[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Even after the game, their bet still hadn’t been settled. “The only reason I didn’t win was because I had one too many shots of vodka and my judgement was impaired,” Felix claimed staunchly, for the third time at least, wholly convinced that what he was saying was the truth. He had stopped after his third shot, when he’d realized he was getting a little too close to drunk, and he was only a little bit tipsy by the time they’d been kicked out of the game for too much cross-table talk. “What’s your excuse?” His tongue was a little loose, lubricated by the vodka he’d and making him slightly more talkative than normal. He was in that horrible and loathsome state where he was just drunk enough that his inhibitions were lowered, but not so drunk that he wasn’t aware that they were. He just hoped it wouldn’t take him long to dry out some. He’d dressed “nicely” for the night, like Noah had suggested, but it didn’t much matter to him if his fit was up to Noah’s standards or not. His tight-fitting black mock turtleneck was just high enough to hide the scar on his throat, and a small round pendant dangled from a long thin silver chain around his neck. The shirt was tucked into slim-fit black pants and topped with a hunter green leather motorcycle-style jacket with silver hardware. His short black boots with the slightly pointed toe had glinting, shiny zippers up to his ankles on both sides. He’d left his jacket in his car after they’d left the game and he’d rolled his sleeves up off his wrists, stopping just before the worst of the scars on his forearms. He’d insisted he was okay to drive—he’d driven much drunker than he was just then, to be fair—but had eventually conceded to getting an uber when Noah wouldn’t shut up about it, and they were outside waiting for it after having been kicked out of the game for too much cross-talk. They had been tied with each other, but losing to the other two men, not that it mattered; they were arguing across the table like they were the only two there, making the game about them. Like either of them had any hope of winning by that point. To be fair, the other guys didn’t know about their bet, and didn’t know that it all really was about them, but they didn’t want to ruin the night for everyone else, so they’d fucked off and a couple of other guys had taken their places at the table. Unfortunately, that meant their bet still wasn’t settled, and he was unsure what that meant for their agreement. Felix had been thrown off by the presence of one of the guys, who was a friend of Rowan’s. Meaning his cousin would hear about the game sooner or later and Felix would have the hear the bitching about him not getting invited, and he’d have to agree to go out with him somewhere to shut him up. That same guy had dropped by briefly on his birthday— or so he’d been told, having been too drunk to remember now— and had seen him in the ears and collar as he devoured cake. Felix wouldn’t have cared, but his little mocking comments had started to irk him. Which was one of the reasons he’d started drinking. Felix had ignored them at first, letting them roll off his back instead of getting bothered. As the guy had gotten drunker, though, the comments had gotten meaner, and a bit degrading. Before Felix could say anything, though, Noah spoke up. Felix was surprised, to say the least, since Noah had been laughing at the comments earlier in the night. But evidently the guy had gone too far, in Noah’s opinion. A few choice words, cutting and vaguely threatening, had shut the guy up, and had earned a small snicker from Felix. The only reason they were outside waiting on the uber, instead of inside where it was warmer, was because Felix had wanted some fresh air and a cigarette, and to get away from the noise, and Noah had followed him. Presumably to argue about whose fault it was that they’d gotten kicked out of the game, and what they were going to do about the bet, now. Felix had a couple of ideas, but he would let Noah speak, first, since he loved to talk so much. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TAG: Noah St Cloud OOC: it’s a little shorter than our usual but I had to give you space to help build the scene! XD

✿

[Noah St Cloud]

[nospaces]

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[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostname"]noah st. cloud

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostlyric"]But those unsolved answers and secrets[break]
Can only be seen when they spark[break]

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostingbox"]
No one seemed to care that Noah and Felix had ended on a tie.[break][break]

No one, that is, except for the two men themselves – who’d been ousted from the game for their… enthusiasm.[break][break]

Enthusiasm had scared off their initial group, too. But at least they had the good grace to bow out themselves, whereas their replacements decided Noah and Felix were the problem instead – a choice which felt especially unjust since one of them was supposedly a friend of Rowan’s. A friend who'd been present at Felix’s birthday party, no less. And of course that little titbit had been delightful news at first, until later antagonism proved just how undeserving he was of the main event.[break][break]

Worse, the guy hadn’t even snapped any of his own photos of Felix. Photos he could’ve shared with Noah that would've been immune from the bet’s terms, had Noah ended up losing. It was an absolute waste of an opportunity. Thus a waste of a person and someone unnecessary to keep on side. And luckily Noah was somewhat familiar with him from the word of mouth of Blackstorm's more dedicated members, so a thinly veiled threat of dragging certain skeletons from the closet seemed to do the trick in shutting him up, for a while.[break][break]

In hindsight Noah should have predicted being kicked out.[break][break]

The pair's protests fell on deaf ears (with Noah laughing at the situation perhaps a smidge too much to convincingly make their case), and after Felix’s oxymoronic claims of wanting fresh air and a smoke they found themselves back on a much darker and cooler street than the one they’d arrived on, starkly quieter than indoors even with the usual sounds of city nightlife and occasional passing car. Still, Noah wasn’t upset. Though nowhere close to drunk from the shots they’d downed, he was suitably hyper from the thrill of competition and the stakes of the bet, the ‘Fireball’ song stuck in his head only serving to make him feel like spinning Felix into a dance. (He resisted).[break][break]

Mostly he thought he was smug that he’d managed to get Felix there at all. It felt like an accomplishment in itself, especially with how Felix was growing increasingly chatty. Bolder with the alcohol or maybe with just how closely matched they were, since he mostly spoke up to dispute Noah’s plays or Noah's objections to his.[break][break]

He’d also fulfilled Noah’s request to dress nicely. A green leather jacket brought out the red in his hair (though it had now been abandoned in the car Noah refused to let him drive), and beneath it he wore a black mock-neck of the style Noah himself tended to favour. The sleeves were rolled off his wrists, as if to prove he wasn’t hiding any extra cards there, but not rolled enough that Noah could see all the scars he’d felt on the night of their meeting, and the ever-curious part of him wished they had been put on display if only to give him a more concrete guess on how they'd been inflicted.[break][break]

The sleeves of Noah’s navy silk dress shirt were pushed up much higher, nearly to his elbows, and like Felix he’d also chosen black boots and pants. Jewellery wasn’t usually his thing, so it would astonish no one that he wasn’t wearing any that evening. Felix was, however, and that was surprising for some reason.[break][break]

The pendant around his neck kept catching Noah’s eye, tempting him to play with it, to hook his finger around the chain and fiddle with the centrepiece. Maybe he’d even put it in his mouth to see how Felix would react to the bizarre action, to the closeness. But he was being mindful of boundaries and being stuck opposite from Felix around the table (to minimise cheating, supposedly – as if he’d need to) made it difficult to do so anyway. Now, standing with him by the roadside, the pendant glinted under the streetlight with every time Felix moved to lift the cigarette to his lips and Noah had to resist pawing at it like the cat he so often accused the other man of being.[break][break]

As if feeling his gaze Felix looked over at him again, blue eyes narrowed and stubborn, and not for the first time that night he declared alcohol to be the reason he hadn’t won, in an almost petulant manner that had Noah grinning from ear-to-ear.[break][break]

“Hey, hey, hey!” he laughed, palms displayed in mock surrender. “I was matching you shot for shot in the name of fairness. If your 'judgement was impaired', then it’s ‘cause you’re a lightweight!”[break][break]

Snickering he shoved his hands in his pockets, rocking forward on his heels as he leaned into the road and looked both ways for their Uber. He fell back and straightened again with a hum when it was clear the vehicle hadn't arrived yet. “I can’t believe they kicked us,” he mused. “Do we call it a tie, then? Divide the prizes and forfeits?” He glanced across at Felix before sidestepping closer, ducking his head to Felix’s eye level as he crooned, “Or we could go back to your place, see if Rowan and the other Sour Patch kids wanna play?”[break][break]

He jerked back with a chuckle, anticipating Felix to swipe at him for edging into his bubble and/or for making such a suggestion. Rowan clearly hadn’t been invited to their game for a reason, so Noah expected settling their bet at Maisy Daunt’s old place wasn’t an option. Besides, the address Noah had requested the Uber to take them was neither his nor Felix’s home and he wasn’t going to change it now. In retrospect he sort of wished he’d booked a karaoke place instead, but he’d been working on the assumption that he would have won in a landslide and Felix would’ve been a little despondent, in need of being eased into that kind of energy.[break][break]

He let out a long-suffering sigh, head tipping back before rolling to one side as he turned to face Felix fully. “Alright, first things first, put out your hand, please. I have something for you.” He looked down at him with lidded eyes and a lazy curl to his mouth. “It was supposed to be a consolation prize after your incontestable loss. But alas. I guess it can simply commemorate our first non-work-related outing together, hm? No murders. Yay.”[break][break]

---

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OOC: Fun fact I’ve also had Fireball stuck in my head for the past few days lmaooo


