Their "date," as Roy had begrudgingly called it through Ed's tireless persistence, was going nowhere.

It was the first one ("and the only one until further notice," Roy had been quite adamant at reiterating every few minutes or so) and already things were turning sour. There really wasn't anywhere to go in Taos, save a few of the historical museums, the movies, or the local ice cream parlor. Eduardo was kind of in the mood to watch the new thriller that came out last weekend, but assumed his friend would get skittish and paranoid the moment they set foot inside the theater. And the ice cream parlor was absolutely out of the question. Even he was a little weirded out by the thought of sharing a chocolate parfait with the boy walking ten feet in front of him.

Oh yeah, Eduardo narrowed his eyes at the stalking figure, taking in his tense shoulders and stiff walk, Forgot about that. Won't even look at me, the cabron.

He was starting to second guess himself now. It only seemed logical that they would test drive a potential relationship, after Roy blurted out his affections the last time he had been here. Eduardo was harboring similar feelings, but it took him a while to realize that yeah, he may want to do something about it. So, as soon as Roy came back to Taso to 'recharge,' he insisted they go on a date and explore whatever was stirring between them (if anything was really going on at all).

"Hey, asshole," Eduardo called from behind Roy, earning him a faint grunt of acknowledgement, "This isn't what I had in mind when you agreed to go on a -"

"I swear to God, you say that word again..." Roy trailed, his hands bunching up in the folds of his sweaters.

"You'll what? Punch me in the face?" Eduardo cocked an eyebrow, an unfriendly smirk crossing his lips, "Better than what you're doing right now. I'm sure this is how most of these things go anyway. One guy is sulking and the other is questioning what he ever saw in him in the first place."

Roy turned his head and narrowed his eyes, though he didn't continue the 'discussion' any further. Instead, he took a deep breath and picked up his pace, mumbling words Eduardo was unable to catch.

Oh that's it, he didn't care if they were outside. Taos was practically deserted at eight pm and they were on one of the unused, dirt roads as is. Eduardo may be having the same fears and insecurities bubbling in his chest, but he would be damned if he didn't at least give this thing a chance.

Unwrapping the scarf around his neck, he concentrated his efforts on predicting where Roy would be in the next few seconds. He shut his eyes and a moment later, a flash of gold light enveloped him, transporting and dropping him right in front of his friend.

"Wha - " Roy sputtered out as soon as the smaller boy appeared before him. However, he was unable to get anything coherent out, Eduardo quickly covering his bare neck with the scarf and pulling him inches towards his face.

"Listen here, chico," Eduardo whispered, enjoying the look of complete shock clouding over Roy's eyes, "Whether you're into this or not, you agreed to go on a date with me. This is a test run; it has no hold over the rest of our lives or our current relationship. If it works out, it works out. And if it doesn't, it doesn't. But, you said you liked me and for some stupid reason, I like you too. Now, are you going to act like it? Or am I just going to have to kiss you to find out how you really feel?"

For what was beginning to become a common occurrence, Roy's cheeks flushed crimson and his eyes darted towards the ground. Eduardo knew he was pushing it; Roy could clock him at any given second and leave their friendship at that. And yet...the other boy stood still, making no move to shrug off the scarf keeping him close.

"I...fine," Roy nodded, unexpectedly shifting a little closer to Eduardo, a sheepish grin tugging at the corners of his lips, "But can we save the...kissing until after the end of the date at least?"

Eduardo chuckled, deciding it best not to egg him on with a scrunched up kissy face. Still, it would be really tempting... "Sure thing, vaquero. Now, where do you want to go?"

Roy unhooked the scarf around his neck and threw it back over Eduardo's, tentatively brushing his fingers across his arm, "How about the park near the labs? I wouldn't mind just talking to you on a bench there..."

"Alright," Eduardo replied, letting him take the lead, somewhat regretting he didn't yet possess the courage to grab a hold of the other boy's hand.

It would take a little more time to get used to the idea of dating Roy Harper (if they even made it through the night), but Eduardo didn't mind the wait.