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 Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:56 pm
Well...this hadn’t quite been the reaction he had wanted, all he had really wanted was some nervous laughter and perhaps a charmingly adorable blush across Evans cheeks, not for him to disappear and not resurface again.
He gave the other male a solid forty seconds and finally he ducked beneath the table, frowning slightly. “Hey. Are you okay? I didn’t mean to freak you out or anything, I just like getting a rise out of you, it’s nothing personal...don’t hide from me, Evan. Please?”
His voice was soft and much more gentle than normal and he sighed reaching out and brushing his fingertips against Evan’s cheek. “I think you’re a really nice guy, and I really do want to get to know you better. I want to be friends, and I want to see what happens. If you aren’t interested in any type of a relationship, I’m not going to push it. I’ll tease you, sure...but I’m not going to push you. I don’t want to really overstep with you, honestly, I’m not sure you could take much more than teasing…”
Tobias moved a little closer and nudged Evan’s hand. “Don’t be upset. We can talk about food some more, come on, Ev. Don’t clam up on me now...we were having such a good time. I’m sorry.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:57 pm
Evan felt guilty, of course, for hiding. It was just so easy—a habit he hadn’t quite been able to shake. When he had been a youma, loathe as he was to recall such a time, hiding had been second nature. He was small and could disappear. Now, it wasn’t quite so easy.
He didn’t pull away when Tobias stroked his cheek, though he kept his face buried in one hand.
“No,” he said quickly, trying to shove away the ball of awkward anxiety building in his stomach. “It wasn’t you,” he lied. “I hit my head on the chair.”
He tried to make it as convincing as he could and rubbed the temple closest to the chair and farthest from Tobias’ hand. “I’m not clamming up or anything, I’m fine. I just dropped my fork. And, I don’t mind teasing or anything, that’s okay.” He was used to it, malicious or otherwise. Sometimes he couldn’t tell the difference, but he was trying. “I just haven’t had anyone teasing me like that for a while. So you keep surprising me with it, sorry. But. Yeah, I mean, I told you about the whole me and not relationshipping thing. I just don’t have time for it, I’m too busy.”
Another lie, but he was going to try to be too busy.
He just couldn’t imagine being in a relationship with someone and opening up those doors, those secrets. Evan was making slow, careful strides in improvement; he didn’t know if he could handle the anxiety of trying to sustain a perfect relationship and be everything his partner needed. Or, maybe, that was what he needed. Cambria and Zac were giving him the freedom to develop into his own person, but he was so afraid of developing into the wrong person, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad to have someone help him.
Only, he knew if he told Zac or Cambria that, they’d probably point out a hundred flaws in that way of thinking. He needed to be able to stand on his own two feet and not use someone else as a crutch, or he’d wind up pushing them away and just be back to where he was now, only worse.
“…No,” he said after a moment. “That’s not quite right. I have time, it’s just. I haven’t exactly had the best year, so I’m trying to focus on me, some. I have to work on some things, and if I was with someone, I’d probably just get them tangled up in this mess, and that’s not very fair to them. I mean, I know you just said ‘sleeping with’, I know that’s not ‘relationship’. I know those two things aren’t the same.”
Evan groaned and rubbed at his face out of exasperation but tried to play it off as just having bumped his head. “Maybe I knocked myself harder than I thought, I’m not making much sense. I mean—yeah. We should get up. Your food is going to get cold so you should eat it now while it’s good.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:58 pm
“Well, I hope your head is okay, do you need ice or something?” It was a bullshit excuse, and Tobias knew it, but if Evan wanted the lie, he’d give it to him. Again his fingertips brushed the side of Evan’s cheek and he watched the boy. “In my book, in my humble world of superior knowledge from my almost twenty six years on this planet, sleeping with someone doesn’t have to mean you’re in a relationship with them, but it often leads to something like that, so I’ll save those ah. Jokes for when we’re better friends, or for when you just can’t resist my good looks and charm anymore, eh?” He winked and grinned, hoping that Evan got that this was again nothing more than a joke and moved out from under the table, trying to tug the darker haired male with him.
“You’re right though, the food is going to get cold, and the food is so good, it doesn’t deserve to remain uneaten. What did you put in here to make it so amazing? And these carrots...Evan I’m not even a fan of carrots, but I’ve eaten most of these...it is some sort of magic?”
Tobias narrowed his eyes and gave Evan a mock horrified look. “Are you a food wizard?”
Evan liked talking about food. This was moving things back in the direction he wanted. He’d have to be a lot more careful about his words if he was going to really get what he wanted from this kid. A lot more careful indeed.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:58 pm
Evan seemed to relax when Tobias made his first joke; he breathed a sigh of relief, both at the lie having seeming gone unnoticed and at Tobias’ effort to keep things lighthearted. He offered a smile, even, and let Tobias tug him out from under the table.
He relaxed more when Tobias brought up the food; it was obviously his comfort zone. He wiped off his fork and flashed an appreciative smile before allowing himself another bite. “No, I just pay attention to the food. You just have to care about the meal you’re making, and who you’re making it for. I like cooking, it’s an art. I mean, if that doesn’t sound pretentious or anything. But I just think that it’s something that should be beautiful and should be enjoyed. Your taste buds need to be rewarded just as much as your eyes are ears, you know?”
Evan nibbled on another bite and managed to laugh, probably at himself. “I’m sorry, that has to sound cheesy. But a good meal can be good for your body, mind and soul. I mean—I think so, at least. But then again, my favorite food is Kraft’s Mac and Cheese, and that’s definitely not good for your body. But it’s good for everything else. For me, at least. Oh, and Dr. Pepper.” He took a quick swig and managed to down half the can. “But, again. Definitely not good for your body.”
And it was as simple as that; a few nice words here and there, and Evan seemed back to a good mood. Food was clearly the secret to his heart—or, at least, to getting him to open up a bit.
If the rest of the night went like this, they wouldn’t have any problems getting along.
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