Daithi swept the floor of the store, in a bit of a negative mood. It'd been 3 weeks since he'd kissed Tyler's cheek and nothing had changed. Tyler acted like nothing had happened, which was good, but at the same time, Daithi felt like his heart had been stomped on.
"Hey," he heard behind him and turned to see Lui, the smaller man grinning at him. Daithi had become decent friends with this guy over the last couple weeks, the man showing up almost every shift. They'd been texting loads too, the man funny as hell.
"Hey Lui, I'll be off in about 20 minutes," he said and Lui nodded. "Sweet, think I can come hang out? Mom has friends over and I do not want to deal with them," he said with an eye roll and Daithi laughed.
"Yeah, sure," he said amused and Lui fist pumped. "Fuck yeah. I'll wait for you outside," he said, waving. Daithi nodded, finishing his tasks before going to clock out.
"So, anything new going on at school?" Lui asked and Daithi shook his head. "Nothing more but more and more work. I'm exhausted," he said with a sigh and Lui grinned.
"That's why I didn't bother with college, I had a job available with my dad after high school and I took it," he said and Daithi stuck his tongue out at him.
They reached the apartment and Lui looked around, eyes lingering on Evan's and Jon's door. "How are your friends?" He asked and Daithi shrugged.
"They're good. I'm working with Evan on his project and he's helping me with some lyrics for mine. My art portfolio is looking great with some help from John, I'm almost done with my final project in that class," he said and Lui nodded.
"You close to Evan?" Lui asked curiously and Daithi shrugged. "I mean, he's one of my best friends. I see him most days," he said and Lui nodded thoughtfully as Daithi unlocked his door.
"Come on in, you thirsty?" Daithi asked and Lui followed him inside, nodding. "You got any sodas?" He asked and Daithi waved a hand at his fridge. "Go find whatever, I don't mind. I'm going to go change really quick," he said and Lui nodded, moving to raid the fridge.
Daithi changed quickly, heading back to the kitchen to grab himself a drink. A knock came at the door and Daithi went to answer, brightening at Tyler.
"Hey, you busy?" Tyler asked and Daithi shook his head, standing aside so he could walk in. "Not busy. I just have Lui over," he said, gesturing at the man standing in the kitchen.
Tyler paused, frowning at Lui. "Hi! I'm Lui, it's nice to meet you. You must be, Tyler? Daithi's told me a lot about you," Lui said cheerfully, Daithi flushing at the look Tyler gave him.
"Yeah, I'm Tyler. I'll leave you two alone then, I'll see you later Daithi," he said a bit coldly and Daithi frowned, following Tyler to the door.
"What's wrong?" He asked softly and Tyler shook his head. "Nothing, don't worry about it Okay? Just. Be careful around him, he doesn't feel right," he said and Daithi frowned confused.
"He said he's a baldander, they're not dangerous creatures," he said and Tyler tilted his head with a frown. "He doesn't feel like a baldander, but if you trust him okay. You have your necklace?" He asked and Daithi nodded, pulling it from under his shirt.
Tyler touched it with a gloved finger, nodding to himself. "Keep that on you, and keep your barriers up, I don't like the feel of this guy, okay?" He said and Daithi frowned as he tucked the pendant back under his shirt.
"I've been hanging with him for over 3 weeks now Ty, if he was dangerous he'd have done something by now. Just trust me, okay?" He said quietly and Tyler sighed.
"Okay. Text me when he leaves, alright?" He requested and Daithi nodded, watching as Tyler walked down the hall.
"Everything alright?" Lui asked and Daithi nodded, turning to face him. "Yeah, everything fine. Tyler just doesn't like new people usually, doesn't like people in general actually. Anyway, I was going to go to the arcade, want to come with?" He asked and Lui perked up.
"You buying?" He asked with a wink and Daithi rolled his eyes as he picked up his keys. "Yeah yeah yeah. I'll pay, come on," he said amused, Lui cheering in a childish voice, "Fuck yeah! Let's go!"
