"Hey!" he's jostled forward by his smart ass fate. But he lets out a laugh all the same as he picks a spot and pats the pleather pads next to him for Onyx to join. He chats along idly, multiple groups of teens and adults, along with a surprising amount of couples as well all joining in. [break][break]

He thanks the worker for securing him only to turn to Onyx as he scares the poor kid. They turn away hurriedly and he can't help but burst out laughing. "I don't know if you've guaranteed us a safe ride, or jinxed us." he said as he griped the straps. [break][break]

He shakes his head proudly. "C'mon, hasn't even started yet." he said despite the butterflies in his stomach. Although it's debatable if that was nerves form the ride or nerves from just being around Onyx. He's happy to see him happy, even for a little bit. They'd typically sat at home together, and while that was comfortable, sometimes going out could be fun too. Even if you were afraid of crowds.

[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"Mhmm...Mr. Anderson." Andres echoed, focusing on Onyx's body. His thoughts are fuzzy as he struggled through the flu that wracked his body. He wants to say more, but his brain focuses on how soothing Onyx's arm is and he just fades away into it. [break][break]

"Uhh..." Wes Anderson is one thing. Explaining him, took brain power. And right now. Anderson was low on power, much less brain cells. But he tries his best as the music begins to play. "It's dark, but not...gory?" there's a pause. "It's funny from...the...um....t-the way the shots set up. Visual gags...weird cuts..." he opens his eyes, watching the screen change as an array of colors flash by.

[break][break]

+ onyx straub | bitch im a cow [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Onyxs reacts how he wants, does what he likes. Andres is slow, malleable. He hisses Onyx's name when he felt his hand shoved into his jeans. He flushes when their hips meet, Onyx pinning him to the wall as Andres' lips parted in a small moan. He loves this part. It's easy, simple. He wanted Onyx, and Onyx wanted him. No thoughts, no feelings. In that moment, with Onyx feeling him up and Andres baring it all for him, he didn't have to doubt he was wanted. That it was Andres, Onyx sought out. The heat burns away any impostor syndrome. [break][break]

He can't tell if his answers were enough for Onyx, or if he would just rather be horny than annoyed. But either way, as he leaves dark marks up his jaw, Andres parts his lips for him. He hangs off him, kissing back just as hard like it'll help cool either of them down. Or, magically, fix the tension between them that isn't sexual. [break][break]

So he pushes his hips back into Onyx when the man gives him the smallest pause, eager for more. Eager to stop thinking, or dwelling on things he couldn't control. On shit that hurt him, hurt Onyx. He doesn't pull away in the slightest, tightening his arms around Onyx and hovering his own lips just above him. He stares down then glances up at his lone eye and back down. "Careful..." he manages a mocking grin amid soft pants. "Don't throw out your back. Throw out mine."

[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Andrews turned, jumpy as the pole showed up and his eyebrows furrowed together. Chuchi is up too, immediately by her trainer's side and snarling a threat as nothing. Her hackles raise, making her look twice as poofy. He turns to the entrance of the Glimwood Tangle and scowled, shoulders tensing just as much as Chuchi was. Chuchi's fangs are bared, the beginning fo a snarl in the back of her throat as she presses to Andres' leg protectively. [break][break]

"No. But at least it's familiar. We might be able to pinpoint where Rodric is." he said, looking down at his feet. He can't make eye contact with Onyx as he steels himself. Galar wasn't a place he ever wanted to go back to. But Glimwood Tangle? [break][break]

Fuck that place.

[break][break]

The giggling picks up again, louder than before. Soft mists roll and cling to the underbrush. Nothing too terrible, but enough for effect. He lags for a moment, before jogging next to Onyx and staying close. Chuchi takes the rear, displeased and hesitant. [break][break]

[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

He smirks when Onyx reacts, distracted from whatever regrets he held in his past. He's quick to prep the tickets he needs to join Onyx for the thrill ride. Frist one of the day was always the best rush. The anticipation, the nerves. The lack of risk because you hadn't eaten anything yet. [break][break]

"C'mon...you don't trust the ex-skinhead to hit a couple of buttons in sequence?" he said before looking over at the spinning wheel as it flew up with passengers. The machinery that was revealed as it lifted looked ok enough. Not visibly rusted, maybe a little squeaky but that was because of the grease...right? It's not that bad. [break][break]

"It's not like they've had an accident yet. Why be anxious?" he asked, devil may care in the face of a potential danger to himself, and worse, to Onyx. As he says that he watches some teens rush and stumble off the ride before putting their hands to their mouths. Andres turned away before he saw the puke and grimaced at the wet sounds. "Don't look, it'll put the bad ideas in your head." he said with a forced laugh before they were ushered to pay up their tickets and began to find a spot.



