break my soul

“Oh? Well, glad to see all their fussing paid off.” Siwan glanced over again, briefly, at the compliment. Though he didn’t fully engage with it. “I think that’s just the side effect of not eating breadsticks for breakfast,” he offered instead, keeping it light. “I’ll take your word for it, then,” he said after a moment's pause. “On both counts.” A small smile tugged at the corner as he looked back at the vendor table, reaching for carrots. “Though, you might want to lower your expectations. I make a better doctor than I do a Tinder date.” 

"Well, if people do think we are dating we could spice it up, you could put your arm around my waist or even just hold my hand. I know, I know hand holding is oh so very spicy," Declan said with a laugh as he looked at the other man. "Honestly, you could do whatever you want I guess, I'll throw in a kiss on the cheek if you'd like."

"But eating breadsticks for breakfast sound kind of boring unless they're like cheesy or garlicky. Still, you do look amazing, like in an eye catching way. It's really hard for me to imagine you single, unless you're like extremely picky since you are so...I hate that we don't use this word for men more often, but beautiful."

With a giggle nudged the other man. "I think you're a perfect date, I mean so far, I'm having a blast and we're not even on a real one, my oh so hot and steamy doctor."

True to his word, Carson had left Mochi with a gift. His peace offering had been a small packet of beef tendons, natural, long-lasting chews to keep Mochi occupied while his dad was out of the house, and plenty extras for later, Carson had pointed out.

He didn't want to go too overboard for a first date, figuring the most important thing was to try to get to know each other. They'd shared a cab to Brightside to visit Sundae Funday, and now the two of them were sharing a corner booth, Carson sipping on a chocolate ice cream milkshake with plenty of extra toppings as he smiled at Declan across the table.

"So, d'you have any deal breakers you like to get out of the way first?" Carson asked with a small grin, playful glimmer in his brown eyes. "Like, still friends with their ex or something? Me helping raise two teenagers didn't scare you away, so my immediate impression of you is you're pretty forgiving, but I'm curious if there was something I could say that would make you wanna walk right out that door. Like... I dunno, I collect teacups, or I have to leave a Yelp review after every place I eat."

Carson had truly went above and beyond just by ensuring Mochi wasn't left empty handed. Declan saw the interest in him the other had, and he had to admit it felt more than nice. "You truly are my knight in shining armor, kind of hard to picture you being single. Hopefully you don't surprise me with a secret husband or wife somewhere down the line."

"Dealbreakers? Well, I'm not really into smokers, just the smoke alone smells terrible and my allergies would start acting up." Declan shrugged. "You know there's not much a person could do that would be a dealbreaker, besides like the obvious bad things in life y'know. Being friends with your ex isn't that big a deal to me, if you're to be my partner I have to place my trust in you if this is to work out, and seeing you being a good parental figure to your friends kids just tells me you're a good guy, very caring, very giving."

"Oh if you do leave Yelp reviews everywhere then it's a done deal, and I can go back home," he said teasingly before taking as he placed his own straw inside Carson's milkshake and sipped. Declan had ordered a strawberry one himself with not too much topping just and avoiding whipped cream entirely.

Elio positioned himself on his knees, knitting his brows together and doing his best to contain a chuckle at finding himself in the familiar position. "Don't even say anything," he warned through his smirk, helping Ziggy fasten up his skates and then offering his hand. "I won't let you fall, okay? And don't worry. I didn't forget the Crumbl Cookies. They're in my car. Needed both hands free to keep you upright."

"Shut up! That's your thing not mine," he scoffed, but his smile never faltered. "No one taught me how to tie my shoe laces, so I sort of improvise and just use a bastardized way of tying them." Ziggy's blushed spoke of the embarrassment that showed on his person, that rough past where not a soul had cared for him. From the very beginning he's had to figure it out on his own. "I think I'll look like bambi regardless of how good a job you do tying them up."

"You'd think I'd say no? Besides, nothing I wasn't used to seeing." Ziggy teased as he rested his hand on Elio's features. "I missed you so much," At the mention of the cookies Ziggy had half a mind to skip skating and simply rush into the car, but as soon as he took Elio's hand every other thing in the world didn't matter anymore. Just him. "If I do fall, promise me you'll catch me, I don't have health insurance so I can't really afford injuries."

