when it comes down to it, would you stand in front of a bullet? (p)

david tennant

talk less, smile more.
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Alexander looked to him in some surprise as he heard his laugh. He appreciated that the other male believed that things wouldn’t get ruined between them if he had asked Sylas out and got denied. “Really? I’m glad you think so. I just felt like I would’ve been so awkward around you afterwards. I would’ve just blushed and stuttered the entire time.” He confessed with his own laugh then. He always overthought certain things, especially when it can’t to relationships. He was really attached to the other male. He was one of the only people that he could confide in. It was another reason for him to be honest with Sylas about his other job. “Me too. You probably are one of my only friends,” He paused, shaking his head lightly,” I just now am realizing how pathetic that sounds, but it is true.” He spoke with another laugh. He always felt like he had a weird reaction to certain things. Sylas didn’t seem to mind it though.



He glanced around the area surrounding the table. The streets weren’t too busy. They were lucky enough to get here after rush hour. That was one of the things that he hated most about living in the city. It was necessary for him though. He wouldn’t be able to have the jobs he did if it wasn’t for being here. He turned his gaze to focus back on the other male. “Well, if everything goes good tonight, maybe you can pay next time.” He offered. He was hoping that he wasn’t coming on too strong. He could feel the other male touching his foot. It brought a light pink shade to his cheeks as well as his own smile. “Getting touchy, aren’t we?” He teased, trying to overcome his embarrassment. He was grateful that the lighting in the restaurant was on the dimmer side. He didn’t want for Sy to see just how flustered he could get.



“I only might have one. Usually wine gets me more relaxed so I can sleep better. I don’t think I am going to have that issues tonight though.” He stated. He was hoping that he would pass out by the time he would end up laying down on his bed. He perked up when he noticed the waiter coming over. “Can we get two glasses of cabernet sauvignon please? Also, can I get a glass of water on the side too?” He inquired. He still had no clue what he actually wanted to order yet. The menu was rather large and fancy. It seemed like everything on it would be amazing. “Any plans for the weekend?” He turned his focus back to Sylas once the waiter left to get their drinks. “I just can’t believe we actually have a weekend off for once.” He added. He was itching to tell the other male already about being in the CIA. He hated keeping secrets from people he cared about. It had been hard enough to keep it from him for this long.


definitely debating on having Alex spill the beans ))
 
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Sy looked over to Alex curiously, studying him for a moment before lightly shaking his head in disagreement. "I've never been the greatest at making friends," he admitted. That was what dates were for, wasn't it? Telling the other party little facts about yourself and the small things that made you the kind of person that they would be interested in? Hell, even though he and Alex had known one another for a while and gotten pretty close in that time, Sy still hadn't spoken much about certain aspects of himself, mostly due to the fact that they'd just never come up at work. A date, however, was a whole different ballgame, so to speak. "Back in high school, and even college, I guess, I was quiet in class and never talked to people unless I had to. I got along fine with my basketball team, but once we graduated and went to different unis and all that we sorta never spoke as much. So anyway, what I'm saying is, if you're pathetic for not having many friends then so I am," he finished with a light chuckle.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied with a grin that spoke the truth from the other end of the table, despite his words. Alex had always been easy to tease but Sy was finding this version much more fun. He was a coy, joking sort of person by nature, and of course, he loved seeing how other people would react. He'd never want to make anyone truly mad or uncomfortable, though, so he hoped that Alex didn't mind too much. "I suppose I'll accept that offer, though. I am, after all, driving you home," he hummed. He didn't actually expect payment for the ride or anything, though. In fact - and this probably sounded like way too much for someone who was only on their first date - he wouldn't mind driving Alex home all the time. Was that too much? Maybe. Good thing that he didn't have to admit it out loud, then.

He absentmindedly listened to Alex order the wine and a water for himself as well, distracted by looking at the menu once more. He really didn't know what he wanted; Sylas had never really been a picky eater, although he tended to have a strong disliking for tomatoes in anything. A sauce was fine, but if there were actual pieces of tomato, he was bound to be unhappy with it. That, of course, knocked many choices off of the menu for him, but definitely not enough to make it a clear cut choice. "Plans?" he echoed, looking back up to meet Alex's eyes. "Clean my apartment. . . sleep. . . spend time with my cat?" he asked, pausing between each item on the list to think. "You already know I don't have, like, friends to hang out with," he laughed, shaking his head. "We've been lovingly granted this time off, so I really should use it better, but I don't really do much, anyway. What about you? How will you be taking advantage of our free time?" he wondered with genuine curiosity.

ooc;; Alex should definitely spill the beans c;
 
Alexander fell silent as the other male responded to him. He would’ve expected for Sy to have a decent amount of friends. The other male was a rather pleasant person to be around after all. He hadn’t met someone like him before. He guessed that he was just due to the fact that they had clicked so well. They began to talk as if they had known each other for years when they first met. “Well I am glad to know you. You are the only thing that keeps me sane at work.” He confessed with a gentle chuckle. A light smile made its way onto his lips. He had a good feeling blossoming in him that the evening was going to go well for them. He was only hoping that the other male could view him in the same way after he told him the truth.

