Jono Starsmore (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
xp_chambers) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
xp_logs2025-03-11 03:03 pm
xp_chambers) wrote in xp_logs2025-03-11 03:03 pm
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Jono and Hank | Photos- backdated to January 20, 2025
Hank and Jono realize they have someone in common- backdated to January 20, 2025
Jono was in the shared living space of his suite, trying to make it look....lived in. It had come to his attention recently (via Ashley popping her head in while they were meeting up for a rock technique practice) that it didn't actually look like anyone lived there.
He didn't have a lot of ideas to decorate, he'd already put up everything he had in his room, so he'd gone and had a few photos printed. He'd already hung a picture of he and Match that the other man had taken, and one with Ashley where they looked like mismatched siblings, some pictures of him and his band that Paige had insisted on taking, awful touristy selfies of he and Paige in England, their first official picture as a couple. Now, all he had to do was straighten the last one, a picture from this past Halloween of him and Paige in costume.
Hank was, at heart, completely non-confrontational. Ever since his ill-timed exercise regime, he had ignored Jono as much as possible. He had no interest in having a conversation with the other man, lest he do something equally embarrassing. Instead, he did his best to tip toe in when he knew Jono was asleep, to study in the library or even to find another place to sleep. For whatever reason though, he decided it was a new year, and new Hank (it wasn't) so why not attempt to be friendly while clothed?
Therefore, he was in his room, watching Jono as Jono puttered around, and put pictures up, an idea that Hank thought was wonderful. He himself had no such photos to display, but perhaps he could hang his certifications....
When Jono moved away from the wall, Hank stood up and looked at the pictures. "Oh," he said loudly. "You know Paige. She is lovely, isn't she? I quite enjoyed her company as a paramour; however, I appreciate it even more as a studying partner."
Jono froze and did his best to sound polite. Respectful even. Not seething with rage. "Yes." He said. "I do know that my girlfriend is lovely. I also know that she wouldn't be overly fond to discover that someone is walking around telling people that they enjoyed having sex with her."
He didn't care that Paige had had sex with Hank before they'd gotten together. That was on him for being a coward about his feelings and also it was her body, she could have sex with whoever she wanted while single. Not his business. What he didn't like was the way Hank had said it. For fuck's sake, had anyone taught this guy how to speak to other human beings?
Hank choked a little. "I apologize. I was trying to socialize with my roommate and from what I understood, sharing stories of past interactions were part of it. I now know that was inappropriate of me. My sincerest apologies. I have the utmost respect for Paige, and for what I am assuming is a blossoming relationship with you. Congratulations. She is incredibly intelligent." He paused for a moment, hesitating slightly before continuing. "I can let her know that I no longer can study with her, if you would like. I have no desire to cause problems. I will let her know as well that I had shared this information with you, and apologize for it as well."
Jono dragged a hand down his face. "She can study with whoever the fuck she wants. I really couldn't give less of a shit. Just- for fuck's sake man, have you ever had a friend before? You don't just- we're practically strangers Hank. You shouldn't tell strangers about your sex life."
"But we live together," was his reply. Hank pointed to his bed, and then over to Jono's. "We share a space. We should share more if we want to expand our friendship."
"Yes, that we do. Which is another reason why you shouldn't open with your sex life." Jono said. "Remarkably, I don't want to know what you get up to. If you want to be my friend you could ask how my day was, or ask me about my trip back home to England, or what sorts of things I'm interested in. Not....mention that you enjoy having sex with the people I clearly care about."
Hank wanted to ask about England, and apologize again for the fact that he hadn't even noticed Jono had gone, but he was really trying to understand the message behind Jono's words. There were clear instructions being provided, and Hank appreciated being given exact steps. "I would like to be your friend. Thank you for this. I will not mention any more about my dalliances, which is simple as I've only really slept with Q since I got back ... and ... someone else." He was not going to say Paige's name again. "How was your day, Jono? I hope it went well."
"It was fine, just another day at the library, stocking shelves and the like. How was yours?" He awkwardly adjusted the clasp on the necklace Paige had gotten for him in London and then tried to smile by squinting his eyes. He could be friendly, it was fine. "Hope the room didn't feel too empty while I was gone for....nearly a month...."
