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He hadn't been sleeping, had scarcely been home save to shower and change his dressings and clothes, and now -- in an effort to let Thorne get his check up without the werewolf leering over him -- Lucas was at Rylan's place. For a date. A real date. The one they'd agreed on so many sunny days ago.

There were a million reasons Lucas could have kept pushing off the date but every single one rung the alarm in his head that he was delaying, and that even if he had more hair now than ever in his life, Rylan had also been there that fateful night. They both had a boyfriend in the hospital. If ever there was a time for them to bond and be there for each other, it was now. Lucas could usually count on himself to be the one to make things lighter and easier, but his dressings were still wet beneath his black button-up (like hell he was going to let Rylan see that right now) and he still had a tail fit out beneath it over his dark blue jeans. The jacket he was wearing covered the extra appendage and his ears, but there was no hiding his red eyes or fuller beard. He was still a full werewolf, still in the throes of Trying To Deal With It, and he was hoping like hell that Rylan wasn't going to shoot him on sight.

Swallowing hard, he shifted the special heated boxes he'd brought for their dinner - steak, tri tip and rib combo with loaded potato side - his claws curled through a six pack of Rylan's favorite beer. Lucas adjusted the collar of his shirt, unbuttoning the top two buttons to give him some room to breathe - and it was only then he realized that he was actually nervous about this. They'd agreed to be boyfriends, but jesus, a date? A real honest-to-goodness date? With the memory of how their second meeting had gone still lingering? He swallowed audibly this time, literally able to feel himself over-thinking, prompting him to knock on the door abruptly.

Panic briefly seized him but he fought it back down. No turning back, you promised you'd try! You want this to be real! That thought settled him a little, but just barely. This was Rylan, after all, a real life piece of art. And he's my boyfriend. Despite himself, Lucas grinned, fangs flashing over his bottom lip in pride.

The door opened and -- <********> How did that man look better every time he saw him? It was unfair. Lucas blinked owlishly at Rylan before his grin returned, fanged and crooked and easy, it was always so easy with the firefighter. "I told you, I go all in. No half-assing that. Speaking of, wait til you see my tail." He laughed, soft and understated, eyes roving Rylan's very welcome appearance. "God, you really are a sight for sore eyes," he murmured, leaning into gravitational pull that would not be denied, imparting a kiss intended to give as much comfort as it was to take from it.

It was chaste, however, Lucas abruptly leaning back again. "s**t. That's supposed to be the end of the date, isn't it?" Even if he'd warned teasingly he liked to kiss before dates, it wasn't like they hadn't before. It was just -- a lot more sharp teeth and facial hair than last time.

Once inside, Lucas balanced the food and drink between his clawed hands, pulling the jacket off and freeing his tail. He cocked his hips to the side, the tail lifting and wagging a little on display. "I can't even make this s**t up. Do you know how weird it is to shower with this thing?" It wagged a few more times, seemingly against the man's will, prompting him to turn around to face Rylan with a touch of embarrassment. Running his free hand over his beard to a long ear and finally over his ponytail, his red eyes remained somewhat averted, letting Rylan see just what had happened to him. He didn't really know what to say about it: congrats, your boyfriend is a furry?

A little sheepish, he lifted the food and beer on his prosthetic clawed hand. "It's -- it's really good to see you. I missed you."

Those amber eyes trailing over him made his tail tuck a little against his thighs, nervous. He really didn't know how well Rylan was going to receive him, seeing him like this, knowing what he was by sight now and beyond words. The beer was mentioned and Lucas cracked a small smile, nodding. "You can take up all six if you want. I don't know that I want to see what happens if I get buzzed like this." Rylan may not mention it, but he couldn't help to point out the obvious.

His gentle touch made his heart skip and his stomach do an annoying little flip flop that made him feel like he was emulating a schoolgirl with a crush. Lucas leaned subtly against Rylan as he lead them to the table, snorting with a soft laugh. "I can't imagine why. And don't worry, it's you, and you're kind of incredible." He cast a smile up at the man. "It's sweet you're -- doing this. For me. When I look like this."

Lucas extracted himself from Rylan's side with a faint sound of protest, setting the food and beer on the table, starting to unfasten the latches and pull out the plates of meat and potatoes. He was grateful Rylan liked the same food stuffs as himself, and --

That's when it occurred to him.

