I Only Have Eyes For You
Title: I Only Have Eyes For You
Rating: PG
Warnings: Swearing
Summary: On an outing he was dreading, Linksano meets a person he finds fascinating...
Notes: This story does not take place in the Lifetimes AU, even if small details from that AU are used in it.
This story is a present for my dear friend lizynob! (I'm sorry it took so long to finish! I promise not to take so long in the future!)
Thank you for being such a wonderful person and a wonderful friend to me! I really hope you enjoy this! ^_^
Linksano checked his watch and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited on the sidewalk of a thankfully empty street late one evening.
“Will you two hurry it up?” he demanded, looking with irritation first to Linkara, who was pointing his Magic Gun into the air and firing rapidly, and then to the target of those shots, a wildly cackling Insano. The other scientist was currently bouncing up and down like a deranged jackrabbit as he traversed the snow-covered street.
“You’ll never be able to defeat me now, Linkara!” Insano cried, smoothly leaping over several blasts of magical energy. “Not when I’ve coated my shoes with my newest, most original, and most incredible invention yet! It’s a highly elastic liquefied goo-essentially a type of flying rubber! Amazing, isn’t it? I’ve decided to name it: Flybber!”
Linkara momentarily lowered his weapon to stare up at Insano in confusion. “Uh… isn’t that essentially a rip-off of ‘Flubber’? You know, that green goo from that Robin Williams movie, which was in itself, a rip-off of ‘The Absent-Minded Professor’-”
“Silence!” Insano demanded as he suddenly leapt toward Linkara. “I will not have my Flybber tarnished as a cheap knock-off by the likes of you!”
While the two started to engage in hand-to-hand combat, Linksano folded his arms and rolled his eyes. “What a hack. I can’t believe Linkara is wasting time fighting this sham of a scientist when he knows I have a prior engagement.” Linksano checked his watch again and bit his lip. If Linkara didn’t finish up soon, he’d miss the start of the movie for sure. Curse the infernal spin of the chore wheel that had declared Linksano’s job for the week as helping to clean up after Linkara’s battles with his enemies.
“They still going at it?”
Linksano jumped at the sudden presence beside him. Being so focused on first the battle and then his watch, he’d failed to notice that a young man with wavy dark hair had suddenly turned up next to him.
“What? Oh, um, I mean yes, yes they are.” From the quick glance he took of the man, Linksano was sure that he seemed familiar and he wracked his brain for his name. He was that friend of Linkara’s who showed up every now and then, and even though they’d never formally met, Linksano was pretty certain he knew his name.
“Hey!” the man suddenly called to Insano. “Would you give it up already? You know your legs are going to give out long before Linkara’s gun will.”
“Shut up, Spoony!” Insano snapped, casting a quick glare at the man.
“Spoony,” Linksano softly echoed. That’s right, of course. How could he have forgotten that name when it was so similar to hers?
“Did you want something from me?” Linksano was once again startled to find Spoony not only talking to him but also staring directly into his eyes. He flushed and took a step backwards.
“Oh, n-no, my apologies,” he stammered, trying to break the other man’s gaze but unable to do so. His eyes were so green and gorgeous, and somehow familiar…
“Uh, okay,” Spoony said with a shrug, turning back to the action on the street and leaving Linksano with a strange sense of dismay. “I do not want to end up on the morning news again, Insano, so you’d better cut this shit out if any reporters show up!”
“Damn you, Spoony! I will not let you distract me again from defeating this idiotic magic user!”
“If I’m the idiot, why are you the one about to land inside an open dumpster?” Linkara called out, a smug grin in place. Moments later, while a bombardment of profanity and insults spewed from the inside of said dumpster, Spoony sighed and shook his head.
“He’d better not break anything really expensive this time, or I’m making him sleep on the lawn for a week.”
“So you live with Insano?” Linksano looked rather surprised with himself when the question he’d been thinking somehow popped out of his mouth. Fortunately, Spoony seemed not to notice his surprise as he shrugged yet again.
