Zane was a fairly heavy sleeper, as far as the people in his neighborhood went. Loud noises could wake him up, but he tended to conk out and stay that way until someone or something woke him up-- normally his alarm. Now, for instance, he was fast asleep on Travis' chest and the other was afraid to get up in fear of waking him. He wasn't really dreaming, but Travis had no way of knowing that. Regardless, it was rude to wake people up before they were ready unless it was necessary.

Travis moved slowly so as not to wake Zane up. He nearly succeeded too. But, right as he managed to withdraw himself from beneath them, he fell off the couch with a loud thwack against the hardwood floor. He groaned, his hand moving to feel the back of his head.

Zane grunted, squinting awake and trying to discern the cause of the noise in the early morning light. His eyes fell on Travis. He stared for a moment, processing their albino white hair and tan figure. He then sat bolt upright and looked around the room. "What the..." He muttered, before looking back down at Travis. "Why are you on the floor?"

Travis chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his head. It was still tender from the fall, but thankfully not bleeding. "I was trying not to wake you up." Zane stared at Travis judgmentally, one eyebrow raised. "By falling on the hard wood floor at whatever time it is right now? Why don't you have a rug?" Travis blushed, looking away. "I didn't expect to be falling on the floor any time soon. And rugs are expensive! Furniture first. Decoration later." Zane rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Tell that to the concussion you're probably going to have soon, idiot." Travis muttered something inaudible and stood up, swaying slightly before balancing. "Damn... This is what I get for trying to let you sleep longer." He spoke with a hint of jest in his tone. Zane couldn't help but give a small laugh.

Travis stood there for a moment before looking down at Zane. "I was gonna cook breakfast, but, uh... I'd rather not risk it. You want to, like... eat out or something? Maybe DoorDash? Or just head back to yours?"

Zane considered the query. If he said he wanted to go out, he would have to be at least somewhat social, and he would probably have to walk. He'd also feel like he owed them money. If he said he wanted to DoorDash something, he would still have to be social and feel like he owed them money, if not more due to taxes. But going home meant he'd have to make his own breakfast and do absolutely nothing all day. Albeit grudgingly, he replied.

"Let's go out or something. I'll pay my share." Travis eyed him before rolling his eyes. "No you won't. I'm paying. You're just going to sit there and look pretty. I wouldn't be offering to do this if I couldn't afford it." Zane blushed slightly, staring at Travis. "Um... Okay." Pretty? He wasn't pretty. He was just... him. Was he overthinking this? Maybe... But then why would Travis say it? Actually, he remembered hearing from someone that Travis was quite a flirt. It was probably that.

The two ended up going to IHOP, even though neither of them really liked it. It was the only place close-by that wasn't fast food or sushi. It also had comfortable seats. The two sat in silence for a while until the waiter came to take their orders, at which time Zane ordered pancakes and Fanta and Travis ordered steak bites with toast and Coke. Two mildly unhealthy meals for two mildly unhealthy men. Fitting, truly.

After they ordered, they finally got to speaking. "So. Any particular reason you chose Fanta and not orange juice?" Travis asked curiously. Zane looked up, as though surprised to have received the question. "Why? Afraid you can't afford it?" He joked, trying to recover his grace. Travis chuckled. "No. I'm just wondering why any sane person would drink Fanta with pancakes." Zane shrugged, playing with the sleeve of his hoodie and looking away. "Sugar. Duh."

Travis' eyes scanned over Zane's face, watching curiously as his mask moved when he talked. He could imagine each expression made beneath it clear as day. Especially the patronizing smirks or jocular lifting of the lips that sometimes followed the aforementioned smirks. But this was kind of a combination of the two. It was kind of sweet. Like his taste in food, apparently. "Alright then. Interesting."

