Aurelio texted him.

Flug had almost forgotten he had exchanged numbers with him. And he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about the man who spiked his drink just randomly texting him at two in the morning. If he really had. He wasn't fully sure if he really trusted Black Hat's word. He couldn't really think of what Black Hat might've had to gain from lying about it, but he couldn't think of anything Aurelio had to gain from doing it either. So he was just all kinds of confused about what to believe. Is a guy who introduced himself as a villain bent on world domination really someone who should be trusted? Flug supposed he was a pretty honest and upfront guy, if he was indeed being honest. He probably could've mentioned Aurelio drugging him sooner though. Like, oh I don't know, maybe before pitching the "let me bite you so he'll back off" scheme. He should probably lead with that next time.

The time only added to his confusion and agitation. Why was Aurelio awake at a time so late it was early on a weekday and texting Flug of all people? Ok, he was one of the most popular guys on campus, and had a much more lively social life so maybe the fact that he was still up wasn't all that odd. Maybe it just struck Flug as odd because he was usually home by 8 at the latest (when he didn't have anything to be working on for his club) and the only people he really talked to were his club members and Black Hat. And given the fact that nearly no one in his club really had his number, it was pretty much just Black Hat.

But even so, why would Aurelio be texting him? Didn't he have an entire harem's worth of other people to be talking to? You know, people who were actually socially competent and far more outgoing and could easily respond to a late-night text out of the blue with ease?

Flug was not that person.

No, Flug was the person who heard about this guy in the seventh grade and decided he wanted to know more about him but could never bring himself to do anything like actually approach or talk to him. He was the person who stayed up late in high school essentially cyber-stalking this same guy. He was the person who taught himself to code and hack as a teenager for the sole purpose of stalking this guy more efficiently, and making sure no one would ever find out about it. He was the person who knew even back then that this man wasn't anyone he should ever get within arms reach of and should be avoiding at all costs.

Not that that ever stopped him from getting just outside of arms reach. If anything that was what pulled him in deeper. He was safe from the other side of the computer screen, that was what he told himself. He had nothing to fear from a guy who didn't even know he existed. He was, even in person, undetectable. So beneath his notice that Aurelio never did notice him. Never noticed if he was followed. If the same scrawny guy was just in his peripheral vision many times in and even out of school on the rare occasion Flug had an excuse to be home late. What did it matter? It wasn't as if he mattered. He bet Aurelio didn't even remember that they had gone to the same middle and high schools. It wasn't like they'd ever spoken back then. He wasn't the most memorable kid, he supposed. The kids who had tormented him for so long probably hardly even remembered him either. Typical loser that someone like Aurelio would never bother paying attention to.

Until now, when he was texting him "Hey" at two in the morning.

What was that even supposed to mean? Just, Hey? How was Flug supposed to interpret that? Was it a platonic "hey"? A "just checking up on you" hey? A "Hey how are you, you wanna catch a movie later" hey?

Was it an "Are you still awake and down to meet right now" hey?

Flug pondered on how he should respond to that. What on earth was he supposed to say back? Should he even say anything at all? If he did, Aurelio would know he was awake. And would probably ask why. Especially since Flug had nothing to be doing this time of night (technically morning). He supposed he could just wait until daybreak, make it look like he'd been asleep and had missed his message. But even then, what was he supposed to say to that? Hey, sorry I missed your text. I was asleep. Like any other totally normal shut-in with no life who totally has a soul. Yep. What's up?

Flug spent so long thinking about what he should say back that he ended up not saying anything. He opted instead to ignore the text and go back to improving his Hat-Bot design. The one Black Hat had said he'd liked the best. In Flug's mind, there was always room for improvement. And adding a camera so his boss could watch his POV murder live-stream would apparently be an improvement. Hey, Black Hat was the one who would be paying to build it, the least Flug could do was make it suite his needs. He supposed that having just one circular lens in the head was the most efficient way of going about it. With a wide-angle lens. Hmm, it was going to be very top heavy. Better make sure the legs are reinforced.

When morning rolled around, Flug still didn't know what to say. So he continued avoiding the issue and chose not to respond at all.

Flug found himself spacing out during the lecture.

