An Afternoon In - tags Griff, Danny

[Riley Adams]

Riley subconsciously seconded Danny's thoughts as he surveyed the whole incident. He didn't mind the mess, frankly, he liked messy. It was weird but he liked how accomplished he always feels when dirty things get cleaned.

Obsessive personality aside, having Danny and Griff grinning from ear to ear while throwing clay around like they weren't already closing in on fifty years old, Riley was actually pretty happy. He found that he could tap into his inner child with these men and it was safe. And not to mention loads of fun!

The landscaper laughed at his bespectacled friend and nodded. "Best you wash up here before you leave." He said, echoing Griff's sentiments. He laughed a little harder when Griff continued on. "I regret nothing." He teased with a huge smile on his face.

Riley sobered considerably when Griff suggested dinner. He loved having dinners at home, despite his equal love for eating out. But the prospect of having these two men in close proximity with him in a...candlelit environment had him beaming like a fool. "That would be lovely." Riley admitted, wiping his cakey forehead with the clean part of the back of his hand.

There was a pregnant pause where Riley could only smile at the two men before he realised it must be awkward for Griff and Danny to have him staring at them. So he looked away and went back to his supposed candle holder. "We should continue with these before they harden too much." He laughed.

[Danny Silverman]

“I can clean up too,” Danny chimed. It had been fun, but he hadn’t really considered what would happen to the surrounding area in his visions of having a clay-fight. That was kind of sad, as cleaning wasn’t his favorite chore, but with Griff and Riley…well, he didn’t think it would be so bad. Cleaning went better when he had someone with him. It was kind of the making a job a game sort of thing.

“If I could use your shower too, Riley, that’d be great.” He smiled at the man shyly and took off his glasses to clean them on the one part of his shirt that wasn’t covered in clay. “But don’t worry, Griff! That was…” He was laughing again. He couldn’t help it. “That was fun! I haven’t done that since high school. It was amazing.” And he grinned at Riley as he agreed. Yes. So no one was upset! Good. He couldn’t have stood it if anyone was.

Had it not been for Griff’s blush, Danny would have probably dismissed the idea of dinner as just something between friends. However, with the blush…well, Griff wasn’t the only one turning red. He was probably overreacting, he told himself. Being silly. There was no guarantee of anything, right? “That’d be great,” he mumbled, then smiled at Griff. “And I can bring the soup, sure! I just hope that it’s not too salty for you guys.”

There was the awkward pause, and when Riley brought up the sculpting, his eyes widened slightly. “Oh, right!” he said. “Let’s, if you two want! Griff, you’ll probably need more clay. And now I have an idea.” He smiled positively mischievously and darted away to fetch more clay. “Did you want to try the pottery wheel again?” he asked the other man. “Or something else?”

[Dr. Griffin Jones]

"So that's settled then, we'll clean up after we're done then have a shower." Griff said with a smile, before hesitating and blushing once more. "Except I don't think we'll all be showering at the same time." He added hastily. Griff didn't mind tidying, he was quite houseproud and didn't like guests to come over to his house when it was messy. Sure he needed extendable handles and stepladders to reach the cobwebs on the ceiling, but he was sure Riley could cover any errant clay that had gone that high.

Griff returned to grinning when the two men said they enjoyed the clay fight and he laughed. "Me too, it felt good." Mostly it had quashed the tension in the air with three men who were all close using their hands in close proximity. "Last time I got anywhere near as messy was when my brothers and I had a mud fight when we were 12." He smiled at the memory. "Gosh did we get a hiding for coming home with mud all over the place though. Ma was FURIOUS."

As Griff settled down at the wheel, he scratched his nose. A smear of clay went up it and he rolled his eyes. So much for clearing the mess off his face. "Actually, um. I was thinking, I have a day off next Monday, and if you're both free I thought we could go to the mountains for the weekend as a sort of camping trip. I really want to go and see them." He trailed off, looking wistful. "But if you're both busy, or don't like camping, don't worry." He held up his hands.

"The pottery wheel please." Griff added, looking up at Danny. "I was so close to getting something potshaped!" It was true, and Griff wanted to get it half right before they packed up, even if it was a wonky pot only good for flowers.

