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Hasan takes Pascha out on a date, except Pascha doesn't know it. :)

Pascha was admittedly excited; it wasn’t every day that he was invited to hang out with a new friend! Hasan with the chocolate colored skin had invited him to… to… Oh, he hadn’t asked what he was being invited to. That was fine though; he was sure that whatever it was, it would be fun! Oh, but he had to dress nice since that was the one thing Hasan had asked him to do. He could do that; he had lots of nice clothes! He left the really stuffy annoying ones back home, but he had still brought some nice things along just in case he absolutely had to wear something a little fancy.

But first things first: grooming! There was no point in wearing nice clothes if he still had grease under his fingernails, after all! And that was a real concern for Pascha who often had grease under his nails from all his tinkering, no matter how often he tried to clean his hands. This time he made extra sure they were clean, though, and no tinkering before Hasan showed up! He made sure to brush his hair and his teeth and all of those good things before he finally dressed in a pale blue button down shirt, a colorful argyle sweater vest, khakis and brown loafers. Taking a look in the mirror… he didn’t hate it. So hopefully he had it about right. At least he could add a nice earring, some necklaces, a few rings, his watch… Oh, was that a knock on his door?

It was early. Or… maybe his watch was slow again? Pascha looked at the device with suspicion, but he had promised himself he wouldn’t tinker with anything and risk dirtying his hands. Besides, if that was Hasan at the door, it would be awfully rude to keep him waiting!

Pascha hurried to open his door and smiled brightly when it really was Hasan on the other side. ”Hi! You look good, too!” Hasan’s shirt was struggling to hold all of him in, but it still looked good on him. And he had said Pascha looked good, so the hurdle of dressing nice had been cleared! Pascha watched curiously, head tilted questioningly as Hasan slowly looked him up and down. Then he suddenly looked down at himself, convinced that he must have missed a stain or something on his clothing. No? What a relief! But then why…?

”Oh!”

He should invite Hasan in. But… he had not planned for a guest. That was to say, well… He hadn’t exactly made his room presentable. Still, he didn’t want to be rude, so he smiled and stepped back, holding the door open wider. ”Come on in!”

Despite Pascha’s concerns, his room was only a little messy. His bed was unmade and the hoodie and jeans he was wearing before changing were strewn across it. His beat up sneakers had been kicked carelessly under the bed. But what was most striking about Pascha’s space was how densely cluttered it was. Every bit of available wall space was filled with shelves, each shelf bearing gadgets, parts, beads, wire and tools, etc. all in labeled little baskets and drawers. Sprawled across his desk was the half-done clockwork bird he had been working on before cleaning himself up. But! At least his chair was clear and Pascha gestured to it bashfully.

”Sorry there isn’t much room to sit, but you’re welcome to my chair! Um… don’t mind the mess. I get distracted a bit easily and…” Pascha shrugged a little as he trailed off with a smile and pink cheeks. Most of the people in his life were used to his little hobbies; he had never even thought to be embarrassed before. He definitely was now, though.

Pascha didn’t think for a moment that Hasan might be any kind of monster. They were friends now, right? Why else would Hasan invite him out? Pascha had not had many friends in his lifetime, but he surely thought if he could trust anyone then he could trust his friends. Letting his friend into his room didn’t sound dangerous at all. No, his only worry was putting his makeshift workshop on display.

Hasan passed awfully close to him and Pascha stepped back a little, but not because he was uncomfortable. He didn’t really mind at all, but he didn’t want poor Hasan to have to squeeze around him. The chocolate man was a pretty big guy, unlike Pascha. The Mercurian had never really thought he was small, even with his twin being so much taller than him, but he sure felt small next to Hasan.

Once Hasan was fully inside, Pascha closed the door and watched him have a look around. ”No… At least, I don’t think I am? It’s not really about having a bunch of stuff; it’s about being able to make things. I like to have whatever I need for whatever project I start next.” Oh, but now he wanted to see Hasan’s room! It couldn’t really be as bad as he said, right? How would he find anything?