He wouldn't usually do something like that, he took his studies and grades very seriously after all. But in his defense, this lecture, no this entire class really, wasn't anything he cared about. Nor was it at all related to what he intended to do with his life.

Well, that last part wasn't fully accurate. The "Preventative Measures for Potential Villainy" portion of the course was related to his future, just not in the way that anyone else in this room would ever imagine.

Classes like this, meant to educate young people on the threat of evil, were required courses at most major universities like this one. UNEHVM in particular boasted an expansive roster of latin American costumed heroes. So of course, under the unspoken assumption that all students were fully intending to add to that roster, they all had to take courses like this. Courses focused on what exactly evil was, recognizing when someone around you might be thinking of turning to the dark side, and naturally what you should if you ever find yourself in such a situation that you need to take action. They'd had assemblies and stuff about this in high school, but nothing quite this drawn out.

Even before meeting Black Hat and signing away his soul, Flug never found these types of things to be all that stimulating. Mainly because they were all so...polarized. They presented the forces of good and evil as being so clear-cut. They acted like heroism and villainy were black-and-white things that were obvious if you knew what to look for. To Flug, that just wasn't the case. What was good and what was bad wasn't ever as plain as it was made to seem. It wasn't that simple. If for no other reason than because humans weren't that simple.

Granted, now that this was a college-level course, it was a bit more in-depth. But not in any way that Flug found satisfactory. It was clear to him that the purpose behind it was not to educate or seek out any real answers of the root of good or evil, it was just to perpetuate what someone else decided was a correct way of thinking and push it onto the youths of the nation in the interest of maintaining order. Questions were not met with satisfactory answers, and Flug had realized long before that he was better off keeping his questions to himself.

They touched briefly on that whole "Nature v. Nurture" concept. Whether evil, as it were, stemmed from a person's upbringing or if it was something inherent in a human that made individuals more prone to crime and cruelty. One thing Flug was glad for, they did not generalize in the classroom. They recognized that one couldn't just put an entire category of people into one box and expect a vague criteria to apply to every single one of them.

Everyone understood the gist of the idea of course, but Flug wished they'd discussed it more. It was one of the few times he'd actually prefer group discussion to solitary study. Though he'd never speak the things really going through his mind.

He was thinking about himself.

He had some dark things in his mind, sure. Maybe it went a bit farther than the average person. Maybe he was at a greater "risk" of acting on those thoughts. Was that something inherent to him or had there been something in his life that made it so? He couldn't think of anything. When he tried to trace back a thought, tried to follow it back to where it had sprung up in his mind, he usually didn't come up with much. Had it come from him, or had it been planted subconsciously?

Why had the thought entered his mind to observe Aurelio from afar for so long and so obsessively? What drew his gaze for so many years and continued to even now? What was it that had been compelling him to keep his distance even from the object of his desires? Was it something innate in him that decided that the distance provided security and safety, so that he could continue his deeds undisturbed? Was it his cowardice and shame of his wants that pressured him into secrecy? That too, did it spawn from within him or was it a reaction to outside forces? His environment or his natural self?

What was it that bubbled up devices of murder and mayhem? In the past he often tried pushing such thoughts out of his mind, scaring himself that such thoughts would ever occur to him, but that didn't change the fact that they did. Regardless of whether or not he acted on the thoughts, he did have them. They were there for him to shove down and pretend he was no different from any other young man around him. It was something he was kind of used to, he often did ignore and put off the things he didn't want to have to deal with. He shoved down anything that threatened to make him the odd one out. Even his successes, always bittersweet, for they drew people his way. Something he wished he could avoid. He wished he could have anonymity while still being recognized for his work.

He faintly smirked to himself. Maybe he would, one day. After he graduated and took his first steps as a genuine mad scientist, come up with some cheesy alias and horrendous outfit to continue hiding who he was. Just switching the mask he lived in for a mask he could really live in.

