There was a lot of embarrassment under everything, considering the first time he'd met the other man had been in the least appealing or attractive way possible. The fact that Lam was humoring him was probably because he was just extra nice or something, right? It didn't make a lot of sense, really. The guilt bubbled up as the other mentioned that, had he gotten away with it, he'd probably have gotten Lam fired. "Oh... yeah, guess you're right. I'm sorry bout that."
[break][break]
Rook wasn't completely dumb, he recognized the awkwardness of their being together clearly conflicted with their "hobbies". Rook wasn't about to quit stealing just because he happened to fancy a very pretty artist. It was about as unlikely as Lam accepting that he was a thief that stole people's hard work. Yet, Rook felt selfishly like maybe they could get over that anyways if they really liked one another.
[break][break]
"Oh wow, lucky guess." He laughed, realizing he was actually right. It had been random, somewhat provoked by little details. Rook was good about noting little dialects and regional differences. Liars usually were good at pinpointing details in people they wanted to manipulate, that was the sad truth.
[break][break]
He should've been paying attention then as they walked, but he wasn't. And that turned out to be... not such a bad thing after all.
[break][break]
As his weight shifted, he felt a shocked little sound leave his throat in an embarrassing way. This was preventable, he knew he was a natural klutz. Yet he hadn't anticipated the way the other responded or the sudden wrap of arms around him. Lam was surprisingly rather strong for an artist. That, or Rook was simply light as a scarecrow (more likely).
[break][break]
He felt his face heat up as they stood there, pressed close together. "Yeah, I'm okay... thanks to you. That was not at all planned, I promise." He cast a glance down. "Oh... your coffee, I'm sorry." Still, he did not step away. Why the hell would he?

[break][break]

+ lam logan | let him date you, lam!

He couldn't tell if Lam was simply surprised by the venue he'd chosen or if there was disappointment that his boyfriend had decided to take him to a kiddy event instead of an adult place. Maybe this was a bad idea. Truly, he couldn't be certain, but considering the other had yet to object or complain about it, he hoped that was at least a sign of acceptance.
[break][break]
"Yeah, do you like pumpkin carving?" He smiled as Lam played along, adding a bit more depth to their lie. Our kid hadn't escaped his attention either. It was strange how easy it was for Lam to tug at every one of his heartstrings and just make him want to dance. Anything to make the other happy that he'd chosen him to waste time with.
[break][break]
Not simply waste either, or even humor, he seemed to be into it? Rook felt a dopey smile form on his face as he sat beside the other. He didn't have Lam's artistic capability, sadly. He doubted he could manage anything so crafty, but even then he too grabbed a similarly good sized pumpkin (with far less specificity in the canvas, of course). Taking the other knife, he started on one of the patterns supplied in a book.
[break][break]
"This is going to look terrible." Rather than follow the pattern, he decided he wanted to try and cut out the outline of Rosie. She was still pilfering candy like a natural thief and no one seemed to notice she was even there. The end result of his carving made rosie look debilitated and sad. "Hmmmm... not very good."

[attr="class","ooc"] lam logan [break]


m: a little party never killed nobody

It was beginning to dawn on him then that maybe, just maybe... he'd really messed up this time. He wasn't stupid, ok maybe he kinda was, but he wasn't obliviously so. He knew that being caught in this predicament was embarrassing. If not reaffirming all of the problems he had with himself that he'd selfishly been unwilling to change. Lam was a new factor in his life and he was surprised to find things weren't as easy to get away with or shrug off.
[break][break]
That was the thing about having someone else in your life that was as, if not more, important as himself. He hadn't felt the brunt of the embarrassment until Lam silenced him. The heavy sprinkling of shame on top made him feel like a puppy that had just pissed the carpet. He glanced over at Lam, feeling a little smaller. It wasn't that big of deal though was it? Sure, he felt embarrassed and stupid for having to call him out, but he could make it up to him.
[break][break]
Rook opened his mouth to respond: Don't say a word? but he was cut off for said response. Rhetorical, of course.
[break][break]
Time stretched on as the car ambled down the street. Eventually, the police station was out of sight, a vacant blip in the rearview mirror. Now, Rook didn't know how to deal with silence. Clearly, he didn't. As his greatest skill lay in talking, often too much and to his own detriment. It had done a lot to piss off the people around him. Silence felt lonely and stagnant. It felt like nervous, unsettled energy that he could only fix by opening his mouth and speaking. It was rarely ever the right thing, but it quelled the pit of anxiety that balled up in place of the noise.
[break][break]
Truthfully, he wasn't sure how long he managed to go. It felt like an Olympic feat, the extent of which he did not talk right then (or, better yet, put his foot in his mouth, as he was more prone to doing). It felt like, maybe if he could talk then maybe he could cut the tension and everything would be alright. It hadn't worked with his parents, but maybe.... 
[break][break]
"I'm sorry you had to come out here, but really it's not that big of a deal." That didn't feel like what he wanted to say.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] lam logan [break]

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon mimikyu"]

