Degu (114 words)
David blinked in surprise staring at the small rodent. The rodent stared back with large black eyes, frozen and every sense attuned to the recently arrived visitors, appraising the immediate threat level.
"Griffin," David began, "what the heck is that?" The sound of David's voice had startled the creature and it was now fleeing across the wilderness the two men stood in.
"That," Griffin gestured vaguely in the direction of the fleeing rodent, "appears to have been a Degu. They make decent pets you know."
David stared dumbly at Griffin for a moment. "And where exactly have you jumped us now?"
"Chile. Figured why not?" David laughed a little at that, why not indeed?
Earring (153 words)
On the day David showed up with the earring, Griffin wasn't quite sure what to think. He took a moment to study the small silver hoop in David's earlobe, noting the slightly reddened and swollen skin that indicated that this adornment was brand new. To be honest, Griffin's first impulse was to inform David of how monumentally stupid it was to have something so easily snagged dangling from such a delicate body part, at least when they were still tangling with Paladins whenever the opportunity arose. Griffin naturally being one to follow his first impulse did say so, and after a small argument that descended into a playful scuffle, that subject was dropped in favour of a game of Halo. But secretly, Griffin knew that he'd never tell David that the sight of the bit of metal in his earlobe that day and forevermore would almost beg Griffin's tongue and teeth to it.
Flattery (217 words)
David sat leaned back on one elbow in the sand, nursing a rapidly-warming beer and watching Griffin draw. The other man was bent, nose almost to the paper, trying to capture the swell of the ocean before them. The secluded stretch of beach they'd commandeered for the day was quite spectacular, and David told Griffin as much, commending him on his excellent find. A moment later, David followed it up with a compliment on Griffin's artwork, the bridge of Griffin's nose going a slight shade of red that couldn't really be attributed to the sun. David found it quite charming overall, and was going to share the thought when Griffins flicked a small handful of sand at him, the grains sliding across David's bare chest to the blanket below.
"Flattery," Griffin declared archly while setting aside his sketchpad, "will get you nowhere." The sun had caught Griffin's hair as he lifted his head and stole David's breath. The reply was on David's lips almost before he was aware of it.
"Not even… here?" David's free hand drifted out to rest his fingertips in a butterfly touch on the waistband of Griffins swim trunks, just below Griffins bare navel. In the golden sunshine their gazes locked and held for an undying moment, like a never-ending exhale of anticipation.