If it was anything like the corset he was hiding under his T-shirt, the irony would probably be quite enjoyable. Maybe it would be the same as being constrained by his innumerable fears and the stiff black garment. One suffocating, the other comfortable, making it in turn bearable. Twisting body and mind until he was in a more desirable state. Maybe that was why the concept of hypnosis and submission appealed to him so. Maybe he liked the thought of someone else bending him to their whims because he'd had to bend himself for so long to fit what other people wanted him to be that he was tired. Tired of making himself be something he wasn't. Let someone else do it. He wanted to hand his reins over to someone else for a change, let them worry about what he was going to be today. It sounded so nice to have that decision be in someone else's hands.

And that. Was that a result of his many years of hiding in fear of rejection and pretending to fit in the role laid out for him, or was it something deeper that he simply had a congenital longing for? He'd wanted it before, he wanted it now, he'd probably want it until he actually got it. Then, he'd either be content at long last or be disappointed that it wasn't all he had built it up to be.

Who was it that said that old thing? There are two tragedies in life; not getting what we want, and getting it. Either be perpetually fixated on a perfect ideal, or be let down by the reality of what it was. That was how Flug interpreted it at least.

But back to the matter at hand, which he was probably going to have to ponder on his own time, as class was over.

He had another class right after this one, something that actually applied to his future in the more conventional way, so he was looking forward to it. He had a paper due, not that it was any big thing. Upside of being sleepless, Flug hardly ever stressed about homework anymore. Who cared if it took him all night to write an essay the day before it was due, he was gonna be up all night anyway. It reminded him of his high school days; staying up late into the night, catching up on the assignments he'd put off to watch anime or Aurelio. Two small breaks from the bleakness of his life. Kind of. Now he was preoccupied with designing malignant weaponry and drowning his inner demons in dulcet spirals. But he just had so much more time, he could do it all now. He could wait until it was mere hours before the due date and get it done, and still probably get an "A" for his trouble.

He passed Black Hat in the hall. The two men didn't really say anything, just a smile and a nod as they went their respective ways. Black Hat still seemed dark and menacing, but since none of the menace was directed at Flug he didn't really pay it much mind. That was just kind of how Black Hat was.

And if his eyes dipped down a bit, Flug tried not to pay too much mind to that either.

Speaking of, what was it Black Hat had said? Back when they were talking about villainy? About what was pure villainy?

You either have it or you don't.

Couldn't be taught, couldn't be learned. Naturally evil. Flug supposed that told him where Black Hat stood. And he wasn't sure that he wasn't right there with him.

He considered it logically. He'd been picked on and tormented in his high school days. He'd been tormented further for his sexuality. These were not things unique to his life. He wasn't the only one who'd been bullied in high school. He wasn't the only one who'd ever been discriminated against for being homosexual. He was nothing special because of it. Thousands of people worldwide were singled out for things like their smarts, skin color, sexual orientation, gender orientation, prejudice against hybrids or people with more abstract Gifts, things about themselves they couldn't help. They weren't all driven to misdeeds because of it. So, was it a result of all his misfortune piled up and finally breaking him, or was it some inherent part of him that made him more susceptible to such acts if given enough of a push? If given enough of an excuse to justify it to himself.

They had it coming. They were no better. They were the ones who wouldn't leave him alone. They deserved it. He had to do it. No one else would. No one else ever did. All they ever did was talk and talk and it never did a thing. So, he had to take action for once in his life.

That was how it had been. He'd had to do it. That was what he told himself, at least. Usually he chose to believe it.

How had it been for Black Hat, he wondered.

From what Black Hat had divulged it seemed he had come from very meager beginnings. Flug wondered if Black Hat had always wanted to be a villain, or if he'd had some other aspirations that he'd had to put aside or give up on. Had he turned to a life of crime out of ambition, or necessity? Had it been his choice to kill? Or was he driven to it the way Flug had been? What made him decide that he wanted to rule the world? Had he really continued and pursued his goal of world domination for so many years on nothing but faith in himself and the drive to see his dreams come to fruition?

There was still so much Flug didn't know about him.

The water of the shower stung his body a bit. It gave Flug another chance to practice turning off his senses. The trick seemed to be just kind of ignoring it until it went away. Blocking it out until he was numb to the world. He didn't feel the prick of the water on his tender skin, he hardly even felt the water of the showerhead pelting his form at all. He was just vaguely aware of something coming into contact with him, but if he didn't think about it even that sensation became distant and dull. Even his hands, scrubbing 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner out of his hair, might as well have belonged to someone else.

