We Are Bulletproof

Wow. Two handsome guys. And one extremely captivating, gorgeous, funny, sweet, charming maybe-boyfriend. Hanale couldn't accurately describe how it felt to introduce Kylar as a maybe-boyfriend. It had been that long since he let anyone in that close that the words felt foreign on his tongue. He was mostly joking but... part-way not. And it felt so right afterwards, when Kylar agreed with him. Maybe-boyfriend. If the weekend went right.

It was getting off to a great start already!

Hanale watched Cris drinking from his glass with a little smile, noting the way he looked at Edel. By the way he ran out on them earlier he would have said 'only friends' was a blatant lie but he didn't want to make things awkward for them. There was something there, he could tell. And also—okay cheating a little bit, but he peeked at their hearts' lights and he peeked at the lines of fate between them. There were connections to other people, some strong, some not. And their connection to each other...

"Oh, that's adorable! Making time for your closest friend, that's so sweet." Hanale topped up everyone's glasses as he beamed at the two of them. Was Kylar seeing what he was seeing? Awkwardness when it came to the subject of significant others. Interesting... "Well I say we get your trip started off right! Let's get down to the lake and test out my giant rainbow float!" They'd all had enough drinks to loosen up, right? Hanale was warm and happy and maybe a little light-headed. The perfect state to go down to the water and have a bit of a splash around, and then maybe... have the rest of the evening alone with Kylar.

"Magic~" Hanale whispered all mysterious-like as he jazz hands waved them through the air, hamming it up because what else was he going to do? Explain calmly that the grenadine was a thick syrup so it flowed down slower through the pineapple juice and dispersed outward in a colorful and pretty way? When he could do jazz hands and say magic?! No way!

After making the rum and coke for Cris, he made himself a fizzy gin and soda and leaned up against the counter facing both of them, sipping his drink slowly. He laughed gently at Kylar's reaction to the rum—it did have a liiiittle bit of a spicy kick to it. "Easy, easy. Sorry, next time I'll put less rum in it."

Almost purely on instinct he reached out to lace his fingers through Kylar's, the one not holding the drink. Hanale wasn't even trying to show off or anything; it felt right. He wanted to touch him, to be near him. When Kylar looked at him, when he smiled at him and laughed with (or at) him, it made his heart soar. God, he knew it'd been a while since he'd last felt this rush but this time it was so strong!

"Yes, I have a friend. Edel. He coming from Spain." Cris drank his rather hurriedly, Hanale noticed. "Um. My English, it's not good. But I want to say. Thank you for... invite? Invitation? To... drink and. The beautiful rainbow."

Hanale put a hand to his heart. "I would never do you dirty!" His boy scout image cracked a little with his grin. "Unless you want me to." Wink. Wink. Laughing he turned around to peruse the collection. A lot of them were pretty harsh for someone who wasn't a habitual drinker—neither was Hanale but he liked a glass of something to warm his stomach before bed. Usually because there was no one to warm his actual bed.

"Okay let's do a simple pineapple juice with a splash of dark rum!" Something tropical, since they were at the lake. He added a dash of grenadine to give it a reddish gradient from top to bottom—make it look pretty for the ultra pretty, ultra handsome customer. Hanale offered it to him, still grinning and madly flirting—unashamed, too, because this was what they were here for! To have a good time!

Cris appeared at the doorway, looking uncertain. His smile was shy too, and quite small. Hanale beckoned to him and gestured to the stool next to Kylar. "Come in! Have a seat! Can I get you anything?"

After a moment, Cris slid into the stool and offered Kylar a smile and nod. "Just a rum and coke please. Hi. Sorry if I interrupt..."

"Yeah he's been over there by himself for the longest time. I never see anyone going into his place so I think he lives by himself." Could Kylar be more... adorable? So considerate! Of someone he'd never met before! That said a lot about his character, honestly, and Hanale was glad that he didn't turn out to be a selfish or pouting asshole.

"We'll wait for you in the kitchen, it's straight on through from the front door! It's unlocked, so come right in!" He turned to shout to Cris, who was texting somebody it looked like. Cris nodded and said thanks, and then Hanale turned away from the window. "Come on. Let's get our drink on! I'm parched!"

Still leading Kylar by the hand, he descended the stairs and made his way into the brightly lit kitchen. There was a fully-stocked bar there which Hanale slid around back of, and leaned against the countertop with admittedly a bit of a goofy smile, eyes on Kylar. He could hardly take his eyes off of him.

"What'll the handsome customer have then?"

"That's a great idea! Come on up, Cris, we're having drinks and then going out on the lake later!" Hanale squeezed Kylar's hand since he'd gone a little awkward on him for inviting the new guy. Who... wow. Yeah. Hanale thought he was handsome from afar but up close, he was... quite the looker.

