[Baconwizard]

Cosmos felt a smal twinge of dissappointment that they weren't going to a market. He felt like they could have used some of the things that were sold at markets. Fresh fruits and such. Narcyz needed his nutrients. But whatever this 'Waffle House' was, it sounded like it had the necessary carbohydrates and sugar. Cosmos wasn't quite sure if Waffle House was actually made of waffles, or if the name was a metaphor for the waffles inside. At any rate, Cosmos was willing to eat any food, regardless of nutritional content. Nodding in agreement, Cosmos shifted away the covers and began to get up. "I... believe it's still in my shirt pocket from yesterday. All forty dollars. If you'll excuse me, I need to visit the toilet..." Cosmos got up onto his bare feet and padded over the cold floor to the tiny bathroom.

[zapdragon555]

Narcyz was already moving towards the makeshift dirty clothes hamper and pulling out Cosmos' shirt, shifting it around in his hold until he found the pocket. "Mm, alright--I'll use it when you're done," he called, then blinked, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "Ehh... so you, like... know how to use it, right?" he followed up, a light flush of embarrassment on his face in asking, but he really didn't know to what extent a god would know about basic human processes. He seemed to know eating, so the other end of that seemed like it would come natural. Hopefully. Narcyz really wasn't inclined to explain. "Ah, found it," he murmured, pulling out the money and doing a quick count of it to make sure all of it was there, then pocketing it. He went over to the window, blinking as he found it opened, and he shivered in the draft before closing it. Jacket was definitely in order. "Also, did you bring a coat or anything? S'cold as yeti balls out there," he called a final time, angling his head towards the bathroom as he pulled on a jacket.

[Baconwizard]

Cosmos paused before he closed the bathroom door, staring at Narcyz with what could only be an affronted expression. "I know how to use the toilet, thank you very much!" Letting out a huffy breath, Cosmos closed the door with a brisk snap. There came a flush, and the sound of the faucet running, which covered up Cosmos's muttering about his knowledge of vast subject areas, including simple human tasks. The god was just opening the bathroom door before Narcyz greeted him with 'yeti balls,' again surprising Cosmos. He could never tell with this human. "Ah--yes, I believe I brought one." Picking through his neatly-arranged suitcase, Cosmos pulled out a dark pea coat, holding it up for Narcyz to see. "Will this be sufficient for the weather? It must be chilly, living right next to the ocean."

[zapdragon555]

Slipping on his shoes and trying not to chuckle at Cosmos' indignation, Narcyz glanced up at Cosmos as he held up the coat, brows raising. "More than 'sufficient,' Coz', that thing'd look hot as hell on you," he said with a grin, then blinked, catching himself. Ah, he needed to be a little more careful--after all of that talk about taking things slow. But... what was a harmless compliment. "What I'm saying is... nice coat," he chuckled, a sheepish expression on his face as he walked over, reaching out to brush the fabric of the coat's collar. "Yeah, it get's pretty cold up here. Always wanted to go visit somewhere warm, but I never got around to it..." he mused, then smiled, taking the coat from Cosmos and opening it, reaching to throw it around Cosmos' shoulders and begin buttoning it, fingers slowing as he reached the lower buttons, wanting to drag the moment out just a little bit longer. As nice as food sounded... the idea of just standing there with Cosmos' presence was a very tempting one.

[Baconwizard]

Cosmos flushed, but not really because of Narcyz's words, but because of the obvious admiration in the human's eyes. "Oh," Cosmos continued to stare at the human as Narcyz put the coat on for him. "Thank you, Narcyz." Putting his arms through the jacket, Cosmos helped with the buttons, glancing every so once in awhile at Narcyz's face. "I'm assuming that 'hot as hell' is meant in an attractive sense?" He asked, a smile tugging on the corner of his mouth. "Although, even if it is meant in a literal sense, that still is a positive thing, considering that you say it's pretty cold outside." Cosmos chuckled, somehow very pleased at the compliment. The god reached out and held Narcyz's hands in between his, keeping the human's touch on his jacket from pulling away. "Shall we go? You will have to lead me around; I can't keep all the maps straight in my mind."

[zapdragon555]

Narcyz's face split into a smile at that, a breathy laugh escaping him as he leaned forward to lightly thunk his forehead against Cosmos'. "Yeah, let's go with both meanings," he murmured, face flushed with embarrassment as he leaned away again. He blinked as Cosmos took hold of his hands, and he looked up into the other boy's dark eyes, his soft expression shifting into a grin. "Now that, I can do. I know this city like the back of my hand," he chuckled, fingers shifting to lace between Cosmos'. He held them for a moment, then sucked in a steadying breath and stepped away, releasing one of the god's hands and holding the other tight. "Let's go; it's just a few blocks away, towards the ocean," he said, leading Cosmos towards the stairs and by extension front door of the shop.