Zane's eyes flickered up to Travis, and his eyebrows creased slightly. "Why do you say that like I'm weird? You ordered steak bites and Coke for breakfast. That's, like, dinner stuff. Actually... I guess steak bites could also be lunch. Still! I'm not the weird one here." Travis crossed his arms, leaning across the table and staring at Zane with amusement. Zane instinctively backed up slightly.

"You've caught be. I'm a weirdo. A total freak. But I still don't drink Fanta with pancakes." Travis replied tauntingly. Zane scoffed, crossing his arms as well, but in a more defensive manner. "Are you calling me a psycho?" Travis continued staring at him for a moment, his expression unchanging. Then he smiled slyly. "No. Do you think you're a psycho, though, for eating pancakes with Fanta? Because I'm not calling you anything, but I'll gladly agree with you."

Zane spluttered for a moment, trying to piece together a witty comeback before realizing they had gotten him good. He blushed, pulling his mask up slightly to hide his face. "Friendly fire..." He muttered through the fabric, still blushing. He couldn't believe Travis had just twisted his words so easily. The man was sneaky.

Travis's smile widened, and he leaned back against his booth seat as his expression became smug. "That's how it's done." His voice was so patronizing, yet he clearly didn't think he was better than them. Just slicker. Smoother. It was arrogant, yet it was not an incorrect observation. Zane both hated and loved that. What? No! He didn't love it! He hated it! Ugh. stupid heart, interfering with his logical thinking...

"So, then. Tell me, Zane. What part about that encounter did you in? My wit? My quick-thinking? My intelligence? My... stunning good looks?" He flashed a suggestive smile, to which Zane stared from beneath his mask in secondhand embarrassment. Travis didn't know how this worked. Not as well as Zane did.

The one thing Zane did best was analyze. Since that was the case, he knew that he himself made that mistake all the time; Left himself open to judgment due to a need for validation of his selfish feelings. He also knew how almost everyone countered it. "Actually, it was the fact that you sounded like such an egotist I was shocked that you weren't smitten by lightning. Not that the gods are any less self-absorbed than you."

Travis stared at him in stunned silence, his emeraldine eyes wide in surprise. "Wh-- Ego-- Self-absorbed? No! I'm not-- Why would you-- Nuh-uh!" Travis didn't seem to know what to say, which was typically Zane's response when this happened to him. He chuckled, leaning towards Travis and looking them straight in the eye. "If you think you've won, you're destined to lose. You only win when the game is over. And I never stopped playing." He replied smoothly.

Travis tried to find the right words to object or say it was unfair, but Zane shushed him. "Shh... wouldn't want your 'stunning' face to get wrinkles from all that talking I know you'll end up doing." At that moment, he could see the waiter approaching with their food, and he thanked their server before returning his gaze to Travis. "Thanks for the meal, but know that I can and will repay you." Travis rolled his eyes, quietly picking at his food. Zane sipped his Fanta and started on his pancakes. But, of course, life wasn't done with embarrassing him.

"You're sure treating this like a date with the way you're talking. You sure you don't want something more?" Travis' voice was smooth and pleasant as he spoke in a way that Zane couldn't describe. A shiver ran up his spine, and he nearly spit out his food. Reminded that he was still chewing, he quickly swallowed that bite of food to make room for himself to think. "Uh..." He replied, staring at anything but Travis' eyes. He didn't know what was going on with this conversation. It was so strange. Flirty. Confusing.

"I take it you're not sure, then? I can help you decide if you--" "No. Shut up." Zane interrupted what he was sure would have been a very well-executed flirt on Travis' part. "We're in public. I'm not making any big decisions in a place where someone could take a picture of me." Travis blinked, unsure what to say to that. "Um... Okay. Why?" He replied slowly. Zane sighed impatiently, laying his arms flat on the table. "Because I don't like being looked at! Makes me feel like an experiment or something, even with the mask. Just... I don't know. Can I eat my food in peace please?" Travis stared at him for a moment longer before nodding. "Right."

Life continued, dreary and silent.