Private Finished Slumber Party!

Yuki relished in the feeling of control, being able to make Gabe wiggle about and away from his touch. The boy laughed too, poking and tickling Gabe without mercy. He noted that Gabe had a nice firmness to him, even if he-- no. Yuki wasn't going to compare Gabe to him. He could end up having the images of the two overlap again, and that would be hell. But Gabe wasn't bad - he was developed enough to feel tough to the touch once you made it past the skin and baby fat he'd accumulated from the rest that living a peaceful enough life gave him. Yuki could feel it though - in his back, in his legs, in his arms - the strength of a dancer. Gabe would certainly be a good partner for a tango. He'd definitely have to ask Gabe for a dance at the next masquerade ball.

Gabe's laughter was light, and it made Yuki's heart light too. He was glad. Even though they were dating now, they could still have moments like this. Still be friends, still do boyish things even if they did like to kiss from time to time. Or maybe a lot. Yuki did like kissing. Maybe it'd be fifty-fifty. Who knew? "Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer!" He declared triumphantly, spouting any clever-sounding phrase that came to mind even though he knew they probably sounded stupid. He was so busy laughing and being an idiot with his idiotic boyfriend that he didn't even notice Catalina come in.

Until she laughed. He looked at her, then at Gabe, then at Gabe's hands holding his wrists captive, then went silent.
Well. This was awkward.

Yuki knew that what they were doing could easily be seen as boys being boys, so he knew he needed to play it cool. "Hiya," he began, ready to explain himself before she spoke to Gabriel in what sounded like Spanish. He could understand Gabriel's name, and 'friend', and a word that sounded much like 'neighbour' in French but with a Spanish accent. Okay. Something to do with neighbours, friends and Gabriel. Maybe she was asking if Yuki was Gabe's neighbour? Then Gabe was introducing the two, and Yuki's heart skipped a beat for a second. They still weren't moving. Gabe's hands were still around his wrists. And the boy could have sworn Gabe was about to say Yuki was his boyfriend and prayed he wouldn't.

And his prayers were answered. "Catalina it is!" He said, getting back to his knees and bowing his head in a polite nod. It definitely felt awkward to be caught in your pyjamas with your wrists held away from you, but Yuki could think of much worse positions to be viewed in. "No, not at all!" He felt it, the butterfly persona slipping on over his usual self. He could do this. He could be smooth. He could turn this situation from one of potential panic to one in his favour and win Gabe's mum over. Not to mention her teeth were normal, so she seemed a lot less threatening than she could have been.

And, well, she was shorter than Yuki. And that meant something.

"That sounds good." He said, already getting up and making his way to their bathroom. It seemed like the night had complicated itself slightly, but he could do this. He could handle a little heat.

It wasn't as if Yuki didn't notice Gabe's face fall a little once he'd started using the persona. As he headed into the bathroom to wash his hands, he took a moment to stare in the mirror. Truly look. He couldn't trust Gabe's mum yet, not yet. They'd literally just met. But the person who raised Gabe up to be the caring, kindhearted young man he was now couldn't possibly be a bad person. It was troubling. He wanted to keep the wall up, keep that glass barrier between himself and people outside his current personal circle, but... he could sense it. Feel it. Gabe wanted Yuki to loosen up.

But how did you do that when you'd always been trained throughout your life to keep the outsiders away?

He couldn't help but remember, remember when he had been sent to do work experience at a small marketing firm. His supervisor had called him fake. The memory had stung. But...how did you get around that? How did you open up? Yuki had felt it keenly. The wall that had separated him and them. Their values had been different. Mindsets different. They were the kind of folk who partied, who swore outside work, who stayed out till late and would leave late in the morning if given the chance. But...maybe it had been Yuki who had put that wall there.

But how did you break it?

Slapping his face with his now clean hands in an effort to snap himself out of it, he gave himself a disapproving look. He could think about that when it came to it. Also, Gabe's hand soap smelled really nice. He'd have to ask Gabe how he got that scent and if it was a homemade solution.