“Yeah, I do. It’s not really an ideal situation for me, but I can’t help but pity the poor bastard. He has nowhere else to go and he’d probably end up in jail if I didn’t haul his sorry ass home after every beat-down he gets from Linkara.”
“How kind of you.” Linksano blushed at Spoony’s sudden confused stare and tried to look away, but those green eyes were so captivating that he couldn’t help gazing into their depths for several seconds.
“Who are you again?” Linksano forced himself out of his trance and nervously tapped his fingers together at the query.
“Oh, um, I am Dr. Linksano. I am Linkara’s scientific advisor,” he quickly explained. “I’m here to assist Linkara with cleaning up once this battle is through.”
“Oh yeah, I remember you,” Spoony said, inadvertently causing Linksano’s heart to flutter. “Sorry you have to be out here so late. Insano’s such a pain in the ass sometimes. I don’t know why he even bothers with this ‘being evil’ shit since he couldn’t intimidate a three-year-old.”
The more Spoony spoke, the more Linksano found his gaze being drawn to Spoony’s lips. While not as captivating as his eyes, they were very pink and pouty, and looked to be incredibly soft; it wasn’t long before Linksano was overcome with thoughts of what they would feel like pressed against his own.
“Look out!”
“Huh?” Linksano turned to Linkara, wondering why he’d issued such a warning, before he was unceremoniously tackled to the ground by Spoony. As he felt the full weight of the other man upon him, Linksano’s whole body started to flush and he was caught between the desire to push Spoony away at once, and to lie completely still, permanently engraving this incident into his memory.
“Shit,” Spoony grunted a few seconds later. “I’m really sorry, man,” he said, looking down to check if Linksano was hurt, “but that hunk of metal was coming right for you and you seemed like you were in a daze or something.”
“N-n-n-no, that’s p-p-perfectly alright!” Linksano squeaked, his breathing growing shallow and his voice rising in the pitch. “Th-thank you so much for w-watching out for my safety!”
Spoony nodded and quickly stood back up, offering a hand to Linksano as he did. Linksano graciously took it, cursing how sweaty his palms got when nervous before remembering that he was thankfully wearing gloves. The two brushed off the snow and grime their clothing had acquired in the fall before Spoony turned angrily to a stack of flaming SUVs.
“Damn it, Insano, I am not shelling out any more money because of you! You’d better make some more videos, or invent a sex robot that actually works or something to pay for all this shit you broke!” Spoony blinked when there was no response, rapidly turning his head in all directions. “Insano? Insano, are you still here? Fuck, he’s gone.”
Linksano also searched for Linkara, who had vanished as well it seemed. “I wonder where they went,” he murmured before catching sight of a clock in a nearby store window. “Ahhh! It’s after 11! The picture is sure to have started by now!”
“Picture” Spoony turned to Linksano curiously. “You’re seeing a movie?” Linksano nodded. “Huh. I didn’t even know there was a theater around here.”
“Oh, um, I-I was going to visit the, uh, the little spot just around the corner. It, uh, it shows pictures at a cheaper price.” Linksano blushed, looking down as he admitted this, and subsequently missed Spoony’s nod of approval.
“Smart idea. Movie theaters are always trying to screw us out of money anyway. So, what are you seeing?”
Linksano was so surprised by the compliment that he tripped over his words as he answered. “The Ho-Hobbit.” This time he managed to catch Spoony’s smile and another flutter arose in his chest.
“Oh yeah, I heard that was actually decent. I’m planning to see it too, but I was waiting for the right time, like when Insano was locked away in his lab and not wreaking havoc on the city… but you know what? Fuck it. I’m tired of letting Insano ruin my social life. I’m just going to go see it now. You want to come?”
“W-what? You… are you serious?” Linksano couldn’t believe his ears. He must have been knocked unconscious during that tumble onto the sidewalk and was now having a marvelous dream where those gorgeous green eyes stared kindly upon him, and those soft lips asked questions he never dreamed he would hear.
