[Closed] @eidxiety ††

[winterbolt]

u get the small baby bird icon this time

Comments

[eidxiety]

[The truth come out: does Ain is gay?]

Bubblegum will keep your mouth occupied. Get addicted to that instead. A quarter will get you enough to last you a week.

[Oh, they're going? They're going. Ain easily falls into step with Wolfwood as he pushes off that tree.]

I didn't come with plans in mind. This is your neck of the woods. I hope you didn't invite me out here just to return your coat and go back home, though.

[lupusxylem]

[They're going! Not very far though. Just down the street, around the corner...Wolfwood saunters as he goes, looking up at the sky which is mercifully raincloud free today.]

Oh nah. I've got plans in mind. But...

[As they turn the corner, he pulls a key out of his pocket, twirling it on his index finger.]

If it makes you too nervous, we can skip it. Just thought you might at least like to see her.

[And there she is, sitting on the sidewalk chained next to one of those bike racks because you can't trust anybody in this town, but namely this town. It's Wolfwood's bike that he mentioned, jet black and sleek, with a silver cross stamped on the gas tank.

He walks over and places a hand on its side, then reaches into a compartment into the back to pull out two helmets from within.]

This is Angelina. I thought...you know. Maybe...you'd wanna take her for a spin with me? Just around the block.

[eidxiety]

[Ain takes this helmet and stares into it like he's never worn one in his life. Doesn't it have chin straps... (no you're thinking of bicycles). Where are the chin straps? (Ain that's a bicycle.)]

She's pretty. You take good care of her. [And then Ain grins, wicked and playful, and loudly says,] I'm so happy to meet your girlfriend finally, haha!

[He fiddles with the helmet. It's thick and heavy, for obvious reasons, and he's going to have to flatten his hair down with it... he can imagine the helmet-hair he's gonna get as a result.]

I can handle more than around the block. [Feeling brave today, are we...] Take me somewhere fun, yeah?

[lupusxylem]

[Not going to lie, Wolfwood is shocked by Ain’s answer. He wouldn’t have been offended if he said he was too nervous and just wanted to look, they could just walk somewhere instead. But then he answers like he’s making it a challenge, and Wolfwood can’t help but bark a laugh as he puts his helmet on.]

Shit, alright. Well let me know if you wanna ride front or back, hot shot.

[Either Ain is sitting between his legs in front or wrapping his arms around him from behind, dealer’s choice-]

[eidxiety]

[He is trying so hard to be brave. He lied to his mom. He lied to his brothers, even! He may have woke up crying the other day but that's fine that happens to everyone. He wants to do the fun things Wolfwood is doing because that's what you do with friends, and Wolfwood is obviously the bee's knees, so it's fine. They're not doing anything deadly or dangerous. They have safety gear!

But, that does give Ain time to pause and ponder. He can't get those dreams out of his head no matter how hard he tries, so it seems like they'll be worse if he holds Wolfwood from behind. His hands might be tempted to move to where they don't go, for example, like in the first dream when he was touching Wolfwood's chest (Ain has avoided looking today, so his brain doesn't get any sinful ideas, here). Plus, he kind of wants to see everything from the front, rather than having to look over Wolfwood's shoulder...?]

Haha, I want to ride in the front, I think. So I can see everything. You can drive around me, right?

[He's swinging his leg over the front seat and plopping down, then putting that helmet on. Surely this won't be worse than sitting behind him haha—]

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood nods as Ain climbs onto the bike, waiting for him to get his helmet on before swinging his leg over the side behind him after getting the bike unchained.]

Sure can. Just don’t touch the gas tank with your hands or legs, it’s gonna get really hot. If you feel like you’re losing balance just hold the handles under my hands, or you can grab onto my arms. S’long as you don’t yank the handlebars, anyway.

[He sure would look Sinful holding a man from behind. But you know what’s just as bad?

Being straddled by a man. A man who has to scoot forward a bit to reach the handlebars comfortably, Ain’s back resting against Wolfwood’s chest. And like…okay. Wolfwood isn’t trying to do anything here. He isn’t intending this to be fresh or anything like that. It’s just sort of a fact by design that his crotch will be against Ain’s ass.

Fully clothed. Fully platonic. Not even platonic, it’s not anything. Yet…even at rest, Ain will be able to feel Wolfwood against him.

Like. Really feel.

Now that they’re both on the bike, he adjusts his shades and cranks the ignition, setting the bike to rumbling. The vibrations hit immediately, rattling right into Ain’s bones as he shouts over the din.]

Alright, you ready?