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[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Felix would never deny being a lightweight. He was very aware of that fact, which was why he was usually conservative in his alcohol consumption around other people. So he just shrugged in response to the accusation, leaning back against the wall as he took a drag on his cigarette. He had momentarily forgotten to count his shots, distracted by his competition and argument with Noah. He didn’t like that, that Noah could so easily distract him from something like that— something he did to protect himself—presumably without even trying. It could spell danger in the future if he wasn’t careful. Noah seemed antsy, on the watch for their ride. He claimed to not be able to believe they’d been kicked from the game, but had seemed to find it hilarious, nonetheless. Felix could easily see why it had happened. The game was between four people, not two, and they were acting like it was all about them, essentially ignoring the other two men at the table. It had probably been quite irritating, but he couldn’t bring himself to care much. Noah suggested they split the bet, since neither of them had won, and he had been thinking something similar. Still, he narrowed his eyes at Noah. “Divide them how?” he asked. He was all too willing to put an end to the bet rather than drawing it out for even longer, but he was suspicious that Noah would try to spin it so he benefitted more anyway, despite his lack of a win. Then Noah was leaning into his space to tease him the way he usually did, and Felix couldn’t step back, being right up against the wall, so he plucked the cigarette from between his lips and blew smoke at the other man, tipping the glowing cherry toward Noah’s face to force him to back off or get burned. Noah was already moving, though, probably expecting a reaction, and Felix was annoyed at himself for giving him one, though it was as much an answer to the ridiculous suggestion as it was a warning to back off. He pointedly flicked ash in Noah’s direction, though the other man was too far away now for it to reach him. “I’m gonna veto that right now, before you get any bright ideas,” he said firmly. “I don’t want my cousin involved in this,” he gestured between the two of them with his cigarette, indicating their bet. And any time they spent together, really. His cousin was too nosy, too invested in any interaction Felix had with any other person. Plus, he already thought there was something more than friendly between Felix and Noah, despite Felix’s denials, and he had no doubt that any conversation Rowan witnessed between them, no matter how antagonistic, would feed into that. “What I do and with whom is none of his business. I expect you to remember that.” The ‘or there won’t be any interactions between us at all’ went unsaid, he hoped. He knew Noah had Rowan’s number, but he didn’t know the extent of their conversations, or if they had spoken at all outside of Rowan sending Noah the picture. Hell, for all he knew, they spoke regularly, and talked about him all the time. Somehow, the thought of that felt like a betrayal, and he pushed it away and refused to let himself think about it so he wouldn’t get pissed off. He found himself reaching up for his necklace with his free hand to fiddle with the pendant that dangled over his chest, like he’d done so often throughout the night. He didn’t often wear jewelry, but he’d slipped it on tonight to complement the shine from the silver hardware on his jacket and the glinting zippers on his boots. The little pendant was only about the size of the end of his thumb, but it was so shiny and reflective it was almost mirrored. He twisted it between his fingers, catching the light from the nearby streetlight and darting a spot over the side of Noah’s face, amused with himself. He had noticed Noah’s stare throughout the night, but was still perplexed by it. Wrapping his fingers around the chain or twisting the pendant never failed to draw his attention, and Felix was amused by it. What was he, a magpie distracted by something shiny? Why couldn’t he stop staring at it? Maybe he liked it and wanted it for himself. Felix considered that a possibility. He blinked in surprise when Noah turned fully toward him again and told him he had something for him, snorting lightly at the claim that it was meant to be a consolation prize when he lost the bet. He was still sure he would have won the game with little effort if he hadn’t been so caught up in the competition that he’d forgotten to count his shots. Maybe he’d get a chance to prove it to Noah one day. “No murders yet; the night is still young,” he intoned, casual but pointed, and held his palm out flat without a fight; Noah had asked so nicely after all. He was already a little preemptively annoyed at Noah’s little grin, sure it signified that Noah was about to give him something ridiculous, as usual, but still curious in spite of himself. He remained tense, though, ready to jerk his hand away if need be; mostly an ingrained reflex rather than any true suspicion for Noah’s motives, but there nonetheless. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TAG: Noah St Cloud OOC: sorry for the wait, I hope fireball made it out of your head eventually XD

✿

[Noah St Cloud]

[nospaces]

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[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostname"]noah st. cloud

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostlyric"]But those unsolved answers and secrets[break]
Can only be seen when they spark[break]

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostingbox"]
Having successfully dodged the weaponised cigarette and the ash flicked at him thereafter, Noah decided the division of rewards could wait until after Felix’s ‘consolation prize’. It was all push and pull; if he pushed his luck too much, Felix could tire of it and tip over the edge, and some mistrust had already been evident in the narrowing of his eyes as he questioned the initial suggestion. Some buttering up before they bartered surely wouldn’t go amiss. (Although, Noah acknowledged, there was a chance the gift could have the opposite effect).[break][break]

In the meantime it was nice to see surprise briefly flutter Felix’s eyelids. To hear some amusement in a light snort while Noah explained why he was being given a present. And upon Felix responding that there hadn’t been any murders ‘yet’, Noah huffed an amused breath of his own and lightly rolled his eyes.[break][break]

“Ah. Guess that’s why we’re not involving Mr. Row-row-row-ya-boat.” And yet, although he was teasing, he wouldn’t be surprised if he’d hit the nail on the head. Felix was far from the first person to want Noah kept away from their family, whether it was because Noah himself or the people and situations he was associated with were dangerous, or because they were simply embarrassed of their relationship with him in some way. Their first outing meant Felix could probably tick all three of those boxes as reasons for keeping him and Rowan separate.[break][break]

Maybe he ought to apologise? For that conversation with Rowan on the way out of Felix’s house, in which Noah had been incredibly vague about the nature of his and Felix’s night after once again being slapped in the face with some unwanted empathy. Talking to Rowan had rewarded him with the knowledge of Felix’s birthday and the trading of phone numbers ‘for emergencies’, and the only contact they’d made since then was when Rowan sent him Noah's favourite photo, but Noah decided to refrain from telling Felix this. Because maybe even that was too much interaction by his definition. And even if it wasn’t, it was possibly overexplaining – something one of Felix’s books had labelled as a warning sign.[break][break]

“Relax, I won’t tell him a thing,” Noah said softly, hoping it would allay any concerns. Then, with his grin creeping back – “This should tell him all he needs to know.”[break][break]

Instead of placing it in Felix’s waiting palm, he took advantage of the way his hand was held out and slipped the present directly onto his wrist: a bracelet. Clearly a DIY job. Made with elastic, gaudy plastic beads in varying shades of blue and purple, a single dangling charm of half a heart, and some white beads engraved with bold black lettering, proudly proclaiming: BESTIES.[break][break]

A second, matching bracelet was swiftly procured from Noah’s other pocket and slid onto his own wrist.[break][break]

“The heart part is magnetic,” he told Felix cheerfully, turning to lean his back up against the wall beside him. “Y'know, so they can do this.” He lined up their wrists and the two half-heart charms clicked together to form a whole. Noah beamed at him. “Isn’t that great? We’re holding hands without holding hands.” [break][break]

He let his arm fall back to his side, the movement causing a brief, gentle tug around his wrist as it disconnected their bracelets. “If I’d known you wore jewellery–” he nodded to the pendant around Felix’s neck – “I might have invested in something a little more sophisticated, that I’d know you’d want to wear.” Maybe one of those Pandora bracelets which he could add to over time with new charms, each assigned a different meaning. Or perhaps that would be too ‘chunky’ for Felix’s tastes, and he would prefer something as simple as a chain or a narrow cuff.[break][break]

Noah chuckled, shaking his head as his gaze lowered again to admire the beads around his wrist. “But this was fun. I never did any stuff like this. Did you?”[break][break]

---

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OOC: Inspiration for their bracelets lmaooo: one + two[break][break]

A slightly shorter post than usual – I can add on the dividing of rewards if you want, but I’ve cut it for now because I thought it might be too long x3


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[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[googlefont=Mr Dafoe:400|Roboto:400,400i,700]

[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Felix froze, staring at the gaudy bracelet on his wrist in surprise. It looked distinctly handmade to his untrained eye, with its mismatched plastic beads paired with the magnetic heart charm that looked a bit more expensive than the rest and didn't quite fit with the cheap plastic. He couldn't imagine Noah sitting down and making it, just like he couldn't imagine him in the kitchen baking. There was clearly a lot he still didn't know about the other man. Or maybe he had a little sibling or cousin or something that he'd had make them for him. Most of what Noah said after he’d slipped the bracelet on Felix’s wrist was just background noise, but the words slowly sank in until he comprehended their meaning. Teasing about holding hands, and he was sure Noah was joking about getting him expensive jewelry, because that was just ridiculous. No, he had never had a friendship bracelet as a kid. He’d thought it was just something that happened on TV, he didn't know kids actually did that, but Noah’s question suggested they did. "No, I never did, either," he replied. He'd never had a close friend as a kid, or as he’d gotten older. He made school friends sometimes, but never ones that he saw outside of school, and he moved around too much to keep friends for long. He’d never had a best friend, someone that chose him above all others, someone he preferred to anyone else. Noah was acting so casual about it, though, and Felix realized he was putting too much meaning on the stupid bracelet. It was just another dumb thing designed to push his buttons and tease him. This one was a little mean, actually, paired with that question from Noah. As if taunting him for his shitty childhood. Then again, Noah probably didn't know about that, and didn't mean it to be mean. Though, he wouldn't put it past him, considering other things he seemed to know. Still, for some reason he was reluctant to believe that Noah would use his potential knowledge to make a jab like that. He huffed an annoyed gust of air and tucked his shrinking cigarette between his lips so he could slip the bracelet off. He was tempted to throw it back at Noah, but after a moment's hesitation he slipped it into his pocket instead, remembering the dream he'd had about the two of them, and plucked his cigarette back out of his mouth pinched between his thumb and forefinger. "Besties" didn't really fit how Felix saw their acquaintanceship, but he knew one day they'd be closer. To what extent remained to be seen. Felix was annoyed, which Noah probably knew, and had probably been aiming for, but Noah couldn't know how much the stupid bracelet bothered him, or how much it meant to him, so Felix couldn't really blame him for it. Noah had given him a lot in the past couple of months. Yeah, most of it had been ridiculous gifts designed to get under his skin, but some of it was actually thoughtful and enjoyable. The cookies, the cake, the coat. The coat wasn't really his style, but didn't people usually say "it's the thought that counts"? He was pretty sure that was a common saying about gifts, anyway. He didn't feel like he owed Noah back, exactly, but he felt like he should give him something in return. He wanted to, actually, he was surprised to realize. His thoughts immediately went to the necklace Noah had been staring at all night. He’d picked up the chain and pendant from Maisy’s shop shortly after his arrival in town, when the pair had caught his eye. He had other silver necklaces that complemented the shine of his silver hardware just fine, and wasn’t particularly attached to this one above any others, besides liking the design on the pendant. Noah seemed enamored with it though, for some reason. When he looked up at the other man, Noah was already looking at him, and Felix didn’t bother deciphering the expression on his face. He slipped the chain over his head and dangled it from his fingers, holding it out to Noah in offering. “Here, take it,” He said it casually, trying to make it seem like it meant nothing. “Something for you to “commemorate our first non-work-related outing together”, since the event seems to mean so much to you.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TAG: Noah St Cloud OOC: no worries it's all good! your post is immaculate as always xD