“Sure,” Spoony replied. “I’m sick of going to the movies alone, and now I have someone to make snarky comments to about the unnecessarily long running time and padded elf shit.”
“Oh,” Linksano said, tapping his fingers together again as his brain tried to make sense of this illogical situation. “Well, I-I suppose that would be fine. I also am growing tired of watching films by myself, so having a bit of company sounds, uh, fun.”
“Great.” This time Spoony’s smile made Linksano’s knees wobble. “Let’s get going then. If we hurry, I’m sure we can make it before the previews end.”
“Alright.” Linksano wasn’t usually one for running, but right now his body felt as light as a feather, and he easily kept pace with Spoony. Soon enough the theater came into sight, and another thought popped into Linksano’s head, which he instantly blurted out, since that seemed to be a quirk Spoony brought out of him. “I’d like to pay!” he shouted, before blushing once more at his own boldness. “F-for the tickets, I mean! To thank you for saving me from that falling fender before. Please allow me to show you my gratitude, Spoony.”
“Hmm,” Spoony replied, thinking about this for a moment. “Okay, sure, you can buy the tickets. But I’m getting the popcorn, and there’s nothing you can say to stop me.” He flashed another smile at Linksano, who was forced to rest a hand against the side of the building so he didn’t end up on the sidewalk for the second time that day.
---
The movie was very enjoyable, and Linksano got a lot out of it, though not as much as he’d expected, thanks to a very appealing distraction sitting beside him.
While Linksano was thoroughly nervous about being in such close proximity to Spoony for almost three hours, Spoony seemed completely relaxed. He kept smiling at him, offering him popcorn, and making jokes about the film that always elicited a chuckle from Linksano. He even shifted downwards in his seat a little, spreading his legs out to stretch them, before resting his right knee against Linksano’s left for the happiest four minutes and 38 seconds of the scientist’s life.
(During this blissful elapse of time, Linksano found himself hurriedly sipping root beer through his straw to keep from unleashing a bout of very undignified giggles.)
Even though the theater was dark and the movie full of eye-catching scenery and special effects, Linksano’s gaze often lingered upon Spoony’s face. He couldn’t help but keep glancing at the man, taking in how his wavy hair bounced when he ran his fingers through it, and how pronounced yet dignified his profile was. Spoony was so very handsome that it was hard for Linksano to believe that this outing wasn’t a dream he had fabricated entirely, but the sore spot on his thigh from where he kept pinching himself proved his fears unfounded: Linksano truly was on a date with this man, the very first date of his life.
After the lights returned and the screen went dark, the two wandered outside into the cool air, Spoony tossing his empty popcorn tub away with a flick of his wrist.
“That didn’t suck nearly as much as I thought it would,” he said, earning a nod of agreement from Linksano.
“Yes, the added material was delightful. I only wish there wasn’t yet another movie to come, since this whole story could have easily been wrapped up this time.”
“You speak the truth,” Spoony said as he stretched his arms out over his head before checking the time. “Shit, it’s late. We’re going to have pick a shorter movie the next time we do this.”
Linksano froze completely, unsure of what he’d just heard. “There’s… going to be a next time?”
Spoony turned back to him, trying to shrug in a casual manner, though his eyes were alert and intently focused on Linksano’s goggles. “There doesn’t have to be if you don’t want there to be. I just figured we’d probably end up having to clean up after Insano and Linkara again, so why not do something fun at the same time? But if you’re not interested-”
“N-no, I am!” Linksano quickly insisted, his face reddening once more as he found himself gazing into Spoony’s eyes yet again. “I would love to see another film with you if that’s what you desire. I simply didn’t expect you to desire it…”
Linksano trailed off when Spoony stepped toward him, their eyes still locked upon each other. “You keep looking at me in this really weird way. Why? Is there something on my face?”
