sticksandbones | [CLOSED] it's not a date... unless?

[Fortunately for Add and his bisexual crisis, Wolfwood doesn’t actually catch on to the weird way he’s acting about Ain trying his drink. He’s just looking at the screen now as the movie starts, though he’s definitely far less invested in it than Ain, who is VERY invested. Good, please have fun…you’ve been so depressed that he’s worried about you, and half of that has been Add’s own fucking fault.

…what he WILL do, since he’s near to the aisle, will shoo one of the nearby Dynamo out of his space when it hovers too close to him while scanning the perimeter. And by “shoo” I mean “swat at with his hand”.]

[Don't forget the part where everyone kept calling him the town whore and he died twice and he has general inadequacy issues lately and— well you get it.

Ain is not oblivious, though, as much as he's focused on the movie and wondering why these people make hovercars look so easy to drive. They are not easy to drive, but go off actors. More to the point, Ain watches out of the corner of his eye as Add has an entire fucking crisis about his chapstick. He briefly thinks that maybe he's grossed out, in which case he's about to offer to take it back and clean it off, but.

???

Fuck he should've worn the fruity lipgloss instead god dammit he could've had one W this entire night. His tail is wagging again, an audible thump against the floor, as he quickly shifts his gaze back to the movie and continues inhaling the rest of his food. It doesn't take long before he's ordering another mojito, either, sorry to Ezell's wallet in particular.

...

Eventually, the movie actually gets to the part where things are happening, though it's a slow and creepy build up. What appears to be possession, people sometimes completely breaking their in-character personas to beg for help before "resetting"... Ain is hooked. He is gone. You will both sit here and suffer through each other's presence while he gets a little too tipsy on mojitos.

Don't kill each other while he's gone (?)]

[He is having an entire gay crisis over here, but he's made his decision. Fuck the plot of this movie, he does not care about the plot of this movie anymore, all of his attention is focused on that tiny imprint of Ain-contaminated chapstick residue. He is doing science, damnit.

After spending way to much time thinking about this... as casually as he can manage (not very casually at all)(he is SWEATING), he raises the glass to his lips, overlaying the outline left by Ain. Gently pressing down, a tilt back, allowing it to mix with the more familiar flavour...

The material is completely different, but he can imagine... this taste might be similar to what Ain's lips are like.

If the surface were a bit softer...]

—Pshkk! [and then he nearly shoots soda out his nose when something SWATS his precious Dynamo. An enemy attack!!!!

it's just Wolfwood, actually. But he instantly whips his head around to shoot a glare at the other man behind Ain's back. Dynamo is perfectly fine, of course, but the swat makes them bob in the air for a moment and beep in a displeased manner. Rude!!!

Fortunately, this coincides with some kind of spooky visual jumpscare, so it comes off like Add got scared by that instead of Wolfwood... Ain may yet remain unawares.]

[This time, Wolfwood does not miss the choking sound Add makes, which prompts him to lean back to look at him sidelong as he munches on his popcorn. Lol, lmao even. Get fucking wreck’d, nerd. Add glares at him and Wolfwood just :) smiles back, waving at him with his fingers before turning his attention back to the movie as if he’d done nothing wrong.

Well actually, he WILL mouth behind Ain’s back before he does this:]

You scared? Awwww.

[Ain does not notice any of this :) He is thoroughly enjoying the suspicious ways in which the lead actress' character is acting. Sneaking around, having weird conversations with her parents about the main character, unplugging his phone so it won't charge and he won't be able to call anyone for help...

Yeah, the jumpscare does happen, and when Add very nearly chokes to death on Sprite 3, Ain just laughs because he's assuming this was At The Film and not because the boys are having a slapfight of some kind.

Just be careful arguing behind his back y'all because his bigass wings are Going to slap you in the face as they move. You Will be wing'd. You have No choice.]

[Add doesn't even know what's going on in this plot at this point but it's fine, there's exactly one (1) Dynamo poised over his shoulder actually paying attention. He'll have a detailed summary just in case Ain quizzes them on it later. Dynamo is having a good time on this date.