This was terrible. Really, he hadn't seen it coming this time. He was certain this time would work out. Even though Lam had said otherwise, he had been confident. However, it turned out that his boyfriend was, indeed, correct. He really should have known better than to question such wise judgment, but he'd been curious (to say the least). It hadn't ended how he'd hoped. It was strange though, having someone he could call now rather than sitting in the cell waiting for them to let him off with a "first time" offense. Sadly, he'd long since run out of individualized ID's thus this was most certainly no longer the first time offense.
[break][break]
It was late and he could hear it in his boyfriend's voice. Rook had learned the hard way the price for waking Lam up and, until then, he'd managed to avoid doing this. "Heyyy, so... I can explain. You know how you told me not to target that gallery... well you were right..." It was mid-sentence before he processed the dial tone response through the blur of his own explanation. Surely, Lam didn't hang up on him. Maybe reception was bad? He hoped, at least. However, that meant he was stuck in this place.
[break][break]
Rosie kept breaking free of her pokeball (piled among the others far away from Rook's touch) and eventually they just let her join him in the cell. She sat their in stilted silence, shunning him with the persecution of his choices. "We've been through worse." He wasn't sure if he was reassuring Rosie more, or himself.
[break][break]
Attempting to talk the officer's ear off also didn't work, as the person on duty was an elderly fellow who was practically waiting for the opportunity to talk about his grandkids and, even in Rook's opinion, the man could talk. By the time the sheriff had strolled back to his cell, Rook knew all three of their names and birthdays and favorite colors and so much more than he needed to know.
[break][break]
Lam, his savior. The light of his life. The twinkle in his eye. The warmth in his — Lam looked really mad. "I—"
[break][break]
“Don’t even say a word.” Uh oh. Rosie didn't even look up at him before waddling after Lam. Rook juggled the other three pokeballs before putting them back in his knap bag. "Bye, Craig, good luck with Rachel's birthday." He called back to the old man before following doggedly after his boyfriend. There was a palpable weight of silence as he piled into the passenger seat. Rosie opted for the trunk as per her odd usual self.
[break][break]
"So, really, I can explain..." He laughed nervously.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] lam logan [break]

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon mimikyu"]

Lam's muffled whine having been snuffed of a kiss made Rook smile. It wasn't certain if Rosie would forgive him or if she even processed that the chicken creature that had scared her was even Lam. Likely as far as she figured, there was a bird monster in the house so she was happy to leave it as they headed to the party. Rook wasn't being completely honest, the house party they were going to wasn't quite so mature as he made it out to seem.
[break][break]
Twinning his fingers through Lam's and giggling at the little compliments, they strolled along down the neighborhood for the house with the giant bouncy haunted house out front. There were purple and green lights switched out for the normal white light and, from within the house, there were children screams of fright and joy. Okay, so definitely not a mature party. No, but kiddy parties had candy which was WAY better in his opinion. They were literal suckers in places like this and his favorite place to pillage before confidently leaving with a filled stash.
[break][break]
They just had to keep to the plan. "Okay so, if anyone asks... just say you're looking for your kid." He smiled before opening the door a line of kids were screeching and running down the hall, bags of candle jostling in their race to a "rancid" sour apple bobbing station. A mom was frustratingly trying to call her kid over to leave, and promptly being ignored. Rosie shuffled ahead of him, heading to one of the prize counters. A couple of individual baggies of candy disappeared under her disguise in the blink of an eye. Rook dropped one into the inner pocket of his Mimikyu poncho.
[break][break]
"Want some punch? They got pumpkin carving and candy apples and a bouncy castle and a pokemon guessing game. I mostly just come here for the candy. There's another house about 5 houses down with the expensive stuff."

[attr="class","ooc"] lam logan [break]


m: a little party never killed nobody

It was true, it turned out he preferred his feet on the ground. Where was his sense of adventure? On the ground, where it belonged. Despite that and the situation that had led them there, this was one of the easier missions he'd ever assigned himself. Maybe that was the ease that came with having a partner for once. Looking down at the other grappling not far below, that looked like a lot more work so he was content with the easier job of simply hanging in there.
[break][break]
"I do love razzle dazzle." He admitted as if it went without saying. He did not look or seem the type without flair and he prided himself on his own dramatics. In all seriousness, which he could in fact manage from time to time, he observed the space behind them. The attention amassed closest to the gallery. One of the art pieces Rook had nabbed was still comfortable rolled on the tube at his back. Lam wouldn't appreciate him stealing someone else's hard work, but he didn't need to know that. It helped that he was over the initial discomfort of literally flying with his feet dangling in the air.
[break][break]
"Detour might be useful, not initially but they're trained to set up a boundary crime scene. Too straight forward and we lead them right to us with the right pokemon." Still, he looked up at the bat, hoping that it was going to peeter out on him anytime soon.