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[Noah St Cloud]

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[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostname"]noah st. cloud

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostlyric"]But those unsolved answers and secrets[break]
Can only be seen when they spark[break]

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostingbox"]

Granted, friendship bracelets weren’t popular when Noah was the age children would unironically exchange them; he’d missed that craze by less than a handful of years. But even if he hadn’t, he was self-aware enough to know he wouldn't have received one. The couple of ‘friends’ he'd had before puberty were just quiet loners who didn’t stand up for themselves or complain about his (sometimes aggressive) pestering – something which, looking back, was a certain compliance that was likely beaten into them back at home. They’d probably hated him the whole time, and only endured his company because there was no escape from it. It was probably a relief when he’d learned some social skills and turned his attention elsewhere.[break][break]

That was the past though, and he brushed the reflection aside, lifting his gaze from his wrist to focus on the present. Felix stood stock-still and almost seemed frozen, staring at the blue and purple beads like he’d never seen plastic before. Was that how he’d reacted to the various other gifts Noah had sent him? The thought made Noah’s smile tug again, imagining the man sat cross-legged on the floor while surrounded by Christmas decorations and kitty-themed wrapping paper, with his disbelieving gaze locked on the similarly unblinking ‘eyes’ of the cat-faced body pillow.[break][break]

The smile tempered, however, when finally Felix responded that he’d never had a friendship bracelet either. It wasn’t surprising. They weren’t too dissimilar in age and there’d only recently been a resurgence in the trend (Taylor Swift’s influence, apparently). Still, as always, a simple statement from Felix led to questions. Ones such as: what had Felix’s childhood been like?[break][break]

It was easy to imagine him as a scrawny kid, being the size he was. And from Noah’s experiences growing up on various sports teams, short boys weren’t very popular. They were last to be picked for the team and tended to develop a temper because of it, as if desperate to prove they weren’t weak. They couldn’t take a hit on the field and took everything as a slight off of it. Not a great basis for making friends.[break][break]

Felix didn’t seem like someone with explosive anger though. Noah imagined him as a pensive and serious child, a perpetual crease between his brows and a temper that brewed slow. Someone who could be irritated, sure, but not someone who would lash out upon feeling the first stirs of discontent.[break][break]

Maybe it was naïve to think that way. Yet Felix unwittingly gave evidence to that assessment by huffing an annoyed breath and removing the bracelet, pocketing it rather than throwing it at the floor or directly in Noah’s face. That had to be a good sign, right?[break][break]

Felix didn’t look at him. A siren sounded then quieted in the far, far distance. Another car drove by – still not their Uber.[break][break]

Noah waited and watched, wondering if Felix would say more if given the room to do so, but when Felix met his gaze again he did something unexpected: he slipped the pendant off his head and offered it for him to take.[break][break]

Noah blinked. He’d assumed that Felix didn’t do gifts – which was completely fine (especially considering this was only the second time they’d met and arguably too soon for most normal people to exchange presents), but left him a little unprepared to receive something Felix had literally taken off his own body. He must have been a little obvious in his staring, Noah supposed. Enough that Felix had noticed. Yet his interest in the necklace was mostly centred on the fact that Felix was wearing one at all, and on the idea of playing with it while it was wrapped around Felix’s neck. Not because he was admiring the pendant itself.[break][break]

Felix couldn’t know that though, so he must have assumed Noah just… really liked it.[break][break]

And Noah wasn’t about to refuse what was practically Felix’s own version of a friendship bracelet.[break][break]

“Really?” Noah checked, brow lifted, voice pitching up to match. It felt like progress. It felt like his hard work was paying off, and Felix was actually thawing to him a bit. He'd called Felix a tsundere as a joke but this 'or whatever' attitude while giving him a present was making him question if he'd been in the right ballpark after all.[break][break]

Since there was no indication of Felix changing his mind, he held out his hand and Felix let the necklace slowly slip from his fingers onto Noah’s waiting palm. “Thank you.” The pendant had landed face-down, so he flipped it over with his thumb. The engraving was more obvious up close. He hummed happily. “But this is Medusa, right? Isn’t she protecting you?”[break][break]

Despite being gifted and knowing what powers existed in the world, he wasn’t sure he actually believed in ‘lucky charms’. He had a certain maroon jumper that was supposed to bring him some solace, when things got bad, but that was more of a reminder than anything else. And a morbid one at that.[break][break]

Medusa was still an interesting choice for jewellery though, with Noah knowing just enough about Greek mythology to guess her visage could symbolise protection – or perhaps danger, warding others off from the wearer. Was that why Felix had chosen the design? Did he believe in that stuff? And by offering it to Noah, was he – in some roundabout way – offering Noah protection?[break][break]

(Probably not).[break][break]

“Maybe we can share it,” he decided, grinning as he slipped the chain over his head. He adjusted the pendant to ensure it was displayed neatly below the dip between his collarbones, framed by the top open buttons of his shirt. “If you’re feeling unsafe, you can ask for it back.” It couldn’t be sentimental, with how casually Felix had handed it over, but it had to have been an impulse decision and Noah felt he should give Felix the option to change his mind if he regretted it.[break][break]

“Right. Our bets.” Noah pouted down at him. “It seems unfair that I was the only one who stood to lose something from these terms. Both of mine were about gaining something. You’re all about taking away.”[break][break]

Noah’s winnings would have been a sparkling new photo of Felix wearing the cat ears and collar he’d purchased him, as well as the chance to spend time together and enact the ‘Boys’ Week’ he’d planned (albeit without Felix knowing this official title). Felix’s winnings, in contrast, would have entailed Noah deleting his pre-existing photo of Felix and leaving Felix alone for as long as he wished. Had Felix won, it would have been a shame, but the comedic value of Felix potentially choosing for Noah to leave him alone forever would have been too great for Noah to truly be mad about it.[break][break]

He puffed his cheeks and blew the air out from his lips. “I guess… we each choose one winning and forfeit the second?”



[break][break]

[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[googlefont=Mr Dafoe:400|Roboto:400,400i,700]

