[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?”



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

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

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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]

---

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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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