“Oh, n-no, it’s not that,” Linksano tried to explain, feeling quite embarrassed as he finally broke the other man’s gaze and looked down. “It’s just that you… you remind me of someone I knew a long time ago. Well, not you in your entirety, just some of your physical features are similar. I haven’t seen her in a very long time… nevertheless, I’m very sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
For a moment, Spoony frowned, and Linksano was certain he’d ruined any chances of getting a second date. What kind of person would be interested in seeing someone who kept staring at them as if they were a painting in a museum? Then Spoony broke out into a smile as he laughed a few times.
“You’re kind of weird, aren’t you? Weird, honest, and really nervous. Luckily, I like those qualities in a man.”
“Oh?” Linksano met Spoony’s smile with one of his own and he was just about to work up the nerve to ask him for his phone number, when a rather loud moan startled them both.
“Ohhh, the agony, the humiliation! I shall never live this down!”
“Shut your trap, Insano. You could be in a worse position right now.” The two turned to watch as Linksano walked toward them down the sidewalk, pulling a sled along behind him. On said sled was a singed and garbage-covered Insano, who was clutching at his ankle.
“Shit. What happened?” Spoony demanded as he walked over to the pair.
“He tried to break into a bank and got his foot tangle in some telephone wires,” Linkara explained, handing over the rope attached to the front of the sled to Spoony. “I think his ankle is twisted, so you might want to get him to a hospital.”
“No hospitals!” Insano demanded. “I can treat myself! Spoony, take me home at once!”
“Thanks for making sure he didn’t kill himself with those shoes,” Spoony told Linkara as he began dragging the unruly scientist along behind him. He paused only when he reached Linksano, who was still standing outside the movie theater, and offered him an apologetic look.
“I’ve gotta be getting home before this idiot hurts himself any worse. Sorry to end things so soon.”
“Oh, that’s quite alright,” Linksano replied at once. “I expected you to be a busy man and the fact that you wasted so much of your time being with someone like me is more than I can repay you for, so-”
Linksano fell silent when Spoony’s lips somehow found themselves pressed against his own. He went rigid and stared at the other man, watching in shock as Spoony pulled back with a satisfied smirk.
“Yeah, I know, I’m an amazing kisser. I wish I could teach you my technique, but it’s something you’re born with, not something you learn.”
“Oh yes, your technique” Insano muttered. “The one which has left you without a date these past eight months, right? I’m sure that would be very useful to your, frankly speaking, rather bizarre choice of a date.”
“Do you want me to staple a steak to your ass and throw you into the woods?” Spoony snapped, glaring at Insano now. “Because I’ll do it! Just give me a reason!”
“No, please forgive me!” While Insano covered his head with his arms and cowered pathetically, Spoony ran a hand through his hair before turning back to Linksano, his expression softening at once.
“For a guy as smart as you, you sure can be a dumbass,” he said, though his words held no malice or anger in them. “If you’d just stop thinking so much, not to mention stop talking shit about yourself so much, you might notice that I am not wasting my time. I actually liked being with you, and I was getting the impression you liked it too. Was I wrong here?”
Linksano quickly shook his head.
“Okay then. So what would you say if I said I wanted to go out with you again?”
“Okay!” That was all Linksano managed to eke out, in a thin, high-pitched voice, and it made Spoony start to laugh.
“So we have an understanding it seems. Now, I’ve really gotta go, but I’ll find out when Insano’s next scheme of spectacular failure is scheduled to occur, and then I’ll call you to see which movies are playing.”
“Okay,” Linksano repeated, since he was so light-headed by now that it was the only word he could remember. He watched silently as Spoony and Insano disappeared around a corner before he let loose a string of even less dignified giggles than those he’d been fighting off in the theater.
“Another date! He wants to go on another date! And he… he kissed me!”
“Linksano, come on! We’ve got a lot of work to do!”
Linksano snapped out of his revelry when he noticed Linkara collecting the broken bits of metal and rubber from the sidewalks. As he hurried over to help pick up the debris, his thoughts were never far away from the handsome young man with the familiar green eyes and the completely foreign, yet wonderfully soft, lips.