Ziggy replied to Jin's words by mimicking a chicken. "But jokes aside I don't think you should be touching it because it might latch onto you or something like that and I don't really feel like having to explain to detectives that you got hunted by a specter." he said before making a face at Jin. He didn't think the man would ever feel bad for a possessed raggedy anne doll. "Well, whoever stole is most likely sure to return her given the doll's history, and the last guy who made fun of the doll...well let's just say it didn't go very well." Ziggy shrugged. "Still, all this stuff is pretty cool and she's in that old box because it's the only way Lorraine Warren thought to keep the evil contained, even had a priests come ensure the protections placed on the box were fine week or monthly I believe."

Aria liked to believe that she was self-sufficient. After she’d left home at eighteen, she’d had no one else to depend on. Just herself. But there were some things that even the most self sufficient person couldn’t do. “Hey,” Aria called to the person beside her. It pained her to have to ask for help, but she’d spent the last five minutes reaching and stretching and completely failing in grabbing the item that was just out of reach of her fingertips. She huffed a little, pointing. “Mind grabbing that for me. I’m a little vertically challenged.”

"Kay," Ziggy didn't say much but he wasn't about to completely disregard her. "Here, got anything else you need someone only slightly taller than you to get," he said teasingly. "I'd get my boyf...my friend to get it for you but he's busy being annoying elsewhere." Ziggy shrugged sort of hating how easily he got into talking about a guy, so he clamped his mouth shut from further embarrassing himself.

Tashi made her way through the aisles of Audio Roulette, rifling through the stack of records in her hands. She stopped short at the A's, nimble fingers slotting At Fillmore East into its rightful place. "All I'm saying," she called over her shoulder, continuing a conversation she'd been having in her head with whoever would listen, "--is that it's more than a crisis of media literacy." Tashi swung around, glimmer of disbelief in her eyes. "Kids don't listen to albums anymore-- they hit shuffle on some playlist an algorithm made. It's so soulless, man, you might as well listen to fucking elevator music." With a huff, Tashi thumbed through the B's to refile Homogenic. "Talk me off the ledge here. What's your all-time favorite album? I mean no skips, perfect front to back."

"Well that in itself is just a byproduct of most forms of media just being short format now. Attention spans are becoming increasingly shortened." Declan chimed in as he perused the shelves looking for a vinyl to gift a friend. "I can't personally do that, I have to carefully curate my own playlist specific to my moods, genre's, sometimes even color, so I've never once hit shuffle, I can't just let fate decide what I listen to, it would drive me insane," he mentioned. "All-time...kind of hard for me to say cause there's a good one for every occasion, and right now I'm in my musical girly era so I've been listening to Epic the musical non-stop. Otherwise there's a few indie bands that have been getting my attention, like the band light. But if we're being real it's going to be oldies for me."

“No date,” he added after a moment, glancing back down at the vendor’s stall. “Just… trying to eat healthy. Occupational hazard. You know how doctors are.” He didn’t look back right away. He wasn’t really flustered, but he hadn’t really figured out how to react either. Normally he’d shot down any form of names like that, but it had come so suddenly and quickly. When he finally looked back up, his tone was light, if not a little dry. “Do you talk to every handsome doctor like this,” he asked, “or am I just lucky?” 

"Oh you don't need to be sorry, cutie. It's okay, I know I'm also very stunningly beautiful, but don't worry my smoking hot doctor, you'll get used to it." Declan commented as he patted the man's arm, his face showing nothing but compassion for the man's predicament. "No date? What?! Well fine, you can take me out I guess, but I'll just be parading you about town like an in person tinder."

"Sort of, I spent too much time with doctors during my very early years. They all fussed over me thinking I'd croak the next day, kind of stuffy really." Declan hummed. "I see you're just trying to be healthy, but does that mean you also need to be built like a model, cause you had me howling like one of those old timey cartoons for a second there." he mused.

"Definitely the only one I've ever talked to this way, so maybe a bit of both, considering you're the first handsome doctor I've ever had." he said with a wink. "Maybe you'll get lucky later, who knows."

Elio truly felt as if life had given him a second chance. Everything was still up in the air. Sure, he might have gone out and almost drowned himself in liquor to try and fight off the nerves and tumultuous emotions seeing Ziggy again, but overall, it had to be a positive, right? Ziggy had texted him, even if it'd taken him a couple days, and the two had been chatting back and forth like it was a bad tinder dating experience. Elio was glad to get out of his messages app and see Ziggy in person again.

