[Closed] @eidxiety ††

[winterbolt]

u get the small baby bird icon this time

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[eidxiety]

[Great. Well, in that case, no more instructions for Wolfwood, find the place yourself et cetera.]

Um... no, no curfew, really. My mom is kind of... she worries, but I've been out late before. Some of my brothers are late-night roamers because we offer prayers to people, and we believe it's unfair to exclude people who might work nights, or poor folks who sleep in alleyways. As long as I'm back before the twenty-four-hour mark has passed, she won't be too suspicious. I can always tell her someone had a medical emergency or needed an exorcism or something.

[She has no reason to look into Ain's behaviour yet. We're still at the point in the lore where she trusts her Catholic doctor son to do Catholic doctor things, and not fraternize with a southside sinner and suck dick. This will not last That Long, but you know! For all she knows he could be trying to convert Wolfwood to being holy and pious and heterosexual! Save his soul or whatever!

(He is not trying to do this, he wants to ride on this man's thigh until he ruins another pair of pants and passes out.)]

I've been telling her a lot of lies since I met you, haha... I'm beginning to think you're a bad influence.

[lupusxylem]

You’ve performed exorcisms?

[Okay yeah Ain is definitely more of a full fledged Priest than he is. How the hell does he find time alongside his studies being a Doctor is what he wants to know…though he guesses he sounds like he has enough siblings to pick up the slack, if there happens to be any.

He shakes his head a little, holding onto the steering wheel with one hand as they idle at a stoplight. This time they’re in the privacy of the truck, so nobody will be heckling them at the lights today.]

…alright, good to know. [He’s going to…gauge how things go, but either he’s going to try stealing this good Christian boy for the evening, or maybe he’ll just get handsy with him in the car and let that be that. Whichever comes first.] And hey, you’re the one who decided to keep hangin’ around me. Maybe I’m less of a bad influence and more…givin’ you the freedom to try new things. Ever thought of that?

[……no hes a bad influence.]

[eidxiety]

Haha, yeah, like two.

[That's mostly mom's job. Mom is the only full-time priestess/religious zealot; everyone else has to balance religious zealotry with jobs.]

I still think you're a bad influence. You took me to a bar! And you kissed my neck! [Oh honey. Oh baby.] And you've been haunting my dreams like a ghost. I'd say that's "bad influence" material, wouldn't you? I thought you were a greaser for a bit there.

[Mafia is kind of a step above.]

[lupusxylem]

You think those things are bad?

[Oh. Honey. H o n e y.

Wolfwood can’t help but laugh. It’s a good natured laugh, but still.]

Yaknow, you should tell me about those dreams of yours sometime…I’m kinda curious.

[eidxiety]

Maybe after dinner. I don't think either of us are going to make it to dinner if I open my mouth now.

[Ainchase Ishmael—]

Oh, but there was a cute one where— [hhhh is this too much? They're just now going on a first date, Ain came out of the closet fifteen minutes ago...] ...where it was a scene from one of my books, a husband and wife, and I was the wife, I guess. I was cooking, and you gave me a kiss. The funny thing is, I don't know how to cook at all, so that would never work, haha.

[They also can't get married, but it was cute! It was really cute.]

[lupusxylem]

[AINCHASE ISHMAEL-]

Oh yeah?

[That is…really cute. Like, really fucking cute. Ugh. Christ.]

That’s sweet. For what it’s worth, I think you’d make a great wife.

[Oop did he just say that out loud-]

[eidxiety]

[Ain's cheeks turn pink, and he crosses his arms and Huffs because he's still got at least a little bit of that toxic masculinity in him right now, he hasn't quite come to terms with the fact that he can technically do whatever the hell he wants. Technically. Behind closed doors or at a gay bar (these do not exist in his mind yet), but still.]

I would not. I wouldn't look good in a dress, [source needed] and I definitely don't have the skills to make you food every night like a real wife.

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood may just be teasing Ain, but…he DOES mean what he says. He can’t help but imagine it, Ain being home waiting for him after work with something bubbling away on the stove…ugh.

He has to stop this.]

Maybe not. But I don’t think that’s all that goes into being a good wife. Or partner, for that matter.

[He tilts his head a bit to one side as he drives off from the light, looking ahead as they talk.]

…and uh. Since we’re on the topic…can I admit something to you?

[eidxiety]

On the topic of wives? Haha... okay, sure.

[Wolfwood better not have a wife, Ain will cry right here—]

[lupusxylem]

Kindof…sortof. …maybe it’s not that on topic.

[He readjusts his grip on the wheel, taking a breath. He focuses on staring straight ahead, too nervous suddenly to look at Ain and glad that he has the road to keep himself sufficiently distracted.]

