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Street signs passed by without event, and thought Grayson was being led along, he didn't put up much of a fight. However he felt about it, he was sure Ignacio would end up doing what he wanted, and he could only hope for the best. He could beat himself up about it all night or he could go home, go to sleep, and pretend the entire exchange had never happened. The latter was the route he would most likely choose; it was the most familiar, and the one that served him best.

He would just have to remember in the future to be a little less obvious about his worry. He'd still care, and he'd still wonder when his friends went out at night, but he'd do it alone. No need for him to ruin someone else's good time by being there unwelcomed, no matter how good his intentions were.

Besides, nothing was even happening to Ignacio. He was probably right, and he would probably be fine. He was sticking to heavily populated areas. It was just that Gray was worried about when it was time to leave, and he wouldn't be in a club anymore. Wouldn't be surrounded by people. Would just be wandering the streets, a little tipsy and completely vulnerable to everything around him.

When Ignacio looked back, he offered a smile. Grayson was used to smiling even when he didn't particularly want to. "It's all right."

It really wasn't. But. "I can make it home from here. Don't worry about me, okay?" And he was tugging his hand back.

A little flustered, because he wasn't used to being taken care of, Grayson tugged at his hand again. "No, Ignacio, really. You go have fun. I'm sorry I bothered you."

He kept his smile in place, though now at the edges of it, there was confusion and a little bit of embarrassment. He was a grown man - older than Ignacio, probably - and more than capable of finding his way home. Despite being lazy and disinclined to do much running around unless it was his idea, he had a wonderful sense of direction. It was, perhaps, his only saving grace when it came to late night patrolling; he was well able to find the fastest route home when he was finished.

And the fastest route to a hospital when he had to.

Ignacio only had his hand by the fingertips at this point, and it was getting a little awkward. For one, the last time he'd held anyone's hand - aside from the Zodiac awakening - was with Benny. Two, both of their hands were getting cold (his own were freezing, actually) and three, he already felt incredibly awkward about the entire situation. He just wanted to go home and go to bed. Maybe walk off his frustration and embarrassment in the meantime.

So, feeling in his voice and face, he said again, "Really, I'm sorry. I'll be fine." and tugged his hand back again.

Were they really going to spend all night finding something to argue about?

This time, when he was tugged, he stumbled. He wasn't exactly expecting it, and in his haste to catch himself, he lost a slipper again. It was the opposite slipper this time, but it landed in a puddle, and he managed a strangled sort of noise when his foot splashed magnificently in the water.

Great. Not only was Ignacio now insisting on taking him home instead of enjoying himself, which was what he'd thought the other male wanted in the first place, but now his foot and slipper were soaking wet. He danced out of the water, foot held high, this time the one to cling to Ignacio's hand instead of attempt to yank it away.

"Cold. Cold," he said again, sighing, and dropping his foot to the pavement. He nudged his foot back inside the slipper, wincing at the icy, soggy feeling of it. "Honestly, I'll get home faster by myself, and you can get back to partying."

Though his voice was calm, and his gaze was level when it went back to Ignacio, his mouth was tipped into a slight frown. "I'm leaving, so you can go back to what you were doing. That's what you wanted, right? So I'll leave you be, and you don't have to worry about me."

He realized they were still holding hands, pulled at his own again. There wasn't much force to it this time, though. "And you can take your coat. I have a sweatshirt on." As he said this, he reached up with his free hand to start removing it. Again.

Yes, they really were going to spend the entire night arguing.

All of his present concerns were abruptly shoved aside when a random passerby shouted for them to strip and Ignacio actually listened.

Looking at his friend with mild horror, Grayson lifted his hands, as though the pose would help at all, as Ignacio tried lifting his shirt over his head. Though his coordination was undoubtedly not at his best, he flashed a pale, creamy belly to the night, and Grayson cursed himself even as his eyes instinctively drifted to the expanse of flesh before snapping back up to his face. Really? Was he really so easily distracted from his previous concerns? And by Ignacio, of all people?

