Speed Date! Celsius & Aaron

Speed...Dating?

Why did he come here? No, wait. The better question was, why did he allow himself to be strong-armed into coming here? It seemed like he had fallen into this sort of relationship with the staff at the local tavern where they seemed to be gunning for him to end up with someone or something or another. It was honestly aggravating how easily he let himself be swayed into doing these things. However, regardless of circumstance, he was here now, so he may as well just try to get through it as best as he can. A bright-eyed, red-haired girl came along, confirming her name and asking the Chienthrope for his order. After a moment or two of thought, he'd ask for something sweet, but light. He'd never been to a cafe before, so it was all new to him. The waitress suggested a white chocolate mocha, and Celsius merely accepted, again having no idea what that was or what it may taste like. As the waitress walked away, he turned his head to stare out the window, slight curiosity on who his "partner" might be. He would just have to wait and see.

@Aaron Phim

 

Aaron arrived at the restaurant dressed in his best clothes - which was to say, they had no holes in them and were clean. He hadn't originally intended on coming today, but one of his older patients - a kind lady, if talkative - had kept insisting that a "nice young man" like himself ought to "find a woman and settle down". Well, the intention behind it all wasn't bad, he supposed.

He smiled kindly at the waitress when she greeted him and led him to his table. "Oh, no way..." Aaron muttered to himself as he saw who his "partner" was - the cute Chienthrope boy he'd met the other day in the dungeon. He sat down slowly and nervously, before remembering he needed to place an order. "Uh, tea, please. Um, milk and... five things of sugar?" Aaron exhaled softly. "So, uh, fancy meeting you here... How've you been?" he asked. He was bad at small talk. Somehow, despite all the odds of the impossibility of this, he felt like he was going to mess everything up.

(@Celsius Snowfang so does Aaron know his name by now? lol)

 

Speed... Dating?

Canine ears perked at the sound of footsteps drawing near, the chair across from him having been pulled out for his "partner" to take a seat. Blue eyes slowly wandered over to the stranger... only to find that it was no stranger at all. It was the human he'd run into at the dungeon. The one who had saved his life from the Pass Parade that nearly ended his life. Aaron Phim. Eyes widened as his head slowly lifted from the palm of the hand it was resting upon, a curtain of crimson staining his snow-white complexion.

"HUUUUUH?!"

He bolted upright in his seat, pointing a finger straight at the man as he began gawking and stammering over his words. Of all the people he could have been paired with, he never once thought that he'd wind up having another run-in with the same person so soon. He cursed the gods above in heaven in his mind, feeling as though they were having a gas picking on him by having him go through all this nonsense. First, Lady Freya purchases him a dress set to admire him in. Then, the staff at the local tavern go out of their way to make sure he's set up in this new cafe for speed dating. And now comes in the man who saved his life in the dungeon and fought side-by-side with. The very same guy who may or may not have stirred something within the boy during their time on the third and fourth floors of the dungeon. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad...? Thinking of it like that, he at least needed to make an effort and reciprocate in the small talk.

"Um...h...hello again. I've um... been okay. Can't really complain..."

It was at this moment that he realized that he too was rather bad with small talk. Taking into account of how xenophobic he tended to be towards others... this was quite a leap from his comfort zone.

@Aaron Phim (Not yet!)

 

Aaron chuckled nervously. "So, uh, I've never really done this before, so I'm not really sure how this whole thing goes. I mean, I was just talked into it by one of my patients. But gods, what are the odds?" Aaron cleared his throat gently. "I mean, a certain point comes when a guy has to wonder just how closely the fates like to get involved with us, huh? Maybe.. maybe we should pretend we haven't met before?" he asked.

Without waiting for the Chienthrope boy to agree or disagree with his suggestion, Aaron straightened up in his chair. "Why hello there," he said and extended his hand across the table for a handshake. "My name's Aaron Phim, I'm a healer and self-proclaimed paladin. It's nice to meet you, what's your name?"

(@Celsius Snowfang )

 

Speed... Dating?

Celsius' head slowly came back to rest upon his hand, staring at the man who began to chat up a storm. This almost felt like their first meeting in the dungeon all over again. Only less of the intense atmosphere of be wary of literally anything and everything ready to kill you at a seconds' notice. He did raise a point however, that it seemed a little too coincidental for them to meet up at a speed dating event shortly after having scoured the dungeon with all of the events which transpired inside as well. If he didn't know any better, he would almost be inclined to agree that perhaps some twist of fate was at work here. That nearly brought a small smile to his face... if not for the next thing Aaron had said.