Daithi laughed, locking the door behind them as he led Lui to the bus stop. He felt eyes on him and looked up as they reached the end of the driveway, seeing Tyler in his apartment window before vanishing.
Daithi frowned, eyes on the window a moment before he turned and started down the road. He and Lui talked about random things while waiting for the bus, Daithi asking him questions about San Diego.
"Are your parents baldanders too?" He asked curiously and Lui nodded. "Well, Mom is, Dad's human. Or so I was told, when I was only a few months old he died in a car wreck, it's just been me and Mom since," he said and Daithi grimaced in sympathy.
"What about you? You have any supernatural history?" Lui asked and Daithi shook his head. "No, my family tree is purely human," he said, omitting the psychic in his ancestry. Something told him to keep that silent for now, a little voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Tyler.
The bus arrived and they got on, paying for tickets before sitting down. "So do you know Tyler's race?" Lui asked and Daithi shook his head. "He's not very open about it and I don't want to push him. I've already told him if he wants to tell me he can, if not, I don't need to know. I trust him, you know?" He said and Lui hummed.
"He feels dark," he said and Daithi frowned confused. "How do you mean?" He asked and Lui said, "Like death. He's had a hand in a lot of death, whether killing or just being nearby."
Daithi frowned, wondering how Lui came to that. "How do you mean? He's only 20, and his dad's a mechanic," he asked confused and Lui shrugged.
"It's in his aura. I wouldn't trust him as much as you do, who knows what he's hiding," he said and Daithi shook his head. "I can feel his aura, he's safe," he said and Lui frowned at him.
"How can you feel his aura? Only supernatural can do that," he asked and Daithi shrugged. "I'm human, Chrissy did a bloodline test back 20 generations. But there is a human psychic in my bloodline, I can read supernatural power levels and auras," he explained, ignoring the voice in his head telling him to be quiet.
Lui frowned, tilting his head. "Then you should be able to tell Tyler is no good," he said and Daithi rolled his eyes. "No, I can tell he feels safe. He's powerful, that's for sure, but he feels gentle, he wouldn't hurt me," he defended Tyler, crossing his arms and leaning back against the chair.
Lui clenched his jaw but finally sighed. "Alright. Just be careful around him, he doesn't feel right," he said finally, Daithi frowning as Lui basically quoted what Tyler had said about him.
Who did he trust? He'd known Tyler longer, and liked him. A lot. But Lui hadn't shown any signs of darkness, he was a generally cheerful, gentle dude. And neither of them felt dark, neither of them felt dangerous.
Being so lost in his thoughts, Daithi almost didn't realise they'd pulled up to their stop. Lui nudged him and he looked up, blinking a couple times before grabbing his backpack and getting up.
Lui followed him off the bus, looking around as Daithi led him inside. "Oh fuck, it's been years since I've been in an arcade. Come on, imma kick your ass at shooting baskets," Lui said energetically, rushing off with Daithi on his heels.
They spent nearly two hours playing games and racking up tickets. Daithi was having a blast, having only been to an American arcade once before with Evan, Jon, Brock, Brian and Tyler. It had been a lot more chaotic then too, with six people.
Finally they stopped playing games, going to cash in their tickets. Daithi noticed a Pokémon plush and took it, mind on Tyler as he slipped it into his backpack. He grabbed a few other random prizes, mostly just trying to use up the rest of his tickets.
Once they were done they got back on the bus, heading home. They headed up to Daithi's apartment, Daithi waving to John and Smiity as they passed. Smiity gave Lui a frown, whispering something to John and Daithi frowned, confused.
He let it go though, he'd see John Monday at school and would ask then. "This was fucking amazing, but I need to get home before Mom calls the fbi or something. I'll text you later!" Lui said cheerfully once they were in Daithi's apartment.
