=Normal POV=
(Thursday, 12/19/2019; 8:00 pm)
(Barbarchi City, Archipelago)
(Trayden's Job)

With how busy it was at work, Trayden was wishing that he'd called out because it was madness with Christmas only six days away. The amount of stories Trayden heard from the patrons about trying to escape their families because other family from out of town was visiting and it was always the people they couldn't stand, but put on the smile and tried to deal with it. Or another one of Trayden's top stories he got was that every family gathering always turned into a fight. It was comical and annoying, but now, it was finally 8 pm and Trayden was finishing up his last things to be able to clock out and leave. As Trayden cashed out the last person he'd just served from behind the bar where he was positioned tonight, he signed off the register and prepared to walk out when his boss appeared.

"Where are you going, Trayden? I haven't sent you on break," The man stated.

"I'm only scheduled to 8 tonight," Trayden reminded.

"It was a mistype, but you're supposed to be here until close," The boss informed as Trayden stared at him.

"Mistake or not, the schedule says I'm off at 8 pm, boss and that's what time it is," Trayden enlightened.

"Trayden, do you see this place right now?" The man motioned around. "I'm already down one person, and losing two others in an hour who say they need to go early. I can't be down one more over a mistype, you know how crazy this place gets at night and worse on holidays. Get back behind the bar," He added.

Trayden couldn't believe this, and he wasn't just going to give in either. He had plans with Hunter tonight! "I'm sorry, boss. I can't tonight because I'm exhausted," Trayden replied. The man looked at him with surprise. "On top of that, Thursdays are usually my days off and after last night's nonsense, I didn't even want to come in, but I did because I knew it was just four hours," Trayden saw his boss sigh heavily. "You promised me that you'd ease up on how much I worked, and ever since the 9th, I've had one day off. And with tomorrow and the weekend, we're at twelve days. These aren't my regular shifts, you've had me pulling doubles…I woke up at 12:30 pm today, after working til 4:30 am. It was 5 am by the time I got home, kicked off my shoes, and crashed on the couch. Now, you want me to stay past my scheduled end shift until closing? How is that fair to me?"

"It's not, Tray, and I'm sorry…But what do you want me to do? I'm short staffed and you're one of three people who are reliable to work…I'm trying to get others hired, but most people don't want to work in a bar and the people we do have aren't that good," His boss reminded.

"Crack down on the others who aren't pulling their weight here. I know we had the call out, getting sick happens…But those other two who need to leave at 9 pm? The reasoning they gave you is bullshit and they're just trying to not finish their shifts to go to some party with friends. I heard them talking about it when I was serving customers at the bar," Trayden revealed as his boss's eyes widened a bit. "Their excuses are whatever is believable and you'd let them off for. Tristan wants to leave because his mom is in the hospital and wants to visit her because she's lonely? It's a lie. His mom had a minor surgery and being released tomorrow morning, and also, visiting hours end at 8 pm. Davin has to go because he won't be able to get a ride if he stays? Bull, he came in with Tristan and wants to leave when he does so they can go to that party," Trayden paused a moment. "I'm only leaving because the schedule says my shift was 4 pm to 8 pm. I haven't requested to leave early, nor given you a shit reason as to why I have to. But I am tired and still have three more days this week…"

The man sighed and his eyes softened. "No. No, you don't, Trayden," He said as Trayden arched a curious brow. "Tristan and Davin will not be leaving at 9 pm now that I know what I do thanks to you. And both of them can cover shifts for you on Friday and Saturday this week. You more than deserve a break, and working for you when you're always covering their shifts is their punishment for lying to me to get out of work tonight and then also had been given Friday and Saturday off. You head off, those two will stay tonight and work for you the next two days," He added.

"You sure?" Trayden asked.

The man nodded firmly. "Yes, absolutely,"

Trayden nodded back, heading to clock out as he pulled his phone to text Hunter and notice that it was already 8:10 pm. Hunter had texted him five minutes ago.

Hunter's Cell, 8:05 pm
Hi! Wasn't sure if you were rushing to escape work, but are you on your way. Just wanna know to be able to order the food so it gets here on time :)

Trayden smiled and began his reply.

Sorry! Haven't left yet, boss tried to get me to stay. Clocking out now, be there in ten.

Trayden punched out and instantly moved back through the bar to get to the doors, noticing his boss scolding the two workers who tried to skip out on their shifts. Trayden exited and went right to his car. Trayden checked his phone quickly, finding a message from Hunter and smiling.

Hunter's Cell, 8:12 pm
No worries. Don't rush, crazy drivers all over during the holidays lol I'll call and order now since it takes about 20-30 mins to be delivered.

Trayden set the phone down and started his car, then he bucked up and left his spot to leave the parking lot. This was going to be a great night, especially since he didn't have work the next two days now.

. . .