[eidxiety]

[Oh it's worse. Ohhhh it's worse.

When he was having those weirdly domestic dreams (crossed with, y'know, necking in the car), it wasn't like he could really feel anything. Dreams are strange like that — you get a hug from a person and it never feels like anything, but you know someone gave you a hug anyway. Ain could never feel the lips on his neck or the arms around him in a physical sense, and maybe that dampened the blow when he woke up all those nights freaking the fuck out. So, suffice it to say, when he gets to feel everything from behind, he's suddenly so glad that the drone of the motorcycle blocks out the squeal he makes in the back of his throat, and so glad that he's wearing a helmet and his expression can't be seen through it, nor from behind.

Ain hates that his first observation is that Wolfwood feels like an almost comforting weight behind him. He hates that the second has to do with how much he can feel, from that muscular chest to everything below the belt, and that the third has to deal with the fact that Wolfwood is hung like a racehorse. Some girl is gonna be real happy with him yep yep yep and surely this feeling in his stomach is Masculine Jealousy, right, right...

He takes a shaky breath and nods, then yells out,]

Ready!

[He sounds so much more confident than he feels in this moment. All he needs to do is focus on not touching the gas tank, right? Focus on the road. The things happening that are not Wolfwood. Wolfwood is not the things to focus on.]

[lupusxylem]

Better hang on tight then. I'm boutta burn some major rubber.

[The engine revs like a growling beast as he pumps the gas, carefully kicking off from the sidewalk so he can maneuver his way into the street. From there...Ain will realize immediately just how different riding a bike is compared to being in a vehicle. Since he's in front and isn't having Wolfwood's body act as a windbreaker, he's being blasted in the face by the chilly autumn air. For what it's worth, Wolfwood isn't actually speeding or doing anything that might be scary to Ain other than just driving like normal. He's sticking to the central part of town to start with, meaning he really isn't allowed to go much faster than 40mph at most. That can still be quite fast feeling on a bike though, especially when there are times it might feel like the bike is about to topple over when he takes a turn...

But it's freeing. It feels like he's flying. And even with all of these other factors in place, Wolfwood's arms bracketed around him to drive feel safer than anything.]

[eidxiety]

[If he's honest? It is fun. They're just joyriding, at least as far as Ain knows. Who knows if Wolfwood really is taking him somewhere cool — but he's having a damn good time, and maybe that's all that matters. Ain wants to look around and peep at various things, but he only whips his head around when they're at a stop light or something like that. He tries to hold still, worried that sudden movements might cause them to skid across the pavement. Sometimes, it does feel like they're going to crash when Wolfwood takes a turn, but Ain manages to keep his centre of gravity lined up.

That, and Wolfwood hasn't dropped him, even when Ain leans against his arms. He must be strong, to support Ain's weight when a turn is a little too sharp and Ain sort of bumps into him. He imagines it would feel more freeing if the wind was in his hair, but uh, no. No, that's not happening, he's not taking the helmet off. For all his confidence, he hasn't yet reached the point of forgetting himself.

It's... good. It's dangerous and reckless and stupid, this thing, but it's fun, and Ain comfortably slouches and leans back into Wolfwood whenever they stop, like the guy's a backrest. He's having a phenomenal time. It's so strange, how Wolfwood manages to make him feel so secure.]

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood has two places in mind to bring Ain. One is a bit more of a softball than the other, because he wasn't sure how well he'd take to the bike initially. Seeing as how he seems to be acclimating to it really well, though...he'll probably end up taking him both places. For now? They ride.

The helmets have a singular drawback. Like this, Wolfwood can't rest his chin on Ain's head at stoplights. He can't subtly breathe in the scent of his shampoo. Would Ain find it strange if he did that? Perhaps, but then again, he may just accept it as the two of them riding together and Wolfwood needing to balance Ain without having access to his hands. It makes sense enough, if you think about it. He'll just have to make do with having Ain nestled between his legs.

Not a bad place for him to be. Wolfwood is just thankful that the brainpower required to focus on keeping the bike upright means that his mind can't wander too much...and he's at least got enough experience under his belt that he thinks he isn't going to pop the most embarrassing boner of his life over here.

They occasionally hit stoplights, and for the most part people don't pay them any mind. Some do steal glances, because they recognize Wolfwood's bike with the big cross on it. Best be on their best behavior, that's the mafia, etc etc. Then, there's one instance where he pulls up to the front of the white line to wait for the light to change, and a car full of other guys notices them with the driver rolling down his window a sliver so they can whoop and holler at Wolfwood and Ain over the din of the engines rumbling. To Ain, it will probably seem like they're just being friendly neighborhood hoodlums.