[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Felix was faintly amused at Noah’s reaction to his impromptu gift. Didn’t expect that, did you, he thought, satisfied with himself for knocking Noah for a loop, the way Noah had done to him. Noah held out a hand in a mirror of Felix’s own outstretched hand a moment ago, and Felix dropped the necklace into it. Noah inspected the pendant, and Felix shrugged when Noah asked if it was Medusa. He was only familiar with Medusa from mentions of her in pop culture. He thought the image on the pendant had been vaguely familiar, he just couldn’t place it until Noah said the name. Still, he knew nothing about her, he had just thought the pendant looked cool. He almost laughed out loud in incredulity at the next thing that came out of Noah’s mouth, only catching himself at the last moment before the laugh burst free. The idea that a necklace could protect him from anything was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. As superstitious as he could be, those superstitions were anxiety-fueled and mostly revolved around negative things that could happen if he did or didn't do something in particular. Lucky charms and protective amulets didn't factor into his superstitious beliefs. He would be stupid if they did, since there was no evidence that that kind of thing had ever worked in his life, at least not for him. Maybe he just wasn't worthy of that kind of thing, though. Maybe it would be a lucky charm of protection for Noah. More power to him, if that was the case. “Hardly,” Felix scoffed. Protecting him? Yeah right. “And, no, it’s fine, you keep it. I have plenty of necklaces.” He didn’t even address the “feeling unsafe” bit. Felix rarely felt wholly safe, so the sentiment was pointless. “Now, if we’re done swapping trinkets, let’s get back to our bets.” Noah pouted upon being reminded, and Felix rolled his eyes. Felix was fine with the suggestion that they each choose one prize and forfeit the second, since it was more or less what he was thinking himself. He would have preferred they pick each other’s prize and forfeit, but he didn’t bother suggesting that caveat after Noah’s impassioned whining that Felix was “all about taking away”. He also didn’t want to risk not getting what he wanted, and it wasn’t much of a choice for him; being coerced to spend time with Noah didn’t make him feel sick the way that the existence of the picture did. "Okay then, I know my choice: delete the picture. I already erased it from Rowan's phone, and he swore he only sent it to you.” The idea that Noah might ask him for a picture to replace it instead of spending time, or whatever, didn’t faze him. “You didn’t send it to anyone else or post it anywhere, did you?” It wasn’t the existence of the photo that bothered him. Like he’d already told Noah over text, he would willingly take a photo himself to replace it if Noah was that set on having one for blackmail, or whatever he wanted it for. He didn't give much of a fuck about a picture of himself in cat ears. What bothered him was that it was taken without his consent and distributed similarly. He couldn't blame Rowan too much for it, because Rowan didn't know. He couldn’t even begin to guess why that kind of thing might be triggering for Felix, why the thought of it made him sick to his stomach with helplessness and anger. And he liked it that way. If he had his way, Rowan would never know. Still, he'd given his cousin a black eye for what he’d done, and he was pretty sure Rowan understood now that pictures without his consent were a pretty hard boundary of his, and it wouldn't be happening again. As much of a meddling asshole as his cousin could be, he wasn't the kind of person that would violate someone's hard boundaries if he knew they existed. He had looked curious, but hadn’t asked, for once, and for that Felix was grateful. The only reason he wasn’t pissed at Noah about the photo, too, was because Rowan swore Noah hadn’t asked him to take it. He said he had just thought it would be funny to send a “cute and embarrassing” picture to Felix’s “boyfriend”. Felix had almost punched him again for that. If Noah really wanted pictures of him there were no doubt still plenty of them on certain corners of the dark web, if he dug deep enough. He was tempted to tell him that, but refrained. Noah knew too much about him already in his opinion, and throwing that fucked up tidbit of Felix’s past in his face probably wouldn’t faze him anyway, so it was pointless. He couldn’t weaponize his own trauma against someone who didn’t care about him, after all. The outline of the bracelet in his pocket insisted otherwise as he brushed his fingers over it, but he knew better than to believe what the ridiculous piece of jewelry was supposed to symbolize. It was just another of Noah’s manipulation tactics. Just another way to fuck with him for Noah’s amusement, he was sure of it. Fuck, he really needed another drink before he started to pointlessly spiral. Preferably a drink at home, by himself. Unfortunately, he knew that the night had more in store for him before that could happen. The shared uber was enough of a clue; he wasn’t stupid enough to think Noah was getting them rides home. Not to mention he still needed to make sure Noah deleted that picture. He finished the last deep drag of his cigarette, cheeks hollowing with it, and then flicked the butt into the street, blowing the smoke into the air as he tipped his head back and gazed briefly up at the faint stars he could see in the city. He considered lighting up another one, but the uber was supposed to be there any minute, so his cigarette pack remained in his pocket, though he was tempted to light one up anyway and get into the uber smoking it, just to try and impact Noah’s uber stars or whatever. He didn’t use rideshares, so he didn’t know the specifics, but he was pretty sure that was a thing. If the damned thing took any longer maybe he would. Or maybe he would just leave. He was getting impatient with the wait, and annoyed at himself for letting Noah talk him out of driving home. The only real reason he hadn’t gotten into his car and took off the moment they were kicked from the game was because he knew they still needed to discuss the specifics of their bet, and now he had been roped into going to some other mysterious location Noah hadn’t even told him about yet. “If the car isn’t here in the next five minutes, I’m gone,” he decided, and felt it prudent to warn his willful companion, aiming a faint glare his way in blame. Noah could go wherever on his own, as long as Felix made sure he deleted the picture first. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TAG: Noah St Cloud OOC: Felix has ✨Issues✨ but that is news to no one lolol. Let me know if I need to alter anything!

✿

[Noah St Cloud]

[nospaces]

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[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostname"]noah st. cloud

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostlyric"]But those unsolved answers and secrets[break]
Can only be seen when they spark[break]

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostingbox"]

The reward he chose would probably have been expected by those who knew Felix, but Noah, who was still learning, pouted again upon hearing it declared: that he wanted the photo to be deleted. It was almost shameful to be erasing something so perfect. Such a precious memory… And no, it didn’t matter that Noah hadn’t been there to experience it in person.[break][break]

That woeful trail of thought was sliced clean through as Felix went on to question if Noah had sent the photo to others – or worse, posted it online. It was an unthinkable suggestion, for which Noah shot him an incredulous look that bordered on affronted, and a slight curl to his lip as if hinting at a snarl. “Why would I show it to anyone, let alone send it to them? It’s mine. For me. I didn’t even risk making it my lock screen.”[break][break]

The temptation had been there, certainly, if only to make himself chuckle throughout the day. The thought of someone else glimpsing it, asking about it and about him, was not so amusing. Noah’s enjoyments were a private thing. He could usually make exceptions for objects and experiences, but he’d never liked sharing people.[break][break]

Regardless of whether they would want to ‘share’ Felix, there also were some real creeps in the world who would have appreciated the photo in an entirely different way, or been annoying about it like the guy who’d turned up to their card game earlier. Killjoys. Noah didn't need that kind of fuss buzzing around his interests or making him question his own actions.[break][break]

But he was getting distracted. He could see how his somewhat petulant response may not have been entirely reassuring, so he huffed and turned to face Felix (and the question) more directly, leaning his shoulder against the wall instead of his back as he briefly held up a three-fingered salute and reignited his smile.[break][break]

“Scout’s honour. I didn’t send it to anyone, or post it online, or make any kind of copy – though I deeply considered getting one of those… laser engraving machines, to burn it onto a knife handle and give to you as a present.” He paused. “Just to confirm, I didn’t do that.”[break][break]

He imagined he was now expected to pick between his own winnings, so he weighed the pros and cons while studying the other man, eyes dipping briefly to the stretch of Felix's neck when he tipped his head back and exhaled smoke. The choice felt less simple than Felix seemed to have found his, but only because Noah sensed there was a way to be clever about it. To still get both if he played his cards right (pun not intended). He could choose the new photo and take the chance that Felix would want to keep in contact and go out again (since he hadn’t elected to put a ban on Noah forever), or he could choose the time together and potentially get a few new pictures of Felix anyway – albeit probably without the accessories he’d initially picked out for him. One option seemed riskier than the other.[break][break]

Felix interrupted his musings with a faint glare and a claim that he’d leave if the Uber didn’t show up in 5 minutes.[break][break]

“Woah!” Noah’s eyes rounded with faux shock, his hand flying up to clutch at imaginary pearls (and instead landing on his newly acquired jewellery) as his mouth formed an 'o'. “Take a breath, antsy-pants. I know you’re super excited about our new adventure, but we’ll get there in time.”[break][break]

Intending to soothe him with an ETA (and to check that the previously confirmed driver hadn’t actually cancelled on him), Noah took out his phone and blinked at the new, brighter lock screen that greeted him. He was still getting used to it: a collage of orange cats and kittens rather than the default purple-blue background of before. He presented it to Felix. It would be wrong not to, since the felines had been chosen for their strong resemblance to a certain someone. “A homage,” he explained with a smirk.[break][break]

After turning the phone back to enter his password and open the Uber app, he shifted closer, angling his screen so both men could see it easily. “There. Two minutes away. You can wait for two minutes, can’t you?”[break][break]

Without waiting for an answer he quit the app and opened his Photos instead. It took no time at all to locate the specific photo Felix wanted gone, and he pressed ‘delete’ without fanfare or comment. When he opened his Recently Deleted folder to erase it entirely, however, he paused.[break][break]

The Felix in the picture scowled stormily back at him, as if putting enough frostiness in his stare would have the same ability to turn Noah to stone as the mythological figure he now wore. The baleful expression was severely weakened, however, by the possessive hold he had on the chocolate birthday cake he was eating. And the rose gold cat-ear headband studded with little metal flowers on his head. And of course, the pretty baby blue collar around his neck, adorned with a sweet, silver bell.[break][break]

The fact that he also looked slightly ruffled, either by the alcohol he’d consumed or by whatever struggle may have occurred to force such items onto him, certainly did not help with whatever ‘intimidating’ impression he was likely aiming for.[break][break]

Noah tapped on the image to zoom in on Felix’s face. “This is devastating,” he sighed, ghosting his thumb over the collar with undisguised fondness. “You look so cute. My grumpy little birthday boy.” [break][break]

---

[break]

OOC: poor Felix :'c if you want, feel free to have the car show up and them get in it in the next one c:


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[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[googlefont=Mr Dafoe:400|Roboto:400,400i,700]