“Oh, don’t worry. I actually like when men get touchy. So feel free to continue playing footsie under the table.” He teased him in return. He had a goal to see the other male blush tonight. He didn’t know if he would be lucky enough to see it, but he would try his hardest. Sy was honestly just adorable and rather attractive. “Trust me when I say I appreciate it. With my luck, I would get murdered while walking home. Well, either that or I would fall asleep on the train and end up in a random part of the city.” He realized with a chuckle. While this may be their first date, he had known the other male for quite a long time now. He felt like things could progress more than expected.

He bit his bottom lip then, his happy expression fading some. “There is something I want to tell you.” He paused to take a deep breath. “I technically am not working for the company. Um, I actually work for the CIA. They assigned me at this company as a cover. That is why I don’t get that much sleep or am always busy on the weekends. I have field work that I have to do and it gets to be really messy.” He explained slowly. He really was terrified that the other male was going to view him in a different way now. “But I would love to have you come over this weekend if you wanted to. We could watch some movies and I could even cook for you.” He offered. He was rather nervous that Sy was going to hate him now.
 
Oh, so Alex enjoyed touchiness, then? That was good, because Sylas could be handsy, nearly possessively so, in fact. He liked to always be close to whoever he was dating, whether that just be sitting near enough for shoulders to touch, holding hands, playing footsie underneath the table, you name it. It was all part of the way that he showed his attraction, his interest in the other person. And, well, he was definitely interested in Alex; enough so to not even bother waiting for the second date before he really lost the ability to keep his distance from the other man. Now with permission granted, he found his foot raising up again, pressing against the man's ankle to signify that he got the message before, once again, dropping it back down to the floor. It was an ebb and flow - like the ocean - it wasn't very exciting if he let the touches get predictable after all.

Curiosity piqued, Sy dropped his menu flat against the table and leaned his elbows on it, supporting his upper body as he gave Alex his undivided attention.
'There is something I want to tell you' generally never boded well, and he was actually a little nervous that the man would breach a topic of such serious nature in the middle of their very first date. He never could have planned for nor expected the information that he got, and Alex brushed over it quickly, sweeping it under the rug as he asked Sy to come over to his place, as if he hadn't just dropped and absolute bombshell. "Wait, no, back up a second," he said after a. . . far too long period of silence in which he attempted to gather his thoughts and think of anything coherent to say.

Unfortunately, their waiter chose that exact moment to come over with their wine and water, and Sy had to school his face into one of neutrality as he thanked the man and begged of him more time to look at their menus before ordering. The distraction did, at least, give him more time to absorb the absolute shock of info. "So. What you're saying, is that you're like an, uh, agent? For the CIA? Working undercover? At the security firm?" He said, speaking so slowly, and with such punctuation on individual aspects of what really could have been one whole sentence. "Running off into the night and doing. . . whatever the hell it is that you do?" He leaned back in his chair and lifted a hand up to run it through his hair, releasing a slow breath past his lips as he did so. That was a lot to take in, and he said as much. "You're not messing with me, are you?"

He hadn't forgotten that the other man had asked him over, but Sy was a bit lost as to how to respond to that right now. He definitely, definitely wanted to. But if this whole CIA thing was true, then he. . . felt unsure. He needed more information. He'd thought that he'd known Alex pretty well, but apparently the man had been hiding plenty of secrets.
 
Alexander was smiling gently at the other male from across the table. He liked touchiness because it made him feel secure. It made him feel as if the man he was dating truly did care for him in a way that he couldn’t described. He didn’t have a way to fully explain it. It just caused for a warm feeling to blossom in his chest. It made him so very happy. He was grateful that Sy seemed to like the same sort of things. He had been actually worried that he wasn’t going to. But then again, the other male seemed to be the perfect person. He had never met anyone that made him happy in the way that the other male did. Sy has been the one to keep him smiling through the times where he was the most exhausted. He brought him coffee. He helped keep him from getting in trouble with his boss. He owed him quite a lot.