"Awesome, see you later. Do you need a drink before you go?" Daithi asked and Lui shook his head. "I'm good. Bye!" He said as he left, Daithi waving and closing the door behind him.
He collapsed on the couch, picking up his phone. His screen was still cracked where he'd dropped it when Tyler saved him from being shot, but he didn't think he needed a new one yet. Screen worked just fine.
It was only about 8 30, but Daithi was exhausted. He sat there staring at the ceiling, eyes blinking slower and slower. Eventually, he curled up right there on the couch and let his eyes drift shut, falling asleep.
~~~~~~~~~
Daithi woke up warm, curling closer to the cushions of the couch. The cushions moved, making his eyes shoot open and he shot straight up. He'd been laying across Tyler's lap?
Tyler raised an eyebrow at him, cheeks flushed. "How'd you get in here?" Daithi asked and Tyler rolled his eyes.
"You left your door unlocked, I saw you come home a little while ago and figured I'd come say hi. You were knocked out here on the couch so i was just going to cover you up and leave a note, but you woke up and asked me to stay, so I uh, did," he said awkwardly and Daithi flushed dark.
"I don't remember that, but I'm glad you stayed. Sorry for all that though," he said sheepishly and Tyler grinned wryly.
"Don't stress, you been doing alright? You don't ever just fall asleep like that on the couch, I know how you are about making it to your bed," he asked and Daithi shrugged, stretching.
"Been a long week, too much on my mind. But I'm alright. I didn't mean to keep you here, if you need to go you can," he said sheepishly and Tyler shrugged.
"Nah, think I can just stay? I don't want to walk up those stairs," he asked and Daithi nodded, probably a bit too eagerly but he loved having Tyler around. A massive, angry ball of sass and sarcasm, the best entertainment.
"I've only got the one room though, so why don't you take that and I'll stay out here?" Daithi asked and Tyler cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I'm not taking your bed," he said and Daithi rolled his eyes as he yawned again. "Well I was already sleeping on you, might as well join me then. I swear I won't kick you," he teased and Tyler flushed, rolling his eyes.
"I'll just sleep with my gloves on then, but sure," he said amused and Daithi shrugged. "I've got some cloth ones if that'll make you more comfortable. Those leather ones probably aren't very comfortable," he offered and Tyler flexed his hands in front of him.
"They're broken in, I barely notice them anymore. Thanks though," he said, getting up and stretching. Daithis eyes landed on the strip of skin peeking out from under Tyler's shirt before quickly glancing away, standing and heading into the bedroom.
Tyler followed, Daithi hyperaware of his presence. "You can raid my dresser if you want," he offered, opening a drawer and pulling some shorts out. Tyler nodded awkwardly, grabbing the first pair he found and disappearing into the bathroom.
Daithi changed quickly, running his hands through his hair before stopping. What was he doing? He shook his head and quickly got into bed, slipping under the comforter and picking up his phone.
Tyler returned a minute later, standing awkwardly by the bed. Daithi patted the blanket with a smirk and said, "I don't bite."
Tyler rolled his eyes and slipped into the bed with him, body practically radiating tension. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to Tyler, I'm not making you," Daithi said quietly and Tyler shook his head, his body slowly relaxing.
"No, sorry. I've just never shared a bed with anyone, never risked it in case they took my gloves off," he said quietly and Daithi shrugged. "You don't have to worry about me doing that, so just relax," he said amused and Tyler grinned at him.
He got more comfortable against the pillow and Daithi set his phone down to lay down properly. He was still very exhausted from the long week, and feeling the gentle aura coming off Tyler was putting him out again.
"Night Ty," he mumbled, eyes drifting shut. "Night Daithi," Tyler's quiet reply came a second later, Daithi smiling faintly as he slipped off to sleep.
Ugh short chapter, but I had no plans for it lol I just wanted to get Lui better incorporated into the story, he's important to the plot lol this isn't going to be a very long story, but oh well lol I hope yall enjoyed! Kisses!!
~Banana