[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

The way Noah reacted to Felix’s suggestion that he might have been cavalier with the photo was quite confusing to Felix. He didn’t know how to take it at first, other than to assume the reaction was performative, somehow. Though it seemed so knee-jerk that he couldn’t help but doubt that assumption. Which annoyed him, because he hated that interacting with Noah always seemed to come with some level of confusion. What was even more baffling was the comment about the picture becoming Noah’s lockscreen. For his own peace of mind he had to dismiss the whole thing as Noah trying to get a rise out of him and mess with him. Yet again. He wouldn’t let himself consider the possibility of it being anything but a joke. He couldn’t. It was just too absurd. As if Noah sensed his doubt and reticence, he turned toward Felix, very serious for a split second before his smile returned. He held up three fingers to swear he hadn’t posted the photo or sent it to anyone else. Then his sincerity seemed to vanish as quickly as it had come as he babbled some nonsense about a knife handle. Felix tuned it out. He believed Noah had kept the photo private. Except… “Were you actually a boy scout, or is that just more bullshit?” Not that it mattered, and he really shouldn’t have asked, because he had told himself not to give into his curiosity where Noah was concerned. He hoped Noah would just take it as a mocking question and not a real one that was based in curiosity. He was probably about to get some totally ludicrous answer either way. As usual. Couldn’t Noah ever just be serious? Did it have to be constant jokes and teasing? On the other hand, he appreciated the distance it put between them, and their interactions. It was easy not to get attached or admit any sort of sincerity to himself when the other man was always teasing. Which was probably the purpose of it all; keeping distance. So yeah, Felix could appreciate it anyway, as frustrating as it could also be. The reaction Felix received to his threat of leaving was amusing. Noah clutching at his new necklace like it was a set of pearls actually caused a slight twitch at the corner of Felix’s mouth in reaction, but that was all the visible amusement he allowed, and only because he was a tiny bit tipsy and probably couldn’t control it if he tried. When Noah turned his phone toward him, however, showing off his lockscreen, the amusement instantly fled. For Noah to go through the work of making an entire collage of orange cats, just to fuck with Felix for one night, was annoying, but not surprising. And a little insane, maybe. Also not surprising. Why else would he be drawn to Felix, and be compelled to keep bothering him, for no apparent reason? He always attracted the psychos and headcases, so it was no mystery why it had happened yet again. Noah was altogether a different kind of psycho than he usually drew, at least. He was pretty sure, anyway. Being assured that their ride would be there promptly had Felix scoffing. He was familiar with waiting on cabs, and if rideshares were anything like that, they would be waiting for at least on hour. The prospect made him want another cigarette already, and though he tried to hide his chainsmoking from Rowan, just so he didn’t have to hear his cousin’s nagging, he didn’t care enough about Noah’s opinion to hide it from him. “Two minutes? We’ll see,” he pulled out his pack and pinched another cigarette between his lips, mumbling around it without lighting it as he next spoke. “If it’s not here by the time I’m finished with this cigarette, well,” he twirled his hand around as if to say, you know what. He would abandon Noah there to wait and climb into his car in a heartbeat; he was not at all committed to his agreement of not driving if it meant waiting for an hour or more for a ride. When Noah closed the app and opened his photos, Felix watched intently. He deleted the photo so casually that Felix was sure he had a copy, or was planning on restoring it from his Deleted folder, but before he could say as much Noah went to the folder of his own accord, surprising him. He didn’t delete the photo, though, he just stared at it. Felix’s cigarette was still hanging, unlit, from his lips as he watched Noah, and he reached for his bic when he realized it, but he couldn’t get the flint to catch. The lighter must have been out of fluid. He grumbled to himself and threw it into the street following the butt from his last cigarette. He’d had a zippo, once upon a time. A nice antique silver one etched with a swirling damask pattern that he’d found at one of the casinos he’d worked at and had kept for himself rather than tossing it into lost and found. He’d lost it a couple of weeks after moving to the city. Much like its original owner had lost it. He patted his pockets for another lighter, sure he had one, and was tempted to go look in his car if he didn’t. When he turned his attention back to Noah, the other man was still staring at the picture, sighing and stroking his screen, and what he said next was… mildly alarming. You look so cute. My grumpy little birthday boy. Something inside of him froze at the words, almost like a prey animal trying not to be spotted by a predator. His heart fluttered in a strange way that was roughly like fear, but not quite. Noah had already expressed a sense of possession over the photo, which was weird enough, but now he was referring to Felix as his, too, tone casually proprietary. Felix didn’t know how to take that. He wanted to dismiss the words, as he usually did, as Noah just fucking with him, but he couldn’t for some reason. He felt almost… sick to his stomach. But not with disgust. It was a strange sensation and emotion that he couldn’t identify. Maybe he had drunk too much after all? Or maybe he should be more concerned. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been dismissing so much of Noah’s behavior as harmless jokes, or as him just trying to annoy or pester Felix. It was something he had to consider, especially with the way he was feeling, because he always listened to his gut. Should he be interpreting Noah’s behavior as a red flag? After all, what did he get out of pestering Felix? He rarely gave the other man any sort of satisfying reaction, at least not in his opinion. Shouldn’t he have grown bored of Felix by now, if that was all it was to him? He couldn’t be that amused by him, could he? Felix did always seem to attract the creeps and weirdos. All his life that had been the case, and thinking about that in relation to Noah stopped being a joke for a moment as he considered the possibilities. Was Noah just another one in the long line of predators that intended to try and make Felix into their prey? The major difference between Noah and all those other men, though, was that Noah knew he wasn’t some defenseless little thing. Despite how often he called him a kitty. Noah had seen him in action and knew he could handle himself. But, wait, he’d gotten injured that night when he hadn’t been expecting his opponent’s enhanced strength. Had he ever told Noah about the man’s gift? He couldn’t remember. If he hadn’t, Noah could very well be assuming he just wasn’t a great fighter. He could be assuming that he could overpower Felix easily, if he wanted to. Then again, Noah had been the one to heal him that night. If he had ill intentions towards Felix, he could have struck while Felix was weak and vulnerable, rather than helping to make him strong again. He trusted his instincts when it came to these things. They hadn’t steered him wrong yet, and he just didn’t get the vibe from Noah that he was a threat to him in that way. What he was feeling wasn’t quite fear, but he didn’t know what to call it, and it was startling. Noah had never hurt him, never been threatening toward him, never even touched him without permission, he reminded himself. There was nothing to be worried about. He was probably just being his normal, weird self, and didn’t actually mean the possessive language. But maybe he’s lulling you into a false sense of security so he can—the thoughts started, before he cut them off without letting them fully form. There was nothing Noah would get out of doing that. If he wanted to hurt Felix or do anything to him, he’d had chances to do so already. Felix had to believe his intuition that Noah didn’t mean him any harm. At least, not at the moment. Not without cause. He couldn’t discount The Dream, either, though he wished he could. He found himself capitalizing the words in his head whenever he thought of them with any kind of significance, and it annoyed him to no end when he caught himself doing so. But then, everything to do with Noah annoyed him, so it was no surprise that would, too. He still didn’t know when to expect the events of his vision to happen. He had felt anxious and a little fearful in his vision, but not fearful of Noah. They were both splashed in blood, though there seemed to be more on Felix. Noah was reaching out to him, and Felix wasn’t shying away from his touch. In the vision, however close or far away in time it took place, Felix trusted Noah enough to be touched casually by him, which his waking mind found much more alarming than the blood they had on them. He knew from experience that his visions were inevitable. There was nothing that could change them. In fact, everything he did made them more likely to come to pass. That had never been a comfort before, but in this instance it somehow put him at ease. It meant that, leading up to the moment of the vision, Noah wouldn’t do anything that Felix would see as threatening to himself. He trusted future Felix. If future Felix allowed Noah that kind of proximity, that meant presently, and up until the moment in the vision had passed, he didn’t have anything to fear from the other man. So, he decided to let himself dismiss Noah’s words after all, muscles unclenching a bit where they had tensed up with anxiety, and he resumed patting at his pockets and hoping for another lighter. His stomach was still clenched oddly, but the strange twist in his gut was fading, and he willed himself calm, doing his best to shake off the sensation. He could really use another cigarette. When a gust of wind blew, cutting through the thin fabric of his shirt, he regretted not keeping his jacket, and considering going back to his car for it. Maybe he could look for another lighter, too; he stopped searching his pockets, determining with some annoyance that he didn’t have a spare after all. He shifted minutely closer to Noah along the wall and tucked his cigarette back into the box with a sigh. The other man was radiating warm body heat, probably not as sensitive to the chill in the air as Felix was and, against his better judgement, Felix had to struggle not to huddle even closer to guard himself against the cool wind. It was a puzzling conflict of sensations; the desire to be closer, yet farther away at the same time. He wanted to be warm, but he didn’t want to close the distance. Just when he was getting ready to go back to his car for his jacket and a lighter, a car pulled up in front of the bar, and Felix clocked it immediately. Their Uber? “Red Mazda,” he said, pointing as he levered himself off the wall. “Is that it?” He had hardly glanced at the phone when Noah had showed him a minute ago, so he didn’t know what car they were supposed to be waiting for. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TAG: Noah St Cloud OOC: finally done ahaha

✿

[Noah St Cloud]

[nospaces]

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[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostname"]noah st. cloud

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostlyric"]But those unsolved answers and secrets[break]
Can only be seen when they spark[break]

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostingbox"]

“That implies anything I’ve ever said to you has been bullshit,” Noah pointed out. “Can you seriously name a time I’ve lied to you?” Risky strategy, because Felix wasn’t wrong – Noah did speak a lot of bullshit. He'd come to terms with being fundamentally dishonest many, many years ago (sometimes about things that were more inconsequential than others), and there was every chance he had told him a fib or two in the time they'd known each other. And yet… he was quietly confident that he was right, in this instance, that he’d only ever been honest with the man.[break][break]

It was quite the novelty, actually, and the more he thought about it, the weirder it seemed. He could feel the confusion seeping into his expression, the tilt of his smile unfamiliar as his brows drew slowly together and his stare searched Felix’s features for a non-existent answer. Did Felix have some kind of passive gift to have caused this? Something that went undetected by Noah’s own? More likely it was simply the circumstances in which they’d met that had influenced things, and Felix's lack of reproach when Noah had been torturing Laurel's abductor. Even so, Noah had probably lied by omission at some point, surely…[break][break]

Oh. Maybe there was one instance of lying to him.[break][break]

Noah snapped his fingers into a gun, pointed at Felix with a hint of relief as he answered his own question. “‘During poker’. You’re right, I did lie then.”[break][break]

Free to refocus on the photo, Noah chuckled to himself and paid Felix no mind as the man threatened to leave again. He’d almost psyched himself out over nothing. Who cared if he hadn’t lied to Felix as of yet? It was only their second meeting, and it wasn’t like he’d told him any deep, dark secrets that would warrant Noah to scrutinise Felix's trustworthiness.[break][break]

Consequently, if Felix had paused slightly after Noah had spoken to photo-Felix, Noah hadn’t thought too much into it, finding it easy to assume that Felix was simply unimpressed to be called such a thing. Yet he did pay attention when Felix eventually gave up on patting his pockets for a lighter, tucking his unlit cigarette away as he edged closer to him.[break][break]