In the back of his mind, he thought fleetingly that it had really been a long time since he'd enjoyed the particular brand of physical closeness that would allow him to resist such things. But that was really no excuse. It was the middle of the night and he didn't even know what he was doing anymore, except that he was certainly not going to stand there and ogle a half-drunk teenage boy.

Even if he had a nice stomach.

Damn it.

Frustrated, Grayson stepped in front of Ignacio, murmuring, "Now's not the time." and grabbing his hands. Before Nacio could argue, Gray had started to drag him away from the laughing onlookers, his slipper squishing wetly as he strode along.

Honestly. People provoking someone who was obviously drinking.

Slanting his friend a glance, already imagining the argument that would arise from this, he said quickly, "And yes, you are very attractive, by the way." It wasn't a lie, so he didn't feel bad saying it, but it was certainly an attempt at distraction.

With the way Ignacio's ego seemed to be running wild, he hoped it would be enough to convince him to come along easily.

Really, getting naked in the streets.

If Grayson's hair hadn't already been sticking straight up on end, sheer embarrassment would have put it there. While he was a fan of honesty and saw no reason why people shouldn't be able to express themselves or their affection for one another, he was very much a behind-closed-doors kind of person. The fact that Ignacio was flailing around shirtless, and now attempting to take his pants off, made his blood run cold - or, at least, to his face.

It was a good thing it was dark outside, and he was walking in front of Ignacio. On top of everything else, he didn't want to give the other male the wrong idea. Sure, he found him attractive, and sure, he enjoyed his company, but he didn't want him to think that all of this was some misguided attempted to, well, see more of his naked flesh. It was true it had been a while since Grayson had been in anything other than a chaste relationship, but that didn't mean he was going to jump the first person who showed an inch of stomach.

Grayson wasn't likely to jump anyone at all, actually.

In fact, in his experience, he had to be jumped for it to work at all.

Still, he gripped Ignacio's hand tightly, this time being the one to drag him along. The prospect of having a nearly entirely-naked Ignacio in tow when he arrived home was not the most cheerful one, especially considering the awkward questions his parents would ask.

Chiefly among them, Why didn't you tell us you were dating?

He just didn't need that kind of a headache.

"No, thank you. I'm sure you're very nice looking," he added, tone a bit distracted, as he checked the street signs. "But you'll catch a cold if you take your pants off here. And we're almost home, anyway."

To say that Grayson was glad to see the end of the night would be an understatement. His mood was as frazzled as his hair was frizzy by the time he made it to the front porch, jiggled with the lock and managed to force the door open. (They really needed to repair the front lock.) He'd gotten through the majority of the walk by simply murmuring appropriate responses, fueling the conversation to keep Ignacio distracted from the fact that he was hauling him home.

It was quiet in the house, which was a blessing. He was probably going to get through the house without waking anyone up, please God. As he turned to Ignacio, he brought a finger up to his lips, whispering, "We have to be quiet. Please keep your pants on."

Grayson was taking everything Ignacio said with a grain of salt. Inebriated as he was (and did he seem to be getting more tipsy as the night went on?) he was afraid Ignacio was going to say or do something that would bring the attention of his parents, or worse, Tristan.

God, he just wanted to get through the night, get Ignacio tucked into the spare bed, and collapse into his own.

Looking very serious, he whispered, "Upstairs, okay?" and began to gently tug him along.

The spare room was about the same size as Grayson's room, and it was a lot cleaner. The bed was already turned back, he supposed from the last time someone had stayed over, and it was decorated in blues and grays. All of this was likely lost on Ignacio, who seemed to be doing his best to try to pull Gray into bed with him. While he would have been flattered on another day, he was just exasperated that night.

Still, Grayson had a lot of patience. So, he pried Ignacio's fingers from his wrist, steered him toward the bed. Grayson was a tall, slender sort of fellow, but he was surprisingly strong when he had to be - that was a requirement for anyone who did fire spinning and handled as many props as he did, especially when a slip up could cause serious injury. He spun Ignacio toward the bed, gently nudged him down on it.

Hoping Ignacio would lie still long enough for him to manage, Grayson pulled the blankets up, started tucking them in around him. "I'm very flattered, but I think you need to rest now."