"You up for a game while we eat?" he asked coyly, glancing over his shoulder at the taller man with a playful smile. More like himself, less like a scared animal.

"Note to self, no candle-lit baths for Ry." Lucas chuckled, though the sound lilting into a pleased hum at the fingers through his bound hair. Picking the chair that was next to the firefighter rather than across, he sat down and shifted the plates of food accordingly, indicating the other could pick and choose at his leisure.

He gave Rylan a 'did you really just -- ?' look at the Lion King quote, grinning lop-sided, "Says the man against candles." Lucas paused, looking at Rylan with his smile still in place but a thoughtful gaze. Was now the time to talk about the fact he was actually a wolf in the Otherworld? Probably not, but...if Rylan wanted to play the game, then, Rylan could dictate just what happened that night.

Making sure his tail fit through the chair (god that was never going to not be weird), he folded his arms over the edge of the table and lifted his brows at the firefighter, like a small challenge. "Twenty questions." The tell-tale grin flickered again. "It sounds cheesy but -- you can ask me anything, I can ask you anything, we can have some fun, huh?" One of his legs shifted beneath the table, bumping against Rylan's on purpose. "Learn a little, have a nice night with a guy I'm pretty damn fond of." That was putting it lightly, but, he didn't really think emotional discussions were suited in a time of tension, not with Rylan.

Lifting his arms again, he folded up his sleeves to his elbows, making sure the cloth didn't catch on the metal bits. "What do you say? I'll even count that as my first question to give you a leg up if you want." Grinning, he helped himself to some steak, stomach growling as he set it on the plate. On top of not sleeping and stressing out, he apparently wasn't eating as well as he should have been, either.

Despite himself, Lucas laughed, shaking his head to himself and giving Rylan and amused but fond smile. Leave it to him to have two boyfriends that thought you could win at a game like this...though, to be fair, Thorne completely won their version. Given the werewolf's condition tonight, however, he wasn't sure Rylan could cinch the same win.

Waving a dismissive clawed hand, he offered, "There are no right answers, there's only your answers. You can pass, though, if you want -- I know not every topic is something that should be discussed over this amazing pile of meat." Lucas smiled a little; he'd at least put up the same rules he'd given their absent boyfriend. "You can ask me anything, personally. I'm an open book to you and even after the game, you can ask and I'll answer. That's just me. So in a way," he made a soft 'tsk' sound and quirked his lips as if he was giving Rylan condolences, "I've already won."

Okay, so he was no better than them on the winning front. They were in the services! Everything could be won!

"I'll start you off simple." He mirrored Rylan's action, scooping up some potatoes. "What's your sign?" Lucas laughed again, and it felt good, because being a silly a** was extremely easy around the firefighter. "When's your birthday? And yeah, that counts for two of my questions."

Lucas took a bite of the potatoes and tried not to spit it back out with a snort, covering his mouth with his hand and chuckling into it. Seriously, how did he find these two? And how did he get so damn lucky that they wanted to stick with him?

"Noted," he replied, a little disappointed he'd already missed it. On the upside, that meant more planning time with Thorne to jump Rylan with next year. I'm allowed to be optimistic. "You don't have to, no, but I do just to spare you repeating the question. Leo, August ninth in eighty four." He took a bite of his steak and made a low, satisfied sound, chewing slowly and finding that apparently, his sharper teeth did have a benefit. The idea of tearing into it like a neanderthal did cross his mind, but not on a date.

His brows shot up at the question, impressed. Right for the heart of things - he really expected no less from Rylan. Running his tongue over his teeth, he glanced down to his arm as he answered. "I enlisted because it's what I was going to do for the rest of my life. My parents believed in the American dream and they made it and -- it was my way of giving back. Giving other people the same opportunity my family had." Lucas ran his hand over the metal, able to feel the pressure of the touch but nothing else. It was more disorientating than feeling nothing at all. "I lost my arm in Afghanistan, in two thousand ten. The humvee I was riding shotgun in flipped in a ditch." Red eyes glanced up, his smile wry. "No glorious war story, just a ******** ditch that severed my arm off from the passenger side and an engine in my lap that took one of my legs, knee down."

Dreams were precarious things, easily shattered by one moment of not paying attention to the road.

