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At Pasi's nod Dorian took up his credit card. There was an uncomfortable tightness in his abdomen- as though somebody had seized his bellybutton with a fishhook and pulled up from the inside. He was willing to pay. He was surprised by the cost. Had expected it to be more. Still, it was a lot of money, and Dorian had grown up poor. Impossible not to feel a little bit ill over the surprise expense.

This is my life, he thought, and didn't know whether he was making fun of himself or not.

Dorian left his juice on a surface where there could be no danger of it falling off, and stepped to the dekstop to pay. He did not sit, but leaned over Pasi's chair to enter his credit card information; sock-feet steady on the ground, thighs slender, the rest of him lean. Dorian had the posture of someone who spent too much time sitting at a desk, and a bump on his index finger because he still liked to write mostly by hand. The shirt he wore -Pasi's shirt- was just on this side of being too large for him.

"I met him online," he said, uncertain about why he'd said it. He held the credit card with one hand and did everything else with the other. Was familiar enough with the keyboard for this one-finger-at-a-time-thing not to take forever. "On Tinder. Have you ever done that before? Tindered?"

He was thoughtful. Thinking about Pasi's warning from earlier. It could be very dangerous to meet strangers in Destiny City.

Dorian had not, in fact, bent over to give Pasi a view. He was nervous about sitting. Not the sort to make himself at home in another man's space-- what if he broke the chair? Pasi must have outweighed him by fifty pounds. The chair seemed to bear his weight just fine. But still

He paid. Felt the expense like the credit card was a part of him. It sat on his chest. Made it difficult to breathe, but only a little.

'No. Too dangerous here, and stupid.'

Dorian plucked at the edge of his card, and then slipped it into his back pocket. At Pasi's words he was not insulted. Not really. Thoughtful was the better word for what he felt. Pasi's disapproval seemed perfectly fitting. Truly, the Finn was only surprising when he was kind. Dorian did not mind that he thought Tinder was stupid-- stupid for what it was, or stupid because it was dangerous? Probably, it didn't matter.

He turned to face Pasi. Smiled delicately. Moved to collect his First Date shirt from where he'd left it on the sofa.

"I did want to get laid, yes," he said, voice soft, but steady. A flush started under the collar of Pasi's shirt, and crawled up Dorian's neck. It lit up his face. He pretended it was not there-- and was not actually shy about the fact of the sex that he'd wanted. Getting laid was just a technicality. A lot of people ******** all the time.

It was everything else -the craving for companionship and connection, killiing loneliness- that embarrassed him.

"Thank you for the shirt," he said, knowing that he was repeating himself. Do I just ask to leave? Are we finished here? His gaze flickered from the bredth of Pasi's chest to the door. "Do you live alone?"

Are you single? is what he really wanted to know. Insanity. He is a stranger-- but then, he wouldn't be the first, would he? I just want to not think for a little while.

'Do you want me to ******** you?'

He looks at me as if he already knows the answer. Does he want it too- or is that just my reflection?

Still smiling, Dorian bit his lip. Pasi's fingers were warm around his chin- slightly calloused, his grip not as forceful as it was direct. To the point. Like the rest of him.

Dorian half-exhaled, half-laughed; a soft sound that started in his throat, where his heart had buoyed itself. He wanted to touch Pasi. Could not help feeling hesitant. His fingers twitched.

It has been so long. What if I've forgotten how? What if it doesn't work? Will he make me pay for the headboard if we break that too?

He swallowed. Reached for Pasi's wrists and took hold of them to stop his fingers trembling.

"...yes," a breath, cheeks aflame, all of him somehow both shy and ready at the same time. Dorian drew Pasi's hands from his chin. Guided them to his hips. He was small and compact compared to Pasi's thick muscle. For Dorian the difference in their sizes was more than a little bit thrilling. He arched up on his toes, brushed the tip of his nose up against Pasi's. Wondered if he was being too forward, or maybe too sentimental?

He smiled anyways, and his heart gave a little flutter.