▬▬ blühende blume.
Naturally, he notices that the other doesn’t pay — and before he’s dragged away, the crowd slowly limiting his vision of the stand, he manages to catch the seller’s confused expression, his client disappearing in what appears to be a blink of an eye. Even with Metatron attached to his hand, Gaius seems to have very little trouble maneuvering himself out of sight; judging by that alone, he can easily assume this wasn’t the first time the redhead stole; yet, he can’t seem to really care, enjoying the slight rush of adrenaline as he matches his pace with the older man.
It takes him a little longer to notice that he’s not the one holding onto Gaius’ hand anymore, his palm now squeezed between the other’s fingers. He can’t say that he’s not enjoying the warmth, though; a small smile tugging on his lips as he’s being led into a more secluded spot. Figures — there’s definitely a smaller chance of being caught so far away from everyone, and now they can enjoy the sweets without anyone bothering them.
“Huh? Oh, no — don’t worry, it doesn’t bother me at all!” He’s used to initiating physical contact; not so much to seeing it reciprocated, though. There’s something oddly reassuring about being able to touch other people — he loves to feel their pulse ticking underneath his fingertips and his skin stealing their warmth; at this point, it’s something hardly flustering, and yet…
“Hehe, that’s probably because I’m a no-good slacker. ♪ You know, I’ve never really worked hard in my life, so —” and he flops down next to Gaius, the tone of his voice cheerful and lax, as if he’s talking about something much less harsh.
Well, there’s no escaping the truth, he supposes.
“I like your hands, by the way,” he adds after a moment, raising their arms to bring Gaius’ palm up to light; his free hand wandering to trace the slight calluses on the older’s skin. “You must’ve done a lot, huh?”
Everything was pleasant -- the scenery surrounding them, the conversation, and above all, the company.
It had all been a picturesque up until an all too vivid point.
When their interwoven hands were raised together in what was most likely an innocent, quaint action - something struck Gaius like hot iron in an all too literal sense. There was a burning sensation on his forearm and he wondered what it was -- it certainly wasn't something he remembered doing even by accident but the fire that burned against his skin burned with a brand that he couldn't make out. While he had a scar on his forearm since childhood that he always concealed out of some sense of shame he couldn't quite place -- when he looked to his forearm, he swore he was looking at something else.
Rather then Metatron's arm holding his hand up in a gentle manner, there was someone else that held him down and while Gaius didn't struggle at that time, there was still that searing pain he could not forget. He had to blink several times and try to do away with the vague recollections surrounding him, biting lower lip as he slowly pulled his hand back away from the angel next to him. His head was swimming and disorientation was rampant as he couldn't make sense of what the angel next to him had even sweetly said.
It felt as the gentle festival scene around them had warped and he was somewhere else entirely.
"Did anything weird just happen now?"
He had to ask -- rolling his sleeve back and looking at his forearm on his left. The scar he had since early youth wasn't there but there were faint traces of a brand burned onto his skin. It was light and hard to make out and he didn't know why it was there, he couldn't make sense of anything other than that he was branded. Which would have made sense with all the sensations from earlier. His brow knit together and Gaius quickly covered the faded brand on his arm out of mortification.
He inwardly hoped that Metatron hadn't even caught so much as a glimpse.
"I often do a lot, yeah. Things like sewing and cooking to. . .maybe less reputable things."
Gaius could barely remember what they were really talking about at this point, he just wanted to forget what he had just remembered even as vague as it was.