Pascha stepped over to the basket Hasan had incorrectly dropped the small gear into to immediately correct the mistake. He just knew it would bother him all day if he didn’t! After redepositing the gear where it belonged, he checked his hands once more for cleanliness. They didn’t look dirty… but maybe he would still wash them one more time before leaving.

Hasan was admiring his mechanical bird in progress and Pascha smiled as he walked up behind the chair and leaned against the back of it a little. ”I sure did! Haha, I guess I am? I mean, I like to put things together.” Pascha didn’t like to brag and call himself a genius… but he definitely preened at hearing that descriptor. He took pride in his ability to construct, and destruct, nearly anything he put his mind to. He never liked to be the one to say it himself… but he did maybe think of himself as a little bit of a mechanical genius.

”It will have articulation in the beak, neck, wings, tail, and legs. I should be able to emulate the realistic movements of a sparrow. When it is finished, I want to mount it to a music box with a flowering branch perch. Then once I wind up the music box, I should be able to use the same mechanism to trigger the movement of the bird. When it’s all done I want to give it to my sister; I really hope she likes it. Do you have brothers and sisters, Hasan? I have one of each.”

It was good to be prepared; Pascha would have to remember that line the next time he got a strange look for ordering more parts. There could never be too many parts. Sometimes he just had so many ideas… It was just too bad that his hands could not keep up with all of them at the same time. He needed more hands. He was sure he could build articulate mechanical arms with humanoid hands and a harness, but how would he control the mechanisms without losing the use of his real hands? And would they be suited to more delicate work? He could consider seeking a partnership in Siscia; it seemed plausible that the kingdom of spirit might be able to facilitate connecting one's will to an inanimate object. Or would that be more the purview of Phronese?

Thoughts of an invention that may or may not ever come to be continued to run as a subprocess in Pascha’s mind as he was chatting with Hasan. The little inventor beamed with pride in spite of his best efforts to stay humble. It was a bit more than just putting things together, so why did he always try to make it sound like less? He was great at what he did. And Hasan didn’t seem to mind if he said so out loud. ”Well, you’re not wrong. I am a genius. But most people really don’t like it when I say so, no matter how true it is.”

Fortunately, Pascha was not worried that Sonia would not like her gift. Or, at the very least, she’d appreciate it; he couldn’t remember even one time she hadn’t been grateful when receiving something. She was such a good girl and really he was only being a little biased.

Hasan had two little sisters! And they both had really pretty names. Hasan didn’t name the friend that was like a brother, but that was okay. He shouldn’t be too nosey, anyway. But he did like talking to Hasan and it was nice to learn something about him and his family.

”Get into it? With Al?” Pascha repeated in surprise; he really couldn’t even imagine doing something like that. He shook his head and looked a little sheepish. ”Not unless I really want to see how fast I can lose. I’m really not good at fighting at all. Definitely not even close to as good as Al. I’m pretty good at dodging trouble, but that’s about it. Al and I are the same age and we’re both a couple of years older than our sister Sonia.” Aksell had been the oldest. The thought surfaced and was immediately buried again.

Pascha blinked in surprise when Hasan took his hand. He was caught off guard by the contact and had no fewer than three thoughts about what that could mean before he realized that Hasan was just checking his watch. A hint of pink flushed the Mercurian’s cheeks; that was one his guesses, sure, but he had also thought -for less than a second, mind!- that Hasan just wanted to hold his hand. Would that even be normal for another guy to do? No, that was silly. Another silly thought to file away with that strange notion of kissing other guys.

When Hasan apologized, Pasha’s cheeks just got redder. Was it that obvious that he was thinking something strange? Pascha cleared throat and looked down, feeling a bit embarrassed. ”Five to ten minutes, right… Ah. What would you like to do until then? Um… I suppose my room isn’t really all that entertaining. I don’t even have a deck of cards; solitaire is too boring and this is the first time I’ve ever had someone else in my room to play with.”