A month? Even Hank had enough social skills to recognize that admitting he hadn't noticed would not be good. "I spent quite a bit of time studying during my free time. Went home for a week to see my parents. I am their only child, and they're quite elderly so it's important for me to spend time with them, but not enough time that they'd ask questions I wish to not answer." He paused. "Like why I have not aged. They are aware I should have, but we simply didn't touch that topic. My parents are fully mid-western, cisgendered, caucasians. We don't talk about issues, and that is how we maintain our relationship."
Hank reached up and rubbed at the back of his head. "I didn't realize you were working at the library. I haven't seen you there. Do you enjoy it?"
“I do, it’s good work.” Jono couldn’t help but laugh, as Hank described his relationship with his parents. “I get that, I was back in England for over a week and didn’t see my parents once. There’s nothing wrong with them we just aren’t close. I don’t think they know how to handle the….fire and lack of internal organs.”
"I always forget that is something you are living with." It wasn't meant to be said with malice, but honestly, once Hank was told it was none of his business, he didn't think about it anymore. Science, and the pursuit of knowledge was one thing . Asking a person their particulars to do with their mutation and such was another. "My parents are well aware of my genetic quirks. It's the fact that I was never a child per se that bothers them because they feel they failed me by not providing a childhood. I have always been considered a genius. It is not very conducive to making friends."
"I moved out at seventeen and had spent a lot of time before that out with my band almost every night. We just...once I could be fairly independent we didn't really have much to talk about." Jono shrugged. "It's not a big deal. I rather publicly exploded so my parents are very aware they just...they're pretty normal working class people- this is...it's not that they couldn't handle it, it's more that we aren't close enough for them to know how to handle it when it's me, y'know? We aren't like Paige's family where everyone's placing bets on who's next to develop a mutation."
Hank nodded. "The dominant traits in that family are fascinating. They'd make an excellent longitudinal study, especially once their socioeconomic and cultural factors are taken into consideration.... NOT that I'm advocating any type of human experimentation or anything remotely representing that," he added hurriedly. "It is simply interesting enough that others would be also fascinated. I personally would never advocate for human testing that wasn't surrounded with the strictest of protocols, by the way. First and foremost being informed consent."
Jono blinked for a moment and then sighed. "Okay, so going out on a limb here, I'm assuming you didn't have friends as a kid? You aren't going to win many talking like that....we can fix that."
Jono was in the shared living space of his suite, trying to make it look....lived in. It had come to his attention recently (via Ashley popping her head in while they were meeting up for a rock technique practice) that it didn't actually look like anyone lived there.
He didn't have a lot of ideas to decorate, he'd already put up everything he had in his room, so he'd gone and had a few photos printed. He'd already hung a picture of he and Match that the other man had taken, and one with Ashley where they looked like mismatched siblings, some pictures of him and his band that Paige had insisted on taking, awful touristy selfies of he and Paige in England, their first official picture as a couple. Now, all he had to do was straighten the last one, a picture from this past Halloween of him and Paige in costume.
Hank was, at heart, completely non-confrontational. Ever since his ill-timed exercise regime, he had ignored Jono as much as possible. He had no interest in having a conversation with the other man, lest he do something equally embarrassing. Instead, he did his best to tip toe in when he knew Jono was asleep, to study in the library or even to find another place to sleep. For whatever reason though, he decided it was a new year, and new Hank (it wasn't) so why not attempt to be friendly while clothed?
Therefore, he was in his room, watching Jono as Jono puttered around, and put pictures up, an idea that Hank thought was wonderful. He himself had no such photos to display, but perhaps he could hang his certifications....
When Jono moved away from the wall, Hank stood up and looked at the pictures. "Oh," he said loudly. "You know Paige. She is lovely, isn't she? I quite enjoyed her company as a paramour; however, I appreciate it even more as a studying partner."
Jono froze and did his best to sound polite. Respectful even. Not seething with rage. "Yes." He said. "I do know that my girlfriend is lovely. I also know that she wouldn't be overly fond to discover that someone is walking around telling people that they enjoyed having sex with her."
He didn't care that Paige had had sex with Hank before they'd gotten together. That was on him for being a coward about his feelings and also it was her body, she could have sex with whoever she wanted while single. Not his business. What he didn't like was the way Hank had said it. For fuck's sake, had anyone taught this guy how to speak to other human beings?
