Lance usually hung around and chatted to the various people hoarding him for attention, but today he was one of the first people to leave the class and rush out to his car. He had purposefully parked close to the gate, he knew Inari would leave in that direction. And surely Inari would recognize his car, right? Even still, Lance put on his glasses. I can find him easier if I can actually see.

Today Lance was wearing some khakis and a white sweater, a brown leather jacket over top. He also had on a black beanie. It might not have been the most fashionable accessory, but he was cold when he was leaving that morning, and he just happened to have the beanie in the back of his car. Damn, I can see people's breath in September. There must be a cold front passing through. Is that how weather works? I don't know, I'm not a meteorologist. He searched the crowd of students heading to their cars or walking out of the gates. He saw Kurt and Ram, whispering to each other, and glaring off into the distance. He followed their gaze and that's when he finally found Inari. Lance quickly weaved his way in between cars and people to catch up to Inari before he could step off school grounds.

"Boo," Lance said gently, mocking Inari's prank on him yesterday. He cut him off by stepping in front of him.

"Did you think you were being stealthy?" Inari asked, turning to Lance with a smartass grin. "I saw you coming in my peripheral vision, Blue." He teased.

Lance matched his smartass expression, tilting his head slightly and reaching up to lightly touch his colored bangs that were sticking out beneath his beanie. "No, I didn't think I was being stealthy at all, you loon," He chuckled.

"I'd rather be called a bear." Inari replied honestly.

"I wasn't trying to scare you, only greet you."

Inari chuckled. "Then, you did well." He teased.

He then smiled up at him and held out the container of pasta salad he was carrying around. "Hey," His smile grew into a grin, "I made this and had extra." Please, just take it. Lance thought. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, but ignored it for the time being.

"You made this for me?" Inari raised an eyebrow with a skeptic expression.

"I was going to give it to you at lunch, but didn't see you there, so it might not be cold anymore. Might wanna chill it in the fridge before you eat it."

"Alright." Inari replied. "I'll put it in the fridge when I get home."

"Good," Lance handed him the food with a satisfied smirk. His eyes flitted to the side as he noticed Kurt and Ram still staring at Inari, and now him as well. They didn't seem to be making any aggressive actions at the moment, though, so he looked back at Inari's face. "So, um. . . need a ride?" Lance asked persistently with a chuckle. If he says no this time, maybe I should give up on trying to get him to ride in my car. I'm just fishing for compliments on it anyways. I just want to hear him express some admiration for it. That's selfish of me, isn't it?

You really don't like walking in the city, do you? Inari laughed softly. Well, to be fair, maybe the place he has in mind is a bit far out. "Sure."

Lance lifted his eyebrows. "Really!? Yes!" He punched the air with his left fist and dashed to his car. He made sure all the doors were unlocked and, before Inari got in, he threw his backpack and any other loose items into the back seat so that he could sit in the passenger seat. 

Does his dislike of walking in the city lead him to be that relieved I agreed to the car ride? He reached for his car door, noticed it was locked, then waited patiently. Mmm. Messy. I wonder if he's the type to keep his apartment - if he lives away from his parents - , or his room - if he still lives with his parents - an atrocious mess. He thought, chuckling as he heard the noises of things being tossed about inside the car.

Inari took a seat in the front passenger side, and immediately opened the pasta salad. He used a spare disposable fork he'd packed with his lunch just in case the first one blew away with the wind.

Let's see. . . what music did he say he liked? Lance thought as he fiddled with the radio. Lo-fi? I don't even know if they have a station for that. He ended up turning off the radio and connecting his phone to a small blue-tooth speaker that was hanging from his rearview mirror. He placed his phone, its screen open to Spotify, in Inari's lap once he sat down. "Here you go, you can DJ for us." He let out a small laugh and then began to pull out of the gates to the school.

After you act as my poison tester. I'm sure you'll talk your way out of it if there's something wrong with it. Inari thought, temporarily ignoring the phone set on his lap. In the back of his mind, he found it incredibly considerate that Lance immediately delegate DJ-duties to him.