It somehow felt… intentional. Felix had such a closely guarded personal bubble, always keeping out of arm’s length (and not just Noah’s arm's length; he’d given a wide berth to their fellow poker players too), that it did indeed feel like a choice to venture nearer rather than an accidental sway in Noah's direction.[break][break]

Or maybe he was wrong, and it had been completely unconscious on Felix’s part. But even that would be a victory, wouldn’t it? Suggesting that Felix was beginning to trust him, knowingly or not?[break][break]

Let them come to you. That was the common advice with cats. So despite how pleased he felt and how tempted he was to ask if he could light the abandoned cigarette for him, Noah resisted the urge to reciprocate.[break][break]

A car pulled in front of them a moment later, and Felix levered off the wall as he questioned if it was their ride.[break][break]

“That’s it,” Noah confirmed. He followed after him, and made sure Felix was watching when he held up his phone between them and finally deleted the photo from his recycle bin, erasing it for good. He gave another airy sigh as he put the device away. “And that’s that. As promised.”[break][break]

He approached the car and bent to speak with the driver through the open passenger window, and once they had both verified their identities to each other, he straightened and opened the door to the backseat for Felix, standing aside to let the other man slip in first. “Come on,” he said cheerfully, “‘a Scout smiles and whistles under all circumstances.’”[break][break]

The saying felt slimy. Misplaced on his tongue. How many times had he heard it as a kid who barely knew what a smile was? He huffed good-naturedly, rolling his eyes with exaggerated amusement as he joined Felix in the back and closed the door behind them. “I was only ever a Cub Scout.” He narrowed his eyes, his lips still curved into a smile while he lowered his voice and leaned in conspiratorially. “I managed to escape before the Boy Scouts could get me. I hope that doesn’t cheapen my honour.”[break][break]

The car pulled away from the pavement again, now en route to their destination. With the driver making no immediate attempts to join the conversation (which suited Noah just fine), Noah angled himself even more towards Felix and watched him unabashedly.[break][break]

“The photo can wait,” he decided after a moment, tone calm and thoughtful. Between the two rewards he could have claimed, ‘time together’ came with more potential for additional photos, albeit not necessarily in the original accessories he'd have preferred. “Our time together will start tonight and continue tomorrow. I will not be giving an ‘end time’ until further notice. I’ve got the whole thing planned.” And Felix was about to hear about it whether he wanted to or not.[break][break]

“This right here is Day Zero. Nothing too crazy’s gonna happen, we’re just having a few more drinks.” His hands moved in lazy gestures as he spoke, his stare unwavering from Felix to catch any and every reaction. “Tomorrow is Day One, which goes like this: we’ll spend most of the morning lazing about and recovering from tonight, before going to lunch for whatever we feel in the mood for. Then, we go shopping for whatever supplies we need for the afternoon, and very specifically I want to take you to Build-A-Bear to see what you pick out before we go home. I’ll be paying for all this, so feel free to go big.[break][break]

“Once we get home – yours or mine, your choice – we’re going to spend an hour or two napping. I’ll be tired as hell and you’ve got crazy dark circles too.” He loosely pointed towards the eyebags in question as he mentioned them, and bravely swatted the sudden urge to pinch Felix’s cheek. Boundaries. “This will also count as breathing space, as we’ll be doing this in separate rooms. So even if you don’t sleep, you can at least have some time to yourself to do… whatever.”[break][break]

“Then when we wake up, we’re going to cook something you like for dinner and order some of your chocolate birthday cake for dessert.” As much as Noah would have liked to bake something himself, he knew the professionals had him beat. Felix liked the cake. Proven fact. It should sweeten him up if the rest of the day had left a bad taste in his mouth. “Finally, we’re going to watch a movie. Either your favourite film or something that you haven’t seen yet.”[break][break]

“Now, does anything I’ve said so far sound particularly egregious to you, like it would cause you genuine distress and/or anger?” Noah thought Day One was quite tame, really. Especially in comparison to Day Three and Seven. But he’d intentionally started off slow, trying to ease Felix into it. “And do you have a favourite movie? Or just a general film genre you tend to like?”[break][break]

[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[googlefont=Mr Dafoe:400|Roboto:400,400i,700]

[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

"I mostly meant the constant nonsense that you spew rather than anything specifically deceptive," he clarified, but didn’t expect a reply. Though he didn't doubt Noah had been deceptive, too, and Felix just wasn’t aware of it. He couldn’t name a lie, no, but that didn’t mean there hadn’t been any. Noah’s expression turned pensive, as if he were trying to come up with something himself. Felix wasn’t prepared for the confusion, the near-wariness that entered his expression as he looked at Felix. As if Felix were doing something suspicious, or at least something more interesting than just looking back at him. Then he snapped his fingers, expression clearing as he cited his deception at the poker table, and the moment passed without Felix questioning it further. It wasn’t much longer before they were approaching the car, confirmed by Noah to be the ride they’d been waiting for. Noah erased the photo as Felix watched, and his chest felt a little bit looser, his shoulders a little bit lighter, now that the photo no longer existed. He nodded once to Noah in acknowledgement of an agreement fulfilled. After listening carefully as Noah and the driver confirmed each other’s identities, he then scrutinized the driver himself before climbing into the backseat through the door Noah held open for him, rolling his eyes in the process where Noah couldn’t see him, in response to his scout quote. He shoved over onto the other side of the seat and Noah climbed in after him. The inside of the car was much warmer than outside, so he left plenty of space between them. Noah admitted he’d only been a cub scout, not a boy scout, and Felix knew the difference between the two only due to context and common sense; he knew nothing about the scouts. He was fascinated, against his will, with the bit of insight into Noah’s childhood. He wanted to ask more questions, but bit his tongue instead, huffing softly in amusement when Noah mentioned his honor. He didn’t comment on that bit. Noah turned more fully to face him, closing a bit of distance in the process, and Felix was ever-aware of the shrinking space, but he didn’t think it was on purpose. He stayed facing forward, tracking Noah out of the corner of his eye as Noah watched him back, albeit in a much more bold and obvious way. For his own reward, Noah chose spending time together rather than more pictures, because of course he did. Felix sighed, but accepted it. He'd gotten his "prize", after all, such as it was. And he couldn't deny what a relief it was for the photo to be gone. As tame as it had been, it had still made his skin crawl just thinking about someone taking and distributing a photo of him that he hadn’t consented to. As Noah began detailing his plans, Felix struggled not to react, but felt his brow twitch into a scowl anyway. As the things coming out of Noah’s mouth somehow got more and more insane, he couldn’t keep from slowly turning his head to look at Noah fully. He hated granting him the attention that the words were probably designed to bring, but he needed to see the expression on his face, to make sure he was joking. What he saw concerned him; he didn’t think it was a joke. His gaze flicked briefly to the driver—who was giving them weird looks in the mirror—and then dismissed him again, turning his full attention back to Noah and fixing his gaze on him. He let the silence stretch for a moment before he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "This is the bullshit I was talking about," he felt compelled to point out, though he was surprised there had been no cat jokes buried in there somewhere in all his yapping. The only things that sounded even remotely appealing about Noah's overly detailed plan was "breathing space" and "chocolate cake". "We didn't work out the details of the bet to this extent,” he pointed out as he looked up at Noah again, hand dropping back to his lap. “At no point did I agree that spending time together included you planning every aspect of every moment spent.” The words came out clipped and controlled, pointed but not quite accusatory. “Control freak," he added with a scoff, as if he had any room to talk. He turned his head to look out the window as he mulled things over for a moment. He didn't know how to submit to the level of expectation that Noah had laid out for him. He'd always had to make all of his own decisions, even as a child, and the only time he was given strict orders was when he was in trouble and about to face punishment, or in the early days of jobs with his uncle. His day had never been planned for him before in its entirety, and he was determined that it wouldn’t be at any point in the future, either. Not only did it grate on him having things decided for him, but he couldn’t help but notice that Noah's plans involved an awful lot of going out and shopping and interacting with other people. All things Felix was far from fond of. Also, he had no idea what "Build-A-Bear" was, and he refused to ask. When Noah had first mentioned wanting to spend time together, Felix had expected something more along the lines of going out for drinks, or even a meal or two. Maybe partnering up for some Blackstorm jobs. Getting into some trouble might actually be fun. Not going shopping and watching movies. He didn’t even know what to make of Noah’s suggestions, but he knew he needed to put his foot down now before Noah’s ideas got even crazier. He briefly debated the pros and cons of going to his house or to Noah’s. His house was safer, but then he might have to put up with Noah interacting with his cousin, or the others, and he wanted to keep Noah as far from Rowan as possible; it would be a disaster for him if those two ever joined forces. Noah’s house, on the other hand, meant going to an unfamiliar place with someone not far off from being a stranger. If he drove himself, though, it might not be so bad, since he could escape anytime he wanted. And he didn’t think anything would happen that would make him wary of Noah, if his vision was anything to go by. “I don’t watch a lot of movies,” he revealed, still staring out the window, before turning to look at Noah again. “But I suppose we could go to your place and watch something. And have cake.” He really wanted more of that cake. “I am not doing an all day thing, though.” Spending time with Noah at his house for a couple of hours was plenty enough to fulfill his end of the bet, but he prepared himself for an argument anyway, in case Noah thought differently. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TAG: Noah St Cloud

✿

[Noah St Cloud]

[nospaces]

[break]
        

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostname"]noah st. cloud

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostlyric"]But those unsolved answers and secrets[break]
Can only be seen when they spark[break]

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostingbox"]

