There's Three Parts to Love. . . (Darian)

[Walther Ebersbacher]

He wasn't one to swear, but he wasn't going to be bashful just because Darian did. No, what really happened was that Walther really fell for the smoothness hook-line-and-sinker, dropping the pillow and turning to lean in to Darian's hug, and reciprocate it with one of his own. It wasn't as tight, but it was just as caring as Darian's was. His aim wasn't to be smooth. No, but he was flattered that Darian saw him as worth all of that effort!

He chuckled, nuzzling his chest with a cheek, jaw turned upward a little bit as he addressed the larger boy. "Okay, it was awesome. Beyond awesome. So awesome, that I actually cannot think of anything more awesome... It's really already made my time and staying here at Hammel worth it. And I think you and I are going to be just fine living here..."

That wasn't to say he was just going to forget about his parents. No, he'd always have them in his heart. But at least now, when he missed them, he could just turn to Darian. And now, at least he was relieved of the feeling of loneliness. His parents would have really been proud of him for facing this like he did.

Hell, he was proud of himself for facing it like he did.

[Darian Barker]

When Walther responded the way he did, that gave Darian a good laugh. He had a habit of laughing when people did awkward things, as had already been demonstrated a few times in both his interaction with Walther, and with most anyone else in the school. The smoothness was gone just as quickly, however, and he leg to of Walther and stepped back, starting to throw on the blankets over the sheets.

He really had to wonder what his own mother was going to think. Well, he knew his brothers were going to treat him like shit over it, but his brothers usually treated him like shit. And he wasn't going to see them for... Oh, man, probably until Lewis was at least 16. What a weird thought.

But mom, she received -- no, she expected -- a letter at the end of every month. He didn't feel anxious, per se, but he did have to wonder how she would reply. Right off the bat:

1. "You're really young to be dating anyone."

2. "When did you start liking boys...?"

Which he would have to deal with. He didn't expect her to condemn him for it, but well, he wasn't sure what to expect. Sighing, he tucked in the last blanket on his own bed, and turned around, sitting on the edge.

"So, do you think..." he paused, letting his mood relax and squinting, "... Boyyyfrienddds?"

[Walther Ebersbacher]

As for his own parents... Well, he hadn't written them for a long time. And his auntie didn't really care how he was doing, nor did he she. Maybe if he gave them a phone call, he would be excited to tell them all about Darian. They were the sort of parents that embraced his traits, and simply tried to live around them. When he decided to be a more musical boy, they'd bought him albums. When he wanted to study mythologies, and the likes, they bought him books.

So, if he were to tell them that he had a boyfriend, they'd probably want to meet him. Or, barring that, talk to him on the phone. Probably treat him as if he was a child of their own... He loved his parents for that reason. It wouldn't really be that embarrassing! It'd actually be pretty nice.

When Darian asked about their status, he didn't have to think for too long. He sat down next to him, hands clasped, and sitting on his lap. To him, it was about time that it was official. They couldn't be more ready for that if they tried. They'd kissed, twice! And they spent a lot of time around each other. He was ready, himself. And hopefully, Darian was, too.

"I think so, yes." His lips curled. His heart had that same sinking feeling, and his stomach fluttered anew. That fire was rekindled. He just felt like giggling, like he were on the laughing gas a dentist gave people.

[Darian Barker]

That was nice... so they did have a bit of a title. He still lacked a definite understanding of what that meant, but he was glad to wear it. He'd just never expected it to happens so fast. Turning his eyes up onto the window, he examined the sky to determine what the weather was really like this week. It hadn't started any downpours tonight, just a steady dark sky. And then the temperature hadn't been too bad lately, either.

"Hey, would you like to come with me to the lake tomorrow?" he asked, moving his gaze back onto Walther and smiling, "It shouldn't be that bad out, and you'd actually be getting /in/ the water. If you don't want to, though, that's fine."

He felt the need to add that last part, and assure him of it, as he had a hunch that if he didn't, Walther might feel inclined to be with him even when he didn't want to. That was an easy type of person for a boy like Darian to take advantage of, it he weren't such a kind heart. He wouldn't have been able to imagine doing such a thing to someone like Walther, who was so gentle. But he figured it would be nice.

[Walther Ebersbacher]

"I don't have a bathing suit, or a merman tail." He replied with a twinge of shame. "In fact... I don't really know how to swim at all. But I can sit in the water with you." It seemed like such a commonplace sort of knowledge, what with all of the pools, and lakes available in the United States, in Germany... Just in general. It was a pretty big deal, and here he was, barely able to tread water the moment he stepped in.