Sometimes, he swore he just got so wrapped up in the rest of his life he forgot to shower for days on end. Being preoccupied with work, school, his club activities, the small matter of his budding career path as a villain, it was easy to overlook little things like the fact that he probably stank. Only thinking of it at the most inopportune of times. Like when Aurelio was near.

Flug's mouth went a dry all of a sudden. He was surprised he even noticed.

His feelings towards Aurelio were...complicated at the moment. He was pretty much stuck with endlessly analyzing what little information he had trying to figure out what was true without actually having to confront either Aurelio or Black Hat. The drinks at the party were strong, but were they really strong enough to knock him out after only a few drinks? Even if he wasn't fully sure what his limit was, it felt to Flug like he'd only really had three or four cups of whatever exactly he'd been drinking. Enough to get him drunk, sure. Enough to knock him out so soon? He wasn't convinced.

He tried to think about whether or not Aurelio would actually drug him. Was that something that Aurelio seemed likely to do? Well, he had no problem using people as human shields or forcing people to fight his battles for him. He was a pretty underhanded guy. Flug knew for a fact he had no problem taking advantage of people. It was kind of what he did. So, perhaps slipping something in someone's drink wasn't anything unthinkable. But then, why? Why would he do something like that? To Rocinante Flugslys of all people? What would the purpose be? Was he actually interested in him in that way? The way Black Hat seemed to think he was? Flug still really couldn't fathom something like that. Ignoring all the nothing he had to offer personality-wise, it wasn't as though he was all that attractive. Especially for Aurelio, who could undoubtedly have his pick of the entire human population.

Flug was thin. Scratch that, he was downright scrawny. He had nothing so much as resembling a social life. He spent most of his time indoors with his nose in blueprints or his hands in machinery. His fingers were abnormally long and speckled with small superficial cuts and scrapes. He had nerdy horn-rimmed glasses with thick lenses. He had boring brown eyes that saw the world in a blurry Sin City filter without those thick lenses. His hair was a curly nightmare immune to the influence of the comb. Half of his face was covered in scars, and the other half wasn't much to look at either.

Flug stepped out of the shower and began toweling himself off. Operating more on muscle memory than conscious thought. As he glanced down at his body, he noted that he was also currently covered in bruises. Which would probably only be maybe pleasing to the eye of the one who'd left them there.

Black Hat. A man he was equally conflicted about.

Flug stepped out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, he slipped his glasses on and inspected himself more thoroughly in the mirror.

His neck was a mess, as he expected it to be. Full of bruises and scabs from teeth breaking the skin. They trailed along his neck down to his collarbone and nearly reached the scattering of scars on his right shoulder. Black Hat hadn't spared more than a few centimeters of skin from his attention. His chest was more bare, the flat surface of his torso only having a few small scattered marks where Black Hat had trailed his mouth down. Although his sides has a few small bruises that were in the faint shape of fingers. They were far more pronounced on his hips. One look and anyone would know someone had been holding him there. Tight.

The same could be said for his behind, he timidly noticed.

He felt a pang of arousal shoot down into his abdomen. A quick glance confirmed that his little plane had indeed perked up a bit, preparing for takeoff. Something that made him incredibly self-conscious. Even when he was all by his lonesome.

Flug fished around in his underwear drawer, seeing what he hadn't worn this week yet. His hand brushed against a soft satin pair, he pulled it out to get a better look at it's colors. It was a red pair with a white lace trim. Almost festive.

Almost...Black Hat's colors...

Flug wondered if Black Hat would like him in something like this. Did Flug have any with a black trim? Or black ones with red trim? Would that be something his Master would like to see? His Pet, decorated in his colors? Wearing them like a coat of arms?

Why was he thinking these things? Did he intend to show Black Hat his undergarments again? Did he intend to show him how looked in the garter belt he was clipping to a black pair of fishnet stockings? Would Black Hat have liked it better if he had worn something like this the morning they ended up in bed? Or if after dinner Flug had allowed things to escalate, and his new slacks were slipped off his long legs to reveal something like what he was wearing now?