Hasan threw his head back to laugh and normally Pascha might have felt a little embarrassed, but instead he just grinned broadly, his eyes more green than before. Maybe it was because he didn’t really feel like Hasan was laughing at him, per se. It didn’t feel insulting or like he needed to make himself smaller, so he wouldn’t. He would revel in his genius for once and maybe he could go back to playing at humility tomorrow.

Most people were idiots, according to Hasan. Was that really true? Maybe he shouldn’t care what they said. But the thought did not hold for long. Pascha knew a lot about creating and building things, but he didn’t really know anything about people. He didn’t know anything about how to deal with them or talk to them or anything. He would need to learn and he really didn’t see any way to do that if he treated everyone like an idiot and didn’t pay attention to anything they said. Besides, if he treated everyone like an idiot, then how would he meet new people like Hasan, or Grace, or Charlene, or Nayeni, or Snack Buddy… wow! He had already met so many people here! And he liked them all, so he couldn’t think poorly of them.

”I’ve had lessons; I could fight if I really had to. But I know my limits… If I had to fight someone like you, I would lose. That’s just the truth. And it’s important to know that about myself so that I can prepare myself in other ways. Not to fight you, of course! You’re my friend! But someone strong, like you.” Hasan was definitely strong; he had seen that first hand when the chocolate man had caved in a zombie skull or two with one mighty stomp each. He had done so confidently, with the air of a man that knew the power in his legs was more than sufficient to do the job. Pascha knew that confidence well, though his confidence lay in the speed of his movement. He knew what he could do and he knew that no amount of training would give him an advantage against power like that. But thin, flexible armor that allowed him a full range of movement and perhaps a weapon that made up for his shortcomings could help to even the playing field. Creating such items was where he excelled, but there was not much point to saying all of that aloud. He especially should be careful about telling everyone he met that he designed weapons for Mercury.

Though even if Pascha had wanted to go into his spiel, he would have been immediately distracted by Hasan taking his hand to look at his watch. He must have looked so silly right then… so much for his being a genius! Though Pascha would be the last person to claim that his genius lay in interpersonal relations. Friendship wasn’t something he could take apart with his hands and build it up again better than before.

”Oh… I definitely don’t have any drinks. I’m too young for alcohol. I did try it once, though… I didn’t like it very much. Do you like to drink, chocolate Hasan? But you just said that you did; of course, of course.” Pascha felt a little… nervous? No, he did not think that was quite right. But Hasan had definitely caught him off guard and he did not know how to react. He just wished he wasn’t reacting by blabbering too much!

”Well… you’re one of my first friends here. Or ever, really. Haha, next time you’ll have to show me your room! But while you’re here…” Pascha was all too happy to show off some of his creations. Mostly what he had in his room were a few clockwork toys, but he still enjoyed presenting them. He showed off a few of his favorite jewelry pieces as well. It was a good distraction and he had to eventually remind himself that they actually had somewhere to be. Pascha glanced at his watch and nodded.

”Seven minutes! More than five but still less than ten. Should we get going, then?”

Drinking made things that were not-fun fun. That made sense; drunk people often did seem to be having more fun than anyone else. But the idea of it dulling his wits was less than desirable. He had tried it once because he was just too curious not to, but he was happy enough to leave it at that. He would keep his mind sharp and find other ways to enjoy things he didn’t find fun. Or, failing that, he would just muddle through even if something wasn’t fun at all.

It wasn’t often that someone said to him that they were having plenty of fun with him. Well, not aloud anyway. While Pascha liked to think the other people he had claimed as his friends did enjoy his company, it was pretty nice to actually hear it said. He would have to remember that. If he liked to hear it, then he was pretty sure other people would like to as well. As it was, the young inventor was beaming from ear to ear as he tried to straighten his hair once more with his fingers. ”I’m having fun, too.”

