[attr="class","evantalk"]

Evan came early, because he had little else to do and perhaps that's why it's so easy for him to end up sitting there swinging his feet a little, skimming the snow that has built up beneath the bench. He's not cold, the coffee hasn't even gotten cold, it's more that he's just too on edge about this whole situation. He's never even really had a close friend before. technically. Because technically evan's never actually hung out with someone before. Not really. Look he's a drifter and just kind of ends up talking to people too long this is never planned.

He's beginning to decide planning things makes him anxious and being anxious makes him nauseous and he hates that. He's looking down, burying his chin into his scarf and pulling a small vial out of his pocket. The roller ball makes it look almost like a perfume when really its an oil derived from his own lilligant's aromatherapy, mixed with other such herbal medicines to aid with anxiety. The actions of rolling it onto his wrists is fast and well practiced. Most won't even realize what he's doing before it ends up back in his pants pockets. Nice pants even, because colder weather means he has to put actual effort into his attire. It's a rarity actually, even though its nothing more than nice black slacks (for business meetings, normally), a nice fitted sweater with a very nice looking blazer over top and his scarf the rest of Evan's demeanor makes him seem more dressed up than he is. It's really all in the name of being warm though. While many of his facial piercings are easily swapped out for non-metal materials some of the others can't be.

When he looks back up he almost doesn't recognize the person approaching the bench. There's something familiar in the figure though and he tilts his head ever so slightly to the side as they get closer, his hair falling to the cut side in slow motion as it settles from the moment. He hadn't even realized how much his face was scrunched up from the feelings in his gut until his expression almost seems to brighten.

"Lars?" his eyebrows shift up on his face. he's not entirely sure though, but it's the only name that his tongue can find which means he's either a dumbass or he's matching the face to the right now by some kind of a miracle. His memory has never been his friend.

Laurence Anderson

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Evan knows the feeling of excitement bubbling up in his throat but he doesn't feel it often in response to people. Not like this and it catches him by surprise. A part of him has wanted to speak with Lars outside of the Stray for awhile now but it's easier said than done when you strictly refuse to swap contacts while on the clock and you're almost always on the clock. It's not because he doesn't want to make friends per say but because he wants to avoid people trying to make more moves on the bartender than they already do.

Even as he hands the man the second coffee -something caramel because he assumes most people like caramel- it doesn't don on him that he might not have been meant to meet a stranger at all. This might have been the plan from the start but he's too caught up on the idea of getting to talk with the man outside of their usual constraints. (Not that they likely seem like constraints to the other, mostly for Evan who still has to have an image of being the owner) Not to mention dodging the usual off put reactions to his image- even if the purple material that's replaced the usual metal for the duration of the cold weather doesn't make him look as harsh he's still not exactly typical.

Extra not typical with the blind date context. Which had perplexed him to begin with.

"No you normally come in after work, love." the pet name is natural, but love is always saved for those he's most fond of. Not that most of them realize it. He won't really give lars the chance to think it over before he reaches out to play with his bangs. It's an innocent gesture, curiosity and his own shameless behavior making it easy to reach out without feeling bad about it. He forgets that the recent application of his anxiety oil likely makes him smell a bit sweeter than normal (it always smells sweet on him). "You wear it well though, you should leave it down more often. I think it suites your face better."

Evan's smile when he retracts his hand is a little bit brighter than usual, after all he's not forced to wear one by their surroundings.

Laurence Anderson

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Evan crosses his feet together under the bench, something to keep him from fidgeting or otherwise trying to curl up on it despite the chill. He can't help himself, the setting changes how he feels drastically, seeing a face he's familiar with makes him more so. Normally the man is as poise and stoic as can be but the moment he feels like he can relax he has to resist the urge to curls his knees into his chest. The coffee on his lap helps so he leaves it there.

"Shot in the dark, I figured most people like caramel." it's a popular choice after all. He thinks lars is trying a little too hard to explain his preference though and it makes him chuckle into his scarf. He sort of forgets to mention he was expecting to give it to a face he didn't know too, because at this point he'd rather just act like he was meeting Lars the whole time. "I prefer mine black too- if I'm going to drink it. Not really used to having a lot of sugar." which usually comes as a surprise to people, he's used to a very straightforward life style and diet and his body has never been used to such things.