Pretend that they'd never met before... that was not only impossible... but outright stupid. He was honestly surprised that the man had even made such a suggestion in the first place. His face showed a bland expression, like that which clearly stated to Aaron that he had said something dumb. However, despite this, Celsius let out a slight sigh, the blush returning on his face as he reached out with his free hand to give the man's a light shake. He hesitated a little at first, though, being that he was still not 100% certain about how he felt in all of this. Soon he would give in, taking a very light hold of Aaron's hand, giving it a slight shake as he spoke.

"...Celsius Snowfang. I'm just a survivor... nothing really fancy about me."

@Aaron Phim

 

Aaron grinned teasingly when the boy shook his hand. "Hey, remember the last time we held - ah, never mind... Celsius, huh? That's a cute name. It fits." Aaron moved his hand away and took a sip of his drink. "So how old are you?" He asked. "I'm twenty, myself."

Aaron sighed slowly. "I'm not good at this, sorry. I'd understand if you'd prefer to go find someone else here." He couldn't deny that the boy in front of him was cute and he did want to get to know Celsius better, but Aaron had no clue how to go about doing that. Where was that line between trying to get to know the person and asking too much?

 

Speed... Dating?

The Chienthrope puffed out his cheeks in a sign of annoyance being reminded of the one time he and Aaron held hands in the dungeon. He would have shot a glare that would fit well with the phrase "If looks could kill", if not for the saving grace of the compliment to the boy's name. Again, Celsius found himself blushing softly, calming himself down enough to retract his hand, soon taking a sip of his own drink. To his surprise, it was very delicious, save for the heat numbing his tongue upon first contact. "...Seventeen..." he stated plainly, holding his cup before him as though he were hiding from the other. Blue eyes looked to the man once more, quietly admiring as he struggled with these feelings being roused within him. When the man suddenly spoke of Celsius finding someone else, that was when he said it.

"N-no! Don't go!"

Those words had come blurting out uncontrollably, the Chienthrope only realizing it shortly after it was too late. His face began burning beet red as he attempted to recollect his composure, though only to find himself fidgeting about in his seat before taking another sip. Eyes averted slightly to the side before he spoke up once again.

"I...I-I don't... I don't want anyone else... you're enough."

@Aaron Phim

 

Aaron exhaled happily - it could almost have been mistaken for the first syllable of a laugh - when he heard the boy say he was seventeen. That was an acceptable age difference. But his self-confidence crash came very quickly. What if it wasn't as acceptable of an age difference to Cel? And, if it was, would Cel be an okay nickname?

But the boy's outburst pulled Aaron away from his self-critical thoughts. "I think you might be one of the first people to ever say that to me," Aaron said. He laughed - a genuinely happy laugh. "Sorry, we hardly know each other, I shouldn't be this happy about that." Aaron took a sip of his drink and stared at Cel, his own face reddening. "Well, fuck, this is the place I have no clue what to do from here on." Aaron laughed again, this time a mixture of happiness and slight nervousness. "Also, can I call you Cel?"
(@Celsius Snowfang )

 

Speed... Dating?

"W-well... you're the first person to really take an interest in me... that and... you saved my life..." Celsius could feel his cheeks reddening once more with embarrassment, but gradually, his usual uptight self started to relax. There was even a small, yet genuine smile curled upon his lips as his features relaxed. The stern look in his eyes had softened to something more gentle, a glimpse of warmth finally visible from beneath the cold exterior he had been trying so hard to maintain. The Chienthrope still harbored some ill will towards adventurers. But maybe... just maybe Aaron might be different. Maybe he would prove Celsius wrong about his thoughts on them. Well, as long as Aaron was the one to show him, he supposed it couldn't hurt to try opening up at least a little bit.

"It's... it's okay. I don't mind. Um... I suppose if you really want to... you can call me "Cel". I guess... but only you can call me that... okay?"

His eyes averted to the waitress who had seated them, the woman informing the pair that it was about time for them to excuse themselves, so that others may partake in the grand opening as well. He gave a slight nod before looking to the man, offering a delicate hand to him with a smile. "If you want... we can hold hands... maybe? You don't have to, of course... just a thought."

@Aaron Phim

 

Aaron took the offered hand with a smile and another laugh of joy. "Well, I promise not to let anyone else call you 'Cel' on my watch. How's that?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye. As he stood from his seat as the time had come to an end, he mused for a moment. "It'd really be a shame to end off our day here, you know? We should go somewhere else and keep... somethinging. I don't know, I'm bad at this," he said, scratching the back of his head with his free hand.

Overall, today had been pretty good, Aaron decided. He was more than surprised, but rather pleasantly, that somehow he had met up with an amazing guy like Cel, and his heart beat with anticipation for everything that might lie in store for the future. But perhaps he was getting ahead of himself. Right now, they were just two boys, holding hands as they left a small dinner.

(@Celsius Snowfang )