In a way, that caution is part of what makes their closeness special to Barcus. For the first time in Caldera he was able to consider what it must be like to leave everything familiar behind, shake off the vestiges of an identity that you never really wanted, and emerge into a whole new world only to have everyone look at you like some sort of monster you never were. Bel has made choices that must have taken extraordinary courage.
A single gnome can't give every drow defector a soft landing, but he'll be thinking of this man every time he meets one, now, and looking for every chance to give them the benefit of the doubt. That has to mean something.
He just didn't expect it to mean this. Bel is objectively attractive, and shockingly kind, and Barcus would be an idiot not to notice that, but there's a gulf between warm feelings and...a relationship? Friends with benefits? He'd ask what exactly they're considering here, except it doesn't seem like Bel is entirely sure, either.
He blinks up at him for a moment, then gives him a slow, sweet smile and places his hand over his gently. "I have, in fact, been eyeing your neck since you sat beside me, which is not typically platonic behavior. It's not just the drink."
"We probably should have had this conversation without me under the influence, but I'm not drunk, I just want to bite you more than is normal for me." ...Barcus. Really.
"You've made a huge difference in me. The way I think about myself, and my kin, and the Underdark. That's important. I...I want this but I want to be careful not to hurt our friendship, either. Does that make sense?"
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A single gnome can't give every drow defector a soft landing, but he'll be thinking of this man every time he meets one, now, and looking for every chance to give them the benefit of the doubt. That has to mean something.
He just didn't expect it to mean this. Bel is objectively attractive, and shockingly kind, and Barcus would be an idiot not to notice that, but there's a gulf between warm feelings and...a relationship? Friends with benefits? He'd ask what exactly they're considering here, except it doesn't seem like Bel is entirely sure, either.
He blinks up at him for a moment, then gives him a slow, sweet smile and places his hand over his gently. "I have, in fact, been eyeing your neck since you sat beside me, which is not typically platonic behavior. It's not just the drink."
"We probably should have had this conversation without me under the influence, but I'm not drunk, I just want to bite you more than is normal for me." ...Barcus. Really.
"You've made a huge difference in me. The way I think about myself, and my kin, and the Underdark. That's important. I...I want this but I want to be careful not to hurt our friendship, either. Does that make sense?"