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He'd been on his way to the grocery store when his phone buzzed. Lucas, already being down two limbs, was a firm believer in not answering the phone while driving, and thankfully, the parking lot wasn't far. A minute later and he hopped out of the truck, plucked his phone out of his back pocket and raised his brows at the unfamiliar number. A message and -- a text?

Opening the message, his expression went from a wry 'who do I get to 'new phone who dis' at' to sheer surprise and joy, grinning as if the man on the other end was there himself. Even with only one arm, he was able to type back at a decent pace, already eager to set something in stone.



Lucas' grin was near s**t-eating status, hitting send before he changed his mind. Poor Rylan. Best he knew what he was getting into beforehand.

He'd mentally pat himself on the back and was going to go have a good time shopping for his not-so-good food, but his phone buzzed before he made it much through the door. Plucking it out again, he read the message and --

Ohsweetjesus. How did Lucas forget Rylan was just as good at teasing as he was?

Ducking into the beer and wine aisle, he pressed his back against one of the cold doors that people could open to purchase their goods already frosty, biting his bottom lip and grinning like a loon.



It wasn't until he'd already hit send that he realized that could be in a different context. It wasn't wrong, but...oh well. It was out there. Lucas could only laugh under his breath, waiting a moment before he'd try to shop again - just in case.

It was a good thing he waited. When his phone buzzed, he was ready.

Except apparently he wasn't.

Lucas slowly tilted his head to the side, rubbing his neck with his good hand. Shirts optional. And what was he supposed to do, just stare at Rylan while he cleaned, sopping wet? ...okay, but are you really complaining about that...?


And that was being honest.


Okay. Okay calm down, Casanova.

He started to move out of the aisle, expecting a simple response with an address, maybe. But no. No, Rylan was going to keep him on his motherflippin' toes - or on his face from tripping over his own feet. Lucas stumbled and whirled back around into the aisle, clenching his prosthetic hand as tightly as he was clenching his jaw, making faint sounds in the way someone would sound if they hurt themselves and didn't want to make a scene out of it.

The reasons for the sounds were different, but it was a better alternative to throwing his head back and laughing like a lunatic in the beer aisle.


He had to pause, holding the phone, extending his prosthetic fingers in punctuation of all the things he wanted to say and would not. It took him a minute to finish responding.

And on the other spectrum, Lucas was trying to tell himself this was not a date, it was just getting together with a dude in an attempt to be friends.

Yeah. Because friends talk to each other the way we were texting.

He grinned for what was probably the twentieth time that day, shaking his head to himself at the memory of the brief but loaded discussion. There was no denying they were flirting, and that wasn't exactly unusual for Lucas, but the thrill of it was a bit new. He had lost count of how many times he had to tell himself that it was different, because he wasn't just trying to get in Rylan's pants, he really did want to know the guy better. He was big-hearted, upbeat, friendly, playful --

And you're a monster.

And for what was probably also the twentieth time that day, the grin faltered with a flinch. He staved off the guilt and uncertainty that followed as he pulled up to the given address (a house? nice!) in his own pick up, glancing to his phone and then up to the yard --

-- and there Rylan was, complete with Fidget, just as relaxed as can be. It tugged a smile from him again, blanketing his 'bigger' problems. He was just there to have a good time with a friend. A "friend." Whatever.

Lucas hopped out of his truck with two blue six packs linked in his prosthetic fingers, his good hand holding onto a rope dog toy. He wasn't dressed much differently than when they'd met, ponytail, jeans, an army green tank top and boots, just comfortable clothes to get wet and possibly burnt from grilling. An easy grin took over his features as he closed in, lifting the hand with the toy in a wave. "Lookin' good, Chief! Nice place!"

"Flatterer," he retorted with a wide grin, glancing around the area and placing the beer by the bucket of ice. Righting himself, he switched the toy to his prosthetic and offered his good hand to shake in greeting - what the hell else could he do, go in for a hug? - and held up the toy, rolling it between his fingers. "This okay for Fidget? I don't like to visit empty handed." And he wasn't going to assume what dog toy was or wasn't safe for the dalmatian. Trying to impress a man and his dog was not as easy as one would think.

Lucas looked at the house in question, brows lifted, impressed. "Nice lookin' place, honestly. You ever get to spend time at home, though? I mean, twenty-four hour shifts? I'd have thought you'd want to hibernate all of today."

The offer, however, earned another grin, crooked and teasing. "Let's manage yours first, Chief. See if I survive that much."

With permission granted, Lucas tossed the toy towards Fidget, pleased with himself. As a self proclaimed lover of animals, it always made him feel like he'd done well to earn their excitement, even if it was a sort of bribe. He had scarcely let go of Rylan's hand when the comment-slash-invitation was made, one brow lifting. It took a few good seconds for the man to gather his exceptionally scattered wits to laugh it off, replying with a sort of playful tone, "Sounds nice. Maybe you can give me a tour at some point." Like hell Lucas was going to let that slide unaddressed.

Rylan's laughter was an easy way to shock his brain out of most of his uncertainties and fears from the last week, expression somewhere between admiration and amusement. "Long nights, eh? If you're allowed company, you have my number. I don't sleep all that much anyway." Yeah that was a little forward, but it was easy to make reasons to see him again, even in his current presence. "I can at least bring some food or beer if it's too slow."

And just like that, it was game on. Lucas didn't miss the 'right away' bit, insinuating it would happen eventually. He had the feeling his cheeks were going to be sore from grinning so much. "I have no shame, if I haven't made that abundantly clear yet. That being said," he stretched out himself, arm over his head and pulling his prosthetic over his shoulder, eyeing Rylan in an unabashed manner, "what do you prefer? I can wait if you want. I'm a very patient man." Now he wasn't entirely sure what he himself was insinuating, but half the fun was letting Rylan take from it what he wanted.