[Riley Adams]

"Thanks, guys. You really don't have to. I'll be fine cleaning up myself really." He waved a hand in dismissal, not wanting at all to burden the other two. They were kind enough to come over, they didn't have to clean up! Griff's statement had Riley chuckling...well actually giggling. "Of course not. I've...I've got two bathrooms." He laughed once more before showing the two men where his bathrooms were located.

"Of course you can, Danny. I'll just set out towels for both of you. You can just put your dirty things in the basket in the toilet and I'll run them downstairs in the washer. It'll be done in under an hour so in the meantime, I guess you should pick something out from my cupboard. Feel free to take whatever that fits."

Riley laughed at Griff's anecdote and remembered the last time his mother had been 'furious' with him and Janice. Janice was already in her late teens and they were trying to bake but flour and cake dough had flown everywhere in the kitchen. Every. Where. He was snapped out of his stroll down memory lane by Danny's remark about his soup. "I'm sure it'll be okay." He nodded reassuringly, adding a wide smile for Danny's benefit.

Griff's suggestion was met with a broad grin and a nod. "That sounds perfect. And I hear there would a meteor shower so the mountains would be the perfect time to view them!" Riley enthused as he picked up his slightly hardened dish and moistened it lightly with a bit of water. Riley watched with interest as Danny ran around with that mischievous grin on his boyish face.

"What are you doing?" Riley asked, his smile a mixture of amusement and utter curiosity.

[Danny Silverman]

Danny hadn’t thought about them showering together, and when Griff said that, he turned a brilliant red. “Um, probably not,” he agreed. “But really, Riley, I’d like to help.” He grinned at him as he followed the other man into the bathrooms, nodding slightly as he said that he had two. “Well, um.” He was blushing a little even still. That wasn’t fair. “Um. That’s good. Thanks! But once we’re done. Otherwise we’ll just get all covered in clay again.”

He grinned at Griff’s story. How could he help it? It was cute! “Really? We had clay fights in my sculpting class a lot. When the teacher was out, though.” It had been fun. Especially since everything was covered in tarps, and so it hadn’t been a big deal. But he had needed to take a really long shower afterwards. “Thanks, Riley,” he added on the comment about his soup. “But I’d love to go on a hike! That’d be beautiful. And I can make sandwiches. Or I can just bring more dessert.” He liked bringing desserts. “It’s a date! Or…um. Never mind.” Better to focus on the task ahead. He settled Griff back down at the pottery wheel and gave him another lump of clay, then got it going before he sat back down with a bunch of clay of his own at the table, and his tools off to the other side.

“Something,” he said innocently. “So Griff, the trick is to keep it pretty smooth. Just keep pressing the pedal and once you’ve got a shape you want, slowly remove your hands and let it slow down. I’m sure you can do it.” Meanwhile, he got to sculpting his own thing, moving fairly quickly but with a good deal of care. He had to finish it pretty fast, he knew, otherwise he wouldn’t get it done in time.

[Dr. Griffin Jones]

"Oh good, we don't want to broach the subject of shower orgies this soon in our friendship." Griff laughed heartily, happily settling down to start his pot again, listening eagerly to what Danny said. Right. Steady pressure.

The doctor was completely delighted that his two friends wanted to come up to the mountains and camp with him. "I have a giant tent from when I went camping with my brother's family. It's an 8 sleeper so we don't have to sleep on top of each other. And I bet I can find my old propane stove too." He added thoughtfully, wondering where it was that the camping items were. Probably in the back cupboard by the stairs. That's where he'd found the torches last.

"Anyway, I'm really glad you both want to come with me. It's been a while since I went camping but I have all my knowledge still up here." He gingerly took a hand away from the developing pot and tapped his head. "Is it alright if Gladys comes? She'll sleep with me in the tent, I doubt she'll be a bother." There was no way he was leaving his beloved goat alone for an entire long weekend.

Returning back to his pot, Griff smiled to himself. Three amigos out in the mountains hiking, camping and talking about everything and anything. Gladys could get some fresh grass too, then delicious campfire food in the night. "You can have a special Jones family fry up in the morning too. Every budding cowboy needs a big breakfast." He beamed over at them both, then hummed to himself.