He came back with a smile printed on his face and forced a relaxed posture, sitting at the table slightly slouched and with his elbows on it. Hopefully that would seem open enough. Hopefully it also wouldn't be seen as rude. He was really trying to capitalise on his childish looks here, aiming for innocent ignorance and a lack of social awareness. "Actually, we met at the community centre. It was ages ago, but then we met again a few weeks back. I think it was awkward. I was still new here, and I even gave him a business card." He looked a Gabe with a giggle. "Do you still have that? The 'let's be friends' card?"

Yuki smiled. So Gabe did still have it. That meant quite a lot to Yuki - the fact that it was even in Gabe's wallet assured the boy that the plant user did care. He wasn't lying. Yuki mentally scolded himself for even considering it, but he couldn't help it sometimes.

"I had them printed in Tokyo, but if you'd like I could always ask for local recommendations." He smiled, playing the ever-helpful young boy role. He hoped it wasn't too obvious that he was trying to please. It was nice, though, to see that she at least didn't seem to be judging him or evaluating him - better than he could say for the hosts of most dinners he'd been invited to. He smiled to himself when Catalina asked him about his future. He'd practiced for this question countless times for other patrons.

"I'm currently taking a heavier focus on business and economics. After all, I have a future lined up for me in the family business." And no, Yuki wouldn't mention the word GeneCorp in this discussion. He was aware that Gabe's family business sold flowers, so it was likely they might know a rival homeopathy business. One possibly threatened by GeneCorp's huge presence. It was a leading company, after all, and the world had been experiencing a huge boom in alternative medicine. Many apothecary-type businesses had already buckled under GeneCorp's acquisitory nature, and they had an army of businesses capable of rivaling even GlaxoSmithKline or Pfizer. He didn't want to be tasteless.

Yuki laughed politely. Well, if she was going to be proper, he was too. He was used to these situations anyway, so it was a good thing. It would have been a whole other story if Catalina had insisted Yuki treat her like his own mother, because...well. He'd have still been polite. And that could have made things awkward.

Finally being served and given permission to eat, he looked at the pizza longingly. The pepperoni glistened, the cheese strands swayed and the entire room was filled with a delicious bready smell. Ohhhh, boy. He was going to enjoy this. Yuki took a bite, and instantly made a satisfied face. Oh yes. This was it. This was the stuff of dreams. Maybe pizza was a normal food to Gabe and Catalina but to Yuki, it was a special occasion. He looked over at Gabe, wondering if the boy was enjoying this as much as he was. Yuki's mind went to the ice cream sandwiches he'd packed, sitting there with dry ice to keep them cool. That would top this feast off perfectly.

"I'm sure he doesn't mean it like that!" He laughed, covering his mouth with a soft fist. "And my family are always busy, so they don't often get the chance to visit. They, er, stayed with me last month, though."

Yuki smiled at the little exchange between Gabe and Catalina. It was cute seeing Gabe embarrassed by his mum - he could see the tips of his partner's ears go a little pinkish. Even in the face of adversity, his friend and knight in shining armour still wanted to spare Yuki first from the onslaught of possibly awkward questions. He gave Gabe a tiny, almost unnoticeable nod with closed eyes. A sign to let Gabe know that it was okay: he could handle this.

"They're businesspeople," he began, using the technique of telling half-truths. He wasn't lying; just being unspecific. A CEO was a kind of businessman, even if it meant making major decisions for a multinational corporation. Besides, the board of executives often made decisions via votes anyway - even if his parents both had heavily weighted votes. "and work for a pharmaceutical company. I'm sure you wouldn't have heard of it anyway. It's rather obscure."
And once again, he wasn't lying. At first glance, you would have had no idea of the number of companies that operated under GeneCorp's long arm - especially since they were debatably a conglomerate like Unilever. They didn't even put their brand logo on the products they owned, anyway.

"So..." He felt a mischievous grin fall across his face as the cheese strands fell onto his plate. "Do you think you could tell me an embarrassing story about Gabe? We've been friends for a while now but he still hasn't spilt the beans on anything!"

Sorry for throwing you under the bus, Gabe, but Yuki needed a distraction. He didn't want to end up being outed as a rich trust fund kid, even if that was exactly what he was.