How could he not be having fun with someone who actually showed an interest in all of his little trinkets? Not everyone had that kind of patience and Pascha had to often remind himself that the things that interested and excited him might even be just a little bit… boring to other people, as unthinkable as that was! But Hasan did not seem to be bored at all! It was almost a shame when it was time to go, but only almost. He could invite Hasan back to his room anytime; there was no need to put off his plans for the evening.



Pascha happily spent their carriage ride making small talk and watching the scenery pass through the window. He idly wondered if there was a way to make a carriage that propelled itself rather than being drawn by horses. He had made models, of course, but the physics of a model and a full sized carriage were entirely different. He would need some added force for propulsion- Oh! They had arrived. Where had they arrived?

Before Pascha could ask, Hasan had stepped down from the carriage and offered a hand out to him. Pascha looked at the offered hand with his face flushing pink right up to the tips of his ears. It was proper to offer a hand to a lady when exiting a carriage, but Hasan definitely knew that he wasn’t a lady. And Pascha definitely didn’t have any skirts or difficult shoes that might have made exiting the carriage a problem. So why help him down? The thoughts whirred through his mind in less time than it took to blink, but an answer lagged far behind. So Pascha dismissed the thought altogether and accepted Hasan’s hand. What was the harm in it if Hasan had offered? ”Thanks.”

Pascha was still convincing himself that he shouldn’t read into Hasan helping him down from the carriage when they reached the door and Hasan held it open for him. ”Oh… Thank you, again.” was his face still red? His ears felt a little hot. Pascha hurried inside sheepishly. Why was he feeling so embarrassed? Maybe this was normal. Was he the one making it strange? He just wasn’t sure; he really hadn’t spent much time out with other people so there was no telling if what he thought he knew about social behaviors was accurate.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was also a little confusing. It was so dark and… intimate. To be fair, the light was adequate to eat by, but it was certainly dimmer than he was used to. It felt like the two of them could easily just disappear into a corner and not be seen by anyone. Pascha was a little awed as he looked around. He turned back to Hasan in time to see a wink and, though he could not have said why, it made him chuckle a little.

Being seated toward the back of the restaurant definitely added to that feeling that the two of them really could just hide away, unnoticed in plain sight. Maybe some people liked privacy while they were eating. Pascha did not spend too much time thinking about it once he was presented with a dessert menu full of chocolatey delights. Mousses, cakes, and brownies, oh my! And so much more.

But apparently nothing that tasted as good as Hasan. The comment brought a giggle tumbling from his lips and he was responding before he really thought about it. ”Well I won’t know until I have tasted both, will I?” It took perhaps three seconds for him to look up again from the menu, face red and mouth a bit agape. ”Oh… I don’t… I don’t know what I meant by that. I mean, it’s not like you are actually made of chocolate even if you might look like it and it’s not like I think a person would taste like chocolate and even if I did there are all sorts of reasons you shouldn’t eat other people so of course you couldn’t mean that and I only can imagine that you mean- well, no, forget I said anything about that, have you noticed it’s warm? Oh they have a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, coconut ganache, and a cherry filling. Not everyone likes coconut, but I really like it so I think I should try that; do you like coconut?”

Pascha knew that he was rambling, but he was honestly too embarrassed to stop until he reached a question. He lifted the menu in front of his face and ducked his head to hide his sheepish expression; what was he even saying?! And why was he so out of sorts all of a sudden? He was never this terrible at talking to people!