[break][break]

+ Isaac Merlo

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"In a sexy, bad to the bone way, but still down to cuddle and cry during sad movies." Why was he such a dork? He was definitely going to get rejected now. He could feel it. Sometimes, he found, it was better to simply shut up and smile, but Rook didn't know how to do that (clearly). Maybe he'd made a bad first impression, but surely he could redeem himself, right? Right?
[break][break]
So far as he could tell, things were going... okay? Like he couldn't completely tell, but Lam seemed somewhat charmed by him. Maybe it was in a pitying way, but Rook could do pitying. Pitying was great if it kept him in the game. "Yeah, though I haven't seen you paint." It did occur to him that he still wasn't sure if it had been Lam's work or someone else's that he tried to steal. "Uhh so that art back.. you know.. that wasn't yours was it?" Great, just bring it back up. Salt in the wound. Totally A-Okay.
[break][break]
He felt blinded, stupefied by this guy. He was just so damn pretty. He could barely seem to talk around him without sputtering up some stupid along with it. As the question was posed, he turned in his walk, spinning around to face him with a dramatic hmmmm. Studying the other, he stated. "Alola." He reminded him of a tropical bird so it seemed like a fair guess.
[break][break]
Little did he know he was about to blindly walk over a sudden dip in the sidewalk.
[break][break]

+ lam logan | let him date you, lam!

"Wow I never realized I'd be so attracted to a chicken-headed man." He laughed, pinching at said chicken beak with a cluck cluck. What a doofus though, really he should have expected as much. It seemed that he was having an interesting influence on the other man. "I never realized how devious you were." Well he certainly hadn't prevented it from happening either. It wasn't as if he'd been blind to the other's potential wickedness. It just didn't need much of a nudge anymore. It was cute though. "She wanted to prank you, not me. So... kinda had it coming. Don't worry, darling, she'll forgive you. Though maybe not chicken you." He giggled at that.
[break][break]
Rook was well aware that Lam would have been all too happy to stay in and cozy up on the couch to some awful bad horror. It actually was appealing to Rook too, who might have crumpled if Lam insisted on a more relaxed evening. There was very little, he found, that he could deny the other. "Now, is this what you're wearing tonight?" He smiled, pulling the mask back down to plant lips to a rubber beak before turning an striding away to collect the likely fussy ghost pokemon.
[break][break]
He had a specific night planned that he thought Lam might enjoy, even if he didn't think he would. There would be no loud, massive parties or clubs tonight. Rook was at least hopeful that they could make the most of it. "I know you're not sure if you wanna go, so the second you're done let me know. We can go at anytime. So, ready?" He asked, pulling the hood of his mimikyu poncho up.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] lam logan [break]


m: a little party never killed nobody

Rook had to suppress the urge to laugh at the "cold hands" comment. Rosie did have a natural coolness to her, the kind of essence that forced goosebumps to rise and shivers to quiver under skin. Rook was not effected by this essence anymore, having been around her for so long. Some people found her unnerving, which had led to a lot of insecurity that he'd had to mend. Though, for the most part, she seemed to have accepted it in a healthy sort of way. It helped having Lam around who also didn't seem to mind her.
[break][break]
Little did he know that Lam was planning a trick of his own. Maybe if he'd been able to see past the bulbous lurch of Rosie's false head, he might have prevented what was to come. Only he didn't and before he knew it, Rosie was flailing. A whip of shadow lashed out into the space in front of her. She had never lashed out at Lam before and Rook couldn't begin to fathom what was up with her. Not until she had leapt free of his arms. Her disguise as broken in the fall, limply hanging as she scuttled away through the doorway out of sight.
[break][break]
Only then did Rook note the chicken mask staring back at him. Rosie had managed to smack it upwards so that Lam's face was half exposed, but the gist of what happened was clear to see. Despite his pokemon's fright, Rook laughed. A full body sort of laugh. "What is that!? Where did you get that from? Hahahaha You're awful."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] lam logan [break]


m: a little party never killed nobody

Did he just score big time? He was a little caught off guard, clearly. As if the blank dumb stare wasn't enough, he had to babble like an idiot. "Oh.. yes, good. I'm glad. No, please don't change your mind. I swear I'm not all bad." He wanted to beam, do a dumb little dance. It wasn't like he asked out many people without the intent of robbing them later. It wasn't exactly his forte, in the least. Considering his day job was robbing far more talented people blind on a daily basis, well... he was a little surprised since the other knew of said day job.
[break][break]
Somehow, he was supposed to make it worth the effort and impress the other man too? That was a rather lofty task for someone like him. He didn't like the word sleazy in regards to himself, but maybe trashy was the better definition. He belonged in a dumpster, not walking beside a pretty man like this, right? It did inspire in him a sort of rush. Better to get things along before the other recognized he was wasting his time on a garbage person.
[break][break]
For now, his one job was to be impressive, which he wasn’t very good at. If anything all those auditions had proved the opposite and the only thing he excelled at was lying through his teeth. But either way, this too was an audition.
[break][break]
”Oh will you now? I guess I better work pretty hard huh?” He should say something charming or confident, like how he would have no problem doing that, but he wasn’t feeling too confident that he could. He jumped into realization, ”Oh.. yeah!” He laughed before jogging to catch up. ”Soooo… tell me about yourself, Lam.” He liked having permission to say his name, it felt nice.


[break][break]

+ lam logan | let him date you, lam!