Tesla bless that chore wheel.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Swearing
Summary: On an outing he was dreading, Linksano meets a person he finds fascinating...
Notes: This story does not take place in the Lifetimes AU, even if small details from that AU are used in it.
This story is a present for my dear friend lizynob! (I'm sorry it took so long to finish! I promise not to take so long in the future!)
Thank you for being such a wonderful person and a wonderful friend to me! I really hope you enjoy this! ^_^
Linksano checked his watch and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited on the sidewalk of a thankfully empty street late one evening.
“Will you two hurry it up?” he demanded, looking with irritation first to Linkara, who was pointing his Magic Gun into the air and firing rapidly, and then to the target of those shots, a wildly cackling Insano. The other scientist was currently bouncing up and down like a deranged jackrabbit as he traversed the snow-covered street.
“You’ll never be able to defeat me now, Linkara!” Insano cried, smoothly leaping over several blasts of magical energy. “Not when I’ve coated my shoes with my newest, most original, and most incredible invention yet! It’s a highly elastic liquefied goo-essentially a type of flying rubber! Amazing, isn’t it? I’ve decided to name it: Flybber!”
Linkara momentarily lowered his weapon to stare up at Insano in confusion. “Uh… isn’t that essentially a rip-off of ‘Flubber’? You know, that green goo from that Robin Williams movie, which was in itself, a rip-off of ‘The Absent-Minded Professor’-”
“Silence!” Insano demanded as he suddenly leapt toward Linkara. “I will not have my Flybber tarnished as a cheap knock-off by the likes of you!”
While the two started to engage in hand-to-hand combat, Linksano folded his arms and rolled his eyes. “What a hack. I can’t believe Linkara is wasting time fighting this sham of a scientist when he knows I have a prior engagement.” Linksano checked his watch again and bit his lip. If Linkara didn’t finish up soon, he’d miss the start of the movie for sure. Curse the infernal spin of the chore wheel that had declared Linksano’s job for the week as helping to clean up after Linkara’s battles with his enemies.
“They still going at it?”
Linksano jumped at the sudden presence beside him. Being so focused on first the battle and then his watch, he’d failed to notice that a young man with wavy dark hair had suddenly turned up next to him.
“What? Oh, um, I mean yes, yes they are.” From the quick glance he took of the man, Linksano was sure that he seemed familiar and he wracked his brain for his name. He was that friend of Linkara’s who showed up every now and then, and even though they’d never formally met, Linksano was pretty certain he knew his name.
“Hey!” the man suddenly called to Insano. “Would you give it up already? You know your legs are going to give out long before Linkara’s gun will.”
“Shut up, Spoony!” Insano snapped, casting a quick glare at the man.
“Spoony,” Linksano softly echoed. That’s right, of course. How could he have forgotten that name when it was so similar to hers?
“Did you want something from me?” Linksano was once again startled to find Spoony not only talking to him but also staring directly into his eyes. He flushed and took a step backwards.
“Oh, n-no, my apologies,” he stammered, trying to break the other man’s gaze but unable to do so. His eyes were so green and gorgeous, and somehow familiar…
“Uh, okay,” Spoony said with a shrug, turning back to the action on the street and leaving Linksano with a strange sense of dismay. “I do not want to end up on the morning news again, Insano, so you’d better cut this shit out if any reporters show up!”
“Damn you, Spoony! I will not let you distract me again from defeating this idiotic magic user!”
“If I’m the idiot, why are you the one about to land inside an open dumpster?” Linkara called out, a smug grin in place. Moments later, while a bombardment of profanity and insults spewed from the inside of said dumpster, Spoony sighed and shook his head.
“He’d better not break anything really expensive this time, or I’m making him sleep on the lawn for a week.”
“So you live with Insano?” Linksano looked rather surprised with himself when the question he’d been thinking somehow popped out of his mouth. Fortunately, Spoony seemed not to notice his surprise as he shrugged yet again.