What was he thinking?! Pascha couldn't believe how much he had actually said out loud, even getting dangerously close to spilling his thoughts about… kissing. That was crazy to even think about, wasn’t it? Hasan was a man. He wasn’t even sure why he had thought about it in the first place, but now that the thought was planted he couldn’t really dislodge it. And maybe that would have been okay except that he sometimes said things that were supposed to stay inside his head. That was how he had wound up calling Hasan a chocolate man to begin with. What if Hasan had meant something else entirely and he was just being really weird? It was really weird; he did know that. He was supposed to want to kiss girls and he hadn’t even ever done that even once. Though there were some really pretty girls that if he could…

Woah. What was he thinking about all of a sudden?

Hasan responded that he did like coconut, though Pascha had honestly almost forgotten he had asked. His thoughts were all over the place, even more so than usual. He was definitely hiding, but when Hasan tugged at the menu there was nowhere else for him to hide. ”Um… well, I… yes?” He supposed he might as well admit it since he clearly wasn’t actually reading the page anymore.

Pascha wasn’t so sure that opening a window was going to help. It wasn’t too hot in the restaurant; it was just his face that was putting off way too much heat. ”I’m okay!” Pascha assured quickly, though he wasn’t entirely certain that Hasan wasn’t still just teasing him. And it was working; Pascha was pretty flustered and honestly had no idea how to respond further.

Oh… oh, actual food. Yes, he should order some actual food. ”Hahaha, sorry! I got distracted by chocolate. Again. Oh, man.” Well, chocolate and tripping over his own tongue and saying weird things. It was a good thing Hasan didn’t seem to mind or was maybe even a little amused by it. That was good, right? He didn’t mind if Hasan laughed at him a little… At least he wasn’t being mean about it. Pascha picked up the actual menu and tried to at least not look like he was hiding behind that one as well.

The waiter asked for their drink orders and Pascha unabashedly ordered a chocolate milkshake. Sure, a milkshake was practically a dessert in its own right, but was that any reason not to order one? He could still drink it, so it was definitely a drink! And he could get whipped cream and a cherry on top! Oh, right, he was supposed to look at food… Maybe he could get a steak too, like Hasan. Though he actually liked cheeseburgers even better… and french fries! Did this place have stuff like that?

Pascha blinked in surprise and looked up when Hasan touched his earring, then smiled. And maybe his face was just a little bit warm again. Hasan was just mentioning his earring, so it was really silly to be embarrassed. It was just… well, if he didn’t know better, he would almost think that just maybe Hasan was kind of… flirting with him? He did know better, didn’t he? Did he? He was really thinking about it all too much; he should just have fun out with Hasan!

”Uh huh. I made most of my jewelry. I don’t usually work with real gems unless I’m making a gift for someone, for a special occasion or something. Knowing you like stuff like that, I should make you something. I like gems and crystals, too but… hmn. It’s kind of weird to explain, but… Everyone expects those to be really pretty, right? But there’s lots of people that wouldn’t look twice at a spool of wire and some broken bits of bottle glass.” Pascha smiled and lightly flicked his earring with a finger. ”So making that kind of stuff beautiful makes me happy. Plus I don’t feel as bad if I accidentally lose the cheap stuff, hahaha!”

There was one other reason that Pascha liked simple, cheap jewelry that he made himself, but he hadn’t ever told anyone about it. But it wasn’t really a secret, right? He just didn’t really have anyone to talk to about stuff before. None of his peers would have cared about something as useless and completely cosmetic as his jewelry. Pascha lightly chewed at his bottom lip for a moment before making the confession. ”Also, um… The truth is I grew up with a lot of fancy stuff and I always kind of hated it. It’s all stiff and stuffy. So I really only whip out the expensive shinies when it’s expected, you know?”

“Looking at you, though…” Pascha looked over Hasan’s dark, handsome face. He thought his costume jewelry was nice, he really did, but… ”I think the real stuff would look best on you. Especially gold and amber… or even something like ruby or onyx. You really have a great face; there probably isn’t much that wouldn’t look good on you.” For once Pascha wasn’t even embarrassed by his words; he was evaluating Hasan’s face critically and wasn’t really consciously thinking about how handsome he was.