[Riley Adams]

Upon his friends' insistence, Riley finally relented and let them win this round. It wasn't much of a loss, he'd get to spend more time with the model builder and GP. Agreeing with Danny's sentiment about showering later, he turned when Griff mentioned shower orgies to which he laughed at lightly. The man was obviously kidding and Riley was beginning to get people's humour much better than before.

Riley wasn't the slightest bit worried about the sleeping arrangement. He could be sleeping on the ground for all he knew and he would still wake up daisy fresh and ready to take on the day. Like their weekend before, he would wake up to Griff's cooking and Danny's even more dishevelled appearance and it would be great.

"That's good to know. You'll be able to tell me which bushes aren't poisonous." Riley laughed lightly as his hands smoothed down the clay. It yielded to his ministrations as it began to take its shape. "Oh please, bring her. It wouldn't be a camping trip unless my scruff is nibbled on by a goat." Riley joked, pouring a little bit of water on his clay just to make it a little more malleable.

“That would be great, Danny. I’ll just…lug everything you two bring.” He chuckled, a little out of place for not knowing what exactly he could bring to a hiking trip when it came to food. Danny's slip up only increased Riley's good mood. It may just be an expression but it served its' purpose. It may not be what Griff and Danny had in mind; going on a date with two other men, two men Riley was very much comfortable with and might like more than just friends, but Riley was happy it was going to happen anyway. Date or no. Although, he saw no reason for the other two men to see it as anything but a hiking trip.

The model builder's secrecy had Riley laughing and shrugging, now even more curious as to what Danny was going to make. Mention of food had Riley positively beaming. He was very much a breakfast kind of guy. He ate very heavy breakfasts and if they were made by Griff, all the better. “That sounds terrific.”

Without realising it, Riley’s candleholder was done. All he needed to do was cut out shapes so the light would cast different shadows everywhere once it was utilised. “Oh hey…I’m almost done.” Riley beamed, proud of himself.

[Danny Silverman]

“I agree,” Danny said, still blushing a little at the thought. “We won’t worry about it. That looks really good, Griff!” The pot was looking very good. Better than his first attempt, which had looked rather like Ditto from the Pokemon games (and yes, Danny had played and enjoyed those games. There was no shame in it. He’d been asked to do some models for a woman’s daughter’s birthday party, and he’d done it purely for research purposes).

“Oh, big tents are great,” he added as he kept sculpting. He was very careful about it, and it was beginning to look like a few faces. “But I don’t mind whatever sleeping arrangements. And you should definitely bring Gladys!” He liked the goat—that was, once he’d been sure that she wasn’t going to eat any of his stuff. But out in the forest…yeah, that would be fun. “And poisonous berries,” he added to Riley’s comment on saving from bushes. “I don’t know anything about the wilderness. It’ll be fun to learn! But I have to help you lug things,” he added to Riley. “It’s only fair!”

Danny was trying to work fast on his sculpture, so by the time Riley had finished his candleholder—which was also very impressive to Danny, who had taken forever to master free-form shapes like that. “It looks really good!” he chirped, then looked down at his own, frowning a little. It wasn’t quite as good as he’d wanted it to be. He’d thought that he could make a sculpture of all three men—admittedly less scruffy than they all tended to appear, because stubble was kind of a hard thing to make on a sculpture—and give it to them as a present. But it didn’t look as good as he wanted to. Still, he supposed it would have to do, and cleared his throat and turned to Riley. “Um. This is, um for you.” And he gestured to the sculpture of the three faces, a little sheepish. “And you too, Griff! Um, you can decide who gets it, or I can just, um, take it home.” 

[Dr. Griffin Jones]

Griff was absolutely joyously happy that the two men were coming camping with him, and they didn't mind Gladys sleeping in the tent with them. He moved his thumbs round the lip of the pot with a look of concentration on his face, then began to slow down once the now lovely looking clay pot was finished. Now he just had to work on a lid for it. "I can take this camping with us!" He said cheerily, setting back to look at the pot. "It's perfect for cooking soups and stuff."