He bit his bottom lip then at his words. He knew that this wouldn’t go over well. He was going to be rather difficult to explain. “Yes. They sent me here to keep an eye on parts of the security in this part of the country. I do field missions on nights and weekends. That is why I have so many issues. My sleeping is affected due to the hours I work as well as how beat up I get during them. Currently most of my body is bruised. I can show you if it will help you believe me.” He assured. He carefully began to roll up his sleeve. The different bruises showed on his arm then. He was so nervous that his hands were shaking. Once the other male saw, he unrolled his sleeve and fixed it.



“I would not mess with you about this all. You are the only person that knows about it too.” He confessed. He bit lightly on his bottom lip. “This is the only thing I have been hiding from you as well. You know everything else about me. I just couldn’t hide it from you any longer. I hate having secrets from people that I care about.” He added. He reached a hand across the table to carefully take Sy’s. He was terrified that he wouldn’t believe him or that he would get up and walk away. He hadn’t been this vulnerable with someone before either. He usually tried to hide his emotions. He wouldn’t know how to feel if he was rejected because of it.
 
It wasn't necessarily that he thought Alex would just lie to him about something like this. He'd certainly concealed the truth of it for a long time, but that was a different type of lying, in his eyes. No, to maliciously create a convoluted backstory about oneself, just to fool another person - Sy didn't think that the other man would do that to him. The bruises on the skin bared to him were just. . . the final nail in the coffin, so to speak. He ached to reach out and touch, just to provide some level of comfort; they looked like they hurt. But, they were covered up and hidden away, just as quickly as they'd come.

Alex's hand making contact with his own caused Sy to release all the air that he'd been holding in one slow breath. He twisted his hand to tangle their fingers together, holding on tightly. "I believe you," he sighed, looking up to the other with honest, open eyes and seeing the same expression and emotions mirrored back to him. Although, he noted that Alex also looked visibly nervous. Had he been afraid that Sy wouldn't accept the truth? That he'd be mad or upset? "I believe you," he repeated, nodding his head slightly. "It's just. . . a lot to take in. I never expected anything like that. I guess that means you're good at you job, right?" he asked with a quiet, nervous chuckle of his own.


"If - if you still want me to, I wouldn't mind going over to yours. I guess I better take advantage of a weekend where you're not busy, y'know?" he continued, shifting his gaze to look down at their entwined hands, and the place where Alex's arm - and the bruises he sported - disappeared underneath the sleeve of his jacket. "But when I do, would - would," he began, although hesitated. He was. . . nervous to ask, "you show me again?" he asked, briefly releasing the man's hand to tap gently at his arm where the injuries lay, before shifting back and connecting their hands again. "And tell me more about it?"
 
Alexander’s body was tense, something that he hadn’t experienced in a while. A few shaky breaths escaped his lips. He was terrified that Sy would not believe him or that he would call him a liar. He just knew that he needed to hide it due to the fact that this could cause a lot of trouble if anyone knew. He trusted the other male enough to finally tell him it. Finally telling the news made it feel as if there was a weight being lifted off of his chest. He took some more breaths then, calming himself down some more. He lifted his gaze to look up at the other male once again. He couldn’t read his expression fully, but he was hoping that it was good.



“You do?” He asked in some disbelief. A smile spread its way onto his lips. “Thank you. Trust me, I hated hiding this from you. I wanted to tell you everything as soon as we started talking. I am terrible with secrets. I just didn’t want to put you in any danger.” His job had a lot of downsides to it. People would never truly understand what all he went through. That was something that he wasn’t looking forward to telling Sy. The other male would have to know about it all though before they moved on. He guessed that he could wait until the weekend to reveal it. “I am. Unfortunately, a lot of criminals don’t like me. At least none of them know where I live.” He was trying to lighten up the mood some more.



“I would love that. Then you can see my rather clean apartment and my cat. She is such a little cutie pie. I am sure that you will love her.” He informed. He was rambling on a little bit, but he couldn’t help himself any. He held onto the other male’s hand still. It kept him more comforted. “Of course. There are a lot more bruises all over my body that are worse than the ones on my arms. You can see all of them over the weekend.” He informed. He wouldn’t mind showing them all. He was very comfortable around the other male. “I would love to tell you more about it.” He commented. He looked up when the waiter came back over. He quickly ordered then.
 