Hank choked a little. "I apologize. I was trying to socialize with my roommate and from what I understood, sharing stories of past interactions were part of it. I now know that was inappropriate of me. My sincerest apologies. I have the utmost respect for Paige, and for what I am assuming is a blossoming relationship with you. Congratulations. She is incredibly intelligent." He paused for a moment, hesitating slightly before continuing. "I can let her know that I no longer can study with her, if you would like. I have no desire to cause problems. I will let her know as well that I had shared this information with you, and apologize for it as well."
Jono dragged a hand down his face. "She can study with whoever the fuck she wants. I really couldn't give less of a shit. Just- for fuck's sake man, have you ever had a friend before? You don't just- we're practically strangers Hank. You shouldn't tell strangers about your sex life."
"But we live together," was his reply. Hank pointed to his bed, and then over to Jono's. "We share a space. We should share more if we want to expand our friendship."
"Yes, that we do. Which is another reason why you shouldn't open with your sex life." Jono said. "Remarkably, I don't want to know what you get up to. If you want to be my friend you could ask how my day was, or ask me about my trip back home to England, or what sorts of things I'm interested in. Not....mention that you enjoy having sex with the people I clearly care about."
Hank wanted to ask about England, and apologize again for the fact that he hadn't even noticed Jono had gone, but he was really trying to understand the message behind Jono's words. There were clear instructions being provided, and Hank appreciated being given exact steps. "I would like to be your friend. Thank you for this. I will not mention any more about my dalliances, which is simple as I've only really slept with Q since I got back ... and ... someone else." He was not going to say Paige's name again. "How was your day, Jono? I hope it went well."
"It was fine, just another day at the library, stocking shelves and the like. How was yours?" He awkwardly adjusted the clasp on the necklace Paige had gotten for him in London and then tried to smile by squinting his eyes. He could be friendly, it was fine. "Hope the room didn't feel too empty while I was gone for....nearly a month...."
A month? Even Hank had enough social skills to recognize that admitting he hadn't noticed would not be good. "I spent quite a bit of time studying during my free time. Went home for a week to see my parents. I am their only child, and they're quite elderly so it's important for me to spend time with them, but not enough time that they'd ask questions I wish to not answer." He paused. "Like why I have not aged. They are aware I should have, but we simply didn't touch that topic. My parents are fully mid-western, cisgendered, caucasians. We don't talk about issues, and that is how we maintain our relationship."
Hank reached up and rubbed at the back of his head. "I didn't realize you were working at the library. I haven't seen you there. Do you enjoy it?"
“I do, it’s good work.” Jono couldn’t help but laugh, as Hank described his relationship with his parents. “I get that, I was back in England for over a week and didn’t see my parents once. There’s nothing wrong with them we just aren’t close. I don’t think they know how to handle the….fire and lack of internal organs.”
"I always forget that is something you are living with." It wasn't meant to be said with malice, but honestly, once Hank was told it was none of his business, he didn't think about it anymore. Science, and the pursuit of knowledge was one thing . Asking a person their particulars to do with their mutation and such was another. "My parents are well aware of my genetic quirks. It's the fact that I was never a child per se that bothers them because they feel they failed me by not providing a childhood. I have always been considered a genius. It is not very conducive to making friends."
"I moved out at seventeen and had spent a lot of time before that out with my band almost every night. We just...once I could be fairly independent we didn't really have much to talk about." Jono shrugged. "It's not a big deal. I rather publicly exploded so my parents are very aware they just...they're pretty normal working class people- this is...it's not that they couldn't handle it, it's more that we aren't close enough for them to know how to handle it when it's me, y'know? We aren't like Paige's family where everyone's placing bets on who's next to develop a mutation."
Hank nodded. "The dominant traits in that family are fascinating. They'd make an excellent longitudinal study, especially once their socioeconomic and cultural factors are taken into consideration.... NOT that I'm advocating any type of human experimentation or anything remotely representing that," he added hurriedly. "It is simply interesting enough that others would be also fascinated. I personally would never advocate for human testing that wasn't surrounded with the strictest of protocols, by the way. First and foremost being informed consent."
Jono blinked for a moment and then sighed. "Okay, so going out on a limb here, I'm assuming you didn't have friends as a kid? You aren't going to win many talking like that....we can fix that."