At least not on the surface. Hasan was really handsome, though.

If given even half an opportunity, Pascha would have had quite the speech about chocolate. To begin with, it was just really delicious! He was pretty sure that the vast majority of people enjoyed chocolate, in one form or another. I was really versatile and portable too, as long as it didn’t get too warm. And even if it melted a little, licking it off of his fingers just made it taste better! And! Since it came in different levels of sweetness it was perfect for pretty much any sweet tooth. It could be used for more savory dishes as well, though that was admittedly out of his personal realm of experience. He would be tempted to try something like a curry made with chocolate, but someone else would have to make it. Otherwise how could he resist making a tasty hot chocolate instead? But now he was curious… what kind of foods did Hasan prefer? Did he like sweet things, too? And if so, what kind of sweets did he like?

But maybe those were questions that could be asked a little later; Pascha was far too distracted now by the topic of jewelry. It was really great talking to someone who wouldn’t make him feel silly for even caring about something that had no impact on his more important work. Important work that would come to an end if the peace held… wouldn’t it? Could that really happen? Pascha wasn’t sure that he would be entirely happy about that, but having real friends to occupy his time with would more than make up for not getting to improve his weapon and armor designs.

”It’s just how my mind works. I see things and I just immediately think of how I could use them or improve them. I think probably a lot of people are like that, I’m sure you do it too, but because of my ability I just process that information a lot faster. I can reach all kinds of conclusions and understand how to implement them the moment I look at something. By the way, you don’t have to talk about your abilities if you don’t want to, but you’ve already seen one of mine and I trust you enough to tell you about the other. We’re friends now and I like you. Besides, I think some of my behavior makes a little more sense if you understand how my brain operates. I’m thinking all of the time, about so many things all at once. I actually can’t stop. And when I try, everything just feels… too slow? It feels wrong.”

Hasan understood his feelings about fancy accessories even better than Pascha expected. He had always assumed that other nobles actually liked those things. After all, if they were all so important and powerful, why didn’t they wear things that they liked wearing? It made no sense to him. ”I much prefer being comfortable to keeping up appearances. But I guess there is a happy medium… I think I look okay today and I am pretty comfortable. You look good too, but I’m not sure how comfortable your shirt is. It looks like it might rip itself off if you lift your arms over your head.”

Hearing Hasan agree that he could pull off just about anything made Pascha grin. He was so used to the idea that pride was something to suppress, to hide, to be ashamed of, that it surprised and amused him to hear someone be so open and honest about their own sense of worth. He had to admit, he liked it. ”Onyxes are bad luck? Really? That’s too bad… they look so cool. I don’t honestly understand luck… It’s not something I can count or measure or even put my hands on, so I can’t understand how it works. Ah, well… rubies would look better on you anyway, so it’s good that you approve.”

”Oh, what suits me? Opals.” In truth, Pascha had taken a moment to actually think about the answer. But a moment of thought for him took such a very short time that he had reached an answer even as he was speaking. ”I like how iridescent they are. How they can be so many different colors at once. Hmn, it’s hard to explain stuff like that in a logical way, but I definitely just like them.”

The waiter returned and Pascha ordered a burger after all. It was a weird one with avocado aioli and a brioche bun, but a fancy burger was definitely still a burger. And it came with steak fries! How could that ever not be perfect with his chocolate shake? A shake Pascha took a sip from as the waiter walked away, but the moment he believed the server was out of earshot, Pascha blurted out a question that was niggling at his mind.

”Can an onyx really ruin your sex drive? How can you tell? I mean… I still haven’t ever, you know, so I am not sure if I would even notice. That would undoubtedly make it even more difficult to do any kind of research, but I am really curious now. I suppose I could ask an expert from Siscia about dampening spirits… You must know a lot about stones. Maybe you could teach me; I really only know about the physical properties of objects I interact with. Oh… but I really am talking a lot; I should ask what you would like to talk about!”