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Flint hummed a soft tune to himself as he pulled on a leather jacket, adjusting to the way it restricted his movement for a moment, pausing to look at the new patch Graham had sewn onto it in the mirror with a smile. The patch had Graham’s face on it giving his usual smug smile, to most people it would have been obnoxious but Flint found it endearing.
“ Admiring my handiwork? I know, I know, that patch is one of my finest.” Graham praised himself as he hugged Flint from behind, gently standing on his toes to rest his chin on Flint's shoulder. “ Are you heading out with the others today?” Graham pouted a little as he asked his question, gently tightening his hug on Flint.
Flint just chuckled while he placed his hands over Graham’s “ Yeah I am, Belle wants to take us to a diner she says is amazing.” He responded while gently leaning his head against Graham’s careful not to move too much and accidentally knock Graham over since he was standing on his toes and all. “ She invited you along this time, so you can come with me if you want.”
“ Will I have to ride on your bike with you if I do?” Graham grumbled a little at the thought of riding on Flint’s motorcycle.
Flint gently laughed, “ Well yeah of course, the point of this trip is to go for a ride after all.”
Graham groaned, finally pulling away from Flint as he mulled the options over in his head, on one hand he really wanted to spend time with his partner today, but on the other he absolutely loathed riding on any sort of vehicle.After all why ride on a vehicle whose speed was far inferior to his, he could just as easily run the whole way without even breaking a swear… but then again he really wanted to spend some time with Flint today, he needed his fix of love and affection.
“ I know that look.” Flint teased as he finished buttoning up his jacket. “ Do you want me to get my spare jacket for you?”
Graham waved his hand at Flint with a ‘ Pshh’ noise. “ Please, do you think I can’t handle a little wind? You know I’m much stronger than that.” Graham boasted with a big smile on his face, almost unwittingly admitting that he did, in fact, want to tag along with Flint on his trip.
Flint smiled at Graham as he pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “ You’re right, but that doesn’t mean I can’t worry about you.” Flint said as he moved past Graham, towards their living room. “ Well it’s about time I get going, if you want to come with me then meet me in the garage?” Flint offered as he quickly gave Graham another peck on the cheek before leaving his partner in their apartment and making his way down to the apartment complex's garage.
Flint didn’t have to wait long before he felt an all too familiar gust of air blast through the hallway he’d entered into, which was a tell-tale sign that he should probably pick up the pace as he walked to the garage. His brisk walk turned into a light jog, he didn’t even bother waiting for the elevator, because in Graham’s words ‘ That metal coffin takes way too long to get us anywhere.’
So he jogged down the stairs as carefully as he could until he reached the basement floor where the garage was. He was incredibly thankful his parking space was close to the stairs because his legs were burning after jogging down several flights of stairs.
“ There you are! I was worried you’d never show up.” Graham teased while Flint quietly slipped on his gloves and got his bike ready, flashing Graham a small smile as he sat down and patted the seat just behind him.
“ Well I won’t keep you waiting any longer, let’s get going!” Flint cheerily remarked, his smile growing a little bigger as Graham sat down behind him, wrapping his arms around Flint’s torso to keep steady while Flint started the bike up.
Graham’s mind almost instantly drifted off as Flint began to drive out of the garage, the slow pace the bike was moving at was killing him and his distaste for traveling on a vehicle of any sort was quickly growing as he pulled onto the main road. He pulled a little closer to Flint as Flint picked up the speed, trying to distract himself from all of the negative thoughts he was having at the moment.
He could hear Flint’s mechanical heart beating as he rested the side of his head against Flint’s back, it was steady, it was nice. Being this close to Flint, Graham could feel himself engulfed in great warmth, it almost enveloped his whole body as they drove along. It was intense, like he’d hugged a bonfire, and yet Graham couldn’t help but pull just a bit closer to Flint, his distaste for being on a motorcycle quickly becoming the furthest thing from his mind.
Graham was used to the cold, when you live life as fast as Graham did you learn to accept how cold things will be. The wind constantly rushing against you as you run, chilling you to the bone when you reach impossible speeds. Yet with Flint it was different, even at as slow of a pace as they were going they shouldn’t feel as warm as they did… It was nice.
They were on the highway now, riding next to the shores of Toontown, watching the sun as it drifted lower on the horizon. Flint didn’t have the ability to appreciate it as much since he was driving but Graham was almost transfixed by it. It was something else he never really got to enjoy when he traveled long distances like this, and the sun was beautiful. The light was nice, and almost familiar as it turned a nice shade of orange and yellow.
Flint felt a little warmer now, probably because he could see their destination in the distance, a small diner with big neon lights pointing towards it. As improbable as it was Graham felt almost like he was getting a sunburn as Flint’s warmth continued to envelop him. Graham didn’t mind though, for some reason the warmth made him feel safer and a lot calmer too. As the two pulled into the diner’s parking lot and pulled in next to the two other motorcycles there, Graham held onto Flint, reluctant to let go and lose the safe feeling of Flint’s warmth. He'd never admit it out loud, but the motorcycle ride was really starting to grow on him, and now he really didn't want it to end so soon.
“ You okay?” Flint asked in a soft voice as he rocked his head back towards Graham, careful to not set Graham’s hair ablaze with his flames.
Graham nodded into Flint’s back as he loosened his grip on Flint a little. “ Yeah… this is just….nice…” Graham admitted, though he was a little embarrassed to admit that out loud. He could hear Flint’s heart beat pick up a bit as he said that and he couldn’t help but smile, he didn’t need to look at Flint’s face to know the other cog was blushing, it was far too easy to get Flint flustered. “ … Well we should probably get going now, I’d hate to keep them waiting.”
Graham pulled away from Flint and got off of the motorcycle, taking a moment to adjust to the sudden loss of heat as Flint stood up with him. Flint extended his hand and Graham took it without hesitation, lacing their fingers together as the two walked into the quaint 50’s themed diner together, where Belle, Mary, and Holly greeted them with welcoming cheer, Or rather Belle and Mary welcomed them with a welcoming cheer, while Holly simply acknowledged their arrival with a sharp nod.
“ I’m glad you two could make it! I made sure to order some cog-fee in advance for you both.” Belle offered as she gestured towards the table where two cups of cog-fee rested. “ And I’m glad you decided to tag along Graham, otherwise I’d have to drink that cog-fee myself and with my blood sugar levels, I’d be up all night.” Belle happily giggled at her own joke before she sat back down at the table, taking her place on a chair with a rather worn biker jacket over the back of it.
Flint thanked her as he draped his own jacket over his seat before he pulled out a chair for Graham to sit down. The two sat down together and looked over their shared menus together while making small talk with the others. At one point Graham glanced over at Flint to see him giving him one of the most genuine smiles he’d ever seen his partner give him, and all of the sudden Graham felt a familiar warmth blooming in his chest. It then dawned on him why the sun’s glow from before felt so familiar, it reminded him of Flint’s smile, and Graham couldn’t help but think to himself ‘ Cog, I really love this man’