|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 6:44 pm
 |
|
|
 |
Dressed in a pair of charcoal gray pants and a black sweater over a white button down shirt, Noah stuck his hands into the pockets of his overcoat and waited, somewhat impatiently, for Ellis to arrive. Not impatiently because he was late or anything, but impatiently because he just wanted to see him after a week of not being able to.
They'd texted, at least. Constantly, enough that Noah sometimes arrived at class with dark circles under his eyes and a sleepy gaze because he'd stayed up too late texting the cute boy he'd made out with at a petting zoo. But it had tided him over until today, when they were both finally free to do something together, and now he was outside of MacBeth's Mac, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.
It probably couldn't have counted as a real date, since all they were doing was having lunch, but Noah was still assuming it was in his head anyway. He glanced at his watch, then stuck his hand back into his pocket again to keep from looking at it for the nineteenth time, instead peering up and down the street for any sign of Ellis.
Calm down, Gallo, calm down.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:27 pm
|
|
|
|
It was ridiculous how much time Ellis spent getting ready. They had spent the last week comparing schedules, pinpointing any few hours they could meet even just to say hello, but between his work schedule and Noah's classes it had seemed like the world was just against them. Then, at last, he had a rare day off and Noah had only morning classes; it was perfect. Yet, somehow, the day of he still spent much too long fussing with his unruly hair and changing his shirt three times and also scrubbing the scuffs from his boot soles. By the time he looked at his phone, a flare of panic rushed through him.
"Oh, I'm gonna be late!" And he was out the door in a flash.
In reality, he was only three minutes late as he rounded the corner and came face-to-face with the restaurant Noah had directed him to. His eyes slid from the storefront down to the people milling in and out of the doorway, landing on a familiar brunette with impossibly alluring green eyes. His heart gave a jump and he smiled, suddenly all too aware of the loud thunk, thunk, thunk the heels of his boots made against the pavement.
"Hey, Noah!"
His face was all bright smiles as he wandered closer. For once, he wasn't carrying a bag or journal and his hair was free hanging around his shoulders in a mass of semi-tamed curls. He had finally just settled on a pair of jeans that he tucked into his favorite boots and a button down flannel in blues and greens that highlighted his bright, baby blues.
"Sorry, I sort of lost track of time and yeah, my bad." He laughed, awkwardly, and tucked a stray hair behind his ear.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:45 pm
|
|
|
|
Noah had taken an equally excessive time getting ready, and then at the last second had changed yet again because what if it looked like he was trying too hard. In the end, he had kept himself as casual as possible while also maintaining a nice clean, neat look.
Hopefully. Possibly it was just all in his head.
What wasn't in his head was the familiar voice calling his name. Noah's head snapped up immediately, swiveling sideways to catch sight of Ellis making his way down the crowded street towards him. Something inside of Noah's chest seemed to unwind at the very sight of him.
"Hi," he said happily, as Ellis came to a stop in front of him. "You're not late, you're perfect."
He'd meant to say perfectly on time but whatever. Noah reached out and put a light hand to Ellis' waist so that he could lean in and give him a light, quick kiss on the lips in greeting; as easily and as casually as if they'd been doing it for years.
"No work today and no afternoon classes," he said as he leaned back, one of Noah's hands going into the pocket of his jeans. "You look really nice. I like that shirt. You ready to eat?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 8:30 pm
|
|
|
|
For his credit, Ellis' face only flushed a little as Noah leaned in and pressed a quick, fleeting kiss against his lips. It was unfairly short but enough that he smiled brightly and eased back into his skin, letting the other's cheery demeanor drain away the tension he had built up over being late to the first date they had managed to arrange since the petting zoo. He raised a hand to his lips and traced the warmth that Noah had left behind, pleased and contented.
Then came a quick flurry of Noah's compliments and he found his smile cracking over a soft laugh. He liked the way he did that, flowing his praises into conversation as easily as breathing.
"Thank you," the hand that had been tracing his lips fell and plucked at the flannel shirt; he had wanted to say something witty but ultimately had nothing spring to mind. He was too distracted by the handsome boy in front of him and the fact that it felt like it had been both forever and no time at all since he last saw him. With as much as they had texted, it almost seemed like they hadn't even parted ways. It made him feel a little guilty since he was always texting him during his late work hours but he told himself that Noah wouldn't answer if he was sleeping; he almost always did.
"Yes, please, I'm starving." He reached out and hooked a finger playfully in Noah's belt loop before he used the connection to tug him forward, toward the door of a place that he had honestly never seen. As his hand dropped back to his side, he paused in front of the door, sparing a moment to look through the glass.
"What kind of place is it?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 8:49 pm
|
|
|
|
He really needed Ellis to not look at him like that because otherwise Noah was just going to find the nearest corner and kiss him senseless.
