"If it helps ease your uncertainty, I've made up my mind that I'm going to help you until you figure out what these beings want or until they're gone," Cole said, a small hint of a smile on his face, "I'm flattered that you've decided I'm worthy to think about though." The blonde haired male slowed as they rounded the final corner and the station came into view, clearly bustling with people even from a distance.
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Itzal gazed at Cole as he spoke, feeling a rush of some warm emotion bloom in his chest. His lips pulled upwards for a few seconds, but his worry about Cole crashed down on him again. Cole assuring him that he would help him was a relief, but it also made him worry about the man all over again. "Of course you're worthy to think about!" Itzal exclaimed, the words pushing the worry to the back of his mind for the time being. "One of the most worthy things to think about, actually," He continued softly, biting his lip and glancing ahead of them. He didn't like all the people there, but maybe him and Cole would be able to disappear into the crowd.
His cheeks flushed visibly at Itzal's words and he nodded, smiling gently and trying to change the subject, or at least draw attention away from the blush, "How soon do you want to leave the city?" Cole stayed close to Itzal as he lead the way through the crowd of people, his eyes flicking back and forth for any sign of the beings. They could ambush them at any time, and what better place to do so than where it would be impossible for Itzal to hide what was happening.
Itzal pressed his lips together, trying not to smile too much at Cole's blushing cheeks. It was hard, though, and he was pretty sure he didn't succeed at all. "I mean, probably as soon as possible. I don't want to let those beings have any more time to catch up to us." He stepped quickly around a group of people, his heart speeding up slightly at the abundance of people. This was the absolute worst place for an ambush, and on top of that, he was constantly about to lose Cole in the crowd. He reached out, resting a soft hand on Cole's shoulder in an attempt to stay close to him.
Cole nodded, smiling at the god and easily making his way through the crowd. He glanced back again when he felt a hand on his shoulder, relaxing when he saw it was Itzal's and slowing down just a tad as he wove between people. The further they got into the station the more people there were, but still he easily found his way to the ticket booth. For a trip in the city he could use his metro card, but for something like this he would actually have to purchase two tickets for them. "What do you think of the station so far? We got lucky it's not packed to the brim today."
Itzal was extreamly glad Cole was here with him. Without him, Itzal probably would have spent an extra half an hour trying to fight through the crowds and find everything. He gave Cole a small smile when the man looked back, his grip tightening slightly as the crowds grew. "It's not packed today?" His eyes opened wide, glancing around at the people again. Up until this moment, he'd thought it was already packed to the brim, but apparently he was wrong. "It's… I mean, it's pretty. It would be better if there were less people, but I can't be picky." Itzal laughed softly, scanning around the crowd for beings again.
"There's always a ton of people here, it's worse in the mornings when everyone is going to work…and at night when people are getting home," Cole explained, smiling as they approached the booth. Within minutes, there were two tickets being handed to them, and a soft smile on the male's face as he glanced up at his traveling partner, "We have about half an hour until our train heads out. What do you want to do until then?" There was a lot of options on things to do, and there were plenty of shops in the station if Itzal wanted to stay close by.
"Hmm. That makes sense." Itzal nodded. He still didn't like it, but it wasn't like he could ask everyone to leave while he and Cole were there. Well, technically he could, but it wouldn't be fair to anyone. He stayed silent and close to Cole as he bought the tickets. "Uh… I don't know. We could just find somewhere to sit if you're tired and don't want to walk around." Itzal gave Cole a smile. "I guess we could find something to snack on, too, if you're hungry." He really didn't care what they did, since it was such a short time.
He shrugged, glancing around with a soft smile, "I like the first option better, but if you'd like, we can get something to snack on." Cole tucked both tickets into his pocket as he stepped away from the booth, grabbing Itzal's hand from his shoulder so it was easier to lead him around. He was oblivious to how they would look while holding hands, even as he led his friend to one of the less crowded areas of the station, a small bench tucked away near some tracks.
"Well, then, let's do that. I'm not that hungry," Itzal said, smiling pleasantly. If he removed the crowds and just took Cole into account, he was having a nice time. He didn't argue at all when Cole took his hand since that would be more comfortable. Cole's touch helped ease his nervousness, helped anchor him before his fears could drown him. "Shall we sit there?" He asked, nodding towards the bench. It looked like a nice place to wait, away from most of the crowds. As they walked, he checked around them for beings again, but thankfully, there was nothing.
"Sure, that looks perfectly fine," Cole said, leading the god to the bench and sitting down. Only then did he reluctantly let go of Itzal's hand, feeling his face flush at the realization that he liked holding the other male's hand. For all he knew, Itzal had no interest in males, especially humans, and more importantly, he probably didn't have any interest in romance at all. The spiraling of thoughts in his head kept him quiet and his cheeks stayed a nice rosey pink, even as he scolded himself for even thinking of Itzal as possibly more than a friend.
Itzal sat down, feeling a rush of disappointment when Cole let go of his hand. He would have rathered the other man never let go, but alas. Itzal did another sweep of the area, but all he could see were humans running around. Maybe his display of godly strength had scared them off for just enough time for him and Cole to get out of there. Itzal glanced over at Cole, who was blushing and rather quiet. "Are you alright?" He asked, a look of concern appearing on his face. The urge to take back Cole's hand was almost overwhelming, but he didn't want to make Cole uncomfortable at all.