When Lance noticed Inari start to open the pasta salad he said, "I thought you were going to chill it firs-"

"-I eat pasta salad warm all the time. Sometimes I just don't feel like waiting for it to cool when I've just made it."

"Oh," Lance said. "Well, okay."

Inari leaned over, bringing the bite up to Lance's mouth. "I'll need you to take a few bites first." His eyes held a soft look of 'I can't trust you, yet'. We did just meet, after all. . . if I didn't take pills from him yesterday, I can't just take food from him, today. . .

Lance looked down at the pasta on the fork, then over at Inari with a look that said, 'You've got to be kidding'.

Despite Lance's expression, Inari remained serious. I'm not sorry. Prove this is safe to eat. He thought. It's only fair.

Lance sighed when he realized that Inari was serious. He shook his head with a playful smile. "Now, see, I can't do that. If the poison gets into my body, I'll crash the car." He laughed as he took a left hand turn out of the school.

"I'll just throw it out, then." Inari laughed in reply, but his serious expression didn't change. His arm didn't move as he kept waiting for Lance to take the bite.

"Just kidding." Lance took the pasta off the fork, careful not to slobber too much on the utensil. "There, see?" He said after he swallowed his bite of the food.

Inari used his other hand to toss the food around in the Tupperware, then brought another bite to Lance's mouth. "One more. Not all poisons take effect after one bite."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Do you really think I'm clever enough to create or find a poison that will kill you after you've already finished the meal?" He asked before taking the second bite.

"Thank you." Inari replied, finally shutting the Tupperware.

Lance let out a soft chuckle. "You are going to be a good investigator for your caution alone, you know that?" He gave Inari a sideways glance before returning his gaze to the road.

"It was incredibly considerate of you to make me some food. I'll enjoy it later." He used a tissue to wipe the fork down, then placed both the fork and Tupperware in his backpack. "Tomorrow, I'll return the favor." He added with a warm smile.

He smirked and shook his head. "You don't have to do that. It was more of a thank you meal for agreeing to befriend me and for trusting me. . . Though now I'm starting to realize maybe I thanked you too soon. Now, where are we headed?" He asked. It had become obvious that Lance was purposefully driving slowly because he was not yet sure of their destination. "I mean, do you want me to take you home? If not, we can go somewhere else. Maybe somewhere out of the city, since I'm driving?" He shrugged and came to a stop at a red light.

"I assumed you approached me with a destination in mind." Inari replied, putting together a short lo-fi playlist. "I planned three different days' worth of activities last night just in case you asked me to choose." He seemed mildly surprised Lance hadn't done something similar.

"Three days?" Lance laughed in disbelief. "I wasn't even sure you wanted to see me again. Now I know you can't get enough of me!" He laughed some more, giving Inari a sly wink after his sentence. "Seriously, though, I appreciate that, man. I don't think anyone has ever gone through that much effort to get to know me." There was sincerity in his voice as the laughter died off. "I mean, usually my friends and I just hang out at the mall or one of our houses if we do anything together after school. Sometimes we will make plans, but it's not like we go somewhere different every day. This will be fun. I'm looking forward to it." He spoke genuinely, and that was clear by the excited looks he kept giving Inari. Lance listened carefully to his ideas for what they would be doing.

"If you don't have a place in mind, I'd like to ask you a question. Are there any places you've ever wanted to visit before, in the city, of course, that seemed like...they'd be an interesting experience? Someplace liiiike...well for me, it would be a posh restaurant, since I have no idea how to use the eighteen pieces of silverware. Well, I researched it, but I've never done it before...Hmm...like, a place that would put you outside your comfort zone? My first plan is all about leaving our comfort zones. I'll take you somewhere first, then you'll take me somewhere. It'll be...interesting." Inari smiled gently. "And we'll have fun watching as the other steps outside their comfort zones."

He nodded along. "That's a great idea.”

Happy to hear you think so. Inari thought. I imagine it will be fun to do things we wouldn't normally do, together. The way someone treats someone else when they're uncomfortable tells a lot about their character as well. I wonder...since you don't seem the type to mock me condescendingly should I show discomfort, or even anxiety.