Rocinante Flugslys looked at himself in the mirror again. Oh God just stick a collar and a cat ear headband on him and he'd probably faint, he wouldn't be able to recognize himself. The thought of including a tail plug made him feel dizzy and he fell back onto the bed. Better than falling to the floor, at least.

He wasn't going to be able to go through with this, was he?

He still wasn't fully sure what he was supposed to do now that he was in a faux-relationship. He and Black Hat had worked out their story, but Flug still wasn't completely settled on how they were going to go about this. Well, he should probably start getting used to referring to Black Hat as his boyfriend. While being kind of private about having a boyfriend. Since he wasn't comfortable with physical public acts, maybe he should think of something else? Some endearing way of referring to Black Hat to make it clear that they were in fact together? Should he start calling Black Hat "babe"? No, no, that was laughably ill-fitting. Baby? No, somehow that was actually worse. Honey? Too sweet. Darling? If anything, he imagined Black Hat calling him darling.

It wasn't as if he could possibly call him Master in public!

Did he change his relationship status? Should he change his relationship status? He was feeling a lot more like "It's complicated" in all honesty. Complicated because Black Hat had said it was just to sell their story, yet asked to kiss him again. And asked him to dinner. Then pulled him onto his lap and proceeded to kiss him again. And asked if he could still call him his pet. And had reiterated multiple times that Flug could say no to him. So, was this all just for show? It seemed that Black Hat might actually want, at the very least, a physical relationship with him. Flug wasn't sure at all what it was he himself wanted out of it.

Maybe...maybe he could treat this as a kind of trial run? See if he was comfortable with the idea, and continue getting a bit closer to Black Hat and see if he was even the type of person he'd be in a romantic relationship with if it weren't for a sold soul and an apparently shared bite kink? Black Hat seemed to enjoy biting him as much as Flug enjoyed being bitten. And if not, then perhaps some sort of...friends with benefits type situation? Something more on the casual side of things? They worked together, they hung out, and every so often did a bit...more? On occasion, be physical with each other? Well, that wasn't such a bad idea. They were both men. They had...needs...that really should be met somehow and it wasn't as though there was anyone else. So, no real reason to feel odd about it. Like Demetra had said, it wasn't as though there was anything wrong with that. And...Black Hat did say that he would take care of him...that he'd give him what he needed...

Flug picked himself up, with all the thoughts swimming around in his head he didn't dare touch himself. He didn't want to know the sort of thing he'd fantasize about in this state. Going to his desk and opening his laptop, he noticed he hadn't checked his email in a while. Not that he really had much. It was mostly spam, or notifications from his rarely used social media sites. Which were pretty much just more spam. It didn't really matter to him that they updated their privacy policy when he didn't put any sensitive information out there. He had an email from Manuel that his Engineering Club was going to meet in the science building at the end of the week. It was probably going to be pretty boring, but he'd go. Not like he had anything better to do. There wasn't anything else of note, so Flug just kind of sat there for a bit, contemplating what he would do tonight.

Nothing was due tomorrow, so homework was not of the highest urgency. He could always just do it now and get it out of the way. Just because he could procrastinate didn't mean he should. Better not get too much into the habit.

He could draw up some more blueprints for future inventions. Fiendish devices to mutilate and maim. They always came easily, if he dared to give it some thought. He'd gotten the Hat-Bots out of his head with little difficulty, so perhaps if he allowed his mind to unleash more of his inner villain he'd be able to slip a few more mechanical menaces out past his filter of normalcy.

He could watch more hypno videos. Or documentaries. Or anime. You know, it had been a while now since he'd watched Digimon. He wondered if it still held up. It had kind of been his first introduction to anime as a child, it could be worth revisiting. He could probably find all the episodes online. How did the opening song go again?

Oh, before all that, he sent Black Hat a quick text: Club meeting Friday. Don't wait up for me.

Seeing as how they got together pretty regularly, he figured it was just common courtesy to tell the man he had something else to do so he didn't waste his time.

OK. Want to go with me to Dem's Saturday? See that snake she was talking about?

Oh wow, two social outings in as many weeks! He was well on his way to becoming a bonafide social butterfly!

Sure. Are you picking me up again?

