"I volunteer." Equius' hand was raised briefly before he stood.

"Oh, a-all right then?" said the foppish young man in the green peacoat and scarf who orchestrated the evening's line-up, though by the time he had finished his statement Equius had already gotten up and brushed past him to approach the stage.

His idea for his second date with Aradia was to bring the both of them to a local underground cafe that featured a slam poetry reading every week. He approached the microphone on the flat panel that served as a makeshift stage, gripping it roughly in his fist.

Aradia applauded politely as he reached the state, and rested her chin in her hands. Equius the poet!

How could she think less? So cultured, so noble in his bearing; although a man of few words in speech, of course he would be artful and poignant in written verse. She sat in rapt attention, smiling brightly towards him.

The way he cleared his throat was more of a growl than intended, causing a few distempered murmured and jolts from those closest to the stage. His voice was deep and resonant, as he began,

"The body is a temple, so sacred and true,

A vessel, heaven sent, for traversing this plain,

And care must be meted as it may be due,

For the body is strong, when properly trained;

The strength of the mind, the strength of the soul,

Are limited by the whims of this mortal coil,

So, with diligence done, as with an uncultured foal,

Do we mind our husks, of God, clay, and soil;

If proper care rendered, and spirit is willing,

And exercise rendered with exhaustive rigor,

We shall find creatures so wanton and thrilling

Ripe with virility, passion, and vigor;

Strong as a stallion, and equally driven,

The body is a temple, and tribute is given."

That...was a poem, alright, although Aradia was not entirely sure what to make of it. There was conviction and passion in his voice, though, and that alone was compelling. She clapped politely, as did a few others in the audience.

Plebeians, the whole lot of them, Equius thought as his gaze scanned the audience. Clearly they were unable to understand his verse's depth and meaning. All they were looking for was sobbing, gut-wrenching emotional trysts laced with the form of heartbreak.

His work was life and STRENGTH, a much harder topic to grasp than what these fools could! Equius looked from left to right, pointing his face just so for those in the audience to be able to tell where he was looking. He then walked back toward his seat and placed himself back beside Aradia.

Aradia scooted her chair a little closer to his. "That was really something! I have to say, I liked your delivery even more than the poem itself," she said, quite honestly.

"Passion is an important factor in how the art of poetry is extracted and in turn spread to the masses. It's quite vexing." Equius remained upright and stiff until he felt the welcome pressure of his knee against her soft thigh. He could feel his composure begin to thaw.

"True, and your passion certainly shows through!" Aradia wound her arm around his, and took a sip of her coffee. The room was dimly lit, most tables speckled with patrons. In the far corner, however, sat a closely bundled flock of goatees and mustaches; one such bearded fellow stood and approached the stage. Aradia nuzzled into Equius's shoulder as the man behind the beard unfolded a paper from his pocket and began to read off a letter to Santa on behalf of a turtle.

Aradia listened for a moment, before quietly confiding, "I think some poetry is a little over my head, though."

Equius observed the poet with a slow nod, "There is little quality at this establishment today; I apologize."

"Not your fault, and your poem definitely improved the average, so far," Aradia said, again quite honestly. They had arrived in time to catch the tail end of an off-key Bob Dylan medley, and sat through an extensive rant-saga decrying the evils of the government which did not inspire Aradia, so much as make her envision the speaker in a tin-foil Stetson around the time the phrase "printed money has been laced with mood altering barbiturates" was used with complete sincerity.

Aradia looked to her coffee, a somewhat disappointing brew, and quietly suggested, "I'm not sure it's going to get any better. Want to make a run for it?"

Equius made a quiet sound of contemplation, "We shall."

They grabbed their coats and he took her by the wrist, leading her through the row of seated patrons, only half of whom sat enraptured by the performance before them.

Outside in the chill evening air, Aradia slipped on her coat; a simple black coat that well suited her charcoal skirt and black top. "So, if it's all the same, I kind of don't want to go home just yet. Any ideas?"

"Were you interested, I'm sure we could find something else to suit our interests in the town?" This had been the only venture he could think of for the both of them, but naturally it had been undone by uncultured swine.

Shrugging, Aradia took his hand, "I just want to spend time with you. I'm not picky about where or how. Want to just go for a walk?"