As it was, he just grinned over at him, stupidly happy and stupidly smitten with this pretty redhead who was smiling shyly at him and touching his lips after the kiss and who was looping one of his fingers into Noah's belt loop like it was the most natural thing in the world. Noah had fallen asleep in the middle of texting at least twice during the week, but this hadn't really stopped him from texting Ellis more than he'd probably texted anyone, ever.
He followed obediently inside, letting Ellis tow him, amused and pleased all at the same time. "It's a diner kinda place," said Noah, as Ellis' hand fell away. "They have the best mac and cheese in all of DC, but if you don't like mac and cheese, they have like burgers and salads and fries and stuff, you know, greasy diner but less skeeve, more deliciousness."
He pushed open the door and reached back to take Ellis' hand, a shameless excuse to touch him if ever there was one. Noah made work of the seating with a brisk and easy conversation with the hostess, and then they were led to a cherry red booth next to a window.
"Hopefully you like diner food, did I even ask if you did..?" Noah asked, frowning slightly as he slid into one side, which forced him to let go of Ellis' hand so that he could get comfortable. "There are other places if you don't like this."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 8:41 am
|
|
|
|
Ellis couldn't contain the smile on his face as Noah grabbed his hand and towed him into the diner and he was sure that the hostess tossed him more than one odd stare even if it wasn't the least bit malicious. He probably looked like a complete fool but he was beyond caring, at least so long as the other boy was in his proximity.
"I love diner food," his response was quick, an attempt to convince Noah that they didn't have to leave at all, but in reality there wasn't much that Ellis didn't like. He had grown up arguably poor which meant diner type food was very familiar and, in a way, comforting to him. The only thing he really ever put his foot down about was pepperoni - why was it always so spicy and greasy?
He slid into the opposite side of the booth from Noah and settled in as his eyes fluttered out and roamed the diner he had chosen. It was comfortable and easy and, he thought, probably why the other boy had chosen to bring him here. Maybe he hadn't thought that far ahead and Ellis was just attributing traits to Noah that he wanted to but he definitely didn't feel the usual awkward tension of a new place here; it was nice.
"Mac and cheese sounds really good!"
Bright blues pulled back to meet the other's gaze before he reached for the menus that had been set down before them. Noah was right - it was the average American diner with all the things that he could ever want.
"So does a milkshake..."
No, he as definitely not already looking at dessert.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 9:39 am
|
|
|
|
"Good," said Noah, sounding relieved, because it would have been fine to relocate, but this place really did have great mac and cheese and he was kind of in the mood for that. This place was cheerful, a little loud and boisterous, casual and fun; essentially Noah, if he was a diner, though slightly less contained than Noah was. The music was equally as bright, some bouncy tune that was probably from current day but made to sound as though it had a fifties sort of vibe to it.
"The milkshakes are great, depending on what you get, they put bits of cheesecake in them," said Noah, who'd only glanced briefly at the menu before putting it back down again. "I'm gonna get the barbecue chicken mac and cheese and then for dessert, one of those chocolate lava cake things that's probably like nine thousand calories, but who cares about calories anymore if it's delicious."
He grinned over at Ellis, feeling silly and pleased. Noah toyed with the edge of his napkin holder, tugging at the paper sleeve.
"So?" he said. "How was work? I know you got off a little late last night, did anything exciting happen?"
It had been one of those days that had had Noah drifting off to sleep before Ellis was done, phone still on and in his hand when he'd woken up. He'd had to hastily charge it before going to class, since the battery had dropped significantly, but it had been worth it to stay up a little later just to see that notification that had a text had come in from Ellis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 11:02 am
|
|
|
|
"Mmm," was Ellis' only response to the cheesecake bits, too distracted by the menu to say much else. He was one of those people that read every menu item in fine detail though he was a pretty quick read at least. It only took a few minutes before he had been through it and, after skimming the few things he had in mind, he finally settled it back to the table and brought his gaze back up to Noah's. Ellis figured he must have been pretty often if he didn't even have to look.
"I think I'm getting the fried green tomato grilled cheese," the name was unassuming but it had pimento cheese and grilled, buttery goodness. "Maybe the brownie batter milkshake, but that's a much harder choice."
Honestly, Ellis was really excited for both things but mildly overwhelmed (in a good way) with all the different choices. How as he supposed to pick just one thing? He plucked at the corner of his menu as he leaned forward and propped his chin in the opposite hand, watching Noah across the table.
"Oh, it was a regular bar shift. We had to kick a drunk guy out for getting handy with one of our girls, Inga. I'm pretty sure she was close to putting her heel through his eye so that was probably more for his sake than hers." To Ellis, it was just par for the course, so he just shrugged it off with an amused smile. "It did take a lot longer to close up than usual, though, the boss man made us do a liquor count before we could go. I'm pretty sure he thinks someone is stealing booze."
