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07:42 | Ramiro: You there?

07:44 | Draven: Yeah. I'm a little nervous.

07:44 | Ramiro: Me too but this is for the best right?

07:47 | Draven: Yeah. You have the cards, right?

07:48 | Ramiro: attached an image. Mhm. Got them yesterday.

07:50 | Draven: Sweet. Well, see you in... 40 minutes.

I love you.

07:51 | Ramiro: Love you too <3

Ramiro grimaced and laid the phone down. As it rested on his covers, he found himself staring at the screen, hoping that it would light up with another text from Draven. He didn't care how stilted their conversation was. Ramiro just... needed him right now but he didn't know how to explain that. All he knew was that it felt like his heart had broken free from its cage and lodged itself in his throat.

But he had to keep moving. He had to pretend like today was any other ordinary day. So he did all the ordinary things a student would do before going to school. He took a shower, brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and put on his uniform. When Ramiro's mother walked by to say goodbye before leaving for work, he kissed her on the forehead and waved her off with a smile. He hoped she couldn't feel the trepidation wafting off of him like an odor he couldn't get rid of.

But as soon as she left, Ramiro wasted no time in changing out of his school's uniform and into something more comfortable. Picking out a black sweater, a pair of jeans and some sunglasses, he hopped in front of the mirror and gave himself a thumbs up.

He looked 12.

With a sigh, Ramiro picked up the id cards laying on his desk and squinted at his birth date. He was supposed to be 20. Was that too unbelievable? Maybe if he added some earrings, that would make him look older. Or, maybe it'd have the opposite effect and just make him stand out more. Exhausted, he spun around and fell backwards onto his bed. While staring at the ceiling, the hybrid began to laugh. He'd just have to use some of that Ramiro-patented charisma he was known for, huh?

--

During the weekdays, the usually packed streets and venues of Alden City's commercial district were eerily desolate. Flags flew frantically in front of stores, attempting to invite in customers that never existed, while small crumpled receipts and plastic food packaging rolled around the cobblestone in search of a new home. Business always ran at half staff during these days as the vast majority of their clientele from Monday through Friday were elderly couples. Truly the scariest thing about working the day shift.

Then there was Draven and Ramiro. The term "stuck out" wouldn't start to cover how out of place they looked. Not only were they the only ones enjoying their meal outdoors on this chilly day but they also appeared to be the only people under the age of 30. They definitely drew some stares as they walked across the near barren courtyards but neither of them knew if that was due to their apparent age or if they were only slightly more interesting than the oak leaves dancing back and forth in the wind.

At first, the pair walked into stores with fake smiles tacked onto their faces, voices shaky and filled with regret as to what they were doing. Miraculously, even though clerks and tellers had their doubts, nobody questioned their age at all. This might be because those same clerks and tellers thought nobody would be that stupid. Playing hickey was a federal crime afterall.

Now, with a lot more confidence under their belts, the two could eat in peace as the sun illuminated their food as if God had personally blessed it for them. This date was going pretty well.

Ramiro carefully took off the pair of sunglasses he grabbed earlier before picking up a french fry and offering it to Draven. Who, in turn, looked skeptically between his partner and his own plate of uneaten fries before eating it from his fingers. Ramiro smirked at him.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" Draven asked, taking a sip from his mango smoothie. Ramiro pushed his plate aside so he could place his elbow on the table, cheek in hand. He wanted Draven to see the warmth in his eyes.

"Oh, you know. Just thinking about how cute you are." The response was accompanied by a sly wink. Draven wasn't impressed. Crossinging his arms, he responded in a serious tone.

"You seem to think about that a lot. Aren't you a little obsessed?" Ramiro spit out a laugh and doubled down.

"Maybe you should try to be a little less cute then," he said, offering his left hand for Draven, which he took. Ramiro's smirk melted into a warm smile as he squeezed his lover's hand.

"Oh, and how do I do that?" Draven asked, raising an eyebrow.

This was it. Ramiro had been waiting for this moment the entire day. It was time for his theatre moment. His Shakespearean monologue about how much he loved him. How would he start such a speech, he wondered. He counted the ways... And, as his imagination soared and that figurative lightbulb went off in his head, a voice from beside them spoke up instead.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen."

Ramiro turned and squinted at the female tiger who had approached them. From the green uniform she was wearing, he could tell that she was some form of authority. And, as he searched the uniform, his eyes landed on the sigil of the Aldenian flag encircled by a large star. A peace officer. Shit.

"I was wondering if I could see your identification cards? You look a little young to be out and about while school is in session for the day."

Despite her amiable tone, both teens knew that she was giving them a command and not asking a question. So the two of them dove into their bags to find the ID cards Ramiro had gotten printed the day prior. Ramiro was the first one to find his and went to hand it to the peace officer.

He still had to keep that smile on his face but it lost all traces of it's warm and genuine tone earlier. It seemed more crooked. With every beat of his heart letting it falter just ever so slightly. He wished he kept the sunglasses on now.

As the peace officer looked over his ID, her frown worsened and Ramiro could feel his body tense all over. His mind was racing as to what that frown could mean. What didn't she believe? His age, hometown, occupation?

"What's your birth date, Mr. Vasquez?"

Ramiro breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, that was easy. All he had to do was subtract three years from his actual birth date and...

"January 23rd, 11:20," he responded calmly. The peace officer looked him over once more than turned toward Draven, seemingly content with that answer. However, even though Ramiro could rest easy, Draven was a complete mess. His hand was shaking so much as he handed his ID to the officer, that it almost slipped out of his fingers before he gave it to her. She raised an eyebrow at him and asked him for his birth date right away. Draven looked over at Ramiro, a pleading look in his eyes. That's when Ramiro realized that he probably didn't look at the card before handing it to her.

There wasn't much he could do for him though as the officer followed Draven's eyes to Ramiro. He couldn't mouth the answer or show it to him. What he could do though, was distract her for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Ramiro said, falling back into a routine he had gotten so used to by now. His smile smoothed itself out and he hoped the extra charm he added to his voice would sway her. "My boyfriend gets really nervous around other people, which is why we don't go out very often. He used to do this thing where he would pretend to be deaf so he didn't have to others."

Draven continued to stare at him but the raven's expression was now one of wonder. He didn't know that Ramiro could lie so effortlessly.

"I'm sorry if I've scared you two," she nodded at Draven. "I still need your birth date though." Ramiro smiled at Draven and nodded as well.

"Come on, hon. Don't be shy. We've been working on those people skills of yours, right?" Ramiro grabbed his hand again, trying to imbue whatever confidence he could in the frightened raven.

Draven's eyes darted back to the peace officer before he blurted out, "September 7th, 19th year of King Alden the 10th's reign."

The officer looked at the card then back at Draven.

"You're 20?" she asked and he nodded quickly. With a pleased sigh, she handed the card back to him and smiled. "I'm sorry to have disturbed your meal, gentlemen. Have a nice day."

As she walked away, Draven grabbed his chest, letting all his heavy breathing out now. Ramiro squeezed his hand harder and pampered him with affirmations.

This date was going great.