"Yes, that's an excellent choice." Equius was about to bound forward with his usual broad stride, but recanted that thought in favor of walking beside her.

His arm slid around her waist snugly and he allowed himself a more stunted, delayed stride beside her.

He glanced down at her, beautiful in the low light. Her lips were painted as always, and…oh dear, from this angle her black button-up blouse did not hide her cleavage so much as frame it. He tore his eyes away, though the image played in his mind, whether he will it or not.

Aradia wrapped her arm around his waist in turn, and pressed against him as they strolled along the sidewalk. "Have you been writing long?" she asked.

"The arts have always been an important fixture in my life," Equius responded, "Ever since I was young."

"Oh? Do you have the same," Aradia paused, looking for the right words, "...passion for other fields of art, or is written word your favorite?"

"I consider robotics and circuitry a form of art in itself. My poetry is secondary to that."

Aradia nodded, "I don't know much about robotics, but to hear Sollux talk about hardware and code, I definitely get the sense there's some serious craftsmanship within the science. And I'm sure you do that quite well." She smiled up at him as they passed by a bakery that had shut down for the night, the ovens long since gone cold. "When did you get into that? Or have you always had a gift for technology? I can't help but wonder after what childhood might have been like for you, and I'm curious about your family as well. Oh, but am I asking too many questions?"

"You will limit your questions to two at the most at a time," He began sharply before clearing his throat in the same sort of growling way he did earlier, voice softening afterward, "Strictly so I can answer properly, you see." In truth, he certainly did not mind the sweet girl's curiosity. The thought that Aradia, beauty among beauties, could wish to know him so well…he was truly a lucky man.

Aradia startled slightly, though she supposed she could certainly accommodate such a request. "Okay, well, no harm in starting with your family, right?"

For a brief moment Equius paused. How could she not know-? "The Zahhak family is a noble, proud name and we do little to tarnish it. We've made our money and live freely as socialites are wont to do."

She thought for a moment, "Not ringing a bell off-hand, but I kind of meant more like, parents, siblings, childhood pets, that kind of thing. I mean, I've gathered you're kind of well off, Nepeta says you're pretty well off and everything I've seen supports that, but I guess I'm more interested in the 'Equius' than the 'Zahhak' part, if that makes sense," she said, before hastily adding, "Not that I'm diminishing your proud heritage, of course!"

Equius thought for a moment; so she was not after him for his name? His family's money was not the attraction? Of course not, how could he think such a thing…Aradia, low-class though she may have been born, was no gold-digging harlot. Truly, she must have been born to the wrong parents; ah, but if she had been raised properly, and taught in aristocratic ways, she would be a lady that would turn the heads and win the admiration of every man of worth!

Though, he thought as he glanced down at her again, who was he to say she was not already, even despite her low birth?

He was contemplative of his answer before responding, "There is little to me which I have no already disclosed to you. The most recent of these facts is my folly with noble art of archery."

"And I'm sure you could get the hang of it, with time," she said, patting his side comfortingly. "But as far as your family goes, I've only been able to figure out that you ihave/i one. Do you have brothers or sisters? What are your parents like?"

He sighed through his nose, "I have a sister and a brother, both older. My parents have both made each of our lives their priority strictly for the purpose of having a portrait worthy of our gout."

"It sounds like you aren't very close to any of them."

"My life wasn't uncomfortable in any capacity, anything that I needed was provided for me. Including my apartment."

Aradia nodded again, and pondered the best way to broach the topic, "You mentioned being sick as a kid, right? I bet it was really rough. Does that run in your family, or...?"

"If it does, I'm not aware of it. Due to my condition, I was seen as an invalid for a long time."

"Nepeta said that's why you started working out. Is that so?" she asked, quietly, as they waited at a crosswalk.

His grip on her loosened slightly as he answered quietly, "Yes. I was unfit for most anything for a great amount of time. I started working out in order to become strong and well."

"You're strong and healthy now, and that's what matters," Aradia said, releasing his waist to tug him down for a kiss. "Pretty handsome, too, but that's just a nice bonus.

Surprised by her impulsive kiss, he accepted and returned the touch of those soft lips. He then pulled back, nodding quickly, "It's true. What I have now is more important than what I was then."