I mean unless you or Dem gets a car by the end of the week and I can stop being your taxi service, yeah.

Ooh, someone was feeling snarky. Flug felt a smile tugging at his lips.

Ok, point taken. When are we leaving?

God it felt like everyone was staring at him!

Since their latest project had finished up, the Engineering Club met in room 106 of the science building. Just them. No Gifted volunteers or anything. All fifteen members showed up, so that was nice. Usually only about a handful of them could be bothered to be present at one time.

Manuel was going over how everyone had done on the project, what could be improved, suggestions for what they'd be doing during the spring semester, lots of things that Flug couldn't force himself to focus on right then. Because he just felt eyes all over him. More specifically, his neck. Which he was trying very hard not to hide like a turtle. A very self-conscious turtle who really wished he'd said Fuck you, I'm uncomfortable, to Black Hat and wore a scarf today.

The meeting ended fairly quickly, as it usually did when all they had to do was talk, and Flug kind of nervously picked all his stuff up and rushed out before anyone could question him. It sounded like maybe someone had tried, but he just blew them off immediately. He needed to get out of there. He left out of one the side exits to make sure he got out quicker. He just needed to get out of there, get away from anyone who might try to talk to him, and get home. He'd be safe there. It'd all be okay.

Until he ran into the one person highest on his list of people he didn't want to see right now.

"Oh, Rocinante." He said. "I'm glad I caught you."

"Au-Aurelio," Flug said in a small, breathless voice. Not unusual for him, but he was left speechless out of fear and suspicion rather than fear and arousal.

Why was he here now, of all times? Why would he be here? What reason was there for Aurelio to be hanging around the science building?

"I tried texting you." He said. "Did you not get it?"

"Oh, uh, n-n-no, I-I got it," Dumbass, why did you say that!? You could've just pretended his message never got through and that was why you didn't respond! "S-S-Sorry, I've just b-been b-b-busy this week."

"Rocinante, I wanted to talk to you real quick, if you've got some time now."

"Wh-What is it?" Flug stuttered, more unsure than ever of what it was he wanted to say to him. Please just make it quick please just make it quick.

"I was wondering if you might...help me with something."

"H-H-Help you?"

"Yes, I was hoping you might be interested in help me test out a few things. With my Gift."

Flug felt his entire world come to a screeching halt for a second. "With you Gift?" He asked.

"Yes, ah..." Aurelio played with his thick, dark, mesmerizing hair. "You see, I've had this ability all my life, and yet lately I feel I've never really explored just what my actual limits are. I feel I've kept everything I use it for very, well, basic. Never really trying out anything new. Recently, I've been thinking about some other aspects of the body I could potentially control, and I'd like you to help me."

Oh, so maybe this was all he wanted him for. Testing out the limits of his Gift. Not quite as mind-blowing as wanting to go out with him or something. Ah well, there was a load of off Flug's mind. One less thing to worry about.

There was still the matter of why he drugged him last Friday, but if this was all there was to it Flug could handle it. He could for sure handle being used for his mind. That, that was fine. Something he could deal with. Hell, that was all Black Hat was really doing, and that guy was confirmed evil. So dealing with Aurelio couldn't be any worse than dealing with an actual villain, right?

It was still a terrifying thought as to what Aurelio could accomplish now that he was thinking about testing the limits of his powers, but it was a thought that Flug could think with relative ease. It was absolutely no trouble at all to think about all the horrifying things he could do with his Gift.

Horrifying...and for maybe the first time, not very exciting.

"Oh, uh, well, that d-d-does sound pr-pretty fas-fascinating, ahhh..." Flug said, mumbling his words. God this was so uncomfortable. He could barely bring himself to look Aurelio in the eyes right now.

How does one talk to someone who (allegedly) drugged them at a party?

No, no, he better operate on the assumption that Black Hat was indeed telling the truth. Just in case. It'd be much safer for Flug to be on guard.

"Can I, can I think about this?" He asked, more just looking for a way out of this conversation. He really didn't want to be involved with this, everything about it screamed DANGER! DANGER! GET OUT OF THERE! Sure, it'd be interesting to witness first-hand just what Aurelio was capable of when he was really thinking outside the box, but it just did not bode well for Flug's health.

