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 Posted: Tue May 20, 2025 6:22 pm
Mason hummed excitedly to himself as he turned a corner onto the street upon which, according to his Maps app and the address Khaz had provided, Khaz lived. Mason hadn't managed to keep his elation hidden from Madeline throughout the week - she knew every time a text came through, even with his phone completely on silent, because she had eyes and could see the big ol' stupid grin on his face.
But he had managed to keep the details from her - he'd said he'd made a new friend, was all, and wasn't he allowed to make friends? Wasn't he allowed to hang out with said friends? Wasn't he allowed to hang out with said friends on his own, since they were his friends, not their friends?
It had been a fight, to say the least.
However. Even if Mason hadn't won the fight, per se, it certainly had been a draw, and Mason had walked away with the prize - possession of the car keys, which were critical for the day's plans.
Once he'd gotten far enough away from the house, excitement for the day's plans had overtaken the anxiety that always came with he and Madeline being out of sync.
He had never been on a date before. He had never planned a date before, and he was determined to make sure his first one wasn't anything other than perfect.
...Or as perfect as it could be, given that Mason was but a boy, limited by his geographical location and somewhat limited by funds. He couldn't take Khaz to space, or the North Pole, or even something as doable-for-some-people-probably as Paris.
But, he'd reasoned, that might be kind of excessive for a first date anyway. So he'd settled on something a little more simple, but a little bit off-beat; something unique, he hoped, that Khaz hadn't done before.
Mason pulled to the side of the road, took a deep breath, checked his hair in the mirror, then turned off the car and locked it. He made his way up to the front door and knocked (after wiping his sweaty hands on his thighs), because it was much more polite than pulling into the driveway and honking, like a savage. However. It was a high risk play, because Mason had no idea what to say if anyone other than Khaz answered the door. He'd just have to pray, then charm and smile his way through whoever it was that opened the door.
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 12:31 pm
Khaz had bidden his mother good-bye for the day, been informed that his cousin and younger sister were off to his younger sister's first trip to her homeworld, and was now home alone, waiting for his first date with his first boyfriend. Well. First date with anyone at all. Given that he wasn't ready to have this conversation with friends or family, though, apparently, Keesh and Yasmeen were VERY okay with this relationship, he hadn't gotten around to telling his mother that he had a boyfriend.
And now he was in his room, desperately working out what to wear. The makeup, at least, had been easy, just a little something subtle around the eyes to accentuate their rich, cool green depths, and the faintest of lip glosses. Hair had been similarly simple, just neatly comb it after a shower, and trim the facial hair. Mason hadn't told him where they were going, just said it was going to be a surprise.
Elegant? Nope, felt wrong for a weekend in daylight. Mind you, Khaz didn't have much that other people would define as "casual"...but he had a pair of casual linen pants, simple and elegant, but allowing freedom of moment and not causing him to overheat in the Virginia weather. Pair it with a non-clashing button-up, close-fitting linen shirt just a teensy bit too short to keep tucked, maybe leave the top couple buttons unbuttoned, have the sleeves rolled up over the elbows...yeeesss, that looked attractive, but not too formal.
Which left the shoes. Ummm. New problem. After a few minutes of self-argument, he settled on a pair of sandals. Just in time for the doorbell to ring.
Grabbing the sandals, Khaz dashed out of his room and down the stairs to the front hallway, pausing only a moment to catch his breath before opening the door.
"Hi," he said, trying to control his breathing and leaning on the doorframe casually, trying to pretend that the arm holding him up wasn't the one holding his sandals that were preventing him from actually leaving the house. "I hope I wasn't keeping you long," he added awkwardly.
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 6:26 pm
Mason beamed in spite of himself as Khaz opened the door - not just from the relief of not seeing anyone unexpected behind the door, but because of the funny swoop his stomach gave at just that glance.
"Not at all," Mason said. "You look great," he added, because he did. It seemed very unfair to Mason, suddenly, that someone could look as good in a swimsuit as they did in regular street clothes - sure, Mason had seen him without a shirt already, but the little patch of skin left bare by the unbuttoned shirt still made his heart thud distractingly in his chest. Mason, for his part, was wearing a black t-shirt that said ROMAINE CALM with a startled piece of lettuce on it, a black-and-white plaid overshirt, tight black jeans and a pair of Converse.
He had to make sure Khaz liked puns, or this would never work.
"Hope I didn't get here too early," he added, raising his eyebrows at the edge of shoe that was just peeking out from the doorframe. But he smiled reassuringly and leaned against the outer frame, trying to project an image of cool and collected cool collectedness, and not make it super obvious that he was as excited--anxious--excited--anxcited?--as he was.
"Don't worry, there's no reservations or anything. We're not in that big a rush, but it does still require shirts and shoes for service," he added teasingly. "You get three guesses where we're going," Mason continued, because he felt like he had to talk or he'd just die. "I'll even give you hotter/colder, 'cause I'm a generous surprise date-planner. Maybe, if you figure it out before we get there, you'll even get a little reward."
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