“Let me think for a moment. . ." He was silent for a minute or two, the lo-fi music playing from the red speaker filling the empty air. "Alright, I have two ideas for going out of my comfort zone. One thing is something I've been too embarrassed to do. The other is something I've been too afraid of. But you have to pick which experience you would rather take me through before I tell you what either of them are." He lifted an eyebrow curiously. He can take a more taunting approach and choose the embarrassing scenario, which would probably be at a similar level of discomfort as his restaurant idea, or he can choose to go deeper and help me with one of my fears. Either one is equally likely based on what I know about him, so I'm interested to see what he will pick without actually knowing what the specific activities are.

"I would like us to handle our fears when we trust each other enough not to exploit them. If we reach that point, we'll share our fears, and face them together." Besides...I would want him to be with someone he feels comfortable with while facing his fears. Someone who can make him feel safe, and not judged. 

Lance nodded along. He does have a good point there. Interesting how his mind works. "On the contrary, silly goose, either one of us could expose the other's embarrassments as well. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as having our fears held over our heads, but it is still something that we will have to trust each other not to share." He pointed out, holding up a finger for emphasis. And we will trust each other enough to face our fears together. . . Someday.

"Well, if we both know each other’s embarrassments, it's as if we both have blackmail on each other not to tell." Inari shrugged. "Not that I'd resort to using blackmail. There is always a better way than that." He said matter-of-factly. "Don't you agree?" He searched Lance's eyes for any form of deceit as he awaited an answer.

Lance smiled slightly. "I do. Blackmail is so immature. We aren't in grade school anymore, we should be able to talk things over like adults.”

Inari chuckled.

“Though I guess adults blackmail other adults too. . ." He started to get sidetracked until Inari pulled him back into the conversation.

That's why I was laughing. "Childish adults." He nodded in agreement. "So, what is your idea for the experience that would make you feel embarrassed?"

Right before Lance replied, Inari heard a soft message notification noise which caused the music to temporarily lower in volume. Without looking at the phone, he handed it to Lance. Inari would never go through someone's personal things, such as their phone or diary, unless he had a reason to be suspicious about them. If it was a good reason, privacy was no longer a right, in his eyes. "Here." He assumed the notification noise had spoken for itself. If you're like me, you hate leaving texts unanswered, or at least unread. Sometimes I do need to think about a response, or hold off until I can answer without speaking impulsively. For some reason, I have a greater desire to be more honest about my thoughts via text than via speech. I'm guessing it's the lack of face-to-face interaction that makes the resulting emotional consequences from the other party seem less...overwhelming, I suppose.

Lance looked at it briefly and, seeing that it was Mark asking about him coming to the mall, he swiped the message away and gave the phone back to Inari. "You can ignore Mark's texts," Lance told him. He will figure out sooner or later that I'm not coming. And he will get over it.

"Is he used to you ignoring him?" Inari asked. Perhaps it's a code between them, that if a reply isn't received within ten minutes or so, they won't be getting one? If not, it's incredibly rude...or, perhaps... "Or, are you two fighting?" He added. "Spare me the details, I'm simply curious." Just a short answer will do...I don't need to interrogate you for details...Because if he doesn't have an established code with his friend, or if he's not in a fight with his friend...It's possible they could have an emotionally taxing relationship, to the point that even answering texts takes a lot of energy out of him. But then why would he keep such a friend around? I truly don't understand it. His explanation will most likely clear things up.

Lance frowned at this. "No," He said in a voice that was deeper than his usual tone. "Not fighting." He left it at that for a moment before continuing with a lighter tone. "I just want to focus my attention on you right now." He said, trying to sound lighthearted, though there was a bit of weariness crawling up the back of his throat as he tried to explain himself. Just drop it, Inari. He pleaded mentally.

"So, focusing your attention on something else..." Inari wondered out loud, but he didn't ask any questions. He'll tell me when he's ready. He clearly doesn't want to say anything, yet. For now, based on the way he said he'd be focusing his attention on something else, it's not a code, and he already said he wasn't fighting with his friend. So, of my theories, the only thing left would be that it's an emotionally taxing correspondence. I imagine actually spending time with this 'Mark' would also be draining. Well, that's enough of that. I'm not here to fix his life, after all. Especially since I'm going off an unproven theory.