(8:25 pm)
(Hunter's House)

Trayden pulled into Hunter's driveway and shut off the car once it was in park. Trayden grabbed his phone from the cupholder, then his bag containing shower items and a change of clothes from the front seat before leaving the car and locking it while making his way to the door. Just as Trayden was about to knock, the door opened to reveal a smiling Hunter.

"I totally wasn't stalking the window waiting for you to come to the door…" Hunter joked.

"Wanted to see me that bad, did you?" Trayden teased.

"You have no idea," Hunter replied as he stepped aside and motioned for Trayden to walk in. "Come on in. Food should be here by 8:45 pm," He informed.

"Awesome. I'm starving," Trayden entered the house and Hunter closed the door, then led Trayden through the foyer and into the living room.

"Me too. I assume you want to shower first?" Hunter asked. Trayden nodded his head. "Right this way," He led Trayden to the right and down a small hallway where there were three doors. Hunter pushed the center one open and revealed a bathroom. "Towels and wash cloths are in those cabinets on the right. Shampoo and conditioner, body wash, and a bar of soap already in the shower. Basic brand, my friends spend the night often and always forget their stuff," He laughed a bit.

"I brought mine with me," Trayden smiled.

"Well, you had prior knowledge you'd be coming over and showering. I expected you'd bring your own on the assumption I don't keep stuff for guests here," Hunter laughed. "My friends, however, come over to hang and party. It always involves music, food, and drinking. Most of the stay overs are because they're too drunk to drive home," He chuckled a bit. "I'll let you wash up now, just leave the towel on the drying rack, I'll grab it tomorrow morning when I do laundry,"

"Okay," Trayden replied as Hunter backed out of the room and closed the door. Trayden got the shower running and waited for it to heat to the temperature he liked. After that, Trayden got a towel and set his washing things inside the shower towards the back wall corner. Trayden used the bathroom first, then stripped down and entered the shower. Thankfully, he shaved earlier before work and didn't need to worry about it now, so it would be a quick wash and rinse. By the end of eight minutes, Trayden shut off the water and got the towel to dry fast and step out onto the soft bathmat. Trayden finished drying off, pulled on his underwear, then pants. Once the deodorant was on, Trayden got his shirt on and sat on the toilet to get his socks, then slip on his shoes. Trayden made sure he had all this things dried and put away back in his bag before hanging the towel where Hunter said to. Trayden ensured the room was clean before exiting the space and shutting the light while walking out the door.

"Nothing beats a shower after work, right?" Trayden about near jumped when Hunter's voice came from his right and out of Trayden's line of sight.

"You scared me," Trayden took a few breaths to calm his racing heart and Hunter smiled gently.

"I'm sorry, handsome. I didn't mean to, honest," Hunter replied. "I was just getting the fire going," He added as Trayden nodded, recalling the fireplace was at the back corner of the living room. Where Trayden was exiting the hallway didn't allow him to see Hunter right away. "Food is on the way, tracker says it just left the store and in route,"

"Great," Trayden smiled. "And it's okay. I just didn't see that far over in my sight line, so when you talked it startled me," He informed.

"I get it," Hunter nodded. "Feel better after the shower?" He wondered.

"Definitely," Trayden replied.

"Well, come on. Let's relax and enjoy getting to hang out," Hunter walked with Trayden into the living room more. "Can I get you something to drink?" He asked. "I've got beer, hard liquor for mixed drinks…I could break out the blender and make smoothies or slushies," Hunter offered. "Well, I know it's late and you have work tomorrow…I do have water, juice, milk, and soda too," He added.

"I'm actually off the next two days now, so I don't mind having a drink or two," Trayden answered as Hunter blinked a few times. "It's part of why I got out late,"

"Sounds like a dinner story," Hunter chuckled. "If you'd like to tell me, of course?"

"Sure," Trayden said. Hunter grabbed two beer bottles from the fridge, then opened them and moved to join Trayden back in the living room as they sat down on the couch that faced the fireplace. Hunter handed one bottle to Trayden, and they tapped them together before taking a drink. "How was work for you?" Trayden inquired.

"The usual. Arrive, figure out who will be there that night, make sure all the systems are working, make the show lineup, check that costumes are cleaned and ready for use. I help with getting the room ready if my backstage stuff is set. Then it's go through the night and using free time between shows or being needed to find music and consider new routines for when we open back up after renovations," Hunter shrugged. "Pretty average," He smiled.

"And they didn't need you tonight?" Trayden questioned.

"Don't know. I might work in my uncle's strip bar, but it's a joint business if that makes sense," Hunter paused to give Trayden a moment to consider if he understood.

"In the sense that he bought the space as owner, but he manages the bar business and you handle the stripping stuff?" Trayden looked at Hunter for confirmation.

"Exactly that. Greg owns the space, but we manage the two main functions in it for success. We had a good boost that it was already a popular place before he took it over and mainly relied on the previous strippers there to just do what they had been before under new management. That worked for a bit, but then Greg realized that more goes into running the performances and he didn't know how to do it. I stepped in to fix some technology issues, outfit fixes, and Greg left me in charge of dealing with all that if things came up that needed attention," Hunter explained as Trayden nodded.