“Yeah, I do. It’s not really an ideal situation for me, but I can’t help but pity the poor bastard. He has nowhere else to go and he’d probably end up in jail if I didn’t haul his sorry ass home after every beat-down he gets from Linkara.”
“How kind of you.” Linksano blushed at Spoony’s sudden confused stare and tried to look away, but those green eyes were so captivating that he couldn’t help gazing into their depths for several seconds.
“Who are you again?” Linksano forced himself out of his trance and nervously tapped his fingers together at the query.
“Oh, um, I am Dr. Linksano. I am Linkara’s scientific advisor,” he quickly explained. “I’m here to assist Linkara with cleaning up once this battle is through.”
“Oh yeah, I remember you,” Spoony said, inadvertently causing Linksano’s heart to flutter. “Sorry you have to be out here so late. Insano’s such a pain in the ass sometimes. I don’t know why he even bothers with this ‘being evil’ shit since he couldn’t intimidate a three-year-old.”
The more Spoony spoke, the more Linksano found his gaze being drawn to Spoony’s lips. While not as captivating as his eyes, they were very pink and pouty, and looked to be incredibly soft; it wasn’t long before Linksano was overcome with thoughts of what they would feel like pressed against his own.
“Look out!”
“Huh?” Linksano turned to Linkara, wondering why he’d issued such a warning, before he was unceremoniously tackled to the ground by Spoony. As he felt the full weight of the other man upon him, Linksano’s whole body started to flush and he was caught between the desire to push Spoony away at once, and to lie completely still, permanently engraving this incident into his memory.
“Shit,” Spoony grunted a few seconds later. “I’m really sorry, man,” he said, looking down to check if Linksano was hurt, “but that hunk of metal was coming right for you and you seemed like you were in a daze or something.”
“N-n-n-no, that’s p-p-perfectly alright!” Linksano squeaked, his breathing growing shallow and his voice rising in the pitch. “Th-thank you so much for w-watching out for my safety!”
Spoony nodded and quickly stood back up, offering a hand to Linksano as he did. Linksano graciously took it, cursing how sweaty his palms got when nervous before remembering that he was thankfully wearing gloves. The two brushed off the snow and grime their clothing had acquired in the fall before Spoony turned angrily to a stack of flaming SUVs.
“Damn it, Insano, I am not shelling out any more money because of you! You’d better make some more videos, or invent a sex robot that actually works or something to pay for all this shit you broke!” Spoony blinked when there was no response, rapidly turning his head in all directions. “Insano? Insano, are you still here? Fuck, he’s gone.”
Linksano also searched for Linkara, who had vanished as well it seemed. “I wonder where they went,” he murmured before catching sight of a clock in a nearby store window. “Ahhh! It’s after 11! The picture is sure to have started by now!”
“Picture” Spoony turned to Linksano curiously. “You’re seeing a movie?” Linksano nodded. “Huh. I didn’t even know there was a theater around here.”
“Oh, um, I-I was going to visit the, uh, the little spot just around the corner. It, uh, it shows pictures at a cheaper price.” Linksano blushed, looking down as he admitted this, and subsequently missed Spoony’s nod of approval.
“Smart idea. Movie theaters are always trying to screw us out of money anyway. So, what are you seeing?”
Linksano was so surprised by the compliment that he tripped over his words as he answered. “The Ho-Hobbit.” This time he managed to catch Spoony’s smile and another flutter arose in his chest.
“Oh yeah, I heard that was actually decent. I’m planning to see it too, but I was waiting for the right time, like when Insano was locked away in his lab and not wreaking havoc on the city… but you know what? Fuck it. I’m tired of letting Insano ruin my social life. I’m just going to go see it now. You want to come?”
“W-what? You… are you serious?” Linksano couldn’t believe his ears. He must have been knocked unconscious during that tumble onto the sidewalk and was now having a marvelous dream where those gorgeous green eyes stared kindly upon him, and those soft lips asked questions he never dreamed he would hear.
