plus. Especially when it’s someone he also likes. The mutual feeling makes him feel dizzy in the best way possible.
So it’s a good thing he might like George. As he said he finds him interesting. Papillon wants to get to know him in the tiny bit of time they have. With the short amount of rest, they will get to converse like this. The rest of the time they spend together will be running and figuring this stuff out. Surviving is the plan. Even if it feels far-fetched and out of reach at this point. So, he will take this moment in as much as he can.
“Just wanted to check in on you and talk to you,” George answered, almost as if he knew what Papillon was doing. Papillon almost frowned at that, it’s not pouting. He held his ground though. He was not going to get caught lacking by Souxie and Zed, he would be teased relentlessly about it. At least his frown was small enough that you had to properly look at him to tell that he was pouting, even if he said otherwise.
It makes George smile, so that’s a plus even if it was because of him ‘pouting’. George was smiling way too fondly at Papillon and it was kind of driving him insane. Man, why is love at first sight a thing? It’s driving him crazy. He wants out.
He relaxed against the stone wall behind him giving off a (false) sense of confidence. He looked back at Souxie and Zed again just to see what they were doing and if they were okay (and to look away from George).
George just watched how he looked at his friends and you could tell he cared for them. George was smiling waiting for Papillon to look back at him. He couldn't help but smile fondly at him. His eyes were soft and his smile curled up with affection glowing from it.
“Papillon?” George spoke quietly trying to make sure they could have a private conversation.
“Hm?” Papillon hummed in response. He wasn’t really looking at George but not in a way to avoid his gaze more so staring at something boredly when talking to someone as one does. He switches between staring randomly at something and looking back at George.
“At least look at me” George teased, making sure not to sound like Papillon was forced to. “Are you uh” he cuts himself off suddenly thinking of something and that got Papillon’s attention.
“Am I what?” He asked and you could tell he wanted to know. The eagerness is prominent in his voice.
George considered Papillon. He looked at him deeply while looking at him up and down and thinking of all the possible signs he was actually you know gay. Just the way Papillon has been acting in a sly type of way tells him a lot. His reaction to him sitting next to him and when they made eye contact earlier and overall everything.
“You know what I’m asking, are you into men?” he asked, almost whispering. Trying to not make it so the others won’t hear this conversation.
And that question had Papillon’s eyes light up. It was a win in his book that George is trying to pursue what he wanted to fast. I guess George also realized they might not have enough time to do this or ever really. They didn’t know if they were going to die down here. They didn’t know their future but it sure wasn’t looking too bright for them all.
“Maybe” was all Papillon said. He wanted to maybe rile George up just a bit. To see what George would do to get the answer he wants. Not just maybe George wants a yes or no answer to his question, and Papillon wasn’t making it easy for him.
“It’s a yes or no question,” he says flatly.” Are you or are you not? I think you know what this is implying, too,” he says, gesturing that he is, in fact, asking because he is also interested in knowing and doing.
“Oui, I am” Papillon gave in. He would have stretched it out longer but he didn’t want to waste the time they had. “I can figure out what you are implying but what are you going to do about it? We don’t have a lot of time so what are you going to do with this information? You can’t do much.” Papillon wasn’t trying to seem rude or put him down about this but he genuinely was curious.
“So, you would be interested in me like I am with you if we weren't stuck down here?” George was trying to figure him out.
“I’m not saying I’m not interested right now.” He remarked. He almost wanted to roll his eyes, he thought he put it out there pretty plainly that he was also interested but didn’t know what he would use it for.
“Oh?” He says, intrigued. “So, you are into me. I’m glad I wasn’t wrong about that,” he said cheekily.
George after getting the answer he wanted he looked at the others to make sure they weren’t paying attention to them at all and were too engrossed in their own conversations,
“I wanted to do this,” he said and kissed Papillon before he could answer, silencing him. It was a short kiss, and when George pulled away, he was stuck in place. Not from disgust or anything but shock? Being flustered? He wasn’t expecting it and couldn’t handle it.
George just smiled at him and was watching his expressions closely. Seeing Papillon so out of it from a simple kiss really amused him. It was quite cute to him.
When Papillon finally snapped out of his stupor, he really wanted to kiss George again. George could tell as well. It wasn’t like Papillon was trying really hard to hide it from George. In fact, it was almost as if he was trying to make it obvious to him.
George looked around again and then leaned in and kissed Papillon again. This time while softly holding his cheek in his hand. Almost creasing it. George savored the feeling of kissing the boy he has been thinking and looking at all day.
Papillon was in bliss. The kiss was amazing, and when George pulled away, he knew that he wanted to kiss George from now on as many times as he could.
“See? That's what I wanted to do with the information.” He put on a blinding smile as if he didn’t just rock Papillon’s world upside down.
Papillon hadn't thought of what he wanted to say so George sat back down next to him properly, not putting space between them again. They were sitting so close their thighs rubbing against each other in every movement they made.
“Yeah. That makes sense,” Papillon says; he didn’t have much else to say’ He was mostly still thinking of the kiss, and the shared intimacy and closeness right now is not helping.
George lightly laughs at that. He didn’t think he would get Papillon so… flustered. To add to the flustered or daydreaming he’s not doing, he saw Papillon’s hand on the ground between their thighs and decided to grab his hand. At first, when he placed his hand down next to Papillon’s, he just laced their pinkies together, which caught Papillon off guard. When he fully grasps Papillon’s hand he feels happy. It was nice to hold someone's hand so intimately.
“I like you,” George said as he lightly squeezed Papillon’s hand. “I wouldn’t have gone and done this fast but we don’t have much time and with the whole being stuck in the catacombs… We might not survive this so you know.” He shrugs and it was nice to have such a private moment even with others around. They were talking quietly and the others weren’t paying them any attention. Their thighs concealing the fact they were holding hands.
Papillon nods. That made sense to him, the catacombs were tricky and he doubted things would go nicely from now on.
“I like you too, you know’ his accent was thick at that admission and George squeezed his hand as a way to say ‘I know’ and they left it at that, falling into comfortable silence still holding hands.