"And you mentioned the first time we hung out that you got into stripping because of a night where people weren't able to perform, so you jumped in and then Greg put you in charge of everything for the stripping business?" Trayden recalled.

"That's right. I've been in charge of the show since I was eighteen. It was probably June-ish, so a couple months after I turned eighteen," Hunter remarked calmly, thinking back on the timeframe. "Yeah, that sounds right. Greg took over the place that January, I was still seventeen and was only there to help him stay organized in the office. I've always been somewhat of an OCD guy and particularly good with numbers. And then March 1st of that same year when I'd turned eighteen, I was legally working there as a bartender and server, handling some of the show stuff when needed. Then three months later, I saved that night and Greg left it up to me to manage everything," Hunter smiled.

"Less work on your uncle," Trayden shrugged as they both took a drink.

"That was basically the idea," Hunter nodded. "Greg handles the bar, I do the shows. And then we sit down a few times a week to go over all the financial stuff. We're more like…Partners," He added.

"And that's what allows you to set your own hours, right?" Trayden questioned.

"To be honest, I'm there just about every day. Sometimes it's just to pop in and make sure everything is ready for the night, others I'm there from about three to close, plus clean up. And then there are times like tonight where I only did a few hours and get to relax," Hunter said. "My average is about forty to fifty hours a week, then tips from dances. Tonight, I basically went in at 3 pm to get set up, go over everything for the night and preset everything needed for music on a CD. All they gotta do is know how to press the play and pause buttons, on top of knowing which switch to flip to return to the ambience music playing during breaks,"

"I assume these shorter shifts are for you to work on the new stuff for next year?" Trayden wondered.

"You got it," Hunter agreed with his assumption.

"I'm not distracting you from working am I?" Trayden inquired.

"It's not a distraction when I invited you over, Tray," Hunter chuckled. The doorbell rang as Hunter set his beer down on the coaster and got up. "That will be the food," He mentioned before going over to the door to get the order from the delivery guy. "Have a good night!" Hunter called before closing the door and returning to the living room and setting the bag down on the table in front of them. "I did Chinese, hope that's okay?"

"One of my favorites," Trayden beamed. "If you had insisted I picked dinner for tonight, this would have been my choice anyway,"

"Guess we think alike when it comes to food," Hunter stated softly, beginning to pull things out and set them on the table. "I got a couple of the basic appetizers and then a large order of rice and one container each of beef, seafood, and chicken. I figured we could get creative with just making our own dishes for dinner," He explained.

"That's a brilliant idea actually. I've ordered from this place before, it's rated the best in the city and has at least one store in every town. I never get an actual meal, just a bunch of solitary pieces and make up a plate of my favorites," Trayden informed. "Great minds think alike, as you said," He added.

"Hence why I said I feel like we'd be good friends," Hunter laughed as he went to get plates, utensils, napkins, and also another beer each for them. "I got forks and chopsticks," He sat the items down carefully and Trayden helped him get everything set up for easy access. Hunter went outside and into the backyard for a moment, then returned with what appeared to be patio chair cushions. Hunter set them on the floor so the both of them could sit down on the floor in front of the table without having to stretch or lean from the couch. "I usually use chopsticks, how about you?"

"I've always struggled to use them," Trayden replied, slightly bashful. "People have tried to teach me, but I never get it,"

"I could try. I'm a good teacher," Hunter offered.

"You manage to teach me something others have failed at for the past like, five years, and you can have two kisses and a hug before tonight is over," Trayden challenged.

"Oh, you're on," Hunter grinned. "Let's get our food first, I'll throw on some TV and then show you the easiest way to use chopsticks," He smiled. "Anything you want to watch? I've got the ultimate cable package with OnDemand, Netflix, or Hulu. I watch just about all of it, so I'm not picky,"

"You have those music channels, ones people use for background noise? I figure if we're gonna be talking while eating, then we shouldn't get distracted by a show or movie," Trayden mentioned.

"I've got all those. You have a genre preference, or should I just put it on random and we get what we do?" Hunter asked.

"Random sounds good. I think the only thing I don't listen to is Opera, and Rap songs. But only some Rap, it really depends on the artist," Trayden shrugged. Hunter nodded and located the music channels, and then selected the one for random genres. Hunter turned it up a bit, but left it a good background noise so the two of them could eat and talk. The males got their food on the plates and Hunter handed Trayden a pair of black chopsticks with dragon designs on them. "Okay, not gonna lie…These are some sexy chopsticks and I almost don't want to ruin them with food,"

Hunter had to laugh a little. "Don't worry, they're well treated to not degrade through food or being washed," Hunter revealed. "Now, ready to learn?" Trayden nodded to him, paying attention.