Wolfwood knows exactly what they're doing. They see him with a twink on his bike and are automatically assuming.

You Know.

They drive off a minute later, and it's just another few blocks before Wolfwood pulls up to a nicer looking strip of storefronts. This is probably the wealthiest part of the south side, but that isn't why he brought him here. There's a building just across the way, the outside painted in soft pastels.]

Have you ever had frozen yogurt?

[eidxiety]

[Those are just noisy southside gangsters to Ain, yeah. He literally has no opinion here other than that. Those are the people he expects to see more often than not, based on what his mom's said to him in the past. There are degenerates there. They sin in the streets, dressed in skimpy attire and showing skin. They're loud and worship Satan and kill each other just for fun.

There are too many normal people. He's seen maybe three people do something bad since he's started popping over here, and two of those groups were on his first day at the market. The others are next to him, and they're not hurting anybody. They're simply... loud.

Ain must look confused when they drive off. No one can see his expression or the way his brow scrunches, wondering why they whooped and hollered like that. Were they just making noise because they could?

But eventually, they stop, and Ain makes to take the helmet off and pass it over to Wolfwood to put away. He has hella helmet hair. He knows he does, because the static inside the helmet zaps him briefly, and he runs his hands through his curls to try to rearrange them in some other way.]

...are you going to laugh if I say no? It's like ice cream, isn't it?

[lupusxylem]

I mean, I could laugh. It's kindof ritzy, so I figured you might have at least heard of it.

[Don't look now Ain, he's reaching out. He's ruffling your helmet hair. His fingers cause the static in the curls to pop briefly a couple times before he pulls away, tugging his own helmet off his head. His helmet hair is no better than Ain's, but at least he's scruffy enough to pull it off for the most part.

It takes him a few minutes to get his bike chained up, but once he has, he'll lead the way inside. The place is quite frankly adorable, with bright colors not dissimilar to the diner they ate at last week. The difference here is that instead of a bar, there's a bunch of frozen yogurt machines set into the far wall.]

It's exactly what it sounds like. It's like ice cream, but it's yogurt instead. I like it better than ice cream myself. Comes in pretty much every flavor, too.

[eidxiety]

[Mmmm the hair ruffles get him good man. He giggles every time it happens, too. And then insists he's not a kid despite that.

God, though. This place is super cute. Ain finds himself (kiddishly) skipping along the black and white tiles, the white tiles are lava, but honestly the black ones are so tiny it's difficult to actually avoid the white ones. Oh well. He's having fun.]

Is it... self-serve? [He's looking at the things on the back wall, where the people are. The ice cream dispenser things. Y'know. The things.] We just get whatever we want, huh?

[lupusxylem]

[Why are you baby. Why are you so cute. Stop it-

Wolfwood nods to the employees behind the counter, holding up his fingers to indicate "two". Then, he looks back towards Ain.]

Sure is. They price it by weight, so you can get as much as you think you'll eat and they'll charge you accordingly.

[This. May be a dangerous thing to be telling Ain in particular-]

[eidxiety]

[The man is 23 and was not allowed to be a child. They had fucking nativity toys and stuff, not actual real toys. He's going to play the floor is fucking lava for as long as he can, at least until he has a cup in his hand and is set loose.

He. Does not know where to start. It looks like there are a lot of fruit flavours, ranging from normal strawberry to sort of strange like kiwi, and Ain isn't sure what kind of concoction he's going to make, but after observing others for a spell... he figures out he can just mix and match whatever. They can't stop him. They literally cannot tell him what to do. So!

Instead of being normal, Ain mixes orange, strawberry, and kiwi into one cup. There's this colourful mishmash of swirled frozen yogurt together, and that's when he figures out there's a toppings bar goodbye he's slapping chocolate chips and white chocolate chips and M&Ms all over this. This is too much. This is teeth rotting. This is gross. Ain's going to love every goddamn second of it.

It's also just under a dollar (apparently an $8 item was about $0.67 back in the 50s, insane), which is probably more than anyone should be paying, but hey.]

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood watches from some distance away, amused, as Ain just goes fucking feral with the frozen yogurt like he's never had the opportunity to make his own dessert before. Like...was he raised? Properly? Who hurt you, Ain.

Even if his mixture of flavors and toppings is a bit eclectic, Wolfwood isn't going to stop him (he WILL tease him for it, though), instead just smirking as he follows after him to make his own cup. He doesn't go for the fruity flavors himself, instead getting a mixture of chocolate and butter pecan. It's normal, it's boring, but it's what he likes. He'll also grab some slivered almonds to put on top too before they head up to the counter to pay.