[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Slowly but surely, the cocoon of warmth begins to form. Under sheets and thick blankets and curled up around Onyx, Andres feels like a bun in an oven. The flush on his face stays as he weakly hummed in acknowledgement. He smiles, turning his head to the side to stop shoving it into Onyx and cutting off his own oxygen.
[break][break]

Andres lets their words linger, smiling before giving up his answer. “Mystery. But like… Wes Anderson kinda mystery…” he murmured into Onyx’s neck. Though, realistically, Andres was positioned to pass out within the first 20 minutes of movie quiet. Chuchi crawls out of the closet after assessing the situation before padding over to an extremely decorated corner of the room. It’s the only section that’s clean with pictures of her and Andres printed and tapped to the wall, a few plush toys that squeaked on top of a well worm bed and an even older blanket. She works her way into it, circling around the same spot until she’s comfortable before slipping under her own blanket to snooze. Her relationship with Onyx is tense at best. She’s snapped at his ankles and hands plenty of times despite Andres’ warning and his punishments. Most of the time, it was just confinement to her ball that lasted until Onyx left.
[break][break]

Even still, Andres exposed her to the Rocket. Andres murmured quiet comforts to her when he left. He made it clear she was just as important, but that’s not what the Eevee is worried about. She’s not jealous. She never could be. Onyx was scum, human garbage. She was Andres’ best friend, his anchor in every sense of the word. So when he tires, when he’s left so vulnerable like this sick and weak, she worries. But she also isn’t human. She can’t take care of Andres like he had of Onyx. So she takes her time to meander around, make sure he’s aware she’s watching, waiting for the slightest twitch. The moment he lifts a finger to hurt Andres again, no force on earth would be able to stop her from killing him. But for now, he is placid. He is sweet. He is pathetically clingy and she allows it, letting out a small snort before putting her head down on her paws and closing her eyes.


[break][break]

+ onyx straub | bitch im a cow [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

The more his fingers inch under his clothes, the harder it is to think. He's so vulnerable in that state, and Onyx obviously knew it. Andres can't stop the slight gasp Onyx teases out of him without any effort. He closes his eyes in concentration. "You are to me." The admission carries more honesty than this shitty bathroom deserves. His muscles flex and tense under his touch, but all he can do is swallow and stare at Onyx. He's not about to stop him because he doesn't want to. [break][break]

He breathes in, a slow his as he feels familiar lips on his neck. His body anticipates the teeth that'll follow. "No…" is the obvious answer. They weren't like that. But Andres doesn't admit why. He doesn't tell him he thinks his whirlwind appearances in his life are a blessing. He doesn't admit how fervently he reaches for every ghost of a second chance. A third. A fourth. A fifth. Chance after chance that he doesn't take advantage of, or worse, a chance that he royally fucks up by acting like so much more than he deserved. [break][break]

Andres felt a pang of guilt, of sadness when Onyx only echoes back his own confession to him. He understands they weren't like that, maybe would never be like that, but it still cuts him to his core. It still makes him bitter and resentful. So he smiles like always when he wants to mask what he's thinking. But the sadness still seeps through his eyes, through the tremble in his voice. He reaches a hand for Onyx's own head, cradling it as he slides it up to long dark locks. He sticks fingers through blue velvet as he pushed him closer. He lifts his own head to make space, a submission of himself like always. To Onyx, to his own tragedy. [break][break]

"Me loving you, and us being just friends aren't mutually exclusive." How else did you explain what they were doing? How they broke apart so explosively and came back together so easily. He was resigned to it. No matter how much it hurt to walk away, and come back.


[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

Andres goes from frowning to grimacing as Onyx brought up a good point. He taught kids. Sure trainer aged or almost but a kid was still a kid. Some barely used to having a pokemon. Of course if something weird like that happened they might not even notice. [break][break]

As they approach, Andres noted the strange sky and Chuchi seemed to perk up, growling at the group before her nose stayed down in the dirt. Andres stared uncomfortable. Something about the soft colors and the strange events reminded him of the Glimwood Tangle, hisbleast favorite place in Galar. "Yeah, we are." He said as he drew closer to Onyx. [break][break]

The soft giggling chimes in, adding a layer of unease to the place. "I wonder if this is just concentrated misty terrain or something." He added as he moved close to Onyx, heavy swiveling to find sight of the kid or his partner. "Last I saw, the kid's partner was a Cottonee."


[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"Yeah?" Andres asked, grin broad at the hint of Onyx's past. But after a moment, he realized perhaps this cuts too close to that time Onyx liked to avoid. A long swathe in their past he respected as unspeakable. [break][break]

So he rubs his thumb once more on Onyx's shoulder and casts his eyes towards the screaming wheel. "Scared? That doesn't seem like you." He said as he nodded over to the line. "Now you've got me here, so you have no excuse to not get on." He leads him there, words light as he speaks. He's more than happy to keep the mood up, taking on the weight of the conversation.



