Kids In The Dark | Aarmau AU Fanfiction

16/27 - A Setting Sun

We started walking through the town, and Alexander was surprisingly worried the entire time. Whenever someone passed us, he walked closer to Aaron, looking quite scared. Aaron would pull the leash closer purposely too and kept one of his hands holding some of his fur protectively. It was cute.
   We talked as we walked around about little things. I was definitely talking his ear off, but it didn’t seem like he minded, so I didn’t hold back. It was all useless nothings, and I knew this, but he acted interested. To make up for it, when we stopped at a bakery to get Alexander water, I asked, “What’s your favourite dessert?” In all honesty I had been asking a lot of questions, he probably thought I was nosy.
   He shrugged. “I don’t really have one per se.”
   “Okay, well then what are your favourites?”
   “I’m not really a sweet-person…” He said, blushing. “I’ve only have had them once or twice.”
   I tilted my head to the side. “Seriously? Why?”
   “My parents were health freaks and I’m allergic to chocolate.” He said, then caught me glancing at his body. I believed him quickly since he was so in shape. Nervously, I looked down at myself. Chub. “You look fine.” He said, and then blushed. He hadn’t flirted so I was guessing he thought he was.
   “Yeah…” I didn’t drag on about my weight and looked in the windows of the bakery. “What desserts did you have?”
   “Doughnuts, once. I think that’s all. My sister got them a couple of days ago as a treat.”
   I smiled to myself. “I love doughnuts…”
   He chuckled at me. “Me too.”
   Since Alexander wasn’t done with his water, I started biting at one of my nails. “I’m going to see if they have a bathroom quickly.” I lied, going inside the store immediately before he could ask questions, though he probably wouldn’t have.
   Looking through the glass display cabinets full with pastries and cakes, I caught eye contact with the woman behind it. She walked over after putting something in an oven. “What can I get you?”
   “What kind of doughnuts do you have?”
   She walked around to the other side of the room, by another cabinet. There were a couple in the case on that side. “Chocolate, jelly filling, sugar coated, sugar coated with jelly filling, and then plain ones with different toppings.” She said,
pointing them out with her finger. “50¢ each, hon’.”
   “Ok.” I took my purse out of my pocket and picked out four, two in each bag. I paid the $2 then left. I held out to the bag to Aaron.
   His eyes stuck to it. “Oh, I’m not hungry.”
   I sighed, lowering it. “You’re not a sexist, are you? Girls can buy things too.”
   Without a second thought, he took it. His arm moved so quickly that the paper bag almost ripped in half. “I’m not!”
   “Clearly.” I giggled and opened my own bag, taking one out and eating it.
   Alexander jumped up and down and started sniffing the bag, so he sighed and broke a bit off a plain one with Fruit Loops on it then gave it to him. I smiled at it. “He’s spoilt.” He muttered, but ruffled his fur fondly even so. Alexander finished it and then sniffed it again. “No more.”
   “And adorable.” I pointed out. I broke some off of my own and gave it to him. After he ate it, he licked my hand happily. 
   “Yeah…” He smiled.
   I ruffled his fur too and then continued eating the doughnuts. He gave us puppy eyes the entire time, begging for more food. We both ignored him and looked away. He gave up when he thought we weren’t even looking at him and laid on the ground. The pavements were fairly wide so nobody stepped on him accidentally. When we finished, we put the bags into the closest trash can and then continued walking.
   For the first five minutes Alexander walked the other way or refused to move from angst. When another dog walker stopped to pet him and gave him a treat, he started walking next to Aaron again, now happy. “You shouldn’t have let that woman give him a treat.” I said.
   “I couldn’t exactly stop her, could I?” He said. “It was probably fine. She had two dogs with her and they were eating them.”
   “Fine, fine, but if Alexander starts being sick it isn’t my fault.”
   He rolled his eyes playfully, smiling. “Whatever you say.”
   Not long after he started coughing badly. I could tell that Aaron was worried because it escalated. We walked into an alley and I tried to find a way to bring the treat back up, but couldn’t. He took his phone out of his pocket and tried to look up how to do the choking procedure on a dog. He found it and I tried it, and thankfully he puked it up. It was disgusting, but at least it wasn’t in his system anymore. After maybe ten minutes of giving him attention, we started walking back to our apartment building. On the way there we went in a few dog-friendly stores. In stores where only guide dogs were allowed, we faked one of us being blind. It was wrong, but we only did it if we really wanted to go inside. On the way back we got McDonalds, which we split the bill for.