This time before Ain can grab his wallet, though, Wolfwood places five quarters on the countertop to pay for both of theirs combined. He doesn't make mention of it, instead just raising a brow as he looks down at Ain with his prize.]

You gonna eat all of that?

[eidxiety]

[:0

Ain is taking his to the table now, since Wolfwood just paid. That was nice.]

I owe you for next time, [he says, casually, taking a seat and crossing his legs bro you're gay,] and yeah, I told you before that I have a black hole for a stomach, right? Haha!

[He loves to eat :)]

Yours is pretty plain. [No, Ain, his is normal.] For some reason, I thought you'd be more of a triple chocolate kind of guy!

[That's STILL NORMAL, AIN]

[lupusxylem]

Plain? Compared to yours, maybe.

[He huffs as he follows Ain to a table, sliding into the booth across from him. Next time, huh? He'll just have to not think too hard about how that definitely-throwaway comment makes him feel, given the way his heart thuds behind his ribs like it does.

Wolfwood will not be crossing his legs, though he does notice the way Ain is as he digs his spoon into his cup.]

Might as well get more than one flavor, yeah? Especially at these prices.

[eidxiety]

[Ain like "we're friends hanging out" oh buddy. Oh baby. It's about to be worse for you. He's got no idea he's accidentally dating this guy. How is he supposed to know? No one told him that man-to-man romance looks the same as man-to-woman romance! This is so difficult!

Anyway, he's shovelling his face already. There is a dumpster in this man's stomach.]

I don't get to go to places like this! Haha, I have to try everything I can. Within reason, of course. I'm trying not to make something gross.

[Ain, you put chocolate chips into kiwi froyo.]

[lupusxylem]

Coulda fooled me.

[But again, since Ain has never had this before…he will allow it without too much excessive teasing. …to an extent, anyway.]

I know I said people eat chocolate on strawberries all the time, but don’t you think putting it on kiwi is a little much?

[He gestures to Ain with his spoon as he says this, literally watching out of the corner of his eye as a child walks past them with a cup that looks alarmingly similar to what Ain ended up with.]

[eidxiety]

Maybe? Haha, it's still good!

[The childishness of the situation goes completely over his head. Like yeah, he's having chocolate on kiwi. He's also having white chocolate on kiwi, and M&Ms on kiwi, and kiwi on strawberry and orange. He's unstoppable. This froyo has melted into a neon puddle of crime and Ain shows no signs of making better choices.

He looks happy. Stupidly happy, even, grinning around the plastic spoon in his mouth and kicking Wolfwood in the shins like he did at the diner.]

I think someone should lighten up. Try some of mine!

[lupusxylem]

Some of yours?

[Wolfwood eyes Ain for a moment, wondering…pondering.

He takes another scoop of his own froyo, and before Ain can question it, he’s offering the bite to him on his own spoon.]

Fine. But only if you try some of mine, first.

[eidxiety]

[.....ooooh this feels like it's a little bit not what Ain meant? But also he rolled a 6 so lmao the boy is oblivious to how this is going to look. He gleefully leans forward and takes the offered bite, entirely missing how someone at a booth across the small shop looks at them in an almost Offended way. They probably can't say shit because, well, Mafia and all, but they sure do seem unhappy with this display.

Ain kicks his feet under the table, swallows, and chirps,]

It's good! Maybe I misjudged your tastes after all.

[He'll follow suit, then, scooping his own treat onto the spoon and holding it out. This man has never heard of an indirect kiss in his life.]

Here!

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood doesn't notice the nasty look they're getting, but if he did, he would just be trying to ignore it anyway. They aren't doing anything Untoward other than sharing some frozen yogurt, you can fuck off very much thanks-

Meanwhile, he feels like this is subtle enough that he isn't dragging Ain into something he doesn't want to do publicly. Just sharing an indirect kiss between bros nbd!!!

Without missing a beat, Wolfwood leans in and takes a bite from Ain's spoon, feeding him and getting fed in return. He makes sure to lick his lips as he sits back.]

...pretty sweet. But not bad.

[eidxiety]

Haha, see! I know good food.

[You know how to over-sweeten food is what you know. Either way, he's back to eating his own frozen yogurt now, keeping to himself, no one's sharing any indirect kisses and dying about that factoid...

Until Ain dips his spoon into Wolfwood's cup and steals another bite, giggling around his spoon. He has done Nothing Wrong.]

I'll take you to eat at a good restaurant some time, since I owe you now.