(I live 👉👈)
Samuel walked hand in hand with Larkin towards the woods, protectively close to him. The park was rather empty, thankfully, leaving them almost completely alone. The few other people who were there were far away from them, and no one seemed to be near the trees they were trekking towards.
(ee)
"Um… do we have any other plans for today?" Larkin asked softly, trying to make conversation to keep himself calmer. He held tightly to Samul's hand and closed his eyes. Everything is fine… Samul is with me and barely anyone is even around…
"No," Samul admitted. "Do you have anything else you would like to do?" the man led Larkin down the path to the woods, and soon the trees were obscuring any vision Larkin might have had of the park and the people within it. They were alone, truly.
Larkin shrugged a bit, relaxing somewhat when he couldn't see anyone around him. "I-I dunno… anything is fine with me, I guess. We could just go home after this, but we don't have a lot to do there…"
Samul gave Larkin's hand a gentle squeeze as he stuttered, keeping close to his side.
"We can think of something quiet for us to do," he offered. something without other people.
"Okay… maybe we could go to a movie that isn't super popular or something." Larkin fidgeted with Samul's hand, still nervous.
"I think that would be good," Samul said softly. He moved his free hand to gently cup Samul's cheek, keeping him close as they strolled through the woods.
"And if it's too much, we go straight home. I don't want you to push yourself too much, okay?"
Larkin nodded, leaning into Samul's touch. "Okay, Samul… whatever you say…" He murmured softly in reply. "I need to get more comfortable going out in public. I can't let it freak me out forever…"
"As long as you promise you won't try to do too much at once." Samul leaned in to kiss Larkin's forehead, smiling in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"I promise, Samul… I'll make sure to be careful." Larkin smiled weakly and returned the kiss, holding a bit tighter to Samul's hand.
"Thank you." Samul let out a small hum, looking around the woods they were walking through.
"I am glad this is a peaceful evening."
"Yeah, it's pretty nice outside today." Larkin looked around the forest, keeping close to Samul. "We should probably start heading back soon."