He's got options here. He could excuse himself and go to the restroom. He could lean his head on Darius's shoulder and give him the big wounded puppy eyes and let him save the day.
But in the back of his mind, he's got this niggling feeling that this is one of those times when he needs to do the right thing. Like with those guys at work, telling him to ignore the texts from Darius.
(He doesn't like the insinuations, suggestions, whatever they are when Rin says his surname, and then his should-have-been surname.) (Even more, he dislikes what Rin's saying about Darius.) (Hinting. Not quite saying. Rin seems to be not-quite-saying a lot of things.)
How will you tell me who you are? they ask. That's a really good question.
Darius has been openly, lovingly comforting him this whole time. He's been smiling, been kissing and petting him, been doing everything to make sure he's surviving this. Enri meets his eyes for a moment, considering as he traces his fingertips down his boyfriend's jaw. (His boyfriend.) (He needs to step it up a little more.) His hand comes to rest over the scars he left - impressions he can feel through the shirt. A heartbeat. Warmth.
He fell asleep last night feeling perfectly loved. He woke up this morning and it was still there, a blanketing sense of wholeness, rightness - as though everything else in the world would be all right, as long as he was with this man.
He's smiling wryly when he returns his attention to Rin. ]
Anderson.
[ His arm tightens around Darius, his hand pressing against the scars and then drifting down to his hip. ]
It's on my birth certificate. I do okay with it.
Hey, you ever had pumpkin spice latte? Like, from Starbucks?
[ He doesn't give them a chance to reply. He does notice Sen has wandered back, casting glances over his shoulder that turn into the single look of a man who knows he's walked into something he might not want to be around. ]
We didn't have a Starbucks when I was growing up. Rural Iowa, you know? It was hot shit when we got a Target when I was ten. But people talk about it constantly online, and every fall it's like people lose their goddamn minds because it's Pumpkin Spice Latte season.
So I finally had a chance to try one a couple years ago, and I was all kinds of excited, because the way people talk about it, it had to be really great.
[ He leans forward a little. ]
Mx. Renault, it's pumpkin. With spice in it. It literally tastes like hot pumpkins. People are losing their shit about coffee with the same stuff you eat at Thanksgiving. And Starbucks isn't even good coffee. As far as coffee goes, it's pretty mediocre stuff. They burn it, and it's gone all stale and shit, so it's bitter.
Anyway.
[ He does pause now, pursing his lips. ]
Everyone I know thinks you're pretty great. My uncles. The guy I met up with here last time. People over there at the bar. That guy.
[ He jerks his chin at Sen. ]
He thinks you're hot shit. He looked like a kid in a candy store when you walked up. Fucking goofy over you.
Even Darius thinks you're okay, which - [ He cocks his head and widens his eyes a bit, yeah, okay - ] - I'm pretty inclined to believe his 'commendations', too.
So who I am is...'disappointed about Pumpkin Spice Latte'.
[ He sees Sen jerk and his hand snaps up, his jaw setting. Hold on. ]
Okay. Remember that. You see how he just tried to jump in and save you? Because that was a super shitty thing to say, right?
[ Good. Good. That helps him. ]
I wasn't being shitty. 'Bout your bar, I mean. Earlier. Just now, though? A little. Because you are being really fucking rank about my boyfriend.
[ He glances at Darius again, his brow furrowed and frown tugging his mouth fretful. And back to Rin - ]
You'd do what he just did, and jump to defend him. That's what a good partner does.
[ He breathes a heavy exhale, then leans his head briefly against Darius's shoulder. ]
I don't know the person you're talking about; he's not an asshole to me. He praises me all the time, when I earn it. And I don't much like you calling him a 'creature'.
I'm his Puppy. I'm also his boyfriend, and I love him, and I want to be good to him, so he's as happy as he makes me. That's what and who and where I am. And I guess why I'm on your sofa, trying really hard to be cool with you.
no subject
He's got options here. He could excuse himself and go to the restroom. He could lean his head on Darius's shoulder and give him the big wounded puppy eyes and let him save the day.