Though he certainly seemed to be trying at first, Felix couldn’t ignore him. Such efforts were almost always futile, in Noah’s experience, so he wasn’t surprised that his words gradually coaxed Felix to turn in his direction, the scowl deepening on the other man’s brow while Noah detailed their schedule.[break][break]

Undeterred, Noah finished his spiel, then waited patiently during the ensuing silence for a response. It came in the form of Felix claiming that Noah’s speech was exactly ‘the bullshit’ he’d previously accused him of, prompting Noah to grin again, yet upon Felix telling him he would not spend a whole day with him, he had reason to object.[break][break]

“The bet was to hangout ‘for however long I want’,” he insisted, tipping forward with wide, earnest eyes. He struggled to think of a good argument for following his itinerary, however, and slumped back once more as he accepted defeat. “But I guess you’re right, there were no specifics on what we’d be doing.”[break][break]

It seemed he’d missed the mark. Or at least, delivered the news in an undesirable fashion. Perhaps if he’d tried suggesting each event organically throughout the day, as if they were spur of the moment ideas, it would be easier for Felix to stomach. He huffed through his nose, his gaze flicking out the window to watch the scenery pass and mutter more quietly to himself, “Dang. I had a whole thing planned.” And several cancellation calls to make.[break][break]

“Just watching something at my place and eating cake is fine,” he conceded further, though there was a clear edge of sulk to his words and the downturn of his mouth. He sighed. Turned his gaze to watch himself poke the seat between them since he didn’t imagine poking Felix would go down so well. “You’re very strict with me. First you exile the kitty pillow to the living room, now this…”[break][break]

The rest of the journey was uneventful, the roads calm and traffic almost non-existent. Noah’s pouting was mostly for effect (and abandoned once he realised Felix was likely immune to such tactics) so he quickly perked up again as they got closer to their destination. He could still make a nice dinner tomorrow – surely Felix couldn’t object to that if the cake was promised to follow. And maybe he could pull up Build-A-Bear’s website, to make him pick from the online store while they were eating…[break][break]

They made it on good time and parked outside a small skyscraper in one of the nicer parts of the city, and after thanking the bemused driver and cheerfully sauntering around the vehicle to meet Felix on the sidewalk, Noah indicated for Felix to follow him inside to the elevator, where he pushed the button for the fourteenth floor.[break][break]

The Flight Club was situated in an atrium that spread over two stories, with floor-to-ceiling windows that would flood the bar in natural light during the day. At the time they had arrived, it was almost as dark as an underground club with only the low, golden glow of a few wall lamps and strip lights under the rim of the bar to illuminate the room, minimising reflections on the glass and allowing the nocturnal Los Eurosia cityscape to shine.[break][break]

Furnishings were all dark wood and carmine crushed velvet, including deep booths for privacy and window-side seating that allowed the view to do the heavy lifting. There were a few pool tables on the first floor, which was also where the main lacquered gold leaf bar and most of the dressed-to-impress patrons were – a buzzy crowd who were rich enough not to care about how much they were spending, but not so rich that they thought they were above all this. New money, as Noah liked to refer to them. Probably quite a few criminals wanting to try ‘the finer things’ and/or show off to their dates and each other.[break][break]

He led Felix towards the winding staircase that would take them to the second floor: the ‘VIP area’ which was essentially a private lounge overlooking the main space. It wasn’t incredibly different from the floor below, except the tables were spaced further apart and briefly stepping away from their booth wouldn’t put them at risk of losing it. There was also an additional, smaller bar to the side that would be easier to order from than the main one below, and there were glass doors that led out to another balcony outside with more seating and a smoking area.[break][break]

The security let them up without a hitch and Noah got them settled in their window booth, dropping onto the plush seat with a contented sigh as he dragged a leather-covered menu in front of him. The Flight Club focused on Italian cuisine, with lots of beef dishes and (as you might expect) pastas, while the drinks menu was vast and seemed to include every spirit and cocktail ever imagined.[break][break]

“So,” he began, skimming the evening offers. Some borderline sultry music was playing from unseen speakers around them, mostly drowned out under the general chatter of the place, but it wasn’t so loud in there that he had to raise his voice. “Are you hungry at all? We could get food, even if it’s just dessert… Otherwise, what would you like to drink?”[break][break]

---

[break]

OOC: messy but they’re THERE x3

[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[googlefont=Mr Dafoe:400|Roboto:400,400i,700]

[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Trying to be convinced with puppy dog eyes didn’t work on him from anyone but his own dog, but Felix didn’t say as much to Noah, just looked back at him silently as Noah gave him an imploring look, and then seemed to sulk, when Felix shot down his idea. He conceded easily at least, and didn’t push to get his way, which Felix was glad for; he was prepared to argue if need be. Felix almost rolled his eyes when Noah claimed that he was strict with him. “Clearly someone needs to be,” he muttered. He could imagine Noah got whatever he wanted more often than not from the people he spent time around. With his audacious personality and his objective good looks, he probably didn’t hear the word “no” very often. Felix would have to be the one to familiarize him with it. He snickered faintly when Noah mentioned the cat pillow, the smallest of noises in the back of his throat to exhibit his amusement. The degree with which Noah had reacted to his rejection of the gift had been highly satisfying. He decided to push for just a little more. “It’s actually in my room now, on the floor; it’s my dog’s favorite thing to hump,” he lied. Hubble wasn’t a humper, and the pillow was in his closet, along with the rest of the presents Noah had given him that he was never going to use, but he wasn’t going to tell Noah that. The truth was, he never would have left the pillow in the den, and he never would have given any of his gifts away to his roommates. Even the ridiculous ones. Whether he liked them or not, they were gifts meant for him, and he hadn’t received many of those in his life. Rowan hadn’t gifted him anything for his birthday but the disappointing cake and the bottle of cake-flavored vodka, apparently under the impression that he didn’t like presents. Felix didn’t correct him, and he didn’t blame him for thinking so. For the winter holidays he’d received a lot of chocolate—no complaints—socks, and stuff for Hubble. He didn’t fault his cousin and his housemates for not knowing him, considering the lengths he went to avoid being known. It wasn’t their fault they didn’t know he would have appreciated gifts. It just made the gifts Noah got him all the more significant. Not that he would ever reveal that to anyone, especially not Noah. He’d put all the clothing items, with the exception of the coat, back into the box and folded the flaps over each other to close it up before tucking it in the back of his closet with the presents Noah had given him for his birthday. The coat he hung up. He hated that the gesture of presents meant anything to him, but unfortunately it did. He just had to give Noah a hard time because of the whole running cat joke that he was entirely unamused by. Where the driver ended up stopping was not at all where Felix had expected Noah to take him. “Nice place,” he hummed, calculating, as they walked in and he got a good look around. With the low lighting and the sultry music, it came across as far too romantic for two “buddies” out for a drink. In his opinion, at least. It seemed more like the kind of place a rich guy would take a woman on a first date if he was trying to impress her and get her to put out. “Just so you know, I don’t fuck on the first date,” he joked with a deadpan expression, flippant and dismissive. He knew it wasn’t a date, but with the way so much of Noah’s behavior came across like flirting, he wanted to tease him back a little, maybe make him realize just how it sounded, how it looked, the way that he talked to Felix, and the place he had brought him. Because the guy must not realize how it seemed from the outside. That was the only explanation Felix could see for his actions. The pool tables caught his eye as they passed through the first floor, and he considered challenging Noah to a round before quickly reconsidering. It would probably just turn into another competition, with them. He wasn’t looking forward to another bet, or the kind of thing Noah might come up with if he won; Felix wasn’t as confident in his ability in that area as he was with his skill at cards. The men around the pool table were similarly eye-catching, and the feeling seemed to be mutual; he thought he caught stares aimed their way for a moment as they passed. It raised his hackles and put him on edge. Probably just a curious glance, probably not anything to be concerned about, he tried to reassure his paranoia. The distant insistence of anxiety remained, telling him to be on the lookout. To be watchful. Thankfully, Noah led the way toward a staircase, away from the pool tables and the gazes of the men posted at them. He wasn’t really surprised when security let them through to the VIP section without complaint; Noah wouldn’t have brought him here if he wasn’t confident he’d be allowed passage. Again, he got the sense that Noah was trying to impress him or something. This wasn’t really his kind of place, and he hadn’t pegged Noah as being the normal patron of a place like this, either. But perhaps he was wrong. Maybe Noah was a regular here, for all he knew, and he was just bringing Felix to a place he felt comfortable. Noah plopped into the booth with an ease which suggested just such comfort. Or maybe it was his natural confidence which let him feel secure in any environment, or else able to fake it spectacularly. Either way, Felix envied that kind of ease. He slid smoothly into the booth opposite Noah, eyes darting around to note the exits and escape routes, just in case, before he relaxed slightly into his seat. “Not hungry,” he replied shaking his head and picking up the drink menu. Dessert did sound good, but that was more of an end of the night kind of thing, and he didn’t think they were quite there yet. He had originally been planning to just get vodka shots, but at a place like this, if Noah was paying, he might as well order something fancier and make Noah spend some money on him. Something that still had vodka though, of course. He was craving something sweet, and he already knew what he wanted. He scanned the drink menu to make sure they had it; there was nothing that annoyed him more when he was behind the bar than some twat ordering off-menu. He’d still do it, if what he wanted wasn’t listed—he was sure they had the ingredients to make it, with everything else that was listed—but he wanted to know if ordering it would make him That Guy. “I’ll have a Valkyrie,” he said, as he located it on the menu after a moment of skimming. A vodka cocktail with lemon and vanilla sugar syrup. There were a few different versions of a Valkyrie, and he was pleased to see it was the version he preferred. He’d probably have a French Martini next, but he reconsidered his plan to switch to vodka shots; his instincts were telling him to stay on alert, for some reason, and he couldn’t do that if he was truly drunk. He was fine simply nursing a buzz, though. He was annoyed with himself at how willing he had been to relax his guard around Noah, and almost glad something had put him back on edge. Despite his vision, he knew better than to get comfortable with anyone, and he would try not to let it happen again. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TAG: Noah St Cloud