Good. He let the topic of Mark die. He knows how to read the room. . . Well, kind of, heheh. Lance thought back to last night and smiled to himself. He will get the hang of it. He said it himself, he has to get to know the person. He's a fast learner, and he's already starting to understand my unspoken words. The thought made him feel warm, and slightly nervous. He turned the air conditioning on with somewhat sweaty fingers.

"Alright, now about my idea. . ." Lance hesitated, "Don't laugh, it’s kind of stupid." He glanced over at Inari with a hint of desperation then took a deep breath.

"I won't laugh regardless of whether it is stupid or not. Laughing at someone sharing something sensitive to them is extremely rude." Inari deadpanned.

"It's not really that bad. I just. . ." He looked at his hands momentarily, ". . . Okay, so I've always wanted to get my nails painted, ya know? I've got the dyed hair, earrings," He pulled on a strand of his hair and pointed to his left ear as he talked.

Inari raised his eyebrows slightly. "I thought you'd say you wanted to get a childish tattoo, since it fits with the dye and piercings.”

Lance chuckled at this comment. "A tattoo is not something I've considered too much. If I were to ever get one, it would not be something childish, I can assure you of that.”

"Good." Inari sighed, visibly relieved.

“No dragons between my shoulder blades or thunderbolts on my thighs. I will admit, the idea of a couples tattoo seems endearing, but only if I marry that person and only if it's something that they ask for first." He shrugged, then turned his eyes nervously to Inari, worried he'd overshared. He then let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. I don't need to be so nervous around him. I never worry about what other people think of me, why is he so different? Is it because I need him to do something for me, so I'm trying to reach my own goal by watching what I say? Or do I genuinely care about his opinion. . .? I can't tell why I'm feeling this way, but it's making me feel anxious. Is it normal for people to feel this way? Shit, shut up Lance, you're freaking yourself out. Again, Lance started to drift off, but this time it was internal. And, again, Inari drew him back to reality.

"Right. I've seen memes of people who've gotten tattoos of girlfriends or boyfriends and now they've got to live with those long after the breakup." He knew it was a bit cruel, but he laughed at the thought. "If you're going to get something permanent, you should be completely certain you won't wish you hadn't, later."

"I agree," He said, "Though I do feel bad for those who truly thought the relationship would work out. One of my dad's best friends was married for twenty-nine years and he made one little mistake and his wife went bat-shit crazy on him. I don't know what he did, but I always liked him better than his wife and I trust that she was in the wrong at the end of the day. He had to get two tattoos covered up. He is remarried now, but I don't think he got tattoos of his new wife's name." Lance shrugged, a tinge of longing in his voice. It was unclear what he was longing for, but the way he gazed off at the horizon as they came to another stop light made it seem even more somber.

“Well, painting your nails isn't that bad,”

Lance was about to retort that he wasn't intending to make nail painting sound bad, but then Inari continued before he had the chance.

“. . . as long as you don't do it regularly. That can weaken your nails over time and cause them to break and bend easily in your later years. Not something you want to be looking forward to." I don't get it. Don't male idols paint their nails and dye their hair all the time? What is Lance so embarrassed about? He's already got that ridiculous blueberry hair, what's wrong with black nails?

Oh, does he think I'm concerned about my health? Pfft. He should know by now that I'm not worried about that. Unless, he doesn't know. He did tell me to be blunt with him. But how blunt can I be before I sound rude or annoying? Dammit, there I go again worrying about what he thinks of me. Fuck it. "I'm not worried about my nails becoming weak." He explained dryly.

"Shame." Inari replied briefly. The way he said it, with a soft smile, gave Lance the impression Inari would hate to see Lance die young due to 'not caring about his health'.

"I just thought it would be cool to complete the aesthetic nail polish. Get them painted black or something. I don't know.”

"Black would suit you, I imagine." Inari agreed.