Sy had to work very hard to keep a displeased frown off of his face at the other man's words. At least the criminals didn't know where he lived? Fuck, what if they did? It was. . . slowly dawning on his just how dangerous Alex's job was. Yeah, he'd seen the bruises, and obviously those had been pretty bad, but it all was a lot to take in, after all. Besides, getting roughed up while out on the job was a lot different than being tracked down and attacked in your own home! He was suddenly very scared for the life of the other man. Hell, maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell him this. He'd just gotten a date with the man, and now he was probably going to be worried about Alex's safety every damn day.

Still, he didn't want to bring the mood of their date down so he forced himself to take a deep breath and relax. Nothing bad was going to happen here, after all. "How do yo have time to clean and take care of a cat if you're always busy?" he asked, genuinely curious. Hell, half of the time he had difficulties keeping his own place taken care of, and he didn't even work for the CIA. The work at the security firm kept them busy enough; Sy didn't even want to think of how the man was managing to juggle both, but there was definitely a lack of sleep there that he couldn't help but disapprove of. No wonder Alex had kept falling asleep at his desk earlier.

The waiter came around once more, obviously believing that he'd given them enough time, and Sy scrambled to look over the menu once more as Alex had his own order taken. Still a bit conflicted, he settled for a simple cream pasta dish, and the waiter nodded before walking off. Whatever, it wasn't like anything here was bound to be terrible, after all. With his free hand, he reached out and took his glass of wine, raising it to his lips for a sip. "When would you like me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
 
Alexander’s job was truly one of the most dangerous that he knew of. The people he dealt with were some of the most dangerous in the world. He wasn’t looking forward to being able to tell him about it all. Sy might just see that it isn’t worth all of the pain that he might cause him to go through. He let out a gentle breath then before he forced a smile onto his lips. He was just hoping that he was going to be able to make it through his contract easily. Once he was done with it, he could go into some protection. They could help him get a house somewhere and live a decent life. He was hoping that life might end up involving Sy in the future.



He shrugged his shoulders lightly as he let out a gentle chuckle. He wasn’t able to help himself any. “I figure it out. When I can’t sleep, I always get up and clean the apartment. The cat just had an automatic feeder and water. I have a bunch of toys for her. She sleeps in my bed at night. Her name is Lola and she is a Norwegian forest cat. She is one of the loves of my life.” He informed with a smile. He couldn’t wait for the other male to meet her. He was sure that Lola would love him. She didn’t like a lot of people, but there was something special about him. “I can’t wait for you to meet her.” He added.



“Why don’t you come over at noon on Saturday? That way we have plenty of time to have a movie marathon and I can make a nice meal for dinner. What do you want to have? I can make anything you would like.” He offered. He reached forward to grab his own wine glass. He gladly drank from it. He really needed the alcohol in his system. He was glad that Sy hadn’t pulled his hand away just yet. The touchiness was truly exactly what he needed. He focused fully back on the other male. “I’m really glad that I met you Sy.”
 
Sy was, admittedly - and Alex knew this if he remembered when they were talking about it - a cat person. He liked dogs fine, but the simplicity of cats, their soft fur, and the way that they were willing to curl up almost anywhere had always drawn his attention and appealed to him more. He had also grown up with cats, so their presence was something that he was used to and would probably feel weird without, now. "One of the loves?" he asked with a teasing grin. "But, you'll have to come to mine and meet Skylar, then. I know she'd like you. I mean, she likes anyone who gives her attention, but," he said, trailing off with a light shrug of one shoulder. His own little Siamese cat would be glad for the company of Sy's. . . boyfriend? Is that what they were? Thinking about it, he found himself desperately wanting that label to apply.

"Noon is perfect," he agreed, smiling wide. "That gives me time to sleep in, too." The sentiment offered to him caused a gentle blush to rise across his cheeks, and Sy ducked his gaze, grabbing for his own wine. "I'm glad, too," he agreed, fondness in his tone. Honestly, he couldn't imagine where he'd be in his life right now if he hadn't met Alex. Sure, he enjoyed his job fine, but something about going into work each day to see the other man's face made it all the better. The question now, was, how long would Alex remain there? If it wasn't a legitimate job, and was instead more of a cover, then how long would he be required to be there? Where would he go, once his time was up?

Those questions were probably a bit too heavy for their first date, though, so Sy found it to be relieving when the waiter came back with their food. Sy was reluctant to let up his grip on Alex's hand, but the silverware required the use of two. He foot, however, did find its way and remain in place by the other's ankle. His meal was, predictably, quite tasty, and Sy found himself enjoying it wholeheartedly. This was definitely a restaurant worthy of a repeat visit.
 
i am so sorry i never responded! the notification never came through!!))
 