[Baconwizard]

The sensation of Narcyz's hand weaving through his made Cosmos feel like he was going to explode, or maybe melt into a puddle of happiness. It was amazing how just one part of the human body could be so sensitive and reactive to touch. The nervous system, Cosmos reminded himself, it was a cluster of cells that sent information to the brain. A marvelous mechanism indeed, but it struck Cosmos funny how the brain reacted to a simple action such as holding hands. Through the course of this internal monologue, Narcyz had already locked up and they were walking through the street. The sun was out, peeping through gray clouds, lending a little warmth to take the edge off of the bitter sea wind. "I've never seen the ocean before," Cosmos said to Narcyz, his dark brown eyes alight with a suppressed excitement. "Of course, I've seen them, but observing human life and participating in it are completely different things."

[zapdragon555]

So the sun was out--that was a rarity if Narcyz ever saw one. He offhandedly entertained the idea that it was because Cosmos was there, that someone as sunny as the god was could chase away any cloud. But those were silly bullshit ideas, as much as Narcyz liked to think on them--then again... if Cosmos did still have some god in him, as Narcyz had seen the previous night in he god's eyes... then maybe it wasn't so farfetched. "That so?" Narcyz asked, glancing back at Cosmos with a small smirk that quickly melded into a grin. "It's pretty damn cool. Better out west... but this ocean's pretty good, too. Wish it were a little warmer," he chuckled, then smiled with a small shrug, falling into step beside Cosmos, their fingers still intertwined. "I feel like you've said something kinda like that one time before," Narcyz murmured thoughtfully. "That last thing you said." Ah, when had that been...

Given they'd only been in contact with each other for two days or so... Narcyz had to pin the deja-vu feeling on that dream that hadn't been a dream. Right... Narcyz's grip tightened on Cosmos' hand for a moment, memories flickering over his vision and distracting him, so much that he didn't catch the glaring sneer of a tall man walking towards them down the sidewalk, nor did he acknowledge it until the man had passed them and effectively clipped Narcyz on the shoulder. Narcyz stumbled with a startled noise, using Cosmos for leverage as he shot a look back at the man. "Hey, asshole, watch--" Narcyz cut off as the man turned around and fixed Narcyz with a snide smirk, and Narcyz felt his mouth go dry. He did not want to start off this day running into an ex, especially not Simon, especially not with Cosmos in tow.

"Who's the shorty, babe?" the man asked, a cooing note in his voice. "New toy?"

[Baconwizard]

Cosmos smiled back at Narcyz, something swelling with warmth in his chest as he watched the blonde boy talk. Narcyz had a sharp, lilting pattern to his voice that Cosmos found pleasant to listen to; it was much different than the way Cosmos heard himself speak. Cosmos's voice came out slow and quiet, while Narcyz's voice was fast-paced and full of the sparks of energy that were reflected in Narcyz's eyes. Cosmos glanced away from those same eyes, cheeks reddening as he realized that his thoughts were focusing on Narcyz way too much. It was hard not to, when they were connected by hand like this. "Yes, that... does sound like something I would say," Cosmos replied with a small, self conscious chuckle. "The life of a participator is full of things that surprise you. An observer does not have the opportunity to be surprised very much."

No sooner than the words had left Cosmos's mouth, a passerby had knocked into Narcyz's shoulder, sending the human reeling back. Cosmos's hand slipped out of Narcyz's out of surprise, and he gaped at the spiteful expression on the stranger's face. The god didn't have to touch Narcyz to understand the tension in his shoulders, and the paleness in his face that wasn't just shock. The two must have known each other. Cosmos frowned, not liking the feeling of the confrontation unfolding before him, and he carefully reached out and put a hand on Narcyz's arm, trying to calm the blonde boy.

[zapdragon555]

Narcyz had been tongue-tied for a moment as he met Simon's light eyes behind dark-framed glasses, and the soft hand on his shoulder made him twitch, then settle, his expression shifting into something sour, but more contained. "Most exes don't call each other 'babe,' babe," Narcyz muttered, stepping closer to Cosmos and putting an arm around the god's waist, pulling him a little bit closer as he held Simon's eyes.

Simon's smirk shifted into a bemused scowl, staring down at Cosmos for a long moment. "Tch," he muttered, stepping around Narcyz to look Cosmos over, a brow raising. Unimpressed? Jealous? Narcyz couldn't tell which, and Simon caught him staring as his eyes flicked back to Narcyz's. "So who's this? Which innocent boy are you corrupting this time?" he asked with a pointed smile that made Narcyz freeze, blood running cold for a few moments before the remark rolled off of him--theoretically, and Narcyz smiled at Simon, unaware of his nails almost digging into Cosmos' side through the coat.