“Sure,” Spoony replied. “I’m sick of going to the movies alone, and now I have someone to make snarky comments to about the unnecessarily long running time and padded elf shit.”
“Oh,” Linksano said, tapping his fingers together again as his brain tried to make sense of this illogical situation. “Well, I-I suppose that would be fine. I also am growing tired of watching films by myself, so having a bit of company sounds, uh, fun.”
“Great.” This time Spoony’s smile made Linksano’s knees wobble. “Let’s get going then. If we hurry, I’m sure we can make it before the previews end.”
“Alright.” Linksano wasn’t usually one for running, but right now his body felt as light as a feather, and he easily kept pace with Spoony. Soon enough the theater came into sight, and another thought popped into Linksano’s head, which he instantly blurted out, since that seemed to be a quirk Spoony brought out of him. “I’d like to pay!” he shouted, before blushing once more at his own boldness. “F-for the tickets, I mean! To thank you for saving me from that falling fender before. Please allow me to show you my gratitude, Spoony.”
“Hmm,” Spoony replied, thinking about this for a moment. “Okay, sure, you can buy the tickets. But I’m getting the popcorn, and there’s nothing you can say to stop me.” He flashed another smile at Linksano, who was forced to rest a hand against the side of the building so he didn’t end up on the sidewalk for the second time that day.
---
The movie was very enjoyable, and Linksano got a lot out of it, though not as much as he’d expected, thanks to a very appealing distraction sitting beside him.
While Linksano was thoroughly nervous about being in such close proximity to Spoony for almost three hours, Spoony seemed completely relaxed. He kept smiling at him, offering him popcorn, and making jokes about the film that always elicited a chuckle from Linksano. He even shifted downwards in his seat a little, spreading his legs out to stretch them, before resting his right knee against Linksano’s left for the happiest four minutes and 38 seconds of the scientist’s life.
(During this blissful elapse of time, Linksano found himself hurriedly sipping root beer through his straw to keep from unleashing a bout of very undignified giggles.)
Even though the theater was dark and the movie full of eye-catching scenery and special effects, Linksano’s gaze often lingered upon Spoony’s face. He couldn’t help but keep glancing at the man, taking in how his wavy hair bounced when he ran his fingers through it, and how pronounced yet dignified his profile was. Spoony was so very handsome that it was hard for Linksano to believe that this outing wasn’t a dream he had fabricated entirely, but the sore spot on his thigh from where he kept pinching himself proved his fears unfounded: Linksano truly was on a date with this man, the very first date of his life.
After the lights returned and the screen went dark, the two wandered outside into the cool air, Spoony tossing his empty popcorn tub away with a flick of his wrist.
“That didn’t suck nearly as much as I thought it would,” he said, earning a nod of agreement from Linksano.
“Yes, the added material was delightful. I only wish there wasn’t yet another movie to come, since this whole story could have easily been wrapped up this time.”
“You speak the truth,” Spoony said as he stretched his arms out over his head before checking the time. “Shit, it’s late. We’re going to have pick a shorter movie the next time we do this.”
Linksano froze completely, unsure of what he’d just heard. “There’s… going to be a next time?”
Spoony turned back to him, trying to shrug in a casual manner, though his eyes were alert and intently focused on Linksano’s goggles. “There doesn’t have to be if you don’t want there to be. I just figured we’d probably end up having to clean up after Insano and Linkara again, so why not do something fun at the same time? But if you’re not interested-”
“N-no, I am!” Linksano quickly insisted, his face reddening once more as he found himself gazing into Spoony’s eyes yet again. “I would love to see another film with you if that’s what you desire. I simply didn’t expect you to desire it…”
Linksano trailed off when Spoony stepped toward him, their eyes still locked upon each other. “You keep looking at me in this really weird way. Why? Is there something on my face?”