More importantly, Wolfwood thinks he can still catch up... well he's wrong. Add seethes, glaring despite the wingslaps making this very difficult to pull off for an extended period. Eventually he appears to give up, directing his glares at the theatre screen instead.

But there's no way he'd give up for real. No... this is a tactical decision. Lull Wolfwood into a false sense of security, thinking he's made Add surrender, then...

The next time there's a jumpscare on the screen, a dynamo under the seat delivers a brief but powerful electrical shock directly into where Wolfwood's ass would be. Your turn to cry, loser.

(Add also still jumps, but this is also why it's a tactical decision. Wolfwood yelping will distract from whatever embarrassing faces he makes on the other side. A flawless play.)]

[Man Add, you can’t go a single second without cheating, can you?

That’s what Wolfwood would say if he could, because the fact he has all of this tech to lean on and abuse makes it feel Very unfair, at least to Wolfwood. HE doesn’t have anything like that he can use to harass Add with, so suffice it to say he’s more than a little pissed when he feels something shocking him-]

Augh, fuck-!!

[He jumps in his seat, just barely managing to avoid dropping his popcorn on the floor as the inside part of the seat threatens to smash him into it when it springs upward with Wolfwood’s weight. He doesn’t even have time to shoot a look at Add, because Ain’s wings are in the way.]

[Ain starts giggling, because of course he does, because he thinks y'all are soooo scared of the horrifying psychological horror film. The violin sting resounds across the theatre and he hears Wolfwood scream and feels Add jump next to him, and in his inebriated state, this is the funniest thing.]

You guys sure are scared, huh~? [he has. NO IDEA there's an invisible scorecard and that Add is cheating. Ain meanwhile is not scared at all of horror films, he's having a fantastic time.] Nikolaus was scared of the drop tower ride at the amusement park too~. And the boat ride that takes you like—

[Here comes this drunkass explanation that sounds a bit like Laby would tell it, actually:]

Wheeee~ and you're sideways~ haha~.

[someone take that fucking order card away from him before he gets a third mojito and dies]

[Add starts chuckling deviously under his breath. Between Wolfwood's embarrassing shout and now this... he is keeping that lead for sure.]

Oh? Kukuku, I guess he's not such a tough guy at all, huh...? [and Add isn't scared of rollercoasters at ALL, so that's another point for him (somehow????)

Confident Wolfwood can't top his range advantage, he lets himself sit back and enjoy some more popcorn. He'll even dare to make a risky play... putting his arm over the back of Ain's seat. Yeah, that's right—just one wrong move and Ain will (accidentally) have Add's arm over his shoulders. Look at who sucks at being a good boyfriend now, huh??]

[Oh my god AIN.

Wolfwood bristles, his face turning red all the way to his ears, and before he can stop himself he hisses:]

Shut the fuck up.

[He pulls himself back after that, but only barely. ADD is out here crying every two seconds at the movie, which Wolfwood hasn’t been scared by once, so he has a lot of room to talk!!

He grits his teeth and looks away, face hot with embarrassment and anger, but that doesn’t mean he misses out of the corner of his eye the way Add puts his arm around Ain’s fucking chair? Excuse him? What happened to a PLATONIC outing??? Gay ass???????

He scoffs under his breath. He’d been good so far about keeping his hands to himself solely because he was asked to, but you know what? Fine.

Wolfwood, now endeavoring to ignore Add completely for the moment because he knows how much he hates not being the center of attention, reaches over and gently takes Ain’s free hand in his, threading their fingers together on top of the table between them. Yeah, try THAT on for size.]

[Ooooh the men are doing...

Ain, with his half-finished drink in his other hand, looks at Wolfwood and beams with the tip of his tail swaying. Aww, he said don't make Add feel like a third wheel, but... hehe, holding hands? Perfect, they could hide that easily.

