Devon hummed, noticing the bruise on his cheek for the second time that day. She wouldn't ask about it; it was his story to tell, and she would give him the time he needed to do so.
"Well, I'm glad you're doing so good," she said softly, smiling up at him again. "What did you do today?"
“Not much. Went to work early today, there was a little scuffle.” He gave a loose shrug.
“Oh… Well, you don’t look too hurt, so it must not have been so bad,” Devon figured, her gaze flickering over his face.
“Nothing major,” he affirmed. “You know me. I’m not really good at staying out of trouble.” Giving a sheepish chuckle, he leaned back in his seat. “Any news?”
(The first thing I thought of when I read his question was Devon joking about being pregnant, and then I realized that she would definitely not joke about that…)
“Mm… Nope. No news from me. Though, I might be getting promoted soon… You didn’t hear that from me, though,” Devon chuckled, glancing over at the counter. “I don’t think I’m supposed to know, but the manager has been talking to my coworkers about something, and everyone keeps giving me guarded looks…”
(Oof….)
“Ouch,” Sebastian chuckled light-heartedly, “But congratulations, if you do.”
Devon chuckled a bit with him. “Thanks. I’m sure it’ll be fine, whatever it is. What about you? Anything new with you?”
Sebastian shook his head, then paused, fingers beginning to tab an irregular rhythm out onto the surface of the table. "Actually, there might be something. I've been getting into music again, I was.. ah, convinced to let it go for a bit, and I think with a bit of practice, I might get permission to sing and play at a few bars. I used to do it, a few years ago."
Devon’s eyes lit up at this new information. She knew he sang, though she’d only figured that out from his little song to Layla. But he played an instrument, too?
“You play? What instrument?” she asked curiously.
Sebastian suddenly realized how little he'd told Devon about… well, everything that had happened before he'd turned nineteen. "Acoustic guitar," he admitted with a bashful smile.
“That’s cool. Maybe you could play for me sometime?” Devon suggested with a soft smile.
He bit the inside of his cheek, a light pink dusting over his face. "Sure. Maybe- Maybe you could come to my place sometime, I know I've never actually shown it to you." Whenever Sebastian had invited Devon places, his flat had not been one of them, and for multiple reasons. First and foremost, he'd pieced together a rough idea of what traumatic event she'd been through in the past, and knew that having her over to his place could make her uncomfortable, maybe even scare her. But besides that… he was ashamed. He knew that he was not well-off financially, never had been, and the thought of her seeing his tiny, dingy apartment with its sparse belongings….
Devon’s smiled froze for a moment before widening slightly. “Really? I… Sure. If you’re okay with that, I’d like to.”
"I mean– I'm fine with it if you are. I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything." Sebastian cut himself off before he could start rambling, telling himself that he had to trust Devon enough to show her his apartment. They were going out together, for God's sake!
“Yeah… Yeah, that’s fine. It won’t make me uncomfortable,” Devon said with a shrug. “Why would it?”
(I’ll have her explain what happened eventually. I promise!)
(lol dw about it)
Sebastian spread his fingers as if to say 'I don't know, why would it?' "I'm just being careful. Y'know? I don't want to mess this up."
Devon blinked and nodded slowly. “Right. Of course. Well, thanks, Seb. I appreciate it.”
"It's no problem," he assured with a small nod of his head. "So, when are we doing this? When are you free?"
“Well… I mean, I’m free right now, obviously, but if you don’t want to do it so soon… I think this Saturday? I don’t work that day, so I’ve got all day,” Devon said with a shrug and a small smile.
"Sure, Saturday sounds good. I should probably, uh, clean up a bit anyways." He let out a small chuckle. "I mean– not that I'm a slob or anything. I just- My place- isn't-"
Devon chuckled softly and reached over to pat his hand. “It’s okay, Sebastian. I’m not worried about it. You can clean up your place without it having to be a pigsty.”
Sebastian nodded sheepishly, though his thoughts were occupied with the fact that Devon was touching his hand. "Yeah. Sorry."
(skip?)
(I had an idea for when he left, but I can do that now if you want.)
(Sure, What was the idea?)
(A coworker of Devon’s comes to ask her about him. I was thinking she would mistake him as Layla’s dad…)