"Though maybe you should run out of gel more often." his smile says that yes, it did indeed amuse him.

Not wanting their conversation to stagnate, Evan brings the coffee he had gotten for himself to his lips, (realizing that since it was black, maybe he should at least share it with lars a little bit. later. He wouldn't drink the whole thing anyway.) speaking over the rim of the cup "What are you doing out this way anyway? Especially all dressed up." he looked like he was headed somewhere far more formal than a walk in the park. Unlike Evan, who had just tried to look nice and stay warm. Because he still hasn't made the connection yet.

Laurence Anderson

[attr="class","evantalk"]

"Mm, I don't drink it much either." Evan muses, he's not wrong. He and lars' have only ever really talked at the Stray, most of their conversations predetermined by how lar's day goes and what he comes in salty about. He does find it amusing though and Evan enjoys listening to him regardless.

Evan finds himself looking up at the clouds while Lar's talks, a slow and gentle grin taking over while he listens to him. He can just imagine Lars trying to scrap out enough gel to make his usual hair do work for the day and finding it falling short. The image makes him chuckle because he knows how expressive Lars can be and he imagines there was some choice wording thrown around over it.

At first Lars seems a little off put by his question, Evan tries to bury himself in his coffee thinking he may have ask the wrong thing, the drink just about to hit his lips when Lars answers, and it sinks in.

This was the intention from the get go, to get him and Lars together outside of the Stray for once.

There's a flash of fire in his chest and his cheeks turn pink in the same second, the kind you see on tulips in gardens and his eyes go wide for a moment. In a sudden and unusual expression of emotion Evan uncrosses his ankles and stomps his feet into the snow below the bench. "That little shit!" Evan straightens with a jolt. The action is enough to slosh the coffee around in the confines of the cup until the spill over, dripping down his hand and onto the snow beneath his feet.

"Shit shit shit." he grimaces at the realization he's gotten himself in a tizzy and suddenly he's leaning even further forward and righting the cup as fast as he can to keep it from spilling onto his shoes or worse- his pants. It's too cold for that. Lucky him it lands most in the snow, staining it the obvious color of plan black coffee.

Evan holds the coffee in one hand, shaking drops off the other away from Lars with a sigh. "Damnit." he should have known better than to let himself do that, but the realization that this wasn't just a date but a blind date that certain little weaviles in his bar had set him up on paired with how relaxed he felt around Lars made it too easy to do something stupid.

"Fuck, sorry I didn't get any one you did I?" he looks over at lars' feet just to be sure, worried he might have just made a mess of this by being caught completely off guard by the situation. "I just- I didn't- I mean-"

He shakes his one hand again because he can feel the heat in his cheeks getting worse the more he decides he's about to say the wrong thing. "I got told this was a date with a regular's granddaughter. I-" he takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment because he doesn't want this to sound wrong. "I wasn't expecting this- ah, you"

His eyes stay focused on Lar's feet and the coffee colored snow, his mind desperately tries to deny the fact that he may very well be blushing.

Laurence Anderson
>>you'l have to excuse him :'D

[attr="class","evantalk"]

"Yes. It looks like we were"

There's a daringly uncomfortable weight in the air and Evan hates it. It's not something he feels often and to feel it now seems like a shame.

"We should go for a walk." Evan states rather definitively, eyes trailing past his coffee cup and trough the snow covered park. The paths were still covered in the fluffy white specs that scatted across the ground earlier in the day.

Evan stands with a surprisingly fluid movement, keeping the coffee cup level enough to keep it from spilling again. When he turns to the other man sitting with him it's with a smile on his lips and barely there rose on his cheeks. It calms a little, enough to almost seem like it could be from the cold rather than their conversation.

"C'mon let's go." he reaches for his hand to pull him up from the bench and pull him along out onto the path. If they're going to be stuck out here with each other they might as well enjoy it a little bit, no?

Laurence Anderson