He'd found his best ripped up jeans, studded belt and slightly cropped sleeveless sweatshirt for a Y2K themed skate night, and simply hoped seeing Ziggy would go well. He gave him a grin upon seeing him, hoping the outfit did the trick. "Wow, you actually came. Part of me was a little scared you might stand me up. Hey, Zig. You wanna get your skates on?"

Ziggy was still reeling from the fact that somehow Elio had wormed his way into his life. Still, he didn't hate it, he didn't hate that he woke up to the thought of him, and how his co-workers and boss were making fun of him for smiling down at his phone whenever a new text would come in. Even if he hated to admit it, he'd never gotten over Elio, never gotten over how the man made him feel, how nervous he would get at the simple sight of him, and how that godforsaken smile made him melt.

"Course," Ziggy nodded, blushing slightly as he stared at the man's outfit. A sharp ringing roared in his ear as the blood rushed to his features, and all Ziggy could do was stare as the ghost of a smile played on his lips. "It's Zigarette to you," he teased, before tugging the man closer and kissing his on the cheek. "I wasn't going to stand you up, I'm not the type...but you better not let me fall otherwise I'll have to run away again and hope you find me once more,"

As they went to get their skates, Ziggy found himself lost as he didn't really know how to put them on. "Um...not to sound like a fucking moron, but could you help me with this, I have no idea what I'm doing."

You're seeing Mistletoe already? We're not even into June yet," Carson said with a smile. Okay, maybe it was a little stroke of his ego, but he enjoyed being flirted with. He enjoyed when someone was comfortable and confident in their own skin. He just hoped it wouldn't be another flash in the pan that fizzled out before it even got started. "I'll hang Mistletoe early, just for you," he answered, hopelessly flirting back in response. "But, uh, if it's not too much, not too forward, maybe I can take you out first some time. Without our little chaperone," he teased, nodding towards Mochi.

"I could just tell red looks really good on you, and since you're already making it habit of turning me different shades of it, I just knew." Declan said with a chuckle. "I've met a lot of people in my life whom I could consider family. There's some blood relatives that do not agree with...a lot of things, and they've sort of alienated my parents and I from the rest of them, so yeah I do know that family can look any sort of way." he grinned. "Not to point it out, but you just called yourself the cool uncle, which totally means you're kind of a dork, but...I never said that was a bad thing. Scare me off? I'm still here aren't I?"

"What can I say I just love the Holiday spirit year round," he teased. Declan barked a laugh at the way Carson could just throw back all the flirtatious quips, someone who could easily match his energy and somehow keep him grounded. "Mistletoe early? I know what you want from me, and to answer your question about a date, yes I'd love to go out with you, alone. No matter how much Mochi will protest, and he will very much do so. Maybe next time you see him you'll bring him a gift as a peace offering for taking his dad away."

"You treated your horses well, so I guess whatever cat chooses you will be fine, even if its multiple. If you scan this QR code you can look at all their info online," Ziggy said as he pointed to the code on some signage nearby. Even if it felt like betrayal at first, Ziggy had struggled with leaving Elio behind, had told himself it was for the better, that they were from two different worlds and they could never collide. But now, he couldn't even hide the fact that his heart raced at the sight of the man. "My mouth is a lot cleaner now than it was years ago," he huffed, blushing slightly. "I never deleted it," he mumbled, before taking the napkin. "Okay, we can do that, just bring me a box of crumbl cookies."

Carson smiled down at the dog that was still trying to get his attention by doing little bunny hops up at him as they walked. Cute thing. Lots of energy. Carson loved dogs. He'd tried to convince Javier to let the firehouse keep the dog he'd pulled out of that burning building last week, but to no avail. "That just means he's got personality. I'd have a dog, if not for the hours I work. Making friends with other people's is how I get my fix." Carson wondered if he'd already put his foot in his mouth. "You can put your eyes where you want, but I'd suggest at least looking forwards from time to time. Unless you also want me to catch you if you trip. If this is our Hallmark movie moment, it's either gonna be that, or someone almost riding into you on their bike."