Not as cute as Kylar though! There was something about Kylar that pure good looks couldn't overshadow. And besides, Hanale wasn't so shallow that he'd let one handsome face lure him away from what he felt was a good thing. It was a very good thing that they were beginning to build here, and if he wasn't wrong about it, Kylar might be coming around to the lake house for quite some time.

"Oh I—" Cris seemed indecisive and definitely nervous. Ah, the shy type. "I'm expecting a friend," he said at last, in that thick European accent that—okay it was kind of attractive. For some reason accents always were...

"Bring your friend! Or let him come join us later!" Hey, the more the merrier right? He turned to Kylar while Cris thought about it some more. "That's okay right? You don't mind? We'll still have most of the night to ourselves. I'm not letting the neighbors take away all of our time together!"

A gentleman. Hanale couldn't help but smile at that, looking up again once Kylar spoke of trust. That was important. Trust. Even between friends, there had to be trust. For strangers who had never met, staying in the same house for the weekend, it was even more important. It was just who he was and who he was raised to be—trustworthy. Good. He wasn't always this way, though. That part of his past had long remained untouched and hopefully it would stay buried.

The squeaky clean face though, that brought out a soft laugh. Nice way to break the ice, just a simple touch. Like their hands together, Kylar's touch felt nice. Warm. Soft. "Ah..." He cleared his throat a touch dramatically. "Squeak!"

So not an actual squeak—that would be slightly alarming—but he was making good on his bold claims! He reached up to lightly tap the tip of Kylar's chin. "Told you." Then, laughing, he stepped back and tugged Kylar out of the room by the hand. "Come on, let's get this weekend underway! House tour, then we make some drinks and go out onto the lake. There's going to be a beautiful sunset, we shouldn't miss it!"

He pointed out his own bedroom as they approached—inside it was decorated in a more austere color scheme, navy and gray but with a pop of lilac here and there. The open window let in a soft breeze which stirred sheer white drapes, and outside...

"Oh... that's my neighbor!" The guy was timidly tip-toeing towards the inner tube that he'd left out. It didn't look like he was stealing it, though, just... looking at it. Hanale let out a burst of laughter as he drew Kylar over to peek down at his strange, shy neighbor. "You think he's going to take it?"

"It's... partly an invitation."

He stepped into Kylar, since the tug of his hand met no resistance. Honestly it was hard not to slip his hands up to that handsome face and pull him down for a kiss right now. There was some kind of crazy attraction that he had no explanation for and it was mildly concerning but also... exhilarating.

"But also, it's a promise." Briefly he lowered his gaze to the space between them. "I won't come into your room unless you want me to. So you can trust me."

This was his home; he had the luxury of owning it, of knowing every room, every nook and cranny. But for Kylar it was a strange space. He came here in good faith, all by himself, for two days. It was far more important for him to feel safe and in control of his own space, and this way there could be no issues later.

Oh, it was clean. Super clean. He'd obsessively checked it because he couldn't be found wanting, even by a stranger. There were standards to uphold around here. Hanale laughed and nodded resignedly—he was in realtor mode. Work mode was the default mode, unfortunately, which was why Will set him up but... damn. Will really struck gold this time. Nineteenth time was the charm, as they say.

The first thing he did was carefully set Bandit's cage down onto the bed, where even if his clever paws got the latch undone, he wouldn't fall and hurt himself. Then he straightened and spread his palms as he swept his arms across the room, as though showing it off. "I'm glad you like it!"

The room was tastefully furnished and decorated in a nautical theme—nothing obnoxious, of course. Pale blues, gentle creams and whites, light and airy. Little seashell decorations and tasteful pictures dotted the room and there was a glass vase of calla lilies on one of the dressers.

"My room, as luck would have it, is two doors down from yours." He smiled as he reached for Kylar's hand, now that they weren't occupied by cages or luggage. Hanale gently tugged him closer—nothing insistent or overly pushy. Just a little tug. "And I never lock my door, so you can visit me any time."

"For some reason I thought he'd weigh as much as a cat..." But obviously raccoons were larger and therefore, heavier. Hanale didn't know; he was a total novice where it came to pets and animals. There wasn't much time or room in his life for something that needed constant attention. Dogs needed to be walked every day; cats had litters that had to be scooped all the time. Too much work for someone who was out all day!

With his back turned to Kylar as he led the way, Hanale grinned. Very good—he earned points for selecting the right room. It was close to his own, too, so that they didn't have to go far to find one another. Ahem. If it came to that. Which now that he'd seen Kylar... he hoped it did, eventually.