It never bothered Ellis to work late; money was money and he made great tips at the bar. His only regret was that sometimes, now, it meant he didn't get to talk to Noah as much as he wanted. He'd sent a late text but knew when he didn't get an answer that the brunette must have fallen asleep.
"I hope you didn't stay up too late waiting for me. I know you had a pretty early class, right?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 11:37 am
|
|
|
|
Noah was perfectly fine with the noncommittal response, because he was too busy watching Ellis be, frankly, pretty damn adorable as he pored over the menu with those baby blues laser honed on every detail. Noah pressed his lips together, suppressing a smile, his gaze flickering over the red curls that were mostly pulled back and tamed now, though a few stray strands were falling free around his slender face.
"I had that the last time I came here," said Noah, as Ellis finally looked up. "It's great. I don't really know if there's anything bad on here except maybe the popcorn dessert but that's only because I don't really like popcorn all that much."
The smile dipped a little into a frown. "Dude, what a skeezeball. I hope she'd kick her foot into his face, that's messed up."
Noah had grown up in an enormous extended family that involved a lot of very strong and opinionated women, not to mention his grandmother and cousin-in-law who were all the sort of people you didn't want to try and mess with. He tried to think of what would happen if someone got handy with any of them and came up with something that probably wouldn't be fit for human eyes.
"Do you know who might be stealing booze?" Noah asked, and then grinned. "I didn't stay up that late." Just late enough to hope that he'd wake up to a text, and he had. "I made it to Statistics all right but sometimes I wish I hadn't, because that class is so boring."
The waitress - a pretty blonde with a nametag that read Julia in flowery script - swung by, pad and paper in hand.
"Drinks?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 1:18 pm
|
|
|
|
It probably shouldn't have been as cute to see Ellis wrinkle his nose that way, but it was. Possibly Noah was just stupidly smitten and everything seemed cute, but that was beside the point.
"True," Noah conceded, fingers absently drawing circles atop the plastic menu. "Better tips equal more livable wage, but too much booze equals more douchebags that you want to kick in the balls. Or the face, depending. Or both. It's a shitty double edged sword there."
He glanced over at Ellis, frowning slightly, half because of the idea of late night drunks being assholes to Ellis and half because Ellis himself was looking a little downcast. Noah opened his mouth to say something - he wasn't even sure what - but the arrival of the waitress seemed to wipe the discouraged look right out of Ellis' face.
"Me too, please," said Noah, smiling up at her. "And water too."
Once she had gone with a flip of her blonde hair, he refocused his attentions back to Ellis. Keeping his tone light, he asked casually, "You haven't had to deal with too many of those, uh, late night drunks yourself, have you?
He hoped not, but there was no denying that Ellis was beautiful to look at, and as much as he wanted to think otherwise, there was a strong possibility that those incredible good looks of his were bound to attract attention here and there.
"Anyone untoward flirt with you recently? With the exception of strange boys who help you get sticks out of your hair," Noah added.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 1:30 pm
|
|
|
|
A slim, red brow raised at the way the other boy was beating around the bush with his questions. It amused him and, despite their current topic, kept his heart light. He chewed a moment at his lip as he considered his answer and drummed his fingers against the table top again, contented with his chin still resting in his palm and his elbow on the table.
"Are you getting jealous, Mr. Gallo?"
A playful, impish laugh passed his lips and he shifted his feet beneath the booth to kick lightly at the insole of Noah's foot. It was a goodnatured tease and, in reality, the idea of him being jealous at all set a pleasant fluttering in his chest. He supposed that if the tables had been turned, he would have been a little curious too. Hell, he had found himself wondering more than once who Noah might know at school since he spent most of his time on campus. He'd never been to college, true, but he had seen plenty of sleazy movies.
"It happens sometimes, I guess? And sometimes it's more welcome than other times, but I've never made a habit of letting anyone pick me up from the bar. It's bad for business and I don't think it's good to make your first impression on someone when you're drunk y'know?" He had done his fair share of stupid things on nights he had a little too much himself, some of which were still haunting him and making him uneasy. "I much prefer strange collisions in the park with green-eyed heroes."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 2:03 pm
|
|
|
|
"I'm not jealous," Noah protested, with an air of mock wounded dignity. "Just, you know. Concerned.
But the corners of his mouth twitched, indicating he was on the verge of a smile. Noah said, "Okay, maybe I'm a little curious to know if I have any competition that I have to work against, and yes, maybe a little jealous if that means they get to spend more time with you."