But in the back of his mind, he's got this niggling feeling that this is one of those times when he needs to do the right thing. Like with those guys at work, telling him to ignore the texts from Darius.
(He doesn't like the insinuations, suggestions, whatever they are when Rin says his surname, and then his should-have-been surname.) (Even more, he dislikes what Rin's saying about Darius.) (Hinting. Not quite saying. Rin seems to be not-quite-saying a lot of things.)
How will you tell me who you are? they ask. That's a really good question.
Darius has been openly, lovingly comforting him this whole time. He's been smiling, been kissing and petting him, been doing everything to make sure he's surviving this. Enri meets his eyes for a moment, considering as he traces his fingertips down his boyfriend's jaw. (His boyfriend.) (He needs to step it up a little more.) His hand comes to rest over the scars he left - impressions he can feel through the shirt. A heartbeat. Warmth.
He fell asleep last night feeling perfectly loved. He woke up this morning and it was still there, a blanketing sense of wholeness, rightness - as though everything else in the world would be all right, as long as he was with this man.
He's smiling wryly when he returns his attention to Rin. ]
Anderson.
[ His arm tightens around Darius, his hand pressing against the scars and then drifting down to his hip. ]
It's on my birth certificate. I do okay with it.
Hey, you ever had pumpkin spice latte? Like, from Starbucks?
[ He doesn't give them a chance to reply. He does notice Sen has wandered back, casting glances over his shoulder that turn into the single look of a man who knows he's walked into something he might not want to be around. ]
We didn't have a Starbucks when I was growing up. Rural Iowa, you know? It was hot shit when we got a Target when I was ten. But people talk about it constantly online, and every fall it's like people lose their goddamn minds because it's Pumpkin Spice Latte season.
So I finally had a chance to try one a couple years ago, and I was all kinds of excited, because the way people talk about it, it had to be really great.
[ He leans forward a little. ]
Mx. Renault, it's pumpkin. With spice in it. It literally tastes like hot pumpkins. People are losing their shit about coffee with the same stuff you eat at Thanksgiving. And Starbucks isn't even good coffee. As far as coffee goes, it's pretty mediocre stuff. They burn it, and it's gone all stale and shit, so it's bitter.
Anyway.
[ He does pause now, pursing his lips. ]
Everyone I know thinks you're pretty great. My uncles. The guy I met up with here last time. People over there at the bar. That guy.
[ He jerks his chin at Sen. ]
He thinks you're hot shit. He looked like a kid in a candy store when you walked up. Fucking goofy over you.
Even Darius thinks you're okay, which - [ He cocks his head and widens his eyes a bit, yeah, okay - ] - I'm pretty inclined to believe his 'commendations', too.
So who I am is...'disappointed about Pumpkin Spice Latte'.
[ He sees Sen jerk and his hand snaps up, his jaw setting. Hold on. ]
Okay. Remember that. You see how he just tried to jump in and save you? Because that was a super shitty thing to say, right?
[ Good. Good. That helps him. ]
I wasn't being shitty. 'Bout your bar, I mean. Earlier. Just now, though? A little. Because you are being really fucking rank about my boyfriend.
[ He glances at Darius again, his brow furrowed and frown tugging his mouth fretful. And back to Rin - ]
I don't care what you think about him. Don't try to get me on board with it, though. What if I said your fiancé's a nosy fuck? Even if it's true, it's rude, and you wouldn't fucking agree with me in front of him.
You'd do what he just did, and jump to defend him. That's what a good partner does.
[ He breathes a heavy exhale, then leans his head briefly against Darius's shoulder. ]
I don't know the person you're talking about; he's not an asshole to me. He praises me all the time, when I earn it. And I don't much like you calling him a 'creature'.
I'm his Puppy. I'm also his boyfriend, and I love him, and I want to be good to him, so he's as happy as he makes me. That's what and who and where I am. And I guess why I'm on your sofa, trying really hard to be cool with you.