He sets his drink down, wipes the condensation off on his jeans, and then reaches up with his now-dry but slightly cold hand to pull Add's arm down around his shoulders properly. He's too drunk to think otherwise, and the fact that his dragon tail starts audibly slapping the ground as this happens will tell them all they need to know. He is super pleased right now.

Ain's gonna lean back in his chair and continue sipping his drink now. Thank you so much for your attention, boys.]

[As if they could actually hide that while Ain is too drunk to know the men are bickering. His confidence shrivels up when he sees Wolfwood take Ain's hand—he scowls, angry, why does he get to hold his hand?? This is a platonic date! That's foul play, 100%!!!

but before he can act on any of those angry thoughts, there is a cold tug on his arm, and then warmth... it takes another few seconds for him to process that his arm is, in fact, resting comfortably across Ain's shoulders now. He stares blankly ahead, bewildered, frozen stiff.

... it's strange, how his entire body feels so much warmer now. The heat in this room must be unbearable.

He... does not move, despite the uncomfortable warmth. A dynamo starts spinning next to him like a little fan. He is having a lot of thoughts right now and he's not sure how to address any of them, so instead he's just going to stare at the movie screen like he's panicking inside and pretend everything about this is fine and normal.

He still jumps at the next spooky scene that happens (fuck), gripping Ain's shoulders on reflex.]

[Haha have fun with your gay crisis!! Wolfwood had his a looong time ago, he’s done this song and dance before.

At the very least, his wounded pride is soothed by this well enough, mostly because he’s getting to hold Ain’s hand regardless. He won’t, like, try to start making out with him or anything because that definitely wouldn’t be cool, but…God knows he’s thinking about it.

Anyway, what was going on with the movie? Wolfwood’s seen like, maybe a third of it at this point because he and Add have been too focused on taking secret potshots at each other. Oh fuck his sandwich too, he needs to finish that.

He will hold his bucket out wordlessly for Ain to have some more of his popcorn though, here you go babe.]

[The boys are fighting and Ain is having the time of his life. But wait, he only has one hand for popcorn and it's occupied by drink. Uhhhh...

Oh wait. He has a tail now. (He is rapidly losing all braincells.) The mojito, which is mostly just ice and mint bits now, gets passed over to the tail, and then his hand goes to the popcorn bowl. Multitasking! This cannot possibly go wrong, surely holding things with his tail will not be catastrophic as usual.

Proper movie theatre etiquette is about to go out the window though when Ain shimmies a tad in his seat, putting his feet up in Wolfwood's lap and leaning his head against Add's shoulder, only somewhat mindful of his horn-halo being kind of a nuisance. He is now fully lounging while the protagonist of the film fights for his life not to have sudden brain surgery and be officially possessed by some guy who wants to bodyjack him. Ain's drunk ass appreciates the mix of science and paranormal here... as much as he can, because he's currently snuggled up between two buff men.

This is definitely something he has nightly dreams about yeah. Too bad the seats aren't closer...]

[Add and Wolfwood have somehow achieved some degree of peace, purely driven by Ain being equally gay at them both. Add is still trying to process his feelings when the seating arrangement is shifted again—he can't even be mad about Ain's legs ending up in Wolfwood's lap thanks to Ain also snuggling up against his shoulder. His breath hitches, holding in a startled squeak. His palms feel incredibly sweaty inside his gloves, still gently gripping the angel's shoulder.

What is wrong with him tonight? Getting all worked up over... what? Some platonic male touching among friends?? Ain's horns are poking the side of his head and he isn't even fighting this. He should be annoyed. This is annoying! His personal space is a mockery right now, this is an insult!!

He needs to think about something else. Forget Ain, focus on the stupid movie—]

It's not even that unrealistic, but if they were serious about stealing his body they should've just gotten it over with quickly. No need to waste time with all the theatrics. Installing a mind control chip shouldn't take this much prep time, once it's in there it's just a matter of activation and overriding the host's will... [blah blah blah yeah he knows a lot about mind control, he may not be Overmind but he sure did have to disarm a mind control chip in himself once. Lots of experience to draw from!]