I…you know I’m not straight either, obviously. And I swear it wasn’t that way when we first met, but…

I’ve been keen on you for a while. It felt almost like the last couple times we spent together were like dates, yaknow? I just figured…I wasn’t gonna assume anything, especially since I hadn’t told you…I don’t know.

You just need to know, I guess. I really like you. And I’m glad you wanna try this.

[eidxiety]

A while, huh... since when?

[Tell him. Tell him when you fell for him, he needs to know. Ain would lean right into Wolfwood's space and annoy him about it if he could get away with it while Wolfwood drives.

He thinks about the last part for a while longer, though, humming and chewing the inside of his cheek in thought. Then:]

Oh. Oh, yeah, we danced together, huh? I was sort of... thinking at the time that it would be nice if I could've taught you to swing dance then and there, but your hands on me made me nervous. Ever since we met, I'd been staring at your chest and feeling... well, I wanted to think it was jealousy, but I don't think it was jealousy. Probably attraction. E-either way, haha...

I guess they were sort of date-like, weren't they? And yet you still didn't kiss me at the lake! [His voice is teasing. He's not actually mad.] Some Casanova you turned out to be, huh!

[lupusxylem]

…It started then, actually. At the diner.

[When they danced, and he saw Ain smiling and laughing for the first time, genuinely. It made him want to dip him. Kiss him.]

I didn’t realize it was more than just a passin’ thing until after that. Then I realized I was down pretty bad.

[Because he kept jacking off to him lol oops.]

I wanted to. I would’ve. But I didn’t know if you were…yaknow? [Yaknow] I didn’t wanna scare you off, or…I dunno. Make you feel weird.

[If anything, Wolfwood expected Ain to be the one to freak out over him being gay and tell him to pray it away and blah blah.]

[eidxiety]

...I didn't know then, either. It's alright. I understand, I was just teasing you. ...maybe I'll teach you to dance after all, still. You sure were cute, trying to copy me. All we need's a record player and a couple of songs to boogie to, haha.

[And then they can Kiss during it, like the degenerates they are.]

I meant what I said at the bar, when I said someone like you's too attractive to be hanging out with a guy like me. I'm glad you are, though. Really glad.

[lupusxylem]

I wouldn’t mind, if you wanna sometime…think that’d be fun, actually.

[He’s imagining it now. They’re alone together somewhere, dancing their hearts out in a room. Wolfwood is doing it badly and making Ain laugh, but then one of the songs turns slow and hands end up on hips and…yeah.

It’s a nice thought, he thinks as the restaurant looms in the distance ahead of them, all lit up pretty in the evening with couples heading in as they speak.]

And I think you sell yourself short. But maybe I can get you to thinkin’ differently by the time the night’s over, huh?

[That is both a threat and a promise.]

[eidxiety]

Aww, how are you going to do that? Haha, we'll see!

[Oh buddy. There are so many ways. You are opening this can of worms.

The restaurant is nice. Ritzy-looking, even if it doesn't advertise itself as such. It's a hotspot for dates and business meetings and birthday dinners, and Ain wonders if maybe they can slot themselves into the last two somehow instead of obviously being two guys on a date. Of course, Wolfwood is wearing his mafia jacket, which means they won't get harassed, so maybe the secret fourth option is "the mafia wanted seafood", which isn't as strange as that string of words makes it sound. It's getting dark out, and the patio is lit up with all sorts of string lights stretching from there to the lake, where multiple people are walking around it in the distance. Lots of lakes in these parts. It's nice. That means there will be more ducks to feed later.

Ain swings himself out of the truck and onto the ground, shoes hitting the asphalt with an audible sound. The door gets shut behind him, and as he moves to the front of the vehicle and walks the short distance to the entrance, he asks,]

Why do you go by your last name anyhow? Is it a business thing? Or you don't like your first name?

[lupusxylem]

[It’s honestly nicer than any place Wolfwood’s been to lately that wasn’t for business. He imagines the mafia comes here a lot for that reason, so seeing him won’t be that much of a surprise to the staff. Perhaps they’ll assume Ain is a business partner, some rich boy he’s trying to shake down, or something similar. It fits the bill for a date, which is what they’re actually here for, and he couldn’t be happier about that.

…until Ain asks him that, and he feels his heart skip a beat.]

…it’s a business thing, let’s say.

[It’s a mafia thing-]

I could say the same about you, though. I only know your first name, don’t I?

[eidxiety]

I tend not to give my last name, [Ain lies easily,] since it's difficult for Americans to pronounce it.