(Super sorry its short and so late D: life has been a mess)
Cole didn't respond for a second, though looked over once he zoned back in, nodding, "Hm? Oh, yeah I'm alright, just thinking." He glanced around the station, sighing and chewing on his lip, "Any more of the black things?" Being brought back to the present had wiped his thoughts out of his head, leaving only his slowly fading blush on his cheeks.
(You're good! I totally understand and agree. Life has been… interesting. :)
"Okay. Good." Itzal nodded slightly. Noticing how Cole seemed a bit worried, he gently patted Cole's hand twice to try and reassure him. "Not that I've seen. Hopefully…" He trailed off and let out a small sigh. Hopefully, those things would wait to make their appearance until after he and Cole had gotten onto the train. Itzal did another scan of the area, but his words held true. No beings could be spotted. This was good news, unless they were hiding from him and waiting to attack when they were both unsuspecting. Then it was very bad news. Stars, he was getting paranoid.
Almost instinctively, Cole reached for Itzal's hand, hooking pinkies with the male and leaning back on the bench, "Lets hope our luck continues." He didn't know why holding Itzal's hand made him feel more calm, or at least less nervous, but it did. It also made his cheeks flush an embarrassing shade of pink but he ignored it, looking around for the beings again. "We can head to the tracks in about five minutes, then we'll get on and be on our way."
"Yeah. Agreed." Itzal nodded, unable to stop the smile that appeared on his face when Cole grabbed his hand. Then again, why should he stop it? Itzal glanced over at Cole, the smile still bright on his face. Cole's touch helped fight back the useless questions and the fear constantly rising in his chest. "Ah, good. Good. We can do that." He let out a breath, tearing his eyes away from Cole's face to search the crowd again. They could last five more minutes.
He nodded, staying silent for a minute before asking, "What is your home like? Where the god's live, what's it like?" It was random, but the question formed in his head in an instant, and he was curious. Plus, asking questions kept his mind off the beings, and the skiddishness he felt sitting in such a public place. He didn't let go of Itzal's hand either, only tightened his grip as he glanced around.
"My– my home?" The question seemed to come out of nowhere. "It's… it's beautiful. It's a huge forest, with trees reaching up into the clouds. Some of their trunks are as big as the width of a bus." Itzal smiled softly, recalling the place. "It's always peaceful, and it always smells fresh, like it just rained. My house is in this beautiful clearing with a waterfall and a grey cliff face. It's… amazing. My words aren't doing it justice." He shook his head slightly, wishing he could show Cole the place he'd lived in for hundreds of years. Even if he talked for hours, there was no way he could paint a convincing picture of the place.
"It sounds amazing," He replied gently, a soft smile on his face as he tried to imagine the world that Itzal called home. Even from his description, it sounded wonderful, much better than the train station they were currently in. Cole glanced over at his friend, squeezing his hand lightly, "Earth must look like a garbage pile in comparison." He chuckled lightly and leaned back on the bench, trying to get the motivation to sit up.
"It is." Itzal glanced over at Cole. "I wish you could see it…" He trailed off, a sad smile appearing on his lips. "I wish I could see it again." The sentence was barely above a whisper, filling Itzal with a sudden wave of sadness. Cole's light squeeze brought him out of it, though. "Ha, a bit. It's definitely dirtier. But I'm not hating it." He squeezed Cole's hand back, a more joyful look on his face now.
Gently, Cole bumped him with his shoulder, his smile still visible on his face, "Hey, I'm making it my goal to get you back home. I'm promising you now that I'll do whatever I can to get you home." Slowly, he shifted on the bench, then stood up, never once letting go of Itzal's hand, "Right now though, let's get going, away from whatever beings are chasing us."
"Well, then, I will do the same. We can get get through this together." Itzal took a breath and let it go slowly. "Yeah, let's. I can't wait to get as far away from them as possible." He laughed slightly and stood up as well, glad that Cole didn't let go of his hand. He was also very glad they were finally getting out of there. It was true that even if they got onto the train, and even when they got to where they were going, they still wouldn't be free. But the fact that they were moving away gave him some peace of mind.
Making sure Itzal was ready to go, Cole started to lead him through the train station again, this time avoiding the multitudes of people that were now around waiting for their own trains. "I don't know about you, but I call dibs on a window seat if we have one," He said, stopping as a large group passed by before heading towards their platform again. Even in the midst of all the people, Cole seemed calm, if not as much on edge as when they were in the open. Here they blended in.
"Ha, alright." Itzal laughed and nodded. He didn't really care where he sat, so he was perfectly okay with Cole taking the window seat. Even if he wanted it, he probably would have surrendered it to Cole anyway, though. As they made their way towards the platform, Itzal kept glancing around for the beings. Even here, where they were one among hundreds, he didn't doubt the beings would be able to find them. The only way to combat this would to find them before they could find him. However, a thorough search yielded no results, thank everything. They had stolen another few minutes.
Cole pointed to the train as it came into view, a small relieved smile on his face when he glanced around and didn't see any beings. "There's our road to freedom," He said, turning their path towards it and reaching into his pocket for the tickets. The last thing he wanted was for them to get there and then not be able to get on the train if they didn't have their tickets. "No beings following us, right?" He asked a moment later in a quieter tone.