"Oh, I'll bring my ramblers guide. My brother Gethin bought it for me when I said I loved going exploring." The doctor blushed a little, getting up to take another piece of clay and try and make it into a secure lid. "I can lend it to you if you'd like." He added, smiling at Riley, then lovingly running his hands over the clay to make it the right shape. He paused to scratch his cheek, leaving clay smears there. "I'll give Gladys a bath before she comes, she's gotten a new habit of frolicking in those borders you made for me, Riley." He shook his head.

Griff peered curiously over Danny's shoulder as he kept up his secrecy, wondering what it was the model maker was creating. He couldn't decide yet, so instead he turned his gaze to Riley's candle holder. "Wow, that looks lovely!" He lilted, clapping his hands. "Maybe you can take that with us so we have some light in the tent late at night?" He added, making a nice handle for the pot so they can lift the lid.

"Anyway, I'll write a list of provisions and email it or something." He fussed, drawing back and wiping his hands on his legs. "Generally it's tinned goods, things that don't spoil easily..." He shrugged, then got up to stretch.

When Danny said he'd finished, Griff blushed. "That's..." He scratched the back of his head. "Super. Really." He looked over at Riley, then chewed his lip, before pulling Danny into a hug. "Thank you." He added. "It looks just like us!"

[Riley Adams]

Voicing out his agreement to Danny's compliment about Griff, Riley realised they really had nothing bad to say about each other. Not that Riley ever had anything bad to say about anybody at all. It took a really special person to ever have Riley think bad about them. He genuinely did not see anything wrong with Danny or Griff. Griff's announcement was replied to with a big smile and a nod. "Looks like it."

"I don't mind either. At least we have a place to sleep." Riley nodded as his eyes wandered over to Danny's sculpture. Was that a head? A small smile lit Riley's face as he concentrated on his own sculpture, only looking up when Danny insisted he help with the things. "Okay!" The landscaper agreed, not seeing the point in ever arguing with either of these two. They obviously wouldn't back down once they've set their minds to something.

"I'd love that, yes." He smiled back to Griff before laughing at Gladys' antics. "Oh my. I hope it didn't ruin your geraniums. Although, I'd be glad to come back and work on them again if they are."

He beamed at Griff and Danny for their compliments. "Thanks. It's nothing compared to yours though, Griff and...probably not as good as yours, Danny I'm sure. And yeah. I could definitely bring this with us. I've got a lot of tealights we could use too." He simply nodded when the doctor said he would provide them with a list. He worked well with lists.

Turning to Danny, his eyes moved downwards to Danny's work and a smile practically burst on his face. "Danny...!" Riley breathed softly before squeezing the smaller man's shoulder while Griff hugged him. The decision of who gets it had Riley chew his bottom lip. "Griff should have it. You can put it in your den." Riley said at last.

"Looks like we're all done. Ready for your showers?"

[Danny Silverman]

Danny was amazed by how well the other men had done. Look at Griff’s pot! It was lovely and well-shaped, and looked beautiful. And Riley’s candle holder was also imaginative and lovely, and he found himself nodding along with the statement for both to bring their handmade things along. “I think you both should,” he said. “That’d be fun! Although I do have to take them back briefly. I gotta bake them.” He blushed to think of what these two men would think about his oven, which was covered in clay and stripped bare of normal things to form a sort of modern kiln. What? A model-maker needed his tools, and he didn’t cook so much as microwave anyways.

“Do you think you could teach me how to garden, Riley?” he asked after a moment, looking up. “I mean, I tend to kill plants. I need to learn how not to, if that makes sense.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And if you don’t mind.”

He was surprised by the reaction, as shown by his slightly widening eyes when Griff pulled him into hug. He responded and turned to look up at Riley with a shy smile at the other man.

“I’m glad you guys like it,” he mumbled. “Maybe later I can make one for you too, Riley, if you want to take this one, Griff. I don’t mind.” He pushed up his glasses and smiled at the two, then looked down at his clay-covered self.

“Uh, yeah,” he said sheepishly. “Shower would be good. And then we can help you clean! You’re not allowed to clean until we’re done,” he added to Riley, shaking a finger at him sternly, but spoiling the effect by the cheerful look on his face. Danny can’t do stern. "Right, Griff?"