[Although, the red flags are growing by the day. Ain already said he's Korean, and he's white-passing enough to where the creases in his eyelids aren't entirely obvious. Which, to anyone with eyes, might say that he's actually not fully-Korean. Like the Ishmaels. He won't give his last name because it's associated with the mafia. He won't tell Wolfwood where he lives, because it's with the mafia, but at least that one can be excused as "if my mom saw me with a weird boy she'd flip".

So. You know. Probably suspicious.]

Yours is nice and easy, though! Haha. [Anyway don't ask him any more questions, let's get a table—] Sad that I can't call you by your first name, but I'll live.

[lupusxylem]

[To that, Wolfwood…laughs. Loudly.]

Bold of you to assume I’m American, Αγαπημένος.

[Look at him, Ain. Look at how brown he is. Also he’s kindof lying to you he’s half American-]

And I never said you can’t…just. Maybe not here, yeah?

[Not unless you want him to get horny about it-

Wolfwood will walk on with Ain to sit at a booth set up nicely beside the window, giving them a perfect view of the lake and the ducks that Ain likes so much. Wolfwood looks to Ain with a quirked brow before their waiter comes, eyeing the drinks menu without even picking it up.]

I would suggest us getting some wine to share, but…that might be a little too suspicious.

[eidxiety]

[Oh, well, how was Ain to know that the man wasn't actually as American as his southern accent makes him sound? Something about the Greek, though, has him feeling a little hot under the collar. It's lucky that the lights are low in here, or else someone might've seen the way his cheeks momentarily flush.]

Mm, yeah. I think I'll avoid drinking tonight so that I don't say something insane again. [Like how Wolfwood's jacket didn't smell enough like him so Ain didn't want to wear it, you know, normal heterosexual things.] I'm just gonna get a lemonade.

[...]

We can buy a bottle at a liquor store some other time and share it somewhere more private, haha.

[Ain has never gone into a liquor store. He has no idea where the nearest one even is.]

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood lost the coin flip, so he doesn’t notice Ain’s fluster. He is safe, for now.

In the meantime though, he chuckles when Ain talks about getting drunk and saying insane shit. Yeah, he did kindof spill the beans as early as back then, didn’t he?]

Why did you order so much anyway? Wasn’t that your first drink…ever?

[eidxiety]

Aha... it tasted like juice, that's why.

[But that is Not the only reason. Does he admit to this in a public place... it's loud enough in here that it should be fine, so...

Ain leans over the table and says quietly:]

You were making me nervous. You and your biceps. And being behind me on the motorcycle like that was dangerous.

[Then he sits back and acts like he did Not just admit to that.]

It's fine, isn't it? I didn't go home messed up or anything.

[lupusxylem]

[Mmmmm Ain. Careful what you say, because Wolfwood is still…very much struggling with his hots for you, and hearing shit like THAT is liable to make him pop a boner again. As it stands, he’s having to take a drink of their free water to keep his mouth occupied before HE says something stupid…

He’ll order an iced tea, if Ain is getting lemonade. He will behave.]

Yeah…I’m sure your mom would’a had a fit if you came home all googly.

[He nudges Ain’s foot under the table with his own as he says that.]

You’ve been ogling me for a while, haven’tcha…

[That’s added in an undertone. They probably shouldn’t talk about this TOO much where they can be overheard, but…he can’t help it.]

[eidxiety]

[These two are barely going to make it through dinner. They're not going to have a romantic walk around the lake because they're both too hormonal to keep their hands to themselves. Ain has no idea how anything works, but he can still admit that he wants Wolfwood all over him in some capacity.

Amazing what a week of self-reflection and wildly horny dreams does for a man and his self-discovery arc.]

Hard not to, when you're such a showoff. [wow] You flexed in the middle of a bar. ["For me" goes unspoken, for obvious reasons.] You don't know how to wear a shirt, either.

[Ain can pretend he's looking at the cross hanging between Wolfwood's pecs and not the pecs themselves, can't he? Yeah. He's doing that.]

[lupusxylem]

[Yeah this is why Wolfwood is already thinking about what hotels they could swing by in town. Maybe he could book two rooms so it didn’t seem like they were staying in one together…

Wait, Ain is talking.]

Hey, I wear shirts just fine. What if I get hot?

[IT IS WINTER.]

And besides…can’t really help but show off. You never know who’s lookin.

[He nudges him with his foot again just as their drinks come by and they’re handed the actual dinner menus. Seafood…Wolfwood had really fancy lobster last time he had seafood, and he’s not about to order something like that on Ain’s dime. Maybe he’ll just get a salmon entree…]

[eidxiety]

Mmhmmmm. And that's why I called you a showoff.

[Ain thinks he's going to get something fancy. Probably the two tail dish that's one Maine lobster and one Caribbean lobster. He's hungry.]

You can get whatever you want, you know.

[Ain is also a rich boy. He's got the cashmere on again.]