[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Andres huffs as Onyx rebuffs him once more. "Remote's here…somewhere…" he murmured, weakly sitting up and pawing at the covers of the bed. He shook and yanks at the duvet, unearthing the remote for him. [break][break]

He protests being jostled with a sudden, "Hey-!" Before huffing indignantly at him. "I'll remember this, y'tease." He said before struggling as he clamped his mouth shut to keep from coughing loudly and proving Onyx's point. But when he's done he settles against him. He curled up around his warmth, tucked his head neatly into the crook of their neck. Andres lets out a small sigh as he wrapped his arm around Onyx's side, tucking his hand between them and the mattress to dig into the warmth accumulating. "You're the worst." He complained as he achieved hisbown comfort. A few beats later he murmured, "I'm lying…"

[break][break]

+ onyx straub | bitch im a cow [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

He shivered in need, excited at the proximity. It runs concurrent with all his other broken thoughts. He sucks in a breath staying still and trying not to be so obvious. But he is. He's hopeless in this kind of situation, with the rumble of Onyx's words so close and his touch so gentle. And it would be a lie if he hadn't imagined something similar happening a dozen times over. [Break][break]

Rocket is sobering, but not enough. It doesn't pull Andres out his spell completely. "Anything I imagined would've been better than Rocket." But then again was it? Hadn't they been consolidating power under themselves? All underground led back to the big red R? But its not enough to mark Onyx as a danger. Its not enough to keep him away. He'd come back to him willingly after all. [Break][break]

He swallowed back a protest as Onyx reached back to his head, and he wondered if Onyx had taken a good look at the scars he'd left hidden in his scalp. He can't conjure up the same bitterness in that moment. Andres meets Onyx's gaze, faltering. His eyes soften, and body stiff. He couldn't get away and it felt like no matter how much he tried, Onyx would see through it. "I…" he opened and closed his mouth trying to find the words. [Break][break]

All his insecurity, his doubt, his anger fight for a chance to speak. His throat tightens, not wanting to mix that with this. He wants to lean into the growing heat between them. He wants to forget everything else but all the good in the moment. He wished Onyx was just another hook up. [Break][break]

Just a guy he liked that he'd found in a shady club. No history. No bitterness. No doubt. Maybe that way, his expectations wouldn't be so high. [Break][break]

"It…it bothered me you left when the meteor didn't kill us. But I didn't say anything after because we're friends, and it bothered me more." He carves little closer to the root of it all. "Why did you bring it up?" He slid his hands over Onyx's shoulders in a gesture that kept him close and held him at bay.




[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Despite himself, Andres takes a step back. He moves slowly, matching with Onyx until his back is to the wall and there's nowhere left to go but through Onyx. And he's not getting through Onyx. This feels familiar, except isn't as wasted as he had been back in October.[break][break]

The softest touch of his hands and his skin burns under them. His face flashes with heat, eyes wide and looking panicked for a moment. This is familiar. This is the only business he has with another man in a shitty club bathroom. But the dissonance freezes him on the spot. And also the fact that he doesn't want to pull away, melting under the touch like he knew he would. Like he hated that he did. But it's hard to feel sorry for yourself when he's busy hanging onto every word Onyx said. [break][break]

And then Onyx pulls back the thing Andres had been trying to avoid while mid conversation. Halloween. It's blurry, but he remembers how badly he'd wanted them, Onyx not the Dracula. When he'd kissed him it had been all over. And that's the timeline Onyx had dropped into his lap all over again. And he's too stupid, too shocked to think. Thoughts interspliced with the memory of his hands on him and the night of the Minior shower. It all mixes together strangely and he stutters out, "I- I uh...it's just-" [break][break]

So he settles on Rocket, a catalyst from his previous conversations. And he complains. Because he's not ready to confess to Onyx again. His eyes flutter trying to see straight amidst the tinge of alcohol and the very welcome declaration. "I- You-" He is staring. "You don't just drop you're life commitment to a terror group- just- on a picnic?" he blurted out. His eyes dart around now tying to pull as gracefully as he could under time constraints.

[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

He blinks slow, in disbelief at the new moniker Onyx had chosen. But Onyx doesn't give him enough time to dwell on it. He gives a glance at the club bathroom, empty aside from the two of them. And if not, shit was it about to be awkward for them. It brings back memories of Halloween. Of being stuck in a stall with someone else before Onyx interrupted- [break][break]

Andres blinked again, dismissing the thought entirely. Because he was mad at Onyx. Or- maybe that's harsh to say but now was not the time. He tried to hold his own again Onyx, but old habits die hard. "Sometimes it's better to walk away. Clear my head." Suppress. Compartmentalize. Grieve and accept your shortcomings. [break][break]

"You're not-" the blatant lie is cut off by the final puff of smoke. He peers down into Onyx's eye, nervous and quite. He is trimming his words, pulling as the little bit he wants to reveal. Because he could handle this. He could control it, suppress it. He just needed time. "I-" [break][break]

I love you. [break][break]

It's nothing- [break][break]

I've hurt you? [break][break]

"It's nothing- I just...get in my head sometimes." Not untrue. But not the full truth either. He's holding back. But he needs time to build something convincing. Something that sounds ok but doesn't get to the root of it all because he doesn't want to vulnerable anymore. Not again.


[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]