She resumed her place, latched to his side, as they crossed the street. "Though, just because you might be unwell or something doesn't make anyone less important. I have a friend, he got hurt bad when we were kids, and he got depressed a lot because of it, but that never made him not important, you know?"

"Is he an invalid?" Equius asked, bluntly.

Aradia shot him a look, "He's better now, if that's what you're asking. Walks and everything, but he couldn't for a long time."

He nodded, "I see. That's a most fortunate situation. Clearly he is one of great strength himself."

Aradia grinned, "He is; sometimes I think he doesn't even realize how strong he is. Growing up, Tavros and Sollux were like brothers to me; good thing, too, I'm an only child and I needed someone to get in trouble with, haha!"

Equius' lips quirked up at the side, "You must have been a most rambunctious child, weren't you?"

"I like to think I still am. Maybe not a child, but certainly rambunctious, definitely a troublemaker, possibly a rabble-rouser, and absolutely feisty." Aradia gave him a mischievous grin, "Couldn't you tell?"

He nodded, only having half heard what she said. For as she spoke, shamefully, he began to think about how feisty she could be beneath him- the sight of that black hair strewn across his pillow as she teased him with more of those words. No-if she was on top of him telling him how filthy he was for thinking these things about her while they were in public of all things!

He breathed deeply for just a moment before leaning down and kissing the side of her head, just to the side of her ear once, then once again as he inhaled her scent.

Aradia nuzzled into his kiss, pulling him close to her. Before he could pull back, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips.

She wanted this? Oh, so most certainly did want this. He pulled her closer to the building and held her entirely in his arms, deepening the kiss that she had pressed upon him. He parted their lips, the point of his tongue tripping on her lower lip before entwining with hers.

She gave a soft hum, her arms about his neck and keeping him close to her as she drank in the lingering flavor of black coffee on his tongue.

Back flat against the building, Equius allowed her to have the dominant position before him. His hands molded down her form as much as he was capable through her jacket. Damn their locale! He fisted his hands into the fabric and held onto her hips, withdrawing his mouth from hers briefly.

One hand scratched though Equius's hair as Aradia pushed back for another kiss. The walk was dimly lit and bereft of people, but Aradia could not say with true confidence that a stadium audience would have kept her from laying her tongue to his lips again.

Oh yes, the dominance and power he felt from the more petite girl was intoxicating. Equius panted through his nose at the debauchery she was dragging him through by her wiles and her grace. The tendons of his throat tightened before his teeth tugged at her lower lip.

Another soft groan, and she flicked her tongue against his upper lip, as one hand happened to graze his ear as the other traced down his neck towards his chest. God, the fire in him, it was intoxicating, it was contagious, it was delicious and wonderful and coffee-flavored...

It was too much, too good, too soon, too public! Suddenly, Equius quickly drew back with a short intake of breath, "Aradia, we must go. Simply because it's unseemly of us to behave in such a way here..." His forehead was misted with sweat in spite of the cool air.

She whimpered and pressed to his chest, but nodded, "You're...you're right, of course. Sorry, got a little carried away there? Hahaha..." She cleared her throat and straightened her jacket, then took his hand, "Um, so...back...to the car?"

He swiped his sleeve across his forehead with a grunt and a nod, "Yes, I parked further down this way."

He began to walk down the street, the feel of her lips burned into his system and leaving him in dire need for more. But there was time. He needed patience and discipline before pursuing her further.

Slightly embarrassed, Aradia walked beside him, keeping her racing thoughts to herself. Her cheeks were slightly red, she would glance at Equius, now at his face, now at his chest, now sneaking a peek at his rear, and now back up to his lips again, her cheeks growing ever redder.

Before long she realized her gaze had drifted down to just below is belt, and she locked her eyes forward, simply walking quietly alongside him, but soon enough she was lost in thought, beet-red, and stifling a giggle.

Equius sharply turned to her, self-conscious, "What? What is it that has you laughing so?"

Aradia stopped, eyes wide, and she struggled for a cover story. "Oh! The, um, the beardy-guy, I was just thinking how he kind of looked like a terrier, and my mind went silly places, that's all!"

Equius grinned and chuckled in response, "Foolish, but understandable."

Silly girl, beautiful girl…Soon enough and with her hearty approval, he would get her in his room and know her intimately.

Soon.