And neither did telling the man "no" outright. Not in person at least.

"Well, I was sort of hoping we could get started soon. Maybe...right now? Find some secluded spot and test out a few theories of mine?" Aurelio fixed him with a wide grin and lidded eyes. Any other time, Flug would've up and fainted from AURELIO CRUZ giving him such an alluring look while suggesting they go somewhere secluded. To test out a few theories. It sounded like something straight out of his daydreams.

"Aw, gee, Aurel-l-lio" He cringed at his mangling of the man's lyrical name. "I don't know. I, uh, I have this th-thing, and it's taking up a l-l-lot of my time so I don't r-really know if I'll be able to h-h-help you with anything." His eyes were nervously flitting to and fro, looking at everything except the man before him. The few seconds his eyes did land on his face just man him want to run for cover. He was wringing his hands like everything else in the world would fade away as long as he kept up the nervous motions.

"Rocinante, does this have something to do with Black Hat?" Aurelio asked, suddenly looking a lot more serious. Flug's heart shot up into his throat. God, was it that obvious? They didn't even need to do anything in public, everyone already thought they were dating!

Honestly, Flug felt a bit offended that people would just blatantly assume something like that. It wasn't as if Flug was prancing around in heels all fabulously, talking about fashion and the latest pop diva. He wore his mask well, he thought. No one would ever think of him as a particularly masculine specimen, but he didn't outwardly present as all that feminine, did he?

"Uh, yeah...yeah kind of." Flug said. He still was looking anywhere but Aurelio's face.

"I thought you said that the two of you weren't anything serious?" Oh sweet Jesus the way that one eyebrow of his perked up. Not many people could move only one of their eyebrows like that. Was it something that had to be practiced? Or could only certain people do it, like folding their tongues? Was that really the best thing to be thinking of right now!?

"We-We weren't." Flug was just completely ad-libbing by this point, forgetting what the story he and Black Hat worked out was. "B-But, I guess, after your, uh, your party, s-s-something changed."

"What changed?" Aurelio asked, his voice sounded a bit...off.

"Well, uh, Black Hat told me h-how y-y-you and he, and Demetra, took me home. Th-Thanks for that by the way. S-S-Sorry to make you g-g-go out of y-your wa-way like that. And, um, the ne-next morning we uh, we got to ta-talking. About, about me and him. How, like, w-we have a lot of f-f-fun t-t-t-together, but we ki-kind skipped over the whole 'talking' st-stage, hehe. S-So we de-decided we'd slow it d-d-down a little and actually, y-you know, go out. W-With each other." God he was taking a lot of liberties with this story. And it felt so super weird to be thanking the guy who knocked him out at his party. "And, well, now we're pretty much of-f-f-official, heh."

"And, what, he saw you drinking with me? That made him rethink things?"

Flug chuckled nervously. It was like Aurelio was helping him along with his lie. And it fit the narrative so well. Convenient. He did get really sarcastic when talking about Aurelio Saturday. Almost like he actually was bothered by Flug drinking with Aurelio. "Y-Yeah, I guess he d-d-didn't really like that." He was grinning madly, trying not to burst out in hysterical laughter just to get some of this tension out of his system.

"So he's a jealous type? Is that it?" Aurelio said with a smirk. "Are you worried he'll get mad if you start spending some time with me?"

Yes. Just say that. My evil boyfriend will get mad and I just don't want to deal with that.

...My evil boyfriend...oh Dios, por favor ayúdame en estos tiempos difíciles.

"Uhh, y-yeah. Something like that." Flug said with a forced smile. He really hoped Black Hat would be okay with this little addition to their story.

Aurelio laughed. "I assure you and your boyfriend I have nothing but the purest of intentions." He reached out a hand to touch him and...Flug backed away. Physically. Physically stepped back to avoid the contact.

Aurelio noticed. Oh God he noticed. Well, of course he noticed, it's not like Flug was at all subtle about it! Oh God why had he done that!? Why'd he do that!? Why on earth had he backed away so obviously!?

Aside from the fact that he didn't really believe a word of that last sentence.

"I, um," Flug cleared his throat fearfully. Quick, say something! Make something up! "I think...I think there are some things I need to cl-clear up."