"See now that's just terrible cause all I can imagine now is you being one of those random sexy Santa's and you might just have to fulfill some requirements for me in the future," Declan noted the two teens in his story, but found it even more charming that he'd been able to raise kids. "That's really sweet that you stepped up and helped raise them, I'm sure they're really happy you're in their lives. Even if you're in the business of stealing dogs from their owners using your charm and good looks, and the muscles probably help too. My dog didn't stand a chance." he teased.

"So my dog isn't special all of a sudden, and here I thought you two had an unbreakable bond." Declan laughed, glad that Mochi had someone to play with other than himself cause sometimes life just got a little hectic and he figured it would be good for him to interact with more people outside his circle. "No, you'll just have to save me because that's like your job, and if it's an excuse to be rescued by a hunky fireman with nice arms, I'm taking it." he giggled. "We'll probably have a lot of those, and hopefully you're not allergic to mistletoe cause I see that in our future,"

Siwan stood near the edge of the farm stand setup, carefully inspecting a bundle of radishes like it held state secrets. The distant bleating of goats and the shrill delight of kids echoed from across the field, but he wasn’t really looking to join in on the activities that included animals. His focus was solely on the neat rows of fresh produce, weighing what he could reasonably carry home without regretting it.

"You'd think a hot doctor would have a better eye, but yes my dashing prince of a man, they're good." Declan teased him slightly. "Both things can be true at the same time though so it might also just help with the sales, but usually the farm aspect of it all should be a pretty good indicator that it's not just mass produced things." He offered.

"You planning a hot date for someone or are you just a health nut on top of being one of the towns most eligible bachelors from what I read in my delulu lemon magazine," fake magazine he just made up, but Siwan didn't have to know that.

Normally, Jin would only go to a museum if there was an art exhibition happening. But the words “free admission” and “air conditioning” had a way of sweet-talking him and his curiosity into showing up. Besides, there was something kind of cool about wandering through dusty timelines and weird little artifacts, kind of like thrift shopping, but he wasn’t actually able to spend money on things he didn’t need. A bonus, truly. He stood in front of a glass display labelled “Clearwater through the ages”. The diorama inside looked a little bit like a dollhouse crime scene, complete with old-timey furniture and a miniature man staring ominously out a model window. 

"Oh it's definitely as haunted as the Anabelle doll, or that other one...You should touch it, see if you get haunted or something. Who knows being possessed might be like a vacation." Ziggy shrugged his shoulders as he stared at the piece. "If you turn away and look back and he's somewhere else it might just be that this piece might be a little mechanical? Or it's trying to eat your soul, definitely." He said before looking around and seeing if he could spot something else that would catch his eye. "Also I heard they're actually moving the damn doll around, or planning to. She's going on tour for people to meet with it, and I for one think that's an insane idea."

As a kindergarten teacher, Spencer has spent plenty of his time coloring and painting alongside with his kids, and he never got enough of it. With his tongue slightly sticking out and his glasses hanging down low on the bridge of his nose, he was focused on painting his margarita glass. He was carefully painting the ears for his version of Grogu before glancing over at Ziggy. "This is fun, right?" he asked his coworker with a bright grin. "How's yours turning out?"

"I can't believe you convinced me to do anything artsy, I suck at this," Ziggy scowled, but that all melted into smile and laughter the second he looked over at Spencer's painting. "You are such a nerd, Spence." he mused. "It's only fun cause you're here, otherwise you wouldn't catch me anywhere near here." he said. "Mine looks like...uh, that's a great question. I think it's supposed to be pikachu but somehow ended up looking like a yellow version of Danny Devito."

"Yup got me stellar reviews across the fucking board, and funny now you're complaining about my mouth," Ziggy pointed out given their past. Somehow the ghost of a smile played on his lips as he noticed how easily he fell back into old habits with Elio. "You still drink the same kind of coffee or have your taste buds changed since I last saw you?" he asked, milling about behind the counter gathering a few things. "Why not let the cats choose you instead?" Ziggy leaned in closely as well mimicking his motion. "Fuck off...but I guess I don't hate seeing you here, and you look good."

"I just pointed out a fact, you just happened to out yourself just now. Queen of subtlety." Ziggy teased, before rolling his eyes. "It's not always a sex thing, calm down. Well in this case it sort of is, but there's context about it." he huffed. "He's like my ex, kind of. I used to work on a horse ranch of sorts I guess, and he pretended to be a blue collar worker like me only for him to just be the son of my employers. Lying about how he understood what it was like to be just like me."