“Oh, n-no, it’s not that,” Linksano tried to explain, feeling quite embarrassed as he finally broke the other man’s gaze and looked down. “It’s just that you… you remind me of someone I knew a long time ago. Well, not you in your entirety, just some of your physical features are similar. I haven’t seen her in a very long time… nevertheless, I’m very sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
For a moment, Spoony frowned, and Linksano was certain he’d ruined any chances of getting a second date. What kind of person would be interested in seeing someone who kept staring at them as if they were a painting in a museum? Then Spoony broke out into a smile as he laughed a few times.
“You’re kind of weird, aren’t you? Weird, honest, and really nervous. Luckily, I like those qualities in a man.”
“Oh?” Linksano met Spoony’s smile with one of his own and he was just about to work up the nerve to ask him for his phone number, when a rather loud moan startled them both.
“Ohhh, the agony, the humiliation! I shall never live this down!”
“Shut your trap, Insano. You could be in a worse position right now.” The two turned to watch as Linksano walked toward them down the sidewalk, pulling a sled along behind him. On said sled was a singed and garbage-covered Insano, who was clutching at his ankle.
“Shit. What happened?” Spoony demanded as he walked over to the pair.
“He tried to break into a bank and got his foot tangle in some telephone wires,” Linkara explained, handing over the rope attached to the front of the sled to Spoony. “I think his ankle is twisted, so you might want to get him to a hospital.”
“No hospitals!” Insano demanded. “I can treat myself! Spoony, take me home at once!”
“Thanks for making sure he didn’t kill himself with those shoes,” Spoony told Linkara as he began dragging the unruly scientist along behind him. He paused only when he reached Linksano, who was still standing outside the movie theater, and offered him an apologetic look.
“I’ve gotta be getting home before this idiot hurts himself any worse. Sorry to end things so soon.”
“Oh, that’s quite alright,” Linksano replied at once. “I expected you to be a busy man and the fact that you wasted so much of your time being with someone like me is more than I can repay you for, so-”
Linksano fell silent when Spoony’s lips somehow found themselves pressed against his own. He went rigid and stared at the other man, watching in shock as Spoony pulled back with a satisfied smirk.
“Yeah, I know, I’m an amazing kisser. I wish I could teach you my technique, but it’s something you’re born with, not something you learn.”
“Oh yes, your technique” Insano muttered. “The one which has left you without a date these past eight months, right? I’m sure that would be very useful to your, frankly speaking, rather bizarre choice of a date.”
“Do you want me to staple a steak to your ass and throw you into the woods?” Spoony snapped, glaring at Insano now. “Because I’ll do it! Just give me a reason!”
“No, please forgive me!” While Insano covered his head with his arms and cowered pathetically, Spoony ran a hand through his hair before turning back to Linksano, his expression softening at once.
“For a guy as smart as you, you sure can be a dumbass,” he said, though his words held no malice or anger in them. “If you’d just stop thinking so much, not to mention stop talking shit about yourself so much, you might notice that I am not wasting my time. I actually liked being with you, and I was getting the impression you liked it too. Was I wrong here?”
Linksano quickly shook his head.
“Okay then. So what would you say if I said I wanted to go out with you again?”
“Okay!” That was all Linksano managed to eke out, in a thin, high-pitched voice, and it made Spoony start to laugh.
“So we have an understanding it seems. Now, I’ve really gotta go, but I’ll find out when Insano’s next scheme of spectacular failure is scheduled to occur, and then I’ll call you to see which movies are playing.”
“Okay,” Linksano repeated, since he was so light-headed by now that it was the only word he could remember. He watched silently as Spoony and Insano disappeared around a corner before he let loose a string of even less dignified giggles than those he’d been fighting off in the theater.
“Another date! He wants to go on another date! And he… he kissed me!”
“Linksano, come on! We’ve got a lot of work to do!”
Linksano snapped out of his revelry when he noticed Linkara collecting the broken bits of metal and rubber from the sidewalks. As he hurried over to help pick up the debris, his thoughts were never far away from the handsome young man with the familiar green eyes and the completely foreign, yet wonderfully soft, lips.
Tesla bless that chore wheel.