"Speaking of service," he folded his clawed fingers together, looking at Rylan intently. "I had to do a lot of research into the strange and bad s**t that goes on here, trying to find answers to my condition. Imagine my surprise how many times your name came up - and I actually thought your name was Rylan for a while! I learned otherwise." He grinned at that. Shame on him. "So, Lieutenant. Why firefighting? And why aren't you the Chief?"

He didn't touch his food while Rylan answered, bright eyes watching the man's face, the way he talked, the things he wasn't saying. Lucas remained quiet, even with the sheepish smile and the given explanation, attentive. When the questions were returned to him, he simply extended his prosthetic hand to brush the back of it over Rylan's knuckles. A gentle gesture of empathy.

Memories of carrying three tattered women down the stairs play unbidden in his mind, eyes lowering to his plate. "I could never do what you do," he said at length, "I'd be too invested. Personally. I write that as a character piece on a resume but let me tell you, it's not easy to care about everyone all the time. Even the villains." Lucas withdrew his hand and took another bite of dinner, wondering how the hell he had the knack for asking the worst question in the game, and so early on. Rylan's pensive look would not be forgotten, anymore than the scars Thorne had pointed out.

"I used to be a big fan of football back in the day - Cowboys. The Holy Trinity of Aikman, Sanders and Smith, those were the days. Wrestling, too, when it was still the WWF." He shrugged, his eyes a little distant, seeing places and times long gone. "Never participated in either sport, though. I did foot-- er, soccer, in high school, but spent most of my time supporting my brothers and sisters in their adventures." He paused, fingers rubbing over the fork, offering up another small bit of information he didn't usually share. "I don't know if it counts, but I used to dance competitively." Another shrug, and he took another bite.

Lucas wrangled a smile. "The idea of you being that stubborn though...that's charming as hell." Not that he didn't know Rylan was stubborn, but the type of guy who did what was said couldn't be done? It added a fiery dimension to the usually grounded man. "You've got two dads, that's kinda awesome. Still together? Any siblings? Ah." He put the fork down, as if he'd just remembered something pressing. "And, unrelated, the most important question I can ask you today -- if you could have a cabin in the woods or a place on the beach, which would you pick?" The grin returned, crooked and telling.

A soft grunt returned Rylan's words. "Just remember to save yourself out there. There's two people who would lose the sun in their sky if something happened to you."

Lucas ate a little more while Rylan answered, swallowing down a laugh at the Masshole comment. "Bledsoe did amazing things for the Patriots, even I had to root for them a little. And crew!" He made a faint impressed sound. "Right now, I'm glad my buddy Avery is straight, or I'd have some problems. That's the carpenter guy, he does the dragon races in Louisiana. Missed it this year, actually, to come see me." The dancing comment was lightly waved off, his smile crooked. "I was a teen with a lot of energy and a heartbeat for music. For what it's worth, dance doesn't require that either, just a comfort with your body." Boy were those days long gone. "I did everything I could, mostly freestyle. If I could shake my hips, I was a happy man." His smile shifted into a grin, more than a little suggestive. "I still can do that much, thank god."

Two dads, two sisters. He could only imagine how much of the golden child Rylan was. "I've got eight siblings, so if you meet the crazy Tavares-Reis clan, be prepared. They're ruthless." His smile was fond despite his words. "One of my brothers is here, actually, with Avery. Maybe you can meet him sometime." Lucas paused, and seemed to think better of it, wrinkling his nose. "...then again, maybe not. He'd probably show you the most embarrassing pictures and videos, I'd have to disown him."

That Rylan actually mulled over the answer to his 'important' question made Lucas laugh, soft with a flash of fang. "It just means Thorne and I are beach bums and you'd make an ideal lumberjack." He was teasing, but it didn't surprise him in the least. "C'mon. You're literally this reliable Sequoia of a man and Thorne and I are -- we're the crashing waves." He looked down to his food again, a little abashed. "You're an amazing man. I'm really proud to -- to have you in my life, to be in yours."

s**t. He might have been blushing, but it was hard to tell against his dark skin and thicker beard. His tail tucked slightly beneath the chair, a traitorous indicator of his thoughts. "Are you happy?" He had asked Thorne the same question, but like his description before, they were cut from the same cloth. Rylan was different. He was special in ways that Lucas could not count in his lifetime. "With me, with Thorne?"