"Excellent guess. It's the one with the super clean face." He grinned over his shoulder. "Which I washed before you got here, by the way." Winking, he laughed and then turned back to gently nudge the door open with his knee. Inside facing the door was a staircase leading upstairs, while a short hallway opened up to a tall-ceilinged living room.

"The bedrooms are all upstairs. This way, I'll give you a tour of the place once you put your things down. If I slip into realtor mode at any time, by the way, feel free to stop me."

Oops! Clumsy first hug! This was getting off to a funky start but that was okay! Hanale laughed, feeling if possible more nervous now that he got a look at Kylar up close. Why was it always so hard to be suave around someone attractive? Even though he knew that he was attractive himself, being around a good-looking guy still made him feel jittery inside.

"Ah—well thank you! I—yeah. Sure!" He readily accepted the cage. "Oomph! He's heavier than he looks!" That was a well-fed raccoon right there! But as soon as he had it, a damp black nose poked out and started sniffing around. Hanale couldn't help but laugh again as the cage wobbled and wiggled unsteadily in his arms. "Friendly little guy isn't he?"

When Kylar had gotten his things, he started walking back up the driveway into the house. "I prepped a room for you facing the lake. Hopefully you like the view. Oh and guess who got us that giant inner tube!"

Uh oh. Kylar was cute. And tall. Cute and tall, a deadly combination. Hanale briefly noted that the truck he came in was practical and clean, if not the latest model, before Kylar slipped out and the stars in Hanale's eyes blinded him to everything but the man. Too cute. The way he was dressed was country-casual but damn if he didn't pull it off perfectly. Kylar wasn't stuck up or trying to be slick and posh and that was very refreshing and attractive.

He half-jogged down towards the truck, not wanting to be that guy who stood at the door watching everything unfold, like he wasn't part of the moment. Besides, Kylar had to have luggage with him for the weekend trip and his hands were full at the moment with Bandit's cage.

"It's Bandit!" Grinning, he wiggled his fingers at the furry raccoon inside. Two sets of front paws... so he was missing a back leg. It was really kind of sad how trappers and hunters treated these poor little things! "How cute!" Hanale reached out to give him an awkward one-armed hug—him and the cage. "And Bandit's adorable too!"

That's geek to you!!

Okay I need to go get ready for a Skype call with a client.
I will see you this weekend!

Oh. That wasn't creepy or anything.

His neighbor was spying on him. Hanale waded to shore clutching a giant rainbow over-sized inner tube, splashing water noisily with each step. He'd been testing it out before Kylar arrived, in case it sprang an unexpected leak or something. (Definitely, definitely not because he couldn't wait to use it. No.)

A movement in the periphery of his vision caught his attention and he noticed the dark-haired young man who moved in several weeks ago suddenly disappear inside. But earlier he definitely had been leaning over the railing of his upper balcony, looking at Hanale splashing around. This wasn't the first time, either. Once or twice while lounging on the wide front porch, Hanale saw him peeking out. He even waved once but the guy vanished like smoke.

Too bad. He was pretty cute. Probably painfully shy since Hanale had never seen him actually step foot off of his property. Rumor had it he was Spanish-exotic. But! Since he was so horribly shy and Hanale was expecting a special guest, he was out of the picture. Smiling to himself and shaking his head, he dragged the inner tube up onto firm ground so that it wouldn't float off into the lake and headed inside to dry off and change before Kylar arrived.

He went about making himself presentable with low-simmering excitement bubbling inside. It'd been a while since he'd dated and those first-date fluttering butterflies were all over. Hopefully Kylar was as cute and funny and charming as he was over the phone. Hard to tell with people; some were painfully boring over the phone but magnetic in person. Others, the opposite. Rare to find someone interesting in both worlds.

Splashing a conservative amount of cologne on, Hanale examined himself in the full-length bathroom mirror. Hm. Good. Hair was crisp and well-maintained, nails not filthy (important!) and his blue button-up had tiny red polka-dots on it for interest, but not to be flashy. Dark slim-cut jeans and casual Italian loafers completed the look—douchebag lakefront property-owning party boy.

Nah! His friends joked about that but really he wasn't an asshole. He hoped. His parties never got the police called down! Hanale was polite to the neighbors! He had to be good—he was tied to a literal angel! Ah... he was nervous now, and justifying his appearance. Hanale turned on his heels as he heard a car pull up and forced himself to saunter outside, where he waved slowly but grinned in an obviously pleased way to the car rolling up the driveway.

Oh I'm keeping count, you better believe it mister.
I'll even do charts
Pie charts
Bar graphs
You name it

I'm going to keep count!