“I've never had anyone that I would be willing to ask to paint them, and I've been too embarrassed to go to a salon," He cringed at the word, "But I did try to paint them myself, once. It was tremendously ugly, like a five-year-old's work. I washed it off immediately." He chuckled lightly.

Inari pictured Lance's story going in his mind, imagining a ten-year-old Lance with shoulder-length blue hair painting his own nails, cringing at the result, then scrambling to wash it off, only to realize the nails he'd painted first couldn't be completely cleaned with water. I wonder how he managed to figure out how to use the nail polish remover...probably Google? Or...a family member? The way he tells the story gives me the feeling he was alone when he performed his experiment, though...

Lance looked at Inari and tried to quickly change the subject off of himself, saying, "Your eye doesn't look too bad this afternoon. Does it hurt?"

"No." Inari replied curtly, giving Lance a firm glance. I see what you're doing. You truly know nothing on the art of segues. Immediately after saying 'no', he followed up with "Why are you embarrassed about painting your nails?" to ensure they didn't digress.

The flat response made Lance's mind recoil on itself. Well, he saw through that, didn't he? The look Inari gave him made his palms sweat. Don't look at me like that. Lance felt small, causing him to relent when Inari once more mentioned the nails and inquired about why he was embarrassed. "I'm not sure." The comment lacked sincerity, and was clearly just a placeholder sentence while he tried to piece his true response together. "I know it's more and more common these days for males to get their nails painted, but it still feels so feminine to me, I don't know. It's dumb to say that, I know it's just toxic masculinity in it's finest, but the nail s-salons. . .'' Again, the word 'salon' seemed to make him uncomfortable, ". . . are always so frilly and girly and there's never any guys in there.”

Inari cringed at the words 'toxic masculinity'. Mostly because from his experience too many feminists on the news used that phrase, so it'd become one of those cringe things for him that he didn't want to hear. However, he understood what Lance meant by using it, so he didn't say anything.

“I would feel so out of place. I can't explain it completely." This time his uncertainty held truth in it, as he had described his feelings toward the subject in the most effective way he knew how. He completed the monologue with a sheepish shrug.

"You just did." Inari assured.

It was a small and seemingly bland sentence, but the way Inari said it had Lance smiling again. He gets it. I never have been good with words, but he gets it.

"One time my mother was shopping for bras and I had to follow her into the store so I didn't get lost." He chuckled. "No one minded because I was eight, but I still felt strange in that Victoria's Secret."

Lance laughed along with Inari. "I have been there, but I had other guys with me so it wasn't as bad. I might pass away on the spot if I had to go with my mom, though." He shook his head, his laughter slowly fading.

Inari laughed a bit louder, then added "It won't be so bad if we're there together." He held up his hands, fingers apart so he was peering at Lance through them.

He nodded, agreeing with him silently. He took his eyes off the traffic light to look at Inari hold his hand up, giving him a confused expression.

"What color do you think would suit me? Black as well?" Inari asked so seriously, it was difficult not to find it funny.

"What?" He blinked for a moment, then took on a concerned tone. "You don't have to get yours done as well. . . What about your nails becoming weak?" He added a tease to the end of the sentence.

"Proof you weren't listening." Inari laughed softly. "I said painting your nails regularly is bad. This is once."

Lance let out a huff of laughter. I'm surprised he hasn't lectured me on the long-lasting effects of hair dye yet. Though I'm sure that will come up the next time I get it colored, if not sooner. After realizing this was non-negotiable, Lance turned his lips upwards in a playful smile. "Blue. Bright blue, like my hair." His grin turned cheesy. "We will match each other's hair. You will get blue, I will get black. Yeah?" He pointed between the two of them before he heard a beep and realized the light had turned green. He continued to drive.

"Consequently, blue is my favorite color. However, I'd prefer a slightly darker shade than your hair." Inari replied. Technically, we'll still match in color. It's just that a navy blue would look so much more beautiful.

Again, Lance found this humorous somehow, but kept his thoughts to himself. He seems pretty set on a darker blue, so I guess that's fine. It's not like he asked me to choose the color for him, he just asked for my opinion, and he did take that into account. No use trying to convince him to go for a brighter color.