✿

[Noah St Cloud]

[nospaces]

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[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostname"]noah st. cloud

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostlyric"]But those unsolved answers and secrets[break]
Can only be seen when they spark[break]

[break]

[attr="class","Noahpostingbox"]

The deadpan joke startled a laugh from him, and it was instinctual to shoot a tease right back. “Maybe that’s why I like you!”[break][break]

Now Felix had mentioned it though, it did sort of look like that was Noah’s goal here, friendship bracelet or not. While Noah simply wanted to try somewhere new (with the added benefit of discovering how Felix felt about more expensive things and places), Felix didn't know that. The thought was amusing, especially since the other man wasn’t leaving. Hadn’t immediately spun around and stormed out at the first hint of it being a date.[break][break]

Then again, it was most likely the terms of their bet keeping him there, so that train of thought was easily derailed before it could pick up steam.[break][break]

They settled in the booth, Felix declining the offer of food and briefly scanning the drink menu before requesting a Valkyrie. Noah smiled.[break][break]

“Sweet,” he mused, flipping his own menu closed and setting it aside. “So it’s cocktails now, hm? Be right back.”[break][break]

Having read the ‘being safe and alert’ guidebooks in Felix’s room, he half-expected Felix to follow him to the bar. Yet he didn’t sense movement behind him, and when he glanced back, halfway across the floor, he saw Felix was still seated. Noah beamed at him before continuing on his merry way to get their drinks, feeling like he'd been awarded a 'trusted' badge.[break][break]

“A Valkyrie for Pouty over there,” he requested, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at Felix. “And uh… Spiced Chocolate for me, please.” It was similarly dessert-like. Maybe Felix could try it too.[break][break]

“Cute date,” the bartender said playfully, pulling out two glasses. Noah snorted, but she continued before he could correct her. “‘Pouty’ seems about right. Do you need help loosening him up?”[break][break]

The question instantly conjured visions of staff surrounding their booth, disproportionately sized sparklers sticking out of a cake while they clapped and sang Felix a birthday song to ‘brighten the mood’. As humorous as that would be, Noah didn’t imagine it would serve the bartender’s intended purpose.[break][break]

He snickered. “That’s what drinks are for, aren’t they?” She seemed ready to say more, probably to try to sell him on some kind of ‘VIP only’ show, so he shook his head emphatically. “No. No assistance is required, thanks. Just leave us to it.”[break][break]

Once he'd paid and the bartender was finished, he picked up the Valkyrie, a dessert spoon, and his own drink, which was a mixture of reposado tequila, Patrón coffee liqueur, and dark chocolate liqueur, topped with a healthy helping of whipped cream (hence the spoon) and red pepper flakes for an extra kick. He carefully ferried it back to the table, doing his best not to spill a single drop, and grinned at Felix again after he’d set them (and himself) down.[break][break]

“Can’t promise they’ll be good—it's my first time too—but they better be for these prices.”[break][break]

Without hesitation he scooped some cream and regarded Felix thoughtfully as he licked it off the spoon. Perhaps he ought to press harder about the cat pillow issue. There was undoubtedly enjoyment in imagining Felix cuddled up with it in bed, and initially it had only been a joke—a plan to make Felix comment on the smell of Noah’s cologne. But… there was an element of manipulation to it. The thought that he could make Felix associate his scent with the cosy, safe feeling of being wrapped in his own sheets. As for why he would want that—[break][break]

Well. That was the game, wasn’t it? To make the frigid thaw.[break][break]

But since the reveal of how Hubble repurposed the gift, Noah supposed that plan wasn’t so feasible anymore.[break][break]

“I read some of the books in your room,” he announced instead. “‘Green’ I read first, since you had a poster of it. Based on the blurb I thought the Duke was going to be the ‘big bad’, with the ending either involving her killing him or escaping his court, so I was really surprised by the direction the plot went.” He finished off another spoonful of cream, humming appreciatively. “I liked that, though. How unpredictable it was. It kept things interesting, and I liked reading about the different religions and cultures— hey, this is good,” he said suddenly, gesturing down at his dessert-drink. “You want some?” Even as he asked, he scooped some up and held the spoon out to Felix without waiting for a response.

[break][break]

[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Felix didn’t believe it for a second when Noah said he liked him. It was a joke, a reply to Felix’s joke, nothing more, he knew that, it was just jarring to hear; people didn’t like him. Why would they? Felix gave them no reason to. He was sure he was just a passing amusement, and Noah would grow bored of him and move on when he didn’t get whatever it was he wanted from him. Ideally it would be sooner rather than later. While Noah went to get their drinks, Felix took another look around, unable to help himself. Re-evaluating the exits, the potential escape routes, and noting the hallway leading to the bathroom. He wondered if it was a dead-end hallway or if it led to somewhere else. An outside door, a break room, a storage room perhaps. It wasn’t that he expected anything to happen, but he was always prepared for the worst. The bartender glanced over at him as Noah was ordering the drinks and he frowned slightly, wondering if Noah was saying something to her about him. They were a little too far away for him to be able to read her lips, but he didn’t like her little smirk when she looked at him. Luckily Noah didn’t linger for long, returning with their drinks, and a grin, rather than sticking around to chat. Not that Felix would have minded being left at the table alone while Noah chatted up the bartender, except that it would mean he’d be left alone without his drink. Hearing that it was was Noah’s first time there, too, was both surprising and not. Just like he’d been thinking earlier, Noah’s ease in a new place was either a very good act or entirely genuine. Both of those possibilities were somehow irritating, but he just sighed and took his drink, eyeing Noah’s choice with a curiosity that didn’t show on his face. He took a sip of his cocktail and hmmed. He was pleased with the quality. Maybe there was some merit to visiting such fancy places after all. The drinks were enough to sway him, but the quiet and privacy of the VIP section helped, too. Though, he doubted he’d be allowed into VIP if Noah wasn’t with him. He just didn’t exude the aura of “rich and expensive” that Noah did when he wanted to. It was interesting how Noah could project that vibe, Felix thought, remembering how he’d been during their mission together. The bridled violence, the grin as he smashed the guy’s face in and splattered blood on the floor. So at odds with the way he was portraying himself now, and even the way he’d been at the card game earlier. That ability to shapeshift his personality to fit a situation was impressive, and Felix wondered how he’d developed such a gift or if it just came naturally to him. It was yet another facet of Noah that Felix found himself annoyed to be fascinated by. Noah’s cocktail was basically a dessert, which made him rethink his assumption about dessert being an end of the night thing. Unless this was the end of the night and Noah was ready to call it quits after this? That would be surprising, but Felix wouldn’t complain if that was the case. He wanted to try their French Martini, curious if it was any good, but after that maybe he’d get a dessert of his own and start to wind down. They both enjoyed their drinks in silence for a few moments, no sound between them but the smooth and sultry music from the speakers, but Felix knew the silence couldn’t last. Not around Noah. A conversation about books, though, wasn’t what Felix expected when Noah next spoke, and the mention of the ones in his room had him stilling briefly in surprise. It had been months since the other man had been in his bedroom. He couldn’t believe Noah had remembered the books and taken the time to read any of them. Then again, maybe he hadn’t actually read them. It was entirely possible he’d just looked up reviews or a detailed summary online and read that instead. Everything he said about the book he could have easily found online. It made more sense than devoting a few hours or more to reading a whole book just so he could talk to him about it. “Green, huh? I haven’t read that one since I was a kid,” he lied, not wanting to admit it was his favorite, and prone to being difficult, anyway. “What else did you read?” he asked lightly, tone suggesting he wasn’t much invested in the answer, though he was in fact curious. He wondered if any of the non-fiction books were on Noah’s list, and if he’d actually read them. Noah seemed to like his drink, and he offered some to Felix, who only glared at the spoon that hovered between them for a moment. The drink did look good, he had to admit, but no way in hell was he sharing a spoon with Noah. For the same reason he wouldn't share a cigarette with him months ago; too intimate. Instead he swiped his finger across the cream that was piled on the spoon and sucked it into his mouth. Even the whipped cream the place used tasted expensive, and he sighed. “Yeah, it is good,” he admitted easily after licking his finger clean. Noah knew he liked sweets by now, unfortunately, so it should come as no surprise. It was one thing about himself that he found difficult to hide. He took a few sips of his own sweet drink and was pleased with how well the two complemented each other. Movement near the stairs caught his watchful eye and he realized it was one of the guys that had been at the pool tables downstairs, one of those that had looked at him. The man was alone, and it seemed that the bouncer let him into the VIP section without any trouble. Felix tensed, but the guy didn’t come their way, didn’t even look at them this time, he just beelined straight for the bar. Why, though? Did it serve something better than what the bar downstairs had? Perhaps the top shelf stuff could only be obtained upstairs. That wasn’t so unusual, and was the only reason Felix could conceive of for the guy to be at that bar rather than the downstairs one. Then he saw the bartender smiling at him, and him leaning on the bar toward her, and realized the man had likely come upstairs to flirt with the bartender. He tried to relax and take his mind off the man, taking another gulp of his drink and focusing his attention back on Noah, curious what topic of conversation he would come up with next. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TAG: Noah St Cloud OOC: finally finished this bad boy! XD

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