"Like what?"

"At-At your party. I think I may ha-have said some things that I probably shouldn't have."

"You mean, like when you told me you were..." Aurelio trailed off, still hesitant to say it out loud.

"Yeah." Flug said. He also had fuzzy memories of calling Aurelio...certain things. Like hot. Or sexy. But there was no time to think about that right now. If he did, he'd never get out of this conversation with his sanity intact. "I-I, I don't...I'm not u-usually so..." He struggled to get the words out. "N-Not a lot of people know. And, I'd appreciate it if it s-st-stayed that way."

"About...you and Black Hat or...?"

"B-Both." Flug looked Aurelio cautiously in the eyes. "Um, c-c-can w-w-w-we just k-keep this bet-between us?"

"Oh sure, sure," Aurelio said. "If-"

"Oh Flug, there you are!" A woman's voice called out.

Flug and Aurelio turned, and there was Tesoro, lightly jogging around the corner of the science building, auburn curls bouncing and swaying as she approached the two men and pulling Flug by the arm once she was close enough.

"C'mon, we're gonna be late to meet the others for pupusas!"

"What?"

"Pupusas! Everyone else is probably halfway there, let's go!" She said, taking him away with a slightly forced perky grin. "The way you rushed out I thought you'd be the one waiting for us!"

"Oh, uh, right. Right." Flug said, catching on quick. "I'll, uh, I'll talk to you later, Aurelio." He said as he was lead away quickly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll call you." Aurelio said. Oh no please don't.

After his escape, and he made sure Aurelio was well out of earshot, he whispered to Tesoro. "Thank you for that." He wasn't sure why he still felt the need to whisper, especially after triple-checking that they weren't being followed, but it just felt safer that way.

"Don't mention it," She whispered back. "I owed you one anyway."

"What?"

"You got me out of his hands before, it's the least I can do. One good turn deserves another, you know?" She smiled at him, and suddenly he was immensely grateful that he'd stepped in back then when he did. Tesoro let go of his arm, and he held himself in a small sort of hug as he continued walking with her. He wondered where they were going, it wasn't the direction of the parking lot and his bus stop was the other way.

"I know you'll probably say no anyway," She said "But a bunch of us actually are going out for pupusas. You can totally come if you want."

"Sure," Flug said. "Count me in."

"Wait, really?" Tesoro said, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah, sure. I've been thinking I could stand to go out more." And I really don't want to be alone right now.

"Oh, well, cool!" She perked up, genuinely this time. Blonde highlights catching the sunlight and heightening her bright smile against her dark skin. "It's probably just gonna be the six of us; me, you, Hector, Angeles, Miguel and Cynthia. I tried invited Natalia and Bianca and even Rodrigo but I'm not sure if any of them will actually show up. Maybe we could all get together after finals and hang out one last time for the semester. You think you'd be up for that?"

"Sure, sounds good." Flug said, having no real intentions of actually going.

"Great!" She beamed. And kept talking, although Flug mostly tuned her out. Just agreeing and nodding at the correct times to make it at least seem like he was trying to contribute to the conversation. He really hoped he wasn't agreeing to any more future outings. His inner introvert was already shriveling up in horror thinking about having more social obligations.

His outer introvert (a.k.a. his physical self) spent the late afternoon in the company of friendly people talking about things that didn't feel very important. It really wasn't too bad. It served its purpose as a distraction from his worries. His neck was not mentioned. He was talked into carpooling with Hector and Miguel and made it home easily enough. He repeated the statement that they should all hang out together again soon and locked himself in his apartment to wait for Black Hat to pick him up in the morning to go check out some deadly snake at Demetra's house.

Look at him, having a life and junk.

Translations:

oh Dios, por favor ayúdame en estos tiempos difíciles = oh God, please help me in these difficult times (Spanish)

Notes:

If you don't know what Flug was talking about in terms of tragedies, here's the actual quote: There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. - Oscar Wilde

I don't really have much else to say here. Leave me a comment if you like, I always appreciate them. Follow me on tumblr, I post weekly excerpts of upcoming chapters and repost millions of things every day and night. [ ]

Decembers chapters are gonna be wild.