[While Add is over there quietly losing his mind, Wolfwood is slowly but surely cooling off. This will not last, but it’s better than being at Add’s throat in secret for the remainder of the film. He doesn’t seem bothered by Ain resting his legs in his lap, used to this sort of casual lounging at this point. He’ll finish his sandwich with his free hand, then focus on finishing his beer and popcorn once he’s done with it.

But, of course, Add can’t shut his mouth for even that long…Wolfwood’s kindof surprised Ain hasn’t hushed him since he seems so invested, but he’s also like. Drunk on mojitos, so. There’s that.]

Yeah, and then the movie would be over a half hour before the actual climax. [Wolfwood interjects in an undertone.] You really think he’s just gonna get snatched and that’s it, boom, movie over? They’re buildin’ up to a twist, obviously.

It'sh not a chip, [Ain slurs out, only just coherent enough to tell them the plot but not exactly coherent enough to think much on the fact Add seems to know about this stuff,] they're going to swap their soulsh. Their consh... conshushhness...nesses.

[Yeah.]

It'sh not the same as mind control 'cause it'sh in that sequence where he'sh being hypnosised into losing control of his body but he'sh shtill in there. It'sh different. [girl drink some fucking water] He'sh going to live out the rest of his life being tormented by [hiccups,] someone else controlling him while he get'sh to watch.

That! Ish the real horror.

[And then he grabs a whole-ass fistful of Wolfwood's popcorn and guns it all in one bite.]

Tch. Just because it's already in there doesn't mean activation can't be flawed. Errors in the activation code to cause it to fail, or an intentional act of disruption... then he'd have to find a way to fully disarm it before they noticed. It would take proper skill to disarm such a thing, too, so the victory would be an earned one. That's a much cleaner plotline than this.

Anyway... the end result would be the same. Stuck watching your body be controlled by something else, unable to do anything to stop it...

[He can't help but shudder, making a face. He doesn't normally like to think about this topic that much... but it's either his child experiment trauma, or the gay thoughts, and he is not dealing with those right now.

Taking a page from Ain's book, he also grabs some popcorn for himself (his own, not Wolfwood's). Talking is not helping so maybe popcorn is the answer.]

[Ohhhh my god babe you’re SO drunk. Wolfwood can’t help but be endeared by it, especially when Ain said he wasn’t going to get drunk. Ah well, let him enjoy himself, he’s allowed.

He’s kindof tuning out what Add is rambling on about for a bit, though he does gather enough to think “wow you must be so much fun at parties”.

…he will, however, tap in something on his menu and hand it over to Ain once it’s appeared. It’s a bottle of water. Please hydrate before you hit the floor.]

[Wowwww help Ain does not have hands for this?? One Wolfwood hand, one popcorn hand, one mojito glass tail... he contemplates that water bottle for way too long, far too intoxicated to comprehend what to do here, like a toddler given too many things to hold. He feels Add nervously shuddering and comprehends that Wolfwood is trying to hand him a drink (that is not liquor)...

Throw the glass, says his brain, can't hold all this stuff just throw the glass it demands in its druken stupor, and Ain nods? at himself??? And full stop tail-chucks the glass halfway across the aisle, which breaks into a spray of shards and ice and mint sprigs with a delightfully loud sound.

After that, his tail wraps around the water bottle, and he undoes the cap with his teeth like a freak and starts sipping.

He is still laying against Add the entire time this happens.

There is a chase scene in the horror movie and he's already forgotten what they were talking about, help—]

[Yeah Add is great at parties, he's the guy standing at the back obliviously rambling about his special interests to anyone who tries to talk to him. He's really good at it. He doesn't even care that everyone has tuned him out since he's still interested in what he has to say.