[Dr. Griffin Jones]

"That's fine." Griff chirped, not worried about their items in Danny's care at all. If he'd taken it home himself he'd probably have dropped it on his foot during one of his cleaning sprees and then felt both miserable and anxious that he'd broken a pot and his metatarsi. "We'll bring it all and it'll be lovely." He grinned, dusting his hands off on his jeans and feeling very proud of himself - much like when he'd managed to solve a patient's health problems. "And the tea light idea is great, as long as Gladys doesn't knock them over and set fire to the tent." He chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure the geraniums now look a little less like geraniums and more like bent stems with a few petals, but that's what you have to deal with when there's a goat in your life." He didn't mind really, the fact Riley had looked after his garden was more important that the end result, after all, there was no point in being too garden-proud when you owned a goat. He smiled over at Danny. "My level of gardening is pretty much water it and hope it doesn't die, so I'd say we're on an even keel there."

Griff wasn't sure whether it was the fact Danny had made something for him, or whether it was the generosity of the other two men that had him wanted to cuddle them to death. Generally speaking the doctor was aware of personal boundaries, but as Riley insisted he keep it, the man pulled him into the hug as well, and half-clung to them. "I'm so lucky to have met such wonderful people." He said warmly, looking a little touched.

But now he really did need to have a shower, and he grinned a bit. "Yeah, shower is definitely a good idea." He nodded agreeably. "As a doctor, Mr. Adams, I recommend nothing but rest while myself and Danny scrub up." He grinned, then cleared his throat. "So... um, where are the towels?"

[Riley Adams]

"We'll figure it out when you've baked them then." Riley smiled warmly at both of them, already starting to clean up. When Griff mentioned Gladys knocking down the candleholder, Riley chuckled lightly. "We'll put it somewhere sturdy where she can't reach it then." He suggested.

The thought of teaching the men to garden appealed to Riley and he nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely. Of course I don't mind!" He patted Danny's back lightly with a wide smile. What more could he ask for really? He would spending more time with the two men, no harm in that.

When he was pulled into the hug, Riley gladly encompassed both men in his arms. Somehow this kind of felt good. It felt right and he was glad he wasn't any more shy than he was when he started off with Stephen. The Scot helped him. A lot.

He grinned at Danny and shook his head. "It's okay. Really. Maybe I can babysit it every once in awhile. I'll share custody with Griff or something." He joked before stepping away from the hug, smiling at Griff's remark. He too felt lucky he met them and that they were his friends. Josh and Cobalt were his friends too but he didn't feel the way he felt for these two the way he felt for them. He was glad they were all so...in sync.

With their joint insistence, he heaved a sigh but couldn't help the grin on his face. "Okay fine. But I insist that I make tea for everyone at least! I'll go get the towels. Hold on." He disappeared into the guest room that was half way in construction to be a dark room once more. He needed the space to develop his pictures.

Speaking of...

"Here are the towels and...do you mind if I took a picture of you two and...your creations?" He handed his friends their towels and waved his camera to indicate his interest in taking their picture. He hoped it wasn't too creepy or forward. He just wanted to capture the moment.

[Danny Silverman]

“All right.” Danny relaxed when neither of the men seemed to mind him taking the stuff back, and nodded and smiled back at Riley. “That sounds great! But yeah. I don’t want to try to catch the tent on fire! We’ll put it up someplace higher, I think. You carry tables while camping, right?” He blushed and rubbed his neck. “I’m sorry. It’s been a while.”

He was glad to know that he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t garden at all and smiled at Griff, nodding in agreement to what he said. “Well, at least Riley is willing to teach us.” And he turned to smile up at the other man, then grin outright as he patted his back. “Thank you! I’m looking forward to it.” He leaned forward at the hug and held them both close, then moved away. “Me too,” he mumbled, a little shy now. “You guys have made it wonderful to be here, and I really, really appreciate it. But the tea would be amazing! Thank you, Riley. And for the towels.” He took his gratefully and held it out gingerly, so he didn’t get clay on it. And when he spoke, he looked up, looking puzzled. Then he nodded. “Yeah! I’d like that. But you have to be in the picture with us too! Could we set it to a timer or something and do it that way? It wouldn’t be fair unless you were there too.” And he made his eyes very large and sad, just to make sure that he didn’t dare argue.