"Ah, and afterwards, we can buy some temporary tattoos. A panda would be cute, right on my wrist." He pointed to the area directly in between his wrist, and his elbow. "High up enough so it won't smudge off too soon.”

Oh? Interesting. . . "Yes, that sounds fun." Lance concurred. "Is a panda your favorite animal?”

Inari raised his eyebrows slightly, surprised at Lance's accurate deduction. "Yes." He sounded pleasantly surprised.

Lance gave a proud smile when he successfully guessed Inari's favorite animal. “I don't see you as the type of guy to get one tattooed on you otherwise. I feel like you'd get some book quote or something." He continued with the taunting nature of the conversation.

"If you didn't have me in this mood," He gestured to his subtle smile "I would've most likely gone for a Nietzsche quote." Probably 'Is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?' That one is always interesting. Or, 'All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking'. 

He glanced at Inari's smile. Adorable. "I have no idea who that is," Lance replied with the undertones of a chuckle.

Inari opened his mouth to explain, eyebrows raised since, in Inari's world, Nietzsche was a world-renowned philosopher. I wonder if Lance is the kind of guy who thinks watching Kung Fu movies makes him more cultured. . .

"But I have a feeling I don't even want to know." He held up his finger before the other man could explain himself, child-like in his opposition.

Inari gave a tight-lipped smile, switching from 'you're about to know via smartass lecture' to 'everyone has their different areas of knowledge'. "Alright." He chuckled. Consider this repayment for not lecturing me on yesterday's blunder. He decided. "I love bears in general, but I love a panda's aesthetic the most." In a few seconds, he'd realize the flattered feeling he felt had come from the other knowing him well enough to both make an accurate deduction about his favorite animal, and guess what tattoo he would've gotten otherwise.

"Ah, yes, that's right. I called you a loon earlier and you requested to be called a bear. I'm still going to call you a loon, though. You Loon." Lance winked tauntingly.

"So be it." Inari replied nonchalantly. Hopefully showing him the nickname, despite not being preferred, still doesn't bother me, will cause him to abandon it quickly. “What are you getting?" He made it sound like accompanying Lance to the salon to get their nails painted came with the non-negotiable condition of getting temporary tattoos.

"Hmm." He thought for a few seconds, then replied, "A sunflower. Those are my favorite flowers. I'll get it right here," He pulled down his shirt collar a bit to point to a spot on his chest below his left collar bone, then let go of his shirt and put both hands back on the steering wheel as he took a left turn. He seemed content now with the fact they were going to get their nails painted. How easily his mood had changed. He was still nervous, yes, but ready to face the embarrassing task ahead of him.

"Why?" Inari inquired. He wondered if there was a specific memory, or perhaps general nostalgia linked to them, or if Lance simply liked the aesthetic. It couldn't be the simple fact that they were bright yellow, a color often associated with joy and happiness, because there were so many other flowers of bright yellow.

Inari's inquiry about sunflowers made Lance experience a wide range of emotion in a few moments. First, he was pleased that Inari was interested. Then he got a bit sentimental thinking about the reason he liked them, then worried that the answer was too cliché, but then happy again when he realized Inari wouldn't give a shit about how cliché the answer was. "The main reason, if I'm being honest, is they are my mom's favorite, so they always remind me of her. And we kind of share a lot of memories revolving around them as well.”

Inari listened to the rest of Lance's explanation with a warm expression, visibly happy that Lance had some lovely memories with his mother.

“Like, we used to cook sunflower seeds in a variety of ways together in our kitchen," Lance smiled as he remembered once starting a fire with hot oil, which was scary at the time of course, but now was something to laugh about, "And she used to take me to these gigantic sunflower patches down south. . ." He sounded peacefully content as he explained. Lance cleared his throat before continuing, "I do think they are very nice flowers, though. I think it is very cool how tall they can grow on such thin little stems and they are just pleasant to look at. . ." He nodded as he finished up his analysis, ". . . so, yeah."

"Those are good reasons." Inari replied warmly. My favorite flower simply comes from enjoying the aesthetic. Nothing as beautiful as nostalgia, unfortunately.