"Cosmo," he said, tugging on Cosmos for the god to follow him, every inch of his body tense. "Come on," he whispered once they'd turned away, the light tone in his voice replaced with a tense, bridled anger. "Don't look back at him. Just ignore him--"

Simon watched them go, then sneered and whistled a sharp catcall. "Bet he's a little virgin, isn't he, babe? I know how you just love those," he called, then snickered and turned on his heel, walking away from the pair and leaving Narcyz red in the face and cold in the fingers.

[Baconwizard]

Everything about this conversation was confusing. From what Cosmos could gather, Narcyz and Simon had been in an intimate relationship, but were now separated. Simon was certainly full of angry words and a spitting tone. Cosmos blinked as Narcyz called him by something that sounded very similar to his name, but wasn't his name, his feet shuffling as Narcyz pulled him away. Simon's words seemed to drip cold down Cosmos's back, and he shivered, huddling closer to Narcyz for warmth. "What an unpleasant person," he murmured, trying not to disobey Narcyz's sharp command, even though he wanted to look back at Simon. The god's dark eyes flickered over the tight expression on the younger boy's face, and he brought an arm to wrap around Narcyz's shoulder. "Are you alright?" He asked in a soft voice. Cosmos had a suspicion that Narcyz wasn't okay, judging by his flushed face and the fingers that were clutching at his coat, but he still wanted to make double sure.

[zapdragon555]

Narcyz was inwardly seething, his breath puffing out of his nose in short, stalled clouds of steam. As Cosmos' arm drew around his shoulders, he stiffened, then seemed to melt slightly, his tight expression falling as he leaned into the touch. "Yeah," he murmured softly, his vicegrip on Cosmos' coat loosening so that he could slip an arm around the god's waist, hugging him back. "Just... ugh, what an asshole," he muttered, frowning. "I wish you hadn't met him. Ugh, and I just stood there, too, like--mmgh. I would've shoved my foot up his ass, but he probably would've enjoyed it." His words came out one part venom, two parts fatigue, and just a hint of old humor. He glanced up at Cosmos, then smiled slightly, his arm squeezing around the god's waist. "C'mon. It's chilly out here, and there's warm waffles ahead," he said, pointing up to a rather backwoods looking restaurant with no cars whatsoever in the parking place. It almost looked closed--if not for the light on inside.

[Baconwizard]

Cosmos muttered something in sympathy as Narcyz struggled to voice his emotions, one hand gently rubbing against Narcyz's shoulder. It was the least he could do, really, and it felt more natural than doing anything else. Cosmos didn't feel like Narcyz would have appreciated a lecture on how infinitely small and insignificant Simon was in comparison to everything else in the universe.

Blinking wide at Narcyz's final jab at Simon, it took Cosmos a few beats to comprehend the lewd statement, and he burst out into laughter. Quickly stifling it to giggles with his free hand, Cosmos shook slightly as he walked, breathing hard as he chuckled. "Y-yes," he managed to say, wiping his eye with his hand, grinning from ear to ear. "Let's––let's go get some... waffles." Waffles were those sugary breakfast pastries, if Cosmos had to guess. Still laughing slightly, Cosmos leaned on Narcyz as they crossed the parking lot to the door of the restaurant.

[zapdragon555]

Oh, Narcyz was just about reeling from that laugh. It had such a warm, low, melodious quality to it, and Narcyz couldn't help the grin breaking out on his face as they walked into the chilly air conditioning. Cold outside, cold inside--but at this point, Narcyz didn't mind much. Take his arm away from Cosmos' side, Narcyz grinned up at him, nodding his head. "You go sit somewhere. I'll go order us the special," he said, clapping the god's shoulder gently and pointing to the row of stools at the counter. He trotted off to the other end of the counter, already pulling out the money as he began chatting with the waitress and ordering their food. He hoped Cosmos liked whipped cream... it looked like there was going to be a lot of it.

Simon's words still stung. They wouldn't go away for awhile, and Narcyz knew that. But at the very least, he could damn well stuff his face full of sugary breakfast food with his boyfriend to try to chase it out. This was a day for celebration, anyway, he supposed with a smile, making his way over to where Cosmos had sat down.

[Baconwizard]

Cosmos returned the smile Narcyz offered him with gratitude, the dingy atmosphere of the diner seeming to turn warm and full of light at the human being's touch. The radio was playing something that sounded ten years out of style, but the speakers were old and faded and it melded into the background noise of frypans and kitchen appliances humming perfectly. Cosmos situated himself on the last stool, the one closest to the wall covered in pictures of people posing in front of the diner. Peeling his jacket off, Cosmos watched the hustle and bustle of the semi-crowded diner, liking the pleasant lull from the outside world it afforded.

When Narcyz came back and sat down, sending his swivel-stool sliding in the opposite direction, Cosmos smiled, catching himself on the countertop. "What is the special? If you don't mind my asking." He asked, a note of curiosity in his voice.