He was indeed an easy person to take advantage of, now that they were in this state. He was so immature, so fresh to the idea of being a boyfriend, that really, he could have been fed any old bullshit and it would have worked on him in the end. He trusted Darian, though. Despite the... speediness at which this happened. He trusted him one-hundred percent.

He also peered out the window. It looked like it would be decent enough to go in some shorts, and a short-sleeve shirt. The temperatures he'd dealt with in his childhood were usually on the lower end of the fahrenheit spectrum, so that was pretty easy. The water, he had no guarantee for how cold that would be, but he knew the trick to it. Just sit in it, submerge up to the stomach, and the body will adjust pretty quickly.

"We can make a day of it."

[Darian Barker]

He couldn't swim? Oh, Darian lit right up at that. He got up off the bed with a big grin, clapping his hands together.

"Well, I guess that means I'm going to teach you. We can learn in the shallow stuff first, and then start to go a little deeper." he folded his arms and stood right in front of Walther, "I mean, believe it or not I used to swim before, I was on a team and everything. You'll be tearing through the water in no time at all!"

Darian did recall on those times as a very positive memory. The swim team was great, swimming was probably one of the best ways to do cardio and muscle. It was fun, a lot freer than running, and usually it left one's body less sore and tired. Darian would have stayed on that team if the water didn't feel like acid to him, now! But then, they weren't doing this for exercise, they were doing it for the basic skill of it. Oh, and to spend time together.

"It'll be a lot of fun, trust me. And the cold water feels really good when you get out."

[Walther Ebersbacher]

He rubbed his chin. Yeah, that sounded just fine. He felt the need to remind him of his current issue, though. One that could easily be rectified with a little bit of borrowed money, and a trip downtown. This wasn't exactly shopping center, USA. But there were clothing stores... That was a necessity, after all! And they had to have swim trunks. "I just need to get a bathing suit, first."

He didn't expect anyone to just be able to swim in their regular clothes. The water would make them heavier, harder to move. It would just be much more cumbersome than any possible worth. It'd make him tired, and he really, really didn't want to face the potential of drowning.

Or, that was just him thinking worst-case scenario. No, he wasn't going to do that. Darian was an amazing swimmer. He had to be, if he was swimming before he even discovered his powers. That meant he was really skilled with both the human body, and his mer form! He was in good hands, his teacher was going to be the best one there was.

"It'll be really fun, though. When we're both ready to go."

[Darian Barker]

"You don't have to wear anything, if you don't want, I won't storm off." was his reply, as he laid his head down on his own pillow, folding an arm beneath it. It had already been determined that Darian didn't care about his own nudity but when he let his brain briefly explore the idea of what he'd just said, he realized his feelings towards somebody else's nudity - muchless Walther's - were a bit different. And he had just said yet another odd and awkward thing. This time, one he realized.

"But we could just go down into the city and pick up a pair of shorts." he added, shrugging and turning towards the wall, "Whatever, though, we'll figure it out. It's just not good to go in there with jackets and crap."

It would definitely be fun, however. If Walther wasn't a skilled swimmer already, Darian had no intention of pushing him. But the lake was an exciting idea for him, since he'd only ever really spent his time in the pond, due to laziness and proximity. The lake was, doubtless, much larger and much deeper. He'd want to spend a little bit of time swimming about through it.
The next thing he'd really want to try for sure was an ocean, though he was fully unsure of how he would respond to saltwater. It had to be a whole lot better than chlorine...

[Walther Ebersbacher]

Nudity, no... He wasn't going to do nudity. He didn't really imagine himself doing it down the line, either... But, then again, he wasn't exactly afflicted with the moods and shifts that teenagers underwent, not yet. He could understand that Darian was fine with his nudity, it was a consequence and pre-req to his power. If Walther had to be naked in order to make any sort of sound, he'd be fine with that, too. But, as it stood, it was a not-now sort of thing.


As soon as Darian corrected himself, he gave a curt nod. "I can see what they have. Except I don't really have any money of my own..." Such a crappy limitation. He wouldn't be able to go out and buy himself a pair of trunks or shorts, or anything. Even the smallest amount of chump change would be impossible for him to meet. It's why he looked on with a little bit of envy whenever anyone could just get a drink out of the vending machine any time they wanted.

Despite his fear of the deeper waters, Darian's gregorious nature really cheered him on. It encouraged him that he could learn to swim, and maybe even do it well one of these days. Walther wasn't planning on joining the swim team any time soon, and he'd probably never get around to it. But if swimming became mandatory? Oh, he was going to be so, so prepared.

"Well, we can get around to it maybe tomorrow. I will go in to the town and see what sort of clothing they have, and maybe I'd be able to borrow money from Nao or Judah..." He didn't expect Darian to know either of them, he would have exchanged it for 'one of my friends', but he hadn't. "Or I could do laundry and beds for people."