   When we got to the building, we found our apartments were on the same floor. I opened my door and called for Ein, but he wasn’t home. “Want to come in for a bit?” I asked.
   He shrugged. “Alexander might make a mess though.”
   “I don’t care. It’ll be wrecked in a week anyway, knowing us.” I said honestly, walking inside. I checked his bedroom and he wasn’t there still, so I just guessed that he was out job hunting.
   Aaron walked in a shut the door behind him. I smiled at Alexander. “You can take him off the leash if you want. He can wander around, I’m not bothered.”
   “You’re sure?” He looked nervous.
   “Mhm. If you’re worried about him going to the bathroom somewhere I’ll just clean it, I don’t mind. It’s not that big of a hassle.”
   “Ok…” He unhooked the leash and stuffed it in his hoodie pocket. Alexander quickly started running around happily, sniffing everything.
   We sat down on the couch and I put on a movie. We talked the entire way through and didn’t really pay attention to it, but no one cared. Alexander roamed freely, sometimes jumping up onto the couch and laying on Aaron’s lap. What I noticed is that whenever I asked a question about his past with his family, he avoided the question or talked in a way that I knew it was a lie. I wasn’t one for liars, but it was painfully obvious he was lying for a good reason. He was vulnerable as hell so I could only guess that he and his family had a bad relationship.
   I didn’t ask personal questions that often, and asked every other ten, but stopped for a while. Eventually I did it again. “Why’d you move here with your sister?”
   He was stuck for words. He shrugged in response. “Why did you move here with your brother?”
   “I was kicked about because they were going on a prostitution trip.” I said, glaring at my lap. “And they were going to sell the house.”
   “Oh.” He said, then started pulling at a hangnail. “I was kicked out too. My parents were going on a business trip for thirty or forty years, my sister was going to originally go too.” He said. He wasn’t using the same lying-voice so I believed him.
   “What happened?”
   “I begged her to stay here with me because I was uneasy about living by myself, even if I did have a lot of money.” At first he was being sarcastic.
   I couldn’t help but giggle. “Did you really?”
   “No. I don’t like asking for help much because I don’t want to make someone angry. But she saw I was nervous and asked our dad if she could stay. She does work from the apartment now on her laptop instead of going abroad.”
   I nod and smile, leaning back. “You don’t work?”
   “We were talking about it and don’t see the point. We’re getting more than enough money from her work. I just help with things that she doesn’t understand sometimes and am basically a housewife.” He said, forcing a little bit of laughter.
   “Ah.”
   Ein suddenly swung open the front door and we both quickly looked at him. “I’M BA- Oh. Hey Aph. Who’s this?”
   “Don’t go all big-brother on him.” I said, burning holes in his face.
   “Oh! Is this your date~?” He put emphasis on date, though he was only teasing Aaron. Aaron blushed anyway.
   “And if he is?”
   He chuckled and sat in an armchair before closing the door. “I don’t really care. Nice to meet you.” He said, holding out his hand. Aaron shyly shook it. “I do hope you’re not making any moves, though.”
   “I’m not.” He mumbled.
   “Good.” He smiled to himself, leaning back in the chair. He didn’t say anything else but stared instead, smirking with his hand over his mouth. 
   There was another door shutting from the hallway so Aaron got up. “I-I should probably get back.”
   I pouted. “Aw…”
   “Sorry.” He mumbled, putting the leash back on Alexander.
   “Can we go out again on Saturday?” I ask hopefully.
   “Yeah. Same time?”
   I thought a little. “Ten in the morning?”
   He nodded vaguely. “Okay.”
   I got up and hugged him, then Alexander too. He licked my face, tail wagging fast. I stood up straight afterwards. “Bye.” I said, voice suddenly quite sad without my doing.
   “Bye.” He walked out, glancing at Ein.
   I glared at him and he put his arms in the air after Aaron left. “I didn’t do anything!”
   “You could’ve left.”
   He snorted in laughter and got up. “Yeah, right.”