He felt Ellis' foot tap against his own, playful and light. Noah grinned across the table at him. "I mean, that's true. Drunken encounters mostly lead to more regrets than cute meetings like in the park, so I feel I have a leg up on that respect, maybe. And I mean...it may not have been a pick up at the bar, but I definitely was trying to pick you up at your work, so I feel this is a win win situation we're in."
The waitress swung by to their table with drinks and an expectant look on her face. Noah placed his order, waited for Ellis to do the same, and then passed both of their menus to her as she trotted off. Noah leaned back in his seat, arms folded across his chest to watch Ellis.
He wanted to ask about attachments; about those more welcome than other times incidents, but shooed the thoughts away.
"Also I wouldn't call myself a hero," he said. "Just stumbled across a beautiful woodland nymph in need of some help."
The grin widened.
"Which I was only too happy to supply."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 2:51 pm
|
|
|
|
The redhead wanted to keep a smile on his face and pretend that there was nothing that might turn Noah off from him; he wanted to stay in this comfortable little bubble with him, where everything was sweet and weightless. With Noah he didn't have to worry about what he said or how stressed out he felt but he knew that this was only a half truth. This was easy for him, in this moment, because he wasn't honest just yet about all the baggage he felt was weighing him down whenever they were apart. He drew a deep, careful breath and let his eyes drop away as his smile faded.
"So I wanted to talk about this in person because, I dunno, texts can get misinterpreted and stuff but I maybe did something dumb a few months ago when I was drunk and it made a really big mess of something that wasn't supposed to be a really big mess."
He paused for a breath as he chewed at the inside of his lip, fighting the way his pulse was quickening and his chest was tightening. It always seemed to do this whenever he thought of Pietro but, too, he was worried that he was going to say these things to Noah and it would turn this charming, adorable boy against him. He didn't know him well enough to know how he would react and anxious as he was, he always defaulted to the worst case scenario. As he was too nervous to look him in the eyes, he dropped both of his hands to his straw and plopped it into his drink.
That at least gave him the ability to begin nervously toying with the wrapper to keep his hands busy.
"I have, had? A best friend that I grew up with, he lived with me when his dad died and then he moved into my apartment when he left high school. Things got really weird between us because he, well, I don't really know why.." he shook his head as he thought about it, still confused about why K had been so angry and hurtful when all Ellis had ever wanted to do was help him, "so I got really afraid and confronted him when I was drunk one night, we ended up kind of hooking up, and I think I just made things more weird because now the lines are all blurry and I don't even know if we're actually friends anymore."
The long he spoke, the quieter his voice got and the more the words all jumbled and ran together in an endless sentence. It was easy to see that he was affected by all of this but hard to tell which emotion was stronger. He was a mess of shame and concern, guilt and pain. His mouth set into a deep frown and his eyes were staring, intense, at the wrapper he was rolling and unrolling in his fingertips.
"I just... want you to know that. I don't know how it's going to make you feel because he still technically lives with me even if I never even see him and he's dating someone else. I just want to keep my friend, but..."
But he was at a loss.
"I just really like you, Noah," he mumbled, at last, still unable to look up, "and I don't want to hide that stuff."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 3:20 pm
|
|
|
|
Noah watched the smile fade from Ellis' face and felt something in his stomach curdle. He'd said something wrong, he knew it - or maybe - s**t, maybe Ellis was already seeing someone and it was complicated or he was married or dating or whatever it was and he was going to let Noah down easily and -
He clamped a pillow over his runaway thoughts and focused on Ellis, Noah's fingers idly curling around a leather wristband he was wearing. Drunk and did something dumb didn't quite make things sound as though they were going to get any better, considering they had just talked about how drunks had regrets.
Ellis was nervous, that was for sure; he wasn't looking at Noah, but at the table, which made Noah himself nervous, though marginally better at not showing it.
Slowly he put the pieces together, even with Ellis' mumbled responses. Childhood best friend. Complicated friendship. Drunk night leading to drunk hookup. Guy still lives with Ellis, even with all of the complications. Guy dating someone else. Ellis' feelings towards him are...
Noah had no answer to that last one. He wasn't sure whether or not he even wanted to know the answer, but at the same time...Ellis was being honest with him. He was opening up and talking to him, and that was pretty damn brave considering this was all of the third time they had met. It took an awful lot to even say that sort of thing.
Under the table, Noah slid his leg forward, gently tapping Ellis' ankle with his foot.
"Thanks for telling me," he said gently. "Really."
There was a pause, and then Noah eased himself out of his side of the booth, taking a few steps before sliding into the seat beside Ellis instead. There wasn't a whole lot of room, considering Ellis was in the middle of the bench, but that just meant that Noah's side was pressed up against Ellis'. He twisted a little so that he was facing Ellis, resting an elbow on the table, propping his head up in his hand.
"Hey," said Noah softly. "Ellis. Look at me."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
