forum (OxO with Froosty)

Started August 16, 2020 by @Ewen_the_Eccentric

tune

"Nix," Emrys repeated thoughtfully, smiling lightly as he spoke the word. He liked the sound of it. "Pleasure to meet you, Nix. It's a true shame someone like you has to eat dinner all by yourself. May I sit?" He didn't bother waiting for Nix's reply before he casually slid into the seat across from him. "Emrys A. Baird is my name, but you can call me Em if you like." He sipped his wine, though his eyes remained on the attractive specimen sitting across from him.

"I-I… um… alright…" Nix mumbled, his voice trailing off into nothing as Emrys just went ahead and did whatever he felt like. He looked down at the table shyly, his cheeks lightly flushed. "Um… it's… it's nice to meet you, sir." He said softly. "S-Sorry, I'm not great at talking to people." A soft laugh escaped him. "I'm a tad reclusive, you see? Pretty… um… shy, I guess. I'm not used to getting noticed by anybody."

"Really? That's a surprise." Emrys glanced down at his wine glass as he swished it. "I'd expect someone like you to get a lot more…" His gaze swept over Nix. "Attention." Emrys licked his lips lightly and leaned back into his seat, resting his wine on the table in front of him. "Surely you have friends though, yes? A girlfriend?" He paused. "A boyfriend?"

Nix flushed red as he listened to Emrys talk. "W-Well, you know… I don't get out much. I really don't have much money at all, so I mostly just eat at home…" He sighed, fidgeting nervously with his hands. "It's always kinda exciting to get to go out to a restaurant, though. Real food, you know? I can't drink or anything since I'm only nineteen, but… the food is nice, don't you think?"

"Oh, you shouldn't be cooped up alone all the time," Emrys purred softly, admiring the boy. "It's not good for you to be all by yourself. People need company." He glanced once around the room before his stare rested on Nix again. What a beautiful creature— so young, and tender. "It's a pity you'd be limited by something like money." He propped himself up on his elbows, resting them on the table's edge. "Especially when I have plenty of that." He went silent a moment, before smirking lightly. "Tell you what— I'll pay for your entire meal tonight, and in return I only ask that you allow me to dine with you."

Nix flushed harder at the offer and at everything else that Emrys was saying. He clearly wasn't used to people being so kind to him. "Oh! I-I… um… sure! Stick around as long as you'd like to, sir." He replied nervously. Sure, the guy seemed a little strange to him, but he wasn't super acclimated here yet. It could just be something he wasn't used to yet. Besides, it didn't seem like Emrys had any intention of hurting him, at least not during this one meal. He wasn't going to turn down free food.

A smile crept across Emrys's face. "Wonderful." He leaned forward a little more, taking in every detail of this young boy's appearance. He was a sweet one— both in looks and personality. How precious. How intriguing. "So, little Nix," he began softly, "Tell me more about yourself while I'm here. I don't have many friends; I'm always down for a nice friendly chat. Do you live close by?"

"U-Um… yeah, pretty close. I just… um… moved there recently, so I don't remember the exact address…" Nix toyed with a lock of his hair nervously, his heart pounding hard in his chest. "I don't really have any friends either… uhm…" He considered for a few seconds to decide what information to tell Emrys. "I'm nineteen years old, and… I live alone, and… um… I… like cats…?"

"Mmmm." Emrys straightened himself a bit. Nineteen years old was a good age. Young enough to be hardly more than a precious little softie, but old enough that Emrys couldn't be accused pedophilia if he got any ideas.
And, oh, did he have ideas.
Living alone was double points. That meant there were no family members in the pictures, no external forces to cause Emrys undue stress.
"Oh, I love cats," Emrys said. "I used to have one when I was a about fourteen or fifteen. I would always hold it whenever I was stressed." Translate: whenever he had just been abused and was in a state of complete despair. "Calming, precious little creatures." He tapped his finger against the side of his wine glass. "I bet it gets lonely, doesn't it? Living all by yourself. No friends or family."

Nix nodded a bit as he listened to Emrys talk, fidgeting nervously with his hands. "U-Um… yeah, I guess so. It's nice to have the freedom though, don't you think? I can go where I want, do what I want…. to be fair, I usually just stay at home since I haven't got much else to do, but it's nice to have the option if I want it. I had… uhm… very strict… parents." He said slowly. He couldn't say anything about the lab. "They didn't like to let me go outside or have fun. I think it was probably lonelier with them than it is for me to actually be alone now." He smiled weakly up at Emrys.

"Oh," Emrys said sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear." His own parents had been good to him— but unfortunately that didn't protect him once they were gone. "Not everyone's lucky enough to have good parents. Or good lives." He glanced slowly down at his wine glass, as if deep in thought, but soon raised his gaze back to the attractive boy. "So you prefer solitude, then?" Emrys surely didn't. He knew how it felt to be alone— even among a crowd of people.

"Uhm… yeah, I guess you could say that. I spend most of my time alone and I like it fine. And I generally get a little nervous when I'm in big crowds…" Nix glanced around the restaurant, fidgeting a bit with his hands. "I like to feel safe, and I feel the safest when I'm at home by myself. It's not safe out here in the open. Anybody could attack me…"

"Mmm, that's true. But, don't you get nervous being all alone?" Emrys stared at him thoughtfully. "Anyone could break in and take you away." Oh, and who wouldn't want to take away such a beautiful boy? "You ought not to stay alone, little Nix. It's too dangerous for someone like yourself."

Nix looked away nervously, fidgeting a little more as Emrys spoke. "W-Well, I dunno, I… I haven't had any trouble with anything like that yet… I just… I kinda hope that people don't do anything like that, I guess. It's not like I know anybody here that I could stay with. No friends, no family… I live alone, and… and it's just fine that way. I get by." He shrugged, although he still appeared anxious.

"Well, I'm your friend, aren't I?" Emrys's eyes sparkled a little as he lifted his wine glass to sip. "You could stay with me anytime you wanted. My house is plenty big enough. There are lots of extra rooms and extra beds—" He smiled faintly, and subtly added, "—though most of them are big enough to share." He put his glass down again. "But I guarantee it's safe at my house. I make sure of it. Nobody could ever break in and hurt you there, so if you're ever inclined to come for a visit… you're more than welcome." He leaned back into his seat casually. "In fact, you could even come over tonight if you wanted. I wouldn't mind at all."

Nix flushed harder as he stared down at his lap, unsure what to do. "B-But I… I just met you a few minutes ago, didn't I? Do you really consider me to be a friend?" He looked up at Emrys meekly. "I've never really had a friend before, so I dunno… how… h-how do I know that it's safe at your place? That I can trust you?"

_{(Are you still on notebook?)}