Anyway, that train of thought is getting derailed by Ain throwing his glass down the aisle. There is a single dynamo down that end that makes an attempt to catch it, but limbless metal drones aren't very good at not breaking things... it's getting covered in mojito ice and mint sprigs and glass and beeping with displeasure :( sorry master... they tried...

Add just stares at the shattered glass for a second, then looks over at Ain opening a water bottle with his teeth... then over at Wolfwood, finally.

There is a question of "should we do something about this??" in his eyes, but also, he's still kind of enjoying this position, so he's not really eager to be the one to say it... It's not like Ain is dying or anything. He's enjoying himself? Maybe???]

[So unlike Add, Wolfwood has seen how Ain gets when he’s drunk. He has not seen him throw a glass, though. Why did he do that…?

Well it sure wasn’t for angry-drunk reasons, he knows that. More like “head-empty” drunk reasons. It’s kindof too late to do anything about it, with the glass and ice all shattered on the floor…Wolfwood sighs and shakes his head when Add looks at him, double checking to make sure the water bottle is plastic and not also glass. Okay, they’re good.]

Easy…let’s try not to throw glass, yeah?

[Just gonna briefly brush Ain’s bangs down just to make sure he didn’t get any micro glass on him.]

[He throw glass because hands full :( Of course—]

I didn't throw it.

[—he lies immediately, just like old times.

But yeah, he's enjoying himself, tilting his head back to look at the movie. It's still at a bit of an angle, sorry Add for the horns, but at least he isn't so far gone into his two whole drinks that he's being completely mindless of other people. ...just employees who have to clean that glass up, apparently. Fuck those people or something.

The movie does get gradually closer to the ending, but they're not quite there yet. The climax does involve the main character running off, getting into a hovercar that won't start, the works — and the female lead throws herself against the windshield in a desperate attempt to keep him there as the hovercar starts flying.

Surprisingly, it's the violin sting as she throws herself at him that makes Ain jump for once, briefly alarmed before he titters off into a little laugh at his own expense.]

[Wolfwood is barely even phased by this, apparently, no hesitation in his soft words or how he gently brushes Ain's hair... and in this moment, like too many others, that nine month gap feels like a trench. Why does Wolfwood know exactly what to do? Why is this a new side of him to Add, who's known Ain for far longer? Why can't he even tell when Ain started flirting with him, when he started having feelings, when the foundation of their relationship became something other than convenience and blackmail...?

It's infuriating. He feels like a complete moron, utterly inadequate at reading anything but a book. There's no reason for him to be here at all.

... but despite everything, despite his inadequacy and his inexperience... he wants to be the one who knows what Ain wants. He should be the one brushing glass from his hair. He should be the first to offer up what he needs, the one he feels comfortable enough to not even have to ask... He should be the one Ain can always turn to, not Wolfwood. Why can't it be him, instead of all these other people he barely knows?

He wants this so badly he has no idea how he ignored it for so long. Is it only because he knows now? Is he just... that desperate for anyone?

And yet, he's already missed his one chance. It's... probably for the best. If Ain bared his whole heart and Add accepted, only to give such a poor show as this... it wouldn't be long before he got downgraded back to friendship again anyway. He can't possibly compete with the likes of Ezell and Wolfwood. At best he'd be stuck at fifth place, wallowing in whatever affection was left after everyone else had their fill...

But he's still here. He can still keep being here, because the only thing worse than losing to Wolfwood is not having any of Ain to himself at all. And at least he can still have this.

His grip on Ain's shoulders tightens, firm, and if he tilts his head to rest against Ain's... it's because the horns were bothering him, obviously, and not because he wants to soak in more of that warmth. And maybe in that split second where they're both scared by a stupid violin sting and they both jolt up in their seats, he can laugh along with him in earnest like Wolfwood isn't even there.]

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lupusxylem - 2025-04-25 02:56 (UTC) - Expand

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eidxiety - 2025-04-25 03:17 (UTC) - Expand

[CLOSED] it's not a date... unless?

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1/2 cw: gay gay homosexual gay

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cw: seven paragraphs of introspective gay pining

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