[Darian Barker]

When he heard that he turned, propping himself up on one elbow. Fortunately, the remark had gone right past Walther, or he'd let it slide. He wasn't actually sure where Walther would stand on that sort of thing, but what he did know was that it wouldn't have to be addressed until a long ways down the line. Probably...

"Oh, I can buy you some shorts, no big deal." he offered, smile wide. That was what boyfriends did for eachother, anyways. He had a little bit of money, surely enough for a pair of swim trunks. They could make a quick detour downtown on the way to the lake, all they'd need was his size.

When he thought about it, he could probably make some money with his ability. Er... fishing? It confused him why more metas didn't do that these days. It was probably pretty lucrative, and nobody had to know you were using your power. All he needed to do now was google 'how to sell fish' later and work out the fineries.

"You can pay me back whenever if you want, but you don't have to."

[Walther Ebersbacher]

He didn't have to think about it much longer. His trust was fully in Darian, so he agreed with a very short nod. That was really sweet of him, to volunteer his money like that, to just offer it without a second thought. Now he had to think about how to repay him, while he didn't have money of his own. Darian didn't seem like a clean sort, not at all. It was kind of cute, in a way. Not book smart, a bit sloppy.

"If you do that for me, I'm going to do things for you, and you better not say no!" He replied with a chuckle, and a kiss on the cheek. He did that without even really thinking about it. It's not like he was making out with him, but that was something he wouldn't do to just anyone. Maybe it was that affirmation that they did indeed have a relationship, even if it was still being worked out.

"Your laundry, bed... That stuff's going to be a thing of the past for you, if you'd like." Things that were commonly associated with being a housewife were really just these /obscure/ things called chores. He was expected to do his when he was younger, there was really no arguing. And that was fine by him, they were life skills that went very far here.

He was lucky to have someone like Darian, who'd be willing to help him out, though. What were boyfriends for? He could see this being a really great thing with every small interaction.

[Darian Barker]

Fortunately enough for Darian, he didn't mind. He was so used to his mom doing his laundry that he wasn't insecure about letting someone else do it. Unfortunately, he was the kind of guy that would probably let Walther handle everything if he offered, and not even think about it. It wasn't that Darian was a bad guy, it was more that he was lazy, especially when it came to chores. If someone else was doing them all, it was unlikely that he would participate or attempt to stop them.

In fact, he never really had to do chores in the past. His brothers hardly did either, they lived in a small house but it was someone of a hurricane, most of the time. His eldest brother was mostly the only one that participated and that actually, in hindsight, left a lot of work on his mother's shoulders.

"If that's what you want, okay." he replied with a smile, leaning into the kiss and snuggling up in his blankets. He actually felt like sleeping, now, and knew he'd be able to dream with Walther on his mind tonight. Or maybe something more random and obscure, as dreams usually were. Or something random and obscure and Walther?

"We can go to the city in the morning, okay?"

[Walther Ebersbacher]

He didn't feel like moving, where he was. Now, he simply felt like relaxing up against Darian. To hell with what Erik would inevitably say about it. He was a jerk anyways, and this was none of his business. He laid himself just so he wasn't completely on top of Darian, he was beside him, head nestled in to him. He laid on top of the blankets, having not really undressed. These rooms were unfortunately pretty stuffy, too.

The mood seemed to pass from Darian, to Walther, since he punctuated this with a big yawn. He was going to sleep so well, he didn't even care what time it was, or if he was going to wake up super early in comparison to everyone else. What mattered at this very moment was keeping that physical connection.

"I wont do it forever, though. Just enough so that I don't feel bad for you buying me something without me being able to pay you back." That was just the good-natured side of him, at the end of the day, it was easy to take advantage of. He knew Darian was better than that, though. Instinct said so.

"That sounds good... I think it's about time to sleep now, anyways." He smiled up at him, and, feeling a lot more comfortable, gave him a little kiss on the jaw.

[Darian Barker]

He didn't really push Walther away or reject him when he welcomed himself to his bed, instead scooting a little ways away from him enough to offer room. It didn't bother him in the least, he didn't usually get to share beds or have any need too and he was always a fairly personable person to begin with.

Most of what Walther'd said around then glazed right past him, he was out cold, lying on his back with on hand on his stomach and the other arm thrown up over his head. Mind you, he wasn't the most responsible person to share any amount of space with in his slumber. Clumsily, he tossed and turned and rolled around, probably knocking the other boy around a bit.

But unknowing through it all, he'd sometimes find a smile. It was nonetheless comforting, being close to someone.