Alexander’s expression softened as he listened to him. He was unable to help himself. After spending so much time with the other male in work, it was amazing to finally see him in a relaxed setting. He had been wanting to ask him on a date for quite a long time now. It made him happy to finally be able to bring him here. He was planning on paying for the meal. He made extra money due to this only being a cover for him. He would be quite upset if his actual job didn’t pay him enough. It was almost enough to make him want to snort out of amusement. He nodded his head some then, a smile on his lips. “Yes, one of the loves. You will just have to stick around a bit longer to find out what the other loves are.” He teased lightly. His eyes widened as he heard his next words. “I would love that! It would make me so happy.” He guessed.



He was realizing how much of a child he really was the more he relaxed around Sy. He hadn’t been like this around anyone before. He guessed that he had fallen for the other male without even knowing it. The thought brought a gentle blush onto his cheeks. “Alright. I will send you the address and all tomorrow.” He informed. He was growing rather excited to be able to spend more time with him like this. He bit his bottom lip gently then. “You are the only person who had kept me sane this past year. I am so grateful for you and I am grateful that we are finally able to come out on this date. I care for you so greatly.” He added. It was very sentimental, but true.



He cleared his throat gently when the food was brought over to their table. He offered the waitress a smile and thanked her. He then gladly began to eat. A gentle hum escaped his lips. “This is incredible.” He admitted in a murmur. He knew that he would definitely be coming back here. He could feel the gentle touch to his ankle still. It made him even calmer. He wished that he could still hold his hand. He would just return to doing so as soon as they finished eating.
 
Sylas found himself smiling widely at the offered sentiment from the other man. So wide, in fact, that it was crinkling the corners of his eyes; the perfect picture of pure joy which he. . . didn't usually show. Oh, sure, Sy was a generally happy guy, but rarely did things make him feel this elated. Rarely was he ever so relaxed and content in the presence of another person. The words that he'd been given just felt so raw and real that he couldn't help it. To enjoy someone's company was one thing, but to be grateful for it was another thing entirely, and he was having a bit of a difficult time believing that someone felt that way in regards to himself. "You're too much. Gonna kill me," he huffed, ducking his head down so that Alex would be unable to see what was likely a very obvious blush rising to the high points of his cheeks.

Since he was already looking down to his plate when it arrived, Sy resolved to give it the attention that it deserved, picking up his utensils and setting to work digging into his meal. It was absolutely delicious, so he was glad that the food on their first date hadn't been a dud. "We'll have to come back sometime," he hummed thoughtfully, pausing in his eating to reach for his glass and take a sip. After all, he was feeling hopeful that there would be many more dates to come in their future.

They ate mostly in silence, occasionally commenting to each other about one thing or another, but the entire time, Sy was soothed by the presence of Alex's ankle against his foot. They couldn't hold hands while they were eating, but even sitting across the table from one another, they could still be close. "I'm. . . really, really glad that we finally did this," he admitted with a light chuckle once he was finished eating and putting his cutlery down upon his nearly-empty plate. The waitress hadn't come by for a bit, but the next time that she did, Sy would be sure to ask her for the check, since they were both close to being ready to leave.

ooc;; no worries at all ! <3
 
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Alexander could see the way that the smile grew on his face. It caused for his heart to warm in a way that he hadn’t experienced before. He never thought that he would feel this way towards someone. He had forced himself to keep his emotions cut off due to his job. He never truly had the time to get to know people in the way that he had with Sy. His own smile finally came onto his lips as he heard his comment. “Well you are going to be stuck with my sweet words and flirtations for quite a long time if you decide you want to keep me around. I don’t make the rules.” He winked at his with his own light chuckle. He couldn’t tell that the other male was blushing. He would just find him even more adorable if he did know of it.



He focused fully on his food, carefully eating. He would pause every now and then to take a sip from his wine glass. The alcohol helped him relax even more. He nodded his head some, continuing to eat. His mind was already going through all the different dates that they might be able to go on. He was rather excited for the other male to come over this weekend. It would be a nice change of scenery for them. He kept quite though, mostly just letting his thoughts consume him.



It was only when he heard Sylas speak once more did he respond. He carefully placed his fork down and leaned back in his chair some. His expression softened. “Me too. I wish that we could do something like this every night. I really can’t wait for this weekend.” He confessed. He reached a hand out to grab his wine glass to finish its contents. He then leaned forward and reached out to take his hand once again. “Thank you for agreeing to come. I really have had a wonderful time.” He added. He was more than willing to pay for the meal that evening. After all, he had offered for them to come and it would be his treat. He hoped that he wouldn’t mind that.